cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Enantiomeric separation of alcohols and amines on a proline chiral stationary phase by gas chromatography

A new chiral stationary phase for gas chromatography was prepared by covalently attaching a diproline chiral selector that has proven to be effective in liquid chromatography to a methylhydrosiloxane-dimethylsiloxane copolymer. With this new chiral stationary phase for GC, racemic aromatic alcohols could be resolved without derivatization. Racemic aromatic and aliphatic amines could also be resolved after derivatization of the amino groups with trifluoroacetic anhydride or isopropyl isocyanate. On this stationary phase, the isopropyl isocyanate derivatives of amines showed higher enantioselectivity than the trifluoroacetic anhydride derivatives. In both the enantiomeric separations of alcohols and derivatized amines, the aromatic racemic analytes showed higher enantioselectivities than their aliphatic analogs. Some of the α-amino and α-hydroxy aromatic acids could also be separated after derivatization to N-trifluoroacetyl methyl esters for amino acids or O-trifluoroacetyl methyl esters for hydroxyl acids.
Distribution of Free Fatty Acids in Milk as Affected by Heating

Abstract Radioactive eaprylie and oleic acids were used to determine their distribution in various fractions of raw and heated milk. Despite the difference in physical properties, both fatty acids were detected in all major components of milk. In particular, large amounts were associated with the serum proteins indicating that both acids may be involved in the reported losses of free fatty acids in heated milk.
On the local time dependence of the penetration of solar wind-induced electric fields to the magnetic equator

For a period of a few hours, the penetration of electric fields of solar wind origin is at its highest efficiency. In November 2003, five days of continuous vertical drift data were obtained at the Jicamarca Radio Observatory. Here we have isolated a range of frequencies centered at a few-hour period for a five-day period and have explored the local time dependence of the penetration, along with the time delay due to magnetospheric effects. We find that the latter ranges from 15 to 25 min. For the local time dependence, we find that the period of anti-correlation is roughly from 21:00 to 04:00 LT, with positive correlation at other local times.
Complexity of (iterated) dominance

We study various computational aspects of solving games using dominance and iterated dominance. We first study both strict and weak dominance (not iterated), and show that checking whether a given strategy is dominated by some mixed strategy can be done in polynomial time using a single linear program solve. We then move on to iterated dominance. We show that determining whether there is some path that eliminates a given strategy is NP-complete with iterated weak dominance. This allows us to also show that determining whether there is a path that leads to a unique solution is NP-complete. Both of these results hold both with and without dominance by mixed strategies. (A weaker version of the second result (only without dominance by mixed strategies) was already known [7].) Iterated strict dominance, on the other hand, is path-independent (both with and without dominance by mixed strategies) and can therefore be done in polynomial time.We then study what happens when the dominating strategy is allowed to place positive probability on only a few pure strategies. First, we show that finding the dominating strategy with minimum support size is NP-complete (both for strict and weak dominance). Then, we show that iterated strict dominance becomes path-dependent when there is a limit on the support size of the dominating strategies, and that deciding whether a given strategy can be eliminated by iterated strict dominance under this restriction is NP-complete (even when the limit on the support size is 3).Finally, we study Bayesian games. We show that, unlike in normal form games, deciding whether a given pure strategy is dominated by another pure strategy in a Bayesian game is NP-complete (both with strict and weak dominance); however, deciding whether a strategy is dominated by some mixed strategy can still be done in polynomial time with a single linear program solve (both with strict and weak dominance). Finally, we show that iterated dominance using pure strategies can require an exponential number of iterations in a Bayesian game (both with strict and weak dominance).
The Development of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) Emulator

This paper introduces the development of a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) emulator that mimics the behavior of an actual fuel cell for testing, design, control and optimization. The emulator is developed from a lumped solid oxide fuel cell model in a Matlab/Simulink environment, and programmed to a dSPACE and/or DSP controller for real-time applications. The controller generates an output control voltage, which is fed to a linear power amplifier capable of high output current. The emulator is tested for various cell temperatures, flow rate concentrations and load changes to predict the static and dynamic response. The test results are compared with experimental data to validate the SOFC emulator.
Swimways: Protecting Paddlefish through Movement‐centered Management

ABSTRACT Attempts to mitigate lack of formal interjurisdictional paddlefish management have been made in the United States through the Mississippi River Interstate Cooperative Resource Association (MICRA). We used 1988–2009 data from the MICRA paddlefish (Polyodon spathula) stock assessment database—a database containing mark-recapture and biometric information on more than 30,000 individually marked wild paddlefish and more than 2 million hatchery origin paddlefish—to estimate survival and movement across large and potentially biologically relevant spatial scales. Paddlefish frequently moved between political jurisdictions with differing conservation strategies and harvest regulations and showed differences in survival parameter estimates throughout their range. We argue that the degree of interjursidictional movements, spatially variant survival rates, and conservation concerns associated with paddlefish necessitate more cohesive interjurisdictional management. Based on criteria used to establish flyway...
Location Verification Algorithms forWireless Sensor Networks

Because the knowledge of sensors' locations is very important to many location-based applications proposed for wireless sensor networks, many secure localization and location verification schemes have been proposed to provide robust location estimations for sensors. We propose two lightweight location verification algorithms, namely, greedy filtering by matrix (GFM) and trustability indicator (TI). Unlike other schemes, our algorithms do not require any specialized hardware or deployment knowledge. In GFM algorithm, the verification center(VC) calculates several matrices based on sensors' estimated locations and their neighborhood observations, and uses these matrixes to identify and revoke inconsistent locations. In TI algorithm, VC calculates trustability indicators for the sensors and reject those whose indicators are below a threshold. Simulation results demonstrated the effectiveness of both algorithms in detecting abnormal location and their robustness under attacks.
Focus Issue: Getting Excited About Glia

This Focus Issue of Science Signaling complements the Science Special Issue and highlights glial cell function, development, and disease. This issue draws attention to the molecular mechanisms of drug resistance of a cancer of glial origin, and to signaling between glia and neurons. Although glia may not be excitable, they are clearly an exciting group of cells.
An EEG-based study of discrete isometric and isotonic human lower limb muscle contractions

Background: Electroencephalography (EEG) combined with independent component analysis enables functional neuroimaging in dynamic environments including during human locomotion. This type of functional neuroimaging could be a powerful tool for neurological rehabilitation. It could enable clinicians to monitor changes in motor control related cortical dynamics associated with a therapeutic intervention, and it could facilitate noninvasive electrocortical control of devices for assisting limb movement to stimulate activity dependent plasticity. Understanding the relationship between electrocortical dynamics and muscle activity will be helpful for incorporating EEG-based functional neuroimaging into clinical practice. The goal of this study was to use independent component analysis of high-density EEG to test whether we could relate electrocortical dynamics to lower limb muscle activation in a constrained motor task. A secondary goal was to assess the trial-by-trial consistency of the electrocortical dynamics by decoding the type of muscle action. Methods: We recorded 264-channel EEG while 8 neurologically intact subjects performed isometric and isotonic, knee and ankle exercises at two different effort levels. Adaptive mixture independent component analysis (AMICA) parsed EEG into models of underlying source signals. We generated spectrograms for all electrocortical source signals and used a naive Bayesian classifier to decode exercise type from trial-by-trial time-frequency data. Results: AMICA captured different electrocortical source distributions for ankle and knee tasks. The fit of single-trial EEG to these models distinguished knee from ankle tasks with 80% accuracy. Electrocortical spectral modulations in the supplementary motor area were significantly different for isometric and isotonic tasks (p<0.05). Isometric contractions elicited an event related desynchronization (ERD) in the α-band (8–12 Hz) and β-band (12–30 Hz) at joint torque onset and offset. Isotonic contractions elicited a sustained α- and β-band ERD throughout the trial. Classifiers based on supplementary motor area sources achieved a 4-way classification accuracy of 69% while classifiers based on electrocortical sources in multiple brain regions achieved a 4-way classification accuracy of 87%. Conclusions: Independent component analysis of EEG reveals unique spatial and spectro-temporal electrocortical properties for different lower limb motor tasks. Using a broad distribution of electrocortical signals may improve classification of human lower limb movements from single-trial EEG.
Determining the efficacy of a resiliency training approach in adults with type 2 diabetes.

The purpose of this randomized clinical study was to test the efficacy of a resiliency training approach for people with diabetes who have previously received standard diabetes self-education.A single-blinded, randomized design was employed with repeated measures (baseline, 3 months, 6 months) with 67 participants assigned to either treatment as usual (n = 37) or the resiliency classes (n = 30). Outcome variables included physiological measures (glycosylated hemoglobin, waist measurement, eating and exercise habits) and psychosocial measures (self-efficacy, locus of control, social support, and purpose in life).Analyses of variance indicated that the intervention group had higher levels of resiliency as reported by knowing positive ways of coping with diabetes-related stress, knowing enough about themselves to make right diabetes choices, having fun in life, eating healthier, and increasing physical activity compared with the control group at 3 months (P < .05). Glycosylated hemoglobin and waist measurement improved but not significantly.Interventions to foster resilience among people with diabetes have the potential to make an important contribution to increasing positive life outcomes. Diabetes educators using the resiliency approach in tandem with standard diabetes education programs can assist their patients to become more self-directed in their diabetes care.
O-6-methylguanine-deoxyribonucleic acid methyltransferase methylation enhances response to temozolomide treatment in esophageal cancer

Background: World-wide, esophageal cancer is a growing epidemic and patients frequently present with advanced disease that is surgically inoperable. Hence, chemotherapy is the predominate treatment. Cytotoxic platinum compounds are mostly used, but their efficacy is only moderate. Newer alkylating agents have shown promise in other tumor types, but little is known about their utility in esophageal cancer. Methods: We utilized archived human esophageal cancer samples and esophageal cancer cell lines to evaluate O-6-methylguanine-deoxyribonucleic acid methyltransferase (MGMT) hypermethylation status and determined sensitivity to the alkylating drug temozolomide (TMZ). Immunoblot analysis was performed to determine MGMT protein expression in cell lines. To assess and confirm the effect of TMZ treatment in a methylated esophageal cancer cell line in vivo , a mouse flank xenograft tumor model was utilized. Results: Nearly 71% (12/17) of adenocarcinoma and 38% (3/8) of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) patient samples were MGMT hypermethylated. Out of four adenocarcinoma and nine SCC cell lines tested, one of each histology was hypermethylated. Immunoblot analyses confirmed that hypermethylated cell lines did not express the MGMT protein. In vitro cell viability assays showed the methylated Kyse-140 and FLO cells to be sensitive to TMZ at an IC 50 of 52-420 μM, whereas unmethylated cells Kyse-410 and SKGT-4 did not respond. In an in vivo xenograft tumor model with Kyse-140 cells, which are MGMT hypermethylated, TMZ treatment abrogated tumor growth by more than 60%. Conclusion: MGMT methylation may be an important biomarker in subsets of esophageal cancers and targeting by TMZ may be utilized to successfully treat these patients.
Computational Modeling and Real-Time Control of Patient-Specific Laser Treatment of Cancer

An adaptive feedback control system is presented which employs a computational model of bioheat transfer in living tissue to guide, in real-time, laser treatments of prostate cancer monitored by magnetic resonance thermal imaging. The system is built on what can be referred to as cyberinfra- structure—a complex structure of high-speed network, large-scale parallel computing devices, laser optics, imaging, visualizations, inverse-analysis algorithms, mesh generation, and control systems that guide laser therapy to optimally control the ablation of cancerous tissue. The computational system has been successfully tested on in vivo, canine prostate. Over the course of an 18 min laser-induced thermal therapy performed at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) in Houston, Texas, the computational models were calibrated to intra-operative real-time thermal imaging treatment data and the calibrated models controlled the bioheat transfer to within 5 � C of the predetermined treatment plan. The computational arena is in Austin, Texas and managed at the Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences (ICES). The system is designed to control the bioheat transfer remotely while simultaneously providing real-time remote visualization of the on-going treatment. Post-operative histology of the canine prostate reveal that the damage region was within the targeted 1.2 cm diameter treatment objective.
Byron and the Greek Sublime

Le destin aura voulu que le premier paysage sublime grec qu’a vu Byron depuis la terre ferme soit egalement le dernier sur lequel ont repose ses yeux avant sa mort : les paysages terrestres et maritimes de la ville de Messolonghi, un melange de montagnes rocailleuses et des plateaux marecageux surmontes d’un ciel vaste aux lumieres changeantes reflete dans les eaux calmes d’un lagon et les eaux plus troubles du golfe de Patras. Malgre d’importants changements apportes a la ville elle-meme au cours du dernier siecle, le paysage terrestre et les lagunes de Messolonghi restent a peu pres inchanges. Suivant une breve presentation sur l’histoire et la geographie de la region, nous regarderons un court-metrage sur le sublime paysage d’Etolie-Akarnanie qui entourait Messolonghi a l’epoque de Byron et qui, en grande partie intacte, l’entoure encore.
Use of SPECT/CT with 99mTc-MDP Bone Scintigraphy to Diagnose Sacral Insufficiency Fracture

Bone SPECT/CT offers additional information on pelvic insufficiency fractures, especially when there is incomplete formation of the H-sign on planar bone scanning.
VillageCell: cost effective cellular connectivity in rural areas

Mobile telephony brings clear economic and social benefits to its users. As handsets have become more affordable, ownership has reached staggering numbers, even in the most remote areas of the world. However, network coverage is often lacking in low population densities and low income rural areas of the developing world, where big telecoms often defer from deploying expensive infrastructure. To solve this coverage gap, we propose VillageCell, a low-cost alternative to high-end cell phone networks. VillageCell relies on software defined radios and open-source solutions to provide free local and cheap long-distance communication for remote regions. Our architecture is simple and easy to deploy, yet robust and requires no modification to GSM handsets. Through measuring the call quality metrics and the system capacity under a realistic rural-area network load, we show that VillageCell is indeed an attractive solution for rural area voice connectivity.
Conservation Partnerships in the Commons? Sharing data and information, experience and knowledge, as the essence of partnerships

Tom Moritz began his professional career in 1975 at the National Natural Resources Library of the U.S. Department of the Interior in Washington, DC. He is a member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission and currently serves on the National Visiting Committee for the core integration system, U.S. National Science Digital Library and is a member of the National Science Committee for ITIS (the Integrated Taxonomic Information System). He has actively participated in BCIS (the Biodiversity Conservation Information System), an international consortium of international and non-governmental organizations focused on the management and dissemination of biodiversity information. He is currently Boeschenstein Director of Library Services at the American Museum of Natural History.
Differential precondition checking: a language-independent, reusable analysis for refactoring engines

One of the most difficult parts of building automated refactorings is ensuring that they preserve behavior. This paper proposes a new technique to check for behavior preservation; we call this technique differential precondition checking. It is simple yet expressive enough to implement the most common refactorings, and the core algorithm runs in linear time. However, the main advantage is that a differential precondition checker can be placed in a library and reused in refactoring tools for many different languages; the core algorithm can be implemented in a way that is completely language independent. We have implemented a differential precondition checker and used it in refactoring tools for Fortran (Photran), PHP, and BC.
Audit Committees and Quarterly Earnings Management

Regulators have frequently expressed concerns about corporate earnings management. Audit committees are expected to monitor managers’ financial reporting, including attempts to manipulate earnings numbers. The extant literature has focused on managers’ incentives to manipulate annual earnings numbers. However, managers also have incentives to manage quarterly earnings, due to, for example, pressures to meet quarterly analyst forecasts. We test the association between audit committee characteristics and measures of quarterly earnings management. Using a sample of 896 firm-year observations for the years 1996–2000, we report three findings. First, quarterly earnings management is lower for firms whose audit committee directors have greater governance expertise. Second, the extent of stock ownership by audit committee directors is positively associated with quarterly earnings management. Third, the average tenure of audit committee directors is negatively associated with quarterly earnings management.
An airborne CryoSat prototype: the D2P radar altimeter

Through airborne flight tests over the ocean and the ice of southern Greenland, we have successfully demonstrated the technical viability and waveform characteristics of an innovative radar altimeter concept (D2P), the first of its kind. The D2P takes advantage of range-curvature-corrected, multi-look Doppler processing along-track, and interferometric angle measurement across-track. The radar's performance met or exceeded expectations. The D2P radar serves as an airborne prototype of CryoSat.
Summary Street®: Computer Support for Comprehension and Writing:

Having students express their understanding of difficult, new material in their own words is an effective method to deepen their comprehension and learning. Summary Street ® is a computer tutor that offers a supportive context for students to practice this activity by means of summary writing, guiding them through successive cycles of revising with feedback on the content of their writing. Automatic evaluation of the content of student summaries is enabled by Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA). This article describes an experimental study of the comprehension and writing tutor, in which 8th-grade students practiced summary writing over a 4-week period, either with or without the guidance of the tutor. Students using Summary Street ® scored significantly higher on an independent comprehension test than the control group for test items that tapped gist level comprehension. Their summaries were also judged to be significantly superior in blind scoring on several measures of writing quality. Students of low-to-moderate achievement levels benefitted most from the tool.
Developing error-free software

The authors describe experience gained in designing reconfiguration-error-free software at IBM's Federal Systems Division in Houston. From 1982-5, this division reduced software product defects to 0.11 errors per thousand lines of source code. Four measurements defining software quality are described. Also discussed is NASA's development of a standardized software support environment, and the US Department of Defense Software Technology for Adaptive Reliable Systems (STARS) program. These environments provide for early control, standardization, and integration of requirements, leading to more easily maintained software and reduction of critical skill level for its maintenance. >
Performance of the modified Bark spectral distortion as an objective speech quality measure

The modified Bark spectral distortion (MBSD), used for an objective speech quality measure, was presented previously (see IEEE Speech Coding Workshop, p.55-6, 1997). The MBSD measure takes into account the noise masking threshold in order to use only audible distortions in the calculation of the distortion measure. Preliminary simulation results have shown improvement of the MBSD over the conventional BSD. In this paper, performance of the MBSD is reported in terms of frame sizes, speech classes, and spectral regions. The performance of the MBSD is not very sensitive to the frame size. The performance of the MBSD for voiced speech is almost the same as for non-silent speech. The high frequency region appears to play an important role in human perception of speech quality.
Clinical and microbiological determinants of ailing dental implants.

Background: The failure of the host tissue to establish or maintain osseointegration around dental implants is due to either occlusal or parafunctional forces, premature loading, ill-directed stress, or microbial infection. The long-term failure rate of dental implants is generally 5–10%. Although a variety of etiologies of early peri-implant bone loss (from implant placement to 1-year post-loading) have been proposed, factors associated with late implant failures are less well understood but are probably related to both the peri-implant microbial environment and host factors. Discriminating between causes of implant failure is of importance for instituting a successful implant therapy. Purpose: The objective of this cross-sectional split-mouth study was to identify clinical, radiographic, and bacterial characteristics of peri-implant disease sites. Materials and Methods: Fifteen patients with bilateral implants (Branemark®, Nobel Biocare AB, Goteborg, Sweden; and 3i™ implant systems, Implant Innovations Inc., Palm Beach Gardens, FL, USA) participated in the study. Sites with peri-implantitis (radiographic bone loss beyond the third implant thread) and peri-implant healthy tissues (radiographic bone level above the first implant thread) were identified in periapical radiographs using a long-cone paralleling projection technique. Microbiological identification was carried out using established anaerobic culture techniques. A descriptive statistics based on means and standard deviations was reported. Results: Peri-implant bone loss was associated with the absence of radiographic crestal lamina dura, peri-implant pocket depth, pain on chewing, and the submucosal presence of the putative periodontopathogens Tannerella forsythia, Campylobacter species, and Peptostreptococcus micros. Pain was associated with P. micros, Fusobacterium species, and Eubacterium species. Discussion and Conclusion: The absence of radiographic crestal lamina dura and the presence of suspected major periodontal pathogens seem to be associated to peri-implantitis.
Gene Therapy for PRPH2-Associated Ocular Disease: Challenges and Prospects

The peripherin-2 (PRPH2) gene encodes a photoreceptor-specific tetraspanin protein called peripherin-2/retinal degeneration slow (RDS), which is critical for the formation and maintenance of rod and cone outer segments. Over 90 different disease-causing mutations in PRPH2 have been identified, which cause a variety of forms of retinitis pigmentosa and macular degeneration. Given the disease burden associated with PRPH2 mutations, the gene has long been a focus for preclinical gene therapy studies. Adeno-associated viruses and compacted DNA nanoparticles carrying PRPH2 have been successfully used to mediate improvement in the rds(-/-) and rds(+/-) mouse models. However, complexities in the pathogenic mechanism for PRPH2-associated macular disease coupled with the need for a precise dose of peripherin-2 to combat a severe haploinsufficiency phenotype have delayed the development of clinically viable genetic treatments. Here we discuss the progress and prospects for PRPH2-associated gene therapy.
Long-lived cancer-resistant rodents as new model species for cancer research

Most rodents are small and short-lived, but several lineages have independently evolved long lifespans without a concomitant increase in body-mass. Most notable are the two subterranean species naked mole rat (NMR) and blind mole rat (BMR) which have maximum lifespans of 32 and 21 years, respectively. The longevity of these species has sparked interest in the tumor suppression strategies that may have also evolved, because for many rodent species (including mice, rats, guinea pigs, gerbils, and hamsters) tumors are a major source of late-life mortality. Here, we review the recent literature on anti-cancer mechanisms in long-lived rodents. Both NMR and BMR seem to have developed tumor defenses that rely on extra-cellular signals. However, while the NMR relies on a form of contact inhibition to suppress growth, the BMR evolved a mechanism mediated by the release of interferon, and rapid necrotic cell death. Although both organisms ultimately rely on canonical downstream tumor suppressors (pRB and p53) the studies reveal species can evolve different strategies to achieve tumor-resistance. Importantly, studies of these cancer-resistant rodents may benefit human health if such mechanisms can be activated in human cells.
Sensitivity and adaptability of methanogens to perchlorates: Implications for life on Mars

Abstract In 2008, the Mars Phoenix Lander discovered perchlorate at its landing site, and in 2012, the Curiosity rover confirmed the presence of perchlorate on Mars. The research reported here was designed to determine if certain methanogens could grow in the presence of three different perchlorate salt solutions. The methanogens tested were Methanothermobacter wolfeii, Methanosarcina barkeri, Methanobacterium formicicum and Methanococcus maripaludis. Media were prepared containing 0%, 0.5%, 1.0%, 2%, 5% and 10% wt/vol magnesium perchlorate, sodium perchlorate, or calcium perchlorate. Organisms were inoculated into their respective media followed by incubation at each organism׳s growth temperature. Methane production, commonly used to measure methanogen growth, was measured by gas chromatography of headspace gas samples. Methane concentrations varied with species and perchlorate salt tested. However, all four methanogens produced substantial levels of methane in the presence of up to 1.0% perchlorate, but not higher. The standard procedure for growing methanogens typically includes sodium sulfide, a reducing agent, to reduce residual molecular oxygen. However, the sodium sulfide may have been reducing the perchlorate, thus allowing for growth of the methanogens. To investigate this possibility, experiments were conducted where stainless steel nails were used instead of sodium sulfide as the reducing agent. Prior to the addition of perchlorate and inoculation, the nails were removed from the liquid medium. Just as in the prior experiments, the methanogens produced methane at comparable levels to those seen with sodium sulfide as the reductant, indicating that sodium sulfide did not reduce the perchlorate to any significant extent. Additionally, cells metabolizing in 1% perchlorate were transferred to 2%, cells metabolizing in 2% were transferred to 5%, and finally cells metabolizing in 5% were transferred to 10%. All four species produced methane at 2% and 5%, but not 10% indicating some success in adapting cells to concentrations higher than 1%. The results reported here indicate that the presence of perchlorate on Mars does not rule out the possible existence of methanogens.
Control of vertebrate core planar cell polarity protein localization and dynamics by Prickle 2.

Planar cell polarity (PCP) is a ubiquitous property of animal tissues and is essential for morphogenesis and homeostasis. In most cases, this fundamental property is governed by a deeply conserved set of ‘core PCP’ proteins, which includes the transmembrane proteins Van Gogh-like (Vangl) and Frizzled (Fzd), as well as the cytoplasmic effectors Prickle (Pk) and Dishevelled (Dvl). Asymmetric localization of these proteins is thought to be central to their function, and understanding the dynamics of these proteins is an important challenge in developmental biology. Among the processes that are organized by the core PCP proteins is the directional beating of cilia, such as those in the vertebrate node, airway and brain. Here, we exploit the live imaging capabilities of Xenopus to chart the progressive asymmetric localization of fluorescent reporters of Dvl1, Pk2 and Vangl1 in a planar polarized ciliated epithelium. Using this system, we also characterize the influence of Pk2 on the asymmetric dynamics of Vangl1 at the cell cortex, and we define regions of Pk2 that control its own localization and those impacting Vangl1. Finally, our data reveal a striking uncoupling of Vangl1 and Dvl1 asymmetry. This study advances our understanding of conserved PCP protein functions and also establishes a rapid, tractable platform to facilitate future in vivo studies of vertebrate PCP protein dynamics.
The features of mucosa-associated microbiota in primary sclerosing cholangitis.

Summary Background Little is known about the role of the microbiome in primary sclerosing cholangitis. Aim To explore the mucosa-associated microbiota in primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) patients across different locations in the gut, and to compare it with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)-only patients and healthy controls. Methods Biopsies from the terminal ileum, right colon, and left colon were collected from patients and healthy controls undergoing colonoscopy. Microbiota profiling using bacterial 16S rRNA sequencing was performed on all biopsies. Results Forty-four patients were recruited: 20 with PSC (19 with PSC-IBD and one with PSC-only), 15 with IBD-only and nine healthy controls. The overall microbiome profile was similar throughout different locations in the gut. No differences in the global microbiome profile were found. However, we observed significant PSC-associated enrichment in Barnesiellaceae at the family level, and in Blautia and an unidentified Barnesiellaceae at the genus level. At the operational taxa unit level, most shifts in PSC were observed in Clostridiales and Bacteroidales orders, with approximately 86% of shifts occurring within the former order. Conclusions The overall microbiota profile was similar across multiple locations in the gut from the same individual regardless of disease status. In this study, the mucosa associated-microbiota of patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis was characterised by enrichment of Blautia and Barnesiellaceae and by major shifts in operational taxa units within Clostridiales order.
Reframing the Debate about the Relationship between Learning and Development: An Effort to Resolve Dilemmas and Reestablish Dialogue in a Fractured Field.

The field of early childhood education (ECE) is currently unable to reach consensus on the extent to which ECE should be based on child development. One manifestation of this situation is the dilemma that early educators purportedly face between teaching the whole child and the curriculum, between developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) and standards. The source of this dilemma is attributed to a one-dimensional understanding of children’s development in which development is privileged over learning. Addressing this dilemma begins by discussing a theoretical difference between Piaget and Vygotsky: for Piaget, development drives learning; for Vygotsky, learning drives development. This seemingly dichotomous difference is reframed, however, by the insight that Piaget and Vygotsky focused on different types of development: Piaget studied universals (e.g., object permanence); Vygotsky studied nonuniversals (e.g., cultural tools often learned in schools). Their dispute stems, therefore, from this factor: development drives learning in nonuniversal developmental sequences, but learning drives development in universal sequences. Teachers who adopt a multi-dimensional developmental framework—a framework that makes visible how the relationship between learning and development may vary within universal versus nonuniversal developmental sequences—may be better prepared to (1) make informed decisions about the extent to which they should guide children’s activities and (2) avoid the DAP versus standards dilemma. The most recent iteration of DAP moved toward adopting a multi-dimensional developmental framework when it encouraged teachers to base instructional judgments on the extent to which children’s emerging capacities will likely require greater versus lesser degrees of adult guidance, structure, and support.
Addressing Critical Industrial Control System Cyber Security Concerns via High Fidelity Simulation

This paper outlines a set of 10 cyber security concerns associated with Industrial Control Systems (ICS). The concerns address software and hardware development, implementation, and maintenance practices, supply chain assurance, the need for cyber forensics in ICS, a lack of awareness and training, and finally, a need for test beds which can be used to address the first 9 cited concerns. The concerns documented in this paper were developed based on the authors' combined experience conducting research in this field for the US Department of Homeland Security, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Defense. The second half of this paper documents a virtual test bed platform which is offered as a tool to address the concerns listed in the first half of the paper. The paper discusses various types of test beds proposed in literature for ICS research, provides an overview of the virtual test bed platform developed by the authors, and lists future works required to extend the existing test beds to serve as a development platform.
New Antigens in Lactose

SummaryFour unidentified antigens, which are distinct from known milk proteins, are contained in commercial, reagent-grade α-lactose and β-lactose. These unidentified antigens, rather than the condensation product of lactose with the ∊-amino group of lysine of β-lactoglobulin, may cause, or partially cause, the reported increase in allergenicity of crystallized β-lactoglobulin on heating with lactose. The unidentified antigens present in lactose have possible, hitherto unrecognized, allergenic significance.
Enhanced gene expression in mouse lung by prolonging the retention time of intravenously injected plasmid DNA

The effect of retention time of plasmid DNA in mouse lung on the level of transgene expression after intravenous administration was examined. Using CMV driven expression system with luciferase gene as a reporter and preinjection of free cationic liposomes into the animal as means of manipulating the retention time of plasmid DNA, we demonstrated that naked plasmid DNA is effective in transfecting cells in the lung by intravenous administration. An increase in DNA retention time in the lung results in a higher level of gene expression. Liposomes composed of cationic lipids with alkyl chains exhibited better activity than cholesterol-based cationic liposomes to retain the plasmid DNA in the lung. The level and patterns of gene expression obtained appeared similar to those seen in animals transfected by DNA-liposome complexes. These results suggest that prolonging the exposure time of DNA to the target cells in vivo may be an important strategy in achieving a high level of gene expression. Our data also introduce a possibility that the function of cationic liposomes in lipoplex-mediated transfection in vivo is to extend the interaction time of DNA with the cells.
Steady-state kinetics and spectroscopic characterization of enzyme-tRNA interactions for the non-heme diiron tRNA-monooxygenase, MiaE.

MiaE [2-methylthio-N(6)-isopentenyl-adenosine(37)-tRNA monooxygenase] isolated from Salmonella typhimurium is a unique non-heme diiron enzyme that catalyzes the O2-dependent post-transcriptional allylic hydroxylation of a hypermodified nucleotide (ms(2)i(6)A37) at position 37 of selected tRNA molecules to produce 2-methylthio-N(6)-(4-hydroxyisopentenyl)-adenosine(37). In this work, isopentenylated tRNA substrates for MiaE were produced from small RNA oligomers corresponding to the anticodon stem loop (ACSL) region of tRNA(Trp) using recombinant MiaA and dimethylallyl pyrophosphate. Steady-state rates for MiaE-catalyzed substrate hydroxylation were determined using recombinant ferredoxin (Fd) and ferredoxin reductase (FdR) to provide a catalytic electron transport chain (ETC) using NADPH as the sole electron source. As with previously reported peroxide-shunt assays, steady-state product formation retains nearly stoichiometric (>98%) E stereoselectivity. MiaE-catalyzed i(6)A-ACSL(Trp) hydroxylation follows Michaelis-Menten saturation kinetics with kcat, KM, and V/K determined to be 0.10 ± 0.01 s(-1), 9.1 ± 1.5 μM, and ∼11000 M(-1) s(-1), respectively. While vastly slower, MiaE-catalyzed hydroxylation of free i(6)A nucleoside could also be observed using the (Fd/FdR)-ETC assay. By comparison to the V/K determined for i(6)A-ACSL substrates, an ∼6000-fold increase in enzymatic efficiency is imparted by ACSL(Trp)-MiaE interactions. The impact of substrate tRNA-MiaE interactions on protein secondary structure and active site electronic configuration was investigated using circular dichroism, dual-mode X-band electron paramagnetic resonance, and Mossbauer spectroscopies. These studies demonstrate that binding of tRNA to MiaE induces a protein conformational change that influences the electronic structure of the diiron site analogous to what has been observed for various bacterial multicomponent diiron monooxygenases upon titration with their corresponding effector proteins. These observations suggest that substrate-enzyme interactions may play a pivotal role in modulating the reactivity of the MiaE diiron active site. Moreover, the simplified monomeric (α) protein configuration exhibited by MiaE provide an unparalleled opportunity to study the impact of protein-effector interactions on non-heme diiron site geometry and reactivity.
Factors Influencing Pyrethroid Toxicity in Pink Bollworm (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae): Implications for Resistance Management

Toxicities of fenvalerate and permethrin were measured by three bioassay methods (topical application, vial-discriminating dose, and sticky-trap attracticide) at different temperatures and exposure times on a laboratory strain of adult male pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders). Variations in toxicity and slopes of dose response regressions for each bioassay were dependent on the temperature at which the bioassay was performed and the total time of exposure to a concentration. More reliable regression lines were obtained for fenvalerate than for permethrin using similar protocols. Control mortality was lowest for the vial-discriminating dose of the three bioassays. Slope shifts for the vial bioassay indicated that toxicity of permethrin, but not fenvalerate, was independent of temperature. Shifts in slope values of sticky-trap and topical bioassays indicated temperature dependence for both pyrethroids. Based on a discriminating dose, the vial bioassay was a good predictor of possible resistance. Data from the attracticide bioassay fit the probit model well and gave a precise estimate of a discriminating dose. Lower temperatures and longer exposure times gave less heterogeneous probit lines for all methods. The hypothesis of equality was rejected for permethrin and fenvalerate in all three bioassays except for fenvalerate in the vial bioassay at low temperatures and long exposure times. Different LCs from different bioassays indicate that the monitoring bioassay used in resistance management must be chosen carefully.
Broad-sense heritability estimates of turfgrass performance characteristics in native prairie Junegrass Germplasm

Prairie junegrass [Koeleria macrantha (Ledeb.) Shultes] is a perennial, short-grass prairie species distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere that is being evaluated for use as a low-input turf. In June 2007, 300 genotypes representing collection locations derived from Colorado, Nebraska, and Minnesota germplasm were grown and evaluated 3 years for turfgrass performance characteristics in a randomized complete block design with five clonal replications at two locations (St. Paul, MN, and Becker, MN). After establishment, plots received no supplemental irrigation or fertility and were mowed weekly to a height of 6.4 cm. Broad-sense heritability estimates were calculated on a clonal mean (Hc) and single-plant (Hsp) basis for turf quality (He = 0.62, Hsp = 0.13), crown density (Hc = 0.55, Hsp = 0.09), mowing quality (Hc = 0.59, Hsp = 0.09), and genetic color (Hc = 0.45, Hsp = 0.06). The heritability estimates indicate that selection for these traits should result in significant gains in germplasm improvement. Differences were observed in the means and variances among clones, collection locations, and/or collection regions for many of the traits evaluated including rust severity (Puccinia spp.), spring green-up, plant height, lateral spread, vertical regrowth, and flowering traits. The positive correlations among some of these traits and those with moderate heritability estimates should allow for multi-trait selection in cultivar development.
Neutrophils enhance removal of ozone-injured alveolar epithelial cells in vitro

After acute exposure to oxidant gases in vivo, migration and accumulation of inflammatory cells in pulmonary epithelium coincides with epithelial cell necrosis. The present study was designed to test quantitatively the hypothesis that quiescent neutrophils enhance the removal of oxidant-injured pulmonary epithelial cells after exposure to ozone in vitro. Primary isolated rat alveolar type II cells were cultured as monolayers, using serum-free medium. After exposure to 0.1-0.5 ppm ozone for 0.5 h, apical sides of monolayers were administered either fresh nutrient medium only or medium containing quiescent human neutrophils. Monolayer bioelectric properties and cellular uptake of vital dye were recorded from 5 to 48 h after ozone exposure. Ozone dose-dependent increases in monolayer permeability were associated with proportionally higher numbers of injured epithelial cells. However, the direction and magnitude of neutrophil effects on monolayer permeability after ozone exposure were dependent on ozone concentration. Furthermore, neutrophil-treated monolayers exposed to 0.1 ppm ozone had significantly fewer attached cells positive for uptake of vital dye relative to monolayers exposed to the low level of ozone only; this effect was ablated with increasing ozone concentration. These data suggest that at high levels of ozone neutrophils may exacerbate injury to oxidant-impaired epithelial cells, whereas the presence of neutrophils after exposure to ambient concentrations of ozone may expedite the restoration of epithelial barrier function. We conclude that, by enhancing the removal of injured cells, neutrophils may facilitate the repair of centriacinar epithelium after ozone exposure in vivo.
Correlation of Metabolic Rate Changes and Membrane Transitions Determined by Microcalorimetric Methods

Heat evolution from cells is interpretable as a measurement of metabolic rate1. Recent advancements in microcalorimeter design allow rapid nondestructive measurements of heat produced by as little as 4 mg dry wt plant tissues under steady state isothermal conditions. This provides a novel means for sensitive and precise evaluations of metabolic responses to varied environmental factors, chemical treatments and genetic alterations2.
A Geometric Approach to Gibbs Energy Landscapes and Optimal DNA Codeword Design

Finding a large set of single DNA strands that do not crosshybridize to themselves or to their complements (so-called domains in the language of chemical reaction networks (CRNs)) is an important problem in DNA computing, self-assembly, DNA memories and phylogenetic analyses because of their error correction and prevention properties. In prior work, we have provided a theoretical framework to analyze this problem and showed that Codeword Design is NP-complete using any single reasonable metric that approximates the Gibbs energy, thus practically excluding the possibility of finding any procedure to find maximal sets exactly and efficiently. In this framework, codeword design is reduced to finding large sets of strands maximally separated in DNA spaces and, therefore, the size of such sets depends on the geometry of these spaces. Here, we introduce a new general technique to embed them in Euclidean spaces in such a way that oligos with high/low hybridization affinity are mapped to neighboring/remote points in a geometric lattice, respectively. This embedding materializes long-held mataphors about codeword design in terms of sphere packing and leads to designs that are in some cases known to be provable nearly optimal for some oligo sizes. It also leads to upper and lower bounds on estimates of the size of optimal codes of size up to 32 −mers, as well as to infinite families of DNA strand lengths, based on estimates of the kissing (or contact) number for sphere packings in Euclidean spaces. Conversely, we show how solutions to DNA codeword design obtained by experimental or other means can also provide solutions to difficult spherical packing geometric problems via this embedding. Finally, the reduction suggests an analytical tool to arrange the dynamics of strand displacement cascades in CRNs to effect the transformation through bounded Gibbs energy changes, and thus is potentially useful in compilers for wet tube implementation of biomolecular programs.