cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mechanism of interaction of the double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) binding domain of protein kinase R with short dsRNA sequences.

The dsRNA-activated protein kinase (PKR) plays a major role in the cellular response to viral infection. PKR contains an N-terminal dsRNA binding domain (dsRBD) and a C-terminal kinase domain. The dsRBD consists of two tandem copies of a conserved double-stranded RNA binding motif, dsRBM1 and dsRBM2. dsRNA binding is believed to activate PKR by inducing dimerization and subsequent autophosphorylation reactions. We have characterized the function of the dsRBD by assessing the binding of dsRBM1 and dsRBD to a series of dsRNA sequences ranging from 15 to 45 bp. For dsRBM1, the binding stoichiometries agree with an overlapping ligand binding model where the motif binds to multiple faces of the dsRNA duplex and overlaps along the helical axis. Similar behavior is observed for a dsRBD containing both dsRBM1 and dsRBM2 for sequences up to 30 bp; however, the binding affinity is enhanced 30-fold. Longer dsRNA sequences exhibit lower-than-expected stoichiometries, indicating a change in binding mode. NMR spectrosc...
Singular measures with absolutely continuous convolution squares

Introduction. A famous construction of Wiener and Wintner ((13)), later refined by Salem ((11)) and extended by Schaeffer ((12)) and Ivasev-Musatov ((8)), produces a non-negative, singular, continuous measure μ on [ − π,π[ such thatfor every ∈ > 0. It is plain that the convolution μ * μ is absolutely continuous and in fact has Lebesgue–Radon–Nikodým derivative f such that For general locally compact Abelian groups, no exact analogue of (1 · 1) seems possible, as the character group may admit no natural order. However, it makes good sense to ask if μ* μ is absolutely continuous and has pth power integrable derivative. We will construct continuous singular measures μ on all non-discrete locally compact Abelian groups G such that μ * μ is a absolutely continuous and for which the Lebesgue–Radon–Nikodým derivative of μ * μ is in, for all real p > 1.
059 Effects of Two Topical Antimicrobial Agents on Staphylococcus Aureus Biofilms in a Porcine Model

Biofilms are a combination of microorganisms and extrapolysaccharide matrices. Our laboratory has previously demonstrated that biofilms are present in both acute and chronic wounds. Once biofilms are established, phagocytosis and diffusion of antibiotics are impaired thus contributing to antimicrobial resistance due to increased bacterial virulence. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of two topical antimicrobial agents on partial thickness wounds containing Staphylococcus aureus biofilms. All wounds were inoculated with 106 CFU/ml and covered for 48 hrs under a polyurthene film to promote biofilm formation. Wounds were divided into three treatment groups; triple antibiotic ointment (Polymyxin B sulfate, bacitracin zinc, neomycin), mupirocin cream and untreated control. Wounds were treated twice daily. Wounds were cultured for bacterial quantitation at 24, 48, 72, 96, and 120 hrs. Significant reduction in CFU/ml was observed only after several days of treatments. This finding supports the antimicrobial resistance that occurs when bacteria live within biofilms. Our previous studies demonstrated that both of these agents were able to completely eliminate planktonic S. aureus(106) at the early time points. This study demonstrates that when bacterial biofilms are established in wounds there is a longer response time for topical antimicrobial activity suggesting bacterial resistance.
Immunomodulatory effects of massage on nonperturbed skeletal muscle in rats

Massage is an ancient manual therapy widely utilized by individuals seeking relief from various musculoskeletal maladies. Despite its popularity, the majority of evidence associated with massage benefits is anecdotal. Recent investigations have uncovered physiological evidence supporting its beneficial use following muscle injury; however, the effects of massage on healthy, unperturbed skeletal muscle are unknown. Utilizing a custom-fabricated massage mimetic device, the purpose of this investigation was to elucidate the effects of various loading magnitudes on healthy skeletal muscle with particular interest in the gene expression profile and modulation of key immune cells involved in the inflammatory response. Twenty-four male Wistar rats (200 g) were subjected to cyclic compressive loading (CCL) over the right tibialis anterior muscle for 30 min, once a day, for 4 consecutive days using four loading conditions: control (0N), low load (1.4N), moderate load (4.5N), and high load (11N). Microarray analysis showed that genes involved with the immune response were the most significantly affected by application of CCL. Load-dependent changes in cellular abundance were seen in the CCL limb for CD68+ cells, CD163+ cells, and CD43+cells. Surprisingly, load-independent changes were also discovered in the non-CCL contralateral limb, suggesting a systemic response. These results show that massage in the form of CCL exerts an immunomodulatory response to uninjured skeletal muscle, which is dependent upon the applied load.
Exploring Protein-Lipid Interactions using Gramicidin a as a Model System

Gramicidin A (gA) is a 15 amino acid peptide with an alternating L and D sequence that dimerizes to form a membrane-spanning monovalent cation channel. Among gA's key features are four tryptophan (Trp) residues per monomer, which have been implicated as important contributors to the stability and orientation of the channels in bilayers. using molecular dynamics simulations, we have explored the Trp residues' effects on gA channel-lipid interactions. First, a modified gA (Me-gA) was built using 1-methyltryptophan, which disrupts the ability of the indoles to be hydrogen bond donors. These Me-gA dimers were simulated for 100 ns in pure DLPC, DMPC, DOPC, and POPC bilayers, and the results were compared to the previously published results using wild type gA channels. Second, both gA and Me-gA channels were simulated for about 3 μs in bilayer systems with the same average hydrophobic length (equimolar DC16:1PC+DC24:1PC mixture, equimolar DC18:1PC+DC22:1PC mixture, and pure DC20:1PC) to explore the effects of hydrophobic mismatch on lipid distribution adjacent to the protein. In all systems, protein structure and orientation characteristics were calculated. Lipid bilayer properties, such as thickness, surface area per lipid, and lateral compressibility were also quantified as functions of distance from the channel/lipid boundary to elucidate the mutual protein-lipid/ protein-bilayer interactions. Preliminary results show that Me-gA systems exhibit a reduced first shell trough (by 1-3 A) and the bilayers become thicker around Me-gA in all pure bilayer types in comparison to wild type gA. This suggests that the lipids stretch to accommodate the slightly longer hydrophobic thickness of Me-gA. The results from the mixed bilayer simulations indicate lipid redistribution around the channels based on hydrophobic mismatch. These redistribution events appear to begin about 500 ns after beginning the simulations.
Improved training for target detection using Fukunaga-Koontz transform and distance classifier correlation filter

In a FLIR image sequence, a target may disappear permanently or may reappear after some frames and crucial information such as direction, position and size related to the target are lost. If the target reappears at a later frame, it may not be tracked again because the 3D orientation, size and location of the target might be changed. To obtain information about the target before disappearing and to detect the target after reappearing, distance classifier correlation filter (DCCF) is trained manualy by selecting a number of chips randomly. This paper introduces a novel idea to eliminates the manual intervention in training phase of DCCF. Instead of selecting the training chips manually and selecting the number of the training chips randomly, we adopted the K-means algorithm to cluster the training frames and based on the number of clusters we select the training chips such that a training chip for each cluster. To detect and track the target after reappearing in the field-ofview ,TBF and DCCF are employed. The contduced experiemnts using real FLIR sequences show results similar to the traditional agorithm but eleminating the manual intervention is the advantage of the proposed algorithm.
The Impact of Caloric Information on College Student's Fast Food Purchasing Intentions

Background: Fast food establishments are available on many college campuses and, as a result, many students consume foods that are high in calories and contribute to unhealthy weight gain. Purpose: This study measured college students' knowledge of the calorie content for fast food items and whether the provision of calorie information for those foods influenced their future purchasing intentions. Method: Randomly selected undergraduate college students (N = 201) completed an online survey that measured baseline knowledge of calorie content for a fast food item and intention to purchase that item in the future. After provision of accurate calorie information, students were posttested for intention to purchase that item in the future. Results: The majority of students underestimated calorie content for fast food items. After receiving accurate calorie information, those who initially underestimated calorie content were significantly more likely to change their intention to purchase that food item in the fu...
The Economics of Exhaustion, the Postan Thesis, and the Agricultural Revolution

The Postan thesis is that medieval agriculture had low yields because there was insufficient pasture to keep the arable land fertile. This argument (and variants of it) has become an orthodox technological explanation for low preindustrial yields. Yet the thesis, on its face, implies that early cultivators were ignorant, irrational, or completely custom bound. This article develops a revised Postan thesis, in which medieval cultivators knew that pasture restored fertility but were unwilling to employ it. Impatience made this way of increasing yields unattractive because it required large capital investments in the soil nitrogen stock.
Modeling the formation of Early Stone Age artifact concentrations

Abstract The nature of stone artifact concentrations at early Plio-Pleistocene sites in East Africa is evaluated with regard to hominid transport behaviors responsible for their formation. These archaeological occurrences indicate ranging behaviors involving deliberate and repeated transport of flaked stone artifacts. The stone transported to archaeological sites within the time range of Homo habilis indicates planned transport of tools or material for tool manufacture to an extent far beyond transport behaviors reported among living apes, even stone hammer-using chimpanzees. Analysis of technological evidence in a lithic assemblage at a Plio-Pleistocene site at Koobi Fora (c. 1·5 ya) indicates on-site manufacturing activities and transport of flaked stone both to and from the site locale. Possible explanations for transport of stone artifacts are discussed in view of hominid strategies of environmental exploitation and resource utilization. A model is proposed for planned, habitual transport of artifacts by hominids positively correlated with distance of planned foraging range. In this model, larger-scale sites tended to develop at locales favorably located near abundant resources, where stone imports were high but export was relaxed due to the proximity of resources to be processed.
Downregulation of cyclin G1 expression by retrovirus-mediated antisense gene transfer inhibits vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation and neointima formation.

Background The contemporary treatment of coronary athero-occlusive disease by percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty is hampered by maladaptive wound healing, resulting in significant failure rates. Morbid sequelae include smooth muscle cell (SMC) hyperplasia and restenosis due to vascular neointima formation. Methods and Results In this study, we examined the inhibitory effects of a concentrated retroviral vector bearing an antisense cyclin G1 gene on aortic SMC proliferation in vitro and on neointima formation in vivo in a rat carotid injury model of restenosis. Retroviral vectors bearing an antisense cyclin G1 construct inhibited the proliferation of transduced aortic SMCs in 2- to 6-day cultures, concomitant with downregulation of cyclin G1 protein expression and decreased [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA. Morphological examination showed evidence of cytolysis, giant syncytia formation, and apoptotic changes evidenced by overt cell shrinkage, nuclear fragmentation, and specific immunostain...
Multiple mutations in human cancers.

Increasing evidence indicates that most human cancers contain multiple mutations. The exact number of mutations, their origin, and types remain to be determined. An over-riding question is whether the multiple mutations that accumulate in cancers is rate-limiting for the carcinogenic process. In this review we consider the argument that the large numbers of mutations routinely reported in human cancers cannot be accounted for by the rate of spontaneous mutation observed in normal human cells. We will analyze different mechanisms that might account for the accumulation of mutations in cancer cells. We conclude that cancer cells are genetically unstable; i.e., they exhibit a mutator phenotype. The recent reports of microsatellite instability in a variety of human cancers have provided the first strong evidence for the presence of a mutator phenotype in human cancers. However, we still lack information about the relationship between microsatellite instability and mutations that allow cancer cells to proliferate, invade, and metastasize.
When males call, females listen: sex differences in responsiveness to rhesus monkey, Macaca mulatta, copulation calls

In many species, males and/or females produce advertisement calls before, during or after mating. Responsiveness to these calls may vary by sex because of underlying perceptual, motivational or attentional systems. I conducted playback experiments on free-ranging adult rhesus monkeys to examine whether males and females differentially respond to calls from the same male or to calls from different males. In the within-male condition, subjects were habituated to multiple exemplars from the same male and then tested with a novel exemplar from this male. In the between-male condition, subjects were habituated to multiple exemplars from one male and then tested with a novel exemplar from a different male. For both conditions, females habituated more quickly (i.e. required fewer trials) than males. In the within-male condition, females were significantly more likely to orient towards the speaker in the test trial and to spend more time orienting than males. In the between-male condition, males and females showed no differences either in their probability of responding in the test trial or in their duration of response. Although both males and females used the available acoustic information to discriminate between male callers, females showed a heightened capacity to perceive or a stronger motivation to attend to differences between call exemplars from the same male, suggesting sex differences in the peripheral and/or central mechanisms that enable call discrimination.
General equilibrium incidence of natural resource subsidies: The three factor case

Abstract This paper extends qualitative results on the incidence of partial factor subsidies to the three input case. The responses of wages and natural resource rents (relative to the price of capital) to a subsidy on the resource input are examined and some of the results from Harberger's 2 × 2 model are generalized. Implications of alternative functional forms for production are examined and a numerical example is provided for the State of New York.
Analysis of membrane bilayer asymmetry using parinaric acid fluorescent probes.

Asymmetry in the lipid composition of the two opposing monolayers of biological membranes is documented in a number of cells and organelles [ 1 ] and may be of fundamental importance in understanding membrane function. In this report the asymmetry of composition and physical properties of the two sides of the native retinal rod outer segment membrane is assessed. We use a simple procedure to reconstruct the thermal behavior of the native membrane from the fluorescence properties of parinaric acid probes [2-61 in lipid dispersions which mimic the composition of the inner and outer monolayers. This approach should also be applicable to
Electrophysiology and ultrastructure of Eustachian ridge from cat right atrium : A comparison with SA node

Intracellular microelectrode and electron microscopic techniques were used to investigate and correlate the electrophysiology of subsidiary pacemaker activity with the presence of cells having ultrastructural characteristics of pacemaker cells i.e. P cells, in Eustachian ridge tissue isolated from cat right atrium. In addition, the electrophysiological characteristics of subsidiary pacemaker activity and the ultrastructural characteristics of P cells in Eustachian ridge were compared to those of SA node obtained from the same hearts. Action potential recordings and morphological analysis were restricted to the endocardial site of earliest activation. Electrophysiological recordings revealed that spontaneously active Eustachian ridge tissues generate slow response action potentials with pacemaker characteristics similar, although not identical, to those of SA node. These included a relatively steep diastolic slope, low maximum diastolic potential (−70 mV), rate of rise (5.5 V/s), take-off potential (−52.5 mV), a relatively large overshoot potential (+7.7 mV) and a spontaneous cycle length (948 ms) about twice as long as SA node (434 ms). Morphological analysis revealed cells with ultrastructural characteristics of P cells, that were restricted to the endocardial site of earliest pacemaker activation. Morphological measurements indicate that Eustachian ridge P cells are not significantly different from P cells in SA node of the same hearts. However, Eustachian ridge P cells exhibit a unique apposition of subsarcolemmal cisternae between cells not seen in SA node. We conclude that pacemaker cells within the Eustachian ridge generate stable, spontaneous activity via slow response pacemaker action potentials. Cells responsible for this subsidiary pacemaker activity are most likely P cell types that are similar, although not identical, to P cells in SA node.
Piezoelectric Flow Injection Analysis Biosensor for the Detection of Salmonella Typhimurium

Piezoelectric biosensors have the potential to provide direct detection of food contaminants, such as pathogens. In this study, Protein A antibody immobilization was used for the activation of the piezoelectric biosensor to detect Salmonella lyphimurium. The overall system consisted of a new design for a flow cell and flow injection analysis system. The flow cell made possible a baseline stability of ± 1 Hz out of 5 MHz for hours. The sensor had responses of 5 to 65 Hz in 30 min with R 2 = 0.95 for S. typhimurium concentrations of 10 7 to 10 9 CFU/ml under continuous flow, and 3 to 75 Hz in 40 min with R 2 = 0.96 for S. typhimurium concentrations of 10 8 to 10 10 CFU/ ml under stop flow. Cross-reactivity tests were performed with nonpathogenic Escherichia coli, Escherichia coli O157:H7, Listeria monocytogenes, and Vibrio parahaemolyticus and showed less than 10% response. Les biodetecteurs piezoelectriques permettent la detections des contaminants dans les aliments. Les anticorps anti-proteine A immobilises sont utilises pour activer le detecteur de Salmonella typhimurium. L'analyse se fait par injection en ecoulement. Des tests de reaction croisee avec d'autres bacteries sont effectues. Les performances du systeme et sa stabilite sont testes: la detection est rapide et l'utilisation pratique mais la sensibilite reste a ameliorer.
Economic Psychology and the Value Problem

The basic difficulty in economic theory is the philosophical problem of the meaning of explanation in connection with human behavior. I. Motive or desire in human conduct is the analogue of force in mechanics, 375. II. Is force real or merely symbolic, leaving movement (behavior in the case of human beings) the only fact open to description or study? 379. — This question is merely formal in physics, for we know forces by their effects alone, and hence unambiguously if at all; but in the realm of conduct, we know motives in ourselves directly and in others by communication, in addition to inferring them from observed behavior, and the two sources of information disagree considerably. III–IV. The intellectually embarrassing but unescapable fact of purposiveness, in thought as well as conduct, 386. — V. The place of motives and their treatment in economics, which has to be critical as well as descriptive and logical, — a branch of esthetics and ethics as well as of science, 400. — VI. The objective of economic activity and the point of view of social criticism of the economic order, 406.
U.S. Immersion Programs: A National Survey

This national survey identifies key components of U.S. language immersion programs and offers a description of existing partial and full immersion schools. It parallels information-gathering efforts in Canada and Europe by providing details and summaries of demographic information, teachers, materials, target language proficiency and use, program structure and content, student and program assessment, inservice education, and articulation.
High‐dose cyclophosphamide results in long‐term disease remission with restoration of a normal quality of life in patients with severe refractory chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy

We previously reported the improvement of clinical parameters in severe, refractory chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) following high-dose cyclophosphamide therapy. Here, we examine effects of this therapy on quality of life, report long-term clinical follow-up, and include new data on a fifth patient. Patients completed The Medical Outcomes Short Form 36 to assess quality of life impact. Pretherapy and post-therapy scores were compared with the Wilcoxon Signed Ranks Test. Patient's post-therapy scores were compared with the normal United States population. Functional status was assessed with the Modified Rankin score. Strength was assessed using a summated MRC strength. Nerve conduction studies were conducted using standard techniques with supramaximal stimulation. The median follow-up for the five patients is 2.9 (range: 1.6-4.8) years. The first four patients remain off all immunomodulatory medications. In six of the eight quality of life scales measured, patients enjoyed clinically significant improvement. Their overall strength increased by a median change of 10 (range: -1 to 20); their overall Modified Rankin score increased by a median of 3 (range: 0-4), and their summated compound motor action potential amplitudes increased by a mean of 3.69 mV (range: 0.156-7.83). Patient 5 has had stabilization of motor strength. High-dose cyclophosphamide can markedly improve functionality and quality of life for patients with severe refractory CIDP.
Relative frequencies of numerical responses in ratio estimation1

This study investigated the frequency of different numerical responses in ratio estimation as a function of the numerical categories actually used by Ss. Analyses were conducted for three series of experiments involving magnitude and free-ratio estimation for the attributes of stimulus length, area, and distance. It was found that Ss use certain numerical categories (e.g., multiples of 1, 10, and 100) much more frequently than others (e.g., 37.5) and that the choice of category depends upon the order of magnitude of the response. The statistical implications for ratio scaling are not dramatic, but are worthy of notice.
Hemithoracic radiotherapy after extrapleural pneumonectomy for malignant pleural mesothelioma: a dosimetric comparison of two well-described techniques.

Introduction Extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) with adjuvant radiotherapy may be used to treat malignant pleural mesothelioma. Radiation pneumonitis, felt to be related to contralateral lung radiation dose, may affect patient mortality in this setting. Two standard therapeutic approaches currently used to deliver adjuvant radiotherapy were compared in this study: intensity modulation radiation treatment (IMRT) with a planned dose of 45 Gray (Gy) and a modified electron-photon technique delivering 54 Gy. Methods Treatment plans of 10 mesothelioma patients who underwent EPP and hemithoracic IMRT to a total dose of 45 Gy were analyzed. Plans using a combination of opposed anterior posterior radiation fields and electron supplementation (electron-photon technique [EPT]) to a total dose of 54 Gy were then generated and compared with IMRT plans. Results Dosimetric comparison revealed a significant reduction in contralateral lung dose with EPT versus IMRT, even with increased prescription dose used with EPT plans. Median heart and contralateral kidney doses were also significantly reduced with EPT versus IMRT. Dose coverage of planning target volume and doses to spinal cord, liver, and ipsilateral kidney were similar with use of the two techniques. Conclusions Our data suggest that hemithoracic radiotherapy delivered after EPP using EPT may minimize dose to contralateral lung and other structures when compared with IMRT, without compromise of planning target volume coverage.
Models for the evaluation of pre-hospital coronary care

Abstract A model is presented for the application of decision technics to the evaluation of alternative methods for pre-hospital care of heart attack. Such a model forces critical examination of goals and of all feasible methods for achieving these goals, and requires comparison of costs with benefits or effectiveness. Using the limited data available, this analysis suggests that if heart attack mortality in the population is to be substantially reduced, strategies of pre-coronary care are required which (1) would provide greater specificity in the identification of the person who is at high risk of sudden death due to heart attack and (2) would intercept the victim at the earliest feasible phase of the potentially fatal illness. As these strategies are developed, collection of further relevant data and application of the evaluation technics discussed will permit rational choice among the alternative methods.
Immobilization of Fishers (Martes pennanti) with Ketamine Hydrochloride and Xylazine Hydrochloride

A combination of 100 mg ketamine hydrochloride (KH) and 20 mg xylazine hydrochloride (XH) was used to immobilize fishers (Martes pennanti). Four adult males were intramuscularly injected a total of five times at dosages between 22.4 to 29.0 mg/kg KH and 4.1 to 6.6 mg/kg XH. Mean (±SE) induction time and arousal time were 3.3 ± 0.5 min and 76.8 ± 12.1 min, respectively. Respiration, heart rate, and body temperature in response to sedation appeared normal. A 5:1 mixture of KH-XH appears to be a safe immobilizing agent for fishers.
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS: AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW

The past three years have seen an acceleration in the rate with which companies have formed strategic partnerships with foreign firms in both the US and overseas markets. This article examines the theoretical rationale underlying joint ventures and asks what strategic considerations lie behind their formation. Fifteen case examples of joint ventures are presented and analysed to see how the theoretical concepts fit actual situations.
Media and democratic action: Introduction

Activists and academics have much to teach each other about the theory and practice of democratic communication. While critical scholarship offers normative philosophical definitions of the role of media in a democracy and systematic critiques of existing media institutions and practices, activism engages in direct and strategic interventions within the media and communication. The relationship between these two endeavors is symbiotic. Activism draws on theory to inform its actions, while critical scholarship asks questions intended to redefine what is conceivable in the realm of action. Often, the same scholars and activists wear two hats as they traverse the terrain between theory and practice. Despite the different types of projects they undertake and the different audiences they address, both are players on the broad field of media activism.
Studies of laryngotracheitis virus in avian tissue cultures II. Deficient adsorption of a strain of laryngotracheitis virus

In the plaque assay of the N71851 strain of laryngotracheitis virus (LTV) in chicken kidney (CK) monolayer cultures, the number of plaques which developed depended upon the treatment between adsorption and addition of agar overlay medium. Cultures in which the inoculum was aspirated after the adsorption period had a greater number of plaques than cultures in which the inoculum was aspirated and the cultures were washed. This effect was found to be due to a deficiency of virus to adsorb to cells. Under the conditions of the assay, the efficiency with which virus adsorbed to monolayers was too low to be measured. Therefore, the efficiency of the assay was also low. The initial association between virus and cells was easily disrupted by washing when adsorption was carried out at 5°C to prevent penetration. Treatment of cultures with diethylaminoethyl-dextran for one hour prior to inoculation increased the number of plaques in treated compared with untreated cultures by a factor of five.
Utility of the Lethargic (lh/lh) Mouse Model of Absence Seizures in Predicting the Effects of Lamotrigine, Vigabatrin, Tiagabine, Gabapentin, and Topiramate Against Human Absence Seizures

Summary: Purpose: Traditional methods of preclinical screening have predicted the effects of a putative antiepi-leptic drug (AED) against human absence seizures by testing its efficacy against clonic seizures in the high-dose pen-tylenetetrazole (PTZ) model. This high-dose PTZ model correctly predicted the efficacy of ethosuximide (ESM), benzodiazepines, and valproate (VPA) and the lack of efficacy of phenytoin (PHT) and carbamazepine (CBZ). However, the high-dose PTZ model erred in predictions for (a) phenobarbital (PB) (PTZ: efficacy; human: noneffi-cacy); (b) lamotrigine (LTG) (PTZ nonefficacy; human: efficacy); (c) vigabatrin (VGB) (PTZ: nonefficacy; human: proabsence effect); and (d) tiagabine (TGB) (PTZ efficacy; human: possibleproabsence). It also appears to have erred in predictions for gabapentin (GBP) (PTZ efficacy) and topiramate (TPM) (PTZ: efficacy). Because the lh/lh genetic model of absence seizures correctly predicted effects of ESM, clonazepam, VPA, PHT, CBZ, and PB against human absence seizures, we performed this study to test the predictive utility of the lWZh model for LTG, VGB, TGB, GBP, and TPM. Methods: Bipolar recording electrodes were implanted bilaterally into frontal neocortex of 8–week-old male lWZh mice. With the exception of VGB, vehicle or drugs were administered intraperitoneally (i.p.) on alternating days, and an EEG was used to record effects on seizure frequency. With VGB, vehicle was administered i.p. on day 1, and gradually increasing doses of VGB were administered on successive days. Drug and vehicle effects were compared in corresponding lfi-min epochs of the 150–min period after administration. Results: LTG (4.8–144 μmol/kg) significantly (p < 0.04) reduced seizure frequency (by 6.5%) compared with vehicle. In contrast, VGB (0.35–11 mmol/kg) and TGB (0.27–27 μmol/kg) significantly increased seizure frequency (300– 700%) and seizure duration (1,700–1,800%; p ≤ 0.001). GBP (18μmol/kg to 1.8 mmol/kg) and TPM (8.9–29.5 pmol/kg) had no significant effect on seizure frequency. Conclusions: In contrast to the high-dose PTZ model, the lh/lh model correctly predicted the antiabsence effect of LTG, the possible proabsence effects of VGB and TGB, and the lack of effect of GBP and TPM. The lWlh model appears to be superior to the high-dose PTZ model in predicting efficacy of putative AEDs against human absence seizures.
Modelling multi-period inflation uncertainty using a panel of density forecasts

This paper examines the determinants of inflation forecast uncertainty using a panel of density forecasts from the Survey of Professional Forecasters (SPF). Based on a dynamic heterogeneous panel data model, we find that the persistence in forecast uncertainty is much less than what the aggregate time series data would suggest. In addition, the strong link between past forecast errors and current forecast uncertainty, as often noted in the ARCH literature, is largely lost in a multi-period context with varying forecast horizons. We propose a novel way of estimating ‘news’ and its variance using the Kullback-Leibler information, and show that the latter is an important determinant of forecast uncertainty. Our evidence suggests a strong relationship of forecast uncertainty with level of inflation, but not with forecaster discord or with the volatility of a number of other macroeconomic indicators. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Monosaccharides of bovine plasma acid glycoproteins.

Abstract The nature of monosaccharides present in bovine orosomucoid and the M-2 glycoprotein was investigated. Both glycoproteins contained chromatographically identifiable N -glycolyl- and N -acetylneuraminic acids, and an unidentified sialic acid reacting strongly with Ehrlich's reagent and very weakly with the Warren reagent. The proteins also contained glucosamine, and galactose and mannose in a molar ratio of approximately 1.0.
DNA insertion elements and the evolution of chromosome primary structure

Abstract Integrative recombination mechanisms associated with temperate bacteriophages and other DNA insertion elements join DNA molecules in the absence of extensive genetic homology. These mechanisms provide a new pathway for the evolution of prokaryotic and eukaryotic chromosome structure.
Open field behavior of C57BL/6J mice as a function of age, experience, and prenatal maternal stress

In order to assess the role of age, prior test experience and prenatal maternal stress on open-field behavior, both stressed (treated) and control litters were divided into two groups. Group 1 was tested in the open field at both 40 and 120 days of age, and Group 2 at only 120 days. Comparison of activity level and location of activity in the open field of naive Ss at 40 days of age with those of naive Ss at 120 days of age demonstrated significant age effects. Similarly, comparisons of these behaviors of experienced Ss at 120 days with those of naive Ss at the same age, indicated effects of prior test experience. In addition, possible interactions of both age and prior test experience with the effects of prenatal stress were indicated. The importance of these findings for the design of studies in which the effects of experimental variables are examined at several different ages is discussed.
The effect of LPS on cytokine synthesis and lung neutrophil influx after hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury in the rat

Abstract Objective: To determine if cytokine responses and lung injury induced by intravenous (iv) lipopolysaccharide (LPS) at 4 hr were enhanced in rats that had been previously subjected to 30 min of total liver ischemia (Pringle's maneuver) followed by 24 hr or 3 days of reperfusion. Background: Many patients with liver trauma require occlusion of hepatic blood flow to control hemorrhage and facilitate repair. A significant number of these patients subsequently develop the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) and multiple organ dysfunction (MOD) characterized by the release of cytokines and tissue neutrophil influx. Macrophages, including Kupffer cells, may be activated by ischemic injury and dysregulation of their response to LPS may contribute to the development of SIRS and acute respiratory distress syndrome. Methods: Adult male Sprague–Dawley rats were randomly divided into six groups: three groups received total hepatic ischemia for 30 min and three groups had a sham procedure. Twenty-four hours or 3 days after hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury, rats were treated with LPS (5 mg/kg) or saline and monitored for 4 hr. We collected serum, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid, and lung tissue. Results: Serum and BAL cytokine concentrations were significantly increased by iv LPS; however, hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury 24 hr or 3 days before iv LPS ameliorated this cytokine response. The LPS-induced pulmonary neutrophil influx and histopathological changes were similar in sham and hepatic ischemia/reperfusion-injured groups. Conclusions: Hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury significantly attenuated the serum and BAL cytokine concentrations, but did not change pulmonary neutrophil influx or histopathological alterations in response to iv LPS.
Being practical, being safe: Doing evaluations in contested spaces

This final article summarizes and synthesizes the full special edition. This volume questioned evaluation as philosophy, enterprise, and practice from the point of view of doing evaluation under conditions of social violence, disruption, and division. In this final article, we clarify the issues and problems which challenge the professional practice of evaluation and propose guiding questions for evaluators designing and doing evaluation in worlds like these. We attend to the consequences for evaluation and evaluator of choosing to inhabit these violent worlds as an evaluator.
The presence of an RNA:DNA hybrid that is prone to slippage promotes termination by T7 RNA polymerase.

Intrinsic termination signals for multisubunit bacterial RNA polymerases (RNAPs) encode a GC-rich stem–loop structure followed by a polyuridine [poly(U)] tract, and it has been proposed that steric clash of the stem–loop with the exit pore of the RNAP imposes a shearing force on the RNA in the downstream RNA:DNA hybrid, resulting in misalignment of the active site. The structurally unrelated T7 RNAP terminates at a similar type of signal (TΦ), suggesting a common mechanism for termination. In the absence of a hairpin (passive conditions), T7 RNAP slips efficiently in both homopolymeric A and U tracts, and we have found that replacement of the U tract in TΦ with a slippage-prone A tract still allows efficient termination. Under passive conditions, incorporation of a single G residue following a poly(U) tract (which is the situation during termination at TΦ) results in a “locked” complex that is unable to extend the transcript. Our results support a model in which transmission of the shearing force generated by steric clash of the hairpin with the exit pore is promoted by the presence of a slippery tracts downstream, resulting in alterations in the active site and the formation of a locked complex that represents an early step in the termination pathway.
Techniques of data collection and reduction in systematic field observation

Two specific instances of data collection under field observation conditions are noted: (1) the sampling of police activities and interactions, and (2) the influence of proximity and similarity on informal group formation. Coding and recording of behaviors are described and the management of data detailed.
The role of brain angiotensin II in the regulation of luteinizing hormone and prolactin secretion

The renin-angiotensin system, both in the circulation and in the brain, is known for its role in the regulation of fluid balance and blood pressure. The brain angiotensin II (Ang II) system is also involved in the control of anterior pituitary hormone secretion, through affecting the secretion of releasing and inhibitory factors into the hypophyseal portal vessels. Ang II controls the release of LH and PRL in a manner that is modified by ovarian hormones, observed only under specific conditions, and localized to particular regions of the brain. The identification of Ang II systems in the pituitary gland and ovary, along with data showing effects of ovarian hormones on the activity of the brain Ang II system, suggests a feedback loop whereby the brain, pituitary, and gonads interact to affect reproductive function.
Behavioral Correlates of Physiological Estrus in Cheetahs

National Zoological Park, Conservation and Research Center, Smithsonian Institution, Front Royal, Virginia Historically, the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) has been known for its poor repro- ductive performance in captivity. Although breeding success has improved over the past decade, the percentage of breeders in the captive population is still low and successful propagation unpredictable. Estrus in this species has been reported as "silent" by some, therefore contributing to breeding problems by making ap- propriate timing of pair introductions difficult. To investigate whether any ob- servable behavioral changes may be associated with estrus, we carried out quantitative behavioral observations and concomitant noninvasive monitoring of estradiol metabolites excreted in feces of 14 captive female cheetahs for periods of 5-22 consecutive weeks. We found that changes in fecal estradiol concentra- tions correlated significantly with variation in the occurrence of several types of behaviors, including rolling, rubbing, sniffing, vocalizing, and urine spraying. However, the number and types of correlated behaviors varied across females, revealing no single behavior indicative of estrus, but rather a constellation of behaviors that increased in frequency when estradiol concentrations were elevated. There was no significant difference in the overall average estradiol concentra- tions or peak values of the females that had previously mated and conceived compared to those of the females that had failed to breed. Successful breeders appeared to show significantly higher rates of rubbing and rolling than nonbreeders. However, rates of rubbing, rolling, and urine spraying also were found to increase with age, and older individuals were more likely to have bred. The results of this study indicate that estrus in the cheetah cannot be regarded as "silent" since the frequencies of some behaviors appear to covary with fluctuat- ing estradiol levels. However, behavioral monitoring of estrus may nevertheless be difficult and time-consuming due to individual variation and subtle changes in behavioral frequencies rather than changes in the types of behaviors displayed. ZOO Biol 17:193-209, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Key words: Acinonyxjubatus; estradiol; estrous behavior; fecal steroids ^Correspondence to: Nadja Wielebnowski, Conservation and Research Center, National Zoological Park, Smithsonian Institution, 1500 Remount Road, Front Royal, VA 22630. e-mail: nwielebn® sivm.si.edu Received for publication May 5, 1997; revision accepted March 10, 1998 ©1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Enough Skill to Kill: Intentionality Judgments and the Moral Valence of Action.

Extant models of moral judgment assume that an action's intentionality precedes assignments of blame. Knobe (2003b) challenged this fundamental order and proposed instead that the badness or blameworthiness of an action directs (and thus unduly biases) people's intentionality judgments. His and other researchers' studies suggested that blameworthy actions are considered intentional even when the agent lacks skill (e.g., killing somebody with a lucky shot) whereas equivalent neutral actions are not (e.g., luckily hitting a bull's-eye). The present five studies offer an alternative account of these provocative findings. We suggest that people see the morally significant action examined in previous studies (killing) as accomplished by a basic action (pressing the trigger) for which an unskilled agent still has sufficient skill. Studies 1 through 3 show that when this basic action is performed unskillfully or is absent, people are far less likely to view the killing as intentional, demonstrating that intentionality judgments, even about immoral actions, are guided by skill information. Studies 4 and 5 further show that a neutral action such as hitting the bull's-eye is more difficult than killing and that difficult actions are less often judged intentional. When difficulty is held constant, people's intentionality judgments are fully responsive to skill information regardless of moral valence. The present studies thus speak against the hypothesis of a moral evaluation bias in intentionality judgments and instead document people's sensitivity to subtle features of human action.
Target Single-Spin Asymmetry in Inclusive Hadron Production

We present the first measurement of target single-spin asymmetries (AN) in the inclusive hadron production reaction, e+3He↑ →h+X, using a transversely polarized 3He target at an electron-nucleon center-of-mass energy $\sqrt{s} = 3.45$ GeV. The experiment was conducted at Jefferson Lab in Hall A using a 5.9-GeV electron beam. Several types of hadrons (π±, K± and proton) were detected with an average momentum 〈Ph〉 = 2.35 GeV/c, and an average transverse momentum 〈pT〉 = 0.64 GeV/c. The observed asymmetry strongly depends on the type of hadron. A positive asymmetry is observed for π+ and K+. A negative asymmetry is observed for π-. The π+ and π- asymmetries measured for the 3He target and extracted the "effective- neutron" SSA. Amazingly, we found that the ratio of our observed SSA between π+ and π- productions closely resemble the ratio of up- to down-quark's contributions to neutron's anomalous magnetic moment.
Atmospheric emissions from the Deepwater Horizon spill constrain air‐water partitioning, hydrocarbon fate, and leak rate

[1] The fate of deepwater releases of gas and oil mixtures is initially determined by solubility and volatility of individual hydrocarbon species; these attributes determine partitioning between air and water. Quantifying this partitioning is necessary to constrain simulations of gas and oil transport, to predict marine bioavailability of different fractions of the gas-oil mixture, and to develop a comprehensive picture of the fate of leaked hydrocarbons in the marine environment. Analysis of airborne atmospheric data shows massive amounts (∼258,000 kg/day) of hydrocarbons evaporating promptly from the Deepwater Horizon spill; these data collected during two research flights constrain air-water partitioning, thus bioavailability and fate, of the leaked fluid. This analysis quantifies the fraction of surfacing hydrocarbons that dissolves in the water column (∼33% by mass), the fraction that does not dissolve, and the fraction that evaporates promptly after surfacing (∼14% by mass). We do not quantify the leaked fraction lacking a surface expression; therefore, calculation of atmospheric mass fluxes provides a lower limit to the total hydrocarbon leak rate of 32,600 to 47,700 barrels of fluid per day, depending on reservoir fluid composition information. This study demonstrates a new approach for rapid-response airborne assessment of future oil spills.
Chilean English teacher identity and popular culture: three generations

Recent discussions on English as an International Language have highlighted the important role played by English language popular culture for the identities and bilingual development of diverse global citizens who learn and use English. However, there has been little attention to connections between popular culture and teacher identity. In this article, based on life history interviews with Chilean English teachers, I draw on a Bakhtinian theoretical framework to illustrate similarities and differences between generations of teachers in their appropriation of English language popular culture. I examine discursive connections between these investments and their English teacher identities, outline teachers' perspectives on popular culture and English language pedagogies, and conclude by discussing the links between pedagogy, bilingual development, and English teacher identities in an era of globalization.