cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Utilizing an Electrical Low Pressure Impactor to Indirectly Probe Water Uptake via Particle Bounce Measurements

Abstract. Secondary organic aerosol (SOA), formed through oxidation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), display complex viscosity and phase behaviors influenced by temperature, relative humidity (RH), and chemical composition. Here, the efficacy of a multi-stage electrical low pressure impactor (ELPI) for indirect water uptake measurements was studied for ammonium sulfate (AS) aerosol, sucrose aerosol, and α-pinene derived SOA. All three aerosol systems were subjected to greater than 90 % chamber relative humidity, with subsequent analysis indicating persistence of particle bounce for sucrose 10 aerosol of 70 nm (initial dry diameter) and α-pinene derived SOA of number geometric mean diameters between 39 nm and 136 nm (initial dry diameter). On the other hand, sucrose aerosol of 190 nm (initial dry diameter) and AS aerosol down to 70 nm (initial dry diameter) exhibited no particle bounce at elevated RH. Partial drying of aerosol within the lower diameter ELPI impaction stages, where inherent and significant RH reductions occur, is proposed as one explanation for particle bounce persistence.
T11/T12 ossification of the yellow ligament contributing to thoracic myelopathy in patient with posterior fossa arachnoid cyst and acquired incidental Chiari I malformation/syrinx.

Background Thoracic ossification of the yellow ligament (OYL) may contribute to myelopathy. In the case presented, the patient additionally had a chronic posterior fossa arachnoid cyst with an acquired Chiari I malformation and cervicothoracic syrinx. Case Description A 40-year-old female with a posterior fossa arachnoid cyst found 17 years ago, and newly acquired Chiari I malformation (tonsils down 5 mm) with a C7-T5 syrnix, presented with the new onset of lower extremity myelopathy. The MR documented marked dorsolateral cord compression due to T11/T12 OYL. Six months following a laminectomy for resection of OYL, the patient was asymptomatic. Conclusion In patients presenting with the new onset of lower extremity myelopathy, evaluation of the complete neuraxis may be warranted. Here, the patient has an unchanged posterior fossa arachnoid cyst with an acquired Chiari I malformation/C7-T5 syrinx. However, the patient's symptoms were fully attributed to the MR-documented T11/T12 OYL that was successfully resected.
The Episodic Man: How a Psychological Biography of Donald J. Trump Casts New Light on Empirical Research Into Narrative Identity

People make meaning through life narrative. The central thesis of my book-length psychological biography of Donald Trump is that the 45th president of the United States defied this general meaning-making tendency and epitomized instead the episodic man. Like no other president in modern history, Trump seems to be nearly devoid of a narrative identity, which is an internalized and evolving story of the self that reconstructs the personal past and imagines the future in order to provide life with temporal continuity and meaning. Instead, Trump has always lived in the emotionally vivid moment (episode), fighting to win each moment, moment by discrete moment. Seeing him through the lens of the episodic man helps to explain many puzzling features of Donald Trump’s personality, from his charismatic effect on millions of Americans to his penchant for lying and malice. Importantly, the analysis of Trump’s episodic nature informs the scientific study of narrative identity and meaning making more generally, suggesting that people vary not only with respect to the kinds of stories they create for their lives but also with respect to the extent to which they construe life in narrative terms. Therefore, the analysis of Trump illustrates the potentially reciprocal relationship between the idiographic case and the nomothetic effort to develop and evaluate more general scientific hypotheses.
An Open, Real-World Dataset of Cellular UAV Communication Properties

In the past few years, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have drastically increased in popularity both from consumer and industry perspectives. A key component towards enabling the widespread usage of UAVs is the ability to stay in near-constant communication with the drone for command and control and conveying relevant instrumentation. The usage of cellular technology, namely LTE, seems to be a natural fit for addressing coverage and Line of Sight (LoS) issues. However, there is a relative dearth of data, specifically open source data that explores key performance aspects of cellular at altitudes typically envisioned for commercial UAV operation. The key contribution of this paper is to analyze data taken from numerous drone flights that include varying altitudes, locations, and multiple cellular carriers as recorded in a medium-sized Midwestern city. Further, we offer our data as an open-source repository for the community offering multiple vantage points for the various runs including the operating system, chipset (through MobileInsight), drone instrumentation, and server-side packet captures as part of the recorded data streams.
Impersonal Value, Universal Value, and the Scope of Cultural Heritage*

Philosophers have used the terms ‘impersonal’ and ‘personal value’ to refer to, among other things, whether something’s value is universal or particular to an individual. In this article, I propose an account of impersonal value that, I argue, better captures the intuitive distinction than potential alternatives, while providing conceptual resources for moving beyond the traditional stark dichotomy. I illustrate the practical importance of my theoretical account with reference to debate over the evaluative scope of cultural heritage.
Melomys littoralis (Top) M. cervinipes (Bottom)

With the exception of the longest autosomal pair which is subtelocentric, the autosomes of Melomys are very similar to those of Pseudomys (Folio No. 475) However, both species may possess extra B chromosomes. In M. cervinipes, as many as 12 B chromosomes have been found. All B chromosomes are heterochromatic.
Development of a Ground Operations Demonstration Unit for Liquid Hydrogen at Kennedy Space Center

Abstract NASA operations for handling cryogens in ground support equipment have not changed substantially in 50 years, despite major technology advances in the field of cryogenics. NASA loses approximately 50% of the hydrogen purchased because of a continuous heat leak into ground and flight vessels, transient chill down of warm cryogenic equipment, liquid bleeds, and vent losses. NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC) needs to develop energy-efficient cryogenic ground systems to minimize propellant losses, simplify operations, and reduce cost associated with hydrogen usage. The GODU LH2 project will design, assemble, and test a prototype storage and distribution system for liquid hydrogen that represents an advanced end-to-end cryogenic propellant system for a ground launch complex. The project has multiple objectives and will culminate with an operational demonstration of the loading of a simulated flight tank with densified propellants. The system will be unique because it uses an integrated refrigeration and storage system (IRAS) to control the state of the fluid. The integrated refrigerator is the critical feature enabling the testing of the following three functions: zero-loss storage and transfer, propellant densification/conditioning, and on-site liquefaction. This paper will discuss the test objectives, the design of the system, and the current status of the installation.
A Note on the Construction of Double Sampling Plans

For a double sampling plan for attributes, with 100 percent inspection of rejected lots, with given rejection numbers, incoming quality level, lot size and probability Pa of acceptance of a lot of quality p, the minimum value of the average total inspec..
On-chip calibration technique for delay line based BIST jitter measurement

On-chip calibration technique for delay line based time-to-digital converters (TDC) used in jitter measurement built-in self-test (BIST). The proposed technique utilizes pulse width modulation (PWM) to generate accurate voltages to control delay elements within the TDC. Calibration is performed in three stages; accuracy fine-tuning, measurement dynamic range adjustment, and characteristic curve generation. Preliminary simulation results using the calibration technique on a modified Vernier delay line (VDL) BIST provided a cycle-to-cycle jitter resolution of /spl sim/5 ps. The calibration design consists of digital CMOS components and has a potential die area of 0.03/spl mu/m/sup 2/. Calibration time is less than 1.1ms and only a single external calibration input pin is required in addition to the existing BIST.
Inferring bread doneness with air-pulse/ultrasonic ranging measurements of the loaf elastic response

This research marks the discovery of a method by which bread doneness may be determined based on the elastic properties of the loaf as it bakes. The purpose of the study was to determine if changes in bread characteristics could be determined by non-contact methods during baking, as the basis for improved control of the baking process. Current control of the baking process is based on temperature and dwell time, which are determined by experience to produce a produce which is approximately "done." There is no quantitative nondestructive direct measurement of the property of interest, doneness. An ultrasonic measurement system was developed to measure the response of the loaf to an external stimulus. "Doneness," as reflected in the internal elastic consistency of the bakery product, is assessed in less than 1/2 second, and requires no closer approach to the moving bakery product than about 2 inches. The system is designed to be compatible with strapped bread pans in a standard traveling-tray conmiercial oven.
Cartoon Vision: UPA, Precisionism and American Modernism

Postwar animation studio United Productions of America (UPA) is credited with bringing a modern art sensibility to the American cartoon, a simplified, abstract style that transformed the look of st...
A two-level optimization problem for analysis of market bidding strategies

Electricity markets involve suppliers (generators) and sometimes consumers (loads) bidding for MWhr generation and consumption. In this market model, a central operator selves an optimal power flow (OPF) based on the maximization of social welfare to determine the generation and load dispatch and system spot prices. In this structure, market participants will choose their bids in order to maximize their profits. This presents a two-level optimization problem in which participants try to maximize their profit under the constraint that their dispatch and price are determined by the OPF. This paper presents an efficient numerical technique, using price and dispatch sensitivity information available from the OPF solution, to determine how a market participant should vary its bid portfolio in order to maximize its overall profit. The paper further demonstrates the determination of Nash equilibrium when all participants are trying to maximize their profit in this manner.
Incorporation of Operational Audits in Hotel Front Office Courses

One purpose of this research is to identify and document patterns in the current practice of operational audits of hotel front office operations. A second objective is to develop a sample section of a “generic” operational audit checklist which reflects both the most salient features of current practice and normative suggestions for future, broadly based use. Ways to incorporate the generic audit checklist into a typical front office management course as well as into current hotel operations are discussed in the final section of the paper.
Time reversal matched field

Time reversal techniques obtain increased resolution by exploiting scattering and multipath in propagation through inhomogeneous channels. Fink and collaborators has used time reversal to achieve super-resolution focusing in acoustics with controlled ultrasonic experiments in water tanks. More recently large-scale acoustics experiments in the ocean have confirmed the resolution ability of time reversal. In this paper, matched field detection with time reversal (TR-MFP) is considered. In classical matched field processing (MFP), detailed modeling of the channel is used to predict the field as received by an array of sensors, after the wavefield propagates through an inhomogenous channel. MFP, in simple terms, solves an inverse problem (source detection or location) by stepping through a sequence of forward problems, where in each forward problem the unknown location of the source is postulated at each one of potential positions. Practical implementation of MFP implies the solution of the wave equation for each forward problem assuming a given channel velocity propagation profile and given boundary conditions. Time reversal provides a very good alternative to MFP, and provides the potential gain from matching to the propagated field, rather than matching to the original transmitted wavefield. The actual channel Greens' function, in contrast with MFP where the channel Greens' function is computed from the model.
Functional optimization of gene clusters by combinatorial design and assembly

Combinatorial replacement and rearrangement of genetic parts in a refactored nitrogen fixation gene cluster lead to improved performance.
Adenine nucleotide translocase greatly increases the partition of trinitrophenyl-ATP into reduced Triton X-100 micelles

The presence of adenine nucleotide translocase (ANT) was found to greatly enhance the partitioning of the ATP analog 2',3'-O-(2,4,6-trinitrophenyl)-adenosine 5'-triphosphate (TNP-ATP) into reduced Triton X-100 micelles. The protein's effect was studied through the quenching of fluorescence of purified ANT, irreversibly inhibited by carboxyatractyloside (CAT), solubilized in reduced Triton X-100 micelles. The dependence of quenching of the protein's time-resolved tryptophan fluorescence on TNP-ATP concentration was measured and found to follow a Stern-Volmer mechanism. However, the calculated quenching constant was too large to be accounted for by the aqueous TNP-ATP concentration. Experiments were therefore conducted to determine the partitioning of the quencher between the three phases present: aqueous, protein-free micelle, and protein micelle; a system also described by the equation of Omann, G. M., and M. Glaser (1985. Biophys. J. 47:623-627.). By measuring the dependence of the apparent quenching rate constant on the protein concentration and protein/micelle ratios, this equation was used to calculate both the quencher partition coefficient into protein-free micelles (Pm) and into protein-micelles (Ppm), as well as the bimolecular quenching rate constant (kpm) in protein micelles. From the quenching experiments, kpm = 5.0 x 10(8)M-1s-1,Pm = 290 and pyrene quenching experiment to be 325, and by a rapid filtration experiment to be 450. Clearly, the presence of the integral membrane protein ANT-CAT in reduced Triton X-100 micelles greatly increases the partition of TNP-ATP into the micelle. ANT alters the properties and thus, the structure of the detergent micelle, which has direct implications for the use of detergent micelles as a model system for membrane proteins and may indicate that analogous effects occur in the mitochondrial membrane.
Ignition and extinction of flames near surfaces: Combustion of H2 in air

Abstract The ignition and extinction characteristics in homogeneous combustion of H2 in air close to inert surfaces are studied with detailed chemistry involving 19 reversible reactions and 9 species. Flame structures for gases impinging on planar surfaces with stagnation point flow are computed using numerical bifurcation theory. Two-parameter bifurcation diagrams are constructed as functions of equivalence ratio and strain rate. It is shown that up to five multiple solutions can coexist for some conditions. When three steady states coexist, the species in abundance are HO2 and H2O2 at ignition and H, O, and OH at extinction. Isothermal walls, heated (constant power) walls, adiabatic walls, and symmetric counterflow jets are compared to examine the role of different stagnation surfaces on ignition and extinction for planar and axisymmetric flow. Implications of heterogeneous catalytic processes on ignition and extinction are also considered by examining surfaces that are sinks or sources for particular intermediate species.
High-performance circuit design for the RET-enabled 65-nm technology node

The implementation of alternating phase shifted mask lithography for the poly-conductor level of IBM's leading edge 65nm microprocessor is described. Very broad and 'resolution-enhancement-technology generic' design rules, referred to as radical design restrictions, are demonstrated to be key enablers of alternating phase shifted mask design. The benefit of these radical design restrictions over conventional design rules and other alternating phase shifted mask design approaches is detailed for key aspects of the design flow.
Jesus and Faith: The Doctrine of Faith in Scripture and the Reformed Confessions

This article examines the complicated relationship between church confession and Holy Scripture as it manifests itself in the doctrine of faith expounded in the Reformed confessions of the sixteenth century. I first locate the problem historically in the conflict between Protestantism and Catholicism. I then summarize the New Testament witness to faith, examine whether the Reformed confessions do justice to this witness, and conclude by suggesting some theological possibilities for a fresh doctrine of faith within the context of a confessional and biblical Reformed theology. Along the way, I raise questions about the relationships between divine action and human action and between Son and Spirit in the event of faith.
Atrial natriuretic peptide administered just prior to reperfusion limits infarction in rabbit hearts

We investigated whether atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) given just prior to reperfusion reduces infarction in rabbit hearts and whether protection is related to activation of protein kinase G (PKG). Isolated rabbit hearts were subjected to a 30-min period of regional ischemia; treated hearts received a 20-min infusion of ANP (0.1 microM) starting 5 min before 2 h of reperfusion. ANP infusion decreased infarction from 31.5+/-2.4% of the risk zone in untreated hearts to 12.5+/-2.0% (P<0.001). To explore mechanisms of protection ischemic hearts were treated simultaneously with ANP and isatin, a blocker of the natriuretic peptide receptor, shortly before reperfusion. ANP's protective effect was aborted (36.8+/-2.9% infarction). There is no acceptable blocker of protein kinase G that can be used in intact organs. However, 8-(4-chlorophenylthio)-guanosine 3', 5'-cyclic monophosphate (10 microM), a cell-permeable cGMP analog that directly activates PKG, was infused from 5 min before to 15 min after reperfusion. The PKG activator mimicked ANP's protection with only 18.2+/-3.6% infarction (P<0.001). 5-Hydroxyde-canoate (5-HD), a putative mitochondrial KATP channel (mKATP) inhibitor, abrogated ANP's protection (34.4+/-2.6% infarction). Unexpectedly, 1H-[1,2,4]oxadiazole- [4,3-a]quinoxalin-1-one (ODQ), a blocker of soluble guanylyl cyclase also prevented ANP's infarct-sparing effect. It is unclear whether this observation implicated participation of soluble guanylyl cyclase in the mechanism or simply a lack of selectivity of ODQ. Finally the reperfusion injury salvage kinases (RISK), phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase and extracellular signal-regulated kinase, were implicated in ANP's mechanism since either wortmannin or PD98059 infused at reperfusion prevented ANP's infarct-sparing effect. ANP administered just prior to reperfusion protects hearts against infarction, likely by activation of PKG, opening of mKATP, and stimulation of downstream kinases.
The importance of understanding hospital and country-specific case-mix for neonatal patients☆☆☆

a Department of Pediatrics, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, United States b Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States c Center for Outcomes Research, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, United States d Center for Perinatal and Pediatric Health Disparities Research, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, United States e Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States
Dynamic measurement of matter creation

IF a rotor could be spun so that it had an inertial decay time ∼ 1011 yr, 1018 s, it could test matter creation cosmologies1–3 at a significant level. The advantage of this method over previous ones4–8 is that the result is independent of the form in which matter is created, providing it stays in place. We have designed an experiment to test this process; it is under construction and is described here. It consists of an inertially spinning rotor suspended inside another rotor, a modification of the double magnetic suspension8. Past measurements or estimates have not unequivocally answered the question of matter creation. Cohen and King4 established an upper limit of 4×10−23 g per g per s on the creation rate of hydrogen in mercury metal. Gittus5 suggested that matter created in rocks takes the form of interstitial atoms which diffuse into dislocations. Towe6 disputed this, noting that if mass proportional creation were occurring, 30% of the atoms in old terrestrial rocks would occupy interstitial positions and this would result in lattice disruptions. Gittus7 later proposed that the matter multiplication rate for crystalline materials could be found by determining the ratio of the shear modulus to the crystal viscosity. He suggested that a reasonable estimate for the sensitivity of the method might be 3×10−18 atoms per atom per s, although this has not been tested. In a geophysical argument, Wesson8 can account for the observed expansion rate of the earth by appealing to a mass proportional matter creation whose rate is 7×10−18 g per g per s, but he notes that this is in conflict with the result of Cohen and King; it exceeds Dirac's prediction by several times.
Antiviral activities of gossypol and its derivatives against herpes simplex virus type II

Gossypol, a disequiterpene obtained from cottonseed oil, and a series of peri-acylated gossylic nitriles were compared for their antiviral activities against HSV-II and for their toxicities to the host Vero cells. All of the peri-acylated gossylic nitriles exhibited lower cytotoxicities to the host cell than did the parent compound gossypol. Both gossypol and the series of derivatives exhibited antiviral activities against HSV-II when the virus was treated with drug at concentrations as low as 5 X 10(-7) M. Two of the derivatives, gossylic nitrile-1,1'-diacetate and gossylic nitrile-1,1'-divalerate, were capable of inhibiting viral multiplication in Vero cells that were infected with virus before administration of the drug. The results of this study indicate that modification of the aldehyde functional groups on gossypol lowers the toxicity of this drug but does not abolish its antiviral properties. Derivatives of gossypol may be useful antiviral agents.
Absolute measurement of internal volume changes inside the pulse damper: Discrepancy between delay and dwell volumes

We have developed a novel technique for the absolute determination of the mobile phase volume stored inside of a variable volume pulse damper at different pressures. Using an Agilent HPLC pulse damper we found a linear volume increase of approximately 1 microL/bar. We found that pump pressurization is a relatively slow process and takes approximately 1 min to reach 90% and takes approximately 2 min to reach 99% equilibration at flow rates below 1 mL/min. During pump pressurization, column flow rate will be less than the pre-set, since part of the mobile phase is retained inside of the pulse damper. During our experiments we observed a discrepancy between data obtained by UV techniques and direct absolute measurements. This difference can be explained by a fundamental difference between the gradient delay volume and dead (dwell) volume.
Long-term follow-up of patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia treated at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

BACKGROUND Chemotherapy is known to cure a small minority of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Less is known about the risk of such patients developing subsequent cancers or about their ability to return to work. METHODS The authors analyzed outcomes among 1892 patients who received treatment for newly diagnosed AML at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center from 1965 to May 1995. RESULTS Because failure rates declined to relatively low levels after a first or later complete remission of ≥3 years' duration, such patients comprised a "potentially cured" cohort. The criterion for entry into this cohort was fulfilled by 215 patients (10.7%; 203 in first complete remission and 12 in second remission). At a median of 6.2 years after entry into the cohort (i.e., 9.2 years from complete remission), 163 patients (76%) remain alive and in complete remission. Approximately 9% and 5% of the 1892 patients have been in complete remission for >5 years and >10 years, respectively. The pretreatment prognostic importance of cytogenetics is still apparent even after 5 years in complete remission. On average, members of the potentially cured cohort were not observed to be at increased risk of subsequent invasive malignancies compared with a normal population. Furthermore, two-thirds of those in the potentially cured cohort who were working full time before diagnosis of AML claimed to have returned to full-time work. Of those not working, only 10% cited physical limitation as the reason. CONCLUSIONS The major threat to the life and well-being of the patient with AML is clearly the disease and not its treatment. Cancer 1997; 80:2176-80. © 1997 American Cancer Society.
Autophagy in lung disease pathogenesis and therapeutics

Autophagy, a cellular pathway for the degradation of damaged organelles and proteins, has gained increasing importance in human pulmonary diseases, both as a modulator of pathogenesis and as a potential therapeutic target. In this pathway, cytosolic cargos are sequestered into autophagosomes, which are delivered to the lysosomes where they are enzymatically degraded and then recycled as metabolic precursors. Autophagy exerts an important effector function in the regulation of inflammation, and immune system functions. Selective pathways for autophagic degradation of cargoes may have variable significance in disease pathogenesis. Among these, the autophagic clearance of bacteria (xenophagy) may represent a crucial host defense mechanism in the pathogenesis of sepsis and inflammatory diseases. Our recent studies indicate that the autophagic clearance of mitochondria, a potentially protective program, may aggravate the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by activating cell death programs. We report similar findings with respect to the autophagic clearance of cilia components, which can contribute to airways dysfunction in chronic lung disease. In certain diseases such as pulmonary hypertension, autophagy may confer protection by modulating proliferation and cell death. In other disorders, such as idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and cystic fibrosis, impaired autophagy may contribute to pathogenesis. In lung cancer, autophagy has multiple consequences by limiting carcinogenesis, modulating therapeutic effectiveness, and promoting tumor cell survival. In this review we highlight the multiple functions of autophagy and its selective autophagy subtypes that may be of significance to the pathogenesis of human disease, with an emphasis on lung disease and therapeutics.
Electronic-structure calculations in adaptive coordinates.

The plane-wave method for electronic-structure calculations is reformulated in generalized curvilinear coordinates. This introduces a new set of basis functions that depend continuously on a coordinate transformation, and can adapt themselves to represent optimally the solutions of the Schrodinger equation. As a consequence, the effective plane-wave energy cutoff is allowed to vary in the unit cell in an unbiased way. The efficiency of this method is demonstrated in the calculation of the equilibrium structures of the CO and H 2 O molecules using the local-density approximation of density-functional theory, and norm-conserving, nonlocal pseudopotentials. The easy evaluation of forces on all degrees of freedom makes the method suitable for ab initio molecular-dynamics applications
Effects of citrus molasses distillers solubles and molasses on rumen parameters and lactation

Effects of dietary citrus molasses distillers solubles (0, 6, 12, and 18% of DM) on diet digestibility and ruminal parameters were studied with four fistulated Holstein cows fed each diet in Latin square sequence. Diets were 25% cottonseed hulls with solubles substituted for corn. Dry matter and organic matter digestibilities were increased curvilinearly with peak at 6%. Crude protein digestibility was depressed linearly and ADF curvilinearly with added solubles. Ruminal acetic acid proportion increased linearly and propionic acid decreased curvilinearly. Change in butyric acid was small with 0, 6, and 12% solubles but it increased dramatically with 18%. In a 36-cow (107 cow-period) lactation experiment with corn silage-based and cottonseed hull-based diets (0, 3, 6, and 9% solubles) milk yield increased; the diet containing 6% solubles gave highest production. We compared cane molasses (3 and 6%), liquid hemicellulose extract (3%, Masonex), and liquid lignin sulfonate (3%, Flambeau) added to cottonseed hull diets. Linear increases in milk yield and FCM were obtained with cane molasses; Flambeau and Masonex effects on production were not different from control. With diets and amounts used in these experiments, citrus molasses solubles and cane molasses each at up to 6% of DM nutritionally were superior to corn.
Concentration of Stearidonic Acid in Free Fatty Acid and Fatty Acid Ethyl Ester Forms from Modified Soybean Oil by Winterization

The concentration of stearidonic acid (SDA, 18:4 ω-3) in free fatty acid (FFA) and fatty acid ethyl ester (FAEE) forms by low temperature crystallization (winterization) was studied. For this purpose, modified soybean oil (initial SDA content, ~23%) was transformed into its corresponding FFA and FAEE by chemical hydrolysis and ethanolysis, respectively. In the first study, the FFA and FAEE were used as starting material for winterization and variables such as winterization time, type of solvent, and the oil:solvent ratio were evaluated until optimization of the process was achieved. In the second study, changes in the winterization procedure were introduced to obtain a remarkable improvement on the SDA purity of the final products. Since winterization of FAEE was not efficient due to its low melting points, the second study focused on FFA. The best relationship between SDA purity (59.8%) and SDA yield (82.3%) was attained by performing winterization of FFA with hexane at 10% oil:solvent ratio for 24 h. Scaled-up processes were also performed to obtain 59 g of FFA (purity 59.6%; yield 82.6%) enriched in SDA. The products obtained can be used as starting materials for the production of functional lipids and for clinical trials.
Mammalian DNA (Cytosine-5-)-methyltransferase Expressed in Escherichia coli, Purified and Characterized

Besides modulating specific DNA-protein interactions, methylated cytosine, frequently referred to as the fifth base of the genome, also influences DNA structure, recombination, transposition, repair, transcription, imprinting, and mutagenesis. DNA (cytosine-5-)-methyltransferase catalyzes cytosine methylation in eukaryotes. We have cloned and expressed this enzyme in Escherichia coli, purified it to apparent homogeneity, characterized its properties, and we have shown that it hemimethylates DNA. The cDNA for murine maintenance methyltransferase was reconstructed and cloned for direct expression in native form. Immunoblotting revealed a unique protein (M(r) = 190,000) not present in control cells. The mostly soluble overexpressed protein was purified by DEAE, Sephadex, and DNA cellulose chromatography. Peak methylating activity correlated with methyltransferase immunoblots. The purified enzyme preferentially transferred radioactive methyl moieties to hemimethylated DNA in assays and on autoradiograms. All of the examined properties of the purified recombinant DNA methyltransferase are consistent with the enzyme purified from mammalian cells. Further characterization revealed enhanced in vitro methylation of premethylated oligodeoxynucleotides. The cloning of hemimethyltransferase in E. coli should allow facilitated structure-function mutational analysis of this enzyme, studies of its biological effects in prokaryotes, and potential large scale methyltransferase production for crystallography, and it may have broad applications in maintaining the native methylated state of cloned DNA.
Signal convexity and noise convexity of the Chernoff and divergence distances (Corresp.)

A number of convexity properties for the Chernoff and divergence distances between the statistical hypotheses--Gaussian noise versus Gaussian noise plus additive Gaussian signal--are considered. It is shown that 1) both the divergence and Chernoff distances are convex with respect to the noise covariance; 2) the divergence is convex with respect to the signal covariance; and 3) the Chernoff distance is convex with respect to the signal covariance provided that a low signal-to-noise variance ratio criterion is satisfied.
Interaction of magneto-plasma waves in a two component solid state plasma☆

Abstract The selfsustained electromagnetic modes of compensated and uncompensated two component magneto-plasmas are studied using a local self consistent field theory which includes collisions. It is shown that in the case of an uncompensated plasma (a deficiency of the heavier particle) the two modified Alfven modes of the system, one of which is helicon-like when q → 0, always interact and separate at finite angles of propagation to the d.c. magnetic field.
Articulations of rule: landowners, revolution, and territory in Chiapas, Mexico 1920–1962

Abstract This article examines struggles over the spaces of landed property in north-central Chiapas. Engaging the work of Mexico's ‘new cultural history’ and geographic theorizing of the entanglements of space, hegemony, and territoriality, it argues against widespread representations of Chiapan landowners maintaining autonomous domains of domination ‘untouched’ by the Mexican Revolution. Rather, the contours of landed property were made and remade through the complex articulation of landowner, state, and indigenous territorialities. Based on this analysis, it concludes that territoriality—as the diverse constellation of social–spatial practices through which space is bounded and these boundings sedimented with meanings—is both a central arena through which hegemony operates and a constant outcome of those struggles.
Did the big six reverse their support for the FASB's executive stock option exposure draft for preparer community support of tort reform?

Abstract After years of calling for the FASB to require that executive stock options be expensed currently or allocated over a vesting period, the nation's largest CPA firms unexpectedly reversed themselves. They became surprisingly vociferous critics of any of the FASB proposals, including that of its ED, which would leave the estimated future costs, however derived, on the income statement. Many observers believe that corporate lobbies pressured the national firms into their reversal by threatening not to engage their services. However, it is problematic that this market threat alone was significant enough to reverse what is essentially an auditing oligopoly, especially for audits of the nation's largest corporations. Then what could have been so important to these firms that they would reverse the FASB's proposal they have originally initiated? Tort liability reform, really tort immunity reform, the chance to remove firm-breaking lawsuits by third parties, was up for approval in Congress. Did these accounting firms trade their accounting integrity for the preparer community's support in Congress for accounting tort reform?
Dispersive refraction in ray tracing

Dispersive refraction is the property that gives gemstones their fire, and that makes prisms produce a spectrum from white light. Modeling disperison in a ray tracing environment requires solution of some new problems, but allows production of more exciting images. The mechanism of dispersive refraction is discussed, and its implementation is described. Pictures of a prism and of several diamonds are included. Images generated by this technique are realistic, but are computationally expensive.
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Preschoolers Verbal and Nonverbal Requests

The purpose of this study was to identify the verbal and nonverbal strategies that preschoolers used to obtain objects from peers. Two Head Start classrooms of 41 Puerto Rican and African American preschoolers were observed and videotaped over 1 school year using qualitative methods. The preschoolers used three different strategies to obtain objects from peers during play, including movements toward objects, verbal intentions with movements toward objects, and verbal intentions. The students were able to obtain objects from classmates in 40% of their attempts and were most successful when they combined physical movements toward an object with a request, statement, or claim. The strategies used by the preschoolers and their rates of success varied between the sand, kitchen, and block areas in the two classrooms studied, with children obtaining the greatest success in the block area. The implications of this study's findings for intervention in the classroom by teachers or speech-language pathologists are d...
A Kinetic and Thermodynamic Analysis of Cleavage Site Mutations in the Hammerhead Ribozyme

Two kinetically well-characterized hammerheads with different arm lengths were used to reinvestigate the cleavage properties of substrates with the four natural nucleotides at position 17, the residue 5‘ to the cleavage site. From experiments measuring substrate binding affinity, cleavage rates. and the internal equilibrium, free energy profiles of the reaction of all four substrates were constructed. Each nucleotide at the cleavage site affects the energy profile quite differently. Whereas C and U have the same ground state energy, U destabilizes the transition state by 1 kcal/mol. A destabilizes both the ground and transition states by 1 kcal/mol, and G stabilizes the ground state by 2 kcal/mol and destabilizes the transition state by 4 kcal/mol. These data, along with experiments with the C3U mutant hammerhead, indicate that although an N3−N17 pair can form, the contribution to the binding energy for the wild-type (C3−C17) hammerhead is quite small. Thus, the energetic cost of disrupting the C3−C17 pai...
“So What's Going on in Research on Emergent Literacy?”

The journal editors asked the two authors to reflect on this question, noting that “nothing much” seemed to be happening. The authors converse about where the field of emergent literacy research has moved in the recent past.
Dimensionality and Size Scaling of Coordinated Ca2+ Dynamics in MIN6 β-cell Clusters

Pancreatic islets of Langerhans regulate blood glucose homeostasis by the secretion of the hormone insulin. Like many neuroendocrine cells, the coupling between insulin-secreting β-cells in the islet is critical for the dynamics of hormone secretion. We have examined how this coupling architecture regulates the electrical dynamics that underlie insulin secretion by utilizing a microwell-based aggregation method to generate clusters of a β-cell line with defined sizes and dimensions. We measured the dynamics of free-calcium activity ([Ca2+]i) and insulin secretion and compared these measurements with a percolating network model. We observed that the coupling dimension was critical for regulating [Ca2+]i dynamics and insulin secretion. Three-dimensional coupling led to size-invariant suppression of [Ca2+]i at low glucose and robust synchronized [Ca2+]i oscillations at elevated glucose, whereas two-dimensional coupling showed poor suppression and less robust synchronization, with significant size-dependence. The dimension- and size-scaling of [Ca2+]i at high and low glucose could be accurately described with the percolating network model, using similar network connectivity. As such this could explain the fundamentally different behavior and size-scaling observed under each coupling dimension. This study highlights the dependence of proper β-cell function on the coupling architecture that will be important for developing therapeutic treatments for diabetes such as islet transplantation techniques. Furthermore, this will be vital to gain a better understanding of the general features by which cellular interactions regulate coupled multicellular systems.
Resistance to antiretrovirals in HIV-infected pregnant women.

Abstract Background Antiretrovirals suppress HIV replication and prevent mother-to-child-transmission of HIV (PMTCT). Resistance to antiretrovirals may reduce the efficacy of PMTCT and/or complicate treatment of maternal or infant infection. Objectives To assess resistance to antiretrovirals during pregnancy. Design Retrospective chart review of 44 pregnancies. Results Twenty-two patients were antiretroviral treatment-naive, 8 were on therapy, and 14 had prior therapy, but were off medication when the genotyping was performed. Major mutations were found in 10 antiretroviral-experienced women, including 5 women with major mutations to 2 classes of drugs (none to 3 classes). Major mutations were most common for lamivudine, nevirapine, zidovudine, stavudine, and abacavir. Three women had significant resistance to zidovudine/lamivudine, a combination recommended in PMTCT guidelines. Despite significant antiretroviral resistance, 6 of 8 women with plasma HIV RNA measured within 4 weeks of delivery achieved Conclusions Resistance to antiretrovirals was common in antiretroviral-experienced pregnant women, but not in naive women. The 14% prevalence of resistance to zidovudine and lamivudine in antiretroviral-experienced women suggests that alternative NRTI are desirable for this group of patients.
The Italian Risorgimento

Martin Clark (2009) The Italian Risorgimento(Harlow: Pearson Longman), xxv + 146 pp., ISBN 9781408205167, $26, soft cover Let us begin with the book's design, which is not a frivolous consideration...
Calculations on the vertical and adiabatic ionization energies of (H2S)2

Abstract After determining reliable procedures for calculating the ionization energy of H2S using many-body perturbation theory and electron propagator theory, the same procedures are used to calculate the vertical ionization energy of the van der Waals molecule (H2S)2. The adiabatic ionization energy calculated for a dimer cation with a H3S+...SH structure is in satisfactory agreement with photoionization threshold experiments. An alternative dimer cation structure with a three-electron S-S bond is also discussed.
Localization of foot-and-mouth disease—RNA synthesis on newly formed cellular smooth membranous vacuoles

Viral RNA synthesis in foot-and-mouth disease infected bovine kidney cell cultures was associated throughout the infectious period with newly formed smooth membranous vacuoles. Membrane formation was measured by choline uptake. The site of RNA synthesis was determined by electron microscopic examination of autoradiograms of incorporated [3H] uridine. Both membrane formation and RNA synthesis became significant at 2.5 hours postinfection, but membrane formation increased steadily to 4.5 hours while RNA synthesis peaked at 3.5 hours. Percent density distributions of developed silver grains on autoradiograms showed that almost all RNA synthesis was concentrated on the smooth vacuoles of infected cells. Histogram analysis of grain density distributions established that the site of RNA synthesis was the vacuolar membrane. The newly formed smooth membrane-bound vacuoles were not seen to coalesce into the large vacuolated areas typical of poliovirus cytopathogenicity.
Pediatric asthma: a look at adherence from the patient and family perspective

Although extensive research has been done in an effort to understand and promote adherence in pediatric asthma, little progress has been made in reducing the prevalence of nonadherence. Some researchers argue that a paradigm shift is necessary to advance the adherence field. Despite the recent trend for increasing the role of families in determining treatment plans, a patient-centered approach has been lacking in adherence to a daily regimen. It is clear that, although patients and families show evidence of inadvertent nonadherence (eg, forgetfulness), they also engage in volitional or intentional nonadherence, via reasoned and purposeful decisions. Patients conduct "experiments" with their regimen components in an effort to balance the burden of disease with the burden of treatment. These experiments typically involve some degree of nonadherence. Perhaps, if researchers strive to better understand the decision-making process involved in these experiments, health care providers can guide families in making adherence decisions that would lead to attainment of treatment goals, improvement in quality of life, and realization of positive clinical outcomes.
Increased von Willebrand Factor Binding to Platelets in Single Episode and Recurrent Types of Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura

The Methodist Hospital, Houston, TexasExtensive microvascular platelet aggregation is characteristic of thrombotic thrombocy-topenic purpura (TTP). Previous studies have indicated that abnormalities of von Will-ebrand factor (vWf) are often present in TTP patient plasma. There has not been previ-ously any direct evidence linking these abnormalities to the process of intravascularplatelet aggregation in TTP. We used flow cytometry to analyze the binding of vWf tosingle platelets, and the presence of platelet aggregates, in the blood of 4 children withchronic relapsing (CR) TTP and 5 adults with single episode or recurrent TTP. vWf on thesingle platelets of CRTTP patients at all time points studied was significantly increasedcompared to controls, and was increased further as platelet counts decreased to levelsbelow 40,000/µl. The single episode and recurrent adult TTP patients had platelet aggre-gates in the blood, as well as increased vWf on single platelets, before therapy com-menced and thereafter until recovery was in process. In the one unresponsive singleepisode TTP patient, vWf on single platelets remained elevated, and platelet aggregatespersisted, until her death. The platelet a-granular protein, P-selectin, was not increasedon the single platelets of most TTP blood samples, suggesting that it is vWf from plasma(rather than from a-granules) that attaches to platelet surfaces in association with plateletaggregation. These results suggest that vWf-platelet interactions are involved in theplatelet clumping process that characterizes TTP. Am. J. Hematol. 57:293–302, 1998.