cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Chromosomal Context Affects the Molecular Evolution of Sex-linked Genes and Their Autosomal Counterparts in Turtles and Other Vertebrates

Sex chromosomes evolve differently from autosomes because natural selection acts distinctly on them given their reduced recombination and smaller population size. Various studies of sex-linked genes compared with different autosomal genes within species support these predictions. Here, we take a novel alternative approach by comparing the rate of evolution between subsets of genes that are sex-linked in selected reptiles/vertebrates and the same genes located in autosomes in other amniotes. We report for the first time the faster evolution of Z-linked genes in a turtle (the Chinese softshell turtle Pelodiscus sinensis) relative to autosomal orthologs in other taxa, including turtles with temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD). This faster rate was absent in its close relative, the spiny softshell turtle (Apalone spinifera), thus revealing important lineage effects, and was only surpassed by mammalian-X linked genes. In contrast, we found slower evolution of X-linked genes in the musk turtle Staurotypus triporcatus (XX/XY) and homologous Z-linked chicken genes. TSD lineages displayed overall faster sequence evolution than taxa with genotypic sex determination (GSD), ruling out global effects of GSD on molecular evolution beyond those by sex-linkage. Notably, results revealed a putative selective sweep around two turtle genes involved in vertebrate gonadogenesis (Pelodiscus-Z-linked Nf2 and Chrysemys-autosomal Tspan7). Our observations reveal important evolutionary changes at the gene level mediated by chromosomal context in turtles despite their low overall evolutionary rate and illuminate sex chromosome evolution by empirically testing expectations from theoretical models. Genome-wide analyses are warranted to test the generality and prevalence of the observed patterns.
Talking and Doing Science: Important Elements in a Teaching-for-Understanding Approach

Publisher Summary This chapter explores how the teaching of science should take place in the context of scientific inquiry wherein students do, learn, and communicate through a specialized process and language. Students do not develop an understanding about the nature of a scientific enterprise without repeated exposure and experiences to scientific investigations. Science educators need to portray accurately to their students the scientific research practices and the resulting conclusions drawn from such research endeavors. A classroom view of science that depicts scientific knowledge as a simple extension of the data collected objectively during research is clearly misleading. An analogous thought process in education called conceptual change occurs in meaningful learning. Cognitive growth happens as students try to integrate and make sense of everyday and more formal, school-based knowledge. When these two types of knowledge are in opposition, cognitive conflict occurs. Working collaboratively with others not only enhances the understanding of science, it also fosters the practice of many of the skills, attitudes, and values that characterize science.
Calculating census tract-based life expectancy in New York state: a generalizable approach.

Life expectancy at birth (LE) has been calculated for states and counties. LE estimates at these levels mask health disparities in local communities. There are no nationwide estimates at the sub-county level. We present a stepwise approach for calculating LE using census tracts in New York state to identify health disparities. Our study included 2751 census tracts in New York state, but excluded New York City. We used population data from the 2010 United States Census and 2008–2010 mortality data from the state health department. Tracts were assigned to 99.97% of the deaths. We removed tracts which had a majority of people living in group quarters. Deaths in these tracts are often recorded elsewhere. Of the remaining 2679 tracts, 6.6% of the tracts had standard errors ≥ 2 years. A geographic aggregation tool was used to aggregate tracts with fewer than 60 deaths, and then aggregate areas that had standard errors of ≥ 2 years. Aggregation resulted in a 9.9% reduction in the number of areas. Tracts with < 2% of population living below the poverty level had a LE of 82.8 years, while tracts with a poverty level ≥ 25% had a LE of 75.5. We observed differences in LE in border areas, of up to 10.4 years, when excluding or including deaths of study area residents that occurred outside the study area. The range and standard deviation at the county level (77.5–82.8, SD = 1.2 years) were smaller than our final sub-county areas (64.7–92.0, SD = 3.3 years). The correlation between LE and poverty were similar and statistically significant (p < 0.0001) at the county (r = − 0.58) and sub-county level (r = − 0.58). The correlations between LE and percent African-American at the county level were (r = 0.11, p = 0.43) and at the sub-county level (r = − 0.25, p < 0.0001). The proposed approach for geocoding and aggregation of mortality and population data provides a solution for health departments to produce stable empirically-derived LE estimates using data coded to the tract. Reliable estimates within sub-county areas are needed to aid public health officials in focusing preventive health programs in areas where health disparities would be masked by county level estimates.
Glial fibrillary acid protein: Functions and involvement in disease.

Intermediate filaments are a fundamental component of the cytoskeleton in neurons and astrocytes. The main intermediate filament in astrocytes is glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP). Like other intermediate filaments, GFAP interacts with other components of the cytoskeleton, adhesion molecules, intracellular chaperones, and other proteins. GFAP is responsible for the cytoarchitecture and mechanical strength of astrocytes and their supporting functions on the physiology of neighboring neurons and maintenance of blood–brain barrier. GFAP is involved in the pathophysiology of several neurologic disorders. Alexander disease, due to mutations of the GFAP gene, is the prototypic primary astrocytopathy. Upregulation of GFAP expression is a marker of reactive astrogliosis in a wide range of acute and chronic neurologic disorders. GFAP is also a target of autoantibodies linked to autoimmune meningoencephalitis. There are several recent reviews on the composition, dynamics, and function of GFAP1–3; its involvement in neurologic disease2–10; and the potential uses and limitations of GFAP as a disease biomarker.11,12
Description of a new species of Amblyomma Koch, 1844 (Acari: Ixodidae), parasite of deer (Artiodactyla: Cervidae) and wild pigs (Artiodactyla: Suidae) in the Philippines

Amblyomma anicornuta n. sp. (Acari: Ixodidae) is described based on adults and nymphs ex deer (Artiodactyla: Cervidae) and wild pigs (Artiodactyla: Suidae) from Luzon, Philippines. Adults of A. anicornuta n. sp. are similar to those of several Asian and Australasian species of Amblyomma Koch, 1844 with a 4/4 dental formula on the hypostome but can be distinguished by the colouration and pattern of punctations on the conscutum in the male and scutum in the female, the absence of a marginal groove on the conscutum in the male, the possession of long, thick, prominent setae on the alloscutum in the female, projections on anal valves and sclerotised ring around them in the male, a large median sclerite ventrally in the male, as well by the shape of the genital aperture in the female and the size and shape of spurs on coxae I-IV in both sexes. The nymph of A. anicornuta n. sp. is somewhat similar to that of A. babirussae Schulze, 1933 and A. geoemydae (Cantor, 1847) but can be distinguished by the colouration pattern on the scutum, the presence of dorsal cornua and the size of the spurs on coxae I-IV.
Conclusion: “Cicatrice of an Old Wound”

This chapter begins with a discussion of Katharine Susannah Prichard’s “The Curse” (1932) and how the central scene which comprises this brief story is representative of the major concerns in women’s Colonial Gothic writing. The chapter considers issues of cultural perspective and the need to read colonial literature not only from the center, but also from the margins. These marginal voices include indigenous people, as well as women. The chapter concludes with a call to recognize women’s Colonial Gothic writing as an important middle ground for the literature of empire, a sub-genre within both colonial writing and Gothic writing that provides a culturally vital link between white male authors of nineteenth- and twentieth-century imperialist literature and the more progressive multi-ethnic postcolonial authors of the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
Development of a Cell Patterning Technique Using Poly(Ethylene Glycol) Disilane

A simple technique for controlling cell adhesion on glass substrates by surface modification using a commercially available poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) disilane, which can bind directly to glass in a single step, in combination with photolithographic micropatterning, was developed, characterized, and evaluated for patterning of HepG2 hepatoma cells and 3T3 fibroblasts. The optimal concentration of PEG-disilane for surface modification was 5 mM, and patterning of strongly adherent cells such as HepG2 required the chelation of divalent metal cations in order to inhibit nonspecific binding and cell aggregation. Whereas the average thickness of the PEG-disilane layer was 18±3.5 nm, the perimeters of patterned areas of exposed glass exhibited ridges of average height 857±50 nm, which may have aided in constraining cell spreading and migration. Although unpatterned PEG-treated substrates were hydrophilic (contact angle 46±1°), micropatterned surfaces behaved as if they were somewhat hydrophobic (contact angle ∼90°), necessitating special protocols for preventing deleterious dewetting of cells. For optimized protocols, the probability of adhesion of HepG2 cells to a patterned area of exposed glass was almost 15 times higher than the probability of adhesion to a PEG-treated background region of equal area. Our technique is useful for short- to intermediate-term patterning of cell or tissue morphology, e.g., for investigation of the effects of cell–cell interactions or cell geometry.
Synthesizing programs with constraint solvers

Classical synthesis derives programs from a specification. We show an alternative approach where programs are obtained through search in a space of candidate programs. Searching for a program that meets a specification frees us from having to develop a sufficiently complete set of derivation rules, a task that is more challenging than merely describing the syntactic shape of the desired program. To make the search for a program efficient, we exploit symbolic constraint solving, lifted to synthesis from the setting of program verification. We start by describing the interface to the synthesizer, which the programmer uses to specify the space of candidate programs as well as the desired correctness condition φ. The space is defined by a program template whose missing expressions are described with a grammar. The correctness condition is a multi-modal specification, given as a combination of assertions, input / output pairs, and traces. Next, we describe several algorithms for solving the synthesis problem ∃P∀x φ(x,P(x)). The key idea is to reduce the problem from 2QBF to SAT by sampling the space of inputs, which eliminates the universal quantification over x. Finally, we show how to encode the resulting SAT problem in relational logic, and how this encoding can be used to solve a range of related problems that arise in synthesis, from verification to program state repair. We will conclude with open problems on constraint-based synthesis.
The Impact of Stochastic Project Lives on Capital Budgeting Decisions

The concept of evaluating capital budgeting projects on the basis of a discounted cash-flow analysis is well established in both the academicians’ and the practitioners’ worlds [4, 9,13]. However, for purposes of simplification the suggested procedures often are based on a set of unrealistic assumptions. For example, a project’s life (N) often is assumed to be a constant, that is, known with certainty, whereas in reality it is stochastic. The stochastic nature of a project’s life may be due to competitive technological advances, changes in consumer tastes and preferences, and the impact of complementary projects. The consequences of incorrectly assuming that N is a constant are unknown. However, as shown in the following section, the mean and variance of the net present value (NPV) distribution are biased if N is assumed to be a constant when in fact it is stochastic.
3.8 Protein and Nucleic Acid Folding: Domain Swapping in Proteins

Among thousands of homo-oligomeric protein structures, there is a small but growing subset of ‘domain-swapped’ proteins. The term ‘domain swapping,’ originally coined by D. Eisenberg, describes a scenario in which two or more polypeptide chains exchange identical units for oligomerization. This type of assembly could play a role in disease-related aggregation and amyloid formation or as a specific mechanism for regulating function. This chapter introduces terms and features concerning domain swapping, summarizes ideas about its putative mechanisms, reports on domain-swapped structures collected from the literature, and describes a few notable examples in detail.
Surface Ligand Management for Stable FAPbI3 Perovskite Quantum Dot Solar Cells

Summary In contrast to conventional colloidal quantum dots (CQDs), management of insulating ligands on perovskite CQDs is challenging because their ionic bonds are highly vulnerable to polar solvents. Consequently, there have been only a few examples of perovskite CQD solar cells incorporating relatively robust inorganic perovskite of which optoelectronic properties are not ideal for photovoltaic devices. Here, we report efficient and stable CQD solar cells based on formamidinium lead triiodide (FAPbI3) CQDs realized by rational surface regulation. Tailoring polarity of antisolvents for the post-synthetic process enabled effective removal of the insulating ligands on FAPbI3 CQDs while preserving perovskite cores. Owing to the enhanced inter-dot electrical coupling, a power-conversion efficiency of 8.38% was demonstrated. Furthermore, the FAPbI3 CQDs-based devices showed superior stability over those of bulk FAPbI3 devices. Thermodynamic and crystallographic analyses revealed that enhanced contribution of the surface energy and lattice contraction contribute to their superior stability.
Response to commentaries on Against the Grain

I want to begin with a note of appreciation to the Journal of Peasant Studies for organizing this symposium on my book Against the Grain and to the five scholars who have done me the honor of devot...
Uncertainty quantification of fluidized beds using a data-driven framework

Abstract We carried out a nondeterministic analysis of flow in a fluidized bed. The flow in the fluidized bed is simulated with National Energy Technology Laboratory's open source multiphase fluid dynamics suite MFiX. It does not possess tools for uncertainty quantification. Therefore, we developed a C++ wrapper to integrate an uncertainty quantification toolkit developed at Sandia National Laboratory with MFiX. The wrapper exchanges uncertain input parameters and key output parameters among Dakota and MFiX. However, a data-driven framework is also developed to obtain reliable statistics as it is not feasible to get them with MFiX integrated into Dakota, Dakota-MFiX. The data generated from Dakota-MFiX simulations, with the Latin Hypercube method of sampling size 500, is used to train a machine learning algorithm. The trained and tested deep neural network algorithm is integrated with Dakota via the wrapper to obtain low order statistics of the bed height and pressure drop across the bed. In addition, it can be used to obtain statistics with various distributions of the uncertain input variables and various uncertainty quantification methods. In addition, sensitivity analysis is carried out for 9 input parameters and two output parameters.
Navigating disclosure of sexual minority identity for men in socio-politically conservative areas

AbstractPrevious models of sexual minority orientation identity development have theorized disclosure of current orientation as important in accepting one’s sexual minority identity. Furthermore, r...
Transfer Reinforcement Learning Using Output-Gated Working Memory

Transfer learning allows for knowledge to generalize across tasks, resulting in increased learning speed and/or performance. These tasks must have commonalities that allow for knowledge to be transferred. The main goal of transfer learning in the reinforcement learning domain is to train and learn on one or more source tasks in order to learn a target task that exhibits better performance than if transfer was not used (Taylor and Stone 2009). Furthermore, the use of output-gated neural network models of working memory has been shown to increase generalization for supervised learning tasks (Kriete and Noelle 2011; Kriete et al. 2013). We propose that working memory-based generalization plays a significant role in a model's ability to transfer knowledge successfully across tasks. Thus, we extended the Holographic Working Memory Toolkit (HWMtk) (Dubois and Phillips 2017; Phillips and Noelle 2005) to utilize the generalization benefits of output gating within a working memory system. Finally, the model's utility was tested on a temporally extended, partially observable 5x5 2D grid-world maze task that required the agent to learn 3 tasks over the duration of the training period. The results indicate that the addition of output gating increases the initial learning performance of an agent in target tasks and decreases the learning time required to reach a fixed performance threshold.
Gene expression profiles in zinc-deficient versus zinc replenished rat esophagus

1666 Zinc replenishment (ZR) in carcinogen-treated zinc-deficient (ZD) rats rapidly reverses esophageal cell proliferation by stimulating apoptosis and thereby arrests cancer development. We used oligonucleotide-arrays to compare the expression profiles of genes in the proliferative ZD versus control zinc-sufficient (ZS) esophagi, and those in ZR esophagi at 8 h, 12 h, and 48 h after ZD rats were dosed with intragastric zinc. Twenty-four weanling rats were fed a ZD diet ad libitum and 6 ZS animals pair-fed to match the decreased food consumption of ZD rats. After 6 weeks, ZD rat esophagi developed sustained cell proliferation. Zinc gluconate (containing 1.2 mg elemental Zn) in saline was then administered intragastrically to 18 ZD rats, which were switched to ZS diet to form the ZR group. ZS rats and the remaining ZD rats were treated with saline. At 8 h, 12 h, and 48 h after replenishment, 6 rats were sacrificed, forming the ZR-8, ZR-12, and ZR-48 groups. ZS and ZD rats were sacrificed 8 h after saline treatment. Whole esophagi were excised and esophageal epithelium isolated. RNA was prepared separately from pooled ZS, ZD, and ZR rat esophageal mucosa, labeled, and hybridized to the CodeLink Uniset Rat 1 Bioarray chip (Amersham Biosciences, NJ), carrying single-stranded oligonucleotide probes from ∼10,000 rat genes. Array images and data were analyzed by GeneSpring 5.1 (Silicon Genetics, CA). After replenishment, serum Zn content (μg/100 ml ± SD) surged from a ZD level of 43 ± 14 to 524 ± 221 and 610 ± 255 at 8 h and 12 h, respectively, and reverted to 206 ± 55 at 48 h, approaching the level in ZS rats (124 ± 14). Comparing the expression profiles of ZD versus ZS, a total of 33 genes showed a > 2-fold change in expression (21 were up-, and 12 downregulated). Notably, all of these 33 genes demonstrated a return to near normalcy at 48 h after ZR as compared with ZS. For example, ultraviolet B radiation-activated gene, went from a 8.7-fold increase in the proliferative ZD esophagi to a 3.3-fold increase in the nearly restored ZR-48 esophagi. Keratin 14, an important biomarker in esophageal carcinogenesis, improved from a 7-fold increase in ZD to a 1.81-fold increase in ZR-48 esophagus. Similarly, Cyclin B was up ∼4-fold in the proliferative ZD tissue but was almost back to ZS levels by 48 h post replenishment. These data illustrate that a select number of genes in the rat esophagus are highly responsive to zinc deprivation and replenishment, are induced during rapid transition from zinc deficiency to sufficiency and may be responsible for a reversal of the precancerous environment in the ZD esophagus. Thus, the characterization of these identified genes and their products will be useful in understanding the genetic mechanism involved in esophageal tumor initiation and reversal.
Plant Physiology Increases the Magnitude and Spread of the Transient Climate Response to CO2 in CMIP6 Earth System Models

Increasing concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere not only influence climate through CO2’s effect as a greenhouse gas but also through its impact on plants. Plants respond to atmospheric CO2 concentrations in several ways that can alter surface energy and water fluxes and thus surface climate, including changes in stomatal conductance, water use, and canopy leaf area. These plant physiological responses are already embedded in Earth system models, and a robust literature demonstrates that they can affect global-scale temperature. However, the physiological contribution to transient warming has yet to be assessed systematically in Earth system models. Here this gap is addressed using carbon cycle simulations from the 5th and 6th phases of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP) to isolate the radiative and physiological contributions to the transient climate response (TCR). In CMIP6 models, the physiological effect contributes 0.11°C (standard deviation: 0.10°C; range: 0.02 - 0.29°C) of warming to the TCR, corresponding to 5.2% of the full TCR (standard deviation: 4.1%; range: 1.4 - 13.9%). Moreover, variation in the physiological contribution to the TCR across models contributes disproportionately more to the inter-model spread of TCR estimates than it does to the mean. The largest contribution of plant physiology to CO2-forced warming – and the inter-model spread in warming – occurs over land, especially in forested regions.
Elevated Polygenic Burden for Autism Spectrum Disorder Is Associated With the Broad Autism Phenotype in Mothers of Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Abstract Background Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a multifactorial neurodevelopmental disorder that encompasses a complex and heterogeneous set of traits. Subclinical traits that mirror the core features of ASD, referred to as the broad autism phenotype (BAP), have been documented repeatedly in unaffected relatives and are believed to reflect underlying genetic liability to ASD. The BAP may help inform the etiology of ASD by allowing the stratification of families into more phenotypically and etiologically homogeneous subgroups. This study explores polygenic scores related to the BAP. Methods Phenotypic and genotypic information were obtained from 2614 trios from the Simons Simplex Collection. Polygenic scores of ASD (ASD-PGSs) were generated across the sample to determine the shared genetic overlap between the BAP and ASD. Maternal and paternal ASD-PGSs were explored in relation to BAP traits and their child's ASD symptomatology. Results Maternal pragmatic language was related to child’s social communicative atypicalities. In fathers, rigid personality was related to increased repetitive behaviors in children. Maternal (but not paternal) ASD-PGSs were related to the pragmatic language and rigid BAP domains. Conclusions Associations emerged between parent and child phenotypes, with more associations emerging in mothers than in fathers. ASD-PGS associations emerged with BAP in mothers only, highlighting the potential for a female protective factor, and implicating the polygenic etiology of ASD-related phenotypes in the BAP.
Ultrasound-guided ethanol sclerotherapy for non-surgical treatment of Warthin's tumor.

Abstract Background Currently, the first line treatment for Warthin's tumor (WT) is parotidectomy. There is a paucity of data evaluating the safety and efficacy of non-surgical treatments for patients not amenable to surgery. Ultrasound guided ethanol sclerotherapy (UGES) has been successfully used for the management of lymphangiomans of the head and neck, thyroid nodules, and thyroid cysts. This is the first study to implement and assess the success of UGES for management of WT. Methods We report two patients with WT, with a total of 3 masses, who underwent UGES. All procedures were performed in the clinic. The primary outcome measured was the tumor volume reduction rate (VRR), patient satisfaction, and complications observed at follow-up. Results Both patients experienced a significant reduction in tumor size upon follow up. VRR for the three treated tumors were 67.30%, 98.32%, and 55.73%. Patient were very satisfied with the results and noted significant cosmetic improvement. No complications were observed at follow-up. Conclusions Ultrasound guided ethanol sclerotherapy may be a viable option for conservative treatment of Warthin's tumor in patients unsuitable or unwilling to undergo surgical resection.
The Tiny-Scale Atomic Structure: Gas Cloudlets or Scintillation Phenomenon?

We present preliminary results from the recent multi-epoch HI absorption measurements toward several pulsars using the Arecibo telescope. We do not find significant variations in optical depth profiles over periods of 4 months and 9 years. The upper limits on the optical depth variations in directions of B0823+26 and B1133+16 are similar on scales of 10–20, 350 and 500 AU. The large number of non detections of the tiny scale atomic structure suggests that the AU-sized structure is not ubiquitous in the interstellar medium.
Approach to the Patient with Cough.

Cough is a common presenting symptom for patients in a primary care setting. Chronic cough is defined as a cough lasting for more than 8 weeks. The most common causes of chronic cough are upper airway cough syndrome, asthma, and gastroesophageal reflux disease. Detailed history and physical examination are critical in identifying potential etiologies of cough. When there is no prevailing diagnosis, step-wise empiric trial of medication is a strategic and cost-effective approach. Certain features of chronic cough should provoke an expedited and invasive diagnostic strategy. Effectively treating patients with chronic cough has a high impact on quality of life.
Vibration Measurement of UHV transmission line shield ring based on image edge recognition

It is difficult to measure the vibration of UHV transmission lines shielding ring with traditional displacement sensors because of its installation position is high and far from the tower. In order to evaluate the vibration level of the shielding ring and eliminate the hidden danger of the transmission lines. This paper proposes a method to get the amplitude and frequency of the vibration by recognizing the local image of structure based on differential operator. The method obtains the displacement time history curve of the structure by the image edge recognition, extracts the vibration frequency by using signal analysis method, and calculates the vibration amplitude by establishing the relationship among the actual displacement of the structure, the size of the reference object and its image bases on the principle of camera imaging. The reliability of this method is verified by test in the laboratory. It is applied to analyze the field vibration video of the shielding ring, and the frequency and amplitude of the shielding ring are obtained. Modal test is performed, and its result is the same as that calculated by the proposed method, whose effectiveness is further verified.
Tuning Curves to Optimize Temporal Segmentation and Parameter Evaluation of Adaptive Filters for Neocortical EEG

The neocortex is the motherlode of brain function. This mammalian organ enables bats to outfly birds, dolphins to outswim sharks, and humans to outwit just about everybody but Mother Nature. The application of mesoscopic dynamics to neocortex has been slow due to lack of the most basic knowledge. Which populations in what layers of cortical neurons generate the major components of the dendritic currents underlying the EEG, particularly the gamma band? What are the depths of their zero isopotential surfaces? Are the dipole fields of pyramidal cells asymmetric, and are they coupled with closed fields of interneuronal stellate cells? What are the widths of the bell-shaped distributions of dendritic potentials at the pial surface of single neurons or small dendritic bundles (their “point spread functions” in the language of optics)? What are the open loop rate constants of the neocortical dendritic generators? What other factors contribute to the temporal spectra (Figure 5 in Chapter 13) and spatial spectra (Figure 11 in Chapter 13) of the subdural electrocorticograms (see comment before Chapter 9)? What are the gains of the three types of feedback in cortex among the excitatory and inhibitory populations (Chapter 4)? What are the characteristic closed loop frequencies in the resting states, which reflect the set points that are determined by these diverse functional connection strengths (Figure 2 in Chapter 12)? Numbers of connections alone cannot tell the story; whereas in neocortex the excitatory neurons outnumber the inhibitory neurons by over 5 to 1 and in hippocampus by 20 to 1, in the prepyriform the ratio is closer to 1 to 1, and in the olfactory bulb it exceeds 1 to 100 (Freeman 1972e).
Modeling of Hypersonic Reacting Flows

The nonequilibrium thermochemical processes must be studied in order to better predict aerodynamic and heat transfer characteristics of a hypersonic vehicle (see Chapter 6 of Ref. 1). The effect of nonequilibrium chemistry on convective heat transfer rates is well known, and therefore will not be considered here. Chemical phenomena affect aerodynamic characteristics of the hypersonic vehicles, especially their pitching moments and trim angles of attack. Radiative heat transfer in gases are very sensitively affected by the thermochemical processes in the gases.
Deletion mutants of bacteriophage lambda: II. Genetic properties of att-defective mutants

Abstract Viable, integration-defective deletion mutants of phage λ were examined with the technique of Int-promoted recombination between phages. The types of mutants found and their properties are consistent with a three-component model of att φ . The results show that att φ contains a unique locus for integration cross-overs which is bordered on each side by recognition sequences essential for normal integration. The role of these recognition sequences in integration was studied by analyzing the pattern of Int-promoted recombination between phage containing various types of mutant att sites. It was found that the integration system of λ can function with a variety of defective att sites; however, no simple pattern could be deduced from these results. Evidently, the λ integration system is considerably more complex than was at first believed, and very unlike systems of generalized recombination.
Abstract 977: Characterizing the regulation and function of miR-155 in hypoxia biology

Aberrant expression of microRNAs has been correlated with the initiation and progression of many diseases. One such microRNA, miR-155, is an oncogenic microRNA that has been associated with several different types of cancer, including lung, breast, and lymphoma. We are studying the role of miR-155 in promoting hypoxia-driven tumor phenotypes such as therapy resistance and genomic instability. Previously, we have shown that miR-155 expression is induced under hypoxic conditions and that over-expression of miR-155 under normal oxygen conditions confers resistance to ionizing radiation therapy. Additionally, we have shown that by knocking down expression of miR-155 under hypoxic conditions, we were able to sensitize these cells to ionizing radiation. Here, we demonstrate that miR-155 expression is tightly linked to genomic instability, another characteristic of hypoxia. We have found that over-expression of miR-155 drives increased mutation frequency as measured by a mutation reporter assay screen both in vitro and in vivo. These results are consistent with a recent finding that miR-155 over-expression targets mismatch repair proteins, MLH1, MSH2, and MSH6. An increase in mutation frequency could be due to a decrease in mismatch repair function. Surprisingly, we have also found that loss of miR-155 increases the baseline level of double strand breaks observed in a fibroblast cell line. Taken together, this data suggests that a finite regulation of miR-155 is necessary to maintain cellular homeostasis. Our goal is to gain a better understanding of the role of miR-155 in promoting hypoxic cancer cell survival. Citation Format: Jennifer Czochor, Peter M. Glazer. Characterizing the regulation and function of miR-155 in hypoxia biology. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 977. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-977
Coordinating Kinematically Redundant Degrees of Freedom

There are a variety of manifestations of kinematic redundancy in different classes of robotic mechanisms such as manipulator arms, multifingered hands, mobile robots, etc., and while common issues arise in motion planning for such devices, the literature on resolving kinematic redundancy has principally been focused on manipulator arms. The present note will describe the current state of algorithms which resolve kinematic redundancy by optimizing path-integral criteria. This approach has practical advantages in certain application, but it leads to a class of two point boundary value problems which, if solved by standard numerical procedures, are substantially more complex than resolution techniques based on optimizing instantaneous functions of the joint configurations. Our recent work has shown that using the theory of exponential dichotomies we may develop continuation methods which render these problems more manageable while at the same time relating their solution to well understood instantaneous methods.
Treatment of granuloma inguinale with streptomycin.

Abstract 1. 1. Administration of 20 Gm. of streptomycin in 1 Gm. doses intramuscularly every six hours constitutes effective and apparently adequate therapy. 2. 2. Penicillin proved effective against secondary invaders. 3. 3. Four patients required partial or total vulvectomy following therapy. 4. 4. None of these patients has had a recurrence in the six to twelve months which have elapsed since treatment. 5. 5. Donovan bodies, present before streptomycin treatment, could not be demonstrated in the excised specimens.
Synaptic Vesicle Fusion

Neurotransmitter release from synaptic terminals occurs by the rapid, calcium-dependent fusion of transmitter-containing synaptic vesicles with the presynaptic membrane. The core machinery that mediates membrane fusion is thought to consist of the neuronal SNARE proteins (VAMP/synaptobrevin, syntaxin and SNAP-25). Accessory proteins operate at various stages to mediate the priming of vesicles to fusion competence (NSF/SNAP, munc18, munc13) and the detection of calcium increases that trigger fusion (synaptotagmin). Keywords: synaptic vesicle; membrane fusion; exocytosis; neurotransmitter secretion; calcium regulation
Teaching and Learning Cross-Country Mathematics

In many countries, teachers are expected to work from a national syllabus or examination framework to develop their own courses. They often have little to guide them other than their own professional preparation plus a set of standard textbooks. Mathematics textbooks often are largely used as sources of problems rather than as determiners of lesson structure. In the United States, in contrast, mathematics teachers use not only detailed teachers’ versions of textbooks to guide their work but also elaborate packages of what are called “ancillary materials” — worksheets, software, sample tests, videotapes, calculator booklets, laboratory materials — that help lift the burden of curriculum innovation from the teachers’ shoulders. That burden has been largely assumed in the United States by commercial textbook publishers, who lavish resources on the preparation of curriculum packages, and by curriculum development projects funded by the national government or charitable foundations. Although collegiate mathematics teachers usually feel quite free to develop their own courses and the materials for them, precollege teachers do so only in rare cases. The case study reported in this volume concentrates on one of those exceptional cases in which a group of high school teachers initiated curriculum reform on their own, albeit eventually with substantial assistance.
Effect of the Vagus Nerve and Salicylate Administration on the Permeability Characteristics of Tthe Rat Gastric Mucosal Barrier

The influence of the vagus nerve and of salicylates on the permeability characteristics and on damage of the rat gastric mucosal barrier was studied. Results indicate the following. (1) The vagus nerve has no direct effect on the maintainence of the permeability characteristics of the gastric mucosal barrier. (2) Back diffusion of acid probably occurs normally in significant quantities. (3) Vagal or other forms of secretory stimulation can mask acid back diffusion by increasing acid output enough to exceed the amount diffusing into the mucosa. (4) Aspirin damages the mucosal barrier of the vagotomized rat stomach as in the vagotomized canine stomach. (5) Aspirin probably damages the vagally intact, secreting stomach without necessarily producing evidence of acid back diffusion. (6) Large doses of parenteral aspirin damage the mucosal barrier.
IX International Conference on Salt Lake research: research opportunities and management challenges.

The 9th International Conference on Salt Lake Research was held 26–30 September 2005 in Western Australia at the Curtin University of Technology, Perth, Australia. One hundred scientists from 10 countries presented research on a diverse array of topics highlighting research findings and opportunities, and management challenges associated with inland saline waters. Major emergent themes of the conference included modeling of ecosystem processes, microbial communities, and features of Western Australian inland saline environments, including current threats, conservation and management.
Using Role Play Simulation and Hands-on Models to Enhance Students' Learning Fundamental Accounting Concepts

This paper both documents and assesses the use of a role play simulation exercise that can easily be incorporated into the first week of the first course in accounting. The exercise actively involves students by having them assume roles and simulate transactions to start a business. In addition, the students also perform a record-keeping role. Both the medium of exchange and record-keeping are accomplished by using white, red and blue poker chips. A primary focus of the exercise is to learn how transactions affect the fundamental accounting equation (assets=liabilities+owners’ equity). In addition, several other fundamental accounting concepts are introduced. To assess if the exercise enhances student learning, other sections of the same accounting course learned identical subject matter with a lecture format. An assessment instrument was administered to both student groups. The results indicate that role play simulation enhances students’ transfer problem solving, but there is no evidence that it enhances conceptual recall beyond that which can be attained via a traditional lecture. In addition, there is evidence that the role play simulation exercise helps student better retain problem solving learning over a four week period.
Conjugal transfer of genetic information in group N streptococci.

Streptococcus lactis strains ML3 and C 2 O and S. lactis subsp. diacetylactis strains DRC3, 11007, and WM 4 were found to transfer lactose-fermenting ability to LM0230, an S. lactis C2 lactose-negative (Lac − ) derivative which is devoid of plasmid deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Lactose-positive streptomycin-resistant (Lac + Str r ) recombinants were found when the Lac + Str s donor was mixed with Lac − Str r LM0230 in solid-surface matings. Transduction and transformation were ruled out as the mechanism of genetic exchange in strains ML3, DRC3, 11007, and WM 4 , nor was reversion responsible for the high number of Lac + Str r recombinants. Furthermore, chloroform treatment of the donor prevented the appearance of recombinants, indicating that transfer of lactose-fermenting ability required viable cell-to-cell contact. Strain C 2 O demonstrated transduction as well as conjugation. Transfer of plasmid DNA during conjugation for all strains was confirmed by demonstrating the presence of plasmid DNA in the transconjugants by using agarose gel electrophoresis. In some instances, a cryptic plasmid was transferred in conjunction with the lactose plasmid by using strains DRC3, 11007, and WM 4 . In S. lactis C2 × LM0230 matings, the Str r marker was transferred from LM0230 to C2, suggesting conjugal transfer of chromosomal DNA. The results confirm conjugation as another mechanism of genetic exchange occurring in dairy starter cultures. Images
Discovery of 14 Nearby Double Stars

We report the discovery of 14 double-star systems with main-sequence primaries, most of which are M type. Infrared imaging indicates that the secondaries are most likely late-type dwarfs. The fact that most of the stars are within 25 pc underscores the incompleteness of our present census of our nearest neighbors.
Phosphodiesterase and immune dysfunction in atopic dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis and the other atopic conditions occur as a result of direct or indirect influences from cells of hematopoietic origin. Cellular immune abnormalities have been described, but appear to be secondary to cutaneous inflammation in atopic dermatitis. Pharmacophysiologic abnormalities are numerous and may relate to defective cyclic nucleotide metabolism in circulating and infiltrating leukocytes. A consistent leukocyte abnormality is elevated cyclic AMP-phosphodiesterase. This enzyme abnormality results in reduced intracellular cyclic AMP, creating a net permissive effect upon cell function. Phosphodiesterase inhibitors have been demonstrated to reduce abnormal histamine release and IgE production by cultured leukocytes. Studies of phosphodiesterase and associated defects in atopic leukocytes may lead to delineation of basic pathogenetic mechanisms as well as providing the potential for therapeutic targeting.
THE SOULS OF BLACK RADICAL FOLK W. E. B. Du Bois, Critical Social Theory, and the State of Africana Studies

W. E. B. Du Bois provides an important, though often overlooked, Africana history, culture, and philosophy – informed framework for (a) redeveloping Africana studies and relating it to the crises a...
Novel inhibitors of glutamyl-tRNA(Glu) reductase identified through cell-based screening of the heme/chlorophyll biosynthetic pathway.

Abstract The metabolite 5-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) is an early committed intermediate in the biosynthetic pathway of heme and chlorophyll formation. In plants, 5-aminolevulinic acid is synthesized via a two-step pathway in which glutamyl-tRNA Glu is reduced by glutamyl-tRNA Glu reductase (GluTR) to glutamate 1-semialdehyde, followed by transformation to 5-aminolevulinic acid catalyzed by glutamate 1-semialdehyde aminotransferase. Using an Escherichia coli cell-based high-throughput assay to screen small molecule libraries, we identified several chemical classes that specifically inhibit heme/chlorophyll biosynthesis at this point by demonstrating that the observed cell growth inhibition is reversed by supplementing the medium with 5-aminolevulinic acid. These compounds were further tested in vitro for inhibition of the purified enzymes GluTR and glutamate 1-semialdehyde aminotransferase as confirmation of the specificity and site of action. Several promising compounds were identified from the high-throughput screen that inhibit GluTR with an I 0.5 of less than 10 μM. Our results demonstrate the efficacy of cell-based high-throughput screening for identifying inhibitors of 5-aminolevulinic acid biosynthesis, thus representing the first report of exogenous inhibitors of this enzyme.
Construction of an ortho-phenol polymer

Abstract Synthesis and study of an ortho -phenol polymer, a highly functionalized polyphenylene, have been conducted. A dibromo ortho -biphenol monomer was synthesized and its homocoupling in the presence of Ni(1,5-cyclooctadiene) 2 followed by hydrolysis led to the formation of an ortho -phenol polymer. This polymer was soluble in common organic solvents. It was characterized by gel permeation chromatography, UV–vis, IR, 1 H and 13 C NMR spectroscopic methods. The use of this polymer in the Lewis acid-catalyzed reaction of phenylacetylene with benzaldehyde in the presence of diethylzinc was studied. It was found that the polymer when treated with 1/4 equiv. (relative to the phenol unit of the polymer) of Ti(O i Pr) 4 generated a much more active Lewis acid catalyst than when treated with excess Ti(O i Pr) 4 . This indicates that different types of catalytic sites in the polymer have been produced under these conditions.
Advanced night vision goggles

The Advanced Night Vision Goggle (ANVG) program is developing integrated wide field of view (WFOV) helmet-mounted image intensifier night vision goggle systems. ANVG will provide a FOV of approximately 40° (vertical) × 100° (horizontal) and an integrated heads-up display for overlay of flight symbology and/or FLIR imagery. The added FLIR complements the I 2 imagery in out of the window or ground applications. ANVG will significantly improve safety, situational awareness, and mission capabilities in differing environments. ANVG achieves the ultra wide FOV using four image intensifier tubes in a head-mounted configuration. Additional features include a miniature flat panel display and a lightweight uncooled FLIR. The integrated design will demonstrate the capability of helmet-mounted I 2 and FLIR image fusion. Fusion will be accomplished optically and will offer significant opportunities for ground applications. This paper summarizes the basic technologies, lessons learned, and program status.
Curvature-based anisotropic geodesic distance computation for parametric and implicit surfaces

Distribution of geometric features varies with direction, including, for example, normal curvature. In this paper, this characteristic of shape is used to define a new anisotropic geodesic (AG) distance for both parametric and implicit surfaces. Local distance (LD) from a point is defined as a function of both the point and a unit tangent plane directions, and a total distance is defined as an integral of that local distance. The AG distance between points on the surface is the minimum total distance between them. The path between the points that attains the minimum is called the anisotropic geodesic path. Minimization of total distance to attain the AG distance is performed by associating the LD function with a tensor speed function that controls wave propagation in the convex Hamilton–Jacobi (H–J) equation solver. We present new distance metrics for both parametric and implicit surfaces based on the curvature tensor. In order to solve for the implicit AG, a bounded 3D H–J equation solver was developed. We present a second metric for the AG distance, a difference curvature tensor, for parametric surfaces. Some properties of both new AG distances are presented, including parameterization invariance. This AG path differs from the usual geodesic in that minimal path, i.e., lowest cost path, roughly speaking, minimizes an integral of curvature along the curve. Then, the effectiveness of the proposed AG distances as shape discriminators is demonstrated in several applications, including surface segmentation and partial shape matching.