cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Extreme thermotolerance and behavioral induction of 70-kDa heat shock proteins and their encoding genes in honey bees.

Foraging honey bees frequently leave the hive to gather pollen and nectar for the colony. This period of their lives is marked by periodic extremes of body temperature, metabolic expenditure, and flight muscle activity. Following ecologically relevant episodes of hyperthermia between 33°C and 50°C, heat shock protein 70 (Hsp70) expression and hsp70/hsc70-4 activity in brains of nonflying laboratory-held bees increased by only two to three times baseline at temperatures 46–50°C. Induction was undetectable in thoracic–flight muscles. Yet, thorax hsp70 mRNA (but not hsc70-4 mRNA) levels were up to ten times higher in flight-capable hive bees and foraging bees compared to 1-day-old, flight-incapable bees, while brain hsp70/hsc70-4 mRNA levels were low and varied little among behavioral groups. These data suggest honey bee tissues, especially flight muscles, are extremely thermotolerant. Furthermore, Hsp70 expression in the thoraces of flight-capable bees is probably flight-induced by oxidative and mechanical damage to flight muscle proteins rather than temperature.
Optimizing the Location of a Production Firm

A facility needs to be located in the plane to sell goods to a set of demand points. The cost for producing an item and the actual transportation cost per unit distance are given. The planner needs to determine the best location for the facility, the price charged at the source (mill price) and the transportation rate per unit distance to be charged to customers. Demand by customers is elastic and assumed declining linearly with the total charge. For each customer two parameters are given: the demand at charge zero and the decline of demand per unit charge. The objective is to find a location for the facility in the plane, the mill price charged to customers and the unit transportation rate charged to customers such that the company’s profit is maximized. The problem is formulated and an algorithm that finds the optimal solution is designed and tested on randomly generated problems.
Systematics of the s → d and p → d electronic transition at high pressure for the elements I through La

Static and shock-wave compression measurements as well as theoretical calculations show that I, Xe, Cs, Ba, and La exhibit similar behavior at high pressure determined by the transfer of electrons from 6s- or 5p-like states to nearby 5d conduction bands. In shock-wave experiments these transitions occur thermally, while in static experiments, they occur by transfer to degenerate states. Such transitions profoundly influence the high-pressure thermodynamic properties of these materials, as will be reviewed in this paper.
High-resolution spectroscopy of the ν8 band of methylene bromide using a quantum cascade laser

Abstract A continuous wave cavity ringdown spectrometer with a Fabry-Perot quantum cascade laser has been used to collect a rotationally-resolved infrared spectrum of the ν8 vibrational band of methylene bromide in a slit nozzle expansion. In our laboratory, previous observations of the vibrational band were limited by spectral coverage to only the P and Q-branches and by the 24 MHz step-size of the laser [1] . The issue of limited spectral coverage has been resolved using a Fresnel rhomb and a wire grid polarizer to protect the laser from the destabilizing effects of back-reflection from the ringdown cavity. The frequency step-size of the spectrometer has been reduced from 24 MHz to 2 MHz. With both of these instrument enhancements, we have been able to record the R-branch of the vibrational band, and can resolve many lines that were previously blended in spectra acquired using a pinhole expansion nozzle. Significant hyperfine splitting was observed for the low-J transitions in the P and R-branches. It was possible to neglect the effects of hyperfine splitting for transitions involving J″ > 2 in the spectral assignment, and simulations using the constants obtained by fitting to Watson’s S-reduced Hamiltonian for CH279Br81Br, and the A-reduced form for CH279Br2 and CH281Br2, provide a good match to experimental spectra. A total of 297 transitions have been assigned for all three isotopologues, with a standard deviation of 0.00024 cm−1(∼7 MHz).
Characterization of electrical and thermal properties of carbon nanotube/epoxy composites

Abstract The electrical and thermal conductivity of pristine, oxidized, and fluorinated single-wall/multi-wall carbon nanotube (CNT) mixtures, dispersed in epoxy, were investigated as a function of CNT concentration. The effect of fabrication parameters, such as stirring rate and degree of epoxy pre-curing, on CNT dispersion was analyzed. The electrical conductivity increased by 10 and 6 orders of magnitude for pristine and oxidized CNT composites, respectively, relative to neat epoxy, while fluorinated CNT composites showed no increase in electrical conductivity. An increase of up to 5.5% was observed in thermal conductivity for pristine CNT composites while oxidized and fluorinated CNTs provide less enhancement in thermal conductivity. A micromechanics model, based on the composite cylinders method, was implemented to study the electrical and thermal conductivity of these composites. Effects in electrical and thermal conduction, such as electron hopping and thermal interface resistance, respectively, were incorporated into the model to accurately simulate the acquired experimental results.
Corneal Anesthetic Activity and Toxicity of Some Alkoxy Analogs of Thiocaine and Related Compounds

Data are presented on the corneal anesthetic activity and systemic toxicity of 22 local anesthetics, including cocaine, tetracaine, dibucaine, procaine and Thiocaine® and 2-alkoxy derivatives of the last two compounds.In the procaine as well as in the Thiocaine® series, 2-propoxy or higher alkoxy substitution greatly increased activity and toxicity with the increase in length of the alkoxy side chain.The thiolbenzo- ates were considerably more active and toxic than the corresponding benzoates.WIN 4510, the 2-hexyloxy analog of Thiocaine®, was found to be approximately 500 times as active as cocaine.The intravenous toxicity of this compound in mice was only 60 times greater than that of cocaine.
UV-curable polymers with chemically-bonded carbon nanotubes for MEMS applications

Current ultraviolet (UV) curable polymer techniques for MEMS fabrication pose certain challenges due to the electrical and mechanical properties of the polymer. A novel UV-curable polymer uniformly bonded with functionalized nanotubes was synthesized via a modified threestep in-situ polymerization. Purified multi-walled nanotubes, gained from the microwave chemical vapor deposition method, were functionalized by oxidation. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was used to identify the —OH and —COOH groups attached to nanotube surface. The UV curable polymer was prepared from toluene diisocyanate (TDI), functionalized nanotubes, and 2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA). The chemical bonds between —NCO groups of TDI and —OH, -COOH groups of functionalized nanotubes were confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra. This new UV-curable polymer is expected to be a costeffective solution with a variety of applications in UV coating, phase shifters for telecommunications and global positioning systems, and polymer and BioMEMS devices.
Immobilization of rhodium complexes of amine-functionalized BDPP and chiraphos on a soluble form of the strongly acidic Nafion-H cation exchange resin

Abstract The soluble form of the superacid exchange resin, Nafion®-NR-50, is used for the first time as a precursor to a solid supported asymmetric hydrogenation catalyst. Addition of the resin to solutions containing [BDPP(NMe 2 ) 4 RhNBD] + or [chiraphos(NMe 2 ) 4 RhNBD] + leads to the precipitation of a finely divided form of Nafion which contains the rhodium complexes protonated at the amine nitrogens. Rates for the hydrogenation of dehydroamino acids with the catalysts prepared here are much faster than previously obtained with the identical complexes immobilized on large Nafion beads. The rates obtained are nearly as large as those observed for the corresponding homogeneous catalysts in methanol.
Effector controlling accumulation of N-acetylglucosaminidase during development of Dictyostelium discoideum

Abstract The accumulation of N-acetylglucosaminidase, an early developmentally regulated enzyme in Dictyostelium discoideum, is dependent upon the action of a heat-stable effector molecule secreted by the cells. Stimulation of enzyme accumulation is inhibited by cycloheximide and actinomycin, suggesting that it requires concomitant RNA and protein synthesis. The effector elutes from Sephadex columns as a molecule of 300 to 1000 daltons. It is stable to treatment with a variety of proteolytic enzymes and mild acid hydrolysis but can be inactivated by prolonged acid hydrolysis.
Prevalence of left atrial appendage pseudothrombus filling defects in patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing coronary computed tomography angiography.

Abstract Background Previous reports have shown that computed tomography (CT) is a useful, noninvasive test for detecting atrial thrombi. However, blood stasis in the left atrial appendage (LAA) of patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) may be a common cause for false-positive results. Objectives We retrospectively evaluated the prevalence of filling defects that may simulate thrombus in the LAA of patients with AF during routine coronary CT angiography (CTA). Methods The LAA of 7 patients with AF was studied for the presence of filling defects and compared with 250 healthy persons. LAA volume in the patients with AF was measured at 10 different cardiac phases and compared with 30 healthy patients. Results Of the 7 patients with AF studied with CTA, 5 were positive for LAA filling defects. Follow-up imaging studies, including transesophageal echocardiogram, contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography, or delayed-CT, were negative for LAA thrombus. Of 250 patients without AF, CTA showed no evidence of LAA filling defects. Patients with AF had significantly larger LAA volumes at all cardiac phases measured compared with patients without AF (15.2 ± 6.93 mL compared with 6.85 ± 3.01 mL at atrial contraction [ P = 0.0187], 17.4 ± 7.76 mL compared with 9.46 ± 3.43 mL at ventricular systole [ P = 0.0351], and 14.5 ± 5.87 mL compared with 8.48 ± 3.10 mL at mid-diastole [ P = 0.0341]). Compared with the healthy persons, the patients with AF showed reduced percentages of change in LAA volume when the atrial contraction phase was compared with other phases: 44.0% ± 25.6% compared with 16.5% ± 12.2% compared with ventricular systole ( P = 0.0004) and 29.5% ± 23.7% compared with −1.63% ± 8.84% at mid-diastole ( P Conclusions Pseudothrombus filling defects are common in the LAA of patients with AF undergoing coronary CTA and should not be mistaken for real thrombus.
Habitat use of woodpeckers in the Big Woods of eastern Arkansas

Abstract The Big Woods of eastern Arkansas contain some of the highest densities of woodpeckers recorded within bottomland hardwood forests of the southeastern United States. A better understanding...
Neurobehavioral performance of adult and adolescent agricultural workers

There are many occupational hazards associated with working in agriculture including risk of injury and exposure to pesticides. Research examining neurobehavioral effects of pesticide exposure have focused primarily on the acute effects in adults working in agriculture. Organophosphate poisoned populations have shown a consistent pattern of deficits when compared to a non-exposed or non-poisoned population on measures of motor speed and coordination, sustained attention, and information processing speed. Fewer studies have examined the effect of long-term low-level exposure on nervous system functioning in agricultural workers. Pesticides are thought to pose a considerably higher risk to children than to adults, yet little is known about the extent or magnitude of health problems related to occupational exposure to pesticides in children and adolescents. The present study compared the neurobehavioral performance of adolescents and adults working in agriculture and examined the impact of years working in agriculture on neurobehavioral performance. One hundred seventy-five Hispanic adolescent and adults completed a neurobehavioral test battery consisting of 10 computer-based tests measuring attention, response speed, coordination and memory. Age, gender, school experience, and years working in agriculture all impacted performance on the neurobehavioral tests. Comparison of adult and adolescents did not reveal decreased neurobehavioral performance in adolescents. On several tests the adolescents performed better than adult counterparts. The adolescents and adults were engaged in comparable agricultural working environments at the time of the neurobehavioral testing. These findings suggest that, at the time of exposure to pesticides, adolescents are not more vulnerable to the effects of working in agriculture. Evidence from this study suggests that cumulative exposure to low levels of pesticides over many years of agricultural work is associated with neurological impairment as measured by the Selective Attention, Symbol-Digit, Reaction Time tests. Experience handling pesticides was also associated with deficits in neurobehavioral performance.
Passive, Transitioning Mounts for Simultaneous Shock and Vibration Isolation

A design strategy to simultaneously mitigate the effects of both shock and vibration is introduced. The proposed isolation mount is a passive, transitioning mount and consists of sliding friction elements in series connection with springs and dampers. A linear and a displacement dependent viscous damper are considered, while linear, hardening and softening springs, are considered. The isolation mount’s response is determined by numerical simulation. For a single-degree-of-freedom system, the tradeoff curve for a half-sine velocity input is determined, as is the nonlinear transmissibility for harmonic excitation. The method is found to achieve satisfactory isolation against shock events as well as persistent harmonic inputs. The suggested mount configuration was also found to have good performance against a ‘combined’ input with both resonant and transient content.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Second-order many-body perturbation study of solid hydrogen fluoride.

A linear-scaling, local-basis, electron-correlation method based on a truncated many-body expansion of energies has been applied to crystalline hydrogen fluoride in three dimensions. The energies, equilibrium atomic positions, lattice constants, and dipole moments of the two structures (polar and nonpolar) have been determined, taking account of one- and two-body Coulomb (electrostatic), exchange, and correlation interactions exactly and three-body and higher-order Coulomb interactions approximately within certain truncation radii. The longer-range two-body Coulomb interactions are also included to an infinite distance by computing the Madelung constant. The second-order Moller-Plesset perturbation method has been used in conjunction with the aug-cc-pVDZ and aug-cc-pVTZ basis sets for correlation. Counterpoise corrections of the basis-set superposition errors have also been made. Predicted relative energies show that the nonpolar arrangement is considerably more stable than the polar one, establishing the precise three-dimensional structure of this crystal and finally resolving the controversy. The computed lattice constants of the nonpolar configuration agree with the observed to within 0.3 A.
Analysis of bifurcation patterns in reaction-diffusion systems: Effect of external noise on the Brusselator model

Radical scavenging action of maleic anhydride (MA) is observed during chlorocarboxylation of polyethylene (PE) (CCPE). Reduction in the rate of chlorination is observed in the presence of MA in the CCPE process as compared to the rate of chlorination of PE (CPE) alone. Reduction in the rate of chlorination is due to the competitive nature of CCPE process and the radical scavenging action of MA. Radical scavenging action arises as a result of the formation of MA excimers of very short half life and their interactions with solvent. Other reactions responsible for scavenging action may also exist and are discussed. The kinetics of the scavenging process is studied by considering number of sites (N - 0Cl ), (N - Cl + N - MA ) occupied during CPE and CCPE processes, respectively. The temperature dependence of the apparent rate constant k SCV is investigated and reveals that activation energy and pre-exponential factor are of the order of 10.3 kcal/mol and 9.1 s -1 , respectively.
Stabilizing Excessive EGR With an Oxidation Catalyst on a Modern Diesel Engine

For diesel engines (CIDI) the excessive use of exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) can reduce in-cylinder oxides of nitrogen (NOx) generation dramatically, but engine operation can also approach zones with high instabilities, usually accompanied with high cycle-to-cycle variations and deteriorated emissions of total hydrocarbon (THC), carbon monoxide (CO), and soot. A new approach has been proposed and tested to eliminate the influences of recycled combustibles on such instabilities, by applying an oxidation catalyst in the high-pressure EGR loop of a turbocharged diesel engine. The testing was directed to identifying the thresholds of stable operation at high rates of EGR without causing cycle-to-cycle variations associated with untreated recycled combustibles. The elimination of recycled combustibles using the oxidation catalyst showed significant influences on stabilizing the cyclic variations, so that the EGR applicable limits are effectively extended. The attainability of low NOx emissions with the catalytically oxidized EGR is also evaluated.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Utility of the Multidimensional Health Profile—Psychosocial Functioning Scales (MHP-P) for Assessing Psychosocial Adjustment in Gastric Bypass Surgery Patients

This study examined the utility of the Multidimensional Health Profile—Psychosocial Functioning (MHP-P) for the preoperative assessment of gastric bypass surgery (GBS) applicants. The MHP-P, a 58-item screening inventory that assesses 4 psychosocial areas relevant to health (mental health, life stress, social resources, and coping skills), was administered to 449 morbidly obese patients who were being considered for GBS. Data were compared with the results of a much more lengthy assessment procedure involving a 273-item comprehensive biographical and medical history interview, the MMPI-2, the Basic Personality Inventory, and the Beck Depression Inventory. The 17 measures of the MHP-P showed highly significant correlations with other measures considered to be of relevance in GBS outcome, confirming the utility of the MHP-P as a cost-effective procedure for use in this clinical medical setting.
Comment on: C57BL/6 Neuromuscular Healthspan Scoring System

Frailty is a major concern in the aged population and is related to increased risk for falls, hospitalization, and mortality. For example, frailty has been reported to be a predictor of clinical outcomes following surgery and in patients with cardiovascular disease (1–3). Despite the awareness that frailty is an important clinical parameter, a quantifiable scale for frailty has been difficult to establish. A proxy for frailty assessment that has been used is a combination of weight loss, low physical strength, decreased physical activity, and self-reported exhaustion (4). This scale needs further validation, and, additionally, there is a need for improved assessment of frailty in animal models to facilitate both research into the underlying causes of frailty and potential interventions (5). Work from the University of Minnesota described in this volume of the Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences addresses this need by producing a quantifiable scale for frailty in mice based upon both physical and physiological parameters. This approach provides a potentially useful measure of frailty in animal models and can serve to help standardize frailty measurements in different experimental paradigms.
Interaction between alliance and technique in predicting patient outcome during psychodynamic psychotherapy.

Abstract The current study examined whether alliance interacted with psychodynamic interventions to predict patients' psychotherapy outcomes. A prospective study of psychodynamic psychotherapy with 68 outpatients who were treated by 23 therapists was used. The patients rated the alliance with their therapist early in treatment. Therapist use of psychodynamic techniques was reliably rated by independent clinicians for the same sessions. The therapy outcomes were measured at the end of treatment based on the patients' global symptomatology as well as estimate of improvement across a broad range of functioning. In all models, we controlled for the patients' pretherapy psychiatric severity. Analyses were conducted using multilevel modeling to account for therapist effects. Results revealed that patient rated alliance was significantly related to improvement on a measure of broad band functioning. In addition, alliance and psychodynamic interventions interacted to predict this scale of multidimensional therapy outcome. Further, results showed that several individual psychodynamic techniques interacted with alliance that were meaningfully related to this measure of broad band outcome including (1) linking current feelings or perceptions to the past; (2) focusing attention on similarities among patient's relationships repeated over time, settings, or people; and (3) identifying recurrent patterns in patient's actions, feelings, and experiences. In this sample of outpatient psychodynamic treatments, the dynamic techniques were most effective when provided in the context of strong alliances.
Posttranscriptional up-regulation of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) receptor messenger ribonucleic acid by TRH in COS-1 cells transfected with mouse pituitary TRH receptor complementary deoxyribonucleic acid.

We found previously that the level of endogenous TRH receptor (TRH-R) mRNA in pituitary (GH3) cells and the level of mouse TRH-R mRNA in GH3 cells stably transfected with mouse pituitary TRH-R cDNA are down-regulated by TRH. This down-regulation is caused by TRH stimulation of TRH-R mRNA degradation via a mechanism that appears to involve protein kinase-C. In this report we study regulation of TRH-R mRNA in monkey kidney (COS-1) cells transiently transfected with mouse pituitary TRH-R cDNA. In transfected COS-1 cells, TRH and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) caused increases in the level of TRH-R mRNA. In contrast, TRH caused only a small transient increase in the level of the mRNA for the neomycin resistance gene, which was cotransfected with TRH-R, and did not affect the level of the mRNA for glyceraldehyde phosphate dehydrogenase, an endogenous gene. The increases in TRH-R mRNA caused by TRH and PMA were inhibited to similar extents by H-7 (1-[5-isoquinolinesulfonyl]2-methyl piperazine dihydrochlo...
Oscillatory vagal maneuvers produce ventricular entrainment in patients with atrial fibrillation.

Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained dysrhythmia and appears to be an independent predictor of sudden cardiac death. The irregular ventricular rhythm contains both linear and non-linear patterns; however, it remains unclear whether vagally mediated effects are present within these patterns.
Defect formation in epitaxial oxide dielectric layers due to substrate surface relief

Defects were characterized in epitaxial (001) CeO2 films deposited and planarizedin situ on patterned (001) LaAlO3 substrates by ion beam assisted deposition (IBAD). A hill and valley structure with steps running parallel to the [100] LaAlO3 axis was produced on the surface of the substrate by photolithography and ion beam etching prior to film deposition. A conformai epitaxial CeO2 layer of ∼ 100 nm thickness was deposited on the heated substrate by e-beam evaporation. Lattice-matching between the e-beam film and the substrate was of the type: (001) CeO2∥(001) LaAlO3 and [110] CeO2∥[100] LaAlO3. Evaporative deposition of additional film onto the conformai layer was accompanied by bombardment with a 500 eV argon/oxygen ion beam to promotein situ planarization. Extreme lattice misfit for the orientation (001) CeO2∥(001)LaAlO3 and [001] CeO2∥[001] LaAlO3 caused formation of dislocations in the e-beam CeO2 film in the vicinity of individual ledges in the substrate surface. Coherence of the CeO2 film was locally lost in the step regions of the hill and valley structure. The large patterned steps, which are composed of numerous adjacent ledges in the LaAlO3 surface, caused nucleation of CeO2 with a tilt misalignment of up to ∼5‡ about the substrate [100]. Nucleation and growth of nonepitaxial CeO2 crystallites was observed along the step regions of the film during the IBAD portion of deposition. Defect formation in the e-beam ceria layer due to substrate surface relief indicates that “lattice engineering≓ of multilayer epitaxial structures may not be possible when nonplanar surfaces are created during device fabrication. The IBAD CeO2 layer was more defective than the conformai layer deposited without the impinging ion beam, even in the portions of the film where epitaxy was maintained throughout both layers.
Guidelines in clinical practice

Guidelines in clinical practice , Allen Hutchinson, Richard Baker, eds. pp 207. Radcliffe Medical Press, 1999. £18.95, paperback. ISBN1-85775-088-8. \**\*|\* Variations in practice, difficulty in keeping up with the medical literature and the slow introduction of new ideas into clinical practice are some of the factors that have led to the development of guidelines over the last decade. A veritable industry of guideline production has appeared, with many hours spent …
Analysis of reconfigurable printed antenna using characteristic modes: FDTD approach

Low cost antennas that can adjust their radiation patterns in real time are required in the presence of intentional/unintentional co-channel interference. The work described here deals with the development of novel antenna concepts where passive antenna elements are integrated with electronic or MEMS switches.
First record of the Sand Cat, Felis margarita Loche, 1858 (Mammalia: Carnivora, Felidae), from Iraq

The Sand Cat, Felis margarita Loche, 1858, is a small cat which lives in sandy desert habitats in Africa and Asia. Its distribution is patchy and disjunct, and extends from Niger and Morocco in Wes...
Models of change

Implementing change in organizations is a key nursing leadership competency. At the same time, it is a daunting responsibility. Fortunately, models of successful change illustrate useful concepts for leaders. Change concepts embedded in successful models include careful use of power, reason, reeducation, structure, behavior, and technology. This article discusses models of change. Learning from models may help nurse executives avoid perils such as change fatigue and may promote smoother movement toward safer systems of care.
Can One Size Fit All? The Imperfect Assumptions of Parallel Achievement Tests for Bilingual Students.

Abstract With the advent of George W. Bush's education policy, emphasizing the frequent large-scale assessment of children in American public schools, it has become even more important than ever before to examine the fairness of the testing process and instruments being used to make decisions about children and their schools. When the children being assessed have limited English proficiency, one of the most common means of assessing them is the use of parallel assessments: standardized achievement tests, developed in the native language of the English language learners, that emulate the content of their English-language counterparts. This article focuses on some of the faulty assumptions that are made in the development of such tests for Spanish-speaking English language learners and argues that new measures need to be taken to assure that these tests reflect the best interests of the populations to whom they are administered.
The effect of hyperconjugation upon the boiling points of alkenes

Es wird gezeigt, dass die Hyperkonjugation einen entscheidenden Einfluss auf den Siedepunkt der einfach ungesattigten aliphatischen Kohlenwasserstoffe hat. Dieser Zusammenhang wird durch vergrosserte Elektronendelokalisierung in Molekulen, die Hyperkonjugation aufweisen, theoretisch verstandlich. Ein grosseres Ausmass der Elektronendelokalisierung fuhrt zu starkerer Kohasion und dadurch zu erhohten Siedepunkten. Die neue Gesetzmassigkeit erganzt ohne Widerspruch die bekannten Huckelschen Siedepunktsregeln und erklart Beobachtungen, die aus keiner der bisher aufgestellten Regeln ableitbar waren. Es ist zu erwarten, dass analoge Zusammenhange in anderen Gruppen von organischen Verbindungen aufgewiesen werden konnen.
Helix-turn-helix, zinc-finger, and leucine-zipper motifs for eukaryotic transcriptional regulatory proteins

Abstract Four distinct structural motifs have been proposed for the DNA-binding domains of eukaryotic transcriptional regulatory proteins; the helix-turn-helix, two kinds of zinc finger, and the leucine zipper. Within each structural motif, there are often families of related proteins that racognize similar DNA sequences and are conserved throughout the eukaryotic kingdom. However, the processes of transcriptional activation and repression appear to be independent of the specific type of protein-DNA interaction.
CONVERGENCE OF A GLOBAL STOCHASTIC OPTIMIZATION ALGORITHM WITH PARTIAL STEP SIZE RESTARTING

This work develops a class of stochastic global optimization algorithms that are KieferWolfowitz (KW) type procedures with an added perturbing noise and partial step size restarting. The motivation stems from the use of KW-type procedures and Monte Carlo versions of simulated annealing algorithms in a wide range of applications. Using weak convergence approaches, our effort is directed to proving the convergence of the
Micro Characterization of Mg and Mg Alloy for Biodegradable Orthopedic Implants Application

Magnesium as a candidate metallic biomaterial for biodegradable orthopedic implants was evaluated in-vitro in terms of degradation behavior, biocompatibility and mechanical property both in macro- and micro-scale. Micro structure of pure Mg and AZ61 after degradation in both simulated body fluid (SBF) and cell culture environment were analyzed. Different from AZ61, pure Mg degraded at a higher rate and attracted large amount of salt precipitation which formed a layer covering the surface. Much less pitting degradation and salt deposition were observed on both pure Mg and AZ61 in cell culture environment compared to in SBF. After culturing for 7 days, EAhy926 cells growing on AZ61 showed significant higher proliferation rate as of cells growing on pure Mg. Higher proliferation rates indicated that cells grew better on slow-degrading AZ61 than on fast-degrading pure Mg. Cells growing on AZ61 proliferated much better and assembled together to form a consistent tissue-like micro-structure, while cells spread and reached out on the surface of pure Mg, possibly due to low cell density and lack of cellular communication. The elastic modulus and tensile yield strength of magnesium are closer to those of natural bone than other commonly used metallic biomaterials. It was shown that Mg was biodegradable, biocompatible and had appropriate mechanical strength, thus Mg and its alloys showed great potential for deployment in a new generation of biodegradable orthopedic implants.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
A comparison of computer‐assisted instruction and small‐group teaching of cardiac auscultation to medical students

Cardiac auscultation is suffering from declining interest, caused by competing diagnostic technology and inadequate training of doctors. Computer-assisted instruction (CAI) supporting graphics and digitized sound could be ideally suited for teaching and sharpening this skill. To evaluate this premise we randomized 35 third-year medical students to 3 hours of seminar teaching plus the use of audiotapes (group 1), the self-use of a MacIntosh-based CAI (group 2), or both (group 3). All students took a pre- and post-test consisting of eight pre-recorded cardiac events and were also assessed for computer anxiety. Although there were no significant differences between pre- and post-tests for each group and among groups, group 1 had a 4.5% deterioration in its diagnostic score compared to the 7.2% and 3.2% improvements of groups 2 and 3 respectively. Group 2 used the CAI significantly more than group 3. We conclude that CAI is at least as effective as seminars in teaching cardiac auscultation to third-year medical students.
Line tension between coexisting phases in monolayers and bilayers of amphiphilic molecules

Abstract Phase coexistence is frequently observed in molecular monolayers and bilayers. The free energy per unit length of phase boundaries in these quasi-two-dimensional (2D) systems is known as line tension, and is directly analogous to surface tension in three dimensions. The existence of line tension implies the possibility of 2D capillary phenomena, a fundamentally intriguing possibility. Moreover, line tension has important implications with respect to the formation and stability of nm-scale features in thin films, ranging from lithographically-prepared molecular features in devices (e.g. sensor nanoarrays or molecular electronics) to signaling domains in biological membranes (i.e. lipid rafts). It has been proposed that such nm-scale domains may have important ramifications for budding and/or fusion in bilayer membranes. Various methods have been developed to measure line tension, including observations of domain boundary fluctuations, relaxation dynamics, nucleation rates, and others. The competition between line tension and long-range forces (e.g. electrostatic repulsion or curvature elasticity) can lead to a preferred equilibrium domain size, domain shape instabilities, or even unusual domain morphologies (e.g. stripe phases) near critical points. Since liquid crystalline mesophases are ubiquitous in 2D, it is not unusual for the line tension to be anisotropic; this can lead to non-circular domains exhibiting kinks and/or chirality. Recent efforts have been aimed at controlling line tension by the addition of line-active compounds that are analogous to surfactants potentially leading to the observation of new 2D “capillary” phenomena.
Unexplained complexity of the mitochondrial genome and transcriptome in kinetoplastid flagellates

Kinetoplastids are flagellated protozoans, whose members include the pathogens Trypanosoma brucei, T. cruzi and Leishmania species, that are considered among the earliest diverging eukaryotes with a mitochondrion. This organelle has become famous because of its many unusual properties, which are unique to the order Kinetoplastida, including an extensive kinetoplast DNA network and U-insertion/deletion type RNA editing of its mitochondrial transcripts. In the last decade, considerable progress has been made in elucidating the complex machinery of RNA editing. Moreover, our understanding of the structure and replication of kinetoplast DNA has also dramatically improved. Much less however, is known, about the developmental regulation of RNA editing, its integration with other RNA maturation processes, stability of mitochondrial mRNAs, or evolution of the editing process itself. Yet the profusion of genomic data recently made available by sequencing consortia, in combination with methods of reverse genetics, hold promise in understanding the complexity of this exciting organelle, knowledge of which may enable us to fight these often medically important protozoans.
The Last Twenty-Five Years of the American Epidemiological Society: 1972–1996

The American Epidemiological Society (AES) was founded in 1927. A history of the first 45 years of the Society was written in the early 1970s by Dr. John Rodman Paul (Yale J Biol Med 1973;46:1-84). The past 25 years have seen the AES continue as a small, relatively elite organization characterized by a membership of senior leaders in the field of epidemiology. The Society has continued to hold an annual meeting at which free, informed, and uninhibited discussion is encouraged. In this paper, the author presents an account of the affairs of the AES during the past quarter century.
An efficient hybrid decoding algorithm for Reed-Solomon codes based on bit reliability

The paper presents a computationally efficient hybrid reliability-based decoding algorithm for Reed-Solomon (RS) codes. This hybrid decoding algorithm consists of two major components, a re-encoding process and a successive erasure-and-error decoding process for both bit and symbol levels. The re-encoding process is to generate a sequence of candidate codewords based on the information provided by the codeword decoded by an algebraic decoder and a set of test error patterns. Two criteria are used for testing in the decoding process to reduce the decoding computational complexity. The first criterion is devised to reduce the number of re-encoding operations by eliminating the unlikely error patterns. The second criterion is to test the optimality of a generated candidate codeword. Numerical results show that the proposed decoding algorithm can achieve either a near-optimum error performance or an asymptotically optimum error performance.
The land use history, flora, and natural communities of the Isles Of Shoals, Rye, New Hampshire and Kittery, Maine

Abstract The vascular flora, natural communities, and natural community system on the Isles of Shoals in New Hampshire and Maine are described based on a combination of historical records dating back to 1614 and a comprehensive survey conducted in 2006. A total of 430 native or naturalized vascular plant taxa from 242 genera and 71 families have been documented on these nine maritime islands. The families best represented in the flora were Asteraceae (58 taxa), Poaceae (49 taxa), and Rosaceae (35 taxa); the largest genera were Carex (9 taxa), Juncus (8 taxa), Persicaria (7 taxa), and Solidago (7 taxa). Forty-two percent of the 430 plant taxa were non-native. Proportions among life forms were 86% herbs, 12% shrubs, and 2% trees. Plant richness for extant taxa totaled 333 and varied from 53 on White Island to 246 on Appledore. Fifteen plant taxa are rare in either New Hampshire or Maine. Fourteen natural communities, two human-disturbed cover types, and one natural community system were described from the n...
SURVIVAL OF FECAL COLIFORMS IN FRESH AND STACKED BROILER LITTER

Fecal coliforms are indicator bacteria that are used for determining water quality. Poultry growers may be implicated when fecal coliforms are found in surface waters following runoff events from broiler litter-amended pastures and hayfields. This study determined the numbers of fecal coliforms in fresh and stacked broiler litter. In 1998, 10 of 20 fresh and all 19 stacked broiler litter samples from eight different Georgia counties contained less-than-detectable numbers of fecal coliforms ( 10,000,000 fecal coliforms per g of dry weight litter) were added to five different broiler litter samples, numbers of fecal coliforms declined to below detectable levels within 8 days. When water was added to two of the five stacked litter samples, survival of fecal coliforms did not increase, but survival did increase when the temperature was lowered from 28 to 18 °C. The data suggest that poultry growers should consider stacking broiler litter for a reasonable period of time (> 8 days) to eliminate fecal coliforms in runoff from landspread broiler litter.
Robust estimation of the self-similarity parameter in network traffic using wavelet transform

This article studies the problem of estimating the self-similarity parameter of network traffic traces. A robust wavelet-based procedure is proposed for this estimation task of deriving estimates that are less sensitive to some commonly encountered non-stationary traffic conditions, such as sudden level shifts and breaks. Two main ingredients of the proposed procedure are: (i) the application of a robust regression technique for estimating the parameter from the wavelet coefficients of the traces, and (ii) the proposal of an automatic level shift removal algorithm for removing sudden jumps in the traces. Simulation experiments are conducted to compare the proposed estimator with existing wavelet-based estimators. The proposed estimator is also applied to real traces obtained from the Abilene Backbone Network and a university campus network. Both results from simulated experiments and real trace applications suggest that the proposed estimator is superior.
Determination of mean inner potential of germanium using off-axis electron holography

Off-axis electron holography has been used to determine the mean inner potential of germanium using cleaved 90° wedge samples, where the wedge thickness profiles were checked by weak-beam dark-field extinction fringes. Dynamical contributions to the phase of the image were minimized by tilting to weakly diffracting conditions, as confirmed by reference to convergent-beam electron diffraction patterns. Small residual corrections were determined using multislice calculations. From a total of 18 separate measurements, it is concluded that the value of the mean inner potential is 14.3 (2) V, which agrees with recent theoretical calculations to within experimental error.
Primate Retinal Signaling Pathways: Suppressing on-Pathway Activity in Monkey With Glutamate Analogues Mimics Human CSNB1-NYX Genetic Night Blindness

Retinal on-pathway dysfunction is implicated in human complete-type congenital stationary night blindness (CSNB1), a Mendelian genetic condition that results from mutations in the NYX gene encoding...
Tax Rates and Total Tax Revenues From Local Property Taxes

This study provides a model for tax policy decision makers to maximize total tax revenue subject to typical external constraints. The model can then be used to analyze the trade-offs among property types (constituents) that are available. It verifies that due to inconsistent aggregation it is necessary to know the shape and curvature of the total tax revenue curve to solve for the optimal tax revenue condition. It is not sufficient to solve for singular optima for each type of property and then assume that an overall optima will occur by aggregating the individual optima. The pseudoconcave properties of the individual tax entities do not necessarily aggregate into a pseudoconcave multiple function form, due to inconsistent aggregation, even under the simplified Cobb-Douglas function assumed in this study.
The Pertussis Problem

Pertussis is resurgent, and many cases are occurring in vaccinated children and adolescents. In countries using acellular vaccines, waning immunity is at least part of the problem. This article discusses possible improvements in those vaccines.
Generalized graphlet kernels for probabilistic inference in sparse graphs

Graph kernels for learning and inference on sparse graphs have been widely studied. However, the problem of designing robust kernel functions that can e!ectively compare graph neighborhoods in the presence of noisy and complex data remains less explored. Here we propose a novel graph-based kernel method referred to as an edit distance graphlet kernel. The method was designed to add flexibility in capturing similarities between local graph neighborhoods as a means of probabilistically annotating vertices in sparse and labeled graphs. We report experiments on nine real-life data sets from molecular biology and social sciences and provide evidence that the new kernels perform favorably compared to established approaches. However, when both performance accuracy and run time are considered, we suggest that edit distance kernels are best suited for inference on graphs derived from protein structures. Finally, we demonstrate that the new approach facilitates simple and principled ways of integrating domain knowledge into classification and point out that our methodology extends beyond classification; e.g. to applications such as kernel-based clustering of graphs or approximate motif finding. Availability: www.sourceforge.net/projects/graphletkernels/
The Case for Case Management

Implementing appropriate treatment of patients with dual diagnosis is one of the most vexing conundrums in contemporary psychiatry. Surprisingly, however, there have been few reports of the use of case management in treating this patient group, despite its apparent face-value applicability to this difficult clinical population. The authors report their experience in applying case management to a group of “depressed” and/or “negative-symptom” schizophrenic patients with substance abuse problems. They found most problematic areas were confidentiality, treatment compliance, and the necessity and timing of abstinence. Discussion of these issues is illustrated with case reports.
Realizing all reduced syzygy sequences in the planar three-body problem

The configuration space of the planar three-body problem, reduced by rotations and with collisions excluded, has a rich topology which supports a large set of free homotopy classes. These classes have a simple description in terms of syzygy (or eclipse) sequences. Each homotopy class corresponds to a unique 'reduced' syzygy sequence. We prove that each reduced syzygy sequence is realized by a periodic solution of the rotation-reduced Newtonian planar three-body problem. The realizing solutions have small, nonzero angular momentum, repeatedly come very close to triple collision, and have lots of 'stutters'—repeated syzygies of the same type, which cancel out up to homotopy. The heart of the proof stems from the work by one of us on symbolic dynamics arising out of the central configurations after the triple collision is blown up using McGehee's method. We end with a list of open problems.
THE KINETICS OF PENETRATION : XI. ENTRANCE OF POTASSIUM INTO NITELLA.

The rate of entrance of potassium into Nitella flexilis has been investigated, and it has been shown that (a) at the concentrations studied the rate is independent of the external pH between 6 and 8 but it is possible that at lower concentrations a dependence may be found; (b) that it does not vary much with the external potassium concentration between 0.01 and 0.001 M, but appears to vary more with the potassium concentration below this limit. It has also been shown that the rate is independent of the illumination, in contrast with the penetration of halides into Nitella clavata studied by Hoagland. It has been found that potassium leaves the cells in distilled water, and since this does not seem to be the result of injury, there is apparently a concentration between 0 and 0.0001 M at which potassium neither enters nor leaves the cell. In Valonia increase of external potassium increases the rate of entrance as shown in the increase in moles of potassium in the sap. In Nitella this is true below an external concentration of 0.001 M. In Valonia this increase is paralleled by the increase in entrance of water so that little or no change in concentration occurs, but in Nitella no growth occurred during the experiment and in consequence the concentration of potassium in the sap increased. It has been shown that the potassium content of the raw gelatinous sap is no greater than that of its ultrafiltrate, so that it is not possible to assume that any of the potassium is bound up in the cell in colloidal compounds. It has been pointed out that all the gradients between the sap and the external solution are unfavorable to the entrance of potassium except the potassium bicarbonate gradient. However, on other grounds entrance as potassium bicarbonate is not considered to be very probable. Various modes of entrance are discussed and it has been concluded that the subject must be investigated further before a definite answer can be given.
Development of a Multi Modeller

This paper describes a Multi Modeller which represents a new approach to three dimensional modelling technique. This modeller has several useful features. The first is an automatic mutual conversion among three model types. The second is a reconstructive operation for managing the design process history. These features are described in detail.