cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ammonia exposure of Chasmagnathus granulata (Crustacea, Decapoda) Dana, 1851: accumulation in haemolymph and effects on osmoregulation

In order to study lethal and sublethal effects of ammonia to the estuarine crab Chasmagnathus granulata in the presence of an additional stress factor such as salinity, we determined the LC50 (96 h) of ammonia at 20‰ and in response to osmotic stress (5–40‰) and evaluated ammonia accumulation in the haemolymph of C. granulata and ammonia effects on osmo- and ion-regulation of this species through determinations of the haemolymph Na+, Ca2+, Cl− and osmotic concentration. The LC50 values (96 h) of total ammonia (NH3+NH4+) were 10.10, 17.85 and 14.0 mM for crabs maintained at 5, 20 or 40‰ salinity, respectively, suggesting that this crab is fairly resistant to ammonia. The haemolymph ammonia concentration augmented with ambient ammonia during a 6-h exposure to sublethal ammonia concentrations which were not enough to reach equilibrium between external and haemolymph ammonia. At 20‰ salinity, following a 96-h exposure to sublethal concentrations, a significant decrease (P<0.05) of haemolymphatic chloride concentration was registered at 3.3 and 5.5 mM of total ammonia. At 40‰ salinity, a significant increase (P<0.05) of the haemolymph osmotic pressure was apparent at 5.5 mM total ammonia. We postulate that C. granulata gives priority to NH3 formation as a mechanism to eliminate it by simple diffusion. The differential Na+ and Cl− regulation of crabs maintained at 20‰ salinity could modify the strong ion difference, augmenting pH, which in turn should lead the NH4+/NH3 equilibrium towards NH3.
Vibrational energy relaxation dynamics of C–H stretching modes on the hydrogen‐terminated H/C(111)1×1 surface

The vibrational energy relaxation rate of an excited C–H stretching mode on the hydrogen‐terminated H/C(111)1×1 surface is calculated using Bloch–Redfield theory combined with classical molecular dynamics. The lifetime of an excited state is determined by the strength of the power spectrum of the force on the stretching mode at the resonance frequency. The lifetime of the first excited state is found to be 60 ps at 300 K which is shorter than the Si–H stretching mode lifetime on the H/Si(111)1×1 surface. The lifetime of the v=2 first overtone state is found to be 200 times shorter (0.30 ps). Analysis of the power spectrum of the fluctuating force along the C–H bond suggests that the mechanism of the energy relaxation for the v=1 stretching state on the H/C(111)1×1 surface is due to lower‐order interactions than on the H/Si(111)1×1 surface. The predicted fast relaxation of the overtone state may cast some doubt on the observability of that state.
Disability in the Family?: New Questions About the Southern Mill Village

This article reexamines two classic social history texts, These Are Our Lives (1939) and Like A Family: The Making of a Southern Cotton Mill World (1987), and the oral history interviews on which the books where based, in order to explore the potential value for historians of including questions about disability experiences in their work. Although disability experiences are discussed in the personal narratives of mill workers, historians have not discovered how to use these stories in their analysis of the past. This article suggests ways of using disability stories in order to enrich our understanding of textile mill history, while also helping to lay the foundation for a new field of historical inquiry, disability history. It argues that it is time for historians to review the work they have done and the sources they have used, and to reconsider what they have lost by not including disability issues in their work; that it is time to revisit many of the primary written and oral sources social historians have used and discover what historians have missed about what people have been saying concerning disability; that it is time to try to imagine disability as a socially constructed phenomenon having a history.
Acid mine tailings in southern Spain

Sediment and water samples were collected along the Guadiamar river in southern Spain on 1–3 May and on 24–25 May 1998, following the release of acid sludge from the Los Frailes zinc mine near Aznalcollar on 25 April 1998. A maximum Zn concentration of 12 mg/g in the sediment was measured approximately 10 km south of the mine. The low pH of 3.8 in Guadiamar river water approximately 20 km downstream of the mine contrasts with prevailing alkaline conditions (pH∼8) upstream and in the adjacent Guadalquivir river. The concentration of dissolved sulfate increased from 1 mM upstream from the mine and in a nearby uncontaminated tributary to a maximum of 40 mM approximately 40 km downstream. Dissolved Zn concentrations were particularly sensitive to contamination by the tailings and ranged from as low as 3.6×10−8 M in a uncontaminated tributary to as high as 6.6×10−3 M 20 km downstream of the mine. By 25 May 1998, dissolved Zn concentrations in the most contaminated area had declined by more than an order of magnitude at all but one location. On the basis of a simple mixing model for the tailings, we estimate that 40 000–120 000 tons of Zn were released to the watershed by the accident. This is equivalent to the dissolved Zn flux reaching the adjacent, chronically contaminated, Tinto-Odiel estuary every 0.8–2.4 years.
Structural features of the plant cell-wall polysaccharide rhamnogalacturonan-II

Abstract Rhamnogalacturonan-II (RG-II), isolated from the cell walls of suspension-cultured sycamore cells, has been further characterized. End-group analysis of RG-II showed that the polysaccharide contains about 30 glycosyl residues. Some 28 residues have been found as constituents of well characterized oligosaccharide fragments of RG-II. RG-II was treated with lithium metal dissolved in ethylenediamine to degrade the glycosyluronic acid residues. The major product was isolated, characterized, and shown to be the triglycosylalditol α-Xyl-(1→3)-α-Fuc-(1→4)-β-Rha-(1→3 1 )-apiitol. This tetrasaccharide fragment of RG-II has three residues in common with a previously characterized heptasaccharide that had been derived from RG-II by partial hydrolysis with acid. RG-II was found to contain a large number of branched galactosyluronic acid residues that have not yet been identified as components of oligosaccharide fragments, although they are undoubtedly part of an octa(galactosyluronic acid) fragment generated by partial acid hydrolysis. The results of sequential partial acid hydrolysis provided evidence that, in RG-II, the extremely acid-labile 3-deoxy- d - manno -2-octulosonic-acid and 3-deoxy- d - lyxo -2-heptulosaric acid residues are attached to O-3 of 3,4-linked galactosyluronic acid residues, and that the mildly acid-labile apiofuranosyl residues are attached to O-2 of 2,4-linked galactosyluronic acid residues. These and previously published data suggested that RG-II has a highly branched structure, arranged around an α-(1→4)-linked galactosyluronic acid backbone.
Long-wavelength velocity-matched distributed photodetectors

We have experimentally demonstrated an InGaAs-InAlGaAs-InP high-speed, high-power long wavelength velocity matched distributed photodetector (VMDP) using optical lithography. A 3-dB bandwidth of 18-GHz and an overall quantum effiency of 34% have been achieved.
D1 Signaling Equilibria with Multiple Signals and a Continuum of Types

Abstract This note extends Cho and Sobel's (J. Econ. Theory50(1990), 381–413) existence and uniqueness results for D1 equilibria of signaling games with multiple signals by (i) specifying that types are drawn from a compact interval, and (ii) invoking a more general incentive monotonicity condition, due to Engers (Econometrica55(1987), 663–674) which extends the usual single-crossing property of one-signal models. For certain classes of payoff functions, the complete-information distortion result of Bagwell and Ramey (Rand J. Econ.19(1988), 59–71) is shown to hold in D1 equilibria of the continuum-type model.Journal of Economic LiteratureClassification Number: D82.
Elemental and Redox Analysis of Single Bacterial Cells by X-ray Microbeam Analysis

High-energy x-ray fluorescence measurements were used to make elemental maps and qualitative chemical analyses of individual Pseudomonas fluorescens strain NCIMB 11764 cells. Marked differences between planktonic and adhered cells were seen in the morphology, elemental composition, and sensitivity to Cr(VI) of hydrated cells at spatial scales of 150 nm. This technology can be applied to natural geomicrobiological systems.
Patient compliance and maternal/infant outcomes in pregnant drug-using women.

Treatment compliance is an important variable in drug use intervention. For pregnant drug-misusing women, compliance with treatment has been particularly problematic, even in specialized and more i...
Use of complexation hydrogels for oral delivery of chemotherapeutic agents

Carriers were synthesized to target delivery of a chemotherapeutic agent, bleomycin, to the upper small intestine. Release of bleomycin was initiated in response to hydrogen bonding complexation/decomplexation associated with the pH shift when entering the upper small intestine from the stomach. Hydrogel nanospheres composed of methacrylic acid (MAA) and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) [P(MAA-g-EG)] were loaded with bleomycin. Loading of bleomycin was performed by in situ polymerization and release of bleomycin from the nanospheres was measured by UV spectrophotometry. Results showed that bleomycin release from the nanospheres was responsive to the pH of the environment surrounding the nanospheres. In addition to pH-responsive release of bleomycin, the hydrogel nanospheres were also able to enhance drug permeability through an in vitro model of the intestinal epithelium. Increasing the permeability of the intestinal epithelium could aid the transport of bleomycin from the lumen of the small intestine out into the bloodstream.
Priority shaping of source traffic for ATM networks

Priority shaping of aggregate source traffic is proposed for use with policed virtual paths in asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networks. The shaping function, located between the traffic sources sharing the path and the network edge, acts as a self-policing mechanism augmented by a form of priority service to assure satisfactory levels of cell loss and delay for traffic streams with differing service requirements multiplexed into a single virtual path. Two versions of the shape are proposed, and their interaction with a virtual path policed by a leaky-bucket mechanism is discussed. The problem of optimization of shaper design parameters is considered. >
Joint Custody: Current Issues and Implications for Treatment.

Abstract This paper describes what joint physical custody involves, the kinds of families who currently have this type of custody arrangement, and what we know about the effects on parents and children. Some issues for future research and some considerations for family treatment are also discussed. The current research supporting two perspectives on joint custody, one emphasizing the continuity of psychological care from one parent, the other emphasizing the importance of the father's contribution to the child, are covered.
Paraxial geometrical optics for quasi-P waves: theories and numerical methods

The quasi-P wave in anisotropic solids is of practical importance in obtaining maximal imaging resolution in seismic exploration. The geometrical optics term in the asymptotic expansion for the wave characterizes the high frequency part of the quasi-P wave by using two functions: a phase (traveltime) function satisfying an eikonal equation and an amplitude function satisfying a transport equation. Based on a paraxial eikonal equation satisfied by the traveltime corresponding to the quasi-P downgoing waves, two new advection equations for take-off angles provide essential ingredients for computing amplitude functions on uniform Cartesian grids. However, the radiation problem of the eikonal equation has an upwind singularity at the point source which renders all finite-difference eikonal solvers to be first-order accurate near the source. Extending an isotropic adaptive eikonal solver to the paraxial quasi-P eikonal equations can treat this singularity efficiently and yield highly accurate traveltimes and amplitudes. Numerical experiments for quasi-P traveltimes and amplitudes in transversely isotropic media with vertical symmetry axes verify that the numerical methods are efficient and accurate.
Competing risks to breast cancer mortality

Background: Simulation models analyzing the impact of treatment interventions and screening on the level of breast cancer mortality require an input of mortality from causes other than breast cancer, or competing risks. Methods: This chapter presents an actuarial method of creating cohort life tables using published data that removes breast cancer as a cause of death. Results: Mortality from causes other than breast cancer as a percentage of all-cause mortality is smallest for women in their forties and fifties, as small as 85% of the all-cause rate, although the level and percentage of the impact varies by birth cohort. Conclusion: This method produces life tables by birth cohort and by age that are easily included as a common input by the various CISNET modeling groups to predict mortality from other causes. Attention to removing breast cancer mortality from all-cause mortality is worthwhile, because breast cancer mortality can be as high as 15% at some ages.
Genetics and Neurobiology of Circadian Clocks in Mammals

In animals, circadian behavior can be analyzed as an integrated system, beginning with genes and leading ultimately to behavioral outputs. In the last decade, the molecular mechanism of circadian clocks has been unraveled primarily by the use of phenotype-driven (forward) genetic analysis in a number of model systems. Circadian oscillations are generated by a set of genes forming a transcriptional autoregulatory feedback loop. In mammals, there is a “core” set of circadian genes that form the primary negative feedback loop of the clock mechanism (Clock/Npas2, Bmal1, Per1, Per2, Cry1, Cry2, and CK1e). A further dozen candidate genes have been identified and have additional roles in the circadian gene network such as the feedback loop involving Rev-erbα. Despite this remarkable progress, it is clear that a significant number of genes that strongly influence and regulate circadian rhythms in mammals remain to be discovered and identified. As part of a large-scale N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea mutagenesis screen using a wide range of nervous system and behavioral phenotypes, we have identified a number of new circadian mutants in mice. Here, we describe a new short-period circadian mutant, part-time (prtm), which is caused by a lossof-function mutation in the Cryptochrome1 (Cry1) gene. We also describe a long-period circadian mutant named Overtime (Ovtm). Positional cloning and genetic complementation reveal that Ovtm is encoded by the F-box protein FBXL3, a component of the SKP1–CUL1–F-box protein (SCF) E3 ubiquitin ligase complex. The Ovtm mutation causes an isoleucine to threonine (I364T) substitution leading to a loss of function in FBXL3 that interacts specifically with the CRYPTOCHROME (CRY) proteins. In Ovtm mice, expression of the PERIOD proteins PER1 and PER2 is reduced; however, the CRY proteins CRY1 and CRY2 are unchanged. The loss of FBXL3 function leads to a stabilization of the CRY proteins, which in turn leads to a global transcriptional repression of the Per and Cry genes. Thus, Fbxl3 Ovtm defines a molecular link between CRY turnover and CLOCK/BMAL1-dependent circadian transcription to modulate circadian period.
Do Schools Change Society or Vice-Versa?

John Rury starts Education and Social Change with a trick question of the chicken or the egg variety: Do schools change society, or does society change the schools? As both a teacher and learner, I...
Case Study, Connectivity of Oil and Water Wells at Saudi Aramco

This is an industry paper. Full text not available. Please contact the author for more information.
Host-Pathogen Interactions: I. A Correlation Between α-Galactosidase Production and Virulence

Resistance or susceptibility of Red Kidney, Pinto and Small White beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) to the alpha, beta, and gamma strains of Colletotrichum lindemuthianum was either confirmed or established. These fungal strains secrete alpha-galactosidase, beta-galactosidase and beta-xylosidase when grown on cell walls isolated from the hypocotyls of any of the above bean varieties. These enzymes effectively degrade cell walls isolated from susceptible 5-day old hypocotyls but degrade only slightly the walls isolated from resistant 18-day old hypocotyls. The amounts of the beta-galactosidase and beta-xylosidase secreted by the 3 fungal strains are relatively low and are approximately equivalent. The secretion of these 2 enzymes is not dependent upon the bean variety from which the hypocotyl cell walls used as a carbon source were isolated. However, the fungal strains secrete greater amounts of alpha-galactosidase when grown on hypocotyl cell walls isolated from susceptible plants than when grown on walls from resistant plants. Virulent isolates of the fungus, when grown on hypocotyl cell walls isolated from a susceptible plant, secrete more alpha-galactosidase than do attenuated (avirulent) isolates of the same fungal strain grown under the same conditions. The alpha-galactosidase secreted by each of the fungal strains is capable of removing galactose from the hypocotyl cell walls of each bean variety tested. Galactose is removed from the cell walls of each variety at the same rate regardless of whether the cell walls were isolated from a susceptible or resistant plant.
The Use of Immersive Virtual Reality in the Learning Sciences: Digital Transformations of Teachers, Students, and Social Context

This article illustrates the utility of using virtual environments to transform social interaction via behavior and context, with the goal of improving learning in digital environments. We first describe the technology and theories behind virtual environments and then report data from 4 empirical studies. In Experiment 1, we demonstrated that teachers with augmented social perception (i.e., receiving visual warnings alerting them to students not receiving enough teacher eye gaze) were able to spread their attention more equally among students than teachers without augmented perception. In Experiments 2 and 3, we demonstrated that by breaking the rules of spatial proximity that exist in physical space, students can learn more by being in the center of the teacher's field of view (compared to the periphery) and by being closer to the teacher (compared to farther away). In Experiment 4, we demonstrated that inserting virtual co-learners who were either model students or distracting students changed the learn...
Energy-aware scheduling for real-time multiprocessor systems with uncertain task execution time

This paper presents an energy-aware method to schedule multiple real-time tasks in multiprocessor systems that support dynamic voltage scaling (DVS). The key difference from existing approaches is that we consider the probabilistic distributions of the tasks' execution time to partition the workload for better energy reduction. We analyze the problem of energy-aware scheduling for multiprocessor with probabilistic workload information and derive its mathematical formulation. As the problem is NP-hard, we present a polynomial-time heuristic method to transform the problem into a probability-based load balancing problem that is then solved with worst-fit decreasing bin-packing heuristic. Simulation results with synthetic, multimedia, and stereo- vision tasks show that our method saves significantly more energy than existing methods.
Unconscious transference and characteristics of accurate and inaccurate eyewitnesses

Abstract Two experiments involving 349 subjects were conducted to evaluate the incidence of unconscious-transference (UT) in eyewitness identification performance. Little conclusive evidence was obtained for UT using either a video-taped event or a live staged event However, negative cross-race effects were observed as well u null relations between both witness-reported confidence and witness-reported goodness-of-view with accuracy. High “self-monitors” showed the greatest probability of hits from target-present photoarrays whereas politically conservative subjects showed the greatest probability of false alarms from target-absent photoarrays. Implications for the evaluation of eyewitness evidence are discussed.
Finite Element Modeling of a Homogeneous Pneumatic Tire Subjected To Footprint Loadings

Abstract In this paper, we use an approach which involves 3D finite elements and a contact algorithm. For a given deflection of the hub, the algorithm computes the nodes that come into contact with a predefined contact plane, and the magnitudes of the contact forces at the nodes. Thus, the algorithm computes the size and shape of the footprint, and the contact forces at the FE nodes. To illustrate the technique, we analyze a homogeneous tire subjected to footprint loading. The computed shapes and sizes of the footprint area at different levels of rim deflection are shown to be in good agreement with experimental results. The computed tire profiles and the load‐deflection response of the tire are also in good agreement with experimental results. The computed results include the distribution of stress, strain, and strain energy density within the tire, and the changes in this distribution with applied footprint loadings.
Finite strain generalization of smallstrain constitutive relations for any finite strain tensor and additive volumetric-deviatoric split

Abstract The paper deals with finite strain generalization of small-strain constitutive equations for isotropic materials for which the strain is split into a volumetric part and a deviatoric part (the latter characterizing the isochoric strain, i.e. a strain at constant volume). The volumetric-deviatoric split has so far been handled by a multiplicative decomposition of the transformation tensor; but the existing sophisticated complex constitutive models for small strains of cohesive pressure-sensitive dilatant materials, such as concrete and geomaterials, involve an additive decomposition and would be difficult to convert a multiplicative decomposition. It is shown that an additive decomposition of any finite strain tensor, and of the Green-Lagrange strain tensor in particular, is possible, provided that the higher-order terms of the deviatoric strain tensor are allowed to depend on the volumetric strain. This dependence is negligible for concrete and geomaterials because the volumetric strains are normally small, whether or not the deviatoric strains are large. Furthermore, the related question of the choice of the finite-strain measure to be used for the finite-strain generalization is analysed. A transformation of the Green-Lagrange finite strain tensor whose parameters approximately reflect the degrees of freedom equivalent to replacing the small strain tensor by any other possible finite strain measure is proposed. Finally a method by which the stress tensor that is workconjugate to any finite strain tensor can be converted to the Green-Lagrange strain tensor is presented.
African American Women Principals’ Reflections on Social Change, Community Othermothering, and Chicago Public School Reform:

Emphasizing the salience of social and historical contexts in understanding contemporary urban school leadership, this article presents reflections from a subset of African American women principals who came of age during the Civil Rights era and assumed leadership subsequent to the enactment of the Chicago School Reform Act of 1988. The main finding being reported is that the unique race, gender, and generational statuses of these principals made them especially vulnerable to the impact of governance reforms that rearranged long-standing authority relationships between African American principals and parents. Implications for urban school leadership research and policy are discussed.
Language-based rapid prototyping methods for legacy system re-engineering and re-use

Electronic technologies are evolving more rapidly than any other aspect of commercial and military systems. This pace can lead to waste and inefficiency when perfectly serviceable systems must be scrapped because spare assemblies and replacement parts are no longer available. While rapid prototyping methods offer the means to quickly go from concept to prototype, they lack the ability to easily include good concepts from old designs. This paper describes preliminary work to develop methods that allow legacy design information to be incorporated into a top-down language-based rapid prototyping methodology. This will allow rapid re-engineering and replacement of obsolete legacy system components, as well as offering a new design re-use path for system upgrades.
Acute in vivo effect of ethanol (binge drinking) on histone H3 modifications in rat tissues.

Aims: To investigate the effect of acute in vivo administration of ethanol on acetylation or methylation of histone H3 at lysine9 in different tissues in rat. Methods: Ethanol was injected into the stomach of Sprague-Dawley rats (8-weeks-old) using blunt tipped needle. The rats were divided into three groups based on ethanol exposure times (1, 3, and 12 h). Each group was compared with water-injected control group. The tissues from 14 different organs were removed. We essentially used similar type of protocol, tissue homogenization method, and sucrose density gradient centrifugation for isolation of nuclei with only minor modifications for some organs. Histone was isolated from the nuclei using acid extraction method. Acetylation of histone H3 at lysine9 (Ac-H3-lys9) and methylation of histone H3 at lysine9 (Me-H3-lys9) were analysed by western blotting. Results: Effect of ethanol on Ac-H3-lys9 was investigated in 11 out of 14 rat tissues. In liver, we observed an increase in Ac-H3-lys9 with maximal increase of 6-fold after 12 h exposure. Lung also showed 3-fold increase. In spleen, ethanol-induced Ac-H3-lys9 in all three ethanol-treated groups with similar increase (1.5- to 1.6-fold). Testes showed significant increase (3-fold increase) of Ac-H3-lys9 only at 1 h ethanol exposure. Ethanol had no affect on Ac-H3-lys9 in other tissues: kidney, brain, heart, stomach, colorectum, pancreas, and vessels. Ethanol had little effect on Me-H3-lys9 in all rat tissues examined. Conclusions: After in vivo administration of ethanol, analogous to binge drinking condition, the acetylations of H3-lys9 in rat tissues are not universal but tissue-specific events with different patterns of responses. Ac-H3-Lys9 in liver, lung, and spleen were significantly affected and it was demonstrated that ethanol causes this epigenetic alteration in rat tissues selectively.
Induced Autocrine Signaling through the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Contributes to the Response of Mammary Epithelial Cells to Tumor Necrosis Factor α

In contrast to the well known cytotoxic effects of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) α in many mammary cancer cells, we have found that TNF stimulates the proliferation and motility of human mammary epithelial cells (HMECs). Since the response of HMECs to TNF is similar to effects mediated by epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) activation, we explored the potential role of cross-talk through the EGFR signaling pathways in mediating cellular responses to TNF. Using a microarray enzyme-linked immunoassay, we found that exposure to TNF stimulated the dose-dependent shedding of the EGFR ligand transforming growth factor α (TGFα). Both proliferation and motility of HMECs induced by TNF was prevented either by inhibiting membrane protein shedding with a metalloprotease inhibitor, by blocking epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) kinase activity, or by limiting ligand-receptor interactions with an antagonistic anti-EGFR antibody. EGFR activity was also necessary for TNF-induced release of matrix metalloprotease-9, thought to be an essential regulator of mammary cell migration. The cellular response to TNF was associated with a biphasic temporal pattern of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation, which was EGFR-dependent and modulated by inhibition of metalloprotease-mediated shedding. Significantly, the late phase of ERK phosphorylation, detectable within 4 h after exposure, was blocked by the metalloprotease inhibitor batimastat, indicating that autocrine signaling through ligand shedding was responsible for this secondary wave of ERK activity. Our results indicate a novel and important role for metalloprotease activation and EGFR transmodulation in mediating the cellular response to TNF.
Disassociation of insulin action and Akt/FOXO signaling in skeletal muscle of older Akt-deficient mice

The purpose of the present study was to determine the effect of Akt gene ablation on Akt/Forkhead Box O (FOXO) signaling and atrogene expression. This was accomplished by studying wild-type (WT) and isoform-specific Akt knockout (Akt1−/− and Akt2−/−) mice. The ability of insulin to promote Akt phosphorylation on Ser473 was significantly lower in extensor digitorum longus (EDL) and soleus muscles from Akt1−/− and Akt2−/− mice compared with WT mice. Total Akt1 protein levels were significantly lower in EDL muscles of Akt2−/− mice compared with WT mice, a process that appears to be posttranscriptionally regulated as Akt1 mRNA levels were unchanged. The loss of Akt1 protein in EDL muscles of Akt2−/− mice does not appear to be due to insulin resistance because 4 mo of a high-fat diet failed to reduce Akt1 protein levels in muscles of WT mice. Although FOXO3a phosphorylation and atrogin-1 expression were unaltered in muscles of Akt1−/− and Akt2−/− mice, the expression of the atrogenes Bnip3 and gabarapl were significantly elevated in muscles of both Akt1 and Akt2 knockout mice. Finally, the expression of striated activator of Rho signaling was significantly increased in muscles of Akt2−/− mice compared with Akt1−/− and WT mice. Our results demonstrate that the ablation of Akt isoforms disassociates insulin action and Akt/FOXO signaling to atrogenes.
Coding position in a sequence by rhythmic grouping.

It has been suggested that a perceived rhythmic organization may mediate remembering musical and other stimuli. This experiment examined whether or not Ss could register and remember position in a sequence using rhythmic grouping. Sixteen Ss heard tapped sequences 24–63 beats long, accented to encourage grouping by 4s. Ss tapped responses revealing whether or not they remembered the sequence length-the last tap’s position. Significantly more incorrect responses were off by multiples of 4 beats than by adjacent amounts; these frequent errors of whole rhythmic groups of 4 showed that Ss coded sequence length rhythmically. Ss proved 53% accurate over four response conditions, with individual’s scores ranging from 8% to 87%. It was concluded that Ss could count with rhythmic hierarchies, essentially equivalent to counting with a nonstandard number base, to code sequential position.
Orthodontic management of patients with seizure disorders

Seizure disorders are the most common serious chronic neurological condition. Seizures manifest as altered sensation, behavior, or consciousness, and are classified as partial, partial complex, or generalized, depending on presentation. The majority of patients can be managed medically so that they remain free of seizures. Contemporary management may include medications, surgery, an implanted nerve-stimulation device, and/or a ketogenic diet. Considerations for the orthodontist planning treatment for a patient with a seizure disorder are specific details about seizure onset, frequency, and type, behavior during seizures, duration, triggers, recovery period, medical management, and compliance. Gingival hypertrophy associated with anticonvulsant medication and past dental or facial trauma should be considered by the orthodontist when planning treatment and reviewed as part of patient informed consent. The practitioner and staff should be prepared to recognize and respond appropriately when a patient has a seizure in the orthodontic office.
Destruction and creation of spatial tuning by disinhibition: GABA(A) blockade of prefrontal cortical neurons engaged by working memory.

Local circuit neurons in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dPFC) of monkeys have been implicated in the cellular basis of working memory. To further elucidate the role of inhibition in spatial tuning, we iontophoresed bicuculline methiodide (BMI) onto functionally characterized neurons in the dPFC of monkeys performing an oculomotor delayed response task. This GABAA blockade revealed that both putative interneurons and pyramidal cells possess significant inhibitory tone in the awake, behaving monkey. In addition, BMI application primarily resulted in the loss of previously extant spatial tuning in both cell types through reduction of both isodirectional and cross-directional inhibition. This tuning loss occurred in both the sensorimotor and mnemonic phases of the task, although the delay activity of prefrontal neurons appeared to be particularly affected. Finally, application of BMI also created significant spatial tuning in a sizable minority of units that were untuned in the control condition. Visual field analysis of such tuning suggests that it is likely caused by the unmasking of normally suppressed spatially tuned excitatory input. These findings provide the first direct evidence of directional inhibitory modulation of pyramidal cell and interneuron firing in both the mnemonic and sensorimotor phases of the working memory process, and they implicate a further role for GABAergic interneurons in the construction of spatial tuning in prefrontal cortex.
Human Germline CRISPR-Cas Modification: Toward a Regulatory Framework

CRISPR germline editing therapies (CGETs) hold unprecedented potential to eradicate hereditary disorders. However, the prospect of altering the human germline has sparked a debate over the safety, efficacy, and morality of CGETs, triggering a funding moratorium by the NIH. There is an urgent need for practical paths for the evaluation of these capabilities. We propose a model regulatory framework for CGET research, clinical development, and distribution. Our model takes advantage of existing legal and regulatory institutions but adds elevated scrutiny at each stage of CGET development to accommodate the unique technical and ethical challenges posed by germline editing.
Particle Fluctuation Velocity in Gas Fluidized Beds - Fundamental Models Compared to Recent Experimental Data

The first measurements of the mean squared fluctuation velocity, or granular temperature, of monodispersed glass spheres in gas fluidized beds were recently obtained by two independent techniques: Power Spectral analysis of wall vibrational energy excited by random particle impact or Acoustic Shot Noise (ASN), and Diffusing Wave Spectroscopy (DWS) of reflected laser light multiply scattered by random particle motion. We explore the relevance of this data to the initial stability of the uniform fluidized state and to recent fundamental models for the magnitude, gas flow, and particle diameter dependence of the steady state granular temperature.
Local Neurochemicals and Site-Specific Immune Regulation in the CNS

Although it is often described as "immunologically privileged," the brain can display vigorous immune activity, both clinically and experimentally. The underlying control mechanisms are under active study. Here we shift attention from the brain as a whole to its diverse microenvironments. We review evidence that immune regulation in the brain is site-specific, and that local neurochemicals contribute to the site-specific control. Key points are illustrated by recent work from a rat model in which local injection of the proinflammatory cytokine, IFN-gamma, was used to modulate 2 essential aspects of the cell-mediated immune response: T cell entry from the blood, and expression of the MHC proteins that are needed to present antigen to the newly entered T cells. A growing number of neurologic disorders are known to be exacerbated by the immune/inflammatory network. Understanding the factors that influence local immune function may help explain the distribution of localized CNS damage and, more importantly, may suggest new therapeutic approaches for both desirable and unwanted responses.
Two Short-Term Techniques for Gathering Training Device Requirement Information

Two short-term questionnaire/interview techniques were used to specify device requirements for an aerial gunnery part-task trainer. The techniques differed in the degree of emphasis placed on eliciting expert pilot opinion regarding instructional capability and level of fidelity required in the trainer. Recommendations of pilots led to higher fidelity and more extensive simulator capability than did similar estimates derived by training and engineering personnel from pilots' descriptions of the task in the operational environment. It is concluded that both methods are acceptable short-term techniques for initial identification of training requirements. However, long-term techniques appear to be optimal for making difficult fidelity decisions.
The Evolution and Expression of Salt Appetite

Bunge some time ago suggested that herbivores, rather than carnivores, are under selective pressure to show an appetite for salt; he thought the appetite was for potassium and not sodium salts1. More recently Denton has substantively elaborated on the notion that there are selective pressures on herbivores for special behavioral salt homeostatic mechanisms; but the appetite is geared towards sodium and not potassium. In elegant ecological studies it has been shown that rabbits and kangaroos emerge from areas of depleted sodium resources to ingest salt from implanted salt licks elsewhere. Moreover, many kinds of herbivorous mammals are known to migrate great distances to ingest from salt licks, or other sources of sodium, when sodium sources in their grazing pastures are depleted (see 2 for review).
Burial law impedes scientific discovery

The News at a glance item “‘Ancient One’ to get Native American burial” (6 May, p. [632][1]) reports the reburial of the 9300-year-old skeletal remains of Kennewick Man after 2 decades of legal wrangling between Native American communities and scholars. The story does not address the
MPG: Not So Random Exploration of a City

The proliferation of mobile, ubiquitous and spatial computing has led to a number of services aiming into facilitate the exploration of a city. Platforms such as Foursquare and Yelp curate information about establishments in an area that can then be used for recommendation purposes. Traditionally an approach followed by these systems is to rank places based on their popularity, proximity or any other feature that represents the quality of the venue and then return the top-k of them. However, this approach, while simple and intuitive, is not necessarily providing a diverse set of recommendations, since similar venues typically are ranked closely. Therefore, in this paper we design and introduce MPG (which stands for Mobile Personal Guide), a mobile service that provides a set of diverse venue recommendations better aligned with user preferences. MPG takes into consideration the user preferences (e.g., distance willing to cover, types of venues interested in exploring, etc.), the popularity of the establishments, as well as their distance from the current location of the user by combining them in a single composite score. We evaluate our approach using a large-scale dataset of approximately 14 million venues collected from Foursquare. Our results indicate that MPG can increase coverage of the result set compared to the baselines considered. It further achieves a significantly better Relevancy-Diversity trade-off ratio.
America’s Communication Problem

After the 9/11 attacks, Americans made the connection between America’s image and its security. In the past, officials and scholars have repeatedly cited international public opinion polls, particularly U.S. favorability ratings, as an indication of the effectiveness of U.S. public diplomacy. The dramatic shift in the U.S. image alarmed officials. International sentiment toward America quickly went from an outpouring of global sympathy and support immediately after the 9/11 attacks to a palpable wave of anti-Americanism. America’s stature continued to decline - despite its focused communication efforts. Looking beyond the numbers, communication dynamics that emerged during the critical first years (2001–2004) suggested that America’s communication problem had less to do with its image and messages and more about its relationship with others in the international community.
Differential and kinetic effects of cell cycle inhibitors on neoplastic and primary astrocytes

Alterations in cell cycle regulation underlie the unrestricted growth of neoplastic astrocytes. Chemotherapeutic interventions of gliomas have poor prognostic outcomes due to drug resistance and drug toxicity. Here, we examined the in vitro growth kinetics of C6 glioma (C6G) cells and primary astrocytes and their responses to 2 phase-specific inhibitors, lovastatin and hydroxyurea. C6G cells demonstrated a shorter G1 phase and an earlier peak of DNA synthesis in S phase than primary astrocytes. As C6G cells and primary astrocytes re-entered the cell cycle in the presence of lovastatin or hydroxyurea, they exhibited different sensitivities to the inhibitory effects of these agents, as measured by [3H]-thymidine incorporation. Compared to primary astrocytes, C6G cells were more sensitive to lovastatin, but less sensitive to hydroxyurea. Studies using 2 different paradigms of exposure uncovered dramatic differences in the kinetics of DNA synthesis inhibition by these 2 agents in C6G cells and primary astrocytes. One notable difference was the ability of C6G cells to more easily recover from the inhibitory effects of hydroxyurea following short exposure. Our results provide insight into C6 glioma drug resistance as well as the inhibitory effects of these 2 phase-specific inhibitors and their chemotherapeutic potential.
Synthesis, Thermal Stability, Biophysical Properties, and Molecular Modeling of Oligonucleotides of RNA Containing 2′-O-2-Thiophenylmethyl Groups

Dodecamers of RNA [CUACGGAAUCAU] were functionalized with C2′-O-2-thiophenylmethyl groups to obtain oligonucleotides 10–14 and 17. The modified nucleotides were incorporated into RNA strands via solid-phase synthesis. The biophysical properties of these ONs were used to quantify the effects of this modification on RNA:RNA and RNA:DNA duplexes. A combination of UV–vis and circular dichroism were used to determine thermal stabilities of all strands, which hybridized into A-form geometries. Destabilization of the double stranded RNA was measured as a function of number of consecutive modifications, reflected in decreased thermal denaturation values (ΔTm, ca. 2.5–11.5 °C). Van’t Hoff plots on a duplex containing one modification (10:15) displayed a ca. ΔΔG° of +4 kcal/mol with respect to its canonical analogue. Interestingly, hybridization of two modified strands (13:17, containing a total of eight modifications) resulted in increased stability and a distinct secondary structure, reflected in its CD spectrum....
Equal citizenship, neutrality, and democracy: a reply to critics of Equal Recognition

The commentators in this Special Issue raise questions about a number of aspects of the book. One group of critics questions the book’s overall normative strategy, asking whether too much weight is placed on the idea of neutrality. A second group raises doubts about the account of neutrality itself. A third zeroes in on the book’s discussion of language rights. And a fourth group is critical of the book’s assumptions about democracy, and about its relevance to public policy disputes. In this reply, I seek to address each of these clusters of concerns. In some places, I suggest, my commentators have misunderstood my position. In other places, I argue, they have not sufficiently thought through the implications of their alternatives to that position.
Neutralized direct-acid-set whey as an extender for a chocolate-flavored dairy drink.

A chocolate-flavored dairy drink was prepared in which four parts of neutralized direct-acid-set whey and six parts of whole milk were combined with 1.44% chocolate flavoring, 4.5% sugar and 0.2% nonfat-dry milk. The extended chocolate-flavored drink was compared with a conventional chocolate-flavored low-fat milk made with the same formulation except skimmilk replaced neutralized whey and no nonfat-dry milk was added. Both products were heated to 80 C and mixed 2 min in an institutional Waring blender to disburse salts from neutralized whey. pasteurized at 80 C for 35 min and cooled immediately to 5 C. Sedimentation. viscosity, pH and consumer acceptability were determined. No sedimentation occurred after 7 days of storage, but after 10 days about 5.3% sediment by volume was observed in both drinks upon centrifugation. After 7 days at 4 C, the whey-extended chocolate drink had a 4% by volume watery layer that increased to 4.5% after 10 days. Maximum viscosities of 47 and 49 centipoise, respectively, were obtained after 5 days at 4 C for the extended and conventional chocolate-flavored low-fat milk. Viscosities declined to 26-27 centipoise after 10 days. Twenty-two of a consumer panel of 37 preferred the whey drink over the conventional, and seven expressed no preference, judging by a combined preference/triangle test. When data from the triangle taste test were subjected to a statistical analyses, the probability for preference was .47 for the whey drink, .30 control and .21 no preference. There was no difference in acceptability (p > 0.05).
Dynamic Optical Switching of Polymer/Plasmonic Nanoparticle Hybrids with Sparse Loading

Responsive nanomaterials composed of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and temperature-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) hydrogels offer the promise of designing smart materials that can change color in response to varying thermal or photothermal stimuli. Typical PNIPAM/AuNP hybrids are heavily loaded with AuNPs. Here, we demonstrate that hybrids with an average loading of three to five AuNPs per PNIPAM sphere exhibit peak extinction shifts of over 150 nm and color change from red to purple to gray as the temperature increases from 25 to 50 °C. We observe that the time scale for spectral shifts is offset from that for hydrophobic collapse of the PNIPAM spheres. Facilitated by the low loading density, we combine kinetic studies of the changes in the extinction spectra with finite-difference time-domain simulations to show that the location of AuNPs relative to the PNIPAM sphere at different stages of collapse is a key variable accounting for the time and temperature dependence of the experimental data.
Growth Factors and Cerebrovascular Diseases

Acute upregulation of growth factors in the brain ensues after onset of cerebrovascular disease, which may indicate a compensatory regenerative process mounted by the injured brain. The increased presence of these therapeutic molecules in the brain under pathologic conditions implicates their key role in modulating brain homeostasis that may involve affording pleiotropic properties, including neurogenic, angiogenic, anti-inflammatory, and antiapoptotic effects. During the progression of these diseases, however, downregulation of growth factors has been detected, indicating the need to replenish these therapeutic molecules as a potential treatment to halt this equally debilitating secondary cell death. We discuss here major growth factors and their beneficial activity in cerebrovascular diseases. Recent developments in emerging technologies for growth factor delivery into the central nervous system are also introduced in this chapter.
Introductory Remarks and Notations

The theory of numbers is concerned primarily with the properties of the natural numbers 1,2,3,... and, more generally, with those of the rational integers..., - 2, -1,0,1,2,3,.... Throughout this book, rational integers will be denoted by lowercase italic letters. The set of all rational integers will be denoted by Z. In general, sets of numbers will be denoted by boldface capitals.