cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Catalytic cracking of n-hexane for producing light olefins on 3D-printed monoliths of MFI and FAU zeolites

Abstract Three dimensional (3D) printing manufacturing has attracted growing interests for material synthesis applied in various fields because of its rapid accomplishment, cost effectiveness, approach facilities and structure controllability. In this work, we present a facile and efficient method for the fabrication of 3D-printed HZSM-5 and HY monoliths with macro-meso-micorporosity as the heterogeneous catalysts for n-hexane cracking reaction. To modify and improve the performance of the monolithic catalysts, the silicoaluminophosphate with chabazite framework (SAPO-34) was grown on the zeolite monolith surface via secondary growth method. Characterization of the catalysts suggest that surface area, porosity, acidity and structure of the catalysts were influenced by both formulation into monolithic structures and growth of SAPO-34. The performance of the 3D-printed monolithic catalysts was investigated in catalytic cracking of n-hexane at 600 and 650 °C for 24 h time on stream. Our results indicated that HZSM-5 zeolite monolith exhibits more stable activity in n-hexane cracking and higher selectivity to light olefins than its powder counterpart. A highest selectivity to light olefins (53.0%) was found on HZSM-5 zeolite monolith at 650 °C whereas over HY zeolite monolith the highest selectivity was found to be 57.9% at 600 °C. SAPO-34 growth enhanced the activity all monolithic catalysts and significantly improved catalytic selectivity to BTX (benzene, toluene and xylene) over HY monoliths. The highest BTX selectivity reached 27.5% on SAPO-34 coated HY monolith at 600 °C.
Prevention of Pediatric Pharmaceutical Poisonings

Pediatric poisoning remains a common, preventable childhood injury and incidence is on the rise. Child-resistant packaging has been shown to prevent pharmaceutical poisoning, but must be applied an...
Debating the cause of health disparities -- implications for bioethics and racial equality.

In 2002, the health arm of the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine (IOM), scientifically documented widespread racial disparities in healthcare and suggested that they stemmed, at least in part, from physician bias. Its 562-page report, Unequal Treatment: Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Healthcare, noted that, although these disparities are associated with socioeconomic status, the majority of studies it surveyed ‘‘find that racial and ethnic disparities remain even after adjustment for socioeconomic differences and other healthcare access-related factors.’’ As directed by Congress, the IOM committee defined ‘‘disparities’’ in healthcare as ‘‘racial or ethnic differences in the quality of health care that are not due to access-related factors or clinical needs, preferences, and appropriateness of intervention’’ (pp. 3–4). Unequal Treatment concludes that, after factoring out these access-related differences, remaining disparities can be attributed in part to discrimination by the medical profession—physician prejudices, biases, or stereotyping of their minority patients. Some commentators took offense at the report’s charge of racial bias. It was unfair, they argued, to suggest that blatant racial prejudice, as was demonstrated in the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, for example, still lingered in contemporary medical care. ‘‘I would stress that the attitudes of physicians today have shown a true revolution from those that permeated the generation or two ago,’’ wrote University of Chicago law and economics professor Richard Epstein. ‘‘It is a shame to attack so many people of good will on evidence that admits a much more benign interpretation.’’ The ‘‘benign’’ interpretations offered by critics were that racial disparities stem from patient behavior, cultural difference, biological difference, and economic inequality. Each of these explanations sounds familiar to historians of race and health in America. Although racial disparities in health are firmly established, pinpointing their cause has been controversial. In this article, I challenge recent claims that racial health disparities are caused by race-based genetic difference or race-neutral economic difference on grounds that both explanations ignore the roots of health disparities in social inequality. I develop my argument by examining the controversy surrounding the Institute of Medicine report on racial bias in healthcare,
Signaling by Blurring

A Sender wants to persuade a Receiver both to undertake a project, rather than default to an outside option, and, as part of that project, to take a particular action. The interests of the Sender and Receiver are aligned regarding choice of action, conditional on the Receiver undertaking the project, but they differ in their ranking of the outside option relative to the project. In this environment, it is optimal for the Sender to add noise to his message, "blurring" the ideal action, in order to provide a credible signal that the project is rewarding enough to undertake even without precise details. This blurring becomes more pronounced as the interests of the Sender and Receiver become more congruent: blurring signals congruence.
Chemotherapy markedly reduces B cells but not T cells and NK cells in patients with cancer

Chemotherapy is still the backbone of systemic treatment in the majority of cancers. However, immunotherapies, especially those based on checkpoint inhibition, are additional therapy options for many. For this, functional T cells are a mandatory requirement. The aim of this prospective study was to investigate the influence of chemotherapy on the cellular immune status of individual patients. Peripheral blood samples of 26 patients with solid malignancies undergoing chemotherapy were analyzed for lymphocyte populations and their subsets in a longitudinal approach. Chemotherapy decreased total B lymphocyte counts [median value (25–75 percentile): before chemotherapy 76/µl (39–160) vs. after chemotherapy 49/µl (24–106); p = 0.001]. Among B cells, specific subsets decreased particularly [naive B cells (49/µl (21–111) vs. 25/µl (13–56); p = 0.001], memory B cells [3/µl (2–8) vs. 2/µl (1–4); p = 0.001], and class-switched B cells [11/µl (6–20) vs. 6/µl (3–12); p = 0.011]. In contrast, chemotherapy had no influence on the total numbers of CD4 + and CD8 + T lymphocytes or on their subsets (T helper cells 1, 2, and 17 as well as cytotoxic T cells in early, intermediate, late, terminal effector and exhausted status as well as both T-cell types with naive, center memory, effector memory, activated, or regulatory phenotype). Furthermore, the count of natural killer (NK) lymphocytes showed no significant change before and after chemotherapy. In summary, this study shows a decrease of B lymphocytes during systemic chemotherapy, but no relevant effect on T lymphocytes, NK lymphocytes and their subsets. This could support the idea of an effective additive T-cell-dependent immunotherapy to chemotherapy.
Climate change may increase the drought stress of mesophytic trees downslope with ongoing forest mesophication under a history of fire suppression

In mountainous headwater catchments, downslope flow of subsurface water could buffer downslope forest communities from soil moisture stress during drought. Here we investigated changes in landscape-scale vegetation patterns at five forested headwater catchments in the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory in the southern Appalachians. We used a ca. 30-year Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM) image record of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), spanning a period of recorded warming since the mid-1970. We then, related spatial and temporal canopy patterns to seasonal water balance, streamflow recession behavior, and low flow dynamics from the long-term hydrologic records. All hydrologic metrics indicated increasing evapotranspiration, decreasing streamflow given precipitation, and potentially decreasing downslope subsidy at the watershed scale over time, especially during low-flow periods. Contrary to expectations, leaf area index (LAI) and basal area increased more upslope compared to downslope over time, coincident with warming. Trends in the ratio of NDVI in upslope and downslope topographic positions were also supported by long-term tree basal area increment, litterfall, and sap flux data in one of the reference watersheds. Mesophytic trees downslope appeared to respond more to frequent droughts and experience lower growth than xerophytic trees upslope, closely mediated by the isohydric/anisohydric continuum along hydrologic flow paths. Considering ongoing forest “mesophication” under a history of fire suppression across the eastern US deciduous forests, this study suggests that mesophytic trees downslope may be more vulnerable than xerophytic trees upslope under ongoing climate change due to an apparent dependence on upslope water subsidy.
Chapter 11 – Application Inspection

Publisher Summary The Cisco PIX firewall is an advanced product and has many different options for supporting various application-layer protocols as well as protecting against network-layer attacks. It also supports content filtering for outbound Web access, intrusion detection, and various routing options such as RIP, OSPF, and multicast routing. Many protocols embed extra IP address information inside the exchanged packets or negotiate additional connections on nonfixed ports in order to function properly. The PIX application inspection feature handles these functions. PIX supports FTP clients and servers in active and passive modes, DNS, RSH, RPC, SQLNet, and LDAP protocols. It also supports various streaming protocols such as Real-Time Streaming Protocol. Another set of supported protocols includes all H.323, SCCP, and SIP—all used in VoIP applications. The PIX monitor passes packets for the embedded information and updates its tables or permits embryonic connections according to this information. It is also able to NAT these embedded addresses in several cases.
Structures and Strategies of Anti-CRISPR-Mediated Immune Suppression

More than 50 protein families have been identified that inhibit CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats)-Cas-mediated adaptive immune systems. Here, we analyze the available anti-CRISPR (Acr) structures and describe common themes and unique mechanisms of stoichiometric and enzymatic suppressors of CRISPR-Cas. Stoichiometric inhibitors often function as molecular decoys of protein-binding partners or nucleic acid targets, while enzymatic suppressors covalently modify Cas ribonucleoprotein complexes or degrade immune signaling molecules. We review mechanistic insights that have been revealed by structures of Acrs, discuss some of the trade-offs associated with each of these strategies, and highlight how Acrs are regulated and deployed in the race to overcome adaptive immunity.
Siloxyaluminate and Siloxygallate Complexes as Models for Framework and Partially Hydrolyzed Framework Sites in Zeolites and Zeotypes.

Author(s): Dombrowski, James P; Ziegler, Micah S; Phadke, Neelay M; Mansoor, Erum; Levine, Daniel S; Witzke, Ryan J; Head-Gordon, Martin; Bell, Alexis T; Tilley, T Don | Abstract: Anionic molecular models for nonhydrolyzed and partially hydrolyzed aluminum and gallium framework sites on silica, M[OSi(OtBu)3 ]4 - and HOM[OSi(OtBu)3 ]3 - (where M=Al or Ga), were synthesized from anionic chlorides Li{M[OSi(OtBu)3 ]3 Cl} in salt metathesis reactions. Sequestration of lithium cations with [12]crown-4 afforded charge-separated ion pairs composed of monomeric anions M[OSi(OtBu)3 ]4 - with outer-sphere [([12]crown-4)2 Li]+ cations, and hydroxides {HOM[OSi(OtBu)3 ]3 } with pendant [([12]crown-4)Li]+ cations. These molecular models were characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, vibrational spectroscopy, mass spectrometry and NMR spectroscopy. Upon treatment of monomeric [([12]crown-4)Li]{HOM[OSi(OtBu)3 ]3 } complexes with benzyl alcohol, benzyloxide complexes were formed, modeling a possible pathway for the formation of active sites for Meerwin-Ponndorf-Verley (MPV) transfer hydrogenations with Al/Ga-doped silica catalysts.
Multi-Trait Genomic Prediction of Yield-Related Traits in US Soft Wheat under Variable Water Regimes.

The performance of genomic prediction (GP) on genetically correlated traits can be improved through an interdependence multi-trait model under a multi-environment context. In this study, a panel of 237 soft facultative wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) lines was evaluated to compare single- and multi-trait models for predicting grain yield (GY), harvest index (HI), spike fertility (SF), and thousand grain weight (TGW). The panel was phenotyped in two locations and two years in Florida under drought and moderately drought stress conditions, while the genotyping was performed using 27,957 genotyping-by-sequencing (GBS) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) makers. Five predictive models including Multi-environment Genomic Best Linear Unbiased Predictor (MGBLUP), Bayesian Multi-trait Multi-environment (BMTME), Bayesian Multi-output Regressor Stacking (BMORS), Single-trait Multi-environment Deep Learning (SMDL), and Multi-trait Multi-environment Deep Learning (MMDL) were compared. Across environments, the multi-trait statistical model (BMTME) was superior to the multi-trait DL model for prediction accuracy in most scenarios, but the DL models were comparable to the statistical models for response to selection. The multi-trait model also showed 5 to 22% more genetic gain compared to the single-trait model across environment reflected by the response to selection. Overall, these results suggest that multi-trait genomic prediction can be an efficient strategy for economically important yield component related traits in soft wheat.
Herpesvirus infection reduces Pol II occupancy of host promoters but spares viral promoters

Abstract In mammalian cells, widespread acceleration of cytoplasmic mRNA degradation is linked to impaired RNA polymerase II (Pol II) transcription. This mRNA decay-induced transcriptional repression occurs during infection with gammaherpesviruses including Kaposi’s sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) and murine gammaherpesvirus 68 (MHV68), which encode an mRNA endonuclease that initiates widespread RNA decay. Here, we show that MHV68-induced mRNA decay leads to a genome-wide reduction of Pol II occupancy at mammalian promoters. Viral genes, despite the fact that they require Pol II for transcription, escape this transcriptional repression. Protection is not governed by viral promoter sequences; instead, location on the viral genome is both necessary and sufficient to escape the transcriptional repression effects of mRNA decay. We hypothesize that the ability to escape from transcriptional repression is linked to the localization of viral DNA in replication compartments, providing a means for these viruses to counteract decay-induced viral transcript loss.
Autoethnography That Moves the Soul: Activating the Creative in Troubled Times:

This essay uses autopoetic narrative and reflexivity to unpack the possibilities of autoethnographic research and writing rooted in the spirit of collaboration. We reflect on the experience of a wo...
Dose Fractionation During Puberty Is More Detrimental to Mammary Gland Development Than an Equivalent Acute Dose of Radiation Exposure.

Purpose Computed tomographic (CT) scans in adolescents have increased dramatically in recent years. However, the effects of cumulative low-dose exposures on the development of radiation sensitive organs, such as the mammary gland, is unknown. The purpose of this work was to define the effects of dose rate on mammary organ formation during puberty, an especially sensitive window in mammary development. We used a fractionated low-dose x-ray exposure to mimic multiple higher dose CT scans, and we hypothesized that fractionated exposure would have less of an effect on the number of mammary gland defects compared with an acute exposure. Methods and Materials Female mice were subjected to fractionated low-dose x-ray exposure (10 cGy/d for 5 days), acute x-ray exposure (1 × 50 cGy), or sham exposure. As the wide genetic diversity in humans can play a role in a person’s response to irradiation, 2 genetically diverse mouse strains differing in radiation sensitivity (BALB/c-sensitive; C57BL/6-resistant) were used to investigate the role of genetic background on the magnitude of the effect. Results Unexpectedly, our data reveal that multiple low-dose exposures produce greater immune and mammary defects for weeks after exposure compared with controls. The most pronounced defects being increased ductal branching in both strains and a greater percentage of terminal end buds in the BALB/c strain of mice exposed to fractionated radiation compared with sham. Radiation-induced defects near the terminal end bud were also increased in both strains. Conclusions The findings suggest that fractionated low-dose exposures are potentially more damaging to organ development compared with an equivalent, single acute exposure and that genetic background is an important parameter modifying the severity of these effects.
Is There a Tropical Response to Recent Observed Southern Ocean Cooling

Despite global warming, SSTs in the Southern Ocean (SO) have cooled in recent decades largely as a result of internal variability. The global impact of this cooling is assessed by nudging evolving ...
Linear and Nonlinear Flow Analysis of Elements of a Supersonic Inlet

Boundary layer development in a supersonic inlet is studied, focusing on the flow over the compression ramp and the ramp–isolator junction. Two designs of the junction, a backward-facing step (BFS)...
Consumer perspectives on reasons for unsuccessful VR case closure: An exploratory study

Unsuccessful case closure contributes not only to great financial loss for the federal/state vocational rehabilitation (VR) system but also to consumer disappointment. There is a lack of research on factors related to unsuccessful closure. In this mixed design study, VR consumers from eight states were randomly selected following the Longitudinal Study of the Vocational Rehabilitation Services (LSVRS) weighting schemes. Consumers (n = 111) and matched counselors (n = 54) were asked to identify factors they thought contributed to the unsuccessful closure. Consumer most commonly reported reasons were disability severity (48%), no jobs were available (37%), lack of additional services (33%), and missed appointments (30%). Counselors cited missed appointments (61%), followed by consumers' not being ready for work and disability severity (both 52%), and service refusal (41%). Contrary to our hypotheses, transportation, potential benefit loss, and substance use disorders were not among the most frequent factors cited in unsuccessful closure by either consumers or counselors. The results of this study can assist administrators and vocational counselors in addressing the needs of their consumers. The single most important factors identified by matched consumers and counselors (n = 54 each) were not significantly different and both parties identified disability severity as the most common primary factor in unsuccessful case closure.
Novel FPGA-Based signature matching for deep packet inspection

Deep packet inspection forms the backbone of any Network Intrusion Detection (NID) system. It involves matching known malicious patterns against the incoming traffic payload. Pattern matching in software is prohibitively slow in comparison to current network speeds. Thus, only FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array) or ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) solutions could be efficient for this problem. Our FPGA-based solution performs high-speed matching while permitting pattern updates without resource reconfiguration. An off-line optimization method first finds sub-pattern similarities across all the patterns in the SNORT database of signatures [17]. A novel technique then compresses each pattern into a bit vector where each bit represents such a sub-pattern. Our approach reduces drastically the required on-chip storage as well as the complexity of matching, utilizing just 0.05 logic cells for processing and 17.74 bits for storage per character in the current SNORT database of 6456 patterns.
A protein folding potential that places the native states of a large number of proteins near a local minimum

We present a simple method to train a potential function for the protein folding problem which, even though trained using a small number of proteins, is able to place a significantly large number of native conformations near a local minimum. The training relies on generating decoys by energy minimization of the native conformations using the current potential and using a physically meaningful objective function (derivative of energy with respect to torsion angles at the native conformation) during the quadratic programming to place the native conformation near a local minimum. We also compare the performance of three different types of energy functions and find that while the pairwise energy function is trainable, a solvation energy function by itself is untrainable if decoys are generated by minimizing the current potential starting at the native conformation. The best results are obtained when a pairwise interaction energy function is used with solvation energy function. We are able to train a potential function using six proteins which places a total of 42 native conformations within ~4 A rmsd and 71 native conformations within ~6 A rmsd of a local minimum out of a total of 91 proteins. Furthermore, the threading test using the same 91 proteins ranks 89 native conformations to be first and the other two as second.
Symbolizing Three Dimensions in Two

Perception of pictures and photographs by people of different cultures is a subject that has long interested explorers, missionaries, anthropologists, and others who have traveled in non-industrial parts of the world. Keywords: cognition; learning; perception
Site-specific basal body duplication in Chlamydomonas

Correct centriole/basal body positioning is required for numerous biological processes, yet how the cell establishes this positioning is poorly understood. Analysis of centriolar/basal body duplication provides a key to understanding basal body positioning and function. Chlamydomonas basal bodies contain structural features that enable specific triplet microtubules to be specified. Electron tomography of cultures enriched in mitotic cells allowed us to follow basal body duplication and identify a specific triplet at which duplication occurs. Probasal bodies elongate in prophase, assemble transitional fibers (TF) and are segregated with a mature basal body near the poles of the mitotic spindle. A ring of nine-singlet microtubules is initiated at metaphase, orthogonal to triplet eight. At telophase/cytokinesis, triplet microtubule blades assemble first at the distal end, rather than at the proximal cartwheel. The cartwheel undergoes significant changes in length during duplication, which provides further support for its scaffolding role. The uni1-1 mutant contains short basal bodies with reduced or absent TF and defective transition zones, suggesting that the UNI1 gene product is important for coordinated probasal body elongation and maturation. We suggest that this site-specific basal body duplication ensures the correct positioning of the basal body to generate landmarks for intracellular patterning in the next generation.
The Right Tool for the Job: Best Practices in Enhancing Teaching and Learning with Instructional Technology

This article proposes that professors use instructional technology to enhance their teaching when they use such technology with a clear pedagogical purpose. In addition, it explores some key underlying learning principles and theories that will help professors use the technology and suggests strategies to avoid common problems with technology.
Mothering work and emerging adult children.

Background Mothering is a major occupational role for many women however the research to date tends to focus on the transition to parenthood and mothering young children. Missing from the literature is an exploration of mothering beyond the early years of a child's life. Objective This qualitative research study uses grounded theory methods to explore the experience of mothering typically developing emerging adult children. Methods In-depth semi structured interviews and a focus group were conducted with 14 women between the ages of 47-63 years old with at least one child who was between the ages of 18-29 years old (an emerging adult). All of the participants were living in the Midwestern United States. The goal of this study is to explore how mothering experience changes and evolves over time. Results Findings presented here focus on the work of mothering emerging adult children and the themes include providing a listening ear, emotional and financial support, and worrying. Conclusions The findings illuminate a beginning understanding of the work involved with mothering children at this stage and add to Ruddick's theories on maternal practice.
New Refractometric Methods for the Determination of Total Proteins in Serum and in Urine

New, precise, physical methods for the determination of total protein in serum or plasma and in urine are described. They are based upon the refractometric determination of total solids in these fluids before and after protein has been removed by coagulation and, in ordinary use, they require no special standardization or calibration. The urine method is applicable primarily to protein concentrations above 100mg./100 ml. A by-product of the urine method is the direct and simple determination of the nonprotein specific gravity of proteinuric urine.
Creatine Kinase-Overexpression Improves Myocardial Energetics, Contractile Dysfunction and Survival in Murine Doxorubicin Cardiotoxicity

Doxorubicin (DOX) is a commonly used life-saving antineoplastic agent that also causes dose-dependent cardiotoxicity. Because ATP is absolutely required to sustain normal cardiac contractile function and because impaired ATP synthesis through creatine kinase (CK), the primary myocardial energy reserve reaction, may contribute to contractile dysfunction in heart failure, we hypothesized that impaired CK energy metabolism contributes to DOX-induced cardiotoxicity. We therefore overexpressed the myofibrillar isoform of CK (CK-M) in the heart and determined the energetic, contractile and survival effects of CK-M following weekly DOX (5mg/kg) administration using in vivo31P MRS and 1H MRI. In control animals, in vivo cardiac energetics were reduced at 7 weeks of DOX protocol and this was followed by a mild but significant reduction in left ventricular ejection fraction (EF) at 8 weeks of DOX, as compared to baseline. At baseline, CK-M overexpression (CK-M-OE) increased rates of ATP synthesis through cardiac CK (CK flux) but did not affect contractile function. Following DOX however, CK-M-OE hearts had better preservation of creatine phosphate and higher CK flux and higher EF as compared to control DOX hearts. Survival after DOX administration was significantly better in CK-M-OE than in control animals (p<0.02). Thus CK-M-OE attenuates the early decline in myocardial high-energy phosphates and contractile function caused by chronic DOX administration and increases survival. These findings suggest that CK impairment plays an energetic and functional role in this DOX-cardiotoxicity model and suggests that metabolic strategies, particularly those targeting CK, offer an appealing new strategy for limiting DOX-associated cardiotoxicity.
Ultrashort-pulse energy-extraction measurements in XeCl amplifiers

Energy extraction in XeCl discharge amplifiers is examined experimentally and theoretically for 0.16-, 3.0-, and 600-psec pulse durations. Saturation energies of 1.0, 1.0, and 2.5 mJ/cm2, respectively, are measured. When nonsaturable loss is included in the analysis the values of the saturation energies increase to 1.35, 1.35, and 3.0 mJ/cm2, respectively. A significant decrease in the effective small-signal gain is observed as the pulse duration decreases to the bandwidth limit, in agreement with a simple coherent pulse-propagation calculation.
Vibrational spectra of 3-fluorocyclopropene-d0 and -d3

Abstract Infrared and Raman spectra of 3-fluorocyclopropene- d 0 and - d 3 have been recorded. Complete assignments of the vibrational fundamentals for these two isotopic species are proposed. For the d 0 species the fundamentals (in cm −1 ) are: (a′) 3162, 3032, 1623, 1324, 1200, 956, 936, 660, 457; (a″) 3122, 1060, 1037, 876, 860, 446. By means of an overlay normal coordinate calculation involving the six isotopomers of 3-chlorocyclopropene as well as the two isotopomers of 3-fluorocyclopropene, empirical force constants for 3-fluorocyclopropene have been fitted. Approximate descriptions of the normal modes are proposed on the basis of the normal coordinate calculations as well as group frequency considerations. Force constants for stretching CC and CC bonds are comparable for these two halocyclopropenes.
Effects of Synthetic Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone on Incorporation of RadioactiveGlucosamine and Amino Acids into Luteinizing Hormone and Total Protein by Rat Pituitaries in Vitro

The influence of synthetic gonadotropin- releasing hormone (GnRH) on incorporation ofglucosamine and amino acids into LH and total protein was investigated. Rat pituitaries were incubated in vitro with radioactive precursors for 4 h at 37 C. Labeled LH was isolated by immunoprecipitation with specific anti-LH-β serum. Total LH in the medium and pituitary glands was measured by radioimmunoassay. GnRH significantly stimulated incorporation of [3H]glucosamine into LH in pituitaries from immature male, intact female, and ovariectomized rats. Pituitaries from ovariectomized rats synthesized more [3H]glucosaminelabeled LH than those from intact adult rats. GnRH enhanced release of [3H]glucosamine-LH into mediumin pituitaries of both adult intact and ovariectomized rats. The response to GnRH was greatly reduced when pituitaries were exposed to cold shock before the 4 h incorporation period. In contrast to its effect on incorporation of [3H]glucosamine into LH, GnRH had either no or littleeffect, depending on exp...
Unraveling and Learning Workflow Models from Interleaved Event Logs

Business process mining is to extract process knowledge from a system's log in order to reconstruct workflow models. Existing approaches treat a log record as an instance of one workflow model. They do not deal with interleaved logs, where each log record is a mixture of multiple workflow traces. However, such an interleaved log is typical for many systems especially web-based ones where all the user-system interaction traces are recorded and maintained by a web server. Dealing with interleaved logs is challenging due to the lack of prior knowledge of workflow models and noises contained in the log data. In this paper, we propose a two-phase workflow learning process. During the first phase, we use a probabilistic approach to learn the links between operations and the hidden workflow models. We consider a workflow model as a probabilistic distributions over operations and derive it through likelihood maximization. This allows us to identify the membership of an operation to a workflow model, which can be used to unravel a log record and generate a set of workflow instances from it. During the second phase, the sequential patterns between operations within each workflow model are derived from all its instances. We have conducted a comprehensive experimental study, which indicates the effectiveness of the proposed solution.
Microencapsulated Pear Ester Enhances Insecticide Efficacy in Walnuts for Codling Moth (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) and Navel Orangeworm (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

The efficacy of combining insecticides with a microencapsulated formulation of ethyl (2E,4Z) -2,4-decadienoate (pear ester, PE-MEC) was evaluated in walnuts, Juglans regia L., for codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), and navel orangeworm, Amyelois transitella Walker (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae). Two types of studies were conducted to compare the use of insecticides with and without PE-MEC. In the first study, PE-MEC in combination with reduced rates of insecticides, including chlorpyrifos, phosmet, methoxyfenozide, and codling moth granulovirus were evaluated in single tree replicates. PE-MEC was tested at one to three rates (0.6, 1.8, and 4.4 g active ingredient ha(-1)) with each insecticide. In the second study, seasonal programs including sprays of esfenvalerate, chlorpyrifos, and ethyl parathion at full rates were evaluated in replicated two ha blocks. Significant reductions in nut injury occurred in the single-tree trial with treatments of PE-MEC plus insecticide compared with the insecticides used alone against both pest species; except with methoxyfenozide for navel orangeworm. Similarly, nut injury in the large plots was significantly reduced with the addition of PE-MEC, except for navel orangeworm in one of the two studies. These results suggest that adding pear ester as a microencapsulated spray can improve the efficacy of a range of insecticides for two key pests and foster the development of integrated pest management tactics with reduced insecticide use in walnut.
Acute toxicity of Rodeo ® herbicide to Rio Grande silvery minnow as estimated by surrogate species: Plains minnow and fathead minnow

Use of Rodeo® herbicide (53.8% glyphosate, active ingredient) to control vegetation in or along irrigation canals in the Rio Grande basin in New Mexico has become a concern because of potential for populations of a federally endangered species, the Rio Grande silvery minnow (Hybognathus amarus), to be exposed. To investigate the potential for adverse effects, toxicity of Rodeo® herbicide was estimated by conducting 96-h renewal-acute toxicity tests with a closely related species, plains minnow (Hybognathus placitus), and a standard laboratory animal, fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas). Rodeo® herbicide had no effect on survival of plains minnow or fathead minnow at concentrations as high as 1,000 mg/L; thus, no-observed-acute-effect concentrations (NOAEC) for both species were 1,000 mg/L. Direct estimates of toxicity of Rodeo® herbicide to Rio Grande silvery minnow were not possible because the species was not available for testing. However, the similarity of responses by plains minnow and fathead minnow suggests that 1,000 mg/L Rodeo® herbicide is an acceptable estimate of the 96-h NOAEC for Rio Grande silvery minnow.
Bacteriophage T4 tail length is controlled by its baseplate.

Abstract Purified T4 baseplate, when treated with high concentrations of pancreatic RNase, are inactive in in vitro complementation assays. Their ability to initiate tail tube assembly is not altered; but the most probably length of the tube-baseplate formed is only 800A, compared to 1000A, the normal tube length, when untreated baseplates are used. Thus, baseplates help to regulate tube length, possibly by a template mechanism. Several minor baseplate proteins which may be involved in determining the length, including gp54, are missing from RNase - treated base-plates. These effects may be due to an unidentified protease contaminant of the RNase, since they are inhibited by phenylmethane sulfonyl fluoride.
A method for chemical fractionation of chloride from complex effluents

A method was developed to fractionate chloride ions from complex effluents using an ion exchange column. The procedure utilizes a strongly basic anion exchange resin with hydroxide ions as the exchange ion. The chloride within the effluent is exchanged for hydroxide which is less toxic to Ceriodaphnia dubia. The addition of hydroxide to the solution requires a pH adjustment to a physiologically acceptable pH for Ceriodaphnia with an acid. The fractions are added to Ceriodaphnia and the ET50 (median lethal time) determined. The column was applied to two effluents with suspected chloride toxicity. The column successfully removed virtually all of the chloride from the effluents. A significant reduction in toxicity was found following the process for one of the effluents. In addition, a control that consisted of the original effluent at the ionic strength of the column fractions revealed that chloride was a causative toxicant in both of the effluents.
Intervention attendance among emergency department patients with alcohol- and drug-use disorders.

Objective:The emergency department (ED) visit provides a window of opportunity for screening and linkage to services for inner-city adults with substance-use disorders (SUDs). This article examines predictors of intervention attendance among ED patients who screen positive for an SUD (alcohol or other drug). Method:As part of a large randomized control trial, medical and injured patients (ages 19-60) in an inner-city ED completed a computerized screening survey. Based on random assignment, those screening positive for an SUD either were scheduled to attend a post-discharge intervention or received a referral brochure. Interventions (brief motivational intervention vs. case management intervention) focused on linking participants to substance-use treatment. Independent variables assessed included demographics, ED visit reason, health functioning, readiness to change, self-efficacy, and substance use. Intervention attendance (yes/no) was the dependent variable. Results:Overall, 957 (62.3% male; 58.3% Africa...
Zinc inhibits turnover of labile mRNAs in intact cells

For immediate early genes such as the c-fos proto-oncogene, mRNA breakdown is very rapid and is largely responsible for the transient nature of mRNA accumulation after transcription is stimulated. We found that in several types of cultured cells and in mice, Zn++ caused marked accumulation of c-fos mRNA and that of another labile mRNA, that encoding the tristetraprolin (TTP) protein. Exposure of TK-L cells to 100 microM ZnSO4 caused an increase of c-fos and TTP mRNA levels within 1 h that reached peak levels in 4-8 h and remained constant to 12 h. Increases in fos protein accumulation were also noted. When the cells were exposed to Zn++ for 4 h and then exposed to actinomycin D, both c-fos and TTP mRNA levels remained constant for up to 10 h, indicating that Zn++ was preventing the breakdown of both c-fos and TTP mRNA. Also, 100 microM ZnSO4 inhibited protein synthesis in TK-L cells, suggesting that the effect on mRNA accumulation could have been an indirect effect resulting from inhibited protein synthesis. Zn++ was unable to inhibit the breakdown of TTP and c-fos mRNA in vitro; however, extracts from cells exposed to Zn++ were less able to cause the breakdown of TTP and c-fos mRNAs than were extracts from control cells, again suggesting that Zn++ indirectly affects mRNA stability through inhibition of protein synthesis. These studies suggest that in addition to their effects on gene transcription, Zn++ and other divalent cations may regulate gene expression by affecting mRNA stability.
Pertussis toxin or 8-bromo-cAMP block inhibition of the acoustic startle response by the α2-adrenergic agonist ST-91

Abstract Stimulation of supraspinal α 2 -adrenergic receptors by intraventricular infusion of the α 2 -adrenergic agonist ST-91 depresses a simple vertebrate behavior, the acoustic startle response. Intraventricular pretreatment with pertussis toxin, an agent known to inactivate the inhibitory guanine nucleotide binding protein (G i ) which can inhibit adenylate cyclase, completely prevented the depressant behavioral effect of ST-91. In contrast, pertussis toxin did not alter the depressant effect of intraventricular infusion of the 5-HT 1B agonist 1-m-chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP). Intraventricular infusion of the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) analog 8-bromo-cAMP also reversed the depressant effect of ST-91 without altering the effect of mCPP. These data suggest that inhibition of adenylate cyclase may be involved in the effect of activation of central α 2 -adrenergic receptors.
DITHIONITE QUENCHING RATE MEASUREMENT OF THE INSIDE-OUTSIDE MEMBRANE BILAYER DISTRIBUTION OF 7-NITROBENZ-2-OXA-1,3-DIAZOL-4-YL-LABELED PHOSPHOLIPIDS

Measurement of the extent of dithionite quenching of the fluorescence of 7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl- (NBD-) labeled lipids inserted into cellular and organellar membranes has been used to quantify their topological distribution and translocation. This assay provides a straightforward method for determining the fraction of NBD-lipid exposed to the outer leaflet of membranes that are impermeant to dithionite. However, it appears that many, if not all, cellular membranes are relatively permeable to dithionite. The present work describes a method in which the initial rate of dithionite quenching, rather than the extent of quenching, was used to determine the fraction of different NBD-labeled phospholipids exposed to the outer leaflet. This method permits the estimation of the translocation process even in experimental conditions where the membrane is semipermeable to dithionite. This technique was used to measure the translocation of several NBD-labeled phospholipids across two biological membranes: brush border membranes vesicles (BBMV) from rabbit intestine and secretory vesicles (SV) from sec 6-4 mutant yeast cells. BBMV were shown to passively equilibrate N-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1, 3-diazol-4-yl)monopalmitoylphosphatidylethanolamine (N-NBD-PPE) and 1-palmitoyl-2-[6-(7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1, 3-diazol-4-yl)aminocaproyl]phosphatidylcholine (P-C6-NBD-PC) to approximately 50% in the inner leaflet by a protein-mediated process. In addition, P-C6-NBD-PC was shown to passively equilibrate across SV to approximately 20% in the inner leaflet. The addition of Mg2+ increased the amount on the inner leaflet to approximately 30% by an unknown mechanism, but no evidence for ATP-dependent inward translocation across the SV was found. In the case of BBMV, several different NBD-phospholipids were translocated from the outer to inner leaflet in a matter of minutes and reached an equilibrium distribution of approximately 50% inside and outside. This movement was inhibitable by N-bromosuccinimide. The inward translocation rate and distribution of headgroup labeled N-NBD-lysophosphatidylethanolamine, having one titratable negative charge, was increased in the presence of an inward basic pH gradient. The same NBD-phospholipids were also translocated across SV to roughly 50% in both leaflets with the exception of NBD-phosphatidic acid, which was passively distributed with 80% in the inner leaflet.
Soil-oxygen and plant-root interaction: An electrical analog study

The objective of this experiment was to determine, by electrical analog, how oxygen movement to plant roots is affected by two variables: the depth of the plow layer (depth of tillage) and the depth of the roots in the plow layer. The analog was developed for a row crop that had a long, narrow, vertical sheet of roots. Oxygen moved from the cultivated soil surface to the sheet of roots. Plow-layer depth (depth of soil cultivated) was 20, 10, 5 or 2.5 cm. Depth of the root sheet was 20, 10, 5, 2.5, 1.25, 0.625, or 0 cm. Dimensionless values for flow of oxygen were determined and compared to theoretical values.
Enzymes of galactose utilization in the rat tapeworm, Hymenolepis diminuta.

1. 1. Crude enzyme preparations from Hymenolepis diminuta contained galactokinase, galactose 1-phosphate uridyl transferase and UDPgalactose 4-epimerase activity, although their specific activities were low. 2. 2. Galactose 1-phosphate non-competitively inhibited galactose phosphorylation. This inhibition, together with the low specific activities of the enzymes in the pathway of galactose utilization, probably accounts for the inadequacy of galactose as a main nutritive carbohydrate for development of the worm.
A T-cell dormant state in the autoimmune process of nonobese diabetic mice treated with complete Freund's adjuvant.

Abstract Three experimental manipulations showed the suppressive effect of injection of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA) in the diabetic state of nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice. (i) Diabetes was inhibited in young NOD mice injected with the adjuvant. (ii) Recurrence of diabetes in mice transplanted with pancreatic islets was also inhibited when the recipients were injected with CFA. (iii) Injection of spleen lymphocytes from diabetic mice into male NOD mice transferred the diabetic state, but this transfer was markedly suppressed when the recipients were treated with CFA. In all three cases the spleen cells from the normoglycemic mice treated with CFA induced diabetes when transferred into NOD male mice. CFA, therefore, induces a state of T-cell dormancy, in which the islets are no longer subject to an immune attack.
Patient heal thyself: activating the ambulatory medical patient.

Abstract The ambulatory management of chronic medical conditions is receiving increasing attention. To obtain optimal medical management, minimal functional and symptomatic impairment, the most benign course, and the best ultimate outcome, requires that the patient play an active role in his medical care. This behavioral role can best be understood from a psychological viewpoint. The patient as healer can attempt with his physician's help to maximize the power of their relationship and to participate in the planning and execution of the therapeutic regimen. The patient can further influence the course and outcome of his illness by attending to, and modifying as necessary (with professional help when indicated), the stresses he perceives and the dysphoric affects, damaged self-image, and unacceptable dependency needs he experiences as part of being ill. A crucial tool at the patient's disposal is the coping behavior he employs in adapting to illness and disability. Finally, various new psychological techniques offer the patient the potential to actually become a therapeutic modality. The physician can help the patient in each of these behaviors, but he can not perform them for him.
Soft-Decision Feedback Turbo Equalization for Multilevel Modulations

Error propagation phenomena is the major drawback for existing hard-decision feedback turbo equalizers. In this paper, we propose a new soft-decision feedback equalizer (SDFE) suitable for multilevel modulation systems employing turbo equalization. The proposed SDFE offers a low computational complexity growing only linearly with the number of equalizer coefficients, as opposed to the quadratic complexity of MMSE-based linear turbo equalizer with time-varying coefficients (Exact-MMSE-LE). The performance and convergence property of the proposed SDFE are analyzed using extrinsic information transfer (EXIT) chart and verified by simulations in a severe intersymbol interference channel set by Proakis. Results show that our approach performs close to Exact-MMSE-LE for BPSK/QPSK modulation. And for 8PSK/16QAM modulations, the proposed SDFE performs much better. It exhibits lower SNR threshold (SNR required for “waterfall” BER) and much faster convergence than Exact-MMSE-LE.
West African and Black American Working Women: Historical and Contemporary Comparisons

Black American women and African women share a common cultural heritage, including a long tradition of working. In this paper, African working women are discussed in terms of their historical and contemporary working contexts in comparison with those of Black American working women. Observations of and interviews with seven working women were conducted in three West African countries. Information was sought concerning economic independence, education, employment, family background, marriage, and social support groups. The results of this study indicate a number of future research directions in the areas of alternative family models, self-image, increased economic independence, education, and training.