cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
5,6-Di­chloro-1-propylbenz­imidazole

The title compound, C10H10Cl2N2, forms centrosymmetric head-to-tail face-to-face dimers with the n-propyl groups exo to the di­chloro­benz­imidazole groups, which are effectively planar. Within a dimer, the least-squares planes are neces­sarily parallel and exhibit an interplanar spacing of 3.412 (2) A, which lies near the short end of the range (3.3–3.8 A) generally accepted to indicate π–π interactions. When viewed normal to the (100) planes, the structure appears as slanted columns of dimers arranged so as to form alternating –aromatic–aliphatic– layers parallel to the (001) planes.
Prejudice and pandemic in the promised land: how white Christian nationalism shapes Americans’ racist and xenophobic views of COVID-19

During the COVID-19 crisis in March/April of 2020, far-right American political leaders and pundits proffered xenophobic explanations for the pandemic while ignoring that poorer, Black Americans an...
Pitting mechanism of mild steel in marginally sour environments—Part I: A parametric study based on formation of protective layers

Abstract A parametric study defined a window of conditions leading to pitting of mild steel in marginally sour environments: temperatures between 30°C and 60°C, pH2S from 0.02 mbar to 0.15 mbar, bulk pH below 6, and sodium chloride concentrations between 1 and 10 wt. %. A 100∼300 nm porous layer containing both mackinawite and magnetite was observed by transmission electron microscopy. Pitting initiated when the mackinawite layer was broken-down and exposed the steel surface to highly corrosive H2CO3. Pitting propagated due to the galvanic coupling between the exposed steel surface and the rest surface area covered by the conductive mackinawite.
Association of concomitant NSAID and immunotherapy on outcomes in patients with non-small cell lung cancer: Analysis of the National Veterans Health Administration Database.

9107Background: Preclinical data suggests the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) may be enhanced with concomitant nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory (NSAID) medications. Real-world evidence...
Extracellular Vesicles Carry Distinct Proteo-Transcriptomic Signatures That are Different from Their Cancer Cell of Origin

Circulating extracellular vesicles (EVs) contain molecular footprints from their cell of origin and may provide potential non-invasive access for detection, characterization, and monitoring of numerous diseases. Despite their growing promise, the integrated proteo-transcriptomic landscape of EVs and their donor cells remain poorly understood. To assess their cargo, we conducted small RNA sequencing and mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) of EVs isolated from in vitro cancer cell culture and prostate cancer patients serum. Here, we report that EVs enrich for distinct molecular cargo, and their proteo-transcriptome is predominantly different from their cancer cell of origin, implicating a coordinated disposal and delivery mechanism. We have discovered that EVs package their cargo in a non-random fusion, as their most enriched RNAs and proteins are not the most abundant cargo from their donor cells. We show that EVs enrich for 4 times more cytoskeletal and 2 times extracellular proteins than their donor cells. While the donor cells carry 10 times more mitochondrial and 3 times nuclear proteins than their EVs. EVs predominantly (40-60%) enrich for small RNA (~15-200 nucleotides) molecules that implicate cell differentiation, development, and signaling signatures. Finally, our integrated proteo-transcriptomic analyses reveal that EVs are enriched of RNAs (RNY3, vtRNA, and MIRLET-7) and their complementary proteins (YBX1, IGF2BP2, SRSF1/2), implicating an interrelated mechanism that may protect and regulate transcripts until a biological function is achieved. Based on these results, we envision that the next-generation clinical assays will take an integrative multi-omic (proteomic and transcriptomic) approach for liquid biopsy in numerous diseases.
Control Architectures of Solar-Powered HVAC Systems: A DC-DC Converter’s Perspective

Solar-powered energy efficient buildings could tie HVAC systems with solar energy and the grid to function together. Such HVAC systems require the grid, batteries, or other energy storage to supply or consume the excess power. This paper presents four different control architectures for solar-powered HVAC systems, focusing on their DC-DC converters. The analysis finds that a higher transformer turns ratio, as within the converter, is required on architectures with a fixed DC bus as opposed to those with a varying DC bus. On the other hand, the varying DC bus architectures require a wider duty ratio range, higher input inductance and output capacitance, a finding compounded due to larger low-power voltage ripples. The results are validated via hardware experimental testing from a 500 W solar simulator (power supply), a front-end current-fed full-bridge DC-DC converter, and a variable load mimicking the HVAC. A table then summarizes the features, advantages, and disadvantages of each architecture.
Rationing of Health Care

Rationing refers to the allocation of a scarce supply relative to need and demand. In market-based economies, price typically establishes access to valued commodities except when ethical values, norms, and technical limitations make it impossible to allocate simply on the basis of price. Commonly recognized prototypes include allocation of scarce resources such as gasoline during war or currently in transplantation where the number of available organs is insufficient to respond to need and there are long waiting lists. Medical care, even in countries that still depend on a marketplace model such as the United States, is an expensive service substantially funded by government. The availability and amount of services depend on government financing and its willingness to redistribute income through taxation. As the potentialities and costs of medical care continue to escalate beyond economic growth throughout the world, rationing is increasingly applied in distributing medical entitlement and resources. Such rationing is evident at every level of organization from defining the scope of health coverage to the allocation of care at the point of service. Rationing can usefully be conceptualized as explicit (as in planned and defined allocations) to implicit when the norms are unclear and managers and clinicians use their discretion in allocation. This review examines the range of rationing approaches and dilemmas and how members of the public construe various rationing processes and their understanding. It examines the many levels of rationing decisions, many that are unrecognized, and how they are related to equity and social disparities of various kinds. Keywords: cost restraints; inequities; tragic choices; explicit rationing; implicit rationing; Affordable Care Act; transplantation; population health; research funding
A First Course in Dynamics: With a Panorama of Recent Developments

The theory of dynamical systems is a major mathematical discipline closely intertwined with all main areas of mathematics. It has greatly stimulated research in many sciences and given rise to the vast new area variously called applied dynamics, nonlinear science, or chaos theory. This introduction for senior undergraduate and beginning graduate students of mathematics, physics, and engineering combines mathematical rigor with copious examples of important applications. It covers the central topological and probabilistic notions in dynamics ranging from Newtonian mechanics to coding theory. Readers need not be familiar with manifolds or measure theory; the only prerequisite is a basic undergraduate analysis course. The authors begin by describing the wide array of scientific and mathematical questions that dynamics can address. They then use a progression of examples to present the concepts and tools for describing asymptotic behavior in dynamical systems, gradually increasing the level of complexity. The final chapters introduce modern developments and applications of dynamics. Subjects include contractions, logistic maps, equidistribution, symbolic dynamics, mechanics, hyperbolic dynamics, strange attractors, twist maps, and KAM-theory.
Compression via guided parsing

Summary form only given. The reduction in storage size achieved by compressing a file translates directly into a reduction in transmission time when communicating the file. An increasingly common form of transmitted data is a computer program description. This paper examines the compression of source code, the high-level language representation of a program, using the language's context free grammar. We call the general technique guided parsing since it is a compression scheme based on predicting the behavior of a parser when it parses the source code and guiding its behavior by encoding its next action based on this prediction. In this paper, we describe the implementation and results of two very different forms of guided parsing. One is based on bottom-up parsing while the other is a top-down approach.
Danger's Hour: The Story of the USS Bunker Hill and the Kamikaze Pilot Who Crippled Her – By Maxwell Taylor Kennedy

In the author's latest work, he tells the amazing story of the Kamikaze attack that crippled the USS Bunker Hill, an American aircraft carrier off Okinawa, on 11 May, 1945. On that fateful day, a c...
Test-space Characterizations of Some Classes of Banach Spaces

Let p be a class of Banach spaces and let T = {Tα}αєA be a set of metric spaces. We say that T is a set of test-spaces for P if the following two conditions are equivalent: (1) X ∉ P; (2) The spaces {Tα}αєA admit uniformly bilipschitz embeddings into X.
Galerkin Method (Rayleigh–Ritz Method)

Galerkin's method and the Rayleigh–Ritz method form the mathematical underpinnings of many modern computational techniques for the solution of electromagnetics problems. In this work, the history of these two methods is reviewed, and each of the methods is described in detail. The relationship between the methods is explored, as is their relationship with the modern finite-element method and method of moments. Numerical examples of the methods are provided to clarify the exposition. Keywords: Galerkin method; Rayleigh–Ritz method; method of moments; finite-element method
Genetic analysis of the adenovirus E4 6/7 trans activator: interaction with E2F and induction of a stable DNA-protein complex are critical for activity.

The adenovirus early E4 transcription unit encodes a 19-kDa polypeptide that trans activates transcription of the early E2 gene and is dependent on the binding sites for the E2F transcription factor. Biochemical assays have shown that the E4 protein, a product of the 6/7 open reading frame, interacts with the E2F transcription factor and alters its DNA binding characteristics, resulting in the formation of a very stable DNA-protein complex. We have generated a series of E4 mutants to determine the requirements for the interaction with E2F and the induction of a stable E2F complex on the E2 promoter in relation to the trans activation of E2 transcription. We find that the trans-activation function of E4 is dependent on the ability of the protein to interact with E2F and that full trans activation is dependent on the induction of the E2F stable complex. Interestingly, several mutants distinguish these events, since they retain the ability to interact with E2F but have lost the capacity to induce the stable complex. Since these mutants can still trans activate, albeit at reduced levels, these results suggest that the E4 protein contributes to trans activation that is independent of stable complex formation. Images
Parameter estimation in the multidimensional Stefan problem

A numerical algorithm for the estimation of unknown parameters in the multidimensional Stefan problem is described. The moving boundary is treated as an additional unknown parameter, rather than as a dynamic state of the system. A similar algorithm has been tested for the one-dimensional Stefan problem and appears to be robust under noisy observations. A convergence result is stated, and results for a simpler numerical example are presented. >
Two-stage microtrap as an injection device for continuous on-line gas chromatographic monitoring

A microtrap is a small diameter sorbent trap packed with adsorbent. In previous studies it has been used as a concentration cum injection device for on-line GC monitoring of trace level organics. The microtrap is prone to breakthrough as it contains a small quantity of adsorbent. A larger diameter trap with more adsorbent reduces breakthrough, but generates broad injection bands that reduce chromatographic resolution. In this paper, we present a two-stage microtrap system. The first, a large diameter retention trap is packed with more sorbent material to increase the breakthrough volume or time. The retention trap is desorbed and the analytes are refocused onto the smaller diameter microtrap referred to as the injection trap. A few seconds delay is provided and then the injection microtrap is desorbed to generate a sharp band injection for GC separation.
B-lymphocyte tolerance and effector function in immunity and autoimmunity

B-lymphocytes are integral to host defense against microbial pathogens and are associated with many autoimmune diseases. The B-cell receptor implements B-cell self-tolerance based on the antigen specificity, and B-cell-activating factor receptor (BAFF-R) imposes homeostatic control. While shaping the repertoire, the immune tolerance process also culls mature B cells into distinct populations. The activation response of B cells is tailored to the type of pathogen attack and is facilitated by T-cell help via CD40/CD40L interaction and/or innate cell help via toll-like receptors in conjunction with BAFF receptors and ligands. Activated effector B cells not only produce antibodies, but also produce a variety of cytokines to enhance and suppress the immune response. Not surprisingly, B cells play multiple roles in both humoral and cellular immune responses during infection and autoimmune pathogenesis. Here, we discuss how gene expression and signaling networks regulate peripheral B-cell tolerance, B-cell effector functions and emerging therapies targeting B-cell signaling in autoimmune diseases.
The effect of portal and jugular infused glucose, mannitol and saline on food intake in dogs.

Hepatic glucoreceptors have been hypothesized to have an important role in determining normal hunger and satiety. In the present study 23 dogs were fitted with chronic hepatic portal and jugular vein cannulas. The dogs were fed for 1 hr/day. On infusion days (total of 318 infusions) the animals were infused into the portal or jugular veins with a 30% glucose solution (2.4 or 3.6 g/kg, b.wt.), 0.9% NaCl as a volume control or 30% mannitol as an osmotic control and then fed 10 minutes later. The data showed that the dog's food consumption was similar after they received glucose or the appropriate control infusion regardless of the infusion site. Some dogs had blood samples taken for glucose and insulin determinations prior to infusion, at the middle and end of infusion, just prior to food presentation and at the end of the feeding period. Saline and mannitol infusions did not alter plasma glucose or insulin concentrations; whereas there were marked increases in plasma glucose (6-8 x) and insulin (18-19 x) following glucose infusions. Postinfusion glucose values indicated approximately 72% of the infused dose glucose (approximately 43 g) had left the plasma prior to food presentation. Despite the large increases in plasma glucose and insulin, as well as glucose storage and/or oxidation, the dogs consumed amounts of food similar to that eaten after control infusions. Similarly, prefeeding the dogs 20% of their average daily intake prior to infusion did not alter the animals subsequent intake. These data are in agreement with earlier work from our laboratory and question the role of the hypothesized hepatic glucose satiety receptors.
Behaviors Producing Photodispersal in Stentor coeruleus

Abstract The ciliate Stentor coeruleus exhibits photodispersal, that is, these cells swim away from light sources and collect in dimly lighted areas. We imaged and reconstructed the tracks of 48 Stentor to determine which swimming behaviors produced their photodispersal. We observed that their photodispersal is not due to a change in their swimming speed but rather to a change in the frequency with which they reorient their swimming direction. Therefore, their photodispersal must be due to either (1) a gradual reorientation of the organism's swimming direction determined by the direction of the light beam (phototaxis) or (2) multiple randomly directed reorientations in swimming direction that occur less frequently when the cell is swimming away from the light source (biased random walk). Sixteen (19%) of the 83 observed forward swimming tracks lasting three or more seconds exhibited a gradual bending away from the light source consistent with a phototaxis. However, most tracks were interrupted repeatedly ...
Scaling and disorder analysis of local I–V curves from ferroelectric thin films of lead zirconate titanate

Differential analysis of current?voltage characteristics, obtained on the surface of epitaxial films of ferroelectric lead zirconate titanate (Pb(Zr0.2Ti0.8)O3) using scanning probe microscopy, was combined with spatially resolved mapping of variations in local conductance to differentiate between candidate mechanisms of local electronic transport and the origin of disorder. Within the assumed approximations, electron transport was inferred to be determined by two mechanisms depending on the magnitude of applied bias, with the low-bias range dominated by the trap-assisted Fowler?Nordheim tunneling through the interface and the high-bias range limited by the hopping conduction through the bulk. Phenomenological analysis of the I?V curves has further revealed that the transition between the low-?and high-bias regimes is manifested both in the strength of variations within the I?V curves sampled across the surface, as well as the spatial distribution of conductance. Spatial variations were concluded to originate primarily from the heterogeneity of the interfacial electronic barrier height with an additional small contribution from random changes in the tip?contact geometry.
The Growth of Donor Control: Revisiting the Social Relations of Philanthropy

Building on an earlier social relations conceptualization of philanthropy as a two-way, mutual, interactive relationship between donors and recipient groups, this article explores the current growth of donor control. Arguing that philanthropy has moved in the opposite direction from what a social relations theory posited, the article identifies and examines organizational forms that provide donors today with opportunities for increased control by creating new relationships of (a) donor exclusivity (donor networks, giving circles), (b) donor intermediaries between donors and philanthropic advisors and providers of other services including donor-advised funds, and (c) donor oversight between “social investors” and their nonprofit “partners” in high-engagement philanthropy. These categories emerged from a critical review of recent literature. The article concludes with an explanation for increased donor control that is then applied to suggest how to elevate the influence of recipient groups over charitable g...
Spirituality in Counselling: A View from the Other Side

Abstract Some clients will already be aware of a spiritual dimension when they come to counselling, and others may become aware during the course of it. Counsellors should be able to work with either situation, or should refer the client to a more suitable colleague. Spiritual awareness may develop gradually or be very sudden; the two ways could be likened to ‘karma’ and ‘redemption’, and each has particular virtues and difficulties. The author's own experience demonstrates some of the qualities of the sudden, or visionary, way. The interface between the psychological and spiritual dimensions is the natural and obvious next area for exploration and clarification, and counsellors have an important role in this work.
Lung tumor growth correlates with glucose metabolism measured by fluoride-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography

Background. The growth rate, or doubling time, of radiographically indeterminate pulmonary abnormalities is an important determinant of malignancy. Prospective calculation of doubling time, however, delays diagnosis and treatment. Positron emission tomography (PET) using the glucose analogue flouride-18 fluorode-oxyglucose (FDG) measures the enhanced glucose uptake characteristic of neoplastic cells. We postulated that if FDG activity correlates with doubling time, then PET may allow prompt diagnosis of lung cancer. Methods. From March 1992 to July 1993, all patients with indeterminate focal pulmonary abnormalities were eligible for FDG PET imaging. In 53 patients, serial chest radiographs or computed tomograms were available and doubling time was computed. The FDG activity within the lesion was expressed as a standardized uptake ratio. Results. The mean standardized uptake ratio (± SD) was 5.9 ± 2.7 in 34 patients with cancer, versus 2.0 ± 1.7 in 19 with benign disease ( p r = −0.89; p = 0.002). Conclusion. These data suggest a direct relation between tumor growth and FDG uptake in lung cancer. The technique of FDG PET demonstrates exceptional accuracy and may permit prompt diagnosis of lung cancer.
Epigenetic Events Determine Tissue-Specific Toxicity of Inhalational Exposure to the Genotoxic Chemical 1,3-Butadiene in Male C57BL/6J Mice

Butadiene (BD), a widely used industrial chemical and a ubiquitous environmental pollutant, is a known human carcinogen. Although genotoxicity is an established mechanism of the tumorigenicity of BD, epigenetic effects have also been observed in livers of mice exposed to the chemical. To better characterize the diverse molecular mechanisms of BD tumorigenicity, we evaluated genotoxic and epigenotoxic effects of BD exposure in mouse tissues that are target (lung and liver) and non-target (kidney) for BD-induced tumors. We hypothesized that epigenetic alterations may explain, at least in part, the tissue-specific differences in BD tumorigenicity in mice. We evaluated the level of N-7-(2,3,4-trihydroxybut-1- yl)guanine adducts and 1,4-bis-(guan-7-yl)-2,3-butanediol crosslinks, DNA methylation, and histone modifications in male C57BL/6 mice exposed to filtered air or 425 ppm of BD by inhalation (6 h/day, 5 days/week) for 2 weeks. Although DNA damage was observed in all three tissues of BD-exposed mice, variation in epigenetic effects clearly existed between the kidneys, liver, and lungs. Epigenetic alterations indicative of genomic instability, including demethylation of repetitive DNA sequences and alterations in histone-lysine acetylation, were evident in the liver and lung tissues of BD-exposed mice. Changes in DNA methylation were insignificant in the kidneys of treated mice, whereas marks of condensed heterochromatin and transcriptional silencing (histone-lysine trimethylation) were increased. These modifications may represent a potential mechanistic explanation for the lack of tumorigenesis in the kidney. Our results indicate that differential tissue susceptibility to chemical-induced tumorigenesis may be attributed to tissue-specific epigenetic alterations.
The actions of ether, alcohol and alkane general anaesthetics on GABAA and glycine receptors and the effects of TM2 and TM3 mutations

The actions of 13 general anaesthetics (diethyl ether, enflurane, isoflurane, methoxyflurane, sevoflurane, chloral hydrate, trifluoroethanol, tribromoethanol, tert-butanol, chloretone, brometone, trichloroethylene, and alpha-chloralose) were studied on agonist-activated Cl(-) currents at human GABA(A) alpha(2)beta(1), glycine alpha(1), and GABA(C) rho(1) receptors expressed in human embryonic kidney 293 cells. All 13 anaesthetics enhanced responses to submaximal (EC(20)) concentrations of agonist at GABA(A) and glycine receptors, except alpha-chloralose, which did not enhance responses at the glycine alpha(1) receptor. None of the anaesthetics studied potentiated GABA responses at the GABA(C) rho(1) receptor. Potentiation of submaximal agonist currents by the anaesthetics was studied at GABA(A) and glycine receptors harbouring mutations in putative transmembrane domains 2 and 3 within GABA(A) alpha(2), beta(1), or glycine alpha(1) receptor subunits: GABA(A) alpha(2)(S270I)beta(1), alpha(2)(A291W)beta(1), alpha(2)beta(1)(S265I), and alpha(2)beta(1)(M286W); glycine alpha(1)(S267I) and alpha(1)(A288W). For all anaesthetics studied except alpha-chloralose, at least one of the mutations above abolished drug potentiation of agonist responses at GABA(A) and glycine receptors. alpha-Chloralose produced efficacious direct activation of the GABA(A) alpha(2)beta(1) receptor (a 'GABA-mimetic' effect). The other 12 anaesthetics produced minimal or no direct activation of GABA(A) and glycine receptors. A non-anaesthetic isomer of alpha-chloralose, beta-chloralose, was inactive at GABA(A) and glycine receptors and did not antagonize the actions of alpha-chloralose at GABA(A) receptors. The implications of these findings for the molecular mechanisms of action of general anaesthetics at GABA(A) and glycine receptors are discussed.
Phytochelatin Synthase, a Dipeptidyltransferase That Undergoes Multisite Acylation with γ-Glutamylcysteine during Catalysis STOICHIOMETRIC AND SITE-DIRECTED MUTAGENIC ANALYSIS OF ARABIDOPSIS THALIANA PCS1-CATALYZED PHYTOCHELATIN SYNTHESIS

Phytochelatin (PC) synthase has been assumed to be a γ-glutamylcysteine dipeptidyl transpeptidase (EC 2.3.2.15) and, more recently, as exemplified by analyses of the immunopurified recombinant enzyme from Arabidopsis thaliana (AtPCS1-FLAG), has been shown to catalyze a PC synthetic reaction with kinetics that approximates a bisubstrate-substituted enzyme mechanism in which millimolar concentrations of free GSH and micromolar concentrations of heavy metal·GSH thiolates (e.g. cadmium·GS2) or millimolar concentrations of S-alkylglutathiones serve as cosubstrates. Here, we show, by direct analyses of the stoichiometry of AtPCS1-FLAG-catalyzed PC synthesis, the kinetics and stoichiometry of acylation of the enzyme and release of free glycine from γ-Glu-Cys donors, and the effects of the Cys-to-Ser or -Ala and Ser-to-Ala substitution of conserved residues in the catalytic N-terminal half of the enzyme, that PC synthase is indeed a dipeptidyltransferase that undergoes γ-Glu-Cys acylation at two sites during catalysis, one of which, in accord with a cysteine protease model, likely corresponds to or is at least tightly coupled with Cys56. The identity of the second site of enzyme modification remains to be determined, but it is distinguishable from the first Cys56-dependent site, which is amenable to γ-Glu-Cys acylation by free GSH, because its acylation not only depends on the provision of Cd2+ or GSH with a blocked, S-alkylated thiol group, but is also necessary for net PC synthesis. We conclude that des-Gly-PCs are not generated as an immediate by-product, but rather that the enzyme catalyzes a dipeptidyl transfer reaction in which some of the energy liberated upon cleavage of the Cys–Gly bonds of the γ-Glu-Cys donors in the first phase of the catalytic cycle is conserved through the formation of a two site-substituted γ-Glu-Cys acyl-enzyme intermediate whose hydrolysis provides the energy required for the formation of the new peptide bond required for the extension of PC chain length by one γ-Glu-Cys repeat per catalytic cycle.
Construction and characterization of a peanut HindIII BAC library

Bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) libraries have been an essential tool for physical analyses of genomes of many crops. We constructed and characterized the first large-insert DNA library for Arachis hypogaea L. The HindIII BAC library contains 182,784 clones; only 5,484 (3%) had no inserts; and the average insert size is 104.05 kb. Chloroplast DNA contamination was very low, only nine clones, and r-DNA content was 1,208, 0.66% of clones. The depth of coverage is estimated to be 6.5 genome-equivalents, allowing the isolation of virtually any single-copy locus. This rate of coverage was confirmed with the application of 20 overgos, which identified 305 positive clones from the library. The identification of multiple loci by most probes in polyploids complicates anchoring of physical and genetic maps. We explored the practicality of a hybridization-based approach for determination of map locations of BAC clones in peanut by analyzing 94 clones detected by seven different overgos. The banding patterns on Southern blots were good predictors of contig composition; that is, the clones that shared the same size bands and ascribed to the same overgos usually also located in the same contigs. This BAC library has great potential to advance future research about the peanut genome.
The synthesis of 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-6-O-β-d-mannopyranosyl-d-glucose☆

Abstract Condensation of 4,6-di-O-acetyl-2,3-O-carbonyl-α- d -mannopyranosyl bromide with benzyl 2-acetamido-4,6-O-benzylidene-2-deoxy-α- d -glucopyranoside (2) gave an α- d -linked disaccharide, further transformed by removal of the carbonyl and benzylidene groups and acetylation into the previously reported benzyl 2-acetamido-4,6-O-benzylidene-2-deoxy-3-O-(2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-α- d -mannopyranosyl)-α- d -glucopyranoside. Condensation of 3,4,6-tri-O-benzyl-1,2-O-(1-ethoxyethylidene)-α- d -glucopyranose or 2-O-acetyl-3,4,6-tri-O-benzyl-α- d -glucopyranosyl bromide with 2 gave benzyl 2-acetamido-3-O-(2-O-acetyl-3,4,6-tri-O-benzyl-β- d -glucopyranosyl)-4,6-O-benzylidene-2-deoxy-α- d -glucopyranoside. Removal of the acetyl group at O-2, followed by oxidation with acetic anhydride-dimethyl sulfoxide, gave the β- d -arabino-hexosid-2-ulose 14. Reduction with sodium borohydride, and removal of the protective groups, gave 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-3-O-β- d -mannopyranosyl- d -glucose, which was characterized as the heptaacetate. The anomeric configuration of the glycosidic linkage was ascertained by comparison with the α- d -linked analog.
Peristaltic pumping of solid particles

Abstract We simulate solid particle transport by peristalsis in a two-dimensional channel with sinusoidal waves. The fluid is regarded as viscous and incompressible, and the walls of the channel and the particle as neutrally buoyant elastic boundaries immersed in this fluid. Using the immersed boundary technique, we are able to computationally model fluid-particle interaction. To demonstrate the validity of our computational approach, we first present results of computations without solid particles and compare them with existing theory and computations. We then examine how the transport of the solid particle depends upon its diameter, the Reynolds number and its initial placement in the channel. We also present evidence that the mean transport speed of a particle increases geometrically as its diameter approaches the channel width.
Equine Large Intestinal Volvulus A Review of 124 Cases

The average age of 122 horses with ascending colon volvulus was 6.6 +/- 0.4 years. Gastric reflux was a presenting sign in 35% of the cases. Peritoneal fluid protein levels had a mean of 2.54 +/- 0.14 g/dl and 20 horses had grossly normal peritoneal fluid at the time of presentation. Ascending colon volvulus was most commonly found at the level of the cecocolic fold with the initial ventral colon movement in a dorsomedial direction about the ascending mesocolic axis. The overall survival rate was 34.7% with a recurrence rate of only 4.9%.
Polysomes from expanded tobacco leaves.

The isolation of intact polysomes from leaves of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) is dependent on the age and state of development of leaves. Undegraded polysomes from young leaves in the early stages of expansion can be isolated easily by extracting the leaves in ice-cold extraction buffer (200 mM tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethylmethane(Tris)-HCl, pH 9.0; 400 mM KCl; 200 mM sucrose; 35 mM MgCl2). Medium-size leaves give best yields of undegraded polysomes when extractions are carried out in the above buffer and in the presence of ethyleneglycol-bis-(β-amino-ethyl ether)-N,N′-tetracetic acid (EGTA) and mercaptoethanol. Isolation of polysomes from large, nearly fully expanded (mature) leaves requires all of the above plus diethyldithiocarbamate (DIECA) in the extraction medium. An extraction medium consisting of 25 mM EGTA, 0.01 M mercaptoethanol, 25 mM DIECA and 0.5% of the nonionic detergent, Nonidet-P40 (NP 40) was found to be very suitable for extraction of polysomes from all developmental stages of leaves. The polysomes extracted in the above medium showed active translation of protein in the wheat-germ in-vitro protein-synthesizing system. The translational products were similar when translations were carried out directly with polysomes or polysomal RNA, or polysomal poly(A)+ RNA from tobacco leaves. Poly(A)− polysomal RNA was a poor template in the in-vitro wheat-germ system.
Quantitative Models of Image Quality

Fourteen image quality metrics were evaluated for hard-copy and soft-copy displays of digital images degraded by various levels of noise and blur. All quality metrics were formulated to include the displayed modulation spectrum of the image. The statistical analyses suggested that several of the metrics correlated strongly with performance, and, thus, support the proposed utility of image-dependent quality measures. An MTFA-type metric was shown to correlate highest with the average performance scores across noise and blur conditions.
A histological examination of tissue culture initiation from immature embryos of maize

The tissue origin, growth patterns and organization ofin vitro tissue cultures initiated from immature maize (Zea mays L.) embryos were cytologically examined. Examination of thick sections from initiating cultures indicated that the scutellum is the tissue of origin. During culture initiation the scutellum, especially in the region of the epithelium, becomes highly meristematic and proliferates rapidly. These cultures were characterized by a cambial zone which provided for extendedin vitro proliferation and by apical meristems developing on the culture surface. These meristems developed to the two leaf primordia stage under the cultural conditions of this study. Differentiation of root primordia associated with the apical meristems was not observed. The apical meristems appeared to arisede novo at the tissue surface and were probably multicellular in origin. The observations are discussed in relation to their significance concerning mutation and selection.
Whither in maturity

Abstract Cardiothoracic surgery has recently emerged as an independent specialty. Coincidentally there has been increasing social and political concern over matters related to medical practice. It is contended that thoracic surgeons are in a favorable position to lead the medical profession in reform measures that will improve the quality of medical care, strengthen the image of the profession, and forestall government interference. Five specific challenges are issued to The Society of Thoracic Surgeons and to the specialty as a whole, and suggestions are made for meeting these standards. The challenges are: (1) to define and implement minimum standards under which the specialty should be practiced; (2) to determine the present and projected manpower needs of the specialty; (3) to define the appropriate education and experience needed to train thoracic surgeons; (4) to establish a modern code of ethics; and (5) to develop a realistic fee policy.
Stimulation of α2‐adrenergic receptor inhibits cholangiocarcinoma growth through modulation of Raf‐1 and B‐Raf activities

Growth factor signaling, mediated by the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade, induces cell mitosis. Adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (cAMP) may inhibit or stimulate mitosis (depending on the cell type) through the activation of MAPK and Raf proteins. Among Raf proteins, Raf-1 and B-Raf differentially regulate mitosis. Our aims were to evaluate the role and mechanisms of action of the alpha(2)-adrenergic agonist UK14,304 in the regulation of growth of the human cholangiocarcinoma cell line Mz-ChA-1. Immunocytochemistry and immunoblotting for alpha(2A)-, alpha(2B)-, or alpha(2C)-adrenergic receptor subtypes showed positive reaction in Mz-ChA-1 cells. We found that physiological concentrations of UK14,304 increased cAMP levels and inhibited proliferation and MAPK activity in Mz-ChA-1 cells. Mz-ChA-1 cells expressed Raf-1 and B-Raf. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) immediately and transiently stimulated Raf-1 activity, whereas B-Raf activity was increased with prolonged EGF stimulation. EGF-stimulated Raf-1 and B-Raf activities were both inhibited by UK14,304. UK14,304 did not affect Ras activity. In Mz-ChA-1 cells, alpha(2)-adrenoreceptor stimulation causes up-regulation of cAMP, which inhibits EGF-induced MAPK activity through an acute increase of Raf-1 and sustained activation of B-Raf. In conclusion, because alpha(2)-AR inhibition of growth occurred downstream of Ras, adrenergic stimulation or other stimulants of cAMP may overcome the Ras mutations and offer a new therapeutic approach for patients with cholangiocarcinoma.
Construction of modular and versatile plasmid vectors for the high-level expression of single or multiple genes in insects and insect cell lines.

Abstract We have constructed a series of plasmid vectors for the expression of foreign genes in insects or insect cell lines. We incorporated the Drosophila hsp70 and actin 5C promoters, as well as the hr5 enhancer-driven baculovirus ie1 promoter, into plasmids that allow convenient cloning of heterologous genes into multiple cloning sites. We combined these promoters with either a short, double poly-adenylation site derived from the Heliothis virescens p63 chaperonin gene, or with a fusion of the small t intron with the early 3′ untranslated region and poly-adenylation sites of SV40. Unique eight base cutter restriction sites flanking the promoters and poly-adenylation sequences make it possible to transfer the entire transcription units into other sequence contexts, for example, into transposable elements or into other plasmids bearing selectable marker genes. It is also convenient to combine two of our transcription units on the same plasmid in order to express multiple genes simultaneously. To test the ability of our vectors to drive expression of reporter genes, luciferase derivatives were made of the expression plasmids and introduced into Aedes albopictus C6/36 cells by electroporation or into Anopheles gambiae embryos by biolistic particle bombardment. All three promoters directed high levels of luciferase expression. However, there were differences in their relative activites in the two experimental systems. In C6/36 cells, the actin 5C and hr5-ie1 promoters were significantly more active than the hsp70 promoter. In Anopheles embryos, hsp70 and actin 5C had maximal activities, while hr5-ie1 was weaker. We also found that the constructs containing the SV40 small t intron and early 3′ untranslated region sequences had higher expression levels than their counterparts containing the Heliothis poly-adenylation sequence. Our most active construct combines the actin 5C promoter with the SV40 intron and 3′ untranslated region sequences. This vector was also used to drive expression of a visible marker, the enhanced green fluorescent protein gene, resulting in readily visible green fluorescent protein expression in C6/36 cells.
Atmospheric response to deep-sea injections of fossil-fuel carbon dioxide

The possibility of controlling atmospheric carbon dioxide accumulation and attendant climatic effects from fossil-fuel burning by diverting a fraction of the combustion product and injecting it into the deep-ocean, as proposed by Marchetti, is analyzed using an atmosphere/mixed layer/diffusive deep-ocean model for the carbon cycle. The model includes the nonlinear buffering of CO2 at the air/sea interface, and considers the long term trends associated with consuming an assumed fossil-fuel reserve equivalent to 7.09 × 1015 kg carbon as a logistic function of time as in the projections of Siegenthaler and Oeschger, except that atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are computed for five alternate strategies: (a) 100% injected into atmosphere, (b) 50% injected at oceanic depth of 1500 m and 50% into atmosphere, (c) 50% injected at sea floor (4000 m) and 50% into atmosphere, (d) 100% at 1500 m depth and (e) 100% at sea floor. Since no carbon leaves the system, all runs approached the same post-fossil fuel equilibrium after several thousand years, Ca ∼- 1150 ppm, almost four times the pre-fossil fuel value (∼- 300 ppm). But the ‘transient’ response of these cases showed a marked variation ranging from a peak overshoot value of 2800 ppm in the year 2130 for 100% atmospheric injection to a slight decrease to the pre-fossil fuel 300 ppm lasting till 2300 with a subsequent slow approach to equilibrium for the 100% deep-ocean injection. The implications of these results for an oceanic injection strategy to mitigate the climatic impact of fossil-fuel CO2 is discussed, as are the ingredients of a second generation carbon cycle model for carrying out such forecasts on an engineering design basis.
Construction of an Uncountable Difference between ${\mit\Phi}(B)$ and ${\mit\Phi}_f(B)$

Similarly, x is said to be an f -density point ofA if this limit exists and is equal to 1, and we call the set of these points Φf (A). A function having property N is characterized by mapping null sets to null sets, and measurable sets (if f is continuous) to measurable sets. The property is important to f -density because it allows us to prove an analogue of the Lebesgue density theorem for f -density points. We remember that the Lebesgue density theorem says
ENVIRONMENTAL MODELS FOR PALEOZOIC COMMUNITIES

Nearshore communities in Paleozoic epeiric seas occur in two distinct lateral patterns which parallel shorelines — an expanded pattern of five and a compressed pattern of three laterally adjacent communities. The two community patterns are correlated with two distinct environmental models which are a product of local tectonics. Model 1 (tectonically stable) develops in low slope transgressing epeiric seas. Model 2 (tectonically active) develops in high slope prograding epeiric seas commonly with abundant terrigenous clastic influx. Environmental variables and organic evolution change community constituents, but the broad community patterns recur at least through the early and middle Paleozoic.
On the canonical element conjecture

The canonical element conjecture is proved in the following two cases: (i) depth A = dim A 1, H, '(A) is decomposable; (ii) depth A = dim A 1, Hm(A) v is cyclic. The equivalence of the C.E.C. and the improved new intersection theorem is also established. In [H] M. Hochster has assigned a canonical element 'qA E H,,(syz'(K)) with each n-dimensional local ring (A, m, K) (i.e., commutative Noetherian local ring A with a unique maximal ideal m and K = A/m) and has conjectured that 71A # 0 for every such A. In elementary terms this conjecture means the following [H]: For every free resolution F -, A8i -Asi-i A. . . K -, 0 of K and for every system of parameters x1, ..., x,, of A, if 4 is any map of complexes K*(x; A) -, F which lifts the quotient surection A/(xl,..., x") -K, then 4, : Kn(x; A) -, Asn is nonzero. Hochster has shown that the above conjecture (henceforth C.E.C.) is equivalent to the direct summand conjecture and implies the "improved new intersection conjecture" which can be stated as follows: IMPROVED NEW INTERSECTION CONJECTURE. Let (A, m) be a local ring and F be a finite free complex of finitely generated free modules O -) Fd *** .. Fo ?-. such that Hi(F) has finite length for i > 0 and Ho(F) has a (nonzero) minimal generator v such that AvP has finite length. Then dim R < d. It is well known that the above conjecture (henceforth I.N.I.C.) implies several other homological conjectures. In ?1 of this paper we prove that A satisfies C.E.C. <=* A satisfies I.N.I.C. (1.4). In proving this we come across in (1.3) another equivalent version of C.E.C. which shows that actually C.E.C. boils down to understanding the relations among the resolutions of homologies of K(x; A) and itself. In ?2 we study the case when depth A = dim A 1. We prove (2.2) that A satisfies C.E.C. in the following cases: (i) when H,j1(A) v is decomposable (this implies HI(x; A) is decomposable), (ii) when H,71(A) v is cyclic (this implies HI(x; A) v is cyclic), Received by the editors November 18, 1985. 1980 Mathematics Subject Classification (1985 Revision). Primary 13H10. The author was supported in part by grants from the National Science Foundation. (?1987 American Mathematical Society 0002-9947/87 $1.00 + $.25 per page
Can we capture the intersections? Older black women, education, and health

Abstract Background Race/ethnicity, gender, and socioeconomic status are the three most prominent factors to predict health outcomes. Despite the fact that persistent health inequalities are found between groups, we know little about how the interrelatedness of these social positions influences the health of older adults. Purpose In this study, we apply a feminist intersectional approach to the study of health inequalities, treating social variables as multiplicative rather than additive to capture the mutually constitutive dimensions of race/ethnicity, gender, and education. Methods This paper makes use of data from the National Social Life, Health and Aging Project, a nationally representative sample of 3,005 community-dwelling U.S. adults aged 57 to 85 years old, to explore intersections of race, gender, and education. We use a combination of stratified analysis with an interaction term to test multiplicative effects. Results First, our findings confirm that Black women with less than a high school education have the poorest self-rated health. Second, at the bivariate level, we find highly educated White men are not the converse of lower educated Black women. Third, at the multivariate level, we find being Black and female has an effect on health beyond those already accounted for by race and gender. Conclusion This research demonstrates the explanatory power of an intersectionality approach to deepen understanding of the overlapping, simultaneous production of health inequalities by race, class, and gender.
Cellular abnormalities in patients with elevated serum IgE levels

Several clinical observations suggest the presence of cellular abnormalities in patients with elevated serum IgE levels. Patients with atopic dermatitis are prbne to unusually severe skin infections with herpes simplex and vaccinia’.’ and have an increased susceptibility to molluscum contagiosum’ and warts.4 These clinical observations are correlated with the observation that patients with atopic dermatitis also have impaired in vivo delayed-type hypersensitivity responses to intradermal skin testing using common recall antigens,5. ’ and a reduced rate of contact sensitivity to Rhus antigen.‘. * The syndrome of hyperimmunoglobulinemia E, recurrent staphylococcal infections, and chronic dermatitisq is frequently complicated by candidiasis and by severe herpes simplex infections. The latter syndrome is also associated with absent in vivo delayed hypersensitivity responses to common microbial antigens and reduced in vitro lymphocyte proliferative responses to alloantigens or soluble antigens such as tetanus toxoid or Monilin. Finally, it is also well known that patients with primary T cell immunodeficiency disorders, such as DiGeorge syndrome, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, or Nezelof syndrome, often have elevated serum IgE levels.‘“-” Taken together, these observations suggest a close relationship between cellular abnormalities and allergic diseases associated with elevated IgE levels. This review explores some of these relationships. Potential cellular interactions are reviewed in Fig. 1.