cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Identification and characterization of the human transforming growth factor-alpha initiator.

Eukaryotic transcription requires promoter proximal elements. For class II promoters, two such elements are the TATA box and the initiator. The promoter for the human transforming growth factor-alpha (TGF alpha) gene has been shown to lack a TATA box, yet initiate transcription at a unique site. We have identified an approximately 13-basepair sequence between -5 and +8 as a new promoter element. We call this element the TGF alpha initiator based on the following observations: 1) it is located at the transcription initiation site; 2) the promoter activity is largely reduced by either deletion or mutation of the element; and 3) mutations result in initiation upstream of the authentic start site; the TGF alpha initiator directs site-specific initiation. An electrophoretic mobility shift assay demonstrated that a protein(s) in nuclear extracts forms complexes with the TGF alpha initiator. This interaction is sequence specific and depends on nucleotides that are critical for the promoter activity in vivo. Two ...
Inhibition of Thyroidal Iodotyrosine Deiodination byTyrosine Analogues

The effect of several tyrosine derivatives on deiodination of 3,5-diiodo-L-tyrosine (DIT) has been examined in vitro and in vivo. In TPNH-supplemented sheep thyroid homogenates, the most effective inhibitors of deiodination, in order of increasing potency, were 3,5-dibromo-L-tyrosine (DBT), 3,5-dinitro- L-tyrosine (DNT) and 3-nitro-L-tyrosine (MNT); kinetic studies suggested purely competitive inhibition. Compounds with weak or no inhibitory activity included tyrosine itself, its 3-methyl-, 3-isopropyl-, 3-ra-propyl-, and 3- amino- derivatives, and 3,4-dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine. DBT, DNT and MNT also inhibited deiodination of DIT by sheep thyroid slices. In rats, administration of DBT, DNT, or MNT with 131I-DIT inhibited deiodination, and led to the appearance of an unknown DIT metabolite in blood and urine. Administration of the most potent in. vitro inhibitor, MNT, to rats prelabeled with radioiodine was followed by the urinary excretion of large amounts of a similar unknown organic iodine compound, tog...
A practical magnetic bearing

Over the past several years magnetic suspension has been emerging from the laboratory and a number of successful engineering prototypes have been constructed both here and abroad. Advances in magnetic materials, primarily Samarium Cobalt, and in electronics across the board for sensing and control, have contributed to the realization of completely non-contacting rotating systems employing magnetic bearings to eliminate the last remaining wearout-prone element. Current efforts are being directed more toward reducing the size, weight, and complexity of these devices to achieve acceptance in flight systems than to demonstrate feasibility. This paper discusses an 8 cm diameter by 3.75 cm bearing which can support more than ten times its own weight and uses only 1% of its payload as part of the magnetic suspension. This design is servoed in two axis and is inherently stable in three other degrees of freedom with full rotational freedom in the desired axis. The unit has capacitive radial position sensors integrally built into the magnetic gap to further simplify its use.
Two-center holographic recording

We describe a two-center holographic recording method for the storage of persistent holograms in doubly doped lithium niobate crystals. We use a two-center model, and we show that our experimental observations can be explained by the model. We describe experimental methods for finding the unknown material parameters of LiNbO3:Fe:Mn crystals for the two-center model, and we discuss the optimization of two-center recording.
NEW METHODS FOR CALCULATING KINETIC PROPERTIES OF CELLS IN VITRO USING PULSE LABELLING WITH BROMODEOXYURIDINE

The transit times of Chinese hamster ovary cells through the phases of their cell cycle were measured using dual parameter flow cytometry to measure DNA content and the presence of monoclonal antibodies to bromodeoxyuridine. Up to four separate populations can be accurately measured: unlabelled cells in G2 + M; labelled cells that have not yet divided; labelled cells that have already divided; and the unlabelled cells that were originally in G1 plus the cells that were originally in G2 + M and have since divided. The fractions of cells in these populations can be easily followed in time and the usual kinetic properties can be estimated from these fractions, or combinations thereof, including the times through G1, S, G2 + M and the cycle time. We present equations for analysing this type of data and comment on which equations are most appropriate for measuring specific kinetic properties of the cells.
Altered Sinonasal Ciliary Dynamics in Chronic Rhinosinusitis

BackgroundAlthough multiple etiologies contribute to the development of rhinosinusitis, a common pathophysiological sequelae is ineffective sinonasal mucociliary clearance, resulting in stasis of sinonasal secretions, with subsequent infection, and persistent inflammation. The respiratory cilia beat continually at a basal rate, while during times of stress, such as exercise or infection, ciliary beat frequency (CBF) increases, accelerating mucus clearance. Previous investigations have led to conflicting results with some authors reporting decreased CBF while others have found normal values of CBF in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS). Additionally, these studies have only analyzed basal CBF. The goal of this study was to compare the basal as well as the stimulated sinonasal CBF in patients with CRS versus controls.MethodsA dual temperature controlled perfusion chamber, differential interference contrast microscopy, and high-speed digital video were used to analyze both basal and adenosine triphosp...
Molecular analysis of the plant gene encoding cytosolic phosphoglucose isomerase

The gene encoding a cytosolic isozyme of phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI, EC 5.3.1.9) was isolated from Clarkia lewisii, a wild flower native to California, and the structure and sequence of the entire coding region determined. PGI catalyzes an essential step in glycolysis and carbohydrate biosynthesis in plants. Spanning about 6 kb, the gene has 23 exons and 22 introns, the highest number yet reported in plants. The exons range in size from 43 to 156 nt and encode a protein of 569 amino acids. The protein is about 44-46% identical to the inferred protein sequences of pig, Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. All of the introns are bordered with the consensus 5'-GT...AG-3' dinucleotides. The longest intron includes a large stem-loop structure bounded by a perfect 9 nt direct repeat. We cloned the PGI gene from a genomic library prepared from a single plant of known PGI genotype. The locus and allele of the clone were identified by matching restriction fragments to fragments from genetically defined genomic DNAs by Southern hybridization.
Run time assurance of application-level requirements in wireless sensor networks

The current rapid development and deployment of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) and their application in mission critical systems are exacerbating the need for high confidence WSNs. Achieving high confidence WSNs will require new assurance technologies. Most current solutions deal with faults and reliability and not with application level semantics and associated assurances. We propose the use of a novel WSN design and assurance mechanism, run time assurance (RTA), to guarantee that important application-level requirements are met in mission critical applications.
Site-Directed Mutagenesis of the Sterol Methyl Transferase Active Site from Saccharomyces cerevisiae Results in Formation of Novel 24-Ethyl Sterols.

Δ24(28)-Sterols are end products of a mono C-methylation pathway catalyzed by the native Δ24(25)- to Δ24(28)-sterol methyl transferase (SMT) enzyme from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Using a Tyr81 to P...
Adaptive non-local means filtering based on local noise level for CT denoising

Radiation dose from CT scans is an increasing health concern in the practice of radiology. Higher dose scans can produce clearer images with high diagnostic quality, but may increase the potential risk of radiation-induced cancer or other side effects. Lowering radiation dose alone generally produces a noisier image and may degrade diagnostic performance. Recently, CT dose reduction based on non-local means (NLM) filtering for noise reduction has yielded promising results. However, traditional NLM denoising operates under the assumption that image noise is spatially uniform noise, while in CT images the noise level varies significantly within and across slices. Therefore, applying NLM filtering to CT data using a global filtering strength cannot achieve optimal denoising performance. In this work, we have developed a technique for efficiently estimating the local noise level for CT images, and have modified the NLM algorithm to adapt to local variations in noise level. The local noise level estimation technique matches the true noise distribution determined from multiple repetitive scans of a phantom object very well. The modified NLM algorithm provides more effective denoising of CT data throughout a volume, and may allow significant lowering of radiation dose. Both the noise map calculation and the adaptive NLM filtering can be performed in times that allow integration with the clinical workflow.
Hysteresis in the superconducting transition of single spheres of indium

Abstract Superheating and Supercooling of single spheres of indium 6–50 μm in diameter is investigated and compared to results from powder samples. The results give ϰ(Tc)=0.062. A marked size effect near Tc is observed for the smaller spheres.
INSIDE THE “BLACK BOX”: METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES IN CLASSROOM RESEARCH ON LANGUAGE LEARNING

Two basic approaches characterize classroom research on second language learning: interaction analysis and anthropological observation. Within each approach several methods are available for data collection and analysis. Procedures described are the use of behavioral observation systems, discourse analysis, ethnography, constitutive ethnography, and diary studies. Strengths and limitations of these methods and of both basic approaches are considered, and suggestions are made for the design of future research. This work needs to include a classroom observational component in which language acquisition as well as classroom process variables are treated. In this way it will be possible to test a theory of second language acquisition with the aid of formal instruction.
DNA Double-Strand Breaks Trigger Genome-Wide Sister-Chromatid Cohesion Through Eco1 (Ctf7)

Faithful chromosome segregation and repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) require cohesin, the protein complex that mediates sister-chromatid cohesion. Cohesion between sister chromatids is thought to be generated only during ongoing DNA replication by an obligate coupling between cohesion establishment factors such as Eco1 (Ctf7) and the replisome. Using budding yeast, we challenge this model by showing that cohesion is generated by an Eco1-dependent but replication-independent mechanism in response to DSBs in G(2)/M. Furthermore, our studies reveal that Eco1 has two functions: a cohesive activity and a conserved acetyltransferase activity, which triggers the generation of cohesion in response to the DSB and the DNA damage checkpoint. Finally, the DSB-induced cohesion is not limited to broken chromosomes but occurs also on unbroken chromosomes, suggesting that the DNA damage checkpoint through Eco1 provides genome-wide protection of chromosome integrity.
What is the 'normal' 24 h, awake, and asleep blood pressure?

The clinical use of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring requires that a 'normal' limit be identified. However, because the relationship between blood pressure and risk is continuous, any such limit is arbitrary. Various different methods have been used to define a normal limit, and can be divided into those that rely solely on blood pressure measurement, and those that relate blood pressure to target-organ damage or risk. First, several population studies of 'normotensive' people have identified the 95th centile of ambulatory blood pressure, with generally consistent findings, but with the methodological flaw that 'hypertensive' individuals must first be excluded. Second, the ambulatory blood pressure that corresponds to a threshold value of clinic blood pressure (e.g. 140/90 mmHg) can be identified from the regression equation linking the two measures of blood pressure. Third, the percentage of readings greater than a threshold value (the 'blood pressure load') can be specified; this method is arbitrary, and makes the unwarranted assumption that there is a threshold value above which blood pressure causes harm. Fourth, the ambulatory blood pressure above which the prevalence of target-organ damage begins to increase significantly can be identified. Fifth, the relationship between ambulatory blood pressure and cardiovascular risk can be examined in prospective studies. Despite these very different approaches, with a few notable exceptions there is reasonable agreement between the methods, the consensus being that, for daytime ambulatory blood pressure, the normal value is about 135/85 mmHg.
Optical response in one-dimensional Mott insulators

We study the optical response of a Mott Hubbard system in the framework of the half--filled Extended Hubbard Model using the Density Matrix Renormalization Group (DMRG) method. We discuss the appearance of excitonic features inside the spectral gap as the system goes from the Spin Density Wave (SDW) to the Charge Density Wave (CDW) phase.
Multiphase flow measurements using coupled slotted orifice plate and swirl flow meter

Abstract Multiphase flow metering is a major focus for oil and gas industries. The performance of a modified version of a close coupled slotted orifice plate and swirl flow meter for multiphase flow was evaluated to provide further development of a new type of multiphase flow meter. The slotted orifice provides well homogenized flow for several pipe diameters downstream of the plate. This characteristic provides a homogeneous mixture at the inlet of the swirl meter for a wide range of gas volume fractions (GVF) and flow rates. In order to evaluate the performance of the designed flow-meter, its response was investigated for varying pressures and water flow rates. The proper correlations were established to provide high accurate two-phase flow measurements. The new proposed approach provides the GVF measurement with less than ±0.63% uncertainty for GVF range from 60% to 95%.
Denitrification in bottom sediment near oil production facilities off the Louisiana Gulf Coast

There is little information on denitrification in Gulf of Mexico bottom sediment. Potential denitrification rates in surface sediment were measured along transects legs extending 0–800 m from two offshore oil production platforms. The average potential denitrification ranged from approximately 50 mg N m−2 d−1 in surface sediment near the platforms to 15 mg N m−2 d−1 in sediment 800 m from the platforms. Measured denitrification rates were correlated to a higher organic matter content in sediment nearer the platforms. This research examined only a small component of nitrogen processing in Gulf of Mexico sediment. Additional research should examine the effect of nitrogen loading and temporal and spatial variability on denitrification rate.
Anticoccidial drugs: Screening methods

Abstract A review of thirteen primary screens for anticoccidial activity utilizing Eimeria tenella as the screening organism in chicks reveals differences among the following: breeds of birds used, number and sex of birds used per compound; number of oocysts used for inoculation; time of oocyst administration; experimental diets; and criteria used for determining activity. A partially balanced incomplete block design is presented as a means for testing candidate anticoccidials. The design allows for the testing of X 1 number of compounds in X 2 number of cages ( X 1 = X 2 ) with four replicates for each compound. Any individual compound appears with another compound but once.
Source characterization of major emission sources in the imperial and Mexicali Valleys along the US/Mexico border.

Abstract Chemical profiles for particle emissions are needed for source apportionment studies using the chemical mass balance (CMB) receptor model. Source measurements of geological sources, motor vehicle exhaust, vegetative burning (e.g. asparagus, field burning, charbroil cooking), and industrial sources (e.g. oil-fueled glass plant, manure-fueled power plants) were acquired as part of the Imperial/Mexicali Valley Cross Border PM 10 Transport Study in 1992. Six different source sampling techniques (i.e. hot- and diluted-exhaust sampling, ground-based source sampling, particle sweeping/grab sampling, vacuum sampling, and laboratory resuspension sampling) were applied to acquire filter samples of PM 2.5 and PM 10 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters − , NO 3 − , SO 4 = ) by ion chromatography, ammonium (NH 4 + ) by automated colorimetry, soluble sodium (Na + ) and potassium (K + ) by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and organic and elemental carbon (OC, EC) by thermal/optical reflectance. Concentration data were acquired for a total of ∼50 chemical species. Elevated abundances of crustal components (Al, Si, K, Ca, Fe) from geological material, carbon (OC, EC) and trace elements (Br, Pb) from vehicle exhausts, carbon (OC, EC) and ions (K + , Cl − ) from vegetative burning, ions (SO 4 = , NH 4 + , Na + , K + , Cl − ) and elements (Cl, Se) from a manure-fueled power plants, and sulfur and trace elements (Na + , Pb, Se, Ni, V) from an oil-fueled glass plant were found in the resulting source profiles. Abundances of crustal species (e.g. Al, Si, Ca) in the Imperial/Mexicali Valley geological profiles are more than twice those found in central and southern California. Abundances of lead in motor vehicle exhausts indicate different vehicle fleets in border cities. Emission profiles from field burning and charbroil cooking specific to the border area show that a majority (>60%) of emissions are comprised of carbon, with high organic to total carbon ratios (0.93 to 0.97). Abundances of sulfate and ammonium account for nearly 60% of the manure-fueled power plant's emissions. Elevated levels of metals (Na + , Pb, Cd, Se) and byproducts of petroleum combustion (S, Ni, V) were found in the oil-fueled glass plant's emissions.
Metastasis to organs in carcinoma of the uterine cervix. Influence of treatment on incidence and distribution.

Two hundred seventy-eight autopsied cases of various stages of cervical cancer treated at Roswell Park Memorial Institute, Buffalo, New York, were evaluated to determine the effect of treatment on the spread of the disease. Patients were categorized, according to the primary treatment, into four groups: radiation, 183 cases; surgery, 44 cases; combined radiation and surgery, 34 cases; and other methods, 17 cases. The main clinical parameters of prognostic value were equally present except for earlier clinical stages in the “surgery” and “combined” groups. Clinically, the patterns of recurrence varied with the treatment: increased central pelvic recurrences after surgery, lateral deep pelvic recurrences after combined treatment and distant metastases after radiation. The mean survival in all cases was higher than previously reported, and still higher after radiation. Renal failure and sepsis were the leading causes of death. In the autopsy findings patients having radiation showed an increased risk of extrapelvic metastases whereas the surgical group revealed an increased risk of general pelvic and extrapelvic metastases. This may be explained by the longer survival in both groups, with more frequent local control after radiation. Distant metastases were widespread and the distribution was unaffected by the kind of treatment given for the primary disease.
Visual categorization and the parietal cortex

The primate brain is adept at rapidly grouping items and events into functional classes, or categories, in order to recognize the significance of stimuli and guide behavior. Higher cognitive functions have traditionally been considered the domain of frontal areas. However, increasing evidence suggests that parietal cortex is also involved in categorical and associative processes. Previous work showed that the parietal cortex is highly involved in spatial processing, attention, and saccadic eye movement planning, and more recent studies have found decision-making signals in lateral intraparietal area (LIP). We recently found that a subdivision of parietal cortex, LIP, reflects learned categories for multiple types of visual stimuli. Additionally, a comparison of categorization signals in parietal and frontal areas found stronger and earlier categorization signals in parietal cortex arguing that, in trained animals, parietal abstract association or category signals are unlikely to arise via feedback from prefrontal cortex (PFC).
Explaining the OECD Wage Slowdown Recession or Labour Decline

Wage growth slowed significantly in OECD countries in the 1980s and 1990s. Market explanations trace the wage slowdown to a recession characterized by inflationary shocks, high unemployment, and slow productivity growth. Institutional accounts focus on the effects of union density, collective bargaining centralization, and labour government. Analysis of time series from 18 countries for 1966 to 1992 yields some evidence for both theories between 1966 and 1974. Bayesian methods indicate a structural break in the wage growth process, linking the wage slowdown of the 1980s to the declining power of labour movements
A Robust Unstructured Grid Movement Strategy using Three-Dimensional Torsional Springs

The ability to move a grid during a simulation is of critical importance to many types of simulations, including aero-elasticity simulations for wings, gradient-base d design optimization, dynamic movement of control surfaces for maneuvering, and surface tracking methods for free surface flows. For structured grids, transfinite interpolation is a robust method for propagating defo rmations on the surfaces into the volume grid, and its two-dimensional version is readily extendible to three-dimensions. For unstructured grids, two methods that have been used within two-dimensional grids are the use of linear springs and torsional springs to propagate the changes on the surface into the volume mesh. The use of linear springs provides an efficient method to move unstructured grids, but it is not very robust, in that moderate to large deformations will result in invalid meshes, where some of the elements have been inverted. Farhat developed the torsional spring method for two-dimensional grids, and has demonstrated that this method is much more robust, even for large deformations. Farhat and Murayama have attempted to extend the two-dimensional torsional springs method to threedimensions, and their results are impressive. However, both of their methods reduces the three-dimensional tetrahedra into simpler components without analyzing the dynamics of the three-dimensional object, and as such, their methods do not fully represent a three-dimensional extension of the two-dimensional torsional springs method. In this paper, a three-dimensional extension of the torsional springs method is derived by analyzing the equations of volume and area for a tetrahedron and its faces and edges.
Factor structure of the geriatric depression scale in a cohort of depressed nursing home residents

We examined factor structures of the 30-item Geriatric Depression Scale in a sample of depressed nursing home residents at various levels of cognitive functioning (N=917; observation-to-variable ratio 30.6:1). Using principal components analysis and orthogonal varimax rotation, a six-factor structure involving 26 of the 30 items was derived. This solution, which explained 55.1% of the variance, consisted of the following factors: life dissatisfaction, dysphoria, hopelessness/decreased self-attitude, rumination/anxiety, social withdrawal/decreased motivation and decreased cognition. This factor solution shows that a screening test for depression like the GDS may be able to make stable and independent distinctions between various dimensions associated with depressed mood in nursing home residents. The factors derived map well onto commonly recognized dimensions of depressed mood in frail older adults residing in long-term care facilities. The proposed six-factor solution offers a stable, intuitively sound and statistically supported framework for differentiation of depressive screening data into independent dimensions. This, in turn, offers opportunities for clinical differentiation in both practice and research efforts using the GDS.
AMPLIFICATION IN VIVO OF BROME MOSAIC VIRUS RNAS BEARING 3' NONCODING REGION FROM CUCUMBER MOSAIC VIRUS

The 3' noncoding aminoacylatable regions of the three genomic RNAs of brome mosaic (BMV) and cucumber mosaic (CMV) viruses are highly conserved and exhibit extensive similarities in their primary and secondary structures. To investigate the functional significance of these conserved features, the 3' 186 nucleotide sequence of Fny-CMV RNA3 was incorporated into the 3' end of full-length genomic BMV RNA2 and RNA3 and their replicative competence and infectivity were examined in barley protoplasts and Chenopodium quinoa plants, respectively. In barley protoplasts, functional replicase provided by wild-type BMV RNAs 1 and 2 successfully interacted with the CMV 3' end when present on RNA3 and resulted in the proliferation and accumulation of chimeric progeny RNA3 and RNA4. In contrast, when CMV 3' end sequences were present on RNA2 no amplification of chimeric RNA occurred. Inoculation of chimeric RNAs to C. quinoa revealed that systemic infections were derived from the selection of higher fitness recombinant sequences over lower fitness chimeric RNAs.
Image sequence processing using spatiotemporal segmentation

We investigate the improvements that can be obtained in several conventional video-processing algorithms through the incorporation of three-dimensional (3-D) (spatiotemporal) segmentation information. Four classes of image sequence processing techniques are considered: low-pass filtering, high-pass filtering, high-frequency emphasis, and 3-D Sobel filtering. It is demonstrated that segmentation information can improve the performance of these techniques substantially so that this approach may be promising for other applications (e.g., deinterlacing and resolution conversion) as well.
Climate change and the agricultural history of a mid-elevation Andean montane forest

The steep, wet, forested, slopes of the mid-elevation Andes have often been dismissed as inimical to human occupation. A lack of ancient lakes in these habitats has limited the availability of pale...
Cytoplasmic p27 promotes epithelial–mesenchymal transition and tumor metastasis via STAT3-mediated Twist1 upregulation

p27 restrains normal cell growth, but PI3K-dependent C-terminal phosphorylation of p27 at threonine 157 (T157) and T198 promotes cancer cell invasion. Here, we describe an oncogenic feedforward loop in which p27pT157pT198 binds Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) promoting STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3) recruitment and activation. STAT3 induces TWIST1 to drive a p27-dependent epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) and further activates AKT contributing to acquisition and maintenance of metastatic potential. p27 knockdown in highly metastatic PI3K-activated cells reduces STAT3 binding to the TWIST1 promoter, TWIST1 promoter activity and TWIST1 expression, reverts EMT and impairs metastasis, whereas activated STAT3 rescues p27 knockdown. Cell cycle-defective phosphomimetic p27T157DT198D (p27CK-DD) activates STAT3 to induce a TWIST1-dependent EMT in human mammary epithelial cells and increases breast and bladder cancer invasion and metastasis. Data support a mechanism in which PI3K-deregulated p27 binds JAK2, to drive STAT3 activation and EMT through STAT3-mediated TWIST1 induction. Furthermore, STAT3, once activated, feeds forward to further activate AKT.
Novel topical microbicides through combinatorial strategies.

Purpose Developing microbicides for topical epithelial applications is extremely challenging, as evidenced by the scarcity of approved products even after decades of research. Chemical enhancers, including surfactants, are known to be effective antimicrobial agents but are typically toxic towards epithelial cells. Here, we report on the discovery of unique surfactant formulations with improved safety and efficacy profile for epithelial applications, via a combination of high throughput screening techniques.
Defects in Neutron-Irradiated Extrinsic P-Type Silicon

At the 1978 International Conference on Transmutation Doping in Semiconductors, we reported the initial results of a study of radiation defects in neutron-irradiated, low-oxygen extrinsic p-type silicon.1,2 In that initial study we observed two new shallow acceptor levels denoted A1 and A2 located near the valence band edge in the forbidden gap of Si. The activation energies for A1 and A2 were determined from measurements of Hall effect vs. temperature to be ∿0.03 eV and ∿0.04 eV, respectively, in irradiated Si:Ga. These defect centers were observable after annealing at temperatures between ∿575°C (below which temperature the centers were overcompensated by excess damage-produced donors) and ∿625°C. Damage-produced donors became observable at an anneal temperature of ∿500°C with concentrations well in excess of the total concentration of initial donors (measured) plus transmutation-produced phosphorus. These donors annealed away with increasing anneal temperature, and the concentration became too small to observe at an anneal temperature of ∿700°C. Annealing at 700°C to 850°C removed all observable radiation effects — both shallow acceptors and radiation-produced compensating donors. We also observed the shallow acceptors in low-temperature photoconductive spectral response measurements in our initial work, but no extensive study of the optical prperties of these centers was carried out.
Pharmaceutical Crops in California, Benefits and Risks: A Review

Crops are being genetically engineered to produce a wide variety of drugs, vaccines and other pharmaceutical proteins. Although these crops may open the door to less expensive and more readily available drugs, there is concern regarding the potential for contamination of human food and livestock feed, as well as environmental harm. The outlook for the production of pharmaceutical crops in California currently appears mixed. To date, 18 federal permits for field trials involving pharmaceutical or industrial proteins have been approved in California. However, the state’s farming community and general public have thus far rejected pharmaceutical crop production, and a handful of local governments have recently banned the cultivation of genetically modified crops, including pharmaceutical crops. In light of the many pros and cons, three major approaches – the precautionary approach, risk analysis and cost–benefit analysis – could be used to move the debate about pharmaceutical crops forward.
Use of Small Specimens for Evaluation of Irradiated Materials

Small specimens are playing the key role in evaluating properties of irradiated materials. The use of small specimens provides several advantages. Typically, only small volume of material can be irradiated in a reactor at desirable conditions in terms of temperature, neutron flux, and neutron dose. Small volume of irradiated material may also allow for easier handling of specimens. Smaller specimens reduce the amount of radioactive material, minimizing personnel exposures and waste disposal. However, use of small specimens imposes variety of challenges as well. These challenges are associated with proper accounting for size effects and transferability of small specimen data to the real structures of interest. The PCVN specimen as well as any fracture toughness specimen that can be made out of the broken halves of standard Charpy specimens may have exceptional utility for evaluation of RPVs. The Charpy V-notch specimen is the most commonly used specimen geometry in surveillance programs. Precracking and testing of Charpy surveillance specimens would allow one to determine and monitor directly actual fracture toughness instead of requiring indirect predictions using correlations established with impact data. However, there is a growing number of indications that there might be a bias in the reference fracture toughness transition temperature, To values derived from PCVN and compact specimens. The present paper summarizes data from the series of experiments that use subsize specimens for evaluation of the transition fracture toughness of reactor pressure vessel (RPV) steels. Two types of compact specimens and three types of three-point bend specimens from five RPV materials were used in these subsize experiments. The current results showed that To determined from PCVN specimens with width (W) to thickness (B) ratio W/B = 1, on average, are lower than To determined from compact specimens with W/B = 2. At the same time, three-point bend specimens with W/B = 2 exhibited To values that were very similar to To values derived from compact specimens. Constraint corrections developed by Dodds et al. are applied to assess the bias.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
Overview of the structures of heterogeneous genome databases

The data generated from the 15-year U.S. Human Genome Project is currently stored in different kinds of databases worldwide. Since there is no single standard for implementing and accessing genome databases, it is difficult for users to locate the relevant genome data among those databases. Researchers have been working on projects to integrate and to provide centralized access to these databases. Understanding the internal structures of the major types of genome databases is important to these projects. Thus, this paper provides an overview of the structures of different types of genome databases, including sequence, map, model organism, bibliographic, and databases of databases. This paper describes how the genome data is presented to users, the entity-relationship (ER) schema diagrams, the relational tables, and the access and query methods. >
On the use of overrelaxation in conjunction with Gummel's algorithm to speed the convergence in a two-dimensional computer model for MOSFET's

It is shown that the use of overrelaxation, in the implementation of Gummel's algorithm in a two-dimensional computer model for MOSFET's, is markedly effective in speeding up the rate of convergence of the iterative procedure employed. This is particularly notable under conditions of strong inversion.
That Which Belongs to All: Khipus, Community, and Indigenous Legal Activism in the Early Colonial Andes

In recent years, scholars from a variety of fields have advanced the idea that native legal activism worked as one of the most widespread and effective strategies for the defense of communal assets, political autonomy, and customary law in early colonial Peru. Indigenous claimants, petitioners, and legal intermediaries begin to appear in the historical record just ten years after the initial encounter at Cajamarca in 1532. After embracing Iberian legal culture in the early 1540s, individuals of noble Inca descent began to engage with local and metropolitan courts, preparing letters, reports, petitions, and proofs of services and merit aimed at securing their status within the new order. Native lords (caciques) and communities of non-Inca origin joined as active litigants and petitioners in the late 1540s, hiring advocates and solicitors and sending their own delegations to tend to their legal affairs in Lima, seat of a royal court of appeal. During the two decades that followed the promulgation of the New Laws (1542), which granted these courts of appeal or audiencias in the Americas the right to assess and revise Indian tributary quotas, Lima experienced an explosion of litigation by native polities requesting a reduction of their fiscal burdens and caciques seeking confirmation of their chiefly rank. Lawsuits pertaining to lands and pastures, town boundaries, and lordship (cacicazgo) rights soon ensued. In the early 1560s, the first Andean caciques crossed the Atlantic on behalf of their communities and reached the still-itinerant Habsburg court. Indigenous groups quickly became expert litigators in secular and ecclesiastical courts. Their legal activism continued unabated throughout the Habsburg era.
The malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum encodes members of the Puf RNA‐binding protein family with conserved RNA binding activity

A novel class of RNA-binding proteins, Puf, regulates translation and RNA stability by binding to specific sequences in the 3'-untranslated region of target mRNAs. Members of this protein family share a conserved Puf domain consisting of eight 36 amino acid imperfect repeats. Here we report two Puf family member genes, PfPuf1 and PfPuf2, from the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Both genes are spliced with four and three introns clustered within or near the Puf domains, respectively. Northern and RT-PCR analysis indicated that both genes were differentially expressed in gametocytes during erythrocytic development of the parasite. Except for similarities in the Puf domain and expression profile, the deduced PfPuf1 and PfPuf2 proteins differ considerably in size and structure. PfPuf1 has 1894 amino acids and a central Puf domain, whereas PfPuf2 is much smaller with a C-terminal Puf domain. The presence of at least two Puf members in other Plasmodium species suggests that these proteins play evolutionarily similar roles during parasite development. Both in vivo studies using the yeast three-hybrid system and in vitro binding assays using the recombinant Puf domain of PfPuf1 expressed in bacteria demonstrated intrinsic binding activity of the PfPuf1 Puf domain to the NRE sequences in the hunchback RNA, the target sequence for Drosophila Pumilio protein. Altogether, these results suggest that PfPufs might function during sexual differentiation and development in Plasmodium through a conserved mechanism of translational regulation of their target mRNAs.
Compiling Parallel MATLAB for General Distributions using Telescoping Languages

Matlab is one of the most popular computer languages for technical and scientific programming. However, until recently, it has been limited to running on uniprocessors. One strategy for overcoming this limitation is to introduce global distributed arrays, with those arrays distributed across the processors of a parallel machine. In this paper, we describe the compilation technology we have designed for Matlab D, a distributed-array extension of Matlab. Our approach is distinguished by a two-phase compilation technology with support for a rich collection of data distributions. By precompiling array operations and communication steps into Fortran plus MPI, the time to compile an application using those operations is significantly reduced. This paper includes preliminary results that demonstrate that this approach can dramatically improve performance, scaling well to at least 32 processors.
Detecting shadows of moving vehicles based on HMM

Vehicle detection and classification are invaluable in many transportation systems, such as traffic flow analysis, abnormal events detection, automotive driver assistant systems and so on. Many vehicle detection systems have been proposed so far. However, there are still some problems not well solved yet. One of the crucial problems is how to eliminate shadows cast by moving vehicles. In this paper, we propose a novel method based on combination of HMM and background subtraction. A public database of shadow: http://cvrr.ucsd.edu/aton/shadow is employed to test the performance of the new algorithm. Result shows that the proposed method is much better than other old methods.
A Diagnostic Teaching Intervention for Classroom Teachers: Helping Struggling Readers in Early Elementary School

With the advent of “Response to Intervention” there has been emphasis on preventing reading disabilities. This study examined the effectiveness of a classroom teacher Tier II intervention for struggling readers in kindergarten and first grade called the Targeted Reading Intervention. Three rural schools were randomly assigned to experimental and control conditions, with 8 experimental and 12 control classrooms. Five struggling and five non-struggling readers were randomly selected from each classroom. With the support of biweekly coaching, experimental teachers instructed struggling readers in one-on-one sessions in the classroom. Intent-to-treat analyses revealed significant kindergarten gains for initial word identification but no significant gains in first grade. Discussion focuses on the use of classroom teachers to prevent reading disabilities.
Compendium of Recent Total Ionizing Dose Test Results Conducted by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory from 2003 through 2009

This paper reports on the Total Ionizing Dose results for tests performed at JPL from 2009 to 2011. Various microelectronic devices were evaluated to support upcoming missions and research and development projects.
Early Progression of Diabetic Nephropathy Correlates With Methylglyoxal-Derived Advanced Glycation End Products

OBJECTIVE Increased advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and oxidation products (OPs) are proposed to lead to progression of diabetic nephropathy (DN). We investigated the relationship between AGEs, OPs, and progression of DN in 103 subjects with type 1 diabetes participating in the Natural History of Diabetic Nephropathy Study. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Mean age of subjects was 17.6 ± 7.4 years, and mean duration of diabetes was 8.3 ± 4.9 years. All patients were normoalbuminuric. Change in glomerular basement membrane (GBM) width from baseline to 5 years, measured using electron micrographs of renal biopsies, was our primary end point, and mesangial fractional volume was a secondary end point. Fast progressors (FPs) were defined as those in the upper quartile of GBM change, and the remaining patients were classified as slow progressors (SPs). AGEs (3-deoxyglucosone and methylglyoxal hydroimidazolones [MGHI]), carboxymethyl lysine (CML), carboxyethyl lysine (CEL), and OPs (methionine sulfoxide and 2-aminoadipic acid) were measured at year 5 by liquid chromatography/triple-quadruple mass spectroscopy on 10-K plasma filtrates. RESULTS We found that MGHI, CEL, and CML levels were significantly higher in FPs relative to SPs. No product predicted mesangial expansion. A model containing only HbA 1c accounted for 4.7% of GBM width variation, with the total variability explained by the model increasing to 11.6% when MGHI, CEL, and CML were added to the regression model (7.9% increase). MGHI was a significant independent predictor of FP. Using a logistic regression model to relate each biomarker to the probability of a subject’s classification as an FP, CML, CEL, and MGHI, but not HbA 1c , showed a significant relationship to the probability of FP. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that these three major AGEs may be early indicators of progression of important DN lesions.
Pathophysiology of the aquaporin water channels

Discovery of aquaporin water channel proteins has provided insight into the molecular mechanism of membrane water permeability. The distribution of known mammalian aquaporins predicts roles in physiology and disease. Aquaporin-1 mediates proximal tubule fluid reabsorption, secretion of aqueous humor and cerebrospinal fluid, and lung water homeostasis. Aquaporin-2 mediates vasopressin-dependent renal collecting duct water permeability; mutations or downregulation can cause nephrogenic diabetes insipidus. Aquaporin-3 in the basolateral membrane of the collecting duct provides an exit pathway for reabsorbed water. Aquaporin-4 is abundant in brain and probably participates in reabsorption of cerebrospinal fluid, osmoregulation, and regulation of brain edema. Aquaporin-5 mediates fluid secretion in salivary and lacrimal glands and is abundant in alveolar epithelium of the lung. Specific regulation of membrane water permeability will likely prove important to understanding edema formation and fluid balance in both normal physiology and disease.
Cerebral sinus thrombosis diagnosed by MRI and MR venography in cancer patients

To the Editor: In response to the article by Razier and DeAngelis,1 I was pleasantly surprised that the authors covered such a significant complication seen in cancer patients succinctly. Unfortunately, in their study of 20 patients identified retrospectively (9 with hematologic and 11 with solid tumors), no mention was made of those patients with primary CNS tumors who also possibly harbored cerebral sinus thrombosis (CST). The incidence of hypercoagulable states in patients with high-grade glioma2 and meningioma3 has been previously recognized. In those patients with primary CNS tumors, early diagnosis of …
Infant‐mother attachment in children with failure to thrive

This study may represent an advance in the study of failure to thrive (FTT), as (1) it is the first to use the disorganized/disoriented classification of infant-mother attachment (Main & Solomon, 1990) in a study of children with FTT, and (2) it includes measures of social processes associated with individual differences in attachment. Twenty-six children with FTT (10 “organic,” 16 “nonorganic”) and 28 normally growing children, ages 12 to 25 months, were seen in Ainsworth's Strange Situation. The FTT and control groups were equivalent on age of mother (28.0 and 28.6 years, respectively), annual family income ($37,700 and $24,100), and mother's marital status (56% and 52% married). The sample included African-American, Caucasian, and Latino families. In addition, measures of mother-child interaction and mothers' reports of social support and life stress were included. Children with FTT were less likely to show secure and more likely to show anxious, disorganized attachments than normally growing controls: Only 35% of FTTs were secure, whereas 46% showed disorganized attachments. In contrast, 64% of controls were secure and 7% were disorganized. Comparisons between FTTs and controls also revealed differences in maternal sensitivity and stressful social environments. There were no differences in patterns of attachment, level of acute malnutrition, maternal sensitivity, social support, or life stress between organic and nonorganic FTT groups, further discrediting this as a meaningful distinction. The organic and nonorganic groups differed only on a measure of chronicity of malnutrition. These results support the notion that disrupted parent-child relationships and stressful social environments are common in FTT, regardless of the etiology of growth failure. The findings suggest that treatments of FTT must address psychological, as well as medical, problems in these families.
The DeepTree Exhibit: Visualizing the Tree of Life to Facilitate Informal Learning

In this paper, we present the DeepTree exhibit, a multi-user, multi-touch interactive visualization of the Tree of Life. We developed DeepTree to facilitate collaborative learning of evolutionary concepts. We will describe an iterative process in which a team of computer scientists, learning scientists, biologists, and museum curators worked together throughout design, development, and evaluation. We present the importance of designing the interactions and the visualization hand-in-hand in order to facilitate active learning. The outcome of this process is a fractal-based tree layout that reduces visual complexity while being able to capture all life on earth; a custom rendering and navigation engine that prioritizes visual appeal and smooth fly-through; and a multi-user interface that encourages collaborative exploration while offering guided discovery. We present an evaluation showing that the large dataset encouraged free exploration, triggers emotional responses, and facilitates visitor engagement and informal learning.