cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Understanding the role of gluten subunits (LMW, HMW glutenins and gliadin) in the networking behavior of a weak soft wheat dough and a strong semolina wheat flour dough and the relationship with linear and non-linear rheology

Abstract The differences in viscoelastic properties of gluten from two very different wheat flours, a weak soft flour dough and a strong semolina dough, primarily caused by their gliadin and glutenin content including gliadin to glutenin ratio were studied. The doughs were subjected to oscillatory time sweep tests at small and large amplitudes as well as small and large frequencies. The gluten subunits (LMW, HMW glutenins and gliadins) tagged with specific fluorescent quantum dots with a distint excitation wavelength were imaged with confocal laser scanning microscopy and their distribution and interactions were measured. The quantitative imaging data was converted into networking data that included lacunarity, network area, and number of network junctions. This networking data was correlated with rheology. The two different dough systems showed different oscillatory behavior during time sweeps. The critical role of LMW glutenins in keeping the structural integrity of semolina doughs was demonstrated by a direct correlation between the non-linear elastic component ‘e3/e1’ of the dough and protein network parameters of LMW glutenins. It was also shown that gliadins and HMW glutenins co-localize and associate throughout rheological deformations of the dough. The disruption of the three gluten subunits are responsible for rheological breakdown of soft wheat flour dough, with gliadins influencing the breakdown of the network at higher amplitude deformations. This research presents a new method to analyze the microstructure of wheat doughs and new understanding of how the network structure of the dough subunits contribute and are correlated with fundamental rheological tests.
À la recherche de Michael Riffaterre. . .

Longtemps je me suis couche de fort bonne humeur, Ayant lu les travaux de ce grand professeur. A n'en pas douter, Marcel Proust aurait pu commencer ainsi son chef-d'oeuvre s'il avait fait ses etudes a Columbia plutot qu'au Lycee Condorcet. Toute une generation de lecteurs se souvient, en effet--parfois meme par une ruse de la memoire >--d'avoir goute avec delices les seduisantes explications qui sortaient de la caverne d'Ali Baba du Mage de Columbia. Pendant un demi-siecle, dans le monde international des idees et des lettres, > rima avec >. En mettant judicieusement son immense culture au service de l'interpretation des textes, Michael reussit, avec panache, a etablir sa souverainete intellectuelle sur les deux bords de l'Atlantique. Pendant des annees, on se precipita a ses colloques annuels de poetique a Columbia comme, du temps de Proust, aux conferences de Bergson au College de France. Le who's who de l'intelligentsia francoamericaine se rassemblait religieusement sur les rives de l'Hudson. Le plus grand honneur que tout professeur pouvait convoiter etait alors de se voir invite a l'une de ces grand-messes annuelles, inoubliables fetes de l'esprit : c'etait la preuve qu'on avait franchi le seuil de la notoriete, que l'on etait enfin reconnu et pris au serieux--meme quand on s'appelait Rigolot. En 1962, Roman Jakobson et Claude Levi-Strauss avaient publie leur fameuse analyse des > de Baudelaire. Leur tour de force etait devenu pour beaucoup le modele exemplaire de la methode structuraliste appliquee a la poesie. Avec une rare tenacite, les deux acolytes recensaient les multiples equivalences et oppositions qu'ils decouvraient aux niveaux semantique, syntactique et phonologique du fameux poeme. Cependant, Michael, diligent lecteur s'il en fut jamais un, les attendait au coin du bois. Avec une lucidite rayonnante et une simplicite terrassante, il detruisit d'un trait tout le savant edifice que les deux comperes avaient patiemment assemble. La structure sous-jacente que les venerables savants croyaient mettre a jour ne tenait tout simplement pas compte du processus de lecture le plus elementaire. Leur structuralisme traitait le poeme comme du pur > alors que c'etait d'un > qu'il s'agissait, situe dans un contexte particulier avec des codes socio-culturels precis. Combien de lecteurs se sentirent alors transportes au septieme ciel a la lecture d'une demonstration aussi brillante qu'econome. Fiat Lux. Du pauvre terrien que j'etais, je devins riffa-terrien inconditionnel. Dans les trente annees qui suivirent, Michael regna en maitre inconteste de la semiotique litteraire. On se cassait les dents sur les > de Peirce; mais on buvait du petit lait a savourer La Production du texte ou Semiotics of Poetry. On apprit alors a se mefier de l'horrible > (encore plus horrible sous son masque anglais: >). …
Role of Long-range Allosteric Communication in Determining the Stability and Disassembly of SARS-COV-2 in Complex with ACE2

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) are caused by two closely related beta-coronaviruses, SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2, respectively. The envelopes surrounding these viruses are decorated with spike proteins, whose receptor binding domains (RBDs) initiate invasion by binding to the human angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2). Subtle changes at the interface with ACE2 seem to be responsible for the enhanced affinity for the receptor of the SARS-CoV-2 RBD compared to SARS-CoV RBD. Here, we use Elastic Network Models (ENMs) to study the response of the viral RBDs and ACE2 upon dissassembly of the complexes. We identify a dominant detachment mode, in which the RBD rotates away from the surface of ACE2, while the receptor undergoes a conformational transition which stretches the active-site cleft. Using the Structural Perturbation Method, we determine the network of residues, referred to as the Allostery Wiring Diagram (AWD), which drives the large-scale motion activated by the detachment of the complex. The AWD for SARS-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 are remarkably similar, showing a network that spans the interface of the complex and reaches the active site of ACE2, thus establishing an allosteric connection between RBD binding and receptor catalytic function. Informed in part by the AWD, we used Molecular Dynamics simulations to probe the effect of interfacial mutations in which SARS-CoV-2 residues are replaced by their SARS-CoV counterparts. We focused on a conserved glycine (G502 in SARS-CoV-2, G488 in SARS-CoV) because it belongs to a region that initiates the dissociation of the complex along the dominant detachment mode, and is prominent in the AWD. Molecular Dynamics simulations of SARS-CoV-2 wild-type and G502P mutant show that the affinity for the human receptor of the mutant is drastically diminished. Our results suggest that in addition to residues that are in direct contact with the interface those involved in long range allosteric communication are also a determinant of the stability of the RBD-ACE2 complex.
Worry about COVID-19 in relation to cognitive-affective smoking processes among daily adult combustible cigarette smokers.

Cigarette smoking is a known risk factor for severe disease and death from respiratory infection. Initial data suggest that smoking is a risk factor for COVID-19 symptom severity. Exposure to increased pandemic-related stress and subsequent worry about COVID-19 may amplify the desire to smoke to down-regulate distress. The present investigation sought to test this conceptual model by evaluating worry about COVID-19 in relation to COVID-19 coping motives for smoking, perceived barriers for smoking cessation, and smoking abstinence expectancies. Participants were 219 daily combustible cigarette smokers (55.70% female, Mage = 41.43 years, SD = 11.06). Six separate, two-step hierarchical linear regression models were conducted for each of the criterion variables. As expected, worry about COVID-19 was significantly and positively related to COVID-19 coping motives for smoking and perceived barriers for smoking cessation. Worry about COVID-19 also was a positively significant predictor of smoking abstinence expectancies of negative mood, somatic symptoms, and harmful consequences, but not positive consequences. The present study provides novel empirical evidence that worry about COVID-19 is related to key cognitive-affective smoking processes beyond the effects of age, sex, race, ethnicity, COVID-19 exposure, smoking rate, e-cigarette use status, and anxiety symptoms. These results highlight the potential utility in assessing level of worry about COVID-19, a transdiagnostic construct, among combustible cigarette smokers to better understand cognitive-affective factors that may maintain smoking behavior in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cross-modal orienting of exogenous attention results in visual-cortical facilitation, not suppression.

Attention may be oriented exogenously (i.e., involuntarily) to the location of salient stimuli, resulting in improved perception. However, it is unknown whether exogenous attention improves perception by facilitating processing of attended information, suppressing processing of unattended information, or both. To test this question, we measured behavioral performance and cue-elicited neural changes in the electroencephalogram as participants (N = 19) performed a task in which a spatially non-predictive auditory cue preceded a visual target. Critically, this cue was either presented at a peripheral target location or from the center of the screen, allowing us to isolate spatially specific attentional activity. We find that both behavior and attention-mediated changes in visual-cortical activity are enhanced at the location of a cue prior to the onset of a target, but that behavior and neural activity at an unattended target location is equivalent to that following a central cue that does not direct attention (i.e., baseline). These results suggest that exogenous attention operates via facilitation of information at an attended location.
Synchronous-Variable-Frequency Control of Bidirectional DCM Interleaved DC-DC Converter for Wide-Range Enhanced Efficiency

A bidirectional discontinuous-conduction mode constant on-time variable-frequency control strategy for a three-phase interleaved dc-dc converter suitable for traction applications is proposed in this work. The strategy enhances the converter efficiency at low-power conditions, providing fairly constant efficiency over the entire power range, by synchronously controlling both the bottom and top switches of the three boost phases. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate the validity and effectiveness of the proposed approach on a 10-kW bidirectional interleaved boost converter.
Short-term outcomes of infants born to mothers with SARS-CoV-2 infection.

The rate of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from mothers to infants in the peri- and post-natal period remains an area of ongoing investigation. This study aims to determine rates of development of clin...
A Semilinear Parameter-Varying Observer Method for Fabric-Reinforced Soft Robots

This paper presents an observer architecture that can estimate a set of configuration space variables, their rates of change and contact forces of a fabric-reinforced inflatable soft robot. We discretized the continuum robot into a sequence of discs connected by inextensible threads; this allows great flexibility when describing the robot’s behavior. At first, the system dynamics is described by a linear parameter-varying (LPV) model that includes a set of subsystems, each of which corresponds to a particular range of chamber pressure. A real-world challenge we confront is that the physical robot prototype exhibits a hysteresis loop whose directions depend on whether the chamber is inflating or deflating. In this paper we transform the hysteresis model to a semilinear model to avoid backward-in-time definitions, making it suitable for observer and controller design. The final model describing the soft robot, including the discretized continuum and hysteresis behavior, is called the semilinear parameter-varying (SPV) model. The semilinear parameter-varying observer architecture includes a set of sub-observers corresponding to the subsystems for each chamber pressure range in the SPV model. The proposed observer is evaluated through simulations and experiments. Simulation results show that the observer can estimate the configuration space variables and their rate of change with no steady-state error. In addition, experimental results display fast convergence of generalized contact force estimates and good tracking of the robot’s configuration relative to ground-truth motion capture data.
Towards Efficient and Intelligent Internet of Things Search Engine

The Internet of Things (IoT) has created a novel ecosystem for sensing and actuation throughout our world, enabling intelligently controlled autonomous systems to conserve energy, water crops, manage factories, and provide situation awareness on an unprecedented scale. As IoT progresses, the interest in IoT search engines, that is, search engines to find IoT devices and retrieve IoT data, has grown. While basic examples of IoT search engines exist, considerable challenges prevent the full realization of an efficient and intelligent IoT search engine that provides universal data service, scalable data communication and retrieval, and efficient querying of massively distributed heterogeneous devices and data. In this article, we first propose a generic framework for the IoT search engine, and then present a naming service for the IoT system, an essential component for an effective IoT search engine. We also outline some research challenges and possible solutions for building efficiency and intelligence in the IoT search engine. Further, we present a case study and seek to address a particular aspect of the query process for IoT search, namely efficient and timely query processing. Given the now obvious advances in machine learning, the potential for deep learning-based prediction to improve resource use, and thus query retrieval, is clear. In detail, we utilize Long-Short-Term Memory (LSTM) neural network architecture to predict aggregated query volumes to be preemptively applied and stored for immediate response. Combining several realistic IoT datasets, we explore the efficacy of simultaneously predicting multiple targets for predictive query retrieval.
Economic Potential of the Red Sea Heavy Metal Deposits

Average assays of metals in Atlantis II Deep deposits are: Fe, 29 per cent; Zn, 3.4 per cent; Cu, 1.3 per cent; Pb, 0.1 per cent; Ag, 54ppm; Au, (probably) 0.5ppm. The deposits contained from 55 to 96 per cent interstitial brine, averaging about 85 per cent. Total brine-free sediment in the upper 10m of sediment is estimated to be over 50 million tons. At current smelter prices for Zn, Cu, Pb, Ag and Au these metals would be worth about 2.5 billion dollars. Deposits in the adjacent Discovery Deep contain lower, but still abnormal, metal concentrations.
A new approach to electrochemical simulations based on eigenvalue-eigenvector solutions of the diffusion equation: Part II. Cyclic voltammetry and heterogeneous kinetics

Abstract We extend our new approach to the digital simulation of electrochemical systems to the analysis of cyclic voltammetry experiments. The linear equation systems are handled by an eigenvalue-eigenvector decomposition of the solution (carried out using the Lanczos algorithm) and the time-dependent boundary conditions are incorporated via a convolution integral formalism. The accuracy of the method is displayed by comparing numerical solutions for several one-dimensional cases with analytical results. As has been shown previously, large gains in efficiency are possible for simulations involving complicated geometries and/or stiff kinetic equations.
Purification and Properties of a Phosphatidic Acid-preferring Phospholipase A1 from Bovine Testis: EXAMINATION OF THE MOLECULAR BASIS OF ITS ACTIVATION

We recently identified a cytosolic phospholipase A1 activity in bovine brain and testis that preferentially hydrolyzes phosphatidic acid substrates. We also showed that the enzyme displays sigmoidal kinetics toward phosphatidic acid substrates in a Triton X-100 mixed micelle assay system (Higgs, H. N., and Glomset, J. A.(1994) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 91, 9574-9578). In the present work we purified the bovine testis enzyme 14,000-fold and used a combination of size exclusion chromatography, labeling with the phospholipase A inhibitor, methyl arachidonyl fluorophosphonate, and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis to provide evidence that it is a homotetramer of 110-kDa subunits. Studies of the molecular basis of the enzyme reaction in Triton micelles revealed that (a) a nonhydrolyzable sn-1-alkyl-2-oleoyl analogue of phosphatidic acid activated the enzyme 30-fold in a sigmoidal fashion (Hill coefficient 3.2, EC50 4 mol %) without substantially affecting its preference for specific diacyl phosphoglyceride substrates, (b) the activator promoted tight binding of the enzyme to micelles, and (c) the enzyme's activity toward unsaturated phosphatidic acid substrates was affected by the location and nature of the fatty acyl chain double bonds.
Constructing a 'Black-on-Black' Violence: The Conservative Discourse

This study examines the ascendant conservative “black-on-black violence” discourse in the United States post-1980. It focuses on the discourse’s construction of two prominent themes, black youth as culturally decimated and the crime-causative role of inner city black families. The results suggest that space was at the core of these constructions. Space was a widely used geographic fabric incorporated into the discourse as many kinds of mental spaces and maps. These maps served up realms of perception, imagination, fiction, and fantasy that helped authenticate these themes. Space was constituted as value-transmittal zones, geometric landscapes of proximities and potential interactions, past and present places of normalcy, texts of lurking villains and forces, and territories of movement and transgression. Imbued with this space, these themes were at the heart of racializing this violence, implicating black agency, black underclass culture, and black families for this.
The cyclic fatigue and final fracture behavior of aluminum alloy 2524

This paper presents and discusses the results of a study on the influence of test temperature on high-cycle fatigue properties and fracture characteristics of aluminum alloy 2524. Specimens of the alloy, in the T351 temper, were cyclically deformed over a range of stress amplitudes at cryogenic, ambient and elevated temperatures. An increase in test temperature was found to have a detrimental influence on cyclic fatigue life of specimens taken from both the longitudinal and transverse orientations of the wrought plate. At a given test temperature, the macroscopic fracture mode was essentially identical, regardless of the orientation of the test specimen with respect to the wrought rolled plate. The mechanisms governing high-cycle fatigue life, cyclic deformation and fracture characteristics are discussed in light of the mutually interactive influences of magnitude of applied stress, test temperature, intrinsic microstructural effects and matrix deformation characteristics.
Blockade of acetylcholine-induced inward currents inAplysia neurons by strychnine and desipramine: Effect of membrane potential

1. The effects of strychnine and desipramine on excitatory responses to acetylcholine (ACh) were compared with those of hexamethonium and atropine over a range of membrane potentials in voltage clampedAplysia neurons. 2. All these compounds reduced the steady-state ACh-induced current at the membrane potentials studied (-60 to -120 mV). 3. The blockade produced by hexamethonium and atropine was markedly voltage dependent, the degree of antagonism increasing with hyperpolarization. 4. In contrast, the antagonistic effects of strychnine and desipramine displayed no voltage dependency. 5. Unlike the presumed channel blocking drugs hexamethonium and atropine, strychnine and desipramine appear to act either at the receptor or at some other site not influenced by membrane potential.
Morphological studies of the altered pulps of the New Zealand white rabbit after resection of the inferior alveolar nerve and-or the superior cervical ganglion.

This study was carried out to determine the effects of denervation of the pulp organs of teeth, particularly on the odontoblasts and their processes. Therefore, resection of the inferior alveolar, cervical sympathetic, or a combination of both types of nerves supplying the mandibular incisor teeth of New Zealand white rabbits was performed and the results compared to adjacent, unaltered teeth. Neural stains were used to evaluate the presence or absence of nerve elements, while histochemical and titrametric methods were employed to determine the presence, location and concentration of cholinesterase enzymes in these teeth. Dilation of blood vessels was noted after cervical sympathetic resection and larger nerve trunks as well as peripherally located fine fibers were absent in the pulps following inferior alveolar nerve resection. Further, irregular dentin formation and associated small openings in the tips of the teeth were observed after nerve resection. Titrametric analysis indicated a significant decrease in the concentration of cholinesterase in the pulp organ of incisors 15–19 days after resection of either the inferior alveolar nerve or both inferior alveolar and cervical sympathetic nerves. Only a slight decrease in the concentration of cholinesterase was noted after removal of the cervical sympathetic nerve alone. Histochemical results confirmed a decrease in cholinesterase after resection of the inferior alveolar, cervical sympathetic or both nerves. The concentration of the oxidative enzyme, succinic dehydrogenase, however, increased after all three types of nerve resection. This increase was apparent particularly in the odontoblastic cells underlying the predentin.
CNS malformations: Gene locations of known human mutations

Hemimegalencephaly AR Xq28 L1-CAM Tsuru et al. (1997) Holoprosencephaly AD; AR 7q36-qter SHH Gurrieri et al. (1993); Roessler et al. (1996); Vance et al. (1998) Holoprosencephaly AR; sporadic 13q32 ZIC2 Brown et al. (1998) Holoprosencephaly AR; sporadic 2q21 SIX3 Wallis et al. (1999) Holoprosencephaly AD; sporadic 18p11.3 TGIF Gripp et al. (2000) Holoprosencephaly AR; sporadic 9q22.3 PTCH (SHH receptor) Ming et al. (2002) Holoprosencephaly AR; sporadic 10q11.2 DKK (head inducer) Roessler et al. (2000) Holoprosencephaly AR; sporadic Dhcr7 (SHH related) Shim et al. (in press) Joubert synd. (JBTS1) AR 9q34.3 ? Saar et al. (1999); Valente et al. (2005) Joubert synd. (JBTS2) AR 11p11.2-p12.3 Nephrocystin Valente et al. (2005) Joubert synd. (JBTS3) AR 6q23 AHI1; Jouberin Lagier-Tourenne et al. (2004); Valente et al. (2005) Joubert synd. with nephronophthisis AR ? NPHP1 Parisi et al. (2004); Castori et al. (2005)
Resveratrol treatment in mice does not elicit the bradycardia and hypothermia associated with calorie restriction

Dietary supplementation with resveratrol may produce calorie restriction-like effects on metabolic and longevity endpoints in mice. In this study, we sought to determine whether resveratrol treatment elicited other hallmark changes associated with calorie restriction, namely bradycardia and decreased body temperature. We found that during short-term treatment, wild-type mice on a calorie-restricted diet experienced significant decreases in both heart rate and body temperature after only 1 day whereas those receiving resveratrol exhibited no such change after 1 wk. We also used ob/ob mice to study the effects of long-term treatment because previous studies had indicated the therapeutic value of resveratrol against the linked morbidities of obesity and diabetes. After 12 wk, resveratrol treatment had produced no changes in either heart rate or body temperature. Strikingly, and in contrast to previous findings, we found that resveratrol-treated mice had significantly reduced endurance in a treadmill test. Quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction suggested that a proposed target of resveratrol, Sirt1, was activated in resveratrol-treated ob/ob mice. Thus, we conclude that the bradycardia and hypothermia associated with calorie restriction occur through mechanisms unaffected by the actions of resveratrol and that further studies are needed to examine the differential effects of resveratrol in a leptin-deficient background.
Progress in Electron Emission at High Fields

At high electric fields, electron current densities exceeding 108 acm2 are emitted from metals, the emission process requiring no energy. The present paper discusses properties of such emitters and progress towards stabilizing their electrical performance under useful conditions.
Arithmetic Optimization Techniques for Hardware and Software Design

Obtain better system performance, lower energy consumption, and avoid hand-coding arithmetic functions with this concise guide to automated optimization techniques for hardware and software design. High-level compiler optimizations and high-speed architectures for implementing FIR filters are covered, which can improve performance in communications, signal processing, computer graphics, and cryptography. Clearly explained algorithms and illustrative examples throughout make it easy to understand the techniques and write software for their implementation. Background information on the synthesis of arithmetic expressions and computer arithmetic is also included, making the book ideal for newcomers to the subject. This is an invaluable resource for researchers, professionals, and graduate students working in system level design and automation, compilers, and VLSI CAD.
Form factors for nuclear stripping reactions

Abstract The wave function, or form factor, to be used for the captured particle in a stripping reaction is discussed. It is shown that the structure of the nucleus must be taken into account, and leads to a set of coupled equations for this form factor. Approximate solutions to these equations are studied, and their relations to various phenomenological prescriptions for the form factor are discussed. It is stressed that if an effective one-body potential well is used to generate that wave function, it is probably not sufficient merely to vary its depth, but changes in shape (particularly in radius) must be considered. The procedure of using an effective binding energy different from the separation energy is shown, in principle, to be wrong.
Multi-cloud policy enforcement through semantic modeling and mapping

In today's cloud service market, different providers have very different low-level mechanisms to accommodate various types of policies from their users. Enforcement of policies over multiple cloud provider domains is an intrinsically complex problem for both sides. In reality, cloud providers have to either manually update enforcement mechanisms or negotiate adjusted policies with their users for enforcement. To save these high-cost and error-prone manual updates or adjustments, an automatic and flexible solution is desired. This paper proposes a semantic modeling and mapping based approach to help enforce high-level user policies across cloud domain boundaries when applications or IT operations have to span over multiple cloud domains. This approach creates policy models and maps these models across cloud domain boundaries automatically or semi-automatically. Policy rules following these mappings can be tied to multiple enforcement mechanisms in different cloud domains. If a rule cannot be mapped, a manual adjustment solution will be suggested. A case study is also included to demonstrate the efficiency and accuracy of this approach.
Should Liability Play a Role in Social Control of Biobanks

Repositories of tissues, cell lines, blood samples, and other biological specimens are crucial to genomics, proteomics, and other emerging forms of biomedical research. Creation of these repositories by individual researchers and their affiliated organizations, commercial entities, and even governments has been labeled “biobanking” in the bioethics literature. Biobanking as a metaphor for the collection, transfer, and use of these specimens suggests a framework for the legal response to conflicts that may arise - one embedded in principles of contract law and property ownership with an overlay of legislatively authorized regulation of the “industry.”
On the melting point of amorphous silicon

Abstract The entropy and melting point of amorphous silicon cannot be measured in a thermodynamic sense.
Validity, factor structure, and clinical relevance of the AUSCAN osteoarthritis hand index†

Objective The Australian/Canadian (AUSCAN) Osteoarthritis Hand Index is a self-report assessment of pain, stiffness, and function in patients with hand osteoarthritis (OA). Small studies have confirmed the reliability, construct validity, and responsiveness of this measure, but the factor structure has not been examined. In this study, we examined the clinimetric properties and clinical relevance of the AUSCAN index in a large sample of patients with familial hand OA. Methods The study group comprised 700 patients (80% female, mean age 69 years) who were part of a study on the genetics of generalized OA. All patients had radiographic hand OA bilaterally. The analyses examined internal consistency, factor structure, and relationships of the subscales to grip and pinch strength and a single-item pain measure. Results Internal consistency was high for the total AUSCAN index and the subscales (Cronbach's α = 0.93–0.96). The AUSCAN function subscale had the strongest correlation with grip and pinch strength, and the pain subscale had the strongest correlation with the single-item pain measure, thus supporting the construct validity of these subscales. Factor analysis showed that all pain and function items clearly loaded on the subscale they were intended to measure. Each 1-unit increase in the AUSCAN function subscale was associated with a clinically relevant decrease in hand strength. Conclusion The results of this study strongly confirm the clinimetric properties of the AUSCAN index, including the validity of specific subscales. Results indicate that the AUSCAN index can measure meaningful changes in pain, stiffness, and function.
Correlation in HeLa Cells of Anchorage-Independent Growth and Synthesis of the Glycoprotein Hormone α-Subunit

In addition to its normal synthesis in pituitary and placenta for production of the four glycoprotein hormones (GPH), the free alpha-subunit is produced by a variety of tumors and tumor-derived cell lines. It has long been used clinically as a tumor marker, but the question remains as to whether ectopic production of GPH alpha represents the random and chance activation of the hormone gene during cancer development or whether GPH alpha may contribute directly or indirectly to the biology of the tumor. One characteristic of tumorigenic cells in culture is their ability to proliferate in an anchorage-independent way. Data are presented in the following paper to show that the cloning efficiency of HeLa cervical carcinoma cells in soft agar is directly correlated with their production of the GPH alpha-subunit. HeLa variants that differ over 400-fold in their production of GPH alpha similarly exhibited a marked difference in their ability to form colonies in 0.3% noble agar. When HeLa SR3 cells (a variant that produces GPH alpha at high levels) was stably transfected with a vector producing the antisense strand of GPH alpha cDNA, the synthesis of the GPH alpha-subunit was reduced in these cells as was their cloning efficiency in soft agar. Similarly, when HeLa A5F cells (a variant producing little or no GPH alpha) were stably transfected with an alpha-subunit expression vector, the production of GPH alpha was increased significantly in concert with an increased ability to form colonies in 0.3% noble agar. Somatic cell hybrids between HeLa SR3 and HeLa A5F exhibited intermediate levels of GPH alpha gene expression and colony formation in soft agar compared to the parental strains. These data suggest that some parameters of the tumorigenic phenotype, such as anchorage-independent growth, are responsive to, or are dependent upon, the production of free alpha-subunit.
The Acidic Carboxyl Terminus of the Bacteriophage T7 Gene 4 Helicase/Primase Interacts with T7 DNA Polymerase *

The gene 4 proteins of bacteriophage T7 provide both primase and helicase activities at the replication fork. Efficient DNA replication requires that the functions of the gene 4 protein be coordinated with the movement of the T7 DNA polymerase. We show that a carboxyl-terminal domain of the gene 4 protein is required for interaction with T7 DNA polymerase during leading strand DNA synthesis. The carboxyl terminus of the gene 4 protein is highly acidic: of the 17 carboxyl-terminal amino acids 7 are negatively charged. Deletion of the coding region for these 17 residues results in a gene 4 protein that cannot support the growth of T7 phage. The purified mutant gene 4 protein has wild-type levels of both helicase and primase activities; however, DNA synthesis catalyzed by T7 DNA polymerase on a duplex DNA substrate is stimulated by this mutant protein to only about 5% of the level of synthesis obtained with wild-type protein. The mutant gene 4 protein can form hexamers and bind single-stranded DNA, but as determined by native PAGE analysis, the protein cannot form a stable complex with the DNA polymerase. The mutant gene 4 protein can prime DNA synthesis normally, indicating that for lagging strand synthesis a different set of helicase/primase-DNA polymerase interactions are involved. These findings have implications for the mechanisms coupling leading and lagging strand DNA synthesis at the T7 replication fork.
Placing like in telling stories

The discourse marker use of the word like (‘we hitch a ride out of there with uh this like one crazy like music major guy’) is considered by many to be superfluously sprinkled into talk, a bad habit best avoided. But a comparison of the use of like in successive tellings of stories demonstrates that like can be anticipated in advance and planned into stories. In this way, like is similar to other words and phrases tellers recycle during story telling. The anticipation of like contrasted with the uses of other discourse markers such as oh, you know, and well, which almost never re-occurred in similar locations across tellings. Um and uh did sometimes re-occur; these uses are contrasted with like. Although discourse markers are generally used on the fly to handle various issues that come up in coordinating talk as it unfolds, like can be used as an integral part of the story -a marked contrast to the prevalent idea that likes are speech tics.
Abscisic Acid and Cutout in Cotton

A decline in growth, flowering, and boll (fruit) retention is referred to as cutout in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). Fruit load affects cutout, possibly through hormonal effects. Experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis that fruits are a source of abscisic acid (ABA) that moves into fruiting branches and growing points where it inhibits growth, flowering, and boll retention. Removal of the flower or young boll at the first node of fruiting branches did not decrease the ABA content of fruiting branches or the abscission zone at the second node. Effects on ABA content of the boll at the second node varied. In one field test, ABA content of bolls at the second node decreased with successive harvests as bolls were removed from first node positions of several fruiting branches. Thus, the effect was cumulative and was not limited to individual branches. Removal of the flower or boll at the first node increased boll retention at the second node. Removal of all flowers during the first 3 weeks of flowering delayed the decreases in growth, flowering, and boll retention that occurred as fruit load increased. But, the ABA content of fruiting branches and mainstem apices was not decreased by early defruiting and did not increase with increasing fruit load. The results do not support the hypothesis that fruits are a source of ABA that moves into fruiting branches and growing points where it then inhibits growth, flowering, and boll retention.
Auxiliary heart transplantation.

Abstract At the present time, the major obstacles in the successful clinical application of heart transplantation are the immunological attack on the allograft, the treatment of complications resulting from immunosuppression, and the supply of transplantable hearts. Recently, auxiliary heart transplantation has been proved to be a successful technique for treatment of end-stage myocardial failure in humans. Here we review the experimental work in auxiliary heart transplantation leading to the preent technique used in humans.
One layer end-on intestinal anastomoses using fine monofilament steel sutures.

Abstract A modification of the single layer anastomosis in the gastrointestinal tract is presented, using fine monofilament steel wire sutures. This method is advised only in special situations in which the standard two layer closure is difficult to perform.
The crystal structure of the catalytic domain of the site-specific recombination enzyme γδ resolvase at 2.7 Å resolution

The crystal structure of the catalytic domain of the site-specific recombination enzyme gamma delta resolvase has been determined at 2.7 A resolution. Its first 120 amino acids form a central five-stranded, beta-pleated sheet surrounded by five alpha helices. In one of the four dyad-related dimers, the two active site Ser-10 residues are 19 A apart, perhaps close enough to contact and become covalently linked to the DNA at the recombination site. This dimer also forms the only closely packed tetramer found in the crystal. The subunit interface at a second dyad-related dimer is more extensive and more highly conserved among the homologous recombinases; however, its active site Ser-10 residues are more than 30 A apart. Side chains, identified by mutations that eliminate catalysis but not DNA binding, are located on the subunit surface near the active site serine and at the interface between a third dyad-related pair of subunits of the tetramer.
Improved mechanical strength and electrical conductivity of organogels containing carbon nanotubes

We have fabricated the first organogel/carbon nanotube composites using 12-hydroxystearic acid (HSA) as the gelator molecule, multi-wall carbon nanotubes as the nanofillers, and 1,2-dichlorobenzene as the organic solvent. We have achieved significant improvements in the mechanical and electrical properties of the organogels by incorporating pristine or carboxylated carbon nanotubes. For example, the linear viscoelastic regime of the HSA organogel, an indicator of the strength of the gel, extends by a factor of four with the incorporation of 0.2 wt% of the carboxylated nanotubes. Also, the carbon nanotubes (specially the pristine tubes) improve the electrical conductivity of the organogels, e.g. six orders of magnitude enhancement in electrical conductivity with 0.2 wt% of pristine tubes. Differential scanning calorimetry experiments indicate that the nanotubes do not affect the thermoreversibility of the organogels.
Polarized light scattering by dielectric and metallic spheres on oxidized silicon surfaces

The polarization and intensity of light scattered by polystyrene latex and copper spheres with diameters of approximately 100 nm deposited onto silicon substrates containing various thicknesses of oxide films were measured with 532-nm light. The results are compared with a theory for scattering by a sphere on a surface, originally developed by others [Physica A 137, 209 (1986)] and extended to include coatings on the substrate. Nonlinear least-squares fits of the theory to the observations yield results that were consistent with differential mobility measurements of the particle diameter.
Repeated bouts of aerobic exercise enhance regulatory T cell responses in a murine asthma model.

Abstract We have reported previously that moderate intensity aerobic exercise training attenuates airway inflammation in a murine asthma model. Recent studies implicate regulatory T (Treg) cells in decreasing asthma-related airway inflammation; as such, the current study examined the effect of exercise on Treg cell function in a murine asthma model. Mice were sensitized with ovalbumin (OVA) prior to the start of exercise training at a moderate intensity 3×/week for 4 weeks; exercise was performed as treadmill running (13.5 m/min, 0% grade). Mice were OVA challenged repeatedly throughout the exercise protocol. At protocol completion, mice were analyzed for changes in the number and suppressive function of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ cells isolated from lungs, mediastinal lymph nodes, and spleens. Results show that exercise increased significantly the number of Foxp3+ cells within the lungs and mediastinal lymph nodes, but not the spleens, of OVA-treated mice as compared with sedentary controls. Exercise also enhanced the suppression function of CD4+CD25+Foxp3+ Treg cells derived from OVA-treated mice as compared with sedentary controls. Specifically, Treg cells from exercised, OVA-treated mice more effectively suppressed CD4+CD25− cell proliferation and Th2 cytokine production in vitro. Enhanced suppression was associated with increased protein levels of TGF-β and lesser amounts of IL-10 and IL-17; however, blocking TGF-β had no effect on suppressive functions. These data demonstrate that exercise-mediated increases in Treg cell function may play a role in the attenuation of airway inflammation. Further, these results indicate that moderate intensity aerobic exercise training may alter the Treg cell function within the asthmatic airway.
Differential activation of catalase expression and activity by PPAR agonists: Implications for astrocyte protection in anti-glioma therapy

Glioma survival is dismal, in part, due to an imbalance in antioxidant expression and activity. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) agonists have antineoplastic properties which present new redox-dependent targets for glioma anticancer therapies. Herein, we demonstrate that treatment of primary cultures of normal rat astrocytes with PPAR agonists increased the expression of catalase mRNA protein, and enzymatic activity. In contrast, these same agonists had no effect on catalase expression and activity in malignant rat glioma cells. The increase in steady-state catalase mRNA observed in normal rat astrocytes was due, in part, to de novo mRNA synthesis as opposed to increased catalase mRNA stability. Moreover, pioglitazone-mediated induction of catalase activity in normal rat astrocytes was completely blocked by transfection with a PPARγ-dominant negative plasmid. These data suggest that defects in PPAR-mediated signaling and gene expression may represent a block to normal catalase expression and induction in malignant glioma. The ability of PPAR agonists to differentially increase catalase expression and activity in normal astrocytes but not glioma cells suggests that these compounds might represent novel adjuvant therapeutic agents for the treatment of gliomas.
Multi-tier multi-hop routing in large-scale wireless sensor networks for real-time monitoring

Our research team at the University of Nebraska's Advanced Telecommunications Engineering Lab (TEL) is working closely with the North American freight railroad industry to leverage wireless sensor networks (WSN) onboard railcars for advanced monitoring and alerting. Because freight train WSNs exhibit a linear chain-like topology of significant length, the existing IEEE 802.15.4 communication protocol, based on a star topology, is unable to provide acceptable service. The routing performance and reliability degrades significantly with increasing number of hops. The proposed multi-tier multi-hop network is a practical solution for large-scale multi-hop WSNs in railroad environments. The idea is to have longer-distance communication overlaid on the top of the shorter-distance communication of WSNs to reduce the number of hops needed for route discovery and data forwarding. This approach has significant advantages, such as more data bandwidth and higher reliability. Our simulation results show that our proposed multi-tier communication approach is a feasible and reliable solution for implementing chain-topology WSNs with a high number of hops onboard freight trains.
Double Personality: The Relationship between Human and Animal Tono in Chautengo, Guerrero, Mexico in 2005

After reading the research of Mexican anthropologists concerning the possible retention of traditional indigenous African beliefs in contemporary Mexican communities of African descent, I interviewed women of the region who migrated to Atlanta, Georgia about their spiritual beliefs and practices. I was surprised by the similarities in their reports to those recorded by Gonzalo Aguirre Beltran, who worked in Mexico over 60 years ago. I traveled to the town of Chautengo in coastal Guerrero state in 2005 to talk with women about their beliefs, especially those that relate to the existence of a relationship between humans and animal-tonos. The human–animal-tono relationship exemplifies a belief in an intimate relationship between humans and totem animals. The well-being of the human partner depends upon the well-being of the animal. Keeping the human–animal relationship balanced is key in the conceptualization of illness and informs related healing practices. I present an interview with a woman from Chautengo with an interpretation that exemplifies the persistence of ideas related to human–animal relationships that are possibly informed by traditional indigenous African cosmologies, brought by enslaved Africans over 500 years ago, and have been archetypally preserved in isolated communities along the Pacific coast of Mexico.
Why a Feminist Theorist Studies Methods

What are the injustices of the world? What causes them? How might we mitigate them? Feminism needs empirical inquiry in all subfields to inform our understanding of the world and our normative reflections on it. Feminist theorists do not necessarily need to do it ourselves, but we do need it. Because we need empirical research, we need to be able to evaluate its methodology. In international relations, feminist scholars adopt and develop methods previously developed in other fields for nonfeminist questions. Feminist theorists need to evaluate this adoption and development by feminist IR in order to learn all we can and should from feminist IR scholarship.
Bile formation: Do not ignore the role of plasma membrane–cytoskeleton linking proteins

The ezrin-radixin-moesin (ERM) family of proteins crosslink ac-tin filaments and integral membrane proteins. Radixin (encoded by Rdx) is the dominant ERM protein in the liver of wildtype mice and is concentrated at bile canalicular membranes (BCMs). Here we show that Rdx(–/–) mice are normal at birth, but their serum concentrations of conjugated bilirubin begin to increase gradually around 4 weeks, and they show mild liver injury after 8 weeks. This phenotype is similar to human conjugated hyperbiliru-binemia in Dubin-Johnson syndrome, which is caused by mutations in the multidrug resistance protein 2 (MRP2, gene symbol ABCC2), although this syndrome is not associated with overt liver injury. In wildtype mice, Mrp2 concentrates at BCMs to secrete conjugated bilirubin into bile. In the BCMs of Rdx / mice, Mrp2 is decreased compared with other BCM proteins such as dipeptidyl peptidase IV (CD26) and P-glycoproteins. In vitro binding studies show that radixin associates directly with the car-boxy-terminal cytoplasmic domain of human MRP2. These findings indicate that radixin is required for secretion of conjugated bilirubin through its support of Mrp2 localization at BCMs.