cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Structural and Dynamic Characterization of Norovirus Protease

Norovirus is a major etiologic agent of acute gastroenteritis outbreaks often occurring in confined, population-dense communities. Since neither vaccine nor antivirals are available to date, controlling norovirus infection presents significant challenges to public health. Norovirus protease (NVpro) plays a central role in the virus infectious cycle through a proteolytic maturation of nonstructural proteins that are not available in host cells. Therefore NVpro has been highlighted as a potential target for the antiviral drug development. While X-ray studies of the NVpro give us a wealth of the structural information including several key interactions for the substrate binding, the relevance of protein dynamics in the substrate biding and the ability to interact with multiple substrates has remained to be cleared. We present here the NMR solution structure and backbone dynamics of the protease from Norwalk virus, a prototype strain (GI.1) of norovirus. The bII-cII loop in C-terminal domain containing S2 binding site shows a nontrivial structural variation when compared to crystal structures and among lower energy structure ensemble. The possible biological implication of the observed dynamic properties of NVpro for the substrate recognition will be discussed.
The Emerging Role of Ofatumumab in the Treatment of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

The treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has evolved over the past decade. Our better understanding of disease biology and risk stratification has allowed delivering more effective therapies. In fact, front-line chemoimmunotherapy has demonstrated improvement in overall survival when compared to chemotherapy in randomized studies. Yet, treatment of relapsed CLL remains challenging and few agents are effective in that setting. Ofatumumab (Ofa) is a humanized monoclonal antibody targeted against CD20 with demonstrable activity in rituximab-resistant CLL cell lines. This agent was recently approved for the treatment of relapsed/refractory CLL patients who have failed fludarabine and alemtuzumab. In this review, we provide a historical perspective on approaches to CLL as front-line and in the relapsed setting. We further summarize novel anti-CD20 antibodies with specific emphasis on ofa. We review studies that led to ofatumumab's approval including pre-clinical data, trials using ofa in combination therapies, and adverse events/toxicities reported with this agent.
Adaptive deformable model for colonic polyp segmentation and measurement on CT colonography.

Polyp size is one important biomarker for the malignancy risk of a polyp. This paper presents an improved approach for colonic polyp segmentation and measurement on CT colonography images. The method is based on a combination of knowledge-guided intensity adjustment, fuzzy clustering, and adaptive deformable model. Since polyps on haustral folds are the most difficult to be segmented, we propose a dual-distance algorithm to first identify voxels on the folds, and then introduce a counter-force to control the model evolution. We derive linear and volumetric measurements from the segmentation. The experiment was conducted on 395 patients with 83 polyps, of which 43 polyps were on haustral folds. The results were validated against manual measurement from the optical colonoscopy and the CT colonography. The paired t -test showed no significant difference, and the R 2 correlation was 0.61 for the linear measurement and 0.98 for the volumetric measurement. The mean Dice coefficient for volume overlap between automatic and manual segmentation was 0.752 (standard deviation 0.154).
EFFECTS OF EXPERIMENTAL CONTEXT, DEMAND CHARACTERISTICS, AND SITUATIONAL CUES: NEW DATA '

When in 1964 stress induced by Restricted Environmental Stimulation (REST) was publicized, Orne and Scheibe showed "sensory deprivation" effects could be produced merely by manipulating contextual cues. Since REST is now widely regarded as beneficial, it seemed appropriate to reexamine these early findings. Stringently replicating Orne and Scheibe's procedures, 10 subjects were exposed to conditions designed to generate expected REST effects. Conditions for 10 controls suggested that nothing was expected to happen. Analyses did not confirm earlier findings as no significant difference was found between experimental and control groups on any measure. A postexperimental inquiry identified positive attitudes toward REST. The specific experimental context, demand characteristics, and situational cues did not elicit responses inconsistent with the general sociopsychological context. Researchers are cautioned about attributing causality to contextual cues because context exists merely at a correlative level with data collection.
Preharvest kernel infection by Aspergillus flavus for resistant and susceptible maize hybrids.

(...) Crosses among resistant inbreds averaged 16.6% infected kernels compared with 30.4% for hybrids among susceptible inbreds during 2 years of testing. Thus, incidence of A. flavus kernel infection in resistant crosses was 45% less than for hybrids of susceptible inbreds
Paraquat induced activation of transcription factor AP-1 and apoptosis in PC12 cells

Drugs and certain environmental toxins may be responsible for the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease. We have used paraquat as a model toxin for this study since paraquat has been shown to make its way to the nerve terminals and cause cell death of dopamine neurons by oxidative injury. We have shown by the electrophoretic mobility shift assay that paraquat, together with low concentrations of chelated iron (Fe++/DETAPAC), induced the activation of transcription factor AP-1 binding activity to DNA. Under similar conditions we also found by both a DNA laddering assay procedure and by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase assay (TUNEL assay) that paraquat also induces apoptotic cell death. Interestingly, both apoptotic cell death and AP-1/DNA binding activity induced by paraquat were blocked by cyclohexamide and genistein, indicating that both the AP-1/DNA binding activation and apoptosis induced by paraquat are closely related. Moreover, cells were also protected from paraquat toxicity in the presence of antioxidant defense enzymes SOD and catalase. The results support the hypothesis that oxidative stress may be contributing to the apoptotic cell death of dopaminergic neurons, leading to the manifestation of Parkinson's disease. Since paraquat was an important herbicide in the mid 20th Century, our results have the important implication that exposure to environmental toxins such as paraquat may induce Parkinson's disease.
Enzymes involved in mammalian oligosaccharide biosynthesis

Abstract Several new sialyltransferases, N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase and fucosyltransferase genes have been reported in this past year. These sequences have advanced our understanding of the structural, functional and evolutionary relationships amongst the glycosyltransferases, including their roles in selectin ligand biosynthesis. Ablation of the murine N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase 1 gene through gene ‘knock out’ technology has yielded insight into the role of this gene in the developing mouse. Novel ‘O-linked’ protein glycosylation events described in the past year have added to the substantial known diversity in the oligosaccharide structure and glycosyltransferase repertoire of mammalian organisms.
Carrots and Sticks: Keeping Healthcare Workers on the Job in a Public Health Disaster

Malm and colleagues (2008) have prepared a philosophical analysis of the duty of healthcare professionals to provide care in times of crisis. After extensive review, they find that such a duty is w...
Latinos in the United States on the HIV/AIDS care continuum by birth country/region: A systematic review of the literature

Twenty percent of Latinos with HIV in the US are unaware of their HIV status, 33% are linked to care late, and 74% do not reach viral suppression. Disparities along this HIV/AIDS care continuum may be present between various ethnic groups historically categorised as Latino. To identify differences along the HIV/AIDS care continuum between US Latinos of varying birth countries/regions a systematic review of articles published in English between 2002 and 2013 was conducted using MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Web of Science. Studies that reported on one or more steps of the HIV/AIDS care continuum and reported results by birth country/region for Latinos were included. Latinos born in Mexico and Central America were found to be at increased risk of late diagnosis compared with US-born Latinos. No studies were found that reported on linkage to HIV care or viral load suppression by country/region of birth. Lower survival was found among Latinos born in Puerto Rico compared with Latinos born in mainland US. Inconsistent differences in survival were found among Latinos born in Mexico, Cuba, and Central America. Socio/cultural context, immigration factors, and documentation status are discussed as partial explanations for disparities along the HIV/AIDS care continuum.
Trace metals in two garden products derived from sewage sludge

Abstract Yields were decreased in soybean (Glycine max L. C.V. Hawkeye), mint (Mentha viridis L. ), and barley (Hordeum vulgare L. C.V. Atlas 57) when grown in 50% Yolo loam soil and 50% of either of two commercial garden sewage sludge products. The trace elements Zn, Cu, Mn, and B were elevated in plants grown with the high‐level amendments. No Cd and little Ni were detected in shoots.
The Deterrent Effect of Executions on Murder: Effect of Different Ways of Measuring Execution Rates:

Several studies of the states of the USA have been conducted to see whether executions have a deterrent effect on murder. Results conflict, sometimes showing a deterrent effect (e.g., Black & Orsagh, 1978) and sometimes not (e.g., Bailey, 1977). These studies typically have used as a measure of execution rate the number of executions per murder in th'e state. Investigators have focused in the past on execution rates per murderer since they have been interested in whether the probability facing a murderer that he will be executed affects his decision to murder. Focusing on the execution rate per capita of the population or on the absolute number of executions (which is perhaps a crude index of the publicity given to executions) directs interest more to the demand of the public for executions to satisfy their desires for the punishment of criminals. The present note reports an examination of the relationship between different measures of executions and the murder rate. Since executions are usually publicized, the absolute number of executions in a state may be a suitable measure of the arnounr of media publicity given to executions in the state. In addition, the public demand for executions could be independent of the supply of murderers, and execution rates could be expressed instead per capita of the general population rather than per murder. The data set used was that of Cloninger (1977) who presented data for the 4 1 continental states in which there was a death penalty in effect from 1955 to 1959. Both the number of executions and the rate of executions per capita of the general population were correlated positively with the murder rates (Pearson rs = 0.35 and 0.53) but the execution rate per murder was not associated with the murder rate ( r =0.01). We replicated Cloninger's multiple regression analysis using the execution rate per murder and also repeated the analysis using the execution rate per capita instead. The deterrent effect of executions emerged from both regressions. The beta coefficient for the execution rate per murder was -0.20 ( p = .01), while the beta coefficient for the execution rate per capita was -0.18 ( p = .O6). Although the magnitude of the former beta was greater than the latter, the difference was small and suggests that the deterrent effect of executions can be illustrated with the use of either measure of the execution rate, at least in this data set.'
Motherhood, labor force behavior, and women’s careers: An empirical assessment of the wage penalty for motherhood in britain, germany, and the united states

Using harmonized longitudinal data from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP), and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), we trace career prospects after motherhood for five cohorts of American, British, and West German women around the 1960s. We establish wage penalties for motherhood between 9% and 18% per child, with wage losses among American and British mothers being lower than those experienced by mothers in Germany. Labor market mechanisms generating the observed wage penalty for motherhood differ markedly across countries, however. For British and American women, work interruptions and subsequent mobility into mother-friendly jobs fully account for mothers’ wage losses. In contrast, respective penalties are considerably smaller in Germany, yet we observe a substantial residual wage penalty that is unaccounted for by mothers’ observable labor market behavior. We interpret this finding as indicating a comparatively more pronounced role for statistical discrimination against mothers in the German labor market.
Shell Mounds and Mortuary Behavior in the San Francisco Bay Area

The mortuary behavior of hunter-gatherers associated with a San Francisco Bay area shell mound is analyzed. Mortuary analyses in the region are reviewed and critiqued, highlighting the general difficulties associated with investigating the mortuary behavior of hunter-gatherers. Using the concept of inequality and its link to surplus, a mortuary analysis of an example of a shell mound in the area, CA-ALA-328, is then conducted. A formal cemetery located beneath the shell mound is identified, followed by a burial setting involving inhumation into the matrix of the shell mound. A decrease in the level of inequality is observed in the burials as the site transitions from a cemetery to a shell mound. The implications of this change in inequality are explored, and a new interpretation of mortuary behavior at shell mounds is presented. Finally, several areas where the analysis contributes to the development of archaeological theory are outlined.
The posterior thoracic approach in echocardiography

Echocardiograms were recorded using a left posterior thoracic approach in 17 patients with left pleural effusion. Comparison of these records with those obtained using the conventional technique in the same patients revealed that the left posterior thoracic approach yielded records of adequate quality in all patients. The mitral valve, the left ventricle, and the posterior pericardium were well defined. In 10 patients in whom pericardial effusion was also p;esent, the posterior approach facilitated clear separation of the pleural and pericardial effusions. A major limitation of the posterior technique appears to be inability to record the aortic root, the aortic valve, and the left atrium.
Intelligent design in theological perspective

While “scientism” is typically regarded as a position about the exclusive epistemic authority of science held by a certain class of “cultured despisers” of “religion”, we show that only on the assumption of this sort of view do purportedly “scientific” claims made by proponents of “intelligent design” appear to lend epistemic or apologetic support to claims affirmed about God and God’s action in “creation” by Christians in confessing their “faith”. On the other hand, the hermeneutical strategy that better describes the practice and method of Christian theologians, from the inception of theological reflection in the Christian tradition, acknowledges the epistemic authority of the best available tests for truth in areas of human inquiry such as science and history. But this strategy does not assume that such tests, whose authority must be regarded as provisional, provides authority for the warrant of affirming claims constituting the confessed “faith”. By attributing theological import to claims advanced by appeal to the best available tests for truth in the practice of science, supporters of ID not only confuse the epistemic authority of these tests with the normative authority of a faith community’s confessional identity, but impute to scientific tests for truth a sort of authority that even goes beyond the “methodological naturalism” against which they counterpose their claims.
Regulation of low-threshold afferent activity may contribute to short-term habituation in Aplysia californica.

Abstract The goal of this study was to characterize the contribution of a population of low-threshold mechanoreceptors to short-term habituation of siphon-elicited reflex responses in Aplysia californica . Since the location of their somata is unknown, we refer to them as the Unidentified Low-Threshold mechanoreceptors (ULTs). The ULTs operate in parallel to the higher-threshold and well-characterized LE sensory neurons, yet little is known regarding their contribution to behavioral plasticity. Using extracellular recordings from the siphon nerve, we found that habituation training that favors ULT activation resulted in a significant decrease in afferent activity at training intervals up to 1 min per stimulus (1 min ISI). To determine how this reduction impacts responses at other sites of the reflex network, we used intracellular recordings to measure training-induced changes in either L29 excitatory interneurons or LFS siphon motor neurons. With a 30 s ISI, changes at both locations were training site-specific and matched the rate of change of afferent activity, implicating regulated sensory activity as a primary mechanism. With a shorter training interval (1 s ISI), site-specificity of training was not observed in the L29s, but was still preserved in the motor neurons. For both, the rate of change during training was faster than the rate of change of afferent activity. Taken together, we conclude that regulation of low-threshold sensory neuron activity can play a significant role in short-term habituation, but other network processes may be recruited at more rapid training intervals.
Cherubism: report of a nonfamilial case

This report reviews a rare case of cherubism that occurred in a child whose family history did not include other cases of the disorder.
Genomic structure, organization and promoter analysis of the human F11R/F11 receptor/junctional adhesion molecule-1/JAM-A

The F11-receptor (F11R) (a.k.a. JAM-1, JAM-A, CD321) is a cell adhesion molecule of the immunoglobulin superfamily involved in platelet adhesion, secretion and aggregation. In addition, the F11R plays a critical role in the function of endothelial cells and in platelet adhesion to inflamed endothelium. In the present study, we used partial sequences of the human F11R gene, F11R cDNAs, and information in unannotated human genome databases, to delineate the F11R gene. We found that the F11R gene is composed of 13 exons (E1a, 1b, 1c, E1-E10) encoding two groups of mRNAs differing in length and sequence at their 5' UTRs, referred to as type 1 and type 2 messages. Type 1 cDNAs are shorter at the 5' end and contain a region not found within type 2 messages. Type 1 mRNAs are present in endothelial cells (EC), platelets, white blood cells and in the cell lines CMK, HeLa, K562, HOG and A549, while type 2 messages are limited to EC. Type 1 messages contain exons E1-E10 whereas type 2 messages usually contain exons E1a, 1c, part of E1 and E2-E10. The translation start site is localized in the 3' end of E1, common for both type 1 and type 2 messages. Expression of these messages is regulated by two alternative promoters, P1 and P2. P1 is a TATA-less promoter containing an initiator element, multiple transcription start sites, several GC and CCAAT boxes, and GATA, NF-kappaB and ets consensus sequences. The cloned P1 drives efficient expression of the luciferase reporter gene. A high level of similarity between human P1 and its rat and mouse counterparts was observed. Promoter P2, located upstream of P1, contains a TATA box, GC boxes, a CCAAT box and GATA and ets consensus sequences. 3' RACE provided evidence for variability in the 3' UTR due to the presence of two polyadenylation signals. The finding of multiple regulatory sites in the promoters supplements the biochemical evidence that the F11R has several different roles in the functional repertoire of endothelial cells, platelets and other cells. In particular, the presence of NF-kappaB provides additional evidence to the significance of the F11R function in the initiation of inflammatory thrombosis.
Spatial variability and interpolation of stochastic weather simulation model parameters

Abstract The spatial variability of 58 precipitation and temperature parameters from the “generation of weather elements for multiple applications” (GEM) weather generator has been investigated over a region of significant complexity in topography and climate. GEM parameters were derived for 80 climate stations in southern Idaho and southeastern Oregon. A technique was developed and used to determine the GEM parameters from high-elevation snowpack telemetry stations that report precipitation in nonstandard 2.5-mm (versus 0.25 mm) increments. Important dependencies were noted between most of these parameters and elevation (both domainwide and local), location, and other factors. The “parameter-elevation regressions on independent slopes model” (PRISM) spatial modeling system was used to develop approximate 4-km gridded data fields of each of these parameters. A feature was developed in PRISM that models temperatures above and below mean inversions differently. Examples of the spatial fields derived from th...
The blood group antibody "Good," 1966. I. Clinical aspects, routine serologic studies, further search for antigen and antibodies

The Good family, in which the husband's red blood cells contain a private antigen (Good) responsible for the development of severe erythroblastosis fetalis in four infants, has had two additional infants since the original reports in 1960 and 1961. The latest pregnancy, which terminated in 1965, permitted further evaluation of both the Good antigen and anti-Good. The antibody has been found in 0.3% of sera of a random donor population (eight examples in 2,718 donors). No additional example of the antigen has been found in 2,382 random donors. Spectrophotometric analysis of amniotic fluid was used in management of the latest pregnancy, which resulted in a normal unaffected infant.
Point and share: from paper to whiteboard

Traditional writing instruments have the potential to enable new forms of interactions and collaboration though digital enhancement. This work specifically enables the user to utilize pen and paper as input mechanisms for content to be displayed on a shared interactive whiteboard. We introduce a pen cap with an infrared led, an actuator and a switch. Pointing the pen cap at the whiteboard allows users to select and position a "canvas" on the whiteboard to display handwritten text while the actuator enables resizing the canvas and the text. It is conceivable that anything one can write on paper anywhere, could be displayed on an interactive whiteboard.
Key Health Issues for Dairy Cattle—New and Old

The objective of this paper is to use available information to evaluate the relative importance of various health issues affecting dairy cattle. In addition to traditional ranking using evaluation methods based on impacts to animal productivity, this paper considers zoonotic risks, international trade implications, and animal welfare concerns. Traditional production costs rank mastitis, reproductive problems, and lameness as the top dairy cattle diseases. When the other areas of importance are included, the top-ranked diseases change to include salmonella, Johne's disease, bovine viral diarrhea-associated disease, and mastitis. Researchers in the dairy industry may want to reevaluate their criteria for setting research priorities to include zoonotic risks, international trade implications, and animal welfare concerns.
Plasma flow processes within magnetic nozzle configurations

An attempt is made to separate the interactive processes occurring in electromagnetic devices and to examine the acceleration of ionized gas within magnetic fields which can guide it through an expansion process. The plasma was generated in a single turn coil 50 cm long with a radius of 5.25 cm which surrounded a quartz tube with an internal radius of 3.81 cm and a length of 100 cm. Choking was found to occur at both sonic and cusp velocities which were coincident in the present experiment.
L -Shell Ionization by Protons of 1.5- to 4.25-Mev Energy

Characteristic $L$-shell x-rays produced when protons of 1.5- to 4.25-Mev energy are stopped in Ta, Au, Pb, and U have been studied with a NaI scintillator. The absolute cross sections for x-ray production are presented. By correcting these values for Auger transitions, the $L$-shell ionization cross sections have been determined. At 3 Mev, the x-ray production cross sections are 104, 74, 54, and 24 barns for Ta, Au, Pb, and U, respectively.
Consumer health informatics: Health information technology for consumers

Consumer health informatics represents a diverse field devoted to the development, implementation, and research on telecommunication and computer applications designed for consumers to access information on a wide variety of health care topics. This technology, both hardware and software, is part of a growing trend toward empowering consumers to take a more active role in their own health care and to provide the necessary information to enhance their decision making. Research indicates that access to health information enables patients to be more active participants in the treatment process, which can lead to better medical outcomes. This article covers the technology advances, the computer programs that are currently available, and the basic research that addresses both the effectiveness of computer health informatics and its impact on the future direction of health care. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Fault-tolerant resource placement in balanced hypercubes

Balanced hypercube is a variant of the standard hypercube structure for multicomputers, with desirable properties of strong connectivity, regularity, and symmetry. This structure is a special type of load balancing graph designed to tolerate processor failure. In a balanced hypercube, each processor has a backup (matching) processor that shares the same set of neighboring nodes. Therefore, tasks that run on a faulty processor can be reactivated in the backup processor to provide efficient system reconfiguration. In this paper, we study the resource placement problem in balanced hypercubes. Resources can be hardware devices (such as I/O processors, disks, etc.) or software modules (such as data files, library routines, etc.). The proposed placement algorithm guarantees that each node without resource copy connects two (matching) nodes with resource copy. Therefore, one of the resource copies at each matching pair can be used as a backup to tolerate possible processor failures. Moreover, the proposed algorithm is perfect in that each node without resource copy connects two and only two nodes with resource copy and neighbors of each node with resource copy are nodes without resource copy.
The evolution of the human self: Tracing the natural history of self-awareness

Previous discussions of the evolution of the self have diverged greatly in their estimates of the date at which the capacity for self-thought emerged, the factors that led self-reflection to evolve, and the nature of the evidence offered to support these disparate conclusions. Beginning with the assumption that human self-awareness involves a set of distinct cognitive abilities that evolved at different times to solve different adaptive problems, we trace the evolution of self-awareness from the common ancestor of humans and apes to the beginnings of culture, drawing upon paleontological, anthropological, biological, and psychological evidence. These data converge to suggest that that modern self-thought appeared just prior to the Middle-Upper Paleolithic transition, approximately 60,000 years ago.Recto running head: Evolution of the Self.
Towards advanced biological detection using surface enhanced raman scattering (SERS)-based sensors

The Army has a need for an accurate, fast, reliable and robust means to identify and quantify defense related materials. Raman spectroscopy is a form of vibrational spectroscopy that is rapidly becoming a valuable tool for homeland defense applications, as it is well suited for the molecular identification of a variety of compounds, including explosives and chemical and biological hazards. To measure trace levels of these types of materials, surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS), a specialized form of Raman scattering, can be employed. The SERS enhancements are produced on, or in close proximity to, a nanoscale roughened metal surface and are typically associated with increased local electromagnetic field strengths. However, before application of SERS in the field and in particular to biological and other hazard sensing applications, significant improvements in substrate performance are needed. In this work, we will report the use of several SERS substrate architectures (colloids, film-over-nanospheres (FONs) and commercially available substrates) for detecting and differentiating numerous endospore samples. The variance in spectra as obtained using different sensing architectures will also be discussed. Additionally, the feasibility of using a modified substrate architecture that is tailored with molecular recognition probe system for detecting biological samples will be explored. We will discuss the progress towards an advanced, hybrid molecular recognition with a SERS/Fluorescence nanoprobe system including the optimization, fabrication, and spectroscopic analysis of samples on a commercially available substrate. Additionally, the feasibility of using this single-step switching architecture for hazard material detection will also be explored.
An analytical model for the gate capacitance of small-geometry MOS structures

An analytical formulation of the gate capacitance of MOS structures which takes into consideration the effects of electrode thickness and lateral gate dimensions is presented. Results are presented in normalized form covering a wide range of typical device dimensions.
2-TRIMETHYLSILYLOXY-1,3-BUTADIENE, A NEW REACTIVE DIENE. PREPARATION AND REACTIONS

reactions in the hands of synthetic chemists today. The thorough understanding of the stereochemical (Alder endo transition state rules') and regiochemical (concerted but non-synchronous formation of bondFselectivity of the Diels-Alder reaction which exists today allows one to construct a large variety of specifically substituted cyclohexene derivatives. However the applicability Of this reaction to the construction of highly useful cyclohexanone derivatives is rather limited. Because the usual reagent developed for this process, E-ethoxy-1,3-butadiene, 1, is cumbersome to prepare3 and possesses very low synthetic flexibility, there existed a need for a new reagent of this type which would circumvent these problems. We report now a solution to this problem with the development of the compound E-trimethylsilyloxy-1,3-butadiene 1. as a reactive diene comonent in Diels-Alder reactions? In particular we wish to indicate four important points about this 2-oxygenated-1,3-butadiene: a) the ease of preparation of the diene; b) its reactivity in Diels-Alder reactions; c) the susceptibility of its adducts 3 to various hydrolytic conditions; and d) the synthetic versatility of the adducts 3 especially with regard to the silyl enol ether functionality.
The Ekman matching condition in a partially filled, rapidly rotating cylinder☆

Abstract The use of an analytical matching condition in lieu of grid refinement and direct application of the no-slip boundary condition in a finite-difference calculation is considered for the case of a partially filled, rapidly rotating cylinder. The right circular cylinder is rotating fast enough that the liquid-air interface is nearly vertical. A non-wheel-flow velocity is induced by the differential rotation of the top lid. For the flow conditions of interest, the Ekman boundary layers on the horizontal surfaces are quite thin and their resolution using a very fine mesh makes the overall calculation very time-consuming and costly. We discuss the appropriate form of the Ekman matching condition, which has been widely used in rotating flow theory, to the case of a cylinder which is only partially full, and the fully implicit implementation of that condition into a MAC-derived, time-marching finite-difference calculation. The resulting algorithm is stable and efficient and the results compare quite well with calculations made using grid refinement and direct application of the no-slip condition and with recently published LDV measurements.
Development and Characterization of a CP4 EPSPS‐Based, Glyphosate‐Tolerant Corn Event

5-Enol-pyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase from Agrobacterium sp. CP4 (CP4 EPSPS) confers tolerance to the nonselective herbicide glyphosate (marketed under the trade name Roundup1)¹Roundup Ready and Roundup herbicide are trademarks of the Monsanto Company. when sufficiently expressed in transgenic plants. Dual CP4 EPSPS transgene cassettes were transformed into corn (Zea mays L.) under the transcriptional regulatory control of the rice (Oryza sativa L.) actin 1 (P-Ract1) and the enhanced Cauliflower mosaic virus 35S (P-e35S) promoters, respectively, to impart fully constitutive expression in corn. Resulting events were tested for lack of chlorosis and malformation injury after two sequential applications of 1.68 kg acid equivalents (a.e.) ha⁻¹ glyphosate. Agronomic parameters, male fertility, appropriate Mendelian segregation of the trait, plus characteristics of the transgenic integration site were also evaluated. From this selection process, the NK603 event was chosen for commercialization as the event that embodied the most optimal profile of tolerance, agronomics, and molecular characteristics. The NK603 event exhibited high glyphosate tolerance from one transgenic locus bearing a single copy of the dual cassettes integrated into the corn genome with a minimum of target sequence disruption. Trait expression in the NK603 event has remained stable over more than eight generations as shown through tolerance testing, western blots of CP4 EPSPS accumulation, and Southern blot analysis of the transgene.
The uniconc optimizing unicon compiler

Goal-directed programming languages present many unique challenges for compiler developers. The objective of this project was to design and implement an optimizing compiler for the goal-directed, object-oriented Unicon programming language. The resulting compiler (Uniconc) has a unique topology that is designed to facilitate code transformation experiments. Uniconc produces intermediate code at four points in the compilation process, and code transformations in Uniconc can span one or more forms of intermediate code. Code transformation experiments conducted with Uniconc have produced optimizations that increase the speed of method invocations and field references, decrease the size of class instances, and improve the quality of type inferencing information. Measurements indicate that native Unicon targets generated by Uniconc are at least four times faster than VM-hosted Unicon targets.
Modal interaction in composite cylinders under hydrostatic pressure

Abstract A novel and computationally effective procedure for the study of the overall and local instabilities in composite ring stiffened shells subjected to hydrostatic pressure is presented. The key feature of the formulation employed is a judicious combination of Koiter's amplitude modulation technique and the Byskov-Hutchinson asymptotic procedure for the interactive buckling analysis. A potential energy function is formulated in terms of a comparatively small number of degrees-of-freedom, viz. the degrees-of-freedom depicting the amplitude modulating function and a scaling factor of the overall buckling mode. As a result of the amplitude modulation, there arise in the potential energy function non-vanishing cubic interactive terms which control the process of mode interaction. Imperfection-sensitivity under coincident buckling is examined. It appears that a 50% reduction of the buckling capacity must probably be allowed for as a result of modal interaction under near-coincident buckling. The optimality under interactive buckling is also examined with the total volume of the material kept constant and the critical stress ratio varied.
Real-time language recognition by one-dimensional cellular automata

Pattern recognition by parallel devices is investigated by studying the formal language recognition capabilities of one-dimensional cellular automata. The precise relationships of cellular automata to iterative automata and to Turing machines are established: In both cases, cellular automata are inherently faster. The relationship of context-free languages to the languages recognized in real time by bounded cellular automata is detailed. In particular, nondeterministic bounded cellular automata can recognize the context-free languages in real time. The deterministic case remains open, but many partial results are derived. Finally, closure properties and cellular automata transformation lemmas are presented.
Effects of Triphosphopyridine Nucleotide upon Oxygen Evolution and Carbon Dioxide Fixation by Illuminated Chloroplasts

THE illumination of suspensions of chloroplasts always causes a very small and transient evolution of oxygen. The rate curve for this process has previously been measured1 under anaerobic conditions by means of the phosphorescence quenching method of Franck and Pringsheim2. In continuation of this work, the influence on oxygen production of certain biologically important substances added to the chloroplast suspensions has been studied.
ALTERNATION BEHAVIOR IN PERIPHERALLY-BLINDED RATS

The rationale behind this deduction lies in Glanzer's assumption that the frequency of alternation is a function of the discriminabiliry of the alternatives. One potential way of reducing discriminability is through direct manipulation of the stimuli; another is through manipulation of S's sensory capacities. In the present experiment the second of the above methods is employed. The T-maze alternation behavior of a group of normal rats is compared with that of a group of peripherally-blinded rats. Since it has been shown that rats in the alternation situation are highly responsive to visual stimuli (1, 2, 3), it seems reasonable that for blinded rats the two alternatives should be less discriminable than for normal rats. According to Glanzer's deduction, the blinded rats should alternate less than the normals.
Optimization in model matching and perceptual organization

We introduce an optimization approach for solving problems in computer vision that involve multiple levels of abstraction. Our objective functions include compositional and specialization hierarchies. We cast vision problems as inexact graph matching problems, formulate graph matching in terms of constrained optimization, and use analog neural networks to perform the optimization. The method is applicable to perceptual grouping and model matching. Preliminary experimental results are shown.
New Strategies for the Retention of Historic Casement Windows in Bavaria

Historic building elements, particularly historic windows, have become increasingly endangered by the need to upgrade buildings to modern standards of energy conservation. In order to save these valuable building parts from destruction or replacement, reliable strategies for a substantial improvement of their physical properties have to be found. This article deals with strategies to preserve, repair and upgrade historic wooden casement windows by giving an overview of different methods of improving the physical properties of windows. The advantages and disadvantages of methods are discussed using two listed buildings in Bavaria as examples for the wide range of solutions to be considered.
The Manifold Structure of the Chromosphere and Corona

Although the photosphere is a uniform region for scales greater than the granulation, the fact that the magnetic field strength falls off less sharply than the gas pressure leads to strong magnetic influence at greater heights in the solar atmosphere. This magnetic influence leads to non-uniformity and fine structure in the chromosphere and corona. The existence of such structure has been deduced mostly from measurements of photospheric phenomena; in particular, from measurements of photospheric velocity fields (Leighton, Noyes & Simon 1962) and of photospheric magnetic fields (Bumba & Howard 1965). The determining factor would thus appear to be in the photosphere; but visible effects only are produced in the chromosphere and corona.
Chromatographic analysis of antibiotic materials in food

The monitoring of food materials for antibiotic residues is an area of increasing concern and importance due to the potential impact on human health. Large-scale screening applications require methods that are rapid, accurate, provide low detection limits and are free from interference. The problem is further complicated by the wide range of chemical functionalities and modes of operation exhibited by the antibiotic materials of physiological significance in use today. As demonstrated, chromatographic methods provide many of the advantages necessary for screening applications. Judicious choice of sample preparation method, separation mode and detection strategy can provide significant immunity from problems associated with the food matrix. Gas chromatography can provide extremely high separation efficiencies, however, only a limited number of antibiotic compounds are inherently volatile enough for direct analysis by gas chromatography. Derivatization to enhance the volatility of the antibiotic is one approach to overcome this limitation. Among the methods available, reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography is used extensively for the analysis of many antibiotic systems as it does not require derivatization and it combines relatively high separation efficiencies with low detection limits. The diverse group of properties exhibited by the antibiotic materials in use today suggests that the choice of detection strategy is a key component in the successful development of an analysis technique. Derivatization of the antibiotic material is frequently used to add either a fluorogenic of chromogenic moiety to the antibiotic compound to enhance detection. Derivatization procedures suffer from several limitations which are problematic when making measurements in complicated food matrices. Among the different detection modes utilized for antibiotic analysis, polarimetric detection has the potential to provide extremely selective detection of most antibiotic materials, and this selective response can minimize many of the constraints placed upon the separation system by the sample matrix. Although many of the separation modes used for antibiotic analysis are well developed, separations based on capillary electrophoretic methods have much potential in the field of antibiotic analysis. Future investigations are needed to extend the generality of these techniques and expand their use into the field of food analysis.
Efficient Parallel Computer Simulation of the Motion Behaviors of Closed-Loop Multibody Systems

This paper presents an efficient parallelizable algorithm for the computer-aided simulation and numerical analysis of motion behaviors of multibody systems with closed-loops. The method is based on cutting certain user-defined system interbody joints so that a system of independent multibody subchains is formed. These subchains interact with one another through associated unknown constraint forces f c at the cut joints. The increased parallelism is obtainable through cutting joints and the explicit determination of associated constraint forces combined with a sequential O(n) method. Consequently, the sequential O(n) procedure is carried out within each subchain to form and solve the equations of motion while parallel strategies are performed between the subchains to form and solve constraint equations concurrently. For multibody systems with closed-loops, joint separations play both a role of creation of parallelism for computing load distribution and a role of opening a closed-loop for use of the O(n) algorithm. Joint separation strategies provide the flexibility for use of the algorithm so that it can easily accommodate the available number of processors while maintaining high efficiency. The algorithm gives the best performance for the application scenarios for n>>1 and n>>m, where n and m are number of degree of freedom and number of constraints of a multibody system with closed-loops respectively. The algorithm can be applied to both distributed-memory parallel computing systems and shared-memory parallel computing systems.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
Li-Fraumeni Syndrome

Das Li-Fraumeni-Syndrom (LFS) ist ein autosomal-dominant vererbtes,neoplastischesSyndrom und durch das Auftreten multipler Tumoren im Kindes- und fruhen Erwachsenenalter charakterisiert. Bei den LFS-assoziierten Neoplasien handelt es sich in erster Linie um Brustkrebs, Weichteilsarkome und Knochensarkome sowie ein vermehrtes Auftreten von Hirntumoren, Leukamien und Karzinomen der Nebennierenrinde(Li u. Fraumeni 1969; Li et al. 1988). Die Mehrzahl der LFS-Patienten hat eine Keimbahnmutation im TP53-Tumorsuppressorgen (Malkin et al. 1990; Srivastava et al. 1990; Varley, et al. 1997). Bei einigen Familien, die die Kriterien des LFS oder von LFS-Varianten erfullen, wurde eine heterozygote Keimbahnmutation des hCHK2-Gens nachgewiesen (Bell et al. 1999).
Deterministic functions of cortical acetylcholine

Traditional descriptions of the basal forebrain cholinergic projection system to the cortex have focused on neuromodulatory influences, that is, mechanisms that modulate cortical information processing but are not necessary for mediating discrete behavioral responses and cognitive operations. This review summarises and conceptualises the evidence in support of more deterministic contributions of cholinergic projections to cortical information processing. Through presynaptic receptors expressed on cholinergic terminals, thalamocortical and corticocortical projections can evoke brief cholinergic release events. These acetylcholine (ACh) release events occur on a fast, sub-second to seconds-long time scale (‘transients’). In rats performing a task requiring the detection of cues as well as the report of non-cue events cholinergic transients mediate the detection of cues specifically in trials that involve a shift from a state of monitoring for cues to cue-directed responding. Accordingly, ill-timed cholinergic transients, generated using optogenetic methods, force false detections in trials without cues. We propose that the evidence is consistent with the hypothesis that cholinergic transients reduce detection uncertainty in such trials. Furthermore, the evidence on the functions of the neuromodulatory component of cholinergic neurotransmission suggests that higher levels of neuromodulation favor staying-on-task over alternative action. In other terms, higher cholinergic neuromodulation reduces opportunity costs. Evidence indicating a similar integration of other ascending projection systems, including noradrenergic and serotonergic systems, into cortical circuitry remains sparse, largely because of the limited information about local presynaptic regulation and the limitations of current techniques in measuring fast and transient neurotransmitter release events in these systems.