cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
NMR spectroscopy of coin cell batteries with metal casings.

Battery cells with metal casings are commonly considered incompatible with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy because the oscillating radio-frequency magnetic fields (“rf fields”) respon...
Unveiling structure-activity relationships of proanthocyanidins with dentin collagen.

Abstract Objective To elucidate the structure–activity relationships (SARs) of proanthocyanidins (PACs) with type I collagen using sixteen chemically defined PACs with degree of polymerization (DP) 2–6. Methods Under a dentin model, the biomimicry of PACs with type I collagen was investigated by dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) and infrared spectroscopy. The dentin matrix was modified with PACs from Pinus massoniana [monomers (Mon-1 and Mon-2), dimers (Dim-1-Dim-4), trimers (Tri-1-Tri-4), tetramers (Tet-1-Tet-5), and hexamer (Hex-1)]. A strain sweep method in a 3-point bending submersion clamp was used to assess the viscoelastic properties [storage (E’), loss (E”), and complex moduli (E*) and tan δ] of the dentin matrix before and after biomodification. Biochemical analysis of the dentin matrix was assessed with FTIR spectroscopy. Data were statistically analyzed using one-way ANOVA and post-hoc tests (α = 0.05). Results DP had a significant effect on modified dentin moduli (tetramers ≈ trimers > hexamers ≈ dimers > monomers ≈ control, p Significance Findings establish three key SARs: (i) increasing DP generally enhances biomimicry potential of PACs in modulating the mechanical and chemical properties of dentin (ii) the secondary structure of dentin collagen is affected by the position of B-type inter-flavanyl linkages (4β → 6 and 4β → 8); and (iii) the terminal monomeric flavan-3-ol unit plays a modulatory role in the viscoelasticity of dentin.
Necessary and Sufficient Conditions for Implementation in Nash Equilibrium

We present a restriction on the domain of individual preferences that is both necessary and sufficient for the existence of a social choice rule that is continuous. anonymous. and respects unanimity. The restriction is that the space of preferences be contractible. Contractibility admits a straightforward intuitive explanation. and is a generalization of conditions such as single peakedness. value restrictiveness and limited agreement. which were earlier shown to be sufficient for majority voting to be an acceptable rule. The only restriction on the number of individuals, is that it be finite and at least 2.
Shaping the microenvironment: evidence for the influence of a host galaxin on symbiont acquisition and maintenance in the squid-Vibrio symbiosis.

Most bacterial species make transitions between habitats, such as switching from free living to symbiotic niches. We provide evidence that a galaxin protein, EsGal1, of the squid Euprymna scolopes participates in both: (i) selection of the specific partner Vibrio fischeri from the bacterioplankton during symbiosis onset and, (ii) modulation of V. fischeri growth in symbiotic maintenance. We identified two galaxins in transcriptomic databases and showed by quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction that one (esgal1) was dominant in the light organ. Further, esgal1 expression was upregulated by symbiosis, a response that was partially achieved with exposure to symbiont cell-envelope molecules. Confocal immunocytochemistry of juvenile animals localized EsGal1 to the apical surfaces of light-organ epithelia and surrounding mucus, the environment in which V. fischeri cells aggregate before migration into the organ. Growth assays revealed that one repeat of EsGal1 arrested growth of Gram-positive bacterial cells, which represent the cell type first 'winnowed' during initial selection of the symbiont. The EsGal1-derived peptide also significantly decreased the growth rate of V. fischeri in culture. Further, when animals were exposed to an anti-EsGal1 antibody, symbiont population growth was significantly increased. These data provide a window into how hosts select symbionts from a rich environment and govern their growth in symbiosis.
The Systemic Risk of Private Funds after the Dodd-Frank Act

The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC) was created under the Dodd-Frank Act with the primary mandate of guarding against systemic risk and correcting perceived regulatory weaknesses that may have contributed to the financial crisis of 2008-09. The SEC collects data pertaining to private fund advisers in order to facilitate the FSOC’s assessment of non-bank financial institutions’ potential systemic risks. Evidence that the SEC’s data collection encounters accuracy and consistency problems might hamper the FSOC’s ability to evaluate the systemic risk of private funds. The author shows that while the SEC’s data plays a crucial role in all stages of FSOC’s systemic risk assessment of private funds, the FSOC relies most heavily on some of the most problematic disclosure items collected by the SEC.
Reversible Effect of Bicarbonate on the Inhibition of Mycobacterial and Yeast Transglucosylases by Mycoribnin

Lornitzo, Frank A. (Veterans Administration Hospital, Madison, Wis.), and Dexter S. Goldman. Reversible effect of bicarbonate on the inhibition of mycobacterial and yeast transglucosylases by mycoribnin. J. Bacteriol. 89: 1086–1091. 1965.—The transglucosylase which catalyzes the formation of trehalose-6-phosphate from uridine diphosphate (UDP)-glucose and glucose-6-phosphate was purified from cell-free extracts of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra. During the purification procedure, the transglucosylase loses its sensitivity to mycoribnin, an inhibitor also found in these extracts. Sensitivity of the transglucosylase to mycoribnin is regained when the bicarbonate concentration of either enzyme or mycoribnin preparations is reduced to about 0.01 mm; sensitivity to mycoribnin is lost when low concentrations (
Innate and virtual memory T cells in man

A hallmark of the antigen-specific B and T lymphocytes of the adaptive immune system is their capacity to "remember" pathogens long after they are first encountered, a property that forms the basis for effective vaccine development. However, studies in mice have provided strong evidence that some naive T cells can develop characteristics of memory T cells in the absence of foreign antigen encounters. Such innate memory T cells may develop in response to lymphopenia or the presence of high levels of the cytokine IL-4, and have also been identified in unmanipulated animals, a phenomenal referred to as "virtual memory." While the presence of innate memory T cells in mice is now widely accepted, their presence in humans has not yet been fully validated. In this issue of the European Journal of Immunology, Jacomet et al. [Eur. J. Immunol. 2015. 45:1926-1933] provide the best evidence to date for innate memory T cells in humans. These findings may contribute significantly to our understanding of human immunity to microbial pathogens and tumors.
Threshold Conditions for Breakdown of Laminar Boundary Layers

A perturbation method based on a simultaneous expansion for primary and secondary modes of instability is used to study the flow field in the later stages of transition. Results of the analysis are in good agreement with experimental data for amplitudes in excess of 5% that cause immediate breakdown. Threshold conditions for sustained growth of subharmonic modes past branch II are calculated. These conditions are presented both in terms of branch II amplitudes and initial amplitudes.
Reparations as Rough Justice

Philosophers and others have criticized reparations, particularly compensatory cash reparations, on a range of conceptual grounds. I shall attempt to defend reparations programs against these criticisms. The defense is that compensatory reparations programs aspire to do "rough justice" - no less, but no more. Rough justice is the intuition that sometimes it is permissible, even mandatory, to enact a scheme of compensatory reparations that is indefensible according to any first-best principle of justice. Rough justice seems attractive only when compared to no justice at all. The status quo of inaction is also a proposal for a scheme of compensation (set at zero dollars). The status quo thus fares even worse, according to the same criteria that condemn the relevant reparations proposals.
Generalized dualities in one-time physics as holographic predictions from two-time physics

In the conventional formalism of physics, with one time, systems with different Hamiltonians or Lagrangians have different physical interpretations and are considered to be independent systems unrelated to each other. However, in this paper we construct explicitly canonical maps in one-time (1T) phase space (including timelike components, specifically the Hamiltonian) to show that it is appropriate to regard various 1T physics systems, with different Lagrangians or Hamiltonians, as being duals of each other. This concept is similar in spirit to dualities discovered in more complicated examples in field theory or string theory. Our approach makes it evident that such generalized dualities are widespread. This suggests that, as a general phenomenon, there are hidden relations and hidden symmetries that conventional 1T physics does not capture, implying the existence of a more unified formulation of physics that naturally supplies the hidden information. In fact, we show that two-time (2T) physics in ($d+2$) dimensions is the generator of these dualities in 1T physics in $d$ dimensions by providing a holographic perspective that unifies all the dual 1T systems into one. The unifying ingredient is a gauge symmetry in phase space. Via such dualities it is then possible to gain new insights toward new physical predictions not suspected before, and suggest new methods of computation that yield results not obtained before. As an illustration, we will provide concrete examples of 1T systems in classical mechanics that are solved analytically for the first time via our dualities. These dualities in classical mechanics have counterparts in quantum mechanics and field theory, and in some simpler cases they have already been constructed in field theory. We comment on the impact of our approach on the meaning of space-time and on the development of new computational methods based on dualities.
Shadows and Enlightenment

Introduction - holes in the flux enlightenment shadows shadows and information rococo-empiricist shadows unattended shadows.
Chemoselective intramolecular allylic C–H aminationversus CC aziridination through Co(II)-based metalloradical catalysis

Excellent chemoselectivity for intramolecular allylic C–H aminationversus CC aziridination was achieved through Co(II)-based metalloradical catalysis. Metalloradical catalyst [Co(P1)], the cobalt(II) complex of D2h-symmetric porphyrin 3,5-DitBu-IbuPhyrin, was shown to be highly effective for selective intramolecular allylic C–H amination of both N-bishomoallylic and N-allylic sulfamoyl azides. The Co(II)-catalyzed intramolecular 1,6-C–H amination of these azides provides a general and efficient method to access the synthetically useful allylic 1,3-diamines under neutral and non-oxidative conditions, without complication from the competitive olefin aziridination. The origin of this remarkable chemoselectivity has direct relevance to the radical mechanism of Co(II)-based metalloradical amination.
Accuracies in Mapping Secondary Tropical Forest Age from Sequential Satellite Imagery

Abstract Multitemporal satellite images have been used to differentiate, measure the areal extent of, and determine transitional probabilities among different secondary forest age classes in the tropics. In these studies, temporal gaps in the satellite archive are common due to difficulties associated with availability of cloud-free data, costs, temporal discontinuities between satellite sensors, etc. In this probability study, examples of multitemporal image sequences with data gaps are considered in order to illustrate error rates associated with estimating the age of secondary tropical forest. Results indicate that on the order of 8–32% of scene pixels may be misclassified with respect to age if land cover transitions which occur within the data gap(s) are ignored. Using secondary forest regeneration rates from the literature, calculations showed that these gap errors caused the above-ground biomass to be overestimated by 8–23%. The error rates are scene-dependent. The results are presented to flag a potentially significant source of error.
Between Evangelicalism and a Social Gospel: The Case of Joseph Rayner Stephens

The transition from Pietism and Evangelicalism to a social gospel in the thought and activities of a number of Christians, occurring as it did in the nineteenth century, was a transition largely provoked by the impact of the Industrial Revolution on landscape and people. Yet those who were among the earliest to respond to the new industrial and geographical situation often retained an older vision of life and society and left to others the task of developing a more effective response.Joseph Rayner Strphens (1805–79), sometime Methodist, notorioue revolutionary of the late 1830s, advocate of the Ten Hours Bill and vigrous opponent of the factory system in nineteenth-century England, was just such a person; he provides and illumination case study in the stryggle to carve out a social gospel which was virtually without precedent at the time.
Distributed Preparedness: The Spatial Logic of Domestic Security in the United States:

This paper examines the genealogy of domestic security in the United States through an analysis of post-World War II civil defense. Specifically, we describe the development of an organizational framework and set of techniques for approaching security threats that we call ‘distributed preparedness’. Distributed preparedness was initially articulated in civil defense programs in the early stages of the Cold War, when US government planners began to conceptualize the nation as a possible target of nuclear attack. These planners assumed that the enemy would focus its attacks on urban and industrial centers that were essential to US war-fighting capability. Distributed preparedness provided techniques for mapping national space as a field of potential targets, and grafted this map of vulnerabilities onto the structure of territorial administration in the United States. It presented a new model of coordinated planning for catastrophic threats, one that sought to limit federal intervention in local life and to ...
Recurrent meningococcal meningitis with occult CSF leak.

Recurrent meningococcal meningitis was associated with a slow CSF leak in a 24-year-old man. Unique features of the case included isolation of meningococcal group 29E. We speculate that an association exists between subclinical CSF leaks and sporadic cases of meningitis. ( Arch Intern Med 139:702-703, 1979)
Dual-pulse lithotripter accelerates stone fragmentation and reduces cell lysis in vitro.

Abstract Lithotripsy is a common effective treatment for kidney stones. However, focal volumes are often larger than stones, and surrounding tissue is often injured. Our goal was to test in vitro a new lithotripter consisting of two opposing, confocal and simultaneously triggered electrohydraulic sources. The pulses superimpose at the common focus, resulting in pressure doubling and enhanced cavitation growth in a localized, ∼ 1-cm wide volume. Model gypsum stones and human erythrocytes were exposed to dual pulses or single pulses. At the focus, model stones treated with 100 dual pulses at a charging voltage of 15 kV broke into 8 times the number of fragments as stones treated with 200 single pulses at 18 kV. At axial positions 2 and 4 cm away from the focus, lysis of erythrocytes was reduced or equivalent for dual pulses vs. single pulses. Hence, in half the time, dual pulses increased comminution at the focus without increasing injury in surrounding regions. (E-mail: bailey@apl.washington.edu)
Kinetic differences in GABA receptor binding following GABA and bicuculline methiodide pretreatment

The kinetics of [3H]GABA binding were studied in cortical membranes following GABA and bicuculline methiodide (BCM) pretreatment at 37°C. The slower parts of the biphasic ON and OFF rates can be attributed to the high affinity sites. BCM pretreatment decreased the ON and OFF rates of [3H]GABA binding, including the rapid initial ON- and OFF-phases. Decreased association rates of GABA were independent of GABA concentration and suggested a rate determining dissociation of bound BCM (t12 = 35 min).
Periodic Response of Blades Having Three-Dimensional Nonlinear Shroud Constraints

In this paper, a three-dimensional shroud contact model is employed to predict the periodic response of blades having three-dimensional nonlinear shroud constraint. When subjected to periodic excitation, the resulting relative motion at the shroud contact is assumed to be periodic in three-dimensional space. Based on the three-dimensional shroud contact model, analytical criteria are used to determine the transitions between stick, slip, and separation of the contact interface and are used to simulate hysteresis loops of the induced constrained force when experiencing periodic relative motion. The constrained force can be considered as a feedback force that influences the response of the shrouded blade. By using the multiharmonic balance method along with Fast Fourier Transform, the constrained force can be approximated by a series of harmonic functions so as to predict the periodic response of a shrouded blade. This approach results in a set of nonlinear algebraic equations, which can be solved iteratively to yield the periodic response of blades having three-dimensional nonlinear shroud constraint. In order to validate the proposed approach, the predicted results are compared with those of the direct-time integration method. The resonant frequency shift, the damping effect, and the jump phenomenon due to nonlinear shroud constraint are examined. The implications of the developed solution procedure to the design of shroud contact are also discussed.
Computed tomographic reconstruction of a fetus with the dysgnathia complex (agnathia-otocephaly)

The dysgnathia complex (agnathia-otocephaly) (AO) is a lethal malformation that consists of congenital absence of the lower jaw with union or close approximation of the lower ears on the front of the neck, microstomia, and hypoglossia. We present a novel case of agnathia-otocephaly with associated organomegaly and the use of postmortem 3-D computed tomographic rendering.
Analysing international nuclear order

William Walker's article, ‘Nuclear enlightenment and counter-enlightenment’, raises fundamental questions about the history of efforts to construct order in international politics in relation to nuclear arms and weapons-related capabilities. However, Walker's ‘enlightenment’ and ‘counter-enlightenment’ tropes are clumsy and unsatisfactory tools for analysing contemporary policies concerning nuclear deterrence, non-proliferation and disarmament. Walker holds that in the 1960s and 1970s most of the governments of the world came together in pursuit of ‘a grand enlightenment project’. This thesis cannot withstand empirical scrutiny with regard to its three main themes—a supposed US-Soviet consensus on doctrines of stabilizing nuclear deterrence through mutual vulnerability, a notion that the NPT derived from ‘concerted efforts to construct an international nuclear order meriting that title’, and the view that the NPT embodied a commitment to achieve nuclear disarmament. Walker's criticisms of US nuclear policies since the late 1990s are in several cases overstated or ill-founded. Walker also exaggerates the potential influence of the United States over the policies of other countries. It is partly for this reason that the challenges at hand—both analytical and practical—are more complicated and dif cult than his article implies. His work nonetheless has the great merit of raising fundamental questions about international political order.
Measuring standing hindfoot alignment: reliability of goniometric and visual measurements.

Abstract Haight HJ, Dahm DL, Smith J, Krause DA. Measuring standing hindfoot alignment: reliability of goniometric and visual measurements. Objective To examine the reliability of a functional weight-bearing measure of hindfoot alignment, the standing tibiocalcaneal angle (STCA), and to compare the relative reliabilities of goniometrically and visually estimated STCAs. Design Prospective blinded comparison. Setting Sports medicine center. Participants Eighteen asymptomatic volunteer subjects (10 men, 8 women; age range, 22–41y). Interventions Not applicable. Main outcome measures Two experienced examiners completed 2 blinded goniometric STCA and 2 blinded visual STCA measurements on each subject's right and left ankles in random order. Results Quantitative visual and goniometric STCAs were similar (visual mean range, 5.61°–6.50° valgus vs goniometric mean range, 5.50°–6.94° valgus), and both measurements exhibited good to excellent intrarater reliabilities (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICC] range, .80–.94; 95% prediction limits, 1.51°–2.06°). Interrater ICCs were only fair for both measurement methods (.50–.75; 95% prediction limits, 2.2°–4.1°). In terms of relative reliability, the visual STCA and goniometric STCA exhibited good to excellent agreement (ICC range, .64–.95). Conclusions The STCA as described herein exhibited acceptable intrarater reliability for clinical use but may not be acceptably reliable between experienced examiners. The visual and goniometric STCA measurements were quantitatively similar and exhibited similar reliability. Using either method, changes of up to 2° over time may be attributable to measurement error. Clinicians may consider using either STCA measurement in evaluating patients with lower-limb injuries or during screening of high-risk populations.
Fix the non-robustness issue for a class of minimally rigid undirected formations

Gradient control is a method based on potential functions to locally stabilize undirected rigid formations. However, when there is mismatch between two neighboring agents' understandings of the desired distance between them, such a potential-based control will almost for certain cause an undirected minimally rigid formation to rotate in the plane. In this paper we propose two methods to fix such a problem: one way is by estimating the distance discrepancy and cancelling it, which proves to work for undirected triangular formations; Another way is to employ a distributed edge orientation algorithm to change a class of minimally rigid undirected formations to be directed ones.
The cost of sequestering carbon on private forest lands

Abstract The increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and its possible greenhouse effect on global climate has become one of today's major environmental issues. Utility/coal companies which produce high levels of carbon dioxide are interested in mitigating their emissions by sequestering carbon in trees. This study proposed to investigate the amount of money that utility companies would have to pay private forest landowners to sequester additional tonnes of carbon in their forests. Analyses were conducted to calculate the annual financial compensation/incentives necessary to (1) compensate forest landowners who apply economically sub-optimal rotations to sequester maximum carbon; or (2) motivate private landowners to convert unstocked lands into productive forest lands to sequester carbon. Biological and financial analyses were conducted using Loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) on a range of site indices. Applying the Faustmann formula, the amount of necessary compensation/incentive was calculated as the difference between the soil expectation value (SEV) of the economically optimal rotation and the SEV of the biologically optimal rotation which maximizes mean annual increment (MAI) of sawtimber and, therefore, maximizes carbon stored in the forest and in the long-lived wood products. Results indicate that the carbon sequestration difference between the MAI of the optimal economic rotation and that of the optimal carbon rotation may be up to 0.79 t of carbon per hectare. Planting unstocked land may store an additional 1.03–3.77 t of carbon per hectare per year. The annual compensation values tend to increase as real interest rates increase. The minimum annual compensation is $0.84 per hectare using an interest rate of 2.5% on site index 50 land. The maximum annual compensation is $72.79 per hectare using an interest rate of 12.5% on site index 90 land. The average costs of sequestering an additional tonne of carbon on lands already intensively managed vary from $4.18 to $181.27. The average costs of sequestering an additional tonne of carbon on unstocked land range from $0.74 to $27.32.
Synthetic double-stranded RNA: inhibitory effect on murine leukaemia and sarcoma viruses in cell cultures.

THE synthetic double-stranded RNA, polyinosinic : polycytidilic acid (poly I : poly C) exerts its antiviral action by stimulating the production in vitro and in vivo of interferon1–6. Sarma et al.7 found recently that poly I : poly C has a similar inhibitory effect on mouse sarcoma virus (MSV) infection in vivo7 and in vitro (personal communication, P. S. Sarma et al.). We have confirmed the inhibitory effect of poly I : poly C on cellular transformation induced by MSV, and studied its optimal conditions. We also describe the inhibitory effect of poly I : poly C on the growth of Friend leukaemia virus in mouse embryo cells.
Characterization of plasma lipids and lipoproteins in patients with β2-glycoprotein I (apolipoprotein H) deficiency

Abstract The fasting plasma lipids, lipoproteins, and apolipoproteins were evaluated in 5 subjects with undetectable levels of the plasma protein β 2 -glycoprotein I (apolipoprotein H). Family studies confirmed an autosomal co-dominant inheritance pattern for the concentrations of apo H. The total lack of this protein is rare and less than 0.3% of clinic patients demonstrated levels undetectable by radial immunodiffusion. Plasma lipoprotein evaluation in these subjects with β 2 -glycoprotein I absence by analytical ultracentrifugation and compositional analysis demonstrated low concentrations of HDL 2b and HDL 3 . More striking, however, was the lack of a consistent marked effect on the plasma lipoproteins as is found in other apolipoprotein deficiency states. We conclude that the lack of apolipoprotein H does not result in a significant perturbation of normal lipoprotein metabolism as reflected by analysis of fasting plasma lipoproteins. Further study is required to evaluate the role of this glycoprotein in the metabolism of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins.
The distance correlation t-test of independence in high dimension

Distance correlation is extended to the problem of testing the independence of random vectors in high dimension. Distance correlation characterizes independence and determines a test of multivariate independence for random vectors in arbitrary dimension. In this work, a modified distance correlation statistic is proposed, such that under independence the distribution of a transformation of the statistic converges to Student t, as dimension tends to infinity. Thus we obtain a distance correlation t-test for independence of random vectors in arbitrarily high dimension, applicable under standard conditions on the coordinates that ensure the validity of certain limit theorems. This new test is based on an unbiased estimator of distance covariance, and the resulting t-test is unbiased for every sample size greater than three and all significance levels. The transformed statistic is approximately normal under independence for sample size greater than nine, providing an informative sample coefficient that is easily interpretable for high dimensional data.
Is there “white flight” into private schools? New evidence from High School and Beyond

Abstract In the U.S., white parents may choose to send their children to private schools in response to the local concentration of minority schoolchildren, commonly referred to as “white flight”. This paper contributes to the existing literature by providing new evidence on white flight from the data set High School and Beyond (HSB). I find that a one-percentage-point increase in the county (metropolitan area, or MA) level minority share of school-age population increases the private schooling probability of white students by 0.2 (0.27) percentage points. White flight appears to be more sensitive to the concentration of black schoolchildren than to any other minority concentration. White families also appear to respond more strongly to the concentration of poor minorities than to non-poor minorities. Results also suggest substantial variation in the rate of white flight across different areas of the country. Finally, when minority shares are measured at the county level, there is some evidence of increasing rate of white flight from the local concentration of black schoolchildren as the black share increases.
A decision support systems approach to adjust maintenance float system availability levels

In this paper, a decision support system (DSS) is designed to predict the system availability levels for equipment maintenance float problems. The DSS is developed by using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to prioritize the improvements made in the maintenance management practice through the adoption of total quality management (TQM). The resulting regression metamodel can be used to predict and explain system availability. Sensitivity analysis can be easily generated through the DSS. The application of this DSS helps to effectively control the cost of maintenance floats as a result of TQM implementation, generates quick solutions, and provides the decision maker with the flexibility of carrying out sensitivity analysis and planning for the future by looking at the long-term impacts of TQM on the maintenance float system.
Paleoenvironmental reconstruction from chemical and isotopic compositions of Permo-Pennsylvanian pedogenic minerals

Mineralogical and chemical analysis of Late Pennsylvanian and Early Permian paleosols from the eastern shelf of the Midland basin, north-central Texas, USA, are used to test hypothesized climate change in Late Paleozoic western equatorial Pangea, previously defined independently on the bases of sedimentologic and paleontologic proxies and climate models. The <0.2-μm size phyllosilicate fraction in the studied paleosols exhibits down-profile trends in mineralogy and chemical composition that are consistent with modern weathering profiles suggesting a dominantly pedogenic origin. A stratigraphic trend from kaolinite-dominated profiles in Upper Pennsylvanian paleosols to profiles dominated by smectite and hydroxy-interlayered 2:1 phyllosilicates in Lower Permian paleosols indicates a relatively rapid decrease in soil weathering and leaching in the latest Pennsylvanian followed by a more gradual decrease in leaching throughout the Early Permian. The chemical composition (cation ratios and exchange capacity) of these phyllosilicates further corroborates this shift toward less intensive leaching, presumably in response to climate change from humid to progressively more arid conditions. The phyllosilicates in the <0.2-μm size fraction and contemporaneous pedogenic calcites from the Permo-Pennsylvanian paleosols exhibit a long-term stratigraphic increase in their δ18O values of as much as ∼3.2‰ and ∼5.2‰, respectively. This long-term trend is consistent with a transition throughout the latest Pennsylvanian through Early Permian toward progressively more evaporatively enriched soil waters. Superimposed on the long-term trend is an apparent rapid enrichment (1.5 to 2‰) in phyllosilicate δ18O values immediately above the Pennsylvanian–Permian boundary. Observed oxygen isotope fractionation between the phyllosilicates and calcites within individual paleosols indicate isotopic disequilibrium between mineral pairs. This is attributed to a minor detrital component in the pedogenic clay-dominated phyllosilicate fraction coupled with the effects of seasonality of mineral formation. Inferred δ18O compositions of Late Paleozoic meteoric water (−2‰ to +4‰) are compatible with less intensive soil leaching under conditions of increasing aridity, possibly coupled with a shift in local precipitation from a continental source to a marine source.
Model for Quantifying the Impact of Change Orders on Project Cost for U.S. Roadwork Construction

Change orders are very common in almost every construction project nowadays, often resulting in increases of 5–10% in the contract price. Understanding the consequences of such trends, several studies have attempted to quantify the impact of change orders on the project cost. Most of the studies aimed at the quantification of the change orders were sponsored by contractors’ organizations, where statistical models used to quantify the impact of the change orders on the project cost were based on data supplied by the contractors; a situation that can lead to owner-contractor disagreements related to the quantification method used. In addition, most of the studies tackled commercial and electromechanical work, and very rare studies tackled the field of heavy construction; a field that suffers from change orders because of errors and omissions, scope of work changes, or changes because of unforeseen conditions. This study addresses the need for a statistical model to quantify the increase of the contract pric...
Comparison of Transvaginal and Retropubic Bladder Neck Closure with Suprapubic Catheter in Women

Purpose: Bladder neck closure is an uncommon procedure that is usually reserved for patients with severe urethral incompetence. It may be an acceptable alternative to procedures involving bowel reconstruction. Bladder neck closure can be performed using a transvaginal or a retropubic approach. We compared urethral continence rates, perioperative outcomes, short-term and long-term complications, subsequent procedures and changes in renal function between transvaginal and retropubic bladder neck closure in females at our institution.Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 64 female patients who underwent bladder neck closure with suprapubic catheter placement from May 1990 to February 2013. Baseline variables and the mentioned outcomes were compared between transvaginal and retropubic bladder neck closure.Results: There were 35 women in the transvaginal group and 29 in the retropubic group. Urethral erosion due to a chronic indwelling urethral catheter was the most common indicatio...
The Importance of Individual Student Conferences in Technical Writing Courses

Analyse des resultats obtenus a la suite de cette pratique au departement d'anglais de l'Universite du Nord-Texas (Etats-Unis)
From revolution to apathy — American student activism in the 1970s

The contrast between the widespread activism of the 1960s and the relative calm of the 1970s in the American universities is dramatic. In general, American students are not now politically active, although there have been a small number of demonstrations. The political traditions of American students are important to understand in order to analyze the current situation. The first period of widespread activism was during the 1930s, with the decade of the 1950s returning to political calm. The sixties was the zenith of American student activism, and the impact of the counter culture and of some of the political struggles of this period continues to influence the campus. The lack of a clearly threatening foreign policy issue, economic problems, disillusionment with past politics and other factors have all contributed to the political quiet of the seventies. The paper concludes with a description of current campus trends.
Some inverse problems raised from a mathematical model of ductal carcinoma in situ

The growth of avascular tumors has been studied by many authors. In this paper we study a special kind of cancer, ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) in order to investigate possible procedures to connect free boundary model of DCIS with clinical data. This paper is to present some results of our research on mathematical modeling, analysis, and numerical simulations of ductal carcinoma in situ. In particular, we formulate a number of inverse problems for the well-posed free boundary valued problem related to clinical diagnose of cancer.
Radiation-induced changes in respiration of corn, wheat, sorghum and radish seeds during initial stages of germination in relation to subsequent seedling growth

Seeds of corn, wheat, sorghum and radish were exposed to 0-, 5-, 20- or 80-krad doses of γ-radiation from a 60Co source. Doses of 80 krad caused marked inhibition in seedling growth and inhibited the rate of respiration in all four species. A decrease in oxygen uptake and an increase in R.Q. values, at this dose, could be detected within 6 hr after planting when respiration was measured in an atmosphere of 100 percent oxygen. Doses of 20-krad caused no significant inhibition in seedling growth and did not inhibit respiration. Five krad caused slight, but consistent, stimulations in seedling growth. At this dose, an increase in oxygen uptake, a decrease in R.Q. values, or both, was observed in corn, wheat, and sorghum, but not in radish seeds.
Development of a triazole-cure resin system for composites: Evaluation of alkyne curatives

Abstract We are developing a resin system that cures via triazole ring formation (cycloaddition reaction of azides with terminal alkynes) instead of the traditional oxirane/amine reaction. The high exothermicity of the azido/alkyne reaction is expected to yield higher extents of reaction under ambient-cure conditions, making the resin system potentially suitable for “out-of-autoclave” curing processes. The difunctional azide-terminated resin, di(3-azido-2-hydroxypropyl) ether of bisphenol-A, was selected as the baseline diazide. A number of alkyne crosslinkers were synthesized and characterized, including propiolate esters of di- and trifunctional alcohols, propargyl esters of di- and trifunctional carboxylic acids, propargyl ethers of di- and trifunctional alcohols, and N,N,N′,N′-tetrapropargyl derivatives of primary diamines. Commercially available tripropargyl amine was also studied. Those systems employing a propiolate-based alkyne were found to be much more reactive toward the Huisgen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition than the propargyl species. Curing energetics as a function of alkyne type, investigated through a dynamic differential scanning calorimetry approach, showed a distinct divide between the averaged activation energies of the propiolate and propargyl-type crosslinkers, 69.2–73.6 kJ/mol versus 82.3–86.4 kJ/mol, respectively. Cured network properties were readily manipulated through the incorporation of varying amounts of di- versus tri- and tetra-functional alkynes or through incorporation of soft alkylene and alkyleneoxy versus rigid aromatic polyalkynes. As expected, mechanical properties, e.g., the temperature of the tan δ peak in dynamic mechanical analysis, were found to increase with increasing crosslink density. These results have allowed us to select the most promising systems for scale-up and fabrication of samples of both pure resin and composites for traditional mechanical property testing, which will be reported in a subsequent paper.
Upstream stimulatory factors bind to insulin response sequence of the fatty acid synthase promoter. USF1 is regulated.

Fatty acid synthase (FAS) plays a central role in de novo lipogenesis in mammals. The concentration or activity of FAS in liver and adipose tissue changes dramatically when animals are subjected to nutritional and hormonal manipulations. We previously reported that due to changes in transcription, FAS synthesis declines and increases in an insulin-dependent manner during fasting and refeeding, respectively, and that insulin administration of streptozotocin-diabetic mice stimulates FAS transcription. We previously mapped the FAS insulin response sequence (IRS) to the proximal promoter region from position -71 to position -50, which contains an E-box DNA binding motif. Here, using competition gel shift assays and specific upstream stimulatory factor (USF) antibodies, we identified USF1 and USF2 as major components of complexes that bind to the FAS IRS. UV-cross-linking experiments further supported that USFs bind the FAS IRS. We also found that the amount of the 43-kDa USF1 was dramatically increased in liver of refed rats. In contrast, the amount of USF2 remained the same in liver of fasted or refed rats. Moreover, a 17-kDa protein in both fasted and refed rat liver was recognized by anti-USF1 antibodies, and this 17-kDa USF1-related protein was expressed in a manner opposite to that of the 43-kDa USF1, i.e. high in liver of fasted rats and decreased in liver of refed rats. These data suggest that the regulation of USF expression may play an important role in the regulation of FAS transcription.
Auditory Reserve and the Legacy of Auditory Experience

Musical training during childhood has been linked to more robust encoding of sound later in life. We take this as evidence for an auditory reserve: a mechanism by which individuals capitalize on earlier life experiences to promote auditory processing. We assert that early auditory experiences guide how the reserve develops and is maintained over the lifetime. Experiences that occur after childhood, or which are limited in nature, are theorized to affect the reserve, although their influence on sensory processing may be less long-lasting and may potentially fade over time if not repeated. This auditory reserve may help to explain individual differences in how individuals cope with auditory impoverishment or loss of sensorineural function.
Reactivity of Enol Carbonates with Ozone.

Several dienes of varying steric bulk containing an enol carbonate have been synthesized and reacted selectively with ozone at the isolated double bonds. Rate measurements have been made for ozonolysis in a series of substituted cyclohexenes to demonstrate the unusually slow reactivity of the enol carbonate. Proton and carbon NMR chemical shifts have been presented to show that the enol carbonate is not particularly electron deficient in its double bond. Calculation of partial charges from the Mulliken population analysis shows good correlation with the NMR data. The results suggest a carbonate association with ozone that slows the rate of carbon−carbon bond cleavage.
Autophagy induction by vitamin D inhibits both Mycobacterium tuberculosis and human immunodeficiency virus type 1

Low vitamin D levels in human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV) infected persons are associated with more rapid disease progression and increased risk for Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. We report that physiological concentrations of 1α,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (1,25D3), the active form of vitamin D, inhibits M. tuberculosis and HIV replication in co-infected macrophages through human cathelicidin microbial peptide-dependent autophagy that requires phagosomal maturation. These findings provide a biological explanation for the importance of vitamin D sufficiency in HIV and M. tuberculosis-infected persons, and provide new insights into novel approaches to prevent and treat HIV infection and related opportunistic infections.
Calmodulin defects cause the loss of Ca2(+)-dependent K+ currents in two pantophobiac mutants of Paramecium tetraurelia

Two behavioral mutants ofParamecium tetraurelia, pantophobiacs A1 and A2, have single amino acid defects in the structure of calmodulin. The mutants exhibit several major ion current defects under voltage clamp: (i) the Ca2+-dependent K+ current activated upon depolarization ofParamecium is greatly reduced or missing in both mutants, (ii) both mutants lack a Ca2+-dependent K+ current activated upon hyperpolarization, and (iii) the Ca2+-dependent Na+ current is significantly smaller in pantophobiac A1 compared with the wild type, whereas this current is slightly increased in pantophobiac A2. Other, minor defects include a reduction in peak amplitude of the depolarization-activated Ca2+ current in pantophobiac A2, increased rates of voltage-dependent inactivation of this Ca2+ current in both pantophobiac A1 and pantophobiac A2, and an increase in the time required for the hyperpolarization-activated Ca2+ current to recover from inactivation in the pantophobiacs. The diversity of the pantophobiac mutations' effects on ion current function may indicate specific associations of calmodulin with a variety of Ca2+-related ion channel species inParamecium.
Selective constraint on noncoding regions of hominid genomes.

An important challenge for human evolutionary biology is to understand the genetic basis of human–chimpanzee differences. One influential idea holds that such differences depend, to a large extent, on adaptive changes in gene expression. An important step in assessing this hypothesis involves gaining a better understanding of selective constraint on noncoding regions of hominid genomes. In noncoding sequence, functional elements are frequently small and can be separated by large nonfunctional regions. For this reason, constraint in hominid genomes is likely to be patchy. Here we use conservation in more distantly related mammals and amniotes as a way of identifying small sequence windows that are likely to be functional. We find that putatively functional noncoding elements defined in this manner are subject to significant selective constraint in hominids.
Cuticular hydrocarbons of tsetse flies II:Glossina fuscipes fuscipes, G. palpalis palpalis, G. p. gambiensis, G. tachinoides, andG. brevipalpis.

The alkanes (methylalkanes) were analyzed from both sexes of four members of thepalpalis group of tsetse flies,Glossina fuscipes fuscipes, G. palpalis gambiensis, G. palpalis palpalis, G. tachinoides plus onefusca group member, G. brevipalpis, to determine structures, abundances, and the presence of unique or specific methylalkanes. These insects are unique in that trimethylalkanes were major components except in femaleG. tachinoides and both sexes ofG. brevipalpis where 2-methylalkanes were the major components. The identification of novel long-chain tetramethylalkanes, including 11,15,19,23-tetramethylpentatriacontane, a minor component of femaleG. f. fuscipes, G. p. gambiensis, andG. p. palpalis, is reported here. Tetramethylalkanes were significant components of both sexes ofG. brevipalpis. The major tetramethylalkane in G.brevipalpis is 3,7,11,15-tetramethylhen-triacontane. The use of the methylalkanes as taxonomic indicators in tsetse is discussed.
Synthesis of the luteinizing releasing hormone of the hypothalamus and its hormonal activity.

The decapeptide amide and acid of LH-RH/FSH-RH were synthesized and bioassayed in rats. The structure pGlu-His-Trp-Ser-Tyr-Gly-Leu-Arg-Pro-Gly-NH3 was made by conventional synthesis of pGlu-His-Trp coupled with the heptapeptide synthesized on solid state resin. Bioassays were performed in ovariectomized rats given 50 mcg estradiol benzoate and 25 mg progesterone 72 hours before by injecting the peptides and sampling the jugular vein then assaying LH by double antibody radioimmunoassay. The decapeptide amide was effective from 25 ng to 10 mcg. At 1 or 10 mcg LH level was elevated about 25 fold for 30-60 minutes and decreased to about 10 fold in 2 hours. The decapeptide-OH was active but only at about 1000 times the amide dose. Considering prior work with the tetrapeptide pGlu-Tyr-Arg-Trp-NG2 the authors proposed that the conformation of Tyr and Arg are fundamental in its function.