cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Selective Iron-Catalyzed Deaminative Hydrogenation of Amides

The five-coordinate iron(II) hydride complex (iPrPNP)Fe(H)CO (iPrPNP = N[CH2CH2(PiPr2)]2) was found to selectively catalyze deaminative hydrogenation of amides to the corresponding amines and primary alcohols. It is one of the most active amide hydrogenation catalysts reported to date, with turnover numbers (TONs) in excess of 1000 observed for multiple substrates and TONs greater than 4000 obtained for activated formanilides. The amide C–N cleavage reactions occur with a preference for electron-withdrawing substituents and with greater activity for formamides compared with acetamides and benzamides. Stoichiometric reactions between (iPrPNP)Fe(H)CO and formanilide afforded the new iron(II) complex (iPrPNHP)Fe(H)CO(N(Ph)HCO) resulting from N–H addition across the Fe–N bond. Complexes of this type were identified as the resting state during catalytic hydrogenation reactions containing secondary amides. Addition of a Lewis acid cocatalyst provided further enhancement of the productivity of catalytic amide hy...
Factors Affecting Election of a Computer Course in High School

AbstractThe purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between affective and cognitive mathematics-related variables and computer course participation. The study was longitudinal in design and involved 415 students at grade 8 and again at grade 12. The study found evidence that the sex of the student affected the relationship between computer course participation and each of mathematics achievement and mathematics course participation. Male participation in computer courses differed significantly from the observed frequencies for quarters of mathematics achievement distribution and for levels of mathematics course participation. Female participation in computer courses did not differ significantly from the observed frequencies and, thus, represented a proportionate selection of females from each quarter of mathematics achievement or from each level of mathematics course work completed. The study also showed that certain student attitudes toward mathematics, student career interests, and pare...
Speed of kill of a new spot-on formulation of selamectin plus sarolaner for cats against induced infestations with Ixodes ricinus.

Abstract The speed of kill of a new spot-on formulation containing selamectin plus sarolaner (Stronghold ® Plus, Zoetis) for cats was evaluated against Ixodes ricinus ticks in a placebo-controlled, blinded study. Sixteen (16) cats were blocked by pre-treatment tick counts and randomly allocated to the placebo-treated group or the selamectin/sarolaner-treated group. Cats either received a single topical treatment at the minimum dose of 6.0 mg selamectin and 1.0 mg sarolaner per kg bodyweight or a placebo formulation on Day 0. On Days -2, 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35, cats were infested with approximately 50 unfed, viable and adult I. ricinus ticks. Tick counts were performed in situ 8 and 12 h after treatment or re-infestation. Ticks were removed from the cats and counted at the 24 h tick count. Acaricidal efficacy at each time point was calculated based on the reduction of mean live tick counts in the selamectin/sarolaner-treated group versus the placebo-treated group. There were no treatment-related adverse reactions during the study. Placebo-treated cats maintained infestations with mean tick counts ranging from 10.3 to 21.9 throughout the study. The new spot-on formulation of selamectin plus sarolaner demonstrated 99.3% efficacy ( P 97.9% for at least 3 weeks and was 89.0% after the re-infestation on Day 28. Mean live tick counts were significantly reduced by 12 h after re-infestation for at least 28 days ( P
Opening up the N2O-producing fungal community in an agricultural soil with a cytochrome p450nor-based primer tool

Abstract Fungi play an important role in soil N2O emissions; yet little is known on the community ecology of N2O-producing fungi in soil. We explored denitrifying fungi using a cytochrome p450nor-based primer tool. Clone library and sequencing analysis revealed that soil harbored diverse denitrifying fungi in Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. Ascomycotal fungi were widely distributed across orders, Eurotiales, Hypocreales, and Sordariales. Denitrifying fungi were also expanded to include Cylindrocarpon, Neurospora, Thielavia, and Trichosporon that were undetected in our previous culture-based work. These results indicate that the p450nor-based primer tool can provide a more comprehensive characterization of denitrifying fungal community in soil environment.
Comparisons of vaginal flora patterns among sexual behaviour groups of women: implications for the pathogenesis of bacterial vaginosis.

Background Bacterial vaginosis (BV) is the most common cause of vaginal discharge. The objective was to compare the prevalence of BV by Nugent score among African-American women who have sex with women (WSW) and women who have sex with women and men (WSWM) compared with an age-matched group of women who have sex with men (WSM). Secondary objectives were to correlate low versus high Nugent scores with vaginal symptoms among women with BV and to correlate BV diagnosis with sexual practices. Methods: A secondary analysis of clinical and laboratory data from African-American WSW (n = 73) and WSWM (n = 68) participating in the Women’s Sexual Health Project (August 2011–October 2013) and a 3 : 1 age-matched group of African-American WSM participating in the Longitudinal Study of Vaginal Flora (August 1999–February 2002) at a sexually transmissible infection clinic (n = 423) was performed. Results:Compared with WSM, WSW and WSWM were significantly more likely to have BV based on the Nugent score (OR 2.63; 95% CI 1.55–4.48; P < 0.01 and OR 3.67; 95% CI 2.17–6.21; P < 0.01 respectively). WSW and WSWM with BV were not significantly more likely to have higher Nugent scores than WSM with BV. Among women with BV reporting symptoms, there was no significant difference in the proportion of women with low-positive versus high-positive Nugent scores. Women who participated in receptive vaginal sex (penile or digital) within the 30 days preceding study enrolment were significantly more likely to have BV (OR 2.50; 95% CI 1.57–3.63; P < 0.01). Conclusions: WSW and WSWM were significantly more likely to have BV than WSM. Further analysis of sexual practices among sexual behaviour groups of women is needed to determine their potential impact on BV rates.
Phase 1b study of pasireotide, everolimus, and selective internal radioembolization therapy for unresectable neuroendocrine tumors with hepatic metastases.

Background Neuroendocrine tumors (NETs) metastasize to the liver. Everolimus and selective internal radioembolization (SIRT) are approved treatments. Pasireotide is a somatostatin analogue with an affinity for somatostatin receptors 1, 2, 3, and 5. Everolimus and pasireotide may potentiate SIRT radiosensitization and inhibit rebound angiogenesis. This study evaluated the safety of pasireotide, everolimus, and SIRT. Methods This 3 + 3 phase 1 trial evaluated 3 dose levels of everolimus (2.5, 5, and 10 mg/day), pasireotide (600 μg twice daily), and SIRT (SIR-Spheres dose on days 9 and 37). Eligibility criteria included well or moderately differentiated NETs, bilobar liver metastases, and progression on long-acting octreotide. Toxicities and responses were evaluated with the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events and the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (version 1.1). Dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) were defined in the first 28 days. Correlative markers-angiopoietin 1, angiopoietin 2, basic fibroblast growth factor, collagen V, insulin-like growth factor binding protein 1, insulin-like growth factor binding protein 1, interleukin 8, M30, M65, placenta growth factor, and vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2-were assessed. The Norfolk Quality of Life-Neuroendocrine Tumor Questionnaire was used to assess the quality of life (QOL). Results Thirteen patients were enrolled; 1 was not evaluable for the primary endpoint. Eleven patients had well-differentiated tumors. The primary sites included small bowel (4), pancreas (3), lung (2), colon (1), gastric (1), and unknown primary (2) were unknown. Four had liver-only disease; 12 completed the planned treatment. No DLTs were observed. There was no treatment-related mortality. The most common toxicity was hyperglycemia. Clinically significant liver toxicity was not observed. One patient had liver progression. QOL improved on treatment. The median progression-free survival and overall survival were 18.6 and 46.3 months, respectively. Conclusions The recommended phase 2 dose of everolimus is 10 mg daily in combination with pasireotide and SIRT. The regimen is well tolerated. Preliminary activity appears promising. Cancer 2018;124:1992-2000. © 2018 American Cancer Society.
Overview of Breast Cancer Screening and Diagnosis

Screening mammography saves lives. The mainstay of screening has been mammography. Multiple alternative options, however, for supplemental imaging are now available. Some are just improved anatomic delineation whereas others include physiology added to anatomy. A third group (molecular imaging) is purely physiologic. This article describes and compares the available options and for which patient populations they should be used.
Pathologic predictors of recurrence in stage 1 (TINOMO) breast cancer

A group of 122 consecutively treated pathologic Stage 1 (TINOMO) patients with cancer of the breast were studied to define histopathologic predictors of recurrence. Lymphatic invasion was the most significant predictor of recurrence; recurrence was present in 32% (8/25) of patients who had lymphatic invasion and in 10.3% (10/97) of patients who did not (P = 0.006). Histologic type was also predictive of recurrent disease. Eighteen per cent (18/101) of patients with invasive ductal or lobular carcinoma developed recurrent disease, while none of the group of 21 patients with medullary carcinoma, tubular carcinoma, colloid carcinoma, Paget's disease, and intraductal carcinoma with minimal invasion suffered a recurrence (P = 0.036). Vascular invasion, grade of malignancy, cellularity, presence or absence of circumscription, cellular infiltrate, fibroblastic response, neural invasion, and necrosis were not significant predictors of recurrence. Multiple logistic regression analysis of patients with invasive ductal or lobular carcinoma confirmed the results for individual factors, that only patients with lymphatic invasion were at higher risk of recurrence.
Turning Your Educational Work Into Scholarship

This educational download will help readers turn their work into scholarship with 5 straight forward tips. When doing educational work-ask questions. Be sure to have a strong educational foundation for teaching, assessment, and evaluation. Work in teams. Use colleagues to help promote educational work. And finally, manage the work flow to ensure completion.
Commentary: Straight from the Horse’s Mouth: Justification and Prevention Strategies Provided by Free-Riders on Global Virtual Teams

There is strong evidence in the management literature that that diverse work teams produce better results than homogenous teams and, over the past several decades, businesses and other organizations have sought to implement policies to mandate or encourage diversity in a wide range of work teams, both temporary and permanent, from government bodies to board rooms to ad hoc project teams. There are many aspects to diversity: diversity in gender, age, work experiences, and cultural backgrounds are commonly cited, but diversity in political beliefs, sexual orientation, and personality characteristics can also assist in providing varied perspectives to discussions and decision-making. Yet diversity is a two-edged sword: as the team’s size and diversity increases, it becomes more difficult to manage. The difficulty is exacerbated in teams that are geographically dispersed across country borders and time zones and are expected to coordinate their activities with the help of modern communication technology, from e-mail to group texting to video conference calls, to the use of collaborative software such as Microsoft Teams.
Automated Detection of Colorspace Via Convolutional Neural Network

Prior to the advent of ITU-R Recommendation BT.709 the overwhelming majority of compressed digital video and imagery used the colorspace conversion matrix specified in ITU-R Recommendation BT.601. The introduction of high-definition video formats led to the adoption of Rec. BT.709 for use in colorspace conversion by new systems, and this resulted in confusion in the industry. Specifically, video decoders may not be able to determine the correct matrix to use for converting from the luma/chroma representation used for coding, to the Red-Green-Blue representation needed for display. This confusion has led to a situation where some viewers of decompressed video streams experience subtle, but noticeable, errors in coloration. We have successfully developed and trained a deep convolutional neural network to address this heretofore unsolved problem. We obtained outstanding accuracy on ImageNet data, and on YouTube video frames, and our work can be expected to lead to more accurate color rendering delivered to users of digital imaging and video systems.
Masculinity, Materiality, and the Body of Moses

The body of the prophet Moses is a site of persistent difficulty. To be sure, at birth, Moses’ body is singled out and described as “good”; at death, his eyesight and vigor alike remain undiminished. But between these two moments, the text is filled with references to Moses’ bodily problems, including a “heavy tongue and impure lips” that threaten his prophetic mission and a glowing face that terrifies the Israelite people. Moses’ body is likewise thematized in the battle against Amalek, the prophet’s affliction with “scale disease” or leprosy, and above all the famous “bridegroom of blood” incident (Exod. 4:24–26). Taken together, these incidents offer a pattern of bodily difficulty and material alterity. Moses’ experience of corporeality exposes the demands that prophecy places upon the body. In particular, prophecy displaces hegemonic masculinity and normative practices of male embodiment. Moses represents an alternate “Mosaic masculinity,” organized around an open, fluid, and vulnerable male body.
Vanishing Footprints: The Twenty-second Iowa Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War

Review of: "Vanishing Footprints: The Twenty-Second Iowa Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War," by Samuel D. Pryce, edited by Jeffry C. Burden.
Potent Cytolytic Activity and Specific IL15 Delivery in a 2nd Generation Trispecific Killer Engager

Natural killer (NK) cells are potent immune modulators that can quickly lyse tumor cells and elicit inflammatory responses. These characteristics make them ideal candidates for immunotherapy. However, unlike T cells, NK cells do not possess clonotypic receptors capable of specific antigen recognition and cannot expand via activating receptor signals alone. To enable NK cells with these capabilities, we created and have previously described a tri-specific killer engager (TriKE) platform capable of inducing antigen specificity and cytokine-mediated NK-cell expansion. TriKE molecules have three arms: (i) a single-chain variable fragment (scFv) against the activating receptor CD16 on NK cells to trigger NK-cell activation, (ii) an scFv against a tumor-associated antigen (CD33 here) to induce specific tumor target recognition, and (iii) an IL15 moiety to trigger NK-cell expansion and priming. Here, we demonstrate that by modifying the anti-CD16 scFv with a humanized single-domain antibody against CD16, we improved TriKE functionality. A CD33-targeting second-generation TriKE induced stronger and more specific NK-cell proliferation without T-cell stimulation, enhanced in vitro NK-cell activation and killing of CD33-expressing targets, and improved tumor control in preclinical mouse models. Given these improved functional characteristics, we propose rapid translation of second-generation TriKEs into the clinic.
Breaking Down Barriers to Physical Activity in Patients with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

Lifestyle changes, including physical activity, are the cornerstones of the treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). For unclear reasons, most NAFLD patients do not achieve the recommended amount of weekly activity. Our aim was to measure perceived barriers to physical activity and enablers to exercise intervention. Consecutive subjects aged 18–70 with NAFLD were prospectively enrolled. An exercise motivation questionnaire was administered to assess current behaviors and perceived barriers. Eighty-seven subjects (60% female) were enrolled with mean age 52 years and mean body mass index (BMI) 34.5 kg/m2. Metabolic comorbidities were common: 49% had hyperlipidemia, 42% hypertension, and 40% diabetes. The majority (75%) did not achieve ≥ 150 min/week of physical activity. Ninety-one percent agreed that activity was important in improving NAFLD; 88% desired to be more active. Lack of exercise resources and education from treating provider (47%), physical discomfort during exercise (44%), and time constraints (32%) were the most common barriers. Rates of fitness tracker (34%), gym (33%), exercise program (33%), and personal trainer (17%) use were low. While nearly all subjects with NAFLD identify physical activity to be important and desire to be more active, only a few meet activity recommendations. This discordance is due to a perceived lack of resources and education, physical discomfort, and time constraints. Better understanding of these barriers and behaviors are important to improve morbidity and mortality in NAFLD. Future behavioral research removing the identified barriers is of great importance to global public health and should be prioritized.
Utilizing electronic health data and machine learning for the prediction of 30-day unplanned readmission or all-cause mortality in heart failure

Background Existing risk assessment tools for heart failure (HF) outcomes use structured databases with static, single-timepoint clinical data and have limited accuracy. Objective The purpose of this study was to develop a comprehensive approach for accurate prediction of 30-day unplanned readmission and all-cause mortality (ACM) that integrates clinical and physiological data available in the electronic health record system. Methods Three predictive models for 30-day unplanned readmissions or ACM were created using an extreme gradient boosting approach: (1) index admission model; (2) index discharge model; and (3) feature-aggregated model. Performance was assessed by the area under the curve (AUC) metric and compared with that of the HOSPITAL score, a widely used predictive model for hospital readmission. Results A total of 3774 patients with a primary billing diagnosis of HF were included (614 experienced the primary outcome), with 796 variables used in the admission and discharge models, and 2032 in the feature-aggregated model. The index admission model had AUC = 0.723, the index discharge model had AUC = 0.754, and the feature-aggregated model had AUC = 0.756 for prediction of 30-day unplanned readmission or ACM. For comparison, the HOSPITAL score had AUC = 0.666 (admission model: P = .093; discharge model: P = .022; feature aggregated: P = .012). Conclusion These models predict risk of HF hospitalizations and ACM in patients admitted with HF and emphasize the importance of incorporating large numbers of variables in machine learning models to identify predictors for future investigation.
(Hi)Story in the Margins: Jose Rizal’s Footnotes to Antonio Morga's Chronicle

A milestone in the Philippines has been the facsimile of Morga’s chronicle Sucesos de las Islas Filipinas annotated by Jose Rizal in 1890. Scholars have analyzed how Rizal’s use of footnotes told a counterhistory of the Spanish conquest. His project is semantic in nature and sought to destabilize, at least momentarily, the key concepts of the Hispanic theological-political monarchy. However, I argue that his criticism not only focused on the lexicon but went further, Rizal’s use of footnotes sought to disrupt Western academic structures by appropriating them. His innovation was to do so with a colonial text in the 19th century Philippines. The footnotes of Rizal add the Filipino version, that is, two different versions engaged in visual rivalry on the same page. This paper analyzes the Rizal edition based on the materiality of the text, namely the how it operates in the format and its medium. The body of text is marginalized, whereas the story at the margins becomes visually relevant. This effort represents an epistemological rupture of the unit of the metropolitan narrative with the conversion of the Filipino from an object of study to a subject that gain agency.
The Future Nephrology Workforce: There Will Be One.

In 2011, the introduction of the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) Workforce Committee was heralded by a Public Policy Series article titled, “The Future Nephrology Workforce: Will There Be One?” ([1][1]). The title was intended to evoke concern over a precipitous drop in nephrology
Constant curvature modeling of abstract shape representation

How abstract shape is perceived and represented poses crucial unsolved problems in human perception and cognition. Recent findings suggest that the visual system may encode contours as sets of connected constant curvature segments. Here we describe a model for how the visual system might recode a set of boundary points into a constant curvature representation. The model includes two free parameters that relate to the degree to which the visual system encodes shapes with high fidelity vs. the importance of simplicity in shape representations. We conducted two experiments to estimate these parameters empirically. Experiment 1 tested the limits of observers' ability to discriminate a contour made up of two constant curvature segments from one made up of a single constant curvature segment. Experiment 2 tested observers' ability to discriminate contours generated from cubic splines (which, mathematically, have no constant curvature segments) from constant curvature approximations of the contours, generated at various levels of precision. Results indicated a clear transition point at which discrimination becomes possible. The results were used to fix the two parameters in our model. In Experiment 3, we tested whether outputs from our parameterized model were predictive of perceptual performance in a shape recognition task. We generated shape pairs that had matched physical similarity but differed in representational similarity (i.e., the number of segments needed to describe the shapes) as assessed by our model. We found that pairs of shapes that were more representationally dissimilar were also easier to discriminate in a forced choice, same/different task. The results of these studies provide evidence for constant curvature shape representation in human visual perception and provide a testable model for how abstract shape descriptions might be encoded.
CrowdMap: Spatiotemporal Visualization of Anonymous Occupancy Data for Pandemic Response

CrowdMap is an anonymous occupancy monitoring system developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. CrowdMap collects, cleans, and visualizes occupancy data derived from connection logs generated by large arrays of Wi-Fi access points. Thus, CrowdMap is a passive digital tracking tool that can be used to reopen buildings safely, as it helps actively manage occupancy limits and identify utilization trends at scale. Occupancy monitoring is possible at various levels of resolution over large spatial (e.g., from individual rooms to entire buildings) and temporal (e.g., from hours to months) extents. The CrowdMap web-based front-end implements powerful spatiotemporal querying and visualization tools to quickly and effectively explore occupancy patterns throughout large campuses. We will demonstrate CrowdMap and its spatiotemporal GUI that was deployed for an entire university campus with data continuously being collected since summer 2020.
On convexity of H-infinity Riccati solutions and its applications

The celebrated two-Riccati-equation solution to a standard H-infinity control problem can be used to characterize all possible stabilizing optimal or suboptimal H-infinity controllers if the optimal H-infinity norm or gamma, an upper bound of a suboptimal H-infinity norm, is given. In this note, some properties of these H-infinity Riccati solutions are revealed. Among them, the most prominent one is that the spectral radius of the product of these two Riccati solutions is a continuous, nonincreasing, convex function of gamma on the domain of interest. Based on these properties, a quadratically convergent algorithm is developed to compute the optimal H-infinity norm.
CHAPTER 17 – RELEVANCE OF PRECLINICAL PHARMACOLOGY AND TOXICOLOGY TO PHASE I TRIAL EXTRAPOLATION TECHNIQUES: RELEVANCE OF ANIMAL TOXICOLOGY

The chapter reviews the studies of a wide variety of anticancer drugs investigated by the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) to prove the relevance of preclinical pharmacology and toxicology to Phase I trial extrapolation techniques. The development of drugs for the treatment of patients with cancer is perhaps more difficult than that of drugs for other non-life-threatening indications as cancer drugs tend to be the most toxic agents intentionally administered to man. This is further complicated by the fact that the typical patient in a Phase I trial is not a healthy human volunteer but a very ill, terminal cancer patient for whom all other therapeutic interventions have failed. Thus, the starting dose (SD) that is selected for the first human trial of cancer drugs must not only be safe but also offer some hope of benefit to the patient. However, it can also be extremely difficult to select a high enough dose so that the number of dose escalations is kept to a minimum to achieve either a maximum tolerated dose (MTD) or a biologically effective dose in humans. The results of the NCI studies that used agent directed techniques for the pharmacologic and toxicologic evaluation of antitumor agents in preclinical animal models are impressive in their prediction of human MTDs.
Pharaoh: A Beam Search Decoder for Phrase-Based Statistical Machine Translation Models

We describe Pharaoh, a freely available decoder for phrase-based statistical machine translation models. The decoder is the implement at ion of an efficient dynamic programming search algorithm with lattice generation and XML markup for external components.
Metal-mountable microstrip RFID tag antenna for high impedance microchip

This paper presents a metal-mountable RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag antenna, which operates at the 902–928 MHz UHF band. The antenna has a simple, low-profile (1.8 mm thick) structure. It consists of two microstrip patches, which are positioned near each other by a narrow gap and driven by a high impedance microchip. We show simulation and measurement results including impedance, read range, and radiation pattern measurements. Impedance measurements are carried out by using a differential s-parameter method. Acceptable read range is approx. 10 m in free space and 4 m on metal.
Comparative effects of Nω-nitro-L-arginineand Nω-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester on vasodilator responses to acetylcholine, bradykinin, and substance P

Abstract N ω - Nitro- L -arginine methyl ester has been reported to have muscarinic receptor blocking activity whereas the nonesterified analog does not bind to muscarinic receptors. The present study was, therefore, undertaken to compare the inhibitory effects of N ω - nitro- L -arginine methyl ester with those of N ω - nitro- L -arginine on baseline tone and on vasodilator responses to acetylcholine, bradykinin, and substance P in the mesenteric vascular bed of the cat under constant flow conditions. Administration of N ω - nitro- L -arginine methyl ester and N ω - nitro- L -arginine in doses of 100 mg/kg i.v. increased baseline tone in the mesenteric vascular bed and inhibited mesenteric vasodilator responses to acetylcholine, bradykinin, and substance P. The increase in mesenteric arterial perfusion pressure and the decrease in vasodilator responses to the three endothelium-dependent vasodilator agents following administration of N ω - nitro- L -arginine methyl ester and N ω - nitro- L -arginine did not differ significantly. The nitric oxide synthase inhibitors did not attenuate vasodilator responses to agents that induce vasodilation by nonendothelium-dependent mechanisms and enhanced responses to the nitrovasodilators. Atropine blocked vasodilator responses to acetylcholine but did not alter responses to bradykinin or substance P. The similarity inthe inhibitory effects of N ω - nitro- L -arginine methyl ester and N ω - nitro- L -arginine on responses to acetylcholine, bradykinin, and substance P suggest that the L -arginine analog, N ω - nitro- L -arginine , as well as the methyl ester of N ω - nitro- L -arginine , are useful probes for studying endothelium-dependent vasodilator responses in the mesenteric vascular bed of the cat.
Brood Reduction in Black-Legged Kittiwakes

ln 1978 and 1979 we studied brood reduction in Black-legged Kittiwakes (Rissa tridactyla) on St. Paul Island, Alaska. In two-egg clutches, first-Laid eggs were larg.est; they were incubated before second eggs were laid and consequently hatched first. Chicks from first- laid eggs begged more frequently, fed more frequently, gre':". faster, an~ w:re more aggressive than their sibs. These sibling differences frequently faalitated the e1echon of younger siblings from the nest by first-hatched young. Lower feeding_ and growth rates and higher aggression levels occurred in broods in which the second chicks subseque~tly
Application of wavelet denoising to improve OFDM-based signal detection and classification

The developmental emphasis on improving wireless access security through various OSI PHY layer mechanisms continues. This work investigates the exploitation of RF waveform features that are inherently unique to specific devices and that may be used for reliable device classification (manufacturer, model, or serial number). Emission classification is addressed here through detection, location, extraction, and exploitation of RF [fingerprints] to provide device-specific identification. The most critical step in this process is burst detection which occurs prior to fingerprint extraction and classification. Previous variance trajectory (VT) work provided sensitivity analysis for burst detection capability and highlighted the need for more robust processing at lower signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). The work presented here introduces a dual-tree complex wavelet transform (DT-ℂWT) denoising process to augment and improve VT detection capability. The new method's performance is evaluated using the instantaneous amplitude responses of experimentally collected 802.11a OFDM signals at various SNRs. The impact of detection error on signal classification performance is then illustrated using extracted RF fingerprints and multiple discriminant analysis (MDA) with maximum likelihood (ML) classification. Relative to previous approaches, the DT-ℂWT augmented process emerges as a better alternative at lower SNR and yields performance that is 34% closer (on average) to [perfect] burst location estimation performance. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Synthetic control of the cis/trans geometry of [M(cyclam)(CCR)2]OTf complexes and photophysics of cis-[Cr(cyclam)(CCCF3)2]OTf and cis-[Rh(cyclam)(CCCF3)2]OTf

Abstract During the synthesis of alkynyl complexes of the type [Cr(cyclam)(CCR)2]OTf from cis-[Cr(cyclam)(OTf)2]OTf, a cis to trans isomerization occurs that is dependent on the identity of the ether solvent. The isomerization occurs to a significant extent in THF, yielding greater than 80% of the trans isomer, whereas in diethyl ether this isomerization occurs to a lesser extent. Though some base catalyzed isomerization of the final alkynyl product occurs, the data herein supports that the majority of the isomerization occurs during the triflate to alkynyl ligand exchange. It is also demonstrated that 1,1,1,3,3-pentafluoropropane can be used in place of the more expensive 1,1,1-trifluoropropyne for the syntheses of the trifluoropropynyl complexes, cis/trans-[M(cyclam)(CCCF3)2]OTf. The methodologies developed are used to prepare the previously unreported cis-[M(cyclam)(CCCF3)2]OTf complexes (where M = Cr3+ and Rh3+). Upon photoexcitation, the Cr3+ complex is emissive (738 nm) in room temperature acetonitrile with lifetimes of 24 μs and 122 μs in air saturated and nitrogen purged solutions respectively. The corresponding Rh3+ complex is non-emissive.
N-Body: Social Based Mobility Model for Wireless Ad Hoc Network Research

Accurate reproduction of real human movement patterns is necessary in simulations of mobile ad hoc networks in order to obtain meaningful performance results. Human activities are often socially organized, resulting in a certain level of tendency of forming groups. There exists a few mobility models that are taking this tendency into account; however, all these models require a certain level of understanding of the underlying social structure of the target scenario, which limits their application scope. In this paper we propose an N-body mobility model that tackles such social aspects from a different perspective. We extract the social information from real human movement traces, and reproduce them in the mobility model. We show that the N-body model is capable of capturing and synthesizing the group-forming tendency that matches to those observed from sample traces. Simulation results also show that N-Body models exhibit a similar pairwise heterogeneity in ad-hoc network performance as the sample traces do.
PLASMA CALCIUM FRACTIONS IN NORMAL SUBJECTS FROM BIRTH TO ADULT AGES

Summary A simple and rapid method to determine ultra-filtrable calcium in plasma is described in detail. Total calcium, ultrafiltrable calcium (Cauf), and protein-bound calcium in plasma are reported for 202 normal children (range 0–16 years of age) divided into 12 age groups, as well as for 93 healthy male blood donors. There was a decrease in plasma calcium and ultrafiltrable calcium after 1–21 hours of life. The minimum value was reached at 24–48 hours of life. An increase was then seen during the first week of life. Later in childhood total calcium and Cauf decreased continuously and significantly with age, and with the most marked rate during the first two-three years. The ultrafiltrable calcium fraction was found to be responsible for the changes in total plasma calcium. In 24–48 hours of life and 5–7 days of life protein-bound calcium was significantly lower as well. There were no significant differences between males and females in childhood.
Analysis of a procedure for the determination of kinetic rate constants.

This paper is concerned with a mathematical analysis of the modified Guggenheim procedure. Theorems concerning the solutions of the differential equations which describe the general reaction $$E + SB\xrightarrow{{k_2 }}C + X, C\xrightarrow{{k_3 }}E + D$$ are derived and are used in a general discussion of the validity of the procedure. Numerical results are given to illustrate the general assertions and to obtain the range of values ofE 0 andS 0 for which the procedure is valid and enzymatic reaction such as α-chymotrypsin.
Conservation in the context of climate change: practical guidelines for land protection at local scales.

Climate change will affect the composition of plant and animal communities in many habitats and geographic settings. This presents a dilemma for conservation programs – will the portfolio of protected lands we now have achieve a goal of conserving biodiversity in the future when the ecological communities occurring within them change? Climate change will significantly alter many plant communities, but the geophysical underpinnings of these landscapes, such as landform, elevation, soil, and geological properties, will largely remain the same. Studies show that extant landscapes with a diversity of geophysical characteristics support diverse plant and animal communities. Therefore, geophysically diverse landscapes will likely support diverse species assemblages in the future, although which species and communities will be present is not altogether clear. Following protocols advanced in studies spanning large regions, we developed a down-scaled, high spatial resolution measure of geophysical complexity based on Ecological Land Units (ELUs) and examined the relationship between plant species richness, ecological community richness, and ELU richness (number of different ELU types). We found that extant landscapes with high ELU richness had a greater variety of ecological community types and high species richness of trees, shrubs, and herbaceous plants. We developed a spatial representation of diverse ELU landscapes to inform local conservation practitioners, such as land trusts, of potential conservation targets that will likely support diverse faunas and floras despite the impact of climate change.
Catalytic Liquefaction of Coal and Refining of Products

Abstract I have been asked to consider the present state of the art in the catalytic liquefaction of coal and refining of products by catalytic means and to suggest some directions for research and development in this very important area of our energy program. This is a large order, as any review of what has been done and what is known about coal liquefaction will quickly show. Coal liquefaction by catalytic means has a long history and has been prached on a commercial scale in various parts of the world. It has had a profound influence on the processing of petroleum. In developing this subject and trying to discern new directions it is very worthwile to review briefly the history of coal liquefaction by catalysis to determine how we have arrived at the present state. By doing this we can also gain knowledge of the constrains imposed on successful developments in this area. It should therefore be possible to determine dirctions for making the processes simpler amnd easier. If nothing else, it will make ou...
SEXUAL RESPONSIVENESS OF THE MALE ALFALFA WEEVIL, HYPERA POSTICA AS AFFECTED BY PRIOR CONTACT WITH OTHER ALFALFA WEEVILS1

Field-collected alfalfa weevils exposed to eight different storage and testing conditions in the laboratory were evaluated for their reproductive behavioral responses. Males isolated in petri-dishes underwent a build-up and storage of sexual energy, allowing them to exhibit intense mating behavior toward either sex. When two males were stored together, they mounted each other and lost sexual energy, reducing subsequent matings. A male and a female stored together in a petri-dish copulated frequently, and the male lost considerable sexual energy. Males which had been stored together or with females under moderately crowded conditions were sexually less active than non-crowded males. Highly crowded males stored with females showed severely diminished libido during the evaluation period. Resume MODIFICATIONS DU COMPORTEMENT COPULATEUR DU CHARANCON MÂLE DE LA LUZERNE, HYPERA POSTICA, SOUMIS A DIVERSES CONDITIONS DE VIE EN LABORATOIRE Notre but etait detudier le comportement reproducteur d'un groupe de charancons de la luzerne, preleves dans leur milieu naturel et soumis a huit differentes conditions de vie en laboratoire. Les mâles, isoles en boites de Petri, subirent du fait de l'isolement une telle exacerbation de leur appetence sexuelle, qu'ils presenterent, une fois mis en presence d'autres individus, un comportement amoureux hautement agressif a l'egard des deux sexes. Deux mâles, places ensemble, montaient l'un sur l'autre, et perdaient de ce fait une part de leur energie sexuelle, ce qui reduisait le nombre d'accouplements ulterieurs. Un mâle et une femelle, places ensemble dans une boite de Petri, s’ accouplaient frequemment. La encore, le mâle perdait une energie sexuelle considerable. Des mâles, places ensemble ou avec des femelles, en nombre relativement eleve, se montrerent sexuellement moins agressifs que les mâles vivant en groupe moins nombreux. Les mâles, places en grand nombre avec des femelles, montrerent par la suite un appetit sexuel serieusement diminue, pendant une periode de 6 heures. Ces observations semblent indiquer que, si on desire faire une etude exacte du comportement reproducteur des charancons de la luzerne, on doit tenir compte des conditions de vie en laboratoire qui peuvent augmenter ou diminuer de facon importante l'activite sexuelle.
Regulating Expression of the Gene for Matrix Metalloproteinase-1 (Collagenase): Mechanisms that Control Enzyme Activity, Transcription, and mRNA Stability

Matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1) is one of three collagenases that can degrade the interstitial collagens, types I, II, and III at neutral pH. As these collagens are the most abundant proteins in the body, collagenase plays a critical role in modeling and remodeling the extracellular matrix. Therefore, it is not surprising that MMP-1 gene expression can be regulated at multiple points. Procollagenase can be activated by mechanisms that generate an active enzyme with differing specific activities, and the active enzyme can be inhibited by complexing with either the tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMPs) or alpha 2 macroglobulin. The activator protein-1 (AP-1) site in the collagenase promoter plays a prominent role in the transcriptional control of the collagenase gene. It is essential for basal transcription, and contributes to induction by phorbol esters, although other sites in the proximal promoter are essential. In contrast, transactivation by cytokines such as Interleukin-1 depends on sequences in more distal regions of the promoter. Posttranscriptional mechanisms also regulate gene expression, and several cytokines and growth factors increase the stability of the collagenase transcript. Finally, glucocorticoid hormones repress transcription of the collagenase gene by the interaction of glucocorticoid receptors with the AP-1 proteins, Fos and Jun. Retinoids also suppress transcription by mechanisms that involve down-regulation of fos and jun mRNA, sequestration of Fos and Jun proteins, and the formation of complexes of retinoic acid receptors (RAR/RXR heterodimers) and AP-1 proteins on the DNA. These multiple points of regulation assure precise control of collagenolytic activity in a variety of physiologic and pathologic conditions.
Efficiency of CO2 fixation in a glycollate oxidoreductase mutant of Alcaligenes eutrophus which exports fixed carbon as glycollate

Mutant strains of the facultative autotrophic bacterium Alcaligenes eutrophus blocked in glycollate utilization were isolated and characterized. One of the strains, AE161, which lacked glycollate oxidoreductase activity, excreted up to 1.2μmol glycollate/mg cell protein per hour during autotrophic growth. This mutant strain was used to study the efficiency of CO2 fixation in terms of how much of the fixed carbon was excreted as glycollate under different conditions. Glycollate excretion was not detected during heterotrophic growth. Only 1% of the total CO2 fixed was excreted as glycollate in an atmosphere of 4% CO2 plus 20% O2. The rate of glycollate excretion showed a large increase and CO2 fixation decreased as the CO2 concentration was lowered. Almost half (40–50%) of the total CO2 fixed was excreted as glycollate in an atmosphere of 0.07% CO2 plus 20% O2.
Voltage-Dependent Sodium Channel Function Is Regulated Through Membrane Mechanics

Cut-open recordings from Xenopus oocytes expressing either nerve (PN1) or skeletal muscle (SkM1) Na(+) channel alpha subunits revealed slow inactivation onset and recovery kinetics of inward current. In contrast, recordings using the macropatch configuration resulted in an immediate negative shift in the voltage-dependence of inactivation and activation, as well as time-dependent shifts in kinetics when compared to cut-open recordings. Specifically, a slow transition from predominantly slow onset and recovery to exclusively fast onset and fast recovery from inactivation occurred. The shift to fast inactivation was accelerated by patch excision and by agents that disrupted microtubule formation. Application of positive pressure to cell-attached macropatch electrodes prevented the shift in kinetics, while negative pressure led to an abrupt shift to fast inactivation. Simultaneous electrophysiological recording and video imaging of the cell-attached patch membrane revealed that the pressure-induced shift to fast inactivation coincided with rupture of sites of membrane attachment to cytoskeleton. These findings raise the possibility that the negative shift in voltage-dependence and the fast kinetics observed normally for endogenous Na(+) channels involve mechanical destabilization. Our observation that the beta1 subunit causes similar changes in function of the Na(+) channel alpha subunit suggests that beta1 may act through interaction with cytoskeleton.
Molecular modeling study of the editing active site of Escherichia coli leucyl‐tRNA synthetase: Two amino acid binding sites in the editing domain

Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases (aaRSs) strictly discriminate their cognate amino acids. Some aaRSs accomplish this via proofreading and editing mechanisms. Mursinna and coworkers recently reported that substituting a highly conserved threonine (T252) with an alanine within the editing domain of Escherichia coli leucyl-tRNA synthetase (LeuRS) caused LeuRS to cleave its cognate aminoacylated leucine from tRNA(Leu) (Mursinna et al., Biochemistry 2001;40:5376-5381). To achieve atomic level insight into the role of T252 in LeuRS and the editing reaction of aaRSs, a series of molecular modeling studies including homology modeling and automated docking simulations were carried out. A 3D structure of E. coli LeuRS was constructed via homology modeling using the X-ray structure of Thermus thermophilus LeuRS as a template because the E. coli LeuRS structure is not available from X-ray or NMR studies. However, both the X-ray T. thermophilus and homology-modeled E. coli structures were used in our studies. Amino acid binding sites in the proposed editing domain, which is also called the connective polypeptide 1 (CP1) domain, were investigated by automated docking studies. The root mean square deviation (RMSD) for backbone atoms between the X-ray and homology-modeled structures was 1.18 A overall and 0.60 A for the editing (CP1) domain. Automated docking studies of a leucine ligand into the editing domain were performed for both structures: homology structure of E. coli LeuRS and X-ray structure of T. thermophilus LeuRS for comparison. The results of the docking studies suggested that there are two possible amino acid binding sites in the CP1 domain for both proteins. The first site lies near a threonine-rich region that includes the highly conserved T252 residue, which is important for amino acid discrimination. The second site is located in a flexible loop region surrounded by residues E292, A293, M295, A296, and M298. The important T252 residue is at the bottom of the first binding pocket.