cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Cyanoglucoside biosynthesis in white clover (Trifolium repens)

Abstract l -valine-(U- 14 C), isobutyraldoxime-(U- 14 C) and 2-hydroxyisobutyraldoxime-(1,3- 14 C) were fed to white clover shoots which contained or lacked cyanoglucoside. Labelling results indicated that plants which were unable to synthesize linamarin from these precursors lacked the ability to glucosylate 2-hydroxyisobutyronitrile. When l -valine-(U- 14 C) was fed to cyanoglucoside-producing plants in the presence of cold isobutyraldoxime, radioactivity could be trapped in this compound. No radioactivity was trapped in isobutyraldoxime fed to non-cyanoglucoside-producing shoots demonstrating that this phenotype also lacks the ability to convert valine into the aldoxime. This suggests that the non-cyanoglucoside-producing plants have at least two steps in the biosynthesis of linamarin missing. Differences between the linamarin biosynthetic enzymes of white clover and flax were demonstrated using the inhibitor O -methylthreonine and by the failure of cyanoglucoside-producing white clover shoots to synthesize linamarin from fed 2-hydroxyisobutyraldoxime.
Whey Utilization. IV. Availability of Whey Nitrogen for the Growth of Saccharomyces Fragilis

Summary Saccharomyces fragilis utilized approximately 50% of the ammonia nitrogen, 25% of the organic nitrogen, and 25% of the total nitrogen in whey, and all of the added ammonia nitrogen. The available nitrogen was found to be in the organic fraction soluble after heat- and acid-precipitation of the whey proteins.
Linewidth Pressure Measurement: A New Technique for High Vacuum Characterization

Pressure measurement is often the limiting factor in the accuracy of quantitative ion-molecule experiments. We present a new method for pressure measurement based on analysis of pressure-limited Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FTICR) linewidths for well-characterized collisions of Ar+ with Ar. The kinetic energy dependence of Ar+/Ar collision cross sections is well-described using a single-parameter fitting procedure, which results in pressure measurements in good agreement with those from a cold cathode tube and from measurement of total ion signal following electron impact ionization. The new method avoids problems inherent in ionization-based methods, such as those arising from differences in ionization potential or perturbations to the pressure that occur during electron ionization of the gas to be measured, and should be applicable in the trapping cells of FTICR and Orbitrap mass spectrometers.
Auditory steady-state responses: threshold prediction using phase coherence.

These experiments add a measure of response phase variance--'phase coherence'--to the analysis procedures applied to auditory steady-state responses (SSR). The effects of stimulus frequency, intensity, rate and total number (i.e., recording time) were studied using 11 normal adult subjects. In a first experiment, SSR phase coherence was found to be highest at presentation rates near 40/sec, even when response amplitudes were higher at other rates. Further, phase coherence was observed to be linearly related (r = 0.91) to signal-to-noise ratio. Two further experiments demonstrated that phase coherence can correctly detect responses to near-threshold stimuli. In 15 min runs, significant phase coherence was detected within 6 dB of behavioral threshold in 6 subjects for 0.5 and 2.0 kHz signals, while phase coherence in no-stimulus control runs did not reach significance. Minimum data collection time required to record significant (P less than 0.01) responses was studied for 10 subjects. In 2 of 40 recordings at 10 dB SL phase coherence remained insignificant after even 15 min. However, average recording time to reach significance at 10 dB SL was less than 4 min in 38 of 40 recordings, and less than 1 min at 25 dB SL (18 of 18 recordings). These results indicate that using phase coherence to detect the presence of the 40/sec auditory steady-state response, efficient threshold search procedures may be devised to provide fast, accurate, and objective estimates of auditory behavioral thresholds in nearly all normal adults.
Cell for spectrophotometric titrations with small volumes

Abstract A thermostatted speetrophotometric titration cell which is adaptable to various commercial spectrophotometers is described. The cell accepts a sample volume of 1.5 ml and has provision for simultaneous stirring and recording of pH and absorbance. Precise values for p K can be obtained with a single titration curve, as shown by nonlinear least-squares analysis of curves for p -nitrophenol (±0.008 pH unit) and a mixture of mononitrated ribonuclease derivatives (±0.03 pH unit). Titration and pH-stat experiments can be performed on unbuffered solutions because the system is relatively free of pH drift.
A marginal cost of funds approach to multi-period public project evaluation: implications for the social discount rate

Abstract Although the use of marginal cost of funds (MCF) has been widely appreciated in public finance literature, discussions of MCF have been confined to a static setting. This paper develops a multi-period project evaluation rule that is based on MCF. Unlike previous approaches, the parameters required for implementing the MCF rule are independent of projects under consideration. A lesson from this paper is that the government discount rate policies that are largely based on the concepts of social discount rate and shadow price of capital should be rewritten with the use of parameters representing MCF.
Potential Benefits of Underride Guards in Large Truck Side Crashes

Objective: To evaluate the maximum potential for side underride guards (SUGs) to reduce passenger vehicle occupant fatalities and injuries in crashes with large trucks in the United States. Methods: Examination of the Large Truck Crash Causation Study (LTCCS) identified 206 crash events involving a passenger vehicle impact with the side of a large truck. Each case was evaluated to determine whether the most severe injury sustained by a passenger vehicle occupant was a result of the impact with the side of the truck and whether an SUG could have reduced the injury severity. Data from the 2006–2008 Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) and Trucks Involved in Fatal Accidents (TIFA) survey were used to compare the types of trucks involved in all fatal side impacts with passenger vehicles with the truck types in the LTCCS cases that were studied. FARS and TIFA data also were used to estimate the total annual number of passenger vehicle occupants killed in truck side impacts. Results: In 143 of the 206 case...
The isolation and characterization of γ-L-glutamyl-S-methyl-L-cysteine from kidney beans (Phaseolus vulgaris).

Abstract A dipeptide of the newly reported sulfur-containing amino acid, S -methyl- l -cysteine has been found in the nonprotein nitrogen fraction of kidney bean seeds. The compound was isolated and purified by two methods involving ion-exchange chromatography, ion exclusion, and partition chromatography on a paper roll. On characterization, the compound was conclusively shown to be γ- l -glutamyl- S -methyl- l -cysteine. The structure of the new dipeptide was confirmed by synthesis from glutathione. S -Methylated glutathione was treated with carboxypeptidase whereby the glycine moiety was preferentially removed. γ- l -Glutamyl- S -methyl- l -cysteine represents a substantial part of the nonprotein nitrogen fraction of the mature bean seed.
Downregulation of mu opioid receptor by RNA interference in the ventral tegmental area reduces ethanol consumption in mice

Pharmacological and genetic studies have implicated the mu opioid receptor (MOR) in the regulation of ethanol intake in animal models and humans. Non-specific antagonists of opioid receptors have been shown to affect ethanol consumption when infused directly into the ventral tegmental area (VTA) of rats. However, administration of MOR-selective antagonists into the VTA has yielded mixed results. We used RNA interference (RNAi) to specifically decrease levels of MOR messenger RNA in the VTA of mice and examined the effect on ethanol consumption in a two-bottle choice paradigm. Mice were injected in the VTA with lentivirus expressing either a small hairpin RNA (shRNA) targeting MOR or a control shRNA. One week after virus injection, mice were examined for ethanol consumption in a two-bottle choice experiment with increasing concentrations of ethanol over the course of 1 month. Expression of an shRNA targeting MOR in the VTA led to a significant reduction in ethanol consumption. These results strengthen the hypothesis that MOR in the VTA is one of the key brain substrates mediating alcohol consumption. The RNAi combined with lentiviral delivery can be used successfully in brain to effect a sustained reduction in expression of specific genes for behavioral analysis.
Cooperation and assortativity with dynamic partner updating

The natural tendency for humans to make and break relationships is thought to facilitate the emergence of cooperation. In particular, allowing conditional cooperators to choose with whom they interact is believed to reinforce the rewards accruing to mutual cooperation while simultaneously excluding defectors. Here we report on a series of human subjects experiments in which groups of 24 participants played an iterated prisoner’s dilemma game where, critically, they were also allowed to propose and delete links to players of their own choosing at some variable rate. Over a wide variety of parameter settings and initial conditions, we found that dynamic partner updating significantly increased the level of cooperation, the average payoffs to players, and the assortativity between cooperators. Even relatively slow update rates were sufficient to produce large effects, while subsequent increases to the update rate had progressively smaller, but still positive, effects. For standard prisoner’s dilemma payoffs, we also found that assortativity resulted predominantly from cooperators avoiding defectors, not by severing ties with defecting partners, and that cooperation correspondingly suffered. Finally, by modifying the payoffs to satisfy two novel conditions, we found that cooperators did punish defectors by severing ties, leading to higher levels of cooperation that persisted for longer.
From Categories to Individuals in Real Time -- A Unified Boosting Approach

A method for online, real-time learning of individual-object detectors is presented. Starting with a pre-trained boosted category detector, an individual-object detector is trained with near-zero computational cost. The individual detector is obtained by using the same feature cascade as the category detector along with elementary manipulations of the thresholds of the weak classifiers. This is ideal for online operation on a video stream or for interactive learning. Applications addressed by this technique are reidentification and individual tracking. Experiments on four challenging pedestrian and face datasets indicate that it is indeed possible to learn identity classifiers in real-time, besides being faster-trained, our classifier has better detection rates than previous methods on two of the datasets.
A virtual time system for virtualization-based network emulations and simulations

Simulation and emulation are commonly used to study the behaviour of communication networks, owing to the cost and complexity of exploring new ideas on actual networks. Emulations executing real code have high functional fidelity, but may not have high temporal fidelity because virtual machines usually use their host's clock. To enhance temporal fidelity, we designed a virtual time system for virtualization-based network emulations and simulations, such that virtual machines perceive time as if they were running concurrently in physical world. Our time virtualization is not exact: there exist temporal errors primarily due to scheduler timeslice, which is tunable in our system. We then study the tradeoff between temporal fidelity and execution speed under different lengths of timeslices, both experimentally and analytically. We demonstrate that our virtual time system is flexible such that it can achieve different level of temporal accuracy at the cost of different execution speed.
Relation of distal tubular NaCl delivery and glomerular hydrostatic pressure.

Relation of distal tubular NaCl delivery and glomerular hydrostatic pressure. We have tested certain aspects of the hypothesis that the rate of distal tubular sodium delivery determines the rate of filtration in that nephron. Schnermann, Wright et al have suggested that a reduction in distal sodium delivery causes the local release of angiotensin which acts to elevate the glomerular hydrostatic pressure (P G ) of that nephron by constricting the efferent arteriole, thereby increasing the nephron filtration rate. We have, therefore, examined the influence of distal sodium delivery upon glomerular hydrostatic pressure utilizing a servo null pressure device in Wistar rats with surface glomeruli on normal NaCl diet (Group I), low NaCl diet (Group II) and during saline diuresis (Group III). Glomerular pressure was quite similar in all three groups. In single nephron studies, in these same three groups, an acute reduction in distal sodium delivery did not alter nephron glomerular hydrostatic pressure. We conclude: 1) mechanisms exist whereby P G is autoregulated despite acute tubular obstruction and wide variations in distal sodium delivery; 2) if nephron filtration rate rises with reduction in distal sodium delivery, this must be mediated by increased plasma flow to that nephron, since glomerular hydrostatic pressure is unchanged.
The Darling-Erdős theorem for sums of I.I.D. random variables

We obtain a general Darling-Erdős type theorem for the maximum of appropriately normalized sums of i.i.d. mean zero r.v.'s with finite variances. We infer that the Darling-Erdős theorem holds in its classical formulation if and only ifE[X21 {|X|≧t}]=o((loglogt)-1) ast→∞. Our method is based on an extension of the truncation techniques of Feller (1946) to non-symmetric r.v.'s. As a by-product we are able to reprove fundamental results of Feller (1946) dealing with lower and upper classes in the Hartman-Wintner LIL.
Unity of compactness

Click on the link to view the abstract. Keywords: Overcover; filter; compact filter, pretopology Quaestiones Mathematicae 30(2007), 193–206
The spectral distribution of biologically active solar radiation at Miami, Florida, USA

The spectral distribution of solar radiation was studied under different sky conditions during a 15-month period in Miami, Florida (USA), and over a latitudinal gradient at solar maximum. Spectroradiometric scans were characterized for total irradiance (300–3000 nm) and the relative energetic and photon contributions of the following wavelength regions: UV-B (300–320 nm); UV-A (320–400 nm); B (400–500 nm); PAR (400–700 nm); R (600–700 nm); and FR (728–732 nm). Notable results include: (i) significantly higher UV-A energy fluxes than currently in use for laboratory experiments involving the biological effects of this band-width (values ranged from 33.6 to 55.4 W/m2 in Miami over the year); (ii) marked diurnal shifts in B:R and R:FR, with elevated R:FR values in early morning: (iii) a strong correlation between R:FR and atmospheric water content; and (iv) unusually high PAR values under direct sunlight with cloudy skies (2484 μmol/2 per s).
The significance of the metabolism of the neurohormone melatonin: Antioxidative protection and formation of bioactive substances

Recent findings suggest that the ability of melatonin to enter all body tissues and to be metabolized, enzymatically or nonenzymatically, in any of them results in a spectrum of effects, which exceed substantially those transduced by membrane receptors. These actions comprise the formation of various bioactive compounds such as N-acetylserotonin, 5-methoxytryptamine, N,N-dimethyl-5-methoxytryptamine, 5-methoxytryptophol, cyclic 2-hydroxymelatonin, pinoline, and 5-methoxylated kynuramines. Apart from enzymatic metabolism, nonenzymatic reactions with free radicals, in particular the superoxide anion and the hydroxyl radical, represent a new and significant aspect of melatonin's biological role. Melatonin represents the most potent physiological scavenger of hydroxyl radicals found to date, and recent findings suggest an essential role of this indoleamine for protection from hydroxyl radical-induced carcinogenesis and neurodegeneration.
Development and Impact of an Intervention to Boost Recruitment in a Multicenter Pediatric Randomized Clinical Trial

Objectives. Our primary objective was to develop and evaluate an intervention to increase recruitment in a multicenter pediatric randomized clinical trial (RCT). Our secondary objective was to assess the impact beyond 120 days. Methods. The study was conducted at 17 academic centers participating in a pediatric RCT. The intervention consisted of utilizing a recruitment assessment tool at a site visit or teleconference with key site personnel. Results. We found a significant increase in the number of individuals enrolled for all 17 sites at 120 days postintervention (mean = 1.12 per site; median = 1 per site; 95% confidence interval = 1-2; P = .04). No significant differences were apparent beyond the first 120 days postintervention. Conclusions. Successful recruitment in RCTs is essential to the quality, generalizability, and cost-effectiveness of clinical research. Implementation of this recruitment intervention may effectively increase recruitment in RCTs. Beyond the first 120 days postintervention, repe...
Visualization of Penicillin-Binding Proteins during Sporulation of Streptomyces griseus

We used fluorescein-tagged β-lactam antibiotics to visualize penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) in sporulating cultures of Streptomyces griseus. Six PBPs were identified in membranes prepared from growing and sporulating cultures. The binding activity of an 85-kDa PBP increased fourfold by 10 to 12 h of sporulation, at which time the sporulation septa were formed. Cefoxitin inhibited the interaction of the fluorescein-tagged antibiotics with the 85-kDa PBP and also prevented septum formation during sporulation but not during vegetative growth. The 85-kDa PBP, which was the predominant PBP in membranes of cells that were undergoing septation, preferentially bound fluorescein-6-aminopenicillanic acid (Flu-APA). Fluorescence microscopy showed that the sporulation septa were specifically labeled by Flu-APA; this interaction was blocked by prior exposure of the cells to cefoxitin at a concentration that interfered with septation. We hypothesize that the 85-kDa PBP is involved in septum formation during sporulation of S. griseus.
Sent-down Youth and Rural Economic Development in Maoist China

This article explores the relationship between the sent-down youth movement and economic development in rural China during the Cultural Revolution. It examines ways in which sent-down youth themselves initiated improvements in rural life, and more importantly, how local officials used both their presence to acquire equipment and technical training and their skills and education to promote rural industry. The sent-down youth offices established in the cities and the countryside inadvertently provided connections between remote rural counties and large urban centres that enabled the transfer of a significant quantity of material goods, ranging from electrical wires and broadcast cables to tractors and factory machinery. Ultimately, we show how individual sent-down youths, their families, and both urban and rural officials – none of whom had a role in determining government policies – identified and made use of resources that those policies unintentionally produced.
Management of venous thromboembolism for older adults in long-term care facilities.

Purpose: To provide information on current evidence-based clinical management of venous thromboembolism (VTE) for nurse practitioners working for older adults in long-term care facilities. Methods and data resources: A systematic review and summary using current clinical guidelines and reliable clinical research studies: American Medical Directors Association, American College of Chest Physicians, Medline, PubMed, Refworks, and CINAHL. Conclusions: The management of VTE focuses on a comprehensive approach including acute and long-term pharmacologic approach, surgical and mechanical approach, prophylaxis of recurrent VTE, maintaining INR, and monitoring lab values. Implications: Recommendations based on the most current clinical research studies and guidelines will facilitate a cost-effective management of venous thromboembolism for older adults in long-term care facilities.
Critical issues in the development of culturally relevant substance abuse treatments for specific minority groups.

Contemporary substance abuse treatment providers are now recognizing the growing diversity within American society. This recognition includes a growing appreciation of racial/ethnic diversity, although few models exist to aid in conceptualizing this diversity as related to substance abuse treatment. This situation prompts the need to better understand the influences of cultural variables in the design and delivery of culturally-responsive and effective substance abuse treatments. Culturally-responsive treatments are those that are sensitive to the specific treatment needs of members of special populations. This article presents specific issues and provides directions for the design, development, and implementation of more effective substance abuse treatments for clients from special populations. These important issues include: (1) the development of provider cultural competence, (2) the need to incorporate cultural variables into treatment, (3) issues in program adaptation, and (4) issues in the transfer of science to practice. Strategic models are presented to aid in conceptualizing these issues, and to further understand relationships between important cultural variables. Finally, further scientific research is encouraged that will contribute an empirical database that will test and further develop these strategic models, in the interest of enhancing the efficacy and effectiveness of substance abuse treatments as delivered to racial/ethnic minority clients, and to clients from other special populations.
Spontaneous Arousals in Supine Infants While Swaddled and Unswaddled During Rapid Eye Movement and Quiet Sleep

Objective. Supine sleep is recommended for infants to decrease the risk of sudden infant death syndrome, but many parents report that their infants seem uncomfortable supine. Many cultures swaddle infants for sleep in the supine position. Swaddled infants are said to “sleep better”; presumably they sleep longer or with fewer arousals. However, there have been no studies of the effect of swaddling on spontaneous arousals during sleep. Arousal is initiated in brainstem centers and manifests as a sequence of reflexes: from sighs to startles and then to thrashing movements. Such “brainstem arousals” may progress to full arousal, but most do not. Methods. Twenty-six healthy infants, aged 80 ± 7 days, were studied during normal nap times. Swaddled (cotton spandex swaddle) and unswaddled trials were alternated for each infant. Sleep state (rapid eye movement [REM] or quiet sleep [QS]) was determined by behavioral criteria (breathing pattern, eye movements) and electroencephalogram/electrooculogram (10 infants). Respitrace, submental and biceps electromyogram, and video recording were used to detect startles and sighs (augmented breaths). Full arousals were classified by eye opening and/or crying. Frequencies of sighs, startles, and full arousals per hour were calculated. Progression of events was calculated as percentages in each sleep state, as was duration of sleep state. Results. Swaddling decreased startles in QS and REM, full arousal in QS, and progression of startle to arousal in QS. It resulted in shorter arousal duration during REM sleep and more REM sleep. Conclusions. Swaddling has a significant inhibitory effect on progression of arousals from brainstem to full arousals involving the cortex in QS. Swaddling decreases spontaneous arousals in QS and increases the duration of REM sleep, perhaps by helping infants return to sleep spontaneously, which may limit parental intervention. For these reasons, a safe form of swaddling that allows hip flexion/abduction and chest wall excursion may help parents keep their infants in the supine sleep position and thereby prevent the sudden infant death syndrome risks associated with the prone sleep position.
Pyrolysis–molecular weight chromatography–vapor‐phase infrared spectrophotometry: An on‐line system for analysis of polymers. III. Thermal decomposition of polysulfones and polystyrene

The thermal decomposition of poly(butene-1 sulfone), poly(pentene-1 sulfone), poly(hexene-1 sulfone), poly(styrene sulfone), and polystyrene was investigated in helium at a heating rate of 20°C/min using an experimental system which consists of a programmable pyrolyzer, a thermal conductivity detector, a mass chromatograph, and a vapor-phase infrared spectrophotometer. Poly(butene-1 sulfone), poly(penetene-1 sulfone), and poly(hexene-1 sulfone) displayed two-step decomposition; the primary products of decomposition at both steps were the comonomers (olefin and SO2). For poly(styrene sulfone), in addition to styrene and SO2, products with molecular weights corresponding to dimers of styrene were observed. Decomposition of this polymer was compared with that of polystyrene, which formed mostly monomer.
Automated Fluorometric Determination of Humic Substances in Natural Water

Abstract A procedure for automating the analysis of humic substances in natural fresh water samples is described. Thirty samples are analysed per hour in a working range of 0.5 mg/l to 20 mg/l. Significant interferences observed in other methods are eliminated.
A circuit simulation model for bipolar-induced breakdown in MOSFET

The successful modeling of short-channel transistor breakdown characteristics with effective channel length down to 0.6 mu m is reported. The sudden increase in the MOS drain current due to threshold voltage reduction caused by the forward biasing of the source-substrate junction is also modeled with considerable accuracy. This is the first successful application of a short-channel breakdown model in a circuit simulator. Model parameter extraction and installation of the model in the circuit simulator is also discussed. >
On the excitation of the Earth's free wobble and reference frames

The excitation of the earth's polar motion in connection with problems that are associated with the diversity of reference frames involved in observations and theoretical computations is studied. Following the dynamics of the earth's polar motion, the kinematics that relates observations from different reference frames is developed. The conventional procedures of studying the seismic excitation of polar motion are re-examined, subject to the question: relative to what reference frame? It is concluded that an inconsistency in reference frames has prevailed in the literature. While this inconsistency is indeed far from trivial, the resultant discrepancy, however, is small for all practical purposes.
Ethanol withdrawal hastens the aging of cytochrome c oxidase

We investigated whether abrupt ethanol withdrawal (EW) age-specifically inhibits a key mitochondrial enzyme, cytochrome c oxidase (COX), and whether estrogen mitigates this problem. We also tested whether this possible effect of EW involves a substrate (cytochrome c) deficiency that is associated with proapoptotic Bcl2-associated X protein (BAX) and mitochondrial membrane swelling. Ovariectomized young, middle age, and older rats, with or without 17β-estradiol (E2) implantation, underwent repeated EW. Cerebelli were collected to measure COX activity and the mitochondrial membrane swelling using spectrophotometry and the mitochondrial levels of cytochrome c and BAX using an immunoblot method. The loss of COX activity and the mitochondrial membrane swelling occurred only in older rats under control diet conditions but occurred earlier, starting in the young rats under EW conditions. E2 treatment mitigated these EW effects. EW increased mitochondrial BAX particularly in middle age rats but did not alter cytochrome c. Collectively EW hastens but E2 delays the age-associated loss of COX activity. This EW effect is independent of cytochrome c but may involve the mitochondrial overload of BAX and membrane vulnerability.
Effect of Subclinical Status in Functional Limitation and Disability on Adverse Health Outcomes 3 Years Later

Background. This article examines the effect of self-reported, baseline subclinical status (i.e., independent but adaptive performance) for functional limitation and disability on adverse health outcomes. Methods. Nine hundred ninety-eight African-American men and women aged 49-65 years received in-home evaluations at baseline, and 853 were re-evaluated 3 years later. Baseline subclinical status was ascertained for five lower body tasks and seven activities of daily living (ADLs)/instrumental ADLs (IADLs). Outcomes included difficulty with lower body limitations, ADLs/IADLs, physical performance, physician visits, hospitalization, nursing home placement, and mortality. Results. The baseline proportion of subclinical status evidence for the five lower body items was 0.33 (standard deviation [SD] = 0.20), and for the seven ADLs/IADLs was 0.20 (SD = 0.30). Significant independent effects of subclinical status for lower body limitations were observed on physician visits and hospitalization. Significant independent effects of subclinical status for ADLs/IADLs were observed on ADLs/IADLs and physician visits. Conclusions. Subclinical status for functional limitation and disability independently predicts several subsequent adverse health outcomes, although the effects of the latter (ADLs/IADLs) are stronger. Interventions to reduce frailty should focus on self-reported subclinical status as an early warning system.
Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells Enhance Mortality during Lethal Influenza Infections by Eliminating Virus-Specific CD8 T Cells

Previous studies have shown that the reduction in CD8 T cell immunity observed during high-dose influenza A virus (IAV) infection is mediated via lymph node (LN) dendritic cells (DCs) that express Fas ligand (FasL) and drive FasL-Fas (DC-T)–induced apoptosis. However, the specific DC subset(s) within the LN and the additional factors required for DC-mediated elimination of IAV-specific CD8 T cells remain unknown. In this paper, we demonstrate that plasmacytoid DCs (pDCs), which downregulate FasL during sublethal, but not lethal, IAV infection, accumulate to greater numbers within the LNs of lethal dose-infected mice. Further our findings show that pDCs from lethal, but not sublethal, dose IAV infections drive elimination of Fas+ CD8 T cells and that this elimination occurs only in the absence of TCR recognition of IAV peptide-MHC class I complexes. Together, these results suggest that pDCs play a heretofore unknown deleterious role during lethal dose IAV infections by limiting the CD8 T cell response.
Factors Distinguishing Youth Who Report Self-Injurious Behavior: A Population-Based Sample

Abstract Objective To identify factors distinguishing adolescents across 3 groups: no self-harm, nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) only, and NSSI and suicide attempt (NSSI + SA). Methods Data were from the 2007 Minnesota Student Survey. The sample included 61,330 students in grades 9 and 12. Logistic regression analysis determined factors that best distinguished adolescents who reported NSSI from those who reported no self-harm, and adolescents who reported NSSI + SA. Final models were developed over 3 stages of analysis that tested the importance of variables within risk factor, protective factor, and co-occurring health-risk behavior domains. Results For male and female subjects, factors that consistently distinguished youth who reported NSSI from those who reported no self-harm included depressive symptoms, hopelessness, physical abuse, less parent connectedness, running away from home, and maladaptive dieting behavior. Factors that distinguished the NSSI + SA group from the NSSI only group for both sexes were a mental health problem, depressive symptoms, hopelessness, physical abuse, and running away from home. Other factors, such as sexual abuse, were significant in models for males or females only. Hopelessness constituted the leading factor to increase the likelihood that youth who self-injured also attempted suicide. Conclusions Youth engaging in NSSI experience diverse psychosocial stressors and significant distress. Clinicians and school personnel are well-positioned to offer support to these youth. Furthermore, they can help address NSSI among youth by identifying those who self-injure early, assessing for hopelessness and suicidality, facilitating connections to prosocial adults, addressing maladaptive dieting behavior, and supporting runaway youth.
Lattice Modification in Ion‐Implanted Ceramics

The effect of ion implantation on alumina (Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/) and silicon carbide (SiC) was investigated by Rutherford backscattering (RBS), indentation hardness, fracture toughness, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and linear scratching with a diamond stylus. The implanted (10/sup 16/ to 10/sup 17/ Cr X cm/sup -2/ at 280 to 300 keV, 1 to 4 X 10/sup 16/ Ti X cm/sup -2/ at 150 keV, 2 X 10/sup 16/ Zr X cm/sup -2/ at 150 keV) Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ lattice is significantly damaged but remains crystalline; the lattice hardness increases, and the scratched surface is less sensitive to fracture. The implanted (10/sup 13/ to 10/sup 16/ N X cm/sup -2/ at 62 keV, 10/sup 14/ to 10/sup 16/ Cr X cm/sup -2/ at 280 keV) SiC lattice becomes amorphous to a depth of 250 nm, becomes less hard, and deforms without fracture when scratched. The variation in Rutherford backscattered spectra and in surface hardness with annealing are reported and interpreted in terms of lattice defects for the Al/sub 2/O/sub 3/ specimens.
Series-to-parallel transition in the filament lattice of airway smooth muscle.

Force-velocity curves measured at different times during tetani of sheep trachealis muscle were analyzed to assess whether velocity slowing could be explained by thick-filament lengthening. Such lengthening increases force by placing more cross bridges in parallel on longer filaments and decreases velocity by reducing the number of filaments spanning muscle length. From 2 s after the onset of stimulation, when force had achieved 42% of it final value, to 28 s, when force had been at its tetanic plateau for ∼15 s, velocity decreases were exactly matched by force increases when force was adjusted for changes in activation, as assessed from the maximum power value in the force-velocity curves. A twofold change in velocity could be quantitatively explained by a series-to-parallel change in the filament lattice without any need to postulate a change in cross-bridge cycling rate.
Exploring Design Space Through Remixing

Open innovation communities promote collective intelligence by providing members platforms to design and create user-generated content. Among these communities, many have incorporated a system to encourage users to modify each other’s work in a process called remixing. Remixing continues to evolve in open innovation communities including Github, Scratch, Thingiverse, and ccMixer. Remixing in online communities relies on a small number of technical features, and understanding the way these features are used may help us design more productive online communities. Remixing can be thought of as a form of product evolution: Together a community explores a design space of possibilities, starting from the many designs already created.
The Life and Times of the Big Six, or, The Federal Courts Since the Good Old Days

In this article, Professor Marc Galanter challenges the notion that increases in the caseload of the federal courts reflect a general increased litigiousness on the part of the American public. He examines civil filings in federal district courts in six categories of cases that he calls the 'Big Six': civil rights, prisoner petitions, social security, recovery (mainly recovery of overpayments of veterans' benefits and of defaulted student loans), other contracts, and torts. He finds that the increase in litigation is not general over these areas; instead, the incidence of some kinds of cases is growing while that of others is falling. Professor Galanter suggest that different subpopulations of cases respond to specific conditions rather than to global changes and that control of the federal court caseload requires study of these conditions and of the effects on litigation that the cases themselves have.
Globalizing Conservation Easements: Private Law Approaches for International Environmental Protection

For the past thirty years nonprofit organizations have revolutionized open space and habitat conservation in the United States through the use of conservation easements. Pursuant to legislation, nonprofits may now acquire and hold perpetual restrictions that prevent alteration of the subject land’s natural and ecological features. These rights can be held “in gross,” with the result that the nonprofit need not own land near the restricted property and can be based in a distant location. As a result of this success, proponents in more recent years have advocated the export of “conservation easements” from the United States to other countries. A vehicle like a conservation easement and having some or perhaps all of its attributes could be employed in other countries to achieve various local and national conservation goals. My thesis, however, is that while conservation easements could be a useful tool for preservation of land outside of the U.S., they may not be the most effective or suitable framework to advance conservation in all countries. Rather than pushing for adoption of an American style “conservation easement” elsewhere, other countries and American (and global) advocates of conservation devices should engage in a process to determine a given country’s appropriate conservation toolbox. That process should be free of American legal and conservation jargon and without a predisposition for U.S. legal structures, values, and policy choices. Each country must determine on its own whether private conservation restrictions meet its economic, social, and political realities and aspirations (many of which are quite different than the American experience reflected in American conservation easements) and what attributes the device should have on key issues such as duration, in gross enforcement, role of government, etc. These national and local goals can then be given life by finding an appropriate legal structure, ideally consistent with the country’s own jurisprudence and system. This article will provide a framework of the major policy and legal issues that could, and in my view should, inform a country’s decision to adopt private conservation restrictions. These include considerations of cost, efficiency, preference for private vs. governmental actors, the benefits and costs of perpetual limits on land, public regulation of land as an alternative, the specter of neocolonialism in environmental controls, the nature and capacity of the country’s nonprofit sector, and the local legal system. Finally, the learning about conservation restrictions should be a two-way street, not just the export of American methods: the views of some other countries about governmental involvement in private conservation may teach valuable lessons to American jurisdictions about the need for an increased role of government and the public in certain aspects of the selection, modification, and termination of a some conservation easements.
Using Data Mining to Teach Applied Statistics and Correlation.

This article describes two class activities that introduce the concept of data mining and very basic data mining analyses. Assessment data suggest that students learned some of the conceptual basics of data mining, understood some of the ethical concerns related to the practice, and were able to perform correlations via the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS, Version 20).
Automatic surface flow feature visualization

Most traditional $0~ visualization techniques require the user to select approprtate parameters in order to reveal features in the physical flow. With the increasing complexity and problem size of numerical jiow simulations, the parameter selection task is becoming more time-consuming. There is a need for new visualization methods that can automatically highlight features in the JEow without user-specified parameters.’ In this papel; we describe a flow texture algorithm that highlights sut$ace$ow features automatically without user intervention. We show that the algorithm is more eflective in revealing surface flow features than traditional algorithms. In addition, we propose methods for highlighting flow features with the texturing algorithm. We found that using the algorithm in conjunction with other algorithms is very effective in analyzing surface flows. We also introduce two sur$ace$ow visualization systems that are based on the texture algorithm. Both of these systems are currently available to researchers in the US:
"Mission in Asia": Kita Ikki, V.D. Savarkar and Radical Nationalism in Early 20th Century Japan and India

In the course of the decade spanning the late 1930s to the late 1940s, two men, one in Japan, one in India, were arrested and tried for murders it was known they did not physically commit. One was found guilty, the other was acquitted for lack of evidence. In Tokyo, Kita Ikki was found guilty of ideological contributions to the February Twenty-sixth Incident, the 1936 coup d’etat attempt that resulted in the deaths of three leading figures in the Japanese government. He was executed by firing squad in 1937. Just over ten years later, in Delhi, lack of evidence led to the acquittal of V.D. Savarkar, tried for having made ideological contributions to the assassination of Mohandas K. Gandhi.
Bisphenol s, a new bisphenol analogue, in paper products and currency bills and its association with bisphenol a residues.

As the evidence of the toxic effects of bisphenol A (BPA) grows, its application in commercial products is gradually being replaced with other related compounds, such as bisphenol S (BPS). Nevertheless, very little is known about the occurrence of BPS in the environment. In this study, BPS was analyzed in 16 types of paper and paper products (n = 268), including thermal receipts, paper currencies, flyers, magazines, newspapers, food contact papers, airplane luggage tags, printing paper, kitchen rolls (i.e., paper towels), and toilet paper. All thermal receipt paper samples (n = 111) contained BPS at concentrations ranging from 0.0000138 to 22.0 mg/g (geometric mean: 0.181 mg/g). The overall mean concentrations of BPS in thermal receipt papers were similar to the concentrations reported earlier for BPA in the same set of samples. A significant negative correlation existed between BPS and BPA concentrations in thermal receipt paper samples (r = -0.55, p 88%). To our knowledge, this is the first report on the occurrence of BPS in paper products and currency bills.
Micronized progesterone reduces vasoconstriction in the placenta

AbstractObjective: To investigate if micronized progesterone (P4) has the ability to attenuate thromboxane mimetic U46619-mediated fetoplacental artery vasoconstriction.Methods: Paired cotyledons obtained from the same placenta of five-term subjects were analyzed. The fetal artery and maternal intervillous space of one cotyledon was infused with P4 while another cotyledon was infused with control perfusate. After 30 min, a bolus dose of U44619 was administered to both cotyledons.Results: The change in the measured fetoplacental vascular pressure caused by bolus administration of U46619 was less in the cotyledons infused with P4 (p = 0.009).Conclusion: Continuous treatment with P4 significantly attenuates the U46619-mediated fetoplacental vasoconstriction.
Does Saying This Make Me Look Good?: How Posters and Outsiders Evaluate Facebook Updates

People often try to impress their friends online, but we don't know how well they do it or what they talk about to try to make themselves look good. In the face of known egocentric biases, which cause communicators to overestimate the extent that audiences will understand the intent of their messages, and self-enhancement biases, that cause people to overvalue their own behavior, it is likely that many self-presentation attempts will often fail. However, we don't know which topics cause such failure. In an empirical study, 1300 Facebook users evaluated their most recent status update in terms of how good it make them look. In addition external judges also evaluated the same update. Posters and outsiders agreed only modestly about how good an update made the poster appear (r=.36, p
Excitation of Three-State Atom with Minimum Population of Intermediate State

Laser pulses that overlap in time are often used to transfer an atom or molecule from its ground state to an excited state that cannot be reached directly. In the simplest model for such a process, two transitions in a three-state atom or molecule are driven by two laser beams. We shall use the electric-dipole approximation, and treat the oscillating electric fields of the two laser beams as classical external fields. Each laser beam drives its own transition, and the direct transition from the ground state to the highest state cannot be driven. We use the rotating-wave approximation, and assume that the laser pulses are so short that relaxation terms in the equation of motion can be neglected. With these assumptions, the equation of motion can be solved analytically in several cases in which the applied oscillating fields have time-dependent amplitudes and detunings1. Given an analytic solution, we can reverse the direction of the time-axis, and find the effect of the reversed pulse pair on the three-state system.
Research: Dynamic participation in a computer-based conferencing system

This paper deals with the problem of allowing a participant to dynamically join and leave a computer-based conference that is already in progress. A conference is a synchronous collaboration session where participants at remote locations are cooperating through identical copies of windows generated by applications shared by all conference participants. In this paper, an efficient solution to the problem of accommodating a latecomer is found by recording the modifications to the window system's state implied in the series of commands generated by the applications, and later imposing these state modifications on a latecomer's window system.
Neurocognitive rehabilitation guidelines for therapists.

AbstractEstablishing and implementing cognitive rehabilitation (CR) plans requ i re the efforts of al I rehabilitation staff members. In addition to clear expectations about therapists' roles and responsibilities, there are other issues that need to be considered when creating CR protocols. Specifically, the patient's insight into his or her deficits is a crucial consideration when establishing a CR plan. Other factors also need to be examined, such as the role of the family, the method of establishing goals and monitoring progress, and the necessity of providing feedback to the patient. This article addresses these issues and provides guidelines for rehabilitation teams to establish CR plans.
Structure of A NN ( 90

It is suggested that, just as the differential cross section at 90\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} for proton-proton elastic scattering oscillates, so does the spin-correlation parameter ${A}_{\mathrm{NN}}$ at 90\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}. The oscillations appear to be around the quark-model value of $\frac{1}{3}$, with a periodicity corresponding to an interaction radius of about 0.8 fm.