cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Metabolic consequences of ethanol oxidation in brains from mice chronically fed ethanol.

— Effects of the acute and chronic administration of ethanol have been investigated in mouse brain on the redox-state, citric acid cycle function, levels of adenine nucleotides and other metabolites. Cerebral oxidation of ethanol, activity of alcohol dehydrogenase and the permeability of brain and liver mitochondrial preparations after chronic ethanol administration have been also investigated. Acute or chronic administration of ethanol resulted in a small but significant increase in the reduced components of certain dehydrogenase-linked substrate pairs in brain. Pyrazole, an inhibitor of alcohol dehydrogenase, prevented the ethanol-induced changes in brain. 14CO2 production from several substrates was inhibited in brains from chronically ethanol-fed animals. Addition of pyrazole, however, prevented the ethanol-mediated inhibition of 14CO2 production. Chronic administration of ethanol resulted in decreased levels of ATP and creatine phosphate in the brain, and increased contents of ADP and AMP. The cerebral activities of alcohol dehydrogenase and succinic dehydrogenase, oxidation of ethanol, mitochondrial oxidation of a-glycerophosphate, and levels of NADH remained unaffected by the chronic administration of ethanol. In contrast to liver, where chronic administration of ethanol increased the contribution of 'substrate shuttles’resulting in increased oxidation of ethanol; in brain, the contribution of these 'shuttles’remained unaffected.
Inertial effects of quartz force transducers embedded in a split hopkinson pressure bar

An aluminum split Hopkinson pressure bar is instrumented with quartz force transducers and used to test low impedance materials. Two transducers are used, one at the interface between the specimen and the incident bar and the other at the interface between the specimen and the transmitter bar. It is shown that the stress measured by the incident bar gage often contains a substantial acceleration component, i.e., a significant portion of the signal recorded by the gage is due to its own inertia and not representative of the stress within the sample. Attempts are made to actively compensate for this with measurements of the acceleration of the gage. This is done in three ways: (i) by differentiation of the interface velocity, as determined by a standard strain gage analysis; (ii) by a more direct determination of acceleration, using a measurement of the strain gradient within the bar; (iii) by adding a compensation crystal and mass to the gage to remove the inertial component from the output. It is shown that all three techniques successfully mitigate inertial effects.
The axial vector coupling and magnetic moment of the quark

Abstract Details of an estimate of the corrections of order 1 N to the axial vector coupling of the constituent quark, where N is the number of colors, are presented. Analogous estimate is made for the magnetic moment of the constituent quark.
Stylet-Borne Virus: Active Probing by Aphids Not Required for Acquisition

Anesthetized aphids, whose stylets had been dipped into capillaries containing purified concentrated cucumber mosaic virus, acquired the virus and, after recovery from the anesthetic, were able to transmit it in a low percentage of cases. Although this study does not eliminate active probing as a means of virus acquisition, experimentally, it clearly establishes passive contamination of aphid mouthparts as a method of virus acquisition.
Population estimation using remote sensing and GIS technologies

Knowledge of the size and distribution of human population is essential for understanding and responding to many social, political, economical and environmental problems (Liu 2003). In the United S...
Designing programs that check their work

A program correctness checker is an algorithm for checking the output of a computation. That is, given a program and an instance on which the program is run, the checker certifies whether the output of the program on that instance is correct. This paper defines the concept of a program checker. It designs program checkers for a few specific and carefully chosen problems in the class FP of functions computable in polynomial time. Problems in FP for which checkers are presented in this paper include Sorting, Matrix Rank and GCD. It also applies methods of modern cryptography, especially the idea of a probabilistic interactive proof, to the design of program checkers for group theoretic computations.Two structural theorems are proven here. One is a characterization of problems that can be checked. The other theorem establishes equivalence classes of problems such that whenever one problem in a class is checkable, all problems in the class are checkable.
INTERMEDIATE STRUCTURE AND DOORWAY STATES IN NUCLEAR REACTIONS.

Abstract Intermediate structure in the energy dependence of cross sections is interpreted in terms of an intermediate model, which describes the transition amplitude averaged over an energy interval which is much larger than the width and spacing of the compound nuclear levels, but which is much smaller than the widths of the structure in the optical model cross sections. The intermediate structure is ascribed to resonances in the intermediate amplitude, which in turn are assumed to be the consequence of the existence of doorway states which are described and defined. A formalism is developed which takes the existence of these states explicitly into account. The resultant amplitude is then averaged and the intermediate model obtained. For an isolated doorway state this amplitude can be divided into a slowly varying part and a rapidly varying resonant part. The energy width of the resonant term equals the width of the doorway state, which is composed of an escape width into open channels, and a decay width into more complex excitations. Strength functions are shown to exhibit intermediate structure. These results are generalized to the case of overlapping doorways. Reactions as well as elastic scattering are discussed. The results are put in a form which permits the analysis of experimental data in terms of intermediate model resonances, and the quantum numbers of the doorway states extracted. Experimental situations which would tend to exhibit intermediate structure, and the identification of such structure as an intermediate model resonance, are outlined. Some examples of intermediate structure are discussed.
Crustal structure and evolution beneath the Colorado Plateau and the southern Basin and Range Province: Results from receiver function and gravity studies

Over the past several decades, contrasting models have been proposed for the physical and chemical processes responsible for the uplift and long-term stability of the Colorado Plateau (CP) and crustal thinning beneath the Basin and Range Province (BRP) in the southwestern United States. Here we provide new constraints on the models by modeling gravity anomalies and by systematically analyzing over 15,500 P-to-S receiver functions recorded at 72 USArray and other broadband seismic stations on the southwestern CP and the southern BRP. Our results reveal that the BRP is characterized by a thin crust (28.2 ± 0.5 km), a mean Vp/Vs of 1.761 ± 0.014 and a mean amplitude (R) of P-to-S converted wave (relative to that of the direct P wave) of 0.181 ± 0.014 that are similar to a typical continental crust, consistent with the model that the thin crust was the consequence of lithospheric stretching during the Cenozoic. The CP is characterized by the thickest crust (42.3 ± 0.8 km), largest Vp/Vs (1.825 ± 0.009) and smallest R (0.105 ± 0.007) values in the study area. In addition, many stations on the CP exhibit a clear arrival before the P-to-S converted phase from the Moho, corresponding to a lower crustal layer of about 12 km thick with a mafic composition. We hypothesize that the lower crustal layer, which has an anomalously large density as revealed by gravity modeling and high velocities in seismic refraction lines, contributed to the long-term stability and preuplift low elevation of the Colorado Plateau.
Time-Efficient Acid-Catalyzed Synthesis of Resorcinol−Formaldehyde Aerogels

Resorcinol (R)−formaldehyde (F) aerogels are pursued as precursors of carbon aerogels, which are electrically conducting. They are usually prepared via a week-long base-catalyzed gelation process from an aqueous sol. For this work, we reasoned that because both the reaction of R with F and the condensation of the resulting hydroxymethyl resorcinol with R are electrophilic aromatic substitutions, they should proceed easily by acid catalysis in one pot. Thereby, we have developed and reported an HCl-catalyzed gelation process in CH3CN, which is completed in about 2 h at room temperature or in 10 min at 80 °C. The final aerogels are chemically indistinguishable (by IR and 13C CPMAS NMR) from typical base-catalyzed samples. In analogy to phenol−formaldehyde resin formation, the mechanism may involve o-quinone methide intermediates (hence the red color prevailing throughout the process). The effect of aging is discussed in terms of shrinkage and is attributed to further reaction and incorporation of more forma...
The Effect of Nanoparticles Percentage on Mechanical Behavior of Silica-Epoxy Nanocomposites

Silica-epoxy nanocomposites are very common among nanocomposites, which makes them very important. Several researchers have studied the effect of nanoparticle’s size, shape, and loading on mechanical behavior of silica-epoxy nanocomposites. This paper reviews the most important research done on the effect of nanoparticle loading on mechanical properties of silica-epoxy nanocomposites. While the main focus is the tensile behavior of nanocomposite, the compressive behavior and flexural behavior were also reviewed. Finally, some of the published experimental data were combined in the graphs, using dimensionless parameters. Later, the best fitted curves were used to derive some empirical formulas for mechanical properties of silica-epoxy nanocomposites as functions of weight or volume fraction of nanoparticles.
Puberty-affecting synthetic analogs of urinary chemosignals in the house mouse, Mus domesticus

Endocrinologically- and socially-dependent volatile constituents of female mouse urine, identified in a previous study, were tested for their capability to accelerate puberty and extend the estrous period in young females. Several volatile ketones advanced puberty by approximately three days and extended the period of vaginal cornification in 55-75% of exposed females. High High concentrations of these substances were capable of overriding the known puberty-delaying chemosignals. Volatile cyclic enol ethers were also effective in extending estrus, but not puberty acceleration.
Elders' and family members' perspectives in planning for hospital discharge.

Abstract When elders are unable to participate in discharge planning owing to physical or cognitive impairments, clinicians often work with family members instead. Previous studies on community-dwelling elders and their family members found differences between the elder's and family member's rating of functional status ( Rothman, Hedrick, Bulcroft, Hickman, & Rubinstein, 1991 ). Magaziner, Simonskck, and Kashner (1988) reported that family members who did not live with the elder tended to rate them as less impaired than what the older persons rated themselves. Yet, little is known about the extent to which elders' and family members' perspectives concur with respect to discharge planning. Identifying both discrepancies and areas of agreement is essential in assisting elders and their families in planning for their future needs and evaluating the options available to them. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which family members' expectations regarding postdischarge needs agreed with those of elders hospitalized for an acute episode of a chronic illness.
Epigenetics and the Control of the Collecting Duct Epithelial Sodium Channel

The apical membrane epithelial Na(+) channel subunit (ENaC) in series with the basolateral Na(+)/K(+)-adenosine triphosphatase mediates collecting duct Na(+) reabsorption. Aldosterone induces αENaC gene transcription, which appears to be rate limiting for ENaC activity in this segment. Although this response has long been assumed to be solely the result of liganded nuclear hormone receptors trans-activating αENaC, epigenetic controls of basal and aldosterone-induced transcription of αENaC in the collecting duct recently were described. These epigenetic pathways involve dynamic nuclear repressor complexes targeted to specific subregions of the αENaC promoter and consisting of the histone methyltransferase disrupter of telomeric silencing (Dot)1a together with the transcriptional factor Af9 or the nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD)-dependent protein deacetylase Sirt1, key co-regulatory proteins, including serum- and glucocorticoid-induced kinase-1 and the putative transcription factor Af17, and targeted chromatin modifications. The complexes, through the action of Dot1a, maintain chromatin associated with the αENaC promoter in a stable hypermethylated state, constraining αENaC transcription under basal conditions. Aldosterone and serum- and glucocorticoid-induced kinase-1, itself, activate αENaC transcription in large part by disrupting or diminishing the Dot1a-Af9 and Dot1a-Sirt1 complexes and their effects on chromatin. Mouse models indicate potential roles of the Dot1a pathways in renal salt excretion and hypertension.
Development of a Model for Describing Accumulation of Color and Subsequent Destruction by Ozone in a Freshwater Recirculating Aquaculture System

The purpose of this study was to develop a mathematical model to assist in the determination of design numbers for color destruction by ozone as a function of feed rate. A mass balance model was developed that takes into account methods of introduction and removal of color, including removal by ozone. Because direct measurement of color mass or concentration is difficult, a representative unit was developed during this study called the color mass equivalent (CME). The CME represents a direct measurement of absorbance at 436 nm, which is a unitless measurement, multiplied by the system volume. The CME is directly proportional to the true concentration of color causing compounds at that wavelength. Once the model was developed, two studies were run to test the model. A 1,500-L recirculating fish system was set up with a 57-L bead filter and six 1-L fluidized sand beds. Approximately 45 kg of channel catfish Ictalurus puncfatus were placed in the system and fed 0.25 kg of 32% protein feed per day (0.55% body wt.). Once the system reached stable conditions, the system was flushed with clean water and samples were taken to estimate the accumulation rate of color in the system. After 5 wk, an ozone unit was activated and samples were taken to determine the destruction rate for color. Once an accumulation rate had been determined, a second study was performed to corroborate this value. The same ozone unit was installed on a 5,000-L recirculating fish system being fed 0.49 kg per day with a 171-L bead filter. Samples were taken to determine the destruction rate for color. The accumulation rate for color was 12.6 CME/kg feed and the destruction rates were 1.7 CME/g O3 in the first study and 0.82 CMWg O3 in the second study. This calculates to a range of 7 to 15 g O3/kg feed to remove the color produced by the feed.
Encouraging awareness of peers' learning activities using large displays in the periphery

Learners benefit from creating personally meaningful artifacts for an audience, especially when those artifacts embody concepts the learners aim to understand. In this pilot study, we explored ways to expand opportunities for sharing mathematical artifacts with a larger audience (beyond learners seated next to each other) by incorporating structured ways to share work on a large display. We changed the functionality of the large display throughout the experiment to explore different content management schemas. Early results suggest children's awareness of their peers' work increases with the use of the large display, but that they tend to share only finished work.
Yield and enzymatic activity of sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum) subjected to alternative pest control

ABSTRACT Selected pest control treatments, consisting of hand removal, horticultural oil, pyrethrum, and Bacillus thuringiensis var. kurstaki (Bt), were evaluated for sweet basil, Ocimum basilicum L. Treatments began 38 days after planting and continued weekly from July through October in Piedmont, Oklahoma. Herbage yield, enzyme activity, trichome number, and relative insect damage were measured at 57 (pre-anthesis) and 93 (post-anthesis) days after establishment of field plots. Yields did not differ significantly among treatments during the first harvest, but phenylalanine ammonium lyase (PAL) activity was lower in untreated control plants and syrin-galdazine oxidase (SAO) activity was significantly lower in both control and Bt-treated plants, as compared with other treatments. At the second harvest, both control and Bt-treated plants had significantly higher herbage yield than the other treatments. PAL and SAO activities were influenced by harvest date and pest control treatment. Control and Bt-treated...
Further observation of dimuon production by neutrinos

Using a quadrupole focused neutrino beam, 61 events with two muons in the final state have been observed at Fermilab. These include seven ${\ensuremath{\mu}}^{\ensuremath{-}}{\ensuremath{\mu}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ events. A comparison of the event rate in two targets of different hadron absorption length indicates that attributing the events to $\ensuremath{\pi}$ or $K$ leptonic decay is ruled out by 4.0 standard deviations. No trimuon events were observed which, combined with lepton conservation, indicates an unobserved neutral lepton is present in most of the events.
Contribution of Antibody Heavy Chain CDR1 to Digoxin Binding Analyzed by Random Mutagenesis of Phage-displayed Fab 26-10

We constructed a bacteriophage-displayed library containing randomized mutations at H chain residues 30-35 of the anti-digoxin antibody 26-10 Fab to investigate sequence constraints necessary for high affinity binding in an antibody of known crystal structure. Phage were selected by panning against digoxin and three C-16-substituted analogues. All antigen-positive mutants selected using other analogues also bound digoxin. Among 73 antigen-positive clones, 26 different nucleotide sequences were found. The majority of Fabs had high affinity for digoxin (Ka ≥ 3.4 × 109M-1) despite wide sequence diversity. Two mutants displayed affinities 2- and 4-fold higher than the parental antibody. Analysis of the statistical distribution of sequences showed that highest affinity binding occurred with a restricted set of amino acid substitutions at positions H33-35. All clones save two retained the parental Asn-H35, which contacts hapten and hydrogen bonds to other binding site residues in the parental structure. Positions H30-32 display remarkable diversity, with 10-14 different substitutions for each residue, consistent with high affinity binding. Thus complementarity can be retained and even improved despite diversity in the conformation of the N-terminal portion of the H-CDR1 loop.
A genomic analysis of mouse models of breast cancer reveals molecular features of mouse models and relationships to human breast cancer

Genomic variability limits the efficacy of breast cancer therapy. To simplify thestudy of the molecular complexity of breast cancer, researchers have used mousemammary tumor models. However, the degree to which mouse models model human breastcancer and are reflective of the human heterogeneity has yet to be demonstratedwith gene expression studies on a large scale. To this end, we have built a database consisting of 1,172 mouse mammary tumorsamples from 26 different major oncogenic mouse mammary tumor models. In this dataset we identified heterogeneity within mouse models and noted asurprising amount of interrelatedness between models, despite differences in thetumor initiating oncogene. Making comparisons between models, we identifieddifferentially expressed genes with alteration correlating with initiating eventsin each model. Using annotation tools, we identified transcription factors with ahigh likelihood of activity within these models. Gene signatures predictedactivation of major cell signaling pathways in each model, predictions thatcorrelated with previous genetic studies. Finally, we noted relationships betweenmouse models and human breast cancer at both the level of gene expression andpredicted signal pathway activity. Importantly, we identified individual mousemodels that recapitulate human breast cancer heterogeneity at the level of geneexpression. This work underscores the importance of fully characterizing mouse tumor biologyat molecular, histological and genomic levels before a valid comparison to humanbreast cancer may be drawn and provides an important bioinformatic resource.
Applications of Reed-Solomon codes in mobile digital video communications systems

In this paper, we analyse a decoding algorithm, which corrects both erasures and errors for Reed-Solomon (RS) codes based on the Euclidean algorithm together with the Berlekamp-Massey (BM) algorithm. We present and discuss the implementation of RS codes in the digital video broadcasting (DVB) standards and give a brief review of the new DVB-H standard. Analysis and simulation of the symbol error rate (SER) versus the output SER for the Reed-Solomon code used for the multi-protocol encapsulation-forward error correction (MPE-FEC) block in DVB-H has been conducted.
Social protection and the elderly in the developing world: mutual aid, micro-insurance, and the state

Although social security retirement programmes have been established in many developing countries, they cover only a small proportion of the elderly population. The situation will become more pressing as the numbers of needy elderly people increase. Because conventional social security programmes are unlikely to meet their needs in the foreseeable future, the role of alternatives such as micro-insurance should be explored. The article examines recent innovations in micro-insurance designed to protect elderly people and considers their potential to contribute to national efforts to provide social protection to all.
Planetary science: Rising sulphur on Venus

Thirty years ago, the spacecraft Pioneer Venus observed the peak and decline of sulphur dioxide levels above Venus's clouds. Similar observations by Venus Express reveal a surprisingly variable venusian atmosphere.
A Globally Flexible, Almost Ideal Demand System

The almost ideal demand system is combined with the Fourier expenditure system. Subject to the assumption that preferences are of the price-independent, generalized-logarithmic class, the resulting demand system has the desirable features of each of its components. Aggregate demand equations are consistent with preferences of a representative consumer, and consistent estimates of elasticities are obtained for all observed prices. Application of the new demand system to U.S. consumption of meats and fish reveals that it fits the data well and that the restriction to the usual specification is rejected.
Effectiveness of Hepatitis B Treatment in Clinical Practice

It is important to examine the effectiveness of current therapies for chronic hepatitis B in clinical practice, given the therapeutic advances over the past 15 years. A 2010 Institute of Medicine report on hepatitis and liver cancer stated that the public and health care providers have a lack of knowledge and awareness about viral hepatitis, and that there is a gap between medical innovation and community care. We review the efficacy of hepatitis B treatment, based on results from clinical trials, and discuss the effectiveness of these treatments in clinical practice. We also discuss why having efficacious treatments alone would have a small impact on the global health burden of hepatitis B, and highlight the importance of educating the public and the medical community and coordination of care.
Continuous intraoperative noninvasive cardiac output monitoring using a new thoracic bioimpedance device

Objectives: To compare a new noninvasive bioimpedance device with the standard thermodilution method during the intraoperative period in high-risk patients undergoing oncological surgery. Design: Prospectively collected data with retrospective analysis. Setting: The study was undertaken at a university hospital, single institution. Participants: Twenty-three selected adults undergoing extensive, ablative oncological surgery. Interventions: Simultaneous measurements of cardiac output by a new bioimpedance method and the standard thermodilution method during the intraoperative and immediate postoperative periods. Measurements and Main Results: The correlation coefficient between the two methods was r = 0.89, p < 0.001. Bias and precision analysis between the two techniques showed a mean bias of 0.1 L/min and SD of the bias (precision) of 1.0 L/min (95% level of agreement +2.1 L/min to −1.9 L/min). After software enhancement, data from the last 11 monitored patients showed improved correlation between the two methods; r = 0.93, mean bias −0.1 L/min, and precision 0.8 L/min. Electrical and motion-induced interference only transiently impaired the performance of the new impedance method. Conclusion: This new impedance device is a safe, reliable, clinically acceptable alternative to the invasive thermodilution method in the operating room environment.
Predicting Sorghum Midge (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) Generations and Abundance

A total of 39,687 assessments of abundance of ovipositing sorghum midge, Contarinia sorghicola (Coquillett), and sorghum, Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench, spikelets in flower were used to evaluate, refine, and validate a sorghum midge population dynamics simulation model. Number of spikelets per panicle was related positively to panicle length, with 42% of the variability in the number of spikelets attributable to length. Uniformly growing fields of sorghum were in flower ≤13d. Most spikelets (388.2) per panicle were in flower the seventh day after flowering began in a field. The refined model was used to predict accurately time of sorghum midge emergence in all (mean R2 = 0.83) but one field (R2 = 0.59). However, predictions of sorghum midge abundance varied in accuracy (observed/predicted range of sorghum midges = 0.77-1.21). Predicted time of development of the F1 to F5 generations of sorghum midges ranged from 21.0 to 15.8 d. Abundance of ovipositing sorghum midges increased 2.5-, 3.7-, 24.6-, and 12.6-fold between the P-F1, F1-F2 F2-F3, and F3-F4 generations, respectively, and then declined. Abundance was greatest (22.7 sorghum midges per panicle) in the F4 generation. The economic-threshold level was exceeded during the last days of the F3 generation.
Accurate determination of the binding energy of the formic acid dimer: the importance of geometry relaxation.

The formic acid dimer in its C2h-symmetrical cyclic form is stabilized by two equivalent H-bonds. The currently accepted interaction energy is 18.75 kcal/mol whereas the experimental binding energy D0 value is only 14.22 ±0.12 kcal/mol [F. Kollipost, R. W. Larsen, A. V. Domanskaya, M. Norenberg, and M. A. Suhm, J. Chem. Phys. 136, 151101 (2012)]. Calculation of the binding energies De and D0 at the CCSD(T) (Coupled Cluster with Single and Double excitations and perturbative Triple excitations)/CBS (Complete Basis Set) level of theory, utilizing CCSD(T)/CBS geometries and the frequencies of the dimer and monomer, reveals that there is a 3.2 kcal/mol difference between interaction energy and binding energy De, which results from (i) not relaxing the geometry of the monomers upon dissociation of the dimer and (ii) approximating CCSD(T) correlation effects with MP2. The most accurate CCSD(T)/CBS values obtained in this work are De = 15.55 and D0 = 14.32 kcal/mol where the latter binding energy differs from the experimental value by 0.1 kcal/mol. The necessity of employing augmented VQZ and VPZ calculations and relaxing monomer geometries of H-bonded complexes upon dissociation to obtain reliable binding energies is emphasized.
Heritable fragile sites on human chromosomes. XII. Population cytogenetics.

Summary Chromosome studies to detect the folate sensitive fragile sites have been carried out on 2439 randomly selected neonates. Four autosomal fragile sites were detected in this group. Similar studies were carried out on referred patients, special school students and sheltered workshop employees. The incidence of fragile X in these groups was 6/1936, 13/502 and 0/128 respectively. Autosomal folate sensitive fragile sites were seen in 14/1936, 5/502 and 2/128 individuals respectively.
Transgenic analysis of Dlx regulation in fish tooth development reveals evolutionary retention of enhancer function despite organ loss

It has been considered a “law” that a lost structure cannot reappear in evolution. The common explanation, that genes required for the development of the lost structure degrade by mutation, remains largely theoretical, however. Additionally, the extent to which this mechanism applies to systems of repeated parts, where individual modules are likely to exhibit few unique aspects of genetic control, is unclear. We investigated reversibility of evolution in one such system, the vertebrate dentition, using as a model loss of oral teeth in cypriniform fishes, which include the zebrafish. This evolutionary event, which occurred >50 million years ago, has not been reversed despite subsequent diversification of feeding modes and retention of pharyngeal teeth. We asked whether the cis-regulatory region of a gene whose expression loss parallels cypriniform tooth loss, Dlx2b, retains the capacity for expression in oral teeth. We first created a zebrafish reporter transgenic line that recapitulates endogenous dlx2b expression. We then showed that this zebrafish construct drives reporter expression in oral teeth of the related characiform Astyanax mexicanus. This result, along with our finding that Dlx genes are required for normal tooth development, suggests that changes in trans-acting regulators of these genes were responsible for loss of cypriniform oral teeth. Preservation of oral enhancer function unused for >50 million years could be the result of pleiotropic function in the pharyngeal dentition. If enhancers of other genes in the tooth developmental pathway are similarly preserved, teeth lost from specific regions may be relatively easy to reacquire in evolution.
Semi-infinite programming, duality, discretization and optimality conditions†

The aim of this article is to give a survey of some basic theory of semi-infinite programming. In particular, we discuss various approaches to derivations of duality, discretization, and first- and second-order optimality conditions. Some of the surveyed results are well known while others seem to be less noticed in that area of research. †Invited survey.
CALCIUM--STRONTIUM METABOLISM IN WHITE TAILED DEER AS RELATED TO AGE AND ANTLER GROWTH.

SummaryThe 45Ca and 89Sr deposited in the skeletons of calcium-depleted yearling and 2-year-old male deer prior to initiation of antler growth were mobilized and transported to the antlers, as indi...
Nanofabrication of integrated diffractive optical elements

We report on the design and fabrication of diffractive optical elements on high power broad area semiconductor lasers. Several issues related to the integrated diffractive elements fabrication by electron beam lithography and focused ion beam are discussed. We illustrate the flexibility of electron beam lithography by presenting results for beam focusing, splitting and tapering functions. An additional technique based on focused ion beam milling is presented for fabricating refractive lens elements onto the laser diode.
Polarography of di- and triphosphopyridine nucleotides.

Abstract DPN, NMN, and TPN are reducible at the dropping mercury electrode in a tris buffer solution of pH 10.3–10.6 with half-wave potentials respectively of −0.98, −1.14, and −1.23 v. vs. SCE. The diffusion currents of these nucleotides are proportional to their concentration, and the half-wave potentials are concentration independent. A polarographic method was devised for the determination of DPN and TPN in mouse liver. This procedure gives reliable results for DPN in the presence of TPN, but only approximate values for the latter nucleotide in the presence of DPN.
Henry Fielding, Samuel Johnson, Samuel Richardson, and the Reception of Charlotte Lennox's The Female Quixote in the Popular Press

(2000). Henry Fielding, Samuel Johnson, Samuel Richardson, and the Reception of Charlotte Lennox's The Female Quixote in the Popular Press. ANQ: A Quarterly Journal of Short Articles, Notes and Reviews: Vol. 13, No. 3, pp. 27-32.
Universal scaling of windows from one-dimensional maps.

Using the inverse-curve method for graphical iterations of one-dimensional maps, we propose a geometric proof of a recent conjecture by Yorke et al. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 54, 1095 (1985)] which scales the parameters for onset, period-doubling bifurcation, and crisis of period windows. The universal ratio ${m}_{c}$={z[1+(2z${)}^{1/(z\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}1)}$] -1}/(2z) for maps with the extremum (at x=c) of the symmetric form f(\ensuremath{\mu},x)\ensuremath{\sim}\ensuremath{\Vert}x-c${\ensuremath{\Vert}}^{z}$, with zg1, should be discernible in experiments.
How the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Can Be Thwarted—Possible Corrective Measures

Abstract In response to burgeoning public concern for environmental amenities, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) was promulgated. Drafters of the landmark legislation intended that environmental factors would receive equitable consideration when governmental decisions are to be rendered about proposed actions on applications in the industrial sector; i.e., applications by corporations whose proposed projects require Environmental Impact Statements. However, it is possible for applicants to circumvent the spirit and legal intent of the Act to achieve short-term profit-oriented objectives at the expense of environmental quality. In this paper, some approaches for thwarting the Act are addressed in addition to possible measures for correcting shortcomings in the NEPA process.
Applied Boolean equivalence verification and RTL static sign-off

The author explores applying formal Boolean equivalence verification to the RTL design flow, and introduces an effective equivalence-checking usage model that ensures optimal benefits in an RTL static sign-off methodology.
Natural Disaster and Democratic Legitimacy: The Public Opinion Consequences of Chile's 2010 Earthquake and Tsunami

Can natural disasters undermine democratic legitimacy? This article maps a causal pathway from natural disaster damage to shifts in opinion and behavioral tendencies in less established democracies...
The dyslexic college student: Is he also dysphasic?

Abstract The phonologic, syntactic and semantic competencies of the oral language of five college students who presented similar symptoms of developmental dyslexia were studied with the aid of ecologically valid tasks and other indirect procedures. It was found that the linguistic competence of the dyslexic subjects was as good as that of a control group of normal readers. It was concluded that developmental dyslexia can co-exist with intact oral language and that printed language which involves the grapheme-phoneme conversion process and not oral language is the underlying causative factor of the reading difficulties experienced by this group of dyslexic subjects.
The impact of household type on adolescent women’s well-being in Kenya

Because the HIV/AIDS crisis in Kenya is causing the death and disablement of so many prime- aged adults, households are increasingly being headed by adolescents and the elderly. The purpose of this paper is to examine the health status of one of the most vulnerable groups in Kenyan society - adolescent women - and to explore how the type of household head impacts on their health status. Using data from the 2003 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS), an indicator of illness signs was used as the dependent variable for health status. Significant differences were found in the health status of adolescent women in households headed by adolescents, prime-aged adults, and the elderly. Even when controlling for demographic factors, residing in an adolescent headed household increased the odds that an adolescent woman would have recently experienced some signs of illness. Other factors which also increased the odds of illness were being married and being in the older age group (20-24). Wealth barely had any impact on illness. Service providers need to pay special attention to the needs of adolescents in non-adult headed households. (author abstract)
Inhibition of antigen-induced bronchoconstriction by a new calcium antagonist, gallopamil: comparison with cromolyn sodium.

Abstract We have previously demonstrated partial attenuation of antigen-induced bronchoconstriction by aerosolized verapamil (Chest 1985;88:176–180). In the present investigation, we studied the effect of a new calcium antagonist, gallopamil, on allergic bronchial reactivity and compared it to that of cromolyn sodium. Nine asymptomatic subjects with ragweed hypersensitivity and a history of bronchial asthma were studied on 4 different days, without and after pretreatments with aerosolized placebo, gallopamil (10 mg), or cromolyn sodium (20 mg) solution, in a single-blind, randomized, crossover design. Bronchial reactivity was measured as the cumulative provocative dose of ragweed antigen in breath units (PD 35 ) that caused a 35% decrease in specific airway conductance (SG aw ). Baseline SG aw was comparable on control, placebo-gallopamil- and cromolyn sodium-treatment days. The airway deposition dose of gallopamil and cromolyn sodium was calculated at 1.05 mg and 2.1 mg, respectively. Neither cromolyn sodium nor gallopamil had a significant effect on mean SG aw . Mean ± PD 35 on control and placebo-treatment days was 0.54 ± 0.95 and 0.23 ± 0.17 breath units, respectively. Aerosolized gallopamil and cromolyn sodium increased the mean PD 35 to 56 ± 41 and 24 ± 35 breath units, respectively ( p
High frequency transformation of Bacillus subtilis protoplasts by plasmid DNA.

A highly efficient method for transformation of Bacillus subtilis by plasmid DNA is reported. The procedure, which involves polyethylene glycolinduced DNA uptake by protoplasts and subsequent regeneration of the bacterial cell wall, yields up to 80% transformants with an efficiency of 4x107 transformants per μg of supercoiled DNA. Plasmids constructed by in vitro ligation or endonuclease-generated fragments of linear plasmid DNA can also transform PEG-treated protoplasts, but at a lower frequency.
Loss of socialized patterns of behavior in mouse colonies following daily sleep disturbance during maturation.

Abstract An ethologically-oriented experimental design has been evolved to test the hypothesis that in the developing animal, rapid eye movement (REM) sleep may be concerned with integrating inherited aspects of attachment and territorial behavior with higher cognitive processes. Isolated weaned mice were daily submitted to 3–5 hr of treadmill sleep deprivation throughout maturation from 28 days until they were adult at 4 months. In some (controls) the treadmill preceded, and in others (experimental), it followed a 2 1 2 hr socialization period during which the males and females interacted in a complex population cage. The adult responses of the various groups were tested in an open field by measuring their activity and elevation of plasma corticosterone. The capacity for organized social interaction was evaluated by observing blood pressure and other responses to two months of continuous exposure to colony life in a population cage. Mice that were routinely put on the treadmill immediately after socialization behaved as though they had been isolated throughout their development. Those that experienced the treadmill before socialization developed a normal hierarchy despite 21 1 2 hr of isolation between the daily socialization experiences. There was a statistically significant difference between the open field activity, the open field corticosterone value, and the blood pressure of the control and the experimental groups.
An AFIS Parameter for Correcting Mass Measures on the Spinlab HVI

The radial cross-sectional area measured by the AFIS is used to provide a correction to the diverse slopes of the relationship between the mass and the natural logarithm of the ratio of the incident light to the light attenuated by cotton fibers. The correction appears to be comparable to that obtained from Arealometer data. Comparisons with Arealometer cross sections indicate an R2 of at least 0.97. This measurement, obtained more rapidly using the AFIS, may be used as a mass correction to determine strength on the Spinlab high volume instrument.
Facilitating Physiologic Self-Regeneration: A Step Beyond Islet Cell Replacement

Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is an autoimmune disease, the clinical onset of which most frequently presents in children and adolescents who are genetically predisposed. T1D is characterized by specific insulin-producing beta cell destruction. The well-differentiated and specialized islet beta cells seem to physiologically retain the ability to compensate for the cells lost by reproducing themselves, whereas undifferentiated cell sources may help in generating new ones, even while the autoimmune process takes place. Diabetes clinical onset, i.e., establishment of a detectable, chronic hyperglycemia, occurs at a critical stage when autoimmunity, having acted for a while, supersedes the regenerative effort and reduces the number of beta cells below the physiologic threshold at which the produced insulin becomes insufficient for the body's needs. Clinical solutions aimed at avoiding cumbersome daily insulin administrations by the reestablishment of physiologic insulin production, like whole pancreas or pancreatic islet allotransplantation, are limited by the scarcity of pancreas donors and by the toxic effects of the immunosuppressive drugs administered to prevent rejection. However, new accumulating evidence suggests that, once autoimmunity is abrogated, the endocrine pancreas properties may be sufficient to allow the physiological regenerative process to restore endogenous insulin production, even after the disease has become clinically manifest. Knowledge of these properties of the endocrine pancreas suggests the testing of reliable and clinically translatable protocols for obliterating autoimmunity, thus allowing the regeneration of the patient's own endocrine cells. The safe induction of an autoimmunity-free status might become a new promising therapy for T1D.
Liriodendronine, an oxoaporphine pigment from discolored sapwood of Liriodendron tulipifera

Abstract A new violet oxoaporphine alkaloid. liriodendronine, has been isolated from the discolored sapwood of Liniodendron tulipifera and its structure determined by spectroscopic methods and by conversion into a corunnine-type compound, 2- O,N -dimethylliriodendronine. UV studies demonstrated that the compound exists primarily as a quinone-methide in a neutral medium, a dianion in base, an isoquinolinium ion in weak acid, and as an antiaromatic conjugate acid in conc H 2 SO 4 .
‘Illegally and Beautifully’: The United States, the Indonesian Invasion of East Timor and the International Community, 1974–76

This article examines the international community's response to Indonesia's 1975 invasion of East Timor in light of recently declassified documents from the US, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. It argues that anti-Communist and geopolitical concerns at the end of the Vietnam War were not the only, and perhaps not even the most important explanations of Western support for Indonesia's takeover of East Timor. Rather, this article suggests that beliefs that East Timor was too small and too primitive to merit self-governance reinforced the perceived imperative of maintaining friendly relations with the Suharto regime, whose growing importance in the regional political economy overshadowed its defiance of international law.
Supraspinal Flumazenil Inhibits the Antianalgesic Action of Spinal Dynorphin A [1–17]

Abstract DynorphinA (Dyn) administered intrathecally or released spinally in mice produces antianalgesia, that is, antagonizes morphine analgesia (tail-flick test). Spinal transection eliminates this Dyn antianalgesia. Present results in mice show that intracerebroventricular administration of flumazenil, a benzodiazepine receptor antagonist, also eliminated the antianalgesic action of Dyn; flumazenil in the brain eliminated the suppressant effect of intrathecal Dyn on intrathecal and intracerebroventricular morphine-induced antinociception. Intracerebroventricular clonidine, naloxone, and norbinaltorphimine release spinal Dyn. The latent antinociceptive actions of these compounds were uncovered by intracerebroventricular flumazenil. Thus, Dyn, given intrathecally or released spinally, activates a pathway that is inhibited by intracerebroventricular flumazenil. Dyn antianalgesia is not significantly altered by intracerebroventricular administration of bicuculline and picrotoxin, suggesting that activation of the gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor has little if any involvement in the antianalgesic action of Dyn. The antagonistic effect of Dyn seems to be mimicked by benzodiazepine agonists. Furthermore, administration of a benzodiazepine receptor inverse agonist (methyl-6,7-dimethoxy-4-ethyl-β-carboline-3-carboxylate) inhibited Dyn antianalgesia as did flumazenil. Thus, flumazenil, through a benzodiazepine antagonist or inverse agonist action, interrupts, as does spinal transection, the neuronal circuit (cord/brain/cord) necessary for the antianalgesic action of spinal Dyn. Because Dyn antianalgesia is an indirect action, activation of the neuronal circuit must lead to the release of a direct-acting antianalgesic mediator in the spinal cord.
Pareto Analysis for Multicriteria Optimization of Bridge Preservation Decisions

A new approach is presented for solving infrastructure maintenance optimization problems involving multiple, conflicting, and incommensurable criteria. Pareto analysis is adapted from the theory of social welfare economics to identify the solutions that mutually achieve the best compromise among competing criteria. The proposed approach is applied to the domain of bridge maintenance management to assist decision makers in optimizing bridge preservation decisions. Two criteria are considered in this study: the minimization of life-cycle costs and the maximization of bridge network condition. Feasibility and capability of the proposed approach are demonstrated by using an application example of concrete bridge decks. The uncertainty in deck deterioration is considered by using stochastic Markov chain models developed from the condition data of concrete bridge decks in Nebraska. Further research is needed to expand the application of the proposed approach to other infrastructure facilities, and to consider o...