cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Oceanic rainfall monitoring with the Microwave Sounding Units

Abstract The Microwave Sounding Units flying since late 1978 on the TIROS‐N series of NOAA satellites provide a fifteen year record of climate variations useful for a wide variety of studies. Although not possessing microwave frequencies ideally suited for monitoring rainfall, the MSU 50.3 GHz channel has a response to oceanic rain and cloud water that is similar to the 37 GHz channel of SSM/I. After correction for the influence of air temperature variations on this channel with two of the other MSU channels, any radiometric warming above a 15% cumulative frequency distribution threshold is assumed to be rain influenced and linearly related to footprint averaged rain amount. The monthly gridpoint averages of this rain index are calibrated with seven to ten years of monthly rain gauge data from 123 coastal and island locations scattered around the global oceans. The resulting rainfall climatology shows some interesting differences with existing rainfall climatologies. While it is not obvious which of these...
Cells Capable of Colony Formation in the Peripheral Blood of Man

Colony-forming cells have been found in the peripheral blood of man and have been grown in vitro by use of a soft agar gel technique. It has been possible to collect these cells with a blood-cell separator in numbers similar to those found in the peripheral circulation. Repeat leukapheresis of the same donor does not reduce the number of circulating colony-forming cells.
Loss of duplicate gene expression after polyploidisation.

INCREASES in cellular DNA content have been important in the evolution of eukaryotes1–3. One mechanism for increasing DNA content is polyploidisation, which has been observed in a wide variety of organisms4–8, and which is believed to have preceded the evolution of the early vertebrates9. It has been suggested that, following gene duplication, many of the redundant copies would be silenced early in evolution by mutation10,11. Those duplicate genes remaining expressed are then available to diverge in structure and acquire new functions9. We present evidence of extensive gene silencing in the 50-Myr history of a family of tetraploid fishes. Furthermore, those species regarded by systematists as advanced (that is, morphologically divergent from the ancestral form) may have lost the expression of more duplicate genes than primitive species (that is, those with a morphology similar to the ancestral form).
Lentivectors for Regulated and Reversible Cutaneous Gene Delivery

Systemic administration of therapeutic proteins has value in treating a wide variety of disorders, including erythropoietin (Epo)-responsive anemias. Recombinant proteins, however, are costly and require repeated injections, while gene delivery approaches have suffered from inefficiency and difficulties with regulation. The skin effectively delivers polypeptides to the circulation, and improved approaches would support sustainable, topically regulated protein expression after a single vector injection. Toward this goal, we generated lentivectors in which both gene delivery and persistence in skin are regulated by administration of distinct steroid ligands. Following a single injection of regulated lentivector into human skin regenerated on immunodeficient mice, topical glucocorticoid ligands regulated Epo levels and hematocrit over time. Abrogation of gene delivery was achieved by both glucocorticoid cessation and proviral excision via a 4-hydroxytamoxifen-inducible Cre recombinase. These findings establish an approach to durable, topically controlled systemic delivery of therapeutic proteins from human skin tissue.
Greater ethnic diversity correlates with lower HIV prevalence in Africa: justification for an alloimmunity vaccine.

PURPOSE After decades of research, AIDS continues to be a major pandemic and to date, adaptive immunity vaccine designs have had little to no success. Data indicate the alloimmune response is a potent mitigator of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, for which experiments of nature should be demonstrable to justify pursuit of an alloimmune vaccine strategy. We sought to determine if large-scale alloimmune diversity correlates with lower HIV infection rates. METHODS Using published data of African linguistic groups to determine sub-Saharan country ethnicity profiles as a proxy for human leukocyte antigen (HLA) diversity, a correlation analysis was performed against respective sub-Saharan country HIV infection rates. Ethnicity data from 37 sub-Saharan nations in 2003 and from 38 nations in 2005 were used to calculate the Meyers-Macintosh ethnic diversity score for each nation as the independent variable. World Health Organization data on HIV infection rates for the same countries were used as the dependent variable. The main outcome measure was the correlation coefficient of ethnic diversity versus HIV infection rate. RESULTS A SIGNIFICANT NEGATIVE CORRELATION WAS SHOWN BETWEEN ETHNIC DIVERSITY AND HIV INFECTION: for 2003 data, -0.4586 (two-tailed P-value of 0.0043); and, for 2005 data, -0.3866 (two-tailed P-value of 0.0165). CONCLUSION In conjunction with substantial evidence that alloimmunity confers protection against HIV transmission and recent work identifying specific anti-HIV mechanisms, this analysis strongly justifies an HLA-based alloimmune vaccine strategy against HIV.
In vitro selection of self-cleaving DNAs

Abstract Background: Ribozymes catalyze an important set of chemical transformations in metabolism, and ‘engineered' ribozymes have been made that catalyze a variety of additional reactions. The possibility that catalytic DNAs or ‘deoxyribozymes' can be made has only recently been addressed. Specifically, it is unclear whether the absence of the 2′ hydroxyl renders DNA incapable of exhibiting efficient enzyme-like activity, making it impossible to discover natural or create artificial DNA biocatalysts. Results: We report the isolation by in vitro selection of two distinct classes of self-cleaving DNAs from a pool of random-sequence oligonucleotides. Individual catalysts from ‘class I' require both Cu 2+ and ascorbate to mediate oxidative self-cleavage. Individual catalysts from class II use Cu 2+ as the sole cofactor. Further optimization of a class II individual by in vitro selection yielded new catalytic DNAs that facilitate Cu 2+ -dependent self-cleavage with rate enhancements exceeding 1000 000-fold relative to the uncatalyzed rate of DNA cleavage. Conclusions: Despite the absence of 2′ hydroxyls, single-stranded DNA can adopt structures that promote divalent-metal-dependent self-cleavage via an oxidative mechanism. These results suggest that an efficient DNA enzyme might be made to cleave DNA in a biological context.
Excite-probe two-color Z-scan

Using an excite-i,robe two-co1or Zscan technique, we investigate the dynamics of optical nonlinearites in semiconductors with picosecond pulses at 1.06 and 0.532 pm. We use the technique to obtain a direct timeresolved measurement of the nondegenerate nonlinear refraction in polycrystalline ZnSe and show how it can resolve the bound electronic and free carrier components.
Performance practice and philology in Bartók’s Violin Concerto (1938)

The world premiere recording of Bartok’s Violin Concerto, played by Zoltan Szekely has been a classic for seventy-two years now. Since that time, dozens of artists have committed the work to disc and hundreds more—from concert artists to conservatory students—have played the Concerto. Szekely’s extremely subtle, almost chamber-music-like interpretation has been widely admired but many violinists in past decades have favored, by and large, a more robust approach, one that stresses the work’s connections to the Romantic concerto tradition. The question is: can a careful reading of the musical text—the final version as well as the various manuscript sources—help a player make practical stylistic decisions? A comparative examination of the performance of the first 16 measures from a number of older and more recent recordings will be set against what textual analysis can tell us, as a test case for a productive dialog between scholarship and performance.
Neuropsychological deficits among patients with late-onset minor and major depression

Cognitive ability of minor depressed patients (N=28), major depressed patients (N=26) and healthy elderly (N=38) was examined cross-sectionally to determine if cognitive abilities of patients with late-onset depression decrease with increasing severity of disease and if cognitive scores for minor depressed patients fall between those of healthy elderly and major depressed patients. A pooled within-group principal component analysis of cognitive test scores identified five components, three of which showed significant group differences. Verbal Recall and Maintenance of Set separated controls from major depressed patients and minor from major depressed patients. Executive Functioning separated controls from minor depressed patients, and Working Memory was borderline for separating controls from major depressed patients. The component representing Nonverbal Recognition was not statistically significant. Partial correlations controlling for age and education indicate that cognitive performance does decrease as severity of depression increases, and the magnitude of the change varies from a trend to a significant deficit depending on the cognitive domain. This decline in cognitive performance parallels a similar trend observed in neuroanatomical studies in which the volume of the frontal and temporal lobes decrease with increasing severity of depression.
ESTIMATING CORRELATIONS WITH MISSING DATA, A BAYESIAN APPROACH

The posterior distribution of the bivariate correlation is analytically derived given a data set wherex is completely observed buty is missing at random for a portion of the sample. Interval estimates of the correlation are then constructed from the posterior distribution in terms of highest density regions (HDRs). Various choices for the form of the prior distribution are explored. For each of these priors, the resulting Bayesian HDRs are compared with each other and with intervals derived from maximum likelihood theory.
Brain tumor chemotherapy with mithramycin and vincristine

Mithramycin chemotherapy with or without concomitant use of vincristine sulfate, either by continuous arterial infusion or by protracted intravenous administration, failed to produce worthwhile results in 15 patients seriously ill with malignant gliomas or metastatic brain tumors. Their postoperative survival was not prolonged. Although one individual showed short-term improvement after a 4-day carotid infusion of mithramycin and another seemed better temporarily after 3 weeks of daily intravenous treatment with this drug, the overall morbidity associated with either method of treatment controverted the significance of these isolated favorable responses. A child with a disseminated glioma tolerated but did not benefit from 2 infusions of mithramycin into the cisterna magna at 0.01 and 0.015 times the daily intravenous dose. The effect of mithramycin and vincristine on 8 of the malignant gliomas in this series was assessed in vitro. The susceptibility of the cultured tumor cells to these drugs ranged from slight to extreme, according to a morphological grading of acute cytotoxic alterations which did not correlate with the clinical results.
Investigation Of Multiparticle Motor Protein Dynamics Using Coupled Exclusion Processes

We theoretically investigate the interaction of a microfilament and motor proteins within the context of intracellular particle transport. We model the motion of motor proteins on the microfilament as a totally asymmetric simple exclusion process (TASEP). Given that motor proteins occasionally disassociate from the microfilament into the surrounding medium where they propagate by diffusion and whence they may re-associate onto the filament, we model their behavior as a symmetric simple exclusion process (SSEP) and proceed to investigate the consequences of linking the two systems with various couplings (i.e. disassociation and re-association rates). Stationary state properties are found exactly in the limit of strong couplings between the channels. It is shown that strong symmetric couplings between TASEP and SSEP lead to an effective partially asymmetric simple exclusion process (PASEP). However, strong asymmetric couplings yield an effective TASEP with nonzero motor protein flux in the microfilament and zero diffusive flux. Treatment of intermediate couplings yields similar but not exact results. Our calculations show that in all cases there are three stationary phases determined by dynamics at entrances, at exits or in the bulk of the system, while phase boundaries depend on the strength and symmetry of couplings between SSEP and TASEP. Extensive Monte Carlo computer simulations strongly support our theoretical predictions. Theoretical calculations and computer simulations also predict that the symmetry and values of the couplings have a strong influence on motor proteins dynamics. These results suggest that by modifying interactions between motor proteins and microfilaments it is possible to control biological transport processes.
Beach response dynamics of a littoral cell using a 17-year single-point time series of sand thickness

Abstract A 17-year time series of near-daily sand thickness measurements at a single intertidal location was compared with 5 years of semi-annual 3-dimensional beach surveys at the same beach, and at two other beaches within the same littoral cell. The daily single point measurements correlated extremely well with the mean beach elevation and shoreline position of ten high-spatial resolution beach surveys. Correlations were statistically significant at all spatial scales, even for beach surveys 10s of kilometers downcoast, and therefore variability at the single point monitoring site was representative of regional coastal behavior, allowing us to examine nearly two decades of continuous coastal evolution. The annual cycle of beach oscillations dominated the signal, typical of this region, with additional, less intense spectral peaks associated with seasonal wave energy fluctuations (~ 45 to 90 days), as well as full lunar (~ 29 days) and semi-lunar (~ 13 days; spring-neap cycle) tidal cycles. Sand thickness variability was statistically linked to wave energy with a 2 month peak lag, as well as the average of the previous 7–8 months of wave energy. Longer term anomalies in sand thickness were also apparent on time scales up to 15 months. Our analyses suggest that spatially-limited morphological data sets can be extremely valuable (with robust validation) for understanding the details of beach response to wave energy over timescales that are not resolved by typical survey intervals, as well as the regional behavior of coastal systems.
Self-construal and social anxiety: Considering personality

Self-construal has been identified as a potential means to explain cultural differences in social anxiety. Yet, research findings suggest that self-construal is an individual difference as much as a cultural difference. We tested for mediation and moderation regarding self-construal, social anxiety, and other primary individual difference constructs. Our results indicated that the relation of extraversion and neuroticism to social anxiety was partially mediated by independent self-construal. In addition, the relationship between social anxiety and interdependent self-construal was moderated by neuroticism. These results suggest that personality traits play an important role in the relationship between social anxiety and self-construal. Clinical interventions that consider the interplay between self-construal and personality may be helpful in decreasing social anxiety.
The Effect of Sterols and Brefeldin A on Protein Degradation in UT-1 Cells

Abstract UT-1 cells, a mutant Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell line induced to produce an abundance of the enzyme 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGR), were used to determine the effects of sterols and brefeldin A on the degradation of this enzyme. Brefeldin A has been shown to cause retention of proteins in and relocation of proteins to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). UT-1 cells were incubated with (a) sterols only (12 μg/ml cholesterol and 0.2 μg/ml 25-hydroxycholesterol), (b) sterols and brefeldin A (0.5 μg/ml), and (c) brefeldin A only. Western blot analysis showed that incubation with sterols and brefeldin A decreased HMGR levels more slowly than incubation with sterols alone over the first 24-36 h of incubation; however, the rates were not significantly different. By 48 h of incubation, HMGR had decreased to a level comparable to that found when cells were incubated in sterols only. Incubation with brefeldin A alone did not cause a decrease in HMGR over the same 48-h time period. HMGR was undetectable in parental CHO cells under all of the conditions described. Indirect immunofluorescence microscopy revealed a pattern of tight, perinuclear staining with sterol incubation. After 48 h in sterols, HMGR staining was uniformly decreased throughout the cytoplasm. This change in staining pattern is also observed during incubation of UT-1 cells with sterols and brefeldin A. Incubation for 48 h with brefeldin A alone had no effect on the tight perinuclear pattern originally observed. Diffuse, faint staining of CHO cells under all conditions served as a negative control. The results of these experiments indicated that brefeldin A, and therefore retention of proteins in the ER, does not interfere with the degradation of HMG CoA reductase. Despite the presence of brefeldin A, sterol-mediated dispersal and degradation of the crystalloid ER (CER) continued in UT-1 cells. Lack of brefeldin A sensitivity implied that the mechanism for CER dissolution was distinct from previously described mechanisms for ER to Golgi transport.
Inhibition of benzo[a]pyrene- and 1,6-dinitropyrene-DNA adduct formation in human mammary epithelial cells bydibenzoylmethane and sulforaphane

Numerous phytochemicals have been examined for their capacity to act as cancer chemopreventive agents. Dibenzoylmethane, a minor constituent of licorice and a compound structurally-related to curcumin, recently was identified as an effective inhibitor of chemically-induced rat mammary DNA-adduct formation and tumorigenesis (Carcinogenesis 19(1998)1039-1043). The present studies were conducted to examine the capacity of dibenzoylmethane to inhibit the formation of DNA adducts following exposure to benzo[a]pyrene (BP) and 1,6-dinitropyrene (1,6-DNP), and to stimulate the expression of glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and NAD(P)H-quinone reductase (QR) proteins in the human mammary epithelial cell line MCF-10F. In addition, the efficacy of dibenzoylmethane as an enzyme inducer and adduct inhibitor was compared with that of sulforaphane, a potent inducer of phase II detoxification enzymes and inhibitor of chemically-induced rat mammary tumorigenesis. Dibenzoylmethane at concentrations from 0.1 M to 2.0 μM inhibited BP-DNA adduct formation by 63 to 81%. Likewise, sulforaphane inhibited BP-DNA adduct formation by 68 to 80% over the same concentration range. DNA adduct formation following exposure to 1,6-DNP was significantly inhibited by 46 to 61% due to dibenzoylmethane treatment (0.1 to 2.0 μM) and 30 to 56% due to sulforaphane treatment at the same concentrations. The expression of QR and GSTP1-1 proteins were increased by 3 to 4-fold and 3 to 5-fold, respectively, for MCF-10F cells treated with sulforaphane (0.5–2.0 μM). Dibenzoylmethane treatment at the same concentrations did not induce GSTP1-1 expression and significantly stimulated QR expression only at the 2.0 μM concentration. These data indicate that human mammary epithelial MCF-10F cells can convert BP and 1,6-DNP to DNA-binding forms, and that DNA adduct formation can be inhibited by the phytochemicals dibenzoylmethane and sulforaphane. The inhibition of BP-DNA and 1,6-DNP adduct formation by sulforaphane was associated with increases in QR and GST protein expression. The mechanisms underlying the capacity of dibenzoylmethane to inhibit BP-DNA and 1,6-DNP-DNA adduct formation could not be explained by changes in QR or GST expression and remain to be determined. Together these data suggest that dibenzoylmethane and sulforaphane warrant continued evaluation as breast cancer chemopreventive agents.
Social influences on plasma testosterone levels in morphine withdrawn adolescent mice and their drug-naïve cage-mates

Summary Opioid administration in males results in opioid-induced androgen deficiency which persists throughout the treatment. In adults, this quickly reverses once opioid administration is suspended. However, less is known about the duration of the effect following drug discontinuation in adolescents. Given the significant implications to sexual maturation in adolescent males, this study examined plasma testosterone levels in both morphine withdrawn mice and their drug-naive (saline-injected) cage-mates as compared to drug-naive mice housed physically and visually separate from the morphine-treated mice (‘saline only’). Consistent with the literature, plasma testosterone levels in morphine withdrawn adults were reduced on withdrawal day 1 (WD1) and returned to baseline levels by WD9. No significant effects were observed in their saline cage-mates. In the adolescents, no significant differences were observed on WD1 between the morphine withdrawn mice, their saline cage-mates, and the saline only mice – all of which had significantly lower plasma testosterone levels than adults. By WD9, testosterone levels in the saline only adolescent mice had reached adult levels. Notably, plasma testosterone levels were reduced in both the morphine withdrawn adolescent mice and their saline cage-mates, as compared to saline only mice. The effect was not a drug effect per se, given that reduced plasma testosterone levels were not observed in individually housed morphine withdrawn mice. Moreover, our results also suggest that these social effects are not solely explained by stress. These results have numerous implications to the short term and long term health of both adolescents requiring pain management and of adolescent drug addicts.
Target regulation of neuronal differentiation in a temperature-sensitive cell line derived from medullary raphe

Following infection of dissociated embryonic day 13 rat medullary raphe cells with a retrovirus encoding the temperature-sensitive mutant of SV40 large T antigen, a clonal cell line, RN33B, was isolated by serial dilution. At 33°C, RN33B cells divide with a doubling time of 48 h and show T antigen, vimentin, nestin, diffuse neuron-specific enolase, and low and medium molecular weight neurofilament immunoreactivities. RN33B cells are immortal, but not transformed, as they will not grow in soft agar. At non-permissive temperature (38°C), T antigen expression is markedly decreased and RN33B cells cease mitotic activity and differentiate with phase bright cell bodies and ‘neuritic-like’ processes. Differentiated RN33B cells express enhanced neuronal-spcific protein expression but do not synthesize astrocytic or oligodendrolytic-specific proteins. Moreover, differentiated RN33B cells returned to 33°C re-express T antigen, but do not de-differentiate or begin dividing. Co-culture with embryonic hippocampus and cerebral cortex, but not medullary raphe or spinal cord, resulted in significantly greater survival, more complex neuronal morphology, and enhanced expression of neuronal-specific antigens. Immunohistochemical and Northern blot analysis revealed high levels of low affinity NGF receptor protein and mRNA in differentiated RN33B cells. PCR analysis demonstrated the presence of trkB, but not trkA or trkC, mRNA in both undifferentiated and differentiated RN33B cells.These data sugest that the observed target regulation of RN33B cell neuronal differentiation in co-culture may be mediated by neurotrophin(s).
Further discussion to “diffusional formation of ferrite in iron and its alloys” by H.K.D.H. Bhadeshia

Abstract Bhadeshia's rebuttal (1) to our critique (2) of the renewed criticisms he made (3) of the work of Aaronson and co-workers has again been shown to be without foundation.
Acidic phosphoproteins from bone matrix: a structural rationalization of their role in biomineralization.

Osteopontin, bone sialoprotein, and bone acidic glycoprotein-75 are three acidic phosphoproteins that are isolated from the mineralized phase of bone matrix, are synthesized by osteoblastic cells, and are generally restricted in their distribution to calcified tissues. Although each is a distinct gene product, these proteins share aspartic/glutamic acid contents of 30–36% and each contains multiple phosphoryl and sialyl groups. These properties, plus a strict relationship of acidic macromolecules with cell-controlled mineralization throughout nature, suggest functions in calcium binding and nucleation of calcium hydroxyapatite crystal formation. However, direct proof for such roles is still largely indirect in nature. The purpose of this review is to present two speculative hypotheses regarding acidic phosphoprotein function. The goal was to use new sequence information along with database comparisons to develop a structural rationalization of how these proteins may function in calcium handling by bone. For example, our analysis has identified a conserved polyacidic stretch in all three phosphoproteins which we propose mediates metal binding. Also, conserved motifs were identified that are analogous with those for casein kinase II phosphorylation sites and whose number correlates well with that of phosphoryl groups/protein. A two-state conformational model of calcium binding by bone matrix acidic phosphoproteins is described which incorporates these findings.
On the use of indices in aquatic toxicological hazard assessment

Abstract Application of environmental indexing techniques to aquatic toxicological hazard assessment is illustrated, using three common data types (factors): acute invertebrate and vertebrate LC50 data and octanol-water partition coefficients for 37 chemical compounds. Subindex factor rating scales are constructed, total index computation is illustrated, and possible uses of this or other similar indices are discussed.
Partitioning sporadic task systems upon memory-constrained multiprocessors

Most prior theoretical research on real-time partitioning algorithms for multiprocessor platforms has focused on ensuring that the cumulative computing requirements of the tasks assigned to each processor does not exceed the processor's processing power. However, computing capacity is often not the only limiting resource: on many multiprocessor platforms each individual computing unit may have limited amounts of multiple additional types of resources (such as local memory) in addition to having limited processing power. We present algorithms for partitioning a collection of sporadic tasks, each characterized by a WCET, a relative deadline, and a period, upon a multiprocessor platform in a manner that is cognizant of such additional constraints as well as the processing capacity constraints.
High-resolution land cover datasets, composite curve numbers, and storm water retention in the Tampa Bay, FL region

Abstract Policy makers need to understand how land cover change alters storm water regimes, yet existing methods do not fully utilize newly available datasets to quantify storm water changes at a landscape-scale. Here, we use high-resolution, remotely-sensed land cover, imperviousness, and tree canopy density data to calculate modified Soil Conservation Service (SCS) composite curve numbers. Policy makers can interpret composite curve numbers as a continuous, relative index of storm water mitigation ecosystem services provided by the landscape, allowing for better comprehension of the implications of land use decisions than current discrete methods. We also compare composite curve number calculations from regional land cover/land use data to calculations from national land cover data and show that they differ significantly in each of the watersheds that drain into Tampa Bay. The use of discrete urban classes to determine curve numbers is also explored. We show that, for the Tampa Bay region, assumed urban imperviousness values published in Technical Release 55 (a document that provides curve numbers for soil/land cover complexes) overestimate the actual imperviousness as reported by the national and regional datasets. This error in estimation caused composite curve numbers calculated using remotely-sensed data to be lower than they would have been if curve numbers had been assigned solely by discrete SCS classes. Furthermore, the average imperviousness for all urban classes increased from 1995 to 2005, reflecting region-wide increases in imperviousness reported by the regional dataset. Our comparison illustrates that using a constant imperviousness value for urban classes over time, a method used in numerous studies and models, leads to inaccurate estimation of temporal changes in storm water runoff. Average imperviousness for urban classes also differed significantly between the regional and national datasets, signifying that the two datasets cannot be used interchangeably.
Nuclear and mitochondrial revertants of a yeast mitochondrial tRNA mutant

We isolated revertants capable of respiration from the respiratory deficient yeast mutant, FF1210-6C/170, which displays greatly decreased mitochondrial protein synthesis due to a single base substitution at the penultimate base of the tRNAAsp gene on mitochondrial (mt) DNA. Three classical types of revertant were identified: (1) same-site revertants; (2) intragenic revertants which restore the base pairing in the acceptor stem of the mitochondrial tRNAAsp; and (3) extragenic suppressors located in nuclear DNA. In addition a fourth type of revertant was identified in which the mutant tRNAAsp is amplified due to the maintenance of both the original mutant mtDNA and a modified form of the mutant mtDNA in which only a small region around the tRNAAsp gene is retained and amplified. The latter form resembles the mtDNA in vegetative petite (rho-) strains which normally segregates rapidly from the wild-type mtDNA. Each revertant type was characterized genetically and by both DNA sequence analysis of the mitochondrial tRNAAsp gene and analysis of the quantity and size of RNA containing the tRNAAsp sequence. These results indicate that the mitochondrial tRNAAsp of the mutant retains a low level of activity and that the presence of the terminal base pair in tRNAAsp is a determinant of both tRNAAsp function and the maintenance of wild-type levels of tRNAAsp.
Discrete plasmonic nano-waveguide : Numerical and theoretical studies

The spaced metal nanoparticles arranged along a chain can interact through the near-field of surface plasmon-polariton modes of adjacent particles. The advantage of such propagation is that the mode confinement is below the diffraction limit of light, which is impossible with classical wave guides. The guiding of the electromagnetic wave along the chain becomes consequently possible. In this paper, we present the Finite Element Method (FEM) with adaptive mesh to investigate the plasmon resonaces of interracting metallic nanoparticles and describe the propagation of electromagnetic energy through functional structures. We propose, a general simulation tool to determine the various transmission coefficients through plasmonic discrete structures using multiple scattering computations based on a tight-binding Green function approach. We apply our theoretical and numerical approaches to investigate plasmonic discrete waveguides.
The Laptev Sea as a source for recent Arctic Ocean salinity changes

This study was motivated by observations of significant salinification of the upper Eurasian Basin that began around 1989. Observational data and modeling results provide evidence that increased arctic atmospheric cyclonicity in the 1990s resulted in a dramatic increase of the salinity in the Eurasian Basin. Two mechanisms account for the Laptev Sea salinization: eastward diversion of Russian rivers and increased brine formation due to enhanced ice production in numerous leads in the Laptev Sea ice cover. Both these mechanisms are linked to changes in wind patterns and were essential to the formation of salinity anomalies. The resulting Laptev Sea salinity anomaly was advected to the central Eurasian Basin. The strong salinization over the Eurasian Basin altered the formation of cold halocline waters, weakened vertical stratification, and released heat upward from below the cold halocline layer. Our analysis suggests that local processes in the Laptev Sea may have a basin-wide impact on the thermohaline structure of the Arctic Ocean.
Soil nitrogen cycling and nitrous oxide flux in a Rocky Mountain Douglas-fir forest - Effects of fertilization, irrigation and carbon addition

Nitrous oxide fluxes and soil nitrogen transformations were measured in experimentally-treated high elevation Douglas-fir forests in northwestern New Mexico, USA. On an annual basis, forests that were fertilized with 200 kg N/ha emitted an average of 0.66 kg/ha of N2O-N, with highest fluxes occurring in July and August when soils were both warm and wet. Control, irrigated, and woodchip treated plots did not differ, and annual average fluxes ranged from 0.03 to 0.23 kg/ha. Annual net nitrogen mineralization and nitrate production were estimated in soil and forest floor using in situ incubations; fertilized soil mineralized 277 kg/ha/y in contrast to 18 kg/ha/y in control plots. Relative recovery of 15NH4-N applied to soil in laboratory incubations was principally in the form of NO3-N in the fertilized soils, while recovery was mostly in microbial biomass-N in the other treatments. Fertilization apparently added nitrogen that exceeded the heterotrophic microbial demand, resulting in higher rates of nitrate production and higher nitrous oxide fluxes. Despite the elevated nitrous oxide emission resulting from fertilization, we estimate that global inputs of nitrogen into forests are not currently contributing significantly to the increasing concentrations of nitrous oxide in the atmosphere.
On the corrosion fatigue behavior of a modified SAE 4135 type steel in a H2S environment

The corrosion fatigue behavior of a modified SAE 4135 steel in a H2S environment is compared to that of a standard SAE 4135 steel of the same strength level. The modification consists of an increase in molybdenum content from 0.20 to 0.75 pct and the addition of 0.036 pct columbium. It was found that the high cycle fatigue strength of the modified steel was 66 pct higher than that of the standard steel. The improvement is attributed to an increase in resistance to hydrogen embrittlement brought about by a higher tempering temperature which reduces the amount of phosphorous on grain boundaries, as well as the beneficial scavenging effects associated with the increase in molybdenum content and the presence of columbium.
Korotkoff Sounds Observations on Pressure-Pulse Changes Underlying Their Formation

We have studied Korotkoff sounds in 10 subjects by recording pressures and sounds simultaneously through a brachial arterial needle at locations both beyond and beneath the inflatable cuff. The Korotkoff sounds coincided with a small dip and ensuing steep rise in pressure immediately beyond the distal edge of the cuff. Sound intensity paralleled not only the rate and the acceleration of this steep ascent, but also the total pressure through which it was maintained. Pressures beneath the midportion of the cuff showed a more pronounced sharp initial negative dip, usually followed by a rapid reversal and steep rise, and the sounds were also recorded here in association with these rapid pressure changes. This study supports the hypothesis that the initial Korotkoff sound is produced by rapid changes of pressure both beneath and distal to the compressing cuff, sufficient in rate to impart sonic vibrations to the vessel wall and surrounding tissues. We have attempted to explain how these rapid pressure changes are produced.
Effect of various levels of supplementation with sodium pivalate on tissue carnitine concentrations and urinary excretion of carnitine in the rat.

In previous studies, sodium pivalate has been administered to rats in their drinking water (20 mmoles/L; equivalent to 0.3% of the diet) as a way to lower the concentration of carnitine in tissues and to produce a model of secondary carnitine deficiency. Although this level of supplementation results in a marked decrease in carnitine concentration in a variety of tissues, it does not produce the classical signs of carnitine deficiency (i.e., decreased fatty acid oxidation and ketogenesis). The present study was designed (1) to determine if increasing the level of pivalate supplementation (0.6, 1.0% of the diet) would further reduce the concentrations of total and free carnitine in rat tissues without altering growth or food intake, and (2) to examine the effect of length of feeding (4 vs. 8 weeks) on these variables. Male, Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to either a control (0.2% sodium bicarbonate) or experimental diet (0.3, 0.6, 1.0% sodium pivalate) for either four or eight weeks. Animals (n = 6/group) were housed in metabolic cages; food and water were provided ad libitum throughout the study. Supplementation with sodium pivalate did not alter water intake or urine output. Ingestion of a diet containing 1.0% pivalic acid decreased food intake (g/day; P < 0.05), final body weight (P < 0.007), and growth rate (P < 0.001) after four weeks. The concentration of total carnitine in plasma, heart, liver, muscle, and kidney was reduced in all experimental groups (P < 0.001), regardless of level of supplementation or length of feeding. The concentration of free carnitine in heart, muscle, and kidney was also reduced (P < 0.001) in rats treated with pivalate for either four or eight weeks. The concentration of free carnitine in liver was reduced in animals supplemented with pivalate for eight weeks (P < 0.05), but no effect was observed in livers from rats treated for four weeks. Excretion of total carnitine and short chain acylcarnitine in urine was increased in pivalate supplemented rats throughout the entire feeding period (P < 0.001). Free carnitine excretion was increased during Weeks 1 and 2 (P < 0.01), but began to decline during Week 3 in experimental groups. During Weeks 6 and 8, free carnitine excretion in pivalate supplemented rats was less than that of control animals (P < 0.01). In summary, no further reduction in tissue carnitine concentration was observed when rats were supplemented with sodium pivalate at levels greater than 0.3% of the diet. Food intake (g/day) and growth were decreased in rats fed a diet containing 1.0% sodium pivalate. These data indicate that maximal lowering of tissue carnitine concentrations is achieved by feeding diets containing 0.3% sodium pivalate or less.
Intelligent Design and the Attack on Scientific Inquiry

This article considers the question of intelligent design in relation to the principles of scientific inquiry and academic freedom. The authors examine the structure of research as a task of events to advance knowledge; an individual, interpretive process; and a social/public discourse. Using this framework, they consider how the advancement of intelligent design has occurred outside the traditional structure of knowledge production in the academy. They consider the influence on ideology as well as the public role in scientific knowledge. By enabling ideologies to operate outside of the balance of scientific inquiry and peer review, the process of knowledge production is reduced to a biased power struggle manipulated by personal agendas.
The Attitudes about Reality Scale: A Note on the Use of Logical Positivism as a Construct

Abstract Unger's Attitudes About Reality Scale (AAR; Unger, Draper, & Pendergrass, 1986) is a promising new measure of the way people look at reality, but logical positivism is a questionable anchor construct for one end of the scale. Jackson and Jeffers (1989) suggest that the AAR measures a continuum of social versus individual determinism of social reality. This is probably a better interpretation of the scale.
Enhanced dissolved organic carbon production in aquatic ecosystems in response to elevated atmospheric CO2

Although aquatic ecosystems are a major carbon reservoir, how their carbon dynamics will respond to increasing concentrations of atmospheric CO2 is not well understood. The availability of essential nutrients has the potential to modify carbon fluxes under elevated CO2 by altering carbon processing and storage in the biota. Here, we describe a semi-continuous culture experiment with natural phytoplankton and bacteria assemblages designed to investigate (1) how carbon dynamics in aquatic ecosystems respond to continuously elevated atmospheric CO2, and (2) whether carbon fluxes resulting from elevated CO2 are modified by changes in inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus availability. Our results showed that elevated CO2 led to significant increases in photosynthetic carbon uptake, despite a decrease in the algal chlorophyll a concentrations and no significant change in total algal biovolume. This enhancement of inorganic carbon uptake was accompanied by a significant increase in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) production. Concurrent increases in the C/N and C/P ratios of dissolved organic matter also suggested that DOC stability increased. Nutrient availability, especially nitrogen availability, had strong effects on inorganic carbon uptake and biomass carbon pools. In contrast, CO2-enhanced DOC production was not significantly affected by varying concentrations of inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus. Our study underscores the importance of DOC as a potential carbon sink in aquatic ecosystems. The observed responses to changes in CO2 and nutrient availability could have important implications for long-term carbon cycling in aquatic ecosystems, and highlight the potential buffering capacity of aquatic ecosystems to future environmental change.
Use of a marked erythropoietin gene for investigation of its cis-acting elements.

Abstract To examine the function of conserved noncoding regions in the erythropoietin (Epo) gene, we have prepared clones and pools of Hep3B cells stably transfected with a marked 4.1-kilobase Epo gene and deletions thereof. The marked transcripts had single base substitutions at three sites in the coding portion of Exon 5, enabling them to be distinguished from endogenous Epo mRNA by ribonuclease protection and competitive polymerase chain reaction. The basal expression and hypoxic induction of the marked Epo gene that had no deletions were indistinguishable from that of the endogenous Epo gene. Likewise, deletion of conserved intervening sequence 1 had minimal effect on hypoxic induction. In contrast, a 3′-deletion that included the conserved 3′-enhancer element resulted in a substantial, but not complete, suppression of hypoxic induction while a 3′-deletion downstream of the enhancer resulted in enhancement. A 188-base pair deletion of a conserved 3′-untranslated region in Exon 5 had minimal effect on hypoxic induction. However, the truncated Epo mRNA had a markedly prolonged half-life (15 h) in comparison to the endogenous Epo mRNA (2.0 h) or the marked full-length Epo mRNA (2.1 h). Further deletions in the 3′-UTR showed that a relatively small region of approximately 50 bases is responsible for the relatively rapid turnover of Epo mRNA. These experiments provide information on cis-acting elements of the Epo gene that cannot be obtained from conventional reporter gene transfection experiments.
Children's Fears: A Pre‐9/11 and Post‐9/11 Comparison Using the American Fear Survey Schedule for Children

Children are influenced by the salient events surrounding them (e.g., 9/11 terrorist attacks, Hurricane Katrina, massacre at Virginia Tech). In this study, the author examined fears of children and adolescents in Grades 2–12 in a pre- and post-September 11, 2001, comparison using the American Fear Survey Schedule for Children (FSSC-AM; J. J. Burnham, 1995, 2005). Differences across age, gender, and year were examined. Multivariate analyses of variance yielded significant effects for terror fear items on the FSSC-AM.
First Dynamic Computations of Synchrotron Emission from the Cygnus A Radio Cavity: Evidence for Electron Pair Plasma in Cavity

Cosmic rays, thermal gas and magnetic fields in FRII radio cavities are assumed to come entirely from winds flowing from just behind the jet shocks. Combining analytic and computational methods, it is shown that the computed radio-electron energy distribution and synchrotron emissivity spectra everywhere in the Cygnus A radio cavity agree with radio observations of the Cygnus A lobes. The magnetic field energy density is small everywhere and evolves passively in the post-shock wind. Most synchrotron emission arises in recent post-shock material as it flows back along the radio cavity wall. Because it experienced less adiabatic expansion, the magnetic field in this young backflow is larger than elsewhere in the radio lobe, explaining the observed radio synchrotron limb-brightening. The boundary backflow decelerates due to small cavity pressure gradients, causing large-scale fields perpendicular to the backflow (and synchrotron emission) to grow exponentially unlike observations. However, if the field is random on subgrid (sub-kpc) scales, the computed field reproduces both the magnitude and slowly decreasing radio synchrotron emissivity observed along the backflow. The radio synchrotron spectrum and image computed with a small-scale random field agree with Very Large Array observations. The total relativistic energy density in the post-jet shock region required in computations to inflate the radio cavity matches the energy density of relativistic electrons observed in the post-shock region of Cygnus A. This indicates that the component in the jet and cavity that dominates the dynamical evolution is a relativistic pair plasma.
Detection and Assessment of Mitral Regurgitation by Left Atrial Indicator-Dilution Curves

Indicator-dilution curves were recorded simultaneously from the left atrium and the femoral artery during injections of indocyanine green into the left ventricle in normal dogs and in dogs with chronic mitral regurgitation. A study was made-without the use of thoracotomy-of the effect of the following factors on the amount of early appearing indicator detected in the left atrium: (a) the timing of the injection of indicator in relation to the cardiac cycle, (b) the position of the injecting catheter in the left ventricle, and (c) the position of the sampling catheter in the left atrium. It was found that the time and site of the injection into the left ventricle had little effect on the amount of early appearing dye detected in the left atrium and that, although the position of the sampling catheter in the left atrium was important, reproducible results were attained when the sampling site was restricted to a region in close proximity to the mitral valve. A close correlation was demonstrated between the volume of regurgitation determined independently on a hydraulic basis and the volume estimated from the fraction of early appearing indicator detected in the left atrium. It is concluded that further work with this upstream-sampling technique is justified in order to study its possibilities as a practical method for detecting and quantitating mitral regurgitation in human beings.