cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A simple and reliable method to screen isolates of Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae for the production of TEM- and SHV-derived extended-spectrum β-lactamases

Objective To evaluate which of 24 β-lactams used in susceptibility tests best discriminated between strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli that produce extended spectrum β-lactamases (ESBLs) from strains that produce older, more familiar, plasmid-mediated β-lactamases such as TEM-1 and SHV-1. Methods Susceptibility to the 24 β-lactam agents was determined by agar dilution and disk diffusion methodologies, using 27 strains of K. pneumoniae and E. coli that produced 22 different older plasmid-mediated β-lactamases and 28 strains that produced 17 different ESBLs. Results In general, strains that produced ESBLs were intermediate or resistant to cefpodoxime, whereas those that produced other β-lactamases were susceptible to this agent. The agar dilution test exhibited 96% sensitivity and 100% specificity in discriminating these two groups of organisms. The disk diffusion test exhibited 100% sensitivity and 96% specificity. All other β-lactam agents tested were inferior discriminators between the two groups of organisms. Conclusions Agar dilution and disk diffusion tests with cefpodoxime can be used to discriminate strains of K. pneumoniae and E. coli that produce ESBLs from those that produce older, plasmid-mediated β-lactamases.
Nativity, Not Acculturation, Predicts SNAP Usage Among Low-income Hispanics With Food Insecurity

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the largest federal nutrition assistance program. Undocumented noncitizens are ineligible to receive SNAP benefits, but their children under age 18 or other qualified noncitizen family members may be eligible. Due to the recent economic recession as well as anti-immigrant legislation and sentiment in Arizona, it is possible that eligible low-income Hispanics are not participating in programs like SNAP that would alleviate hunger and food security. A self-administered survey on nutrition assistance program participation, demographics, food security, and acculturation was completed by a convenience sample of 352 women aged 18–65 years in metro Phoenix, Arizona. Fifty-one percent of participants were food secure. Significant differences in degree of food insecurity by acculturation status existed with 8% of Hispanic dominant women having “very low food security” in contrast to 19% of English dominant women (P = .003). Fifty percent received SNAP benefit...
Motion estimation algorithms on fine grain array processors

Motion estimation plays a key role in video coding, (e.g., video telephone, MPEG, HDTV). Among the previous motion estimation algorithms, full-search block matching algorithms (BMA) are preferred because of their simplicity and lower control overhead when those algorithms are implemented in VLSI array processors. Previous full-search BMAs have considered one block matching at a time. There exist, however shared data in the search areas for adjacent template blocks. Therefore, if we process adjacent template blocks in parallel, we can reduce the data memory accesses for the shared data. In this paper we propose a new dataflow scheme for the efficient, systolic, full-search BMA on programmable array processors so that we can process as many adjacent template blocks as possible in unison in order to reduce the data memory accesses. We present an efficient implementation of the BMA on the Micro Grained Array Processor (MGAP) which is a fine-grained mesh-connected programmable VLSI array processor being developed at Penn State University. As a result, the BMA for the MPEG SIF video format (352/spl times/240 pixels) with a block size of 16/spl times/16 pixels, displacement range of 16 pixels, frame rate of 30 frames/sec can be computed at a real time processing rate on the MGAP.
BEYOND THE BIG FIVE: HOW NARCISSISM, PERFECTIONISM, AND DISPOSITIONAL AFFECT RELATE TO WORKAHOLISM

Researchers have suggested that it is important for the field to go beyond just looking at personality using the Big Five in relation to organizational behavior. Heeding this call, the present study investigated how narcissism, three dimensions of perfectionism (high standards, discrepancy, and order), and dispositional positive and negative affect relate to overall workaholism as well as three identified workaholism dimensions (impatience, compulsion to work, and polychronic control) above and beyond the Big Five personality factors. Hierarchical regression analyses indicate that the perfectionism dimensions of high standards and discrepancy, negative affect, and positive affect are significantly related to workaholism above and beyond the Big Five personality factors. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.
Dhurrin and p -Hydroxybenzaldehyde in Seedlings of Various Sorghum Species

Abstract Week-old shoots of 50 Sorghum entries representing 22 species, plus four Sorghum entries of undesignated species, were dried at 75° and the dried tissue extracted with water at room temperature. The resulting extracts were diluted in 0.1 M sodium hydroxide and spectra were scanned immediately to provide a measure of free p -hydroxybenzaldehyde. Scans were repeated after the basic solutions had stood for 3 hr at room temperature to permit hydrolysis of dhurrin ( S - p -hydroxymandelonitrile β- D -glucopyranoside). Without exception, the quantity of free p -hydroxybenzaldehyde was very small in relation to the quantity released by dhurrin hydrolysis.
East Asian Trade before/after 1590s Occupation of Korea: Modeling Imports and Exports in Global Context

The purpose of this essay is threefold. First, to highlight research of Seonmin KIM, whose 2006 Ph.D. dissertation elucidates complex relationships among Ming China, Choson Korea, Tokugawa Japan, and mountainous ginsengproducing “borderlands” between Korea and China; her story concludes with the remarkable rise of a borderlands power that overthrew Ming China, thereby establishing dominance that lasted into the 20 th century – the Qing Dynasty. A second purpose is to showcase application of a non-standard-model – the Hydraulic Metaphor – that elucidates economic components of Professor KIM’s history via visual and intuitive mechanisms designed to be understandable for non-specialists. Last, an outline of East Asian history is placed within context of centuries of monetary evolution that eventually yielded the late-16 th -century birth of globalization.
The storage of globin mRNA during the inhibition of protein synthesis by heme deprivation.

Abstract The inhibition of protein synthesis in reticulocytes and their lysates caused by heme-deprivation is reversible on restoration of an optimal heme concentration. Inhibition is accompanied by the disaggregation of polyribosomes and the accumulation of components of the translational mechanism. By determining the fate of labeled globin 9S mRNA added to an unfractionated reticulocyte lysate cell-free system, we find that normal cellular mRNA accumulates during inhibition in 20S and 48S complexes and in a complex which sediments just ahead of the 80S ribosome dimer OD260 peak (designated as ≥80S complex) 1 . The 20S and ≥ 80S complexes are the major pools of stored mRNA which is readily translated if optimal heme conditions are restored. In the 48S complex, however, the mRNA remains non-functional, and the complex is abortive, probably as a result of deacylation of the Met. tRNAf.
Social responses to abnormal infant monkeys.

Experimental modification of an individual's behavior can be used to evaluate the range of group social reactions to him. This principle is used in evaluating the degree to which macaque groups compensate for an infant's clumsiness, consequent on reduced visual acuity from an experimental cataract. Evidence is presented to support the following propositions: Defective infants are not killed by the group even in crowded conditions; compensatory care is given during the first year, primarily by the mother and to a certain extent by other animals in the group; isolation of the infant begins in the second year; social responses to the defective infant reflect normal social responses. Compensatory care of chronically defective individuals is a consequence of evolution of social behaviors adapted to nurture young individuals over a long period of dependence and to protect other group members during temporary periods of weakness.
Analytic authoritarianism and Nigeria

Despite two decades of democratisation and some recent liberalisation in North Africa, dictatorships linger around the world. New research on comparative authoritarianism questions personal rule and studies a range of dependent variables, such as why dictators sometimes provide public goods. This ‘analytic authoritarian’ literature emphasises collective governance and explores the institutional basis of policy control. Nigeria's military regimes between 1966 and 1998 provide examples of how military factions and subnational actors can impose transaction costs on authoritarian policy processes. These alternative centres of policy control limited the ability of dictators to unilaterally advance their policy preferences on questions relating to federalism and transition plans. The article concludes by linking this analysis to Nigeria's lingering legacies of authoritarianism and the institutional basis of its 1999 transition.
SU-FF-J-78: Implanted Marker Movements During Prostate IMRT

Purpose: To quantify positional variations of implanted markers for prostate localization using the ExacTrac system. Method and Materials: Eleven patients were identified as having undergone IMRT boost for prostate cancer. The ExacTrac system was used to obtain implanted marker positions in the patient by means of two stereoscopic X‐ray tubes and DRRs from CT simulation. Marker positions were recorded by the ExacTrac software and subsequently read using the PTDreader software. Implanted marker positions were analyzed for variations in individual maker coordinate displacement, inter‐seed distances and area transcribed by the three markers. Comparisons of patient data was done for the initial boost phase (1980 cGy/11 fractions) and final boost phase (1080 cGy/6 fractions). Results: Implanted markers had maximum deviations of 3.3 mm (LAT) 6.4 mm (AP) and 3.4 mm (SI). In cases where the maximum deviation was observed for one coordinate the other coordinates were also approaching their maximums. No correlation between individual marker positions was observed. Inter‐seed distances were found to vary by +/− 2 mm over the treatment period. The area of a triangle contained by the three markers was shown to vary daily over the treatment period. In the 6 patients who were observed over both boost phases a trend was observed that indicated a progressive decrease in the area for the 4 patients not on hormone therapy and stable area size for the two on hormone therapy. Of the 11 patients followed over the final boost phase 8 were found to demonstrate a similar decrease but no correlation with hormone status was observed. Conclusions: Implanted markers in the prostate demonstrate daily variations in their positions. The observed variations exceeded the precision of the ExacTrac system. Further work is needed to address the movement of implanted markers in the prostate in positioning algorithms and correlation with prostate volume.
Use of High Dose Rate Electron Beams to Study Cellular Repair Mechanisms

Repair of sublethal damage produced by ionizing radiation is an important factor influencing cellular survival. This is particularly so when low dose rates, as encountered in environmental exposures, are involved. Since repair processes may have characteristic times ranging from nanoseconds to hours, conventional radiation sources are not capable of giving the range of dose rates needed for a systematic investigation. A 2 MV electrostatic accelerator has been modified to generate an electron beam to satisfy this requirement. This accelerator and associated electronic controls have been used to demonstrate that the repair process responsible for the altered survival observed after split-dose irradiations is the same as that responsible for the shoulder of the survival curve for Chlamydomonas reinhardi. Furthermore, it has made possible the identification and measurement of the rates of two repair processes which function concurrently in these cells.
Inflammatory Diseases of the Pancreas

(1982). Inflammatory Diseases of the Pancreas. CRC Critical Reviews in Clinical Laboratory Sciences: Vol. 17, No. 3, pp. 201-228.
Microbial alteration of Bahamian deep‐sea carbonates

An analysis of microborings within sediment and hardground samples collected from the Northwest Providence Channel and the western margin of the Little Bahama Bank was conducted to characterize the endolithic assemblage present, to examine the role of microboring organisms in the alteration of deep-sea carbonates, and to evaluate the palaeoecologic potential of the aphotic microboring assemblage found. Samples examined in this study were collected at depths ranging from 210 to 1450 m. The microboring assemblage was found to contain: (a) filamentous fungal borings of five distinct types, (b) a 1.0 × 2.5 μm vermicular form of fungal or bacterial origin, (c) an 8-12 μm tubular, branching form of probably fungal origin, (d) a subapically branched form considered to be fungal, (e) a spinate form of uncertain affinity and (f) sponge borings. Three of these forms are known only from the deep-marine environment; the remainder are also known from shallow-marine sediments found well within the photic zone. Both carbonate sediments and lithified hardgrounds are highly altered through the activity of endolithic organisms. Infestation of individual skeletal fragments by microborers may be so extensive as to produce heavily bored envelopes resembling those previously reported to occur only under shallow-marine conditions. Although the geological ranges of these microborings remain to be established, the presence of such an aphotic assemblage, coupled with the absence of photosynthetic algal borings, could provide a valuable tool in palaeoecological studies. Other potential applications include the determination of turbidite sediment sources and the establishment of relative water depths for the formation of hardground surfaces.
The Relation between Solar Activity and Atmospheric Electricity

DR. CHREE in his reply (NATURE, September 8, p. 361) to my communication on solar activity and atmospheric electricity (NATURE, August 11, p. 203) first makes reference to the status of the question as to the effect of sun-spot activity on the secular change of the earth's magnetism. Those who have investigated this question have reached apparently contrary conclusions according to the phenomenon examined, the data used, and the method employed by the individual investigator. It would require too much space to enter into detail as to the reasons for the discordant results. Let it suffice here to state that Dr. Chree and I have investigated different phenomena. Thus Dr. Chree, on the basis of the Kew data alone, concluded, contrary to Leyst, that the secular change of the magnetic declination did not vary markedly, if at all, with sun-spottedness.
Peptidyl dipeptidase in rabbit brain microvessels.

Abstract The activity of peptidyl dipeptidase (peptidyldipeptide hydrolase, EC 3.4.15.1), also known as angiotensin-converting enzyme, was studied in small blood vessel preparations isolated from rabbit brain. The vascular preparation contained arterioles and capillaries and was essentially free of extravascular material. Enzymatic activity was demonstrated in microvessel homogenates using both hippuryl-histidyl-leucine and tritium-labeled angiotensin I as substrates. Activity in the microvessels was dependent on the presence of chloride ion and was sensitive to inhibition by converting enzyme inhibitors previously shown to be effective both in vivo and in vitro. Specific activity in the microvessels was approximately 20 times that in homogenates of brain, and was almost 60% of that found in rat lung homogenates. The data were consistent with an endothelial localication for peptidyl dipeptidase in the cerebral vasculature and supports the proposal that this enzyme has a physiological role in extrapulmonary vasuclar beds.
Translation and the internationalization of culture

Statistiques globales de traduction entre langues differentes selon des donnees entre 1934 et 1970. Aspect commercial et aspect culturel. Mecanismes conduisant a la traduction d'une langue dans une autre
Phylogenetic analyses of 18s rdna sequences reveal a new coccoid lineage of the prasinophyceae (Chlorophyta)

Phylogenetic analyses of 18S rDNA sequences from 25 prasinophytes, including 10 coccoid isolates, reveals that coccoid organisms are found in at least three prasinophyte lineages. The coccoid Ostreococcus tauri is included in the Mamiellales lineage and P ycnococcus provasolii is allied with the flagellate P seudoscourfieldia marina. A previously undescribed prasinophyte lineage is comprised of the coccoid Prasinococcus cf. capsulatus (CCMP 1407) and other isolates tentatively identified as Prasinococcus sp. (CCMP 1202, CCMP 1614, and CCMP 1194), as well as three unnamed coccoids (CCMP 1193, CCMP 1413, and CCMP 1220). No flagellate organisms are known from this lineage. Organisms of this new lineage share some characteristics of both the Pycnococcaceae and the Mamiellales, although relationships among these separate lineages were not supported by bootstrap analyses. An additional unnamed coccoid isolate (CCMP 1205) is separate from all major prasinophyte lineages. The analyses did not resolve the relationships among the major prasinophyte lineages, although they support previous conclusions that the Prasinophyceae are not monophyletic.
Psychophysical Elements of Place and Modality Specificity in the Thalamic Somatic Sensory Nucleus (Ventral Caudal, Vc) of Awake Humans

Discrete anatomic structures in the monkey somatic sensory thalamus may segregate input arising from different peripheral receptors and from different parts of the body. It has been proposed that t...
Electron microscopy can be used to measure DNA supertwisting

We have examined the use of electron microscopy (EM) to measure the degree of supertwisting of covalently closed circular fd and pBR322 DNAs. Band counting agarose gel electrophoresis was used to quantitate the number of twists in these DNAs. DNA species having moderate-to-low superhelical densities were prepared by treatment of the DNA with Drosophila topoisomerase 1 in the presence of ethidium bromide (EtBr) followed by isolation of discrete DNA topoisomers from preparative gels. These DNAs were then examined by EM using a direct mounting method employing a buffer containing spermidine. The crossovers in individual DNA molecules were counted and compared to the supertwist values obtained from gel studies. The results show that EM can provide a reliable estimate of the number of supertwists in DNAs having low-to-moderate superhelical densities.
The Special Issue in Honor of Aman Ullah: An Overview

For about four decades, Aman Ullah has been a leading scholar in the filed of econometrics. Several of his professional colleagues, friends, and students decided to have a major special issue of a ...
A highly ordered universe

A highly ordered universe is described in terms of neutrino and electrino alone as basic particles, and length and time alone as dimensional units. New theories are obtained of particles, nuclides, atomic spectra, general relativity, and gravitation.
Expanding the Role of Long-Term Care Social Workers: Assessment and Intervention Related to Urinary Incontinence

Urinary incontinence (UI) is a common and stigmatizing problem faced by long-term care (LTC) residents. It is typically addressed by medical professionals, with social work rarely involved. The purpose of this article is to illustrate how social workers can address the psychosocial implications of UI while working with residents and their family members as part of an interdisciplinary team. Using a case example and the NASW objectives for LTC, recommendations on how the role of the LTC social workers can be expanded to better address both the needs of residents, families, and the larger LTC system are provided.
Integration of HIS/RIS clinical document with PACS image studies for neuroradiology

Poring over the medical record of brain tumor patients for pertinent history can be an overwhelming task for the neuroradiologist. The evaluation of an imaging study in a brain tumor patient involves examining the prior imaging and clinical documents for recent intervention potentially affecting the appearance of the brain and then drawing a conclusion and rendering a report based on the contextual information obtained. In complex cases, the radiologist can spend much of his/her time trying to locate the appropriate documents. The purpose of this research is to develop effective methods to review all of the pertinent information in a patient medical record incorporating HIS (Hospital Information Systems), RIS (Radiology Information Systems) and PACS (Picture Archiving and Communications Systems) information. Our research involves three areas in improving the clinical workflow for neuroradiologists: filtering the document worklist for pertinent clinical data, identification of key clusters of clinical information, and an automatic hanging protocol that displays the MR images for optimal image comparison.© (2005) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Quantum robots and environments

Quantum robots and their interactions with environments of quantum systems are described, and their study justified. A quantum robot is a mobile quantum system that includes an on-board quantum computer and needed ancillary systems. Quantum robots carry out tasks whose goals include specified changes in the state of the environment, or carrying out measurements on the environment. Each task is a sequence of alternating computation and action phases. Computation phase activites include determination of the action to be carried out in the next phase, and recording of information on neighborhood environmental system states. Action phase activities include motion of the quantum robot and changes in the neighborhood environment system states. Models of quantum robots and their interactions with environments are described using discrete space and time. A unitary step operator $T$ that gives the single time step dynamics is associated with each task. ${T=T}_{a}{+T}_{c}$ is a sum of action phase and computation phase step operators. Conditions that ${T}_{a}$ and ${T}_{c}$ should satisfy are given along with a description of the evolution as a sum over paths of completed phase input and output states. A simple example of a task---carrying out a measurement on a very simple environment---is analyzed in detail. A decision tree for the task is presented and discussed in terms of the sums over phase paths. It is seen that no definite times or durations are associated with the phase steps in the tree, and that the tree describes the successive phase steps in each path in the sum over phase paths.
National Standards for Arts Education: The Emperor's New Clothes

(1994). National Standards for Arts Education: The Emperor's New Clothes. Arts Education Policy Review: Vol. 96, No. 2, pp. 26-30.
Is human culture oncogenic for uncontrolled population growth and ecological destruction

L'A. discute les validites theoriques du modele issu de la cancerologie afin d'expliquer le processus general de destruction et d'appauvrissement des ecosystemes a l'echelle de la planete. Ce modele qui permettrait d'expliquer l'ecopathologie, distingue quatre criteres du processus : la croissance rapide et non controlee, l'invasion et la destruction des ecosystemes, la metastase (colonisation et urbanisation), et la de-differenciation (perte de la distinction de l'individualisation). L'A. explique ce modele theorique sur les transformations malfaisantes des societes humaines dans leurs relations avec l'environnement (comparees a la progression d'un cancer) puis analyse quelles implications ce modele pourrait apporter aux contextes globaux futurs, notamment au developpement demographique mondial.
Nutrients and temperature interact to regulate algae and heterotrophic bacteria in an Alaskan poor fen peatland

Permafrost thaw associated with warmer temperatures is expected to elevate nutrient levels in northern aquatic ecosystems, including peatlands. To evaluate these effects on algae and heterotrophic ...
Core authors and rankings in economics

This study ranks contributors to the economics profession using the textbook citation method. A survey of professors in 35 top-tier departments of economics produced a list of the most often used graduate-level microeconomics, macroeconomics, and econometrics texts. The textbooks identified from the survey are evaluated in this study for citations to journal articles. Authors of journal articles cited in textbooks are ranked according to the number of times their works are cited in textbooks. The results are compared to the findings of recent studies using different methods. Different methodologies are found to produce significantly different results.
Absorption of CO2 by leaves of the potato

1. The CO2 absorption method of measuring apparent photosynthesis was found to be well adapted to use with potato leaves. The major problems encountered were the accurate measurement of air volume in each unit and the prevention of excessive temperature build-up in the leaf chambers. 2. The general level of CO2 absorption by potato leaves was increased following effective rains. 3. Wilting of leaves caused a decrease in the rate of CO2 absorption. 4. Maximum assimilation rates of Triumph leaves were found between the temperatures of 80 and 90° F. under field conditions. 5. Highest assimilation rates were usually recorded between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m., followed by a gradual decline throughout the remainder of the day. 6. Large natural variations in rate of CO2 absorption were found with paired leaves on the same and different potato plants. 7. Leaves located near the base of potato plants were found to absorb CO2 only two-thirds as rapidly as the 3rd or 4th leaves below the terminal leaf cluster. 8. In comparable tests with four varieties, Triumph had the lowest rate of CO2 absorption per unit area of leaf surface.
A long-lived state for influenza virus-erythrocyte complexes committed to fusion at neutral pH.

The low pH-induced fusion of influenza virus with intact erythrocyte plasma membranes is preceded by a delay time following pH reduction, that is itself pH- and temperature dependent. At 37°C/pH 4.8, lipid mixing between virus and target membranes begins 10 min after pH reduction. We have found that within this time period at 4°C, a population of virus acquires the capacity to subsequently undergo fusion with high efficiency at elevated temperatures and pH 7.4. Both the kinetics and the extent of this pH 7.4 fusion depend upon the time of pre-incubation at pH 4.8/4°C. Incubation at pH 7.4/4°C, following this pre-incubation does not result in fusion, but the capacity to fuse at pH 7.4/37°C is retained for a time period exceeding 1 h. The longevity of this fusion committed state makes it amenable to biochemical and immunological analysis. We have shown that it is insensitive to dithiothreitol, neuraminidase and trypsin, but is incapacitated by thermolysin or protease K. We conclude that only the HA2 sub-unit of influenza haemagglutinin is a necessary protein component of later stages of the fusion pathway.
A Simple HPLC Method for the Quantitation of Molindone in Human Plasma or Serum

Abstract A simple HPLC method is described for the quantitation of molindone in human serum or plasma using trazadone as an internal standard and UV detection (247 nm). The method was successfully used to determine the steady state levels of molindone in 15 patients receiving the drug. The HPLC results were confirmed by identifying the HPLC peak using LC thermospray mass spectrometry.
Estimates for the Logarithmic Derivative of a Meromorphic Function, Plus Similar Estimates

On etablit des estimations de la derivee logarithmique d'une fonction meromorphe et d'autres estimations similaires
Extreme prematurity and attention deficit: epidemiology and prevention.

Extremely preterm infants have an increased risk of attention problems and a better understanding of the antecedents of these problems can lead to prevention strategies. Perinatal systemic inflammation, an antecedent of structural and functional brain disorders in extremely preterm infants, appears to be an antecedent of attention problems. Interventions to prevent initiators of inflammation or modulate systemic inflammation might decrease the risk of attention problems among children born extremely preterm.
Seasons of birth and marriage in two Chinese localities.

Data from two rural Chinese settings suggest that an ecological variable — the reliability of food supply — may exert a more decisive influence on birth seasonality than time of marriage or attributes of temperature, rainfall, or workload. First births seem to be especially important for patterns of seasonality; comparison between villages suggests that a periodic but reliable source of food may encourage a seasonal distribution of first births, the effect of which might be to protect the mother and/or her newborn infant. It is the periodicity of first births that may give aggregate birth figures the appearance of seasonality.
Paleosol geochemistry of the late Paleocene Goler Formation of Southern California

Abstract Paleosol (fossilized soil) geochemistry can provide a record of paleoclimatic conditions due to the relationships between pedogenic processes and climate. In this study, paleosols from the late Paleocene Goler Formation of Southern California were used to determine the paleoclimatic conditions active during pedogenesis. The enrichment and retention of soluble elements (Ca, Mg and Na) and the mobilization of Fe and Mn within the paleosol profiles suggest a climate with strongly seasonal precipitation. Similarly, variations in the Mn content and δ13C ratio of pedogenic carbonate nodules also reflect seasonal precipitation. Regional paleotopography was likely an important control on the paleoclimate of the Goler Formation due to rain shadow effects. Although the size and location of these ancient mountains are poorly constrained, the identification of climatic effects specifically associated with these variables provides new constraints.
Binary coherent beam combination with mirror pairs

A configuration of N coated mirrors or mirror pairs is described that has the potential to coherently combine 2N single-frequency phase-locked diffraction-limited polarized optical beams to form a single diffraction-limited beam. The application to beam combination of fiber amplifiers is discussed.
Energy strain in three-dimensional protein structures

Background: Steric strain in protein three-dimensional structures is related to unfavorable inter-atomic interactions. The steric strain may be a result of packing or functional requirements, or may indicate an error in the coordinates of a structure. Detailed energy functions are, however, usually considered too noisy for error detection. Results: After a short energy refinement, a full-atom, detailed energy function becomes a sensitive indicator of errors. The statistics of the energy distribution of amino acid residues in high-resolution crystal structures, represented by models with idealized covalent geometry, were calculated. The interaction energy of each residue with the whole protein structure and with the solvent was considered. Normalized deviations of amino acid residue energies from their average values were used for detecting energy-strained and, therefore, potentially incorrect fragments of a polypeptide chain. Protein three-dimensional structures of different origin (X-ray crystallography, NMR spectroscopy, theoretical models and deliberately misfolded decoys) were compared. Examples of the applications to loop and homology modeling are provided. Conclusions: Elevated levels of energy strain may point at a problematic fragment in a protein three-dimensional structure of either experimental or theoretical origin. The approach may be useful in model building and refinement, modeling by homology, protein design, folding calculations, and protein structure analysis.
Update on the etiologies and management of neonatal cholestasis

The early detection of cholestatic liver disease is one of the major challenges facing pediatricians when evaluating the jaundiced infant. Early recognition of liver disease greatly facilitates the care and outcome of infants, because several serious life-threatening disorders may have cholestasis as a major presenting sign of underlying neonatal liver disease. A key component of the work-up is measurement of serum conjugated bilirubin levels, which if elevated should prompt the clinician to initiate a work-up to determine the cause of neonatal cholestasis. In general, if a patient is developing progressive jaundice soon after birth, is still jaundiced at 2 weeks of life, or develops jaundice within the first month of life, a work-up for neonatal cholestasis should begin. A number of previously undiagnosed causes of neonatal cholestasis are beginning to be assigned genetic and infectious etiologies, with significant implications for the work-up and management of cholestatic infants.
Threshold dependence of mortality effects for fine and coarse particles in Phoenix, Arizona

Daily data for fine (< 2.5 microns) and coarse (2.5-10 microns) particles are available for 1995-1997 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) research monitor in Phoenix, AZ. Mortality effects on the 65 and over population were studied for both the city of Phoenix and for a region of about 50 mi around Phoenix. Coarse particles in Phoenix are believed to be natural in origin and spatially homogeneous, whereas fine particles are primarily vehicular in origin and concentrated in the city itself. For this reason, it is natural to focus on city mortality data when considering fine particles, and on region mortality data when considering coarse particles, and most of the results reported here correspond to those assignments. After allowing for seasonality and long-term trend through a nonlinear (B-spline) trend curve, and also for meteorological effects based on temperature and specific humidity, a regression of mortality was performed on PM using several different measures for PM. Based on a linear PM effect, we found a statistically significant coefficient for coarse particles, but not for fine particles, contrary to what is widely believed about the effects of coarse and fine particles. An analysis of nonlinear pollution-mortality relationships, however, suggests that the true picture is more complicated than that. For coarse particles, the evidence for any nonlinear or threshold-based effect is slight. For fine particles, we found evidence of a threshold, most likely with values in the range of 20-25 micrograms/m3. We also found some evidence of interactions of the PM effects with season and year. The main effect here is an apparent seasonal interaction in the coarse PM effect. An attempt was made to explain this in terms of seasonal variation in the chemical composition of PM, but this led to another counterintuitive result: the PM effect is highest in spring and summer, when the anthropogenic concentration of coarse PM is lowest as determined by a principal components analysis. There was no evidence of confounding between the fine and coarse PM effects. Although these results are based on one city and should be considered tentative until replicated in other studies, they suggest that the prevailing focus on fine rather than coarse particles may be an oversimplification. The study also shows that consideration of nonlinear effects can lead to real changes of interpretation and raises the possibility of seasonal effects associated with the chemical composition of PM.
Evaporative Compressor Cooling for NOx Suppression and Enhanced Engine Performance for Naval Gas Turbine Propulsion Plants

Water, in the liquid or vapor phase, injected at various locations into the gas turbine cycle has frequently been employed to improve engine performance while simultaneously reducing NOx emissions. Commercial steam injected gas turbines have been designed to inject small amounts of steam (less than 15% of air flow), generated in a heat recovery boiler, into or downstream of the combustor. Recently, it has been proposed to inject larger amounts of water (as high as 50% of air flow) and operate combustors near stoichiometric conditions. All these methods increase turbine mass flow rate without increasing air flow rate and consequently increase specific power. The increase in specific power for naval applications means smaller intake and exhaust stacks and therefore less impact on topside space.The present paper presents a new concept, in naval propulsion plants, to decrease NOx production and increase specific power with a water fog (droplet spray) injected (WFI) directly into the inlet of the engine compressor. The simulated performance of a simple-cycle gas turbine engine using WFI is reported. The paper describes the computer model developed to predict compressor performance resulting from the evaporation of water passing through the stages of an axial flow compressor. The resulting effects are similar to those of an intercooled compressor, without the complications due to the addition of piping, heat exchangers, and the requirement for a dual spool compressor. The effects of evaporative cooling on compressor characteristics are presented. These results include compressor maps modified for various water flow rates as well as estimates of the reductions in compression work and compressor discharge temperature.These modified compressor performance characteristics are used in the engine simulation to predict how a WFI engine would perform under various water injection flow rates. Estimates of increased output power and decreased air flow rates are presented.Copyright © 1998 by ASME
Metabolism of palmitaldehyde in human cardiac muscle

W. J. FER~ELL AND K.-C. YAO. Metabolism of Palmitaldehyde in Human Cardiac Muscle. 3ourml of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology (1976) 8, 1-13. Palmitaldehyde-1-r4[C] was incubated with homogenates of human heart and the distribution of radioactivity in the nonpolar and polar lipids was determined. Comparisons between the radioactivity in the acyl, alkyl and alk-I-enyl moieties were evaluated. The role ofpalmitaldehyde-[l-aH]-[l-r%] as a possible precursor of the alk-1-enyl chains was also assessed. A comparison of incorporation into heart lipids was made between labelled palmitate, palmitaldehyde and cetyl alcohol. The following metabolic relationships are suggested from the results: 1. Palmitaldehyde appears to be metabolized by a different route than palmitate and cetyl alcohol. 2. Most of the incorporated palmitaldehyde was found in triglycerides indicating that the aldehyde was oxidized prior to incorporation. 3. At least two pathways exist for the synthesis of alk-1-enyl ethers from aldehydes. One involves reduction to the alcohol and reaction with acyl-dihydroxyacetone phosphate and the second, prior oxidation to the acid followed by incorporation, presumably through the 1-acyl linkage. 4. Using the three labelled substrates led to an interrelationship which accounts for all three being incorporated into acyl, alkyl and alk-1-enyl chains.
Community College Administrators' and Local Stakeholders' Perceptions Concerning the Economic Development Strategies Used by North Carolina Community Colleges.

This study compares community college and community leaders’ perceptions of economic development strategies adopted by community colleges in North Carolina. Eighteen economic development strategies were determined, and respondents were asked about their levels of satisfaction with and use of these indicators in their local communities. The findings of the study include the following: (a) community college and community leaders’ perceived levels of use of economic development strategies are significantly related to their perceived levels of satisfaction with these strategies, (b) the position of the respondents significantly affects their views of the economic development strategies, (c) the size (enrollment) of the institution correlates with leaders’ views of economic development strategies, and (d) community colleges in the North Carolina system are using only a few of the possible economic development strategies used by other North American community colleges.
Ethogram of the De Brazza's Guenon (Cercopithecus neglectus) in captivity

Abstract A month of close observations of a stable and well composed group (one adult male, two adult females, two sub-adults, four juveniles and one infant) of captive De Brazza monkeys ( Cercopithecus neglectus ) provided an ethogram of their daily activities. Their behaviors were defined and categorized and the relative occurrence of each was indicated. Dominance and agonistic interactions were infrequent. Adults were mostly engaged in foraging and sitting. Play predominated in the immature animals. The social structure of the De Brazza's appears to be a small group, non-confrontation organization with minimal proximity of individual monkeys.
Spectral analysis of EMG using intramuscular electrodes reveals non-linear fatigability characteristics in persons with chronic low back pain

Abstract Greater fatigability across lumbar extensors has been reported in persons with chronic low back pain (LBP), however, extensor atrophy tends to be local to the site of pain. Therefore, specific ultrasound guided local and remote intramuscular electromyographic recordings were undertaken during an isometric horizontal trunk hold in two carefully matched cohorts; persons with and without LBP. The test was performed to self-determined maximal hold time, and the control group held the horizontal position longer ( P P =0.650). The NMF slope for the first and last 30s was not different in healthy subjects ( P =0.688), but was different in persons with LBP, illustrated by shallowing of the slope at the last 30s of the test ( P =0.008). A between muscle comparison in the LBP group showed greater non-linear behavior in the deep multifidus (painful region) in contrast to T10 longissimus thoracis (nonpainful region) ( P =0.013). Possible explanations for these findings are discussed.
Reactivity and chemoselectivity of allenes in Rh(I)-catalyzed intermolecular (5 + 2) cycloadditions with vinylcyclopropanes: allene-mediated rhodacycle formation can poison Rh(I)-catalyzed cycloadditions.

Allenes are important 2π building blocks in organic synthesis and engage as 2-carbon components in many metal-catalyzed reactions. Wender and co-workers discovered that methyl substituents on the terminal allene double bond counterintuitively change the reactivities of allenes in [Rh(CO)2Cl]2-catalyzed intermolecular (5 + 2) cycloadditions with vinylcyclopropanes (VCPs). More sterically encumbered allenes afford higher cycloadduct yields, and such effects are also observed in other Rh(I)-catalyzed intermolecular cycloadditions. Through density functional theory calculations (B3LYP and M06) and experiment, we explored this enigmatic reactivity and selectivity of allenes in [Rh(CO)2Cl]2-catalyzed intermolecular (5 + 2) cycloadditions with VCPs. The apparent low reactivity of terminally unsubstituted allenes is associated with a competing allene dimerization that irreversibly sequesters rhodium. With terminally substituted allenes, steric repulsion between the terminal substituents significantly increases th...
Bruton's Tyrosine Kinase Is Required for Activation of Iκb Kinase and Nuclear Factor κb in Response to B Cell Receptor Engagement

Mutations in the gene encoding Bruton's tyrosine kinase (btk) cause the B cell deficiency diseases X-linked agammaglobulinemia (XLA) in humans and X-linked immunodeficiency (xid) in mice. In vivo and in vitro studies indicate that the BTK protein is essential for B cell survival, cell cycle progression, and proliferation in response to B cell antigen receptor (BCR) stimulation. BCR stimulation leads to the activation of transcription factor nuclear factor (NF)-kappaB, which in turn regulates genes controlling B cell growth. We now demonstrate that a null mutation in btk known to cause the xid phenotype prevents BCR-induced activation of NF-kappaB. This defect can be rescued by reconstitution with wild-type BTK. This mutation also interferes with BCR-directed activation of IkappaB kinase (IKK), which normally targets the NF-kappaB inhibitor IkappaBalpha for degradation. Taken together, these findings indicate that BTK couples IKK and NF-kappaB to the BCR. Interference with this coupling mechanism may contribute to the B cell deficiencies observed in XLA and xid.
Serum ghrelin levels in acromegaly: effects of surgical and long-acting octreotide therapy.

The orexigenic peptide, ghrelin, is regulated by acute and chronic nutritional state. Although exogenously administered ghrelin stimulates pituitary GH secretion, little is known about the role of ghrelin in endogenous GH secretion or how high GH and IGF-I levels in acromegaly could affect ghrelin secretion and vice versa. Therefore, we evaluated fasting and post oral glucose tolerance test serum ghrelin levels in 19 patients with active acromegaly at baseline and after either surgery in 9 of these or administration of long-acting octreotide (Sandostatin LAR) in the other 10 patients. After surgical cure, fasting ghrelin rose from 312 ± 56 pg/ml to 548 ± 97 pg/ml (P = 0.013). Fasting serum ghrelin levels were higher in all patients after surgery and ranged between 112% and 349% of presurgery levels. Ghrelin levels fell significantly during long-acting octreotide therapy from 447 ± 34 pg/ml to 206 ± 15 pg/ml (P < 0.0001); ghrelin levels on octreotide ranged between 26% and 70% of baseline levels. Serum ghr...
Viability selection prior to trait expression is an essential component of natural selection

Natural selection operates throughout the life cycle of an organism. Correlative studies typically fail to consider the effects of viability selection prior to trait expression. A 3-year field experiment on the wildflower Mimulus guttatus demonstrates that this unmeasured component of selection can be very strong. As in previous studies, we find that fecundity is positively related to flower size. However, survival to flowering is much lower in large-flowered genotypes than in small-flowered genotypes. Aggregating viability and fecundity, lifetime fitness through female function generally favoured smaller flowered genotypes. This result differs from the great majority of field studies, which suggest strong positive selection on flower size. It has important cautionary implications for studies of natural and sexual selection on adult characters generally, in both plants and animals.