cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Synthesis and alignment of liquid crystalline elastomers

Liquid crystalline elastomers (LCEs) are crosslinked polymer networks that combine the elastic properties of rubber with the anisotropic properties of liquid crystals. Multifunctionality and responsivity can be programmed into LCEs by patterning their local orientation, which is difficult to achieve in other monolithic material systems. Advances in the synthesis and alignment of LCEs have paved the way for their functional integration in robotics, optics, consumer products, energy and healthcare devices. In this Review, we discuss recent advances in materials chemistry and processing that have contributed to the resurgence in LCE research. We examine the mechanical response of LCEs to stimuli and survey approaches for mechanical alignment, surface-enforced alignment, field-induced alignment and rheological alignment. The Review concludes with an over-the-horizon outlook discussing current challenges and emerging research opportunities. Liquid crystalline elastomers are stimuli-responsive polymeric materials whose mechanical properties can be programmed by patterning their local orientation, making them promising candidates to serve as low-density actuators and functional elements in various applications. This Review discusses the synthesis and processing of liquid crystalline elastomers, with a focus on alignment methods and potential applications.
Rhetoric Versus Reality: U.S. Resistance to Global Trade Rules and the Implications for Cybersecurity and Internet Governance

This article examines two parallel issues of vital importance to the United States and to the rest of the world — free trade and cybersecurity. In the free trade context, we argue that the U.S. government has voiced lofty ideals in theory only to ignore and sometimes openly flout its international obligations in practice. Not only is this harmful to the balance sheets of U.S. consumers and exporters, but simultaneously it threatens to undermine the U.S. leadership on a host of global policy issues, including Internet governance.
Analysis of esophageal-sparing treatment plans for patients with high-grade esophagitis

We retrospectively generated IMRT plans for 14 NSCLC patients who had experienced grade 2 or 3 esophagitis (CTCAE version 3.0). We generated 11-beam and reduced esophagus dose plan types to compare changes in the volume and length of esophagus receiving doses of 50, 55, 60, 65, and 70 Gy. Changes in planning target volume (PTV) dose coverage were also compared. If necessary, plans were renormalized to restore 95% PTV coverage. The critical organ doses examined were mean lung dose, mean heart dose, and volume of spinal cord receiving 50 Gy. The effect of interfractional motion was determined by applying a three-dimensional rigid shift to the dose grid. For the esophagus plan, the mean reduction in esophagus V50, V55, V60, V65, and V70 Gy was 2.8, 4.1, 5.9, 7.3, and 9.5 cm3, respectively, compared with the clinical plan. The mean reductions in LE50, LE55, LE60, LE65, and LE70 Gy were 2.0, 3.0, 3.8, 4.0, and 4.6 cm, respectively. The mean heart and lung dose decreased 3.0 Gy and 2.4 Gy, respectively. The mean decreases in 90% and 95% PTV coverage were 1.7 Gy and 2.8 Gy, respectively. The normalized plans’ mean reduction of esophagus V50, V55, V60, V65, and V70 Gy were 1.6, 2.0, 2.9, 3.9, and 5.5 cm3, respectively, compared with the clinical plans. The normalized plans’ mean reductions in LE50, LE55, LE60, LE65, and LE70 Gy were 4.9, 5.2, 5.4, 4.9, and 4.8 cm, respectively. The mean reduction in maximum esophagus dose with simulated interfractional motion was 3.0 Gy and 1.4 Gy for the clinical plan type and the esophagus plan type, respectively. In many cases, the esophagus dose can be greatly reduced while maintaining critical structure dose constraints. PTV coverage can be restored by increasing beam output, while still obtaining a dose reduction to the esophagus and maintaining dose constraints.
Estate Planning for Persons with Less than $5 Million

Financial concerns may preclude people of modest wealth (defined for purposes of this article as those having a net worth between $1 million and $5 million) from making significant lifetime transfers to achieve estate planning goals. Yet lifetime transfers are among the most effective ways to reduce estate taxes. Individuals of modest wealth may experience a tension between the desire to take advantage of opportunities to reduce taxes and protect assets from other claims which may arise, on the one hand, and the need to preserve an adequate base of wealth to ensure the maintenance of a current standard of living, on the other. The advisor to these individuals carefully should consider what estate planning steps are most appropriate and what level of transfers, if any, the individual reasonably can afford to make. This article details and evaluates eleven strategies that may apply to clients in the modest wealth category: (1) inter vivos transfers of life insurance and other non-income producing assets; (2) estate building and income tax sheltering with life insurance; (3) qualified personal residence trusts; (4) effective use of annual exclusions; (5) self-settled trusts; (6) potential use of the gift tax exemption and the GST exemption; (7) assessing income tax-free states; (8) using a charitable remainder trust to build wealth and generate income; (9) medical care and tuition payments; (10) limited liability entities for asset protection and tax planning; and (11) special care in handling interests in qualified plans, IRAs and other IRD.
Arginine: An Indispensable Amino Acid for Mature Dogs

There studies examined the effect of dietary arginine deficiency in the mature dog. Deletion of arginine from the diet resulted in a slight but significant loss of body weight. Severe episodes of emesis were observed in all experiments. Muscle tremors and frothing around the mouth were also observed in the experiments where the arginine-free diet was force fed. Increasing the amount of diet force-fed to mature dogs accentuated the symptoms of emesis, muscle tremors and frothing. Elevated plasma ammonia and orotate were detected in dogs fed an arginine-deficient diet. Urinary citric and orotic acid was also increased in mature dogs fed a diet devoid of arginine. Nitrogen balance was not significantly altered by deletion of arginine from the diet. Based on the occurrence of emesis, loss of body weight and alterations in intermediary metabolism, we concluded that the mature dog does require a dietary source of arginine. Dietary inclusions of 0.28% arginine prevented the symptoms of arginine deficiency.
Medicalization Survived the Women's Health Initiative … But, Has Discourse Opened Up?

This article is a comment on Derry's (2015) article “Evidence-Based Medicine, Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy, and the Women's Health Initiative.” I provide background information about, and a discussion of, the medicalization of women's bodies and normative experiences. An understanding of medicalization is necessary to put the Women's Health Initiative trials, their results, and the reaction to their results in context. Until menopause is widely recognized as a normative transition in women's adult development, it will be difficult to stop thinking of it as a “problem” that requires a medical solution.
An objective sign in painful crisis in sickle cell anemia: the concomitant reduction of high density red cells

The etiopathologic basis of painful crisis in sickle cell anemia is largely unknown, and no objective criteria for its diagnosis and follow-up exist at present. We have studied 11 patients through 14 painful crises and observed a significant decrease of the densest fraction of red cells in 12 of the 14 crises as determined by isopycnic Percoll-Stractan continuous density gradients. If the first observation is normalized to 100%, the average decrease in dense cells was 77% with a range of 36% to 94%. The time needed for the percentage of dense cells to return to the steady-state level varied from seven to more than 30 days. These findings were in sharp contrast to the stability of the density pattern observed in another group of sickle cell patients, who were studied during crisis-free periods. The mechanism of the disappearance of dense cells could involve selective destruction by the reticuloendothelial (RE) system, selective sequestration in the areas of vasoocclusion, or a combination of both factors.
Super-Ergodic operators

The aim of this work is to study operators naturally connected to Ergodic operators in infinite-dimensional Banach spaces, such as Uniform-Ergodic, Cesaro-bounded and Power-bounded operators, as well as stable and superstable operators. In particular, super-Ergodic operators are introduced and shown to be strictly between Ergodic and Uniform-Ergodic operators, and that any power bounded operator is super-Ergodic in a superreflexive space. New relationships between these operators are shown, others are proven to be optimal or can be ameliorated according to structural properties of the Banach space, such as the superreflexivity or with unconditional basis.
A Tool for Performance-Driven Design of Parallel Systems

Performance-driven design is systems design focused on performance prediction. It demands heavy use of performance models throughout the design process, and the consequent blurring of the distinction between the roles “performance analyst” and “systems architect”. Large parallel systems performance prediction places its own extreme demands upon performance models. No monolithic model, utilizing one solution technique, can meet these demands. Thus a set of submodels, utilizing different solution techniques, is usually employed. This paper presents as a case study the modeling of a performance-driven, large, parallel database machine design. We have found that a “pipelined” system of submodels appears suitable to both the requirements of the design process and modeling large parallel systems. Examples illustrating the use of the pipelined modeling tool in our performance-driven environment are given.
Efficient mixed-integer planning for UAVs in cluttered environments

We present a new approach to the design of smooth trajectories for quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which are free of collisions with obstacles along their entire length. To avoid the non-convex constraints normally required for obstacle-avoidance, we perform a mixed-integer optimization in which polynomial trajectories are assigned to convex regions which are known to be obstacle-free. Prior approaches have used the faces of the obstacles themselves to define these convex regions. We instead use IRIS, a recently developed technique for greedy convex segmentation [1], to pre-compute convex regions of safe space. This results in a substantially reduced number of integer variables, which improves the speed with which the optimization can be solved to its global optimum, even for tens or hundreds of obstacle faces. In addition, prior approaches have typically enforced obstacle avoidance at a finite set of sample or knot points. We introduce a technique based on sums-of-squares (SOS) programming that allows us to ensure that the entire piecewise polynomial trajectory is free of collisions using convex constraints. We demonstrate this technique in 2D and in 3D using a dynamical model in the Drake toolbox for Matlab [2].
Judging our Ancestors: Lessons from the Criminal Law

How should we assess the wrongdoing of our ancestors? This is an important question in an age when slavery reparations are debated and antiterrorism policies are criticized as repetitions of the Palmer Raids shortly after World War I and the Japanese American internment of World War II. Debate about the wrongdoing of past generations typically swings back and forth from shrill denunciation to credulous justification. Credulous justification seems, at the moment, to have the upper hand: mass-market books defending the Japanese American internment, McCarthyism, and southern secession climb the bestseller lists. This essay notes that American criminal law has already worked through a problem quite similar to that of judging past generations. It is the problem of the so - called cultural defense - the claim tendered by immigrant defendants charged with violent crime, who maintain that they should be judged by their own cultural standards rather than this country's. The analogy to the problem of our ancestors is clear: just as a person might be excused because of where he is from, so might he be excused because of when he is from. Yet American criminal law has largely rejected the cultural defense, primarily out of a recognition that to indulge such claims is to place powerless victims - typically abused women and children - at greater risk. The essay maintains that there is no clearly better reason for us to indulge claims for contextual excuse on behalf of those who come to us from another time than those who come to us from another place.
R&D Outsourcing as the Next Frontier: Key Drivers and Firm Level Considerations

Over the last century, many firms have primarily relied on their internal laboratories as the main source for R&D. The output from this R&D helped to increase profits and organic growth through the development of new products and processes. However, the increased mobility and availability of knowledge workers, government technology initiatives and regulations, and the Internet have contributed to the erosion of the centralized corporate R&D lab and the increased fragmentation of sources of pecialized knowledge. Additionally, developing complex new products and systems often requires sourcing and the integration of "deep" knowledge and skills from disparate technical and scientific fields. Consequently, firms lacking adequate technical and scientific competencies to completely develop complex products and systems frequently look to xternal sources of knowledge and technology to supplement internal expertise. Collectively, these slow but unrelenting changes in the environment are contributing to nudging the locus of innovation outward from the firm. This shift has implications for the sourcing of basic scientific research and the development of commercializable technologies. In this paper we first discuss these changes in the environment and then examine the interplay between environmental, industry, strategic, and organizational factors, and how they shape the decision to outsource R&D. Specifically, strategic issues such as organizational and technology goals and organizational capabilities become important determinants of R&D sourcing decisions. We also discuss operational and tactical decisions that are managerial issues relevant to R&D directors coping with new R&D sourcing options as the locus of innovation continues its outward shift.
Rapid design of heat sinks for electronic cooling using computational and experimental tools

Design of electronic cooling systems for high volume manufacturing within the time frame of months for increasingly aggressive performance and cost requirements is difficult without the use of sophisticated computational and experimental tools. Described here are the tools and methods for evaluating designs of electronic cooling heat sinks. Examples using thermal finite element analysis (FEA) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) are presented. Quantitative data from wind tunnel testing compare well with model results. Qualitative data from infrared (IR) spectroscopy provides insight on the interfacial effect. Issues associated with the interface resistance are discussed.
3D Object Recognition and Visualization on the Web

This research deals with state-of-the-art novel ideas in high level visualization, understanding and interpretation of line-drawing images of 3D patterns, including articulated objects. A new structural approach using linear combination and fast two-pass parallel matching techniques is presented. It is aimed at learning, representing, visualizing, and interpreting 2D line drawings as 3D objects, with only very few learning samples. It solves one of the basic concerns in diffusion tomography complexities, i.e. patterns can be reconstructed through fewer projections, and 3D objects can be recognized by a few learning samples views. It can also strengthen advantages of current key methods while overcome their drawbacks. Furthermore, it will be able to distinguish objects with very similar properties and is more accurate than other methods in the literature. In addition, an expsrimental system using JAVA and user-friendly interative platform has been established for testing large volume of image data in virtual environment on the web, for learning, and recognition. Several illustrative examples are demonstrated, including learning, recognizing, visualization and interpretation of 3D line drawing polyhedral objects. Finally, future research topics are outlined.
Interference by DOPAC and ascorbate during attempts to measure drug-induced changes in neostriatal dopamine with Nafion-coated, carbon-fiber electrodes

Abstract The selectivity of Nafion-coated, carbon-fiber electrodes was evaluated for the voltammetric detection of dopamine in the presence of 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and ascorbate, which are interferant anions in the brain. Nafion coating was applied to both polished carbon-disk electrodes and electrochemically modified electrodes. During in vitro testing, polished disk electrodes showed the greatest selectivity for dopamine at the fastest scan rate tested (300 V s−1), but the drift in signal made slow changes in dopamine difficult to determine. Electrochemically modified electrodes already provide an ascorbate wave distinct from that for dopamine, but Nafion coating actually decreased dopamine selectivity with respect to DOPAC. In vivo testing was carried out in the neostriatum of urethane-anesthetized rats in response to drug- or stimulation-induced increases in dopamine transmission. Administration of haloperidol (0.5 mg kg−1) followed by GBR 12909 (20 mg kg−1), which is known to cause a 10-fold increase in extracellular dopamine, failed to produce a selective signal for dopamine when measured voltammetrically. Comparable results were obtained following administration of amphetamine (2.5 mg kg−1), which also increases dopamine overflow. Voltammetric detection of dopamine was possible, however, during electrical stimulation of dopaminergic afferents in the medial forebrain bundle. Thus, voltammetry with Nafion-coated electrodes is best suited to the measurement of transient changes in extracellular dopamine rather than the relatively prolonged changes in dopamine overflow produced by various drugs.
Financial repression and liberalization in a general equilibrium model with financial markets

Abstract This article develops a computable general equilibrium model for Turkey that includes financial markets for money and for credit and that reflects the limited financial development that is characteristic of many developing countries. The model incorporates structuralist features such as premium rationing of imports, working capital financing by firms, segmented credit markets, interest rate controls, and monetization of fiscal and balance-of-payments deficits. In a series of comparative statics experiments, the model is used to explore the consequences of financial liberalization under alternative characterizations of saving-investment balance. The financial liberalization experiments highlight that the relative magnitudes of savings supply and investment demand elasticities play a crucial role in the “success” of any liberalization program. These experiments suggest that financial liberalization through interest rate reform is less of a miracle cure than its proponents often suggest. With favorable elasticities (high savings response, low investment response), the impact can indeed be great; under less optimistic circumstances, the effect is mixed. To a great extent, this occurs from requiring zero (or unchanged) profits in the banking sector, which in turn implies that deposit rate increases are matched by borrowing rate increases, thereby lowering investment demand and offsetting some of the benefits of the reform. Quite perverse outcomes are possible as well—in the absence of any positive savings effect whatsoever, financial liberalization leads only to inflation and higher interest rates, as quantity rationing of investment is replaced by rationing through interest rates. While such extreme outcomes are unlikely in the medium run, the short-run impact of liberalization is heavily dependent on the savings response.
Theoretical evaluation of a catalytic porous wall gas-liquid reactor

Solution analytique des equations du modele d'un reacteur comprenant un tube catalytique poreux qui separe les ecoulements de gaz et de liquide. Influence des principaux parametres, principalement de ceux qui sont relatifs a la geometrie cyclindrique, sur l'efficacite du catalyseur
Memory capacity in neural network models: Rigorous lower bounds

We consider certain simple neural network models of associative memory with N binary neurons and symmetric lth order synaptic connections, in which m randomly chosen N-bit patterns are to be stored and retrieved with a small fraction δ of bit errors allowed. Rigorous proofs of the following are presented both for l = 2 and l ≥ 3: 1. 1. m can grow as fast as αNl−1. 2. 2. α can be as large as Bl/ln(1/δ) as δ → 0. 3. 3. Retrieved memories overlapping with several initial patterns persist for (very) small α. These phenomena were previously supported by numerical simulations or nonrigorous calculations. The quantity (l!) · α represents the number of stored bits per distinct synapse. The constant (l!) · Bl is determined explicitly; it decreases monotonically with l and tends to zero exponentially fast as l → ∞. We obtain rigorous lower bounds for the threshold value (l!) · αc (the maximum possible value of (l!) · α with δ unconstrained): 0.11 for l = 2 (compared to the actual value between 0.28 and 0.30 as estimated by Hopfield and by Amit, Gutfreund, and Sompolinsky), 0.22 for l = 3 and 0.16 for l = 4; as l → ∞, the bound tends to zero as fast as (l!) · Bl.
Relational and physical victimization by peers and romantic partners in college students.

This cross-sectional study of college students investigated prevalence and gender differences in relational and physical victimization by peers and romantic partners, as well as interrelationships among the victimization types with hostility and interpersonal sensitivity. Results indicated that relational victimization by peers and romantic partners was more prevalent than physical victimization. Males reported more relational victimization by romantic partners and more physical victimization by peers. Multiple regression analyses revealed that the influence of hostility and interpersonal sensitivity on relational and physical victimization by peers and romantic partners differed by gender and type of victimization. These results shed new light on relational and physical victimization by peers and romantic partners in college students especially as they relate to gender.
Human β defensin-3 induces chemokines from monocytes and macrophages: diminished activity in cells from HIV-infected persons

Human β defensin-3 (hBD-3) is an antimicrobial peptide with diverse functionality. We investigated the capacity of hBD-3 and, for comparison, Pam3CSK4 and LL-37 to induce co-stimulatory molecules and chemokine expression in monocytes. These stimuli differentially induced CD80 and CD86 on the surface of monocytes and each stimulant induced a variety of chemokines including monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1), Gro-α, macrophage-derived chemokine (MDC) and macrophage inflammatory protein 1β (MIP1β), while only hBD-3 and Pam3CSK4 significantly induced the angiogenesis factor, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). Human BD-3 induced similar chemokines in monocyte-derived macrophages and additionally induced expression of Regulated upon activation normal T-cell expressed and presumably secreted (RANTES) in these cells. Comparison of monocytes from HIV(+) and HIV(-) donors indicated that monocytes from HIV(+) donors were more likely to spontaneously express certain chemokines (MIP-1α, MIP-1β and MCP-1) and less able to increase expression of other molecules in response to hBD-3 (MDC, Gro-α and VEGF). Chemokine receptor expression (CCR5, CCR2 and CXCR2) was relatively normal in monocytes from HIV(+) donors compared with cells from HIV(-) donors with the exception of diminished expression of the receptor for MDC, CCR4, which was reduced in the patrolling monocyte subset (CD14(+) CD16(++) ) of HIV(+) donors. These observations implicate chemokine induction by hBD-3 as a potentially important mechanism for orchestrating cell migration into inflamed tissues. Alterations in chemokine production or their receptors in monocytes of HIV-infected persons could influence cell migration and modify the effects of hBD-3 at sites of inflammation.
Penile rehabilitation following radical prostatectomy

Purpose of reviewErectile dysfunction is common after radical prostatectomy. Erectile dysfunction has a negative impact on health-related quality of life. Penile rehabilitation is defined as the use of any drug or device at or after radical prostatectomy to maximize erectile function recovery. This
Control of Ring Magnet Current of the Zero Gradient Synchrotron at Argonne National Laboratory

A comprehensive account is given of the control of the ring magnet current for the 12.5 BeV Zero Gradient Synchrotron (ZGS) at Argonne National Laboratory. Pulsing power is supplied by a motor-generator-flywheel set via four groups of 12-phase rectifiers. The rectifier groups operate alternately as power rectifiers and power inverters as directed by their phase control circuits.
Coulometric titration of iron, cerium and vanadium with titanous ion

Abstract The current efficiency for the electrogeneration of +3 titanium at a platinum cathode in sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid media has been evaluated as a function of generating current density, concentration of +4 titanium, and acid concen
Multi-domain two- and three-dimensional thermoelasticity by BEM

A computationally advantageous multi-domain boundary element formulation is presented for uncoupled thermoelastic analysis of two- and three-dimensional isotropic media. Particular integrals capable of representing exactly a quadratic temperature distribution in both two and three dimensions are employed. These particular integrals are derived using an orderly approach. When temperature data are provided at discrete points, the best fit quadratic distribution is generated in the least square error sense which, together with a multi-domain approach, makes it possible to represent an arbitrary temperature distribution within acceptable bounds. Numerical examples are given to show the efficiency and effectiveness of the present formulation, which is now incorporated in a general purpose boundary element code named GPBEST.
The chloro complexes of gold(I) in acetonitrile and comparison with those of copper(I) and silver(I)

The chloro complexes of gold(I) in acetonitrile have been investigated by potentiometry. The stepwise formation constants for AuCl and AuCl2− are 1012.63 and 108.89. A striking difference in the solution equilibria of copper(I) chloride, silver(I) chloride, and gold(I) chloride is noted.
BALD EAGLES AND SEA OTTERS IN THE ALEUTIAN ARCHIPELAGO: INDIRECT EFFECTS OF TROPHIC CASCADES

Because sea otters (Enhydra lutris) exert a wide array of direct and indirect effects on coastal marine ecosystems throughout their geographic range, we investigated the potential influence of sea otters on the ecology of Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, USA. We studied the diets, productivity, and density of breeding Bald Eagles on four islands during 1993-1994 and 2000-2002, when sea otters were abundant and scarce, respectively. Bald Eagles depend on nearshore marine communities for most of their prey in this ecosystem, so we predicted that the recent decline in otter populations would have an indirect negative effect on diets and demography of Bald Eagles. Contrary to our predictions, we found no effects on density of breeding pairs on four islands from 1993-1994 to 2000-2002. In contrast, diets and diet diversity of Bald Eagles changed considerably between the two time periods, likely reflecting a change in prey availability resulting from the increase and subsequent decline in sea otter populations. The frequency of sea otter pups, rock greenling (Hexagammus lagocephalus), and smooth lumpsuckers (Aptocyclus ventricosus )i n the eagle's diet declined with corresponding increases in Rock Ptarmigan (Lagopus mutus), Glaucous-winged Gulls (Larus glaucescens), Atka mackerel (Pleurogrammus monopterygius), and various species of seabirds during the period of the recent otter population decline. Breeding success and productivity of Bald Eagles also increased during this time period, which may be due to the higher nutritional quality of avian prey consumed in later years. Our results provide further evidence of the wide-ranging indirect effects of sea otter predation on nearshore marine communities and another apex predator, the Bald Eagle. Although the indirect effects of sea otters are widely known, this example is unique because the food-web pathway transcended five species and several trophic levels in linking one apex predator to another.
Concentration dependence of diffusion coefficient at various molecular weights and temperatures

Abstract The effect of temperature on the concentration dependence of the diffusion coefficient D ( c ) is investigated experimentally by light scattering using polystyrene with M w = 179 000 and 900 000 in toluene and cyclohexane at several temperatures. It is found that D ( c ) decreases with concentration under the theta condition, and increases in good solvents. The continuous transition from theta (θ) to good solvent behaviour is explored, and the results are compared with the existing theoretical predictions.
Rodent StAR mRNA is substantially regulated by control of mRNA stability through sites in the 3'-untranslated region and through coupling to ongoing transcription.

Abstract The steroidogenic acute regulator (StAR) gene is transcribed to 1.6 kb and 3.5 kb mRNAs that differ only through the length of the 3′-untranslated region (3′-UTR). These forms result from alternative polyadenylation sites in exon 7. These sites are utilized similarly in unstimulated adrenal cells whereas Br-cAMP selectively stimulates 3.5 kb mRNA. After removal of Br-cAMP, 3.5 kb mRNA declines rapidly ( t 1/2 = 2 h) while 1.6 kb mRNA responds more slowly. This selective degradation is more evident in testis MA10 cells and is seen even in the presence of Br-cAMP. Transfection of Y-1 cells with CMV promoted StAR vectors confirmed that the 3.5 kb form is less stable and that Br-cAMP slowly increases this instability. Basal instability resides solely in the extended 3′-UTR which contains AU-rich elements. Br-cAMP enhances this degradation of 3.5 kb mRNA but additionally requires translated and 5′-UTR sequences. Degradation of both forms is arrested by inhibitors of transcription or translation, indicating that mRNA stability is coupled to these processes independent of the extended 3′-UTR. Br-cAMP stimulates substantial selective synthesis of 3.5 kb StAR mRNA despite this instability. The preferential generation of the unstable form may facilitate rapid increases and decreases of StAR activity in response to external changes.
The in vitro synthesis of lysozyme, total proteins, and polyphenylalanine by ribosomes containing hydrolyzed ribonucleic acid.

Abstract Ribosomes containing 23S rRNA with one scission per molecule were found to be inactive in the synthesis of lysozyme, total protein, and polyphenylalanine at 9.1 m m Mg 2+ . Increasing the Mg 2+ concentration to 12.0 m m restored synthesis of lysozyme and total proteins. Ribosomes with two or more scissions in 23S rRNA were fully active in the synthesis of lysozyme, total protein, and polyphenylalanine at 9.1 m m Mg 2+ . It appears that one scission in the 23S rRNA molecule in a 70S ribosome allows the structure of the ribosome to change so as to disorient ribosomal proteins or rRNA. A second scission in 23S rRNA or an increase in Mg 2+ concentration reverses the change which occurred with the first scission.
Inhibitory effect of aromatic diamidines on trypsin and enterokinase.

Aromatische Diamidinoverbindungen sind hochwirksame Hemmstoffe des Trypsins. 2,2′-Dibromopropamidin, die starkste der hier untersuchten Verbindungen, besitzt gegenuber der BANA-Hydrolyse eine Inhibitions-Konstante von 7.6×10−7 M. Amicarbalid und M & B 4596 sind gute Hemmstoffe der Enterokinase, doch erreichen sie die Wirkung derp-Amidinophenylbrenztraubensaure nicht.
New High‐Nitrogen Materials Based on Nitroguanyl‐Tetrazines: Explosive Properties, Thermal Decomposition and Combustion Studies

This paper describes the explosive sensitivity and performance properties of two novel high-nitrogen materials, 3,6-bis-nitroguanyl-1,2,4,5-tetrazine (1, (NQ2Tz)) and its corresponding bis-triaminoguanidinium salt (2, (TAG)2(NQ)2Tz)). These materials exhibit very low pressure dependence in burning rate. Flash pyrolysis/FTIR spectroscopy was performed, and insight into this interesting burning behavior was obtained. Our studies indicate that 1 and 2 exhibit highly promising energetic materials properties.
Ethics education in accounting: An investigation of the importance of ethics as a factor in the recruiting decisions of public accounting firms

Abstract In recent years, significant attention has been directed to the role of ethics in the business environment and to the ethical development of business students. This study explores the importance of ethical behavior as a factor in the recruiting decisions of public accounting firms. Factors related to the ethical behavior of entry-level employees were compared with other personal characteristics that are traditionally viewed as important to public accounting firms (e.g., personality, appearance, academic performance, etc.). Recruiters from both Big-Six and non-Big-Six firms indicated strong views on the importance of the students' ethical propensities. In fact, ethics received the highest rating by the public accounting firms regardless of their size. The results of this study provide strong evidence for accounting educators to continue to stress to their students the importance of ethical behavior and to continue their efforts to more fully integrate ethics education into the accounting curriculum.
Effects of Polarity on the Structures and Charge States of Native-Like Proteins and Protein Complexes in the Gas Phase

Native mass spectrometry and ion mobility spectrometry were used to investigate the gas-phase structures of selected cations and anions of proteins and protein complexes with masses ranging from 6 to 468 kDa. Under the same solution conditions, the average charge states observed for all native-like anions were less than those for the corresponding cations. Using an rf-confining drift cell, similar collision cross sections were measured in positive and negative ion mode suggesting that anions and cations have very similar structures. This result suggests that for protein and protein complex ions within this mass range, there is no inherent benefit to selecting a specific polarity for capturing a more native-like structure. For peptides and low-mass proteins, polarity and charge-state dependent structural changes may be more significant. The charged-residue model is most often used to explain the ionization of large macromolecules based on the Rayleigh limit, which defines the upper limit of charge that a d...
Local interactions as a structure determinant for protein molecules: II.

Abstract Van der Waals interactions between sidechains are indicated to be important in determining the native state of the proteins of known structure by the following observations: 1. 1.|the average radial distribution of polarity increases continuously from the center of the molecule to its periphery. 2. 2.|nonpolar sidechains tend to occur in clusters. 3. 3.|the frequencies of long-range nearest-neighbor pairs are markedly non-random; each type of sidechain seeks nearest-neighbors of similar polarity. To investigate how these interactions affect the overall structure of the protein molecule, three simpified models are treated: a sheath-core model composed of independent residues, a modification accounting approximately for the connected nature of the chain, and a model consisting of three concentric spherical phases.
A Cardinal Concept of Welfare

I. Introduction, 366. — II. Basic ethical postulates, 369. — III. Mutual measurement of welfare and well-beings, 375. — IV. Fundamental measurement of welfare, 379. — V. Other ways of measuring welfare, 380. — VI. The relation of cardinal welfare to cardinal utility, 380.—VII. Uses of a cardinal welfare, 382.
Designer transport of malaria proteins in erythrocytes

Comment on Knuepfer et al, page [4078][1] Malaria parasites export virulence proteins through intermediate protein complexes and membranous clefts in the host erythrocyte cytoplasm. GFP fusion proteins carrying the necessary export motifs provide new ways to study this phenomenon. Plasmodium
Noise reduction in biological step signals: application to saccadic EOG

A weighted filter for noise reduction in nonrecurrent step signals where adaptive filtering cannot be applied is described. An optimal correction of a conventional finite impulse response (FIR) filter is achieved by using a priori knowledge of noise variance and a continuous estimation of the error signal's power. The weighted filter provides an optimal compromise between noise filtering and distortionless tracking. The prior knowledge required is that of the noise power and the lowest frequency in the noise spectrum. Application of the weighted filter to the saccadic electro-oculogram (EOG) results in better estimations of saccade duration and velocity.
Efficient GaAlAs diode-laser-pumped operation of Nd: YLF at 1.047 Mum with intracavity doubling to 523.6 nm.

Diode-laser-pumped Nd:YLF lasers are demonstrated at 1.047 microns with less than 1-mW thresholds and internal quantum efficiencies approaching 70 percent. Operation at 1.053 microns has also been achieved. Intracavity second-harmonic generation using MgO:LiNbO3 has generated up to 145-micro-W output at 523.6 nm for 30.1 mW of diode-laser pump power.
Limited evidence of human papillomavirus on breast tissue using molecular in situ methods

BACKGROUND: Human papillomavirus (HPV) has been proposed as an etiologic agent of breast cancer based on numerous reports of high-risk (oncogenic) HPV types in malignant breast tissues. However, most of those studies used standard and nested solution polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques, both of which are disadvantaged by vulnerability to laboratory contamination from positive control DNA and the inability to localize the signal to a specific cell type. To overcome these drawbacks, the authors of this report explored the use of in situ molecular methods of viral detection to reassess the frequency of HPV in malignant breast tissue. METHODS: In situ hybridization (ISH) was used with probes that were specific for the capsid region of 12 oncogenic HPV types, and in situ PCR (IS-PCR) was used with primers that were specific for the capsid region of HPV-16, which is the most common oncogenic HPV type. These methods were resistant to molecular contamination and allowed identification of the positive cell type. The specimens examined were malignant tissues from patients with 70 breast cancer patients at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. RESULTS: HPV was observed in 4 of 70 specimens (5.7%) using ISH and in 2 of 70 specimens (2.9%) of specimens using IS-PCR. Concordance between the 2 methods was high for negative specimens; both methods yielded negative results in 66 of 70 specimens (94.3%). However, there was no concordance for the few positive specimens, probably because of differences in sensitivity and the targeted HPV types. CONCLUSIONS: Oncogenic (high-risk) HPV types were present in malignant breast epithelium very infrequently and, thus, may be causative agents of only a relatively small proportion of all breast cancers. Cancer 2012;. © 2011 American Cancer Society.
Molecular Dynamics Simulation of 1,2-Dimethoxyethane/Water Solutions. 2. Dynamical Properties

We have performed molecular dynamics simulations of 1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME)/water solutions at 318 K in order to examine conformational, translational, and rotational dynamics of the solutions as a function of composition. The rate of conformational transitions for the C−O—C−C and the O−C—C−O dihedrals in DME decreases with increasing water content for mole fraction XDME ≥ 0.18. For more dilute solutions, the conformational transition rate is independent of composition. Self-diffusion coefficients of DME and water for XDME ≥ 0.18 indicate that the dynamics of DME and water comprising the first coordination shell of DME are highly correlated. We found that the average residence time of water in the first coordination shell was only about 2 ps and was not significantly longer for water that is hydrogen bound to the DME. For more dilute solutions, the additional water manifests the dynamical characteristics of bulk water. The rotational diffusion coefficient for DME shows qualitatively similar dependence o...
Effect of lidocaine on the hematopoietic properties of recombinant human erythropoietin in the uremic rat.

Subcutaneous injections of recombinant human erythropoietin (rHuEPO) produce considerable pain which can result in noncompliance. As a prelude to an investigation of the possible use of local anesthetics as additives to subcutaneous rHuEPO, we examined the effect of the addition of lidocaine on the erythropoietic properties of rHuEPO. Two weeks after 5/6 nephrectomy, 22 rats were randomly assigned to the following groups: normal saline, rHuEPO, lidocaine, and rHuEPO plus lidocaine. Injections were given three times a week for 2 weeks. No change in hematocrit was observed in the saline and lidocaine groups. The hematocrit of the rHuEPO rats increased from 44.5±1.4% (mean±SD) to 61.6±2.1% (P<0.0005), and that of the rHuEPO plus lidocaine group from 42.8±4.3% to 63.9±3.0% (P<0.005), with no difference between the groups. We conclude that the combination of rHuEPO plus lidocaine is as effective as rHuEPO alone in increasing the hematocrit of rats with chronic renal failure.
One-electron parametric oscillator

The parametric oscillation of a trapped electron is studied and used to measure enhanced spontaneous emission. Hysteresis in this motion provides a one bit memory to store information about excitations made with the electron “in the dark”.
Effect of positional environmental domains on the variation of high-performance liquid chromatographic peptide retention coefficients

While attempting to derive a set of high-performance liquid chromatographic amino acid retention coefficients from a set of 298 related peptide analogues of a 13-amino acid peptide, we found that each position within the peptide would require a different set of retention coefficients to accurately predict peptide retention times. Furthermore, our results show that peptides having the same amino composition but slightly different sequences can have very different retention times. We believe that individual sequence domains and the resulting differences in the solid phase-mobile phase interactions must be taken into account for the accurate prediction of peptide retention times.
The Mitochondrial Translocator Protein and Arrhythmogenesis in Ischemic Heart Disease

Mitochondrial dysfunction is a hallmark of multiple cardiovascular disorders, including ischemic heart disease. Although mitochondria are well recognized for their role in energy production and cell death, mechanisms by which they control excitation-contraction coupling, excitability, and arrhythmias are less clear. The translocator protein (TSPO) is an outer mitochondrial membrane protein that is expressed in multiple organ systems. The abundant expression of TSPO in macrophages has been leveraged to image the immune response of the heart to inflammatory processes. More recently, the recognition of TSPO as a regulator of energy-dissipating mitochondrial pathways has extended its utility from a diagnostic marker of inflammation to a therapeutic target influencing diverse pathophysiological processes. Here, we provide an overview of the emerging role of TSPO in ischemic heart disease. We highlight the importance of TSPO in the regenerative process of reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced ROS release through its effects on the inner membrane anion channel (IMAC) and the permeability transition pore (PTP). We discuss evidence implicating TSPO in arrhythmogenesis in the settings of acute ischemia-reperfusion injury and myocardial infarction.
Assuring a global optimum by the use of an upper bound on the lower (dual) bound

Abstract Many structured engineering systems have several local cost optima which will often trap a conventional minimum seeking optimization algorithm. This paper presents an algorithm to establish, often quite quickly, whether the discovered optimum is global or local. The strategy is based on finding both a lower (dual) bound for the optimum of the structured system and an upper bound on this lower bound. The paper illustrates the effectiveness of the algorithm by applying it to three small heat exchanger network problems, a type of problem where one can demonstrate the local optima are indeed very common in the annualized network cost.
Contribution of NMDA and non-NMDA receptors to synaptic transmission from the brachium of the inferior colliculus to the medial subdivision of the medial geniculate nucleus in the rabbit

Previous work from this laboratory has demonstrated that monosynaptic inputs from the brachium of the inferior colliculus (BIC) to the medial subdivision of the medial geniculate nucleus (mMG) strengthen as a result of associative conditioning with an acoustic conditioned stimulus (i.e., fear conditioning). One model that has been proposed to underlie certain types of neuronal plasticity involves the recruitment of N-methyl-d-aspartic acid (NMDA)-type glutamate receptors. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relative contributions of glutamatergic NMDA and non-NMDA receptors to synaptic transmission within this pathway. Individual contributions of the specific receptor types were assessed through the use of 2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (AP5), a selective NMDA receptor antagonist, and 6-cyano-5-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX), a non-NMDA receptor antagonist. Bipolar stimulating electrodes were stereotaxically implanted in BIC and recording electrodes (attached to dual 32-gauge cannulae for delivery of drug) were positioned in mMG of New Zealand albino rabbits. Single pulses (150 µs, 100–350 µA) delivered to BIC resulted in short-latency (<4 ms) responses in mMG. BIC-evoked single-unit activity was recorded from mMG before, during, and at several intervals after injection of AP5, CNQX, and/or artificial cerebrospinal fluid (ACSF). Injection of either AP5 or CNQX, but not ACSF, significantly attenuated the short-latency BIC-evoked responses in the vast majority of cells tested. These findings suggest that the monosynaptic pathway from BIC to mMG is glutamatergic and that this pathway frequently employs NMDA-type receptors during electrically stimulated synaptic transmission. Due to the NMDA receptors’ proposed role in plasticity (e.g., long-term potentiation), these results may have implications for understanding the mechanisms of synaptic plasticity observed at this synapse during associative learning.