cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Miocene vertebrate and invertebrate burrows defining compound paleosols in the Pawnee Creek Formation, Colorado, U.S.A.

Abstract Ichnofossils from two compound paleosols in the middle Miocene Pawnee Creek Formation (PCF) of northeastern Colorado, U.S.A., indicate a diverse soil ecosystem that included plants, invertebrates, and vertebrates. The 2–4 m thick paleosols are characterized by blocky textures, shallow depth calcareous horizons overlying silty bioturbated horizons, calcareous nodules, dense mats of fine ( Ichnofossils attributed to ground beetles, ants, reptiles, and mammals represent a complex variety of behaviors including temporary to permanent dwelling, nesting, and food storing. Rhizoliths and burrows used to interpret media consistency, organic content, soil moisture, and water-table level are tiered from shallow, intermediate, to deep levels within paleosols with respect to physical and biological factors. Separate bioturbated intervals permits the recognition of two different paleosols that otherwise might not have been recognized. Such well-developed paleosols with high densities of terrestrial burrows have substantial sequence stratigraphic significance since they define surfaces of low sedimentation, base level, and accommodation. The PCF ichnofossil assemblages represent at least three distinct ichnocoenoses. The Kladosystemites ichnocoenosis, with Kladosystemites , Polychoredrites , Parowanichnus , and 1–10 mm diameter rhizoliths, is present in the upper profile of well-drained, consolidated, and nutrient-rich paleosols with dense concentrations of small-to-large plants at the surface. The Beaconites ichnocoenosis, with Beaconites , Katarrhedrites , and 5–10 mm rhizoliths, is present in the lower profile of moderately organic paleosols above the influence of the water table but subject to seasonally variable saturated and unsaturated conditions due to precipitation. The Daimonelix ichnocoenosis, with Daimonelix , Beaconites , small-to-large Katarrhedrites , and 5–10 mm diameter rhizoliths, is present in the lower profile of very organic-rich paleosols generally above the influence of the water table but subject to seasonally variable saturated and unsaturated conditions. Integration of data from body fossils, ichnofossils, paleosols, and sedimentary environments provides new insight into Neogene ecosystems. Paleosol properties combined with the ichnofossil distribution, abundance, and diversity indicates that Miocene PCF paleosols formed under a seasonal climate subject to wide variation in temperature and precipitation. The diverse assemblage of burrow morphologies records adaptation of the local fauna to these environmental conditions. The response of soil ecosystems to short- and long-term changes in climate is, therefore, vital to any study of the effects of climate change in the geologic record.
Angle judgment: Is the whole the sum of its parts?

This study concerns whether the discrimination of a geometric angle depends on the orientations of its bounding lines or on angle size. In Experiment 1, thresholds for angle discrimination were measured in three observers for angles ranging from 15 to 180 deg, oriented either vertically or obliquely. Angle discrimination thresholds were found to depend primarily on angle size for most of the range of angles (angle-dependent, or Weber's law regime). However, in a small region near 90 deg (orientation-dependent regime) angle discrimination depends on the orientations of the bounding lines. When our data in the angle-dependent regime were fitted with a power function, the exponents were close to or
Conodonts from Trans-Pecos Paleozolc of Texas: ABSTRACT

This is a Preliminary summary of the distribution of conodonts in Lower to Upper Ordovician, Middle and Upper Devonian, Mississippian, Pennsylvanian, and Permian strata in the Trans-Pecos area of West Texas. Conodonts are now known to occur in the following formations: El Paso (Lower Ordovician), Montoya (Upper Ordovician), Canutillo (Middle Devonian), Helms (Upper Mississippian), Rancheria (Lower Mississippian), Tesnus (in part Mississippian), Magdalena and Gaptank (both Pennsylvanian), and Wolfcamp (Lower Permian) Formations. In addition, previously described faunas from the Marathon (Lower Ordovician), Fort Pena and Woods Hollow (Middle Ordovician), Maravillas (Upper Ordovician), Caballos (Devonian) and Dimple (Lower Pennsylvanian) Formations have been re-studied. Comp risons of these conodont faunas have been made with similar conodont faunas in central and eastern United States, and in western Europe. Detailed biozones like those proposed by other workers for the Illinois basin and for western Europe have not yet been established in West Texas. Furthermore, the abundance of conodonts in the stratigraphic column in West Texas is considerably less than that of the central United States and Europe. End_of_Article - Last_Page 266------------
Walls Within Walls: Life Histories of Working Women in the Old City of Lahore

Walled City life women, families and households women and their work survival strategies and images of power social changes imagined and envisioned.
Quantitation of lipid in biological tissue by chemical shift magnetic resonance imaging

A method combining several previously used approaches is described for the rapid, accurate quantitation of the fat content of biological tissue based on chemical shift images (CSI) corrected for magnetic field inhomogeneity, and compensated for T1, and T2, effects. The gravimetrically determined lipid content of fatty tissues (pork fat, rabbit and human liver) that had been differentially depleted of lipid by chloroform extraction correlated well (r = 0.99) with the lipid image intensities of the respective tissues. This multi-point CSI method was used to quantitate lipid in fresh fatty human liver tissue (wet and dry) containing varying amounts of lipid. Plots of integrated lipid intensity versus tissue lipid content gave straight parallel lines for hydrated (r = 0.94) and dehydrated (r = 0.98) tissues, permitting determination of a proportionality constant for measuring absolute amounts of lipid present in a specific biological tissue. These results suggest the feasibility of using the method in vivo for absolute quantitation of lipid in tissues of agricultural (e.g. pork, beef) and medical (e.g. human liver) interest.
Using higher-level failure data in fault tree quantification

Abstract This paper presents a Bayesian method which can simultaneously combine basic event and statistically independent higher event-level failure data in fault tree quantification. Such higher-level data could correspond to train, subsystem or system failure events. In fact, because highest-level data are usually available for existing facilities, the method presented here allows such data to be propagated to lower levels. The method has two stages: (1) a top-down propagation scheme which allocates the higher event-level information to the basic events, at a cost of making them dependent; and (2) a scheme for sampling the probabilities of the dependent basic events. A simple example illustrates the performance of the method.
6-[18F]Fluoro-L-dihydroxyphenylalanine metabolism and positron emission tomography after catechol-O-methyltransferase inhibition in normal and hemiparkinsonian monkeys

Increased and sustained central delivery ofl-dihydroxyphenylalanine (l-DOPA) is a desirable therapeutic strategy in Parkinson's disease. We investigated the effects of peripheralcatechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) inhibition, by the non-toxic drug nitecapone on the metabolism of 6-[18F]fluoro-l-dihydroxyphenylalanine (6FD) and on its positron emission tomography (PET) imaging in non-human primates. Nitecapone produced a dose-dependent inhibition in the formation of3-O-methyl-6-[18F]fluorodihydroxyphenylalanine (OMFD). This inhibition of OMFD formation was attended by increased production of other metabolites, in particular 6-[18F]fluorodopamine (6FDA), 6-[18F]fluorodihydroxyphenylacetic acid (FDOPAC), 6-[18F]fluorohomovanillic acid (FHVA) and [18F]-sulfated conjugates (FSC). Although nitecapone had no effect on plasma 6FD pharmacokinetics, high-dose nitecapone increased contrast of cerebral18F uptake and retention between regions with high (striatum) versus sparse (parieto-occipital lobes) dopaminergic innervation.18F uptake contrast was also improved between structures known to possess an intermediate dopaminergic innervation, including the upper brainstem, frontal and temporal lobes, versus sparsely innervated regions. This increased contrast was secondary to decreased activity in sparsely innervated structures and not to increased activity in highly innervated structures. Contrast was correlated inversely with the plasma OMFD/6FD concentration ratio, OMFD being the main 6FD metabolite which can cross the blood brain barrier. We conclude that nitecapone is an effective inhibitor of COMT in non-human primates. This inhibition results in increased 6FD flux through other catabolic pathways. Because of decreased OMFD formation, however, COMT inhibition improves the specificity of 6FD-PET and facilitates in-vivo detection of a wide range of dopaminergic innervation densities in cerebral structures.
Localization conditions and diffused necking for damage plastic solids

We start by generalizing the one dimensional Considere condition to a maximum power condition for arbitrary three dimensional loadings. In particular, proportional loadings with arbitrary confining pressures and Lode angles are considered. It is shown that the maximum power localization criterion for J2 material does not agree with experimental observations. The constitutive relationship of damage plastic solids is then introduced to the maximum power condition for the diffused necking. We show that the onset of localization is a spontaneous consequence of the evolution of plastic damage as the weakening rate increases. Emphasis is given to the extensively studied sheet metal forming. We show that the governing factor of the localization condition for damage plastic solids is not the damage itself, but the resulting effect of the rate of the weakening from the plasticity induced damage, which is a function of the stress states on the loading path. Effects of the pressure sensitivity, the Lode angle dependence, the damage accumulation and weakening are explored through parametric studies. Examples are given for several metallic alloys that exhibit different shapes of the forming limit curve (FLC). The predicted strain components at the onset of localization agree well with the experimental results.
GROUNDBASED RECONNAISSANCE OF ASTEROID 253 MATHILDE : VISIBLE WAVELENGTH SPECTRUM AND METEORITE COMPARISON

Abstract Asteroid 253 Mathilde has been identified as a flyby target for the near-Earth asteroid rendezvous spacecraft enroute to 433 Eros. We performed 4300- to 9200-A spectroscopy of Mathilde and found it to be a C-class asteroid, an asteroid type not yet visited by a spacecraft. We also compare Mathilde's spectrum to similar meteorite analogs such as carbonaceous chondrites and black ordinary chondrites.
Modeling oil migration in two-layer chocolate-almond confectionery products

Abstract Migration of oil from high oil content fillings into the surrounding chocolate coatings results in product quality changes of filled confections. The objective of this study was to evaluate the mass transfer of liquid oil in two-layer model confectionery samples prepared from four almond products and dark chocolate. Experimental data were acquired using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The spatial and temporal experimental data of the liquid oil signal of the almond product and chocolate were modeled using a Fickian diffusion model. Solutions to the diffusion model were derived using both Laplace transform analytical solution and a finite difference numerical solution. For both methods, the boundary condition between the two layers incorporated a partition coefficient. MatLab’s nlinfit routine coupled with the diffusion equation solution provided estimates of the diffusion coefficients, Da (almond products) and Dc (chocolate), and the partition coefficient. The diffusion coefficient values for the chocolate region ranged between 3 × 10−11 m2/s and 6 × 10−11 m2/s; the diffusion coefficient values for the almond products were an order of magnitude greater than that of chocolate.
Ionic Currents across the Plasmalemma of Chara inflata Cells I. OSMOTIC EFFECTS OF SORBITOL ON K+, CI- AND LEAK CURRENTS

Effects of increases in external osmotic pressure on the electrophysiological behaviour of the plasmalemma in cells of the brackish-water alga Chara inflata
Production of L(+)-lactic acid byRhizopus oryzae immobilized in calcium alginate gels

Lactic acid is produced commercially by the fermentation of carbohydrates with homofermentative lactic acid bacteria (Prescott and Dunn, 1959). Lockwood et al (1936) reported that selected strains ofRhizopus oryzae in surface culture converted glucose to a large amount of L(+)-lactic acid in the presence of calcium carbonate, and Prescott and Dunn (1959) reviewed the production of L(+)-lactic acid by molds.
Deforestation and Land Degradation in the Ethiopian Highlands: A Strategy for Physical Recovery

Deforestation, accelerated soil erosion, and land degradation are seri- ous problems in Ethiopia. To overcome these problems, efforts have been made to launch afforestation and conservation programs; success to date, however, has been limited. This paper will discuss agriculture and forestry practices in the Ethiopian highlands and try to identify the causes of defor- estation and land degradation there. Agroforestry and social forestry prac- tices, plantation forestry, and conservation of the remaining forests are proposed as a strategy for physical recovery. Social and policy issues such as local participation in natural resource management and the existence of clear land and tree tenure policies are critical for the long-term sustain- ability and expansion of forests in Ethiopia. In general, tree planting through agroforestry and social forestry should be an integral part of rural development programs to provide the community with food, fuel wood, income, and environmental benefits. Increasing public awareness through education about forestry and natural resource conservation is vital for maintaining Ethiopia's remaining natural forests and biodiversity.
Differential Association and Criminological Prediction

tions. This proposition views a theory as a code for observations. Secondly, theory testing begins by the deduction of those observations which would indicate the falsity of a theory. This proposition views the first step in theory testing as decoding, that is, formulating operational hypotheses which, if invalidated, would discredit the theory. Third, a theory's utility is a function of the relevance to our problems of the hypotheses deduced from it, as well as the validity of these hypotheses. Fourth, validation of a theory consists of evidence that hypotheses deduced from the theory were tested by operations which could have proven them false, but the operations failed to prove them false. This validation is never absolute or final (16). Fifth, it is a common experience of all sciences that prevailing theories of high generality fail to fit all observations to which they might be applied. Physicist -philosopher Phillipp Frank asserts: "There is certainly no theory which is in complete agreement with all our observations. If we require such a complete agreement, we can certainly achieve it by merely recording the observations" (2, p. 353). And he implies all of our propositions thus far when he says: "Every acceptance of a debatable theory is due to a compromise between . . . agreement with facts and efficiency as a code" (2, p. 341). Sixth, theories of high generality proven partially false are not abandoned in science until alternative theories with respect to a given problem are proven less false. As James B. Conant expresses it: "A conceptual scheme is never discarded merely because of a few stubborn facts with which it cannot be reconciled; a conceptual scheme is either modified or replaced by a better one, never abandoned with nothing left to take its place" (2, p. 30).
Health status of adolescent and young adult cancer survivors

BACKGROUND: Adolescents and young adults (AYA) ages 15 to 29 years who are diagnosed with cancer are at risk for long-term morbidity and mortality associated with treatment of their cancer and the cancer itself. In this article, the authors describe the self-reported health status of AYA cancer survivors. METHODS: The authors examined 2009 data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, including demographic characteristics, risk behaviors, chronic conditions, health status, and health care access, among AYA cancer survivors compared with respondents who had no history of cancer. RESULTS: The authors identified 4054 AYA cancer survivors and 345,592 respondents who had no history of cancer. AYA cancer survivors, compared with respondents who had no history of cancer, reported a significantly higher prevalence of current smoking (26% vs 18%); obesity (31% vs 27%); chronic conditions, including cardiovascular disease (14% vs 7%), hypertension (35% vs 29%), asthma (15% vs 8%), disability (36% vs 18%), and poor mental health (20% vs 10%) and physical health (24% vs 10%); and not receiving medical care because of cost (24% vs 15%). CONCLUSIONS: AYA cancer survivors commonly reported adverse behavioral, medical, and health care access characteristics that may lead to poor long-term medical and psychosocial outcomes. Increased adherence to established follow-up guidelines may lead to improved health among AYA cancer survivors. Cancer 2012. © 2012 American Cancer Society.
Approach and landing technologies for STOL fighter configurations

Providing next-generation fighter aircraft with short takeoff and landing capability will require effective highlift systems, methods of providing adequate longitudinal trim and control, and thrust reversers compatible with advanced configurations. Recent wind tunnel tests in the NASA Langley 4- x 7-m tunnel have provided the opportunity to investigate some promising technologies for providing this short takeoff and landing capability. These tests include investigations of the high-lift contribution of spanwise blowing on a trailing-edge flap system, the trim capability of a blown high-lift canard, and the deceleration of a thrust reverser for ground roll reduction. This paper reviews the results of each investigation and examines the integration of these technologies on a common advanced fighter configuration to determine their compatibility and the resulting overall performance of the configuration.
Minimum time power-aware rendezvous for multi-agent networks.

This paper discusses the problem of poweraware rendezvous, in which a collection of mobile agents must decide where and when to meet in order to do so in the least amount of time, given different available initial power levels. Moreover, the movements of the individual agents directly affect the power consumption, which means that the agents must meet in such a way that they do not run out of power. This problem is first approached as an optimal control problem and then implemented in a distributed manner on a team of simulated mobile robots.
Synthesis of two lac repressor polypeptides in a mutant of Escherichia coli that has a new promoter for the lac operon mapping within the i gene

Consistent with the probable location of a mutant promoter for the lac operon within the i gene ( Bruenn & DeLucia-Curtin, 1975 ), we have demonstrated that the mutant synthesizes a fragment of lac repressor, as well as a repressor monomer of normal size. The properties of these polypeptides argue that the mutation that gives rise to the new promoter is most likely only an alteration of a few base-pairs.
Clinical endpoint sensitivity in rheumatoid arthritis: modeling and simulation.

The commonly used efficacy endpoints in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) clinical trials are American College of Rheumatology 20 % improvement criteria (ACR20), ACR50, and ACR70 response rates, and the 28-joint disease activity score (DAS28). Longitudinal models to quantitate the exposure–response relationships for ACRs and DAS28 score were developed for four biologics used for the management of RA. The models were then used to simulate the clinical outcome at various time points following different treatment regimens. Discriminative sensitivity of these endpoints was assessed using a power analysis. The trial simulation and subsequent power analysis showed that both ACR20 and DAS28 exhibit much lower power in distinguishing between two doses investigated compared with distinguishing treatment effect over placebo/Methotrexate (MTX) control. ACR20 response rate is generally more powerful in detecting treatment effect over placebo/MTX control as compared to DAS28. The findings of current study provide useful information which will help future clinical trial design for the treatment of patients with RA.
Influence of temporal masking on click-pair discriminability

It has been suggested that a listener's ability to dis­ criminate between time-reversed transient signals may be regarded as an estimate of the ear's temporal acuity (Green, 1971, 1973; Patterson & Green, 1970; Wier & Green, 1975). In particular, Ronken (1970) demonstrated that listeners with normal hearing were able to distinguish one transient composed of two clicks of unequal amplitude separated by a brief interval of time (M) from a transient which presented those same clicks in reverse temporal order. Fig­ ure la illustrates these signals. The signal labeled FORWARDis composed of two very brief (lOO-/Asec) clicks which occur with a temporal separation of M. In this signal, the ampli­ tude of the first click is greater than that of the second by an amount M. When these same two clicks are presented in reversed temporal order, the BACK­ WARD transient results. Ronken demonstrated that the energy-density spectra calculated for the FORWARD transient and the BACKWARD transient are equivalent for equal M and M values within the two signals. The signals differ only in their phase spectra, which reflect the order of events in a click pair. Ronken reported the just discriminable M to be 2 msec, a temporal threshold estimate supported by several related studies (Green, 1971). It is thought
Towards a theory of entrepreneurial teams

Abstract This article examines the role of entrepreneurial teams in processes of entrepreneurial discovery. It addresses two main questions. The first investigates the implications of economic theory for the possibility of team entrepreneurship. Because leading economic theories focus almost exclusively upon individual decision-makers, we propose a broader notion of entrepreneurship that includes enterprising teams as well as individuals. We define entrepreneurship as a profit-seeking problem-solving process that takes place under conditions of structural uncertainty. The second question examines the conditions that are conducive to joint entrepreneurial action and the formation of entrepreneurial teams. We suggest that bounded structural uncertainty and perceived strong interdependence arising from common interest can jointly “prime” team entrepreneurship.
A comparison of extrahepatic lipogenesis from a small glucose meal in obob and gold thioglucose obese mice fed low- or high-fat diets with or without the addition of δ22-5β-taurocholenic acid

Abstract Extrahepatic fatty acid synthesis from a 250 mg meal of [U- 14 C]-glucose was measured in epidymal fat pads and the remaining carcass of hyperglycemic obese (obob), gold thioglucose obese, and nonobese controls under conditions of maximum and minimum lipogenesis. Also assessed was the effect of Δ 22 -5β-taurocholenic acid, previously shown to inhibit hepatic fatty acid synthesis. Both types of obese and nonobese mice were fed for 6 weeks glucose-based diets containing either 1% corn oil or 40% lard with or without the addition of 0.05% taurocholenic acid. In mice fed 1% corn oil, incorporation of labeled glucose into carcass fatty acids was 25% greater in nonobese than obese mice of either type of obesity. On this diet incorporation of labeled glucose into epididymal fatty acids was reduced 83% in hyperglycemic obese mice compared with nonobese littermates. The corresponding reduction in lipogenesis in gold thioglucose obese mice was only 23% compared with nonobese controls. Feeding 40% lard reduced incorporation of labeled glucose into epididymal and carcass fatty acid 67 to 95% compared with mice fed 1% corn oil in both types of obese and nonobese mice whether or not taurocholenic acid had been fed. Both types of obesity or feeding 40% lard reduced lipogenesis in fat pads to a greater extent than glucose uptake by the pads with the reductions additive. Feeding taurocholenic acid reduced pad weight 30% across strain and obesity status, increased uptake of labeled glucose into epididymal fat pads and increased the percentage of the labeled glucose in the pad recovered as fatty acid in both types of obese and nonobese mice when the diet was 1% corn oil. Similarities and differences between the two obesity models are discussed.
The Dimensionality and Topology of Chemical Bonding Manifolds in Metal Clusters and Related Compounds.

The chemical bonding manifolds in metal cluster skeletons (as well as in skeletons of clusters of other elements such as boron or carbon) may be classified according to their dimensionalities and their chemical homeomorphism to various geometric structures. The skeletal bonding manifolds of discrete metal cluster polyhedra may be either one-dimensional edge-localized or three-dimensional globally delocalized, although two-dimensional face-localized skeletal bonding manifolds are possible in a few cases. Electron precise globally delocalized metal cluster polyhedra withv vertices have 2v + 2 skeletal electrons and form deltahedra with no tetrahedral chambers having total skeletal bonding manifolds chemically homeomorphic to a closed ball. Electron-rich metal cluster polyhedra withv vertices have more than 2v + 2 skeletal electrons and form polyhedra with one or more non-triangular faces, whereas electron-poor metal cluster polyhedra withv vertices have less than 2v + 2 skeletal electrons and form deltahedra with one or more tetrahedral chambers. Fusion of metal cluster octahedra by sharing (triangular) faces forms three-dimensional analogues of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons such as naphthalene, anthracene, and perinaphthenide. Fusion of metal cluster octahedra by sharing edges can be extended infinitely into one and two dimensions forming chains (e.g. Gd2Cl3) and sheets (e.g. ZrCl), respectively. Infinite extension of such fusion of metal cluster octahedra into all three dimensions leads to bulk metal structures. Unusual anionic platinum carbonyl clusters can be contructed from stacks of Pt3 triangles or Pt5 pentagons. The resulting platinum polyhedra appear to exhibit edge-localized bonding, supplemented by unusual types of delocalized bonding at the top and the bottom of the stacks. Superconducting ternary molybdenum chalcogenides and lanthanide rhodium borides consist of infinite lattices of electronically linked edge-localized Mo6 octahedra or Rh4 tetrahedra, leading naturally to the idea of porous delocalization in superconducting materials.
A TASTE FOR PUNISHMENT: Black and White Americans' Views on the Death Penalty and the War on Drugs

It is commonly accepted that Black and White Americans hold divergent views about the criminal justice system. Furthermore, many accept the view that U.S. public opinion is unflinchingly punitive where issues of criminal justice policy are concerned, with this punitiveness among White Americans deriving to a significant degree from anti-Black prejudice. Using a series of survey-based experiments and large, nationally representative samples of White and African American respondents, we subject the questions of Black-White polarization, unyielding punitiveness, and the influence of racial prejudice to close scrutiny. Our results, first, confirm large Black-White differences in opinion with Blacks consistently less punitive than Whites. These differences are substantially a result of beliefs about the extent of racial bias in the criminal justice system. Second, the framing experiments suggest that responses to the death penalty are very different than responses to drug-related crimes like crack or powder cocaine use, with the former exhibiting far less malleability than the latter. Third, racial prejudice is a consistently large influence on White public opinion and a weaker, but sometimes important influence among Blacks as well. Implications for discourse on race and crime are also discussed.
Characterizing guarded hosts in peer-to-peer file sharing systems

We call end-hosts behind network address translator (NAT) gateways or firewalls guarded hosts, and otherwise open hosts. In this paper, we empirically measure the prevalence of guarded hosts in two popular peer-to-peer file sharing systems, eDonkey and Gnutella, and study the characteristics of their shared files. By performing passive and active probes, we found that about 25-36% of eDonkey and Gnutella users reside on guarded hosts and that the ratio of files shared by guarded hosts is also non-trivial. When discounting guarded hosts, we found that a popular file's availability, i.e., the number of copies available for download, decreases by 25-30%. Our measurement study testifies to the significant impact guarded hosts may have on the performance of current peer-to-peer file sharing systems, and points to a need to consider their presence when designing next generation peer-to-peer systems.
Selenoproteinless Animals: Selenophosphate Synthetase SPS1 Functions in a Pathway Unrelated to Selenocysteine Biosynthesis

Proteins containing the 21st amino acid, selenocysteine (Sec), have been described in all three domains of life, but the composition of selenoproteomes in organisms varies significantly. Here, we report that aquatic arthropods possess many selenoproteins also detected in other animals and unicellular eukaryotes, and that most of these proteins were either lost or replaced with cysteine-containing homologs in insects. As a result of this selective selenoproteome reduction, fruit flies and mosquitoes have three known selenoproteins, and the honeybee, Apis mellifera, a single detected candidate selenoprotein. Moreover, we identified the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum, and the silkworm, Bombyx mori, as the first animals that lack any Sec-containing proteins. These insects also lost the Sec biosynthesis and insertion machinery, but selenophosphate synthetase 1 (SPS1), an enzyme previously implicated in Sec biosynthesis, is present in all insects, including T. castaneum and B. mori. These data indicate that SPS1 functions in a pathway unrelated to selenoprotein synthesis. Since SPS1 evolved from a protein that utilizes selenium for Sec biosynthesis, an attractive possibility is that SPS1 may define a new pathway of selenium utilization in animals.
Magmatic tubes, pipes, troughs, diapirs, and plumes: Late-stage convective instabilities resulting in compositional diversity and permeable networks in crystal-rich magmas of the Tuolumne batholith, Sierra Nevada, California

A complex array of widespread, but domainally developed, structures is preserved in the Tuolumne batholith, including stationary and migrating tubes, pipes, troughs, diapers, and plume heads. These structures, all formed by local magma flow through crystal-mush host magmas, are often associated with the formation of schlieren rich in accessory and mafic minerals, and are associated with filter pressing and accumulations of crystals with diverse magma histories and ages. Together they represent a network in which channelized flow occurred in an existing chamber of crystal-rich magmas, resulting in local compositional and structural diversity. These structures also are useful structural tools for evaluating the internal evolution of magma chambers. For example, the consistently steep tube and pipe axes indicate that neither the pluton nor features in the pluton were tilted during growth, thus excluding models in which subhorizontal layers tilted to form the existing steep contacts. Although the overall direction of younging established by geochronologic studies is toward the batholith center, local younging directions determined from troughs cutoffs indicate that outward growth occurred in many zones. The highly variable movement directions of local diapirs and plumes require interactions between buoyancy forces and other gradients. The existence and characteristics of these structures have several other implications. Interpretations derived about crystal residence times in chambers and about crystal mixing during eruptions need to be treated with caution, since mixed crystal populations existed well prior to eruptions, and in the case of the Tuolumne batholith involved crystals with ages ranging over ~10 m.y. A likely solution is that crystals in subvolcanic chambers become armored (rimmed) by other crystals or exist in crystal clusters that, in spite of changing environmental conditions, prevent rapid chemical communication with the surrounding melts. These structures also challenge many aspects of the incremental chamber growth model resulting in sheeted bodies championed by Glazner, Bartley, Coleman, and colleagues for the Tuolumne batholith. The thousands of preserved internal structures provide clear evidence against late annealing and removal of internal contacts, and are difficult to reconcile with either vertical sheeted or subhorizontal laccolith models; however, they are permissive of early pulsing leading to one or more large magma chambers.
Effects of the supine and prone position on diaphragm thickness in healthy term infants

BACKGROUND—The physiological basis underlying the decline in the incidence of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) associated with changing the sleep position from prone to supine remains unknown. AIMS—To evaluate diaphragm thickness (tdi) and shortening in healthy term infants in the prone and supine positions in order to determine whether changes in body position would affect diaphragm resting length and the degree of diaphragm shortening during inspiration. METHODS—In 16 healthy term infants, diaphragm thickness at the level of the zone of apposition on the right side was measured using ultrasonography. Heart rate (HR), breathing frequency (f), and transcutaneous oxyhaemoglobin saturation (SaO2) were recorded simultaneously during diaphragm imaging with the infants in the supine and prone positions during quiet sleep. RESULTS—At end expiratory (EEV) and at end inspiratory lung volumes (EIV), tdi increased significantly in the prone position. The change in tdi during tidal breathing was also greater when the infant was prone. SaO2, HR, and f were not significantly different at EEV and at EIV in both positions. CONCLUSION—In healthy term infants, placed in the prone position, the diaphragm is significantly thicker and, therefore, shorter, both at EEV and EIV. Diaphragm shortening during tidal breathing is greater when the infant is prone. In the prone position, the decreased diaphragm resting length would impair diaphragm strength, and the additional diaphragm shortening during tidal breathing represents added work performed by the diaphragm. This may compromise an infant's capacity to respond to stressful situations when placed in the prone position and may contribute to the association of SIDS with prone position.
Cognition in schizophrenia: core psychological and neural mechanisms.

The challenge in understanding cognitive impairment in schizophrenia is that people with this illness have deficits in an array of domains. Here, we briefly review evidence regarding the pattern of deficits within three domains: context processing, working memory and episodic memory. We suggest that there may be a common mechanism driving deficits in these domains – an impairment in the ability to actively represent goal information in working memory to guide behavior, a function we refer to as proactive control. We suggest that such deficits in proactive control reflect impairments in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, its interactions with other brain regions, such as parietal cortex, thalamus and striatum, and the influence of neurotransmitter systems, such as dopamine, GABA and glutamate.
Scientometrics of drug discovery efforts: pain-related molecular targets

The aim of this study was to make a scientometric assessment of drug discovery efforts centered on pain-related molecular targets. The following scientometric indices were used: the popularity index, representing the share of articles (or patents) on a specific topic among all articles (or patents) on pain over the same 5-year period; the index of change, representing the change in the number of articles (or patents) on a topic from one 5-year period to the next; the index of expectations, representing the ratio of the number of all types of articles on a topic in the top 20 journals relative to the number of articles in all (>5,000) biomedical journals covered by PubMed over a 5-year period; the total number of articles representing Phase I–III trials of investigational drugs over a 5-year period; and the trial balance index, a ratio of Phase I–II publications to Phase III publications. Articles (PubMed database) and patents (US Patent and Trademark Office database) on 17 topics related to pain mechanisms were assessed during six 5-year periods from 1984 to 2013. During the most recent 5-year period (2009–2013), seven of 17 topics have demonstrated high research activity (purinergic receptors, serotonin, transient receptor potential channels, cytokines, gamma aminobutyric acid, glutamate, and protein kinases). However, even with these seven topics, the index of expectations decreased or did not change compared with the 2004–2008 period. In addition, publications representing Phase I–III trials of investigational drugs (2009–2013) did not indicate great enthusiasm on the part of the pharmaceutical industry regarding drugs specifically designed for treatment of pain. A promising development related to the new tool of molecular targeting, ie, monoclonal antibodies, for pain treatment has not yet resulted in real success. This approach has not yet demonstrated clinical effectiveness (at least with nerve growth factor) much beyond conventional analgesics, when its potential cost is more than an order of magnitude higher than that of conventional treatments. This scientometric assessment demonstrated a lack of real breakthrough developments.
Outcomes in Patients With Clinical Stage III NSGCT Who Achieve Complete Clinical Response to Chemotherapy at Extraretroperitoneal Disease Site

Objective To compare the survival outcomes of patients with advanced nonseminoma and extraretroperitoneal (ERP) disease observed for a clinical complete response (CCR) with those demonstrating a pathologic complete response (PCR). Methods From 1989 to 2003, 237 patients with clinical Stage III nonseminoma underwent induction chemotherapy followed by retroperitoneal lymph node dissection. After chemotherapy, 107 demonstrated a CCR to treatment at the ERP disease site. Of the remaining 130 patients with radiographic evidence of residual ERP disease, 86 (66%) had fibrosis only on pathologic review (ie, PCR). The probability of progression-free and disease-specific survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method. Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was used to determine the prognostic significance of risk factors for progression and survival. Results The median follow-up was similar for both CCR and PCR patients (44.5 and 50.7 months, respectively). Overall, the 5-year probability of freedom from progression (93% vs 72%, respectively; P = .0005) and disease-specific survival (96% vs 87%, respectively; P = .08) rates were far better for men with a PCR. The predictors of disease progression included residual retroperitoneal nodal size after chemotherapy ( P = .05), and resection of the residual disease at the ERP site was protective ( P = .02). Conclusion A CCR at the ERP disease site is associated with a greater likelihood of relapse compared with a PCR, underscoring the limitations of radiographic imaging after chemotherapy in detecting microscopic residual disease and need for rigorous monitoring of patients observed after a CCR. Furthermore, until more accurate clinical predictors of ERP histologic features are identified, we advocate for complete surgical resection of all sites of residual disease, when feasible.
Dynamics of vorticity fronts

Vorticity fronts can form in a shear flow as the result of fast patches of fluid catching up with slower ones. This process and its consequences are studied in an inviscid two-dimensional model consisting of piecewise uniform-vorticity layers. Calculations using the method of contour dynamics for ‘intrusive’ initial states indicate that the leading edge of the front evolves into a robust structure whose propagation speed can be accounted for by a simple shock-joining theory. Behind the leading edge several different effects can occur depending upon the relative amplitude of the intrusion. These effects include lee-wave generation with possible wave breaking and folding of the front. A critical value of the frontal slope, above which wave breaking occurs, is suggested.
Effect of Image Compression on Iris Recognition

Iris recognition is a proven, accurate means to identify people. Commercial iris recognition systems are currently employed to allow passengers in some airports to be rapidly processed through security, to allow access to secure areas, and for secure access to computer networks. With the growing employment of iris recognition systems and associated research to support this, the need for large databases of iris images is growing. If required storage space is not adequate for these images, compression is an alternative. It allows a reduction in the space needed to store these iris images, although it may be at a cost in some amount of information lost in the process. This paper investigates the effects of image compression on iris recognition. Compression is performed using JPEG2000, and the iris recognition algorithm used is based on several methods, including the Daugman algorithm
The fiction of function.

What is the function of the human hand? What are the functions of our fingers? One could give a very incomplete list of functions of the hand: holding cups, swatting mosquitoes, etc., and similarly for fingers: wrapping around things, pressing on things, holding rings, etc. This clearly is a pointless exercise—incomplete in the extreme—yet it is essentially the goal of many function representation schemes in systems
Empirical Bayes Methods Enable Advanced Population-Level Analyses of Single-Molecule FRET Experiments

Many single-molecule experiments aim to characterize biomolecular processes in terms of kinetic models that specify the rates of transition between conformational states of the biomolecule. Estimation of these rates often requires analysis of a population of molecules, in which the conformational trajectory of each molecule is represented by a noisy, time-dependent signal trajectory. Although hidden Markov models (HMMs) may be used to infer the conformational trajectories of individual molecules, estimating a consensus kinetic model from the population of inferred conformational trajectories remains a statistically difficult task, as inferred parameters vary widely within a population. Here, we demonstrate how a recently developed empirical Bayesian method for HMMs can be extended to enable a more automated and statistically principled approach to two widely occurring tasks in the analysis of single-molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (smFRET) experiments: 1), the characterization of changes in rates across a series of experiments performed under variable conditions; and 2), the detection of degenerate states that exhibit the same FRET efficiency but differ in their rates of transition. We apply this newly developed methodology to two studies of the bacterial ribosome, each exemplary of one of these two analysis tasks. We conclude with a discussion of model-selection techniques for determination of the appropriate number of conformational states. The code used to perform this analysis and a basic graphical user interface front end are available as open source software.
Isolation of temperature-sensitive mutations of the tyrosine kinase receptor sevenless (sev) in Drosophila and their use in determining its time of action.

Abstract Loss-of-function mutations in the sevenless (sev) gene in Drosophila result in the failure to differentiate a specific photoreceptor cell type--namely, the R7 cell. The sev gene encodes a cell-surface receptor tyrosine kinase that functions in the presumptive R7 cell to transduce developmental cues from its neighbors, instructing it to differentiate along the R7 cell pathway. We have isolated temperature-sensitive alleles of sev and used them to show that Sev activity is required for several hours during the development of each R7 cell to specify R7 cell differentiation. Our data also suggest that the presumptive R7 cell remains for approximately 5 hr in an undetermined state in the absence of the Sev-mediated signal before committing to an alternative fate. We have determined the molecular lesions in four of the temperature-sensitive alleles. One of these mutations disrupts the Gly-Xaa-Gly-Xaa-Xaa-Gly consensus in the ATP-binding site of the kinase domain.
Spatial and temporal regulation of 3-phosphoinositides by PI 3-kinase and PTEN mediates chemotaxis

We have investigated the mechanisms of leading edge formation in chemotaxing Dictyostelium cells. We demonstrate that while phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) transiently translocates to the plasma membrane in response to chemoattractant stimulation and to the leading edge in chemotaxing cells, PTEN, a negative regulator of PI3K pathways, exhibits a reciprocal pattern of localization. By uniformly localizing PI3K along the plasma membrane, we show that chemotaxis pathways are activated along the lateral sides of cells and PI3K can initiate pseudopod formation, providing evidence for a direct instructional role of PI3K in leading edge formation. These findings provide evidence that differential subcellular localization and activation of PI3K and PTEN is required for proper chemotaxis.
“I'm Not Good Enough for Anyone”: Legal Status and the Dating Lives of Undocumented Young Adults

The impact of legal status on romantic relationships has not been adequately explored in the literature. Based on video and phone interviews with 25 undocumented activists from the ages of 18 to 28 years old, this research examines how legal status affects the romantic relationships of undocumented women and men. The hegemony of traditional dating scripts made it difficult for those without legal status to participate. Gender roles were consistent with stereotypical male and female roles in dating, which often attribute more power and responsibility to men. As such, women experienced a slight advantage because traditional notions of courtship did not require them to provide the resources required for dating, such as money or transportation, which in contrast were commonly expected of the men. In contrast, women noted the difficulties of disclosing their legal status and depending on their partners for everyday activities. Additionally, both men and women faced exclusion that inhibited their dating lives, as a direct result of their legal status. This suggests that the impact of legal status may be salient at all stages of family formation and that undocumented young adults are experiencing a distinct phenomenon compared to their documented and native-born peers.