cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cytogenetics of Eurasian bluebunch wheatgrass and their relationship to North American bluebunch and thickspike wheatgrasses

Bluebunch wheatgrass, Pseudoroegneria spicata (Pursh.) A. Love, is one of the most important native dryland forage bunchgrasses of the intermountain West, which often produces depleted stands under moderate to heavy grazing pressure. In recent plant collecting trips to the Altai and Tien Shan Mountains of China and Russia, a grazing tolerant bluebunch wheatgrass complex was obtained. This study was conducted to describe the cytogenetic characteristics and potential for genetic exchange between the Eurasian bluebunch wheatgrass complex [P. strigosa (M. Bieb.) A. Love, P. geniculata (Trin.) A. Love, Roegneria elytrigioides Yen and Yang, and R. glaberrima Keng et S.L. Chen] and those bluebunch thickspike wheatgrasses found in North America. Meiotic behavior of the triploid hybrids between diploid and tetraploid R. glaberrima indicated that both ploidy levels share the same genome. Almost complete pairing in hybrids P. strigosa ssp. aegilopoides (Drob.) A. Love x P. spicata, and R. glaberzima x P. spicata, demonstrated that P. strigosa ssp. aegilopoides and R. glaberrima are comprised of the basic S genome. Triploid hybrids between P. geniculata, and R. elytrigioides with either P. spicata, P. stipifolia (Czern. ex Nevski) A. Love, or P. strigosa ssp. aegilopoides exhibited trivalent frequencies consistent with the hypothesis that tetraploid R. elytrigioites is an autotetraploid (SSSS) and that P. geniculata is either a segmental autotetraploid (S 1 S 1 S 2 S 2 ) or an allotetraploid (SS??). Based on the high level of chromosome pairing in the interspecific hybrids between the Eurasian and North American bluebunch wheatgrass complex, genetic exchange is possible. Due to the close genetic and morphological similarity among individuals of P. spicata, P. strigosa, P. geniculata, R. elytrigioides, and R. glaberrima we are likely dealing with a single, polymorphic, Eurasian-North American species complex.
Protein classification based on text document classification techniques.

The need for accurate, automated protein classification methods continues to increase as advances in biotechnology uncover new proteins. G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) are a particularly difficult superfamily of proteins to classify due to extreme diversity among its members. Previous comparisons of BLAST, k-nearest neighbor (k-NN), hidden markov model (HMM) and support vector machine (SVM) using alignment-based features have suggested that classifiers at the complexity of SVM are needed to attain high accuracy. Here, analogous to document classification, we applied Decision Tree and Naive Bayes classifiers with chi-square feature selection on counts of n-grams (i.e. short peptide sequences of length n) to this classification task. Using the GPCR dataset and evaluation protocol from the previous study, the Naive Bayes classifier attained an accuracy of 93.0 and 92.4% in level I and level II subfamily classification respectively, while SVM has a reported accuracy of 88.4 and 86.3%. This is a 39.7 and 44.5% reduction in residual error for level I and level II subfamily classification, respectively. The Decision Tree, while inferior to SVM, outperforms HMM in both level I and level II subfamily classification. For those GPCR families whose profiles are stored in the Protein FAMilies database of alignments and HMMs (PFAM), our method per); forms comparably to a search against those profiles. Finally, our method can be generalized to other protein families by applying it to the superfamily of nuclear receptors with 94.5, 97.8 and 93.6% accuracy in family, level I and level II subfamily classification respectively.
Cell-mediated immunoselection against cell-surface antigens of somatic cell hybrids.

Cytotoxic lymphoid cells derived from in vivo immunization of mice across H2 barriers were utilized in in vitro cytotoxicity assays. The target cells were somatic cell hybrids derived from parental cells differing at the H2 locus. The hybrid cells surviving cytotoxicity were grown to confluent populations and the H2antigens selected against were no longer demonstrable by indirect immunofluorescence. Comparative karyology of hybrid cells expressing both parental H2 types before immunoselection with hybrid cells surviving immunoselection revealed a decrease in the number of murine chromosomes number 17, suggesting that those cells surviving cytotoxicity had spontaneously lost these chromosomes prior to the selection event. The possibility of immunoconstruction of somatic cell hybrids on the basis of their cell-surface antigens is discussed.
New ratiometric optical oxygen and pH dual sensors with three emission colors for measuring photosynthetic activity in cyanobacteria

Photosynthetic algae and cyanobacteria have been proposed for producing biofuels through a direct photoconversion process. To accelerate the efforts of discovering and screening microbes for biofuel production, sensitive and high throughput methods to measure photosynthetic activity need to be developed. Here we report the development of new ratiometric optical oxygen and pH dual sensors with three emission colors for measuring photosynthetic activities directly. The dual sensor system can measure oxygen (O2) generation and pH increase resulted from carbon dioxide (CO2) consumption simultaneously. The sensor was prepared by a copolymerization of three monomeric probes, an intra-reference probe (IRP) which does not respond to pH or O2, a probe for pH sensing (pHS), and an O2probe for O2 sensing (OS) with 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) and acrylamide (AM). After polymerization, the three probes were chemically immobilized in an ion and O2 permeable poly(2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate)-co-polyacrylamide (PHEMA-co-PAM) matrix. The resulted sensing films (membranes) exhibited three emission colors with well separated emission spectra, covering blue, green, and red emission windows, under 380 nm light excitation. Responses of the sensors to pH and dissolved O2 were investigated in buffers and cyanobacterial cell cultures (Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803). In spite of the strong autofluorescence from cyanobacteria, the sensors were able to determine the pH values and dissolved O2 concentrations accurately and reproducibly. The measured results using the optical sensors were well in accordance with measurements using electrochemical electrodes with minimal experimental variations. The sensors were further applied for evaluation of photosynthetic activities of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 at the exponential and stationary phases. The results were consistent with biological observation that the photosynthetic activity in the exponential phase was higher than that in the stationary phase.
PCC Practice for Assigning Uniform Titles for Motion Pictures: Principle versus Practice

Library of Congress Rule Interpretation (LCRI) 25.5B, Appendix I contains Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) principles for constructing uniform titles for motion pictures, television, and radio programs, and functions as a rule interpretation to Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, 2nd ed. (AACR2) 25.5B. It was originally designed for PCC Libraries in providing uniform title access for these materials. Focusing specifically on uniform title access for motion pictures, this article will show that these PCC principles have largely been unapplied. The article concludes with a discussion on the future application of these principles for preferred access points in Resource Description and Access (RDA).
Optimization of quantum-well infrared detectors integrated with light-emitting diodes

Abstract The optimization of diffraction gratings for pixelless thermal imagers based on the epitaxial integration of a 9-μm quantum-well infrared photodetector (QWIP) and a near-infrared light-emitting diode (LED) is reported. It is found that the thickness of the reflecting layer deposited onto the grating should be carefully controlled to reach a good tradeoff between high infrared responsivity of the QWIP and reasonable external efficiency of the LED. In addition, on a non-optimized device we demonstrated thermal images with a temperature sensitivity below 100 mK and a noise equivalent temperature difference of 57 mK.
The effect of success or failure on self-efficacy and task persistence of conduct-disordered children

Twenty-four children with conduct disorders were familiarized with a pattern-matching task, and their self-efficacy expectations for this task were assessed. Subjects were then given either “Success” or “Failure” feedback for a series of similar problems, and their self-efficacy was reassessed. Finally, task persistence was evaluated by allowing subjects to attempt as many additional pattern-matching problems as they wished, with all subjects receiving failure feedback. Results indicated that, although the two groups of subjects were initially similar, the success group's self-efficacy was significantly higher following feedback. The success group also attempted significantly more problems while later receiving failure feedback, and there was a significant positive correlation between task persistence and the second self-efficacy rating. These findings were related to Bandura's self-efficacy theory and to educational programming for conduct-disordered children.
Sorting with Disorder at Nuclear Pores

Macromolecular traffic between the nucleus and cytoplasm of cells is mediated by karyopherins and is gated at nuclear pores (NPCs) by intrinsically-disordered proteins featuring phenylalanine-glycine repeats: the FG nucleoporins. Despite their dynamic nature, these FG nups adopt distinct categories of disordered structure with unique functions. Some are collapsed-coil globules that stick to each via FG repeats, and others are highly-extended coils that repel each other. Remarkably, these structures are segregated within FG nups and at NPCs to create a quaternary gating structure that appears suspended in the middle of the nuclear pore termed the transporter or plug. We describe how this ‘ghostly’ structure, whose existence has been debated for decades, is naturally-formed by more than one hundred intrinsically-disordered proteins acting collectively. We will also discuss how the distinct categories of disordered nup structures serve different functions in karyopherin-mediated transport.
Gamma-Rays and Nuclear Levels Associated with Radioisotopes of Europium, Erbium, and Cerium

The energies of the conversion electrons associated with the decay of 8 radioisotopes were measured using permanent magnet-type photographic beta-spectrometers. The energies of the gamma-rays associated with the various activities are as follows: europium 152 (9.2-hr) 121.9, 344.1 kev; erbium 171 (7.5-hr) 112.8, 117.9, 125.5, 176.4, 294.5, 307.5, 419.7 kev; cerium 137 (36-hr) 253.4 kev; cerium 139 (140-day) 166.0, 275.2 kev; cerium 141 (28-day) 145.7 kev; cerium 143 (33-hr) 57.5, 290.6, 348.4 kev; cerium 144 (300-day) 34.0, 41.3, 46.8, 53.7, 80.9, 95.0, 100.5, 134.5 kev; and praseodymium 144 (17.5-min) 61.0 kev. Energy level schemes are proposed for each product nucleus.
Two dimensional array of magnetoferritin on quartz surface

Abstract The conditions for producing linear arrays of magnetoferritin on quartz surface are described. Two-dimensional ordered array of mFT on a quartz surface can be formed by spreading a concentrated solution of mFT on quartz and evaporating the film at 90% relative humidity and at room temperature. Under these conditions, mFT forms a close packed linear arrays with hexagonal symmetry. Drying at 50% relative humidity and at room temperature produced structures containing both hexagonal and orthogonal symmetries. A surface loading of 5–10 μg/cm2 was found to be ideal for forming a paracrystalline structure with a large crystal size.
Beyond fragmentation at the fringe: A path-dependent, high-resolution analysis of urban land cover in Phoenix, Arizona

A common critique of urban sprawl is that it leads to increased land fragmentation, which has negative social and ecological implications. Consistent with theory, empirical research generally finds increased levels of fragmentation near the urban fringe. We apply landscape metrics to 1-m resolution remotely sensed imagery of the City of Phoenix, Arizona from 2010 in order to analyze urban sprawl based on the area, fragmentation, shape complexity, and diversity of land covers at a resolution finer than that of an individual land parcel. While previous work typically defines areas by how far they are from the central city, we identify census block groups in Phoenix based on the decade during which they became developed in order to observe landscape variation based on the age of a neighborhood area. Results confirm substantial variation in present-day land cover patterns based on the timing of development: landscape structure in Phoenix is heavily path-dependent. While land covers in newer-developing regions generally appear more fragmented, more homogeneous, and less diverse, the complexity of shapes and incidence of desert landscaping appear to be higher as well. Areas that developed principally during the 1990s and 2000s appear noticeably different than their older counterparts across many measures used. We speculate that institutional changes and evolving preferences for various development types explain much of this present-day variation.
Detection of several non-protein amino acids in the presence of protein amino acids

Nonproteins detection in presence of protein amino acids with Beckman analyzer chromatograms
Regulation of Glutamine:Fructose=6=Phosphate Amidotransferase Gene Transcription by Epidermal Growth Factor and Glucose*

In preparation for the cellular proliferation stimulated by growth factors, the rate of macromolecular synthesis must be increased to allow for the enlargement of the cell that proceeds mitosis. The increased glycoprotein synthesis that follows growth factor stimulation would consume the hexosamines required for protein modification. Glutamine:fructose-6-phosphate amidotransferase (GFAT) is the rate-limiting enzyme controlling the synthesis of the hexosamines used in these biosynthetic pathways. We tested the idea that growth factors might activate the transcription of the GFAT gene to increase the cellular content of this rate-limiting enzyme in hexosamine synthesis. We employed a human breast cancer cell line, MDA468 cells, which express high numbers of epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptors, to determine whether EGF could stimulate transcription of the GFAT gene. Our experiments showed that EGF stimulated the accumulation of GFAT messenger RNA (mRNA) to a level 4-fold higher than that in unstimulated cells. This accumulation could be largely accounted for by an increase in transcription, as assessed by nuclear run-on experiments. Furthermore, the GFAT mRNA was highly stable and not further stabilized by EGF. This effect of EGF on GFAT gene transcription required stimulation for 12-16 h with EGF. Interestingly, when cells were exposed to 25 mM glucose instead of 5 mM glucose, this effect of EGF was blocked. Glucose had no effect on the stability of the GFAT mRNA, implying that the effect of glucose was to antagonize the transcriptional effect of EGF on the GFAT gene. Glucosamine had an effect opposite that of glucose, in that it stimulated GFAT mRNA accumulation and had an additive effect with EGF on the accumulation of this mRNA. These results demonstrate that the GFAT gene undergoes a late transcriptional response to EGF and that the provision of high glucose concentrations to the cells blocks this EGF activation. This effect of glucose does not appear to result from its metabolism through GFAT to glucosamine.
Consideration of Cultural Factors in Working with Chinese American Families with a Mentally Ill Patient

Cultural beliefs of Chinese American families are discussed in relation to their caregiving experience of a mentally ill relative. Implications of such beliefs to mental health professionals are hi...
Human Mononuclear Cells Exposed to Staphylococci Rapidly Produce an Inhibitor of Neutrophil Chemotaxis

Serum-free cultures of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells from normal volunteers produce an inhibitor of neutrophil chemotaxis when exposed to heat-killed staphylococci. Human neutrophils were exposed to 100-fold dilutions of supernatants from 6-hr cultures, washed repeatedly, and assayed for chemotactic responsiveness with a radiolabel assay. Dilutions of supernatants from cell cultures exposed to staphylococci resulted in a mean chemotaxis of 856 1 83 cpm (n = 21), while that for medium-treated neutrophils was 1,354 1 100 cpm (n = 21, P .05 vs. mediumtreated). Fifty-three experiments on tissue from 26 donors showed that after 6 hr the mean inhibition (1 SE) of chemotaxis at 1:100 dilution was 26.47o% 3.307o (P < .001 vs. mediumtreated). It was found that the peptidoglycan fraction of the staphylococci was sufficient to induce production of inhibitor by the cooperative action of T cells and monocytes. The inhibitor is a protein with a molecular mass of 30-45 kilodaltons. It is not toxic to the neutrophils and does not affect secretion, adhesion, phagocytosis, or the ability to kill Staphylococcus aureus. This potent inhibitor of neutrophil chemotaxis may play a role in the modulation of neutrophil function during bacterial infections.
SU-D-218-02: 4D-MRI Based on Body Area (BA) Surrogate and Sagittal Image Acquisition.

Purpose: 4D‐MRI based on body area (BA) surrogate using axial image acquisition has been demonstrated. Since respiratory motion mostly occurs in the superior‐inferior (SI) direction, it is expected that sagittal acquisition may provide more robust and accurate breathing signal than axial acquisition. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of extracting breathing signals from sagittal images using BA surrogate and its application in 4D‐MRI. Methods: 7 human subjects were imaged continuously in a single (n=5) or multiple (n=2) sagittal planes using a steady‐state precession sequence. Imaging parameters were: TR/TE, 3.7ms/1.21ms; Matrix, 256×166; FOV, 350×300mm; flip angle, 52°; slice thickness, 5mm; frame rate: ∼3 frames/s. Imaging time per slice is 2 minutes for single slice acquisition and ∼10 seconds for multi‐slice acquisition. Breathing signals were generated for all subjects by tracking the change of BA. The multi‐slice sagittal acquisition was performed on a MRI‐ compatible motion phantom with a cylindrical gel target and was simulated on a 4D digital human phantom. Breathing signals were extracted from the sagittal images using the BA surrogate. Respiratory phases were calculated. 4D‐MRI of both phantoms were retrospectively reconstructed based on the respiratory phases. Results: Breathing signals extracted from both single slice and multi‐slice sagittal acquisitions showed stable and well‐ characterized patterns. 4D‐MRI of the physical phantom showed clear sinusoidal motion of the gel target in all three planes with minimal artifacts. Simulated ‘4D‐MRI’ of the 4D digital phantom matched well with original images: the mean absolute difference in motion amplitude of the ‘tumor’ was 0.4±0.3mm. Small artifacts of discontinuity were observed in the SI direction in certain phases. Conclusions: It is feasible to extract breathing signals from sagittal images for 4D‐MRI application. Further investigation is needed to test whether sagittal acquisition is more robust and accurate than axial acquisition for breathing signal extraction.
Zinc, copper, and lead in mid-ocean ridge basalts and the source rock control on Zn/Pb in ocean-ridge hydrothermal deposits☆

The contents of Zn, Cu, and Pb in mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) and the MORB source-rock control on Zn/Pb in ocean-ridge hydrothermal deposits are examined. The values of Zn, Cu, and Pb for submarine mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) are, respectively (in ppm): average MORB—75, 75, and 0.7; West Valley, Juan de Fuca Ridge (JFR)—87, 64, and 0.5; southern JFR—120 and 0.5; and 21°N, East Pacific Rise (EPR)—73, 78, and 0.5. Values of Zn/Pb range from about 100–240 and Cu/ Pb from 100–156. In this study, Zn is found to correlate positively with TiO2 + FeO (mean square of weighted deviates, MSWD, of 1.6 for JFR basalt), and inversely with Mg number (MSWD of 3.5). Therefore, contrary to statements in the literature that Zn should be compatible in MORB, Zn is a mildly incompatible element and must be enriched in the glass phase relative to olivine as Zn does not fit into the other major phenocryst phase, plagioclase. In the source of MORB, Zn likely is most enriched in oxides: spinel, magnetite, and titanomagnetite. Copper generally does not correlate well with other elements in most MORB data examined. When differentiation is dominated by olivine, Cu has a tendency to behave incompatibly (e.g., at Mg numbers > 70), but, overall, Cu shows some tendency towards being a compatible element, particularly along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a behavior presumably due to separation of sulfides in which Cu (but not Zn) is markedly enriched. Copper thus may be in dispersed sulfides in the source of MORB. Ocean ridges provide important data on source-rock controls for sulfide deposits because, in sediment-starved ridges, much is known about the possible source rocks and mineralization is presently occurring. In contrast to Zn/Pb ~5 in continental hot Cl-rich brines, Zn/Pb in the hottest sediment-starved ridge black smoker hydrothermal fluids at 21 °N, EPR is about 110, similar to local MORB (145), but Cu/Pb is closer to 30, possibly due to subsurface deposition of Cu. At the JFR, the best value of Zn/Pb in the hydrothermal fluids is about 175, again similar to local MORB (240), but Cu is very low in the fluids that are at temperatures less than 300°C. The large MORB-like Zn/Pb in the hottest black-smoker fluids suggests a source-rock control for the metals that prohibits significant galena in the black-smoker deposits of sediment-starved ridges. In contrast, exhalative deposits on sediment-swamped ridges have significant galena; its presence is suggestive of Pb derivation from sediments, an origin supported by Pb isotope studies of LeHuray and colleagues in 1988.
Severe Storm Observations Using the Microwave Sounding Unit

Abstract The microwave sounding unit (MSU) aboard the NOAA polar orbiting satellites contains four channels in the oxygen band, at 50.30, 53.74, 54.96 and 57.95 GHz, which receive thermal radiation originating primarily from four regions ranging from the surface to the lower stratosphere. This study focuses on the measurements obtained for a convective storm over the central United States beginning 12 April 1979. Temperature and precipitation effects are examined by comparing the MSU measurements with “clear column” brightness temperatures computed from radiosonde data. Decreases of up to 12 K from clear column values in the 53.74 GHz brightness temperature field identify precipitation regions. Measurements in the nonprecipitating areas correspond to temperatures near the 700 mb level where the channel has its maximum response. The 54.96 GHz upper tropospheric sounding channel (peaking near 300 mb) displays up to a 2 K decrease at the storm center, compared to neighboring measurements. This decrease aroun...
Residential surveys of Victorian mansion block flats

The concept of the mansion flat appears to have been developed by the Victorians. Large, often rambling, flats were arranged in a building designed to have an imposing and balanced appearance that frequently resembled a country mansion. The front of the building was usually fairly ornate with an elaborate entrance porch but the rear and internal courts had a more utilitarian aspect.
Choice of labeled precursors in synthesis of DNA for molecular hybridization

Abstract Tritiated deoxyguanosine triphosphate, labeled in the 8 position of the purine ring, is frequently used as a precursor in the preparation of complementary DNA to be used in molecular hybridization reactions. This compound has been reported to exchange the labeled tritium with water in solution at high temperature. We have investigated the loss of label from DNA prepared with this compound, under conditions commonly used for molecular hybridization reactions. The loss of label follows first order kinetics, with a half time of 17 hrs. under the conditions used. This loss of label influences the reliability of the results of the hybridization reactions, and in some cases may confuse their interpretation. It is recommended that use of complementary DNA labeled with [8- 3 H]-dGTP be avoided in molecular hybridization experiments.
Perfectly matched layer for Crank-Nicolson (CN) FDTD method

A split field perfectly matched layer (PML) is implemented for the (2-D) two-dimensional and three-dimensional (3-D) unconditionally stable Crank-Nicolson finite difference time-domain analysis (CN-FDTD) methods. It is shown that the CN-FDTD method remains stable with the PML media. The effectiveness of the PML in CN-FDTD method is demonstrated through numerical examples.
Educational Participation and Inmate Misconduct

The majority of extant literature on correctional education focuses on the relationship between program participation and recidivism while ignoring the possible relationship between educational program participation and inmate misconduct. The present study sought to fill in this gap in the literature by investigating the effect of several types of educational programs (i.e. GED, high school, vocational, and college) upon inmate misconduct while simultaneously controlling for several other inmate characteristics. Self-report data from over 1,000 inmates were gathered. Results indicate that inmates who participated in college programs than inmates who participated in other types of educational programs received fewer “tickets” for rule violations while incarcerated. Policy implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.
A unified determination of creep and strain rate sensitivity of polycrystals from the properties of constituent grains

Abstract On the basis of the observation that both creep and plasticity are fundamentally rate processes, a unified micromechanical constitutive theory is developed to predict both strain rate sensitivity and the time-dependent creep of polycrystal. The theory is established within the small-strain range for power-law creep and can provide the evolution of the microstress-strain relation and creep strain of the constituent grains. The distinctly different responses of a constituent grain and a free crystal of the same orientation are also examined under both constant-strain-rate and constant-stress creep conditions. It is also demonstrated that the higher creep rate associated with a higher stress automatically translates into the commonly observed strain rate effect on the stress-strain curves of polycrystals and that under a constant total strain rate the stress-strain curve would lead to a saturation stress. When applied to a 304 stainless steel under a thermal cycling between 600 and 650°C, the theory also yields reasonably accurate creep strains for the polycrystal. Its predictive capability is further confirmed by comparison with experiments on the development of creep strain and the strain rate effect on the stress-strain curves for this material.
IMPLICATIONS OF SODIUM MASS BALANCE FOR INTERPRETING THE CALCIUM CYCLE OF A FORESTED ECOSYSTEM

Disturbance of forest ecosystems, such as that caused by harvesting or acid deposition, is thought to alter the ability of the ecosystem to retain nutrients. Although many watershed studies have suggested depletion of available calcium (Ca) pools, interpretation of ecosystem Ca mass balance has been limited by the difficulty in obtaining mineral weathering flux estimates. While many studies have suggested that weathering flux is insufficient to maintain available soil pools, measurements of concomitant changes in available soil pools are rare. Here, we critically examined application of the Ca:Na ratio method in interpreting the long-term Ca budget of six northern hardwood watershed ecosystems at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, Woodstock, New Hampshire, USA. Storage of sodium (Na) in biomass and secondary minerals and on cation exchange sites was low enough so that net ecosystem Na loss was essentially equivalent to mineral weathering flux. Mineral chemistry and mass balance considerations constrained the Ca:Na ratio of weathering products to a sufficiently narrow range that spatial and temporal changes in the ecosystem Ca:Na ratio could be interpreted as changes in contribution of available Ca pools to ecosystem loss. Depletion of available Ca pools was greater in the three experimentally manipulated watersheds with aggrading biomass compared to three reference watersheds with relatively mature forest conditions. Although accelerated loss of Ca in the first few years following disturbance has been documented by prior studies, this study suggests that excess Ca loss continues for at least three decades after treatment, with no evident trend toward the conditions shown in the reference watershed. It is not likely that changes in previously quantified Ca pools account for this sustained loss, suggesting that a previously unstudied Ca pool or release mechanism may be important in ecosystem response to disturbance. Possible sources include Ca oxalate, which is known to accumulate in forest soils, but has not been considered in the context of an ecosystem mass balance.
Adsorptive potentiometric stripping analysis of trace tamoxifen at a glassy carbon electrode

A highly sensitive adsorptive stripping procedure for trace measurement of the anticancer drug tamoxifen is described. The method is based on controlled adsorptive accumulation of the drug at an electrochemically treated glassy carbon electrode, followed by chronopotentiometric measurement of the surface species. The chronopotentiometric operation effectively addresses the large background contribution inherent to the glassy carbon electrode to yield a detection limit of 4 x 10(-10) M after 4 min preconcentration. The adsorptive stripping response is evaluated with respect to electrode type and conditioning, accumulation potential and time, stripping current, pH, drug concentration, potential interferences, and other variables. Applicability to urine samples is illustrated.
A Decade of International Reform to Accommodate Child Witnesses

The past decade has witnessed significant reform of the legal system to accommodate child witnesses. This article describes reforms in the following areas: investigative interviewing, preparing children to testify, admissibility of children's hearsay statements, competence of children to testify in court, altering the courtroom to accommodate child witnesses, judicial control of the proceedings and questioning, support persons for child witnesses, exclusion of witnesses during a child's testimony, closing the courtroom to the public and the press, video link technology and other modifications that effect the accused's right to confront the child, counsel or guardian ad litem for a child witness, the corroboration requirement, and jury instructions regarding child witnesses. Language: en
Thermochemical properties and group values for nitrogen-containing molecules.

Gas-phase thermochemical group additivity values were derived from CBS-QB3 computational chemistry calculations for 105 noncyclic C/H/O/N molecules. The molecules contain nitrile, nitro, nitroso, nitrite, nitrate, amine, imino, and azo functional groups. The enthalpy of formation, entropy, and heat capacity values for 49 atom-centered groups were derived. The effect of hindered internal rotations was included via rotor potential
Aerosolized aqueous suspensions of poly(L-lactic acid) microspheres

A method is described for the preparation of microspheres of poly(l-lactic acid) possessing suitable characteristics for aerosolization. Microscopic analysis of the sample revealed a median projected area diameter of 4.2 μM, with a geometric standard deviation of 1.7. Electrical resistance particle size analysis showed that approx. 1% of the population had a size > 12.1 μM, and only 16.6% exceeded 5.5 μM. Scanning electron micrographs show well formed, round and smooth microspheres. Jet nebulization of an aqueous suspension produced a mass output of 44.4% of the microspheres over a period of 30 min. Aerodynamic particle size measurement showed that 51.2%, by number (approx. 16.9%, by volume) of the aerosol generated was < 2.1 μM in diameter. Greater than 80%, by volume, of the aerosol was smaller than 5.8 μM in aerodynamic diameter.
Controlled proteolysis of EGF receptors: evidence for transmembrane distribution of the EGF binding and phosphate acceptor sites.

A small quantity of the 125I-EGF (epidermal growth factor) bound specifically to EGF receptors on the human epidermoid carcinoma cell line A431 associates covalently. The direct linkage complex formed migrates during gel electro-phoresis as a single diffuse band of MW = 160,000–170,000. In contrast, direct linkages complexes of 160,000, 145,000, and 115,000 daltons are formed when EGF is incubated with membranes isolated from these cells; these arise from EGF receptor modification during membrane isolation. None of these modifications affected the affinity of the EGF binding site for 125I-EGF. The electrophoretic mobilities of the MW = 160,000 and 145,000 direct linkage complexes were similar to those of the major 32Pi-labeled products of the EGF-stimulated phosphorylation reaction described by Carpenter et al [Nature 276:409–410, 1978], indicating that proteolytic fragments of EGF receptors are the major phosphate acceptors in this reaction. EGF receptors on intact A431 cells accepted phosphate effectively from γ-32Pi-ATP only when the cells were permeabilized with lysolecithin. This shows that the EGF binding and phosphate acceptor sites lie on opposing faces of the membrane. When the 145,000 dalton form of receptor is labeled with EGF or 32Pi and the labeled peptides subjected to tryptic hydrolysis under identical conditions, all phosphates is lost from high molecular weight products under conditions where the EGF-receptor covalent complex is converted largely to a 115,000 dalton form. This suggests that the phosphate acceptor site lies on the cytoplasmic side of the membrane on a region of receptor extending 30,000 daltons from the 115,000 dalton fragment containing the EGF binding site.
Antitumor effects of liposomal IL1 alpha and TNF alpha against the pulmonary metastases of the B16F10 murine melanoma in syngeneic mice.

Interleukin 1 alpha (IL1α) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFα) have been successfully incorporated into specific phosphatidylcholine (PC) and phosphatidylserine (PS) multilamellar vesicle (MLV) liposomes by modifying the concentration of calcium ion and pH of the encapsulation buffer. Under these conditions, some of the cytokines may attach to the exterior surface of the MLV and therefore be readily accessible to target cells for receptor binding and signal transduction. These cytokine-associated liposomes are stable for up to 2 weeks in serum-free buffer, and leakage of cytokines into medium containing 10% fetal bovine serum was about 50% at the end of a 3-day incubation period at 37°C. The biological activities mediated by liposomal IL1α and TNFα were specific: the stimulation of thymidine uptake in T-helper D10 lymphocytes and the cytolysis of TNFα-sensitive L929 target cells could be blocked by specific neutralizing antibodies in a dose-dependent fashion. When administered intravenously into C57BL/6 mice bearing the syngeneic B16F10 murine melanoma cells, dual entrapment of liposomal IL1α and TNFα significantly reduced the number of metastatic tumor nodules in the lungs and prolonged the life span of the animals. Thus, liposomal IL1α and TNFα displayed significant in vivo antitumor activity against the IL1α- and TNFα-resistant B16F10 metastatic murine melanoma.
Arbitrary motion unsteady aerodynamics and its application to rotary-wing aeroelasticity

This paper presents in a unified manner recent research on arbitrary motion unsteady aerodynamics with an emphasis on applications to a number of rotary wing aeroelastic problems. The term arbitrary motion is used to denote growing or decaying oscillations with a certain frequency. The specific topics treated in this paper are: (1) generalization of Greenberg's theory and its application to hingeless rotor aeroelastic stability; (2) description of a new technique for formulating finite state approximations to steady aerodynamic theories, which are suitable for both fixed-wing and rotary-wing applications, and its application to generalize Loewy's theory; (3) comparison of fixed wing and rotary-wing indicial response functions; (4) influence of arbitrary motion aerodynamics, as represented by dynamic inflow on a helicopter in ground resonance. From the discussion of these topics a number of useful conclusions on the fundamental nature of arbitrary motion aerodynamics and its role in rotary-wing aeroelasticity are obtained.
Certificates for Verifiable Forensics

Digital forensics reports typically document the search process that has led to a conclusion, the primary means to verify the report is to repeat the search process. We believe that, as a result, the Trusted Computing Base for digital forensics is unnecessarily large and opaque. We advocate the use of forensic certificates as intermediate artifacts between search and verification. Because a forensic certificate has a precise semantics, it can be verified without knowledge of the search process and forensic tools used to create it. In addition, this precision opens up avenues for the analysis of forensic specifications. We present a case study using the specification of a deleted file. We propose a verification architecture that addresses the enormous size of digital forensics data sets. As a proof of concept, we consider a computer intrusion case study, drawn from the Honey net project. Our Coq formalization yields a verifiable certificate of the correctness of the underlying forensic analysis.
The Akt/mTOR and Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Pathways in Lung Cancer Therapy

Aberrant intracellular signaling resulting from mutations and oncogenic activation, as well as gene amplification of critical proteins involved in signal transduction pathways, are key features of lung cancer. Three important intracellular signaling proteins, the mammalian target of rapamycin, protein kinase B, and mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase have emerged as attractive targets for lung cancer therapy. We review current information on the therapeutic manipulation of these targets and describe early clinical data in lung cancer.
Exemplification as molecular function

Since the publication of Universals and Scientific Realism (Armstrong 1978a, b) until Sketch for a Systematic Metaphysics (Armstrong 2010), via Universals: An Opinionated Introduction (Armstrong 1989), a World of States of Affairs (Armstrong 1997), and Truth and Truthmakers (Armstrong 2004), David Armstrong has developed one of the most influential theories of instantiation in contemporary analytic metaphysics (see, for example, Lewis, in Aust J Phil 61(4), 343–377, 1983; Baxter in Aust J Phil, 79, 449–464, 2001; Forrest, in Aust J Phil, 83, 213–228, 2006). Instantiation has been advocated by Armstrong to give a solution to what he has called the “pressing problem” of “the multiple location of property universals” (Armstrong, in Universals: An opinionated introduction. University Press, Cambridge, 1989, pp. 89–90). Here I argue that Armstrong’s theory of instantiation fails to solve the problem because it involves two kinds of instantiation to account for particulars “having” and “sharing” universals. As a viable alternative to Armstrong’s theory, I propose a theory of instantiation capable of accounting for both phenomena in a univocal way.
Extended dislocation lozenges and dipoles in f.c.c. crystals

Abstract In addition to the standard extended dislocation dipoles, we show that there are four additional stable defects with lozenge-shaped cross-sections. The relative stability of these various types of extended dipoles and faults in silver, a typical f.c.c. metal, is numerically evaluated. Isotropic linear elasticity is assumed in the analysis. The equilibrium configurations and the interaction energy of the unreacted, extended dislocation pairs gliding on parallel {111} planes are calculated. The change in energy is then computed after the extended dislocations near their equilibrium positions dissociate and react to form the faulted configurations. The results predict stable lozenge arrays for reactant screw dislocations in addition to the traditional dipoles predicted for 60[ddot] reactant mixed dislocations.
Adrenal secretion of catecholamines evoked by chemical stimulation of trigeminal nucleus caudalis in the cat.

Abstract Microinjections of the neuroexcitatory substance l -glutamate, were made directly into various laminae of trigeminal nucleus caudalis to examine the influence of medullary dorsal horn neurons on the adrenal secretion of catecholamines in the anesthetized cat. Microinjections into the marginal layers (lamina I–II) or into the deep magnocellular portion (lamina V–VI) of nucleus caudalis ipsilateral to the adrenal vein sample evoked a prompt increase in the secretion of epinephrine and a smaller, yet consistent, increase in the secretion of norepinephrine. Injections into the magnocellular layers (lamina III–IV) had no significant effect on secretion of catecholamines. Injections into nucleus caudalis, contralateral to the adrenal vein sample, had no consistent effect on secretion suggesting that the central pathway from nucleus caudalis to the spinal cord for control of adrenal secretion of catecholamines is mainly ipsilateral. Changes in the adrenal secretion of epinephrine were not correlated with changes in adrenal venous blood flow, in arterial pressure or in heart rate. Arterial pressure was transiently increased by l -glutamate injections into the marginal layers, whereas injections into other laminae had no consistent effect. Heart rate increased regardless of the laminar site injection. The results indicate that local excitation of nucleus caudalis, in laminae that contain the majority of nociceptive neurons, evokes a consistent increase in the adrenal secretion of catecholamines, whereas excitation of neurons in laminae that mainly process non-noxious sensory input has no significant effect. It is concluded that secondary trigeminal neurons that contribute to the autonomie responses to noxious trigeminal stimuli have a similar distribution within nucleus caudalis as those that underlie the sensory-discriminative aspects of nociceptive.
Inventory and Critique of Estimates of U.S. Agricultural Capacity

The objectives of this paper are threefold: to assess where we are in research to measure agriculture's capacity to produce and prevailing levels of capacity utilization rates; to observe some possible roadblocks and methodological issues relating to the estimation of agricultural capacity and its utilization, assuming that such estimates should be consistent with those for other economic sectors and compatible with estimates of productivity and efficiency; and to suggest avenues that might lead toward estimates of agricultural capacity and its utilization.
Spiking Neuron Computation With the Time Machine

The Time Machine (TM) is a spike-based computation architecture that represents synaptic weights in time. This choice of weight representation allows the use of virtual synapses, providing an excellent tradeoff in terms of flexibility, arbitrary weight connections and hardware usage compared to dedicated synapse architectures. The TM supports an arbitrary number of synapses and is limited only by the number of simultaneously active synapses to each neuron. SpikeSim, a behavioral hardware simulator for the architecture, is described along with example algorithms for edge detection and objection recognition. The TM can implement traditional spike-based processing as well as recently developed time mode operations where step functions serve as the input and output of each neuron block. A custom hybrid digital/analog implementation and a fully digital realization of the TM are discussed. An analog chip with 32 neurons, 1024 synapses and an address event representation (AER) block has been fabricated in 0.5 μm technology. A fully digital field-programmable gate array (FPGA)-based implementation of the architecture has 6,144 neurons and 100,352 simultaneously active synapses. Both implementations utilize a digital controller for routing spikes that can process up to 34 million synapses per second.
Different isozymes of mouse 11β-hydroxylase produce mineralocorticoids and glucocorticoids

We have isolated and characterized two isozymes of mouse steroid 11s-hydroxylase (11s-OHase), designated 11s-OHase and aldosterone synthase (AS). Physical mapping of overlapping cosmid and phage isolates defined two genes (designated Cyp11b-1 and Cyp11b-2 in the standard nomenclature for cytochrome P450 genes) that are oriented in the same direction and separated by approximately 8 kilobase pairs of DNA. The two genes are highly homologous in their coding regions, with 84% nucleotide identity and 86% predicted amino acid identity. In regions where the sequences of the rat 11s-OHase and AS genes diverged most widely, the mouse sequences also differed significantly, thereby identifying putative mouse 11s-OHase and AS genes. Both genes were mapped to chromosome 15 by analyzing restriction fragment length variations in a panel of DNA samples from an interspecific cross. To determine the functional properties of the 11s-OHase and AS proteins, we transfected COS-7 cells with plasmids that expressed the proteins...
Further observations on substrate-derived chloromethyl ketones that inactivate trypsin.

Abstract The inactivation of trypsin by TLCK was examined with respect to dependence on the concentration of the inhibitor. Saturation kinetics were observed as expected of an active-site directed reagent. The intermediate complex has a dissociation constant of 2.1 × 10−4 m and forms inactive enzyme with K2 = 0.16 min−1 at pH 7.0, 25 °. An improved synthesis of TLCK is described which also facilitated the preparation of D-TLCK and of LCK (the chloromethyl ketone derived from lysine). The former is essentially inactive. LCK alkylates trypsin at N-3 of a histidine residue. Although it has less affinity for trypsin than TLCK, LCK forms a complex which proceeds to alkylated enzyme more rapidly, i.e., k2 = 0.50 min−1. The inactivation of trypsin by TLCK was examined in the region of pH 4.0–4.4 at 37 °. Under these conditions considerable denaturation was occurring. However, alkylation took place only with active enzyme, exclusively at N-3 of a histidine residue. Attempts made to synthesize chloromethyl ketones derived from Nα-substituted ornithine and arginine encountered difficulty chiefly due to cyclization. However, preparations containing a low content of the chloromethyl ketone from Nα-p-nitrobenzyloxycarbonylarginine (p-NO2-ZACK) were obtained; this agent is an extremely rapid inactivator of trypsin.