cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
cit: hypothesis testing software for mediation analysis in genomic applications

Motivation The challenges of successfully applying causal inference methods include: (i) satisfying underlying assumptions, (ii) limitations in data/models accommodated by the software and (iii) low power of common multiple testing approaches. Results The causal inference test (CIT) is based on hypothesis testing rather than estimation, allowing the testable assumptions to be evaluated in the determination of statistical significance. A user-friendly software package provides P-values and optionally permutation-based FDR estimates (q-values) for potential mediators. It can handle single and multiple binary and continuous instrumental variables, binary or continuous outcome variables and adjustment covariates. Also, the permutation-based FDR option provides a non-parametric implementation. Conclusion Simulation studies demonstrate the validity of the cit package and show a substantial advantage of permutation-based FDR over other common multiple testing strategies. Availability and implementation The cit open-source R package is freely available from the CRAN website (https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/cit/index.html) with embedded C ++ code that utilizes the GNU Scientific Library, also freely available (http://www.gnu.org/software/gsl/). Contact joshua.millstein@usc.edu Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Surveillance Results of Routine Immunization in Guizhou,2010-2012

Objective To assessment the current status of routine immunization in Guizhou province,and to provide guidelines for the immunization work. Method The surveillance data of routine immunization in Guizhou during 2010-2012 were collected through different sources and were analyzed by differentials( D) and ratio( R) evaluation methods. Results The completeness of surveillance data of routine immunization coverage increased year by year,and all the reported coverage rates were above 90%. With D evaluation methods,the report credible ratio was 26. 67%-46. 67% and with R methods the credible ratio was 41. 7%. The estimated coverage rate was not high in the older age group of children. Conclusion Expanded program on immunization in Guizhou is progressing steadily,yet the authenticity of surveillance data is poor. Basic training and management of the migrant children should be strengthened in the next step.
Gene expression profiling in osteoblast biology: Bioinformatic tools

This review focuses on using microarray data on a clonal osteoblast cell model to demonstrate how various current and future bioinformatic tools can be used to understand, at a more global or comprehensible level, how cells grow and differentiate. In this example, BMP2 was used to stimulate growth and differentiation of osteoblast to a mineralized matrix. A discussion is included on various methods for clustering gene expression data, statistical evaluation of data, and various new tools that can be used to derive deeper insight into a particular biological problem. How these tools can be obtained is also discussed. New tools for the biologists to compare their datasets with others, as well as examples of future bioinformatic tools that can be used for developing gene networks and pathways for a given set of data are included and discussed.
Compression of a Toroidal Plasma to Thermonuclear Ignition

In the worldwide controlled thermonuclear fusion research effort, ignition of a magnetically confined plasma is yet to be achieved. Consequently, it is not known whether a plasma’s approach to igni...
Applying Multilevel Modeling to Understand Individual and Cross-Cultural Variations in Attitudes Toward Homosexual People Across 28 European Countries:

Individual and cross-cultural factors associated with attitudes toward homosexual people were examined in this study. Using cross-sectional data from the sixth biennial European Social Survey, which represents 36,959 individuals nested within 28 European countries, successive nested models were tested using multilevel modeling (MLM). Results found that attitudes varied cross-culturally as a function of people’s country of residence—this clustering effect was controlled for in all subsequent models. Individual-level predictors (Level 1) of male gender, older age, less education, being an immigrant to one’s residing country, conservative political affiliation, high religiosity, perceptions that politics in one’s country were unfair, low openness to change values, low self-transcendence values, high conservation values, and high self-enhancement values were significantly linked with anti-homosexuality attitudes. At the country level (Level 2), a high emphasis on social conservatism and fewer civil rights for...
Understanding the Solar Wind–Mars Interaction with Global Magnetohydrodynamic Modeling

This article presents recent progress in understanding solar wind–Mars interaction using a sophisticated global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model. Mars has localized crustal magnetic fields, so the solar wind plasma flow interacts directly with the Mars atmosphere/ionosphere system. Such an interaction generates an induced current in the ionosphere, modifies the magnetic field environment around Mars, and more importantly, causes the erosion of the Mars atmosphere. The nonuniformly distributed crustal magnetic field also plays an important role in the interaction process, which is modulated by planetary rotation. Recent advances in computing power allow the inclusion of the continuous crustal field rotation in the simulation with a time-dependent MHD model. Model results have been validated with observations from previous and ongoing Mars missions. The validated time-dependent MHD model is useful in quantifying the variation of ion loss rates with planet rotation and the internal response time scale of the Martian ionosphere.
Poverty, Academic Achievement, and Giftedness: A Literature Review.

In this article, we review research on poverty, both poverty rates and the effects of poverty on academic achievement more generally and on the identification and services for low-income gifted children specifically. This review sets the stage for further discussion of the research findings on identification practices including the efficacy of various approaches to increase the identification of gifted students in poverty. We then review research on the effectiveness of programs designed specifically to identify students with potential and support them through talent development services. Finally, we conclude the literature review with recommendations for future research.
Do Pantheistic, Theistic, and Deistic Views of God Moderate the Relationship Between Financial Strain and Physical Health Status?

ABSTRACTThe purpose of this study is to see if a pantheistic view of God (i.e., God is all around us in nature), a theistic view of God (i.e., God is the creator of the universe who protects us), a...
Addiction and Self-Injury

Alcoholism, substance abuse, eating disorders, and self-injury can all be viewed as maladaptive behaviors that all involved some degree of harm on that body that is initiated by the individual. Underlying all of these behaviors is oftentimes a trauma or other co-occurring mental health disorder. Recent research has begun to focus on non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), its various comorbid disorders, populations affected, most populous methods and outcomes, relation to social media, and possibly how this behavior can become addictive for some individuals. This chapter will focus on the origins, definition, and previous research related to NSSI as well as the connections between NSSI and other addictions. Rates of NSSI across various ages and populations will also be discussed as will previous misconceptions of NSSI. This chapter will also discuss existing theoretical models for NSSI and how they fit in with other addictions. Cultural competence and diversity relating to addiction and self-injury will also be explored as will practical skills related to diagnosis, practice, and education. Finally, this chapter will conclude with a discussion on future research and practice ideas and topics.
Exact Bayesian Inference for Assessing the Accuracy of Polygraph Testing

The polygraph test is often used in law enforcement as an investigative tool, and in the courtroom where it is used to bolster support for the innocence of a defendant. The amount of available data to evaluate polygraph accuracy that is taken under realistic conditions is severely limited. With a fully Bayesian approach we analyze the largest such data set that exists. We derive exact results for the posterior distribution of the negative and positive predictive values, which can be evaluated with a computer algebra system. We show that the uncertainties, even given the largest and most realistic data set currently available, are great, casting doubt on the use of polygraph testing in criminal trials.
THE UNIQUE MECHANISM OF ANIMAL MITOCHONDRIAL DNA REPLICATION

ABSTRACT Animal mitochondrial DNA employs a distinctive replication mechanism which utilizes two different origins of replication. One of these origins, the D-loop region, functions as the site of unidirectional synthesis of one of the daughter strands. In mouse mitochondrial DNA, the second origin is located 66.5 map units away from the D-loop and the second daughter strand is initiated only after the parental template strand has been displaced by leading strand synthesis. This situation has facilitated studies on the family of short (500–580 nucleotides) strands in the D-loop. Mapping of the 3'-ends of these strands and DNA sequence determinations suggest that the cessation of DNA synthesis in these regions of the genome is a sequence-directed event.
Prototype Based Supervised Concept Learning Using Genetic Algorithms

Prototypes have been proposed as representation of concepts that are used effectively by humans. Developing computational schemes for generating prototypes from examples, however, has proved to be a difficult problem. We present a novel genetic algorithm based prototype learning system, PLEASE, for constructing appropriate prototypes from classified training instances. After constructing a set of prototypes for each of the possible classes, the class of a new input instance is determined by the nearest prototype to this instance. Attributes are assumed to be ordinal in nature and prototypes are represented as sets of feature-value pairs. A genetic algorithm is used to evolve the number of prototypes per class and their positions on the input space. We present experimental results on a series of artificial problems of varying complexity. PLEASE performs competitively with several nearest neighbor classification algorithms and C4.5 on the problem set.We provide an analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the current system.
Reyes Cárdenas, Paniel, Scholastic Realism: A Key to Understanding Peirce’s Philosophy, Oxford: Peter Lang, 2018, 238 pp.

El libro de Paniel Reyes Cardenas (2018), Scholastic Realism/ A Key to Understanding Peirce’s Philosophy (Oxford: Peter Lang Ltd.) 238p. en la que se explican algunas de las ideas nuevas que dicho enfoque sobre la filosofia pragmatista y realista de Charles Sanders Peirce generan. La lectura de dicho libro definitivamente impondra un nuevo rumbo en el entendimiento de dicho filosofo norteamericano. Tambien se hacen algunas reflexiones sobre los paralelismos entre el trabajo del autor, el de Edith Stein y el del novohispano Antonio Rubio sobre el tema de los universales.
Multimodal interference-based imaging of nanoscale structure and macromolecular motion uncovers UV induced cellular paroxysm.

Understanding the relationship between intracellular motion and macromolecular structure remains a challenge in biology. Macromolecular structures are assembled from numerous molecules, some of which cannot be labeled. Most techniques to study motion require potentially cytotoxic dyes or transfection, which can alter cellular behavior and are susceptible to photobleaching. Here we present a multimodal label-free imaging platform for measuring intracellular structure and macromolecular dynamics in living cells with a sensitivity to macromolecular structure as small as 20 nm and millisecond temporal resolution. We develop and validate a theory for temporal measurements of light interference. In vitro, we study how higher-order chromatin structure and dynamics change during cell differentiation and ultraviolet (UV) light irradiation. Finally, we discover cellular paroxysms, a near-instantaneous burst of macromolecular motion that occurs during UV induced cell death. With nanoscale sensitive, millisecond resolved capabilities, this platform could address critical questions about macromolecular behavior in live cells. Methods to track molecular motion in eukaryotic cells mostly rely on fluorescent labels, transfection or photobleaching. Here the authors use multimodal partial wave spectroscopy to perform label-free live cell measurements of nanoscale structure and macromolecular motion with millisecond temporal resolution.
Kṣētrayya: The making of a Telugu poet:

Kṣētrayya is the attributed author of Telugu padams (short lyrical poems) dedicated to Muvva Gōpāla, a form of the Hindu deity Kṛṣṇa. Kṣētrayya is commonly described as a peripatetic poet from the ...
Strategic Planning and Management in Small Municipalities in Mississippi – Implementation, Perceived Benefits, and Determinants of Use

Many municipalities use strategic planning and management, but there is a limited understanding of the use of these processes among small municipalities. This study examines the use of strategic planning and management across municipalities in Mississippi and studies the factors associated with that use. An analysis of over 38 municipalities shows low levels of strategic planning and management. The findings support the expectations of the capacity-performance paradigm, where financial, technical and administrative capacity, as well as goal clarity and leadership commitment, are associated with the use of strategic management.
Comparison of compressed SENSE and SENSE for quantitative liver MRI in children and young adults

Compressed SENSE (C-SENSE) allows more rapid MRI acquisition through incoherent, pseudorandom k-space undersampling. The purpose of our study was to compare conventional sensitivity encoded imaging (SENSE) quantitative MR images to those obtained using C-SENSE for measurement of liver proton density fat fraction (PDFF), T2*, and stiffness. Clinical liver MRI examinations that included SENSE and C-SENSE quantitative MRI sequences were retrospectively identified. Patient age, gender, liver PDFF (%), T2* (ms), and stiffness (kPa) were recorded. Spearman’s rank-order correlation (r) was used to evaluate association between methods, and Bland–Altman analysis was used to determine the mean bias and 95% limits of agreement. Clinical liver MRI examinations that included SENSE and C-SENSE quantitative MRI sequences were retrospectively identified. Patient age, gender, liver PDFF (%), T2* (ms), and stiffness (kPa) were recorded. Spearman’s rank-order correlation (r) was used to evaluate association between methods, and Bland–Altman analysis was used to determine the mean bias and 95% limits of agreement. Thirty-six examinations met the inclusion criteria. Mean patient age was 15.7 ± 7.7 years; twelve exams (33%) were in female patients. Liver PDFF showed very strong positive correlation (r = 0.98) between sequences, with a mean bias of 0.28% (95% LOA: -0.85, 1.41%). T2* showed moderate positive correlation (r = 0.53), with a mean bias of − 3.0 ms (95% LOA: − 12.0, 6.0 ms). Stiffness showed very strong positive correlation (r = 0.97), with a mean bias of 0.13 kPa (95% LOA: − 0.37, 0.63 kPa) that increased with increasing liver stiffness. There were strong positive correlations between SENSE and C-SENSE MRI measurements of liver PDFF and stiffness, with no to minimal bias. However, there was moderate correlation and greater negative mean bias between T2* measurements. Our results demonstrate the potential of compressed sensing to reliably measure PDFF and stiffness in the clinic.
Cannabis in Homes with Children: A Survey on Use, Storage, and Attitudes

Introduction: The recent legalization of cannabis in California has the potential to affect cannabis prevalence in households with children. This eventuality, combined with suboptimal cannabis storage practices, could lead to adverse effects such as unintentional pediatric ingestion, which occurred in Colorado after legalization. Our objective was to assess prevalence and storage practices of cannabis in households with children, and attitudes on use and storage education in a state that has legalized cannabis. Methods: We administered electronic surveys to 401 adults in a pediatric emergency department in California. Participants were excluded if they were not English- or Spanish-speaking or did not live in a household with children <18 years old. They answered questions regarding cannabis use, storage, and attitudes on cannabis storage education. We used convenience sampling and analyzed data using descriptive statistics. Results: Research assistants approached 558 participants of whom 401 completed the survey. Three participants did not respond regarding past or current cannabis use, and 14.5% (58/401) reported cannabis use in their home in the prior six months. Both users and non-users rated safe storage of high importance in homes with children. Only 44.8% of home users (26/58) reported that their cannabis was both locked and hidden. Among home users, the most common source of storage advice was friends and family (21/58, 36.2%), and 45% of home users (26/58) received no storage information whatsoever. Most cannabis users (53/67, 79.1%) and non-users (241/330, 73%) reported that they would feel comfortable receiving cannabis education from their primary care provider. Conclusion: Cannabis is used and stored in homes with children; however, safe storage is not clearly defined in California, and storage education is lacking. Healthcare providers in primary care and the emergency department may play an important role in educating the public about cannabis use and safe storage.
Continued Western Expansion of Red Imported Fire Ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren1, in Texas

Distribution of red imported fire ants, Solenopsis invicta Buren, across West Texas was surveyed during the fall of eight consecutive years, 2013-2020. Forty-six counties were surveyed from the Panhandle in the north to the Mexican border. During the 2019 and 2020 surveys, S. invicta was collected in 17 and 16 counties, respectively, beyond the quarantine line. This was more positive collections than during any previous survey year. In 2019, the survey included 10 counties where S. invicta had never been recorded (Andrews, Borden, Briscoe, Childress, Collingsworth, Hansford, Loving, Pecos, Reeves, and Zapata), and an additional two counties (Hutchinson and Lipscomb) were added in 2020. The accumulated data provided evidence that S. invicta continues to expand westward.
Molecular modeling of the interaction of ligands with ACE2-SARS-CoV-2 spike protein complex.

COVID-19 is a new communicable disease with a widespread outbreak that affects all populations worldwide triggering a rush of scientific interest in coronavirus research globally. In silico molecular docking experiment was utilized to determine interactions of available compounds with SARS-CoV-2 and angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) complex. Chimera and AutoDock Vina were used for protein–ligand interaction structural analysis. Ligands were chosen based on the known characteristics and indications of the drugs as ACE inhibitors (captopril, enalapril, quinapril, moexipril, benazepril, ramipril, perindopril, zofenopril, fosinopril), as ACE2 blockers (losartan, olmesartan), as blood thinning agent (clopidogrel), as cholesterol-lowering prescriptions (simvastatin, atorvastatin), repurposed medications (dexamethasone, hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine), and as investigational drug (remdesivir). Experimental ACE/ACE2 inhibitors are also included: Sigma ACEI, N-(2-aminoethyl)-1-aziridine-ethanamine (NAAE), nicotianamine (NAM), and MLN-4760 (ACE2 inhibitor). The best docked conformations were all located in the ACE2 protein, 50% docked at the interface with lower scores and only clopidogrel and hydroxychloroquine docked at the spike protein. Captopril, moexipril, benazepril, fosinopril, losartan, remdesivir, Sigma ACEI, NAA, and NAM interacted and docked at the interface of ACE2 and SARS-CoV-2 spike protein complex. This may have significant implication in enhancing our understanding of the mechanism to hinder viral entry into the host organism during infection.
Transportation needs of the elderly population

All evidence suggests that the elderly population of today and tomorrow will continue to depend on the private car to give them freedom, independence, and choice--as do younger travellers. Given the demographic changes in the United States, it seems very unlikely that other modes or options can provide anywhere near the level of mobility that the elderly want or need. Almost three fourths of those over age 65 will live in suburban or rural places after the turn of the century, places where transit and para-transit options are inherently impractical or costly. These elderly individuals will have made choices about doctors, hospitals, friends, and social and recreational options based on their lifelong access to the car. When they can no longer drive or receive rides, their mobility will drop and they may have to make drastic changes in their whole life network to be able to access just a few necessary services. Those concerned with the use of medical services by the elderly population must focus not only on transportation but on the other variables that create the need for a car. Transportation needs are clearly linked to where and how medical and social services are made available, so medical agencies must recognize the changing demographics of the elderly population by locating and programming their services accordingly. Medical and human service agencies will have to make an effort to make their programs accessible to the elderly population rather than simply locating their facilities where they please and assuming that elderly persons or transportation planners will somehow deal with the resulting loss of mobility. Language: en
Get Twitter information: A collaborative Android application for big data analysis

Data analysis is considered as a prevalent as well as critical business need due to the blowup of big data and advent of cloud computing platform. Mobile applications consume huge amount of data gathered from heterogeneous big data repositories and provide us with meaningful insights from it. These applications include business finance, investment and social networks etc. Social data analysis is one of the very important area where big data plays a crucial role. Therefore, we collaboratively analyzed the social data and used it to develop an android mobile application called Get Tweet Information (GTI) to extract tweets from the Twitter using Twitter API. This application initially asks the user for the search keyword and then it analyse the whole Twitter database to find all the tweets that contains input keyword. Along with the tweets, the user can also get additional information including the username of the person who posted the tweet, timestamp, count of retweets for a particular tweet, location, description and timeline of the user who posted the tweet.
Domain-independent structured duplicate detection

The scalability of graph-search algorithms can be greatly extended by using external memory, such as disk, to store generated nodes. We consider structured duplicate detection, an approach to external-memory graph search that limits the number of slow disk I/O operations needed to access search nodes stored on disk by using an abstract representation of the graph to localize memory references. For graphs with sufficient locality, structured duplicate detection outperforms other approaches to external-memory graph search. We develop an automatic method for creating an abstract representation that reveals the local structure of a graph. We then integrate this approach into a domain-independent STRIPS planner and show that it dramatically improves scalability for a wide range of planning problems. The success of this approach strongly suggests that similar local structure can be found in many other graph-search problems.
Plant Cell Cultures, Photosynthetic

Photoautotrophic (PA) tissue cultures that rely entirely upon light for energy and CO2 for carbon have been initiated from a total of 29 species of higher plants. The species include C4 and Crassulacean acid metabolism species, legumes, and a number of important crop plants. However, no grasses have been grown successfully. PA culture initiation is time-consuming and appears to be associated with long-term adaptation physiologically and apparently genetically, since once initiated the cultures can be bleached and then rapidly become photosynthetically competent again. In addition, a series of unusual mutations have also been found in the psbA gene leading to triazine herbicide resistance in PA cultures in contrast to those found with triazine-resistant weeds. A large number of physiological, biochemical, and molecular biological studies have been carried out especially with the Chenopodium rubrum and Glycine max cell lines. The cultures can be grown in fermenters, hence, seem ideal for compound and macromolecule production, although the overall record of valuable secondary compound production has been disappointing. PA cultures are useful for many studies since they are axenic, grow relatively rapidly, are easy to view microscopically, can be heavily 14C labeled using 14CO2, are in easily changed medium for compound addition and removal and other conditions are readily altered, and the cells are easily extracted. Keywords: chlorophyll; phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase; photoautotrophic; photomixotrophic; photosynthesis; plant biotechnology; plant cell culture; ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase
Localization of Src Homology 2 Domain-Containing Phosphatase 1 (SHP-1) to Lipid Rafts in T Lymphocytes: Functional Implications and a Role for the SHP-1 Carboxyl Terminus

The protein tyrosine phosphatase Src homology 2 domain-containing phosphatase 1 (SHP-1) has previously been shown to be a negative regulator of signaling mediated via the TCR. A growing body of evidence indicates that the regulated localization of proteins within certain membrane subdomains, referred to as lipid rafts, is important for the successful transduction of signaling events downstream of the TCR. However, considerably less is known about the localization of negative regulators during these lipid raft-dependent signaling events. In this study we have investigated the subcellular localization of SHP-1 and its role in regulation of TCR-mediated signaling. Our studies demonstrate that in a murine T cell hybridoma as well as in primary murine thymocytes, a fraction of SHP-1 localizes to the lipid rafts, both basally and after TCR stimulation. Interestingly, although SHP-1 localized in the nonraft fractions is tyrosine phosphorylated, the SHP-1 isolated from the lipid rafts lacks the TCR-induced tyrosine phosphorylation, suggesting physical and/or functional differences between these two subpopulations. We identify a requirement for the C-terminal residues of SHP-1 in optimal localization to the lipid rafts. Although expression of SHP-1 that localizes to lipid rafts potently inhibits TCR-mediated early signaling events and IL-2 production, the expression of lipid raft-excluded SHP-1 mutants fails to elicit any of the inhibitory effects. Taken together these studies reveal a key role for lipid raft localization of SHP-1 in mediating the inhibitory effects on T cell signaling events.
Trade, Competition and Productivity

This thesis consists of four papers on trade, competition and productivity with particular emphasis on the effects of various aspects of the deepening and widening of the European Union. The first paper Trade Creation, Diversion and Displacement of the EU Enlargement Process provides an assessment of the effects of the EU enlargement process on trade. A new method of estimating the gravity model is used to capture the effects of the gradual trade liberalization and the EU enlargement in 1995. The results indicate that the integration of the Central and Eastern European Countries into the EU has boosted trade within the enlarged EU. The 1995 enlargement, on the other hand, gave rise to trade diversion in imports to Austria, Finland and Sweden at the expense of developing countries. The second paper Assessing the Effects of EU Trade Preferences for Developing Countries (co-authored with Maria Persson, Department of Economics Lund University) uses an improved gravity equation to estimate the effects of EU trade preferences, granted to developing countries, on trade. The preferences were first introduced in the early 60s and have since expanded to cover almost all developing countries, but the scope of preferences varies across groups of countries. The results point to a significant trade creating effect of the preferences, especially for African Caribean and Pacific countries, for whom the preferences have increased export by about 30 %. Moreover, the enlargements of the EU have reduced the propensity of new members to import from developing countries. The third paper Market Power and European Competition in the Swedish Food Industry uses a sample of Swedish firms in the food and beverage industry to study the effects of the Single Market programme and the Swedish EU membership on firms? market power. The results show that firms enjoy some degree of market power, which varies across sectors. The increased real and potential foreign competition has contributed to reducing market power in sectors that were protected by trade barriers prior to Swedish EU membership. The last paper Exports and Productivity of Russian Firms ? In Search of Causality (co-authored with Konstantin Kozlov, CEFIR, Moscow) analyses the relationship between exports and productivity of Russian firms. It is shown that exporters are larger and more productive than non-exporters. This seems to be an effect of more productive firms self-selecting into the export market, rather than the existence of a learning effect from exporting. But there are learning effects among new entrants.
FCMDS: a knowledge-based system's impact on logistics

The authors review the flight Control Maintenance Diagnostics System (FCMDS) and discuss how it will be used in the USAF maintenance environment. They cover the interaction of FCMDS with both the air force flight-time technician and his computerized logistics support tools, such as the Core Automated Maintenance System. They also examine how FCMDS can impact each level of current USAF maintenance practices. These effects include possible elimination of the fault isolation guide, stronger commonality of diagnostic systems between points in the logistics chain, and the ability to effectively navigate through wiring diagrams. >
Differential regulation of the two genes encoding Saccharomyces cerevisiae cytochrome c oxidase subunit V by heme and the HAP2 and REO1 genes.

Abstract In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the COX5a and COX5b genes encode two forms of cytochrome c oxidase subunit V, Va and Vb. We report here that heme increases COX5a expression and decreases COX5b expression and that the HAP2 and REO1 genes are involved in positive regulation of COX5a and negative regulation of COX5b, respectively. Heme regulation of COX5a and COX5b may dictate which subunit V isoform is available for assembly into cytochrome c oxidase under conditions of high- and low-oxygen tension.
Liquid-Vapor Phase Equilibria of the Neon-Normal Hydrogen System

Until recently, little work had been done on binary liquid-vapor systems with neon as one of the components. This was possibly due to the high cost of neon, which made it somewhat impractical to work with. However, in recent years the cost of neon has decreased, and the interest in neon has correspondingly increased. The neon-argon system has been investigated [1–3], as has the neon-nitrogen system [4]. Some work has been published on the liquid phase separation of neon-deuterium mixtures [5,6], and one isotherm for the system neon-parahydrogen has been reported [7], Some work on the neon-oxygen system has also been completed [8].
Methods for the Preparation of Large Quantities of Complex Single-Stranded Oligonucleotide Libraries

Custom-defined oligonucleotide collections have a broad range of applications in fields of synthetic biology, targeted sequencing, and cytogenetics. Also, they are used to encode information for technologies like RNA interference, protein engineering and DNA-encoded libraries. High-throughput parallel DNA synthesis technologies developed for the manufacture of DNA microarrays can produce libraries of large numbers of different oligonucleotides, but in very limited amounts. Here, we compare three approaches to prepare large quantities of single-stranded oligonucleotide libraries derived from microarray synthesized collections. The first approach, alkaline melting of double-stranded PCR amplified libraries with a biotinylated strand captured on streptavidin coated magnetic beads results in little or no non-biotinylated ssDNA. The second method wherein the phosphorylated strand of PCR amplified libraries is nucleolyticaly hydrolyzed is recommended when small amounts of libraries are needed. The third method combining in vitro transcription of PCR amplified libraries to reverse transcription of the RNA product into single-stranded cDNA is our recommended method to produce large amounts of oligonucleotide libraries. Finally, we propose a method to remove any primer binding sequences introduced during library amplification.
Semantic services for grid-based, large-scale science

The process of large-scale science must evolve to facilitate the next steps of scientific discovery. Grid technology and semantic tools will be valuable in dealing with the complex multidisciplinary simulation and data environments that next-generation science will require. We envision semantic Web-like tools that automatically check the validity of sequences of composed operations and data, and automatically construct intermediate steps in a loosely specified sequence. These tools should also automatically construct sequences of operations that are consistent with a discipline model representing permitted relationships among simulation and analysis operations and data for particular disciplines, such as climatology or high-energy physics. These tools are called semantic services.
Nylon wool purification alters the activation of T cells.

Purification of lymphocytes, particularly T cells, is commonly performed using nylon wool. This enrichment method selectively retains B cells and some myeloid cells allowing a significantly more pure T cell population to flow through a nylon wool column. T cells purified in this fashion are assumed to be unaltered and functionally naive, however some studies have suggested aberrant in vitro T cell responses after nylon wool treatment. We found that nylon wool purification significantly altered T cell proliferation, expression of activation markers and production of cytokines. Our results suggest that nylon wool treatment modifies T cell activation responses and that caution should be used when choosing this purification method.
Microstructural evolution in two alkali multicomponent silicate glasses as a result of long-term exposure to solid oxide fuel cell environments

The microstructural evolution in two potential solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) sealing glass materials exposed to air and a gas mixture of steam + H2 + N2 at 800 °C up to 10000 h was determined. The glass exposures were performed on common SOFC substrates like alumina and zirconia. Characterization of the crystalline phases and pore size distribution was performed for the specimens with various exposure conditions. Comparison of the microstructural and chemical stability of the two glasses was performed based on known trends related to glass chemistry. It was observed that multicomponent glasses followed few rules for chemical and microstructural stability reported in the literature for glasses with fewer components. The two glasses examined in this study displayed adequate resistance to devitrification but marginal resistance to porosity changes in the SOFC environment exposure. The implications of the results for the design and long-term performance of SOFC seals are discussed.
spFRET Reveals the Mechanism of Myosin-Dependent Activation of Troponin within Regulated Action Filaments

We reconstituted regulated actin filaments from troponin bearing one of 36 unique FRET reporter assays. Each FRET assay contained a donor dye attached to a residue within the C-terminal domain of mouse cardiac troponin I (residues 151-211) and an acceptor dye attached to either the N-lobe, the C-lobe or the inter-lobe linker of cardiac troponin C. We performed ensemble FRET measurements of the regulated actin filaments by measuring the time-resolved fluorescence of the donor dye. For donor dyes located within the intrinsically disordered switch II region of troponin I (residues 189-211), FRET efficiency increased after saturation with Ca2+ and increased further when the filaments were additionally saturated rigor myosin sub-fragment 1 (S1). Next, we used single-pair FRET to recover the subpopulations responsible for the different FRET efficiencies. Sparsely donor-labeled regulated actin filaments were reconstituted using a 1:20 mixture of troponin labeled with both donor and acceptor dyes to troponin labeled with only acceptor dye. FCS measurements of sparsely-labeled regulated actin filaments (500 nM in troponin) confirmed that there was on average less than 1 dye-pair in the confocal volume at any given time. PIE-FRET experiments revealed two subpopulations of troponin: inactive (low FRET efficiency) and active (high FRET efficiency). In Mg2+-saturated filaments, greater than 95% of troponin are inactive. In Ca2+-saturated filaments, approximately 40% of troponin are active. In Ca2+-saturated and rigor S1-saturated filaments, greater than 80% of troponin are active. We conclude that (1) Ca2+ alone can cause Tn to activate, but the probability is modest that troponin will be active; (2) rigor S1 increases the probability that troponin will remain active.
A.C. machine windings with reduced harmonic content

This paper describes a type of double-layer winding known as an interspersed winding, which may be used in a.c. machines to reduce harmonic components of induced e.m.f. or load m.m.f. The principles underlying the design of interspersed windings are described and compared with the standard analysis of conventional windings in terms of harmonic winding factors. Design and performance details are then given for a complete range of 3-phase interspersed windings covering equivalent values of slots/pole per phase from 4 to 9. It is shown that control of the largest low-order harmonics may be achieved with insignificant alteration to manufacturing methods, and this type of winding should therefore find useful application in large generators and motors where the reduction of stray load losses is an important consideration.
The Role of Neutral Atoms in Ion Plating

Abstract Ion plating is essentially vapour deposition on to a clean substrate in a glow discharge. Usually, the substrate is the cathode of the glow discharge and is cleaned by the sputtering action of the discharge. The adhesion between coating and substrate is excellent, even in those cases where the materials do not alloy.1,2 The requirements for good adhesion have been discussed by Mattox3 and in brief are a clean substrate surface and the formation of a graded interface, causing not only a good metallurgical bond, but dispersing stresses due to differences in properties, e.g. thermal expansion coefficients, between coating and substrate. Deep graded interfaces have been reported in ion plated specimens where alloying is possible,4 but not for incompatible materials. One of the main reasons given in the past for the excellent adhesion of ion plated films has been penetration of the substrate lattice by the ionised depositing vapour atoms, under the action of the substrate bias voltage, i.e. ion implan...
Assessment for U.S. Engineering Programs

Issues influencing current engineering education are reviewed. Chief among them is that the public expects accountability in higher education while, at the same time, industry wants engineering programs to adapt their research and curricula more rapidly to technological advances. These demands may, or may not, represent mutually exclusive objectives. However, educators have finally acknowledged that problems do exist in institutions of higher learning, and that education programs can be measured, compared, and potentially improved. Various agencies and organizations, including the National Research Council have become actively involved in evaluating and comparing the nation's engineering programs, as has the media, particularly U.S. News & World Report. The national rankings in U.S. News & World Report are based on data collected annually on a number of attributes. In this article, we relate their rankings to other factors which are not the attributes except the undergraduate graduation rate. The following are the variables analyzed in this article: 1)graduate rankings, 2) undergraduate rankings, 3) alumni giving rate, 4)undergraduate graduation rate, 5) tuition, and 6) average faculty salaries. By analysing the resulting rankings, the validity of these variables as measures of quality education is confirmed. Further, the significant practical impact of these published institutional comparisons on improving engineering education is established.
Skills and Challenges in Child Care: Perceptions of the “Flow” Experience among Teachers

Perceptions of the experience of “flow” as described by M. Csikszentmihalyi was examined among child-care employees. Flow was defined as the difference between raters' perceptions of the challenges presented by child-care employment and their self-reported skills for the job. Teachers (N = 189) of 4-year-olds rated their perceived skills and challenges on 10 activities that typically occur during a day at a child-care center. Multivariate analysis of variance with repeated measures indicated no significant effect on Flow due to the amount of child-care training, the number of years of preschool teaching experience, or the interaction between Education and Experience. The flow variable, which is a direct comparison of perceived skills and challenges, was significant. Post hoc analysis indicated that mean ratings on skills were significantly higher than the mean ratings on challenges on all 10 teaching activities. According to flow theory, then, these teachers would be expected to experience boredom rather than flow in work. The results suggest that teacher education programs might focus on enabling caregivers to recognize challenges inherent in routine caregiving or to create challenges to make the work experience more enjoyable.
Extravesical Ureteral Reimplantation: An Outpatient Procedure

Purpose: We determined whether implementation of a critical pathway and modification of the extravesical ureteral reimplantation surgical technique to repair unilateral and bilateral vesicoureteral reflux would consistently result in same day patient hospital discharge without increased morbidity.Materials and Methods: We evaluated all children undergoing extravesical ureteral reimplantation using a modified technique that limits ureteral dissection, ureteral mobilization and detrusor dissection to as distal as possible. No surgical dissection is done in proximity to the obliterated umbilical artery, nor is the artery ligated. Patients follow a strict postoperative critical pathway, and parents receive extensive preoperative and postoperative education. The child is required to fulfill strict criteria to be discharged home.Results: A total of 51 girls and 9 boys 0.9 to 10.5 years old (mean age 5.1) were evaluated. A total of 24 unilateral and 36 bilateral procedures were performed with and without uretera...
Management of chronic alcoholism

1. A treatment for chronic alcoholism is here outlined. 2. This treatment showed certain advantages: (a) It is effective; (b) it is economical as to time, as it reduces length of hospitalization; and (c) it can be carried out in a general hospital.
Personality Correlates to Religious Belief Systems

The study investigated the multiple relationships among 39 personality and attitudinal variables with 2 clusters of religious attitudes. The findings suggest that conservatism plays a pervasive role in the prediction of religious belief for both male and female Ss.
A model of a single visual channel's response to weak test lights

Abstract We describe a model of the response of a single visual channel to weak test lights. We assume that the initial channel response may be approximated as a linear filter whose output is sampled at random times. At each sample time there is some probability (increasing with the size of the filter response) that a detection event is generated. The detection events form the basis of the observer's detection and duration discrimination judgments. We derive the statistics of the detection events and empirical tests of the model. Assuming the probability of a detection event to be negligible in the absence of a signal, we derive an exact prediction of the form of the psychometric function for detection. Second, assuming that duration discrimination of weak test lights is based solely on the temporal separation of detection events, we predict the exact form of detection/discrimination performance. Third, assuming that the observer's response is initiated by the first detection event, we derive the form of the cumulative reaction time distribution.
Sepsis induces extensive autophagic vacuolization in hepatocytes : a clinical and laboratory-based study

Autophagy is the regulated process cells use to recycle nonessential, redundant, or inefficient components and is an adaptive response during times of stress. In addition to its function in enabling the cell to gain vital nutrients in times of stress, autophagy can also be involved in elimination of intracellular microorganisms, tumor suppression, and antigen presentation. Because of difficulty in diagnosing autophagy, few clinical studies have been performed. This study examined whether autophagy occurs in hepatocytes during sepsis. Electron microscopy (EM) was performed on liver samples obtained from both an observational clinical cohort of six septic patients and four control patients as well as liver specimens from mice with surgical sepsis (by cecal ligation and puncture) or sham operation. EM demonstrated increased autophagic vacuoles in septic vs nonseptic patients. Randomly selected fields (3000 microm(2)) from control and septic patients contained 1.2+/-1.5 vs 5.3+/-3.3 (mean+/-s.d.) complex lysosomal/autophagolysosomal structures per image respectively (P<0.001). In rare instances, hepatocytes with autophagic vacuoles appeared to be unequivocally committed to death. Membrane alterations (membrane vacuoles, invagination into adjacent organelles, and myelin figure-like changes) occur in a subpopulation of mitochondria in sepsis, but other hepatocyte organelles showed no consistent ultrastructural injury. Findings in murine sepsis paralleled those of patients, with 7.2+/-1.9 vs 38.7+/-3.9 lysosomal/autophagolysosomal structures in sham and septic mice, respectively (P=0.002). Quantitative RT-PCR demonstrated that sepsis induced the upregulation of select apoptosis and cytokine gene expression with minimal changes in the core autophagy genes in liver. In conclusion, hepatocyte autophagic vacuolization increases during sepsis and is associated with mitochondrial injury. However, it is not possible to determine whether the increase in autophagic vacuolization is an adaptive response or a harbinger of cell death.