cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Heat denaturation of human high density lipoproteins and chylomicrons.

Abstract 1. 1. The objective of this investigation was to determine whether structural differences between apolipoproteins could be detected by heat denaturation. 2. 2. The apoproteins of human serum high density lipoprotein ( HDL 2, d = 1.070−1.125 and HDL 3 , d = 1.125−1.21 g/ml ) , their major polypeptide constituents (R-Thr and R-Gln), and apochylomicrons were investigated. 3. 3. Heat denaturation was found to be reversible in the temperature range from 20 to 80°. 4. 4. The thermodynamic parameters of heat denaturation ΔF, ΔH, ΔS and ΔC p were calculated on the basis of a single transition from the “native” to “denatured” state for apo-HDL2, apochylomicrons, R-Thr and R-Gln; for apo-HDL3 these parameters were calculated on the basis of two transitions. 5. 5. The thermodynamic parameters, with the exception of ΔF , which describe heat denaturation of high density apolipoprotein, of high density apolipoprotein polypeptides and of apochylomicrons were found to be similar on a molar basis and to have approximately the same values as the thermodynamic parameters which describe heat denaturation of non-lipid binding proteins; on a weight basis differences were apparent between the apolipoproteins and the polypeptides or non-lipid binding proteins.
Homophobia and Perceptions of People With AIDS

The present research specifically assessed the roles of homophobia, gender, means of AIDS transmission, and sexual orientation on attitudes toward people with AIDS. Two hundred participants were asked to read 1 of 8 fictional newspaper articles, each of which described a person with AIDS (PWA). PWA descriptions varied in terms of gender, sexual orientation, and mode of AIDS transmission. Attitudes were measured with a multidimensional experimental questionnaire which assessed disrespect and blame toward PWAs. Results found that homophobic attitudes are related to negative perceptions of PWAs. Additionally, findings supported the proposition that generally, more negative attitudes toward PWAs are associated with sexual, as opposed to medical transmission. Men were significantly more disrespectful and blaming than were women.
Ultrashort Echo Time (UTE) Imaging with Bi-Component Analysis: Bound and Free Water Evaluation of Bovine Cortical Bone Subject to Sequential Drying

Abstract Recent proton magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy studies have shown that cortical bone exists as different components which have distinct transverse relaxation times (T2s). However, cortical bone shows zero or near zero signal with all conventional MR sequences on clinical scanners and the different water components cannot be assessed with this approach. In order to detect signal in this situation a two-dimensional (2D) non-slice selective ultrashort echo time (UTE) pulse sequence with a nominal TE of 8 μs was used together with bi-component analysis to quantify bound and free water in bovine cortical bone at 3T. Total water concentration was quantified using a 3D UTE sequence together with a reference water phantom. 2D and 3D UTE imaging were performed on 14 bovine bone samples which were subjected to sequential air drying to evaluate free water loss, followed by oven drying to evaluate bound water loss. Sequential bone weight loss was measured concurrently using a precision balance. Bone porosity was measured with micro computed tomography (μCT) imaging. UTE measured free water loss was higher than the volume of cortical pores measured with μCT, but lower than the gravimetric bone water loss measured during air drying. UTE assessed bound water loss was about 82% of gravimetric bone water loss during oven drying. On average bovine cortical bone showed about 13% free water and 87% bound water. There was a high correlation (R = 0.91; P
An Elmo–Dock complex locally controls Rho GTPases and actin remodeling during cadherin-mediated adhesion

Cell–cell contact formation is a dynamic process requiring the coordination of cadherin-based cell–cell adhesion and integrin-based cell migration. A genome-wide RNA interference screen for proteins required specifically for cadherin-dependent cell–cell adhesion identified an Elmo–Dock complex. This was unexpected as Elmo–Dock complexes act downstream of integrin signaling as Rac guanine-nucleotide exchange factors. In this paper, we show that Elmo2 recruits Dock1 to initial cell–cell contacts in Madin–Darby canine kidney cells. At cell–cell contacts, both Elmo2 and Dock1 are essential for the rapid recruitment and spreading of E-cadherin, actin reorganization, localized Rac and Rho GTPase activities, and the development of strong cell–cell adhesion. Upon completion of cell–cell adhesion, Elmo2 and Dock1 no longer localize to cell–cell contacts and are not required subsequently for the maintenance of cell–cell adhesion. These studies show that Elmo–Dock complexes are involved in both integrin- and cadherin-based adhesions, which may help to coordinate the transition of cells from migration to strong cell–cell adhesion.
Time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy of solvatochromic 2,3-diarylindenes

The fluorescence decay kinetics of the Stokes-shifted emission bands in two strongly solvatochromic diarylindenes, 2-(3-nitrophenyl)-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-6-methoxyindene (1) and 2-(4-nitrophenyl)-3-(4-methoxyphenyl)-6-methoxyindene (2) have been investigated through time-correlated photon counting in several solvents with varying polarity. Neither of the indenes exhibits single-exponential decay. The l/e emission lifetimes of indene 2 (which exhibits smaller fluorescence Stokes shifts than indene 1) are typically {approximately}3 ns and vary little with solvent polarity. The corresponding lifetimes for indene 1 (which displays exceptionally large emission Stokes shifts of 11,000-16,000 cm{sup {minus}1}) are strongly solvent-dependent, varying from several nanoseconds in nonpolar solvents to several hundred picoseconds in polar solvents. The lifetime trend in indene 1 is consistent with S{sub 1}-S{sub 0} nonradiative decay in a twisted intramolecular charge-transfer (TICT) state across an energy gap whose width is controlled by the solvent polarity.
EEG activity during cognitive processing: influence of attentional factors.

Abstract The research draws upon two separate areas of inquiry: (1) that of lateralized electrocorical processing of cognitive material; and (2) that of psychophysiological information processing studies related to foci of attentional demands. Eighteen subjects on each of three separate days were presented with tasks considered to be ‘right hemispheric’ or ‘left hemispheric’. These tasks were paired in a 2 x 2 design with an attentional factor requiring attention to the environment or to internal processing. All subjects received all types of tasks. Bilateral EEG measures were taken from the frontal and parietal areas referenced to linked ears. Major frequency bands were determined by a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) and appropriate ANOVAs performed. The results suggest that task factors (left vs right hemisphere tasks) and attentional demands (internal vs external) are differentially represented in terms of EEG functioning. In general the higher beta frequencies were more sensitive to the hemispheric tasks demands and the middle frequencies (alpha and low beta) more sensitive to the attentional demands especially in the parietal areas.
Manipulation of living cells by atomic force microscopy

Currently there is a great interest in using atomic force microscopy (AFM) to study living cells under biophysiological conditions. It has been shown that problems invoked by the deformation and destruction of soft biological materials can be solved by using tapping mode AFM. Besides the capability of AFM to characterize the membrane surface of living cells, it can be employed to modify surfaces and manipulate nano sized structures. By feeding force information measured from AFM to a haptic joystick, an augmented reality is developed. Under the assistance of the augmented virtual reality, the operator can monitor the tip position and feel the three dimensional forces which are proportional to the actual forces acting on the cantilever during nanomanipulation. The experimental study shows the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.
Removing architectural bottlenecks to the scalability of speculative parallelization

Speculative thread-level parallelization is a promising way to speed up codes that compilers fail to parallelize. While several speculative parallelization schemes have been proposed for different machine sizes and types of codes, the results so far show that it is hard to deliver scalable speedups. Often, the problem is not true dependence violations, but sub-optimal architectural design. Consequently, we attempt to identify and eliminate major architectural bottlenecks that limit the scalability of speculative parallelization. The solutions that we propose are: low-complexity commit in constant time to eliminate the task commit bottleneck, a memory-based overflow area to eliminate stall due to speculative buffer overflow, and exploiting high-level access patterns to minimize speculation-induced traffic. To show that the resulting system is truly scalable, we perform simulations with up to 128 processors. With our optimizations, the speedups for 128 and 64 processors reach 63 and 48, respectively. The average speedup for 64 processors is 32, nearly four times higher than without our optimizations.
Intermodulation-distortion performance of silicon-carbide Schottky-barrier RF mixer diodes

This paper presents the fabrication and characterization of silicon carbide (SiC) Schottky-barrier mixer diodes of 25- and 50-/spl mu/m diameter on a conducting 4H-SiC wafer. The single-balanced mixer circuits with a diode in each arm (two diodes total) were tested at 200 MHz (VHF) and 1.5 GHz [global positioning system (GPS)]. The experiments show that the conversion loss/input third-order intercept point (IP3) are 8.0 dB/+25 dBm and 7.5 dB/+22 dBm at these frequencies, respectively. The measured second-order intercept point (IP2) over the VHF frequency band is +38 dBm. The above conversion-loss values are about the same as that of commercially available single-balanced mixers with silicon Schottky-barrier diodes. However, to achieve a comparable input IP3 performance with Si Schottky-barrier diodes, a more complex mixer design involving double-balanced mixers with two diodes in each arm of a quad (eight diodes total) is required. Applications include RF-based navigational instruments on board commercial/general aviation aircraft and GPSs.
Smart Interpolation of Annually Averaged Air Temperature in the United States

Abstract Two “smart” interpolation procedures are presented and assessed with respect to their ability to estimate annual-average air temperatures at unsampled points in space from available station averages. Smart approaches examined here improve upon commonly used procedures in that they incorporate spatially high-resolution digital elevation information, an average environmental lapse rate, and/or another higher-resolution longer-term average temperature field. Two other straightforward or commonly used interpolation methods also are presented and evaluated as benchmarks to which the smart interpolators can be compared. Interpolation from a spatially high-resolution, long-term-average air temperature climatology serves as a first approximation, while “traditional” interpolation (from a single realization of annual average air temperature on a single station network) is the other benchmark. Traditional interpolation continues to be the most commonly used interpolation approach within many of the atmosph...
On the validity of the transversality condition for different concepts of tangent cone to a set

In the nonsmooth versions of the Pontryagin Maximum Principle, the transversality condition involves a normal cone to the terminal set. General versions of the principle for highly non-smooth systems have been proved by separation methods for cases that include, for example, a reference vector field which is classically differentiable along the reference trajectory but not Lipschitz. In these versions, the notion of normal cone used is that of the polar of a Boltyanskii approximating cone. Using a recent result of A. Bressan, we prove that these versions can fail to be true if the Clarke normal cone (and, a fortiori, any smaller normal cone, such as the Mordukhovich cone) is used instead. The key fact is A. Bressan's recent example of two closed sets that intersect at a point p and are such that (a) one of the sets has a Boltyanskii approximating cone C1 at p, (b) the other set has a Clarke tangent cone C2 at p, and (c) the cones C1 and C2 are strongly transversal, but (d) the sets only intersect at p.
Zinc coordination sphere in biochemical zinc sites

Zinc is known to be indispensable to growth and development and transmission of the genetic message. It does this through a remarkable mosaic of zinc binding motifs that orchestrate all aspects of metabolism. There are now nearly 200 three dimensional structures for zinc proteins, representing all six classes of enzymes and covering a wide range of phyla and species. These structures provide standards of reference for the identity and nature of zinc ligands in other proteins for which only the primary structure is known. Three primary types of zinc sites are apparent from examination of these structures: structural, catalytic and cocatalytic. The most common amino acids that supply ligands to these sites are His, Glu, Asp and Cys. In catalytic sites zinc generally forms complexes with water and any three nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur donors with His being the predominant amino acid chosen. Water is always a ligand to such sites. Structural zinc sites have four protein ligands and no bound water molecule. Cys is the preferred ligand in such sites. Cocatalytic sites contain two or three metals in close proximity with two of the metals bridged by a side chain moiety of a single amino acid residue, such as Asp, Glu or His and sometimes a water molecule. Asp and His are the preferred amino acids for these sites. No Cys ligands are found in such sites. The scaffolding of the zinc sites is also important to the function and reactivity of the bound metal. The influence of zinc on quaternary protein structure has led to the identification of a fourth type of zinc binding site, protein interface. In this case zinc sites are formed from ligands supplied from amino acid residues residing in the binding surface of two proteins. The resulting zinc site usually has the coordination properties of a catalytic or structural zinc binding site.
Neonatal hypoglycemia resulting in occipital cerebral injury

A 3-day-old girl with transient hypoglycemia, born to a 27year-old mother with gestational diabetes, presented with seizures within 24 hours of birth. MRI of the brain revealed near symmetric areas of restricted diffusion involving bilateral occipital lobes and the splenium of corpus callosum, with bright signal on diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) (Fig. 1) and signal loss on apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) maps (Fig. 2). These imaging findings were most consistent with hypoglycemic brain injury. Radiological findings of neonatal hypoglycemia vary considerably depending on the degree and duration of hypoglycemia. The occipital lobes are most severely
Congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries: surgical options for biventricular repair

Abstract Corrected transposition of the great arteries refers to that anomaly in which there exists a discordant connection between the atria and ventricles as well as between the ventricles and great arteries. Repair of associated cardiovascular conditions in patients with corrected transposition of the great arteries continues to have a significant morbidity and mortality in comparison with patients with atrioventricular and ventriculoarterial concordance. Ventricular septal defect and pulmonary stenosis are the most common associated cardiac conditions requiring repair. Systemic ventricular dysfunction, atrioventricular valve regurgitation, and surgically-induced complete heart block all result in reduced early and late survival. The disappointing results seen with the traditional techniques of repair in this uncommon form of congenital heart disease have stimulated interest in more anatomic forms of surgical correction in which the morphologic left ventricle supports the systemic circulation. The following report reviews the techniques of traditional as well as more innovative newer methods used in the correction of associated conditions in patients with corrected transposition of the great arteries.
Infrared Evidence of Differential Surface Processes on the Moon

The following summarizes certain previously unpublished inferences regarding the lunar surface that were included in a more extensive oral presentation.
Left ventricular hypertrophy and antiarrhythmic drugs in atrial fibrillation: impact on mortality.

Background Despite sparse clinical data, current atrial fibrillation (AF) guidelines favor amiodarone as a drug of choice for patients with left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). Objective This study tested the hypothesis that patients with persistent AF and LVH on nonamiodarone antiarrhythmics have higher mortality compared to patients on amiodarone. Methods In an observational cohort analysis of patients who underwent cardioversion for AF, patients with LVH, defined as left ventricular wall thickness ≥1.4 cm, by echocardiogram prior to their first cardioversion, were included; clinical data, including antiarrhythmic drugs and ejection fraction (LVEF), were collected. Mortality, determined via the Social Security Death Index, was analyzed using Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards models to determine whether antiarrhythmic drugs were associated with higher mortality. Results In 3,926 patients, echocardiographic wall thickness was available in 1,399 (age 66.8 ± 11.8 years, 67% male, LVEF 46 ± 15%, septum 1.3 ± 0.4, posterior wall 1.2 ± 0.2 cm), and 537 (38%) had LVH ≥1.4 cm. Among 537 patients with LVH, mean age was 67.5 ± 11.7 years, 76.4% were males, and mean LVEF was 48.3 ± 13.3%. Amiodarone was associated with lower survival (log rank P = 0.001), including after adjusting for age, LVEF, and coronary artery disease (P = 0.023). In propensity-score matched cohorts with LVH treated with no drugs, nonamiodarone antiarrhythmic drugs (non-AADs), or amiodarone (N = 65 each group), there was early lower survival in patients on amiodarone (P = 0.05). Conclusions Patients with persistent AF and LVH on non-AADs do not have higher mortality compared to patients on amiodarone. Importantly, these findings do not support amiodarone as a superior choice in patients with LVH.
The Nature of Superconductivity

A systematic theory of superconductivity, which explained the nature of this phenomenon, was formulated in 1957 by Bardeen, Cooper, and Schrieffer (BCS theory). The mystery of superconductivity was solved, and the formulation of the theory brought further progress in the field. In this section and the next, we will discuss the basic principles of this theory.
Left Ventricular Response to Mitral Regurgitation: Implications for Management

Mitral regurgitation (MR) burdens the left ventricle with a volume load that leads to a series of left ventricular (LV) compensatory adaptations and adjustments that vary considerably during the prolonged clinical course of MR.1–4 The early compensatory changes observed in acute MR (ie, utilization of the Frank-Starling mechanism) are gradually replaced by a chronic remodeling process with enlargement of the LV chamber. Eventually, these compensatory adaptations fail, LV dysfunction develops, and transition to a decompensated phase of chronic MR occurs (Table). In the present report, the LV response to MR will be described, the evolution from a compensated to a decompensated state will be discussed, and the therapeutic implications of these events will be considered. Published guidelines provide detailed recommendations for the evaluation and treatment of patients with MR, including those with a variety of comorbidities.5,6 The present review is limited to a discussion of the changes in LV size and function that develop as a result of degenerative disease of the mitral valve (recognized clinically as severe mitral valve prolapse with or without partial flail leaflet) or, less commonly, rheumatic mitral valve disease. Our primary goal is to review the rationale for the use of measurements of LV size and function as guides to the management of patients with MR. View this table: Table. LV Structure and Function in the 3 Stages of Chronic MR The clinical impact of MR is determined by the magnitude of the regurgitant leak (ie, the regurgitant volume) and the time course of development of the regurgitation. Patients with the abrupt onset of severe MR generally present with markedly elevated pulmonary venous pressure, whereas those with chronic MR exhibit prominent ventricular enlargement with increased chamber compliance and lower pulmonary venous pressure.2,7 In this section, the determinants of regurgitant flow will be defined and the …
A noninvasive, motility independent, sperm sorting method and technology to identify and retrieve individual viable nonmotile sperm for intracytoplasmic sperm injection

Purpose: For intracytoplasmic sperm injection in the absence of sperm motility it can be virtually impossible to distinguish viable from nonviable sperm. A reliable means to identify viable nonmotile sperm is needed and would likely improve the intracytoplasmic sperm injection success rate. Optoelectronic tweezers are a new technology that uses light induced dielectrophoresis fields to distinguish individual live cells from dead cells. We assessed the ability of optoelectronic tweezers to distinguish viable from nonviable individual nonmotile human sperm.Materials and Methods: Fresh semen specimens from 6 healthy men were suspended in an isotonic sucrose/dextrose solution and incubated with 0.4% trypan blue dye (Sigma-Aldrich®). Within 15 minutes we randomly selected 5 motile and 50 nonmotile sperm, including 25 trypan negative, followed by 25 trypan positive sperm, under 200× magnification for optoelectronic tweezers assay. We recorded the individual sperm response (attraction or repulsion) to the optoel...
Gravitational smoothing as a global optimization strategy.

An optimization scheme for atomic cluster structures, based on exaggerating the importance of the gravitational force, is introduced. Results are presented for calculations on Lennard-Jones clusters of 13, 38, and 55 atoms, and the 13-atom Morse cluster.
Erectile dysfunction and sleep related disorders.

Purpose: There are reported links between erectile dysfunction and sleep disorders. We reviewed the physiology of penile erection during sleep and the possible links between the pathophysiology of erectile dysfunction and the most commonly diagnosed sleep disorders.Materials and Methods: A MEDLINE® search using the identifiers erectile dysfunction, sleep, sleep disorders, sleep apnea, insomnia and narcolepsy was performed to identify the current literature pertaining to erectile dysfunction and sleep disorders. The peer reviewed literature and relevant surveys from 1985 to 2006 were subsequently reviewed.Results: An association between erectile dysfunction and sleep disorders appears to exist in survey studies relying on self-report and in small case series. Hormonal, neural and endothelial mechanisms have been implicated in linking sleep disorders with erectile dysfunction. Treatment of sleep disorders, specifically sleep apnea with continuous positive airway pressure, has been shown to improve patient e...
14-3-3β Is a p90 ribosomal S6 kinase (RSK) isoform 1-binding protein that negatively regulates RSK kinase activity

p90 ribosomal S6 kinase 1 (RSK1) is a serine/threonine kinase that is activated by extracellular signal-related kinases 1/2 and phosphoinositide-dependent protein kinase 1 upon mitogen stimulation. Under basal conditions, RSK1 is located in the cytosol and upon stimulation, RSK1 translocates to the plasma membrane where it is fully activated. The ability of RSK1 to bind the adapter protein 14-3-3beta was investigated because RSK1 contains several putative 14-3-3-binding motifs. We demonstrate that RSK1 specifically and directly binds 14-3-3beta. This interaction was dependent on phosphorylation of serine 154 within the motif RLSKEV of RSK1. Binding of RSK1 to 14-3-3beta was maximal under basal conditions and decreased significantly upon mitogen stimulation. After 5 min of serum stimulation, a portion of 14-3-3beta and RSK1 translocated to the membrane fraction, and immunofluorescence studies demonstrated colocalization of RSK1 and 14-3-3beta at the plasma membrane in vivo. Incubation of recombinant RSK1 with 14-3-3beta decreased RSK1 kinase activity by approximately 50%. Mutation of RSK1 serine 154 increased both basal and serum-stimulated RSK activity. In addition, the epidermal growth factor response of RSK1S154A was enhanced compared with wild type RSK. The amount of RSK1S154A was significantly increased in the membrane fraction under basal conditions. Increased phosphorylation of two sites essential for RSK1 kinase activity (Ser(380) and Ser(363)) in RSK1S154A compared with RSK1 wild type, demonstrated that 14-3-3 interferes with RSK1 phosphorylation. These data suggest that 14-3-3beta binding negatively regulates RSK1 activity to maintain signal specificity and that association/dissociation of the 14-3-3beta-RSK1 complex is likely to be important for mitogen-mediated RSK1 activation.
Academic Learning Teams in Accelerated Adult Programs: Online and On-Campus Students’ Perceptions

This article reports adult students’ (N = 632) perceptions of long-functioning academic learning teams in accelerated online and on-campus business cohort groups in six constructs: attraction to te...
Interactions in Affective Computing: Sharing a Haptic Experience Increases Calmness and Closeness

Our body representation and sense of self is constantly updated starting from the integration of different sensory inputs. Synchronous bodily stimulation has been used to manipulate sense of self, and can be applied to user experience design. This study manipulated multimodal stimulation to test factors potentially affecting mood and interpersonal closeness. The independent variables were: (1) the presence or absence of a haptic device (neck massager) on the participant; (2) the presentation of one of two videos, in which an actor expressed either energy or calmness while wearing the haptic device; and (3) the pre- and post-intervention time factor. The results showed a main effect for time for all dependent variables. A three-way interaction effect was evident for the measures of calmness and interpersonal closeness. The greatest reported increase in interpersonal closeness occurred in the haptic-energy video condition, an effect that was consistent with one of the study’s hypotheses.
Nearfield Performance of River Diffusers

The flowfield induced by a submerged multiport diffuser discharging across part of the width of a river is considered. A mathematical model is formulated for the flow in the nearfield region of a diffuser plume centered in a rectangular channel. The model is used to determine nearfield dilution as a function of effluent and ambient flow parameters. A family of dilution curves is presented for a range of conditions characteristic of prototype river diffusers. A method is given for applying the mathematical model to diffuser-induced flowfields in rivers. The model is also compared with measurements made in the Mississippi River downstream from the Quad Cities Nuclear Power Station diffuser.
Imaging Acute Scrotal Pain in Children

Acute scrotal pain in a child requires prompt clinical evaluation. When the etiology is unclear, ultrasound is the imaging modality of choice for further evaluation. Documenting testicular perfusion is essential, as this largely determines whether or not emergent surgery is needed. While many etiologies of acute scrotal pain are the same in children and adults, knowledge of entities unique to the pediatric population will help make more rapid and certain diagnoses.
THE GENETIC ARCHITECTURE OF PLASTICITY TO DENSITY IN IMPATIENS CAPENSIS.

Plant responses to crowding may be mediated by resource availability and/or by a specific environmental cue, the ratio of red:far red wavelengths (R:FR) perceived by phytochrome. This study examined the contribution of phytochrome-mediated photomorphogenesis to genetic variation in plastic responses to density in the annual plant Impatiens capensis. Inbred lines derived from open and woodland populations were grown under low density high density, and high density with selective removal of FR wavelengths to block phytochrome-mediated perception of neighbor proximity. Genetic variation in plasticity to density and to the R:FR cue was detected for several traits Plants grown at high density displayed increased internode elongation; decreased branch, flower, and node production; increased menstem dormancy; and decreased leaf area and specific leaf weight compared to plants grown at low density. Stem elongation responses to density were suppressed when phytochrome perception was blocked at high density. For these phytochrome-mediated traits, a genotype's plasticity to density was strongly correlated with its response to R:FR. Phytochrome-mediated traits were tightly correlated with one another, regardless of the density environment. However, the responses to density of meristem allocation to branching and leaf traits were less strongly phytochrome-mediated. These traits differed in patterns of plasticity, and their genetic correlations often differed across environments. In particular, genetic trade-offs involving meristem allocation to branching were expressed only at low density. The observed density dependence of phenotypic and genetic correlations implies that indirect selection and the potential for correlated response to selection will depend upon the competitive environment. Thus the differential sensitivity of characters to the R:FR cue can influence the evolution of integrated plastic responses to density.
Cognitive-Behavior Therapy and Sertraline for OCD

The efficacy of cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) alone and medical management with the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor sertraline alone, or CBT and sertraline combined, as initial treatment for children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), was evaluated by a randomized controlled trial conducted at Duke, Penn and Brown Universities.
CO Adsorption-Driven Surface Segregation of Pd on Au/Pd Bimetallic Surfaces: Role of Defects and Effect on CO Oxidation

We use density functional theory (DFT) to study CO-adsorption-induced Pd surface segregation in Au/Pd bimetallic surfaces, dynamics of Pd–Au swapping, effect of defects on the swapping rate, CO-induced Pd clustering, and the reaction mechanism of CO oxidation. The strong CO-philic nature of Pd atoms supplies a driving force for the preferential surface segregation of Pd atoms and Pd cluster formation. Surface vacancies are found to dramatically accelerate the rate of Pd–Au swapping. We find that Pd clusters consisting of at least four Pd atoms prefer to bind O2 rather than CO. These clusters facilitate the rapid dissociation of O2 and supply reactive oxygen species for CO oxidation. Our findings suggest that geometric, electronic, and dynamic effects should be considered in the function of bimetallic alloys or nanoparticles whose components asymmetrically interact with reacting molecules.
CD10 Expression on Granulocytes: A Possible Prognostic Indicator in MDS

Recent studies have shown that 8 of 10 patients in the low-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) category have a significantly shorter life expectancy, mostly due to recurrent infections. Some studies have suggested that infection is the most common cause of death for MDS patients. The exact mechanism of increased susceptibility to infection has not been elucidated. The common acute …
Hydroseismicity – A Viable Trigger Mechanism in the New Madrid Seismic Zone?

A pressure wave, initiated by water loading and propagating downward through subsurface water contained in fractures, has been hypothesized as a mechanism for triggering earthquakes along pre-existing faults at depths up to 15–20 km. Such a triggering wave might evidence itself by a coincident wave of descending seismicity. In the New Madrid region, seismicity has been reported to correlate with river stage, but usually with a lag of one to several months. River stage data from New Madrid and earthquake data from the St. Louis University’s microseismic network were examined for evidence of a time-lag in seismic activity with depth during the interval from Jan. 1, 1978, to May 31, 1987. The earthquake data include only events for which computed depths were available. The earthquakes were sorted by focal depth into two subsets of 3 km and 4 km thick layers, respectively. Earthquake data, represented by both number of events and strain factor [energy release], and river stage data were averaged over monthly intervals. Cross correlations were computed between stage and each layer. In addition, the earthquake sequences for each layer were cross correlated with those of the next layer. No evidence for a seismicity wave was found.
Epidemiology of Mumps in Yantan District,2003-2008

Objective To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of mumps in Yantan district from 2003 to 2008. Methods Descriptive epidemiological analysis was conducted by using the data of mumps in Yantan during this period. Results A total of 454 mumps cases were reported without death,the average annual incidence rate was 21.30/105,the disease occurred all the year around with more cases during April-July (56.61%). The cases of children aged14 years accounted for 94.49%;the children in kindergarten,scattered children and students,accounted for 96.92% of the total cases. Conclusion Mumps mainly occurred in the children in kindergarten,scattered children and students under 14 years old in Yantan district.
The Girl-Child, the Outlaw, and the Land/Woman: Or, How the Imaginary of the Western Permeated a Distant War

Through three separate-yet-connected instances of spectatorial re-appropriation of the Western cinematic iconicity, I explore how the genre framed an understanding of a war that is not only geographically but also historically and politically far away from the Western’s American home culture. The war in question is one that broke the country of Yugoslavia apart at the end of the 20th century (a century that is, incidentally, also known as the century of cinema). From prominent Yugoslav artists re-writing iconic Western imagery to refuse troubling divisions haunting their home country, to my own personal experiences with surviving the war—fused with my childhood love of the Western film genre—I explore how the Western mythology was re-appropriated to symbolize something entirely different from what it might have meant in its home context. While this re-appropriation might potentially erase or reconfigure some of the Western’s domestic complexities, it creates many new ones, offering an opportunity to explo...
On the Liouville Integrability of the Periodic Kostant–Toda Flow on Matrix Loops of Level k

In this work, we consider the periodic Kostant–Toda flow on matrix loops in \({\mathfrak{s}\mathfrak{l}(n,\mathbb{C})}\) of level k, which correspond to periodic infinite band matrices with period n with lower bandwidth equal to k and fixed upper bandwidth equal to 1 with 1’s on the first superdiagonal. We show that the coadjoint orbits through the submanifold of such matrix loops can be identified with those of a finite-dimensional Lie group, which appears in the form of a semi-direct product. We then characterize the generic coadjoint orbits and obtain an explicit global cross-section for such orbits. We also establish the Liouville integrability of the periodic Kostant–Toda flow on such orbits via the construction of action-angle variables.
Lack of the P2X7 receptor protects against AMD-like defects and microparticle accumulation in a chronic oxidative stress-induced mouse model of AMD.

The P2X7 receptor (P2X7R) is an ATP-gated ion channel that is a key player in oxidative stress under pathological conditions. The P2X7R is expressed in the retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE) and neural retina. Chronic oxidative stress contributes to the pathogenesis of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Mice lacking Cu, Zn superoxide dismutase (Sod1) developed chronic oxidative stress as well as AMD-like features, but whether the P2X7R plays a causative role in oxidative stress-induced AMD is unknown. Thus, the main purpose of this study was to test if concurrent knockout (KO) of P2X7R could block AMD-like defects seen in Sod1 KO mice. Using multiple approaches, we demonstrate that Sod1 KO causes AMD-like defects, including positive staining for oxidative stress markers, 3-nitrotyrosine and carboxymethyl lysine, thinning of the RPE and retina, thickening of Bruch's membrane, presence of basal laminar and linear deposits, RPE barrier disruption and accumulation of microglia/macrophages. Moreover, we find that Sod1 KO mice accumulate more microparticles (MPs) within RPE/choroid tissues. Concurrent KO of the P2X7R protects against AMD-like defects and MP accumulation in Sod1 KO mice. Together, we show for the first time, that deficiency of P2X7R prevents in vivo oxidative stress-induced accumulation of MPs and AMD-like defects. This work could potentially lead to novel therapies for AMD and other oxidative stress-driven diseases.
Studying Performance of a Coplanar-Anode High-Pressure Xenon Gamma-Ray Spectrometer

An investigation of high-pressure xenon (HPXe) detector energy resolution is reported in this submission. A coplanar-anode HPXe chamber has been successfully developed, but the energy resolution is not as good as expected. A simulation package is used to investigate the contributions of various physical processes to the measured photopeak broadening. Hardware improvements and the use of position-sensing techniques are proposed to improve the detector performance.
Prototyping a valinomycin biosynthesis pathway within a cell-free transcription-translation (TX-TL) system

Many natural metabolites have antibacterial, antiviral, or anticancer effects and can be developed into new drugs. However, working with the microorganisms that produce these products can be challenging since they are not as well characterized as a model organism like Escherichia coli. In this paper, we investigate the potential for a cell-free transcription-translation (TX-TL) system to provide a rapid prototyping platform for characterizing new genetic pathways. We use the valinomycin biosynthesis pathway as a test case, and we show successful heterologous expression of the heterodimeric valinomycin synthetase (VlmSyn, Vlm1: 374 kDa and Vlm2: 284 kDa) from Streptomyces tsusimaensis within the TX-TL system. Using LC-MS analysis, we find that valinomycin is produced at low but detectable levels, even when only one out of the three basic precursors is fed into the system. Our work represents another step towards applying cell-free biosynthesis to the discovery and characterization of new natural products.
Advances and breakthroughs in radars and phased-arrays

Moore's Law is slowing down but the transistor density is expected to increase by ∼50 in the next 30 years while the power consumed by each transistors will decrease by ∼75. Potential further continuation of Moore's Law via: 1. Spintronics — which could revolutionize computer architecture away from von Neumann model, 2. Memristors — which potentially allows one to do what human brain does in a shoe box instead of a computer the size of a city requiring a nuclear power plant, 3. Graphene with 1 The clock speed, and 4. Quantum Computing. Advances made in meta materials. Iowa Un. demonstrated 6 dB stealthing from 8–10 GHz using thin, stretchable meta material skin that can be conformal on target. The Army Research Laboratory in Adelphi MD has developed a low profile λ/20 thick meta material 250–505 MHZ antenna. Kymeta demonstrated December 2013 transmission to satellites and back using laptop size 20 and 30 GHz antennas which use meta material resonators to effect the phase shifting. For the first time a clear explanation of how this antenna works given. PATRIOT has GaN active electronically scanned arrays (AESAs) which gives 360° coverage without mechanical rotation. AMDR handles >30 times more targets and has >30 times sensitivity of SPY-1D(V). Can now put a 32 element 60 GHz T/R array on a chip. All the RF circuitry for mm-wave radars is put on a chip. Such radars and phased arrays could cost just a few dollars. Major advances in printed flexible electronic circuits with diodes operating at 1.6 GHz and the potential for operation at 2.4GHz, the Wi-Fi band. A low profile dual polarized tightly coupled dipole antenna (TCDA) has been developed which provides a 20:1 bandwidth and has λ /40 thickness. The latest type of phased array is the MIMO radar phased array which has been shown to provide orders of magnitude better accuracy and resolution as well as better GMTI performance than conventional arrays. However, as summarized here, more recently this author has shown that conventional arrays can do just as well if properly used without suffering MIMO's signal processing load and waveform design problems.
The austere life.

Since the 2008 financial crisis, austerity has been deployed as a public policy geared towards reducing sovereign debt and restoring economic order, on the one hand, and descried as an example of punitive moralizing by political and economic elites, on the other. This article challenges the economic understanding of the concept of austerity. Some recent examples from popular culture are adduced to indicate societal dissatisfaction with the accumulation of material things, examples of what has been called ‘the new minimalism’. Contextualizing this phenomenon within a culture of intensive consumption, it is argued here that there is a history of austerity as an aversion to ostentation and excess in western tradition that runs from the Stoics through to recent pronouncements by Pope Francis and that provides a vantage point from which to question the economistic deployment of the term. When understood in this way, the austere can be seen to carry an important political meaning today and may contribute to the sorts of transformation necessary in order to reduce material demand on a societal scale. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Material demand reduction’.
Early response index: a statistic to discover potential early stage disease biomarkers

Identifying disease correlated features early before large number of molecules are impacted by disease progression with significant abundance change is very advantageous to biologists for developing early disease diagnosis biomarkers. Disease correlated features have relatively low level of abundance change at early stages. Finding them using existing bioinformatic tools in high throughput data is a challenging task since the technology suffers from limited dynamic range and significant noise. Most existing biomarker discovery algorithms can only detect molecules with high abundance changes, frequently missing early disease diagnostic markers. We present a new statistic called early response index (ERI) to prioritize disease correlated molecules as potential early biomarkers. Instead of classification accuracy, ERI measures the average classification accuracy improvement attainable by a feature when it is united with other counterparts for classification. ERI is more sensitive to abundance changes than other ranking statistics. We have shown that ERI significantly outperforms SAM and Localfdr in detecting early responding molecules in a proteomics study of a mouse model of multiple sclerosis. Importantly, ERI was able to detect many disease relevant proteins before those algorithms detect them at a later time point. ERI method is more sensitive for significant feature detection during early stage of disease development. It potentially has a higher specificity for biomarker discovery, and can be used to identify critical time frame for disease intervention.
Bundesstaatliche Finanzbeziehungen und Haushaltspolitik der Länder

Die Fragen der bundesstaatlichen/foderalen Entwicklung, die Diskussionen uber Modernisierung und Reformierung der bundesstaatlichen Ordnung von der Aufgaben- und Kompetenzverteilung uber den Abbau uberzogener Verflechtungen und burokratischer Verkrustungen, der Neuordnung der Finanzordnung und Haushaltspolitik bis zur Anpassung an die europaischen, internationalen und globalwirtschaftlichen Entwicklungen sind in den letzten Jahren sehr intensiv behandelt worden. Dabei wird einerseits dem deutschen Foderalismus durchaus eine relativ hohe Anpassungsfahigkeit in den letzten 50 Jahren, besonders auch nach der Wiedervereinigung und im Hinblick auf die EU-Vertrage, bescheinigt. Auch hat er durch die Aufteilung der Macht auf Bund und Lander bewirkt, dass die Bundesrepublik vor zentralistischem Ubermut verschont blieb. Gleichwohl wird andererseits uberwiegend der deutsche Bundesstaat als relativ immobil, wettbewerbsfeindlich, in seiner Ausrichtung auf die traditionellen „Besitzstande“ und damit auf den Status Quo als nicht wirklich „zukunftsfahig“, als auch im internationalen Vergleich nicht ausreichend handlungsfahig und folglich dringend reformbedurftig beurteilt. Als Defizite bzw. Verwerfungen der bundesstaatlichen Ordnung gelten insbesondere: Die bereits genannten Verflechtungs-, Beteiligungs- und Konsensprozesse („kleinster gemeinsamer Nenner“; Handlungs- und Entscheidungsschwache; „Konsens-Fetischismus“), Verkrustungs-, Zentralisierungs- und Burokratisierungstendenzen, Auseinanderklaffen von Aufgaben- und Finanzverantwortung, kooperativer Foderalismus als latente Leistungs- und Innovationsbremse, zu geringe Transparenz, zu wenig Wettbewerbsorientierung und Europatauglichkeit sowie besonders aus fiskalfoderalistischer Sicht teilweise wenig sachgemase Ressourcenstrome und Finanzausgleichssysteme einschlieslich viel zu hoher Verschuldung und mangelnder Intergenerationengerechtigkeit.
Rewilding the world's large carnivores

Earth9s terrestrial large carnivores form a highly endangered group of species with unique conservation challenges. The majority of these species have experienced major geographical range contractions, which puts many of them at high risk of extinction or of becoming ecologically ineffective. As a result of these range contractions and the associated loss of intact predator guilds, the ecological effects of these species are now far less widespread and common, with inevitable consequences for ecosystem function. Rewilding—which includes reintroducing species into portions of their former ranges—is an important carnivore conservation tool and means for restoring top-down ecological regulation. We conducted a global analysis of potential reintroduction areas. We first considered protected areas where one or more large carnivore species have been extirpated, identifying a total of 130 protected areas that may be most suitable for carnivore reintroduction. These protected areas include sites in every major world region, and are most commonly found in Mongolia ( n = 13), Canada ( n = 11), Thailand ( n = 9), Namibia ( n = 6), Indonesia ( n = 6) and Australia ( n = 6). We considered the sizes of protected areas, their levels of protection, the extent of human impacts within and around the protected areas, and the status of prey species in the protected areas. Finally, we used the ‘last of the wild’ approach to identify contiguous low human footprint regions within the former ranges of each species, identifying an additional 150 areas which could be the focus of conservation efforts to create conditions conducive to reintroductions. These low footprint regions were most commonly found in the USA ( n = 14), Russia ( n = 14), Canada ( n = 10), China ( n = 9) and Mauritania ( n = 8). Together, our results show the global-scale potential for carnivore rewilding projects to both conserve these species and provide critical ecological and social benefits.