cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Learning chemistry nomenclature: Comparing the use of an electronic game versus a study guide approach

Abstract Learning how to name chemical compounds is a critical feature of chemistry that many students often find challenging. Naming compounds requires both an understanding of the conventions and language of chemistry. Common strategies used to improve student understanding of chemical nomenclature include study guides and games. However, little is known about how these strategies impact student learning of chemical nomenclature. This mixed-method study compares the effect of a new electronic chemistry game, Topinomica, versus an existing study guide on the learning of nomenclature in an introductory undergraduate chemistry course for a diverse student population (n = 470). Research methods include pre/post-tests, short student surveys and instructor questionnaires, and classroom observations. Quantitative findings indicate significant pre/post gains for both conditions, but no significant difference between the game (n = 255) and the study guide (n = 215). Prior knowledge analysis shows a significant difference between conditions for high prior knowledge students, with the game treatment performing better. Qualitative findings demonstrate that instructors endorse and are adopting the game and that students prefer a game to a study guide. We discuss implications of this research for future science education studies related to study guides and educational games.
Implementation of the HELS-Based NAH

In this chapter we present the general guidelines for setting up measurement to get the desired accuracy and spatial resolution for the HELS-based NAH. There are several parameters that may influence the reconstruction results such as the number of measurement points, standoff distance, measurement aperture size versus source surface area, microphone spacing, and SNR. These parameters are generic for all NAH applications. The strategies for setting up the optimal measurement scheme are basically the same.
Preschool for all? Enrollment and maternal labour supply implications of a bilingual preschool policy

ABSTRACTPrevious research supports the effectiveness of preschool in various contexts, yet there is limited evidence whether universal-type preschool policies induce changes in enrollment. While ce...
Mobile Game Theory with Street Gangs

Gang violence remains a persistent public safety problem in Los Angeles. Gang interventionists and community organizers are turning to proactive peacekeeping, a process of addressing the underlying structures that cause young people to join gangs such as pervasive poverty and marginalization. Given the increasing prevalence and decreasing cost of mobile technology, there may be opportunities for interventionists to employ technological solutions in their work. However, before such solutions can be deployed, it is necessary to have accurate models of the target users—in this case, gang-involved youth. Of particular interest with regard proactive peacekeeping is their propensity for cooperation. However, given the unique circumstances surrounding the lives of gang-involved youth, traditional laboratory-based experiments measuring cooperation are infeasible. In this paper, we present a novel method of collecting experimental data from gang-involved youth in the Los Angeles area. We design a mobile application based on the classic Prisoner’s Dilemma model, which has been used to collect almost 3000 data points on cooperation from more than 20 participants. We present initial results that show despite their unique life circumstances gang-involved youth cooperate at roughly the same rate as university students in classic studies of cooperation. We conclude by addressing the implications of this result for future work and proactive peacekeeping endeavors.
Adult Workers as Learners in the USA Higher Education Landscape

In the midst of a turbulent work economy, higher education is challenged to also embrace an evolving demographic landscape and expectations to respond to innovative knowledge demands. Given these challenges, higher education must rethink its mission, its targeted student clientele and enhance its services, with a specific focus on adult undergraduate students who more often are workers as well as students. Using the framework of the USA scene, current statistics regarding adult student participation and the complex landscape of adult higher education are explored. The second half of this chapter will focus upon current and future policy reforms for access and support of these adult learners, examining formal, nonformal and informal education and the currency of collegiate credit and certificates within the USA workforce, as well as the broader role of reframing higher education within the lifelong learning context.
Electric bus scheduling under single depot dynamic wireless charging infrastructure planning

Abstract The use of electric bus fleets has become a topical issue in recent years. This paper aims to analyze strategic bus fleet scheduling and dynamic wireless charging (DWC) planning problems based on data obtained from the transportation center at Binghamton University. More precisely, we have developed a mixed-integer mathematical model to simultaneously select the optimal location of the DWC facilities and find the optimal battery sizes of electric buses (EBs) for the system. This DWC planning model allows all the system’s EBs to travel the common routes (depot-base station-depot) safely despite their different optimal battery sizes. Additionally, we have developed a scheduling model to find the optimal number of EBs by considering the additional charging time and battery size restrictions. To allow organizations to determine bus replacement plans that will meet their fleet electrification targets in a cost-effective way, we have introduced joint and disjoint scheduling planning strategies for the current conventional bus fleet and a potential EB fleet. Further, we have reformulated the DWC model so an EB can serve several routes with uniform battery size. The results show that the joint scheduling with one optimal battery size is more cost-effective than disjoint scheduling with route-specific battery sizes.
Employing and Interpreting a Machine Learning Target-Cognizant Technique for Analysis of Unknown Signals in Multiple Reaction Monitoring

The aim of this interdisciplinary work is a robust signal processing and autonomous machine learning framework to associate well-known (target) as well as any potentially unknown (non-target) peaks present within gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS/MS) raw instrument signal. Particularly, this work evaluates three machine learning algorithms abilities to autonomously associate raw signal peaks based on accuracy in training and testing. A target is a known congener that is expected to be present within the raw instrument signal and a non-target is an unknown or unexpected compound. Autonomously identifying target peaks within the GC/MS/MS and associating them with non-target peaks can help improve the analysis of collected samples. Association of peaks refers to classifying peaks as known congeners regardless if the peak is a target or non-target. Uncertainty of peaks fitted and discovered through raw instrument signals from GC/MS/MS data is assessed to create topographical illustrations of target annotated peaks among sample raw instrument signals collected across diverse locations in the Chicago area. The term “annotated peak” is used to assign peaks found at specific retention times as a known congener. Adaptive signal processing techniques are utilized to smooth data and correct baseline drifts as well as detect and separate coeluted (overlapped) peaks in the raw instrument signal to provide key feature extraction. 150 air samples are analyzed for individual polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) with GC/MS/MS across Chicago, IL. 80% of the data is used for training classification of target PCBs and 20% of the data is evaluated to identify and associate consistently occurring non-target peaks with target PCBs. A random forest classifier is used to associate identified peaks to target PCB peaks. Geographical topographical representations of target PCBs in the raw instrument signal demonstrates how PCBs accumulate and degrade in certain locations.
Fiber emission of carbon nanotube containing materials for construction applications

This project aimed to assess the carbon nanotube (CNT) fiber emission and the potential exposure associated with grinding and brushing of CNT containing products for applications in construction. S...
Minimum degree and the graph removal lemma

The clique removal lemma says that for every $r \geq 3$ and $\varepsilon>0$, there exists some $\delta>0$ so that every $n$-vertex graph $G$ with fewer than $\delta n^r$ copies of $K_r$ can be made $K_r$-free by removing at most $\varepsilon n^2$ edges. The dependence of $\delta$ on $\varepsilon$ in this result is notoriously difficult to determine: it is known that $\delta^{-1}$ must be at least super-polynomial in $\varepsilon^{-1}$, and that it is at most of tower type in $\log \varepsilon^{-1}$. We prove that if one imposes an appropriate minimum degree condition on $G$, then one can actually take $\delta$ to be a linear function of $\varepsilon$ in the clique removal lemma. Moreover, we determine the threshold for such a minimum degree requirement, showing that above this threshold we have linear bounds, whereas below the threshold the bounds are once again super-polynomial, as in the unrestricted removal lemma. We also investigate this question for other graphs besides cliques, and prove some general results about how minimum degree conditions affect the bounds in the graph removal lemma.
Abstract 16594: Disruption of Caveolae-Confined Phosphorylation of Ryanodine Receptors Promotes Ca2+ Handling Abnormalities and Arrhythmogenesis in Mouse Atrial Myocytes

Rationale: Chronic atrial fibrillation has been linked to ectopic triggered activity driven by delayed afterdepolarizations in response to sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ leak from certain areas in atr...
Consideration of the Need for Quantum Grid Computing.

Quantum computing is poised to dramatically change the computational landscape, worldwide. Quantum computers can solve complex problems that are, at least in some cases, beyond the ability of even advanced future classical-style computers. In addition to being able to solve these classical computer-unsolvable problems, quantum computers have demonstrated a capability to solve some problems (such as prime factoring) much more efficiently than classical computing. This will create problems for encryption techniques, which depend on the difficulty of factoring for their security. Security, scientific, and other applications will require access to quantum computing resources to access their unique capabilities, speed and economic (aggregate computing time cost) benefits. Many scientific applications, as well as numerous other ones, use grid computing to provide benefits such as scalability and resource access. As these applications may benefit from quantum capabilities - and some future applications may require quantum capabilities - identifying how to integrate quantum computing systems into grid computing environments is critical. This paper discusses the benefits of grid-connected quantum computers and what is required to achieve this.
Precision Radiotherapy for Small Animal Research

Preclinical research using well characterized small animal models has provided tremendous benefits to medical research, enabling low cost, large scale trials with high statistical significance of observed effects. The goal of the Small Animal Radiation Research Platform (SARRP) is to make those models available for the development and evaluation of novel radiation therapies. SARRP demonstrates the capabilities of delivering high resolution, sub-millimeter, optimally planned conformal radiation with on-board cone-beam CT (CBCT) guidance. The system requires accurate calibration of the x-ray beam for both imaging and radiation treatment. In this paper, we present a novel technique using an x-ray camera for calibration of the treatment beam. This technique does not require precise positioning or calibration of the x-ray camera.
“There is Hope for a Tree”: Lament and Hope in Conversation with Polydoxy

Polydoxy contributes to a much needed reform of theology by exposing the “logic of the One” as a corruption of Christian thought, by its recovery of the importance of apophatic theology, and by its deployment of multiplicity both to celebrate human diversity and as a “name” of divinity. This article extends these themes by considering them as spiritual and not only intellectual practices that can assist us in our responses to the contemporary situation. The article is framed by attention to the environmental crisis that requires and relativizes theological resources as we find ways to act in the world.
Algorithms of Boundless Beauty

Arabesques Decorative Art in Morocco. Jean-Marc Castera. ACR [Art, Creation, Realisation], Paris, 1999. 480 pp. 680 FF, EUR 103.67. ISBN 2-86770-124-4. This coffee-table book offers a stunningly presented sample of Islamic tiling and architecture from Morocco along with mathematical analyses of the artists9 myriad approaches to the geometry.
Very low-birth weight infant. I. Influence of place of birth on survival.

Abstract In order to assess the influence of place of birth on the survival of the very low-birth weight (VLBW) infant, premature deliveries that occurred at hospitals located in an urban county were studied. All premature infants born alive during the years 1977 through 1979 whose birth weights ranged from 500 to 1,250 gm were included. The outcome for the VLBW infants born at the Ohio State University Regional Perinatal Center (OSU-RPC) was compared to that for VLBW infants delivered at the other five community hospitals with maternity services. Thirty-eight percent of the 270 VLBW neonates born at the community hospitals and 53% of the 186 VLBW premature infants delivered at the OSU-RPC survived. These differences are statistically significant at the p
The Legal Fiction of De Facto Parenthood

To understand the relentless novelty of recent proposals for reconfiguring legal parenthood, it is helpful to review the default rules for determining legal parent status. Until quite recently, legal parenthood was largely coterminous with biological parenthood. Exceptions remained at least conceptually linked to biological reality. Thus, the longstanding presumption that the wife‘s husband is the father of a child born to her originates in the common-sense assumption that the husband is likely to be (or perhaps, ought to be) the biological father of the child while it maintains the integrity of a family. Even adoption, which extinguishes the parental rights of biological parents, has traditionally been organized by law in such a way as to create adoptive families that imitate biological parent families.2 Relying on biology, marriage and adoption as the pillars of legal parenthood also promoted certainty and stability for parents and children. Certainty by referencing objective verifiable criteria (the existence of a marriage, or a biological relationship or an adoption decree) and also by limiting the categories of adults who could claim the status of parenthood; and stability by promoting child-rearing settings that invoked independent variables that increase the likelihood of commitment between parents and children (such as biological ties and the obligations inherent in marriage).
Kroener tubal ligation in perspective.

Abstract An extensive review of the literature and clinical study of 404 women undergoing surgical sterilization procedures at the David Grant USAF Medical Center, Travis AFB, in 1970 and 1971, were made in order to evaluate the current status of tubal ligations, with their particular advantages and complications. Ninety-five per cent of 256 patients responded to follow-up written questionaire 6 to 22 months after their operation. Tubal ligation failure rate was 0.9 per cent, and 3.2 per cent of patients who underwent tubal ligation required further pelvic operations. It was concluded that tubal ligations in general and colpotomy with Kroener fimbriectomy in particular remain among the most effective, economic, rapid, safe, simple, and best accepted surgical sterilization procedures available. This procedure is attended by fewer complications than any of the other methods evaluated with the possible exception of laparoscopy with tubal fulguration, which requires further evaluation.
Roepke Lecture in Economic Geography—Regional Context and Global Trade

How should we think of the role of regions in relation to the global economy? Theory has surprising gaps when it comes to building a unified vision of these two scales of development. Two contributions to such a vision are proposed in this article. First, the relationship between geographic concentration and the regional economic specialization it underpins and globalization should be theorized as a dynamic process. Standard location and trade theory is not adequate for this task; instead, the dynamic relationship can be captured through growth theory. But capturing this dynamic relationship requires correcting growth theory to separate its local and its global components, which are, respectively, Marshall- Arrow and Romer externalities. Second, the missing element in all theories of geographic concentration and locally specialized development is an element labeled "context" here. A theory of context, in turn, raises important new questions about the dynamic welfare and developmental effects of contemporary processes of fragmenting and relocating production at a global scale.
The Pseudomonas syringae dctA1 gene is required for growth on three C4-dicarboxylates and is not included in the phoP-phoQ operon

Abstract. The plant pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato strain DC3000 (DC3000) enters leaves to grow in the extracellular space between cells (the apoplast). The mechanisms by which DC3000 recognizes the apoplast environment and acquires nutrients needed for growth are not well understood. One factor that may be involved in acquisition of nutrients while DC3000 is growing in this environment is the DC3000 dctA1 gene, which encodes a C4-dicarboxylate transporter. The role of the DctA1 transporter in acquisition of different dicarboxylates was investigated by comparing growth of a dctA1 mutant with wild type DC3000 in apoplast-like media with different carbon sources. The dctA1 mutant failed to grow when the dicarboxylates malate, fumarate, or succinate were the only carbon sources present. This indicates that DctA1 is required for uptake of these carbon sources in culture, and suggests that DctA1 plays an important role in acquisition of these nutrients when DC3000 is growing in the plant apoplast. DC...
Conceptualizing generalizability: new contributions and a reply

Tsang and Williams offer some good and provocative ideas in their critique of our earlier article on generalizing and generalizability. In this essay we will advance some new ideas by building on those collected in both Tsang and Williams and our original article (Lee and Baskerville 2003). Because IS is a pluralist scientific discipline, one in which both qualitative and quantitative (and both interpretive and positivist) research approaches are valued, "generalize" is unlikely to be a viable term or concept if only one IS research paradigm may lay claim to it and excludes others from using it. Both papers agree on this point, but approach the problem differently. Where we originally generalized generalizability by offering new language, Tsang and Williams conceptualize generalizability by framing it more closely to its older, more statistically oriented form. We agree about the importance of induction and about the classification or taxonomy of different types of induction. We build further in this essay, advancing the ethical questions raised by generalization: A formulation of judgment calls that need to be made when generalizing a theory to a new setting. We further demonstrate how the process of generalizing may actually proceed, based on the common ground between Tsang and Williams and our original article.
Genetic Variation in the Vaccine Yield from Embryonating Avian Eggs

Abstract THE importance of avian embryos in the cultivation of some viruses and production of vaccines is widely known. Embryo mortality and growth rate are vital factors in the quality and volume of vaccine produced. Yet the sporadic nature of the demand for vaccines plus the limited time they can be stored has not encouraged biological laboratories in establishing specialized strains of chickens. For example, the summer of 1957 witnessed a period of huge demand for fertilized chicken eggs for the mass cultivation of the new Asiatic influenza virus. Biological manufacturers during this period purchased most, if not all, of the available fertilized eggs which the poultry industry could produce in the short run. Since the completion of this study, the need has arisen for the use of eggs of special strains of chickens free from leucosis viruses in the production and testing of measles vaccine. While much effort goes into…
Ventricular dysrhythmia associated with serious decompression sickness

A case of serious decompression sickness complicated by frequent, unifocal, premature ventricular contractions (PVC) is presented. Although no cardiac monitoring was available, a continuous lidocaine infusion was used during recompression treatment to treat the PVCs, and it appeared to produce no untoward side effects. The concerns about using lidocaine in the dysbaric patient subjected to a hyperbaric oxygen environment are discussed.
Information retrieval and knowledge discovery utilising a biomedical Semantic Web

Although various ontologies and knowledge sources have been developed in recent years to facilitate biomedical research, it is difficult to assimilate information from multiple knowledge sources. To enable researchers to easily gain understanding of a biomedical concept, a biomedical Semantic Web that seamlessly integrates knowledge from biomedical ontologies, publications and patents would be very helpful. In this paper, current research efforts in representing biomedical knowledge in Semantic Web languages are surveyed. Techniques are presented for information retrieval and knowledge discovery from the Semantic Web that extend traditional keyword search and database querying techniques. Finally, some of the challenges that have to be addressed to make the vision of a biomedical Semantic Web a reality are discussed.
H-Y ANTIGEN DETECTED BY ENZYME LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY |[lpar]|ELISA|[rpar]|

In a newborn (46,XX) with ambiguous genitalia and bilaterally descended gonads the presumptive diagnosis of true hermaphroditism (TH) was made using endocrinological methods and a newly developed ELISA system with monoclonal H-Y antibody. Evidence for cryptic testicular tissue was obtained by measuring male levels of testosterone in plasma (117 ng/dl). 170H progesterone levels were normal thus ruling out congenital adrenal hyperplaisa.ELISA for H-Y antigen involves the reaction of monoclonal H-Y lgG antibody (AB) and cell borne or soluble antigen (AG). After that a 2nd AB (conjugated to peroxidase enzyme) is added. The amount of color (optical density) measured in a densitometer is a function of the interaction of AB and AG and consequential reaction of perioxidase with substrate. The patient tested positive for H-Y antigen but levels were less than those found in normal males. H-Y positive phenotypes in XX TH and XX male sex reversal obtained with this technique are consistent with the notion that the two conditions are variants of the same X-linked disorder and that the morphologic difference between the two may be related to the degree of inactivation of the X chromosome bearing the mutant gene. TH was confirmed at surgery when ovotestes were found. Conclusion: H-Y testing using ELISA technology can be performed rapidly with small amounts of blood (5 ml). Thus this assay is particularly useful in the evaluation of newborn infants with ambiguous genitalia where quick diagnosis is essential.
Skeletal Inventories from Wildebeest Drownings at Lakes Masek and Ndutu in the Serengeti Ecosystem of Tanzania

Abstract Wildebeest drownings produce dense bone deposits over large surface areas adjacent to lakes and rivers in the Serengenti ecosystem of East Africa. Drownings occur during the annual wildebeest migration when animals cross rivers and lakes on their way to wet season pastures. Drownings involve both small and large numbers of adult and newborn wildebeest and can occur in a single event or a sequence of small and large events during the wet season. Signature criteria from surface skeletal remains produced by modern drownings that may, as an integrated set, help to identify them in the fossil record include: (1) the predominance of adults from a single species and the variable representation of newborns and yearlings; (2) the presence of intact elements from all adult skeletal groups; (3) assemblages dominated by axial elements and long bones; and (4) negative correlations between the representation of long bones and their marrow wet weights; assemblages from large drowning events possess weak negative correlations while small events possess strong negative correlations. The application of these criteria requires a landscape sampling strategy, because the drowning event's signature can be spread out over hundreds or thousands of metres of river or lake front. Consequently, localized samples from a large drowning may be affected differently by carnivores, flowing water, trampling, weathering, and/or burial and not possess all of these signature criteria. Drownings represent important scavenging opportunities for a wide variety of consumers because of the number of carcasses they can produce. Their occurrence in rivers and lakes also gives them some seasonal and spatial predictability. Under these circumstances, it is possible that water-restricted early hominids may have gained relatively early access to large animal carcasses without recourse to hunting or confrontational scavenging. Early access to carcasses would have been facilitated by the simultaneous presence of many drowned individuals over a large area, because these conditions act to reduce inter- and intra-specific competition for carcass foods among consumers. Later access to carcasses could still have provided hominids with a wealth of nutritious long bone marrow and cranial contents.
Comparison of Patients with Enterococcal Bacteremia Due to Strains with and without High-Level Resistance to Gentamicin

Patients with enterococcal bacteremia due to strains with and without high-level gentamicin resistance (HLGR; MIC, > 2,000 mg/L) were compared. Between 1986 and 1991, there were 178 episodes of enterococcal bacteremia: 47 and 131 episodes, respectively, due to enterococcal strains with and without HLGR. Sixty-two, 57, and 59 episodes, respectively, were in patients with transient bacteremia (a single positive blood culture), bacteremia (two or more positive blood cultures), and polymicrobial bacteremia. Nosocomial bacteremia accounted for 61.7% and 51.1% of episodes due to strains with and without HLGR, respectively. All isolates were strains of Enterococcus faecalis except for 13 strains of Enterococcus faecium, 4 of Enterococcus avium, and 3 of Enterococcus durans. Although the mortality was slightly higher among patients infected with strains with HLGR than among those infected with strains without HLGR (38.3% vs. 30.5%, respectively), there was no statistical difference. The mortality rate was adversely affected by old age (P < .01) and rapidly and ultimately fatal underlying conditions (P < .001). The addition of gentamicin to the treatment regimens had no effect on mortality.
Sarcomere length-joint angle relationships of seven frog hindlimb muscles

The sarcomere length-joint angle relationship was measured in 7 different muscle-joint complexes (n = 43 muscles) of the frog hindlimb ( Rana pipiens ). Muscles studied included the c
Observations on the Gross Pathology of Eimeria praecox Infections in Chickens

Abstract Challenge infections with 103, 5 × 104, 105, or 5 × 105 sporulated Eimeria praecox oocysts caused moderate but significant weight gain reduction at all infective doses. Substantial reduction in plasma carotenoids and moderate but significant increases in plasma were observed only at the two higher doses when measured at day 6 postchallenge (PC). Daily monitoring of chickens after challenge with 5 × 104 oocysts revealed an inflammatory response in the duodenum and jejunum beginning at day 1 PC that was associated with a significant increase in levels of plasma , which peaked at day 4 PC. A moderate, uniform hyperplasia of the small intestine and significant depression of plasma carotenoids were observed on days 4–6 PC. Plasma decreased to control levels by day 6 PC. All infections were accompanied by production of a mucoid exudate in the duodenum and jejunum, which became thick and opaque by 4 days PC and tended to obscure mildly inflamed areas. These observations indicate that the acute host resp...
Experimental study of minimum ignition energy of lean H2-N2O mixtures

Ignition energies for short duration (<50 ns) spark discharges were measured for undiluted and nitrogen-diluted H_2-N_(2)O mixtures of equivalence ratios ϕ = 0.15 and 0.2, dilution of 0% and 20% N_2, and initial pressures of 15–25 kPa. The ignition events were analyzed using statistical tools and the probability of ignition versus spark energy density (spark energy divided by the spark length) was obtained. The simple cylindrical ignition kernel model was compared against the results from the present study. Initial pressure has a significant effect on the width of the probability distribution, ranging from a broad (P = 15 kPa) to a narrow (P = 25 kPa) probability distribution indicating that the statistical variation of median spark energy density increases as initial pressure of the mixture decreases. A change in the equivalence ratio from 0.15 to 0.2 had a small effect on the median spark energy density. The addition of 20% N_2 dilution caused a significant increase in the median spark energy density when compared to no dilution. The extrapolation of the present results to atmospheric pressure, stoichiometric H_2-N_(2)O indicates that the electrostatic discharge ignition hazards are comparable to or greater than H_2-N_(2)O mixtures.
Low-Noise, Low DC Power Linear FET

A two-tone third-order output intercept point (OIP3) of 45 dBm has been achieved at 10 GHz with a 280-?m GaAs MBE FET using only 248 mW of DC bias giving an OIP3/Pdc ratio of 128. Noise figure at that bias and tuning was 3.23 dB. Minimum noise figure of the same device was 1.43 dB.
Influence of immune complexes on macrophage membrane fluidity: a nanosecond fluorescence anisotropy study

Time-resolved fluorescence anisotropy (TRFA) and steady-state anisotropy measurements and fluorescence intensification microscopic observations were made on RAW264 macrophages labeled with 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH) or 1-[4-(trimethylammonio)phenyl]-6-phenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (TMA-DPH). Microscopic analysis revealed that the fluorescent probe DPH was found in association with plasma membranes and small vesicles. Macrophages treated with immune complexes could not be distinguished from untreated cells, indicating that the same membrane compartments were labeled. The probe TMA-DPH was exclusively localized to the plasma membrane. Steady-state anisotropy measurements indicated that in vitro culture conditions did not significantly affect membrane fluidity. TRFA measurements were conducted to determine the physical properties of macrophage membranes during immune recognition and endocytosis. Data were analyzed by iterative deconvolution to yield phi, the rotational correlation time, and r infinity, the limiting anisotropy. These parameters may be interpreted as the "fluidity" and order parameter of the membrane environment, respectively. Typical values for untreated macrophages were phi = 7.8 ns and r infinity = 0.12. Binding and endocytosis of immune complexes prepared in 4-fold antigen excess increase these values to phi = 22.1 ns and r infinity = 0.15. However, receptor-independent phagocytosis of latex beads decreases these values to phi = 2.2 ns and r infinity = 0.10. Addition of catalase before, but not after, immune complex incubation with cells diminishes the effect upon membrane structure, suggesting that H2O2 participates in fluidity changes. Pretreatment of macrophages with the membrane-impermeable sulfhydryl blocker p-(chloromercuri)benzenesulfonic acid also diminished these effects.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Deoxycytidine kinase is phosphorylated in vitro by protein kinase Cα

Deoxycytidine (dCyd) kinase was effectively phosphorylated by protein kinase C. The reaction was rapid, occurring at 4 degrees C as well as at 37 degrees C and approximately 0.7 mol of phosphate could be incorporated per mol of deoxycytidine kinase. Phosphoserine was the primary amino acid to be phosphorylated. Phosphorylation of deoxycytidine kinase resulted in a 100% increase in the Vmax using dCyd as a substrate (52.16 +/- 1.3 versus 104.47 +/- 11.4 nmol/min/mg protein), and an increase in the apparent Km (2.0 +/- 0.2 microM versus 6.9 +/- 1.2 microM). The inactive antimetabolite, ara-C, is activated within a cell by deoxycytidine kinase phosphorylation of the prodrug. Recent studies have shown that ara-C activates protein kinase C in vivo [1]. Furthermore, ara-C has been shown to be metabolized to ara-CDP-choline via reversal of the cholinephosphotransferase [2] producing diglyceride, a cellular activator of protein kinase C. Thus, in situ, deoxycytidine kinase may be phosphorylated by protein kinase C with the result that self-potentiation of ara-C toxicity may occur via increased activity of deoxycytidine kinase.
On the implications of machine virtualization for DRM and fair use: a case study of a virtual audio device driver

This paper examines the architecture of present day systems and shows that they are not trustworthy enough to support certain DRM features/restrictions, even when the DRM delivery system exclusively utilizes signed and protected operating system components. This weakness was discovered while creating a technique for remote transfer of audio streams generated by a Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM), to achieve network transparency for audio devices. The technique is based on the implementation of hosted I/O VMMs that intercept device I/O instructions executed by a "guest" O/S and emulate them through system calls processed by device drivers of a "host" O/S. The design consists of a virtual audio device driver that forwards sound streams to a user-level network server. Because (1) the virtual device intercepts audio data in an unprotected format (WAV), regardless of which application and file format are in use by the guest O/S, (2) modern virtual machine-based systems already achieve performance levels that allow for real-time audio playback, the playback only model of service/restriction imposed by some content delivery businesses is rendered ineffective by this technique. It enables Fair Use of DRM enabled media by allowing the user to make a copy of legally purchased audio media and time-shifting of Internet Radio stations. Experiments have shown that audibly perfect copies of media played by a VM "guest" can be made in PCM/WAV format, even though DRM-enabling features are present in the "guest" O/S drivers and media players. This paper also draws attention to the fact that the VM should be considered while designing the security and DRM capabilities in future general-purpose systems since a device driver in between the VMM and the host O/S has the potential of being an eavesdropper and a malicious end user.
Lipocalin 2 Diminishes Invasiveness and Metastasis of Ras-transformed Cells

Lipocalin 2, an iron-siderophore-binding protein, converts embryonic kidney mesenchyme to epithelia. We found that lipocalin 2 could also convert 4T1-Ras-transformed mesenchymal tumor cells to an epithelial phenotype, increase E-cadherin expression, and suppress cell invasiveness in vitro and tumor growth and lung metastases in vivo. The Ras-MAPK pathway mediated the epithelial to mesenchymal transition in part by increasing E-cadherin phosphorylation and degradation. Lipocalin 2 antagonized these effects at a point upstream of Raf activation. Lipocalin 2 action was enhanced by iron-siderophore. These data characterize lipocalin 2 as an epithelial inducer in Ras malignancy and a suppressor of metastasis.
Physical limits on electronic nonlinear molecular susceptibilities

We apply sum rules to answer the question: What is the largest off-resonance electronic nonlinear susceptibility allowed by quantum mechanics? The sum-rule-restricted three-level model shows that the two-level limit yields the absolute maximum susceptibility, which is found to depend only on the first excited state transition energy and number of electrons---in agreement with a large set of second- and third-order susceptibility data from the literature. As such, the sum rules provide a target for the maximum possible off-resonant susceptibilities.
The influence of surface-active contamination on the initiation of wind waves

A small-scale apparatus was used to examine the effects of surface materials on the initiation of waves on water by the action of wind. Rigorous procedures were followed to ensure freedom from contamination of the initial water surface, and the effect of various forms of subsequent contamination were investigated, using a sensitive moire fringe wave slope observation technique. Provision was made in the design of the water container for insoluble films to circulate, avoiding the downwind buildup of contamination.In measurements on pure water surfaces, no evidence of a ‘critical wind velocity’ was found, although slightly contaminated water was found to be appreciably less responsive to the wind excitation at wind speeds up to 4 m s−l. Measurements on monolayer-covered surfaces showed that, at these wind speeds, a compressed monolayer of relatively high surface tension and low dilational elasticity can have a greater stilling effect than one of low surface tension and high dilational elasticity. Measurements on a series of solutions of surface-active material, covering a range of surface tensions from 63 to 26 mN m−l at a concentration expected to reduce dilational elasticity by bulk-to-surface diffusion, indicated that the damping effect becomes steadily greater as the surface tension decreases.
On Behavioral Depression in White-tailed Deer

Behavioral depression is a decline in prey availability because of enhanced alert response, movement away from areas, increased social behavior, and other responses to predators. This form of resource depression is an alternative hypothesis to be contrasted to over-exploitation that potentially explains a decrease in hunting efficiency over time should the zooarchaeologist observe a decline in the relative abundance of remains of high-rank prey. Gregarious ungulates, such as many North American cervids, may exhibit such behavioral responses under predation. The white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), one of the most common high-rank prey animals from Holocene archaeological sites in eastern North America, is less gregarious, more r-selected, and exhibits greater home-range fidelity than other cervids. As a result, whitetails are less likely to exhibit behavioral depression than other North American ungulates, which may explain their common occurrence in Holocene archaeological faunas, such as that from the Eagle’s Ridge site in southeast Texas where resource depression appears to have occurred from 4,500 to 1,500 years ago. The behavioral ecology of ungulate species should be considered on a case-by-case basis to develop testable hypotheses about prehistoric human predation.
Escherichia coli adapts to tetracycline resistance plasmid (pBR322) by mutating endogenous potassium transport: in silico hypothesis testing

Antibiotic resistance exerts a metabolic cost on bacteria and presumably a fitness disadvantage in the absence of antibiotics. However, several studies have shown that bacteria can evolve to eliminate this cost. Escherichia coli can adapt to the plasmid pBR322 carrying the tetA tetracycline-resistance gene (codes for the TetA efflux pump) by a chromosome mutation, which requires an intact tetA gene on the plasmid. The TetA pump can mediate potassium uptake. Here, the hypothesis that TetA replaces the endogenous K+ uptake system Trk is explored using a multi-level modeling approach that explicitly resolves relevant intracellular processes (e.g., metabolism and K+ uptake) and simulates individual bacteria in competition. The general behavior of the model is consistent with observations from the literature (e.g., growth rate and K+ limitation). In competition experiments without tetracycline, the model correctly predicts the fitness advantage of naive susceptible over naive resistant, evolved resistant over naive resistant and evolved resistant over evolved susceptible strains. Trk takes up about 10 times the K+ required, which costs energy. TetA takes up less K+, which is more efficient and leads to the evolution of the Trk mutant. The evolved Trk mutant relies on TetA to take up K+, and thus, carrying the plasmid is advantageous even in the absence of the antibiotic.
Optimal Exchange Intervention in an Inflation Targeting Regime: Some Cautionary Tales

Devaluations and fiscal retrenchments coming from developed countries are buffeting less developed countries. Many emerging market countries have adopted inflation targeting as “best practice,” but now they are being advised to enhance their inflation targeting regimes with foreign exchange intervention. Here we use a DSGE model to tell some cautionary tales about this advice. A Taylor rule guides interest rate setting, while foreign exchange interventions are used as a second tool of monetary policy. These interventions are effective in our model since domestic and key currency bonds are imperfect substitutes. We derive optimal (Ramsey) intervention policies in response to foreign devaluations and fiscal retrenchments, and find that they are rather complex. So, we compare the optimal responses to policies that simply smooth real or nominal exchange rate movements. Our results suggest that discretion may be the better part of valor: pure inflation targeting may come closer to the optimal policy than exchange rate smoothing. A secondary result may also be of some interest: foreign exchange interventions have a stronger impact on inflation and output in an inflation targeting regime than do sterilized interventions; the Taylor rule augments the effects of a given intervention.
Effective albedo of vegetated terrain at L-band

This paper derives an explicit expression for an effective albedo of vegetated terrain from the zero- and multiple-order radiative transfer model comparison. The formulation establishes a direct physical link between the effective vegetation parameterization and the theoretical description of absorption and scattering within the canopy. The paper presents an evaluation of the derived albedo for corn canopies with data taken during an experiment at Alabama A&M Winfield A. Thomas Agricultural Research Station near Huntsville, Alabama in June, 1998. The fields were observed with a truck-mounted L-band radiometer at horizontal polarization and incident angle of 15° for the period of two weeks. Ground truth data, including careful characterization of the corn size and orientation statistics, were also collected and used to simulate the effective albedo of the vegetation. It is shown that the effective albedo differs from the single-scattering albedo by definition. While the single-scattering albedo represents single-scattering properties of vegetation elements only, the effective albedo takes into account of all the processes taking place within the canopy, including multiple-scattering. The simulation results are in good agreement with the data and show that the effective albedo values increase monotonically as soil moisture increases.
Possible two-phononβγ-vibration in 156Dy☆

Abstract The level structure of 156 Dy has been investigated with the (p, t) reaction at E p = 29.9 MeV. A strong (7.7% of ground-state strength) transition is observed to a state at 1520 keV, assigned J π = 2 + . It is suggested that this state is the two-phonon βγ-vibration predicted by the theory of Davydov. Possible connections to the “super-band” in 156 Dy are discussed.
Enhancement of neurite outgrowth following calpain inhibition is mediated by protein kinase C.

: We examined the interdependence of calpain and protein kinase C (PKC) activities on neurite outgrowth in SH-SY-5Y human neuroblastoma cells. SH-SY-5Y cells elaborated neurites when deprived of serum or after a specific thrombin inhibitor, hirudin, was added to serum-containing medium. The extent of neurite outgrowth under these conditions was enhanced by treatment of cells with the cell-permeant cysteine protease inhibitors N-acetyl-leucyl-leucyl-norleucinal (“C1”) and calpeptin or by the phospholipid-mediated intracellular delivery of either a recombinant peptide corresponding to a conserved inhibitory sequence of human calpastatin or a neutralizing anti-calpain antisera. Calpain inhibition in intact cells was confirmed by immunoblot analysis showing inhibition of calpain autolysis and reduced proteolysis of the known calpain substrates fodrin and microtubule-associated protein 1. The above inhibitory peptides and antiserum did not induce neurites in medium containing serum but lacking hirudin, suggesting that increased surface protein adhesiveness is a prerequisite for enhancement of neurite outgrowth by calpain inhibition. Treatment of cells with the PKC inhibitor H7, staurosporine, or sphingosine induced neurite outgrowth independently of serum concentration. Because calpain is thought to regulate PKC activity, we examined this potential interrelationship during neurite outgrowth. Simultaneous treatment with calpain and PKC inhibitors did not produce additive or synergistic effects on neurite outgrowth. PKC activation by 2-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) prevented and reversed both neurite initiation by serum deprivation and its enhancement by calpain inhibitors. Treatment of cells with the calpain inhibitor C1 retarded PKC down-regulation following TPA treatment. Cell-free analyses demonstrated the relative specificity of various protease and kinase inhibitors for calpain and PKC and confirmed the ability of millimolar calcium-requiring calpain to cleave the SH-SY-5Y PKC regulatory subunit from the catalytic subunit, yielding a free catalytic subunit (protein kinase M). These findings suggest that the influence of PKC on neurite outgrowth is downstream from that of surface adhesiveness and calpain activity.
Analytic Review: Blunt Chest Trauma: The Intensivist's Perspective

An overview of blunt chest injuries of particular interest to the intensivist is presented. These include injuries of the thoracic cage, pulmonary parenchyma, tracheobronchial tree, thoracic aorta, and heart. The discussion focuses on pathophysiological factors, diagnosis, and treatment.
Highly efficient synchronous amplification of a picosecond dye laser at a kHz repetition rate

A short pulse, high energy, high repetition rate dye amplifier with superior conversion efficiency is reported. The dye amplifier is composed of three single-pass dye cells, longitudinally pumped by a frequency doubled 1 kHz Nd: YLF regenerative amplifier. The dye amplifier yields 3.5 ps, 150 μJ pulses at 595 nm, corresponding to a 12% conversion efficiency. The ASE is 1% or less, and the transverse mode quality is near-Gaussian.