cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Use of legume green manures as nitrogen sources for corn production

Recent volatility in supplies and prices of natural gas and synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizer suggests a need to develop and refine alternative strategies for supplying N to corn. In this study, conducted in north-eastern Iowa, we examined the use of red clover and alfalfa green manures as means of supplying N to a succeeding corn crop. Red clover intercropped with oat produced significantly more biomass and contained more N than alfalfa intercropped with oat. Tilling green manures in the fall or delaying tillage until the following spring did not have a consistent effect on green manure N content. Without N fertilizer, corn grain yield following oat–red clover and oat–alfalfa was 25–63% greater than following oat grown alone, but at the highest fertilizer rate (202 kg N ha−1), there was no difference in corn yield between oat–legume and oat-alone treatments. These patterns support the premise that legume green manure effects on corn yield were N-related. Red clover green manure had an N fertilizer replacement value for corn of 87–184 kg N ha−1; alfalfa supplied corn with the equivalent of 70–121 kg N ha−1. At a fossil energy cost for N fertilizer of 57 MJ kg−1 N, reducing synthetic N fertilizer applications to corn by 70–184 kg N ha−1 would represent a fossil fuel savings of 3990–10,488 MJ ha−1, equivalent to the energy content of 104–274 m3 of natural gas. These types of savings are likely to become increasingly important as fossil energy supplies become scarcer and fertilizer prices rise.
Model studies of azide binding to functional analogues of CcO.

N3− binding to a functional model of CcO is investigated in its Fe3+, Fe3+Cu+, and Fe3+Cu2+ forms. A combination of EPR and FTIR indicates that N3− binds in a bridging mode in the bimetallic sites and signature N3− bands are identified for several forms of N3− binding to the site. The presence of the distal metal increases the binding affinity of N3−. This bridging enables antiferromagnetic interaction between the two metal centers in the Fe3+Cu2+ state, which results in an EPR-silent ground state.
Zoster immune plasma prophylaxis of varicella: a follow-up report.

VARICELLA can be a life-threatening infection in immunocompromised patients. Because a large number of patients with primary or acquired immunodeficiencies are cared for at the University of Minnesota Health Sciences Center, we found it desirable to maintain a supply of zoster immune plasma for attempted prevention of varicelia in such patients. The results of ZIP prophylaxis in 31 of our immunocompromised patients were recently published? The present report expands our study to 50 patients, describes the kinetics of passively transferred varicella-zoster virus antibodies, and provides data suggesting that plasma should be transfused as soon as possible after exposure.
An assessment of the newly defined internal audit function

The new definition of internal auditing defines the function as an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organization’s operations. The purpose of this paper is to summarize an assessment of this new definition obtained through structured interviews from 11 internal audit directors of large publicly traded companies. The responses from the directors indicate that there are wide differences in viewpoints and objectives; but a definite shift has occurred in the overall scope of internal audit towards operational activities. While most of the interviewees are in conceptual agreement with the new internal audit definition, an underlying warning is vocalized: “Don’t throw out the franchise”. That is, the traditional role of the internal auditor should not be completely abandoned. These, along with other responses pertaining to related issues and suggestions for future research, are summarized throughout the paper.
Transcript splicing is essential for functional Histoplasma capsulatum URA5 expression

Abstract The isolation of auxotrophic markers is important for molecular genetic studies of the dimorphic fungus Histoplasma capsulatum. We have isolated a UV-induced mutant of H. capsulatum, resulting in nonreverting uracil auxotrophy due to a mutation in the URA5 gene. In this study, we show that this mutation is a GG to TA conversion bordering the 5′ donor splice site of intron 2. The mutation results in the lack of splicing of intron 2 from the URA5 transcript, and subsequently premature termination of the peptide. This study is the first showing that consensus Group II intron sequences are both utilized and essential for functional expression of a gene in H. capsulatum.
Unsupervised Segmentation Of Texture Images

Past work on unsupervised segmentation of a texture image has been based on several restrictive assumptions to reduce the difficulty of this challenging segmentation task. Typically, a fixed number of different texture regions is assumed and each region is assumed to be generated by a simple model. Also, different first order statistics are used to facilitate discrimination between different textures. This paper introduces an approach to unsupervised segmentation that offers promise for handling unrestricted natural scenes containing textural regions. A simple but effective feature set and a novel measure of dissimilarity are used to accurately generate boundaries between an unknown number of regions without using first order statistics or texture models. A two stage approach is used to partition a texture image. In the first stage, a set of sliding windows scans the image to generate a sequence of feature vectors. The windowed regions providing the highest inhomo-geneity in their textural characteristics determine a crude first-stage boundary, separating textured areas that are unambiguously homogeneous from one another. These regions are used to estimate a set of prototype feature vectors. In the second stage, supervised segmentation is performed to obtain an accurate boundary between different textured regions by means of a constrained hierarchical clustering technique. Each inhomo-geneous window obtained in the first stage is split into four identical subwindows for which the feature vectors are estimated. Each of the subwindows is assigned to a homogeneous region to which it is connected. This region is chosen according to the closest prototype vector in the feature space. Any two adjacent subwindows that are assigned to different regions will in turn be considered as inhomogeneous windows and each is then split into four subwindows. The classification scheme is repeated in this hierarchical manner until the desired boundary resolution is achieved. The technique has been tested on several multi-texture images yielding accu-rate segmentation results comparable or superior to the performance obtained by human visual segmentation.
Dimerization of the Extracellular Domain of Granulocyte-Colony Stimulating Factor Receptor by Ligand Binding: A Monovalent Ligand Induces 2:2 Complexes

Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) binds to a specific cell surface receptor and induces signals for growth and differentiation in cells of granulocyte hematopoietic lineage. In order to understand how G-CSF binding initiates signals into these cells, we have studied its interaction with the entire extracellular domain of the receptor (sG-CSFR). The sG-CSFR was purified from CHO cell conditioned media with a G-CSF affinity column, resulting in a preparation fully competent for ligand binding. However, when sG-CSFR was purified by conventional means, i.e., without affinity chromatography, only about half was competent. Therefore, all studies were carried out using affinity-purified material. The sG-CSFR exhibited a weak self-association into a dimer with a dissociation constant of 200 μM in the absence of G-CSF. Addition of G-CSF dimerizes the receptor, with a preferred stoichiometry of 2 G-CSF molecules plus 2 receptors. Unexpectedly, receptor dimerization appears to occur through receptor−rece...
Altered Rho GTPase Signaling Pathways in Breast Cancer Cells

The Rho family of GTPases have emerged as key players in regulating a diverse set of biological activities including actin organization, focal complex/adhesion assembly, cell motility, cell polarity, gene transcription and cell-cycle progression. Some Rho GTPases and their signaling components are overexpressed and/or are hyperactive in breast cancer and recent studies have shown a requirement for Rho GTPases in breast cancer cell metastasis in vivo. Herein we describe the contribution of Rho GTPase to the malignant phenotype of breast cancer cells and the role of these pathways as potential targets for breast cancer therapy. Rho GTPases promote cell-cycle progression through cyclin D1, and cyclin D1 in turn reduces cellular adhesion and promotes migration, an example of ‘inside-out’ signaling by cyclin D1. As cyclin D1 overexpression correlates with metastatic cancer, the ‘inside-out’ signaling function of cyclin D1 to promote cell migration may represent a useful new therapeutic target.
Theory of Multiphoton Magnetoabsorption in Semiconductors

We calculate direct interband transitions induced by a strong oscillating electric field, in the presence of a longitudinal or transverse magnetic field, including the largest, intraband effects of the electric field in the original wave functions. This is an extension of the Keldysh treatment to include the magnetic field, and also to include absorption of a second optical electric field, where we work in the effective-mass approximation, which is more suitable for the magnetic field case. The intraband effects, combined with an interband electric perturbation obtained from the effective-mass theory, induce Zener or photon-assisted (Franz-Keldysh) tunneling in parallel fields as the frequency of the strong electric field becomes small, and multiphoton transitions for relatively high frequencies and moderate electric fields. When a one-photon $\ensuremath{\Delta}n=0$ transition is allowed, the intraband effects induce multiphoton transitions with the same selection rule, except that in a transverse magnetic field H, $\ensuremath{\Delta}n=\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}m$ transitions are allowed, but reduced by a factor proportional to ${H}^{m}$. The transition energies are those predicted earlier by Lax, where for a longitudinal magnetic field the electric-field energy shift is that obtained by Keldysh for zero magnetic field, and is modified for a transverse field by the cyclotron resonance frequencies.
Immortalized Hensen's Node Cells Secrete a Factor That Regulates Avian Neural Crest Cell Fatesin Vitro

Abstract The derivatives of the neural crest are regionally specified with respect to the anterior–posterior axis of the avian embryo. We have shown previously that young Hensen's node can act in vitro to regulate the expression of certain region-specific phenotypes in trunk neural crest cells. To study potential factors acting on the neural crest, we have generated an immortalized cell line from young Hensen's node. Here we show that a factor produced by these cells stimulates the expression of two cranial-specific phenotypes (fibronectin and smooth muscle actin) in trunk neural crest cells and decreases their expression of a trunk-specific phenotype (melanin). The active factor is a secreted protein with a molecular weight >30 kDa. Clonal studies suggest that the factor acts by changing the phenotypic fates of individual neural crest cells, rather than by selective effects on cell proliferation or survival. Previous work has shown that TGF-βs can mimic the effects of Hensen's node cells on neural crest differentiation. Results from the present study suggest that the factor in the conditioned medium of the immortalized node cell line is not a TGF-β isoform. However, the cranial phenotype-inducing activity of the conditioned medium factor requires the presence of neural crest cell-derived TGF-βs.
Impact of enhanced pharmacologic care on the prevention of falls: A randomized controlled trial

Abstract Background: Falls are the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries among older adults in the United States. Medications that affect the central nervous system are known to increase the risk of falling. Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a community pharmacy-based falls-prevention program targeting high-risk older adults on the rates of recurrent falls, injurious falls, and filling prescriptions for medications that have been associated with an increased risk of falling. Methods: This was a randomized controlled trial of participants recruited through a community pharmacy chain in North Carolina. The 2-year study consisted of a 1-year "look-back" period before randomization and a 1-year follow-up period after randomization. Patients were eligible to participate if they were >>-65 years of age, had fallen at least once during the 1-year period preceding enrollment, and were taking medications associated with an increased risk of falling. Medications classified as high risk included benzodiazepines, antidepressants, anticonvulsants, sedative hypnotics, opioid analgesics, antipsychotics, and skeletal muscle relaxants. Participants were assigned to either the intervention arm or the control arm; participants in the intervention arm were invited to attend a faceto-face medication consultation conducted by a community pharmacy resident, whereas those in the control arm received no medication consultation. The primary end point was the rate of recurrent falls during the 1-year followup period. Secondary end points were the total number of prescriptions for high-risk medications filled during the follow-up period and either discontinued use or a reduction in the dosage of a high-risk medication during the follow-up period. Results: One hundred eighty-six patients (132 women, 54 men; 88.7% white) were enrolled. Intention-to-treat (ITT) analyses revealed no significant differences in the rates of recurrent falls, injurious falls, or filling prescriptions for high-risk medications. However, 13 patients in the intervention group either discontinued use of a high-risk medication or had the dosage reduced during the follow-up period, compared with 5 patients in the control group (ͼ 2 = 3.94; P Conclusions: Results of this study support the feasibility of using community pharmacies to deliver a falls-prevention program targeting high-risk older adults. Although the ITT analyses revealed no significant reduction in the rate of recurrent falls, injurious falls, or overall use of high-risk medications, individuals in the intervention group were more likely than those in the control group to discontinue use of a high-risk medication or have the dosage reduced during the 1-year follow-up period. More work is needed to evaluate the intervention using a larger sample size that provides greater power to detect clinically meaningful effects of reduction in the use of high-risk medications on preventing or reducing falls in the high-risk population.
Time Interval Distributions and the Rossi Correlation Function

For material spontaneously generating fission chains, the arrival times of neutron and gamma-ray counts create a clustering pattern distinctly different from a random source. A theory for the time ...
The Effects of Individual Differences and Training on Paced and Unpaced Aircraft Visual Inspection Performance

The aircraft maintenance system is a complex one with many interrelated human and machine components. Inspection is the first critical step in locating and identifying non-conformities that are later removed or fixed as part of maintenance. Thus, inspection constitutes a critical step in the overall maintenance process. Significantly, 90% of all inspection, which is visual, is conducted by human inspectors. Moreover aircraft inspection is often performed under varying pacing conditions. If we are to provide the general public with a safe and reliable air transportation system, inspection must be performed effectively, efficiently and consistently over time. However, past studies in human inspection have reported large individual differences in inspection performance. Even though it is difficult to eliminate errors completely, continuing emphasis must be placed on identifying interventions to reduce errors and improve consistency in performance.
AGU member self‐evaluation test

As a service to the membership of the AGU, the Self-Improvement Committee (Sic) has designed the following self-evaluation test to help you determine where you are in your career. Please do not be afraid to take it. You cannot fail this test even if your career is a failure. Come now, pull yourself together, pick up a pencil, and circle the number corresponding to the statement that best describes you . Please be honest; we have ways of detecting cheaters. Do not read through the test once first; you must answer the questions the first time you read them. There shall be no deviations from these rules!
Evidence for internal dielectronic excitation of slow highly charged uranium ions.

We have measured x-ray emission from the neutralization of slow U[sup [ital q]+] ions with charge states [ital q]=61--73 and energies of 7[times][ital q] keV on a Be foil. We were able to resolve [ital M]-satellite groups and found an expected increase in [ital M] x-ray intensity with increasing number of [ital M]-shell vacancies in the incident ions. However, for charge states with no [ital M]-shell vacancies, we also observed a significant intensity of [ital M] x rays. We take this observation as evidence of an internal dielectronic excitation process occurring during the neutralization of the ions.
Single-Particle Cryo-EM at Crystallographic Resolution

Until only a few years ago, single-particle electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM) was usually not the first choice for many structural biologists due to its limited resolution in the range of nanometer to subnanometer. Now, this method rivals X-ray crystallography in terms of resolution and can be used to determine atomic structures of macromolecules that are either refractory to crystallization or difficult to crystallize in specific functional states. In this review, I discuss the recent breakthroughs in both hardware and software that transformed cryo-microscopy, enabling understanding of complex biomolecules and their functions at atomic level.
Coffee Contains Cholinomimetic Compound Distinct from Caffeine. I: Purification and Chromatographic Analysis

Both regular and decaffeinated coffees were found to have cholinomimetic actions when tested in urethane-anesthetized rats. These actions were distinct from those of caffeine and reversible by atropine. The bioactive fraction was purified from alcoholic extracts of instant decaffeinated coffee by liquid column chromatography and preparative TLC. The purified compound showed similar pharmacological actions as the starting material. Chromatographic behavior was further characterized by analytical TLC and HPLC. Chromatographic analyses of extracts of green coffee beans and roasted ground coffees showed that the cardioactive compound was only present in roasted coffees. Similar analyses of other commonly consumed beverages, including teas and cocoa, showed that this compound was not present in beverages besides coffee.
Interpretation of kernels. III. positive off-diagonal Kernels as correlates of the dynamic process of pupillary escape☆

Abstract Pupillary escape to on-step light stimulus is a well-known nonlinear dynamic phenomenon. Using adequate-bandwidth noise and a spectral computational technique, the 1st- and 2nd-degree kernels of the pupillary system were estimated. Nonlinear heuristic models, composed of cascades of linear elements, were then simulated. These heuristic models produced varying amounts of pupillary-escape-like effect for step inputs. Kernels of these heuristic models were determined with a biimpulse technique. Comparison of simulation results showed direct correspondence between positive off-diagonal 2nd-degree kernel values and the pupillary-escape-like effect demonstrated by the heuristic model. This supports the ability to interpret kernel shapes in general by relating them to the dynamics of nonlinear systems.
Introduction: issues in case-based design systems

Reviews some of the important issues concerning applying case-based reasoning (CBR) techniques to the design domain. Discussions of these issues, attempt to give the current status of the case-based design field, with surveys of existing case-based design systems and a summary from the first workshop held on this subject. For those who are less familiar with CBR, this paper also contains a section on what CBR method is and how it is contrasted with other reasoning approaches
An overview of FDA-approved new molecular entities: 1827–2013

The pharmaceutical industry is undergoing fundamental change and its future is unclear. We performed a meta-analysis by cataloging FDA-approved legacy drugs and new molecular entities (NMEs). Objective information regarding scientific, medical and commercial activities was captured and provides insight into processes governing drug development. In this report, we review the rates of NME introduction through to the end of 2013. Recent trends show the emergence of a handful of companies that controls two-thirds of NMEs. We also report growth in the number of NMEs controlled by marketing organizations that have little or no internal drug discovery or development activities. This trend has increased dramatically since 2000 and could raise important questions about the future landscape and viability of drug discovery and development.
Cyclooxygenase activity of cultured human mesothelial cells.

Abstract The fatty acid oxygenase activity of mesothelial cells and its role in inflammatory and neoplastic diseases of the mesothelium have not been defined. Techniques permitting in vitro cultivation of human mesothelial cells shed into serous cavities have permitted analysis of their specific metabolic capacities. The principal products of incubations of cultured human mesothelial cells with polyunsaturated fatty acids were analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography on reversed-, straight-, and chiral-phase columns and gas-liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry. The products included 6-keto-PGF 1α , 15-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid ( S / R = 3.5), 11-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid, and 12-hydroxyheptadecatrienoic acid from arachidonic acid; 9-and 13-hydroxyoctadecadienoic acids (molar ratio of 9/13-hydroxyoctadecadienoic acids = 3.5, S/R ratios = 0.3 and 2.8, respectively) from linoleic acid; and 12-hydroxyheptadecadienoic acid from homo-γ-linolenic acid. These products are indicative of a cyclooxygenase whose activation in vivo may play a significant role in serosal cavity pathology.
Thermal Flying-Height Control Sliders in Air-Helium Gas Mixtures

Filling hard disk drives with air-helium gas mixtures instead of pure helium can balance performance improvement, such as reduced power cost, increased capacity and improved reliability, against manufacturing cost increase. A consistent approach is proposed here to investigate the flying performance of thermal flying height control sliders flying in air-helium gas mixtures. It is found that the smallest power required for a designated flying height appears when the gas mixture is composed of about half helium and half air. The proposed numerical approach can also find application in investigating a slider's flying performance in a humid environment.
Sodium Transporters in Plants. Diverse Genes and Physiological Functions

Soil salinity represents an increasing threat to agricultural production. High sodium (Na+) concentrations in soils are toxic to most higher plants. More than 40% of irrigated lands worldwide show increased salt levels. Several studies have shown that under saline conditions, Na+ influx into root
Large-event medicine—event characteristics impacting medical need

Large events have been defined in many ways, from the vague description of a focused gathering of people to the more specific description of an event with at least 1,000 spectators and participants who are gathered at a specific location for a defined period of time. Regardless of the definition applied, the actual medical requirements vary considerably from one event to the next. The ability to predict these medical needs allows for the provision of adequate medical support. Many factors contribute to medical need at a large event, including event type, weather (particularly heat index), the presence of alcohol and / or illicit drugs, the number of participants, event duration, crowd demographics, and venue characteristics. This review will focus on the various features of large events such that the medical planner can better understand the challenge and provide adequate resource for patient care.
BioExtract Server, a Web-based workflow enabling system, leveraging iPlant collaborative resources

In order to handle the vast quantities of biological data generated by high-throughput experimental technologies, the BioExtract Server (bioextract.org) has leveraged iPlant Collaborative (www.iplantcollaborative.org) functionality to help address big data storage and analysis issues in the bioinformatics field. The BioExtract Server is a Web-based, workflow-enabling system that offers researchers a flexible environment for analyzing genomic data. It provides researchers with the ability to save a series of BioExtract Server tasks (e.g. query a data source, save a data extract, and execute an analytic tool) as a workflow and the opportunity for researchers to share their data extracts, analytic tools and workflows with collaborators. The iPlant Collaborative is a community of researchers, educators, and students working to enrich science through the development of cyberinfrastructure - the physical computing resources, collaborative environment, virtual machine resources, and interoperable analysis software and data services - that are essential components of modern biology. The iPlant Agave API (Agave), developed through the iPlant Collaborative, is a hosted, Software-as-a-Service resource providing access to a collection of High Performance Computing (HPC) and Cloud resources [6]. Leveraging Agave, the BioExtract Server gives researchers easy access to multiple high performance computers and delivers computation and storage as dynamically allocated resources via the Internet.
X based interactive computer graphics applications for aerodynamic design and education

Six computer applications packages have been developed to solve a variety of aerodynamic problems in an interactive environment on a single workstation. The packages perform classical one dimensional analysis under the control of a graphical user interface and can be used for preliminary design or educational purposes. The programs were originally developed on a Silicon Graphics workstation and used the GL version of the FORMS library as the graphical user interface. These programs have recently been converted to the XFORMS library of X based graphics widgets and have been tested on SGI, IBM, Sun, HP and PC-Lunix computers. The paper will show results from the new VU-DUCT program as a prime example. VU-DUCT has been developed as an educational package for the study of subsonic open and closed loop wind tunnels.
T- and B-lymphocyte colony formation by cord and adult blood lymphocytes stimulated with Staph protein A

Abstract The response to staphylococcal protein A (SPA) of unfractionated, T-cell-enriched (TCE), and T-cell-depleted (TCD) populations of both adult mononuclear cells (AMC) and cord blood mononuclear cells (CBMC) was studied. Adult unfractionated and TCE populations formed more T-lymphocyte colonies than did similar populations of CBMC. However, TCD populations of CBMC formed B-lymphocyte colonies at least as well as did the TCD population of AMC. These results suggest that B cells from CBMC may be more mature than CBMC T-cell populations.
SEGMENTED POLYNOMIAL MODELS IN QUASI- EXPERIMENTAL RESEARCH

An introduction to the use of segmented polynomial models in behavioral science research is presented. Examples of suitably defined design matrices of dummy variables are given for the least squares analyses of time series and discontinuity quasi-experimental research designs. Linear combinations of dummy variable vectors are shown to provide tests of effects in the two quasi-experimental designs. Interpretation of results from the segmented polynomial analyses is also demonstrated.
Psychotropic and psychoactive drugs and hospitalization rates in nursing facility residents

The purpose of this study was to determine if there were any differences in hospitalization rates due to total psychoactive drug “load” between those using and not or formerly using psychotropic and psychoactive medications in a skilled nursing facility; to determine if the diagnosis of dementia and the change in use and load of psychotropic and psychoactive drugs influenced hospitalization rates. Methods : An observational retrospective cohort study was conducted of patient chart, facility disposition changes and consultant pharmacist reports data from a skilled nursing facility of more than 100 beds. Some177 patients resident for 30 or more days over a 19 month period of 2978 patient-months data were tabulated. A monthly repeated-measures assessment method that incorporated all conditions, diseases and medication changes was done on each resident to determine patient demographics, medication usage, and hospitalizations. Results : The rates of hospitalization ranged from 0.04 to 0.07 per patient/month for any psychoactive usage in those with and without dementia as a diagnosis. The rate of hospitalization during the study period for those with no current psychotropic nor regular psychoactive usage was 0.02 and 0.03/pt./month for those respectively with and without the diagnosis of dementia, yet 86% of this sample had used psychotropics or other psychoactive drugs before the period of observation. Conclusion : Preliminary evidence is offered that suggests psychotropics and psychoactive drugs and the total “load” of these drugs may be associated with an increase in the rate and risk of all hospitalizations within a single skilled nursing facility.
Smoothing Spline Models with Correlated Random Errors

Abstract Spline-smoothing techniques are commonly used to estimate the mean function in a nonparametric regression model. Their performances depend greatly on the choice of smoothing parameters. Many methods of selecting smoothing parameters such as generalized maximum likelihood (GML), generalized cross-validation (GCV), and unbiased risk (UBR), have been developed under the assumption of independent observations. They tend to underestimate smoothing parameters when data are correlated. In this article, I assume that observations are correlated and that the correlation matrix depends on a parsimonious set of parameters. I extend the GML, GCV, and UBR methods to estimate the smoothing parameters and the correlation parameters simultaneously. I also relate a smoothing spline model to three mixed-effects models. These relationships show that the smoothing spline estimates evaluated at design points are best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP) estimates and that the GML estimates of the smoothing parameters an...
Small molecules thwart crash and burn.

The zebrafish has become a popular model organism to investigate many biological processes, in part owing to the combination of facile genetic manipulation and rapid, external embryonic development. The application of large-scale screening to identify chemical suppressors of a cancer-prone mutant highlights new technology for whole organism–based small-molecule discovery.
Possible Role for Mitochondrial Calcium in Angiotensin II- and Potassium-Stimulated Steroidogenesis in Bovine Adrenal Glomerulosa Cells*

In adrenal zona glomerulosa cells, the action of angiotensin II (Ang II) and of potassium (K’) on aldosterone synthesis is mediated by the Ca2+ messenger system. The major part of the steroidogenic pathway takes place inside the mitochondria, and Ca2+ must enter the mitochondrial matrix to stimulate the steroidogenic cascade. To examine how changes in the cytosolic free calcium concentration ([Ca”],) induced by Ang II and K+ are relayed into the mitochondrial matrix, we transfected bovine adrenal zona glomerulosa cells in primary culture with a chimeric complementary DNA encoding for the signal presequence targeting human cytochrome c oxidase subunit VIII to the matrix, linked to a complementary DNA coding for the Ca’+sensitive photoprotein aequoiin. Resting mitochondrial free calcium concentration ([Ca2+],) amounted to 0.41 2 0.18 FM (n = 40). Ang II induced a concentration-dependent (EC,, = 11.3 t 6.0 nM), biphasic rise of [Ca’+],. After a large transient &tial peak (5.13 + O.&l FM, n = 28), [Ca”], decreased to a plateau that remained higher than basal [Ca’+], for several minutes in the presence of the hormone. By contrast, studies in cells transfected withcytosolic aequorin indicate2 that the rise of [Ca2’], triggered by Ang II was confined to 1.34 2 0.26 ~.LM (n = 17). In Ca’+-free medium, a reduced peak [Ca2’], response to Ang II occurred without a secondary plateau. On readdition of extracellular Ca”‘, in the presence ofthe hormone, the resulting Ca2+ influx was accompanied by small rise of [Ca’+],. The mitochondrial uncoupler, carbonyl cyanide p-(trifluoro-methoxy)phenyl-hydrazone, prevented the Ang II-induced [Ca”], rise but not the [Ca2+lc response, thus demonstrating the mitochondrial location of transfected aequorin. In contrast to Ang II, K+ (13 InM) induced a sustained [Ca’+], response, which was relayed without amplification into the mitochondrial matrix as a plateau of [Ca2’],. This plateau of [Ca”], was suppressed by the addition of the dihydropyridine, nifedipine (200 nM). The inhibitor of the mitochondrial Na+/Ca’+ exchanger, CGP37157, reduced significantly the rate of decrease of [Ca’+], following the peak induced by Ang II. In cells whose [Ca’+], was clamped at various levels (0.05-0.860 PM) with ionomycin, a concentrationdependent stimulation of pregnenolone output was induced by Ca2+. Under these conditions, the output of pregnenolone - the early product of steroidogenesis - was markedly potentiated by CGP37157. These results suggest the existence of microdomains ofhigh [Ca”], elicited by Ang II in the proximity of mitochondria. Moreover, our observations are consistent with a mitochondrial site of action for calcium in the activation of the steroidogenic cascade. 137: 55445551, 1996)
Whites' ethnocentrism and their attributions for the behavior of blacks: A motivational bias1

Previous research has shown that people make more derogatory attributions for the behavior of outgroup members than for the behavior of ingroup members. However, these results may be due merely to a cultural stereotype of the outgroup rather than to ethnocentrism (which would entail dislike for members of the outgroup). To examine the effect of ethnocentrism on attributions, irrespective of the cultural stereotype, and to examine whether people who differ in ethnocentrism also differ in their attributions for whites and blacks, high and low ethnocentric whites made attributions for the success and failure of black and white actors on a task which required an ability that was outside the scope of the cultural stereotype of blacks, i.e., ESP ability. Examination of these attributions revealed that the more ethnocentric the subjects were, the more they tended to give whites greater credit for success than blacks, and the more they tended to give whites less blame for failure than blacks. These results were discussed in terms of their implications for the persistence of prejudice and for the effects of motivations on attributions for the behavior of others.
Subsalt Exploration and Development Imaging, Interpretation, and Drilling—What have we learned? 2006 SEG/EAGE Summer Research Workshop

This year's Summer Research Workshop organized by SEG and EAGE under the title “Subsalt Exploration and Development: Imaging, Interpretation, and Drilling—What have we learned?” took place on 10–14 July 2006 in Snowbird, Utah, USA. The workshop was attended by approximately 150 geophysicists and geologists representing the whole spectrum of oil and gas companies, geophysical contractors, and academia. The workshop featured many presentations highlighting the current state-of-the-art in subsalt exploration. The large majority of the presentations focused on the use of surface seismic data to guide subsalt exploration and development. However, there were significant contributions that discussed the role of geology, geomechanics, and borehole data in constraining model building under salt bodies characterized by complex geometries (Figure 1).
Fungal pathogenesis of the sea fan Gorgonia ventalina: direct and indirect consequences

Fungal pathogenesis of the sea fan Gorgonia ventalina has developed on the Belize barrier reef during 1997 and 1998. The disease incidence (= percent of infected sea fans) remained unchanged at two sites along the barrier reef crest between years. However, the incidence increased significantly at an offshore atoll during that time, as did the virulence (= percent tissue loss). Grazing by the gorgonian specialist mollusc Cyphoma gibbosum increased on infected sea fans. Sea fan responses to fungal infection included significant decreases in a furano-germacrene compound with antifeedant activity and significant increases in the concentration of sclerites at the site of infection. Feeding assays utilizing C. gibbosum and a natural assemblage of reef fishes indicated sclerites are an effective deterrent, to both consumers, at both pre- and post-infected concentrations. In contrast, the compound was only deterrent to the fish, and only at concentrations found in pre-infected sea fans. These data indicate that sea fan pathogenesis can directly and indirectly affect population health via virulent tissue necrosis and pathogen-mediated reductions in grazer resistance, respectively.
6βOH Cortisol (6OHF)as Indicator of Altered Cortisol (F) Metabolism

We measured 60HF,tetrahydrocortisone (THE), tetrahy-drocortisol (THF) and free cortisol (FF) excretion by RIAs in 1 ml of urine.,Normal 60HF excretion in children is 0.28±.04 mg/d/m2(mean±SE) . We found no sex difference.The ratios(±SE) of these cortisol metabolites in normals,after ACTH (40×5d) in patients with Cushing's syndrome or disease (CSD) are: Treatment with spironolactone caused a 6-fold mean increase in 60HF excretion, phenobarbital changed the 60HF/17OH ratio to 0.22±0.03, and Dilantin+phenobarbital altered the ratio to 0.45±0.1. Conclusions: 60HF excretion in relation to 17OH and FF is age dependent. 6OHF increased markedly in CSD and after ACTH. THE/THF ratio decreased after ACTH and in CSD. FF increased more after short-term ACTH than in CSD. Therefore ACTH and hypercortisolemia alter cortisol metabolism measurable by urinary metabolites. Drugs (spironolactone, phenobarbital,Dilantin) cause an increase in 6β-hydroxylation, a microsomal enzyme system.
Lipoproteins in children treated with continuous peritoneal dialysis.

ABSTRACT: Total lipids, lipoprotein-lipids, and apolipo-proteins were studied in plasma of 20 patients, aged 13.9 ± 3.4 y (mean ± SD, range 7.4 to 19 y), who were treated with continuous peritoneal dialysis for a period of 2.1 ± 1.2 (range 0.5 to 4.9) y. Measurements included total plasma cholesterol and triglycerides, triglycerides in the very low density fraction, and cholesterol in the very low density, low density, and high density fractions, as well as apo A-I and apo B. The results were compared with values in 17 healthy control subjects, aged 13.0 ± 5.1 (range 5.1 to 19) y. The patients had significantly elevated levels of total plasma triglycerides, triglycerides in the very low density fraction, total plasma cholesterol, cholesterol in the very low density fraction, and cholesterol in the low density fraction, whereas levels of cholesterol in the high density fraction were normal. Plasma apo B levels were elevated, but apo A-I levels were not different from controls. In addition, the nutritional status of the patients was assessed and apo A-I and apo B concentrations were measured in the dialysate of 10 patients. The losses of apo A-I and apo B in dialysate averaged 13.4 ± 7.4 and 2.1 ± 3.1 mg/kg/d, respectively. Lipoprotein profiles were not correlated with nutritional status. We conclude that pediatric patients treated with continuous peritoneal dialysis have atherogenic lipoprotein profiles, cholesterol ratios, and apolipoprotein ratios, but normal cholesterol in the high density fraction and apo A-I levels despite considerable apo A-I losses in the dialysate.
Fine structure of rat islet cell tumors induced by streptozotocin and nicotinamide.

Young male Holtzman rats were injected intravenously with 50 mg/kg of Streptozotocin, preceded and followed by a single intraperitoneal injection of 350 mg/kg of nicotinamide, according to the method of Rakieten et al. [16]. After 245 to 323 days, 27 pancreatic islet cell tumors measuring up to 0.6 cm were demonstrable in 20 of 41 rats so treated; they were solitary in 15 and multiple (two or three neoplasms each) in five animals. It was not possible to distinguish between tumor-bearing and tumor-free rats on the basis of periodic blood sugar determinations and serum insulin assays. Mean insulin concentration in grossly tumor-free pancreatic specimens was 0.661 units of insulin/g of wet tissue, but amounted to 5.385 units/g in specimens containing tumor. The islet cell tumors were rounded and well delineated. They were located in all parts of the pancreas. In general, their cells stained deeply with aldehyde-fuchsin. Ultra-structurally, most tumors consisted of well granulated B cells. A or D cells were not encountered while occasional EC cells were identified. Nucleoli were frequently prominent. Some necrotic B cells and others with few or unusually small secretory granules were present. Extravasated erythrocytes as well as hemosiderin deposits were seen in many tumors, and tumor cell particles were occasionally noted within the lumina of capillaries. Distant metastases were not demonstrable in this group of animals.
Manipulating single photons from disparate quantum sources to be indistinguishable [Invited]

Quantum information networks will likely require different quantum systems for different functionality within the network. Indistinguishable photons can be used to interconnect these different subsystems. We discuss methods for coherently manipulating the single photons from different quantum systems and experimentally demonstrate spatial, temporal, and frequency matching of single photons using quantum dot and heralded parametric downconversion single photons. The bosonic nature of light insures that when two indistinguishable photons are superimposed on a beam splitter, they will form a single two-photon state, a process we call coalescence. This coalescence property can be used as both a fundamental test of indistinguishability and in quantum networks—connecting and propagating quantum information.
Can the Lambert-Beer law be applied to the diffuse attenuation coefficient of ocean water?

Radiative transfer theory is combined with a bio-optical model of Case 1 waters and an optical model of the atmosphere to simulate the transport of radiation in the ocean-atmosphere system. The results are treated as experimental data to study the downwelling irradiance attenuation coefficient. It is shown that the downwelling irradiance attenuation coefficient just beneath the surface and the mean downwelling irradiance attenuation coefficient from the surface to the depth where the irradiance falls to 10% of its value at the surface can be corrected for the geometric structure of the in-water light field to yield quantities that are-to a high degree of accuracyinherent optical properties. For Case 1 waters these geometry-corrected attenuation coefficients arc shown to satisfy the Lambert-Beer law with a maximum error of 5-10% depending on wavelength. This near-validity of the Lambert-Beer law, when there are compelling reasons to believe that it should fail, is shown to result from three independent facts: the dependence of the diffuse attenuation coefficients on the geometric structure of the light field can be removed; pure seawater is a much better absorber than scatterer at optical frequencies; and the phase function for particles suspended in the ocean differs significantly from that of pure seawater. Finally, it is shown that extrapolation of the corrected diffuse attenuation coefficients to the limit c --* c, yields quantities that are within 2% of the corresponding quantities that would be measured for an ocean consisting of pure seawater with the sun at zenith and the atmosphere removed.
An application of multiple viewpoints to content-based image retrieval

Content-based image retrieval uses features that can be extracted from the images themselves. Using more than one representation of the images in a collection can improve the results presented to a user without changing the underlying feature extraction or search technologies. We present an example of this "multiple viewpoint" approach, multiple image channels, and discuss its advantages for an image-seeking user. This approach has also been shown to dramatically improve retrieval effectiveness in content-based image retrieval systems [J.C. French et al., (2003)].
Another look at Thompson's quadratic pairs

Several years ago John Thompson wrote a paper on quadratic pairs which was never published [7]. Since Thompson’s paper was written, much of the content has been proved in other ways. This paper is another step in covering some of the material in Thompson’s paper without using modules. Let us explain how Thompson’s paper led to the question in this paper. To begin, a quadratic pair is a group G and a module M such that
Structural Analysis of Substrate, Reaction Intermediate, and Product Binding in Haemophilus influenzae Biotin Carboxylase.

Acetyl-CoA carboxylase catalyzes the first and regulated step in fatty acid synthesis. In most Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, the enzyme is composed of three proteins: biotin carboxylase, a biotin carboxyl carrier protein (BCCP), and carboxyltransferase. The reaction mechanism involves two half-reactions with biotin carboxylase catalyzing the ATP-dependent carboxylation of biotin-BCCP in the first reaction. In the second reaction, carboxyltransferase catalyzes the transfer of the carboxyl group from biotin-BCCP to acetyl-CoA to form malonyl-CoA. In this report, high-resolution crystal structures of biotin carboxylase from Haemophilus influenzae were determined with bicarbonate, the ATP analogue AMPPCP; the carboxyphosphate intermediate analogues, phosphonoacetamide and phosphonoformate; the products ADP and phosphate; and the carboxybiotin analogue N1′-methoxycarbonyl biotin methyl ester. The structures have a common theme in that bicarbonate, phosphate, and the methyl ester of the carboxyl gro...
Highly stable tunable dual-wavelength Q-switched fiber laser for DIAL applications

We demonstrate a stable dual-wavelength Q-switched fiber laser for applications in differential absorption Lidar with tunability in absolute wavelength over several nanometers and discrete tuning in wavelength spacing from 1.1 to 3.3 nm. Single longitudinal-mode operation is also achieved by employing Sagnac loop saturable absorber filter. The delayed self homodyne linewidth measurement of the dual-wavelength continuous-wave laser shows a very narrow spectral linewidth and frequency jitter (<40 kHz). The advantages of tunable wavelengths, narrow linewidth, temperature insensitivity, and high stability in an efficient, cost effective, rugged, compact and light system make it a promising technology for airborne Lidar systems.