cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Vaccinia virus gene encoding a 30-Kilodalton subunit of the viral DNA-dependent RNA polymerase

Antibody was raised against purified vaccinia virus RNA polymerase and used to screen a recombinant vaccinia virus-lambda gt11 library. The DNA from several immunopositive clones was shown by Southern hybridization to originate from the vaccinia virus HindIII E fragment. The nucleotide sequence of the RNA polymerase subunit gene predicts a polypeptide 287 amino acids in length and 30,000 daltons in mass. An early transcript with a 5' terminus just upstream of the putative initiation codon was identified by S1 nuclease protection and primer extension analyses, demonstrating that this RNA polymerase subunit is expressed as an early viral gene product. The RNA polymerase subunit was synthesized by a bacterial expression vector to demonstrate that it corresponds to the previously described 37,000-dalton RNA polymerase subunit.
Quantum Algorithm for Factoring

Every positive integer n has a unique decomposition as a product of primes n D p 11 p kk , for prime number pi , and positive integer exponent ei . Computing the decomposition p1; e1; : : : ; pk; ek from n is the factoring problem. Factoring has been studied for many hundreds of years, and exponential time algorithms for it were found to include trial division, Lehman’s method, Pollard’s method, and Shank’s class group method [1]. With the invention of the RSA public-key cryptosystem in the late 1970s, the problem became practically important and started receiving much more attention. The security of RSA is closely related to the complexity of factoring, and in particular, it is only secured if factoring does not have an efficient algorithm. The first subexponential-time algorithm is due to Morrison and Brillhard [4] using a continued fraction algorithm. This was succeeded by the quadratic sieve method of Pomerance and the elliptic curve method of Lenstra [5]. The number field sieve [2,3], found in 1989, is the best-known classical algorithm for factoring and runs in time exp.c.logn/.log logn// for some constant c. Shor’s result is a polynomial-time quantum algorithm for factoring.
State-dependent graphs

We consider distributed dynamic systems operating over state-dependent dynamic graphs or networks. Various aspects of the resulting abstract structure, having a mixture of combinatorial and control theoretic features, are then studied. Along the way, we explore an interplay between notions from the theory of graphs (elementary, extremal, and random), and system theory (controllability, invariance, etc.).
Radiosensitization of malignant melanoma—I: The effect of 7-hydroxy-chlorpromazine on the in vivo radiation response of Fortner's melanoma☆

Abstract A number of investigators have reported the radiosensitizing effects of chlorpromazine (CPZ) in the treatment of malignant melanoma. In the present study, we explored radiosensitization of Fortner's melanoma in the hamster, by the use of the 7-hydroxy metabolite (7-OHCPZ) of CPZ. In conjunction with orthovoltage photon radiation (XRT), 7-OHCPZ was found to repress mean tumor growth by as much as 54%, 56%, 38%, and 53%, respectively, compared to XRT alone, 7-OHCPZ alone, CPZ + XRT, and no treatment. These results may be related to the greater affinity for melanin of 7-OHCPZ than CPZ. Possible therapeutic mechanisms are discussed.
Studies on polynucleotides. LVI. Further syntheses, in vitro of copolypeptides containing two amino acids in alternating sequence dependent upon DNA-like polymers containing two nucleotides in alternating sequence.

The double-stranded DNA-like polymers, poly d-TC : AG and poly d-TG : AC, which contain, in each strand, the two specified deoxyribonucleotides in alternating sequence, have previously been shown to serve as templates for DNA-dependent RNA polymerase; and the products formed in the presence of sets of two appropriate ribonucleoside 5′-triphosphates, have been characterized as poly UC, poly AG, poly UG and poly AC containing, in every case, the two ribonucleotides in alternating sequence ( Nishimura, Jones & Khorana, 1965 ). The messenger activity of poly UG, poly AC and poly AG in the Escherichia coli cell-free amino acid-incorporating system has now been studied. Poly UG stimulates the incorporation of valine and cysteine, poly AC stimulates the incorporation of threonine and histidine and poly AG stimulates the incorporation of glutamic acid and arginine. The amino acid-incorporations have the following common features: (1) only two amino acids are incorporated; (2) the incorporation of the two amino acids is largely interdependent; and (3) the incorporation of the two amino acids occurs in equimolar amounts. The products of the in vitro syntheses have all been characterized, by chemical and/or enzymic methods, as copolypeptides containing the two amino acids in alternating sequence. From a combination of these and previous results, the following codon assignments can be made unequivocally: UGU, cysteine; GUG, valine; CAC, histidine; ACA, threonine; AGA, arginine and GAG, glutamic acid.
The Dietary Lysine Requirement of Juvenile Hybrid Striped Bass

Two experiments were conducted to determine the dietary lysine requirement of juvenile hybrid striped bass (Morone saxatilis x M. chrysops). In both experiments the diets contained 35 g crude protein/100 g diet (10 g crude protein supplied by casein and gelatin and 25 g crude protein supplied by crystalline L-amino acids) and contained graded levels of L-lysine.HCl resulting in eight dietary treatments. Diets were fed to triplicate groups of fish and ranged in dietary lysine concentration from 1.2 to 2.6 g/100 g of the dry diet in Experiment 1 and from 0.8 to 2.2 g/100 g of the dry diet in Experiment 2. Weight gain and food efficiency data from Experiment 1 indicated the dietary lysine requirement to be between 1.2 and 1.4 g/100 g of the dry diet. Weight gain, food efficiency and serum lysine data from Experiment 2 confirmed the requirement to be between 1.2 and 1.4 g/100 g of the dry diet. Broken-line analysis of weight gain and food efficiency data from Experiment 2 indicated the dietary lysine requirement to be 1.4 +/- 0.2% of the dry diet, or 4.0 g/100 g of the dietary protein. Changes in the relative proportions of dietary lipid and carbohydrate between the two experiments, although maintaining similar gross energy levels, did not alter the lysine requirement estimate of juvenile hybrid striped bass.
Inhibitors of microtubule assembly enhance beta-adrenergic and prostaglandin e1-stimulated cyclic amp accumulation in s49 lymphoma cells.

We have used wild-type S49 lymphoma cells and several variant S49 clones to characterize the several-fold enhancement of beta-adrenergic- and PGE1-stimulated accumulation of cyclic AMP produced by colchicine and vinblastine, two inhibitors of microtubule assembly. The effect of the inhibitors was dose- and time-dependent, increased maximal response without changing the EC50 for isoproterenol, did not occur with lumicolchicine, and could not be attributed to inhibition of either phosphodiesterase activity or cellular extrusion of cyclic AMP. Colchicine did not alter the extent to which S49 cells became refractory to isoproterenol. The enhancement of beta-adrenergic-stimulated cyclic AMP accumulation by colchicine in an S49 variant having a decreased number of beta-adrenergic receptors was decreased relative to wild type cells, whereas a variant lacking cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase activity responded to colchicine as did wild-type. In S49 variants having altered coupling between adenylate cyclase and receptors for PGE1 and beta-adrenergic amines or absent adenylate cyclase activity in response to hormonal effectors, neither isoproterenol nor PGE1 stimulated cyclic AMP in the presence of colchicine. Assays of adenylate cyclase activity either in S49 plasma membranes incubated with colchicine or in homogenates prepared from colchicine-treated cells failed to show enhancement of hormonal stimulation of the enzyme. We conclude that vinblastine and colchicine enhance cyclic AMP accumulation by increasing activation of adenylate cyclase, but only in intact S49 cells. Our findings imply that these agents act on cellular structures, presumably microtubules, that normally inhibit adenylate cyclase and that colchicine and vinblastine do not interact directly with plasma membrane sites regulating adenylate cyclase. These data suggest that microtubules regulate events involved in coupling receptor occupancy to activation of adenylate cyclase in intact S49 cells.
Michelangelo: The Artist, the Man and his Times

Part I. Introduction: Note to the reader 1. Rome, 1496 2. Aristocrat of artists 3. Rise to prominence 4. Papal summons 5. Rome, 1508-1516 6. Florence, 1515-1525 7. A week in the life 8. Florence, 1525-1534 Part II: 9. Rome, 1534-42 10. Rome, 1542-45 11. Papal architect, Rome, 1546-49 12. New friends, diminishing family 13. St Peter's 14. Late work, long life 15. Final years 16. Return to Florence.
Movement and Locality in Sundanese Wh-Questions

. Nominal wh-questions (nonprepositional arguments) in Indonesian-type languages have received two principal analyses in recent years. Based on the three different surface strategies for forming these questions, Saddy (1991) has proposed distinct in situ, long-distance-movement, and partial-movement analyses for Indonesian. Cole & Hermon (1998) adopt the same general proposal for Malay. Conversely, examining the three parallel structures, Davies (2003) has proposed that there is no interclausal wh-movement in Madurese but that all nominal wh-arguments are generated in situ. Sundanese presents the same basic structural options as the other three languages. Examining the grammatical characteristics of the long-distance questions, we conclude that, as in Madurese, there is no evidence for interclausal A′-movement in Sundanese and that the apparent cases of long-distance movement are best analyzed as instances of A-movement. These questions thus appear to share some characteristics of nominal wh-questions in other western Austronesian languages, such as Malagasy (Keenan 2008) and Tagalog (Gerassimova & Sells 2008).
Transparent and mechanically reconfigurable small antenna based on stretchable micromesh

A transparent and stretchable zeroth-order resonant (ZOR) antenna is presented. In order to realize the proposed antenna, the CPW-fed ZOR antenna is utilized. A vertically oriented meander line scheme is employed to obtain high reconfigurability. By changing the strain, the resonant frequency of the antenna is tuned from 2.94 GHz to 2.46GHz. Due to the use of stretchable micromesh, the antenna can be optically transparent as well.
Design and Testing of Vacuum Breaker Check Valve for Simplified Boiling Water Reactor

A new design of the vacuum breaker check valve was developed to replace the mechanical valve in a simplified boiling water reactor. Scaling and design calculations were performed to obtain the geometry of new passive hydraulic vacuum breaker check valve. In order to check the valve performance, a RELAP5 model of the simplified boiling water reactor system with the new valve was developed. The valve was implemented in an integral facility, PUMA and was tested for large break loss of coolant accident.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
SU(3) CLASSIFICATION OF NUCLEAR WAVE FUNCTIONS IN MIXED 1p, 1d--2s SHELLS.

Abstract Wave functions which span irreducible representations of the SU(3) group are constructed from shell-model functions which belong to configurations (1p) 10 (2s or 1d). The energy centroid and width of these states are computed, and the SU(3) structure in the even-parity states of 15 N are discussed.
Molecular screening for diseases frequent in Ashkenazi Jews: Lessons learned from more than 100,000 tests performed in a commercial laboratory

Purpose: To determine the frequency of carriers of Ashkenazi Jewish (AJ) genetic diseases in the US population and compare these numbers with previously published frequencies reported in smaller more isolated cohorts. Methods: A database containing more than 100,000 genotyping assays was queried. Assays for 10 separate AJ genetic diseases where comparisons were made with published data. Results: As expected, we observed lower carrier frequencies in a general, US population than those reported in literature. In 2427 patients tested for a panel of 8 AJ diseases, 20 (1:121) were carriers of two diseases and 331 (1:7) were carriers of a single disease. Fifty-three of 7184 (1:306) individuals tested for Gaucher disease had 2 Gaucher Disease mutations indicating a potentially affected phenotype. Conclusions: As the number of AJ diseases increases, progressively more individuals will be identified as carriers of at least one disease.
EPR studies of a cyano-bridged {Fe2IIINiII} coordination complex and its corresponding FeIII mononuclear building-block

Abstract High-field/frequency electron paramagnetic resonance measurements have been performed on a cyano-bridged trinuclear Fe2IIINiII complex and an analogous mononuclear FeIII building block. The mononuclear FeIII complex exhibits a low-spin configuration resulting from a strong-field coordination environment and can be modeled as an effective s = 1/2 Kramers ion that exhibits significant g-anisotropy: gz = 3.7, gy = 2.2 and gx = 1.92. The corresponding Fe2IIINiII complex possesses an S = 2 spin ground state as a result of ferromagnetic exchange that is mediated by the bridging cyano ligands. Simulations of frequency dependent EPR data establish that the Fe2IIINiII complex exhibits easy-axis type magnetoanisotropy, with best-fit simulation parameters of: S = 2, D = −2.09 cm−1, E = 0.08 cm−1, B40 = 2.3 × 10−3 cm−1, gz = 2.4, gy = gx = 1.95.
A rapid test for identification of autonomous folding units in proteins.

The structure of a protein is dictated by a large number of weak interactions that cooperatively stabilize the native state. Usually, excised fragments smaller than a domain have little if any residual structure. When autonomous units of structure are found within domains, this challenges common assumptions about the cooperativity of protein structure. Such autonomous folding units (AFUs) are of wide interest and have applications in protein engineering and as simple model systems for studying the determinants of stability and specificity. A new method of identifying AFUs within proteins is presented here. The rapid autonomous fragment test (RAFT) identifies AFUs based on analysis of inter-residue contacts present in the three-dimensional structure of a protein. RAFT is fast enough to mine the entire PDB for AFUs and provide a library of potential small stable folds. We show that RAFT is able to predict whether a protein fragment will be structured if isolated from its parent domain.
A Case of Acute Cardiomyopathy and Pericarditis Associated with Methylphenidate

Methylphenidate is a potent central nervous system stimulant that exerts its effects by increasing synaptic levels of dopamine and norepinephrine. It has become key to treating attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents. As the use of stimulant medications has ballooned in the past decade, so too has awareness of the cardiovascular complications of these drugs. Effects on heart rate and blood pressure as well as tachyarrhythmias have been well described. However, acute cardiomyopathy and pericarditis secondary to methylphenidate use has been rarely reported. We report the case of a 17-year-old male who developed chest pain, elevated cardiac biomarkers, and acute left ventricular dysfunction following a single dose of methylphenidate. The risk of cardiomyopathy in the setting of methylphenidate treatment should prompt further study on the safety of this drug, and lead to ways of identifying those at risk of developing these complications.
Evolution of male and female release calls in African clawed frogs

In anurans, male clasps can elicit release calls from either sex. Male release calls have been observed in many anuran genera and this vocal response is thus highly conserved. Female release calls, however, are not as prevalent, suggesting that evolutionary trajectories for anuran release calls differ by sex. We analyzed male and female release calls in all available species of Xenopus, a fully aquatic African genus. Phylogenetic relationships in this genus include three species groups, two of which are clades and one of which is characterized by a reticulated phylogeny due in part to hybridizations between species with different ploidy levels (Evans et al., 2004; Evans, 2008). In all species, males produce release calls when clasped by another male. Females in the reticulated group do not produce release calls, but females in the rest of the genus do. Release calls consist of click trains of variable durations and inter-call intervals. In both sexes, inter-click interval divides the genus into groups with different click rates and these groups are phylogenetically related. In general, inter-click interval is shorter in male than in female release calls. Across species and sexes, release calls are characterized by a single, low (∼1000 Hz) dominant frequency. In X. laevis Congo and X. borealis, clasp duration is longer for male–female than for male–male pairs and clasp duration is correlated with the number, but not the duration, of release calls in male–male pairs. We discuss evolutionary scenarios for release call traits as well as the sex difference in occurrence.
A Priori Phase Equilibrium Prediction from a Segment Contribution Solvation Model

An activity coefficient model using molecular solvation based on the COSMO-RS method is proposed. In this model, quantum mechanical COSMO calculations are performed to obtain the screening charges for molecules in a perfect conductor. A statistical mechanical model that considers molecules to be a collection of surface segments is developed for the calculation of segment activity coefficients using these screening charges. Activity coefficients for molecules are then obtained by summing the contributions of the segments. This model requires only a single radius for each atom in the COSMO solvation calculations, one universal parameter to discern hydrogen-bond acceptors and donors, and two universal parameters to determine segment interactions. This is a significantly fewer number of parameters for phase equilibrium calculations than group contribution methods such as the UNIFAC (168 parameters) and modified UNIFAC (612 parameters) models. The resulting completely a priori prediction method results in abso...
Medieval Monstrosity and the Female Body. By Sarah Alison Miller

Medieval Monstrosity and the Female Body. By Sarah Alison Miller (New York: Routledge, 2010), xi + 213 pp. $113.00 cloth. In her lucid and scholarly analysis, Sarah Miller examines one incarnation ...
Treatment with a rho kinase inhibitor improves survival from graft-versus-host disease in mice after MHC-haploidentical hematopoietic cell transplantation.

Abstract Acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is a major complication of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) and the main cause of nonrelapse mortality during the first 100 days post-transplant. Although GVHD can be prevented by extensive removal of mature donor T cells from the donor hematopoietic stem cell population, doing so eliminates any potential allogeneic graft-versus-tumor (GVT) effect also mediated by donor T cells and results in unacceptable rates of cancer relapse. One potential solution to this problem of separating GVHD development from a GVT response is to prevent T cell–mediated GVHD in the intestinal tract (IT) while preserving systemic antihost alloreactivity of donor T cells that target residual tumor cells expressing host alloantigens. We examined the ability of the anti-inflammatory rho kinase inhibitor, fasudil, given orally and intraperitoneally, to prevent GVHD in a C3H → B6C3F1 mouse model of MHC-haploidentical bone marrow transplantation. Fasudil-treated recipients of anti-thy-1 mAb + C′ treated bone marrow (ATBM) cells plus T cells had a 73% 90-day survival compared with 25% among untreated ATBM + T cell recipients (P
The MCHF atomic-structure package

The programs, as described in Computational Atomic Structure: An MCHF Approach (C. Froese Fischer, T. Brage, and P. Jonsson, Institute of Physics (Bristol, 1997)) are collected into an atomic structure package. Included with the package are test examples with complete output of results. Also included are executable binaries for the Intel Linux operating system. The programs have previously been published separately except for a simple continuum CMCHF program with one continuum channel and associated photoionization program that are unpublished.
Stat-LRC: statistical rules check for variational lithography

As interconnect densities increase with each technology generation, the lithographic processes required to print all features with acceptable irregularities have become more complex. Restricted design rules (RDR) and modelbased Design for Manufacturability (DFM) guidelines have been added to the existing Design Rule Check (DRC) software to prevent unprintable patterns to be drawn on the mask by predicting their imprint on the wafer. It is evident from analyses of predicted patterns that edge placement errors have a continuous distribution, hence a pass/fail cut-off is somewhat arbitrary. In this paper, we describe a methodology to perform Statistical Lithography Rules Check (Stat-LRC) involving design yield based on interconnect linewidth distribution for variation in lithographic input error sources. In this scheme, a list of error locations indicating polygons that have yield below a user specified threshold are listed. The overall design yield is recovered by trading-off slightly poorer EPE distributions for lines with short runs with excellent ones. The simulation/analysis environment is fully automated and yield recovery improvement has been demonstrated.
The Effect of Alcohol Consumption and Patronage Frequency on Restaurant Tipping

ABSTRACT The National Restaurant Association projected $376 billion in sales and 11 million employees for the restaurant industry in the year 2000. For the servers and bartenders in the industry, tipping is an important part of their income. Results of this study suggest there are several variables that affect the tip amount by party including the amount of the total bill, customer tipping potential, alcohol consumption, the presence of children in the dining party, patronage frequency, and the age of the patron paying the bill. Patron frequency and the amount of the total bill have a strong influence on tipping, as does the customer's tipping potential as judged by the server. A server can expect larger tips from patrons with no children as opposed to those with children. Also, tips are larger when the patron paying the bill has consumed alcohol. The gender and ethnicity of the patron were found to be nonsignificant, as were seating preference and method of payment.
Trypanosoma equiperdum: movement from the dermis.

Abstract Twelve dogs were injected intradermally with 352,770 to 14,391,660 Trypanosoma equiperdum and afferent and efferent lymph, lymph nodes, and blood examined by mouse inoculation at minute, hourly, and daily intervals following inoculation. The log dosage of trypanosomes given each dog was closely related to their body weight ( P T. equiperdum can leave the dermis in afferent lymphatics, reach the local lymph node, invade the blood stream from this site, and only after a day or longer do they leave the node via the efferent lymphatics.
Macro-Analysis of the American Educational System

This paper presents a rudimentary model of the public school system as an input-output process. The inputs are students' own abilities and attitudes, parental support, peer support, quality of the school system, community support, and society's posture with respect to education. Outputs are various categories of academic achievement as well as social competence, responsibility, self confidence, creativeness, ethics, and ambition. All these factors must be measured by index numbers or simple indicators. The model is a set of regression equations relating outputs to inputs. Some implementation of the model has been made possible by means of data gathered in the U.S. Office of Education's Equality-of-Educational-Opportunity Survey.
Full Sequence and Comparative Analysis of the Plasmid pAPEC-1 of Avian Pathogenic E. coli χ7122 (O78∶K80∶H9)

Background Extra-intestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC), including Avian Pathogenic E. coli (APEC), are very diverse. They cause a complex of diseases in Human, animals, and birds. Even though large plasmids are often associated with the virulence of ExPEC, their characterization is still in its infancy. Methodology/Principal Findings We fully sequenced and analyzed the large plasmid pAPEC-1 (103,275-bp) associated with the APEC strain χ7122, from worldwide serogroup O78∶K80∶H9. A putative virulence region spanning an 80-kb region of pAPEC-1 possesses four iron acquisition systems (iutA iucABCD, sitABCD, iroBCDN, and temperature-sensitive hemagglutinin tsh), a colicin V operon, increasing serum sensitivity iss, ompT, hlyF, and etsABC. Thirty three ORFs in pAPEC-1 are identified as insertion sequences (ISs) that belong to nine families with diverse origins. The full length of the transfer region in pAPEC-1 (11 kb) is shorter compared to the tra region of other sequenced F plasmids; the absence of some tra genes in pAPEC-1 affects its self-transferability, and the conjugative function of the plasmid was effective only in the presence of other plasmids. Two-replicon systems, repFIIA-repFIC and repFIB, and two post-segregational systems, srnB and hok/sok, are also present in the sequence of pAPEC-1. The comparison of the pAPEC-1 sequence with the two available plasmid sequences reveals more gene loss and reorganization than previously appreciated. The presence of pAPEC-1-associated genes is assessed in human ExPEC by PCR. Many patterns of association between genes are found. Conclusions/Significance The pathotype typical of pAPEC-1 was present in some human strains, which indicates a horizontal transfer between strains and the zoonotic risk of APEC strains. ColV plasmids could have common virulence genes that could be acquired by transposition, without sharing genes of plasmid function.
Managing severe gas mask anxiety with a cognitive-behavioral approach: An illustrative case study and treatment protocol.

Gas mask–related anxiety can compromise job performance and threaten safety for military, police, and rescue personnel who may need to rely on a gas mask for protection. However, no intervention protocols have been published that specifically address gas mask–related anxiety. Multiple factors may contribute to gas mask anxiety, including physical sensations, cognitive and emotional reactions, behaviors, conditioning, and situational demands. Cognitive–behavioral interventions that address these variables can effectively decrease anxiety in a relatively brief time by using well-established anxiety treatment methods. This article presents a suggested intervention protocol and describes a successful case example.
Energy fluctuations induced by the Nosé thermostat

The Nos\'e thermostat is a method for simulating a canonical ensemble in molecular-dynamics calculations. It is generally agreed that for large values of Q, the parameter determining the response of the thermostat to the system, the approach to equilibrium is slow and for intermediate values it is rapid. However, for small Q Nos\'e found the thermostat oscillates rapidly and does not equilibrate with the system; we found it equilibrates but yields incorrect values for energy fluctuations, whereas Cho and Joannopoulos found it equilibrates very slowly, eventually yielding correct energy fluctuations. Here we demonstrate how these differences arise.
Generating Stochastic Gene Regulatory Networks Consistent With Pathway Information and Steady-State Behavior

We present a procedure to generate a stochastic genetic regulatory network model consistent with pathway information. Using the stochastic dynamics of Markov chains, we produce a model constrained by the prior knowledge despite the sometimes incomplete, time independent, and often conflicting nature of these pathways. We apply the Markov theory to study the model's long run behavior and introduce a biologically important transformation to aid in comparison with real biological outcome prediction in the steady-state domain. Our technique produces biologically faithful models without the need for rate kinetics, detailed timing information, or complex inference procedures. To demonstrate the method, we produce a model using 28 pathways from the biological literature pertaining to the transcription factor family nuclear factor-κB. Predictions from this model in the steady-state domain are then validated against nine mice knockout experiments.
Nitrogenase activity associated with some wisconsin prairie grasses

Yearly rates of nitrogen fixation associated with seven species of grass were measured on two artificially-established prairies. The C2H2 reduction method was used to measure the activity of soil cores taken within the stands of grass. Nitrogenase activity was specifically associated with Panicum virgatum and Sporobolus heterolepis, which had activities estimated at 3.6 and 2.9 kg N ha-1 yr-1. Fixation in stands of the other grasses ranged between 0.2 and 1.8 kg N ha-1 yr-1; free-living organisms might have fixed the N2 without specific association with the grasses, which were Andropogon gerardi, Andropogon scoparius, Spartina pectinata, Stipa spartea, and Poa pratensis. Three relic prairies were also examined, but the rates of fixation were no higher, except for S. heterolepis, which at one relic prairie had rates that extrapolated to 9 kg N ha-1 yr-1. The choices made for core location, size, depth, length of C2H2 incubation, and the time of day of sampling did not appear to have a substantial effect on the accuracy of the measurements. The organisms associated with S. heterolepis required O2 for N2 fixation, and they were located in the soil or on the smaller roots which remained when the major roots were removed from the soil. re]19750217
Neogene tectonic reconstruction of the Adelbert-Finisterre-New Britain collision, northern Papua New Guinea

Abstract The Finisterre terrane is presently colliding with the Australian continent in northern Papua New Guinea. The terrane is exposed in two distinct blocks — the Adelbert block and the Finisterre block. A clastic sedimentary sequence in the suture zone provides constraints on the age of initial collision for each block and on paleotectonic reconstructions of New Guinea. Provenance shifts within the Finisterre block sedimentary section date the collision of that block at 3.0–3.7 Ma. Analysis of the Adelbert block sedimentary section has not revealed similar provenance shifts. This absence of temporal trends in source area may be caused by oblique collision of the Adelbert block with an allochthonous terrane composed of oceanic crust. These factors would likely lead to a “soft” collision involving little uplift and hence little disruption of the pre-collisional sedimentation patterns. In contrast, the Finisterre block collided orthogonally with terranes composed of continental crust. This “hard” collision has led to rapid uplift and significant modification of the pre-collisional depositional system. A deep water basin existed between the Adelbert block and the continent in the Late Pliocene. Deep marine sediments deposited in this basin were subsequently overthrust by older lithologies of the Adelbert block. When combined with geochemical, seismic and plate kinematic data published by other workers, these data suggest collision of the eastern portion of the Adelbert block in the Middle to Late Pliocene. The western portion of the Adelbert block probably collided in the latest Miocene. Many tectonic reconstructions of northern Papua New Guinea have favored collision of the Finisterre terrane over a doubly-subducting Solomon Sea Plate in an extension of the modern tectonic configuration of the Solomon Sea. The presence of continentally-derived sediment in the Finisterre accretionary wedge casts doubt on this scenario. The trench of a southward-dipping subduction zone would be likely to block continentally-derived sediment from reaching the Finisterre accretionary wedge. The Maramuni Arc, the igneous association usually attributed to the hypothesized southward-dipping subduction zone, appears to have erupted on allochthonous terranes rather than on autochthonous crust. These observations suggest that collision of the Adelbert block and most of the Finisterre block occurred above a single, northward-dipping subduction zone. The double subduction present in the Solomon Sea probably never extended more than 200 km west of its present location.
Building an extensible file system via policy-based data management

In the practice of data management, different user communities often use different forms of data and metadata, support different operations, and implement different policies. For example, forms of data include blocks, tuples, streams, time series, and so forth, while forms of metadata include different vocabularies, schemas, and namespaces. In addition, the forms of data and metadata often change over time. The diverse and emergent nature of these requirements pose to data management systems a challenge which traditional file systems with fixed functionality have become inadequate to address. Extensible file systems can be built via policy-based data management. We describe the practical and theoretical aspects of policy-based data management and provide a wide range of examples of prototypical and production applications of the integrated Rule-Oriented Data System (iRODS) in data grids that apply this type of file system.
Multi-Axial Contour Method for Mapping Residual Stresses in Continuously Processed Bodies

This paper describes a method for extending the capability of the contour method to allow for the measurement of spatially varying multi-axial residual stresses in prismatic, continuously processed bodies. Currently, the contour method is used to determine a 2D map of the residual stress normal to a plane. This work uses an approach similar to the contour method to quantify multiple components of eigenstrain in continuously processed bodies, which are used to calculate residual stress. The result of the measurement is an estimate of the full residual stress tensor at every point in the body. The approach is first outlined for a 2D body and the accuracy of the methodology is demonstrated for a representative case using a numerical experiment. Next, an extension to the 3D case is given and the accuracy is demonstrated for representative cases using numerical experiments. Finally, measurements are performed on a thin sheet of Ti-6Al-4V with a band of laser peening down the center (assumed to be 2D) and a thick laser peened plate of 316L stainless steel to show that the approach is valid under real experimental conditions.
Fast lean-rich cycling for enhanced NOx conversion on storage and reduction catalysts

Abstract Lean NOx (NO + NO2) reduction was carried out using rapid periodic injection of C3H6 over a NOx storage and reduction (NSR) monolith catalyst containing Pt/Rh/BaO/CeO2/Al2O3. The effects of injection rate, feed temperature, rich phase composition, lean phase duration, and feed concentration of CO2 were systematically varied to quantify their effects on the cycle-averaged NOx and propylene conversions, and product selectivities. A factor of 10 increase in the injection frequency from conventional NSR cycling frequency of 0.014 to 0.14 Hz resulted in much higher NOx conversion at high feed temperatures (above 300 °C). Both NOx and propylene conversions were higher over the entire range of feed temperatures (150–400 °C). High frequency injection with propylene resulted in a nearly constant catalyst temperature, in contrast to large swings in the catalyst temperature during lower frequency injection. NOx conversion exceeding 90% was achieved for a feed having a cycle-averaged stoichiometric number (lean to rich ratio) of 6; slower injection required a stoichiometric ratio of 4 to achieve the same NOx conversion. The same high frequency operation using H2 as the reductant not only did not show any enhancement, but resulted in decreased NOx conversion. A prolonged approach to the cyclic steady state was observed during high frequency operation. Moreover, the detrimental effect of CO2 on NOx conversion was observed to decrease at higher frequencies. These observations collectively suggest that the generation of reactive intermediate species “HCxNyOz”, whose lifetime on the catalyst surface exceeds the cycle duration and which reacts with NOx to produce N2, are required to achieve conversion enhancement during high frequency operation. The degree of mixing of the rich and lean feeds upstream of the catalyst was found to be an important reactor design parameter that invites further study.
Alphaxalone, a steroid anesthetic, inhibits the startle-enhancing effects of corticotropin releasing factor, but not strychnine.

Corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) is a 41 amino acid peptide implicated in the expression of stress-and fear-enhanced behaviors. CRF potentiates the amplitude of the startle reflex, and this effect is reversed by benzodiazepines (BDZ), suggesting that the startle-enhancing effects of CRF are modulated by changes in the GABA/BDZ receptor complex. In the present study, CRF-potentiated startle is inhibited by alphaxalone, a pregnane steroid anesthetic that is thought to act via the GABA/BDZ receptor complex. Alphaxalone (ALX) does not reduce CRF-potentiated startle by producing a generalized reduction in reactivity, since blockade of CRF-stimulated startle was not accompanied by an ALX-induced reduction in baseline startle amplitude, and ALX does not reduce strychnine-potentiated startle. The effects of alphaxalone on CRF-potentiated startle may not be generalized to all CRF-stimulated behaviors, since alphaxalone failed to disrupt CRF-stimulated locomotor activity. CRF-potentiated startle is a useful assay for studying the effects of novel anxiolytic agents, and alphaxalone appears to be a steroid anesthetic with anxiolytic properties in this assay.
High performance flight simulation at NASA Langley

The use of real-time simulation at the NASA facility is reviewed specifically with regard to hardware, software, and the use of a fiberoptic-based digital simulation network. The network hardware includes supercomputers that support 32- and 64-bit scalar, vector, and parallel processing technologies. The software include drivers, real-time supervisors, and routines for site-configuration management and scheduling. Performance specifications include: (1) benchmark solution at 165 sec for a single CPU; (2) a transfer rate of 24 million bits/s; and (3) time-critical system responsiveness of less than 35 msec. Simulation applications include the Differential Maneuvering Simulator, Transport Systems Research Vehicle simulations, and the Visual Motion Simulator. NASA is shown to be in the final stages of developing a high-performance computing system for the real-time simulation of complex high-performance aircraft.
The effect of carbon supply on allocation to allelochemicals and caterpillar consumption of peppermint

The carbon supply of peppermint plants was manipulated by growing clonal propagules under three carbon dioxide regimes (350, 500 and 650 μl l-1). Feeding by fourth instar caterpillars of Spodoptera eridania increased with elevated CO2 hostplant regime, as well as with low leaf nitrogen content and by a high proportion of leaf volatile terpenoids. Leaf weight increased significantly with the increased carbon supply, but the amount of nitrogen per leaf did not change. The amount of volatile leaf mono-and sesquiterpenes increased proportionately with total leaf dry weight and hence was not influenced by CO2 supply. These results are consistent with ecological hypotheses which assume that allocation to defense is closely regulated and not sensitive to carbon supply per se.
Characterization of older adults who attribute functional decrements to old age

OBJECTIVE: Understanding the contributors to physical disability in older adults is an important component of the national health objective of expanding disability-free life by the year 2000. The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency with which older adults attribute their difficulty performing a number of common daily tasks to “old age” and to identify specific conditions and diseases associated with this attribution. Finally we sought to determine the characteristics that might differentiate persons able to attribute their disability to specific conditions from those who cite old age as the etiology of their disability. DESIGN: A cross-sectional, observational, study. SETTING: The Johns Hopkins Functional Status Laboratory. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred thirty community-dwelling volunteers 60 years of age and older who could stand unassisted for ≥1 minute and who were without cognitive impairment. MEASUREMENTS: A 1-day evaluation included physical performance evaluations, both performance-based and self-reported function for 27 tasks, and self-report of physician-diagnosed diseases. Those with difficulty in a task and those who denied difficulty but had changed the method of task performance (modification) because of an underlying health or physical condition were identified and asked to name the cause of their difficulty or task modification; options were specific diseases/medical conditions or “old age.” The prevalence of “old age” citation as a cause of functional limitation, as well as its associated characteristics and medical conditions, was determined. MAIN RESULTS: Twenty percent of the 230 participants cited “old age” as the cause of their disability in two or more tasks. Tasks for which difficulty was most frequently attributed to “old age” were dressing oneself (31%), walking around the home (25%), walking 1/2 mile (5–6 blocks) (25%), cutting toenails (16%), getting in or out of a bed or chair or out a car (14% each), and ascending/descending stairs (13%). Significantly higher levels of arthritis, heart disease, and hearing loss were reported in persons attributing their disability to “old age” than in those not reporting “old age” as the cause of their disability. We found no differences in age, gender, race, education, or cognitive status for the two groups. However, individuals citing “old age” as the cause of functional decrements walked more slowly than those who cited a specific disease. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that a significant proportion of functional decline attributed to “aging” in older adults may be associated with specific conditions. Identifying and reducing the impact of these conditions may prove to be a useful approach to preventing or minimizing functional loss.
A theoretical framework to model DSC-MRI data acquired in the presence of contrast agent extravasation

Dynamic susceptibility contrast (DSC) MRI methods rely on compartmentalization of the contrast agent such that a susceptibility gradient can be induced between the contrast-containing compartment and adjacent spaces, such as between intravascular and extravascular spaces. When there is a disruption of the blood-brain barrier, as is frequently the case with brain tumors, a contrast agent leaks out of the vasculature, resulting in additional T(1), T(2) and T*(2) relaxation effects in the extravascular space, thereby affecting the signal intensity time course and reducing the reliability of the computed hemodynamic parameters. In this study, a theoretical model describing these dynamic intra- and extravascular T(1), T(2) and T*(2) relaxation interactions is proposed. The applicability of using the proposed model to investigate the influence of relevant MRI pulse sequences (e.g. echo time, flip angle), and physical (e.g. susceptibility calibration factors, pre-contrast relaxation rates) and physiological parameters (e.g. permeability, blood flow, compartmental volume fractions) on DSC-MRI signal time curves is demonstrated. Such a model could yield important insights into the biophysical basis of contrast-agent-extravasation-induced effects on measured DSC-MRI signals and provide a means to investigate pulse sequence optimization and appropriate data analysis methods for the extraction of physiologically relevant imaging metrics.
Is John Gray a Nihilist

Abstract A nihilist is one who wants nothingness in the place of what is. Does John Gray in his book, Straw Dogs, wish the end of the world? No: but he does contemplate with calm and even some pleasure the end of the human race, or at the least its diminishment to a small fraction of its current numbers. He is appalled by the irrepressible human destructiveness of nature, whether animals, plants or inanimate formations, and finds in this destructiveness the ironical source of human self‐destruction. The only way in which human destructiveness can end is for the human race to end or be substantially reduced. The restored health of nature demands the ruin of humanity, which, unchecked, ruins nature while preparing its own ruin. Much of the book is devoted to deflating human pride as shown in its claim to specialness. This claim is the principal source of human destructiveness of nature. Humanism, the Enlightenment and doctrines of progress bear much of the responsibility for such pride. If we could see thro...
Antibiotic selection factors and description of a hospital-based outpatient antibiotic therapy program in the USA.

A variety of pharmacodynamic, pharmacokinetic and drug stability factors can influence the choice of drug, the dosing regimen and the method of drug administration for outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT). Beta-lactam antibiotics exhibit little if any concentration-dependent killing and produce short-term or no persistent effects with most bacterial pathogens. Optimal dosing regimens for these agents should provide serum levels that continually exceed the minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) of the pathogen. Beta-lactam agents with long half-lives (greater than 2 hours) can provide these levels with intermittent dosing once or twice daily. Beta-lactam agents with shorter half-lives can be administered by programmable pumps or by continuous infusion providing the drug is sufficiently stable to degradation in solution. Imipenem and ampicillin are examples of drugs with short half-lives that are unstable in solution and must be dosed intermittently. Intramuscular administration slows absorption and can also prolong the length of time during which serum levels exceed the MIC of infecting bacteria. Aminoglycosides and fluoroquinolones, on the other hand, exhibit concentration-dependent killing and produce prolonged persistent effects. Optimal dosage regimens of these drugs should maximize serum levels. Once-daily dosing regimens for the aminoglycosides meet this goal and also appear to reduce drug-induced nephrotoxicity. Application of these principles to drug selection and administration in a hospital-based OPAT program has provided efficacious therapy and a low incidence of adverse reactions in an elderly population distributed over a wide geographic area.