cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Analysis of violet-excited fluorochromes by flow cytometry using a violet laser diode.

Background Low power violet laser diodes (VLDs) have been evaluated as potential replacements for water-cooled argon-ion and krypton-ion ultraviolet and violet lasers for DNA content analysis using the Hoechst dyes and 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (Shapiro HMN, Perlmutter NG: Cytometry 44:133–136, 2001). In this study, we used a VLD to excite a variety of violet-excited fluorescent molecules important in biomedical analysis, including the fluorochromes Cascade Blue and Pacific Blue, the expressible fluorescent protein cyan fluorescent protein (CFP), and the fluorogenic alkaline phosphatase (AP) substrate 2-(5′-chloro-2′-phosphoryloxyphenyl)-6-chloro-4-(3H)-quinazoline (ELF-97; for endogenous AP detection and cell surface labeling with AP-conjugated antibodies). Methods Comparisons were made between VLD excitation and a krypton-ion laser emitting at 407 nm (both at higher power levels and with the beam attenuated at levels approximating the VLD) on the same FACSVantage SE stream-in-air flow cytometer. We evaluated a Power Technology 408-nm VLD (30 mW) equipped with circularization optics (18 mW maximum output, set to 15 mW) and a Coherent I-302C krypton-ion laser emitting at power levels ranging from 15 to 75 mW. Results Cascade Blue, Pacific Blue, and CFP showed comparable signal-to-noise ratios and levels of sensitivity with VLD excitation versus the krypton-ion laser at high and VLD-matched power outputs. Multicolor fluorescent protein analysis with 488-nm excitation of green fluorescent protein and DsRed and VLD excitation of CFP was therefore feasible and was demonstrated. Similar levels of excitation efficiency between krypton-ion and VLD sources also were observed for ELF-97 detection. Conclusions These evaluations confirmed that VLDs may be cost- and maintenance-effective replacements for water-cooled gas lasers for applications requiring violet excitation in addition to DNA binding dyes. Cytometry Part A 54A:48–55, 2003. Published 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The Effects of 6/85 Live Mycoplasma gallisepticum Vaccine in Commercial Layer Hens over a 43-Week Laying Cycle on Egg Production, Selected Egg Quality Parameters, and Egg Size Distribution When Challenged Before Beginning of Lay

SUMMARY. In each of two trials, 80 commercial leghorn-type pullets were separated into two treatments with four replicates of 10 chickens in each treatment. Forty pullets were designated as controls and received no inoculation, whereas the remaining 40 pullets received the 6/85 vaccine strain of Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) at 10 wk of age. Hen-day egg production, egg weight, eggshell strength, Haugh unit score, pimpling incidence, and blood/meat spot incidence were monitored and recorded weekly in each trial through an entire laying cycle of 43 wk. Further, eggs from all treatments were collected daily, Monday–Thursday, and individually weighed. No significant difference was observed between the treatments for 43-wk means for hen-day egg production, for any of the monitored egg or eggshell quality parameters, or for the number of extra large, large, medium, small, pee wee, or undergrade egg sizes. A significant (P ≤ 0.05) difference was observed for the number of jumbo-sized eggs between the two treatme...
Antioxidant Enzyme Response to Hypericin in EMT6 Mouse Mammary Carcinoma Cells

Antioxidant enzyme activities were measured following exposure to hypericin +/- irradiation in EMT6 cells. CuZnSOD and catalase activities peaked within 0.5 h following irradiation for nontoxic 0.5 microM hypericin and toxic 1.0 microM hypericin. Catalase remained elevated up to 3 h for 1.0 microM hypericin + light. MnSOD activity was elevated immediately following irradiation for both doses. These levels returned to control by 1 h for 0.5 microM hypericin, but were depressed after 1 h for 1.0 microM hypericin. This suggests that mitochondria impairment may be a critical factor in hypericin phototoxicity. Glutathione reductase was inhibited immediately following irradiation with 1.0 microM hypericin, suggesting that an altered status of the glutathione pool contributed to cytotoxicity. Glutathione peroxidase activities were elevated following irradiation but returned to control levels within 0.5 h for both doses, implicating hydroperoxide formation as an early event in hypericin phototoxicity. Inhibition by hypericin in the dark was demonstrated for purified CuZnSOD, Se-dependent glutathione peroxidase, glutathione S-transferase, and glutathione reductase activities in vitro. Irradiation did not potentiate hypericin-mediated glutathione reductase inhibition and decrease inhibition for the other enzymes. Collectively, these data demonstrate an antioxidant enzyme response to hypericin photoactivation and confirm a role for oxygen in hypericin phototoxicity.
Ceramic Petrography As a Technique for Documenting Cultural Interaction: An Example from the Upper Mississippi Valley

The petrographic identification of ceramic tempers has long been known to be a fruitful line of inquiry for investigating intersite and interregional cultural interaction. By applying point-counting procedures to the recording of natural as well as humanly added mineral inclusions in ceramic thin sections, considerable power can be added to this traditionally qualitative technique. The effectiveness of this more quantitative approach in discriminating local from nonlocal vessels is demonstrated through a comparative analysis of two Middle Mississippian-contact sites in the upper Mississippi Valley region-Hartley Fort in northeast Iowa and the Fred Edwards site in southwest Wisconsin.
Solute Concentration Affects Bradykinin-Mediated Increases in Renal Prostaglandin E2

The effects of solute concentration on the bradykinin-mediated increase in inner medullary slice prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) synthesis were investigated. PG content was determined by specific RIA. Bradykinin stimulation was prevented by the addition of the following solutes to Krebs buffer: 1.0 M urea, 0.5 or 1.0 M NaCl, 0.5 or 1.0 M mannitol, 1.0 M urea plus 0.5 M NaCl, or 1.0 M mannitol plus 0.5 M NaCl. By contrast, basal PGE2 synthesis was increased by 1.0 M mannitol or by 1.0 M mannitol plus 0.5 M NaCl, but decreased by 1.0 M urea. Urea elicited a concentration-dependent, reversible inhibition of bradykinin stimulation, with 0.01 M urea being the lowest effective concentration. By contrast, basal PGE2 synthesis was only reduced at a urea concentration greater than 0.6 M. Arachidonic acid-mediated increases in both PGE2 and PGF2 alpha synthesis were not prevented by 1.0 M urea. The latter suggests that neither PG endoperoxide synthetase nor PG endoperoxide E isomerase are inhibited by urea. The data indicate that different hypertonic solutions have different effects on basal PG production, but all inhibit bradykinin stimulation.
Proportional Integral Estimator

The standard Kalman filter requires that the statistical characteristics of system signal and noise are completely known. In practice, this is almost impossible to achieve. Numerous adaptive techniques have been developed to compensate for inexact system modeling. While some are not good enough, others are ad hoc approaches requiring substantial computer resources. A novel adaptive technique is proposed by adding to the standard Kalman estimator, an integral term which provides additional smoothing effect and design flexibility. Optimal structures are derived by using the innovation method for continuous and discrete data Gaussian process models with linear dynamics. The proportional integral estimator (PIE) is simple to implement, but by adjusting contributions from the proportional linear term and the integral term of filter residual, it provides flexible adaptive features to suit design requirements, such as robustness to parameter variation and maneuvering target tracking. An application to a tracking system is presented and the behavior of error covariance matrix is examined. The example included for comparison of the standard Kalman filter and the PIE, indicates that while the results obtained by using the two filters are comparatively close, significant improvement is observed in response time and noise smoothing capability.
Examining Natural Mentoring Relationships (NMRs) among Self-Identified Gay, Bisexual, and Questioning (GBQ) Male Youth

Abstract Scholars have identified the presence of natural mentoring relationships (NMRs) as one of a set of protective factors that promote and protect the health and well-being of “at-risk” and marginalized youth. While this work has informed our understanding of the importance of NMRs for supporting youth and promoting positive development, it has only just begun to extend its inquiry focus onto the lives of same-sex attracted (SSA) youth (e.g., gay and bisexual youth). Thirty-nine in-depth interviews with self-identified gay, bisexual, and questioning (GBQ) male youth (ages 15–22) were qualitatively analyzed for the presence, form, and function of NMRs. Results from this inquiry revealed that participants identified a diverse range of “natural mentors” and that the provision of social support was of thematic prominence in these relationships. Results from this effort are here presented. Clinical and programming implications, as well as directions for future work are discussed.
First Report of Botrytis pseudocinerea Causing Gray Mold on Blueberry in North America.

Botrytis cinerea has previously been shown to consist of two sibling species, referred to as Group I and Group II, that can be differentiated by PCR-RFLP analysis of the Bc-hch gene, a vegetative incompatibility locus (1). Group I has recently been described as a new cryptic species, B. pseudocinerea (4). Gray mold caused by B. cinerea is a major postharvest disease of blueberries in the Central Valley of California. In 2012 and 2013, blueberry fruit were sampled at harvest from various locations in the region and stored at 0 to 1°C for 5 weeks, and fungi were isolated from decayed fruit. In total, 526 isolates of Botrytis spp. were obtained. Genomic DNA was extracted and PCR-RFLP of a fragment of the Bc-hch gene was performed. Four isolates showed the distinctive restriction band pattern associated with Group I (1). The identity of these four isolates was further investigated by sequencing portions of four genes: internal transcribed spacer region, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3PDH), heat-s...
Cooperative spontaneous emission as a many-body eigenvalue problem

We study emission of a single photon from a spherically symmetric cloud of $N$ atoms (one atom is excited; $N\ensuremath{-}1$ are in the ground state) and present an exact analytical expression for eigenvalues and eigenstates of this many-body problem. We found that some states decay much faster than the single-atom decay rate, while other states are trapped and undergo very slow decay. When the size of the atomic cloud is small compared with the radiation wavelength, we found that the radiation frequency undergoes a large shift.
Reduced basis technique for evaluating the sensitivity of the nonlinear vibrational response of composite plates

Abstract A reduced basis technique and a computational procedure are presented for generating the nonlinear vibrational response, and evaluating the first-order sensitivity coefficients of composite plates (derivatives of the nonlinear frequency with respect to material and geometric parameters of the plate). The analytical formulation is based on a form of the geometrically nonlinear shallow shell theory with the effects of transverse shear deformation, rotatory inertia and anisotropic material behavior included. The plate is discretized by using mixed finite element models with the fundamental unknowns consisting of both the nodal displacements and the stress-resultant parameters of the plate. The computational procedure can be conveniently divided into three distinct steps. The first step involves the generation of various-order perturbation vectors, and their derivatives with respect to the material and lamination parameters of the plate, using Linstedt-Poincare perturbation technique. The second step consists of using the perturbation vectors as basis vectors, computing the amplitudes of these vectors and the nonlinear frequency of vibration, via a direct variational procedure. The third step consists of using the perturbation vectors, and their derivatives, as basis vectors and computing the sensitivity coefficients of the nonlinear frequency via a second application of the direct variational procedure. The effectiveness of the proposed technique is demonstrated by means of numerical examples of composite plates.
Correlations among crown diameters of human teeth

Abstract Correlation coefficients were obtained for mesiodistal crown diameters of single teeth and tooth groups in the deciduous and permanent dentures. The degree of association between deciduous and permanent teeth was also determined for single teeth and tooth groups, and likewise between deciduous and permanent maxillary and mandibular teeth. Findings relate to the development of normal occlusion, and evolutionary aspects of man's dentition.
Mono Lake's Radiocarbon Budget: An unsolved enigma

Mono Lake occupies a semiarid basin just east of the central Sierra Nevada in California. During the past 4 decades, diversion of the lake's tributary streams by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) has caused the lake to shrink dramatically. This shrinkage has concentrated the salts that occur naturally in the lake, forcing the salinity to rise toward levels that will cause the extinction of the resident brine shrimp and brine flies that provide food for many hundreds of thousands of migratory waterfowl. The lake is now the focus of a pitched battle between conservationists who want to curtail diversions before serious ecological consequences occur and the LADWP, whose responsibility is to supply the city with water.
OPTIMIZATION OF STRUCTURES WITH CONTROL FORCES AND DISPLACEMENTS

Optimization problems are formulated for structural engineering problems using control forces and displacements applied to different beam systems. These external control forces are employed to reduce the internal forces and required cross-section dimensions for given loading conditions. A formulation is presented for an actively controlled system, a passively controlled system, a passive system with prestress forces and a passive system without control forces. For purposes of illustration, in the control, bending moments and shear forces are introduced by support displacements in an indeterminate beam structure. The latter displacements can be controlled with an external energy supply (active system), elastic supports (passive system) or they can be predetermined (prestressed system). Numerical examples demonstrate the structural weight advantages for the different systems. Comparison of results also show the magnitude of the increased allowable loading capacities in each system for fixed cross-sectional ...
A three-dimensional thermo-poroelastic model for fracture response to injection/extraction in enhanced geothermal systems

Water injection in enhanced geothermal systems sets in motion coupled poro-thermo-chemo-mechanical processes that impact the reservoir dynamics and productivity. The variation of injectivity with time and the phenomenon of induced seismicity can be attributed to the interactions between these processes. In this paper, a three-dimensional transient numerical model is developed and used to simulate fluid injection into geothermal reservoirs. The approach couples fracture flow and heat transport to thermo-poroelastic deformation of the rock matrix via the displacement discontinuity (DD) method. The use of the boundary integral equations, for the pressure diffusion and heat conduction in the rock matrix, eliminates the need to discretize the infinite reservoir domain. The system of linear algebraic equations for the unknown displacement discontinuities, and fluid and heat sources are used in a finite element formulation for the fluid flow and heat transport in the fracture. This yields a system of equations which are solved to obtain the temperature, pressure, and aperture distributions within the fracture at every time step. In this way, the temporal variation of the fracture aperture and fluid pressure, caused by pressurization and thermo-poroelastic stresses, are determined. Numerical experiments using the model illustrate the feed-back between matrix dilation, shrinkage, and pressure in the fracture. It is observed that whereas the poroelastic effects dominate the early stage of injection pressure profile and the fracture aperture evolution, thermoelastic effects become dominant for large injection times.
Nonthermal Photon-Assisted Chemistry Of Oriented Molecules On Solid Surfaces

A number of mechanisms have been identified for explaining recent experimental results of photon-induced chemistry of molecules adsorbed on surfaces of metals, semiconductors, and insulators. The initial step of these mechanisms invariably involves excitation of either the adsorbate or the substrate. Two illustrative systems, NO and Mo(C0)6 on Si(111)7x7, will be discussed. The desorption and dissociation of NO are found to occur via interaction of photogenerated holes with the NO - substrate complex. In contrast, photoelectronic excitation of Mo(CO)6 leads to the detachment of the CO ligands. However, a new photochemical pathway involving electron dissociative attachment is opened when Mo(C0)6 is coadsorbed with K on Si.
Persistence of Atrial Septal Defect After Cryoballoon Ablation of Atrial Fibrillation

To the Editor: Persistent iatrogenic atrial septal defect (iASD) after transseptal puncture for radiofrequency (RF) ablation of atrial fibrillation (AF) using 8-F sheaths has been reported at rates of 0 to 19% at medium-term follow-up, depending on the transseptal puncture technique, the follow-up
Calsequestrin mutation and catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia: a simulation study of cellular mechanism.

Objectives Patients with a missense mutation of the calsequestrin 2 gene (CASQ2) are at risk for catecholaminergic polymorphic ventricular tachycardia. This mutation (CASQ2D307H) results in decreased ability of CASQ2 to bind Ca2+ in the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR). In this theoretical study, we investigate a potential mechanism by which CASQ2D307H manifests its pro-arrhythmic consequences in patients. Methods Using simulations in a model of the guinea pig ventricular myocyte, we investigate the mutation's effect on SR Ca2+ storage, the Ca2+ transient (CaT), and its indirect effect on ionic currents and membrane potential. We model the effects of isoproterenol (ISO) on CaV1.2 (the L-type Ca2+ current, ICa(L)) and other targets of β-adrenergic stimulation. Results ISO increases ICa(L), prolonging action potential (AP) duration (Control: 172 ms, +ISO: 207 ms, at cycle length of 1500 ms) and increasing CaT (Control: 0.79 μM, +ISO: 1.61 μM). ISO increases ICa(L) by reducing the fraction of channels which undergo voltage-dependent inactivation and increasing transitions from a non-conducting to conducting mode of channel gating. CASQ2D307H reduces SR storage capacity, thereby reducing the magnitude of CaT (Control: 0.79 μM, CASQ2D307H: 0.52 μM, at cycle length of 1500 ms). The combined effect of CASQ2D307H and ISO elevates SR free Ca2+ at a rapid rate, leading to store-overload-induced Ca2+ release and delayed afterdepolarization (DAD). If resting membrane potential is sufficiently elevated, the Na+–Ca2+ exchange-driven DAD can trigger INa and ICa(L) activation, generating a triggered arrhythmogenic AP. Conclusions The CASQ2D307H mutation manifests its pro-arrhythmic consequences due to store-overload-induced Ca2+ release and DAD formation due to excess free SR Ca2+ following rapid pacing and β-adrenergic stimulation.
Architecture-aware classical Taylor shift by 1

We present algorithms that outperform straightforward implementations of classical Taylor shift by 1. For input poly-nomials of low degrees a method of the SACLIB library is faster than straightforward implementations by a factor of at least 2; for higher degrees we develop a method that is faster than straightforward implementations by a factor of up to 7. Our Taylor shift algorithm requires more word additions than straightforward methods but it reduces the number of cycles per word addition by reducing memory traffic and the number of carry computations. The introduction of signed digits, suspended normalization, radix reduction, and delayed carry propagation enables our algorithm to take advantage of the technique of register tiling which is commonly used by optimizing compilers. While our algorithm is written in a high-level language, it depends on several parameters that can be tuned to the underlying architecture.
Inhibition of nitric oxide synthase does not alter basal permeability of the blood–brain barrier

Abstract The goal of the present study was to determine the role of basal synthesis/release of nitric oxide on the basal permeability characteristics of the blood–brain barrier to various sized molecules in vivo. We examined the pial microcirculation in rats using intravital fluorescence microscopy. Permeability of the blood–brain barrier was quantitated by calculating the clearance of fluorescent-labeled albumin (mol.wt.=69,000 Da; FITC–albumin), fluorescent-labeled dextran (mol.wt.=10,000 Da; FITC–dextran-10K) or sodium fluorescein (mol.wt.=376; NaFl) in the absence and presence of an inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase (NG-monomethyl- l -arginine; l -NMMA; 10 and 100 μM). During superfusion with vehicle, clearance of FITC–albumin, FITC–dextran-10K and NaFl from pial vessels and diameter of pial arterioles remained constant. To determine whether basal synthesis/release of nitric oxide affected basal permeability of the blood–brain barrier, we examined the effects of l -NMMA (10 and 100 μM). In addition, we examined the adherence of leukocytes to cerebral venular endothelium using rhodamine 6G. Although topical application of l -NMMA produced constriction of pial arterioles, l -NMMA did not alter the permeability characteristics of the blood–brain barrier to FITC–albumin, FITC–dextran-10K or NaFl. Further, the adherence of leukocytes to the endothelium appeared to be similar while suffusing with vehicle and l -NMMA (100 μM). Thus, the findings of the present study suggest that while basal synthesis/release of nitric oxide may play an important role in regulation of basal tone of cerebral blood vessels, it does not appear that basal synthesis/release of nitric oxide plays an important role in maintaining the integrity of the blood–brain barrier to large or small molecules.
Toward a psychopathology of self‐control theory: the importance of narcissistic traits

Research on self-control and related constructs is central to individual-level explanations of antisocial behavior. However, less research attention has been paid to the psychopathological underpinnings of self-control. The current study explores relationships between self-control and psychiatric symptoms, head injury, trauma history, substance use, guiltlessness and narcissistic traits in a statewide population of juvenile offenders. Results support the importance of these variables, in particular narcissistic traits, in better explicating theories of self-control. Implications for research on the psychopathological underpinnings of self-control are highlighted. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Immunoprecipitation and Characterization of Membrane Protein Complexes from Yeast.

In this undergraduate biochemistry laboratory experiment, the vacuolar ATPase protein complex is purified from yeast cell extracts by doing immunoprecipitations under nondenaturing conditions. Immunoprecipitations are performed using monoclonal antibodies to facilitate data interpretation, and subunits are separated on the basis of their molecular size by SDS-PAGE. Both integral membrane and peripheral subunits are detected in Coomassie Blue-stained gels, and the identity of several subunits are confirmed by Western blots. Western blots serve to illustrate reproducibility and authenticity of the results and help students understand that they could use immunoblotting to detect subunits that are not visualized by Coomassie stain. The molecular mass of the subunits is estimated by their migration relative to molecular marker proteins in the same gel and used to estimate the size of the entire complex. Just like in biochemistry research, students learn to integrate several techniques to solve the subunit composition of a protein complex. These experiments are an alternative to classical protein purification techniques and can be adapted to study most protein complexes composed of membrane-bound and peripheral subunits from yeast. Instructors can use this approach to teaching proteomics and introduce students to systems biology. Because numerous yeast proteins are epitope tagged, instructors could use commercially available antibodies to study a protein complex of interest.
Reduced lecithin:retinol acyl transferase activity in cultured squamous cell carcinoma lines results in increased substrate-driven retinoic acid synthesis

The uptake and metabolism of retinol was compared in squamous cell carcinoma lines, SCC12b and SCC13, and in normal human keratinocytes (NHK). Long chain fatty acid esters of retinol and 3,4-didehydroretinol were the predominant metabolites formed in both cell types. Lesser amounts of unesterified retinol, 3,4-didehydroretinol, and their respective active acid forms were also observed. Despite a qualitatively similar retinoid composition, there were significant quantitative differences between cell types. Most notable was that SCC formed only about one-fourth the retinoid ester as did normal cells. In parallel with this, unesterified retinol and retinoic acid concentrations in SCC were significantly elevated over those in normal cells. This altered pattern of retinoid metabolites in SCC was found to be due to very low lecithin:retinol acyltransferase (LRAT) activity. SCC exhibited less than one-tenth the LRAT activity of normal cells. Acyl-coenzyme A:retinol acyltransferase (ARAT) and retinyl ester hydrolase activities were not different between cell types. Challenging cells with increasing medium retinol concentrations resulted in dose-dependent increases in retinol and retinoic acid within SCC. In contrast, retinol and retinoic acid concentrations in similarly challenged normal cells remained relatively low across a wide retinol concentration range. This was accomplished by the storage of retinol, via LRAT activity, as retinyl ester. Consistent with increased substrate-driven retinoic acid synthesis in SCC, the expression of transglutaminase 1 was suppressed to a greater extent in the SCCs than in NHK, when cells were exposed to equivalent medium concentrations of retinol. The data demonstrate a central role of LRAT in regulating retinoic acid synthesis via its capacity to modulate cellular levels of substrate retinol.
Borders, extent, and topography of human perirhinal cortex as revealed using multiple modern neuroanatomical and pathological markers

Despite rapidly increasing interests in specific contributions of different components of human medial temporal lobe (MTL) to memory and memory impairments in normal aging and in many abnormal conditions such as Alzheimer's disease and Pick's disease, few modern neuroanatomical studies are available about the borders, extent, and topography of human perirhinal areas 35 and 36, which are important components of the MTL memory system. By a combined use of several cellular, neurochemical, and pathological markers, which mainly include neuronal nuclear antigen, calcium-binding proteins (parvalbumin and calbindin-D28k), nonphosphorylated neurofilament protein (SMI-32), Wisteria floribunda agglutinin, and abnormally phosphorylated tau (AT8), this study has revealed that the borders of human perirhinal areas 35 and 36 are significantly different from those defined with conventional Nissl staining. In general, areas 35 and 36 occupy the ventromedial temporopolar and rhinal sulcal regions, the collateral sulcal region, and the anterior two-thirds of fusiform gyrus or occipitotemporal gyrus. Furthermore, the precise borders, extent, and topography of human areas 35 and 36 and adjoining entorhinal cortex were marked at different anteroposterior levels of the MTL with reference to variations of rhinal and collateral sulci and other useful landmarks. These findings would provide reliable neuroanatomical base for the great and yet rapidly increasing number of neuroimaging studies of the human MTL structures in healthy and many abnormal conditions.
Semiotic and Creativity

In this paper a semiotic account of the nature of creativity is suggested and developed. Charles S. Peirce’s theory of signs provides an explanation of what creativity is, as well as accounting for the necessary conditions which must be met in order for an entity to be properly identified as creative. The fine arts provide the focus for this account, since artistic productions suggest strong similarities among themselves in this regard, despite media differences.
Electron-CH4 scattering in the Ramsauer-Townsend minimum region (0.10-1.0 eV)

We report ab initio calculations for the electron-${\mathrm{CH}}_{4}$ elastic scattering around the Ramsauer-Townsend (RT) minimum region (0.1--1.0 eV). A model potential approach, in the fixed-nuclei and one-center-expansion formalism, is employed in which the total optical potential is composed of three interaction terms: an accurate static potential of the Hartree-Fock level, an exchange interaction in the Hara free-electron-gas-exchange approximation (plus the orthogonalization), and a semiempirical polarization of the form ) $^{6}$, where ${r}_{c}$ is an adjustable parameter. The final results on the total and momentum-transfer cross sections compare reasonably well with experimental data. In particular, a shallow RT structure rather than a pronounced dip in the total cross section is reproduced, which is in good agreement with recent measurements. We also determine the scattering length to be a=-3.4 a.u. by extrapolating our very-low-energy eigenphases (E\ensuremath{\simeq}0.001 eV) to the limit of zero energy: From a simple s-wave analysis, this value gives the RT minimum position around 0.4 eV, which is in close agreement with the correct value.
On the Exploitation of Narrow-Width Values for Improving Register File Reliability

Protecting the register value and its data buses is crucial to reliable computing in high-performance microprocessors due to the increasing susceptibility of CMOS circuitry to soft errors induced by high-energy particle strikes. Since the register file is in the critical path of the processor pipeline, any reliable design that increases either the pressure on the register file or the register file access latency is not desirable. In this paper, we propose to exploit narrow-width register values, which present the majority of the generated values, for making a duplicate of the value within the same data item; this in-register duplication (IRD) eliminates the requirement for additional copy registers. The data path pipeline is augmented to efficiently incorporate parity encoding and parity checking such that error recovery is seamlessly supported in IRD and the parity checking is overlapped with the execution stage to avoid increasing the critical path. A detailed architectural vulnerability factor (AVF) analysis shows that IRD significantly reduces the AVF from 8.4% in a conventional unprotected register file to 0.1% in an IRD register file. Our experimental evaluation using the SPEC CINT2000 benchmark suite also shows that IRD provides superior read-with-duplicate (RWD) and error detection/recovery rates under heavy error injection as compared to previous reliability schemes, while only incurring a small power overhead.
Bayesian perspectives for epidemiological research. II. Regression analysis

This article describes extensions of the basic Bayesian methods using data priors to regression modelling, including hierarchical (multilevel) models. These methods provide an alternative to the parsimony-oriented approach of frequentist regression analysis. In particular, they replace arbitrary variableselection criteria by prior distributions, and by doing so facilitate realistic use of imprecise but important prior information. They also allow Bayesian analyses to be conducted using standard regression packages; one need only be able to add variables and records to the data set. The methods thus facilitate the use of Bayesian solutions to problems of sparse data, multiple comparisons, subgroup analyses and study bias. Because these solutions have a frequentist interpretation as ‘shrinkage’ (penalized) estimators, the methods can also be viewed as a means of implementing shrinkage approaches to multiparameter problems.
Near infrared interactance: Validity and use in estimating body composition in adolescents

Abstract Near Infrared Interactance (NIR) is a non-invasive, simple and rapid method of assessing percent body fat, but its possible use and validity has not been determined in adolescents. This study assessed the validity of infrared interactance and its use to determine body composition in adolescents. Thirty-five caucasian high school students (22 males and 13 females) participated in the study. Ages ranged from 14 to 16 years. Percent body fat was determined by infrared interactance using the commercially available Futrex 5000 A. Infrared was validated against underwater weighing using Siri's and Lohman's equations, and against skinfold thickness using Durnin's body density equations for males and females. Infrared interactance significantly correlated with skinfold thickness in both males and females (r=0.93, and r=0.90), respectively. In addition infrared interactance significantly correlated with underwater weighing in males (r=0.85), but there was a non-significant correlation in females (r=0.32)(p
Characterization of the Response of the Arabidopsis Response Regulator Gene Family to Cytokinin

We examined the expression of a family of Arabidopsis response regulators (ARR) and found that the steady-state levels of RNA for most are elevated very rapidly by cytokinin. Using nuclear run-on assays we demonstrated that this increase in ARR transcript levels in response to cytokinin is due, at least in part, to increased transcription. The start site of transcription for the ARR5 gene was identified using primer extension analysis. A DNA fragment comprised of 1.6 kb upstream of the ARR5 transcript start site conferred cytokinin-inducible gene expression when fused to a beta-glucuronidase reporter, confirming that the transcription rate of ARR5 is elevated by cytokinin. This reporter construct was also used to examine the spatial pattern of ARR5 expression. The highest levels of expression were observed in the root and shoot apical meristems, at the junction of the pedicle and the silique, and in the central portion of mature roots. The expression of ARR5 in the apical meristems was confirmed by whole mount in situ analysis of seedlings and is consistent with a role for cytokinin in regulating cell division in vivo.
Current views on the fundamental mechanisms of cytochrome P450 allosterism.

Clinically relevant cytochrome P450 (CYP)-dependent drug metabolism and drugdrug interactions remain difficult to predict on the basis of invitro data. One contribution to this difficulty is the complex allosteric kinetics that CYPs exhibit invitro. In principle, an understanding of this behaviour at the molecular level could improve invitroinvivo correlations and prediction of invivo drug behaviour. Recent results suggest a multiplicity of allosteric mechanisms, including drug-dependent conformational changes and protein conformational heterogeneity, occupancy by separate drug molecules of discrete binding sites, potentially at remote locations, and drug concentration-dependent or effector concentration-dependent orientation within the active site of the drug being metabolised. Most importantly, the recent research provides optimism that we can understand these complex enzymes; the research has included the creative use of biophysical techniques previously thought to be inapplicable to CYPs.
Carnap's dream: Gödel, Wittgenstein, and Logical Syntax

In Carnap’s autobiography, he tells the story how one night in January 1931, “the whole theory of language structure” in all its ramifications “came to [him] like a vision”. The shorthand manuscript he produced immediately thereafter, he says, “was the first version” of Logical Syntax of Language. This document, which has never been examined since Carnap’s death, turns out not to resemble Logical Syntax at all, at least on the surface. Wherein, then, did the momentous insight of 21 January 1931 consist? We seek to answer this question by placing Carnap’s shorthand manuscript in the context of his previous efforts to accommodate scientific theories and meta- linguistic claims within Wittgenstein’s Tractatus theory of meaning. The breakthrough of January 1931 consists, from this viewpoint, in the rejection of the Tractatus theory in favor of the meta-mathematical perspective of Hilbert, Godel, and Tarski. This was not yet the standpoint of the published Logical Syntax, as we show, but led naturally to the “principle of tolerance” and thus to Carnap’s mature philosophy, in which the inconsistencies between this first view and the principle of tolerance, which survived into the published Syntax, were overcome.
Antidepressant-Warfarin Interaction and Associated Gastrointestinal Bleeding Risk in a Case-Control Study

Background Bleeding is the most common and worrisome adverse effect of warfarin therapy. One of the factors that might increase bleeding risk is initiation of interacting drugs that potentiate warfarin. We sought to evaluate whether initiation of an antidepressant increases the risk of hospitalization for gastrointestinal bleeding in warfarin users. Methodology/Principal Findings Medicaid claims data (1999–2005) were used to perform an observational case-control study nested within person-time exposed to warfarin in those ≥18 years. In total, 430,455 warfarin users contributed 407,370 person-years of warfarin use. The incidence rate of hospitalization for GI bleeding among warfarin users was 4.48 per 100 person-years (95% CI, 4.42–4.55). Each gastrointestinal bleeding cases was matched to 50 controls based on index date and state. Warfarin users had an increased odds ratio of gastrointestinal bleeding upon initiation of citalopram (OR = 1.73 [95% CI, 1.25–2.38]), fluoxetine (OR = 1.63 [95% CI, 1.11–2.38]), paroxetine (OR = 1.64 [95% CI, 1.27–2.12]), amitriptyline (OR = 1.47 [95% CI, 1.02–2.11]). Also mirtazapine, which is not believed to interact with warfarin, increased the risk of GI bleeding (OR = 1.75 [95% CI, 1.30–2.35]). Conclusions/Significance Warfarin users who initiated citalopram, fluoxetine, paroxetine, amitriptyline, or mirtazapine had an increased risk of hospitalization for gastrointestinal bleeding. However, the elevated risk with mirtazapine suggests that a drug-drug interaction may not have been responsible for all of the observed increased risk.
Influence of temperature on the rate of growth of microcrystalline cholesterol. II.

Abstract The influence of thermal aging at room and elevated temperatures on submicron cholesterol particles prepared by the freeze‐drying technique has been investigated. It is shown that the rate of decrease in the specific surface area as a result of thermal aging is dependent upon the aging temperature and adheres closely to the relationship described by the Arrhenius equation. The theoretical aspects of a possible mechanism operative in the reduction of the specific surface area are discussed.
Cardiovascular ecto-5'-nucleotidase: an end to 40 years in the wilderness?

See related article, pages 814–821 Elsewhere in this issue, Koszalka et al1 add another chapter to the long-running saga of the significance of ecto- 5′-nucleotidase (CD-73) in cardiovascular function, showing that this enzyme catalyzes the formation of adenosine in amounts sufficient to have important physiological effects. A brief sketch of the tortuous path to our present understanding of the role of this enzyme puts this work in perspective. It also illustrates how science evolves stepwise, testing hypotheses based on available evidence and modifying them to fit the new evidence. In the early 1960s, Berne2 and, independently, Gerlach et al3 showed that hypoxia stimulated adenosine production in the heart. Within a few years, histochemists showed phosphatase activity able to hydrolyze AMP on the surface of cardiac and skeletal muscle myocytes. At first this seemed to provide an explanation for the adenosine released from hypoxic heart muscle, but there was a serious problem. The enzyme was outside the cell, but its substrate, AMP, was in the cytoplasm, separated by a sarcolemma thought at the time to be impermeable to nucleotides. Theories advanced to resolve this dilemma included the idea that the ecto enzyme also had transport capacity, but this faltered for lack of direct evidence. There was little further progress for approximately a decade, in part because the discovery of nitric oxide-mediated vasodilation4 dispelled the notion that adenosine was …
Effects of Psychotherapy on Comorbid Conditions in Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Comorbid diagnoses were examined in 55 principal generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) clients, and the effect of treatment for the principal disorder on those conditions was evaluated. High rates of comorbid diagnoses were present at pretherapy, with social and simple phobia being most common. The presence of additional diagnoses declined dramatically from pretherapy to follow-up and was significantly greater among clients for whom the GAD therapy had been successful than among clients for whom GAD outcome had been ambiguous. This was generally true regardless of whether clients reported at follow-up that they had received further therapy since the posttherapy assessment.
Evaluating Habitat-Association Models for the Saltmarsh Sparrow

Abstract. Habitat models that associate organisms with features of their environment can help identify areas for planning conservation strategies. These models, however, should be tested with new data before their conclusions are widely accepted. The Saltmarsh Sparrow (Ammodramus caudacutus) is a species of growing conservation concern along the Atlantic coast of North America. In a previous study, we developed models for Saltmarsh Sparrow presence and nesting habitat. Sparrow occupancy was best predicted from raw reflective properties of marshes derived from remote sensing, whereas sparrow nesting was best predicted from a classification of marsh plant communities. To test these models, we surveyed a stratified random sample of sites for which the probability of sparrow presence had been predicted and compared the observations to the predicted probability of presence and nesting generated from the models. The models' performance, assessed by the area under a receiver-operating characteristic curve and th...
REAL-TIME DETECTION of blaKPC IN CLINICAL SAMPLES AND SURVEILLANCE SPECIMENS

ABSTRACT A real-time PCR assay was developed targeting the blaKPC responsible for Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-mediated carbapenem resistance and was validated for testing colonies or enrichment broth cultures. The assay accurately detects KPC-containing strains with high analytical specificity and sensitivity.
Semantics vs Syntax vs Computations

This paper investigates analogs of the Kreisel?Lacombe?Shoenfield Theorem in the context of the type-2 basic feasible functionals. We develop a direct, polynomial-time analog of effective operation in which the time bounding on computations is modeled after Kapron and Cook's scheme for their basic polynomial-time functionals. We show that if P=NP, these polynomial-time effective operations are strictly more powerful on R (the class of recursive functions) than the basic feasible functions. We also consider a weaker notion of polynomial-time effective operation where the machines computing these functionals have access to the computations of their procedural parameter, but not to its program text. For this version of polynomial-time effective operations, the analog of the Kreisel?Lacombe?Shoenfield is shown to hold?their power matches that of the basic feasible functionals on R.
Using geometric hashing to repair CAD objects

Problems in CAD software sometimes cause defects in the boundaries of polyhedral objects-small gaps bounded by edges incident to one polyhedron face. Using geometric hashing, algorithms can resolve this problem, which has vexed layered manufacturing. Similar techniques hold promise for solving problems in such areas as computer vision, medical imaging, and molecular biology.
Copyright and the Public Interest from the Perspective of Brown v. Board of Education

This Essay examines the extent to which some of the seminal ideas and principles from and underlying Brown v. Board of Education can be used to provide a perspective that may help develop intellectual property law in ways that advance the cause of social and economic justice. The social justice-conscious approach of the Court in Brown can inform our understanding of and can inform the development of the public interest as a way to rebalance the rights of intellectual property right holders, users, and the public at large. The principles the Court used in Brown that are examined and applied in this Essay include: (1) Use current circumstances to evaluate law, keeping in mind the effect on the public good; (2) Importance affects analysis - the importance of intellectual property today is analogous to the importance of education fifty years ago; (3) Abuse of power to exploit or exclude others is improper and may rise to the level of being unconstitutional; and (4) Intangible effects matter. Ultimately, these principles, like the Brown decision itself, derive from human rights principles of the inherent dignity, worth, and equality of each person. The issue is justice, not merely legal rights instrumentally conceived.
Early Embryogenesis in the Stable Fly (Diptera: Muscidae)

Early developmental events in the stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.), as studied by light and scanning and transmission electron microscopy, are described. Cleavage is centrolecithal and typically rapid and synchronous throughout the first nine divisions. From the mass of cleavage nuclei, primary vitellophage nuclei segregate centrally and longitudinally through the embryo at the time of the eighth division; a syncytial blastoderm is completed after the ninth division. Before the inception of cytokinesis after the 13th division, 9 or 10 blastoderm nuclei at the posterior pole typically divide to form a distinctive cap of ca. 36 cells and supply secondary vitellophages. Germ band formation is by invagination of appropriate presumptive areas of the blastoderm. Five transient transverse furrows, anterior to the elongating germ band, consistently characterize the embryo dorsum posterior to the cephalic furrow. There is one pair of tracheal invaginations to each segment from the prothoracic to the eighth abdominal segment. At 30°C, the cellular blastoderm was completed in ca. 2.5 h, and germ band retraction commenced in 9 h.