cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Identification of phospholipid-dependent calcium-binding proteins as constituents of matrix vesicles.

Abstract Uptake of mineral ions by isolated matrix vesicles (MV) incubated in synthetic cartilage lymph follows a consistent pattern. After an initial lag period, MV rapidly accumulate large amounts of Ca2+ and Pi before the appearance of crystalline mineral. The ability of MV to accumulate Ca2+ is readily destroyed by proteases, indicating that proteins are important in Ca2+ accumulation. Since MV contain significant amounts of phosphatidylserine (PS), an acidic phospholipid with affinity for Ca2+, it seemed probable that this lipid might also contribute to Ca2+ binding. The development of methods for reproducible isolation of pure active MV enabled us to search for factors responsible for the rapid accumulation of Ca2+. Reported here are studies which reveal that a set of intensely staining MV proteins, extractable with EGTA, selectively bind to Ca2+, but only in the presence of acidic phospholipids. These 30-36-kDa proteins form readily sedimentable insoluble ternary complexes of protein, Ca2+, and lipid in the presence of low levels of Ca2+. With liposomes composed of PS, alone or in combination with phosphatidylethanolamine, submicromolar levels of Ca2+ or certain other divalent cations, but not Mg2+, are sufficient to form the complexes. The physical and chemical properties of these MV proteins appear to be like those of the calpactin family of membrane-associated proteins. In fact, these MV proteins were found to cross-react with antibodies to calpactin II. Thus, calpactins appear to be important protein constituents of avian growth plate MV. This finding helps explain the enrichment in PS previously noted in MV and may also point to the mechanism by which MV rapidly accumulate Ca2+.
Effect of Pipeline Junctions on Water Hammer Surges

A study was carried out to determine the transmission and reflection characteristics of water hammer pressure surges at junction of pipes in a piping system. The effects of pipeline orientation, concentrated friction loss and motion of the piping system at the junctions were considered. The results were compared to the presently used relationships for surge reflection and transmission at junctions which do not consider these effects. It was shown that if the pipeline is completely restrained from motion the pipeline orientation and concentrated friction loss at the junction is free to undergo even slight movements, the reflection and transmission characteristic of pressure waves at such junctions may be significantly affected. In these cases a detailed transient flow analysis may be necessary to determine the effects.
An investigation of attitudes of physical education majors and those attitudes of their respective parents toward physical education

O bserved b e h a v io r i s th e b a s i s f o r any in f e r e n c e ab o u t a t t i t u d e , b u t i t m ust be rem embered t h a t th e o b se rv ed b e h a v io r i s n o t th e a t t i t u d e Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. h i t s e l f . A lthough c o r o l l a r i e s mqy be g le a n e d from v e r b a l end n o n -v e rb a l b e h a v io r , m ost m easurem ents o f a t t i t u d e s have b e e n done th ro u g h th e o b s e rv a t io n o f v e r b a l b e h a v io r . P s y c h o lo g is t s , TTho stuc^'a t t i t u d e s , have c o n s t r u c te d s c a le s i n b a s i c a l l y f o u r w ays. I n t h e m ost f r e q u e n t ly u s e d , th e in d iv id u a l!, can re sp o n d to a s ta te m e n t b y s t r o n g ly a g re e in g , s t r o n g ly d is a g r e e in g , o r e x p re s s in g an o p in io n o f v a ry in g i n t e n s i t y be tw een th e two e x tre m e s . O th e r m ethods in c lu d e s c a l e s w here t h e i n d i ­ v id u a l e i t h e r t o t a l l y a g re e s o r d i s a g r e e s , o r r a t e s h im s e l f a lo n g a co n tinuum . O pen-ended q u e s t io n s may a ls o b e u s e d , b u t th e y have te n d e d to b e d i . f f i c u l t t o a^ssess.
Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide-specific Glutamate Dehydrogenase of Neurospora I. PURIFICATION AND MOLECULAR PROPERTIES

Improved growth conditions were developed for normal strain 1A of Neurospora crassa in order to induce a high level of the NAD-specific glutamate dehydrogenase. A simplified purification procedure is described in order to obtain the enzyme in high yield and specific activity. The homogeneous enzyme has a molecular weight of 480,000 ± 27,000 by sedimentation equilibrium analysis, and is dissociable into four identical subunits of 116,000 ± 5,400 molecular weight. The amino acid composition of the enzyme was determined. Isophthalate was found to be a strong competitive inhibitor and an effective stabilizer of the enzyme. The molecular properties indicate that the subunit structure of this enzyme differs substantially from those of the glutamate dehydrogenases from vertebrates and of the NADP-specific enzyme from Neurospora.
Relaxing the Reconciliation Requirement in Non-U.S. Firms' SEC Filings: Firm Incentives and Changes in Earnings Informativeness, and Earnings Attributes

We investigate the changes in earnings information content and earnings attributes, for non-U.S. firms listed in U.S. equity markets, following the 2007 relaxation of the SEC requirement to reconcile IFRS earnings and stockholders’ equity to U.S. GAAP in annual regulatory filings. We analyze a sample of non-U.S. firms listed on U.S. exchanges that use IFRS, domestic GAAP, or U.S. GAAP from 2005 to 2008. Prior literature finds no changes in informativeness following the regulation for IFRS-using firms. However, when we partition the IFRS-using firms into two groups based on managers’ incentives to provide informative disclosures, we find that those firms with incentives to be more informative had significant increases in the information content of their earnings. Furthermore, we do not find any decrease in information content of earnings for firms without such incentives. We also document that this change in earnings informativeness was contemporaneous with a change in earnings attributes.
Imploding plasma liners as a standoff driver for magneto-inertial fusion

Summary form only given. By enabling a fusion ignition regime with plasma density intermediate between that of MFE and ICF, magneto-inertial fusion (MIF) offers the potential for a low-cost development path to fusion energy. A standoff driver that eliminates repetitive destruction of solid materials (e.g., metal liners or transmission lines) further improves the attractiveness of MIF. With the Plasma Liner Experiment (PLX) starting experimental operation at LANL, we are exploring the feasibility of forming imploding plasma liners using an array of spherically convergent dense plasma jets. PLX is focused on the investigation (at modest pulsed power energies ≤1.5 MJ) of scientific issues such as jet propagation/merging and plasma liner formation, convergence, and stagnation, including the validation of simulations that are needed to help guide experimental campaigns, interpret PLX data, and design future experiments. In the near term, PLX will focus on the generation of cm/μs-scale plasmas in the Mbar range for fundamental HEDLP science. There are proposed plans to introduce magnetic fields via laser generated beat wave current drive and to field astrophysical jet and collisionless shock related experiments. Initial 1D radiation-hydrodynamic simulations indicate that a ~375 kJ imploding plasma liner (assumed to be formed by 30 Ar plasma jets each initially with n~1017 cm-3, v~50 km/s, E~12 kJ) results in peak stagnation pressure of ~1.3 Mbar with sustained pressure ~0.1 Mbar for over ~4 μs. The simulations also show that an MIF-relevant pressure of ~50 Mbar sustained for ~0.6 μs may be achieved with v~150 km/s and liner kinetic energy of ~50 MJ. Inclusion of additional physics, e.g., 3d effects, will undoubtedly increase the liner and stored energy requirements, which nevertheless ought to remain relatively modest. Furthermore, theoretical analysis indicates that the dwell time can be significantly increased with proper liner profile shaping, adding versatility to the plasma liner concept. This presentation will provide a concept-level description of plasma liner driven MIF, an overview of PLX status/plans, and a summary of the initial theoretical/modeling results.
Mucoadhesive hybrid gel improves intraperitoneal platinum delivery

A leading cause of death and suffering in patients with abdominal or pelvic malignancies is progression of peritoneal surface disease. Changes in the use of chemotherapy have shown significant survival benefits for intraperitoneal or combined intraperitoneal and intravenous treatment following optimal surgical cytoreduction. However, broader clinical use of intraperitoneal therapy has not reached its full potential due to limited efficacy, accessibility and nonspecific toxicity. To overcome these problems, we developed a mucoadhesive hybrid gel (HG) for a local, intraperitoneal drug delivery. In vivo studies confirmed reliable adherence and residence of the gel to the peritoneal sidewall for at least 72 h exhibiting no signs of tissue toxicity. Functionally active CDDP was released from HG within 2h and was equal to free CDDP in vitro. Moreover, intraperitoneal application of HG-CDDP significantly enhanced CDDP accumulation in the genomic DNA of peritoneal tissues compared to the same CDDP dose administered intravenously. These findings indicate the potential application of this hybrid gel as a mucoadhesive drug carrier amendable to use for intraperitoneal drug delivery and possible expansion for use on other mucosal surfaces of the female reproductive tract.
Planning an Authority Control Project at a Medium-Sized University Library

Authority control is a vital part of providing students and faculty with adequate access to collections in university libraries. Although many large research libraries routinely maintain authority control, small and medium-sized university libraries find it challenging to meet rising user expectations and provide adequate access in an online environment through appropriate authority work. The smaller libraries have to provide persuasive data to demonstrate to their library administrations that tight staffing situations make it difficult to perform in-house maintenance on authority work and keep up with the dynamic and constant changes of new headings for bibliographic records. This article offers a planning process on an authority control project at a medium-sized university library.
Left Atrial Myxoma Embolus to the Renal Artery: Should a Nephrectomy Be Advised?

Cardiac myxoma represents the most common primary cardiac tumor, which accounts for 75% of all benign cardiac tumors. Embolization is a well-known hazard of myxoma and can be a presenting feature. Resection is generally recommended for cardiac myxomata; once identified but less understood is what to do with systemic emboli. Although extremely uncommon, the literature contains a number of examples of metastatic myxomata with active growth at the site of embolic implantation, with most cases being cerebral. We present an unusual case of embolic occlusion of the right renal artery from a left ventricular myxoma. Excision of the tumor required cardiac autotransplantation and mitral valve replacement. Subsequent right nephrectomy revealed renal artery occlusion with pathologically viable myxoma tissue.
Extensive transcriptional response associated with seasonal plasticity of butterfly wing patterns

In the eastern United States, the buckeye butterfly, Junonia coenia, shows seasonal wing colour plasticity where adults emerging in the spring are tan, while those emerging in the autumn are dark red. This variation can be artificially induced in laboratory colonies, thus making J. coenia a useful model system to examine the mechanistic basis of plasticity. To better understand the developmental basis of seasonal plasticity, we used RNA-seq to quantify transcription profiles associated with development of alternative seasonal wing morphs. Depending on the developmental stage, between 547 and 1420 transfrags were significantly differentially expressed between morphs. These extensive differences in gene expression stand in contrast to the much smaller numbers of differentially expressed transcripts identified in previous studies of genetic wing pattern variation in other species and suggest that environmentally induced phenotypic shifts arise from very broad systemic processes. Analyses of candidate endocrine and pigmentation transcripts revealed notable genes upregulated in the red morph, including several ecdysone-associated genes, and cinnabar, an ommochrome pigmentation gene implicated in colour pattern variation in other butterflies. We also found multiple melanin-related transcripts strongly upregulated in the red morph, including tan and yellow-family genes, leading us to speculate that dark red pigmentation in autumn J. coenia may involve nonommochrome pigments. While we identified several endocrine and pigmentation genes as obvious candidates for seasonal colour morph differentiation, we speculate that the majority of observed expression differences were due to thermal stress response. The buckeye transcriptome provides a basis for further developmental studies of phenotypic plasticity.
Coefficients of Polynomials of Restricted Growth on the Real Line

Let?:(?∞, ∞)?(0, ∞) be a given continuous even function and letmbe a positive integer. We show that, with some additional restrictions on?, there exist decreasing sequencesx1, ?, xmandy1, ?, ym?1of symmetrically located points on (?∞, ∞) and corresponding polynomialsPandQof degreesm?1 andm, respectively, satisfying|P(x)|??(x)m,|Q(x)|??(x)m,?∞
Type A behavior and emotional responses to uncertainty: A test of the self-appraisal model

The self-appraisal model of Type A behavior holds that Type A's desire an accurate appraisal of abilities, and respond to uncertainty about abilities with exaggerated attempts to generate diagnostic information. The model also predicts that the major emotional response to uncertainty for Type A's is anxiety. In this study, Type A's and B's were induced to succeed or fail on a task where they were either very certain or very uncertain of their subsequent ability levels. Task failure produced greater depression, anger, and frustration for all subjects. Consistent with the self-appraisal model's prediction, uncertainty (regardless of success or failure) led to greater anxiety for Type A's than for Type B's. In fact, greater uncertainty produced lower anxiety for Type B's, indicating that Type A's and B's differ dramatically in their emotional responses to uncertainty about abilities.
Sulfation of potassium-based lean NOx trap while cycling between lean and rich conditions: I. Microreactor study

Abstract Exposure of Pt/K/Al 2 O 3 to 15 ppm SO 2 reduces the NO x activity at 200, 300, and 400 °C at significantly different rates—1.5, 8.5, and 18.0 μmol NO x /(h g cat ), respectively. During the initial sulfation, NO x conversion is directly linked to lean phase storage capacity, and sulfation does not impact the reduction kinetics since the amount of unconverted NO x was constant or decreased with increasing sulfation time. A portion of sulfur stored at 200 °C desorbs upon mild heating to 400 °C while cycling between lean and rich conditions. This apparently is a result of sulfur being released from Al 2 O 3 ; however, performance is not significantly recovered as much of the sulfur is re-adsorbed on the K-phase. This is apparent from analysis of the NO x storage and release profiles. Additional analysis of these profiles suggests that SO 2 initially adsorbs near Pt before interacting with other sites further away from Pt at 300 °C. At 400 °C, it appears that SO 2 either preferentially adsorbs near Pt and then quickly diffuses along the surface to other less proximal sites, or it directly adsorbs on sites further away from Pt. De-sulfurization up to 800 °C using a temperature programmed reduction (TPR) procedure and rich conditions with both CO 2 and H 2 O restored 73–94% of the LNT performance at 300 and 400 °C. However, the recovered performance measured at 200 °C was only 34–49% of the original NO x reduction activity. H 2 S and SO 2 were the primary de-sulfurization products with H 2 S having a maximum release between 690 and 755 °C, while SO 2 had a peak release between 770 and 785 °C. The sulfation temperature does not have a significant impact on the recovered performance, the de-sulfurization products or the sulfur release temperature.
Not-so-open skies

Abstract The rules of non-discriminatory access and ‘open skies’ embraced by the Landsat Earth observation programme are being undermined by SPOT Image of France and the USSR's Soyuzkarta, for commercial and security reasons respectively. The privatization of Landsat, and the chronic underfunding of its operator Eosat, have also undercut the US position. Moreover, disparities in access exist as a result of technical and other limitations. Nevertheless the principles of international cooperation and equitable sharing of the benefits of satellite technology are worth defending. The author outlines several steps which should be taken to defend equal access and open skies.
Treatment of Neck Injuries

Spinal cord injuries are uncommon in sports. Planning and practice for their occurrence, however, remains an essential component of Sideline Medical Team preparedness. Evaluation of cervical nerve injury, cervical cord injury, and cervical disc disease can be complex. Medical management, diagnostic imaging techniques and surgical recommendations in this setting continue to evolve. Most published guidance offers occasionally opposed expert opinion with sport participation after Cervical Cord Neuropraxia in the setting of Cervical Spinal Stenosis appearing particularly polarizing. Such conflicts can present challenges to clinicians in forming management and Return to Play decisions for the health of their athletes.
measurement and Modeling of the Solubility of Water in Supercritical Methane and Ethane from 310 to 477 K and Pressures from 3.4 to 110 MPa

We describe a new flow cell apparatus for measuring the water content of gases up to 120 MPa at 490 K that uses a combination of gravimetric and electrical resistance techniques to determine the solubility of water in the gaseous phase. The new experimental data for the solubility of water in supercritical methane and ethane were obtained with our apparatus spanning pressures from 3.4 to 110 MPa covering a temperature range from 310 to 477 K. We model the experimental results by combining two equations of state; vapor-phase fugacities and fugacity coefficients are calculated with a modified Peng−Robinson equation of state, and aqueous-phase fugacities are calculated using an equation by Wagner and Pruss (J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data 2002, 31, 387−535) or by a modification of a correlation developed by Saul and Wagner (J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data 1987, 16, 893−901). We compare the model results with new and existing experimental data and with commercially available simulators. Our model reproduces the experimenta...
Capital Gains and After-Tax Internal Rates of Return

Net present value models are constructed by discounting the after-tax cash flows of a challenging investment by the after-tax internal rates of return (IRRs) of a defending investment. After-tax IRRs calculated for a defending investment are shown to depend on the defender's capital gains and allowable depreciation. The often recommended adjustment to the before-tax IRRs of one minus the marginal income tax rate is not generally applicable. Failure to correctly adjust the discount rates (the defender's IRRs) for taxes may result in incorrect inferences from comparative static models and incorrect investment valuations from empirical models. Tax rate adjustments for farmland, stocks, and bonds are shown to be different and to have varied over time.
The relationship between fibroblast growth and the dynamic stiffnesses of a DNA crosslinked hydrogel.

The microenvironment of cells is dynamic and undergoes remodeling with time. This is evident in development, aging, pathological processes, and at tissue-biomaterial interfaces. But in contrast, the majority of the biomimetic materials have static properties. Here, we show that a previously developed DNA crosslinked hydrogel circumvents the need of environmental factors and undergoes controlled stiffness change via DNA delivery, a feasible approach to initiate property changes in vivo, different from previous attempts. Two types of fibroblasts, L929 and GFP, were subject to the alterations in substrate rigidity presented in the hydrogels. Our results show that exogenous DNA does not cause appreciable cell shape change. Cells do respond to mechanical alterations as demonstrated in the cell projection area and polarity (e.g., Soft vs. Soft → Medium), and the responses vary depending on magnitude (e.g., Soft → Medium vs. Soft → Stiff) and range of stiffness changes (e.g., Soft → Medium vs. Medium → Stiff). The two types of fibroblasts share specific responses in common (e.g., Soft → Medium), while differ in others (e.g., Medium → Stiff). For each cell type, the projection area and polarity respond differently. This approach provides insight into pathology (e.g., cancer) and tissue functioning, and assists in designing biomaterials with controlled dynamic stiffness by choosing the range and magnitude of stiffness change.
Contumacy, Defense Strategy, and Criminal Law in Late Medieval Italy

It is easy to imagine that on this early morning in 1395, Antonius, realizing the magnitude of his actions, had little time to fabricate a defense or construct a plan. In late fourteenth-century Reggio Emilia, flight was often the most desirable path open to those suspected of perpetrating felonies. Subsequent witnesses in this murder investigation speculated that Antonius fled the territory of the Villa de Vetto before the first light of day less to evade the law than to avoid the wrath of Caterina's relatives. Propelled by the need to escape retribution, Antonius, like almost half the defendants cited by the criminal court of Reggio Emilia, fled rather than appear before the criminal judge.
Coenzyme a-synthesizing protein complex of Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The coenzym A-synthesizing protein complex (CoA-SPC) is a multienzyme complex of Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Bakers' yeast), which has a molecular weight in excess of 200,000 as determined by Sephadex G-200 column chromatography. This multienzyme complex, which is insoluble in the crude yeast cell lysate, has been purified 229-fold. A cellular component of the yeast cell lysate, referred to as t-Factor, with a molecular weight of 400–1000 and chloride ion are involved in the solubilization of CoA-SPC. The CoA-SPC requires L-cysteine, D-pantothenic acid and ATP as substrates. The terminal CoA-SPC-bound intermediate is dephospho-CoA, which is subsequently phosphorylated and released from the complex as CoA. The sequence of reactions for the synthesis of CoA by the CoA-SPC differs significantly from those previously proposed for other systems. It could be that the reaction sequence is unique for the yeast cell.
Differential effects of acetone or aroclor 1254 pretreatment on the microsomal activation of dimethylnitrosamine to a mutagen

Pretreatment of mice with acetone enhances the microsomal N-demethylation of dimethylnitrosamine (DMN) at low substrate concentrations ( 35 mM) DMN concentrations. To relate the activity of DMN demethylase with the mutagenicity of DMN, liver microsomes were isolated aseptically from mice 18 h after acetone (3 ml/kg, ip), 5 days after Aroclor 1254 treatment (500 mg/kg, ip), or after treatment with the appropriate injection vehicles, and incubated with S. typhimurium (TA 1535), NADPH and DMN (1, 3 or 70 mM) for 5 to 60 min. After a 48-h incubation on minimal media, revertants per plate were determined. Microsomes from acetone pretreated mice bioactivated DMN to a mutagen at significantly higher (p < 0.001) levels when incubations were performed at 1 mM DMN. Aroclor-1254 microsomes exhibited a decreased ability to convert DMN to a mutagen at both 1 and 3 mM DMN (p < 0.05) and a significantly higher (p < 0.05) ability at 70 mM DMN. These data and published reports suggest multiple microsomal enzymes for DMN bioactivation and that acetone may enhance the enzyme that operates at environmentally important levels of DMN.
Lossless compression studies for real-time rebroadcast of data from NOAA's future advanced GOES sounders

This paper presents systematic lossless data compression studies conducted at Cooperative Institute of Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS), University of Wisconsin-Madison in support of the real-time rebroadcast of NOAA's future GOES ultraspectral sounders. Ultraspectral sounders provide data with high spectral and spatial resolutions. Since an ultraspectral sounder could be either a grating spectrometer or a Michelson interferometer, we have investigated/developed various 2D and 3D lossless compression techniques for both grating and interferometer data. The lossless compression results are obtained and compared from wavelet/multiwavelt transform-based (e.g. JPEG2000, 3D SPIHT, MWT), prediction-based (e.g. JPEG-LS, CALIC), projection-based (e.g. Lossless PCA, Optimized Orthogonal Matching Pursuit-based Linear Prediction, PLT), and clustering-based (e.g. PPVQ, FPVQ, AVQLP) methods. Robust data preprocessing schemes (e.g. BAR, MST reordering) are also demonstrated to improve compression gains of existing state-of-the-art compression methods such as JPEG2000, 3D SPIHT, JPEG-LS, and CALIC for high-spectral-resolution data compression. Our studies show that high lossless compression gains are achievable for both grating and interferometer data.
High power mid-infrared in-plane DBR laser

An optically pumped in-plane DBR mid-infrared laser is described. A quasi continuous-wave power of ∼2.8 Watts is obtained at ∼3.59 μm that is contained within a spectral width of ∼5 nm.
A new polyether toxin from Davis

Abstract A new ichthyotoxic toxin was isolated from the unialgal culture of the deleterious Florida red tide organism, Gymnodinium breve Davis (Syn. Ptychodiscus brevis ), and its structure was elucidated.
Predictors of survival in patients with systemic light‐chain amyloidosis and cardiac involvement initially ineligible for stem cell transplantation and treated with oral melphalan and dexamethasone

The treatment of systemic light-chain (AL) amyloidosis with symptomatic cardiac involvement at diagnosis remains a challenge. We report the results of 40 consecutive newly diagnosed AL cardiac patients who were not candidates for stem cell transplant and therefore received monthly oral melphalan and dexamethasone. Median survival was 10.5 months and baseline predictors of survival included gender, troponin I and interventricular septal thickness. The most significant predictor of survival was response to therapy. The haematological response rate was 58% (23/40) with 13% (5/40) complete responses; most responses were noted in <3 cycles. Achievement of a rapid response to therapy extends survival.
Potentiation of the toxicity to insects and mice of phosphorothionates containing carboxyester and carboxyamide groups

Abstract The toxicity to mice of seven phosphorothionates containing carboxyester and carboxyamide groups was potentiated by EPN, tri-o-cresyl phosphate, and tri-o-cresyl phosphorothionate, in confirmation of the hypothesis that the principal mode of potentiation by such compounds is their inhibition of carboxyesterase or carboxyamidase degradation. However, the toxicity of an eighth compound, cis-thionophosdrin, was not potentiated by EPN. The toxicity of one compound, Dowco 109, which does not contain a carboxyester or carboxyamide group, was also potentiated, but the toxicities of two other such compounds were not. Potentiation was also shown in the case of the American cockroach and the housefly, but to a lesser extent than in the mouse.
Preconditioning of NOD mice with anti-CD8 mAb and costimulatory blockade enhances chimerism and tolerance and prevents diabetes, while depletion of αβ-TCR+ and CD4+ cells negates the effect

Bone marrow transplantation blocks diabetes pathogenesis and reverses autoimmunity in nonobese diabetic (NOD) mice. However, there is a greater barrier to engraftment in the context of autoimmunity. In the present study, we characterized which recipient cells influence engraftment in prediabetic NOD mice, with the goal to replace myelotoxic conditioning with antigen-specific deletion of reactive host cells. Preconditioning of NOD mice with anti-CD8 and anti-CD154 monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) synergistically enhanced engraftment and significantly reduced the minimum total body irradiation (TBI) dose for engraftment. Strikingly, preconditioning with anti-CD4 mAb significantly impaired engraftment, negating the beneficial effect of anti-CD8, and resulted in a requirement for more TBI-based conditioning compared with controls conditioned with TBI alone. Similarly, more TBI was required when anti–T-cell receptor β (TCRβ) mAb was administered as preconditioning. The addition of anti-CD152 to CD154 preconditioning abrogated the engraftment-enhancing effect of anti-CD154. Taken together, these data indicate a role for CD4+ regulatory T cells in vivo which require signaling via CD152 in the induction of chimerism and tolerance in NOD recipients. Notably, disease prevention and reversal of autoimmunity was absolutely correlated with the establishment of chimerism. These studies have important implications for the design of novel clinical approaches to treat type 1 diabetes.
A method for increasing the viability of the external portion of lumbar catheters placed in the spinal subarachnoid space of rats

A method for direct catheterization of the lumbar subarachnoid space has recently been developed by Storkson et al. (1996) (J Neurosci Methods 1996;65:167-172) that may potentially improve upon the widely used method of Yaksh and Rudy (1976) (Physiol Behav 1976;17:1031-1036). This 'catheter-through-a-needle' technique inserts the catheter between lumbar vertebrae 5 (L5) and 6 (L6), which has been shown to reduce neurological impairment and post-surgical deaths. However, employing this technique allows the external portion of the chronic indwelling catheters to be easily damaged, resulting in approximately 50% attrition within 4 days after surgery. Therefore, we developed an easy and inexpensive method for protecting the external portion of the catheter that enhances catheter viability beyond 14 days after catheter implantation while also maintaining a low injection volume (8 microl). Moreover, this modification does not significantly alter the implantation methods developed by Storkson et al. (1996) (J Neurosci Methods 1996;65:167-172) and allows for more optimal catheter materials to be incorporated. Chronically implanted catheters (n = 70) with the external portion of the catheter protected, resulted in 4% attrition 7 days after surgery and 11% attrition 14 days after surgery. Approximately 5.5% of animals implanted showed very mild and transient neurological impairment.
Efficient algorithms for structural similarity of grammars

Efficient algorithms are presented for several grammar problems relevant to compiler construction. These problems include(i) testing, for a reduced context-free grammar G and an LL(k), uniquely invertible, or BRC(m,n) grammar H, if G is structurally contained by H, and(ii) testing, for a reduced context-free grammar G and a structurally unambiguous grammar H, if G is Reynolds covered by H or if there is an on to homomorphisem from G to H.Related complexity results are presented for several problems for the regular grammars, program schemes, and monadic program schemes.
Moduli stabilization and inflation using wrapped branes

We demonstrate that a gas of wrapped branes in the early Universe can help resolve the cosmological Dine-Seiberg/Brustein-Steinhardt overshoot problem in the context of moduli stabilization with steep potentials in string theory. Starting from this mechanism, we propose a cosmological model with a natural setting in the context of an early phase dominated by brane and string gases. The Universe inflates at early times due to the presence of a wrapped two brane (domain wall) gas and all moduli are stabilized. A natural graceful exit from the inflationary regime is achieved. However, the basic model suffers from a generalized domain wall/reheating problem and cannot generate a scale invariant spectrum of fluctuations without additional physics. Several suggestions are presented to address these issues.
Supercomputer applications: helping users cope with tough programming problems

Nobody ever said that Supercomputing was easy.stressed-out SDSC consultantAt SDSC our mission is to provide not only supercomputer cycles, but also supercomputer support. The level of support, of course, covers a broad range. Some users just need to learn the basics: how to get their data transferred to SDSC, how to get directory listings, how to access in-house application software, etc. Other users are involved in their own code installation and/or development and need to learn about the programming environment. Most of these users can cull enough information from online documentation and brief conversations with the consultants to get their codes up and running.For others, however, life is not so easy. These people are stretching the limits of computer technology, and often a great deal of time and effort is necessary simply to get their code running. Even more effort might be needed to squeeze maximum performance from the supercomputer hardware. Providing technical assistance to these people is an important part of SDSC's consulting operation. A consultant's first reaction upon encountering someone with a tough problem might be to send them away with some documentation and a wish of good luck. At SDSC, however, we feel that it is a good investment for the consultant to spend the time necessary to work with the user to solve the problem. The end result is not only a solved problem for the user, but new programming techniques that the consultant can: Teach to the original user to ease that user into the world of exotic loader options, assembly language programming, and obscure library routines.Relay to the rest of the user community by way of personal communication and newsletter articles.Use in his or her own programming projects.The following two sections trace examples of the flow of information through the consulting department at SDSC. These examples provide a glimpse into the kinds of problems SDSC users encounter and how, by solving these problems, the consulting staff can benefit not only the original user, but the user community as a whole. These examples are drawn from my own personal experience, but similar examples, of course, exist for the rest of the consulting staff.
Effects of performance expectancy and outcome certainty on interest in social comparison

Abstract Preferences for social comparison information were studied by observing how much Ss explored a distribution of others' test scores and how they made inferences from this distribution. It was hypothesized that Ss would be more interested in exploring this distribution in a Partial Information Condition (when they were given their own performance score but no evaluation of this score) than in a No Information or a Full Information Condition. It was also hypothesized that having a need for self-enhancement or dissonance reduction aroused by receiving a low score or an unexpected score would stimulate exploration of this distribution. Ninety-three students sampled the distribution of exam scores obtained by members of their class and tried to estimate the class average. Subjects in fact displayed equal interest in the distribution in the three information conditions. In the Full Information Condition, however, Ss who received unexpectedly low scores searched much longer. Subjects receiving low outcomes generally lowered their estimates of the class average. Discussion emphasizes that both dissonance reduction and a general curiosity as well as self-enhancement and self-evaluation drives may serve as motives for social comparison.
Racial discrimination is distinct, if not “special”

Several papers on racial discrimination have appeared since Michael Levin asked, "Is racial discrimination special?" (1981). These include Groarke (1990), Lesser (1984), and Wertheimer (1983).One paper in this Journal, by D. H. Brooks (1983), responded to Levin directly. While this attention has expanded the range of our discussions on discrimination, we have yet to sufficiently address Levin's question. Possibly because we tend to discuss discrimination in conjunction with legal or political responses to it (such as Aff'n-mative Action in the United States), we have yet to respond to Levin's points, and he makes quite a few. Levin's primary claims are: (1) that racial discrimination is not "special," and (2) that it deserves no restitution. Levin agees to some extent on the inherent immorality of discrimination. He argues, however, that as a wrong perpetrated on another person, discrimination is by no means exemplary and in many cases is preferable to other wrongs, like physical assault or murder. One obstacle to consensus on racial discrimination is the fact that whether or not discrimination is special, it is a philosophical problem of wide scope. The topic of discrimination touches on areas of ethics, of social, political, and legal philosophy, and even of aesthetics. I think we can approach such a diverse topic by analyzing its components, in this case separating the two issues (discrimination and restitution) that Levin collapses into one argument. Brooks (1983) does this, where he takes up the second of Levin's claims, that discrimination deserves no restitution or compensation. Accordingly, in this essay, I examine Levin's first thesis: that discrimination is not morally special Levin opens his discussion by alleging that,
The desirability of control.

The psychological construct of desirability of control was related to several theoretical statements (e.g., Kelley, 1971; White, 1959) and areas of current research (e.g., Glass & Singer, 1972; Deci, 1975) in psychology. A scale designed to measure individual differences in the general level of motivation to control the events in one's life was presented. The Desirability of Control Scale was found to have substantial internal consistency (.80) and test-retest reliability (.75), as well as discriminant validity from measures of locus of control (Rotter, 1966) and social desirability (Crowne & Marlowe, 1960). The results of an “illusion of control” study (cf. Langer, 1975) provided construct validation: only subjects high in the desire for control displayed a belief in personal control over chance outcomes. Construct validation was also provided from studies on learned helplessness and hypnosis. The practical, as well as theoretical, value of the instrument was discussed.
Insulin-Like Growth Factor I Inhibits Aromatization Induced by Follicle-Stimulating Hormone in Rat Sertoli Cell Culture'

Sertoli cells in the testis and granulosa cells in the ovary convert androgen to estrogen under the primary control of FSH. Insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) markedly augments FSH-stimulated estrogen production in the rat granulosa cell. In this study we examined the regulation of aromatase by FSH and characterized the effects of IGF-I on FSH-induced estrogen production by Sertoli cells cultured from the testes of 16-day-old rats. FSH stimulated aromatization of androstenedione in Sertoli cell culture and achieved maximal effectiveness by 12 h of treatment. Analysis of aromatase mRNA by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction indicated a marked induction by FSH within 3 h of treatment that was dependent on FSH concentration. IGF-I inhibited FSH-stimulated aromatization dose-dependently; inhibition was approximately 50% by 6 h of cotreatment (p < 0.01). IGF-I was ineffective if added more than 3 h after addition of FSH. Aromatase mRNA was reduced by IGF-I (37 +/- 12%, p < 0.01), coincident with the decrease in estrogen production. To further address the mechanism of IGF-I inhibition, potential interactions with the cAMP and protein kinase C (PKC) signaling pathways were examined. IGF-I inhibited aromatase activity induced by dibutyryl cAMP and inhibited FSH-stimulated estrogen production in the presence of 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine, suggesting that IGF-I action was independent of cAMP production. Phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA) and IGF-I were additive in their inhibition of FSH. However, down-regulation of PKC prevented PMA inhibition of FSH but not inhibition by IGF-I. We conclude that IGF-I specifically inhibits FSH-induced aromatization in the Sertoli cell in marked contrast to the effects of IGF-I on rat granulosa cells. Although IGF-I and PMA both inhibit aromatase induction, the independence of the IGF-I effect from PKC down-regulation suggests that the initial action of IGF-I is independent of PKC. As IGF-I treatment similarly alters FSH stimulation of both estrogen production and aromatase mRNA, it is likely that the effect of IGF-I on estrogen production in the Sertoli cell is a result, at least in part, of a decrease in aromatase mRNA.
Laboratory Culture of Orange Tortrix, and Its Susceptibility to Four Insecticides

Large numbers of Argyrotaenia citrana (Fernald) were successfully reared on an artificial wheat-embryo diet. Width of head capsules of 5 larval stages and their rate of development, by sex, were recorded. The response of the 5th-stagc larva to topical application of 4 compounds representing 4 major classes of insecticides showed the following descending order of toxicity at LD50: pyrethrins > Zectran® (4-dimethylamino-3,5-xylyl methylcarbamate) > DDT or malathion.
Adaptive weighted local textural features for illumination, expression, and occlusion invariant face recognition

Biometric features such as fingerprints, iris patterns, and face features help to identify people and restrict access to secure areas by performing advanced pattern analysis and matching. Face recognition is one of the most promising biometric methodologies for human identification in a non-cooperative security environment. However, the recognition results obtained by face recognition systems are a affected by several variations that may happen to the patterns in an unrestricted environment. As a result, several algorithms have been developed for extracting different facial features for face recognition. Due to the various possible challenges of data captured at different lighting conditions, viewing angles, facial expressions, and partial occlusions in natural environmental conditions, automatic facial recognition still remains as a difficult issue that needs to be resolved. In this paper, we propose a novel approach to tackling some of these issues by analyzing the local textural descriptions for facial feature representation. The textural information is extracted by an enhanced local binary pattern (ELBP) description of all the local regions of the face. The relationship of each pixel with respect to its neighborhood is extracted and employed to calculate the new representation. ELBP reconstructs a much better textural feature extraction vector from an original gray level image in different lighting conditions. The dimensionality of the texture image is reduced by principal component analysis performed on each local face region. Each low dimensional vector representing a local region is now weighted based on the significance of the sub-region. The weight of each sub-region is determined by employing the local variance estimate of the respective region, which represents the significance of the region. The final facial textural feature vector is obtained by concatenating the reduced dimensional weight sets of all the modules (sub-regions) of the face image. Experiments conducted on various popular face databases show promising performance of the proposed algorithm in varying lighting, expression, and partial occlusion conditions. Four databases were used for testing the performance of the proposed system: Yale Face database, Extended Yale Face database B, Japanese Female Facial Expression database, and CMU AMP Facial Expression database. The experimental results in all four databases show the effectiveness of the proposed system. Also, the computation cost is lower because of the simplified calculation steps. Research work is progressing to investigate the effectiveness of the proposed face recognition method on pose-varying conditions as well. It is envisaged that a multilane approach of trained frameworks at different pose bins and an appropriate voting strategy would lead to a good recognition rate in such situation.
Computing faces in segment and simplex arrangements

For a set S of n line segments in the plane, we give the first work-optimal deterministic parallel algorithm for constructing their arrangement. It runs in O(log2 n) time using O(n logn + k) work in the EREW PRAM model, where k is the number of intersecting line segment pairs, and provides a fairly simple divide-and-conquer alternative to the optimal sequential “plane-sweep” algorithm of Chazelle and Edelsbrunner. Moreover, our method can be used to output all k intersecting pairs while using only O(n) working space, which solves an open problem posed by Chazelle and Edelsbrunner. We also describe a sequential algorithm for computing a single face in an arrangement of n line segments that runs in O(n 2(n) logn) time, which improves on a previous O(n log n) time algorithm. For collections of simplices in IRd, we give methods for constructing a set ofm = O(nd 1 logc n+k) cells of constant descriptive complexity that covers their arrangement, where c > 1 is a constant and k is the number of faces in the arrangement. The construction is performed sequentially in O(m) time, or in O(logn) time using O(m) work in the EREW PRAM model. The covering can be augmented to answer point location queries in O(logn) time. In addition to supplying the first parallel methods for these problems, we improve on the previous best sequential methods by reducing the query times (from O(log2 n) in IR and O(log3 n) in IRd, d > 3), and also the size and construction cost of the covering (from O(nd 1+ + k)).
Multi-aspect security configuration assessment

Evaluating the security of a computer network system is a challenging task. Configurations of large systems are complex entities in continuous evolution. The installation of new software, a change in the firewall rules, or the discovery of a software vulnerability can be exploited by a malicious user to gain unauthorized control of the integrity, availability and confidentiality of the assets of an organization.This paper presents a framework for building security assessment tools able to perform online verification of the security of a system configuration. Heterogeneous data generated from multiple sources are integrated into a homogeneous RDF representation using domain-specific ontologies and used for assessing the security of a configuration toward known attack vectors. Different vocabularies can be defined to express configurations, policies and attacks for each aspect of the security of an organization (e.g., network security, physical security and application level security) in a modular way. By automatically extracting part of the configuration from the network system, the tool is able to detect in near real-time security threats created by configuration changes.
Perceived job satisfaction factors of nursing assistants employed in midwest nursing homes

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceptions of nursing assistants employed in Midwest nursing homes in relation to job satisfaction. The study population included 283 nursing assistants employed in 24 nursing homes. An analysis of frequencies using chi square at the .05 level of significance was used to examine the significance of the responses. Study results indicated the nursing assistants were most concerned with the security of their jobs, the potential within their jobs for growth and development, socialization, and challenge in their work.