cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Osteopathic Medical Students’ Attitudes Towards Different Modalities of Neuroenhancement: a Pilot Study

The advancement of society has coincided with the development and use of technologies intended to improve cognitive function, which are collectively known as neuroenhancers. While several studies have assessed public perception towards the moral acceptability of pharmacological and device-based cognitive enhancers, just a few have compared perceptions across different modalities of cognitive enhancers. In this pilot study, 154 osteopathic medical students were asked to read one of six possible vignettes describing a certain type of improvement—therapy or above the norm—brought about by using one of three modalities—neurodevice, pill, or herbal supplement. Subjects answered questions that were designed to reveal their attitudes towards the given scenario. Our participants suggested that improvement using neurodevices and herbal supplements is more acceptable than when pills are used. We also found that acceptable attitudes towards cognitive enhancement were subserved by reasons such as “positive outcome from use” and “it’s safe” and unacceptable attitudes by reasons such as “safety concerns” and “no need.” Furthermore, a majority of participants would prefer to consult with a physician regarding the use of cognitive enhancers prior to accessing them. These results provide novel insights into pressing neuroethical issues and warrant further studying.
Fallibilism: A Philosophical-Pneumatological Apologetic

Amos Yong makes a connection between fallibilist “philosophical” views of the partial, perspectival, and finite character of knowledge, and a theological perspective grounded in a strong pneumatology. Rather than engendering absolute certainty, Yong argues that the Spirit sponsors an embodied moral certainty that guides faithful discipleship, which is content to live with inquiry that awaits future light.
Socioeconomic and clinical factors influencing treatment selection in microtia and aural atresia

Abstract Objectives Patients with microtia and aural atresia have multiple options for treatment of conductive hearing loss (CHL) and auricle reconstruction; however, little is known about the factors influencing treatment selection. This study aims to review the socioeconomic and clinical data of microtia/atresia patients to evaluate congruency with national data and whether these factors affect treatment decisions. Methods Retrospective review of patients evaluated in the microtia and atresia multidisciplinary clinic (MDC) at a tertiary academic children's hospital between 2008 and 2018. Outcomes included demographic, socioeconomic and clinical factors associated with hearing surgery and framework surgery. Results 373 patients were seen in the Microtia MDC: 193 (51.7%) were male, 187 (50.1%) identified as Hispanic and 23 (6.2%) identified as Asian. 267 (75.6%) patients received a nonsurgical bone conduction hearing device (BCHD); fitting at a younger age was associated with better nonsurgical BCHD compliance. Multivariate analysis was performed on the patients that were eligible for surgery based on age and appropriate follow-up. 70 (18.8%) patients had placement of an osseointegrated BCHD; inconsistent compliance with nonsurgical BCHD decreased the odds of proceeding with osseointegrated BCHD placement. 60 (16.1%) patients underwent framework surgery for external reconstruction. Placement of osseointegrated BCHD was the only factor that was associated with proceeding with framework surgery. Other assessed demographic and socioeconomic factors were statistically not associated with selection of surgical intervention. Conclusion Fitting a nonsurgical BCHD at a younger age is associated with higher likelihood of nonsurgical BCHD compliance, that is in turn associated with patients and families proceeding with osseointegrated BCHD and framework surgery.
Knowledge of biosimilars and perceptions of the naming conventions for biosimilar products in clinical practice in the United States

Biosimilar therapies and their naming conventions are both relatively new to the drug development market and in clinical practice. We studied the use of the four-letter naming convention in practice and the knowledge, perceptions, and preferences of US health care providers. A survey was distributed among health care professionals with a history of utilizing biosimilars in clinical practice to measure key knowledge and the presence of discernable naming trends. Differences in responses across pre-hypothesized subgroups were tested for statistical significance. Of the 506 surveys emailed, 83 (16%) people responded. Overall, there was poor knowledge about the key concepts surrounding biosimilars. For example, only 52% of respondents correctly identified that biosimilars were not the same as the generic drug; however, frequent use correlated with superior knowledge across all groups. In reference to naming preferences, 67% of all respondents indicated that they commonly use the brand name to distinguish biosimilars in clinical practice and a majority of them (85%) indicated that the brand name was easier to remember than the nonproprietary name with the four-letter suffix. An unexpected number of neutral responses was documented. Notably, more than half of respondents (68%) indicated a neutral response when asked if the four-letter suffix promoted medical errors. There remains a knowledge gap with regard to biosimilars, and lack of consensus on how the naming convention is and should be utilized in clinical practice. The data also suggest that effective biosimilar education could aid in promoting familiarity with the naming convention among health care providers.
Trust in science increases conservative support for social distancing

The COVID-19 pandemic necessitates adherence to scientifically supported prevention strategies, such as social distancing. Although most Americans support social distancing, a subset of conservativ...
Competition and Innovation Revisited: A Product-Level View

We study the effect of competition on firm innovation at the product level. We instrument shocks to competition in therapeutic areas with the FDA’s breakthrough therapy designation (BTD) event on a therapy. BTD events strongly associate with several indicators of future success, including announcement returns and eventual FDA approval to market the drug. BTD shocks discourage rivals’ innovation in that therapeutic area on average. However, the effect varies with ex-ante competitiveness of the therapeutic area, as well as with the rival’s position (leader vs. follower) in that space. Our evidence is consistent with the theory in Aghion et al. (2005).
An analysis of Harmony Search for solving Sudoku puzzles

Abstract The Harmony Search metaheuristic has been used to solve many different optimization problems. Several papers examined its effectiveness for solving Sudoku puzzles. Another paper claims that it is ineffective for solving Sudoku puzzles and further that the method itself lacks novelty compared to other evolutionary algorithms. Our paper analyzes the search process in harmony search when applied to a specific Sudoku puzzle examined in earlier research. The basic harmony search procedure is re-implemented and tested to evaluate its performance and verify its applicability to the specific example. We found that the while the criticisms of the method for this problem are valid, that the performance can be improved with a rather simple modification. First, we propose a new objective function for the search procedure. This proposed objective function facilitates the search method to find a proper solution. Second, the modified version of the harmony search, where harmony search is combined with local search is introduced and analyzed for its contribution of ‘improvisation’ in harmony search procedure by comparing the performance of local search and the modified search. For a specific problem, the modified version of harmony search generates a unique solution with new objective function in favorable time. Then extended experiments were performed for various Sudoku problems. We find that while the modified search procedure produces solutions more quickly, that it suffers the same issue that the original method has in that it sometimes fails to find a feasible solution.
Implementation of Grover’s Algorithm to Solve the Maximum Clique Problem

The maximum clique of an undirected graph is the largest subgraph in which an edge exists between every vertex. The maximum clique problem presents itself in various fields and finding a tractable algorithm to solve the problem is important. This paper introduces an oracle to solve the maximum clique problem using Grover’s quantum algorithm. This approach potentially solves the maximum clique problem in $O\left( {\left| V \right|\sqrt {{2^{\left| V \right|}}} } \right)$ time complexity rather than the current classical time complexity of O(2|V|) of the best known algorithm, where |V| is the number of vertices in the graph. The full circuit implementation is presented using the open-source Qiskit environment [1]. The paper also analyzes the growth of the hardware resources requirements with the number of vertices in the targeted graph.
Seed-based test-retest reliability of resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging at 3T and 7T.

PURPOSE Ultrahigh field (UHF) resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) has become increasingly available for clinical and basic research, bringing improvements in resolution and contrast over standard high field imaging. Despite these improvements, UHF connectivity studies present several challenges, including increased sensitivity to physiological confounds and a vastly increased data burden. We present a direct quantitative assessment of test-retest reliability of functional connectivity in several standard functional networks between subjects scanned at 3T and 7T. METHODS Five healthy subjects were scanned over four sessions each in a scan-rescan design at both 3T and 7T field strengths. Resting state fMRI data were segmented into four major intrinsic connectivity networks, and seed-based peak correlations within and between these networks examined. The reliability of these correlations was assessed using intra-class correlation coefficients (ICC). RESULTS Across all data, over 4000 peak correlations were extracted for assessment. The reliability over all intrinsic networks was greater at 7T than 3T (median ICC 0.40 vs. 0.33, p ≤ 0.0014), with each network individually showing improvement. Inter-network reliability was stronger than intra-network reliability, but intra-network reliability showed the greatest improvement between field strengths. CONCLUSION We demonstrate significantly increased reliability of resting state connectivity at UHF strengths over conventional field strengths using a novel hybrid seed-based analysis. This result adds to the growing body of work supporting the migration of functional imaging studies to UHFs.
Association of teleworking and smoking behavior of U.S. wage and salary workers.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a major shift in workspace from office to home. This report examined how telecommuting is related to smoking behavior of wage and salary workers. METHODS: Self-reported smoking behavior of 1,390 U.S. wage and salary workers aged 16-64 years from the Tobacco Use Supplement of the Current Population Survey 2018/19 were linked to the 2018 American Time Use Survey. Weighted multivariate logistic regression predicting smoking probability and generalized linear regression predicting smoking intensity were used for analysis. RESULTS: Almost a fifth (19%) of wage and salary workers reported working from home and over a half (52%) reported working in telecommuting amenable occupations. Nearly 12% were current smokers, smoking 14.7 cigarettes daily on average. Compared to their counterparts, smoking prevalence (percentage points) was lower among those employed in telecommuting amenable occupations (-0.52, p < .001 for all; 0.01, p = .862 for men; -2.40, p < .001 for women) and who worked more frequently from home (-0.21, p < .001 for all; -0.76, p < .001 for men; -0.03, p = .045 for women). Smoking intensity (cigarettes per day) was lower among those employed in telecommuting amenable occupations (-3.39, p = .03 for all; -0.36, p = .90 for men; -4.30, p = .21 for women). We found no statistically significant association between smoking intensity and telecommuting frequency. CONCLUSIONS: The lower likelihood of smoking and lower level of smoking intensity among telecommuting wage and salary workers suggests the need for proactive efforts to address the potential exacerbation in occupation-related smoking disparities between occupations that are and are not amenable to telecommuting.
Remaking Appalachia: Ecosocialism, Ecofeminism, and Law: by Nicholas F. Stump, Morgantown, WV, West Virginia University Press, 2021, 288 pp., $29.99 (paperback), 978-1-949199-90-1

Nicholas Stump’s Remaking Appalachia is a stimulating work. It will be of particular value to those interested in a progressive political-theoretical critique of environmental law. Although Stump f...
The Courtship of Law and Psychology

In the beginning there was psychology, primitive yet powerful. So it appeared to the anthropologist, Sir James George Frazer, in his epic, The Golden Bough (1963, p. 52). In that work, Frazer takes us back to a time of savage societies, before communities and cultures evolved, when out of the undifferentiated group emerged the first profession. They came to be known as magicians, sorcerers, shamans, and wizards, and, as individuals, rose to “a position of much influence and repute,” oftentimes acquiring “the rank and authority of a chief or King.”
A Computational Framework

The main robustness result of the previous chapter is a both necessary and sufficient condition for robust stabilization of a sampled-data system to structured LTI perturbations. The condition is given in terms of the structured singular value of the sampled-data system frequency response µ Δ LTI (M(e jω )) evaluated on the unit circle. The capability to use this stability test therefore relies on the ability to effectively evaluate the structured singular value of the infinite dimensional operator M(e jω ). This chapter is aimed at developing a computational framework that addresses this task. The approach used is to obtain bounds: we construct a family of upper and lower bounds for µ Δ LTI (M(e jω )) whose members converge to µ Δ LTI (M(e jω )). The resulting computational procedure is one in which the accuracy of the bounds for µ Δ LTI (M(e jω )) can be systematically improved at the cost of additional computational effort.
Immobility of 210Pb in Black Sea sediments

We measured 210Pb in a core from the deep Black Sea which contained a turbidite of low 210Pb activity surrounded above and below by pelagic sediments of much higher activity to evaluate in situ210Pb mobility under the anoxic, moderately sulfidic conditions. By measuring at millimeter scales across the distinct laminae-turbidite contacts and modeling the observed profile, we estimated a lower limit of the Kd of 107(Deff = 5 × 10 −13). This result increases confidence in sediment chronologies from the Black Sea based on 210Pb because it implies that profiles will not be altered significantly by diffusive transport of 210Pb Below the turbidite the 210Pb-inferred accumulation rate was 50 g/m2-a which is lower than laminae-based estimates by a factor of 3–4.
Percolation in the Sherrington-Kirkpatrick Spin Glass

We present extended versions and give detailed proofs of results about percolation (using various sets of two-replica bond occupation variables) in Sherrington-Kirkpatrick spin glasses (with zero external field) that were first given in an earlier paper by the same authors. We also explain how ultrametricity is manifested by the densities of large percolating clusters. Our main theorems concern the connection between these densities and the usual spin overlap distribution. Their corollaries are that the ordered spin glass phase is characterized by a unique percolating cluster of maximal density (normally coexisting with a second cluster of nonzero but lower density). The proofs involve comparison inequalities between SK multireplica bond occupation variables and the independent variables of standard Erdős-Renyi random graphs.
Religion and Media

This essay describes the emerging field of religion and media and outlines key issues at play in the field. The field focuses both on the media and their content and on the reception of media among various publics as ways to examine the location of religion, the nature of religious practice and the complexity of religious identity and authority. On the one hand, studies reveal how religious institutions and leaders use traditional and new media, and command of emerging media grants some institutions and leaders increased voice and authority. On the other, we find evidence that in the emerging media culture, authority shifts from traditional locations such as sacred writings, traditions and religious authorities to the individual internal authority of religious consumers involved in religious self-construction. Those in the field typically argue that religion has always been mediated and that studying the mediation of religion is necessary to the understanding of religion.
Periprocedural management of antithrombotic therapy in hospitalized patients

The management of antithrombotic medications in patients requiring invasive procedures is a common problem in hospital medicine, for which there is limited evidence to guide clinical decision making. Existing guidelines do not address many hospital-based procedures and have not kept pace with the introduction of newer antiplatelet and anticoagulant medications. This article provides a conceptual framework for the periprocedural management of antithrombotic therapy, with a focus on the procedures that hospitalists are most likely to perform and the pharmacology of the common and newer antithrombotic medications.
Quantitative Analysis of Pinedale Landforms, Beartooth Mountains, Montana and Wyoming

The spatial distribution of terminal moraines in segments. Analysis of the geomorphology of alalpine valleys can be quantitatively described pine features in the upper Rock Creek drainage in using distance/regression models. Surface parathe southeastern Beartooth Mountains, Montana, meters indicative of age may also be numerically shows that glaciers in this area deposited evidence analyzed. Evaluation of postglacial modification of two Bull Lake, four Pinedale, and two Neoof valley sides between terminal moraines provides glacial advances. an additional indicator of relative age of valley
Controlled growth and electrical properties of heterojunctions of carbon nanotubes and silicon nanowires

Nanometre-scale electronic structures are of both fundamental and technological interest: they provide a link between molecular and solid state physics, and have the potential to reach far higher device densities than is possible with conventional semiconductor technology1,2. Examples of such structures include quantum dots,which can function as single-electron transistors3,4 (although theirsensitivity to individual stray charges might make them unsuitable for large-scale devices) and semiconducting carbon nanotubes several hundred nanometres in length, which have been used to create a field-effect transistor5. Much smaller devices could be made by joining two nanotubes or nanowires to create, for example, metal–semiconductor junctions, in which the junction area would be about 1 nm2 for single-walled carbon nanotubes. Electrical measurements of nanotube ‘mats’ have shown the behaviour expected for a metal–semiconductor junction6. However, proposed nanotube junction structures7 have not been explicitly observed, nor have methods been developed to prepare them. Here we report controlled, catalytic growth of metal–semiconductor junctions between carbon nanotubes and silicon nanowires, and show that these junctions exhibit reproducible rectifying behaviour.
The irritable human nociceptor under microneurography: from skin to brain.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the four issues of neuropathic pain based on collaborative clinical neurological and neurophysiological studies on patients and volunteers. Many C nociceptors respond with high threshold to noxious stimuli, such as strong mechanical or thermal energy or chemical irritants. Other C nociceptors, discovered through the electrical stimulation of the skin in animals and humans, do not normally respond to any natural stimulus. These mechanically and heat insensitive C nociceptors may become polymodal when irritated through repetitive stimuli. Over and above their afferent sensory function, C nociceptors also have a neurosecretory efferent function. They release vasodilator agents, such as substance P and calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP). Thus, excitation of C nociceptor axons results in pain and an associated antidromic skin flare response. Repetitive activation of peripheral nociceptors in experimental animals causes hyperexcitability of dorsal horn neurons. This anomaly includes reduced neuronal threshold for response to peripheral light mechanical stimuli, increased rate of discharge, and expansion of receptive fields.
An endogeneous inhibitor of microsomal mixed-function oxidases in homogenates of the southern armyworm (Prodenia eridania)

1. A potent inhibitor of microsomal mixed-function oxidation has been isolated from the gut contents of larvae of the southern armyworm (Prodenia eridania). 2. Progressive inhibition is associated with a soluble proteinase with a molecular weight of approx. 26000. 3. Although the proteolytic activity of the inhibitor can be reduced by phenylmethanesulphonyl fluoride and other reagents, these materials are only partially effective in protecting the microsomal enzymes. 4. Inhibitory activity is decreased in the presence of bovine serum albumin.
Getting acquainted with social networks and apps: Tumblin’ through the visual web

Purpose – This article explores social networks and apps. Design/methodology/approach – This article provides a survey of the current trends. Findings – Platforms that are part of the visual Web use images, rather than text, as the primary content of a post. Text may appear, but it is secondary to the image, essentially the opposite of a long blog post where the primary content is text with optional pictures placed for emphasis or enhancement. Originality/value – Three social networks in particular – Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram – each gained more than 10 million visitors over the course of the year in part by catering to a desire for more visually appealing content.
German Intellectuals and the Nazi Past – By A. Dirk Moses

In this compelling and accessible intellectual history of West Germany, the author explores how the past comes to bear on the present. As intellectuals in the postwar period struggled to make sense...
GPS as an independent measurement to estimate terrestrial water storage variations in Washington and Oregon

The Global Positioning System (GPS) measures elastic ground loading deformation in response to hydrological mass variations on or near Earth's surface. We present a time series of change in terrestrial water storage as a function of position in Washington and Oregon estimated using GPS measurements of vertical displacement of Earth's surface. The distribution of water variation inferred from GPS is highly correlated with physiographic provinces: the seasonal water is mostly located in the mountain areas, such as the Cascade Range and Olympic Mountains, and is much smaller in the basin and valley areas of the Columbia Basin and Harney Basin. GPS is proven to be an independent measurement to distinguish between hydrological models. The drought period of 2008–2010 (maximum in 2010) and the recovery period of 2011–2012 in the Cascade Range are well recovered with GPS-determined time-variable monthly water mass series. The GPS-inferred water storage variation in the Cascade Range is consistent with that derived from JPL's GRACE monthly mass grid solutions. The percentage of RMS reduction is ~62% when we subtract GRACE water series from GPS-derived results. GPS-determined water storage variations can fill gaps in the current GRACE mission, also in the transition period from the current GRACE to the future GRACE Follow-on missions. We demonstrate that the GPS-inferred water storage variations can determine and verify local scaling factors for GRACE measurements; in the Cascade Range, the RMS reduction between GRACE series scaled by GPS and scaled by the hydrological model-based GRACE Tellus gain factors is up to 90.5%.
Responsiveness of metastatic basal‐cell carcinoma to chemotherapy. A case report

Basal cell carcinoma normally causes major morbidity only by direct extension of the tumor into adjacent tissues. Occasionally the tumor will metastasize to distant sites such as the lungs, the bones, regional lymph nodes, and the abdominal viscera. Over 100 cases of this disseminated disease are reported in the literature. Once a tumor has metastasized beyond the regional lymph nodes it is uniformly fatal. This article reports a case of basal cell carcinoma, metastatic to the lung, which was successfully treated with cisplatin. Three other cases treated similarly are reviewed, and the prospects for treatment of advanced basal cell carcinomas with chemotherapy are discussed.
An alternate measure of fracture toughness

Abstract Linear elastic fracture mechanics has been primarily used for very high strength materials. For such applications it is adequate to measure KIc, the plane-strain fracture toughness. It is the objective of this paper to discuss a method for making dynamic fracture toughness measurements, KId, which are appropriate for structural grade steels. A simplified scheme for measuring KId is also proposed.
PHASED ARRAY CARDIAC IMAGING: SYSTEM OPERATION, RESULTS AND CLINICAL ROLE

Proper clinical use of real-time, two-dimensional echocardiography depends upon three major factors: the clinical questions posed of these imaging devices, the interrelationship of this technique with other imaging techniques and the quality of the ultrasonic image. The Duke experience with this technique has been primarily based on results obtained with a focused, phased array imaging system over the last three years. During this period of time we have observed that high-resolution, cross-sectional ultrasonic images of cardiac structures provide unique diagnostic information that is not possible by any other method. Similarly, this type of information allows the clinician to pose new questions concerning the use of diagnostic ultrasound in patient care. Improvements in image quality that have accompanied the addition of new scan formats and a broad-band transducer have enhanced the clinical reliability of diagnostic information.
Rates of histone synthesis during early development of Rana pipiens.

Newly synthesized histones have been extracted from Rana pipiens oocytes or cleaving embryos previously injected with [3H]lysine or [3H]arginine. The radioactive proteins were fractionated by cation-exchange chromatography and electrophoresis on acid/urea or SDS-polyacrylamide gels; histones were identified by coelectrophoresis with authentic markers. From percentage total incorporation in the putative histones, and absolute rates of lysine or arginine incorporation, rates of histone synthesis were estimated. Rates of histone synthesis in two-cell embryos were at least 10-fold higher than in maturing oocytes. Between the two-cell and blastula stages, the rate increased an additional threefold, from about 1200 pg hr−1 per embryo to about 4500 pg hr−1 per embryo. While all histone classes are synthesized during cleavage, synthesis of the various classes is not coordinated; histones are not synthesized in the same relative proportions at which they are found in blastula chromatin. The synthesis of histone H4 in particular is barely detectable during cleavage. This, and other observations, suggested the existence of cytoplasmic histone pools. In approaching the possible existence of histone pools, the amount of H4 present in oocytes was determined. Oocytes contain about 74 ng of H4, an amount sufficient to allow development to the blastula stage. These data are compared to those reported by others on histone synthesis during cleavage in Xenopus.
Substrate specificity of bleomycin hydrolase.

Abstract Bleomycin (BLM) hydrolase is believed to protect both malignant and normal tissue from the toxicity of the antitumor drug BLM. Little is known about the substrate specificity of BLM hydrolase. Thus, we developed ion-paired reverse phase high speed liquid chromatography systems to assay for the metabolism of several BLM analogs. We found that BLM A 2 , BLM B 2 , tallysomycin S 10b (TLM S 10b ) peplomycin (PEP), butylamino-3-propylamino-3-propylamine bleomycin (BAPP), deglyco bleomycin A 2 (dgBLM A 2 ) and bleomycinic acid were each metabolized by rabbit lung BLM hydrolase to a single metabolite. When compared to their corresponding parent compounds, these metabolites were 6- to 35-fold less potent in their ability to inhibit the proliferation of A-253 human head and neck squamous carcinoma cells in culture. Furthermore, we found that substitutions in various regions of the BLM molecule greatly affected the kinetic parameters of BLM hydrolase. For example, the K m with BLM B 2 (0.056 ± 0.005 mM) was 15-fold lower than that seen with BLM A 2 (0.83 ± 0.11 mM). In contrast, the V max was not affected markedly by these terminal amine substitutions but was influenced greatly by deletion of the carbohydrate groups of BLM. For example, a 4-fold higher V max was observed with dgBLM A 2 compared to BLM A 2 . Thus, these results demonstrate that BLM hydrolase can recognize and metabolize a broad spectrum of BLM analogs regardless of their structural features. This enzymatic conversion resulted in the inactivation of the BLMs as demonstrated by a substantial decrease in their cytotoxidty. Furthermore, the terminal amine and carbohydrate regions, respectively, dictate the apparent affinity and the rate of metabolism of BLM hydrolase substrates.
Intramuscular inoculation of Sin Nombre hantavirus cDNAs induces cellular and humoral immune responses in BALB/c mice

To examine whether genetic immunization with Sin Nombre (SN) hantavirus genes could elicit immune responses, nine fragments spanning the envelope glycoprotein genes G1 and G2, and the complete N gene were cloned into a CMV expression vector. To ensure representation of all potential epitopes, adjacent fragments of the glycoprotein genes overlapped one another by 100 nucleotides. Vectors containing the gene fragments were inoculated intramuscularly into BALB/c mice and splenocyte proliferation and western blot-detectable antibodies and neutralization titers were determined. The N gene and seven of the nine M segment-derived cDNAs tested produced significant specific lymphoproliferative responses, and many of the constructs elicited either neutralizing or western blot-detectable antibodies. These promising results encourage the development of infection models for SN virus that will be capable of detecting protective responses.
Genetic characterization of a Rhizobium meliloti lactose utilization locus

We identified several linked genes of a lactose regulon in Rhizobium meliloti. These were lacZ, the structural gene for beta-galactosidase; lacR, the lactose repressor gene; and two genes encoding proteins of unknown function, lacW and lacX. Insertion mutants in lacW and lacZ belonged to a single genetic complementation group, and lacW appeared to lie upstream of lacZ in an operon. Expression of lacZ, lacW and lacX was repressed by lacR, and expression of lacZ and lacW was derepressed by lactose. lacZ was not required for induction of lacW by lactose, suggesting that lactose itself, rather than a processed form of lactose, may be the actual inducer molecule. Expression of all three genes was repressed by succinate, and the lacR independence of this repression showed that inducer exclusion could not be the sole mechanism. This pattern of lac gene organization and regulation differs in several ways from that observed in enteric bacteria.
Modified polytopic vector analysis to identify and quantify a dioxin dechlorination signature in sediments. 2. Application to the Passaic River.

Persistent contaminants such as dioxins have been documented to undergo dechlorination reactions in the laboratory; however, little is known about the importance of these reactions in the field. Polytopic vector analysis (PVA) is a statistical pattern recognition technique for multivariate data traditionally used to identify fingerprints of contaminant sources. A modified PVA algorithm with uncertainty analysis was used to model dechlorination fingerprints and sources. The technique was applied to 351 sediment core-derived dioxin samples from the lower reach of the Passaic River, New Jersey. A dechlorination fingerprint was identified with a highly positive 2,3,7,8-tetraCDD component and a highly negative heptaCDD component. The most important industrial source of 2,3,7,8-tetraCDD is a fingerprint related to 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid production. The dechlorination contribution to the data variance is 3.00 ± 1.00%, corresponding to an average of 1.2 μg/kg of 2,3,7,8-tetraCDD per sample at the expen...
The Problem of Coupling a 120-MHz RF Cavity to a 700-A, 6-MeV Pulsed Electron Beam

A 120-MHz cavity and RF system were built to modulate the beam energy of the Astron electron accelerator by ±5%. The beam pulse has a rise time of 20 ns which initiates a transient in the cavity. We designed the cavity to limit the transient voltage in order to avoid sparking. The excitation problem was studied both experimentally and theoretically. We established design criteria that allowed us to couple an RF cavity to a high-current beam as easily as to the low-current beams of the usual research accelerators.
Base distribution in the coding and noncoding regions in the rDNA of Lytechinus variegatus.

Abstract The Eco RI restriction endonuclease cleaves rDNA repeat units of the sea urchin Lytechinus variegatus into four fragments. The G + C contents of all four cloned restriction fragments were determined by isopycnic analysis. Electron microscopic denaturation mapping of one of the fragments allowed alignment of the denaturation pattern with the restriction map and correlation with previously reported transcriptional data. From these results the base distribution in the spacer region and regions coding for rRNAs was derived.
Body temperature in arboreal and nonarboreal anuran amphibians: differential effects of a small change in water vapor density

Abstract 1. 1.|Body temperatures (Tb) and contaneous evaporative water loss rates (CWL) were measured in tree frogs (Hyla cinerea) and toads (Bufo valliceps) exposed to cyclical ramp changes in water vapor density (WVD) between 7.5 and 9.8 gm−3 (1 cycle h−1 at an air temperature of 27.0°C. 2. 2.|CWL was 3.3 times greater in toads than in tree frogs. 3. 3.|Tb in toads cycled directly with WVd; WVD accounted for 98% of the variation in toad Tb. 4. 4.|Tb in tree frogs was independent of WVD, probably due to changes in skin resistance to water loss.
Population dynamics and global change: a student exercise

This article is designed to be used as the basis for a student exercise. Students compare statistics about two semiarid regions, one in Africa and one in North America. While cattle are an important part of the economies of both regions, cultural differences lead to different land use outcomes. Local differences in land use, in turn, lead to differing influences on global change.
Effect of precursors of the 1,2, and 3 series prostaglandins on renin release and renal blood flow in the dog

Abstract The precursors of the monoene, diene, and triene series of prostaglandins, eicosatrienoic acid, arachidonic acid, and eicosapentaenoic acid, respectively, were infused at 3×10 −6 , 10 −5 , and 3×10 −5 g/kg/min directly into the renal artery of non-filtering, denervated kidneys of conscious propranolol-treated dogs. Renal blood flow was measured with an electromagnetic flow probe around the renal artery and renal renin secretion rate from blood samples taken from catheters in the aorta and renal vein. The highest dose of arachidonic acid increased renal blood flow by 54 ± 19% and increased renin secretion rate seven-fold. Eicosatrienoic acid produced a smaller increased in renal blood flow but did not significantly increase renin secretion rate. Eicosapentaenoic did not change either blood flow or renin secretion rate. We conclude that compared with arachidonic acid the precursors of the 1 and 3 series of prostaglandins are not significantly involved in the regulation of renal blood flow or renin secretion.
Spinal Reflexes and Seizure Patterns in the Two-Toed Sloth

In striking contrast to the seizure patterns of other animals, the electroshock seizure of the sloth consists of weak extension followed by tonic flexion and terminal clonus. A similar pattern is seen with direct spinal cord stimulation. Strychnine produces a pure flexor convulsion. In the spinal sloth, painful stimulation of one foot causes extension at some joints of that limb and strong flexion at all joints of the contralateral limb.
Studies on the development of the definitive cell type of embryonic epidermis using the cross-linked envelope as a differentiation marker.

Abstract During their late stages of differentiation, keratinocytes of epidermis form beneath the plasma membrane a protein envelope cross-linked by ϵ-(γ-glutamyl)lysine bonds. This property is a reliable and specific marker for the keratinocyte and has been used to study the development of this cell type in the skin during the embryonic life of the rabbit. Up to halfway through gestation, virtually no cells of the epithelium have the ability to make such an envelope. Between the 16 and 20th days of gestation, some cells acquire this ability, and by birth most can make envelopes. It may be concluded that prior to 16 days' gestation, the external epithelium consists of a cell type that is a precursor of the keratinocyte. In culture, colonies of typical keratinocytes develop from single epithelial cells of embryos 23 days or older, but not from the cells of epithelia of 14-day or younger embryos. Colonies of cells resembling keratinocytes can be grown from epithelia of 16- to 20-day embryos; the cells of these colonies develop envelopes with a somewhat higher frequency than the cells in the epithelia from which they were derived but not nearly as well as the cells grown from older epithelia. The epithelium during this period contains cells at an intermediate stage of development. The epithelial cells of 14-day embryos will not differentiate into keratinocytes in surface culture. In contrast, cultured explants of the 14-day epithelium do support the differentiation of the precursor cells into keratinocytes that are able to form cross-linked envelopes with a high frequency, like those of advanced epithelium. When primitive epithelium and underlying connective tissue of early embryos are disaggregated with trypsin and the cells reassembled in the form of aggregates, a significant though small number of keratinocytes develops from epithelial cells of 14-day embryos, and a considerably larger number from those of 16-day embryos. The failure of the differentiation in surface culture could be due to the absence of proper mesenchymal influence.
Toward ribosomal RNA catalytic activity in the absence of protein

The ribosome is the ribonucleoprotein particle responsible for translation of genetic information into proteins. The RNA component of the ribosome has been implicated as the catalytic entity for peptide bond formation based on protease resistance and structural data indicating an all-RNA active site. Nevertheless, peptidyl transfer by ribosomal RNA (rRNA) alone has not been demonstrated. In an attempt to show such activity we generated a minimal construct that comprises much of the 23S rRNA peptidyl transferase center, including the central loop and the A- and P-loops. This minimal rRNA domain was inactive in peptide bond formation under all conditions tested. The RNA was subsequently subjected to six rounds of in vitro selection designed to enrich for this activity. The result was a mutated rRNA sequence that could catalyze the covalent linkage of an A-site and P-site substrate; however, the product did not contain a peptide bond. The current study is an example of an in vitro derived alternate function of rRNA mutants and illustrates the evolutionary possibility that the protoribosome may have used amino acids as substrates before it gained the ability to join them into peptides. Though peptidyl transferase activity in the absence of protein remains elusive, the ease with which alternate catalytic activity was selected from rRNA with a small number of mutations suggests that rRNA may have inherent activity. This study represents a step on the path toward isolating that native activity.
A separable group having a discrete dual space is compact

Abstract By the dual space of a locally compact group G we mean the set of all equivalence classes of irreducible unitary representations of G equipped with the hull-kernel topology which is derived from the group C∗-algebra of G. A consequence of the Peter-Weyl Theorem is that the dual space of a compact group is discrete. Also, a corollary to the Pontryagin Duality Theorem is that a locally compact abelian group is compact if and only if its dual space (group) is discrete. In this article we obtain a generalization of the corollary to the Pontryagin theorem and therefore a kind of converse to the Peter-Weyl Theorem. We prove that a second countable locally compact group is compact if and only if its dual space is discrete. Examples are given which show that the situation is more complicated in the noncommutative case than it is in the abelian case. For example a non-commutative group need not be discrete even though its dual space is compact.
Observation and dynamics of “mixed-valence isomers” and a thermodynamic estimate of electronic coupling parameters

Abstract The thermodynamics of mixed-valence isomers – the two limiting charge distributions in a mixed-valence complex – are reviewed and used as a basis for calculating the electronic coupling (HAB). Infrared spectroscopy is used to determine equilibrium constants between the two mixed-valence isomers in the strongly coupled adiabatic limit. Equilibrium constants in the diabatic (HAB = 0) limit are independently estimated from electrochemical data for corresponding symmetric complexes. Analysis of these data provide direct measurements of Δ Δ G 0 = Δ G 0 0 - Δ G 1 0 , the difference in thermodynamic driving force for electron transfer in the diabatic and strongly coupled adiabatic limits which it is shown can be interpreted within the framework of appropriate potential energy surfaces for ET to estimate HAB.
Ordered surfactant-templated poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) conducting polymer on microfabricated neural probes

Ordered conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) was electrochemically fabricated using a self-assembled medium of surfactant molecules as a template. The morphology and microstructure were extensively investigated by optical and electron microscopy, and results show that the coated films were composed of anisotropic domains having a characteristic size of 15-150 nm. The surfactant-templated ordered PEDOT films were electrochemically deposited on microfabricated neural probes with an electrode site area of 1,256 microm(2). The electrical properties were studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). EIS showed a lowered magnitude of 35 kOmega (from an initial approximately 800 kOmega) at the biologically relevant frequency of 1 kHz. CV results show that the film has higher charge capacity and is more electrochemically stable than either nodular PEDOT or PPy. Furthermore, we have begun to probe the biological response to such a material intended to define the tissue-material interface. Results show that minute concentrations of the non-ionic surfactant are enough to kill all nearby cells in culture. It is possible however, to create surfactant-templated ordered PEDOT such that SH-SY5Y survive on the conductive polymer.
Regularity results for stokes type systems

The aim of thin work is to study the regularity of solutions of Stokes type systems related to the large scale equations of the ocean and the primitive equations of the coupled system atmosphere-ocean, which have appeared in the work of Lions et al12,13,144. We prove various regularity results for strongly elliptic boundary value problems in cylinder-type domains with nonhomogeneous boundary conditions, as well ss the H2-regularity for the Stokes-type system built into these equations.
A flexible test of symmetry

Research in consumer behavior, or other surveys, where there is interest in the comparison of response measurement can produce data that is conveniently summarized in an m×m contingency table. In this case, interest may lie in the symmetry of the data in the table or in the homogeneity of the marginal distributions. The purpose of this paper is to examine some of these ideas and propose a test of symmetry which has advantages over the commonly used statistics.
Some Behavioral Tests of Domestication in Norway Rats

Five experiments with wild and domestic rats (Rattus norvegicus) were designed to assess behavioral effects of domestication. The results, which must be considered preliminary, are supportive of the notion that domestication in the Norway rat has induced an adaptive fitness rather than degeneration: 1. Scar-marked captives showed the poor reproductive success typical of traditional attempts at initial laboratorization. In 10 such pairs, three of the females killed prospective mates and five of the six who produced litters cannibalized all or some of the offspring. Unscarred captives, assumed to represent higher social status in the wild population, produced litters in eight of ten pairings with no abnormal breeding or maternal behaviors. 2. Scar-marked captives were least dominant in water competition and were most likely to show abnormal behaviors, new wounds, and mortalities. Similar competitive groupings of domestic rats showed the expected difference in social behavior; fighting was less intense, social distance was less, and threat signals were rare compared to wild rats. Where wild and domestic rats were housed together, however, the intensity of social behaviors in the latter increased, even leading to deaths, although interaction was almost segregated between the two kinds of rats. 3. In an avoidance learning situation, wild-caught and wild F1 (laboratory raised) rats were markedly inferior in performance compared to domestic rats in paradigms with internally or externally cued warnings. 4. In another avoidance learning context, wild rats showed limited evidence of a passive style of learning while domestic rats showed clear evidence of active avoidance learning. These data suggest that learning styles may differ in the two kinds of rats and that definitive evidence of a learning difference will be difficult to obtain. 5. Daily patterns of responding for drinking water were more resistant to change in the wild rats, even at a substantial cost in water obtained, suggesting that domestication may have induced greater behavioral flexibility.