cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Diel pattern driven by free convection controls leaf-cutter ant nest ventilation and greenhouse gas emissions in a Neotropical rain forest

Leaf-cutter ant nests are biogeochemical hot spots where ants live and import vegetation to grow fungus. Metabolic activity and (in wet tropical forests) soil gas flux to the nest may result in high nest CO2 concentrations if not adequately ventilated. Wind-driven ventilation mitigates high CO2 concentrations in grasslands, but little is known about exchange for forest species faced with prolonged windless conditions. We studied Atta cephalotes nests located under dense canopy (leaf area index > 5) in a wet tropical rainforest in Costa Rica, where wind events are infrequent. We instrumented nests with thermocouples and flow-through CO2 sensing chambers. The results showed that CO2 concentrations exiting leaf-cutter ant nests follow a diel pattern with higher values at night. We developed an efflux model based on pressure differences that evaluated the observed CO2 diel pattern in terms of ventilation by (1) free convection (warm, less dense air rises out the nest more prominently at night) and (2) episodic wind-forced convection events providing occasional supplemental ventilation during daytime. Average greenhouse gas emissions were estimated through nest vents at about 78 kg CO2eq nest−1 year−1. At the ecosystem level, leaf-cutter ant nest vents accounted for 0.2% to 1% of total rainforest soil emissions. In wet, clayey tropical soils, leaf-cutter ant nests act as free convection-driven conduits for exporting CO2 and other greenhouse gases produced within the nest (fungus and ant respiration, refuse decay), and by roots and soil microbes surrounding the nest. This allows A. cephalotes nests to be ventilated without reliable wind conditions.
Progress in angle-resolved low-coherence interferometry for real-time detection of epithelial dysplasia (Conference Presentation)

Angle-resolved low-coherence interferometry (a/LCI) is an optical technique which uses inverse models of light scattering to predict the size and density of cell nuclei, a significant biomarker of precancer. In recent years, substantial progress has occurred in a/LCI technology, particularly in novel instrumentation for the detection of dysplasia in the cervix and the esophagus. This abstract summarizes recent developments in a/LCI, with a focus on developments over the previous four years. Clinical studies in the cervix, novel optical instrumentation addressing the cervix and esophagus, and novel applications related to Alzheimer’s disease are discussed.
Predicting circadian misalignment with wearable technology: validation of wrist-worn actigraphy and photometry in night shift workers.

STUDY OBJECTIVES A critical barrier to successful treatment of circadian misalignment in shift workers is determining circadian phase in a clinical or field setting. Light and movement data collected passively from wrist actigraphy can generate predictions of circadian phase via mathematical models; however, these models have largely been tested in non-shift working adults. This study tested the feasibility and accuracy of actigraphy in predicting dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) in fixed night shift workers. METHODS A sample of 45 night shift workers wore wrist actigraphs before completing DLMO in the laboratory (17.0 days ± 10.3 SD). DLMO was assessed via 24 hourly saliva samples in dim light (<10 lux). Data from actigraphy were provided as input to a mathematical model to generate predictions of circadian phase. Agreement was assessed and compared to average sleep timing on non-workdays as a proxy of DLMO. Model code and an open-source prototype assessment tool are available (www.predictDLMO.com). RESULTS Model predictions of DLMO showed good concordance with in-lab DLMO, with Lin's concordance coefficient of 0.70, which was twice as high as agreement using average sleep timing as a proxy of DLMO. The absolute mean error of the predictions was 2.88 h, with 76% and 91% of the predictions falling with 2 and 4 h, respectively. CONCLUSION This study is the first to demonstrate the use of wrist actigraphy-based estimates of circadian phase as a clinically useful and valid alternative to in-lab measurement of DLMO in fixed night shift workers. Future research should explore how additional predictors may impact accuracy.
Designed leucine-rich repeat proteins bind two muramyl dipeptide ligands.

Designed protein receptors hold diagnostic and therapeutic promise. We now report the design of five consensus leucine-rich repeat proteins sCLRR4-8) based on the LRR domain of nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain (NOD)-like receptors involved in the innate immune system. The CLRRs bind muramyl dipeptide (MDP), a bacterial cell wall component, with micromolar affinity. The overall Kd app values ranged from 1.0 to 57 μM as measured by fluorescence quenching experiments. Biphasic fluorescence quenching curves were observed in all CLRRs with higher affinity Kd1 values ranging from 0.04 to 4.5 μM, and lower affinity Kd2 values ranging from 3 to 227 μM. These biphasic binding curves, along with the docking studies of MDP binding to CLRR4, suggest that at least two MDPs bind to each protein. Previously, only single MDP binding was reported. This high-capacity binding of MDP promises small, soluble, stable CLRR scaffolds as candidates for the future design of pathogen biosensors. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Fluid Drilling as a Delivery System for Somatic Embryo-Derived Plantlets

Four systems have been proposed to facilitate the bulk handling and delivery of in vitro-derived somatic embryos: fluid drilling (Drew 1979), encapsulation of somatic embryos in alginate gel (Redenbaugh et al. 1986), desiccation of somatic embryos (Gray et al. 1987), or desiccation of somatic embryos encapsulated in water-soluble resin (Kitto and Janick 1985).
Segmentation and Interpretation of Temporal Contact Signals

The temporal structure of the force, or strain, signals from an internal force-torque sensor can be a rich source of information about robot/environment contact conditions. We present a procedure for representing and segmenting the individual signals with an auto-regressive model. This procedure produces segments of approximately constant spectrum, and is a powerful technique for detecting abrupt changes in noisy signals without prior calibration.
Fitting a two-component scattering model to polarimetric SAR data

Classification, decomposition and modeling of polarimetric SAR data has received a great deal of attention in the literature. The objective behind these efforts is to better understand the scattering mechanisms which give rise to the polarimetric signatures seen in SAR image data. The author describes an approach which involves the fit of a combination of two simple scattering mechanisms to polarimetric SAR observations. The mechanisms are canopy scatter from a cloud of randomly oriented oblate spheroids, and a ground scatter term, which can represent double-bounce scatter from a pair of orthogonal surfaces with different dielectric constants or Bragg scatter from a moderately rough surface, seen through a layer of vertically oriented scatterers. An advantage of this model fit approach is that the scattering contributions from the two basic scattering mechanisms can be estimated for clusters of pixels in polarimetric SAR images. The solution involves the estimation of four parameters from four separate equations. The model fit can be applied to polarimetric AIRSAR data at C-, L- and P-band.
Direct-to-consumer genetic testing: two sides of the coin.

The complete sequencing of the human genome in 2003 was highly publicized; however, many people misinterpreted that milestone as the “complete understanding of everything in the human genome.” In actuality, our professional community's great progress in molecular diagnostics has been tempered by the reality that we still have much to learn about the relationships between genes and disease. Recently, a set of commentaries in the New England Journal of Medicine reiterated just how elusive genotype/phenotype correlations, when applied to complex diseases, can be.1,2,3 Information culled from such genome-wide association studies is often repackaged using standard molecular diagnostic lab techniques, co-opted by direct-to-consumer (DTC) genomic testing companies, and sold to consumers. Is that information of value to the “patient” or is it merely recreational genomics? Amid the seemingly incongruent mix of mature and clinically useful tests for some diseases and paucity of knowledge for others, DTC genomic testing companies have come to market offering testing for genetic markers for health and risk assessment. Certainly we can agree that people should be proactive in making their own health care decisions and have a right to information about their individual genomes; yet, the question remains whether DTC genomic tests are beneficial in making those decisions. As with any retail commercial offering, there are different types of DTC genomic testing. One example is testing directed toward an individual with a family member affected by a specific disease, prompting worry of inheriting the same disease. An Internet search may uncover a laboratory that offers testing for that mutation without a doctor's order. Whether the result is positive or negative has all manner of interpretation ramifications. Without a physician and/or (better yet) a genetic counselor in the mix to aid in interpretation, how useful to the lay “patient” is the test result? There's another type of DTC genomic testing that is equivalent to genetic fortune telling. Several companies now offer DNA analysis with a variety of claims ranging from determining ancestry to choosing cosmetics based on DNA sequence (the former is possible, but not the latter). These examples are fairly harmless, and if people choose to spend their money for these purposes, that's their prerogative. Indeed, some have termed this “recreational genomics,” and if one accepts that moniker, then caveat emptor. But what about companies that make broad claims regarding genetics and health? That's more serious than whether one is descendant from royalty or has a skin DNA pattern that demands a certain moisturizer.
Density-dependent natural selection in Drosophila: Adaptation to adult crowding

The effects of adult crowding on two components of fitness were studied in three sets of Drosophila melanogaster populations, subjected to life-stage-specific, density-dependent natural selection in the laboratory for over 50 generations. Three days of crowding, early in adult life, were observed to increase mortality significantly during the episode of crowding, as well as decrease subsequent fecundity. Populations selected for adaptation to high adult densities suffered significantly lower mortality during episodes of adult crowding, as compared to populations selected specifically for adaptation to larval crowding, as well as control populations typically maintained at low larval and adult densities. Moreover, populations adapted to larval crowding seemed to be adversely affected by adult crowding to a greater extent than the controls, raising the possibility of trade-offs between adaptations to larval and adult crowding, respectively. Preliminary evidence suggests that the populations adapted to adult crowding may have evolved a propensity to stay away from the food medium, which is where most deaths occur when adults are crowded in culture vials.
ADULT DEVELOPMENT AND AGING (3rd ed.) Editors: Diane E. Papalia, Harvey L. Sterns, Ruth Duskin Feldman, & Cameron J. Camp

By 2030, the number of older adults in the United States will have more than doubled to 70 million. In other words, one in every five Americans will be an older adult! The demands that this longevi...
AMPA receptor subunits define properties of state-dependent synaptic plasticity

Many synapses undergo immediate and persistent activity-dependent changes in strength via processes that fall under the umbrella of synaptic plasticity. It is known that this type of synaptic plasticity exhibits an underlying state dependence; that is, as synapses change in strength they move into distinct ‘states’ that are defined by the mechanism and ability to undergo future plasticity. In this study, we have investigated the molecular mechanisms that underlie state-dependent synaptic plasticity. Using intracellular application of peptides that mimic the C-terminal tail sequences of GluR1 and GluR2 AMPA receptor subtypes, combined with paired recordings of minimal synaptic connections, we have shown that AMPA receptor subtypes present in the membrane at a given time confer some properties of plasticity states. These data show that during synaptic plasticity, AMPA receptor subtypes are differentially stabilized by postsynaptic density proteins in or out of the postsynaptic membrane, and this differential synaptic expression of different AMPA receptor subtypes defines distinct synaptic states.
Amplification of Transient Images in High-Gain Photocathode-Phosphor Image Intensifier Systems

Publisher Summary This chapter studies the amplification of transient light signals in cascade and regenerative photocathode–phosphor image intensifier systems. The application of internal regeneration to channeled image intensifiers is described and some experimental results on an unfocused single-channel regenerative system are presented. The kinematics of light amplification in the cascade system described in the chapter is investigated, taking into account the various decay periods. The system resembles a chain of genetically related radioactive nuclei, with the exceptional feature of the additional gain factor of each stage and its associated optical coupling. The Bateman equations for chain radioactive decays are readily adaptable to this problem. In a single-stage regenerative system, there is no way of breaking the chain without breaking every link, unless the displacement of successive images on the cathode is so large that they do not overlap; then the cathode can be blocked off for one image, breaking the chain at a single point. Regeneration can be applied internally to the channeled secondary electron multiplier.
Immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory properties of engineered nanomaterials.

Nanoparticle interactions with various components of the immune system are determined by their physicochemical properties such as size, charge, hydrophobicity and shape. Nanoparticles can be engineered to either specifically target the immune system or to avoid immune recognition. Nevertheless, identifying their unintended impacts on the immune system and understanding the mechanisms of such accidental effects are essential for establishing a nanoparticle's safety profile. While immunostimulatory properties have been reviewed before, little attention in the literature has been given to immunosuppressive and anti-inflammatory properties. The purpose of this review is to fill this gap. We will discuss intended immunosuppression achieved by either nanoparticle engineering, or the use of nanoparticles to carry immunosuppressive or anti-inflammatory drugs. We will also review unintended immunosuppressive properties of nanoparticles per se and consider how such properties could be either beneficial or adverse. Linked Articles This article is part of a themed section on Nanomedicine. To view the other articles in this section visit http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bph.2014.171.issue-17
Regulation by protein kinase of phagocytosis of Mycobacterium leprae by macrophages

Mycobacterium leprae multiplies within host macrophages. The mechanism of internalisation of the bacteria by the phagocytic cells is unknown. In this study, M. leprae was purified from the foot pads of experimentally infected nu/nu mice. Peritoneal macrophages were harvested from BALB/c mice or C57 beige (bg/bg) mice. The effect of protein kinase inhibitors (erbstatin, genistein or staurosporine for BALB/c and bg/bg mice, plus herbimycin for bg/bg mice) on phagocytosis of the mycobacteria by the macrophage monolayers was tested. The untreated (control) macrophages phagocytosed M. leprae. Phagocytosis by BALB/c macrophages was inhibited by erbstatin and staurosporine but not by genistein; all the protein kinase inhibitors prevented uptake of M. leprae by bg/bg cells. The results demonstrate that protein kinase regulates phagocytosis of M. leprae by macrophages. The mechanism might prove to be a rational drug target for mycobacteria that multiply intracellularly.
“VERUM EST IPSUM FACTUM” – TRUE IS WHAT HAS BEEN MADE AS SUCH

Abstract In traditional International Relations theory (IR), states have been approached from empiricist perspective by using methods and terminologies that consider states as homogeneous ‘speaking billiard balls’, which compete for power, prestige and so forth with each other. This article does not argue that traditional paradigms of IR (such as Classical Realism or Neorealism) would not count any more, vice versa, but what this article argues is that for being able to understand more deeply such topical social phenomena as terrorism, strategic communities, spread of nuclear weapons, nuclear policies, world order, NATO-enlargement, EU-integration, threat scenarios, enemy images an so forth, one has to adopt a more holistic, Constructivist social theoretical, approach than traditional IR offers. In this context Constructivism necessitates at least three things. Firstly, one has to explicitly clear out his/her ontological and epistemological points of departure for being able to operate with Constructivist social theory. In some occasions it may e.g. be necessary to deal with God’s and religions’ ontological and epistemological statuses as signifiers of interests, or as ‘root causes’ of behaviour of many social groups, communities and nations. Secondly, the state should be considered as a ‘decentred subject’ consisting of individuals, many sub-groups, organizational structure, institutions and especially identity structure, which has been purposefully constructed throughout the history (the endogenous perspective), and which is under constant reconstruction through domestic and international discursive interactions (the interactionist perspective). Thirdly, one should take into account that human communities and societies tend to habituate themselves into certain beliefs, values and modes of action that change very slowly over the course of history (the cultural perspective), despite increasing interactions
Cardiac hypertrophy: Role of G protein-coupled receptors

Cardiac myocytes respond to biomechanical stress by initiating cellular processes that lead to hypertrophy. Although cardiac hypertrophy is a response to increased stress on the heart, it is also associated with elevated plasma catecholamine levels and an increase in cardiac morbidity and mortality. Understanding the cellular signals that initiate the hypertrophic response is of critical importance in identifying pathways that mediate the hypertrophic heart's maladaptive deterioration to cardiac failure. Here we present data demonstrating an important role for G protein-coupled receptors in the induction of in vivo cardiac hypertrophy and the activation of signaling pathways, such as the mitogen activated protein kinase and phosphoinositide-3 kinase pathways.
Preparation of thoracic and intestinal lymph duct shunts in calves.

Abstract The thoracic or intestinal lymph duct was successfully cannulated in 40 Holstein calves. To maintain body fluid balance, thoracic duct lymph was returned directly to the thoracic duct or to the jugular vein. Both shunts remained patent up to 5 weeks, but the thoracic duct-duct shunts required less maintenance than the thoracic duct-jugular vein shunts. Intestinal duct lymph was returned directly to the intestinal duct, to the jugular vein, or to the posterior vena cava. Intestinal duct-duet shunts were not satisfactory because lymph flow was restricted by the poor aspiratory action of the return cannula. It was difficult to maintain the long length of tubing needed to connect the intestinal duct cannula to the jugular vein catheter in the intestinal duct-jugular vein shunts. The most satisfactory route for intestinal lymph return was via the posterior vena cava because a minimum length of tubing was exteriorized, clotting in the venous end of the vena cava catheter was never a serious problem, and there was good aspiratory action in the vena cava catheter. Intestinal duct-vena cava shunts were maintained for up to 5 weeks. Preliminary results with one calf suggest the feasibility of establishing thoracic duct-posterior vana cava shunts.
Least square model with spatial expansion: application to the inversion of earthquake source mechanism

In a typical inversion of an earthquake source mechanism, using recorded strong motion data in the near field, the fault surface is subdivided into a rectangular mesh (Fig. 1) and the final dislocation amplitudes in δ 1 and δ 2 directions are found for each subfault by means of some inversion algorithm. In this paper an alternative to the above approach is presented. We will describe the final dislocation amplitudes on the fault surface in terms of two-dimensional Fourier series and then, through inversion, we will compute the coefficients of these spatial harmonics. This leads to certain computational advantages and is helpful for understanding the spatial resolution of the dislocation amplitudes.
A large class of cyclic and shortened cyclic binary codes for multiple error correction

This paper is a study of a large class of cyclic and shortened cyclic binary codes for multiple random error correction. The major result is: If g ( x ) = π i =1} 2 l g i ( x ) generates a basic BCH code of length N with minimum weight ⩾ 2 lt + 1, then g ( x ) = π j =1} l [ g j ( x )] i j . [π j =( l +1)} 2 l g j ( x )], where i 1 > i 2 > - - - > i l > 1 generates a shortened cyclic or nonshortened cyclic code of length (σ j =1} l i j ) N with minimum weight at least 2 lt + 1. Three classes of cyclic codes will be presented. Class I and Class III codes are cyclic codes. Class II codes are shortened cyclic codes.
Cultural displays: An illustration from American immigration

Drawing upon Durkheim's analysis of solidarity ceremonies in primitive societies, this piece identifies a class of events called “cultural displays” in modern societies. Cultural displays are contrived ensembles that serve to dramatize basic cultural values, thereby contributing to the socialization of participants and encouraging political loyalty and social cohesion. Immigration procedures include the cultural display of naturalization ceremonies, media portrayals of immigrants, and government brochures disseminated to potential immigrants. After describing the cultural displays associated with immigration in the American case, I suggest that cultural displays play an integrative part in secularized liberal democracies but their success remains open to question.
Auxins and tropisms.

Differential growth of plants in response to the changes in the light and gravity vectors requires a complex signal transduction cascade. Although many of the details of the mechanisms by which these differential growth responses are induced are as yet unknown, auxin has been implicated in both gravitropism and phototropism. Specifically, the redistribution of auxin across gravity or light-stimulated tissues has been detected and shown to be required for this process. The approaches by which auxin has been implicated in tropisms include isolation of mutants altered in auxin transport or response with altered gravitropic or phototropic response, identification of auxin gradients with radiolabeled auxin and auxin-inducible gene reporter systems, and by use of inhibitors of auxin transport that block gravitropism and phototropism. Proteins that transport auxin have been identified and the mechanisms which determine auxin transport polarity have been explored. In addition, recent evidence that reversible protein phosphorylation controls this process is summarized. Finally, the data in support of several hypotheses for mechanisms by which auxin transport could be differentially regulated during gravitropism are examined. Although many details of the mechanisms by which plants respond to gravity and light are not yet clear, numerous recent studies demonstrate the role of auxin in these processes.
Families as social contexts for literacy development

Parents' most important contributions to their children's literacy development may come through language interactions rather than print-related activities.
Synthesis, Structure, and Reactivity of Neutral Hydrogen-Substituted Ruthenium Silylene and Germylene Complexes

Reaction of Cp*(iPr2MeP)RuCl (1) with 0.5 equiv of Mg(CH2Ph)2(THF)2 afforded the benzyl complex Cp*(iPr2MeP)Ru(η3-CH2Ph) (2). Complex 2 readily reacted with primary silanes H3SiR (R = trip, dmp, MesF; trip = 2,4,6-iPr3-C6H2, dmp = 2,6-Mes2-C6H3, MesF = 2,4,6-(CF3)3-C6H2) to liberate toluene and afford hydrogen-substituted silylene complexes Cp*(iPr2MeP)(H)Ru═SiH(R) [R = trip, 3; dmp, 4; MesF, 5]. Complexes 3−5 exhibit characteristic SiH 1H NMR resonances downfield of 8 ppm and very small 2JSiH coupling constants (8−10 Hz). The solid state structures of complexes 3 and 5 feature short Ru−Si distances of 2.205(1) and 2.1806(9) A, respectively, and planar silicon centers. In addition, the silylene complex Cp*(iPr2MeP)(H)Ru═SiPh(trip) (6) and the unusual, chlorine-substituted species Cp*(iPr2MeP)(H)Ru═SiCl(R) [R = trip, 7; dmp, 8] were prepared. Hydrogen-substituted ruthenium germylene complex Cp*(iPr2MeP)(H)Ru═GeH(trip) (9) was prepared similarly by reaction of 2 with tripGeH3. Complex 9 is the first structu...
Technical Note Experimental investigation of turbulent heat transfer and fluid flow in internally finned tubes

Abstract A recent bibliography (Bergles et al. [1] ) lists the literature on turbulent heat transfer in internally finned tubes. An excellent review on this topic is given by Shome [2] . In brief, using a variety of fluids (e.g., air, water, oil, R-113, ethylene glycol/water) , a number of investigators (e.g., Edwards and Jensen [3] , Vasilchenko and Barbaritskaya [4] , Watkinson et al. [5] , Carnavos [6] , Chiou et al. [7] , Kaushik and Azer [8] , Brognaux et al. [9] ) have studied this enhancement technique over a range of number of fins, fin heights, helix angles, and fin profiles. They obtained increases in the Nusselt numbers from 15–180% greater than that in a smooth tube. This benefit was counterbalanced by increases in friction factor of 50–500%. Correlation of the data is difficult because of the many different parameters that can influence the Nusselt number and friction factor. The most widely cited correlations for friction factor and Nusselt number were proposed by Carnavos [6] :
Agents as information brokers: The effects of information disclosure on negotiated outcomes

Abstract This paper considers agents assisting a negotiation as self-interested third parties. The information principals share with agents is argued to affect the outcomes of negotiations. In a laboratory study simulating a real estate transaction, the agent's knowledge of the buyer's and seller's reservation prices is manipulated. Communication between the buyer and the seller is restricted so that all information is passed through the agent. Results show that agent knowledge of reservation prices affects the settlement price, the commission garnered by the agent, and the amount of benefit or surplus gained by both principals in the negotiation. The settlement price was significantly higher when the buyer's reservation price, was revealed to the agent. Settlement prices were lowest when only the seller's reservation price was known. We discuss the ways in which these findings can be generalized to other third-party-assisted negotiation contexts.
Envelope Mapping Algorithm and Its Applications in Enhancement and Segmentation of Pancreatic Cell Images

In this paper, we present an intensity mapping algorithm for enhancement and segmentation of pancreatic ductal nuclei in pancreatic ductal cell images acquired from pancreatic fine needle aspiration specimens with Papanicolaou stain. The upper envelope surface is obtained by rolling a ball of fixed size on the image surface followed by a moving average filtering to smooth out the downward spikes. When the upper envelope surface is mapped to the uniform intensity of the maximum intensity of the original image, the contrasts inside nuclei are magnified and the difference between intensities in the cytoplasm regions and the void background is compressed, resulting in improved separation of the nuclei from the rest. Results of enhancement and segmentation of pancreatic nucleus images are provided and compared to those without envelope mapping.
Fault Isolation for Spacecraft Systems: An Application to a Power Distribution Testbed

Abstract Modern electrical power disribution systems play a critical role in system operations. Therefore, early fault detection and isolation is essential to maintaining system safety and avoiding catastrophic failures. This paper discusses a fault isolation scheme based on a qualitative fault signature-based isolation mechanism that applies to abrupt, incipient and intermittent faults in the system. We discuss the isolation algorithms for a combination of these faults, and demonstrate their performance on a set of test cases generated from a NASA Ames spacecraft power distribution testbed. Our results show good isolation accuracy with 103 out of 134 faulty scenarios isolated correctly. Most of the isolation errors can be attributed to errors in the detection scheme.
An Examination of Short-Selling Activity Surrounding Auditor Changes

Using a combination of short-selling data made available by Regulation SHO and auditor change data disclosed in companies� SEC filings, we examine whether short sellers (a) discern between �good news� and �bad news� auditor changes and (b) increase their revenue by trading around auditor change announcements. We find that short sellers systematically increase activity following certain auditor changes, which include auditor downgrades (i.e., change from Big 4 auditor to non-Big 4 auditor), auditor resignations, and auditor changes involving a disagreement between management and the departing auditor. Our results indicate that short sellers are able to generate significant returns by systematically taking short positions pursuant to specific types of �bad news� changes.
Cellobiose and Cellodextrin Metabolism by the Ruminal Bacterium Ruminococcus albus

Ruminococcus albus is an important fibrolytic bacterium in the rumen. Cellobiose is metabolized by this organism via hydrolytic and well as phosphorylytic enzymes, but the relative contributions of each pathway were not clear. The cellobiose consumption rate by exponentially growing cells was less than that of crude extracts (75 versus 243 nmol/min/mg protein). Cellobiose phosphorolytic cleavage was much greater than hydrolytic activity (179 versus 19 nmol/min/mg protein) indicating that phosphorylases were key enzymes in the initial metabolism of the soluble products of cellulose degradation. Cellodextrin phosphorylase appeared to be active against substrates as large as cellohexaose. Phosphorylase activities were cytoplasmic, but hydrolytic activities were associated with both the membrane and cytoplasmic fractions. Free glucose was phosphorylated with a GTP-dependent glucokinase, and this enzyme showed 20-fold higher activity with GTP or ITP (>324 nmol/min/mg protein) than with ATP, UTP, CTP, GDP, or PEP. The activity was decreased at least 57% when mannose, 2-deoxyglucose, or fructose was used as substrate compared with glucose. The K m s for glucose and GTP were 321 and 247 μM, respectively. Since phosphorolytic cleavage conserves more metabolic energy than simple hydrolysis, it is likely that such pathways provide for more efficient growth of R. albus in substrate-limiting conditions like those found in the rumen.
Adaptive importance sampling in monte carlo integration

An Adaptive Importance Sampling (AIS) scheme is introduced to compute integrals of the form as a mechanical, yet flexible, way of dealing with the selection of parameters of the importance function. AIS starts with a rough estimate for the parameters λ of the importance function g , and runs importance sampling in an iterative way to continually update λ using only linear accumulation. Consistency of AIS is established. The efficiency of the algorithm is studied in three examples and found to be substantially superior to ordinary importance sampling.
Derived Search Keys for Government Documents.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to propose a design for a Superintendent of Documents (SuDocs) number search key to retrieve bibliographic records for United States Government documents from OCLC's On-Line Union Catalog. Experimentation with a test file of 25,000 records indicated that a search key derived from a maximum of the first 14 digits in the SuDocs number is sufficiently distinctive to obtain an expected average retrieval of 2.5 records per search. OCLC will implement a SuDocs number search key in the future. It is expected that this key will be a valuable tool for library catalogers and users.
Hurricane Katrina as an Experiment in Housing Mobility and Neighborhood Effects: Were the Relocated Poor Black Evacuees Better-Off?

Hurricane Katrina induced hundreds of thousands of New Orleans citizens to evacuate and relocate to different neighborhoods. Some of these evacuees moved to neighborhoods with poverty rates lower than the one they left in New Orleans. With survey data on a small sample of black Katrina evacuees who registered for absentee voter ballots, this paper explores whether or not there were improvements in the welfare of black evacuees—neighborhood effects—as a result of moving to neighborhoods with a lower poverty rate. With data from a small sample of relocated Katrina evacuees, we provide matching estimates of the short-run treatment effect of different types of changes in neighborhood poverty on five different measures of individual welfare. Treatment parameter estimates reveal—conditional upon the change in origin to destination neighborhood poverty rate—positive neighborhood effects mostly for black evacuees who did not move from high poverty to low poverty neighborhoods, but could have. Our results suggest that at least in the short-run, antipoverty policies based on housing mobility and changing the poverty characteristics of neighborhoods are not necessarily effective in improving the welfare of poor black households.
Production planning for multi‐resource network systems

Abstract : Production planning for large-scale production systems requiring the allocation of numerous resources is considered. It is demonstrated how the dynamic activity analysis developed by Shephard leads to linear programming solutions of production planning problems. Three types of planning problems are formulated: maximization of output levels for a given time horizon; minimization of production duration for given output histories; and minimization of production costs for given output histories. (Author)
Scaling of Guide Vane Coolant Profiles and the Reduction of a Simulated Hot Streak

The turbine section of a gas turbine engine is subjected to a non-uniform temperature distribution in the gas flow from the combustor. Regions of elevated temperatures, known as “hot streaks,” subject the turbine airfoil to high heat loads. In this study, the reduction of hot streaks by coolant from a film cooled nozzle guide vane was experimentally evaluated. Experiments were conducted with an approach mainstream turbulence level of 20% to simulate actual turbine conditions. The coolant distributions downstream of the vane were measured for varying blowing ratios and varying coolant density, and scaling methods were found for variations in both parameters. For this study, the hot streak peak was positioned to impact the vane at the stagnation line. Measurements of the hot streak strength with coolant blowing showed as much as a 55% decrease in peak temperature compared with no coolant.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
EFFECT OF DIETARY PROTEIN AND MAGNESIUM ON PLASMA TRIGLYCERIDE LEVELS IN WEANLING RATS

Hypertriglyceridemia, an important risk factor in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis, has been difficult to produce experimentally. This study explores the effect of feeding purified diets varying in respect to magnesium (Mg) (0 to 150 mg/ 100 g) and casein (1 to 40 %) in male weanling rats 28-38 g in weight. Triglycerides were measured enzymatically on a Technicon SMAC auto-analyzer after A) 1 week, and B) 2 weeks of feeding the diets. A significant increase in plasma triglyceride levels was found in weanling rats with severe dietary Mg deficiency. Protein had little effect on the plasma triglyceride levels: at 2 weeks, emaciated, anorectic protein-deficient rats fed 100-1 diets (87 % glucose) had reduced levels. Supported by the Missouri Heart Assoc.
Brain regional correlation of amyloid-β with synapses and apolipoprotein E in non-demented individuals: potential mechanisms underlying regional vulnerability to amyloid-β accumulation.

To reveal the underlying mechanisms responsible for the regional vulnerability to amyloid-β (Aβ) accumulation prior to the development of Alzheimer’s disease, we studied distribution of Aβ, apolipoprotein E (apoE), synaptic markers, and other molecules involved in Aβ metabolism in multiple brain areas of non-demented individuals. Twelve brain regions including neocortical, limbic, and subcortical areas were dissected from brains of non-demented individuals and extracted according to increasing insolubility by a sequential three-step method. The levels of Aβ40, Aβ42, apoE, APP, APP-CTFβ, BACE1, presenilin-1, neprilysin, insulysin, LRP1, LDLR, synaptophysin, PSD95, GFAP, and lactate were determined by ELISAs or enzymatic assays. The regional distribution of apoE showed moderate-to-strong inverse correlation with levels of Aβ, especially insoluble Aβ40. On the other hand, the regional distributions of synaptic markers, particularly PSD95, showed moderate-to-strong positive correlation with levels of Aβ, especially soluble Aβ40. The regional correlations between Aβ and LRP1, GFAP, or lactate were mild-to-moderate. Moderate-to-strong positive regional correlations were observed between apoE and GFAP or lactate and between PSD95 and LRP1. No significant regional correlations were detected between Aβ and APP, APP-CTFβ, BACE1, or presenilin-1, those involved in Aβ production. There were no significant negative regional correlations between Aβ and two major Aβ degrading enzymes, neprilysin and insulysin. These regional correlations remained consistent regardless of the degree of Aβ accumulation. The regional vulnerability to Aβ accumulation may be due to a net balance between two competing processes: (1) synapses involved in promoting the initial Aβ accumulation and (2) astrocyte-derived apoE involved in preventing Aβ accumulation.
Neural regulation of the proinflammatory cytokine response to acute myocardial infarction.

Within minutes of acute myocardial infarction (MI), proinflammatory cytokines increase in the brain, heart, and plasma. We hypothesized that cardiac afferent nerves stimulated by myocardial injury ...
The effect of blood resistivity changes on impedance cardiography determined by 3D finite difference models of human thorax

The effect of blood resistivity changes in major vessels on the cardiogenic impedance signal was studied using three dimensional (3D) finite difference models of human thorax. The vessels studied included ascending aorta (AA), descending aorta (DA), common carotid artery (CA), superior vena cava (SVC), inferior vena cava (IVC) and internal jugular vein (JV). The end systolic data indicate that the impedance varies linearly with the percentage (%) change of blood resistivity in all vessels (R2>0.99). For a given blood resistivity change, the relative contributions are 34 % from 1)A, 27% from AA, 18% from SVC, 8% from CA, 7% from IVC and 6% from JV (the total is 69% from arteries and 31 % from veins). The results suggest that the blood resistivity change plays a major role in impedance cardiography to account for the negative impedance change (ΔZ) normally recorded from subjects.
Precision Printing of Cells and Biomaterials Onto 3D Matrices

The long term goal of our work is to develop a fabrication technique that allows precision placement of cells inside biomaterial constructs. Such spatial and temporal control of the chemistry and pattern geometry can provide new insights into fundamental aspects of cell-surface interactions. For example, cellular development can be dramatically effected by constraining cells to spread over a specific cell-surface contact area. The cell and biomaterial printing techniques developed here may prove particularly useful for exploring the interactions of anchorage-dependent cells with their environment in vitro. Our recent studies addressed the simultaneous printing of endothelial cells and biomaterials. The studies further demonstrated that cells can be printed onto polymer scaffolds or fibers without significant loss of cell activity. A combination of these methods may result in the construction of vascularized tissue with mechanical properties approaching those of native tissue.© 2007 ASME
Biochemical characteristics of the heterophile transplantation antigen (HT‐A)

The Heterophile Transplantation Antigen (HT-A) is a clinically important antigen which is found in some human kidneys and on the erythrocytes and in the serum of rats and some other mammals. Recent reports suggest the possibility that the anti-HT-A antibodies responsible for graft rejection may cross react with one or more HL-A specificities. The ideal way to investigate this possibility would be to perform careful serological and biochemical comparisons of purified HT-A and HL-A. We report here the first stage of these investigations, the examination of the biochemical properties of HT-A. The HT-A molecule of rat plasma is apparently a glycoprotein with a molecular weight greater than 1,000,000. The HT-A antigenic determinant site seems to reside in the carbohydrate portion of the glycoprotein. The native HT-A molecule is apparently susceptible to proteolytic enzymes of rat plasma and serum and is cleaved by these enzymes to produce a fragment with a lower apparent molecular weight and a larger fragment which coelutes with lipoproteins during Sepharose CL-4B chromatography. The data presented here should allow development of a rational purification scheme for the HT-A glycoprotein of rat plasma to be used in further studies in the relationship between HT-A and HL-A.
High-speed capillary zone electrophoresis with online photolytic optical injection.

We report an online, optical injection interface for capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) based upon photophysical activation of a caged, fluorogenic label covalently attached to the target analyte. This injection interface allows online analysis of biomolecular systems with high temporal resolution and high sensitivity. Samples are injected onto the separation capillary by photolysis of a caged-fluorescein label using the 351−364 nm irradiation of an Ar+ laser. Following injection, the sample is separated and detected via laser-induced fluorescence detection at 488 nm. Detection limits for online analysis of arginine, glutamic acid, and aspartic acid were less than 1 nM with separation times less than 5 s and separation efficiencies exceeding 1 000 000 plates/m. Rapid injection of proteins was demonstrated with migration times less than 500 ms and 0.5 nM detection limits. Online monitoring was performed with response times less than 20 s, suggesting the feasibility of this approach for online, in vivo an...
Sealants effective in reducing caries

Objective To determine the effectiveness of fissure sealants and factors influencing their effectiveness. Data sources Medline search 1975–1990 (pit and fissure sealants), hand search of Medline references identified and 11 relevant dental journals; no unpublished studies were sought. Study selection Studies were included if they contained original data, were applied to original data, no other preventive measure was used, the effectiveness of sealants could be assessed. Studies in English, French of Spanish were included. All articles were evaluated by two authors to minimise selection and data bias. Where several articles reported the same study only data from the most recent was used. Data extraction and synthesis The prevented fraction was calculated for each study. Heterogeneity between the studies was investigated using multivariate analysis. Data was analysed for both auto-polymerising and light-cured (UV) sealants. Results 24 studies meeting the criteria were identified in 34 articles. Only UV light cured and auto-polymerising sealant studies met the criteria so no non UV light-cured were included. The percentage of caries prevented (prevented fraction) is shown in the table. The auto-polymerising sealants were clearly more effective. Effectiveness was shown to decrease with time for both types. Effectiveness may be improved in fluoridated communities (83% c.f. 71%) and operator type may also influence effectiveness. There was a marked heterogeneity between the studies which was partly explained by fluoridation status and incidence of caries in the control group. The authors also note that publication bias (the tendency for reporting positive studies over negative or non-significant findings) could have been a factor. Conclusions Fissure sealants are effective in preventing dental caries, their effectiveness decreases with time, and periodic reapplication is advisable. Auto-polymerising sealants are more effective than UV light sealants. Fluoridation appears to increase effectiveness, so future studies should note fluoride consumed by study population. Further studies should look at the influence of the operator on effectiveness.
Description and phylogenetic reassessment of the monotypic Ostariostomidae (Teleostei)

ABSTRACT The monotypic family †Ostariostomidae Schaeffer, 1949 is represented by a single specimen †Ostariostoma wilseyi Schaeffer, 1949. This unique and enigmatic fossil is the impression of the left side of a complete, articulated skeleton from Upper Cretaceous or lower Paleocene freshwater deposits of the Livingston Group in Montana. It was originally described based on the incompletely prepared type specimen and identified as a clupeoid. Based on a more complete preparation of the holotype, we redescribe †O. wilseyi in previously unknown detail and reexamine its phylogenetic relationships. It clearly is not a clupeoid because it lacks all known derived characters of Clupeomorpha. Unfortunately, even based on the additional morphological information available to us, we were unable to clearly identify †Ostariostoma even to superorder. Our questionable assignment of †Ostariostoma to Osteoglossomorpha (possibly a hiodontoid) is not strongly supported and needs to be further tested with additional material...