cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Suicide Among Older Adults Living in or Transitioning to Residential Long-term Care, 2003 to 2015

Importance Almost 25% of Medicare beneficiaries live in residential long-term care (LTC) (eg, independent or assisted living facility or nursing home). There are few reliable statistics on completed suicide in LTC, in part because of data limitations. Objectives To estimate the number of suicides associated with residential LTC (ie, among persons in a facility, transitioning into or out of a facility, or otherwise associated with LTC) among adults 55 and older and, secondarily, to identify whether machine learning tools could improve the quality of suicide surveillance data. Design, Setting, and Participants Cross-sectional epidemiologic study (conducted in 2018) of restricted-access data from the National Violent Death Reporting System (NVDRS) (2003-2015) using restricted-access case narratives from suicides and undetermined deaths among adults 55 years and older in 27 states. Participants were all suicides and undetermined deaths (N = 47 759) among persons 55 years and older. Exposure Long-term care cited in the coroner/medical examiner case narrative, whether as a reason for self-harm or the injury location, identified using machine learning natural language processing (NLP) algorithms plus manual review of texts. Main Outcomes and Measures Number and characteristics (eg, demographics, health history, and means of injury) of suicides associated with LTC. The κ statistic was used to estimate the reliability of the existing NVDRS injury location codes relative to cases identified by the algorithm. Results Among 47 759 persons 55 years and older (median age, 64 years; 77.6% male; 90.0% non-Hispanic white), this study identified 1037 suicide deaths associated with LTC, including 428 among older adults living in LTC, 449 among older adults transitioning to LTC, and 160 otherwise associated with LTC. In contrast, there were only 263 cases coded with the existing NVDRS location code “supervised residential facility,” which had poor agreement with cases that the algorithm identified as occurring in LTC (κ statistic, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.26-0.35). Conclusions and Relevance Over a 13-year period, approximately 2.2% of suicides among adults 55 years and older were associated with LTC in some manner. Clinicians, administrators, and policy makers should consider ways to promote the mental health and well-being of older adults experiencing functioning limitations and their families. Natural language processing may be a useful way to improve abstraction of variables in the NVDRS.
Translational induction of ATF4 during integrated stress response requires noncanonical initiation factors eIF2D and DENR

The Integrated Stress Response (ISR) helps metazoan cells adapt to cellular stress by limiting the availability of initiator methionyl-tRNA for translation. Such limiting conditions paradoxically stimulate the translation of ATF4 mRNA through a regulatory 5′ leader sequence with multiple upstream Open Reading Frames (uORFs), thereby activating stress-responsive gene expression. Here, we report the identification of two critical regulators of such ATF4 induction, the noncanonical initiation factors eIF2D and DENR. Loss of eIF2D and DENR in Drosophila results in increased vulnerability to amino acid deprivation, susceptibility to retinal degeneration caused by endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, and developmental defects similar to ATF4 mutants. eIF2D requires its RNA-binding motif for regulation of 5′ leader-mediated ATF4 translation. Consistently, eIF2D and DENR deficient human cells show impaired ATF4 protein induction in response to ER stress. Altogether, our findings indicate that eIF2D and DENR are critical mediators of ATF4 translational induction and stress responses in vivo. Translation of ATF4 mRNA is stimulated during the integrated stress response. Here the authors show that two noncanonical translation initiation factors eIF2D and DENR are required for translational induction of ATF4 mRNA in Drosophila and human cells.
Evaluator Education Curriculum: Which Competencies Ought to Be Prioritized in Master’s and Doctoral Programs?:

A budding area of research is devoted to studying evaluator curriculum, yet to date, it has focused exclusively on describing the content and emphasis of topics or competencies in university-based ...
Access to Urologic Care at Urgent Care Centers.

Abstract Objective To evaluate Medicaid insurance access disparities for urologic care at urgent care centers (UCCs) in the United States. Materials and Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study using a “secret shopper” methodology. We sampled 240 UCCs across 8 states. Using a standardized script, researchers posed as a patient with either Medicaid or commercial insurance in the clinical setting of obstructing nephrolithiasis. The primary study endpoint was whether a patient's insurance (Medicaid vs commercial) was accepted. We assessed factors associated with Medicaid acceptance using logistic regression models adjusted for state-level and facility-level characteristics. Additionally, we calculated triage rates, emergency department referral rates, and the ability of a UCC to refer the patient to a specialist. Results Of 240 UCCs contacted, 239 (99.6%) accepted commercial insurance and 159 (66.2%) accepted Medicaid. UCCs in Medicaid expansion states more frequently accepted patients with Medicaid insurance (74.2% vs 58.3%, respectively, P Conclusion We identified significant disparities in access to UCCs for Medicaid patients presenting with a urologic condition. Given the expanding national role of UCCs, these findings highlight potential sources of insurance disparity in the context of a urologic emergency.
Examining preservice teachers' understanding of slope through posing problems and embedding learning in real-world contexts

Abstract This study examines the potential for semi-structured problem posing to provide valuable information about preservice teachers' mathematical knowledge for teaching, with a focus on ‘specialized content knowledge’ and ‘mathematical tasks of teaching’. Preservice teachers posed problems to expand and strengthen students' conceptualizations of slope in real-world situations. Their strengths and weaknesses in posing problems with real-world contexts and promoting conceptual understanding of slope offer insight into their mathematical knowledge for teaching. Implications are discussed for design of mathematics teacher education coursework and program structures to support development of essential skills and practices for teaching mathematics.
Predicting United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 2 Clinical Knowledge Scores from Previous Academic Performance Measures within a Longitudinal Interleaved Curriculum

Background United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 is a common metric looked at by residency programs to determine invitations for candidates to interview. However, USMLE Step 2 Clinical Knowledge (CK) has also been an important factor for selecting applicants to interview and plays a significant role during applicant selection. This study aims to identify academic performance measures that correlate with USMLE Step 2 CK scores and to develop a model to predict USMLE Step 2 CK scores using previous academic measures from the first two cohorts in the longitudinal interleaved clerkship (LInC) at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (KSOM). Setting The KSOM is a newly accredited US allopathic medical school that accepted its first class in 2017. At KSOM, a LInC model is used in the primary clinical year. In this model, rotations are two weeks in duration before moving on to the next specialty. Students complete the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) subject examinations in all six specialties in one week at the midpoint and the end of the LInC. Students who passed an exam at the midpoint can opt out of that exam at the end as the higher of the two exam scores is recorded. However, most students choose to take all the exams again to improve their scores and prepare for USMLE Step 2 CK. Methodology Academic performance measures were gathered from the class of 2021 and 2022 (n = 101) including undergraduate grade point average (GPA), undergraduate science GPA, medical college admission test score, USMLE Step 1 score, NBME clinical subject exam scores, and USMLE Step 2 CK scores. Pearson correlations were run between the performance variables and USMLE Step 2 CK scores to measure influence variables individually, then a regression model measured impacts of variables together. Results All variables except undergraduate science GPA significantly correlated with USMLE Step 2 CK score. USMLE Step 1 had the strongest correlation (r = 0.752, p < 0.001). The regression model had an R of 0.859 with the internal medicine subject exam showing the highest beta coefficient (0.327, p < 0.001). Conclusions This study determined that USMLE Step 2 CK scores can be effectively predicted using available performance measures. With USMLE Step 1 becoming pass/fail in January 2022, the importance of USMLE Step 2 CK as a screening tool in the residency application process will likely increase. This study was conducted within a LInC curriculum and may have limited value in the prediction of scores within other clinical year curricula.
Key Challenges in Megabridge Design–Build Project Procurement

AbstractMegabridge projects are those that cost more than $500 million to complete from the planning stages through completion of construction. In the evolving field of transportation design–build ...
Interventionen in der Familie

Es gibt viele Erscheinungsformen von Familien. Sie konnen von zwei biologischen oder zwei Adoptiveltern, einem biologischen und einem Stiefelternteil, einem alleinerziehenden Elternteil, der geschieden ist oder nie verheiratet war, einem oder mehreren Groseltern oder einem Verwandten in der Elternrolle geleitet werden. Die Vielfalt familiarer Strukturen hat in den letzten Jahren zugenommen, und immer mehr Kinder werden von geschiedenen, wiederverheirateten und/oder schon immer ledigen Eltern erzogen. Ganz unabhangig von der tatsachlichen Form einer Familie hat die Beziehung zwischen dem sich entwickelnden Kind und seinen „Eltern“ wahrscheinlich den grosten Einfluss auf sein Leben. Tatsachlich sehen die meisten Sozialisationstheorien die Eltern als die wichtigsten Vermittler des Selbstkonzeptes eines Kindes, seines emotionalen Wohlergehens, seiner interpersonellen Kompetenzen und seiner Leistungsmotivation. Daruber hinaus machen die vorliegenden Forschungsergebnisse es wahrscheinlich, dass Kinder und Jugendliche, die eine gestorte Beziehung zu ihren Eltern oder anderen Sorgeberechtigten haben, viel haufiger emotionale und Verhaltensschwierigkeiten entwickeln, wie etwa dissoziales oder delinquentes Verhalten (Cummings, Davies & Campbell, 2000; Mash & Barkley, 2006). Daher bilden die innerfamiliaren Beziehungen von Heranwachsenden mit schwerwiegendem dissozialem Verhalten ein entscheidendes Interventionsziel in der MST.
The ethics of policing: Gratuities and corruption

Surely shoveling society's shit is worth something. Police officer Don't take a dim view of criminals. Remember, society's shit is your bread and butter . Nicholas Ross Corruption in police work has been a pervasive and continuing problem. Almost every serious history of policing and even of particular police departments has had to confront the issue of police corruptibility. Only the smallest and most vigilant departments have escaped its wasting effects. Corruption has been more virulent, visible and deeprooted at some times and in some jurisdictions than at other times and in other jurisdictions. Large urban departments are more prone to corruption than most, though even in small communities police may be just as deeply corrupted. When, from time to time, police corruption has been uncovered, police spokespeople have usually been quick to speak of the rotten apple in every barrel. But it is clear that the corruption has often been much more extensive, claiming not simply lower-ranked officers, or officers on patrol, but involving officers of almost every rank in a network of intrigue, or at least disregard. Indeed, corruption is as much a top-down as a bottom-up problem. Corruption is also a serious problem in police work. This is not only because it violates the ethical norms governing that work, but also because it impairs the ability of police to carry out their work successfully. Corruption is damaging to credibility, and police work, to be effective, needs the confidence and cooperation of the citizenry.
THORACO-ABDOMINAL RESPONSE AND INJURY

The response of human cadavers and live anesthetized and postmortem primates and canines to blunt lateral thoraco-abdominal impact was investigated using a 10 kgm. free-flying mass. Injuries were evaluated by gross autopsy, and for live subjects, also by sequential peritoneal lavage and biochemical assays. Mechanical measurements included force time history, intra-aortic pressure, and high-speed cineradiography. The X-ray cineradiograph was shown to be invaluable as an in vivo, noninvasive technique for quantifying the motion of internal structures during impact. The heart's response during the time of contact was affected by interactions with other material bodies (diaphragm, thoraco-abdominal wall, and lung tissue). During impacts of 12 msec. or less, the hepatic system acted as a deformable structure. Injury severity (Abbreviated Injury Scale) was lower for the unpressurized postmortem subjects than for the live subjects. Elevated levels of the enzymes glutamic-oxalacetic transaminase and glutamic-pyruvic transaminase occurred in both the circulatory system and the peritoneal cavity within one half hour following blunt abdominal impact trauma. Evaluation of abdominal injury severity by gross autopsy was found to lack interpretation of such critical factors as hemorrhaging.
The mechanism of interference between an avion leukosis virus and rous sarcoma virus: II. Early steps of infection by RSV of cells under conditions of interference

Abstract Infection of chick embryo cells by Rous sarcoma virus RSV (RAV-1) can be halted immediately after adsorption of the virus by adding antiviral antibody. Within 5 minutes at 37 ° the virus becomes insusceptible to inactivation by antibody. It can, however, still be inactivated by lowering the pH of the medium to 2.2. The rate at which adsorbed virus becomes insusceptible to antibody inactivation is about 8 times slower at 8 ° than at 37 °. The rate at which it becomes insusceptible to low pH treatment is very low at 8 °, so that it can all be inactivated by this treatment even after 5 hours. When chick embryo cells are infected with RAV-1, they become relatively resistant to infection by RSV (RAV-1). In such resistant cells, some of the superinfecting RSV (RAV-1) particles which ultimately initiate infection can be inactivated by antiserum long after they would have fully penetrated into normal cells; i.e., the attainment of insensitivity to antibody requires many hours instead of a few minutes. The subsequent step which leads to insensitivity to inactivation at pH 2.2 proceeds after a normal interval once the virus has become insusceptible to antibody. Therefore it is concluded that RAV-1 particles block the sites at which the superinfecting RSV (RAV-1) particles become insusceptible to antibody.
Design Overview of the NAIL! System

We describe the design decisions made for the NAIL! (not another implementation of logic!) system, an advanced form of DBMS where queries may involve a large collection of Prolog-like rules used for query interpretation. A discussion of the ways NAIL! semantics differs from Prolog is followed by an exposition of the principal ideas in the system design. These points include the partition of predicates into strongly connected components to represent the structure of recursions and the “capture rule” organization for selecting query processing strategies. Other ideas include the way distinctions between bound and free arguments are capitalized upon and the persistence of previously discovered facts about the way to handle certain queries. We also survey the recent work on the processing of recursively defined queries conducted by the NAIL! group and others with similar computational models.
Metal-dependent structure and self association of the RAG1 zinc-binding domain

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses a specific class of zinc-binding motif that is the zinc C3HC4 motif, also known as the “RING finger.” One of the first RING finger sequences has been identified in RAG1, a protein expressed in developing lymphocytes by recombination activating gene-1. The chapter uses a combination of biophysical techniques to define the solution properties of the amino terminal zinc-binding domain of the recombination activating protein, RAG1. This, along with RAG2, is an essential component of the V(D)J recombination reaction, which produces the genetic sequence encoding for the variable regions of the T cell receptor and immunoglobulin chains. Briefly, V(D)J recombination is accomplished via selection and assembly of gene segments known as variable (V), joining (J), and sometimes diversity (D) in an ordered and precisely regulated process. The RING finger sequence of RAG1 is present within the N-terminal third of the protein, which contains a total of 1040 residues in the murine form. The dimerization of this zinc-binding domain provides further support for the participation of RING fingers in protein–protein interactions. This dimerization domain of RAG1, previously referred to as R121, is referred as ZDD, zinc-binding dimerization domain. This chapter focuses on the role of metal binding to the ZDD dimer. In particular, investigation is done on the stabilities of different species of ZDD with varyingmetal-to-protein stoichiometries. Combined with the metal-binding studies, the chapter further investigates dimer formation of this unique zinc-binding domain, while providing additional detail into the techniques and methods used.
Recurrent Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus Bacteremia in an Infant

We describe a case of an infant with recurrent bacteremia caused by Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus, likely transmitted from mother to infant. Our case highlights the importance of an epidemiological history and molecular diagnostics in ascertaining insights into transmission, pathogenesis, and optimal management.
Nicotine attenuates the effect of HIV-1 proteins on the neural circuits of working and contextual memories.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) are characterized by synaptic damage and neuronal loss in the brain. Excessive glutamatergic transmission and loss of cholinergic neurons are the major indicators of HAND. Nicotine acts as a cholinergic channel modulator, and its cognitive-enhancing effect in neurodegenerative and cognitive disorders has been documented. However, it is unclear whether nicotine has any positive effect on memory and synaptic plasticity formation in HAND. We investigated the effects of nicotine on synaptic plasticity and hippocampus–prefrontal cortex (PFC)–amygdala-dependent memory formation in the HIV-1 transgenic (Tg) and F344 control rats. Chronic nicotine treatment (0.4 mg/kg nicotine, base, subcutaneously) significantly attenuated the cognitive deficits in the HIV-1Tg rats in both the spatial and contextual fear memories but impaired the contextual learning memory in the F344 rats. To determine the role of nicotine in the synaptic dysfunction caused by HIV-1 proteins, we analyzed the expression of key representative genes related to synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus, PFC, and amygdala of the HIV-1Tg and F344 rats using a custom-designed qRT-PCR array. The HIV-1 proteins significantly altered the glutamate receptor-mediated intracellular calcium cascade and its downstream signaling cascade in a brain region-specific manner. Further, chronic nicotine treatment reversed the effect of HIV-1 proteins on the expression of genes involved in synaptic plasticity in the three brain regions. The effects of nicotine differed significantly in the HIV-1Tg and F344 rats. Our findings indicate that nicotine can attenuate the effect of HIV viral proteins on cognitive function and produce a brain region- and strain-specific effect on the intracellular signaling cascades involved in synaptic plasticity and memory formation.
ANTI-DISCRIMINATION POLICY AND THE ROMA: ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF EU ENLARGEMENT

This article assesses the impact of the European Union’s anti-discrimination policy on the Roma, with a focus on the 2000 Race Equality Directive and post-2004 enlargement developments. It explores the recent expansion of EU attention and action regarding discrimination and the Roma and then considers the direct and indirect results in terms of new national legislation and institutions in old and new Member States, Roma discrimination cases in national and international courts, public views on the Roma and discrimination, and changes in the actual situation of this minority. Overall, I find importantly a significant increase in interest, attention, and action by the EU regarding the Roma, gradual but important changes by governments of Member States, yet continuing discrimination, and ultimately little impact as yet on the lives of most Roma.
The changing diversity and distribution of dry forest passerine birds in northwestern Peru since the last ice age

ABSTRACT The role of Quaternary glacial–interglacial intervals in shaping the diversity and distribution of Neotropical species has been the focus of considerable research. The Neotropics sustain the highest passerine diversity on Earth, but little is known about this region's historical biogeography based on fossils. To assess how passerine species were affected by Quaternary climate fluctuations, we identified 625 late Pleistocene fossils (individual fossilized bones) from the now arid and faunally depauperate Talara Tar Seeps in northwestern Peru. Of the 21 passerine species identified, only 2 likely live at the site now; the remaining 19 species require more mesic conditions. Species identified included members of the Thamnophilidae (antbirds), Melanopareiidae (crescentchests), Tyrannidae (flycatchers), Hirundinidae (swallows), Mimidae (mockingbirds), Thraupidae (seedeaters, “finches”), Emberizidae (sparrows), and Icteridae (blackbirds). Nearly half of the individual fossils and 8 of the 21 species we...
Morphometric analysis of the forelimb and pectoral girdle of the Cretaceous ornithopod dinosaur Oryctodromeus cubicularis and implications for digging

ABSTRACT The basal ornithopod Oryctodromeus cubicularis was described as burrowing due to its discovery in a burrow structure, and the presence of several morphological features considered consistent with burrowing. Using traditional and geometric morphometric analyses, the morphology of the humerus and scapula of ornithopods, basal ornithischians, and marginocephalians was analyzed to describe and characterize quantitatively the differences between Oryctodromeus and other ornithopods. These differences were then compared with the morphological adaptations for digging in mammals, because there are no adequate analogues for burrowing in extant archosaurs. A canonical variates analysis was also conducted on the geometric morphometric data to determine if phylogeny impacted morphological trends. The humerus of Oryctodromeus is slightly more robust than other basal ornithopods, indicating an adaptation for increased force applied to the humerus. The scapula provides the most compelling morphological support f...
Physical layer key generation in wireless networks: challenges and opportunities

Physical layer key generation that exploits reciprocity and randomness of wireless fading channels has attracted considerable research attention in recent years. Although theoretical study has shown its potential to generate information- theoretic secure keys, great challenges remain when transforming the theory into practice. This article provides an overview of the physical layer key generation process and discusses its practical challenges. Different passive and active attacks are analyzed and evaluated through numerical study. A new key generation scheme using random probing signals, and combining user generated randomness and channel randomness, is introduced as a countermeasure against active attacks. The numerical results show that the proposed scheme achieves higher security strength than existing schemes using constant probing signals under active attacks. Future research topics on physical layer key generation are discussed.
Sarah and Amber: A Tale of Two Third‐Year Spanish Students

: This qualitative study focused on the learning experiences of two intermediate-level students enrolled in a third-year, college-level Spanish composition and conversation course. Writing samples, postcourse surveys, and student interviews provided insights into the impact of learning strategies and authentic texts on the development of second language writing skills. Implications for instructional practice are discussed.
Effect of Thyroidectomy with and Without Thyroxine Replacement on Transplantable Thyroid Tumors in Rats

Transplanted autonomous thyroid tumors grew to a larger size in rats receiving replacement thyroxine after radioiodine thyroidectomy than in rats permitted to continue in a myxedematous state. This effect of thyroxine on neoplasm growth may not be directly on the tumor, in that no significant deiodination of thyroxine by the tumors was demonstrated. Tumor uptake of 131I per unit weight was greater in the neoplasms from the hypothyroid animals. (Endocrinology 74: 925, 1964)
Simultaneous determination of carbonyls and NO2 in exhausts of heavy-duty diesel trucks and transit buses by HPLC following 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine cartridge collection.

A method combining 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (DNPH) cartridge sampling and high-performance liquid chromatog raphy (HPLC) analysis has been used for the measurement of carbonyl and NO2 emissions from heavy-duty diesel trucks and transit buses. The reaction of NO2 with DNPH allows for the simultaneous and unambiguous determination of NO2 and carbonyl concentrations in exhaust samples. The potential coelution of the NO2-DNPH derivative with the formaldehyde-DNPH derivative under certain chromatographic conditions was investigated. Successful separation of these two species was achieved allowing for simultaneous determination of carbonyls and NO2 in the exhaust samples collected from heavy-duty diesel (HDD) trucks and diesel, diesel/electric hybrid, diesel equipped with the continuously regenerating technology (CRT) particle traps, and compressed natural gas (CNG) transit buses tested over various drive cycles. Elevated NO2 emissions from CRT-equipped buses were observed. The NO2/NOx volume ratios for HDD t...
Immunoregulatory abnormalities in mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome

The immune status of 21 children in the acute phase of mucocutaneous lymph node syndrome (MCLS) was assessed and compared to that of control populations consisting of age-matched normal children and of children suffering from acute febrile nonbacterial illnesses. In contrast to the controls, 13 of 18 patients studied during the acute phase of MCLS had a significant reduction in circulating T8-positive (T8+) suppressor/cytotoxic T cells (P 0.05). Three of three patients were found to have a significantly increased number of Ia-bearing T4+ T cells, suggesting the presence of circulating activated helper cells. Furthermore, 17 of 18 patients with acute MCLS had a significantly elevated number of circulating cells spontaneously secreting IgG (P < 0.01) and IgM (P < 0.001) as determined by a reverse hemolytic plaque assay. Finally mononuclear cells from 18 of 20 patients with acute MCLS had increased cytotoxicity against 51Cr-labeled normal human skin fibroblasts (P < 0.01). Follow-up studies during the convalescence phase of MCLS indicated that most of the patients had gradual resolution of their immunologic abnormalities. These results suggested that immunoregulatory abnormalities may contribute to the pathogenesis of this syndrome.
Structure‐based Drug Design of Pyrrolidine‐1, 2‐dicarboxamides as a Novel Series of Orally Bioavailable Factor Xa Inhibitors

A novel series of pyrrolidine-1,2-dicarboxamides was discovered as factor Xa inhibitors using structure-based drug design. This series consisted of a neutral 4-chlorophenylurea P1, a biphenylsulfonamide P4 and a D-proline scaffold (1, IC(50) = 18 nM). Optimization of the initial hit resulted in an orally bioavailable, subnanomolar inhibitor of factor Xa (13, IC(50) = 0.38 nM), which was shown to be efficacious in a canine electrolytic model of thrombosis with minimal bleeding.
DNA injection proteins are targets of acridine-sensitized photoinactivation of bacteriophage P22.

Abstract Viruses and other nucleoprotein complexes are inactivated on exposure to white light in the presence of acridine and related dyes. The mechanism is thought to involve generation of singlet oxygen or related species, but the actual molecular targets of the inactivating event have not been well defined. We have re-examined the mechanism of dye-sensitized photoinactivation taking advantage of the well characterized bacteriophage P22. Though the inactivated phage absorb to their host cells, the cells are not killed and genetic markers cannot be rescued from the inactivated phage. These observations indicate that the chromosome is not injected into the host cell. However, the DNA of the damaged particles shows no evidence of double-stranded breaks or crosslinking. The DNA injection process of P22 requires three particle-associated proteins, the products of genes 7, 16 and 20. Gp16, which can act in trans during injection, is inactivated in the killed particles. Sodium dodecyl sulfate/polyacrylamide gel analysis reveals that gp16, gp7 and gp20 are progressively covalently damaged during photoinactivation. However, this damage does not occur in particles lacking DNA, indicating that it is DNA-mediated. Similar findings were obtained with acridine orange, acridine yellow, proflavin and acriflavin. These results indicate that the actual targets for inactivation are the DNA injection proteins, and that the lethal events represent absorption of photons by acridine molecules stacked in a region of DNA closely associated with the injection proteins.
Recursive cluster elimination based support vector machine for disease state prediction using resting state functional and effective brain connectivity.

Background Brain state classification has been accomplished using features such as voxel intensities, derived from functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, as inputs to efficient classifiers such as support vector machines (SVM) and is based on the spatial localization model of brain function. With the advent of the connectionist model of brain function, features from brain networks may provide increased discriminatory power for brain state classification.
Role of Inventory Buffers in Construction Labor Performance

Buffers of material stockpile (inventory) are formed at the work level in construction to help manage production. The size of material stockpiles often has an important bearing on construction project performance. In construction projects, where conditions are often uncertain and variable, some have suggested that buffers be sized and located according to the conditions. New management thinking like lean construction and theory of constraints suggests that the size of buffers needs to be managed carefully, because when oversized, buffers are wasteful, impede workflow, and hinder performance. Research has shown that project variability can be affected with the careful deployment of buffers but has not really evaluated the impact on construction labor performance. This paper reports an exploratory analysis of the relationship between inventory (buffers) and construction labor performance with data collected from three commercial projects in Brazil. In this study, the size of the buffer between rebar fabrication and installation in the construction of a structural system is compared to the labor performance of the fabrication and installation crews. The results show that some buffer helps achieve the best labor performance in the construction operations studied.
Chemistry of the Oxylobinae

The known chemistry of subtribe Oxylobinae, tribe Eupatorieae, Asteraceae, is reviewed and compared with the chemistry of other subtribes of this largely neotropical assembly of Composites.
Membrane-type 1 matrix metalloproteinase is regulated by Sp1 through the differential activation of AKT, JNK, and ERK pathways in human prostate tumor cells

We and other investigators have previously shown that membrane-type 1 matrix metalloproteinase (MT1-MMP) is overexpressed in invasive prostate cancer cells. However, the mechanism for this expression is not known. Here, we show that MT1-MMP is minimally expressed in nonmalignant primary prostate cells, moderately expressed in DU-145 cells, and highly expressed in invasive PC-3 and PC-3N cells. Using human MT1-MMP promoter reporter plasmids and mobility shift assays, we show that Sp1 regulates MT1-MMP expression in DU-145, PC-3, and PC-3N cells and in PC3-N cells using chromatin immunoprecipitation analysis and silencing RNA. Investigation of signaling pathway showed that DU-145 cells express constitutively phosphorylated extracellular stress-regulated kinase (ERK), whereas PC-3 and PC-3N cells express constitutively phosphorylated AKT/PKB and c-Jun NH2 terminal kinase (JNK). We show that MT1-MMP and Sp1 levels are decreased in PC-3 and PC-3N cells when phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase and JNK are inhibited, and that MT1-MMP levels are decreased in DU-145 cells when MEK is inhibited. Transient transfection of PC-3 and PC-3N cells with a dominant-negative JNK or p85, and of DU-145 cells with a dominant negative ERK, reduces MT1-MMP promoter activity. These results indicate differential signaling control of Sp1-mediated transcriptional regulation of MT1-MMP in prostate cancer cell lines.
Ultrastructural evidence for a reabsorptive role by intrarenal veins

Intrarenal veins, although known to have thin walls, are considered to be simple conducting vessels. Using light- and electron microscopy, the distribution and structure of named intrarenal veins was examined qualitatively and quantitatively in rat kidneys fixed by retrograde arterial perfusion. Although the venous system follows the pattern of arterial branching in general, a class of intracortical veins similar in appearance to interlobular veins but without a companion artery was found in the present study. It is suggested that these vessels be designated intralobular veins. Structurally, we have found intrarenal veins to be surprisingly similar to peritubular capillaries both in respect to their spatial relations to renal tubules as well as ultrastructurally. Like peritubular capillaries, the majority of the wall of intrarenal veins is intimately apposed to renal tubules. This fraction decreases centrally, values of 0.83 being obtained in intralobular veins, 0.69 in interlobular veins, and 0.56 in arcuate veins. The walls of intrarenal veins are comprised of little more than an endothelium, which, like peritubular capillaries, is remarkable for its thinness, high density of fenestrae, and lack of extraintimal elements. Endothelial thickness was not significantly greater in either interlobular or arcuate veins than in peritubular capillaries; the fenestrae were, however, about twice as frequent in peritubular capillaries as in interlobular or arcuate veins and 35 times more frequent than in interlobar veins. The size and numerical and volume densities of uncoated endocytotic vesicles did not differ significantly between peritubular capillaries and any of the intrarenal veins. Based on their marked qualitative and quantitative similarities to peritubular capillaries, we conclude that, like the latter, intrarenal veins are capable of sustaining passive transport between plasma and interstitium.
Experimentally induced and natural recovery from the effects of phenylalanine on brain protein synthesis.

Abstract The decrease in the neural polyribosomes produced during hyperphenylalaninemia could not be restored to normal levels by the injection of other singgle neutral amino acids. All of the neutral amino acids that are transported with phenylalanine were found to produce an alteration of neural polyribosomes similar to that measured with phenylalanine. However, the injection of a balanced mixture of 6 or 7 neutral amino acids could restore the brain polyribosomes to normal states. Although this experimentally induced recovery did not lower brain phenylalanine concentrations, it did restore the acylation levels of methionyl-tRNA, and in particular, the methionyl-tRNA initiator species. This also led to a concomitant stimulation of the elongation rate of brain polypeptide synthesis. A natural recovery of brain polyribosomal levels (occurring 2 h after 1 mg/g phenylalanine is injected) did not appear to represent a real recovery of neural protein metabolism. Phenylalanine concentrations were increased in the brain, the acylation levels of methionyl-tRNA, alanyl-tRNA and the initiator methionyl-tRNA remained altered, and the rate of ribosome translocation was decreased 28%.
Effects of morphine tolerance and abstinence on cellular immune function

Female B6C3F1 mice were rendered tolerant-dependent on morphine by a combination of injections and pellet implantation. Mice were injected with morphine sulfate (20 mg/kg, s.c.) twice a day on day 1. On day 2, they were implanted s.c. with a 75 mg morphine pellet for 3 days. On day 5, the pellets were either left intact (tolerant) or removed 8 h prior (abstinent) to carrying out the immune function tests. A high degree of tolerance to the analgesic and hypothermic effect of morphine developed as a result of this procedure. Similarly, physical dependence also developed as evidenced by the signs of the abrupt and naltrexone-precipitated abstinence syndrome. Implantation with morphine pellets resulted in a profound, statistically significant reduction in spleen and thymus weight and cellularities, with the greatest degree of reduction noted in abstinent animals. Morphine tolerance was associated with suppressed B-cell proliferation following in vitro stimulation, as well as interleukin-2 (IL-2) and interleukin-4 production by T-cells. NK cell activity was significantly reduced in morphine-tolerant, but not in morphine-abstinent, mice following a 24 h incubation in the presence or absence of IL-2. In comparison, the in vitro induction of cytotoxic T-cells was significantly depressed in morphine-abstinent, but not morphine-tolerant, animals. Exposure to morphine apparently had limited effect on macrophage function as assessed by production of tumor necrosis factor. These studies demonstrate a differential effect on immune effector and regulatory mechanisms in morphine tolerance and abstinence processes.
Tunable type II intracavity sum-frequency generation in a two chip collinear vertical external cavity surface emitting laser.

We report on the generation and experimental demonstration of intracavity type II sum-frequency generation (SFG) in a two chip InGaAs/GaAs vertical external cavity surface emitting laser cavity. The demonstrated two-chip cavity generates two orthogonally polarized, independently tunable, high-intensity intracavity lasing modes at different colors. Using a lithium triborate nonlinear crystal in the common collinear folded cavity region, high output power in the blue–green band is generated. Wavelength tuning with CW output powers in excess of 750 mW is demonstrated. By independent wavelength tuning of each fundamental color, tunable SFG output around 490 nm is reported.
A Case Study Evaluation of Subsea Preferential-Weld Heat-Affected-Zone Corrosion

Annual subsea inspections of the Murchison field platform's major welded joints indicated that a significant proportion of the welds suffered from preferential corrosion of their heat-affected zones. Only a limited number of joints can be inspected economically each year, and the program is normally biased toward structurally important welds with relatively low predicted fatigue lives. The presence of corrosion grooves considerably modifies the weld stress concentration factors (SCF's) and thus impacts the fatigue rankings and choice of welds for inspection. With only limited inspection data, there was a need to identify the extent of the corrosion problem. This paper discussed parameters studied in an attempt to correlate the spread and severity of the corrosion problem with variances in geometry, metallurgy, and cathodic protection. Correlations were found that enabled the successful prediction of location of further corrosion grooves and allowed a new optimum inspection program based on both fatigue prediction and weld corrosion history. The presence of the corrosion grooves in many cases gives spurious crack-like indications with magnetic particle inspection (MPI). This paper also discusses how alternating current potential difference (ACPD) inspection techniques together with profile-molding techniques were used to eliminate spurious readings and to characterize the grooving shape formore » detailed fracture-mechanics assessment.« less
The project GRAND extensive air shower array

Abstract Project GRAND is an extensive air shower array utilizing proportional wire chambers to directly measure the angles of the secondary electrons at ground level. The array will have 64 stations arranged in 8 rows and 8 columns on a level field 100 m × 100 m. Each station consists of four proportional wire chambers (PWC). Each PWC is 1.25 square meters in area with orthogonal x and y planes.
Probable identification of a membrane-associated repressor of Bacillus subtilis DNA replication as the E2 subunit of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex.

Two Bacillus subtilis lysogenic libraries were probed by an antibody specific for a previously described membrane-associated inhibitor of B. subtilis DNA replication (J. Laffan and W. Firshein, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 85:7452–7456, 1988). Three clones that reacted strongly with the antibody contained an entire open reading frame. Sequencing identified one of the clones (R1-2) as containing the E2 subunit of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex, dihydrolipoamide acetyltransferase. An AT-rich sequence in the origin region was identified initially as the site to which extracts from the R1-2 clone were bound. This sequence was almost identical to one detected in Bacillus thuringiensis that also bound the E2 subunit but which was involved in activating the Cry1 protoxin gene of the organism, not in inhibiting DNA replication (T. Walter and A. Aronson, J. Biol. Chem., 274:7901–7906, 1999). However, the exact sequence was not as important in B. subtilis as the AT-rich core region. Binding would occur as long as most of the AT character of the core remained. Purified E2 protein obtained by use of PCR and an expression vector reacted strongly with antibody prepared against the repressor protein and the protein in the R1-2 clone, but its specificity for the AT-rich region was altered. The purified E2 protein was capable of inhibiting membrane-associated DNA replication in vitro, but anti-E2 antibody was variable in its ability to rescue repression when added to the assay.
Convergence analysis of linear dynamical systems by high gain and high dynamic compensation

In this paper we analyse the problem of continuity of the closed-loop system map as a function of the compensator parameters. Under a suitable parametrization of the compensators we show that a necessary and sufficient condition for the closed-loop systems map to be continuous is given by max (>m, p) ≤ where the plant is a >p × >m plant of degree n. In particular, for single-input single-output plants, the closed-loop systems map is always continuous. The above result is surprising because the inequality is independent of the McMillan degree >q of the compensator. We also analyse the pole placement map and show that it always has points of discontinuity whenever >q > 0.
Computations with Imprecise Parameters in Engineering Design: Background and Theory

A technique to perform design calculations on imprecise representations of parameters has been developed and is presented. The level of imprecision in the description of design elements is typically high in the preliminary phase of engineer­ ing design. This imprecision is represented using the fuzzy calculus. Calculations can be performed using this method, to produce (imprecise) performance parameters from imprecise (input) design parameters. The Fuzzy Weighted Average technique is used to perform these calculations. A new metric, called the y-level measure, is in­ troduced to determine the relative coupling between imprecise inputs and outputs. The background and theory supporting this approach are presented, along with one example. Engineering design, both in practice and research, is evolv­ ing rapidly, especially in the development of computer-base d tools. Emphasis is moving from the later stages of design, to computational tools for preliminary design. In an earlier paper [35], a general approach to computational tools in preliminary engineering design and a model of the design pro­ cess was described. The primary aim of this model is to pro­ vide a structure for the development of tools to assist the designer in: managing the large amount of information en­ countered in the design process; determining a design's func­ tional requirements and constraints; evaluating the coupling between the design parameters; and carrying out the process of choosing between alternative design concepts. We are particularly interested in developing tools to assist the designer in the. preliminary phase of engineering design, by making more information available on the performance of design alternatives than is available using conventional design techniques. The most important design decisions (and poten­ tially the most costly, if wrong) are made at the preliminary stage. Our hypothesis is that increased information, over what is available by traditional design methods, will enable these decisions to be made with greater confidence and reduced risk. The effect will be greater, the earlier in the design cycle addi­ tional information can be made available. The preliminary phase of the engineering design process is one that embodies many functions: concept generation; evaluation of imprecise descriptions of simplified versions of the design; judgment of design feasibility; etc. [14, 15, 28]. The concept generation and simplification processes will not be addressed by the research reported here; rather our aim is to provide a technique for representing, manipulating, and evaluating the approximate, or imprecise, parametric descrip­ tions of the (preliminary) design artifact.
Threshold phenomena for a reaction-diffusion system

Abstract We consider the pure initial value problem for the system of equations ν t = ν xx + ƒ(ν) − w, w t = e(ν − γw), e, γ ⩾ 0 , the initial data being (ν(x, 0), w(x, 0)) = (ϑ(x), 0). Here ƒ(v) = −v + H(v − a) , where H is the Heaviside step function and a ϵ (0, 1 2 ) . This system is of the FitzHugh-Nagumo type and has several applications including nerve conduction and distributed chemical/ biochemical systems. It is demonstrated that this system exhibits a threshold phenomenon. This is done by considering the curve s(t) defined by s(t) = sup{x: v(x, t) = a}. The initial datum, ϑ(x), is said to be superthreshold if limt→∞ s(t) = ∞. It is proven that the initial datum is superthreshold if ϑ(x) > a on a sufficiently long interval, ϑ(x) is sufficiently smooth, and ϑ(x) decays sufficiently fast to zero as ¦x¦ → ∞ .