cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects Of Low-Energy Ion/Surface Interactions On Nucleation And Growth Kineticsiduring Film Growth From The Vapor Phase

Low-energy (< 200 eV) ion irradiation during crystal growth from the vapor phase plays an important and sometimes dominant role in controlling the growth kinetics and physical properties of films deposited by glow discharge and ion beam sputter deposition, molecular beam epitaxy using accelerated dopants, and plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition. Ion/surface interaction effects, including trapping, preferential sputtering collisional mixing, and surface segregation are used to interpret and model experimental results concerning the effects of low-energy particle bombardment on nucleation kinetics, growth kinetics, enhanced diffusion at interfaces, elemental incorporation probabilities, and dopant depth distributions. Of particular interest are the results of recent experiments designed to: (1) determine elemental incorporation probabilities and depth profiles of accelerated dopants in MBE Si and GaAs as a function of accelerated energy E and growth temperature Ts, (2) investigate nucleation and growth kinetics of In overlayers using primary-ion deposition as a function of EInand Ts on clean Si(100)2x1 surfaces, (3) use molecular dynamics and Monte Carlo simulations to investigate microstructure evolution, (4) investigate the role of low-energy ion irradiation in reducing dislocation densities in epitaxial TiN(100) layers, and (5) use low-energy ion-mixing to grow unique single-crystal metastable semiconducting alloys.
Surgical Decompression for Cerebral and Cerebellar Infarcts

Following an infarction in the right cerebral hemisphere, massive cerebral edema developed in a woman and led to a marked intracranial hypertension and to a progressive "uncal and central herniation." The downhill course was reverted with a decompressive operation. Epidural pressure was monitored during the procedure and in the postoperative period. She showed progressive recovery from the initial motor, sensory, and visual field losses. Among 18 reported patients with cerebral infarction who underwent surgical decompression, 11 presented pupillary asymmetry, 14 were in stupor or coma, and 18 were either hemiplegic or hemiparetic preoperatively. Seven died following the operation. Among four cases of cerebellar infarction who underwent similar procedures, there were three survivors. Due to the lack of a controlled study the data available so far are not conclusive as to the beneficial effects of surgical decompression for cerebral or cerebellar infarcts. Some data of clinical relevance on cerebral edema and intracranial hypertension associated with cerebral infarction are reviewed.
Application of high-resolution mass spectrometry to measure low abundance isotope enrichment in individual muscle proteins

Stable isotope-labeled amino acids have long been used to measure the fractional synthesis rate of proteins, although the mass spectrometry platforms used for such analyses have changed throughout the years. More recently, tandem mass spectrometers such as triple quadrupoles have been accepted as the standard platform for enrichment measurement due to their sensitivity and the enhanced specificity offered by multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) experiments. The limit in the utility of such platforms for enrichment analysis occurs when measuring very low levels of enrichment from small amounts of sample, particularly proteins isolated from two-dimensional gel electrophoresis (2D-GE), where interference from contaminant ions impacts the sensitivity of the measurement. We therefore applied a high-resolution orbitrap mass spectrometer to the analysis of [ring-13C6]-phenylalanine enrichment in individual muscle proteins isolated with 2D-GE. Comparison of samples analyzed on both platforms revealed that the high-resolution MS has significantly improved sensitivity relative to the triple quadrupole MS at very low-level enrichments due to its ability to resolve interferences in the m/z dimension. At higher enrichment levels, enrichment measurements from the orbitrap platform showed significant correlation (R 2 > 0.5) with those of the triple quadrupole platform. Together, these results indicate that high-resolution MS platforms such as the orbitrap are not only as capable of performing isotope enrichment measurements as the more commonly preferred triple quadrupole instruments, but offer unparalleled advantages in terms of mass accuracy and sensitivity in the presence of similar-mass contaminants.
Fatty acid composition of melon seed oil lipids and phospholipids

Fatty acid compositions of crude melon seed oil from two different sources were compared. Melon seeds fromCitrullus vulgaris (syn.C. lanatus) contained phosphatidylcholine (PC), lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) and phosphatidylserine (PS), whereas melon seeds fromCitrullus colocynthis contained only PC and LPC, but not PS. Analysis of the total lipids revealed that the major fatty acid of the oils was 18:2n-6.Citrullus vulgaris seed oil contained 71.3% andC. colocynthis contained 63.4% of 18:2n-6. The predominant fatty acids in theC. vulgaris PC were 18:2n-6 (32.2%), 18:1n-9 (26.4%) and 16:0 (22.2%), whereas theC. colocynthis PC contained 44.6% of 18:1n-9 as the major fatty acid. The level of monoenes in theC. colocynthis variety (46.2%) was different from theC. vulgaris (27.3%). The major fatty acid in the LPC was 18:1n-9 for both varieties. Notably, theC. colocynthis variety did not contain any PS. The major fatty acids in theC. vulgaris PS were 18:1n-9 (37.9%) and 18:2n-6 (33.7%). Of all the phospholipids, LPC contained the greatest amount of monoenes, 48.6–52.4%.
Efficacy of calcium ionophore A23187 oocyte activation for generating parthenotes for human embryo research

Purpose: Our purpose was to examine the efficacy of Ca-A23187 to activate human oocytes and produce parthenotes for research purposes. We examined the feasibility of using florescence in situ hybridization (FISH) to study the sex chromosome constitution of activated oocytes. Methods: One hundred eight nonfertilized oocytes from our IVF program were exposed to Ca-A23187. Oocyte activation was determined by the presence of pronuclear (PN) development. FISH was done on chromosome preparations using X and Y dual-colored probes. Polyploidic and parthenogenetically activated oocytes from our IVF program served as controls. Results: Of the 108 oocytes, 59 (55%) had no PN, 38 (35%) one PN, 10 (9%) two PN, and 1 (0.9%) three PN. Fifty-seven oocytes (53%) were not recovered following spreading and no chromatin was observed on 14 slides (13%) after FISH. This contrasted with 50 of 227 (22%) and 3 of 227 (1.7%) loss rates, respectively, for controls (P<0.0001). Eight of 49 activated oocytes underwent cleavage. FISH was performed on 37 oocytes. Of 21 zero-PN oocytes, I had no FISH signals, 15 had a single X, 4 had two X's, and I had four X's. For one-PN oocytes, two had no FISH signals, seven had one X, and three had two X's. For two-PN oocytes, two had no FISH signals and two had two X's. FISH results were consistent with a maternal origin of genetic material. Conclusions: Ca-A23187 resulted in a 45% activation rate, with 16% of oocytes progressing to cleavage before degeneration. Oocyte activation with Ca-A23187 allowed the generation of parthenotes for human embryo research. FISH was useful for evaluation of oocytes and parthenotes.
Stimulus-transcription Coupling in Pheochromocytoma Cells PROMOTER REGION-SPECIFIC ACTIVATION OF CHROMOGRANIN A BIOSYNTHESIS

To explore stimulus-transcription coupling in pheochromocytoma cells, we studied the biosynthetic response of chromogranin A, the major soluble protein co-stored and co-released with catecholamines, to chromaffin cells' physiologic nicotinic cholinergic secretory stimulation. Chromogranin A mRNA showed a time-dependent 3.87-fold response to nicotinic stimulation, and a nuclear run-off experiment indicated that the response occurred at a transcriptional level. Transfected chromogranin A promoter/luciferase reporter constructs were activated by nicotinic stimulation, in time- and dose-dependent fashions, in both rat PC12 pheochromocytoma cells and bovine chromaffin cells. Cholinergic subtype agents indicated that nicotinic stimulation was required. Promoter deletions established both positive and negative nicotinic response domains. Transfer of candidate promoter domains to a heterologous (thymidine kinase) promoter conferred region-specific nicotinic responses onto that promoter. A proximal promoter domain (from −93 to −62 base pairs) was activated in copy number- and distance-dependent fashion, and thus displayed features of a promoter element. Its activation was sufficient to account for the overall positive response to nicotine. Within this proximal region, a cAMP response element (CRE) was implicated as a major nicotinic response element, since a CRE point-gap mutation decreased nicotinic induction, transfer of CRE to a thymidine kinase promoter augmented the promoter's response to nicotine, and nicotine activated the CRE-binding protein CREB through phosphorylation at serine 133. We conclude that secretory stimulation of pheochromocytoma cells also activates the biosynthesis of the major secreted protein (chromogranin A), that the activation is transcriptional, and that a small proximal domain, including the CRE box, is, at least in part, both necessary and sufficient to account for the positive response to nicotine.
Vibration-Rotation Spectrum of Iodine Monobromide

Abstract The high-resolution infrared spectrum of iodine monobromide was recorded in absorption by Fourier transform spectroscopy. About 400 rovibrational transitions were observed near 260 cm −1 . The lines were assigned to the v = 1 ← 0 and v = 2 ← 1 bands of the X 1 Σ + electronic state of I 79 Br and I 81 Br. The infrared data were combined with millimeter-wave data from the literature to give improved molecular constants.
Choosing an equivalence limit for noninferiority or equivalence studies

Studies that compare treatments with the purpose of demonstrating that the treatments are similar require an a priori definition of an equivalence limit, how different the treatments can be before the difference is of concern. Defining such an equivalence limit is one of the most difficult aspects of planning the study. Three principles are proposed for setting such limits, depending on the objective of the study: a putative placebo calculation, an approach based on clinically important differences, and methods based on statistical properties. All methods will be useful for many studies, but the study objective should determine the final choice of an equivalence limit. The statistician must play an integral role in determining the final equivalence limit. Advice is offered for helping the statistician participate in the decision on the equivalence limits.
Host Control of Malaria Infections: Constraints on Immune and Erythropoeitic Response Kinetics

The two main agents of human malaria, Plasmodium vivax and Plasmodium falciparum, can induce severe anemia and provoke strong, complex immune reactions. Which dynamical behaviors of host immune and erythropoietic responses would foster control of infection, and which would lead to runaway parasitemia and/or severe anemia? To answer these questions, we developed differential equation models of interacting parasite and red blood cell (RBC) populations modulated by host immune and erythropoietic responses. The model immune responses incorporate both a rapidly responding innate component and a slower-responding, long-term antibody component, with several parasite developmental stages considered as targets for each type of immune response. We found that simulated infections with the highest parasitemia tended to be those with ineffective innate immunity even if antibodies were present. We also compared infections with dyserythropoiesis (reduced RBC production during infection) to those with compensatory erythropoiesis (boosted RBC production) or a fixed basal RBC production rate. Dyserythropoiesis tended to reduce parasitemia slightly but at a cost to the host of aggravating anemia. On the other hand, compensatory erythropoiesis tended to reduce the severity of anemia but with enhanced parasitemia if the innate response was ineffective. For both parasite species, sharp transitions between the schizont and the merozoite stages of development (i.e., with standard deviation in intra-RBC development time ≤2.4 h) were associated with lower parasitemia and less severe anemia. Thus tight synchronization in asexual parasite development might help control parasitemia. Finally, our simulations suggest that P. vivax can induce severe anemia as readily as P. falciparum for the same type of immune response, though P. vivax attacks a much smaller subset of RBCs. Since most P. vivax infections are nonlethal (if debilitating) clinically, this suggests that P. falciparum adaptations for countering or evading immune responses are more effective than those of P. vivax.
Protein‐based Nanotechnology: Kinesin–Microtubule‐driven Systems for Bioanalytical Applications

The sections in this article are Introduction Kinesin and Microtubule Cell Biology and Biophysics Kinesin Motility Assays Theoretical Transport Issues for Device Integration Diffusion versus Transport Times Interaction of Motor Proteins and Filaments with Synthetic Surfaces Motor Adsorption Microtubule Immobilization Controlling the Direction and Distance of Microscale Transport Directing Kinesin-driven Microtubules Movement in Enclosed Microchannels Immobilized Microtubule Arrays Cargo Attachment Maximum Cargo Size System Design Consideration Protein Stability and Lifetime Sample Introduction and Detection Analyte Detection and Collection Conclusion Acknowledgments
Nonlinear approximations for motion and subspace segmentation

The motion segmentation problem is a special case of the general subspace segmentation problem that clusters data drawn from an unknown union of subspaces. This paper provides a nonlinear model for general subspace segmentation problem and presents an algorithm to compute the optimal solution for noiseless data. We also provide a combined algorithm that addresses issues with noise to some extent. Furthermore, a devised algorithm that specifically targets motion segmentation has been developed and applied to the Hopkins 155 Dataset. It generates the best segmentation rate to the date.
Lossy Data Compression over Zq by LDPC Code

For cases other than the binary alphabet, we construct an LDPC code with the fidelity criterion for uniformly distributed sources on Z q, which asymptotically achieves the rate-distortion limit. For the existence of the LDPC code, we derive some conditions for the distortion criterion and for the parameters of the parity check matrix
Transcription-driven twin supercoiling of a DNA loop: a Brownian dynamics study.

The torque generated by RNA polymerase as it tracks along double-stranded DNA can potentially induce long-range structural deformations integral to mechanisms of biological significance in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. In this paper, we introduce a dynamic computer model for investigating this phenomenon. Duplex DNA is represented as a chain of hydrodynamic beads interacting through potentials of linearly elastic stretching, bending, and twisting, as well as excluded volume. The chain, linear when relaxed, is looped to form two open but topologically constrained subdomains. This permits the dynamic introduction of torsional stress via a centrally applied torque. We simulate by Brownian dynamics the 100 ms response of a 477-base pair B-DNA template to the localized torque generated by the prokaryotic transcription ensemble. Following a sharp rise at early times, the distributed twist assumes a nearly constant value in both subdomains, and a succession of supercoiling deformations occurs as superhelical stress is increasingly partitioned to writhe. The magnitude of writhe surpasses that of twist before also leveling off when the structure reaches mechanical equilibrium with the torsional load. Superhelicity is simultaneously right handed in one subdomain and left handed in the other, as predicted by the ‘‘transcription-induced twin-supercoiled-domain’’ model @L. F. Liu and J. C. Wang, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 84, 7024 ~1987!#. The properties of the chain at the onset of writhing agree well with predictions from theory, and the generated stress is ample for driving secondary structural transitions in physiological DNA. © 2004 American Institute of Physics. @DOI: 10.1063/1.1799613#
Closed-form performance for location estimation based on quantized data in sensor networks

For a large and dense outdoor sensor network, the impact of sensor density and signal to noise ratio (SNR) are investigated on the performance of a maximum likelihood (ML) location estimation algorithm. The ML estimator fuses data, in the form of signal amplitudes, transmitted from local sensors to estimate the location of a source. A Gaussian-like isotropic signal decay model is adopted to make the problem tractable and meaningful. This model is suitable for situations such as passive sensors monitoring a target emitting acoustic signals. The exact Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) on the estimation error has been derived. In addition, an approximate closed-form CRLB by using the Law of Large Numbers is obtained. The closed-form results indicate that the Fisher information is a linearly increasing function of the product of the sensor density and the SNR. Even though the results are derived assuming a large number of sensors, numerical results show that the closed-form CRLB is very close to the exact CRLB for both high and relatively low sensor densities.
Unraveling the Web: An Evaluation of the Content Quality, Usability, and Readability of Nutrition Web Sites

Abstract Objective To determine the content quality, general readability, and usability characteristics of consumer nutrition information on the World Wide Web. Design Almost 500 Web sites were identified for evaluation through 2 different approaches. Of these, 150 were included for further evaluation. Each site was rated on a 27-item tool covering content quality, readability, and usability. Analysis Summary statistics, means, ranges, and standard deviation were calculated for each study variable. The statistical significance of differences between item means by search strategy was determined using Student's t tests. Results Web sites identified using popular search engines scored significantly lower for content quality (P Conclusions and Implications Nutrition Web sites obtained using popular search engines may be aesthetically appealing and easy to use, but they often provide inaccurate nutrition information. As consumers increasingly turn to the World Wide Web for nutrition advice and education, it is imperative that the needs of diverse user populations be identified and addressed. Future nutrition education research should build on these findings by creating strategies that help users find reliable user-friendly gateways to accurate nutrition information on the Internet.
Modeling Conjunctive Water Use as a Reciprocal Externality

A reciprocal externality is created in the conjunctive use of hydrologically connected surface and ground water. Hydrologic and economic modeling are integrated to conduct basin-wide cost benefit analysis to address the market failure of reciprocal conjunctive use externalities. An n-node partial equilibrium model was formulated in which economic equilibrium was defined by a system of complementary slackness equations. The general model was applied to a three-node example of a ground water pumper that enjoys the positive externality of canal seepage while inflicting a negative externality of pumping-induced seepage upon a canal water user. Exogenous demand, supply, and canal conveyance variables were parameterized using site-specific functional forms and data. The example was solved using mixed complementary programming for the endogenous equilibrium water prices which in turn were used to calculate consumer and producer surplus in the respective surface and ground water markets. A Pigouvian tax/subsidy policy was contrasted against two real-world policies; eliminating the externality through conservation infrastructure and aquifer recharge. The Pigouvian tax/subsidy aligns prices to erase the wedge between social and private costs. The reciprocal externality produces feedback between the surface and ground water markets that reinforces or cancels the tax/subsidy effect. The recharge payment prices canal seepage via a payment from pumper to canal user that matches the decrease in total pumping cost attributable to the seepage resulting from canal diversion. The Pigouvian tax/subsidy yielded the highest social welfare, followed by the aquifer recharge payment. Conserving water by lining the leaky canal decreased social welfare.
Aquaporin-1 Facilitates Epithelial Cell Migration in Kidney Proximal Tubule

Aquaporin-1 (AQP1) is the principal water-transporting protein in cell plasma membranes in kidney proximal tubule, where it facilitates transepithelial water transport. Here, a novel role for AQP1 in kidney involving the migration of proximal tubule cells is reported. Migration was compared in primary cultures of proximal tubule cells from wild-type and AQP1 null mice. Cell cultures from AQP1 null mice were indistinguishable from those of wild-type mice in their appearance, growth/proliferation, and adhesiveness, although, as expected, they had reduced plasma membrane water permeability. Migration of AQP1-deficient cells was reduced by >50% compared with wild-type cells, as measured in a Boyden chamber in the presence of a chemotactic stimulus. Comparable slowing of migration of AQP1-deficient cells was also found in an in vitro scratch assay of wound healing, with reduced appearance of lamella-like membrane protrusions at the cell leading edge. Adenoviral-mediated expression of AQP1 in the AQP1-deficient cells, which increased their water permeability to that of wild-type cells, corrected their migration defect. The potential relevance of these in vitro findings to the intact kidney was tested in an in vivo model of acute tubular injury caused by 30 min of renal artery occlusion. At 3 to 5 d after ischemia-reperfusion, kidneys in AQP1 null mice showed remarkably greater tubular injury and cellular actin disorganization than kidneys in wild-type mice. These results provide evidence for the involvement of AQP1 in migration of proximal tubule cells and possibly in the response of the proximal tubule to injury.
Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea OCS Studies - An Overview

This paper presents a summary review of program activities carried out during the first two years in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea. Emphasis is given to problems of logistical support and scheduling of multi-ship operations for a very large multi-disciplinary environmental assessment program involving 124 Principal Investigators from 31 institutions and agencies, including Federal, State, academic and private groups.
Clinical applications of handheld computers

As the healthcare industry continues to become more distributed, healthcare organizations are increasing their reliance on mobile links to access patient information and to update their master database at the point of care. Handheld computers have evolved into a viable platform for these systems. While initial projects have shown promise, several questions remain. This article explores the unique characteristics of handheld computers with respect to user interface design and wireless access, and introduces a prototype development effort.
Matched public PUF: ultra low energy security platform

Hardware-based physically unclonable functions (PUFs) leverage intrinsic process variation of modern integrated circuits to provide interesting security solutions but either induce high storage requirements or require significant resources of at least one involved party. We use device aging to realize two identical unclonable modules that cannot be matched with any third such module. Each device enables rapid, low-energy computation of ultra-complex functions that are too complex for simulation in any reasonable time. The approach induces negligible area and energy costs and enables a majority of security protocols to be completed in a single or a few clock cycles.
Assessment of the Acute Psychiatric Patient in the Emergency Department: Legal Cases and Caveats

Abstract : Assessment of the acute psychiatric emergency is challenging and fraught with error. This paper, using legal cases, will discuss the assessment of new onset psychiatric illness, exacerbation of chronic psychiatric disease, and the suicidal patient. We will share diagnostic caveats, medical clearance, and suicide assessment tools. The authors, who have significant medical legal experience, selectively chose illustrative legal cases to discuss caveats of assessment of acute psychiatric emergencies. We selected representative cases after reviewing legal journals and publications. Cases involving restraint and sedation were excluded as they were covered in a prior manuscript. Psychosis is a relatively common syndrome affecting 3% to 5% of the population at some point in life. Encountering undiagnosed psychiatric conditions, such as psychosis or bipolar disorder, is commonplace for the emergency physician (EP). The following case illustrates the challenge and importance of the assessment of new onset psychiatric disorders.
Soybean-Rhizobium Combination for Tolerance to Low P-High Aluminum

Two greenhouse experiments were conducted to evaluate the performance of selected soybean-Bradyrhizobium combinations in a soil having low P-high aluminum stresses under controlled conditions. Growth parameters such as plant height, nodule numbers, dry weight, nitrogenase activity and seed yield were used as an index. Three selected acid (low P-high Al) tolerant (Essex, Tracy and Bedford) and three sensitive (Peking, Hill and McNair 600) soybean (Glycine max) varieties were sown in each pot. Three of the most tolerant strains of Bradyrhizobium (USDA 6, 110, 122), a mixture of these strains, and a commercial inoculant (Nitragin) were used to inoculate the Hartselle sandy loam soil. The results indicated that soil acidity significantly affected the soybean Bradyrhizobium symbiosis. The combination of variety Tracy plus Nitragin (mixed-strain) produced the highest and variety Peking plus mix-strain Nitragin the lowest plant height at all pH levels. Plants inoculated with Nitragin had higher shoot dry weight and seed yields. Variety Essex in combination with Nitragin produced the highest seed yields at all pH levels. Plants inoculated with Nitragin developed significantly more nodules than the other strains except for variety Peking. There was no significant difference in total nodule numbers between tolerant and sensitive soybean varieties at all soil pH levels except for Nitragin. Shoot total N did not increase by increasing the pH level or by using different variety-strain combinations.
Collision avoidance for two SCARA robots

A method for planning collision-free trajectories of two SCARA robots in a common workspace is described. The robots are treated as a single redundant system. A collision map representing the intersection of the robots is developed in a two-parameter space. A trajectory is planned by finding a collision-free path in the parameter space as a primary constraint and minimizing an objective function in joint space as a secondary goal. An artificial potential field facilitates path planning in the parameter space. A gradient projection method minimizes the error between the current and desired joint angles and optimizes other criteria. The proposed formulation has application in flexible assembly cells which utilize multiple SCARA robots. Two examples demonstrate the effectiveness of the method. >
Types for units-of-measure: theory and practice

Units-of-measure are to science what types are to programming. In science and engineering, dimensional and unit consistency provides a first check on the correctness of an equation or formula, just as in programming the validation of a program by the type-checker eliminates one possible reason for failure.
Yoruba Religions in Diaspora

The Yoruba peoples of present-day south-western Nigeria are the fountainhead of a number of vibrant and growing religious traditions in the Americas. Throughout Latin America and the United States, Yoruba spiritual traditions have taken root and developed into flourishing religions in the 21st century. This article surveys the role of Yoruba civilization as the source of these traditions, the historic forms in which the traditions were constructed in the Americas, their basic beliefs and practices, and issues in their future development.
The perceived motion of a stereokinetic stimulus

An ellipse rotating in the image plane can produce several different percepts. The two-dimensional (2D) percepts are either a rotating rigid ellipse or a constantly deforming non-rigid ellipse. The 3D percept is a rotating rigid circular disk that is tilted relative to the image plane. Stimuli that generate 3D percepts based on purely 2D rotational motion are known as stereokinetic stimuli. We examined the 3D percepts generated by the rotating ellipse stimulus. In theory, the motion of the 3D percept cannot be reliably inferred based on the 2D stimulus. When we quantitatively estimated observers' perceived motion, however, we found that the perceived motion was nearly identical across observers. These results suggest that all observers had similar 3D percepts. We assumed that given the 2D rotating ellipse stimulus the visual system generates a rigid 3D percept that is as slow and smooth as possible. The percepts predicted by these assumptions closely matched the experimental data. These findings suggest that perceptual ambiguity in stereokinetic stimuli is resolved using slow and smooth motion assumptions.
Differential Affinities of Visual Arrestin, βArrestin1, and βArrestin2 for G Protein-coupled Receptors Delineate Two Major Classes of Receptors

Visual arrestin, βarrestin1, and βarrestin2 comprise a family of intracellular proteins that desensitize G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). In addition, βarrestin1 and βarrestin2 target desensitized receptors to clathrin-coated pits for endocytosis. Whether arrestins differ in their ability to interact with GPCRs in cells is not known. In this study, we visualize the interaction of arrestin family members with GPCRs in real time and in live cells using green fluorescent protein-tagged arrestins. In the absence of agonist, visual arrestin and βarrestin1 were found in both the cytoplasm and nucleus of HEK-293 cells, whereas βarrestin2 was found only in the cytoplasm. Analysis of agonist-mediated arrestin translocation to multiple GPCRs identified two major classes of receptors. Class A receptors (β2 adrenergic receptor, mu opioid receptor, endothelin type A receptor, dopamine D1A receptor, and α1b adrenergic receptor) bound βarrestin2 with higher affinity than βarrestin1 and did not interact with visual arrestin. In contrast, class B receptors (angiotensin II type 1A receptor, neurotensin receptor 1, vasopressin V2 receptor, thyrotropin-releasing hormone receptor, and substance P receptor) bound both βarrestin isoforms with similar high affinities and also interacted with visual arrestin. Switching the carboxyl-terminal tails of class A and class B receptors completely reversed the affinity of each receptor for the visual and non-visual arrestins. In addition, exchanging the βarrestin1 and βarrestin2 carboxyl termini reversed their extent of binding to class A receptors as well as their subcellular distribution. These results reveal for the first time marked differences in the ability of arrestin family members to bind GPCRs at the plasma membrane. Moreover, they show that visual arrestin can interact in cells with GPCRs other than rhodopsin. These findings suggest that GPCR signaling may be differentially regulated depending on the cellular complement of arrestin isoforms and the ability of arrestins to interact with other cellular proteins.
JOAN ROBINSON'S “SECRET DOCUMENT” A PASSAGE FROM THE AUTOBIGRAPHY OF AN ANALYTICAL ECONOMIST

The Modern Archives, King's College, Cambridge University contain a carbon copy of a three-page single spaced manuscript with the title “A Passage From The Autobiography of an Analytical Economist” (RFK/16/2/134–139, hereinafter “Autobiography”). Joan Robinson's initials are typed at the end of the document, which is dated October 1932.In October 1932, Heffer, the Cambridge University student bookstore, published Joan Robinson's methodological pamphlet, Economics is a Serious Subject, and she delivered the manuscript of The Economics of Imperfect Competition to Macmillan (Joan Robinson to Richard Kahn, October 30, 1932, RFK/13/90/1/19). The Autobiography was apparently drafted shortly after these two projects were completed. The typescript in Modern Archives, which seems to be the only extant copy, was not made until some months later. In a letter of March 2, 1933, Kahn suggested adding “a long section to your secret document if you can do so without spoiling it,” regretting that he had not asked her for a copy (RFK/13/90/1/162–67). She replied somewhat mysteriously, alluding to a superstitious reluctance to having it typed but admitting that eventually it would have to be done (March 23, 1933, RFK/13/90/1/205–208). Since the carbon copy refers to page 275 of her book, the Autobiography was not typed until she had seen the final set of page proofs, and perhaps not until the book had appeared.
Cognitive task demands modulate the sensitivity of the human cochlea.

Recent studies lead to the conclusion that focused attention, through the activity of corticofugal and medial olivocochlear efferent pathways, modulates activity at the most peripheral aspects of the auditory system within the cochlea. In two experiments we investigated the effects of different intermodal attention manipulations on the response of outer hair cells (OHCs), and the control exerted by the medial olivocochlear (MOC) efferent system. The effect of the MOCs on OHC activity was characterized by measuring the amplitude and rapid adaptation time course of distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs). In the first, DPOAE recordings were compared while participants were reading a book and counting the occurrence of the letter “a” (auditory ignoring) and while counting the either short- or long-duration eliciting tones (auditory attending). In the second, DPOAEs were recorded while subjects watched muted movies with subtitles (auditory ignoring/visual distraction) and were compared with DPOAEs recorded while subjects counted the same tones (auditory attending) as in experiment 1. In both experiments 1 and 2, the absolute level of the averaged DPOAEs recorded during the auditory-ignoring condition was statistically higher than that recorded in the auditory-attending condition. Efferent-induced rapid adaptation was evident in all DPOAE contours, under all attention conditions, suggesting that two medial efferent processes act independently to determine rapid adaptation, which is unaffected by attention, and the overall DPOAE level, which is significantly affected by changes in the focus of attention.
No evidence for the uptake of Cry1Ab Bt-endotoxins by the generalist predator Scarites subterraneus (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in laboratory and field experiments

Abstract Many generalist predators are abundant in transgenic crops but the uptake of Bt-endotoxins could affect their role in biological control. We tested the hypothesis that small, but detectable, quantities of Cry1Ab-Bt-endotoxin would flow along the corn–slug–carabid food chain but concentrations would be small and have no effect on carabid fecundity. In addition to controlled laboratory feeding trials, it was predicted that elevated concentrations of Bt-endotoxin would be found in field-collected gut-samples of Scarites subterraneus from transgenic corn due to predation on Bt-containing prey. Despite the uptake of Bt-endotoxins by the slug Deroceras laeve, the hypothesis that movement occurred throughout the corn–slug–carabid food chain was rejected. No Bt-endotoxins were found in laboratory or field-collected Scarites. This explained the insignificant differences in egg production between carabids exposed to Bt-containing versus non-Bt-containing prey. However, laboratory and field analyses with ot...
The effects of a visual fidelity criterion of the encoding of images

Shannon's rate-distortion function provides a potentially useful lower bound against which to compare the rate-versus-distortion performance of practical encoding-transmission systems. However, this bound is not applicable unless one can arrive at a numerically-valued measure of distortion which is in reasonable correspondence with the subjective evaluation of the observer or interpreter. We have attempted to investigate this choice of distortion measure for monochrome still images. This investigation has considered a class of distortion measures for which it is possible to simulate the optimum (in a rate-distortion sense) encoding. Such simulation was performed at a fixed rate for various measures in the class and the results compared subjectively by observers. For several choices of transmission rate and original images, one distortion measure was fairly consistently rated as yielding the most satisfactory appearing encoded images.
Clinical research in Latin America: scientific production in high impact clinical research journals from 2000 to 2010

Background: Scientific production has long been dominated by a few countries such as the United States, Europe and Japan. Historically Latin American countries have contributed marginally to the world’s scientific production, however important changes are now taking place in the geography of scientific research. Methods: In order to determine the current contribution of Latin America to global clinical research and whether the region has been participating in the growth of internationally collaborative research we reviewed the literature in 10 high-impact medical journals between 2000 and 2010. We manually searched original articles in 10 journals that have a strong focus on clinical research and had the highest impact factors in their fields during the study period. We identified a total of 1047 original articles published. Results: Our results show that Latin America was a minor contributor of research published in high impact journals with only 4 (0.38%) of the articles citing a corresponding author affiliated with a Latin American institution. Furthermore, only 23 articles (2.2%) cited non-corresponding authors from Latin America in contrast to 358 articles (34.2%) in which all the authors were affiliated with US institutions. Conclusions: Although these results show limited contribution from Latin America to the production of health and clinical research, it also shows that Latin America is represented in the most competitive journals given the relative lack of research infra-structure, training and challenges with language. Factors such as GDP and investment in research may play a significant role, but may not be the only contributing factors for this scenario.
A rare case of disseminated shingles in an immunocompetent patient following a 7-day treatment with oral valacyclovir.

Varicella-zoster virus (VZV) is the causative agent of both chickenpox and herpes zoster (shingles). More than 90% of the adult population in theUnited States is seropositive for VZV. VZV remains latent in the dorsal root and cranial nerve ganglia after chickenpox and reactivates to give rise to herpes zoster.1 Herpes zoster affects over 1 million Americans each year, and 60% of cases occur in individuals over the age of 50.2 Dissemination of herpes zoster, although extremely rare in immunocompetent patients, may be as high as 10–40% in immunocompromised hosts.3 We report a case of disseminated herpes zoster in a young, immunocompetent man following a 7-day treatment with valacyclovir.
PROTOTYPING MILLIROBOTS USING DEXTROUS MICROASSEMBLY AND FOLDING

This paper discusses two processes for rapidly prototyping micromechanical systems: rst microassembly, and second, laser cutting of thin sheets and folding. Sub-millimeter rigid blocks can be dextrously manipulated using two 1 DOF ngers and an XYZ micro-positioning stage. Algorithms for micro-part manipulation use open-loop compliant grasps combined with slip to align microparts, which can then be adhesively bonded. Strong, lightweight structures with low friction exural joints can be readily laser cut, then folded. Potentially, thermally driven actuators can be simply integrated with exural structures to build ngers for part manipulation.
Atmosphere–Ocean Variations in the Indo-Pacific Sector during ENSO Episodes

Abstract The influences of El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events on air–sea interaction in the Indian–western Pacific (IWP) Oceans have been investigated using a general circulation model. Observed monthly sea surface temperature (SST) variations in the deep tropical eastern/central Pacific (DTEP) have been inserted in the lower boundary of this model through the 1950–99 period. At all maritime grid points outside of DTEP, the model atmosphere has been coupled with an oceanic mixed layer model with variable depth. Altogether 16 independent model runs have been conducted. Composite analysis of selected ENSO episodes illustrates that the prescribed SST anomalies in DTEP affect the surface atmospheric circulation and precipitation patterns in IWP through displacements of the near-equatorial Walker circulation and generation of Rossby wave modes in the subtropics. Such atmospheric responses modulate the surface fluxes as well as the oceanic mixed layer depth, and thereby establish a well-defined SST anom...
You Can’t Hide the Bridges

After witnessing a man commit suicide during residency, I struggled to reconcile the trauma itself, my own competence, and multiple boundary issues I was exploring as a newly minted doctor. My powerlessness in the face of inevitability challenged my sense of capability to fulfill the very calling that brought me into medicine in the beginning—to help fix important problems in the lives of my patients. In the aftermath, I chose to remain connected to the experience in the way I honor him still today.
Economic Progress in the Countryside, Forests, and Public Policy

Recent contributions to the literature on the causes of tropical deforestation indicate that, under certain circumstances, agricultural intensification (i.e., raising crop and livestock yields) can accelerate farmers and ranchers’ encroachment on tree-covered land. We contend, however, that the linkage between intensification and habitat conservation is generally positive. Chilean experience during the 1980s and 1990s is a good example. Domestic and foreign demand for agricultural output increased substantially. But because of productivity improvements, agricultural land use fell; the forested portion of the national territory rose from 19 percent in 1990 to 24 percent in 1998. In contrast, large tracts of forests have been converted into cropland and pasture in Ecuador during the last two decades. Productivity-enhancing investment having been very deficient, agricultural land use increased at a 2 percent annual rate during the 1980s and continued to expand in the 1990s.
Initiation and Generalization of Self-Instructional Skills in Adolescents with Autism and Intellectual Disability

Self-instruction using videos or other supports on a mobile device is a pivotal skill and can increase independence for individuals with disabilities by decreasing a need for adult supports. This study evaluated the effects of progressive time delay (PTD) to teach four adolescents with autism and intellectual disability how to initiate self-instruction in the presence of a task direction for an untrained task. Participants were screened for imitating video models prior to the study and were taught to navigate to videos on an iPhone(®) in history training. A multiple probe design across settings embedded in a multiple probe design across participants was used to evaluate the effects of PTD on initiation of self-instruction. All participants learned to self-instruct. Two participants generalized self-instruction to two novel settings. Two participants required instruction in two settings before generalizing to the third. Three participants generalized self-instruction in the presence of a task direction from the researcher to a task direction from their classroom teacher in all three settings. One participant generalized to a task direction presented by the classroom teacher in one setting, but not in the other two. All participants maintained self-instruction behaviors assessed 1 week after all participants met criteria in all settings. Self-instruction using videos or other supports on a mobile device is a pivotal skill and can increase independence for individuals with disabilities by decreasing a need for adult supports.
Effect of N-cyclohexyl linoleamide on cholesterol metabolism in rats.

SummaryMale Wistar rats were fed 0.3% N-cyclohexyl linoleamide (Clinolamide; Linolexamide) for 21 days. In a series of 5 experiments it was found that the drug did not significantly affect serum, liver, or kidney cholesterol levels. The livers of the Clinolamide-fed rats were larger (% body weight) than those of the controls. The serum plus liver cholesterol pool was generally higher in the control animals as was skin cholesterol. Synthesis of cholesterol from either sodium acetate-1-14C or mevalonic acid-2-14C by liver slices of rats fed 0.3% Clinolamide was not affected. Liver slices from rats fed 0.6% of the test compound synthesized significantly less cholesterol from either substrate than did slices from control rats. Addition of N-cyclohexyl linoleamide (1.5 × 10-5M) to normal rat liver slices significantly depressed cholesterol synthesis from acetate-1-14C. Liver mitochondrial preparations from rats fed 0.3% of Clinolamide do not oxidize significantly more cholesterol-26-14C to 14CO2 than do simila...
Why the South Lost: Commercial Purpose in the Confederacy, 1861–1865

The South's most unexpected adversary in the Civil War, and most deadly, proved to be the South itself. While lavishly offering up its young men, the Confederacy would not divert enough other resources to that war, for commercial goals continued to dominate the Southern economy. Those goals have been obscured by the agony and heroism of the war, by the cavalier braggadocio that marked its outbreak. And by the belief that Northern industrialism triumphed over a "gallant and chivalric" society oriented to high ideals, blood sports, and sadism.2 The reasons why the North won have been noted a thousand times. In William Faulkner's summary, "Who else would have declared a war against a power with ten times the area, and a hundred times the men, and a thousand times the resources?"3 Yet a generation that saw a tiny Asian country defeat the world's most powerful nation should not lightly assume that resources or
Organic Polymer Semiconductor Superlattices

We describe the synthesis and study of the first organic polymer semiconductor superlattices designed as periodic block conjugated copolymers, (−AxBy−)m. The observed variation of electronic spectra and wavelength of the lowest energy absorption maxima with block length y are interpreted in terms of quantum confinement size effects predicted for semiconductor superlattices. The periodic block conjugated copolymers were synthesized by a two-step strategy that ensure strict control of sequence, block length and periodicity. It is suggested that organic semiconductor superlattices provide a rational and systematic approach to the molecular engineering of electronic, optical, nonlinear optical, and electro–optical properties in polymeric materials and hold promise for molecular electronics and molecular photonics.