cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Seagrass (Ruppia maritima L.) Life History Transitions in Response to Salinity Dynamics Along the Everglades-Florida Bay Ecotone

Coastal estuaries receiving low and fluctuating freshwater flows are creating more variable salinity environments for submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV), including seagrasses. Some SAV species, such as Ruppia maritima L. (wigeongrass), are adapted to variable salinity, but rapid salinity changes can limit population persistence. For example, R. maritima historically dominated at the Everglades-Florida Bay ecotone under greater freshwater flows, but has a more limited distribution in recent decades with greater salinity variability. While R. maritima is an indicator species for Everglades restoration, little is known about how ecotone salinity patterns drive its current limited distribution in southern Everglades estuaries. Seed production is important for population maintenance in this disturbance-tolerant species. Thus, we examined R. maritima life history transitions, including seed germination, seedling and adult survival, and sexual reproduction under site-specific salinity variability across the Everglades ecotone. Seedlings were most susceptible to fluctuating salinity with only 13 % survival at the lower more marine ecotone site under conditions of relatively large-amplitude fluctuations. Adult survival also decreased from upper (93 %) to lower (25 %) sites, resulting in a significant decline in per capita clonal reproduction rates. The markedly low survival rate at the lower ecotone was associated with rapid salinity fluctuations (2.5–20 psu) with short periodicities (<24 h). In addition, no sexual reproduction occurred at any of our ecotone sites, indicating that seed production may be limiting. Thus, hydrologic restoration targets should consider optimization of salinity levels and dynamics that promote SAV early life stage survival and sexual reproduction to restore critical coastal habitats in the Everglades and other highly dynamic estuarine systems.
Comparing artificial and biological dynamical neural networks

Modern computers can be made more friendly and otherwise improved by making them behave more like humans. Perhaps we can learn how to do this from biology in which human brains evolved over a long period of time. Therefore, we first explain a commonly used biological neural network (BNN) model, the Wilson-Cowan neural oscillator, that has cross-coupled excitatory (positive) and inhibitory (negative) neurons. The two types of neurons are used for frequency modulation communication between neurons which provides immunity to electromagnetic interference. We then evolve, for the first time, an artificial neural network (ANN) to perform the same task. Two dynamical feed-forward artificial neural networks use cross-coupling feedback (like that in a flip-flop) to form an ANN nonlinear dynamic neural oscillator with the same equations as the Wilson-Cowan neural oscillator. Finally we show, through simulation, that the equations perform the basic neural threshold function, switching between stable zero output and a stable oscillation, that is a stable limit cycle. Optical implementation with an injected laser diode and future research are discussed.
RESPONSE OF BIRDS TO THINNING YOUNG DOUGLAS-FIR FORESTS

Silvicultural practices, such as thinning, are increasingly performed both for commodity production and to help achieve biodiversity goals and promote ecological restoration. However, relatively little research has examined effects of thinning conifer forests on vertebrates. We experimentally manipulated stands using a randomized block design to evaluate influences of two thinning intensities on populations of diurnal breeding birds in western Oregon. We conducted point counts of birds seven times each year in 1994 (prior to treatment) and from 1995 through 2000 (subsequent to treatment). We analyzed data using multiple linear regression and information-theoretic approaches to model selection. Of the 22 species for which we had sufficient data for analysis, detections of nine species decreased and eight species increased in thinned stands relative to controls, and there was no strong evidence that thinning influenced numbers of five species. Of the 17 species that responded to thinning, the magnitude of response of eight species varied with thinning intensity; for each of these species, response was greatest in the more heavily thinned stands. Although no species was extirpated from stands following thinning, detections of Hutton's Vireos (Vireo huttoni), Golden-crowned Kinglets (Regulus satrapa), Brown Creepers (Certhia americana), Black-throated Gray Warblers (Dendroica nigrescens), and Varied Thrushes (Ixoreus naevius) decreased to less than half of the detections in controls in one or more treatment types, suggesting thinning significantly reduces their numbers. In contrast, American Robins (Turdus migratorius), Townsend's Solitaires (Myadestes townsendi), and Hammond's Flycatchers (Empidonax hammondii) were rare or absent in controls but regularly present in thinned stands, and detections of Western Tanagers (Piranga ludoviciana), Evening Grosbeaks (Coccothraustes vespertinus), and Hairy Woodpeckers (Picoides villosus) increased by threefold or more in thinned stands relative to controls. Only Pacific-slope Flycatchers (Empidonax difficilis), Warbling Vireos (Vireo gilvus), and Western Tanagers showed strong evidence of temporal trends in response. For these species, differences between numbers in controls and treated stands became more extreme through time. Our findings suggest that thinning densely stocked conifer stands in landscapes dominated by younger stands enhances habitat suitability for several species of birds, but that some unthinned patches and stands should be retained to provide refugia for species that are impacted by thinning.
Nutrition and acute pancreatitis: review of the literature and pediatric perspectives

Acute pancreatitis is being diagnosed more frequently in pediatrics and there is limited published research to guide management. In contrast, multiple prospective studies in the adult population have resulted in significant changes in the way the disease is managed, especially with regard to severe disease. The nutritional management of pediatric acute pancreatitis appears to lag behind current adult recommendations, likely resulting from a lack of awareness of the adult data, inherent differences between pediatric and adult pancreatitis, and the paucity of research performed in children. The purpose of this review is to examine the adult literature regarding the nutritional management of acute pancreatitis and discuss the possible relevance of this data in the pediatric population.
Predicting Software Reliability

A detailed look is given to software reliability techniques. A conceptual model of the failure process is examined, and some software reliability growth models are discussed. Problems for which no current solutions exist are addressed, emphasizing the very difficult problem of safety-critical systems for which the reliability requirements can be enormously demanding.
Recent Advances in Contaminant Assessment Offer Proactive Alternatives for Managing Contaminated Fisheries

Abstract For a variety of reasons, many fisheries managers seem reluctant to get involved in contaminant issues even though the effect on fisheries can be far-reaching. The involvement of fisheries managers in this process is critical, and recent advances in assessment techniques offer hope that a more active management of contaminated fisheries is possible. Managing contaminated systems is often limited to contaminant analysis of fish tissue (and sometimes water and sediment), community surveys, and posting of consumption advisories. New approaches using advanced statistical analyses, simulation modeling, and bioindicators of environmental stress offer additional tools that can be used to better understand the transport and fate of contaminants, to assess potential ecological injury, and to evaluate proposed remedial actions. For these tools to be useful in management situations, managers and researchers will need to cooperate in both the development and use of these new techniques.
Effects of Government Policies on Smallholder Palm Cultivation: An Example from Borneo

Rattan is a non-timber forest product with good market potential that has been cultivated sustainably by smallholders for over a century. The government of Indonesia imposed a ban on the export of raw and semi-processed rattan in 1988. To determine whether and how the ban has affected smallholders, we interviewed farmers in two rattan-growing regions in Kalimantan. Since the ban, prices and rural incomes have dropped, cultivation has slowed/stopped (at least temporarily), and farmers have switched to and/or intensified other types of activities.
War, pillage, and markets

Neoclassical economic theory has produced an extensive body of knowledge about market exchange based on cooperative relations: private property. This leads to an artificial dichotomy between cooperation and conflict though. It is best to view market exchange as lying along a continuum of conflict and cooperation. Conflict and cooperation are intertwined. From a game theoretic model of Hobbes' world, I show that a number of property rights structures are possible. Each is characterized as possessing varying degrees of conflict and cooperation. Finally, from a repeated game, I show how conflictual relations (mutual predation) may support more cooperative relations (private property). This new equilibrium is sub-game perfect.
Engineering changes in wheat flour by genetic transformation

Summary The strength and elasticity of doughs made from wheat ( Triticum aestivum ) flours have been correlated to their content of high-molecular-weight glutenin subunits (HMW-GS). The development of a reliable method for genetic transformation has enabled us to make directed modifications in the amounts and composition of these storage proteins by adding genes to wheat that encode a modified HMW-GS. A number of transgenic wheat lines have been obtained in which the accumulation of the introduced gene product is additive to that of the endogenous HMW-GS. However, in one line, addition of HMW-GS genes resulted in partial suppression of endogenous subunit accumulation. Patterns of transgene expression have been stable in homozygous derivatives of these lines for as many as seven generations of growth in the greenhouse. The ability to change the levels and composition of the HMW-GS of wheat seeds by genetic engineering raises the possibility of tailoring flour properties to end-user specifications of dough strength.
Niacin, thiamin, iron and protein status of humans as affected by the consumption of tea (Camellia sinensis) infusions

The objective of the project was to determine the effects of tea (Camellia sinensis) leaf beverage consumption on the apparent utilization of niacin, thiamin, and protein in human subjects. During two randomly arranged experimental periods of 14 days each, 10 adult female human subjects were fed a constant (same foods each day), measured, laboratory-controlled diet. Tea was fed during one period while no tea was allowed during the other period. A dehydrated black tea infusion product (instant tea, 8 g/subject/day/dry weight basis) was used which subjects were allowed to dilute in water. Subjects made complete collections of urine and stools. Fasting blood samples were drawn at the end of each experimental period. No effects on protein status were demonstrated. Urinary thiamin losses were depressed with the use of tea but niacin losses were increased. Blood serum concentrations of thiamin diphosphate also were depressed during the tea drinking period as compared to values during the non-tea period. No significant effect on blood serum levels of nicotinaminde or N'-methylnicotinamine were found but values tended to be lower during the tea than the non-tea period. These results suggest that tea consumption inhibits the utilization of thiamin. However, niacin availability was unaffected by tea drinking. Because of the decreased availability of thiamin, the need for niacin was depressed which caused a greater than expected urinary loss of this vitamin.
Avian Sarcoma and Leukosis Virus Cytopathic Effect in the Absence of TVB Death Domain Signaling

The cytopathic effect (CPE) seen with some subgroups of avian sarcoma and leukosis virus (ASLV) is associated with viral Env activation of the death-promoting activity of TVB (a tumor necrosis factor receptor-related receptor that is most closely related to mammalian TNF-related apoptosis-inducing ligand [TRAIL] receptors) and with viral superinfection leading to unintegrated viral DNA (UVD) accumulation, which is presumed to activate a cellular DNA damage response. In this study, we employed cells that express signaling-deficient ASLV receptors to demonstrate that an ASLV CPE can be uncoupled from the death-promoting functions of the TVB receptor. However, these cell-killing events were associated with much higher levels of viral superinfection and DNA accumulation than those seen when the virus used signaling-competent TVB receptors. These findings suggest that a putative cellular DNA damage response that is activated by UVD accumulation might act in concert with the death-signaling pathways activated by Env-TVB interactions to trigger cell death. Such a model is consistent with the well-established synergy that exists between TRAIL-signaling pathways and DNA damage responses which is currently being exploited in cancer therapy regimens.
Identification of Porcine Coagulation Factor VIII Domains Responsible for High Level Expression via Enhanced Secretion

Blood coagulation factor VIII has a domain structure designated A1-A2-B-ap-A3-C1-C2. Human factor VIII is present at low concentration in normal plasma and, comparably, is produced at low levels in vitro and in vivo using transgenic expression techniques. Heterologous expression of B domain-deleted porcine factor VIII in mammalian cell culture is significantly greater than B domain-deleted human or murine factor VIII. Novel hybrid human/porcine factor VIII molecules were constructed to identify porcine factor VIII domains that confer high level expression. Hybrid human/porcine factor VIII constructs containing the porcine factor VIII A1 and ap-A3 domains expressed at levels comparable with recombinant porcine factor VIII. A hybrid construct containing only the porcine A1 domain expressed at intermediate levels between human and porcine factor VIII, whereas a hybrid construct containing the porcine ap-A3 domain expressed at levels comparable with human factor VIII. Additionally, hybrid murine/porcine factor VIII constructs containing the porcine factor VIII A1 and ap-A3 domain sequences expressed at levels significantly higher than recombinant murine factor VIII. Therefore, the porcine A1 and ap-A3 domains are necessary and sufficient for the high level expression associated with porcine factor VIII. Metabolic radiolabeling experiments demonstrated that high level expression was attributable to enhanced secretory efficiency.
Design of beam line components for the high power wiggler beam line at CHESS

Abstract We present a water-cooled copper beam stop design for the 25-pole wiggler beam line at CHESS. Finite element thermal analyses and simulated heat load tests indicate that the new design should be able to operate safely at a machine current of 500 mA, absorbing 32 kW of total power at a surface density of 400 W/mm 2 normal to the beam. The basic design can also be used for water-cooled masks and apertures on the high power beam line.
Life history of the yellow perch,Perca flavescens, in estuarine waters of Severn River, a tributary of Chesapeake Bay, Maryland

A detailed study on the life history of yellow perch in the Severn River was conducted during 1958. Additional data were collected during 1959, 1960 and 1961 on tag returns and during 1959 on growth of young-of-the-year yellow perch.
Evidence for a frontal cortex role in both auditory and somatosensory habituation: a MEG study.

Abstract Auditory and somatosensory responses to paired stimuli were investigated for commonality of frontal activation that may be associated with gating using magnetoencephalography (MEG). A paired stimulus paradigm for each sensory evoked study tested right and left hemispheres independently in ten normal controls. MR-FOCUSS, a current density technique, imaged simultaneously active cortical sources. Each subject showed source localization, in the primary auditory or somatosensory cortex, for the respective stimuli following both the first (S1) and second (S2) impulses. Gating ratios for the auditory M50 response, equivalent to the P50 in EEG, were 0.54±0.24 and 0.63±0.52 for the right and left hemispheres. Somatosensory gating ratios were evaluated for early and late latencies as the pulse duration elicits extended response. Early gating ratios for right and left hemispheres were 0.69±0.21 and 0.69±0.41 while late ratios were 0.81±0.41 and 0.80±0.48. Regions of activation in the frontal cortex, beyond the primary auditory or somatosensory cortex, were mapped within 25ms of peak S1 latencies in 9/10 subjects during auditory stimulus and in 10/10 subjects for somatosensory stimulus. Similar frontal activations were mapped within 25ms of peak S2 latencies for 75% of auditory responses and for 100% of somatosensory responses. Comparison between modalities showed similar frontal region activations for 17/20 S1 responses and for 13/20 S2 responses. MEG offers a technique for evaluating cross modality gating. The results suggest similar frontal sources are simultaneously active during auditory and somatosensory habituation.
Implicit Numerical Modeling of Unsteady Flows

A numerical model based on the equations of unsteady flow in open channels is used to compute unsteady flows in rivers and reservoirs. The cross sections of the waterways range from uniform to highly irregular, the type of flow ranges from slowly varied to abrupt changes in discharge, and nearly all combinations of boundary conditions are encountered. The model uses an implicit finite difference method. The versatility, accuracy, stability, and efficiency of the method is demonstrated by field measurements.
Seeing Through Photographs of Borderlands (Dis)order

The charged geopolitical region of the US–Mexico border has provided a rich source of material for theorists, artists, and filmmakers invested in documenting the material and discursive effects of transnational capitalism in everyday life. The infamous maquila industry, the alarming rate of embodied and structural gendered violence in border cities such as Juarez, and the para-militarization of the border are just a few of the factors that make the border region germane to an analysis of the complex and dynamic relationship between global economic processes and violent transformations in cultural formations. As “Seeing Through Photographs of Borderlands (Dis)Order” illustrates, however, many of the efforts to document that relationship as it plays out on the border are uncritically framed by a discursive narrative of order and disorder, such that contemporary capitalism is seen as wreaking havoc on tradition, community, a liberal notion of “freedom,” and gender relations – all of which are putatively positioned outside of or before capitalism. What are the political implications of this rhetorical strategy, particularly when it is punctuated by the realist tools of documentary evidence, as it is, for instance, in the central text engaged in my essay, Charles Bowden's Juarez: The Laboratory of Our Future? “Seeing Through Photographs of Borderlands (Dis)Order” is centrally concerned to show that while the visual documentation of suffering on the border to tell this story of order and disorder might bring into sharper (and more affective) relief the tangibly devastating effects of uneven processes of globalization, it also lends itself to a reification of the culture of poverty narrative.
A NOTE ON ATMOSPHERIC IODINE AND ITS ABSORPTION IN MAN.

A simple method for monitoring atmospheric iodine is described. Levels in the outside air ranged from 0 to 7.4 μg/m3. The question of iodine absorption from the air was studied by comparing a group of male laundry workers exposed to elevated levels of atmospheric iodine with a matched group of outside workers. Urinary iodine excretion, serum inorganic iodine (SII), salivary iodine secretion rate and salivary flow were significantly higher in laundry workers. It is concluded that iodine in the atmosphere is absorbed in man, but this study does not delineate the portal of entry. The possible significance of this finding is discussed.
Laser desorption/gas‐phase ionization of the amino acid tryptophan

A solution of tryptophan, rhodamine B and glycerol is irradiated in the source region of a time-of-flight mass spectrometer by visible light from a pulsed laser. Tryptophan and rhodamine B are desorbed and subsequently ionized by a second pulse of ultraviolet light. The observed mass spectra and dependence of ion yields on time delay between light pulses provide information about the laser desorption process.
Relationships between literature programs, library corner designs, and children’s use of literature

AbstractThe purpose of the research was to survey and then describe the physical characteristics of library corners and literature activities used by teachers in early childhood classrooms. Children’s frequency of use of literature during their free-play period was recorded to determine if there was a relationship between literature use and physical design characteristics of library corners and literature activities carried out by teachers. The results from 133 nursery through second grade rooms indicated that many did not have well designed library corners. The results from 67 nursery and kindergarten rooms indicated that many did not have regularly planned literature activities. In most rooms there was infrequent use of library corners by children during their free-play period. There were however many positive correlations found between children’s frequency of use of literature and physical design or program characteristics.
Learning and Transfer: Instructional Conditions and Conceptual Change

Abstract It is widely assumed that instruction plays a role in learning and in transfer. The present studies examine how type of instruction (containing principle-based vs. procedure-based information) influences learning and transfer in a mathematical concept. In the first study, both types of instruction led a comparable number of children to learn, but principle-based instruction led significantly more children to transfer their new knowledge. In the second study, the types of instruction were combined (i.e., children received both principle and procedure information). The results were virtually identical to the results obtained from the procedure-only instructions. This indicates that principle-based instruction may be crucial for transfer to occur and, when children also are exposed to procedures, few will transfer. It is hypothesized that children may ignore the conceptually rich information inherent in the principle when procedures are also provided.
Near infrared laser penetration and absorption in human skin

For understanding the mechanisms of low level laser/light therapy (LLLT), accurate knowledge of light interaction with tissue is necessary. In this paper, we present a three dimensional, multi-layer Monte Carlo simulation tool for studying light penetration and absorption in human skin. The skin is modeled as a three-layer participating medium, namely epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous, where its geometrical and optical properties are obtained from the literature. Both refraction and reflection are taken into account at the boundaries according to Snell’s law and Fresnel relations. A forward Monte Carlo method was implemented and validated for accurately simulating light penetration and absorption in absorbing and anisotropically scattering media. Local profiles of light penetration and volumetric absorption densities were simulated for uniform as well as Gaussian profile beams with different spreads at 155 mW average power over the spectral range from 1000 nm to 1900 nm. The results show the effects of beam profiles and wavelength on the local fluence within each skin layer. Particularly, the results identify different wavelength bands for targeted deposition of power in different skin layers. Finally, we show that light penetration scales well with the transport optical thickness of skin. We expect that this tool along with the results presented will aid researchers resolve issues related to dose and targeted delivery of energy in tissues for LLLT.
Experimental Infection with Avian Leukosis Virus Isolated from Marek's Disease Vaccines

Abstract Recently, avian leukosis virus (ALV) was isolated from four lots of Marek's disease vaccine produced by two laboratories. The ALVs isolated were characterized by examination of their interactions with cells of two phenotypes (C/E and C/A,E), subgroup-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR), virus neutralization, envelope gene sequencing, and phylogenetic analysis. All four ALVs are exogenous, belong to subgroup A, and appear to be virtually identical to each other based on PCR and envelope gene nucleotide sequences. We describe herein the characterization of the contaminant viruses in vivo by means of experimental infection in chickens. The contaminant viruses established transient viremia in specified pathogen-free (SPF) Leghorn chickens and elicited a robust and lasting antibody response detectable by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. None of the contaminant ALVs induced tumors up to 31 wk of age, and mortality was insignificant. Despite a strong antibody response against the contaminant ALVs...
A Multi-Timescale Scheduling Approach for Stochastic Reliability in Smart Grids With Wind Generation and Opportunistic Demand

In this study, we focus on the stochastic reliability of smart grids with two classes of energy users-traditional energy users and opportunistic energy users (e.g., smart appliances or electric vehicles), and investigate the procurement of energy supply from both conventional generation (base-load and fast-start) and wind generation via multi-timescale scheduling. Specifically, in day-ahead scheduling, with the distributional information of wind generation and demand, we characterize the optimal procurement of the energy supply from base-load generation and the day-ahead price; in real-time scheduling, with the realizations of wind generation and the demand of traditional energy users, we optimize real-time price to manage opportunistic demand so as to achieve system-wise reliability and efficiency. More specifically, we consider two different models for opportunistic energy users: non-persistent and persistent, and characterize the optimal scheduling and pricing decisions for both models by exploiting various computational and optimization tools. Numerical results demonstrate that the proposed scheduling and pricing schemes can effectively manage opportunistic demand and enhance system reliability, thus have the potential to improve the penetration of wind generation.
A note on the tangential transfer of energy between wind and waves

A mathematical treatment of the transfer of energy between wind and waves by tangential friction forces is given, consistent to the second degree of approximation. The results, when compared with the basic theory previously developed, show that the inclusion of second order terms results in a more consistent theory.
Enhancement of Web Object Speculative Retrieval

Prefetching is a technique that has the potential to reduce waiting time for retrieving data over slow communications channels, such as wireless mobile networks and dial-up modem Internet connections. Prefetching performance is measured by the accuracy employed in determining what to prefetch within the limited time associated with the currently rendered web page. This article proposes a web application prefetcher based on a Markov model predictor that uses a Knapsack method to conduct object bundling, which increases the rendering speed of future web pages. Through web simulation from actual website traces, the proposed technique reduces the rendering delay of most future web page compared to demand requests.
On phase and ray directions of magnetosonic waves

The behavior of phase speed for 'slow' and 'fast' magnetosonic waves is well documented in the literature. Not so well documented is the behavior of the ray direction and its relation to the phase direction - indeed the ray behavior recorded in most of the standard plasma physics texts has not been found. This situation is rectified, and some of the curiosities associated with the direction of the 'slow' ray relative to the direction of the 'slow' phase wave are indicated. These calculations have been performed as a necessary basis for discussion of phase and ray evolution of magnetosonic waves in differentially shearing plasmas.
Target Organ Specificity: Diethylnitrosamine-and Dibenzylnitrosamine-induced Single-strand Breaks Plus Alkali-labile Bonds

Quantitative dose response measurements of diethylnitrosamine-and dibenzylnitrosamine-induced DNA single-strand breaks plus alkali-labile bonds (SSB + ALB) (single-strand breaks, apurinic/apyrimidinic sites, and phosphotriesters) were performed on samples of 100,000 nuclei from Sprague-Dawley rats. Twenty-four hours after diethylnitrosamine injection, there were no SSB + ALB in brain (nontarget), SSB + ALB in kidney (target), and SSB + ALB in liver (target only after partial hepatectomy, tumor promoters, or chronic administration). Seven days after diethylnitrosamine injection, liver SSB + ALB had declined. The noncarcinogenic diethylnitrosamine analog, dibenzylnitrosamine, induced no SSB + ALB at 6 hours or 7 days postinjection. Induction of DNA damage, therefore, correlates well with target organ specificity of tumorigenesis when specificity is broadened to include those organs that exhibit tumors only when DNA damage is followed by additional treatments.
Response to Letter Regarding Articles, “Increasing Use of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation During Out-of-Hospital Ventricular Fibrillation Arrest: Survival Implications of Guideline Changes” and “Measuring Progress in Resuscitation: It’s Time for a Better Tool”

John Stewart comments that recent Guideline changes aimed at increasing CPR should consider whether a manual or automated external defibrillator (AED) is used, since interruptions are more common with the AED, and that future studies should consider defibrillator type as a potential confounder. Science suggests that the ideal resuscitation is one where CPR is not interrupted for rhythm analysis, charge, or pulse checks. The benefit of AED achieved by decreasing the interval from collapse to defibrillation …
Stress Analysis of Three Marginal Configurations of Full Posterior Crowns by Three-Dimensional Photoelasticity

A simplified method was developed by which three-dimensional composite photoelastic models were constructed. The optimum marginal configuration for the stress distribution was determined and was found to be of the chamfer type.
Molecular mimicry and myasthenia gravis. An autoantigenic site of the acetylcholine receptor alpha-subunit that has biologic activity and reacts immunochemically with herpes simplex virus.

Abstract The large majority of patients with the autoimmune disease myasthenia gravis characteristically have detectable antibodies against the acetylcholine receptor (AChR). We used synthetic peptides to identify antibodies in sera of myasthenia gravis patients reactive with the human acetylcholine receptor (HuAChR) alpha-subunit, residues 160-167. Affinity purification of these antibodies, using the HuAChR alpha-subunit 157-170 peptide immobilized on thiopropyl-Sepharose, yielded IgG antibodies that bound to the native AChR and inhibited the binding of alpha-bungarotoxin to the receptor. The HuAChR alpha-subunit 160-167 peptide demonstrated specific immunological cross-reactivity with a shared homologous domain on herpes simplex virus glycoprotein D, residues 286-293, by both binding and inhibition studies. Thus, HuAChR alpha-subunit, residues 160-167, elicits antibodies in myasthenic patients that binds to the native AChR protein and is capable of eliciting a biologic effect. Immunologic cross-reactivity of this "self" epitope with herpes simplex virus suggest that this virus may be associated with the initiation of some cases of myasthenia.
Improving estimates of prevalence rates of sensitive behaviors: The randomized lists technique and consideration of self‐reported honesty

Although self‐report data are generally accepted by behavioral scientists, there continues to be concern about the validity and reliability of self‐reports of sensitive behaviors, such as sexual behaviors, drug use, and criminal behavior. Our aim for the current study was to present an example of the use of the Randomized Lists Technique (RLT, a variation of the Randomized Response Technique) in conjunction with self‐reported honesty in assessing and improving the validity of prevalence estimates of sexual behaviors with a sample of high school students. Both techniques allow respondents to provide information to the researcher about a sensitive behavior without having to report the behavior directly. Study participants included 1,886 tenth grade students in the Dade County (Greater Miami) Public Schools. The RLT‐estimated prevalence rate was 80% higher for sex with a same‐gender partner than the result for the direct question. Inconsistencies in reporting sex with a same‐gender partner or having had inte...
Biochemical Characterization of a Dihydromethanopterin Reductase Involved in Tetrahydromethanopterin Biosynthesis in Methylobacterium extorquens AM1

During growth on one-carbon (C1) compounds, the aerobic α-proteobacterium Methylobacterium extorquens AM1 synthesizes the tetrahydromethanopterin (H4MPT) derivative dephospho-H4MPT as a C1 carrier in addition to tetrahydrofolate. The enzymes involved in dephospho-H4MPT biosynthesis have not been identified in bacteria. In archaea, the final step in the proposed pathway of H4MPT biosynthesis is the reduction of dihydromethanopterin (H2MPT) to H4MPT, a reaction analogous to the reaction of the bacterial dihydrofolate reductase. A gene encoding a dihydrofolate reductase homolog has previously been reported for M. extorquens and assigned as the putative H2MPT reductase gene (dmrA). In the present work, we describe the biochemical characterization of H2MPT reductase (DmrA), which is encoded by dmrA. The gene was expressed with a six-histidine tag in Escherichia coli, and the recombinant protein was purified by nickel affinity chromatography and gel filtration. Purified DmrA catalyzed the NAD(P)H-dependent reduction of H2MPT with a specific activity of 2.8 μmol of NADPH oxidized per min per mg of protein at 30°C and pH 5.3. Dihydrofolate was not a substrate for DmrA at the physiological pH of 6.8. While the existence of an H2MPT reductase has been proposed previously, this is the first biochemical evidence for such an enzyme in any organism, including archaea. Curiously, no DmrA homologs have been identified in the genomes of known methanogenic archaea, suggesting that bacteria and archaea produce two evolutionarily distinct forms of dihydromethanopterin reductase. This may be a consequence of different electron donors, NAD(P)H versus reduced F420, used, respectively, in bacteria and methanogenic archaea.
Feed gap aperture field and input admittance of an infinitely long insulated antenna

Expressions are derived for the input admittance and aperture electromagnetic fields in the feed gap of a solid insulated antenna of infinite extent. This is done by solving the boundary value problem where the fields are represented by Fourier series built up by superposition of basic sets of phi -independent cylindrical waves. Such waves are obtained from the solution of the Helmholtz equation governing the z-directed electric Hertzian potential. The axial aperture electric field in the gap is in the form of a Fourier-Bessel series and is used to find the input admittance. Results are plotted for the aperture fields and tabulated for the input admittances at different radii, insulating shell dielectric constants, and gap widths. >
Images of Power: Balinese Paintings Made for Gregory Bateson and Margaret Mead

Images of Power: Balinese Paintings Made for Gregory Bateson and Margaret Mead. HILDRED GEERTZ. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1994. + 135 pp. Illustrated. Bibliography, index, appendix (biographical notes on artists), and glossary
Relationships of Air Pollution to Health: Results from the Pittsburgh Study

ABSTRACT The evaluation of adverse health effects resulting from exposure to relatively low levels of regulated air pollutants is currently of major concern. The determination of short-term or acute effects is necessary for this evaluation. By using methodology that directly addressed the time series nature of the data, this study investigated acute health effects of daily levels of air pollution in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, using both mortality and morbidity events as the adverse health response to ambient pollution. Health effects were determined using the air quality data for sulfur dioxide (SO2) and particulates as measured by the Coefficient of Haze from three monitoring stations located within the county. The mortality analysis provided a replication of a previous study performed in the New York area. The analysis was limited to the investigation of same day effects. Results indicated a possible association between heart disease mortality/morbidity and same day particulate levels. No associati...
Extracellular ATP signaling and P2X nucleotide receptors in monolayers of primary human vascular endothelial cells.

ATP and its metabolites regulate vascular tone; however, the sources of the ATP released in vascular beds are ill defined. As such, we tested the hypothesis that all limbs of an extracellular purin...
Analysis of Museum Records Highlights Unprotected Land Snail Diversity in Alabama

Abstract: In order to address the conservation status and needs of Alabama's land snail species, we examined their diversity and distribution using 11,816 museum records representing 226 land snail species. The Chao-1 statistic identified seven areas of high species richness. The areas with the highest richness contain an estimated 200 species of land snail. These seven areas are not currently well protected by state or federal lands. While taxonomic misidentification and geo-referencing quality may be inflating our results, we suggest that studies like ours provide valuable baseline diversity estimates and launching points for continued studies.
Contact pattern-induced pair potentials for protein fold recognition

The protein structure prediction problem is considered as a problem of fitting a sequence into a folding motif. We focus on finding an approximative structure representation providing the best preferences or contact energies. A 2-D structure description in the form of specific contact matrices is used. The main features of our approach are (i) only contacts involved in characteristic interaction patterns are considered, (ii) amino acid pair preferences or contact energies related to these interaction patterns are derived from the structural database and (iii) from the evaluation of individual structure elements, hypotheses on the alignment of a new sequence to a given structure may be derived. Results are demonstrated in particular to examples of the blue copper proteins.
Why Food Safety Fails in China: The Politics of Scale

This article examines food safety failures in China to cast light on how scale has deeply affected its regulatory politics. Contrary to studies that view China's food safety challenges as primarily resulting from corruption, local obstructionism or weak state capacity, I argue that China's massive production system, unwieldy bureaucracy, and geographic size pose regulators with a more fundamental policy challenge. As they attempt to build an integrated national regulatory regime, regulators must make difficult trade-offs in cost, policy design and applicability that emphasize the interests of certain stakeholders over others, resulting in a contentious “politics of scale.” The article assesses four failed scale management initiatives: food safety coordination bodies, campaigns, model production zones, and regulatory segmentation. As China transitions to scientifically assessed, risk-based forms of regulation, its pervasive food safety problem suggests the adaptive limits of China's unitary regulatory structure to manage scale and its ensuing politics effectively in a complex multilevel context.
Segregation in Urban Space: A New Measurement Approach

A variety of segregation measures have been proposed in the literature with the dissimilarity index and its variants being the most widely applied. While these measures provide a quick means of comparing segregation patterns across space and time, they are not linked to the processes that generate and maintain segregative patterns. This paper proposes a new method for measuring segregation. The method is based on comparative evaluations of neighbourhood characteristics as a determinant of spatial behaviour in cities. The proposed approach moves away from a purely geometric interpretation of segregation by anchoring the measurement of segregation into the actual urban setting. The method's main advantages are its responsiveness to changes in urban characteristics (e.g. spatial variations in rent increases), and changes in preference structures (e.g. a declining importance of distance as an impediment to relocation). A numerical example is used to demonstrate the behaviour of the proposed method against tra...
Plasma colloid osmotic pressure after blood volume repletion with Oxyglobin, hetastarch, or whole blood in pregnant sheep

In preliminary measurements, Oxyglobin and hetastarch had colloidal osmotic pressures of 35 and 31 mm Hg, respectively, while ovine plasma (n = 17) had an osmotic pressure of 20 (16, 24) mm Hg, median (minimum, maximum). We hypothesized that Oxyglobin administration after hemorrhage would increase maternal plasma colloidal osmotic pressure (COP) more than hetastarch and that both would draw water from the fetus across an osmotic gradient. Seventeen unmedicated, pregnant (∼132 days gestation), Rambouillet ewes [55 (46, 63) kg] aged 1–2 years, chronically instrumented with catheters in maternal carotid and fetal femoral arteries, had 19 (14, 25) mL kg−1, blood removed over 1 hour. The induced hypovolemia was then treated with either the removed volume of autologous blood (n = 6), 20 mL kg−1 Oxyglobin (n = 5), or 20 mL kg−1 hetastarch (n = 6) given IV over 30 minutes. The plasma COP of intermittent blood samples was measured using a colloid osmometer. Maternal COP was 20 (16, 24) and 15 (11, 19) mm Hg before and after hemorrhage, respectively. Significance of the differences between Oxyglobin and the other treatment groups was tested using Kruskal–Wallis nonparametric one-way ANOVA. We detected no difference between groups in the volume of blood removed. Immediately after volume repletion, maternal COP of the Oxyglobin treated group was 22 (21, 25) mm Hg. This was significantly greater (p < 0.05) than the corresponding COP values after blood, 17 (16, 22) or hetastarch, 20 (17, 21) mm Hg. Greater maternal COP after Oxyglobin persisted until at least 120 minutes after volume repletion. Fetal COP after hemorrhage was 16 (12, 19) mm Hg and at 120 minutes after repletion was 16 (11, 18) mm Hg. Fetal COP was virtually unchanged by any of the volume repletion treatments. We conclude that Oxyglobin is a more potent colloid than either whole blood or hetastarch. We found no evidence that either Oxyglobin or hetastarch induce transplacental movement of water from the fetal to the maternal circulation.
A direct construction of nonlinear discrete-time observer with linearizable error dynamics

We provide a direct method for the construction of a change of coordinates for the design of nonlinear discrete-time observers. An explicit expression of a change of coordinates is given. Some simulations for chaotic systems, such as Lozi system and Henon system, are provided to illustrate the method. The proposed approach can be applied to continuous-time systems once the corresponding discretized structures are determined.
Nearctic species related to Diogmites angustipennis Loew (Diptera: Asilidae)

Diogmites bilobatus sp. nov. is described from museum specimens collected in the south central and southwestern United States and northern Mexico. Its close resemblance to the widespread D. angustipennis Loew is established. Diogmites grossus Bromley syn. nov., D. pulcher (Back) syn. nov., and D. symmachus Loew syn. nov. are synonymized with D. angustipennis, and lectotypes are designated for D. angustipennis and D. symmachus. Notes on morphological variation, habitat, prey, distribution, and phenology are provided for D. bilobatus sp. nov. and D. angustipennis.
AIDS Risk Assessment In Primary Care

BACKGROUND Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) disease is a major cause of premature death in the United States. Primary care physicians can and should play an important role in its prevention. Detailed acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) education, however, is not a cost-effective use of physicians' time for the great majority of patients, most of whom are at low risk for HIV infection. METHODS Recommendations for AIDS prevention in the primary care setting were formulated based on a review of the published literature and on the author's personal experience as an AIDS epidemiologist and a practicing family physician. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS Because risk for HIV infection is not uniform, primary care physicians can have the greatest impact by concentrating their prevention efforts on the minority of patients who are at high risk. This article proposes a 30-second AIDS risk assessment for use in routine adult health care. Patients found to be at high risk should receive counseling on HIV risk reduction based on their individual needs. Also described are other situations when primary care providers should talk with their patients about AIDS prevention.
Human hexosaminidase isozymes: IV. Effects of oral contraceptive steroids on serum hexosaminidase activity

Data from a mass screening program for identification of persons who are heterozygous for Tay-Sachs disease have been analyzed for the effects of oral contraceptive steroids on the activity in serum of hexosaminidase (hex) and the various hex isozymes. Women using oral contraceptives show a significantly higher total serum hex activity, reflecting mainly an increase in the heat-stable hex isozyme (hex I), and a smaller increase in the heat-labile hex A than do women using no medications. The changes in women using oral contraceptives are qualitatively similar to those observed during pregnancy. The distribution of responses to oral contraceptives is unimodal, and some of the variations may be related to differences in amount of steroid ingested. In addition, underlying genetic variation may contribute to the observed differences in enzyme activities.