cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Holographic polymer-dispersed liquid crystals in display applications

Holographic polymer-dispersed liquid crystal (HPDLC) gratings have been employed in various display applications. Two prototypes that have been developed are switchable lenses in wearable displays and electronic filter wheels in video projectors. Acrylate-based HPDLCs have been utilized for the most part. These have many desirable properties, including fast switching speeds, but have contributed to stability problems, including long-term diffraction notch blue shift (shrinkage) and voltage creep due to post-polymerization effects. Thiol-ene based HPDLCs have been investigated and show potential for overcoming these shortcomings. We present a comparison of acrylate and thiol-ene HPDLCs and discuss the implications for long-term stability in display applications.
Aniline on Ag(1 1 1): Adsorption configuration, adsorbate–substrate bond, and inter-adsorbate interactions

Abstract The adsorption of submonolayer aniline on the Ag(1 1 1) surface has been characterized using temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). Analysis of the TPD curves yielded a desorption energy of 74 kJ/mol and revealed repulsive inter-adsorbate interactions resulting from a local dipole moment of 4.3 D at the adsorbate–substrate complex. This dipole moment arises from a weak charge transfer from aniline to silver in forming the adsorption bond. Analysis of the EELS spectrum revealed several vibrational modes that are consistent with weakly chemisorbed aniline with the amino group bound to the surface. Intensity analysis based on IR selection rules on metal shows that the molecule adsorbs nearly flat with a small tilt angle (−13 ± 8° between the CN bond and the surface) and a small orientation angle.
Customizing the Fatty Acid Content of Broiler Tissues

Abstract Safflower (79% linoleic acid), olive (70% oleic acid), and coconut (83% saturated fatty acids) oils were each fed to broilers at 8% of the diet to evaluate the possibility of enriching the levels of specific fatty acids in broiler breast and adipose tissues but not affecting the tissue proximate composition or cholesterol content. Levels of the predominate fatty acid of each dietary oil were elevated in both tissues with the increase being more pronounced in the adipose tissue. Differences in saturated acid:oleic acid:linoleic acid ratios in the breast and adipose tissues reflected the differences in these ratios in the dietary oils (safflower 8:13:79, olive 13:70:12, coconut 83:7:2). Slight changes were detected in moisture and cholesterol contents of breast muscle due to dietary oil. These results suggest a means for broiler producers to improve the consumer appeal of broiler meat in view of concern about human intake of saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Purification and characterization of recombinant human testis angiotensin-converting enzyme expressed in Chinese hamster ovary cells.

Abstract Enzymatically active human testis angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) was expressed in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells stably transfected with each of three vectors: pμ-ACE contains a full-length testis ACE cDNA under the control of a retroviral promoter; and pLEN-ACEVII and pLEN-ACE6/5, in which full-length and membrane anchor-minus testis ACE cDNAs, respectively, are under the control of the human metallothionein IIA promoter and SV40 enhancer. In every case, active recombinant human testis ACE (hTACE) was secreted in a soluble form into the culture media, up to 2.4 mg/liter in the media of metal-induced, high-producing clones transfected with one of the pLEN vectors. In addition, membrane-bound recombinant enzyme was recovered from detergent extracts of cell pellets of CHO cells transfected with either pμ-ACE or pLEN-ACE-VII. Recombinant converting enzyme was purified to homogeneity by single-step affinity chromatography of conditioned media and detergent-extracted cell pellets in 85 and 70% overall yield, respectively. Purified hTACE from all sources comigrated with the native testis isozyme on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis with M r ∼ 100 kDa. The native and recombinant proteins cross-reacted equally with anti-human kidney ACE antiserum on Western blotting. The catalytic activity of recombinant angiotensin-converting enzyme, in terms of angiotensin I and 2-furanacry-loyl-Phe-Gly-Gly hydrolysis, chloride activation, and lisinopril inhibition, was essentially identical to that of the native enzyme. The facile recovery in high yield of fully active hTACE from the media of stably transfected CHO cells provides a suitable system for investigating structure-function relationships in this enzyme.
Detection and localization using an acoustic array on a small robotic platform

The future battlefield will require an unprecedented level of automation in which soldier-operated autonomous and semi-autonomous ground, air and sea platforms along with mounted and dismounted soldiers will function as a tightly coupled team. Sophisticated robotic platforms with diverse sensor suites will be an integral part of the Objective Force, and must be able to collaborate not only amongst themselves but also with their manned partners. The Army Research Laboratory has developed a robot-based acoustic detection system that will detect and localize on an impulsive noise event, such as a sniper's weapon firing. Additionally, acoustic sensor arrays worn on a soldier's helmet or equipment can enhance his situational awareness and RSTA capabilities. The Land Warrior or Objective Force Warrior body-worn computer can detect tactically significant impulsive signatures from bullets, mortars, artillery, and missiles or spectral signatures from tanks, helicopters, UAVs, and mobile robots. Time-difference-of-arrival techniques can determine a sound's direction of arrival, while head attitude sensors can instantly determine the helmet orientation at time of capture. With precision GPS location of the soldier, along with the locations of other soldiers, robots, or unattended ground sensors that heard the same event, triangulation techniques can produce an accurate location of the target. Data from C-4 explosions and 0.50-Caliber shots shows that both helmet and robot systems can localize on the same event. This provides an awesome capability - mobile robots and soldiers working together on an ever-changing battlespace to detect the enemy and improve the survivability, mobility, and lethality of our future warriors.
Surrogate motherhood and the best interests of the child

A S a member of both the Committee on Ethics of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and a member of the Committee on Bioethics of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), I have had a unique opportunity to compare the recent ACOG statement and the in-preparation AAP position paper on surrogate motherhood. 1,2 The updated and revised ACOG committee opinion entitled "Ethical Issues in Surrogate Motherhood" is a rational, reasoned, and helpful policy proposal. The statement neither encourages nor discourages the practice, but acknowledges the existence and likely continuance of surrogate arrangements. The opinion attempts to formulate both a conceptual framework and practical guidelines to protect the potentially vulnerable participating parties. The theme of the opinion is the anticipation of problems through open and explicit dialogue. The ACOG model attempts to balance reproductive freedoms, choice, and the rights of parents to procreate and rear a child against obstetric concerns about free and uncoerced consent, the assessment of risks and benefits, pregnancy management, access, and financial arrangements. The ACOG Committee on Ethics has chosen to view surrogate motherhood as a preconception or prenatal adoption. The AAP Committee on Bioethics had a more difficult time arriving at a consensus opinion on the ethical issues in surrogate motherhood. The AAP has chosen the best interests of the child as an important standard for judging the ethics of surrogate arrangements. The best-interests standard requires a careful analysis of the impact of surrogacy on children and their families. The best-interests standard has been applied by the AAP in previous policy statements concerning childhood maltreatment and the termination of life support for handicapped newborns. When an attempt is made to apply the best-interests standard to the new reproductive technologies and alternative parenting arrangements, the analysis is problematic. In what significant ways is surrogate motherhood different from other variant custody, adoption, foster care, or alternative parenting arrangements? How does one assess the best interests of the child when that child has yet to even have been created? What do we know about the effect of surrogate motherhood on the well-being of children and their families? Focusing on the best interests of the child in judging surrogate motherhood has led to controversy about the burdens and benefits of such arrange© 1991 by The Jacobs Institute of Women's Health 1049-3867/91/$3.50
Web Portals for Financial Analytics: How Effective Are They from the End-Users' Perspective

As more investors and traders globally manage their own stock portfolio without the help of human brokers, there is an increasing need to acquire and use financial knowledge and financial data analytics to ensure that a self-maintained financial portfolio is soundly managed. There are a growing number of special web portals that provide financial analytics services for investors and traders who demand detailed analyses of their stocks and other financial derivatives. The objective of this paper is to examine how end-users value the overall usefulness of web portals that provide financial analytics services and capabilities. This research endeavors to identify different unique features of financial analytics web portals, and ask users which of these features prove to be highly useful for their needs in analyzing when to buy, hold, and sell stocks.
A model of solar flux attenuation during eclipse passage and its effects on photoelectron emission from satellite surfaces

The basic theory of solar flux attenuation by the earth's atmosphere is reviewed and a model of the time-varying flux observed by a satellite during eclipse passage developed. The general model is applied to the specific problem of variations in photoelectron flux during penumbral passage and the effects of wavelength, solar activity, and atmospheric constituents on photoelectron emission investigated. Predictions of the photoelectron current expected from tungsten and aluminum surfaces are then successfully compared with actual observations from the ATS-5 and Injun 5 satellites confirming the validity of the model.
Going green together? Brownfield remediation and environmental justice

Research on the location of hazardous facilities that contribute to environmental degradation indicates an unequal distribution of such sites within low socioeconomic status communities. In this paper, we contribute to research investigating whether there are similar patterns of unequal prioritization in environmental remediation, by assessing cleanup of a broader, more diverse set of contaminated sites, all brownfields that receive federal grants, with a finer level of geographic detail than previous studies. First, we set the context by assessing the characteristics of the communities in which brownfield sites are currently located. Then, we compare the likelihood and temporal prioritization of cleaning up brownfield sites based on the composition of the neighborhoods in which they are located. We find that brownfield sites are more likely to be located in both poor and predominantly minority communities, but while sites located in poor communities tend to be cleaned up relatively quickly, sites located in communities with larger minority populations tend to be cleaned up more slowly.
Laser Initiated Homogeneous Catalysis: Kinetics Of Elementary Reactions

Laser Initiated Homogeneous Catalysis: Kinetics of Elementary ReactionsMichael E. Miller and Edward R. GrantDepartment of Chemistry, Cornell UniversityIthaca, New York 14853AbstractThe gas phase hydrogenation of ethylene is homogeneously photocatalyzed by pulsed ex-cimer laser irradiation of iron pentacarbonyl in situ. The experiments, performed undermild conditions of temperature (10 -70 °C) and total pressure (1 -2.4 atm), result in quantumyields (defined as the number of product molecules formed per single photon absorbed) ashigh as 170. This efficiency per photon is much greater than unity in every measurement.The laser initiates catalytic activity with temporally distinct bursts of light, whichallows most of the catalyst to revert to an inactive species before the next pulse entersthe system. The catalyst generated by the laser light is thermally active, so that ourmethod separates the photochemical initiation from the actual thermal catalysis, providingan opportunity for a detailed study of the elementary reactions involved in the catalyticsystem itself. Varying the pressures of Fe(CO)5, ethylene, and hydrogen gives relativerates of steps within the cycle, while changing the time between successive laser pulsesyields the average lifetime of the catalyst. Controlled temperature experiments revealactivation energies for more than one step in the catalyzed hydrogenation system.IntroductionHomogeneous photocatalysis by transition metal organometallics efficiently promotes awide variety of liquid phase organic reactions.1 Studies on such reactions have offerednew routes to important chemical intermediates and final products and provided clues aboutthe basic mechanisms of catalytic activity.2 We have recently demonstrated that entirelyanalogous photocatalytic behavior can be initiated by pulsed UV laser radiation in homo-geneous gas phase systems.3 This development has important kinetic and dynamical implica-
The Midcontinent rift in the Lake Superior region with emphasis on its geodynamic evolution

Abstract The Midcontinent rift is a Middle Proterozoic continental rift which records about 15 m.y. of extension, subsidence, and voluminous volcanism in the period 1109–1094 Ma in the central part of North America. During that time the crust was nearly totally separated and as much as 25 km of subaerial basalts accumulated in a deep central depression. Following extension and volcanism, a longer period of subsidence resulted in development of a post-rift sedimentary basin in which as much a 8 km of fluvial and lacustrine clastic rocks were deposited. Partial inversion of the central depression occurred about 30–50 m.y. after extension to produce the current configuration of a central horst, composed mostly of thick volcanic accumulations, between shallower flanking basins.
Some changes in the flight apparatus of tsetse flies, Glossina morsitans and G. pallidipes, during maturation.

Abstract The residual dry weight of the thoracic cuticle of tsetse has been found to increase durint maturation and this finding affects the estimates of mitochondrial and contractile protein made by Bursell. The thoracic proline reserve was also found to increase during maturation, following much the same time course as that of the increases in contractile protein. The results are discussed with reference to the relevant published work on other insects.
Norepinephrine in the paraventricular nucleus stimulates corticosterone release

Abstract Hypothalamic cells containing corticotropin-releasing factor are believed to be densely innervated by noradrenergic terminals. However, the role of norepinephrine (NE) in the control of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis has remained undefined, with both excitatory and inhibitory effects suggested by the literature. The present experiments tested the effects of direct hypothalamic infusion of NE on the release of corticosterone (CORT) in awake and freely moving rats. Norepinephrine infusion into the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) produced a dose-dependent increase in circulating levels of CORT. In a mapping study, this stimulatory effect of NE was found to be anatomically localized. The strongest rise in CORT levels (up to 12 μg%) was observed after injection into the PVN, where NE acted in a dose-dependent fashion. A somewhat smaller effect was also detected with NE in the dorsomedial nucleus, while no response occured after injection just dorsal to the PVN, into the ventromedial or supraoptic nuclei, or into the lateral or posterior hypothalamus. Serotonin infusion into the PVN produced a small but statistically reliable increase in circulating CORT levels. However, dopamine injection into this nucleus had no observable effect. These results agree with recent studies suggesting an excitatory function of PVN NE in the pituitary-adrenal axis.
MicroRNA-30a regulates zebrafish myogenesis through targeting the transcription factor Six1

Precise spatiotemporal regulation of the SIX1 homeoprotein is required to coordinate vital tissue development, including myogenesis. Whereas SIX1 is downregulated in most tissues following embryogenesis, it is re-expressed in numerous cancers, including tumors derived from muscle progenitors. Despite crucial roles in development and disease, the upstream regulation of SIX1 expression has remained elusive. Here, we identify the first direct mechanism for Six1 regulation in embryogenesis, through microRNA30a (miR30a)-mediated repression. In zebrafish somites, we show that miR30a and six1a and six1b (hereafter six1a/b) are expressed in an inverse temporal pattern. Overexpression of miR30a leads to a reduction in six1a/b levels, and results in increased apoptosis and altered somite morphology, which phenocopies six1a/b knockdown. Conversely, miR30a inhibition leads to increased Six1 expression and abnormal somite morphology, revealing a role for endogenous miR30a as a muscle-specific miRNA (myomiR). Importantly, restoration of six1a in miR30a-overexpressing embryos restores proper myogenesis. These data demonstrate a new role for miR30a at a key node in the myogenic regulatory gene network through controlling Six1 expression.
Antisera probes to an atypical pseudocholinesterase from surgeonfish reveal immunochemical variability and tissue-specific molecular polymorphism.

Polyclonal antisera were raised in rabbits against the purified sialated, presumedglobular tetrameric pseudocholinesterase (pseudo-ChE) from surgeonfish (Leibel: Journal of Experimental Zoology 1988b) and against commercially obtained Electrophorus electroplax AChE. The resulting antisera probes were absolutely specific for their respective antigens and failed to titrate ChE activities heterologously. However, each antisera probe did crossreact with its other respective globular and asymmetric aggregational isozymes. The resultant specific probes were then used to examine interspecific evolutionary conservation of the two ChE activities and, in conjunction with velocity sedimentation analysis and differential paraoxon inhibition, the tissue distribution and molecular polymorphism of these same two enzyme systems in surgeonfish. These experiments suggest the tight evolutionary conservation of AChE in contrast to the apparent high variability of pseudo-ChE amongst the wide range of teleost fishes tested. The native atypical pseudo-ChE was shown to exist, like AChE, as a series of sialated and asialated globular and asymmetric aggregational isozymes whose relative distribution exhibits marked tissue specificity. The extremely high levels of pseudo-ChE characteristic of white skeletal (epaxial) muscle, in particular, was conspicuous, and its occurrence in the sarcolemma is discussed in the context of its possible function and in relation to the apparent lack of evolutionary conservation amongst marine teleosts.
Arithmetic differential operators on Zp

Abstract Given a prime p, we let δ x = ( x − x p ) / p be the Fermat quotient operator over Z p . We prove that a function f : Z p → Z p is analytic if, and only if, there exists m such that f can be represented as f ( x ) = F ( x , δ x , … , δ m x ) , where F is a restricted power series with Z p -coefficients in m + 1 variables.
Estimation of sperm numbers in insects by fluorometry

To facilitate the study of mating biology in the desert leaf-cutter antAcromyrmex versicolor, methods were developed that allowed storage and easy quantification of sperm samples collected from both male and female reproductive tracts. Sperm samples stored frozen were sonicated, stained with a fluorescent DNA stain, and the fluorescence emitted by the stained sperm heads was measured. The intensity of fluorescence was shown to be a linear function of the number of sperm in the sample as determined by counting.
Observations of paired electrostatic shocks in the polar magnetosphere

dc and ac plasma-density and vector-electric-field detectors on a polar orbiting satellite have measured spatially confined regions of extremely large (\ensuremath{\sim}\textonehalf{} V/m) electric fields in the auroral zone at altitudes below 8000 km. Such regions frequently have double structures of opposing electric fields containing characteristic and different wave spectra internal and external to themselves. These structures are identified as paired electrostatic shocks which are associated with electrostatic ion cyclotron wave turbulence.
Inverse Spectral Problem with Partial Information¶on the Potential: The Case of the Whole Real Line

The Schrodinger operator \(\) is considered on the real axis. We discuss the inverse spectral problem where discrete spectrum and the potential on the positive half-axis determine the potential completely. We do not impose any restrictions on the growth of the potential but only assume that the operator is bounded from below, has discrete spectrum, and the potential obeys \(\). Under these assertions we prove that the potential for x≥ 0 and the spectrum of the problem uniquely determine the potential on the whole real axis. Also, we study the uniqueness under slightly different conditions on the potential. The method employed uses Weyl m-function techniques and asymptotic behavior of the Herglotz functions.
Recurrences in driven quantum systems.

We calculate the recombination probability for an atom interferometric experiment in which the beams interfere after one of them has been exposed to an intense laser. We choose a model one-dimensional atomic potential and find that if the intensity of the laser is large, there are recurrences in the recombination probability as a function of time, irrespective of the frequency of excitation. This implies that the particles exposed to the laser have a large amplitude to be in the localized initial state in spite of having sufficient energy to escape from the binding potential.
Some prolegomena to the epistemology of religion

1 .1 It has often been thought that there is an important distinction between the description and the interpretation of our experiences. I do not deny that this is so. My question is: if there is an important distinction between these, wherein does it lie, and of what sort is it? The latter seems to me easy: it is a difference of degree, not of kind. The former question is hard. One motivation for insisting that the distinction is important is fairly obvious; according to long and honorable tradition, descriptions are epistemically more secure than interpretations. According to the notion of what one might call descriptions in the classical mode, a description of an experience is something on which the subject at least, the subject who is attentive to his or her experience, articulate, careful, sincere, and the like is the expert. Confirmation that a description reports an experience correctly requires little more on the part of the describer than that the experience be had. Confirmation of an interpretation, even if the interpretation be given by the experience's owner, requires much more. 1 .2 Roughly, the idea of a description in the classical mode requires that a description be objective, phenomenological, based on direct perception and acquaintance, non -evaluative and that, if it is these, it is epistemically reliable. By contrast, an interpretation will be somewhat subjective, non-phenomenological, based on indirect perception and inference, (perhaps) evaluative, and hence epistemically risky. With one exception, I wish to explore this complex, but also vague, contrast between interpretations versus descriptions of experiences. The exception concerns the descriptive/evaluative contrast. I do not deny the contrast has some point. I do not deny that it marks out what we do, or can, know, from what we do not or cannot, and that descriptive claims are either true or false but evaluations are neither. It seems to me that Torturing infants for pleasure is wrong is something we can know to be true, and that its epistemic status is more secure than that, say, of the 'big bang' cosmological theory. Reducing the concept of moral principle, or claim, or even hypothesis, to the notion of a value-judgment (which by nature is culture -relative) makes the
Injury and repair as opposing forces in risk assessment

Recent advances in our understanding of the toxicodynamic events that follow infliction of injury have helped us to bridge the link between the tissue injury and the final outcome of that injury. In addition to infliction of tissue injury, toxic chemicals induce a biological compensatory response of tissue repair intended to overcome tissue injury through healing. Since stimulation of tissue repair is a simultaneous response accompanying injury, measuring this response in addition to quantifying injury might be helpful in tomorrow's risk assessment. Studies with model hepatotoxicants such as thioacetamide and CCl4, where tissue repair as well as injury were measured, reveal that endogenous mechanisms that drive the tissue repair response are responsible for more than just compensation for tissue injury. Up to a threshold dose, tissue repair is stimulated in a dose-dependent manner, and above this threshold it is both delayed and diminished. During this delay, tissue injury progresses unabated leading to tissue destruction and animal death. While dose-related stimulation of tissue repair leads to recovery, delayed and diminished tissue repair seen at the high doses leads to tissue destruction and animal death. These findings impact on the currently used maximum tolerated doses (MTDs) in cancer bioassays. MTDs represent maximal stimulation of cell proliferation thereby enhancing the likelihood of errors in DNA replication. Measuring tissue repair and injury as simultaneous biological responses to toxic agents might increase the usefulness of dose-response paradigms in risk assessment.
Galvanostatic Pulse and Pulse Reverse Plating of Nickel‐Iron Alloys from Electrolytes Containing Organic Compounds on a Rotating Disk Electrode

Linear sweep voltammetry, galvanostatic pulse, and pulse reverse techniques were used to study the plating of nickel-iron alloys in the presence of organic additives. The effects of pulse current densities, i p , reverse current densities, i r , rotation speed of disk electrode, and the presence of organic additives on deposition of nickel-iron alloys are evaluated. The observed phenomena can be explained by the concentration depletion of reactants (or products), and the surface coverage of the additives on the electrode. A new formulation of the plating bath is defined
Biochemical indices of stress in the sandworm neanthes virens (Sars). I. responses to pentachlorophenol

Abstract Neanthes virens (Sars) were exposed to acute lethal and chronic sublethal concentrations of pentachlorophenol (PCP) in the laboratory. Coelomic fluid glucose and osmolality and tissue ascorbic acid and glycogen were monitored in order to assess the time-course response of this polychaete to pollutant stress. Glycemic responses and alterations in tissue ascorbic acid and glycogen levels were observed to be dose and time-dependent. During the acute lethal exposure (720 μg/I initially), a hypoglycemic response was evident during the first 8 h of exposure. At a less severe but still lethal exposure concentration (365 μg/I initially), a significant hyperglycemic response was observed after 21 h. The coelomic fluid glucose levels decreased gradually during the 4-day exposure as glycogen reserves were depleted. During the chronic (ca. 2-mth) exposure to 100 μg PCP/1. no unusual glycemic responses were observed. Glycogen reserves remained constant during the first month of exposure but were significantly depleted after 2 mth. Ascorbic acid levels became elevated in PCP-exposed worms after I wk in both parapodial tissue and posterior segments. This tendency continued throughout the exposure period and the difference between the exposed and control values was statistically significant at the termination of the experiment. An uptake and depuration experiment with14C-PCP was also conducted. Polychaetes exposed to 100 μg/l14C-PCP for 2 wk accumulated ca. 280 times the ambient exposure concentration on a wet weight basis. After 2 wk of depuration the mean PCP body burden of depurated animals had decreased by 29%.
The effect of silver thiosulphate preservative on the physiology of cut carnations II. Influence on endogenous cytokinins

Summary The increase in dry matter and carbohydrate levels reported earlier in the gynaecia of naturally senescing cut carnations could be correlated with increases in the levels of cytokinins that co-chromatographed with zeatin and zeatin riboside. These relatively high levels of endogenous cytokinins in the reproductive organs apparently created a strong sink which enhanced flower senescence, and in so doing probably established the conditions which may be necessary for normal reproductive development. The application of silver thiosulphate (STS) to the cut flowers which inhibits ethylene production, did not result in an increase in the level of endogenous cytokinins in any part of the cut flower.
NCBI Reference Sequence Project: update and current status

The goal of the NCBI Reference Sequence (RefSeq) project is to provide the single best non-redundant and comprehensive collection of naturally occurring biological molecules, representing the central dogma. Nucleotide and protein sequences are explicitly linked on a residue-by-residue basis in this collection. Ideally all molecule types will be available for each well-studied organism, but the initial database collection pragmatically includes only those molecules and organisms that are most readily identified. Thus different amounts of information are available for different organisms at any given time. Furthermore, for some organisms additional intermediate records are provided when the genome sequence is not yet finished. The collection is supplied by NCBI through three distinct pipelines in addition to collaborations with community groups. The collection is curated on an ongoing basis. Additional information about the NCBI RefSeq project is available at http://www.ncbi.nih.gov/RefSeq/.
Optical properties of surface-patterned nanostructures

This concepts article describes our developments in nanopatterning related to photonics. We have a nanopatterning toolkit that can generate functional, nanostructured surfaces at nm-length scales and over cm 2 -areas in a single (or small number of) step(s). This paper will focus on three examples of surface-patterned nanostructures and their optical properties: (i) one-dimensional arrays of metallic nanoparticles; (ii) arrays of small-diameter ZnO nanowires; (iii) mesoscale structures of CdSe/ZnS nanocrystals. The potential for advances in nanopatterning to contribute to a broad range of light-based applications will be discussed. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Is supernumerary chromatin involved in gametophytic apomixis of polyploid plants

Gametophytic apomixis, or unreduced embryo sac development that results in asexual reproduction through seeds, occurs in several families of angiosperms and must be polyphyletic in origin. The molecular mechanisms underlying gametophytic apomixis have not been discovered and are the subject of intense investigation. A common feature of almost all apomicts is their polyploid nature. From genetic mapping studies in both monocots and dicots, there is low genetic recombination associated with a single (rarely two), dominant locus for either aposporous or diplosporous embryo sac formation. In Pennisetum squamulatum and Cenchrus ciliaris, some DNA sequences mapping to the apospory locus are unique to apomictic genotypes and apparently hemizygous. This sequence divergence at the apomixis locus could be a consequence of genome rearrangements and isolation from genetic recombination, both of which may have contributed to the definition of a chromosomal region as supernumerary. The possible involvement of supernumerary chromatin, formed as a result of interspecific hybridization, in the origin of apomixis, is explored here.
A study of UHF space communications through an aurora using the moon as a reflector

Abstract A lunar reflection experiment has been performed with a transmitting site in the auroral zone and two receiving sites at mid-latitudes. With this arrangement a study has been made both of the reflection characteristics of the moon and of the characteristics of UHF signals from space propagated through auroral-type disturbances. It was found that auroral ionization in the propagation path increased the signal fading rate and produced rapid fluctuations in the Faraday rotation but did not absorb an appreciable amount of UHF energy.
Polarimetric, Two-Color, Photon-Counting Laser Altimeter Measurements of Forest Canopy Structure

Laser altimeter measurements of forest stands with distinct structures and compositions have been acquired at 532 nm (green) and 1064 nm (near-infrared) wavelengths and parallel and perpendicular polarization states using the Slope Imaging Multi-polarization Photon Counting Lidar (SIMPL). The micropulse, single photon ranging measurement approach employed by SIMPL provides canopy structure measurements with high vertical and spatial resolution. Using a height distribution analysis method adapted from conventional, 1064 nm, full-waveform lidar remote sensing, the sensitivity of two parameters commonly used for above-ground biomass estimation are compared as a function of wavelength. The results for the height of median energy (HOME) and canopy cover are for the most part very similar, indicating biomass estimations using lidars operating at green and near-infrared wavelengths will yield comparable estimates. The expected detection of increasing depolarization with depth into the canopies due to volume multiple-scattering was not observed, possibly due to the small laser footprint and the small detector field of view used in the SIMPL instrument. The results of this work provide pathfinder information for NASA's ICESat-2 mission that will employ a 532 nm, micropulse, photon counting laser altimeter.
Targeting utility customers to improve energy savings from conservation and efficiency programs

Abstract Electric utilities, government agencies, and private interests in the US have committed and continue to invest substantial resources – including billions of dollars of financial capital – in the pursuit of energy efficiency and conservation through demand-side management (DSM) programs. While most of these programs are deemed to be cost effective, and therefore in the public interest, opportunities exist to improve cost effectiveness by targeting programs to those customers with the greatest potential for energy savings. This article details an analysis of three DSM programs offered by three Florida municipal electric utilities to explore such opportunities. First, we estimate programs’ energy savings impacts; second, we measure and compare energy savings across subgroups of program participants as determined by their pre-intervention energy performance, and third, we explore potential changes in program impacts that might be realized by targeting specific customers for participation in the DSM programs. All three programs resulted in statistically significant average (per-participant) energy savings, yet average savings varied widely, with the customers who performed best (i.e., most efficient) before the intervention saving the least energy and those who performed worst (i.e., least efficient) before the intervention saving the most. Assessment of alternative program participation scenarios with varying levels of customer targeting suggests that program impacts could be increased by as much as 80% for a professional energy audit program, just over 100% for a high-efficiency heat pump upgrade program, and nearly 250% for an attic insulation upgrade program. Findings are directly relevant for utility program administrators seeking to improve program outcomes.
The use of strontium and lead isotopes to identify sources of water beneath the Fresh Kills landfill, Staten Island, New York, USA

Abstract A study was undertaken to explore whether the isotopic compositions of Pb and Sr are useful to distinguish mixtures of uncontaminated groundwater, seawater, and landfill leachate at the Fresh Kills landfill, Staten Island, New York. Ratios of 87Sr/86Sr ranged from 0.7088 to 0.7137 and could be used to distinguish Sr that was derived from seawater from that in uncontaminated groundwater. Lead isotopic abundances did not vary systematically among the different water sources. Plots of 87Sr/86Sr versus dissolved organic C, B, and NH4+ defined perpendicular trends, documenting where leachate or sea water mixed with uncontaminated groundwater, and demonstrating that leachate has not contaminated groundwater in aquifers beneath the landfill.
The Retinoblastoma Protein Acts as a Transcriptional Coactivator Required for Osteogenic Differentiation

The incidence of osteosarcoma is increased 500-fold in patients who inherit mutations in the RB gene. To understand why the retinoblastoma protein (pRb) is specifically targeted in osteosarcoma, we studied its function in osteogenesis. Loss of pRb but not p107 or p130 blocks late osteoblast differentiation. pRb physically interacts with the osteoblast transcription factor, CBFA1, and associates with osteoblast-specific promoters in vivo in a CBFA1-dependent fashion. Association of pRb with CBFA1 and promoter sequences results in synergistic transactivation of an osteoblast-specific reporter. This transactivation function is lost in tumor-derived pRb mutants, underscoring a potential role in tumor suppression. Thus, pRb functions as a direct transcriptional coactivator promoting osteoblast differentiation, which may contribute to the targeting of pRb in osteosarcoma.
New pseudoguaianolides from Ambrosia confertiflora dc. (compositae)

Abstract The structures of confertiflorin and desacetylconfertiflorin, two new sesquiterpene lactones from Ambrosia confertiflora DC., are shown to be XIIIa and XIIIb, respectively.
A Finite Element Model of the Occupant Lower Extremity for Automotive Impact Applications

Although not life-threatening, lower limb injuries are the most frequent injury of moderate severity (AIS 2), sustained in a vehicle crash (Pattimore et al., 1991). To better understand the injury mechanisms, several lower extremity (LEX) finite element (FE) models were developed to investigate traffic accidents involving occupants in vehicles (Yang et al., 2006). The main limitations of existing lower limb FE models are due to their geometries, the modeling approaches used to represent their components, and limited test data used for the model validation.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
The conflict between humans and elephants in the central African forests

Elephants and humans each suffer from the presence of the other when they occupy the same forests. Farmers risk losing their crops to elephants, while elephants are displaced by settlements, agriculture, roads and development projects. Elephants have also been hunted for ivory. The ivory trade in the equatorial forests expanded in the nineteenth century as Europe prospered, and then again in the twentieth century as the Far East prospered. Forest elephant numbers were depleted each time. Elephants are unpopular in the forest zone, and increasing human populations combined with the spread of democracy in central Africa pose a major threat to their future. If elephants are to be tolerated by villagers living in the equatorial forests, the costs they impose must be reduced and the benefits to the rural populace must be increased. A three-pronged strategy is suggested, involving land-use planning, measures to mitigate crop damage, and programmes to enhance the value of elephants. Elephants could be viewed as assets if their importance in the forest ecosystem were recognized, if they were domesticated for logging or transport, or if their presence was one of the factors which attracted tourists to the forest zone. However, management strategies based on hunting have the best chance of conserving elephants because of the importance of hunting in the culture of the forest people. Sport hunting for trophies may bring the greatest revenues. Community wildlife-management programmes, where village councils make the decisions, could prevent overexploitation. There are no simple answers, however, because one form of management may conflict with the goals of another.
A comprehensive radiometric validation protocol for CERES Earth Radiation Budget climate record senors

The CERES Flight Models 1 through 4 instruments were launched aboard NASA’s Earth Observing System (EOS) Terra and Aqua Spacecraft into 705 Km sun-synchronous orbits with 10:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. equatorial crossing times. These instruments supplement measurements made by the CERES Proto Flight Model (PFM) instrument launched aboard NASA’s Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) spacecraft on November 27, 1997 into a 350 Km, 38-degree mid-inclined orbit. An important aspect of the EOS program is the rapid archival and dissemination of datasets measured by EOS instruments to the scientific community. Six months after the commencement of science measurements, CERES is committed to archiving the Edition 1 Level 1 instrument, and Level 2 ERBE-Like data products. These products consist of geolocated and calibrated instantaneous filtered and unfiltered radiances through temporally and spatially averaged TOA fluxes. CERES filtered radiance measurements cover three spectral bands including shortwave (0.3 to 5 μm), total (0.3 to <100 μm) and an atmospheric window channel (8 to 12 μm). The current work summarizes both the philosophy and results of a validation protocol designed to rigorously quantify the quality of the data products as well as the level of agreement between the TRMM, Terra and Aqua datasets.
Tyrosine phosphorylation of botulinum neurotoxin protease domains.

Botulinum neurotoxins are most potent of all toxins. Their N-terminal light chain domain (Lc) translocates into peripheral cholinergic neurons to exert its endoproteolytic action leading to muscle paralysis. Therapeutic development against these toxins is a major challenge due to their in vitro and in vivo structural differences. Although three-dimensional structures and reaction mechanisms are very similar, the seven serotypes designated A through G vastly vary in their intracellular catalytic stability. To investigate if protein phosphorylation could account for this difference, we employed Src-catalyzed tyrosine phosphorylation of the Lc of six serotypes namely LcA, LcB, LcC1, LcD, LcE, and LcG. Very little phosphorylation was observed with LcD and LcE but LcA, LcB and LcG were maximally phosphorylated by Src. Phosphorylation of LcA, LcB, and LcG did not affect their secondary and tertiary structures and thermostability significantly. Phosphorylation of Y250 and Y251 made LcA resistant to autocatalysis and drastically reduced its kcat/Km for catalysis. A tyrosine residue present near the essential cysteine at the C-terminal tail of LcA, LcB and LcG was readily phosphorylated in vitro. Inclusion of a competitive inhibitor protected this Y426 of LcA from phosphorylation, shedding light on the role of the C-terminus in the enzyme’s substrate or product binding.
A model of computation for the NRL Protocol Analyzer

We develop a model of computation for the NRL Protocol Analyzer by modifying and extending the model of computation for Burrows, Abadi, and Needham (BAN) logic (M. Burrows et al., 1990) developed by M. Abadi and M. Tuttle (1991). We use the results to point out the similarities and differences between the NRL Protocol Analyzer and BAN logic, and discuss the issues this raises with respect to the possible integration of the two. >
Intravenous immunoglobulin prophylaxis for recurrent Stevens-Johnson syndrome

Human intravenous immunoglobulin has been described as a treatment for patients with Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis. We describe the prophylactic use of intravenous immunoglobulin to prevent Stevens-Johnson syndrome in a woman undergoing cardiac catheterization with a previous history of four episodes of Stevens-Johnson after receiving intravenous contrast dye.
THE ORIGINS OF NEW PANDEMIC VIRUSES: The Acquisition of New Host Ranges by Canine Parvovirus and Influenza A Viruses

Transfer of viruses between hosts to create a new self-sustaining epidemic is rare; however, those new viruses can cause severe outbreaks. Examples of such viruses include three pandemic human influenza A viruses and canine parvovirus in dogs. In each case one virus made the original transfer and spread worldwide, and then further adaptation resulted in the emergence of variants worldwide. For the influenza viruses several changes were required for growth and spread between humans, and the emergence of human H2N2 and H3N2 strains in 1957 and 1968 involved the acquisition of three or two new genomic segments, respectively. Adaptation to humans involved several viral genes including the hemagglutinin, the neuraminidase, and the replication proteins. The canine adaptation of the parvoviruses involved capsid protein changes altering the recognition of the host transferrin receptors, allowing canine transferrin receptor binding and its use as a receptor for cell infection.
Secondary current and river-meander formation

A small-perturbation stability analysis is developed for investigation of the role of the secondary current accompanying channel curvature in the initiation and early development of meanders of alluvial and ice- or rock-incised streams. A small sinusoidal perturbation in the channel alignment of an initially straight prismatic channel is introduced. The velocity of the secondary flow is calculated for uniform quasi-steady flow conditions by application of the equation of the conservation of moment of momentum. The formulation is then closed by introducing the assumption that the differential, between the outer and inner banks, rate of boundary erosion, dissolution or melting (for incised channels) or sediment discharge (for alluvial channels) is proportional to the strength of the secondary flow. This formulation leads to a linear differential equation which is solved for its orthogonal components, which give the rates of meander growth and downstream migration. It is shown that the amplitude of the meanders tends to increase and that the meanders migrate downstream. The dominant wavelength and the corresponding phase shift between channel meandering and the velocity of the spiral motion are calculated as those corresponding to the fastest growth rate. The results are found to be in good agreement with data reported by others.