cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Assessing the impact of vegetative cover within Northeast Arkansas agricultural ditches on sediment and nutrient loads

Abstract Ditch systems in Northeast Arkansas drain excess water from Mississippi Delta fields and transport water into larger streams. This conveyance system is part of the larger Mississippi River drainage basin that feeds sediment and nutrients into the Gulf of Mexico. These ditch systems can be an important component of ecosystem services for managing water quality because of their ability to settle sediment and sequester nutrients from field runoff. Vegetation is an important characteristic of these systems that influences sediment and nutrient values. This study investigated the impact of vegetation on water quality in agricultural ditches. Ten sites across two HUC-8 watersheds in Northeast Arkansas were measured weekly for three years to monitor pH, dissolved oxygen, conductivity, flow, turbidity, total suspended solids, total and dissolved nutrients, and chlorophyll a. Bed and bank vegetative coverage were qualitatively characterized at each site. Contaminant loading comparisons report an upstream - downstream increase in loading for all water quality variables, with few exceptions. Sites were then grouped based on vegetation coverage characteristics. Those with greater bed and bank vegetative coverage had reduced loading values compared to sites with less bed and bank coverage across many of the measured parameters. Additionally, many sediment and nutrient parameters were higher in the non-production season compared to the production season despite similar precipitation and discharge across the year, suggesting a need for non-production season control measures. This study helps to understand the important in-stream processes that potentially improve water quality on a regional basis.
NMR technique and methodology in botanical health product analysis and quality control

Abstract Botanicals have played an important role in maintaining human health and well-being throughout history. During the past few decades in particular, the use of botanical health products has gained more popularity. Whereas, quality, safety and efficacy concerns have continuously been critical issues due to the intrinsic chemical complexity of botanicals. Chemical analytical technologies play an imperative role in addressing these issues. Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has proven to be a powerful and useful tool for the investigation of botanical health products. In this review, NMR techniques and methodologies that have been successfully applied to the research and development of botanical health products in all stages, from plants to products, are discussed and summarized. Furthermore, applications of NMR together with other analytical techniques in a variety of domains of botanical health products investigation, such as plant species differentiation, adulteration detection, and bio-activity evaluation, are discussed and illustrated with typical examples. This article provides an overview of the potential uses of NMR techniques and methodologies in an attempt to further promote their recognition and utilization in the field of botanical health products analysis and quality control.
A chemically-selective microsensor for environmentally-sensitive pollutants realized with an interdigitated gate electrode field-effect transistor (IGEFET)

An IGEFET has been coupled with a chemically active, electron-beam evaporated copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) thin film to realize a gas-sensitive microsensor. The sensor can selectively detect parts-per-billion concentration levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO/sub 2/) and diisopropyl methylphosphonate (DIMP). The sensor is excited with a voltage pulse, and the time- and frequency-domain responses are measured. The envelopes associated with the normalized difference Fourier transform magnitude frequency spectra reveal features which unambiguously distinguish the NO/sub 2/ and DIMP challenge gas responses. The area beneath each response envelope can correspondingly be interpreted as the sensor's sensitivity for a specific challenge gas concentration. >
Proliferation of rat Pneumocystis carinii on cells sheeted on microcarrier beads in spinner flasks.

Abstract A method of growing rat Pneumocystis carinii with human embryonic lung fibroblasts (HEL-299 cells) sheeted onto microcarrier beads has been developed. This method allows production of large quantities of P. carinii organisms with very little contamination of host cells. A fivefold increase in the numbers of organisms was achieved, as determined by organism count, antigen detection, and DNA quantification. The majority of organisms produced by this method are trophozoites.
The Scientific Method in Practice: Reproducibility in the Computational Sciences

Since the 1660’s the scientific method has included reproducibility as a mainstay in its effort to root error from scientific discovery. With the explosive growth of digitization in scientific research and communication, it is easier than ever to satisfy this requirement. In computational research experimental details and methods can be recorded in code and scripts, data is digital, papers are frequently online, and the result is the potential for “really reproducible research.” Imagine the ability to routinely inspect code and data and recreate others’ results: Every step taken to achieve the findings can potentially be transparent. Now imagine anyone with an Internet connection and the capability of running the code being able to do this.This paper investigates the obstacles blocking the sharing of code and data to understand conditions under which computational scientists reveal their full research compendium. A survey of registrants at a top machine learning conference (NIPS) was used to discover the strength of underlying factors that affect the decision to reveal code, data, and ideas. Sharing of code and data is becoming more common as about a third of respondents post some on their websites, and about 85% self report to have some code or data publicly available on the web. Contrary to theoretical expectations, the decision to share work is grounded in communitarian norms, although when work remains hidden private incentives dominate the decision. We find that code, data, and ideas are each regarded differently in terms of how they are revealed and that guidance from scientific norms varies with pervasiveness of computation in the field. The largest barriers to sharing are time involved in preparation of work and the legal Intellectual Property framework scientists face.This paper does two things. It provides evidence in the debate about whether scientists’ research revealing behavior is wholly governed by considerations of personal impact or whether the reasoning behind the revealing decision involves larger scientific ideals, and secondly, this research describes the actual sharing behavior in the Machine Learning community.
Short-Term Treprostinil Use in Infants with Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia following Repair

We describe 2 infants with congenital diaphragmatic hernia with severe pulmonary hypertension at 6 weeks. Treprostinil was used with rapid clinical improvement. Repeat cardiac catheterization showed dramatic improvement. Both infants were weaned off the drug, representing the first reports of successful short-term treprostinil use in neonates with congenital diaphragmatic hernia.
Should I stay or should I go? Alternative infrastructures in scholarly publishing

For more than three-and-a-half centuries, the scholarly infrastructure—composed of commercial publishers, learned societies, libraries, and the scholars themselves—has provided the foundation functions of certification, registration, access, preservation, and reward. However, over the last two decades, the stability of this infrastructure has been disrupted by profound changes in the technological, economic, cultural, and political climate. We examine the actions of scholars in response to this infrastructure instability through the lens of Hirschman’s “exit, voice, and loyalty” framework. We describe the motivations and actions by scholars, especially those with tenure, who have chosen exit from the mainstream scholarly communication infrastructure to a proliferation of newly available alternative infrastructures. However, this option is not practical for all scholars due to the “enforced loyalty” imposed by reward systems based on metrics that are intricately tied to the traditional infrastructure. We examine the alternative of voice exercised by these scholars, combined with the threat of exit that has changed policies that are the source of dissatisfaction with the system.
New Love, Long Love: Keeping Social Justice and Ethnography of Education in Mind

Heath takes readers back to Hymes's years as Dean of the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. She recalls, in particular, his relentless passion for introducing public school administrators to ethnography's potential for seeing what could be done to increase equity and social justice within public education. She contrasts this “new love” that Hymes developed at the School of Education with his “long love” of North American Indian ethnopoetics. She suggests where and how these two kinds of love might work in today's sociopolitical world so often holistically described by encompassing terms such as global, post-racial, post-literate, and technologically dedicated.[Dell Hymes, school-based ethnography, social justice, ethnography of education]
Gastroesophageal reflux in the “near miss” sudden infant death syndrome

S U D D E N I N F A N T DEATH SYNDROME is the largest single cause of death between one week and one year of age. 1 Although there is no agreement about the cause of death, a number of epidemiologic factors have been associated with the syndrome. Surveys 1-' have shown that the peak age incidence occurs between two and four months and that there is a preponderance of male deaths. Death often occurs during periods of supposed sleep, but signs of a terminal struggle are frequently present. Some series note a preponderance of cases in the winter months, possibly related to an increased incidence of viral respiratory disease. The syndrome occurs more commonly in infants from a low socioeconomic environment; a history of cigarette smoking by the mother, young maternal age, and poor prenatal medical care are also common. Familial clustering of SIDS cases has been noted. 2 It has recently been emphasized that future SIDS victims have many abnormalities in body functions, especially respiration and feeding? There is another group of patients labeled "near miss" SIDS. These infants have sudden episodes of cyanosis and
Enhanced innate type 2 immune response in peripheral blood from patients with asthma

Background In mice, group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) likely mediate helminth immunity, inflammation, and tissue repair and remodeling. However, the involvement of ILC2s in human diseases, such as asthma, is not well understood. Objectives The goals of this study were to investigate whether peripheral blood specimens can be used to monitor innate type 2 immunity in human subjects and to examine whether ILC2s are involved in human asthma. Methods PBMCs from subjects with allergic asthma (AA), subjects with allergic rhinitis (AR), or healthy control (HC) subjects were cultured in vitro with IL-25 or IL-33. Flow cytometry and cell sorting were used to identify, isolate, and quantitate ILC2s in PBMCs. Results Human PBMCs produced IL-5 and IL-13 when stimulated with IL-33 or IL-25 in the presence of IL-2 without antigens. In addition, IL-7 or thymic stromal lymphopoietin were able to replace IL-2. The cell population with phenotypic ILC2 characteristics, lineage − CD127 + CRTH2 + cells, responded to IL-33 and produced large quantities of IL-5 and IL-13 but undetectable levels of IL-4. PBMCs from subjects with AA produced significantly larger amounts of IL-5 and IL-13 in response to IL-25 or IL-33 than from subjects with AR or HC. The prevalence of ILC2s in blood was greater in the AA group than in the AR group or the HC group. Conclusions Innate type 2 immune responses are increased in asthma but not in AR, suggesting potential differences in the immunopathogenesis of these diseases. Peripheral blood is useful for evaluating innate type 2 immunity in humans.
In utero exposure to valproic acid changes sleep in juvenile rats: a model for sleep disturbances in autism.

Study objectives To determine whether sleep disturbances are found in the valproic acid model of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Design Comparative study for sleep behavior, sleep architecture, electroencephalogram (EEG) spectral analysis, and glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD) 65/67 protein expression in juvenile rats exposed to valproic acid (VPA), sodium salt, or saline in utero. Setting N/A. Participants Juvenile (postnatal day 32) male and female Sprague-Dawley rats. Interventions In utero exposure to either saline or 400 mg/kg VPA administered intraperitoneally to the dams on gestational day 12.5. On postnatal days 22-24, all rats were implanted with transmitters to record EEG and electromyogram (EMG) activity. Measurements and results During the light phase, when nocturnal animals are typically quiescent, the VPA-exposed animals spent significantly more time in wake (∼35 min) and significantly less time in non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep (∼26 min) compared to the saline controls. Furthermore, spectral analysis of the EEG revelled that VPA-exposed animals exhibited increased high-frequency activity during wake and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and reduced theta power across all vigilance states. Interestingly, the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)-ergic system, which modulates the induction and maintenance of sleep states, was also disrupted, with reduced levels of both GAD 65 and GAD67 in the cortical tissue of VPA-exposed animals compared to saline controls. Conclusions To date, the current animal models of ASD have been underutilized in the investigation of associated sleep disturbances. The VPA animal model recapitulates aspects of sleep disruptions reported clinically, providing a tool to investigate cellular and molecular dysregulation contributing to sleep disruptions in ASD.
Strategies for implementing a promotores-led diabetes self-management program into a clinic structure.

Purpose The purpose of this article is to describe a process for integrating promotores who teach diabetes self-management into a community clinic structure.Methods The Donbedian structure, process, and outcome method- ology was used to integrate promotores into a community clinic.Results The model described here resulted in (1) employment of promotores (community health workers) to teach diabetes self-management courses, (2) integration of provider and nurse oversight of course design and implementation, (3) management of promotora training and the development of teaching competencies and skills, (4) coordination of care through communication and documentation policies and procedures, (5) use of quality control mechanisms to maintain patient safety, and (6) promotion of a culturally competent approach to the educational process.Conclusions The model presented here provides a systematic approach to safely address the educational needs of large numbers of patients with type 2 diabetes who live in communiti...
Association of Birthdate with Success of Nationally Ranked Junior Tennis Players in the United States

The objective was to assess the effect of birthdate on successful performance in tennis by junior tennis players in the United States and to address the question of whether "birthdate effect" persisted with ongoing age toward adulthood. The national rankings and birthdates of junior tennis players in each age division were obtained from the United States Tennis Association. The number of male and female junior tennis players ranked within the top 100 in their respective age divisions with birthdates in the first half of the year were counted and compared with the number of junior athletes born in the second half of the year. A significant chi squared for birthdate by success in tennis was present in the 14 years and under and 16 years and under age divisions for boys. This effect was less for older ages. Among girls, the effect of birthdate on tennis ranking was not significant in any age group. Among male junior tennis players in the 14 years and under and 16 years and under age divisions, athletes born in the first half of the year had an advantage over those born in the second half, but not for girls.
Diver breathing gas produced through cavitation in sea water

Abstract Divers typically work in the ocean environment with their breathing gas supplied from the surface or from compressed gas bottles carried on their backs. A novel approach is to recover the gases naturally dissolved in sea water and supply it to the divers. The objective of this research was to determine the feasibility of producing breathable gas from the cavitation process in sea water. A cavitating piston/cylinder assembly was constructed using a mercury column as the piston to produce the necessary vacuum in a glass cylinder. Various water samples were cavitated by subjecting them to a partial vacuum developed in the piston/cylinder assembly. Water samples of different temperatures, volumes, and salinities were used. The produced gas composition was analyzed for oxygen and carbon-dioxide content using a micro-Scholander gas analyzer which showed an average composition of 30.3% oxygen, 0.9% carbon-dioxide. The remaining 68.8% of the gas was assumed to be nitrogen and water vapor.
Endovascular repair of symptomatic external carotid artery stenosis

The treatment of external carotid artery stenosis has been described with a variety of operative interventions. We present a patient who presented with amaurosis fugax and a critical left external carotid artery stenosis with known left internal carotid artery occlusion. We treated this stenosis with angioplasty and stenting rather than endarterectomy. Our patient did well and had no complications from the procedure. Endovascular repair of symptomatic external carotid artery stenosis provides an alternative treatment method to conventional endarterectomy for patients with high surgical risk.
Zero-Cycles on Varieties Over Finite Fields

Abstract We prove that for a smooth projective variety X of dimension d defined over a finite field k, the structure map σ : X → Spec k induces an isomorphism σ∗ : CH d+1(X, 1) ≅ CH 1(k, 1) = k*. We also prove that the higher Chow groups CH d+s−1(X, s) of one-dimensional cycles are torsion for s ≥ 2.
Blindness and Affect: Daredevil’s Site/Sight

This essay focuses on the relation between vision and location: sight and site. Contemporary film theory has moved from an analysis of representation towards an analysis of affects. It has also mov...
Magnetoluminescence study of n-type modulation-doped ZnSe/Zn x Cd 1-x Se quantum-well structures

We have studied the band-edge photoluminescence from two n-type modulation-doped ZnSe/${\mathrm{Zn}}_{\mathrm{x}}$${\mathrm{Cd}}_{1\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{x}}$Se single quantum-well structures with electron areal densities of 1.1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{12}$ and 1.9\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{12}$${\mathrm{fcm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}2}$ in magnetic fields up to 30 T. The sharp excitonic transitions observed in undoped samples are replaced by a broad luminescence band. In a magnetic field, the luminescence spectra consist of distinct features associated with interband transitions between electrons occupying the conduction-band Landau levels and photoexcited holes. The energies of these transitions exhibit anomalies for even filling factors due to many-body effects.
Spotting trendsetters: Inference for network games

Network games provide a basic framework for studying the diffusion of new ideas or behaviors through a population. In these models, agents decide to adopt a new idea based on optimizing pay-off that depends on the adoption decisions of their neighbors in an underlying network. Assuming such a model, we consider the problem of inferring early adopters or first movers given a snap shot of the adoption state at a given time. We present some results on solving this problem in the low temperature regime. We conclude with a discussion on reducing the complexity of such inference problems for large networks.
The effect of raised inspired carbon dioxide on developing rat retinal vasculature exposed to elevated oxygen

Hyperoxia is a risk factor for retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), a blinding disease in infants. However, ROP develops in human infants without raised arterial oxygen levels, such as in cyanotic congenital heart disease. In these infants raised pCO2 may be a risk factor. We investigated the effect of inspired CO2 on oxygen induced retinopathy in the rat. 56 newborn Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to high cyclical O2 for seven days. In a control group, 27 rats were exposed to negligible CO2 by the use of soda lime. In the high CO2 group, 29 rats were exposed to elevated CO2 by omitting soda lime from their chambers. Rats in both groups had a recovery period of three days in room air following cyclical O2 exposure. On the eleventh day all rats were sacrificed after intracardiac injections of fluorescein under deep anesthesia and the retinae were dissected and flat mounted for fluorescent microscopy. The ratio of vascularized-total retinal area was calculated using computer assisted image analysis. In the hi...
Enhancement of surface plasmons in an Ag aggregate by optical gain in a dielectric medium

We have observed the compensation of loss in a metal by a gain in a dielectric medium in the mixture of an Ag aggregate and a Rhodamine 6G dye. The demonstrated sixfold enhancement of the Rayleigh scattering is the evidence of the enhancement of the surface-plasmon resonance. The reported experimental observation facilitates many applications of nanoplasmonics.
MPEG-4/XML File Compression and Its Application to Error Resilient Coding

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Origin of fatty acid synthesis - Thermodynamics and kinetics of reaction pathways

The primitiveness of contemporary fatty acid biosynthesis was evaluated by using the thermodynamics and kinetics of its component reactions to estimate the extent of its dependence on powerful and selective catalysis by enzymes. Since this analysis indicated that the modern pathway is not primitive because it requires sophisticated enzymatic catalysis, we here propose an alternative pathway of primitive fatty acid synthesis that uses glycolaldehyde as a substrate. In contrast to the modern pathway, this primitive pathway is not dependent on an exogenous source of phosphoanhydride energy (ATP). Furthermore, the chemical spontaneity of its reactions suggests that it could have been readily catalyzed by the rudimentary biocatalysts available at an early stage in the origin of life.
Malate Dehydrogenase: Multiple Forms in Separated Blastomeres of Sea Urchin Embryos

Sea urchin embryos at the 64-cell stage were dissociated by treatment with trypsin and separated by centrifugation on a sucrose gradient. The large blastomeres have two and the small blastomeres have three bands of L-malate dehydrogenase activity, which are separated by disk microelectrophoresis on polyacrylamide gel, whereas unfertilized eggs have five.
Characterization of Tape Edge Contact Force With Acoustic Emission

Acoustic emission sensors were used to detect contact between a moving tape and the flange of a tape guide. The influence of tape drive operating conditions on the tape edge contact force was studied. A one-dimensional model was developed to predict the magnitude of tape/flange impact. The model fits the experimental data well.
A national survey of grading systems used in medicine clerkships.

To better understand the variety in U.S. medicine clerkship grading terminology, the number of grading levels, and the distribution of grades within each level, the authors surveyed medicine clerkship directors in the United States and Puerto Rico in 1986 and 1987. Completed questionnaires were returned from 101 of the 124 medical schools (81%). Descriptor grades were the most commonly used form of grading of medicine clerks, used in 68 of the 101 responding schools; letter grades were used by another 28 of the schools; and four schools used a numerical grading system. Although descriptor grades were most commonly used for grading medicine clerks, there was lack of consistency in their use between schools. The authors discuss the data related to letter grades and descriptor grades across this representative sample of U.S. medical schools.
Lessons From the Corporatist Crisis in Some Asian Nations

1. First, rapid change in investment flows—both flows to individual domestic industries within a market economy and flows to individual countries operating in a global market economy—is a normal feature of our traditional competitive equilibrium models of intertemporal resource allocation. Investment’s moving finger writes, then moves on. In this respect—through the removal of policy barriers to capital movements and the leaps in the information technology—the real world has been moving to catch up to theory. 2. Second, a typical result in these traditional models is that the intertemporal equilibrium path is efficient: the equilibrium path does not contain any wasteful behavior whose correction (through taxes and other interventions) would enable everyone to be better off. So when we observe the rapid subsiding of a capital inflow into some country, this may only reflect that the economy receiving the flow is rapidly reaching the largest stock of capital it can justify in view of the global cost of capital. 3. Third, if, in fact, there is excessive fluctuation in international investment flows, which I do not doubt, this implies that
Small modular reactors and the future of nuclear power in the United States

Abstract Small modular reactors are the latest “new” technology that nuclear advocates tout as the game changer that will overcome previous economic failures of nuclear power. The debate over SMRs has been particularly intense because of the rapid failure of large “nuclear renaissance” reactors in market economies, the urgent need to address climate change, and the dramatic success of alternative, decentralized resources in lowering costs and increasing deployment. This paper assesses the prospects for SMR technology from three perspectives: the implications of the history of cost escalation in nuclear reactor construction for learning, economies of scale and other process that SMR advocates claim will lower cost; the challenges SMR technology faces in terms of high costs resulting from lost economies of scale, long lead time needed to develop a new design, the size of the task to create assembly lines for modular reactors and intense concern about safety; and the cost and other characteristics – e.g. scalability, speed to market, flexibility, etc. – of available alternatives compared SMR technology. The paper concludes that the decision of the major vendors (Westinghouse and B&W) to dramatically reduce SMR development efforts reflects the severe disadvantages that SMR technology faces in the next several decades.
Microwave high power nanosecond switch using multipactor discharge

This paper describes the development of a high power microwave switch utilizing a multipactor discharge which exhibits nanosecond rise, recovery, and switching times. The device is an evacuated cavity of the reentrant type containing two electrodes which are good secondary electron emitters. With r-f power applied, a strong multipactor current discharge takes place between the electrodes causing most of the incident power to be reflected, which describes one operating state of the device. One of the electrodes is d-c insulated from the other, allowing the application of an external control voltage. If a sufficiently high voltage is applied, the discharge can be quenched and the cavity appears as a passive transmission device. The other operating state is thus described as a transmission device.
Onset of multiple sclerosis before adulthood leads to failure of age-expected brain growth

Objective: To determine the impact of pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (MS) on age-expected brain growth. Methods: Whole brain and regional volumes of 36 patients with relapsing-remitting MS onset prior to 18 years of age were segmented in 185 longitudinal MRI scans (2–11 scans per participant, 3-month to 2-year scan intervals). MRI scans of 25 age- and sex-matched healthy normal controls (NC) were also acquired at baseline and 2 years later on the same scanner as the MS group. A total of 874 scans from 339 participants from the NIH-funded MRI study of normal brain development acquired at 2-year intervals were used as an age-expected healthy growth reference. All data were analyzed with an automatic image processing pipeline to estimate the volume of brain and brain substructures. Mixed-effect models were built using age, sex, and group as fixed effects. Results: Significant group and age interactions were found with the adjusted models fitting brain volumes and normalized thalamus volumes ( p −4 ). These findings indicate a failure of age-normative brain growth for the MS group, and an even greater failure of thalamic growth. In patients with MS, T2 lesion volume correlated with a greater reduction in age-expected thalamic volume. To exclude any scanner-related influence on our data, we confirmed no significant interaction of group in the adjusted models between the NC and NIH MRI Study of Normal Brain Development groups. Conclusions: Our results provide evidence that the onset of MS during childhood and adolescence limits age-expected primary brain growth and leads to subsequent brain atrophy, implicating an early onset of the neurodegenerative aspect of MS.
On enhancing the WEP security against brute-force and compromised keys

The IEEE 802.11 standard uses Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) for data encryption in wireless Local Area Networks. So far, different flaws have been discovered in the security of WEP. Frequently changing the encryption key can improve the security of WEP but there is no built-in provision for this in the standard. In this paper first we present and critically review different possible methods of automatic key updating and then propose a dynamic key management technique. The proposing technique works at the application layer. It is an automated encryption key updation method that can significantly improve the security of WEP without requiring any changes in the standard or at the lower layers of the OSI model.
Advances in sentinel lymph node mapping for patients with melanoma

Sentinel lymph node mapping allows accurate pathological staging for patients with cutaneous melanoma and clinically normal regional nodes. Early technical advances facilitated its widespread acceptance by surgeons. Morbidity as a result of the procedure is well established, but the potential benefit of providing powerful prognostic information outweighs these risks in most patients with intermediate-risk disease.
The influence of stigmasterol concentration on the growth and lipid composition of wild-type and barium a strains of Paramecium tetraurelia

1. 1. The ciliary membrane lipid composition and electrophysiology of the behavioral mutant of Paramecium tetraurelia, barium A (d4–592), were previously shown to differ from those of wild-type 51S when both strains were grown in low sterol medium. 2. 2. In this study, the phospholipid fatty acid composition of the two strains was shown to differ regardless of the level of sterol supplementation or culture age (growth phase). 3. 3. The ratio of linoleic to γ-linolenic acid, 18:2(9,12)/18:3(6,9,12), was consistently higher in baA compared to wild-type phospholipids, largely because of a dramatic shift in the ratio of these two fatty acids esterified at the 2 position of 1-alkyl-2-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphorylcholine (GPC). 4. 4. These data support the hypothesis that a specific Δ6 fatty-acyl desaturase, which directly desaturates phospholipid and shows a preference for GPC as its substrate, is impaired as a result of the barium A mutation.
Linear focal elastosis in a young black man: A new presentation

We report the sixth case of linear Focal elastosis. Our patient is a thin 29-year-old black man who was first seen with rows of papules with a yellow hue distributed symmetrically on the lumbar region of the back. The patient had been aware of these lesions since early childhood, and similar lesions reportedly had occurred in his late father. Light microscopic examination demonstrated dermal thickening but no change in the epidermis. The elastic tissue stain revealed fragmented elastic fibers throughout the dermis. This case meets previously defined diagnostic criteria for linear focal elastosis, which has been reported as isolated cases in elderly white or Japanese men. Our patient is the first young black man with a possible familial association.
Thermal Expansion Coefficients of Unidirectional Fiber-Reinforced Ceramics

The influence of internal stresses, due to the thermomechanical mismatch between the fiber and the matrix, on the thermal expansion behavior of unidirectional fiber reinforced ceramics is considered. Using the composite cylinder model, the effective thermal expansion coefficients of the composite are calculated from the total strains, which consist of the strains due to temperature changes and the strains induced by the presence of internal stresses. The results reveal that when the fiber and the matrix have the same elastic constants, the rule of mixtures approach can be used to obtain the thermal expansion coefficients of the composite, as observed in previous analytical solutions. Also, for the case of low volume fractions of fibers with Young's moduli much larger than those of matrices, and the thermal expansion coefficients lower than those of matrices, the transverse thermal expansion coefficient of the composite is higher than that of either the fiber or the matrix. However, unlike previous studies, the present analysis provides a physical basis for this phenomenon in terms of the internal thermal stress state within the composite.
Aerobic metabolism of diclosulam on U.S. and South American soils.

Degradation of the sulfonanilide herbicide diclosulam was studied on nine soils from three countries to determine the rates and products of aerobic metabolism. Diclosulam was applied to four agricultural soils from the United States, three from Argentina, and two from Brazil at a rate of 0.1 ppm, equivalent to approximately twice the maximum field application rate of 52 g of active ingredient/ha. U.S. and Brazilian soils were incubated in the dark at 25 degrees C at 75% 0.3 bar moisture; Argentinean soils were incubated in the dark at 20 degrees C and 45% moisture holding capacity. Samples were analyzed up to one year after treatment. Two-compartment DT(50) and DT(90) values averaged 28 +/- 12 and 190 +/- 91 days, respectively. Three soil metabolites reached levels of >10% of applied in at least one soil and were identified as the 5-hydroxy analogue of diclosulam (5-OH-diclosulam), aminosulfonyl triazolopyrimidine (ASTP), and the 8-chloro-5-hydroxy analogue of diclosulam (8-Cl-diclosulam). The terminal products of diclosulam soil metabolism were mineralization to CO(2) and bound soil residues. Apparent sorption coefficients (K(d)) were determined on a subset of samples by extraction with a 0. 01 M CaCl(2) solution followed by an acidified acetone extraction. Initial sorption coefficients were similar to those obtained in a batch equilibrium study and averaged 1.1 L/kg for the six soils tested. K(d) coefficients for the metabolites, when available, tended to be slightly lower than that for diclosulam. Sorptivity of diclosulam and degradates increased with time.
Modeling of arsenic activation in HgCdTe

We present a theoretical examination of the behavior of arsenic atoms in Hg1−xCdxTe for x=0.3, focusing on the thermodynamic conditions that most closely mimic molecular beam epitaxial growth and subsequent annealing steps. We show that, for molecular beam epitaxial growth where tellurium-saturated conditions apply, arsenic incorporates onto the cation sublattice and becomes inactive. A significant fraction of these arsenic atoms are bound to mercury vacancies. We also propose a model of the activation, which involves transfer of the arsenic from the cation to the anion sublattice. The model suggests that activation anneals must be done at high enough temperatures to surmount an activation barrier, and that the phase field from tellurium- to mercury-rich conditions should be traversed slowly enough so that the cation vacancies are not filled before the site transfer can be completed.
Identification of Substituted Pyrimido[5,4-b]indoles as Selective Toll-Like Receptor 4 Ligands

A cell-based high-throughput screen to identify small molecular weight stimulators of the innate immune system revealed substituted pyrimido[5,4-b]indoles as potent NFκB activators. The most potent hit compound selectively stimulated Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in human and mouse cells. Synthetic modifications of the pyrimido[5,4-b]indole scaffold at the carboxamide, N-3, and N-5 positions revealed differential TLR4 dependent production of NFκB and type I interferon associated cytokines, IL-6 and interferon γ-induced protein 10 (IP-10) respectively. Specifically, a subset of compounds bearing phenyl and substituted phenyl carboxamides induced lower IL-6 release while maintaining higher IP-10 production, skewing toward the type I interferon pathway. Substitution at N-5 with short alkyl substituents reduced the cytotoxicity of the leading hit compound. Computational studies supported that active compounds appeared to bind primarily to MD-2 in the TLR4/MD-2 complex. These small molecules, which stimulate inn...
Modification of meander migration by bank failures

Meander migration and planform evolution depend on the resistance to erosion of the floodplain materials. To date, research to quantify meandering river adjustment has largely focused on resistance to erosion properties that vary horizontally. This paper evaluates the combined effect of horizontal and vertical floodplain material heterogeneity on meander migration by simulating fluvial erosion and cantilever and planar bank mass failure processes responsible for bank retreat. The impact of stream bank failures on meander migration is conceptualized in our RVR Meander model through a bank armoring factor associated with the dynamics of slump blocks produced by cantilever and planar failures. Simulation periods smaller than the time to cutoff are considered, such that all planform complexity is caused by bank erosion processes and floodplain heterogeneity and not by cutoff dynamics. Cantilever failure continuously affects meander migration, because it is primarily controlled by the fluvial erosion at the bank toe. Hence, it impacts migration rates and meander shapes through the horizontal and vertical distribution of erodibility of floodplain materials. Planar failures are more episodic. However, in floodplain areas characterized by less cohesive materials, they can affect meander evolution in a sustained way and produce preferential migration patterns. Model results show that besides the hydrodynamics, bed morphology and horizontal floodplain heterogeneity, floodplain stratigraphy can significantly affect meander evolution, both in terms of migration rates and planform shapes. Specifically, downstream meander migration can either increase or decrease with respect to the case of a homogeneous floodplain; lateral migration generally decreases as result of bank protection due to slump blocks; and the effect on bend skewness depends on the location and volumes of failed bank material caused by cantilever and planar failures along the bends, with possible achievement of downstream bend skewness under certain conditions.
Customer account relationships and e-retail banking usage1

Financial institutions are actively developing new electronic banking products for their retail customers. To date, the market leaders have drawn a disproportionably higher share of e-retail banking customers. In response, smaller institutions have become quite active in exploring ways to participate profitably in online banking. A major influence is from a customer relationship management (CRM) perspective, where institutions try to limit the outflow of current customers and direct high-value customers to potential products from a multi-product service offering array. These efforts can succeed only if retail bank marketers focus the promotion of the new products and services that can utilise this channel toward those customers who are most likely to find them attractive. The first aim of this study was to examine the role that online and electronic banking play in defining the customer's primary financial relationship. The analysis of 701 retail customers of a financial institution presented in this study suggests that banks and other institutions are highly vulnerable to loss of customers to rivals with extensive online services. A second aim was to examine to what extent information on banking relationships is able to extend CRM analysis beyond that offered by typical demographic and income data. Current customer account relationships are found to be highly predictive of use of electronic services use in general. And, interest in the use of specific online services is related to differing customer relationships in addition to ordinary demographic and balance information. These findings can be useful for retail banking in identifying potential high-value users from a customer relationship management perspective.
Relaxation methods for the determination of drug receptor affinities.

According to the occupation theory of drug receptor interaction, the response is a functionf of the number of receptors occupied by drug molecules. Considerable controversy exists regarding assumptions about this function. Without knowledge of the nature of the function, it is not possible to determine directly the rate constants, and hence the affinity constant, in the reaction between the receptor and an agonist drug. Instead, indirect determinations involving the use of antagonists have been employed, limiting the determination of affinity to those agents for which specific antagonists exist. The present paper discusses a method for the direct determination of affinity of an agonist drug. It is a “relaxation method,” i.e., the equilibrium is perturbed and the kinetics of the restoration process are studied. Assuming only thatf is non-decreasing and approximately linear over a limited domain of concentrations, it is shown that the change in response obeys first order kinetics, permitting a determination of the rate constants from the time course of the restoration process.
Physical and functional interaction of human nuclear uracil-DNA glycosylase with proliferating cell nuclear antigen

Uracil residues arise in DNA by the misincorporation of dUMP in place of dTMP during DNA replication or by the deamination of cytosine in DNA. Uracil-DNA glycosylase initiates DNA base excision repair of uracil residues by catalyzing the hydrolysis of the N-glycosylic bond linking the uracil base to deoxyribose. In human cells, the nuclear form of uracil-DNA glycosylase (UNG2) contains a conserved PCNA-binding motif located at the N-terminus that has been implicated experimentally in binding PCNA. Here we use purified preparations of UNG2 and PCNA to demonstrate that UNG2 physically associates with PCNA. UNG2 co-eluted with PCNA during size exclusion chromatography and bound to a PCNA affinity column. Association of UNG2 with PCNA was abolished by the addition of 100 mM NaCl, and significantly decreased in the presence of 10 mM MgCl(2). The functional significance of the UNG2.PCNA association was demonstrated by UNG2 activity assays. Addition of PCNA (30-810 pmol) to standard uracil-DNA glycosylase reactions containing linear [uracil-(3)H]DNA stimulated UNG2 catalytic activity up to 2.6-fold. UNG2 activity was also stimulated by 7.5 mM MgCl(2). The stimulatory effect of PCNA was increased by the addition of MgCl(2); however, the dependence on PCNA concentration was the same, indicating that the effects of MgCl(2) and PCNA on UNG2 activity occurred by independent mechanisms. Loading of PCNA onto the DNA substrate was required for stimulation, as the activity of UNG2 on circular DNA substrates was not affected by the addition of PCNA. Addition of replication factor C and ATP to reactions containing 90 pmol of PCNA resulted in two-fold stimulation of UNG2 activity on circular DNA.
Histopathology of Argon Laser Photocoagulation in Juvenile Diabetic Retinopathy

A 24-year-old woman had insulin-dependent juvenile diabetes for 15 years. She developed Sheehan's syndrome (postpartum pituitary necrosis) and diabetic nephropathy at 20 years of age. She had multiple sessions of argon laser photocoagulation for proliferative diabetic retinopathy. Histologically, loss of outer retina and pigmented epithelium occurred at the laser sites. Trypsin retinal digest prepartions revealed microaneurysms and markedly decreased numbers of pericytes. The kidneys displayed nodular glomerulosclerosis (Kimmelstiel-Wilson syndrome). The anterior pituitary showed cystic degeneration and old hemorrhage.
Two distinct roles for terminal uridylyl transferases in RNA editing.

Gene expression in the mitochondria of kinetoplastid protists like the human pathogen Trypanosoma brucei occurs via a remarkable pathway involving both the deletion of encoded uridines (Us) and the insertion of extra Us at defined positions within mRNAs synthesized from “cryptogenes” in the maxicircle DNA (see refs. 1 and 2 for recent reviews). In some cases, >50% of the nucleotides present in the mature mRNA are generated by RNA editing events. U addition and removal create sense from nonsense, producing ORFs that encode the proteins involved in oxidative phosphorylation and other mitochondrial functions. Many of these changes are developmentally regulated, occurring only in the procyclic (insect) stage or the bloodstream (mammalian) form. Although the overall mechanism by which this extraordinary phenomenon occurs has been sketched out (3–6), filling in the details has been difficult because of the low abundance and complexity of the editing apparatus, the low efficiency of in vitro editing assays, the lack of assays for processive editing, and difficulties in assigning functions to specific proteins. The article by Aphasizhev et al. (7) in this issue of PNAS provides important information regarding the function of two of the key enzymes involved in this fascinating process. The insertion and deletion of Us into kinetoplast mRNAs occur through the concerted action of a series of enzymes (Fig. 1) (see references in ref. 2). Specificity is provided by small RNA molecules termed guide RNAs (gRNAs), which base-pair to preedited mRNAs just downstream of editing sites (8). gRNAs have three functional domains: an anchor region, which anneals to the substrate; a guiding region, which directs the insertion or deletion of U residues; and an oligo(U) tail, which is added posttranscriptionally and is thought to help tether the purine-rich …