cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Surface properties of silicon and aluminum oxide powders

Abstract A bias-reference XPS technique has been used to relate the apparent chemical shifts of the Ols oxide lines in a series of silica, alumina, magnesia, and phosphate powders to variations in the Fermi levels of these materials. The Fermi energies, E F , are shown to be linearly related to the aqueous point of zero charge (pzc) of these surfaces, following the relationship: pzc = −2.9 E F + 16.8. These results conform to a model of the water/oxide surface reaction which follows the generalized Lewis theory of acid/base adduct formation.
Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) negatively affect overall survival in carcinoma of the cervix treated with radiotherapy.

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine a variety of biomarkers in carcinoma of the cervix to better characterize (1) the natural history of the disease, (2) response to radiotherapy (RT), and (3) potential for new therapeutic strategies. Methods and materials Fifty-five patients with Stage IB–IVA carcinoma of the cervix, treated with definitive intent RT, and on whom tumor tissue blocks were available were included in this study. Charts were reviewed for clinical parameters and disease status. Immunohistochemistry was performed for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), CD34, topoisomerase II alpha (topo-II), and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2). Univariate and multivariate Cox proportional hazards modeling was performed with disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) as the end points. Biomarkers were evaluated for correlation between various prognostic factors. Results In this series of 55 patients with carcinoma of the cervix treated with definitive RT, only stage was significant on univariate analysis for DFS ( p p p p = 0.012, p = 0.014, and p = 0.03, respectively), with increased expression indicating a worse prognosis. For OS, multivariate analysis revealed that VEGF, EGFR, and FIGO stage were significant ( p = 0.005, p = 0.011, and p p = 0.04), COX-2 and topo-II ( p = 0.04), COX-2 and grade ( p = 0.04), and tumor size and clinical stage ( p = 0.04). Conclusions Multivariate analysis revealed that increased staining for VEGF and COX-2 indicated diminished DFS, and VEGF and EGFR identified patients at increased risk of death. A significant direct correlation between VEGF and CD34 implicates the process of angiogenesis. Topo-II is a proliferative marker and it correlated directly with COX-2, indicating that expression of COX-2 may be greater in more proliferative tumors. Increased expression of EGFR, VEGF, and COX-2 has identified patients with a worse prognosis in cancer of the cervix. These data support the investigation of therapeutics that target these proteins in carcinoma of the cervix.
Investigations on human immunodeficiency virus type 1 integrase/DNA binding interactions via molecular dynamics and electrostatics calculations.

Abstract The complete three-dimensional structure of the active site region of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) integrase (IN) is not unambiguously known. This region includes a flexible loop comprising residues 141–148 and the N-terminal portion of the helix α-4, which contains E152, the third catalytic residue, and Y143, which plays a secondary role in catalysis. Relatively high B-factors exist for most of the residues in the aforementioned region. The HIV-1 IN belongs to the polynucleotidyl transferase superfamily, whose members have been proposed to use two divalent metal ions for catalysis. Although only the position of the first metal ion has been determined crystallographically for the HIV-1 IN, we recently have proposed a binding site for the second metal ion. Based on this information, we have performed two 500-psec molecular dynamics simulations of the catalytic domain of the HIV-1 IN containing two Mg2+ ions. In one of the simulations, we included a dianionic phosphate group (HPO42−) in the active site to mimic a portion of the DNA backbone of a substrate for the integration reaction. Electrostatics calculations and ionization state predictions were carried out on representative structures taken from the molecular dynamics simulations. Different conformational behaviors of the enzyme were observed, depending upon whether two Mg2+ ions were bound or two Mg2+ ions plus phosphate. The electrostatic calculations performed on the dynamical structures provide a further refinement about which regions of the catalytic domain of the HIV-1 IN may be involved in the DNA binding.
Genome-Wide Analysis of Syntenic Gene Deletion in the Grasses

The grasses, Poaceae, are one of the largest and most successful angiosperm families. Like many radiations of flowering plants, the divergence of the major grass lineages was preceded by a whole-genome duplication (WGD), although these events are not rare for flowering plants. By combining identification of syntenic gene blocks with measures of gene pair divergence and different frequencies of ancient gene loss, we have separated the two subgenomes present in modern grasses. Reciprocal loss of duplicated genes or genomic regions has been hypothesized to reproductively isolate populations and, thus, speciation. However, in contrast to previous studies in yeast and teleost fishes, we found very little evidence of reciprocal loss of homeologous genes between the grasses, suggesting that post-WGD gene loss may not be the cause of the grass radiation. The sets of homeologous and orthologous genes and predicted locations of deleted genes identified in this study, as well as links to the CoGe comparative genomics web platform for analyzing pan-grass syntenic regions, are provided along with this paper as a resource for the grass genetics community.
Contact processes in crowded environments.

Periodically sheared colloids at low densities demonstrate a dynamical phase transition from an inactive to active phase as the strain amplitude is increased. The inactive phase consists of no collisions (contacts) between particles in the steady state limit, while in the active phase collisions persist. To investigate this system at higher densities, we construct and study a conserved-particle-number contact process with three-body interactions, which are potentially more likely than two-body interactions at higher densities. For example, consider one active (diffusing) particle colliding with two inactive (nondiffusing) particles such that they become active and consider spontaneous inactivation. In mean field, this system exhibits a continuous dynamical phase transition. Simulations on square lattices also indicate a continuous transition with exponents similar to those measured for the conserved lattice gas (CLG) model. In contrast, the three-body interaction requiring two active particles to activate one inactive particle exhibits a discontinuous transition. Finally, inspired by kinetically constrained models of the glass transition, we investigate the ``caging effect'' at even higher particle densities to look for a second dynamical phase transition back to an inactive phase. Square lattice simulations suggest a continuous transition with a new set of exponents differing from both the CLG model and what is known as directed percolation, indicating a potentially new universality class for a contact process with a conserved particle number.
Questioning the Institutional Boundaries of U.S. Communication Research: An Epistemological Inquiry

Interpreting three levels of assumptions—the ideal case, the object-domain, and the method of inquiry—for each of the three subdisciplines of communication—rhetoric, interpersonal and mass—provides a foundation for assessing an appropriate and comprehensive definition of the domain of communication study.
Combustion efficiency determined from wall pressure and temperature measurement in a Mach 2 combustor

A study of transverse hydrogen injection behind a rearward facing step in a Mach 2 airflow was conducted to determine the combustion efficiency and the combustor/inlet interactions at the low temperature lean-mixture operational end of a scramjet combustor model. The fuel was injected at sonic conditions into the electrically heated airstream, which was maintained at 850 K or below. The static pressure delivered at the entrance of the combustor ranged between 0.25 to 0.5 atm. Injector configurations included single and staged injectors placed at 3 or 3-and-7 step-heights downstream of the step, respectively, with injector diameters of 1, 1.5, and 2 mm. Ignition was achieved by initially unstarting the test section. The constant area combustor and the low initial temperatures caused thermal choking and upstream interaction to occur at very low equivalence ratios. Typically, most of the fuel was burned in the recirculation region behind the step and around the jets. The effects of initial conditions (temperature and pressure), fuel-to-air dynamic pressure ratio, and boundaries (thermal vs adiabatic) are presented.
Spermcasting of spermatozeugmata by the bivalves Nutricola confusa and N. tantilla

The dynamics and consequences of the varied reproductive modes of marine invertebrates is a rich and vibrant field of inquiry for ecological and evolutionary studies. One mode of reproduction that is not as well-studied as others is “spermcasting” or “spermcast mating,” when males broadcast sperm and females retain eggs and brood developing embryonic stages. This type of reproduction occurs in two small (maximum adult shell length ~5–6 mm) venerid bivalves, Nutricola confusa and N. tantilla, that live in protected bays of the temperate eastern Pacific. Females of these species brood developing embryos in chambers formed by the inner demibranchs, and release fully formed juveniles. We discovered that upon exposing clams to fluvoxamine, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, males release spermatozeugmata, clusters of sperm cells attached by their heads to a central core. Spermatozoa of Nutricola have unusually long, needle-shaped heads that are approximately one quarter of the total length of the cell. These heads are curled and “packaged” into the hemispherical-shaped cores of spermatozeugmata. The cores are about one-third as long as the heads, and the tails protrude out of the opposite side of the cap of the core. The spermatozeugmata display two different swimming patterns, one where the tails beat in synchrony, and the other where they do not. The size of the cores is not significantly different in the two species, but spermatozeugmata of N. tantilla have significantly longer and wider tails than those of N. confusa. Advantages to spermcasting spermatozeugmata instead of individual spermatozoa may include enhanced dispersal and increased probabilities of fertilization. One consequence of spermatozeugmata (rather than individual spermatozoa) entering female brood chambers might be lowering of the effective population size. For species like these, which lack pelagic larvae, spermatozeugmata could increase dispersal and gene flow.
Design and Evaluation of Information Systems.

Abstract A perspective is presented to bring into focus the state-of-the-art and development of methods and criteria which relate to the problem of design and performance evaluation of information systems. Two major aspects of design and evaluation are considered. These are the initiation, planning, development and testing of new information systems, to include modification of existing structures; and the appraisals and measurement of operational systems and their components. A taxonomy of information systems is presented in order to provide for a basis of organized evaluation of system performance.
β-Amino acid facilitates macrocyclic ring closure in a combinatorial library

Abstract A solid phase synthesis of 14-membered macrocycles, resulting from resin-bound protected amino alcohols is described. A nucleophilic aromatic substitution strategy was used to effect the macrocyclization.
Plantar Pressures During Level Walking Compared with Other Ambulatory Activities

This study was designed to determine the magnitude of plantar pressures during level walking in comparison to other activities. These activities included climbing up stairs, going down stairs, a si...
Couple involvement in serious leisure: examining participation in dog agility

In this paper serious leisure is explored through the experiences of couple involved in dog agility. Modified auto-ethnography and narrative inquiry were used to gather data from 25 couples where both partners compete in dog agility and from 25 couples where one person competes and the other attends the competitions as a support spouse. Stebbins’ qualities of a serious leisure enthusiast are supported and refuted relative to couples’ leisure. The data recognised that while participation as a couple was somewhat important, most of the attention focused on interaction(s) and support of the/their dog(s). The data identified both positive and negative aspects of shared serious leisure, including sacrifices made to pursue the sport, the impact of spousal support and lack of support, and the intense bonding of people and their pets.
Nondestructive Evaluation of Naval Munitions Using X-Ray CT

In this manuscript, we present experimental results from a nondestructive evaluation (NDE) system that is being used to inspect naval munition components, such as missile rocket motors. The X-ray c...
Embeddable Mobile-C for Runtime Support of Code Mobility in Multi-Agent Systems

Agent technology is emerging as an important concept for the development of distributed complex systems. A number of mobile agent systems have been developed in the last decade. However, most of them were developed to support only Java mobile agents. Furthermore, many of them are standalone platforms. In other words, they were not designed to be embedded in a user application to support the code mobility. In order to provide distributed applications with the code mobility, this article presents a mobile agent library, the Mobile-C library. The Mobile-C library is supported by various operating systems including Windows, Unix, and real-time operating systems. It has a small footprint to meet the stringent memory capacity for a variety of mechatronic and embedded systems. This library allows a Mobile-C agency, a mobile agent platform, to be embedded in a program to support C/C++ mobile agents. Functions in this library facilitate the development of a multi-agent system that can easily interface with a variety of hardware devices.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
Combined Hoechst 33342 and merocyanine 540 staining to examine murine B cell cycle stage, viability and apoptosis

A procedure is described for the dual staining of lymphocytes with Hoechst 33342 (Ho342) to examine cell cycle position, and merocyanine 540 (MC540) that allows for the analysis of cells entering the early stages of apoptosis. Ho342 is a DNA specific dye and MC540 detects membrane phospholipid domain changes, some of which are associated with apoptotic cells. Flow analysis of B cells dually stained with Ho342 and MC540 allows for the discrimination of five distinct subpopulations. Two of these subpopulations represent viable, MC540 negative/dull cells with either 2n or 4n DNA. As 2n and 4n DNA B cells become MC540 bright they move into two distinct subpopulations representing cells entering and progressing through the early stages of apoptosis. As the apoptotic, MC540 bright cells move into the latter stages of apoptosis, they localize into a fifth subpopulation displaying reduced staining with Ho342 indicative of late stage apoptotic cells in the process of fragmenting their DNA. This experimental approach enables the characterization of lymphocyte populations for percentages of viable, early apoptotic, and late apoptotic cells. The cells are not fixed during this procedure, and since both dyes are viable dyes there is an additional opportunity to obtain sorted cells from any of the defined subpopulations for reculturing and functional analysis.
THE PROCESS b→sγ

The one loop process b→sγ is discussed together with the exclusive mode B→K*γ. Effects of QCD corrections, supersymmetry, fourth generation, and multi-Higgs are also considered.
Garnet + liquid equilibrium

New experiments were performed to determine saturation conditions for garnet and silicate liquid. Starting compositions were natural basalt powders ranging from komatiite to nephelinite, which were partially melted at pressures between 25 and 100 kbar. Rounded grains of natural pyrope or grossular were added to some experiments to induce garnet saturation, and to aid the segregation of liquid pools for microprobe analysis. Simple expressions describing K eq as a function of P, T and liquid composition were calibrated by linear least squares analysis of the data from this, and other, studies. Since garnets do not often occur as phenocrysts, equations were designed to predict garnet compositions when P, T and a silicate liquid composition are given. The regression data have a pressure range of 20–270 kbar, and compositions as diverse as nephelinite and komatiite. These models should thus apply to a broad range of geological problems. The majorite component in garnet was found to increase with increasing P, but compositional effects are also important. A garnet saturation surface applied to liquids with chondritic compositions shows that such liquids crystallize garnet with Mj contents of 0.27–0.42 at 200 kbar. Models of Earth differentiation thus need to account not only for fractionation of majorite, but also for Fe-, Ca-, Na- and Ti-bearing garnet components, which occur in non-trivial quantities at high pressure. Since many models of igneous petrogenesis rely on mineral-melt partition coefficients for the minor elements Na, Ti, and Cr, partition coefficients for these elements were also examined. The K d gar/liq for Na was found to be P-sensitive; Na contents of basalts may thus potentially yield information regarding depths of partial melting.
Orientation selectivity of the McCollough. effect: Analysis by equivalent contrast transformation

Using a color-cancellation technique, the strength of the McCollough effect was measured in units of excitation purity. The strength was studied both as a function of the contrast of the adapting gratings and as a function of the angle × between the axes of the test and the adapting gratings. Results were well described as a linear function of the contrast of the adapting gratings and as a cos(2×) function of the angle. Both functions were combined to express an equivalent contrast transformation which converts the measurements of orientation tuning into a unit comparable to that used for other kinds of orientation-specific aftereffects. The orientation tuning was found to be very broad with a half-width at half amplitude of approximately 27°. This estimate is considered to be a substantial underestimate of the actual tuning of the aftereffect’s substrate.
Electrically stimulated elbow extension in persons with C5/C6 tetraplegia: a functional and physiological evaluation.

Abstract Bryden AM, Memberg WD, Crago PE. Electrically stimulated elbow extension in persons with C5/C6 tetraplegia: a functional and physiological evaluation. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2000;81:80-8. Objective: To measure the effect of electrically stimulated triceps on elbow extension strength, range of motion, and the performance of overhead reaching tasks. Setting: Clinical research laboratory. Participants: Four individuals with spinal cord injuries at the C5 or C6 motor level. Interventions: The participants, who already had an implanted upper extremity neuroprosthesis, were provided with elbow extension through functional electrical stimulation (FES) of the triceps brachii. Main Outcome Measures: Comparisons of stimulated elbow extension to voluntary elbow extension: (1) evaluations of impairment such as range of motion and strength; (2) performance of a set of functional overhead reaching tasks that required elbow extension; (3) a usage survey (conducted by telephone) to examine use of triceps stimulation in the home and community. Results: All participants achieved greater range of motion and strength of elbow extension with stimulated triceps versus without. Overall functional task performance improved in 100% of the tasks tested for all but one participant, who showed improvement in 60% of the tasks. Participants reported using the triceps in at least one activity for at least 90% of the days the neuroprosthesis was donned. © 2000 by the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine and the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Automated fiber optical switching in FTTP PON access networks

Verizon has an aggressive plan to deploy fiber in its access network. Verizon is investigating the use of optical switches to reduce costs and improve service quality. Applications and architectures, using optical switches, are evaluated.
Nanoimprint-induced molecular stacking and pattern stabilization in a solution-processed subphthalocyanine film.

We present a systematic study on the thermal nanoimprinting of a boron subphthalocynamine molecule, 2-allylphenoxy-(subphthalocyaninato)boron(III) (SubPc-A), which represents a class of attractive small-molecular weight organic compounds for organic-based photovoltaics (OPV). The final equilibrium imprinted feature profile strongly depends on the imprinting temperature. The highest feature aspect ratio (or contrast) occurs at a specific window of imprinting temperatures (80−90 °C). X-ray diffraction indicates that the nanoimprint at such a temperature window can induce high-degree molecular stacking, which can help stabilize the imprinted features. Outside this window, we observed a pronounced relaxation of imprinted features after template removal, which is attributed to the surface diffusion. Key factors affecting the final equilibrium profile of the imprinted features were simulated. From the simulation, it was found that the crystallization-induced anisotropy of surface energy stabilized imprinted fea...
Multistep methods for differential algebraic equations

Multistep methods for the differential/algebraic equations (DAEs) in the form of $$F_1 (x) = 0, F_2 (x,x',z) = 0$$ are presented, whereF 1 maps from ℝ n to ℝ ′ ,F 2 from ℝ n x ℝ n x ℝ m to ℝ s andr<n≤r+s=n+m. By employing the deviations of the available existence theories, a new form of the multistep method for solutions of (1) is developed. Furthermore, it is shown that this method has no typical instabilities such as those that may occur in the application of multistep method to DAEs in the traditional manner. A proof of the solvability of the multistep system is provided, and an iterative method is developed for solving these nonlinear algebraic equations. Moreover, a proof of the convergence of this iterative method is presented.
New Polymorphic Microsatellites in Glossina pallidipes (Diptera: Glossinidae) and Their Cross-Amplification in Other Tsetse Fly Taxa

We report the development and characterization of three new microsatellite markers in the tsetse fly, Glossina pallidipes (Diptera: Glossinidae). Fifty-eight alleles were scored in 192 individuals representing six natural populations. Allelic diversity ranged from 9 to 28 alleles per locus (mean 19.3 ± 5.5). Averaged across loci, observed heterozygosity was 0.581 ± 0.209, and expected heterozygosity was 0.619 ± 0.181. Cross-species amplifications of the G. pallidipes loci in other tsetse fly taxa are reported.
Modeling Custom Digital Circuits for Test

Models meant for logic verification and simulation are often used for Automatic Test Pattern Generation (ATPG). For custom digital circuits, these models contain many tristate devices that tend to lower coverage for stuck-faults. Additionally, these tristate devices contribute to increased ATPG runtimes, fewer generated test sequences, and an overall lower test quality. The circuit under test is partitioned into channel connected sub-networks (CCSN) that consist of transistors that are connected at their source or drain terminals, except when these terminals are power, ground or primary inputs. Unlike other published work, algorithms presented in this paper analyze each CCSN in the context of its environment, thereby capturing the logical relationships among its input signals. Other algorithms presented include identification and modeling of embedded latches, clock generators and memory circuits. An abstract array model for memory that reduces the size of the model and increases simulation speed is also presented. When one specific feature of the algorithm was disabled, experimental results showed higher ATPG runtimes of about 35%, and an average decrease in fault coverage of around 15--20%. For the largest data cache, the memory modeling algorithm decreased the number of primitives from 1.23 million to 139 thousand.
Macrodebugging: global views of distributed program execution

Creating and debugging programs for wireless embedded networks (WENs) is notoriously difficult. Macroprogramming is an emerging technology that aims to address this problem by providing high-level programming abstractions. We present MDB, the first system to support the debugging of macroprograms. MDB allows the user to set break-points and step through a macroprogram using a source-level debugging interface similar to GDB, a process we call macrodebugging. A key challenge of MDB is to step through a macroprogram in sequential order even though it executes on the network in a distributed, asynchronous manner. Besides allowing the user to view distributed state, MDB also provides the ability to search for bugs over the entire history of distributed states. Finally, MDB allows the user to make hypothetical changes to a macroprogram and to see the effect on distributed state without the need to redeploy, execute, and test the new code. We show that macrodebugging is both easy and efficient: MDB consumes few system resources and requires few user commands to find the cause of bugs. We also provide a lightweight version of MDB called MDB Lite that can be used during the deployment phase to reduce resource consumption while still eliminating the possibility of heisenbugs: changes in the manifestation of bugs caused by enabling or disabling the debugger.
Adsorption of benzene mixtures on silicalite-1 and NaX zeolites

Abstract Adsorption of benzene/hydrocarbon liquid mixtures on silicalite-1 and NaX zeolites was measured by a volumetric/gravimetric method. The C6–C8 n-alkanes preferentially adsorb on silicalite-1 because of their higher heats of adsorption, and for n-C6, its favorable molecular configuration. The adsorption selectivity, which is 1400 for n-C6/benzene, decreases with increasing carbon number. In contrast, on NaX zeolite, benzene preferentially adsorbs over C6 and C7 n-alkanes (benzene/n-C6 selectivity as high as 1150), because benzene has a higher heat of adsorption and it packs more efficiently (higher entropy) in the NaX super cages. Benzene also preferentially adsorbs over cyclohexane on NaX because of its higher heat of adsorption and higher entropy. The benzene/cyclohexane adsorption selectivity increased from 82 to ∼3000 as the benzene concentration in the liquid increased from 1.95% to 25.8 mol%. p-Xylene preferentially adsorbs over benzene on silicalite-1 over the entire concentration range, but the selectivity is only 1.3–8.8. In contrast, NaX selectively adsorbs benzene for benzene liquid concentrations less than 55 mol%, and selectively adsorbs p-xylene at higher concentrations. The benzene/p-xylene adsorption behavior on NaX zeolite is not predicted by ideal adsorbed solution theory.
A distributed-line pyroelectric detector

A two-layer pyroelectric device is considered consisting of a pyroelectric layer on top of a photoconductive layer. The pyroelectric layer absorbs the far infrared radiation and the photoconductive layer absorbs the visible of near-infrared radiation. By making contacts along one side of each layer the device becomes a distributed-line detector. The signal and noise properties of the device are determined, and compared with the lumped-circuit detector in which the contacts cover both faces completely. The noise equivalent powers of both devices are identical at low freuqencies, but at higher frequencies a distributed line deterioration factor shows up in the first device that makes the performance less desirable.
Age-Related Differences in Eye Tracking and Usability Performance: Website Usability for Older Adults

Cognitive decline is inherent with age. Despite known cognitive limitations, older adults are generally not taken into account during website design. Understanding age-related differences in website navigation is instructive for website design, especially considering the growing number of older adults who use the Internet. This article presents usability and eye-tracking data from five independent website usability studies that included younger and older participants. Overall results revealed age-dependent differences in eye movement and performance during website navigation on some of the sites. In particular, older participants had lower accuracy in one study and took longer to complete tasks in two studies compared to younger participants, they looked at the central part of the screen more frequently than younger participants in two studies, and they looked at the peripheral left part of the screen less frequently and took longer to first look at the peripheral top part of the screen than younger participants in one study. These data highlight the potential for age-related differences in performance while navigating websites and provide motivation for further exploration. Implications for website design and for usability practitioners are discussed.
Bootstrapping bilinear models of robotic sensorimotor cascades

We consider the bootstrapping problem, which consists in learning a model of the agent's sensors and actuators starting from zero prior information, and we take the problem of servoing as a cross-modal task to validate the learned models. We study the class of sensors with bilinear dynamics, for which the derivative of the observations is a bilinear form of the control commands and the observations themselves. This class of models is simple, yet general enough to represent the main phenomena of three representative sensors (field sampler, camera, and range-finder), apparently very different from one another. It also allows a bootstrapping algorithm based on Hebbian learning, and a simple bioplausible control strategy. The convergence properties of learning and control are demonstrated with extensive simulations and by analytical arguments.
The Relationship between Condom-Related Protective Behavioral Strategies and Condom Use among College Students: Global- and Event-Level Evaluations

This study evaluated the relationship between condom-related protective behavioral strategies (PBS; including those that require active behavior and mental planning) and condom use at both global and event levels. College students (N = 623; 57.8% female) completed self-report measures of condom-related PBS, as well as drinking and sexual behavior. Logistic regression findings indicated that students who reported greater use of condom-related PBS were more likely to discuss their and their partner's HIV status, sexually transmitted infection (STI) history (other than HIV), and protection against STIs (such as HIV and other STIs) the first time they had sex with their most recent vaginal sexual partner. Logistic regression findings also indicated that more frequent use of condom-related PBS was associated with being more likely to use a condom during the most recent vaginal sexual experience. Zero-inflated negative binomial regression results showed that condom-related PBS predicted condom non-users and tha...
Real-Time Anonymous Routing for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

We propose the anonymous symmetrically cryptographic (ASC) routing protocol which is entirely based on a symmetric cryptosystem. The ASC protocol preserves the identity privacy, location privacy and route anonymity with only a negligible overhead in terms of processing requirements and packet size. Furthermore, the ASC protocol does not rely on any trusted agent or centralized mechanism (both of which are impractical in hostile environments). Compared with other anonymous routing protocols, the ASC protocol reduces the end-to-end delay by orders of magnitude, while performing comparably well in terms of packet delivery ratio. These features enable anonymity for applications with strict QoS requirements (e.g. video and audio streaming) over mobile ad hoc networks.
Digital monitorina and estimation of polymerization reactors

A free-radical polymerization with kinetic equations taking into account monomer, polymer, and solvent transfer and initiation, termination, propagation, and inhibition reactions was studied both experimentally and by simulation to determine the performance of various Kalman filters, with feasible measurements used.
Characterization of hyperspectral data using a genetic algorithm

Spectral mixture analysis plays an important role in analyzing hyperspectral data. Mixture models are typically built from spectral libraries with model coefficients determined by least squares techniques. As a result of noise, instrument artifacts, and other factors, the mixture model can be inadequate. This paper reports a genetic algorithm that generates multiple mixture models using subsets of reference spectra. Additionally, models of similar fit are also generated thereby providing the analyst with alternative explanations of the data. Details of the algorithm are provided along with some initial results of applying the algorithm to AVIRIS data.
Immuno slot-blot assay using a membrane which covalently binds protein☆

The use of a recently available commercial membrane (Immunodyne Immunoaffinity), which covalently binds proteins, in the development of a quantitative immunological slot blot assay is demonstrated. This membrane was found to be valuable in the quantification of polygalacturonase from tomato fruit, a protein which binds weakly to nitrocellulose membrane. The covalent binding of protein to a solid support allows the use of stringent conditions necessary for reduction of non-specific interactions between antibodies and other proteins. This method should prove useful to develop quantitative immunoassays for proteins which elute from nitrocellulose or other membranes during assay conditions.
Phosphorylation of C/EBPα Inhibits Granulopoiesis

CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α (C/EBPα) is one of the key transcription factors that mediate lineage specification and differentiation of multipotent myeloid progenitors into mature granulocytes. Although C/EBPα is known to induce granulopoiesis while suppressing monocyte differentiation, it is unclear how C/EBPα regulates this cell fate choice at the mechanistic level. Here we report that inducers of monocyte differentiation inhibit the alternate cell fate choice, that of granulopoiesis, through inhibition of C/EBPα. This inhibition is mediated by extracellular signal-regulated kinases 1 and/or 2 (ERK1/2), which interact with C/EBPα through an FXFP docking site and phosphorylate serine 21. As a consequence of C/EBPα phosphorylation, induction of granulocyte differentiation by C/EBPα or retinoic acid is inhibited. Our analysis of C/EBPα by fluorescent resonance energy transfer revealed that phosphorylation induces conformational changes in C/EBPα, increasing the distance between the amino termini of C/EBPα dimers. Thus, myeloid development is partly regulated by an ERK1/2-mediated change in the conformation of C/EBPα that favors monocyte differentiation by blocking granulopoiesis.
Characterization of membrane-associated nuclease activity in Mycoplasma pulmonis

45 Introduction 45 Materials and Methods 47 Organisms and media 47 Isolation of M. pulmonis chromosomal DNA 47 Antisera 47 Genomic libra^ 49 Library screening 49 Recombinant DNA 50 Nuclease detection assays 50 TnlOOO mutagenesis 51 Hybridization smdies 51 DNA sequence analysis 51 Nucleotide sequence accession number 52 Results 52 Characterization of the anti-nuclease antisera 52 Identification and characterization of immunoreactive X phage 52 Cloning and functional analysis of the chromosomal fragment from phage 13-2B 54 DNA sequencing and computer analysis 57 Analysis of mnuA products produced in E. coli 57 Presence of mnuA-like sequences in other mycoplasma species 60 Discussion 61 Acknowledgments 64 CHAPTER 4. MOLECULAR ANALYSIS OF THE uvrB HOMOLOG IN MYCOPLASMA PULMONIS 65 Abstract 65 Introduction 65 Materials and Methods 66 Bacterial strains and plasmids 66 Isolation and manipulation of DNA 67 Hybridization studies 67 DNA sequencing analysis 67 Nucleotide sequence accession number 68 Results 68 Sequencing of uvrB 68 DNA sequence analysis 68 Comparison of the M. pulmonis uvrB protein to other species 72 Identification of uvrB sequences in other mycoplasma species 72 Discussion 74 Acknowledgments 76 CHAPTER 5. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS 77 General Discussion 77 Comparison to of MnuA to Other Bacterial Proteins 82 Recommendation for Future Research 83 APPENDIX A. PREPARATIVE ISOELECTRIC FOCUSING OF THE MEMBRANE-BOUND NUCLEASES OF ACHOLEPLASMA USING THE ROTOFOR 86
The Meerkat multicomputer

Meerkat is a distributed memory multicomputer architecture that scales to hundreds of processors. Meerkat uses at two dimensional passive backplane to connect nodes composed of processors, memory, and I/O devices. The interconnect is conceptually simple, inexpensive to design and build, has low latency, and provides high bandwidth on long messages. However, it does not scale to thousands of processors, does not provide cache coherent shared memory. Our hypothesis is that many general-purpose, database, and parallel numerical workloads work well on systems with Meerkat's characteristics. We describe the Meerkat architecture, the niche that Meerkat fills, the motivation behind our design choices, and give performance results obtained from our hardware prototype and a calibrated simulator. >
Functional properties of the isomorphic biphasic algal life cycle

Many species of marine algae have life cycles that involve multiple separate, free-living phases that frequently differ in ploidy levels. These complex life cycles have received increasing scientific attention over the past few decades, due to their usefulness for both ecological and evolutionary studies. I present a synthesis of our current knowledge of the ecological functioning and evolutionary implications of the isomorphic, biphasic life cycles commonly found in many species of marine algae. There are both costs and benefits to life cycles with 2 morphologically similar but separate, free-living phases that differ in ploidy levels (haploids and diploids). Evolutionary theory predicts that the existence of subtle yet important differences between the phases may be what allows these life cycles to be maintained. Different phases of the same species can vary in abundance, in demographic parameters such as mortality and fecundity, in their physiology, and in their resistance to herbivory. Some taxonomic groups within the red algae have received significant attention toward these issues, while our knowledge of these properties for brown and green algae remains limited.
The Yersinia pestis Ail Protein Mediates Binding and Yop Delivery to Host Cells Required for Plague Virulence

Although adhesion to host cells is a critical step in the delivery of cytotoxic Yop proteins by Yersinia pestis, the mechanism has not been defined. To identify adhesins critical for Yop delivery, we initiated two transposon mutagenesis screens using the mariner transposon. To avoid redundant cell binding activities, we initiated the screen with a strain deleted for two known adhesins, pH 6 antigen and the autotransporter, YapC, as well as the Caf1 capsule, which is known to obscure some adhesins. The mutants that emerged contained insertions within the ail (attachment and invasion locus) gene of Y. pestis. A reconstructed mutant with a single deletion in the ail locus (y1324) was severely defective for delivery of Yops to HEp-2 human epithelial cells and significantly defective for delivery of Yops to THP-1 human monocytes. Specifically, the Yop delivery defect was apparent when cell rounding and translocation of an ELK-tagged YopE derivative into host cells were monitored. Although the ail mutant showed only a modest decrease in cell binding capacity in vitro, the KIM5 Δail mutant exhibited a >3,000-fold-increased 50% lethal dose in mice. Mice infected with the Δail mutant also had 1,000-fold fewer bacteria in their spleens, livers, and lungs 3 days after infection than did those infected with the parental strain, KIM5. Thus, the Ail protein is critical for both Y. pestis type III secretion in vitro and infection in mice.
Note on the effect of air-sea temperature difference on wave generation*

Observations from certain ocean weather ships are used to determine whether or not a certain observed wind speed in cold air (relative to sea temperature) leads to higher waves than does the same wind in warm air. The problem is to eliminate possible correlation between fetch and air-sea temperature difference. It is concluded that significantly higher waves are generated in cold air than in warm air, the difference amounting to roughly ten percent of the warm air values per degree Centigrade.
A little bit of history repeating: Splitting up multiple-target visual searches decreases second-target miss errors.

Visual searches with several targets in a display have been shown to be particularly prone to miss errors in both academic laboratory searches and professional searches such as radiology and baggage screening. Specifically, finding 1 target in a display can reduce the likelihood of detecting additional targets. This phenomenon was originally referred to as “satisfaction of search,” but is referred to here as “subsequent search misses” (SSMs). SSM errors have been linked to a variety of causes, and recent evidence supports a working memory deficit wherein finding a target consumes working memory resources that would otherwise aid subsequent search for additional targets (Cain & Mitroff, 2013). The current study demonstrated that dividing 1 multiple-target search into several single-target searches, separated by three to five unrelated trials, effectively freed the working memory resources used by the found target and eliminated SSM errors. This effect was demonstrated with both university community participants and with professional visual searchers from the Transportation Security Administration, suggesting it may be a generally applicable technique for improving multiple-target visual search accuracy.
Detection of O‐Glycosidically Linked Mannose Within the Structure of a Highly Purified Glutenin Subunit Isolated from Chinese Spring Wheat

ABSTRACT A low level of O-glycosidically linked D-mannose was detected on the 1Dx2 high Mr glutenin subunit of Chinese Spring wheat. Detection of the O-glycosidic linkage was accomplished by subjecting the purified 1Dx2 protein to β-elimination and reduction conditions that resulted in the specific cleavage of O-glycosidically linked carbohydrates from the protein backbone and the reduction of the linkage (reducing end) sugars to alditols. Subsequently, acid-catalyzed methanolysis was used to cleave glycosidic linkages on released carbohydrate as well as carbohydrate remaining on the protein. The repeat units were derivatized with trimethylsilyl and analyzed by gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). The 1Dx2 high Mr glutenin subunit of Chinese Spring wheat consisted of 1.2% carbohydrate containing D-mannose and D-glucose units. O-Glycosidically linked D-mannose residues represented 0.13% of the total mass of the 1Dx2 high Mr glutenin subunit. This represented <1 O-glycosidically linked D-mannos...
Osteopathic manipulative treatment for pandemic influenza: many questions, few answers

Commentary on Avian influenza: an osteopathic component to treatment Raymond J Hruby and Keasha N Hoffman
Exploiting Gene-Environment Independence for Analysis of Case–Control Studies: An Empirical Bayes-Type Shrinkage Estimator to Trade-Off between Bias and Efficiency

Summary Standard prospective logistic regression analysis of case–control data often leads to very imprecise estimates of gene-environment interactions due to small numbers of cases or controls in cells of crossing genotype and exposure. In contrast, under the assumption of gene-environment independence, modern “retrospective” methods, including the “case-only” approach, can estimate the interaction parameters much more precisely, but they can be seriously biased when the underlying assumption of gene-environment independence is violated. In this article, we propose a novel empirical Bayes-type shrinkage estimator to analyze case–control data that can relax the gene-environment independence assumption in a data-adaptive fashion. In the special case, involving a binary gene and a binary exposure, the method leads to an estimator of the interaction log odds ratio parameter in a simple closed form that corresponds to an weighted average of the standard case-only and case–control estimators. We also describe a general approach for deriving the new shrinkage estimator and its variance within the retrospective maximum-likelihood framework developed by Chatterjee and Carroll (2005, Biometrika92, 399–418). Both simulated and real data examples suggest that the proposed estimator strikes a balance between bias and efficiency depending on the true nature of the gene-environment association and the sample size for a given study.
Evaluation of glass-cermet cores under cast crowns

The goal of this study was to compare two core materials--glass-cermet and amalgam--in terms of crown retention when significant tooth structure is missing. The glass-cermet's ability to bond to teeth with and without the aid of retentive pins and/or grooves was examined. The effects of two storage solutions, formalin and sodium azide, on the bond of the glass-cermet were also evaluated. Sixty human molars were obtained and stored in either formalin or sodium azide. Thirty molars were prepared with one wall of tooth structure remaining, and the other 30 were prepared with two walls. Before being restored with glass-cermet, the preparations received either no retention, retentive grooves and pins, or retentive grooves only. Each preparation restored with amalgam received pins and grooves. Type III gold crowns were cemented in vitro with glass-ionomer luting agent, thermocycled 2500 times (5-50 degrees C), and then removed under a tensile force. The to amalgam and has adequate adhesion to the tooth, without additional retention, when at least two walls of the tooth remain. However, when only one wall of the tooth remains, the amalgam core is superior under tensile forces. There was a significant difference between the sodium azide and formalin storage solutions with regard to bond strength in one group (two walls, no pins, no grooves). In general, the cores placed on teeth stored in sodium azide exhibited tensile bond strengths lower than those stored in formalin.
Effects of Task on the Activation of Predictive Inferences

Research on the activation of predictive inferences has provided inconsistent results that may be explained within a contextual view of reading. The present study tested whether the type of test for explicit memory would affect the activation of knowledge-based predictive inferences. The information necessary for the activation of a predictive inference was provided to readers in four different conditions (no inference, local processing, global processing, coherence). Manipulation was accomplished by varying the type of question asked after reading the passage (verbatim, factual, or inference). Analysis suggests predictive inferences are automatically activated and nor affected by contextual factors such as the question. Consequently, the current data do nor provide clear support for a contextual view of comprehension. These conclusions are supported by a two-stage view of elaborative processing.