cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Detection of in vitro tetraploidy in heritable colon cancer syndromes. Confirmation by three different assays.

The incidence of in vitro tetraploidy during logarithmic growth in dermal fibroblast monolayer cultures from normals without a family cancer history and affected with heritable colon cancer syndromes, familial polyposis coli (FPC) and the Gardner syndrome (GS) was assayed by (1) examination of metaphase preparations for percentage of tetraploids (4N nuclei); (2) determination of [3H]thymidine incorporation (average cpm/cell); and (3) measurement by flow cytophotometry of the percentage of cells with greater than 4C DNA content. For each monolayer culture assayed, if cell density was standardized, concurrence was observed between the first two assays and with the third assay when done. In cultures of individuals with a low level of in vitro tetraploidy (37 normals without a family cancer history, 9 FPC, and 1 GS patient) incidence of this parameter, as measured by all three assays, was not significantly influenced by variation in cell density. However, in cultures with increased in vitro tetraploidy (17 FPC and 6 GS patients) all three assays revealed an inverse relationship between the incidence of tetraploidy and cell density, i.e., tetraploidy increased with decreasing cell density. Only at cell densities below 4.0 X 10(3) cells/cm2 growth area was increased tetraploidy consistently observed by any of the three assays. Above this density its incidence was indistinguishable in all cultures. The use of these three independent assays (two of which are automated) for the determination of tetraploidy in duplicate subcultures from the same dermal monolayer culture should allow reliable detection of this in vitro expression of some cancer-related genes in extensive human kindreds.
The role of gemcitabine-based doublets in the management of ovarian carcinoma.

Abstract Efforts to improve further therapy for advanced ovarian carcinoma currently focus on addition of a third active agent to front-line chemotherapy. Three agents with activity against disease clinically resistant to paclitaxel and the platinum compounds are of greatest interest: gemcitabine, topotecan, and liposome-encapsulated doxorubicin. Three strategies to add a third agent include a triplet regimen that adds a third agent concurrently; a sequential doublet regimen giving three to four cycles of the new agent plus a platinum followed by three to four cycles of paclitaxel plus a platinum; and sequential single agents consisting of three to four cycles of the new agent with three to four cycles each of paclitaxel and a platinum. Gemcitabine in combination with another agent has been evaluated to develop doublet regimens for the second of these three strategies. Combinations both feasible and active include gemcitabine plus cisplatin or carboplatin, gemcitabine plus paclitaxel, gemcitabine plus topotecan, gemcitabine plus liposome-encapsulated doxorubicin, gemcitabine plus vinorelbine, and gemcitabine plus treosulfan. The combinations of gemcitabine plus a platinum compound appear most promising with synergism suggested by the data. A gemcitabine/carboplatin doublet for four cycles followed by four cycles of paclitaxel/carboplatin is currently under evaluation in a randomized phase III trial (Gynecologic Oncology Group [GOG] protocol 0182). Semin Oncol 29 (suppl 1):11-16. Copyright © 2002 by W.B. Saunders Company.
CONDITIONED REINFORCEMENT OF HUMAN OBSERVING BEHAVIOR BY DESCRIPTIVE AND ARBITRARY VERBAL STIMULI

College students earned monetary reinforcers by pressing a key according to a compound schedule with variable-interval and extinction components. Pressing additional keys occasionally produced displays of either of two verbal stimuli; one was uncorrelated with the schedule components, and the other was correlated with the extinction component. In Experiments 1 and 2, the display area of the apparatus was blank unless an observing key was pressed, whereupon a descriptive message appeared. Most students preferred an uncorrelated stimulus stating that "Some of this time scores are TWICE AS LIKELY as normal, and some of this time NO SCORES can be earned" over a stimulus stating that "At this time NO SCORES can be earned." In Experiment 3, the display area indicated that "The Current Status of the Program is: NOT SHOWN." Presses on the observing keys replaced this message with stimuli that provided arbitrary labels for the schedule conditions. All of the students preferred a stimulus stating that "The Current Status of the Program is: B" over an uncorrelated stimulus stating that "The Current Status of the Program is: either A or B." Thus, under some circumstances, observing was maintained by a stimulus correlated with extinction-a finding that poses a challenge for Pavolvian accounts of conditioned reinforcement. Differences in the maintenance of observing by the descriptive and arbitrary stimuli may be attributed to differences in either the strength or nature of the instructional control exerted by the verbal stimuli.
Kinetics and Mechanism of the One-Electron Reduction of Iodine by [Ru(II)(NH(3))(5)isn](2+) in Aqueous Solution.

Iodine oxidizes [RuII(NH3)5isn]2+ in mildly acidic (HClO4) aqueous solution at 25 °C according to the reaction I2 + 2[RuII(NH3)5isn]2+ → 2I- + 2[RuIII(NH3)5isn]3+. The rate law is −d[Ru(II)]/dt = {2k1[I2] + 2k2[I3-]}[Ru(II)] with k1 = 4.3 × 103 M-1 s-1 and k2 = 80 M-1 s-1 at μ = 0.10 M (NaClO4). An outer-sphere electron-transfer mechanism is proposed for both terms of the rate law, with the k1 term corresponding to the formation of I2- and k2 corresponding to the formation of I2- plus I-. Subsequent reduction of I2- by Ru(II) to form I- is expected to be fast. A value of 2.7 for log(k22) (the I2/I2- self-exchange rate constant) is derived from the Marcus cross relationship.
University Approval of Library Research Skills as Part of the General Education Curriculum Requirements

To gain university support for new proposals, librarians must become involved in campus policy and governance bodies. If we do not know where our own universities are headed, we will always be followers and never able to provide leadership. A proactive stance requires a great investment in boundary spanning activities with policy making bodies. At San Jose State University librarians engaged in an education campaign to persuade faculty and administration of the need to include bibliographic instruction in general education requirements. Librarians should strongly encourage open communication with faculty regarding student research skills. Faculty often perceive student research skills quite differently than do librarians.
Simultaneous Sedimentation and Impaction of Aerosols in Two-Dimensional Channel Bends

A model is presented describing the simultaneous action of gravitational and inertial deposition forces on particles passing through a two-dimensional bend. The plane of the band is vertical, to simulate deposition in the upper airways of the tracheobronchial tree. The angle of curvature of the bend is variable, and its inlet can be at any angle to the horizontal. The direction of flow can be either upstream or downstream. The respective deposition efficiencies are computed for three different, idealized primary flows: (a) uniform flow; (b) radially dependent, or rotational flow; and, (c) parabolic flow. The results of these simulations are compared with available experimental data and theoretical predictions for calibration curves of aerosol impactors and for tracheobronchial deposition patterns in human lung models and casts. The relative shares of the gravitational and inertial deposition mechanisms in total deposition are also investigated.
An existence theorem for neutral variational problems of Bolza

This note proves an existence theorem for a generalized Bolza-type problem that has time delays in both the state and velocity variables. The assumptions are stated in terms of a modification of the classical Hamiltonian, and extend ideas of Rockafellar to the delay case.
A compressible vortex method with application to the interaction of an oblique shock wave with a boundary layer

Abstract A numerical method is presented that can resolve a compressible flow field at high Reynolds number. It is used to study the interaction of an oblique shock wave with a boundary layer. These results are shown to be in excellent agreement with experiments.
Finding the diameter of a set of lines

Abstract Consider a set of n straight lines in the plane. The diameter of the set of lines is the distance between the farthest pair of intersection points determined by the set of lines. In this paper we present an O ( n log n ) algorithm for computing the diameter and show that the algorithm is optimal to within a constant factor under the algebraic computation tree model of Ben-Or.
The map1 gene of Cowdria ruminantium is a member of a multigene family containing both conserved and variable genes.

Heartwater is an economically important disease of ruminants caused by the tick-transmitted rickettsiaCowdria ruminantium.The disease is present in Africa and the Caribbean and there is a risk of spread to the Americas, particularly because of a clinically asymptomatic carrier state in infected livestock and imported wild animals. The causative agent is closely related taxonomically to the human and animal pathogensEhrlichia chaffeensisandEhrlichia canis.A dominant immune response of infected animals or people is directed against variable outer membrane proteins of these agents known, inE. chaffeensisandE. canis,to be encoded by polymorphic multigene families. We demonstrate, by sequence analysis, thatmap1encoding the major outer membrane protein ofC. ruminantiumis also encoded by a polymorphic multigene family. Two members of the gene family are located in tandem in the genome. The upstream member,orf2,is conserved, encoding only 2 amino acid substitutions among six different rickettsial strains from diverse locations in Africa and the Caribbean. In contrast, the downstream member,map1,contains variable and conserved regions between strains. Interestingly,orf2is more closely related in sequence toomp1bofE. chaffeensisthan tomap1ofC. ruminantium.The regions that differ amongorf2, map1,andomp1bcorrespond to previously identified variable sequences in outer membrane protein genes ofE. chaffeensisandE. canis.These data suggest that diversity in these outer membrane proteins may arise by recombination among gene family members and offer a potential mechanism for persistence of infection in carrier animals.
On subinvariant elements in Banach lattices

In the paper we obtain an ergodic decomposition generated by a positive operator T:E → E (E being a Banach lattice having the projection property). If T is a power bounded operator and if E is a KB-space, then the decomposition permits us to describe sufficient conditions for the existence of nonzero T-subinvariant elements in E. We also study the relationship between the Hopf decomposition in Banach lattices and the one defined in the paper in order to obtain sufficient conditions for the existence of a T-invariant weak order unit.
Characterizing gait induced normal strains in a murine tibia cortical bone defect model

The critical role that mechanical stimuli serve in mediating bone repair is recognized but incompletely understood. Further, previous attempts to understand this role have utilized application of externally applied mechanical loads to study the tissue's response. In this project, we have therefore endeavored to capitalize on bone's own consistently diverse loading environment to develop a novel model that would enable assessment of the influence of physiologically engendered mechanical stimuli on cortical defect repair. We used an inverse dynamics approach with finite element analysis (FEA) to first quantify normal strain distributions generated in mouse tibia during locomotion. The strain environment of the tibia, as previously reported for other long bones, was found to arise primarily due to bending and was consistent in orientation through the stance phase of gait. Based on these data, we identified three regions within a transverse cross-section of the mid-diaphysis as uniform locations of either peak tension, peak compression, or the neutral axis of bending (i.e. minimal strain magnitude). We then used FEA to quantify the altered strain environment that would be produced by a 0.6mm diameter cylindrical cortical bone defect at each diaphyseal site and, in an in situ study confirmed our ability to accurately place defects at the desired diaphyseal locations. The resulting model will enable the exploration of cortical bone healing within the context of physiologically engendered mechanical strain.
Hydrogen fluoride chemical laser amplifier performance - Experiment

Performance data for a continuous-wave hydrogen fluoride (cw HF) chemical laser master oscillator/power amplifier showed that, regardless of the oscillator or resonator used to generate the input beam, the amplification ratio is an inverse function of the input power (intensity) and, for maximum amplification, the peak of the input intensity distribution must be matched to the peak of the zero power gain distribution in the amplifier. The matc/mismatch of the oscillator/amplifier flowfields has a second-order effect on amplifier performance
Formal Language and Proof

We finally turn our attention to quantifiers, which we will discuss at rat her a formal level. But the use of quantifiers and proofs involving them is part of the larger discussion about why mathematical proofs are hard to read or write. The reason is that mathematical proofs (at least those written in paragraph form) are written in a mixture of two languages. The last chapter was all about the first language, which is essentially bits of ordinary English borrowed to produce the paragraph; frequently this part of the language serves to indicate the structure of the proof. But the structure of the proof is dictated by the second language, which is pieces of formal logic borrowed and adapted for mathematics.1 A good deal of the difficulty with writing mathematics is that most people don’t know the formal language of mathematical logic, and so have to pick up the borrowed parts bit by bit. It’s a little as if you were trying to learn how to write in a mixture of French and Spanish, and, while you were fluent in French, all you knew about Spanish was the bits you had seen other people write in the mixture, but people expected you to write as if you were fluent in Spanish as well.
Modification of ligand binding to the Na+/K+-activated ATPase

Abstract Interactions between the ligands Mg2+, K+, and substrate and the Na+/K+-activated ATPase were examined in terms of a rapid-equilibrium, random-order, terreactant kinetic scheme for the K+-nitrophenyl phosphatase reaction that is catalyzed by this enzyme. At 37°C and pH 7.5 the derived values for the dissociation constants from the free enzyme were 0.2, 0.08, and 1.4 mM for Mg2+, K+, and substrate, respectively. For Mg2+ interactions, the presence of 20% (v/v) dimethyl sulfoxide (Me2SO) increased the calculated affinity 25-fold; higher concentrations increased affinity still further. Neither reducing the temperature to 20°C nor altering the pH from 6.5 to 8.3 appreciably changed the affinity for Mg2+ in the absence or presence of Me2SO. The Mg2+ sites are thus characterized by an absence of functional groups ionizable in the pH range 6.5–8.3, with binding driven by entropy changes, and with Me2SO, probably through solvation effects on the protein, increasing affinity for Mg2+ close to that for Ca2+ and Mn2+. By contrast, for K+ interactions, the presence of 20% Me2SO increased the calculated affinity only by half; moreover, reducing the temperature to 20°C and the pH to 6.5 both increased affinity and diminished the response to Me2SO. The K+ sites are thus characterized by a marked sensitivity to pH and temperature, presumably through alterations in enzyme conformational equilibria that in turn are modifiable by Me2SO. Inhibition by higher concentrations of Mg2+, which varies inversely with the K+ concentration, was decreased by Me2SO. Finally, for substrate interactions, the presence of 20% Me2SO increase the calculated affinity 4-fold, and, as for Mg2+-binding, neither reducing the temperature nor varying the pH over the range 6.5–8.3 appreciably altered the affinity in the absence or presence of Me2SO. Thus, the substrate sites, like the Mg2+ sites, are characterized by an absence of functional groups ionizable in this range, with binding driven by entropy changes, and with Me2SO increasing affinity for substrate, in this case probably through favoring the partitioning of substrate from the medium into the hydrophobic active site.
Cognition and white matter lesions.

Although it is recognized that ischemic stroke is a potent risk factor for vascular dementia, the influence of white matter lesions (WML) on cognitive function is less clear. In community-based MRI st
Simple substitution distance and metamorphic detection

To evade signature-based detection, metamorphic viruses transform their code before each new infection. Software similarity measures are a potentially useful means of detecting such malware. We can compare a given file to a known sample of metamorphic malware and compute their similarity--if they are sufficiently similar, we classify the file as malware of the same family. In this paper, we analyze an opcode-based software similarity measure inspired by simple substitution cipher cryptanalysis. We show that the technique provides a useful means of classifying metamorphic malware.
Midkine promotes tetraspanin-integrin interaction and induces FAK-Stat1α pathway contributing to migration/invasiveness of human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma cells

The heparin-binding growth factor, MK, promoting tumorigenesis and survival was found to associate with α6β1 integrins. We showed for the first time that MK interacted with TSPAN1 and facilitated the association between TSPAN1 and integrin α6β1 proteins in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) cells. We found that MK mediated an integrin-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation of FAK and activation of paxillin and Stat1α pathways. As result, downstream target genes implicated in cell migration and invasiveness (e.g. MMP-2 and MMP-26) were overexpressed. We observed that RNAi silencing of the critical signaling intermediates led to decrease of MK-induced migration/invasiveness of HNSCC cells. The major finding of this study is a novel MK-triggered signaling mechanism implicated in migration and invasiveness of HNSCC cells.
Metabolic Responses of Two Contrasting Sorghums to Water-Deficit Stress

ABSTRACT Water-deficit stress responses in sorghum [ Sor-ghum bicolor (L.) Moench] have been described in the literature as preflowering drought toler-ant (postflowering senescent) or postflowering drought tolerant (preflowering drought sensi-tive). The underlying physiological mechanisms associated with these drought traits remain unclear. It was hypothesized that the preflower-ing drought sensitivity of stay-green lines could be related to reported differences in osmotic potential among stay-green and senescent lines resulting in an inability of the cultivars to either sense or respond the soil drying until the rate of drying is too great for the stay-green lines to compensate. The objective of this study was to measure stress-induced changes in rela-tive water content, abscisic acid (ABA), proline, dhurrin, sucrose, and carbon assimilation dur-ing the onset of water-deficit stress in the pre-flowering drought-tolerant line SC1211–11E and the postflowering drought-tolerant line BTx642 to determine if there were differential responses to the onset of soil drying. In both greenhouse and field studies, it was found that SC1211–11E had lower relative water contents and accumu-lated higher levels of ABA and proline than the BTx642. The SC1211–11E also showed increases in carbon assimilation shortly after the cessa-tion of irrigation that declined with prolonged stress. These results provide new insights into the differential responses of pre and postflower -ing drought-tolerant sorghum lines.USDA-ARS, Cropping Systems Research Lab., 3810 4th Street, Lub-bock, TX 79415. Mention of a trademark, warranty, proprietary prod-uct, or vendor does not constitute a guarantee by the USDA and does not imply approval or recommendation of the product to the exclusion of others that may be suitable. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. Received 25 April 2014. *Corresponding author (john.burke@ars.usda.gov).
Kinetics of lateral electron hopping in osmium-tris-4,7- diphenylphenanthroline perchlorate monolayers at the air/water interface

Abstract Pressure-area diagrams and Brewster angle microscopy of osmium(II)-tris-4,7-diphenylphenanthroline perchlorate (Os(DPP)3) monolayers at the air/water interface (0.05 M HClO4) revealed the existence of 2-D solid aggregates. Their compression produces structurally homogenous films of densely packed Os(DPP)3 centers. Electrochemical experiments carried out directly at the air/water interface using “line” electrodes generated diffusion controlled current due to the lateral electron hopping on the 2-D network of the Os(DPP)3 centers. Voltammetric current was interpreted in terms of the unimolecular rate constant of electron transfer (k1 ≈ 5 × 108 s−1) involving neighboring donor acceptor sites. In subsequent experiments, addition of small quantities of a polar solvent (acetonitrile, benzonitrile, nitrobenzene, dimethylformamide or N-methylformamide) to the subphase led to a complete resolvation of the Os(DPP)3 monolayer and resulted in changes in the electron transfer rate constant. Analysis of these data in view of the Marcus theory showed a good correlation between the observed nuclear frequency factor and the inverse longitudinal relaxation time of the solvents used in the solvent exchange experiments.
Visual contrast sensitivity in deaf versus hearing populations: exploring the perceptual consequences of auditory deprivation and experience with a visual language

Abstract Early deafness in humans provides a unique opportunity to examine the perceptual consequences of altered sensory experience. In particular, visual perception in the deaf may be altered as a result of their auditory deprivation and/or because the deaf rely heavily upon a visual language (American Sign Language, or ASL, in the US). Recently, we found that deaf, but not hearing, subjects exhibit a right visual field/left hemisphere advantage on a low-level direction of motion task, a finding that has been attributed to the deaf’s experience with ASL [Psychol. Sci. 10 (1999) 256; Brain Res. 405 (1987) 268]. In order to determine whether this visual field asymmetry generalizes to other low-level visual functions, in this study we measured contrast sensitivity in deaf and hearing subjects to moving stimuli over a range of speeds (0.125–64°/s). We hypothesized that if ASL use drives differences between hearing and deaf subjects, such differences may occur over a restricted range of speeds most commonly found in ASL. In addition, we tested a third group, hearing native signers who learned ASL early from their deaf parents, to further assess whether potential differences between groups results from ASL use. These experiments reveal no overall differences in contrast sensitivity, nor differences in visual field asymmetries, across subject groups at any speed tested. Thus, differences previously observed between deaf and hearing subjects for discriminating the direction of moving stimuli do not generalize to contrast sensitivity for moving stimuli, a result that has implications for the neural level at which plastic changes occur in the visual system of deaf subjects.
A New Test for Measuring Dynamic Contrast Sensitivity (DCS)

Two experiments were performed to determine the effectiveness of a newly developed vision test for measuring human contrast sensitivity under dynamic conditions. In Experiment 1, measurements of dynamic contrast sensitivity were determined for 24 male and 24 female observers as a function of target velocity (0-120 deg/s) for letter stimuli of two sizes and two durations. Significant main effects were found for target velocity, target size, and target duration, while significant interactions among the variables indicated especially pronounced adverse effects of increasing target velocity for small targets and brief durations. In Experiment 2, the effects of simulated cataracts on dynamic contrast sensitivity were determined for 10 male and 10 female observers using the new test. Although the simulated impairment had no effect on traditional acuity scores, dynamic contrast sensitivity was markedly reduced under all conditions and this effect was particularly apparent with smaller targets and at higher veloc...
NVESD mine lane facility

The NVESD Mine Lane Facility has recently undergone an extensive renovation. It now consists of an indoor, dry lane portion, a greenhouse portion with moisture-controlled lanes, a control room, and two outdoor lanes. The indoor structure contains six mine lanes, each approximately 2.5m (width) × 1.2m (depth) × 33m(length). These lanes contain six different soil types: magnetite/sand, silt, crusher run gravel (bluestone gravel), bank run gravel (tan gravel), red clay, and white sand. An automated trolley system is used for mounting the various mine detection systems and sensors under test. Data acquisition and data logging is fully automated. The greenhouse structure was added to provide moisture controlled lanes for measuring the effect of moisture on sensor effectiveness. A gantry type crane was installed to permit remotely controlled positioning of a sensor package over any portion of the greenhouse lanes at elevations from ground level up to 5m without shadowing the target area. The roof of the greenhouse is motorized, and can be rolled back to allow full solar loading. A control room overlooking the lanes is complete with recording and monitoring devices and contains controls to operate the trolleys. A facility overview is presented and typical results from recent data collection exercises are presented.
Least favorable distributions for the design of sensor detection systems in non-circular regions of interest

When designing a sensor system to detect the presence of an emitter whose random location has an unknown distribution, least favorable distributions can be used to avoid complications associated with composite hypotheses. Furthermore, sufficient conditions exist under which the least favorable distribution for the emitter location also makes the measurements conditionally independent and identically distributed, avoiding complications associated with conditionally dependent measurements. One such sufficient condition is having the region of interest be circular. We show that it is not trivial to extend this result to non-circular regions, and we identify a new set of sufficient conditions for a large set of non-circular regions. We also provide results to help choose among regions of interest.
A comparison of all-terrain vehicle (ATV) trail impacts on boreal habitats across scales.

ABSTRACT: Recreational trails are an agent of anthropogenic disturbance in nature reserves and other low human impact areas. Effective management must balance the desire of recreationists to use these natural areas with the need to maintain their ecological integrity. Environments with low productivity may be particularly susceptible due to low resistance and resilience to recreational impacts. Our study examined 28 all-terrain vehicle (ATV) trails within the Avalon Wilderness Reserve and the adjacent surrounding area on the island of Newfoundland, Canada. We found that different habitat types (boreal forest, heaths, and bogs) differ in resistance and resilience to both direct on-trail erosion and indirect off-trail vegetation impacts of ATV trails. Dry forested sites were more resistant to direct on-trail erosion but less resistant to indirect off-trail vegetation disturbance. Heath sites were less resistant to direct on-trail erosion but highly resistant to indirect off-trail disturbance. Bog sites had ...
Measuring cooperativity in the formation of a three-stranded β sheet (double hairpin)

Recently validated chemical shift measures of hairpin structuring have been applied to a series of turn mutants of the Schenck-Gellman three-strand beta-sheet model with the aim of measuring the entropic advantage associated with aligning an additional strand onto an existing hairpin versus aligning the same two strands in an initial hairpin formation. In a four-state analysis (unfolded, 2 single hairpins, and the double hairpin fold in equilibrium) a cooperativity index can be defined as the factor by which the equilibrium constant for hairpin formation is improved when one strand is prestructured. This cooperativity index is 2.7 +/- 0.7 for hairpin formation about a stable D-Pro-Gly turn locus and increases to 7.6 +/- 1.2 for an Asn-Gly turn locus. The latter corresponds to a cooperativity induced DeltaDeltaG increment of 4.9 kJ/mol for the folding of a hairpin. Although larger than previous experimental measures of folding cooperativity in three-stranded sheets, the magnitude of this effect (which is considerably less than the TDeltaDeltaS expectation for prestructuring three or more beta-strand residue sites) likely reflects the intrinsic preference of these designed sequences for extended conformations. If similar or larger effects apply to protein beta-sheet folding, it is not surprising that particularly favorable hairpin alignments serve as nucleation sites in protein folding pathways.
Ethical considerations in longitudinal studies of human infants

Abstract Ethical issues and their optimal solutions in longitudinal infant studies have not received adequate attention in the literature. To address this gap, this manuscript pulls from universal research ethics, ethical guidelines for infant and child research, and ethical guidelines for longitudinal research and combines them in the context of infant longitudinal research with typically-developing infants. Topics explored relate to participant consent to research studies, the participant–observer relationship, and closure of developmental studies in this targeted population. Additionally, this manuscript highlights the importance and need for new and more relevant considerations of ethical procedures that concern infants involved in longitudinal research.
The Impact of Constructive Controversy on Moral Development

We examined the effects of a constructive controversy compared with individualistic learning on 3rd, 4th, and 5th-grade students' (N = 56) moral development, ethical skills, academic achievement, and attitudes toward social interdependence. The results indicated that participating in constructive controversy (compared with individualistic learning) resulted in greater moral development (i.e., moral reasoning, moral motivation, moral character), greater ethical skills (i.e., perspective taking, perception of self as a moral person, rule orientation), higher academic achievement, and more positive attitudes toward competition. These results extend constructive controversy theory, as well as Piagetian and social interdependent theories. They also provide guidance as to how discussions of moral dilemmas and conflicts among students should be structured and conducted.
A Test of Contextual Theory: The Relationship Among Relational Ethics, Marital Satisfaction, Health Problems, and Depression

Few studies have examined the theoretical underpinning of contextual theory. Using structural equation modeling, the relationship among relational ethics (recognized as the most important aspect of contextual theory), marital satisfaction, depression, and illness was examined. Data came from a national sample of 632 mid-life, married individuals. Results supported Nagy’s contextual theory. The total score of the Relational Ethics Scale was a significant predictor of marital satisfaction, and marital satisfaction was significantly associated with depression and health problems. Vertical and horizontal subscales of relational ethics also were significant predictors of depression and health problems through the mediating variable of marital satisfaction.
Group I Introns and Their Maturases: Uninvited, but Welcome Guests

Homing endonucleases are a class of invasive genetic elements that use several elegant solutions to ensure their survival in natural populations. Like all successful mobile entities, homing endonucleases must either reduce the deleterious effects of insertion within essential genes of host genomes or be lost. Many homing endonuclease genes have solved this problem by colonizing self-splicing group I introns. This association makes homing endonuclease genes phenotypically “silent” since they are spliced out and thus absent from the mature mRNA of the invaded gene. Through this union, homing endonucleases and introns have co-evolved into a “hybrid” mobile element providing the introns with a mechanism to propagate themselves in a population. Remarkably, in some cases within fungal mitochondrial genomes, homing endonucleases have adapted to facilitate splicing of their encoding introns and contribute to the host’s regulation of the invaded gene. This novel adaptation, termed maturase activity, has likely served to ensure their fixture in mitochondrial and, perhaps, other genomes. In this chapter, we will review what is known concerning the mechanism of group I intron-encoded protein-assisted splicing. In addition, we will summarize new studies of both mobility and maturase functions that have resulted in a better understanding of how a single polypeptide carries out diverse and unrelated activities. Principles derived from maturase systems are likely to apply to numerous other multi-functional proteins that participate in diverse metabolic pathways.
Transactors: a programming model for maintaining globally consistent distributed state in unreliable environments

We introduce transactors, a fault-tolerant programming model for composing loosely-coupled distributed components running in an unreliable environment such as the internet into systems that reliably maintain globally consistent distributed state. The transactor model incorporates certain elements of traditional transaction processing, but allows these elements to be composed in different ways without the need for central coordination, thus facilitating the study of distributed fault-tolerance from a semantic point of view. We formalize our approach via the τ-calculus, an extended lambda-calculus based on the actor model, and illustrate its usage through a number of examples. The τ-calculus incorporates constructs which distributed processes can use to create globally-consistent checkpoints. We provide an operational semantics for the τ-calculus, and formalize the following safety and liveness properties: first, we show that globally-consistent checkpoints have equivalent execution traces without any node failures or application-level failures, and second, we show that it is possible to reach globally-consistent checkpoints provided that there is some bounded failure-free interval during which checkpointing can occur.
The X-ray crystal structures of human alpha-phosphomannomutase 1 reveal the structural basis of congenital disorder of glycosylation type 1a.

Abstract Congential disorder of glycosylation type 1a (CDG-1a) is a congenital disease characterized by severe defects in nervous system development. It is caused by mutations in α-phosphomannomutase (of which there are two isozymes, α-PMM1 and α-PPM2). Here we report the x-ray crystal structures of human α-PMM1 in the open conformation, with and without the bound substrate, α-d-mannose 1-phosphate. α-PMM1, like most haloalkanoic acid dehalogenase superfamily (HADSF) members, consists of two domains, the cap and core, which open to bind substrate and then close to provide a solvent-exclusive environment for catalysis. The substrate phosphate group is observed at a positively charged site of the cap domain, rather than at the core domain phosphoryl-transfer site defined by the Asp19 nucleophile and Mg2+ cofactor. This suggests that substrate binds first to the cap and then is swept into the active site upon cap closure. The orientation of the acid/base residue Asp21 suggests that α-phosphomannomutase (α-PMM) uses a different method of protecting the aspartylphosphate from hydrolysis than the HADSF member β-phosphoglucomutase. It is hypothesized that the electrostatic repulsion of positive charges at the interface of the cap and core domains stabilizes α-PMM1 in the open conformation and that the negatively charged substrate binds to the cap, thereby facilitating its closure over the core domain. The two isozymes, α-PMM1 and α-PMM2, are shown to have a conserved active-site structure and to display similar kinetic properties. Analysis of the known mutation sites in the context of the structures reveals the genotype-phenotype relationship underlying CDG-1a.
Physical layer driven protocol and algorithm design for energy-efficient wireless sensor networks

The potential for collaborative, robust networks of microsensors has attracted a great deal of research attention. For the most part, this is due to the compelling applications that will be enabled once wireless microsensor networks are in place; location-sensing, environmental sensing, medical monitoring and similar applications are all gaining interest. However, wireless microsensor networks pose numerous design challenges. For applications requiring long-term, robust sensing, such as military reconnaissance, one important challenge is to design sensor networks that have long system lifetimes. This challenge is especially difficult due to the energy-constrained nature of the devices. In order to design networks that have extremely long lifetimes, we propose a physical layer driven approach to designing protocols and algorithms. We first present a hardware model for our wireless sensor node and then introduce the design of physical layer aware protocols, algorithms, and applications that minimize energy consumption of the system. Our approach prescribes methods that can be used at all levels of the hierarchy to take advantage of the underlying hardware. We also show how to reduce energy consumption of non-ideal hardware through physical layer aware algorithms and protocols.
Parthenogenesis in Drosophila.

Most of the work to be reported in this paper was done with strains of Drosophila purthenogenetica STALKER originally derived from a single strain established by the University of Texas workers from a collection made in Atlixco, Mexico (PATTERSON and MAINLAND 1944) and generously supplied by the Texas laboratory. The specimens of Drosophila polymorpha used were derived from a Brazilian strain supplied through the kindness of DR. TH. DOBZHANSKY. Both of the above forms belong to the D. curdini species group. In the measurements of rates of parthenogenesis reported in this paper, the virgin females were kept, either singly or in groups, in vials with standard cornmeal-Karo-agar-Moldex food medium. All work was done at 25°C unless otherwise indicated. The virgin females were transferred to fresh food vials every day, or in some cases every second day. The vials from which the females had been transferred were examined under a dissecting microscope daily up to and including the fourth day after oviposition. In these examinations the numbers of dead embryos and inviable larvae, the numbers of viable larvae, and the numbers of apparently undeveloped eggs were recorded. The dead embryos were detected by the discoloration associated with their decomposition. When the typically mottled-looking brownish-black eggs were discovered they were in most cases removed, cleaned of food, crushed under a coverslip in saline and examined under high power with a compound micro
Lexical- and sentence-level processes in comprehension of written sentences

Two experiments and three measures of lexical skills (word finding, rapid automatized naming, receptive vocabulary) were administered to 24 third and 24 fifth graders. Each experiment included two between-subject variables (grade and sex) and four within-subject variables (mode of sentence presentation – one word and one-sentence-at-a-time; word type – orthographic, phonological and semantic foils; position of foil in sentence – beginning, middle, and end; and sentence type – meaningful and nonsense). The experiments contrasted on reading comprehension task: receptive sentence acceptability (Experiment 1) or expressive sentence reproduction (Experiment 2). One-word-at-a-time presentation, which highlights the lexical unit, resulted in better accuracy on the expressive task that required verbatim reproduction than on the forced choice receptive task. Word finding and rapid automatized naming that require active production of phonologically-referenced name codes, but not receptive vocabulary, were correlated with measures of word recognition and reading comprehension in the experiments and on the psychometric tests. These results are consistent with Perfetti's contention that a phonologically-based name code is the heart of lexical access.
Dynamic symbolic database application testing

A database application differs form regular applications in that some of its inputs may be database queries. The program will execute the queries on a database and may use any result values in its subsequent program logic. This means that a user-supplied query may determine the values that the application will use in subsequent branching conditions. At the same time, a new database application is often required to work well on a body of existing data stored in some large database. For systematic testing of database applications, recent techniques replace the existing database with carefully crafted mock databases. Mock databases return values that will trigger as many execution paths in the application as possible and thereby maximize overall code coverage of the database application.In this paper we offer an alternative approach to database application testing. Our goal is to support software engineers in focusing testing on the existing body of data the application is required to work well on. For that, we propose to side-step mock database generation and instead generate queries for the existing database. Our key insight is that we can use the information collected during previous program executions to systematically generate new queries that will maximize the coverage of the application under test, while guaranteeing that the generated test cases focus on the existing data.
Pharmacological inhibition of soluble epoxide hydrolase provides cardioprotection in hyperglycemic rats

Glycemic regulation improves myocardial function in diabetic patients, but finding optimal therapeutic strategies remains challenging. Recent data have shown that pharmacological inhibition of soluble epoxide hydrolase (sEH), an enzyme that decreases the endogenous levels of protective epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs), improves glucose homeostasis in insulin-resistant mice. Here, we tested whether the administration of sEH inhibitors preserves cardiac myocyte structure and function in hyperglycemic rats. University of California-Davis-type 2 diabetes mellitus (UCD-T2DM) rats with nonfasting blood glucose levels in the range of 150-200 mg/dl were treated with the sEH inhibitor 1-(1-acetypiperidin-4-yl)-3-adamantanylurea (APAU) for 6 wk. Administration of APAU attenuated the progressive increase of blood glucose concentration and preserved mitochondrial structure and myofibril morphology in cardiac myocytes, as revealed by electron microscopy imaging. Fluorescence microscopy with Ca(2+) indicators also showed a 40% improvement of cardiac Ca(2+) transients in treated rats. Sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca(2+) content was decreased in both treated and untreated rats compared with control rats. However, treatment limited this reduction by 30%, suggesting that APAU may protect the intracellular Ca(2+) effector system. Using Western blot analysis on cardiac myocyte lysates, we found less downregulation of sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca(2+)-ATPase (SERCA), the main route of Ca(2+) reuptake in the sarcoplasmic reticulum, and lower expression of hypertrophic markers in treated versus untreated UCD-T2DM rats. In conclusion, APAU enhances the therapeutic effects of EETs, resulting in slower progression of hyperglycemia, efficient protection of myocyte structure, and reduced Ca(2+) dysregulation and SERCA remodeling in hyperglycemic rats. The results suggest that sEH/EETs may be an effective therapeutic target for cardioprotection in insulin resistance and diabetes.
Coping, Family Social Support, and Psychological Symptoms Among Student Veterans

With rising numbers of student veterans on today’s college campuses, multicultural competence in college counseling centers increasingly includes an understanding of military culture and its relation to the psychological health and functioning of student veterans. Research on interpersonal and intrapersonal factors associated with college student veterans’ mental health is scarce. The current study examines the contributions of coping style and family social support on symptoms of anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress in a student veteran sample. We also tested the moderating role of family social support in the relationship between coping style and psychological symptoms. Data from 136 student veterans were analyzed by using path analysis. Results revealed that avoidant coping and family social support significantly predicted depressive and anxiety symptoms. Avoidant coping also significantly predicted posttraumatic stress symptoms. In addition, findings indicated that family social support moderated the relationship between problem-focused coping and depression, as well as between avoidant coping and symptoms of anxiety and depression but not posttraumatic stress. Implications of results for college and university counselors are discussed.
Thermal Oxidation of Al2O3-SiC Whisker Composites: Mechanisms and Kinetics

It has been shown that SiC whisker-reinforced Al2O3 is susceptible to thermal oxidation because of a series of reactions in which SiC is oxidized and then reacts with Al2O3 to form a whisker-free layer of mullite and silica glass. In this paper, the kinetics of the reaction are analyzed as a function of the composition and whisker content of the composite. The mechanism of the reaction is described in terms of the evolution of phases within the reaction layer on the basis of transmission electron microscope observations and concentration profiles determined by electron microprobe analyses. The reaction is initiated by oxidation of SiC, forming silica glass and graphitic carbon. The silica glass penetrates the Al2O3 matrix along grain boundaries, and reacts to form mullite. As the reaction proceeds, Al2O3 is consumed, leaving residual intragranular Al2O3 islands, and a population of transgranular microcracks in the mullite. It has also been shown that Al2O3-SiC composites are susceptible to crack nucleation and growth under cyclic compressive loads. The presence of the mullite reaction layer on the surface of the composite reduces its resistance to crack initiation under these conditions. The threshold for crack initiation in cyclic compression is measured as a function of reaction layer thickness.