cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Let's Dance the "Robot Hokey-Pokey!": Children's Programming Approaches and Achievement throughout Early Cognitive Development.

AbstractYoung learners today generate, express, and interact with sophisticated ideas using a range of digital tools to explore interactive stories, animations, computer games, and robotics. In recent years, new developmentally appropriate robotics kits have been entering early childhood classrooms. This paper presents a retrospective analysis of one study within a design-based robotics research program. We examine how patterns of cognition throughout early childhood relate to programming approaches and achievement in a robotics context. The findings lay a foundation for applying cognitive developmental theory to early technology education and inform the evaluation of the study’s programming and robotics technologies and curriculum.
Atorvastatin and cardiovascular risk in the elderly – patient considerations

Elderly individuals are at increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and account for a majority of CHD deaths. Several clinical trials have assessed the beneficial effects of statins in individuals with, or at risk of developing, CHD. These trials provide evidence that statins reduce risk and improve clinical outcomes even in older patients; however, statin therapy remains under-utilized among the aged. Atorvastatin has been widely investigated among the older subjects and has the greatest magnitude of favorable effects on clinical outcomes of CHD. The pharmacokinetic properties of atorvastatin allow it to be used every other day, a factor which may decrease adverse events and be especially important in the elderly. The purpose of this article is to review the evidence available from randomized clinical trials regarding the safety and efficacy of atorvastatin in primary and secondary prevention of CHD and stroke in older patients and to discuss issues such as drug interactions, patient compliance and cost-effectiveness, which affect prescription of lipid-lowering therapy among older patients.
Human cytomegalovirus immediate-early two protein region involved in negative regulation of the major immediate-early promoter

The immediate-early two (IE2) gene products of human cytomegalovirus negatively regulate gene expression from the major immediate-early promoter in permissive human fibroblasts. A mutational analysis of the IE2 proteins indicated that the carboxyl-terminal region is required for negative regulation. The IE2 proteins that lack amino acid residues 365 to 519, or the carboxyl-terminal amino acids failed to negatively regulate. Most of the amino-terminal portion of the IE2 protein was not required for negative regulation. A possible explanation of the negative effect on downstream expression by the IE2 proteins is discussed.
Addressing Religious Difference in Social Justice Education

In this article, I assert that religious differences and interfaith conflict are important topics for discussion on college campuses and should be considered within the context of social justice education. Starting with a hypothetical scenario centering on a conflictual situation resulting from religious differences that takes place within a student affairs classroom, I propose that principles of social justice education can be used in such situations to develop the interfaith leaders for whom Patel and Meyer (2009) argued.
Neural pathways for visual speech perception

This paper examines the questions, what levels of speech can be perceived visually, and how is visual speech represented by the brain? Review of the literature leads to the conclusions that every level of psycholinguistic speech structure (i.e., phonetic features, phonemes, syllables, words, and prosody) can be perceived visually, although individuals differ in their abilities to do so; and that there are visual modality-specific representations of speech qua speech in higher-level vision brain areas. That is, the visual system represents the modal patterns of visual speech. The suggestion that the auditory speech pathway receives and represents visual speech is examined in light of neuroimaging evidence on the auditory speech pathways. We outline the generally agreed-upon organization of the visual ventral and dorsal pathways and examine several types of visual processing that might be related to speech through those pathways, specifically, face and body, orthography, and sign language processing. In this context, we examine the visual speech processing literature, which reveals widespread diverse patterns activity in posterior temporal cortices in response to visual speech stimuli. We outline a model of the visual and auditory speech pathways and make several suggestions: (1) The visual perception of speech relies on visual pathway representations of speech qua speech. (2) A proposed site of these representations, the temporal visual speech area (TVSA) has been demonstrated in posterior temporal cortex, ventral and posterior to multisensory posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS). (3) Given that visual speech has dynamic and configural features, its representations in feedforward visual pathways are expected to integrate these features, possibly in TVSA.
A nonlinearity specification for constructing the servo position error signal

A high performance disk file actuator servo requires a position transducer whose response is linear with displacement. Two concerns that detrimentally affect positional linearity are the nonlinear response of the burst detector to burst amplitude and the nonuniform sensitivity of the magnetic read element across its pole faces. Nonuniform field sensitivity is of particular concern with the advent of magneto resistive heads for embedded servo systems, and this paper gives specification for both for good actuator positioning.
Commensalism between Juvenile Cusk Eels and Pancake Urchins on Western North Atlantic Seamounts

We describe a commensal relationship between small (approximately 6 to 9 cm) deep-sea cusk eels, one tentatively identified as Barathrites sp. (Osteichthyes: Ophidiidae), and pancake urchins, both Hygrosoma petersi and Phorosoma placenta (Echinodermata: Echinothuriidae). These interactions were observed in situ using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), deployed at depths of 1410 to 1775 m on three seamounts in the western North Atlantic (Bear and Rehoboth seamounts in the New England Seamounts and Yakutat Seamount in the Corner Rise Seamounts). Full motion video and still frames documented individual cusk eels associated with urchins in open fine-grained sediment and coral rubble habitats. Cusk eels foraged around the periphery of urchins and took refuge at the base and among the long spines on the aboral surface. We suggest that such associations provide juvenile cusk eels with shelter from predators or flow (or both) and access to prey far from other forms of refugia.
In vivo redirection of retinal blood flow into borosilicate micro-cannulas in rabbits

Background Microvascular manipulation is one application in the emerging field of retinal vascular surgery that could lead to new therapeutic approaches for retinal disease. Research in this field has largely focused on vessel cannulation and injection of vasoactive substances. This study expands on applications for retinal vessel manipulation by demonstrating that redirection of retinal blood flow in vivo can be achieved through retinal vessel cannulation in a rabbit model.
On the self-adjointness of field operators

A new postulate of quantum field theory is formulated which implies: 1) the smeared out field operators are (essentially) selfadjoint; 2) the associated spectral projection operators commute for spacelike distances. These results allow to construct local rings of field operators in the sense of Haag and Araki.
Tectonics of Black Hills: ABSTRACT

During the decipherable part of Precambrian history, the Black Hills area was within an undefined geosyncline in which more than 20,000 feet of sediments accumulated. It can be inferred that the axis trended north-northwest, parallel with the isoclinal folding which occurred near the end of Precambrian time. Peneplanation followed the folding. In early Paleozoic time, the Hills area was part of a stable shelf on the northwest flank of the Sioux arch. Seas encroached from the northwest. Increasing instability in Mississippian time is evidenced by evaporite cycles in upper Mission Canyon and Charles sediments. Post-Madison-pre-Pennsylvanian uplift left the present Hills area as a thumb-like projection extending northward from Siouxia. With the disappearance of the Central Montana trough at the close of the Mississippian, seas no longer invaded from the northwest. The Lusk embayment developed in early Pennsylvanian time. Evaporites in the Pennsylvanian sediments testify to instability of the shelf at that time. By late Pennsylvanian or early Permian time, the Black Hills first appeared as a weak but distinct positive element. Western South Dakota and the surrounding area formed a broad, relatively unstable shelf during the redbed and evaporite deposition of Permian, Triassic, and early Jurassic time. Stable shelf conditions prevailed throughout the upper Jurassic. Local downwarping is indicated by exceptional thicknesses of Jurassic sediments in the southeastern part of the area. Western South Dakota was near the geographical center of a wide, asymmetrical Cretaceous seaway. The Hills lay along a hingeline, with a wide shelf on the east and a subsiding trough on the west. With brief interruptions, Cretaceous deposition continued over the area through Fox Hills and probably through Hell Creek time. Laramide doming of the Hills was due primarily to vertical uplift. Folding along the western side, and along the related Old Woman and Cedar Creek trends, suggests some horizontal forces. Effects of primary doming were modified in the Northern Hills by early Tertiary intrusions. By the close of Oligocene time, at least 6,500 feet of sediments had been eroded, and the Hills appeared as a low range of Precambrian rocks nearly engulfed by White River sediments. Evidence of Miocene and younger folding and faulting occurs south of the Hills. Regional uplifts in the Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene resulted in erosion, reworking, and redeposition of older Tertiary sediments. End_of_Article - Last_Page 787------------
A high-performance TCD monolithically integrated with a gas separation column

We present the design, fabrication and experimental evaluation of a unique micro gas chromatography (μGC) column with an integrated micro thermal conductivity detector (μTCD). The resistors are dry released to form 170μm diameter coils. The high isolation of the sensing element requires only 13mW and sub-6ms to ramp up to 100°C and in turn an improved sensitivity by an order of magnitude over our previously reported designs. The chip incorporates a 2-port design approach and a device size of 2cm×4cm. Fabricated using a four-mask process, the resistors and microfluidics are independently processed on borofloat and silicon wafers, respectively, and subsequently anodic bonded. The separation column is static coated without damage to the resistors. The coated column-detector chip has successfully separated a representative hydrocarbon mixture in less than 2 minutes.
USB2.0 Logic Built In Self Test Methodology

At-speed testing methodology of the USB2.0 functionality cannot be readily achieved, even with high cost testers. This paper presents a methodology to test USB2.0 at-speed, single port and full functional with a low cost tester.
Inherent risk assessment and audit firm technology: A contrast in world theories

Abstract Breaking from traditional thought, it has been increasingly argued that the observers of organizational action and the organizations that they observed are inextricably linked rather than independent of one another. Following this position, the world theories adopted and related root metaphors employed by these observers serve as an image of the structural relations that underlie human activities and are thus a mediating factor between the observer and the observed. It is positioned that world theories are not only reflective of reality, but also constitutive of it. This article considers the role of the mechanistics and organic world theories, along with their corresponding root metaphors and language, in shaping the independent audit with reference to a five-phase field study of how auditors assess inherent risk. Implications for research are considered.
The effects of autobiographical elaboration on noun recall.

Four experiments demonstrate that autobiographical elaboration is a rich and powerful encoding process. Autobiographical elaboration was induced by using a modified free-association procedure. Subjects were presented stimulus words and were instructed to think of a personal experience that the words reminded them of and to date the remembered experience on a 7-point temporal-category scale (i.e., minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, never). Unexpected free recall of the stimulus words showed a recency effect (Experiments 1, 3, and 4), autobiographical orienting produced better noun recall than either a semantic or a structural orienting task (Experiments 2 and 3), and the recency effect observed in Experiments 1, 3, and 4 appears to have been due to differences in autobiographical elaboration (Experiment 4).
Energetic criteria for the breakup of liquid films on nonwetting solid surfaces

Abstract Thin liquid films supported on horizontal solid surfaces suddenly rupture due to formation of holes when their thicknesses are reduced to several hundred micrometers. The mechanism and conditions of the film breakup are explored by calculating the free energy change produced by the formation of a hole. The hole profile is evaluated from the Young-Laplace equation of capillarity. The free energy change becomes maximum at a certain “transitional” film thickness, which signals a possible onset of film instability due to expansion of a metastable hole. However, creation of a transitional hole requires a relatively large amount of external energy, and is, therefore, not probable in quiescent environments. The free energy change continues to decline with further reduction in the film thickness and eventually, a “critical” thickness is reached where the free energy after formation of the hole equals the free energy of the initial state of the unbroken film ( ΔF = 0). This is a sufficient condition of the film instability because the formation of a critical hole is more probable due to a smaller energy requirement. In general, the region of instability is confined between the critical thickness and the transitional thickness. Both the transitional thickness and the critical thickness increase nonlinearly with increased surface nonwettability (i.e., the equilibrium contact angle) and increased hole radius. A finite “limiting” film thickness is, however, reached for infinitely large holes and films thicker than the limiting thickness cannot be destroyed. The model predictions for the film thickness at the instant of rupture are in qualitative and quantitative agreement with the available data on several solid-liquid systems.
Litigant Satisfaction Versus Legal Adequacy in Small Claims Court Narratives

For more than half a century, the label “small claims” has been applied to a wide range of judicial procedures intended to achieve the simple and economical resolution of disputes involving limited amounts of money (Ruhnka & Weiler, 1978:1–5). Despite their differences, small claims courts share a number of common elements, such as simplified procedures, reduced costs, limited rights to appeal, and the opportunity for litigants to appear without lawyers (Steele, 1981:330). Most research on small claims courts focuses on the parties involved or on the characteristics and outcomes of the cases brought. This chapter has a different focus. We are concerned with how the informality of small claims court procedures affects the ways in which litigants tell their stories. This focus yields significant insights into the way that disputants conceive of their problems and devise strategies to resolve them while at the same time raising questions about the efficiency and fairness of the small claims court as an adjudicative forum.
HMGB1 in Hormone-Related Cancer: a Potential Therapeutic Target

High-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) is a dynamic nuclear protein participating in transcription, chromatin remodelling, and DNA recombination and repair processes. Accumulating evidence indicates that its function now extends beyond the nucleus, notably its extracellular role in inflammation. HMGB1 is implicated as a late mediator of sepsis and is also believed to promote atherosclerosis and other inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus. Interestingly, deregulation of HMGB1 is shown to be associated with the hallmarks of cancer development. Moreover, several clinical studies have shown that HMGB1 is a promising biomarker for a variety of cancer types. In this review, we provide novel insights into the role and mechanisms of HMGB1, in particular, to hormone-related cancers and its potential to serve as a therapeutic target.
Gender differences in young Asian Americans educational attainments

In this paper, data from the 1986 follow-up of a national probability sample of 1980 high school seniors are examined: (a) to determine whether gender differences exist in the educational attainment of Asian-American youth and compare these differences with those found among other groups (Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, and Whites), (b) to confirm that immigrant status and ethnicity account for Asian-American men's and women's educational attainment (as suggested by the literature), and (c) to determine if immigrant status and ethnicity are differentially related to the men's and women's educational attainment. The findings suggest that young Asian-American females reach high levels of educational attainment more quickly than young Asian-American males, and that the differences are particularly noteworthy among immigrants (or the children of immigrants) and Chinese Americans.
Error codes applied to optical algebraic processors

Optical algebraic processors can perform complex calculations in parallel and at high speeds. However, they commonly suffer from a low analog accuracy which hinders their widespread application. Error detection and correction codes provide one technique for improving the accuracy of optical algebraic processors. The use of these codes would allow some of the errors that may occur during a computation to be detected and possibly corrected. This paper describes the results of various computer simulations of optical matrix-vector multipliers employing error-correction codes. It discusses the application of convolutional codes to optical matrix-vector multipliers along with several block codes. Both binary and nonbinary codes are considered. The results indicate that a significant improvement in performance can be obtained when compared with processors not employing error-correction codes. Also, the type of noise, whether signal-independent or signal-dependent noise, has a significant effect on the performance of a matrix-vector multiplier employing an error code. The encoding and decoding operations required for the error codes can be performed optically.
Spatial and temporal varying thresholds for cloud detection in satellite imagery

A new cloud detection technique has been developed and applied to both geostationary and polar orbiting satellite imagery having channels in the thermal infrared and short wave infrared spectral regions. The bispectral composite threshold (BCT) technique uses only the 11 mum and 3.9 mum channels, and composite imagery generated from these channels, in a four-step cloud detection procedure to produce a binary cloud mask at single pixel resolution. A unique aspect of this algorithm is the use of 20-day composites of the 11 mum and the 11-3.9 mum channel difference imagery to represent spatially and temporally varying clear-sky thresholds for the bispectral cloud tests. The BCT cloud detection algorithm has been applied to GOES and MODIS data over the continental United States over the last three years with good success. The resulting products have been validated against "truth" datasets (generated by the manual determination of the sky conditions from available satellite imagery) for various seasons from the 2003-2005 periods. The day and night algorithm has been shown to determine the correct sky conditions 80-90% of the time (on average) over land and ocean areas. Only a small variation in algorithm performance occurs between day-night, land-ocean, and between seasons. The algorithm performs least well during the winter season with only 80% of the sky conditions determined correctly. The algorithm was found to under-determine clouds at night and during times of low sun angle (in geostationary satellite data) and tends to over-determine the presence of clouds during the day, particularly in the summertime. Since the spectral tests use only the short- and long-wave channels common to most multispectral scanners, the application of the BCT technique to a variety of satellite sensors including SEVERI should be straightforward and produce similar performance results.
Predation induced changes in behavior and growth rate in three populations of the intertidal snail, Littorina sitkana (Philippi)

Abstract We investigated the sublethal effects of a predatory crab, Cancer productus (Randall), on the behavior and growth of its snail prey, Littorina sitkana, by setting up controlled rearing and prey-size selection experiments. L. sitkana were collected from three sites on San Juan Island, WA, USA. These sites varied in snail size, abundance, and vertical distribution, and in the abundance of the crab predator C. productus. Snails from all three populations were raised for 34 days under the following treatments: no-crab control, a non-feeding C. productus encased in mesh box, and an encased C. productus feeding on L. sitkana. The non-feeding crab treatment did not affect snail foraging behavior or growth rate in comparison with the no-crab control. In contrast, the presence of a feeding crab elicited escape behavior in the snails, halted grazing, and consequently reduced growth rates. A population difference in escape behavior was observed: upward migration in snails from rocky shores and hiding in crevices in snails from a mud flat. It thus appears that chemicals leaching from crushed conspecific snails, rather than the presence of the crab predator, act as the “alarm substance” to which L. sitkana react. The magnitude of the growth depression in the presence of feeding crabs was 85%, with no difference among the three populations. Once the feeding crab stimulus was removed, snails in all populations resumed normal growth, suggesting that this response to feeding predators is reversible with changing environmental conditions. Laboratory experiments were set up to determine if all size classes of L. sitkana are equally susceptible to C. productus predation. C. productus consistently selected the largest of three size classes of L. sitkana. These results suggest that slow growth rate and small size in L. sitkana may actually be an adaptation for coexisting with high C. productus abundance, rather than simply a cost of escape behavior.
“I Once Was Lost, but Now Am Found”: The Mathematics Journey of an African American Male Mathematics Doctoral Student

The lack of mathematics academic achievement and persistence in African American male students is well documented in the K-12 education research literature. Moreover, it has been documented that this trend of mathematics underachievement continues in higher education for some African American men. In this article, the author refutes the myth that African American male students are doomed to mathematics failure by drawing on research literature that highlights the strengths of African American male learners and by documenting the “voice” of an African American male doctoral student.Coupling critical race theory with case study research, the author chronicles the schooling, mathematics, and racial experiences of an African American male student. The author concludes the article by challenging those invested in the mathematics education of African American male students to work to ensure that African American male students are provided access to the mathematics pipeline.
Hardware Description Languages: Voices from the Tower of Babel*

A hardware description language can be used to describe the logic gates, the sequential machines, and the functional modules, along with their interconnection and their control, in a digital system. In a general sense, Boolean equations, logic diagrams, programrning languages, and Petri nets are hardware description languages: they can be used to describe some aspect of hardware and they have definable syntax and semantics. Specifically, what is more commonly referred to as a hardware description language is a variation of a programming language tuned to the overall needs of describing hardware. This article will discuss the rationale for using such languages in the first place, identify the problems attendant upon their proliferation, and describe the measures being taken to achieve a solution.
TREATMENT of POULTRY CHILLER WATER BY FLOCCULATION

A laboratory study was conducted to assess the efficiency of using a combination of flocculating substances to remove organic constituents from poultry chiller water. Rice bran in combination with commercial flocculant AP-273 (polyelectrolyte) removed 60% and 72% of chemical oxygen demand (COD) from low and high COD samples, respectively. Addition of granular activated carbon to the flocculant mixture increased COD removal to about 75%, respectively, from the same samples. Turbidity (suspended particles) of the chiller water was reduced by more than 90% using flocculant AP-273 plus rice bran. Chlorine demands were also greatly reduced. Soluble inorganic mineral content was not reduced by the combined flocculating substances. the residues collected after flocculation could be used as a feed ingredient, or as an organic fertilizer. Flocculation of chiller water would be a beneficial pretreatment to further recycling processes or to microfiltration of chiller water for reuse.
Electron microscopy of tobacco mosaic virus in leaves of Nicotiana glutinosa.

Abstract Electron microscopic examination of lesions produced in Nicotiana glutinosa by infection with tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) showed clearly that virus particles were present. Only about one-fiftieth of the sections of cells in the infected regions exhibited virus particles and even in these the numbers of particles were not large. Virus was found only in the cytoplasm. Careful search failed to reveal any regions containing the filamentous bodies that have been reported as associated with TMV infections in other hosts.
Modeling physicochemical properties and activity of aspartyl proteinases based on amino acid composition.

A data set containing physicochemical properties and enzymatic activity measurements of aspartyl proteinases was employed for quantitative structure-property relationship (QSPR) and quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) modeling based on either three or five amino acid principal property sums. All but one of the models based on five principal properties were stronger than those based on three properties. Models of zeta potential (R 2 = 0.846), circular dichroism (R 2 = 0.638), Bigelow average hydrophobicity (R 2 = 0.692), accessible surface area (R 2 = 0.897), and two dye-based assessments of hydrophobicity (R 2 = 0.581 and 0.595) were constructed. Model quality was evaluated by cross-validation and permutation. The amino acids most influential for each modeled property were identified. It is clearly possible to model physicochemical properties of proteins as a function of amino acid principal property sums. Surprisingly, it was also possible to model an enzyme activity ratio (milk clotting/proteolytic activity) in the same manner (R 2 = 0.699).
Telomerase-associated Protein 1, HSP90, and Topoisomerase IIα Associate Directly with the BLM Helicase in Immortalized Cells Using ALT and Modulate Its Helicase Activity Using Telomeric DNA Substrates

The BLM helicase associates with the telomere structural proteins TRF1 and TRF2 in immortalized cells using the alternative lengthening of telomere (ALT) pathways. This work focuses on identifying protein partners of BLM in cells using ALT. Mass spectrometry and immunoprecipitation techniques have identified three proteins that bind directly to BLM and TRF2 in ALT cells: telomerase-associated protein 1 (TEP1), heat shock protein 90 (HSP90), and topoisomerase IIα (TOPOIIα). BLM predominantly co-localizes with these proteins in foci actively synthesizing DNA during late S and G2/M phases of the cell cycle when ALT is thought to occur. Immunoprecipitation studies also indicate that only HSP90 and TOPOIIα are components of a specific complex containing BLM, TRF1, and TRF2 but that this complex does not include TEP1. TEP1, TOPOIIα, and HSP90 interact directly with BLM in vitro and modulate its helicase activity on telomere-like DNA substrates but not on non-telomeric substrates. Initial studies suggest that knockdown of BLM in ALT cells reduces average telomere length but does not do so in cells using telomerase.
Self-similar behavior of plasma fluid equations*

The “s-parameter transformation group” and “infinitesimal transformation group” are applied to a set of plasma fluid equations to ascertain their self-similar behavior.
Selective Nitrogen Assimilation by Poria weirii

SOIL under a stand of Alnus rubra Bong. in mixture with conifers was found to contain markedly higher levels of nitrate nitrogen than soil under an adjacent stand of pure conifers1. This phenomenon has substantial implications for the ecology of root pathogens and their antagonists in forest soils. We were particularly interested in Poria weirii Murr., a severely damaging pathogen of conifer roots in western North America, and we have therefore investigated its ability to assimilate nitrate nitrogen.
Strong resistance of a thin crystalline layer of balanced charged groups to protein adsorption.

Resistance of mixed self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) with various counter-charged terminal groups of different valence and protonation/deprotonation states to nonspecific protein adsorption is investigated. It is demonstrated that excellent nonfouling surfaces can be readily constructed from mixed positively and negatively charged components of equal valence in a wide range of thiol solution compositions. Furthermore, the lattice structure of one of the mixed SAM systems studied is revealed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) to be (5.2 ± 0.2 A × 5.2 ± 0.2 A)60°. Results indicate that the packing structure of mixed charged SAMs is determined by strong charge−charge interactions of the terminal groups rather than S−Au and chain−chain interactions. This work provides direct evidence that conformational flexibility is not required for protein resistance of a surface and even a single compact layer of charged groups of balanced charge with a crystalline structure can resist nonspecific protein adsorption, sugges...
Cytoplasmic male sterility: a window to the world of plant mitochondrial–nuclear interactions

Mitochondrial function depends on the coordinate action of nuclear and mitochondrial genomes. The genetic dissection of these interactions presents special challenges in obligate aerobes, because the viability of these organisms depends on mitochondrial respiration. The plant trait cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) is determined by the mitochondrial genome and is associated with a pollen sterility phenotype that can be suppressed or counteracted by nuclear genes known as restorer-of-fertility genes. Here, I review the nature and the origin of the genes that determine CMS, together with recent investigations that have exploited CMS to provide new insights into plant mitochondrial-nuclear communication. These studies have implicated mitochondrial signaling pathways, including those involved in regulating cell death and nuclear gene expression, in the elaboration of CMS. The molecular cloning of nuclear genes that restore fertility (i.e. restorer-of-fertility genes) has identified genes encoding pentatricopeptide-repeat proteins as key regulators of plant mitochondrial gene expression.
p53 and p21(Waf1) Are Recruited to Distinct PML‐Containing Nuclear Foci in Irradiated and Nutlin‐3a‐Treated U2OS Cells

Promyelocytic leukemia nuclear bodies (PML-NBs) are multi-protein complexes that include PML protein and localize in nuclear foci. PML-NBs are implicated in multiple stress responses, including apoptosis, DNA repair, and p53-dependent growth inhibition. ALT-associated PML bodies (APBs) are specialized PML-NBs that include telomere-repeat binding-factor TRF1 and are exclusively in telomerase-negative tumors where telomere length is maintained through alternative (ALT) recombination mechanisms. We compared cell cycle and p53 responses in ALT-positive cancer cells (U2OS) exposed to ionizing radiation (IR) or the p53 stabilizer Nutlin-3a. Both IR and Nutlin-3a caused growth arrest and comparable induction of p53. However, p21, whose gene p53 activates, displayed biphasic induction following IR and monophasic induction following Nutlin-3a. P53 was recruited to PML-NBs 3–4 days after IR, approximately coincident with the secondary p21 increase. These p53/PML-NBs marked sites of apparently unrepaired DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), identified by colocalization with phosphorylated histone H2AX. Nutlin-3a and IR both caused a large increase in APBs that was dependent on p53 and p21 expression. Moreover, p21, and to a lesser extent p53, was recruited to APBs in a fraction of Nutlin-3a treated cells. These data indicate 1) p53 is recruited to PML-NBs after IR that likely mark unrepaired DSBs, suggesting p53 may either be further activated at these sites and/or function in their repair; 2) p53-p21 pathway activation increases the percentage of APB-positive cells, 3) p21 and p53 are recruited to ALT-associated PML-NBs after Nutlin-3a treatment, suggesting they may play a previously unrecognized role in telomere maintenance.
Gating Properties of Gap Junction Channels Assembled from Connexin43 and Connexin43 Fused with Green Fluorescent Protein

Abstract We used cell lines expressing wild-type connexin43 (Cx43) and Cx43 fused with enhanced green fluorescent protein (Cx43-EGFP) to examine mechanisms of gap junction channel gating. Previously it was suggested that each hemichannel in a cell-cell channel possesses two gates, a fast gate that closes channels to a nonzero conductance or residual state via fast ( ∼10ms). Here we demonstrate that transjunctional voltage ( V j ) regulates both gates and that they are operating in series and in a contingent manner in which the state of one gate affects gating of the other. Cx43-EGFP channels lack fast V j gating to a residual state but show slow V j gating. Both Cx43 and Cx43-EGFP channels exhibit slow gating by chemical uncouplers such as CO 2 and alkanols. Chemical uncouplers do not induce obvious changes in Cx43-EGFP junctional plaques, indicating that uncoupling is not caused by dispersion or internalization of junctional plaques. Similarity of gating transitions during chemical gating and slow V j gating suggests that both gating mechanisms share common structural elements. Cx43/Cx43-EGFP heterotypic channels showed asymmetrical V j gating with fast transitions between open and residual states only when the Cx43 side was relatively negative. This result indicates that the fast V j gate of Cx43 hemichannels closes for relative negativity at its cytoplasmic end.
Anti-periodic oscillations of some second-order differential equations and optimal control problems

Abstract This paper deals with periodic and anti-periodic boundary conditions for wave and heat equations (as well as for some second-order ordinary differential equations). Optimal control problems associated with such equations are studied and some numerical experiments to determine the solution of the problem y ″( t )+(3+sin t ) y ( t ) = cos t , 0 ⩽ t ⩽ π, y ( i ) (0) + y ( i ) (π) = 0, i = 0, 1, are given. Some open problems related to the invertibility of I ± e TA α are pointed out.
The Importance of Cheltenham: Imperialism, Liminality and Gustav Holst

The study of liminality, pioneered by the anthropologist Arnold van Gennep, and reinvigorated by Victor Turner, considers the ambiguity that exists for individuals as they move between defined groups or identities. Reconsidering the relationship between the British composer, Gustav Holst (1874–1934), and his birthplace, the west country spa town of Cheltenham, provides not only a case study of the general liminality of the professional musician, but of a figure who is betwixt and between in almost all aspects of his life. In essence, Holst is the archetype of a liminal being. This study problematizes Holst's place in the received history of British music, arguing that his liminality has been overlooked in various attempts to make his life and music fit a mainstream narrative for English musical culture, the so-called Second English Musical Renaissance. The origins of that liminality are explored by considering Holst's relationship with Victorian Cheltenham, ranging widely from the civic to the religious, ...
Clinical criteria underestimate complete pathological response in rectal cancer treated with neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy.

BACKGROUND:Published criteria define specific mucosal features of clinical complete response for rectal cancer after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy.OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to determine the performance of these criteria to identify a pathological complete response.DESIGN:Histopathology rep
Effect of age of entry to a longitudinal study on cross-sectional determination of cardiovascular disease.

Cross-sectional analysis from longitudinal studies for a specific age can include subjects who entered the study at different ages (i.e. younger individuals followed to the age of interest, and those who entered at the age of interest). This represents a potential source of bias, since the state of health at a given age may vary based on age at entry. We investigated such bias as it affected the prevalence of cardiovascular diagnoses in men from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. Subjects who entered the study in either their 60′s, 70′s or 80′s (New subjects) were compared to individuals who entered the study at an age at least 10 years younger and were followed into these same age decades (Continuing subjects). No differences were found between New and Continuing subjects for coronary heart or cerebrovascular diseases, but were present for hypertension. The greater prevalence of hypertension in Continuing subjects appeared to be of minor clinical importance because other diagnostic differences were absent. The study found evidence for potential selection bias based on age at entry, but the consequence of the bias appeared to be slight. (Aging 3: 355-360, 1991)
Medullary extension of osteosarcoma. Implications for rational therapy

Pathologic examination of 20 amputation specimens of osteosarcoma revealed no unappreciated extension of tumor and no “skip areas” in the marrow cavity. Based on published clinical and pathologic data, transmedullary amputation appears to be a reasonable treatment for osteosarcoma arising in the distal portion of a long bone.
Appraisal and adaptation among women with impaired fertility

Perceived personal control, cognitive accommodations such as finding benefits in adversity, and causal attributions have all been implicated in how individuals adapt to threatening events. In this study, we examined the independent contributions to well-being of these three aspects of cognitive adaptation among 65 women with impaired fertility. Appraisals of personal control were not associated with psychological symptomatology. However, believing that the impaired fertility had strengthened one's marriage and attributing the experience to biomedical causes each made an independent contribution to psychological symptoms, thus supporting the conceptual distinctions among primary control, secondary cognitive accomodations, and causal attributions. We interpret these findings in the light of current theories of adaptation to threatening events.
FIRST AND SECOND ORDER CORRECTIONS TO THE MAGNETIC MOMENTS OF NUCLEI USING REALISTIC INTERACTIONS

Abstract First and second order corrections to the magnetic moments of nuclei near closed shells are calculated using the semi-realistic hard core Kallio-Kolltveit interaction. While configurational admixture to first, second or higher orders in perturbation theory is not the sole agency producing corrections to the Schmidt values, for most nuclei it accounts for much of the inward deviation from the Schmidt lines. For nuclei like 17 O, 41 Ca where there is no first-order correction to the magnetic moment configurational admixture and second-order perturbation theory must be included in an analysis of the experimental deviation. It is found that for 17 O the second-order effect is too large, and another mechanism working in the opposite direction is required, while for 41 Ca the second-order effect accounts for the experimental deviation.
Allosteric and catalytic functions of the PPi-binding motif in the ATP sulfurylase-GTPase system.

ATP sulfurylase, from Escherichia coli K-12, catalyzes and couples the Gibbs potentials of two reactions, GTP hydrolysis and activated sulfate (APS, adenosine 5′-phosphosulfate) synthesis. Coupling these potentials requires that the catalytic cycle include reaction stage-dependent conformational changes that gate the activities of the two active sites. These interactions were probed in a mutagenesis study of a highly conserved pyrophosphate-binding motif (SXGXDS), which is located at the APS-forming active site. The motif appears to be unique to the N-type PPi synthetase family, and mutations in it are linked, in other systems, to citrullinemia, an often fatal orphan disease. The conserved sites in the motif were evaluated individually for their ability to activate GTP hydrolysis (which reports interactions among the activator (AMP or Mg2+·PPi), the enzyme, and GTP), to affect the energetic coupling of the two reactions, and to alter the kinetic constants of the adenylyl transfer reaction in the absence of guanine nucleotide. What emerges from this first mutagenic exploration of the PPi motif in any adenylyltransferase is that the residues of the motif participate differently, and in sometimes profoundly important ways, in the different functions of the enzyme.
Cell-Specific Regulation of Transcription of the Malic Enzyme Gene: Characterization of cis-Acting Elements That Modulate Nuclear T3 Receptor Activity

Stimulation of malic enzyme transcription by triiodothyronine (T3) is robust (> 60-fold) in chick embryo hepatocytes, weak (5-fold) in chick embryo fibroblasts that stably overexpress the nuclear T3 receptor-alpha, and still weaker (1-fold) in chick embryo fibroblasts which contain nuclear T3 receptor levels that are similar to those of chick embryo hepatocytes. Using DNase I hypersensitivity, functional transfection, and in vitro DNA-binding analyses, four cis-acting elements were identified in the malic enzyme 5'-flanking DNA that conferred differences in nuclear T3 receptor activity between chick embryo hepatocytes and chick embryo fibroblasts. These cell-specific regulatory elements are located at -3895/-3890, -3761/-3744, -3703/-3686, and -3474/-2715 bp and overlap with DNase I hypersensitive sites that are observed in chromatin of chick embryo hepatocytes. Each element enhances T3 responsiveness of the malic enzyme promoter in chick embryo hepatocytes but has no effect on T3 responsiveness in chick embryo fibroblasts. Three of the cell-specific regulatory elements flank a previously identified DNA fragment (-3889 to -3769 bp; Hodnett et al., Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 334, 309-324, 1996) that contains one major and four minor T3 response elements. The cell-specific regulatory element at -3703/-3686 bp binds to the liver-enriched factor, CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein-alpha, whereas cell-specific regulatory elements at -3895/-3890 and -3761/-3744 bp bind proteins of unknown identity. While the cell-specific regulatory element at -3761/-3744 bp contains sequences that resemble binding sites for CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein, activator protein-1, cyclic AMP response element binding protein, and NF-1, none of these proteins appear to bind to this DNA fragment. These data suggest that cell-specific differences in T3 responsiveness of the malic enzyme gene are mediated in large part by nonreceptor proteins that augment the transcriptional activity of the nuclear T3 receptor in hepatocytes.
Identification of Exxon Valdez Oil in Sediments and Tissues from Prince William Sound and the Northwestern Gulf of Alaska Based on a PAH Weathering Model

We used a first-order loss-rate kinetic model of polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) weathering to evaluate 7767 environmental samples collected for the Exxon Valdez oil spill (EVOS) for the presence of spilled oil. The model was developed from experiments with gravel coated with crude oil and washed for 6 months. The modeled PAH included the 14 most persistent compounds of 31 analyzed by GC/MS. Parameters include loss-rate constants related to the energy required for PAH to escape from petroleum and a quantitative index of weathering. The model accounts for 91% of the temporal variability of modeled PAH concentra tions. We compared the discrepancies between measured and model-predicted PAH concentrations of EVOS samples with a probability distribution of these dis crepancies derived from the experimental weathering results. Only 1541 field samples contained sufficient PAH for valid application of the model; three-fourths fit the model at α ≥ 0.01 type I error, 9% fit an alternate model characterized b...
Cooperation, conflict, and coevolution in the attine ant-fungus symbiosis

Fungus-growing ants in the tribe Attini represent a classic example of a mutualism. These ants obligately depend on fungus as their major food source, while the fungus receives both vegetative substrate (nourishment) from the ants and protection from pathogens. Here, we try to identify both benefits and costs of the association by using cultivar switch experiments. We assessed the benefits to each mutualistic partner by replacing the native fungus (cultivar) used by the primitive attine ant species Cyphomyrmex muelleri with a novel cultivar, that of the closely related ant species Cyphomyrmex longiscapus. We show that interspecific cultivar switches caused a significant decline in worker number, garden biomass, and the number of reproductives produced by colonies. In contrast, these effects were not seen in intraspecific switches. We also examined possible costs of the mutualistic association. We estimated colony sex ratios for C. longiscapus to determine whether cultivars can bias reproductive allocation toward females; such bias may evolve because only female reproductives can disperse the fungus, and males are therefore of no value to the fungus. However, intraspecific cultivar switches did not significantly affect ant sex ratios. Cultivar switch experiments represent a new tool for studying cooperation, conflict, and coevolution between mutualistic partners in the attine ant-fungus symbiosis.