cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
How Modeling the Adoption of Household Clean Energy Technologies can Inform Stakeholder Decisions

Increasing the adoption of household clean energy technologies is important to achieving sustainable development and to improving the environmental, economic, and social impacts of these technology interventions. While much work has been done to understand the many factors driving successful interventions, little research has been done to quantify and then model the adoption of these technologies. Current optimization models to maximize impact rely on the effective prediction of adoption, yet this piece remains the least understood component. The purpose of this paper is to outline the various ways in which being able to model the adoption of household clean energy technologies would be beneficial for designers, implementation organizations, and policymakers to aid in their design and decision-making processes. We provide a brief review of the literature and current challenges to adoption, examples of current methods and modeling tools that can be used to optimize sustainable impacts, and how these tools could be improved through adoption modeling. We discuss the benefits of being able to model adoption for various stakeholders in the clean energy sector along with proposing some methodologies that can be used to accomplish this goal.
Why We Have Federal Deficits: The Policy Decisions that Created Them

This study examines the causes of federal deficits from three vantage points. Over three-fourths of the projected long-term federal fiscal imbalance derives from policies enacted between 1965 and 1972. The long-term imbalance is driven primarily by growth in Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and the new health-insurance exchanges established as part of the 2010 Affordable Care Act. Most Medicare and Medicaid costs derive from the programs' initial enactment in 1965 during the Lyndon B. Johnson administration. They, along with Social Security, were the objects of significant benefit expansions in 1972 during the Nixon administration. Responsibility for the federal deficit in 2013 (the second vantage point) is more diffuse. The current deficit exists largely because of growth in Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid spending, in combination with recent expansions of income security programs and lower-than-typical revenue collections. A third vantage point assigns responsibility for federal deficits according to their absolute levels during elected officials' terms of office. These deficits have been substantially higher during the current presidential administration than in any other period studied. Each of these perspectives represents a legitimate way of understanding the federal budget.
A Time-Varying Communications Approach to Decentralized Fixed Modes

A simple approach to eliminating fixed modes in linear decentralized systems is presented and evaluated. The method uses complex exponential time-varying gains that are not in the form of feedback. These gains perform the same function as a modulator in a communication system. An example demonstrates these concepts and points out the need to choose the gain parameter carefully. These ideas should also prove useful in measurement and control applications on systems that are in some sense close to possessing a fixed mode. A pressure transducer example illustrates this point. This paper deals only with the case of 2×2 transfer functions and simple fixed modes.
BEC‐and call

Last year the Business Education Council issued a consultative document asking for advice from those concerned with education in distribution. Robert Marshall outlines some points he thinks worth raising—the relation between staff education and staff training; the need for adequate provision for distribution in any courses and awards set up by BEC; the desirability for simplicity in BEC courses and awards; and the need for accessibility to all employees of national awards under BEC auspices.
‘A New Language that Speaks of Change Just As It Steps Toward It’: Transnationalism, Erotic Justice and Queer Human Rights Praxis

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) movements have too often been dominated by US liberal individualist framings of lesbian and gay rights, resulting in the hegemony of US-focused issues and institutional actions, despite the irony that the US government has been relatively unsupportive of LGBT rights on the international stage. We argue that transnational, grassroots queer movements embody more profound aspirations that do not limit the meaning of queer liberation to singular identity politics or rights-restraining institutions. Specifically, we point to transnational and Third World-based queer movements that offer more complex structural analyses of sexual oppression as well as more visionary praxes of sexual rights. Drawing on lessons from two cases of queer human rights praxis from the Philippines and Mexico, we assert that a queer grassroots enactment of human rights allows for multiple subaltern constituencies to find – and to make – a place in human rights discourses; queer identity and actions create social formations that expand human rights agendas to further embody the intersectionality, interdependence and transnationality of daily life. Key to these enactments of queer human rights praxis are prefigurative politics and rooted cosmopolitanism, which catalyze new expansions of human rights to include intersectional framings and practices of erotic justice.
RNA Synthesis by Vesicular Stomatitis Virus and a Small Plaque Mutant: Effects of Cycloheximide

The synthesis of viral RNA by wild-type vesicular stomatitis virus (L 1 VSV) and a small, plaque-size mutant (S 2 VSV) was studied in vitro and in chicken embryo (CE) and mouse L-cell cultures. Virus-specific RNA synthesized in CE or L cells infected with either L 1 or S 2 VSV at low multiplicity was of the same size classes, 12 to 15 S , 28 S , and 38 S . The major differences were in the proportion of RNA produced of each size class. L 1 VSV always synthesized larger proportions of 38 S RNA, and S 2 VSV produced larger proportions of 12 to 15 S RNA. Both S 2 and L 1 VSV exhibited RNA transcriptase activity in vitro and in cell culture. The products of the in vitro reaction were the same, 12 to 15 S for both. The products of the virion-associated transcriptase in CE or L-cell cultures in the presence of cycloheximide were also the same for both viruses but differed from the in vitro products in that 28 S and 12 to 15 S RNA were made. The effects of addition of cycloheximide at various times after infection demonstrated that new protein synthesis is required early (0-2 h) for both S 2 and L 1 VSV to initiate and maintain the normal rate of viral RNA synthesis. However, the overall rate of RNA synthesis in L 1 VSV infections became independent of protein synthesis after 2 h whereas the rate in S 2 VSV infections did not. With either virus, synthesis of 38 S RNA did not occur in the absence of protein synthesis. Moreover, continuous 38 S RNA production required continuous protein synthesis. Production of 38 S RNA ceased within 30 min after addition of cycloheximide to S 2 − or L 1 VSV-infected CE or L cells that had already begun to synthesize the 38 S form. The cycloheximide-induced cessation of 38 S RNA synthesis was accompanied by a marked increase in production of 12 to 15 S and 28 S RNA in L 1 VSV-infected cells, but no increase in synthesis of small RNA species occurred in S 2 VSV-infected cells.
Production-rule complexity of recursive structures

Complex recursive structures, such as fractals, are often described by sets of production rules, also known as L-systems. According to this description, a structure is characterized by a sequence of elements, or letters, from a finite alphabet; a production rule prescribes replacement of each letter by a sequence of other letters.
Mechanism of Interference by Uric Acid in the Glucose Oxidase/Peroxidase Method for Serum Glucose

Uric acid lowers the value for glucose as determined by the "GOD-Perid" method. To localize the interference by uric acid, we investigated each step of the reaction. Bleaching of the final color is the only source of such interference.
Delineating high-density areas in spatial Poisson fields from strip-transect sampling using indicator geostatistics: Application to unexploded ordnance removal

An approach for delineating high anomaly density areas within a mixture of two or more spatial Poisson fields based on limited sample data collected along strip transects was developed. All sampled anomalies were transformed to anomaly count data and indicator kriging was used to estimate the probability of exceeding a threshold value derived from the cdf of the background homogeneous Poisson field. The threshold value was determined so that the delineation of high-density areas was optimized. Additionally, a low-pass filter was applied to the transect data to enhance such segmentation. Example calculations were completed using a controlled military model site, in which accurate delineation of clusters of unexploded ordnance (UXO) was required for site cleanup.
Yellow is the New Green: Meaningful Indicator Threshold from the Operations Perspective☆

Abstract Enterprise Application Monitoring is an essential task to support Operations. The downsides are the high effort of data collection as well as Application Architecture documentation. While hard failures are easy to identify – an application just stop working, it is a great challenge to identify reductions in service warranty fulfillment. Especially for applications with over-fulfillment of defined Service Level [Agreements] (SLA) it can be tight to identify noteworthy reductions of performance. As a result, an Operations team has the challenge to notice a constraint while the status of an application is “green” based on the SLA. From an Operations perspective it is essential to identify potential incidents as early as possible to initiate counteractions. This paper discuss based on a Case Study, how patterns can be identified to define meaningful values for the “yellow” threshold of an application in order to support Service Management and Operation. The goal is to utilize existing data to minimize the impact to the IT infrastructure. Using existing log data from applications and monitoring solutions help to achieve this goal by limiting the additional efforts to analyzing and reporting.
Distributed spectrum and power control in cognitive radio based wireless ad hoc networks

In this paper, we propose a cognitive radio-based multi-user resource allocation framework for mobile ad hoc networks using multi-carrier DS CDMA modulation over a frequency-selective fading channel. In particular, given pre-existing communications in the spectrum where the system is operating, in addition to potential narrow-band interference, a channel sensing and estimation mechanism is provided to obtain information such as subcarrier availability, noise power and channel gain. Both frequency spectrum and power are allocated to emerging new users (i.e., cognitive radio users), based on the distributed multi-user resource allocation framework, in order to satisfy the target data rate and the power constraint of each cognitive radio user, while attempting to avoid interference to the existing users as well as minimize total power consumption of the network.
High‐flux heat transfer characteristics of pure ethylene glycol in axial and swirl flow

Measurements were made of heat transfer rates and peak heat flux for atmospheric-pressure pool boiling, and of adiabatic and diabatic friction factors, nonboiling and local-boiling heat transfer rates, and burnout heat fluxes for both axial- and twisted-tape swirl-flow forced convection of pure ethylene glycol. Test sections were electrically heated copper, 347 stainless steel, and A-nickel tubes. Both axial- and swirl-flow friction factors are in good agreement with available generalized correlations. At the higher Reynolds numbers and heat fluxes axial-flow nonboiling heat transfer coefficients show a dependence of Nusselt number on NRe0.98 rather than the traditional NRe0.80. Swirl-flow nonboling heat transfer coefficients from both the glycol data and previously obtained water data are satisfactorily correlated by a single equation. Nucleate-boiling heat transfer coefficients for both ethylene glycol and water fall approximately 50% above Kutateladze's suggested average line. The atmospheric-pressure pool-boiling peak flux is 168,000 Btu/hr. sq. ft. Forced-convection burnout heat fluxes are correlated in a number of ways, including a new additive method which appears to be generally applicable to a large variety of coolants, geometries, and flow conditions.
The natural history of soy allergy

Background Soy allergy is very common, affecting approximately 0.4% of children. It is generally thought that the majority of children with soy allergy develop tolerance in early childhood; however, this has not been examined in a large cohort with soy allergy. Objective We sought to describe the natural history of soy allergy and identify predictors of oral tolerance/outgrowing soy allergy. Methods The records of patients with soy allergy seen in a tertiary referral clinic were reviewed. Data collected included soy allergy–related symptoms, history of other food allergies and atopic diseases, soy-specific IgE levels, peanut-specific IgE levels, and food challenge results. Results One hundred thirty-three patients were studied (96 male and 37 female patients). Eighty-five (64%) had asthma, 95 (71%) had allergic rhinitis, and 108 (85%) had atopic dermatitis. Eighty-eight percent had concomitant peanut allergy. The median age at the initial visit was 1 year (range, 2 months to 17.5 years); the median duration of follow-up was 5 years (range, 1-19 years). Kaplan-Meier analysis predicted resolution of soy allergy in 25% by age 4 years, 45% by age 6 years, and 69% by age 10 years. By age 6 years, 59% of children with a peak soy IgE level of less than 5 kU/L, 53% of children with a peak s-IgE level of 5 to 9.9 kU/L, 45% of children with a peak s-IgE level of 10 to 49.9 kU/L, and 18% of children with a peak s-IgE level of greater than 50 kU/L had outgrown soy allergy ( P Conclusions In this referral population approximately 50% of children with soy allergy outgrew their allergy by age 7 years. Absolute soy IgE levels were useful predictors of outgrowing soy allergy.
The influence of water on the memory effect of the amylose tris(3,5-dimethylphenyl carbamate) stationary phase.

Acid/base modifiers are sometimes used as additives in normal phase elution on columns packed with CHIRALPAK(®) AD(®). These modifiers affect enantioseparations in ways that are not yet fully understood for the lack of systematic studies. Shifts of the selectivity of certain pairs of enantiomers upon exposure of the column to these modifiers is amply documented. Furthermore, once the modifier has been removed from the mobile phase, the modified selectivity remains, which has been named the Memory Effect. After a column has been exposed to an eluent stream containing acidic/basic modifiers, this particular column no longer separates certain enantiomeric pairs with the same selectivity as a modifier naive column. This makes the transfer of developed methods from one to other CHIRALPAK AD columns difficult to predict, if the selectivity needs to be similar between the two columns. We selected four enantiomeric pairs for a systematic study of this Memory Effect. The selectivity of 4-chlorophenylalanine ethyl ester improves after a solution of ethanesulfonic acid (ESA) is percolated through the column. The selectivity of Propranolol and Troger's base increases after a solution of Diiospropylamine is percolated through the column. The selectivity of Propranolol and Troger's base enantiomers is inversely affected by percolation of the acid solution. The 4-chlorophenylalanine ethyl ester enantiomers is inversely affected by percolation of the base solution. In contrast, the selectivity of trans-stilbene oxide (TSO) is not affected by either modifier. Analytical studies of the stationary phase suggest that slow protonation/deprotonation of water molecules attached to the carbamate moiety may be responsible for the acid/base Memory Effect. To further the understanding of the effect of water on the Memory Effect, mobile phases--spiked with water (0.01-0.43%)--were used to measure changes in the Memory Effect. Finally, we showed that the influence of water on the Memory Effect can be minimized by percolating through the column a sufficiently concentrated solution of the appropriate base while using dried mobile phases.
Electron capture by heavy multicharged ions from atomic hydrogen at low velocities

Total cross sections for capture of an electron by ${\mathrm{Xe}}^{q+}(2\ensuremath{\le}q\ensuremath{\le}12)$, ${\mathrm{Ar}}^{q+}(2\ensuremath{\le}q\ensuremath{\le}9)$, and ${\mathrm{Fe}}^{q+}(q=5,6)$ colliding with atomic and molecular hydrogen have been measured for velocities between ${10}^{7}$ and ${10}^{8}$ cm/s. The cross sections vary from below 1 \ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{} ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}16}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$, with the measured values for $q\ensuremath{\ge}4$ all greater than 37 \ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{} ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}16}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$. The cross sections are independent of ionic species for a given $q$ and are generally constant with changing velocity. The cross sections increase linearly with $q$ up to $q=9$, but for the highest-charge states $q=9\ensuremath{-}12$, the data suggest that the cross sections do not continue to increase as rapidly with increasing $q$.
The physical properties of giant molecular cloud complexes in the outer Galaxy - Implications for the ratio of H2 column density to (C-12)O intensity

The physical properties of 35 giant molecular cloud complexes in the outer Galaxy were derived from the Goddard-Columbia surveys of the Galactic plane region (Dame et al., 1987). The spatial and radial velocity boundaries for the individual cloud complexes were estimated by analyzing the spatial and velocity structure of emission features in the (C-12)O surveys, and the distance to each cmplex was determined kinematically on the assumption of a flat rotation curve. The ratio of the H2 column density to the (C-12)O intensity for the outer Galaxy complexes was found to be about 6.0 x 10 to the 20th molecules/sq cm K per km/sec, which is by a factor of 2-3 greater than the value derived by other auhtors for the inner Galaxy complexes. This increase in the H2 column density/(C-12)O intensity with the distance from with the Galactic center is consistent with predictions of the optically thick cloudlet model of giant molecular cloud complexes.
The emerging roles of melanopsin in behavioral adaptation to light

The adaptation of behavior and physiology to changes in the ambient light level is of crucial importance to life. These adaptations include the light modulation of neuroendocrine function and temporal alignment of physiology and behavior to the day:night cycle by the circadian clock. These non-image-forming (NIF) responses can function independent of rod and cone photoreceptors but depend on ocular light reception, suggesting the participation of novel photoreceptors in the eye. The discovery of melanopsin in intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs) and genetic proof for its important role in major NIF responses have offered an exciting entry point to comprehend how mammals adapt to the light environment. Here, we review the recent advances in our understanding of the emerging roles of melanopsin and ipRGCs. These findings now offer new avenues to understand the role of ambient light in sleep, alertness, dependent physiologies and potential pharmacological intervention as well as lifestyle modifications to improve the quality of life.
Investigation of phase-encoded inputs to VanderLugt correlators

Extremely light efficient optical correlators can be built if both the input and filter are displayed on phase modulating devices. Problems may exist, however, since changes in the input scene intensity cause changes in the phase encoding. An analysis is presented here for the VanderLugt correlator architecture. Experimental results comparing the correlator response to phase-encoded and amplitude-encoded inputs are also presented for varying input scene intensities.
Perceived community cohesion and perceived risk of victimization: A cross-national analysis

Prior research illustrates that community characteristics may be associated with the perceived risk of victimization. In our analysis, we suggest that cognitive evaluations of the risk of victimization within one's neighborhood may be shaped by cognitive assessments of the willingness of community members to help each other. We test this link using data for 11 countries from the 1992 wave of the International Crime Survey. The data provide substantial support for the hypothesis that individuals who perceive their communities to be cohesive express lower levels of perceived risk of criminal victimization in their neighborhoods.
Use of the Customer Value/Mission (CV/M) Matrix in Strategic Nonprofit Marketing Analysis

ABSTRACT Application of traditional portfolio methods to nonprofit marketing situations is difficult, to say the least. For the most part, they require detailed market share, market strength, market growth, market attractiveness, and cost and profit accounting information that many nonprofits do not have and may not be able to acquire given the nature of products typically offered by nonprofits, e.g., services and/or social behavior programs. We suggest use of a recently proposed product portfolio model, the customer value/mission (CV/M) matrix as a method that can help nonprofits in then-product planning endeavors. The CV/M matrix better serves the needs of marketing strategists not only in for-profit organizations but in nonprofit ones as well. This is because it reflects on customer value and differential advantage in the eyes of an organization's consumers. This paper directly compares the use of an older portfolio matrix that has been suggested for use in nonprofit organizations with use of the new m...
ColPhone: a smartphone is just a piece of the puzzle

Multiple smartphone coexistence has been a fact of life. However, each smartphone is though of as a single unit. We believe that cooperation between coexisting smartphones can provide users with a cheap hardware upgrade (e.g processing). In addition to sharing of sensing information that can be collected by only one phone saving others energy of redundant tasks (e.g. GPS readings). In this work, we propose COLlaboration smartPHONE (colPhone) a framework that manages the collaboration between smarphones. ColPhone aims to achieve mutual benefit for collaborators by utilizing idle resources on smartphone in the proximity.
On the Caffarelli–Kohn–Nirenberg inequalities

Consider the following inequalities due to Caffarelli, Kohn and Nirenberg (3): Z RN jxj bp juj p dx 2=p 6Ca;b Z RN jxj 2a jruj 2 dx; where forN> 3:1 <a< N 2 2 ,a6b6a +1 ,a ndp = 2N N 2+2(b a) . We shall answer some fundamental questions concerning these inequalities such as the best embedding constants, the existence and nonexistence of extremal functions, and their qualitative properties. We also study the bound state solutions of the corresponding Euler equations and construct positive solutions having prescribed symmetry for certain parameter region. © 2000 Academie des sciences/Editions scientifiques et medicales Elsevier SAS
Baroclinic wave packets in models and observations

Abstract Coherent baroclinic wave packets are present in the Southern Hemisphere, most clearly in the summer season. These coherent packets are also found in a hierarchy of models of nonlinear baroclinic instability-a two-layer quasigeostrophic (QG) model on a β-plane, a two-level primitive equation (PE) model, and a general circulation model. The flows are chaotic, but the packet itself can remain remarkably coherent, despite the complex evolution of the flow within the packet. In both QG and PE models, the packets become more robust as the supercriticality of the flow is reduced. In both models and the observations, the packets move with a group velocity that is greater than the phase speed of the individual disturbances, so that these disturbances exhibit downstream development. The structure of the baroclinic waves in the packet as a function of longitude resembles the life cycles of sinusoidal baroclinic waves as a function of time. More than one packet can exist in the domain at the same time. In th...
Cystatin C and Measures of Physical Function in Elderly Adults The Health, Aging, and Body Composition (HABC) Study

Most studies of the relation between kidney function and physical function have been conducted in persons with advanced kidney disease and have used creatinine-based measures of kidney function. Cystatin C concentration is a measure of kidney function that is independent of muscle mass, unlike creatinine. Using baseline data on 3,043 elderly adults from the Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study (Blacks and Whites recruited from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Memphis, Tennessee, in 1997-1998), the authors examined the cross-sectional association between cystatin C level and performance on several tests of physical function. After adjustment for demographic and lifestyle variables, chronic health conditions, and inflammation, each standard-deviation (0.34 mg/liter) increase in cystatin C concentration was associated with 1.32 odds (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.20, 1.46) of not completing a 400-m walk, a 10.9-second (95% CI: 8.1, 13.8) slower 400-m walk time, a 0.11-point (95% CI: 0.09, 0.13) reduction in lower extremity performance score, a 1.12-kg (95% CI: 0.83, 1.40) lower grip strength, and a 4.7-nm (95% CI: 3.5, 5.9) lower knee extension strength. In contrast, when kidney function was measured by estimated glomerular filtration rate, the association of kidney function with physical function was only evident below 60 ml/minute/1.73 m2. In these older adults, mild decrements in kidney function, as measured by cystatin C concentration, were associated with poorer physical function.
Oxygen transport in man.

OXYGEN transport is a corporate process involving several organs, each with its own regulatory system. Individual diseases of the heart, lungs or blood may impair the functional capacity of a singl...
Upregulation of expression of the reticulocyte homology gene 4 in the Plasmodium falciparum clone Dd2 is associated with a switch in the erythrocyte invasion pathway

The Plasmodium falciparum clone, Dd2, that requires sialic acid for invasion can switch to a sialic acid independent pathway, Dd2(NM). To elucidate the molecular basis of the switch in invasion phenotype of Dd2 to Dd2(NM), we performed expression profiling of the parasites using an oligonucleotide microarray and real-time RT-PCR. We found that four genes were upregulated in Dd2(NM) by microarray analysis, only two of which could be confirmed by real time RT-PCR. One gene, PfRH4, is a member of the reticulocyte homology family and the other, PEBL, is a pseudogene of the Duffy binding-like family. The two genes are contiguous but transcribed in opposite directions. The DNA sequence of these ORFs, their 5'-intergenic region and a 1.1kb region 3' to each ORF are identical between Dd2 and Dd2(NM), suggesting that their transcription upregulation relates to transactivating factors. The transcription upregulation of PfRH4 was reflected at the protein level as PfRH4 protein expression was detected in Dd2(NM) and not in Dd2. Other sialic acid independent and dependent clones of P. falciparum showed variable transcript levels of PfRH4 and PEBL, unrelated to their dependence on sialic acid for invasion, suggesting that different P. falciparum clones use different receptors for sialic acid independent invasion. As Dd2(NM) is a selected subclone of Dd2, the marked upregulation of PfRH4 expression in Dd2(NM) suggests its role in erythrocyte invasion through the sialic acid independent pathway of Dd2(NM).
PHASE EQUILIBRIA FOR THE N-PENTANE-?beta;METOXIPROPIONITRILE SYSTEM T 37.8 AND 43.3 °C

Abstract Using the total pressure method, phase equilibria for the n-Pentane-βmetoxipropionitrile system has been measured at temperatures of 37.8 and 43.3 °C. Data has been correlated with NRTL and Modified Wilson solution models. Coefficients for both models were obtained using the Barker method and are reported for both temperatures.
Rat muscle protein turnover and redox state in progressive diabetes

Protein synthesis and degradation, and redox state were measured in soleus and extensor digitorum longus muscles of rats up to 12 days after injection of streptozotocin. Muscle growth was slower in these animals apparently due to slower protein synthesis throughout the duration of diabetes. Up to day 4 after injection of streptozotocin or withdrawal of insulin from treated, diabetic animals, the muscle ratio of lactate/pyruvate, an indicator of the cytoplasmic NAD+ redox couple, was lower and protein degradation was faster than in control muscles. Thereafter, the ratio of lactate/pyruvate was greater and protein degradation was slower than in size- or age-matched control muscles. Insulin treatment in vitro or in vivo increased lactate/pyruvate and decreased proteolysis. Therefore, in muscles of streptozotocin-diabetic rats, the initial increase and later fall in proteolysis, and the inhibition of proteolysis by insulin, may correlate with opposite changes in NADH/NAD+.
Paired Cysteine Mutagenesis to Establish the Pattern of Disulfide Bonds in the Functional Intact Secretin Receptor

The amino-terminal domain of class B G protein-coupled receptors contains six conserved cysteine residues involved in structurally and functionally critical disulfide bonds. The mapping of these bonds has been unclear, with one pattern based on biochemical and NMR structural characterizations of refolded, nonglycosylated amino-terminal fragments, and another pattern derived from functional characterizations of intact receptors having paired cysteine mutations. In the present study, we determined the disulfide bonding pattern of the prototypic class B secretin receptor by applying the same paired cysteine mutagenesis approach and confirming the predicted bonding pattern with proteolytic cleavage of intact functional receptor. As expected, systematic mutation to serine of the six conserved cysteine residues within this region of the secretin receptor singly and in pairs resulted in loss of function of most constructs. Notable exceptions were single mutations of the 4th and 6th cysteine residues and paired mutations involving the 1st and 3rd, 2nd and 5th, and 4th and 6th conserved cysteines, with secretin eliciting statistically significant cAMP responses above basal levels of activation for each of these constructs. Immunofluorescence microscopy confirmed similar levels of plasma membrane expression for each of the mutated receptors. Furthermore, cyanogen bromide cleaved a series of wild type and mutant secretin receptors, yielding patterns that agreed with our paired cysteine mutagenesis results. In conclusion, these data suggest the same pattern of disulfide bonding as that predicted previously by NMR and thus support a consistent pattern of amino-terminal disulfide bonds in class B G protein-coupled receptors.
Preparation, Molecular and Electronic Structures, and Magnetic Properties of Face-Sharing Bioctahedral Titanium(III) Compounds: [PPh(4)][Ti(2)(m-Cl)(3)Cl(4)(PR(3))(2)].

Reduction of TiCl(4) with 1 equiv of HSnBu(3) followed by addition of [PPh(4)]Cl and then PR(3) leads to two new dinuclear titanium(III) compounds, [PPh(4)][Ti(2)(m-Cl)(3)Cl(4)(PR(3))(2)] (R = Et and R(3) = Me(2)Ph), both of which contain an anion with the face-sharing bioctahedral type structure. Their crystal structures are reported. [PPh(4)][Ti(2)(m-Cl)(3)Cl(4)(PEt(3))(2)].2CH(2)Cl(2) crystallized in the triclinic space group Po. Cell dimensions: a = 12.461(1) A, b = 20.301(8) A, c = 11.507(5) A, alpha = 91.44 degrees, beta = 113.27(1) degrees, gamma = 104.27(2) degrees, and Z = 2. The distance between titanium atoms is 3.031(2) A. [PPh(4)][Ti(2)(m-Cl)(3)Cl(4)(PMe(2)Ph)(2)].CH(2)Cl(2) also crystallized in the triclinic space group Po with cell dimensitions a = 11.635(4) A, b = 19.544(3) A, c = 11.480(3) A, alpha = 100.69(2) degrees, beta = 109.70(1) degrees, gamma = 95.08(2) degrees, and Z = 2. The distance between titanium atoms in this compound is 2.942(1) A. Variable temperature magnetic susceptibilities were measured for [PPh(4)][Ti(2)(m-Cl)(3)Cl(4)(PEt(3))(2)]. Electronic structure calculations were carried out for a model ion, [Ti(2)(m-Cl)(3)Cl(4)(PH(3))(2)](-), and another well-known anion, [Ti(2)(m-Cl)(3)Cl(6)](3)(-), by employing an ab initio configuration interaction method. The results of the calculations reveal that the metal-metal interaction in these Ti(III) face-sharing compounds can be best described by strong antiferromagnetic coulping that leads to a singlet ground state and a thermally accessible triplet first excited state. Accordingly the measured magnetic data were satisfactorily fitted to a spin-only formula.
The Effect of Season and Age of Bird: 3. On the Performance of Egg White in Angel Cakes

Abstract IT HAS been shown in previous work that eggs which have lost their initial high quality do not function as well as fresh eggs. Barmore (1936) reported that when eggs are allowed to age at room temperature for a few days so that the white becomes thin, the resulting angel cakes have smaller volumes than the cakes prepared from fresh eggs. Other studies concerned with egg quality have also shown a definite relationship between interior quality and various aspects of albumen performance (Burke and Niles, 1936; Harnes et al., 1952, 1953; Pyke and Johnson, 1941). Jordon (1953) reported results which indicate that both temperature and time of holding the eggs at various temperatures were factors which influenced volume, tensile strength and flavor of the resulting angel cakes. Seasonal variation in egg white performance has been studied by several workers. King et al. (1936) tested the quality of cakes made from …
Amino acids and gaseous signaling

Gases, such as nitric oxide (NO), carbon monoxide (CO), hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and sulfur dioxide (SO2) are known toxic pollutants in the air. However, they are now recognized as important signaling molecules synthesized in animals and humans from arginine, glycine (heme), and cysteine, respectively. At physiological levels, NO, CO, and SO2 activate guanylyl cyclase to generate cGMP which elicits a variety of responses (including relaxation of vascular smooth muscle cells, hemodynamics, neurotransmission, and cell metabolism) via cGMP-dependent protein kinases. H2S is also a crucial regulator of both neurological function and endothelium-dependent relaxation through cGMP-independent mechanisms involving stimulation of membrane KATP channels and intracellular cAMP signaling. Additionally, NO, CO, and H2S confer cytoprotective and immunomodulatory effects. Moreover, NH3 is a major product of amino acid catabolism and profoundly affects the function of neurons and the vasculature through glutamine-dependent inhibition of NO synthesis. Emerging evidence shows that amino acids are not only precursors for these endogenous gases, but are also regulators of their production in a cell-specific manner. Thus, recent advances on gaseous signaling have greatly expanded our basic knowledge of amino acid biochemistry and nutrition. These exciting discoveries will aid in the design of new nutritional and pharmacological means to prevent and treat major health problems related to developmental biology and nutrient metabolism, including intrauterine growth restriction, preterm birth, aging, neurological disorders, cancer, obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
Determinants of healthcare-seeking behaviour among subjects with irritable bowel syndrome.

Summary Background Doctor visits for irritable bowel syndrome are associated with high medical costs. Predictors of medical consultation for irritable bowel syndrome remain poorly understood. Aim To determine factors associated with healthcare seeking for irritable bowel syndrome. Methods Subjects from previous US population-based survey were contacted 2 years later. Those who continued to have irritable bowel syndrome were included. Results 49% of subjects sought medical care for abdominal symptoms in the past year. Healthcare seeking did not differ significantly between males and females, but more females received an irritable bowel syndrome diagnosis. Predictors of irritable bowel syndrome healthcare seeking differed by gender. In multivariate analysis, age ≥55 years (OR = 2.8, 95% CI: 1.5–5.4), fear abdominal symptoms relates to serious illness (OR = 1.7, 95% CI: 0.95–3.1), decreased bowel movements (OR = 1.8, 95% CI: 0.98–3.2), dyspepsia (OR = 1.7, 95% CI: 0.94–3.2) and pelvic pain (OR = 2.3, 95% CI: 1.2–4.4) were associated with seeking care in females. Among males, being disabled (OR = 11.6, 95% CI: 2.4–56.1) and abdominal cramping (OR =4.3, 95% CI: 1.2–15.4) were associated with seeking care. Healthcare seekers had lower irritable bowel syndrome-related quality of life. Neither pain severity nor mental health status was associated with seeking care. Conclusion Healthcare-seeking behaviour among irritable bowel syndrome patients was determined by presence of comorbidities and extent that irritable bowel syndrome affected quality of life, not physical symptoms or mental health status.
The Effects of Highlighting and Pop-up Interruptions on Task Performance

Prior research suggests that interruptions by software components are undesirable and detrimental in many work scenarios. However, there are clear instances where interruptions can conceivably prov...
WE-SAMS-L100J-02: PET/CT Performance Evaluation Techniques and Quality Assurance

The performance evaluation of PETscanners should follow the NEMA PET NU2‐2001 standard. This standard uses a polyethylene phantom of 700mm axial length with a line source to measure scatter fraction, count losses and randoms. The measurement of sensitivity is conducted with a line source surrounded by known absorbers, and the sensitivity with no absorbers can be found by extrapolation. The intent of the image quality measurement is to mimic a whole body scan using a torso phantom containing hot and cold spheres of various diameters (representing lesions) in a warm background. An updated standard that considers the intrinsic radiation in the scintillators has been drafted and will be discussed. Quality assurance of PETscanners must be performed on a regular basis to maintain and confirm proper scanner performance. These procedures should track system stability and be sensitive to changes in scanner operation. The quality control and calibration of a PETscanner includes detector and electronic characterizations such as adjustment of PMT gain, definition of crystal and energy maps and coincidence timing calibration. These characterizations are applied to the PET data during acquisition. A PETquality control regimen includes system corrections such as normalization, calibration and, in the case of non‐PET/CT systems, blank scans. The accuracy of the coregistration of the PET and CTimages from a PET/CT scanner should also be monitored. This presentation will focus on the rationale and methodology of the NEMA NU2‐2001 performance standards. The presentation will also describe the calibrations and corrections required to maintain proper system performance. Educational Objectives: 1. Describe NEMA NU2‐2001 PET performance standards. 2. Describe the calibrations required to properly detect the location of a coincident event. 3. Describe the post acquisition corrections required to minimize image artifacts.
Effects of Steroids on Water Relations and Ion Uptake of Wheat Plants

Summary Effects of the steroids, norethindrone and mestranol, on stomatal resistance, leaf water potential, leaf osmotic potential, and uptake of potassium, calcium, and iron were determined. Leaves from 20-da.y-old winter wheat plants (Triticum aestivum L. em. Theil.), grown in nutrient solution for 30 days with the steroids, were used. Stomatal resistance increased with increasing concentration of steroids. Even though steroid-treated plants had lower water potentials and osmotic potentials, compared to controls, turdigity was maintained. The steroids stimulated rooting, but inhibited potassium uptake by roots and shoots. Calcium concentrations were high in roots grown with steroids. Treated plants were slightly chlorotic, but concentrations of iron were high in roots and shoots. The effects of the steroids on the plants were similar to those reported for animals. It is suggested that 1) stomatal closure caused by the steroids might have been due to inhibition of potassium uptake, necessary for stomatal opening, 2) high calcium concentrations in the roots might have promoted cell division whidl resulted in formation of new roots, and 3) the steroids could be used as antitranspirants.
Characteristics of Photographic Materials in the Ultraviolet

In order to develop a method of heterochromatic photographic photometry which can be used to compare line intensities at different wave lengths in the ultraviolet, the sensitivity, speed, contrast, scale, and fogging characteristics of six standard emulsions were studied in the region 4350-2144A. Light from a constant source (mercury vapor lamp or cadmium spark) was dispersed in a high aperture monochromator and the energy distribution was measured by a thermopile and d’Arsonval galvanometer. The light was diminished in intensity uniformly at all wave lengths by means of a diaphragm and screens. Density-log intensity and density-log time curves were plotted at fourteen wave lengths for each emulsion, in some cases for several times of development, and from these the values of intensity contrast and time contrast were measured. All plates showed a decreasing contrast with decreasing wave length, although some showed a minimum at 2800A, with somewhat increased contrast for a short distance at shorter wave lengths. All showed an increased speed at shorter wave lengths over that in the visible as far down as 2500A, when the speed for all except the Schumann plates decreased rapidly. Cramer contrast process plates, with extremely high contrast in the visible, showed greatly decreased contrast at shorter wave lengths, though even here the contrast was greater than that of the other plates. The reciprocity law was found to hold very closely with this plate at all wave lengths above 2500A (and possibly below), over the time and intensity range studied. Eastman Speedway plates showed fairly uniform speed and contrast down to 2500A. These two plates were found excellent for photometry, the first having high contrast and slow speed, and the second low contrast and high speed. They showed the least tendency to acquire chemical fog of any of the plates. The Schumann plates were found unsuitable for photographic photometry, having large variations in sensitivity over their surfaces. Data are also given for several oil-coated emulsions in the region 2700-2144A. Oil can be used not only to increase speed and contrast at wave lengths below 2500, but to make these factors vary less with wave length.
Stability of the Medial Olivocochlear Reflex as Measured by Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions

Purpose The purpose of this study was to assess the repeatability of a fine-resolution, distortion product otoacoustic emission (DPOAE)–based assay of the medial olivocochlear (MOC) reflex in normal-hearing adults. Method Data were collected during 36 test sessions from 4 normal-hearing adults to assess short-term stability and 5 normal-hearing adults to assess long-term stability. DPOAE level and phase measurements were recorded with and without contralateral acoustic stimulation. MOC reflex indices were computed by (a) noting contralateral acoustic stimulation-induced changes in DPOAE level (both absolute and normalized) at fine-structure peaks, (b) recording the effect as a vector difference, and (c) separating DPOAE components and considering a component-specific metric. Results Analyses indicated good repeatability of all indices of the MOC reflex in most frequency ranges. Short- and long-term repeatability were generally comparable. Indices normalized to a subject's own baseline fared best, showing ...
Ethanol suppresses phagosomal adhesion maturation, Rac activation, and subsequent actin polymerization during FcγR-mediated phagocytosis

Abstract Clinical and laboratory investigations have provided evidence that ethanol suppresses normal lung immunity. Our initial studies revealed that acute ethanol exposure results in transient suppression of phagocytosis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa by macrophages as early as 3 h after initial exposure. Focusing on mechanisms by which ethanol decreases macrophage Fcγ-receptor (FcγR) phagocytosis we targeted the study on the focal adhesion and cytoskeletal elements that are necessary for phagosome progression. Ethanol inhibited macrophage phagocytosis of IgG-coated bead recruitment of actin to the site of the phagosome, dampened the phosphorylation of vinculin, but had no effect on paxillin phosphorylation suggesting a loss in “phagosomal adhesion” maturation. Moreover, our observations revealed that FcγR-phagocytosis induced Rac activation, which was increased by only 50% in ethanol exposed cells, compared to 175% in the absence of ethanol. This work is the first to show evidence of the cellular mechanisms involved in the ethanol-induced suppression of FcγR-mediated phagocytosis.
Large melanoacanthomas: a report of five cases

Five patients with mclanoacanthonia are reported. The skin lesions consisted of a single, round plaque measuring several centimeters in diameter. Histologic findings were characterized by formation within an acanthotic epidermis, of many islands of small basaloid cells and highly dendritic melanocytes. Electron microscopic examination of one lesion revealed a disturbance of melanin transfer from the highly dendritic melanocytes to the neighboring keratinoeytes.
A unique case of adult hypophosphatemic osteomalacia.

Abstract A 36-year-old Russian man presented with neck and low back pain in September 1990. He was of normal stature, and there were no stigmata of rickets. The family history was negative for bone disease. He was found to have hypophosphatemia (2.3 mg/dl), impaired phosphate reabsorption (TmP/GFR 2.08), hyperphosphatasemia (254 IU/l), normocalcemia, normal vitamin D metabolite levels, and secondary hyperparathyroidism. Clinically, his spinal movements were quite impaired and there was moderate proximal muscle weakness. On skeletal radiographs, there was generalized osteosclerosis and multiple ligamentous calcifications. Transiliac biopsy was diagnostic for severe osteomalacia. He was treated with oral phosphate (240 mEq daily) and calcitriol (4 μg daily) with resultant very slow clinical, biochemical, and histomorphologic improvement. The patient had hypophosphatemic osteomalacia with some features of X-linked hypophosphatemia, but sporadic and of relatively late onset. The osteopenia, height loss, incapacitating weakness, and glycinuria that are characteristic of sporadic adult onset nonfamilial hypophosphatemia, with or without an associated tumor, and the low serum calcitriol levels that may be an additional characteristic of tumor-induced osteomalacia were absent. Other known causes of acquired renal tubular dysfunction were ruled out. The etiology, pathogenesis, and nosology of the disorder remain obscure, but treatment based on experience with other forms of hypophosphatemic osteomalacia was ultimately effective.