cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Impact of Nonnatural Amino Acid Mutagenesis on the in Vivo Function and Binding Modes of a Transcriptional Activator

Protein−protein interactions play an essential role in cellular function, and methods to discover and characterize them in their native context are of paramount importance for gaining a deeper understanding of biological networks. In this study, an enhanced nonsense suppression system was utilized to incorporate the nonnatural amino acid p-benzoyl-l-phenylalanine (pBpa) throughout the transcriptional activation domain of the prototypical eukaryotic transcriptional activator Gal4 in vivo (S. cerevisiae). Functional studies of the pBpa-containing Gal4 mutants suggest that this essential binding interface of Gal4 is minimally impacted by these substitutions, with both transcriptional activity and sensitivity to growth conditions maintained. Further supporting this are in vivo cross-linking studies, including the detection of a key binding partner of Gal4, the inhibitor protein Gal80. Cross-linking with a range of pBpa-containing mutants revealed a Gal4•Gal80 binding interface that extends beyond that previou...
Phylogenetic Analysis Reveals Rapid Evolutionary Dynamics in the Plant RNA Virus Genus Tobamovirus

Early studies on the evolutionary dynamics of plant RNA viruses suggested that they may evolve more slowly than their animal counterparts, sometimes dramatically so. However, these estimates were often based on an assumption of virus–host codivergence over time-scales of many millions of years that is difficult to verify. An important example are viruses of the genus Tobamovirus, where the assumption of host–virus codivergence over 100 million years has led to rate estimates in the range of ~1 × 10−8 nucleotide substitutions per site, per year. Such a low evolutionary rate is in apparent contradiction with the ability of some tobamoviruses to quickly overcome inbred genetic resistance. To resolve how rapidly molecular evolution proceeds in the tobomaviruses, we estimated rates of nucleotide substitution, times to common ancestry, and the extent of congruence between virus and host phylogenies. Using Bayesian coalescent methods applied to time-stamped sequences, we estimated mean evolutionary rates at the nucleotide and amino acid levels of between 1 × 10−5 and 1.3 × 10−3 substitutions per site, per year, and hence similar to those seen in a broad range of animal and plant RNA viruses. Under these rates, a conservative estimate for the time of origin of the sampled tobamoviruses is within the last 100,000 years, and hence a far more recently than proposed assuming codivergence. This is supported by our cophylogeny analysis which revealed significantly discordant evolutionary histories between the tobamoviruses and the plant families they infect.
Static electromagnetic fields as probes of ionic fine structure

Abstract Present high velocity beam experiments aimed primarily at determining fine structure intervals, radiative level shifts, stabilities of metastable states, and other structural properties of various excited atoms and ions are capable of probing details of the atomic collision processes which are used to generate them. Some possibilities for studying the fine structure composition of suddenly excited atomic systems will be considered, using a discussion of preliminary experimentation as a departure point. A method of obtaining initial state populations in a manner which suppresses corrections required for cascade effects will be discussed. The usefulness of static electromagnetic fields as perturbing probes of these systems will be given particular attention.
The Effect of Vitamin Supplements upon Survival of New-Born Calves*

Summary A study of the effect of vitamin supplements upon survival of new-born calves fed a skim milk basal ration from birth has been made. It appears that under these conditions new-born calves require vitamin A in excess of 10,000 I.U. per day when severe diarrhea and ability to survive were used as the criteria for establishing approximate requirements. Twenty-five thousand I.U. of vitamin A per day in the form of fish-liver oil concentrate greatly enhanced the chance of survival of calves fed the skim milk ration. In the presence of adequate vitamin A ingestion the favorable supplementary effect of niacin was found to be negligible. The blood-plasma vitamin A concentration followed previous observations, i.e., on the average the new-born calf has a very low blood plasma vitamin A level and that normal concentrations in the neighborhood of 9–10μg./100ml. or more must be quickly attained (1–2 days) for a favorable chance of survival.
Who's Controlling Whom? Infant Contributions to Maternal Play Behavior

Because the way mothers play with their children may have significant impacts on children’s social, cognitive, and linguistic development, researchers have become interested in potential predictors of maternal play. In the present study, 40 mother– infant dyads were followed from child age 5–20 months. Fivemonth habituation rate and 13 and 20 month temperamental difficulty were found to be predictive of maternal play quality at 20 months. The most parsimonious theoretical model was one in which habituation was mediated by temperamental difficulty in predicting mother play. Consistent with prior speculation in the literature, these data support the possibility that mothers adjust some aspects of their play behaviors to fit their children’s cognitive and temperamental capabilities. Copyright # 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Assets and African Americans: Attempting to Capitalize on Hopes for Children Through College Savings Accounts

Although some racial inequalities have lessened in the half-century since the passage of the first major civil rights legislation, the racial wealth gap remains and in recent years seems to be widening. Households with children are the least likely to be asset secure or have sufficient resources to enable investment in opportunities for mobility. Viewing inequality from this perspective indicates that what households are able to save and invest for the future might have a more lasting impact on the life chances of children than their current income and consumption. Summarizing data from the Saving for Education, Entrepreneurship, and Downpayment (SEED) Initiative, a quasi-experimental study that is part of a national demonstration of Child Development Accounts (CDAs) in the United States, this paper describes how African-American households engage with one important investment opportunity - college savings accounts for their pre-school children. Combining account monitoring, survey, interview and focus group data, we explore the reasons that many households chose not to open accounts or invest their own money. We offer suggestions for making asset development programs viable for low-income African-American families and their children.
Reply on the Comments on &#8220;Initiation of Pulsed Corona Discharge Under Supercritical Conditions&#8221; by C. H. Zhang, J. M. K. MacAlpine, and H. Akiyama

Generation of plasma under supercritical conditions is of fundamental and applied interest. In this paper, the reduced electric fields required for breakdown of gaseous and supercritical carbon dioxide are comparatively analyzed for planar and coaxial cylindrical geometries. The indirect comparison of measured breakdown voltages suggests an essential change in the ionization mechanism both for uniform and nonuniform fields
Effects of tomato spotted wilt virus isolates, host plants, and temperature on survival, size, and development time of Frankliniella occidentalis

Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) replicates in both its plant hosts and its thrips vectors. Replication of TSWV within thrips suggests the potential for pathological effects that could affect the fitness of its vectors directly, whereas infection of the plant may alter its suitability as a host for thrips development. This study was undertaken to examine the influence of TSWV isolate, host plant, and temperature on potential direct and host-mediated effects of virus infection of the thrips and the plant on Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), an important vector of TSWV. Neonate F. occidentalis were reared to adult eclosion on excised foliage of Datura stramonium (L.) (Solanaceae) or Emilia sonchifolia (L.) (Compositae) infected with either the CFL or RG2 isolate of TSWV, or not infected. Effects of the TSWV isolates and host plants on thrips were measured at 18.3, 23.9, and 29.4 °C. Results demonstrate significantly improved survival and a small but significant decrease in development time of F. occidentalis on TSWV-infected plants. These effects resulted from the combined influence of the direct effects of the virus on infected thrips and plant-mediated effects resulting from virus infection of the thrips' host plant. Our results extend previous findings and help to explain inconsistencies among previously published reports by demonstrating that the manifestation and magnitude of effects of TSWV on F. occidentalis are dependent on host plant, virus isolate, and temperature.
Study of biological macromolecules by diffusion-enhanced lanthanide energy transfer

Abstract The transfer of electronic excitation energy from small terbium complexes to chromophores in solution is greatly enhanced by the fact that during its millisecond luminescence lifetime a typical excited terbium complex diffuses extensively (covering a net distance of about 2 × 103 nm). Thus, under ordinary circumstances, an excited terbium complex actually encounters a large number of possible energy acceptors before it decays. (At 10−6 M, the average separation between neighboring acceptors is 65 nm.) This has the effect of averaging the interactions between energy donor and acceptor(s) over all allowed directions and orientations in space, so that the final result reflects the equilibrium properties of the system under study. Energy transfer in this rapid-diffusion limit is sensitive to the electric charge of the donor and acceptor. A set of terbium probes with the same size and approximately spherical shape but different charges (1+, 0, 1−) permits quantitative study of electrostatic effects. These have been calibrated by studies of energy transfer to small, spherical transition metal complexes. They have subsequently been employed in studies of chromophores in proteins, and DNA-binding drugs. Measurements of the effect of DNA on energy transfer between small, freely diffusing ions indicate how cations cluster in regions near DNA, and how anions are repelled from the same regions.
General controls in computer systems

Abstract Because almost all business organizations own or will shortly own computer systems, auditors can no longer treat the computer as a “black box” to be ignored when attesting to the fairness with which financial statements present financial position and results of operations. This paper is primarily written for auditors who are becoming involved in auditing computerized accounting systems. It covers in detail general controls in computer systems, the first and most important category of controls evaluated by an auditor. General controls relate to all EDP activities; they span all jobs processed on the computer system. When they are weak or non-existing, the auditor must expand his testing of the entire computer system, often at considerable additional cost to the client.
Feasibility study for neonatal neuroblastoma screening in the United States

Urine was obtained from infants born at two large metropolitan Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota hospitals to determine whether normal levels of urinary catecholamine metabolites in neonates can be used for subsequent neuroblastoma screening as well as to determine compliance with collecting such urine in a voluntary program. The results suggest that there are wide variations in raw values of urinary creatinine, homovanillic acid, and vanillylmandelic acid through the first 4 days of age, apparently because of maternal creatinine and catecholamine metabolite influences. Such maternal influences appear negligible by 3 weeks of age. Furthermore, the study suggests that voluntary compliance in the United States with collecting urine at home without rigorous public education and/or methods for reminding parents may be very poor.
Assay for cephapirin and ampicillin in raw milk by high-performance liquid chromatography--integrated pulsed amperometric detection.

The FDA has issued guidelines governing the use of antibiotics in cattle and routinely tests for the presence of antibiotics in milk. Unfortunately, these compounds are often difficult to detect by direct methods because they often lack a chromophore or fluorophore. Integrated pulsed amperometric detection (IPAD) following reversed-phase liquid chromatography is well-suited for this analysis because it is selective, sensitive, and direct; i.e., derivatization is not required. This work involves the development of a simple, rapid assay for the determination of β-lactam antibiotic residues in milk using HPLC−IPAD, specifically, ampicillin and cephapirin. Since the analytes studied here are detectable by UV detection, a comparison between IPAD and UV detection will be made. Sample preparation schemes that involve the extraction of antibiotics of interest from the milk matrix and subsequent cleanup are an important aspect of this project. These procedures will be discussed in detail. In addition, analytical f...
Fatty Acid Ethyl Esters: Potentially Toxic Products of Myocardial Ethanol Metabolism

The chronic consumption of alcohol has proven detrimental to heart tissue and can lead to alcohol-induced heart muscle disease, a condition which may result in arrhythmias, cardiomegaly, and congestive heart failure. A search for the molecular mechanism underlying observed alcohol-induced end-organ damage, such as that seen in heart, has lead to the discovery of a nonoxidative pathway for the metabolism of alcohol in several human tissues including heart, brain, pancreas, and liver. It has been revealed that nonesterified fatty acids are esterified with ethanol to produce fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE), neutral molecules which can accumulate in mitochondria and impair cell function. The observation that FAEEs are synthesized at high rates in the heart, and other organs that lack oxidative ethanol metabolism, provides a plausible link between the observed tissue damage, the ingestion of alcohol, and the subsequent development of alcohol-induced heart muscle disease. The synthesis of FAEEs are catalyzed by FAEE synthase enzyme, four of which have been characterized and purified to homogeneity from the human myocardium. Further analysis of these FAEE synthase enzymes opens up a new possibility to characterize and map a gene for alcohol-induced end-organ damage, such as that observed in heart and other organs. FAEEs have been found to be important metabolites of alcohol and are most commonly accumulated in those organs which are damaged by alcohol abuse, i.e. heart. It may now be important to establish a genetic link between alcohol abuse and alcohol-induced heart muscle disease in order to understand the mechanism of alcohol-induced cardiomyopathy.
Excess Ultrasonic Attenuation in As 2 S 3 Glass after Electric Field Removal

Increased ultrasonic attenuation is found in ${\mathrm{As}}_{2}$${\mathrm{S}}_{3}$ glass at 4.2 K after removal of a high electric field. The extra attenuation persists for a few minutes before disappearing, but can be reduced, or practically eliminated, by infrared radiation of moderate intensities. The effect is attributed to atomic relaxation accompanying electronic transitions in gap states where injected carriers have been trapped. The gap states may be valence-alternation pairs.
Church-Rosser theorem for a rewriting system on categorical combinators

Abstract This paper develops the Church-Rosser theorem for the rewriting system CCLβ on type-free categorial combinators introduced by Curien. The system CCLβ is not confluent. However we show that there are various sets D of categorical combinator terms such that each D satisfies the following two conditions: (1) D is closed under reduction by CCLβ; (2) CCLβ is confluent on D . Moreover we examine the relation among these sets.
Psychosexual Pursuit: Enhancing Learning of Theoretical Psychoanalytic Constructs.

In order to facilitate the learning of theoretical principles associated with the psychoanalytic perspective on personality, I devised a board game called Psychosexual Pursuit. The game is especially useful in classrooms with student teams competing against each other to complete their psychosexual development while retaining considerable psychic energy to invest in adult concerns. Rules governing play and special advantages of this learning experience are discussed, and the game board is reproduced.
In-situ DRIFT measurements of OH vibrations in MFI-type zeolites

Abstract IR spectroscopy is one of the most common spectroscopic methods for investigation of OH groups in zeolites and related materials. Zeolites contain a variety of OH groups, most of which have been studied by measuring the OH stretching vibration bands in the 3800-3200 cm−1 region using the transmission technique. DRIFT method has been used for obtaining OH combination tone and overtone bands. IR measurements, using a DRIFT attachment, a heated vacuum cell and a MCT detector, enable the observation of OH fundamental and combination bands in a single spectrum. The aim of this study is to obtain more detailed information on the OH vibration of MFI-type zeolites by studying two model substances, 18O exchanged HZSM-5 and Ge-ZSM-5.
Disinfection By-Product Precursor Adsorption as Function of GAC Properties: Case Study

Four different granular activated carbons (GACs) were tested at the bench scale for the adsorption of disinfection by-product (DBP) precursors and were found to be spent at different rates for the Lincoln (Nebraska) water system. This study examined the value of several physical and chemical tests for ranking the potential of different GACs for DBP precursor removal for one water utility. The surface area in the micro- and mesopore range and tannin adsorption were found to be useful indicators of DBP precursor adsorption potential. GACs with the largest surface in the 5 to 50 A pore-width range were able to treat the largest amount of water before being spent. A high value obtained in the tannin adsorption test was observed for the GACs that treated large water volumes.
Ail Protein Binds Ninth Type III Fibronectin Repeat (9FNIII) within Central 120-kDa Region of Fibronectin to Facilitate Cell Binding by Yersinia pestis

The Yersinia pestis adhesin molecule Ail interacts with the extracellular matrix protein fibronectin (Fn) on host cells to facilitate efficient delivery of cytotoxic Yop proteins, a process essential for plague virulence. A number of bacterial pathogens are known to bind to the N-terminal region of Fn, comprising type I Fn (FNI) repeats. Using proteolytically generated Fn fragments and purified recombinant Fn fragments, we demonstrated that Ail binds the centrally located 120-kDa fragment containing type III Fn (FNIII) repeats. A panel of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that recognize specific epitopes within the 120-kDa fragment demonstrated that mAb binding to 9FNIII blocks Ail-mediated bacterial binding to Fn. Epitopes of three mAbs that blocked Ail binding to Fn were mapped to a similar face of 9FNIII. Antibodies directed against 9FNIII also inhibited Ail-dependent cell binding activity, thus demonstrating the biological relevance of this Ail binding region on Fn. Bacteria expressing Ail on their surface could also bind a minimal fragment of Fn containing repeats 9–10FNIII, and this binding was blocked by a mAb specific for 9FNIII. These data demonstrate that Ail binds to 9FNIII of Fn and presents Fn to host cells to facilitate cell binding and delivery of Yops (cytotoxins of Y. pestis), a novel interaction, distinct from other bacterial Fn-binding proteins.
Nonminimal sets, their projections and integral representations of stable processes

New criteria are provided for determining whether an integral representation of a stable process is minimal. These criteria are based on various nonminimal sets and their projections, and have several advantages over and shed light on already available criteria. In particular, they naturally lead from a nonminimal representation to the one which is minimal. Several known examples are considered to illustrate the main results. The general approach is also adapted to show that the so-called mixed moving averages have a minimal integral representation of the mixed moving average type.
Spatial and temporal abundance patterns of oceanic chaetognaths in the western North Atlantic—II. Vertical distributions and migrations

Abstract Vertically stratified zooplankton tows were collected with the MOCNESS in the upper 1000 m of the western North Atlantic during the period from August 1975 to November 1977. Vertical distributions of 18 abundant chaetognath species were studied from 18 slope water (SW), 18 northern Sargasso Sea (NSS) and two Gulf Stream (GS) tows. Krohnitta pacifica, Pterosagitta draco, Sagitta bipunctata, S. enflata, S. helenae, S. hexaptera, S. minima, S. serratodentata and S. tasmanica were classified as epipelagic species, Eukrohnia hamata, Krohnitta subtilis, Sagitta decipiens, S. lyra, S. maxima and S. planctonis were classified as mesopelagic species, and Eukrohnia bathypelagica, E. fowleri and Sagitta macrocephala were classified as bathypelagic species. Nine species were significantly shallower in the SW relative to the NSS, while K. subtilis and S. lyra were significantly shallower in the NSS. Few seasonal differences were detected in either the SW or NSS for any of these species, and vertical distributions in the two GS tows are similar to those found in the SW and NSS. No diel vertical migrations were detected for any of these species, but ontogenetic vertical migrations were detected for several of the meso- and bathypelagic chaetognaths. That many species occur at shallower depths in the SW is consistent with the hypothesis that they follow isotherms in selecting the depths at which they live. E. hamata is the only species living at approximately the same temperature in the SW and NSS, however; the remaining species live at higher temperatures in the NSS. Other factors, such as pressure and light, may be important in determining the species' vertical distributions. S. lyra occupies greater depths in the SW relative to the NSS because its SW population consists mostly of larger, deep-living individuals, while its NSS population is dominated by younger, shallow-living individuals. It is possible that many of the regional differences in vertical distribution exhibited by the other species are due also to regional differences in population stage structure coupled with ontogenetic migrations.
Slide tracheoplasty for long-segment congenital tracheal stenosis

Abstract Resection and reconstruction of long congenital tracheal stenosis often is impossible or results in excessive anastomotic tension. Anterior tracheoplasty using a patch of pericardium or cartilage may result in granulation tissue needing repeated bronchoscopies, tracheostomy, and stents and may produce recurrent stenosis. Tracheoplasty may be performed by dividing the stenosis at midpoint, incising the proximal and distal narrowed segments vertically on opposite anterior and posterior surfaces and sliding these together. The stenotic segment is shortened by half, the circumference doubled, and the lumenal cross-section quadrupled. Approach is cervical or with partial sternotomy. Cardiopulmonary bypass is not necessary. Four patients (ages: 3 months, 3 1 / 2 years, 19 years, and 19 years) were so treated for stenosis of 36% to 83% of tracheal length. Blood supply was not impaired. Healing was excellent and complications were minimal.
The effects of post-encoding stress on recognition memory: Examining the impact of skydiving in young men and women

Prior studies have indicated that post-encoding stress can protect memories from the effects of forgetting, and this has been taken as evidence that stress facilitates memory consolidation. However, it is not known whether stress acts by directly influencing the strength of the underlying memories or whether it influences the generation process that plays a critical role in tests such as free recall. To address this issue, we examined the effects of stress produced by skydiving on recognition memory for negative and neutral pictures. Relative to a non-stress control condition, post-encoding stress in males was found to increase recognition memory for neutral pictures. However, stress was not found to improve recognition for emotional pictures, nor was it found to influence recognition memory in female participants. Additional analysis of recognition performance suggested that stress increased familiarity-based recognition rather than recollection. This study indicates that stress can improve familiarity-based recognition, thus showing that stress directly increases the strength of the underlying memories.
Analyzing the scalability of SIMD for the next generation software defined radio

Previous studies have shown that wireless DSP algorithms exhibit high levels of data level parallelism (DLP). Commercial and research work in the field of software defined radio (SDR) has produced designs utilizing single-instruction multiple-data (SIMD) execution units to exploit this high level of parallelism. These designs have been able to deliver the efficiency and computational power needed to process 3G wireless technologies. Though efficient 3G processing has been achieved, next generation 4G SDR technology requires 10-1000x more computational performance but limits the power budget increase to 2-5x. In this paper, we present a breakdown of 4G and analyze the scalability of SIMD to see if it can help to meet the 4G requirement. We take a proposed SDR architecture, SODA, and modify it for different widths in order to calculate its efficiency. We consider the trade-offs with respect to computation and energy efficiency.
Siblings and Psychotherapy

Siblings with a close and warm relationship can provide companionship for one another, enhance morale, and provide psychological as well as tangible support through major life events. Not only are strong sibling ties rewarding in themselves throughout childhood and adulthood, but they lay the foundation for a more satisfying old age in which the remaining siblings from the family of origin can assist and comfort one another’s last years.
Birds of a feather: Interpolating distribution patterns of urban birds

Geostatistical methods provide valuable approaches for analyzing spatial patterns of ecological systems. They allow for both the prediction and visualization of ecological phenomena, a combination that is essential for the conceptual development and testing of ecological theory. Yet, many ecologists remain unfamiliar with the application of these techniques. Here, we apply the methodology of geostatistics to an urban avian census in order to investigate and illustrate the utility of these tools. We derive habitat probability maps for three bird species known to differentially occupy the urban to rural gradient within the Phoenix metropolitan area and surrounding desert (Arizona, USA). We aggregated avian censuses conducted seasonally at 40 sites over two years and applied two processes process of interpolation, ordinary Kriging and indicator Kriging, and compared both methods. Ordinary Kriging interpolates values between measurements; however, it requires normally distributed data, which is commonly invalidated in ecological censuses. While indicator Kriging is not able to produce numerical predictions of measurements, it has the advantages of not requiring normally distributed data and requiring fewer statistical decisions. Each of the species exhibited strong deviations from normality due to many observations of zero. Given the skewness of the data, we anticipated that indicator Kriging would be a more appropriate method of interpolation. However, we found that both methods adequately captured spatial distribution of the three species and are sufficient for creating distribution maps of avian species. With additional census monitoring, Kriging can be used to detect long-term changes in population distribution of avian and other wildlife populations.
Low power HFET down converter MMIC's for wireless communication applications

An ultra low power GaAs HFET (heterojunction FET) amplifier/mixer MMIC was designed and characterized for portable communication applications in the 900 MHz band. A completely monolithic LNA (80 mil/spl times/42 mil) achieved 10 dB gain, 2.5 dB NF and -4 dBm input IP3 at an operating current of 0.5 mA @ 1.0 V. Receiver sensitivity of a front-end circuit consisting of the LNA and a dual gate FET mixer was characterized using the 12 dB SINAD method. The IC achieved -117 dBm receiver sensitivity in the 900 MHz cellular band. The total power consumption of this miniature down converter was about 2 mW. The HFET down converter IC achieved the same receiver sensitivity as a MESFET down converter at 1/5th of the power. The extremely low power dissipation, high third order intercept point, high level of integration, and very good RF performance of this monolithic IC make it an ideal candidate for wireless applications.
Considerations for Planning and Conducting Clinic-Based Research in Physical Therapy

There is growing demand to increase the volume of clinic-based research in physical therapy. Special considerations, unique to the planning and conduct of clinic-based research, need to be addressed to increase the likelihood that these studies will be completed successfully. The purposes of this perspective are to discuss factors affecting clinic-based research and to offer suggestions for addressing these problems when designing and conducting research studies in a clinical setting. This perspective discusses issues such as patient management, determining the availability of target patient populations, acquiring support from physical therapists and physicians, reporting and managing research-related injury or illness, and modifying or terminating projects. Some of the points made in this perspective are illustrated using examples from the authors' experiences in conducting clinical research.
The mammalian TRPC cation channels

Transient Receptor Potential-Canonical (TRPC) channels are mammalian homologs of Transient Receptor Potential (TRP), a Ca 2+ permeable channel involved in the phospholipase C-regulated photoreceptor activation mechanism in Drosophila. The seven mammalian TRPCs constitute a family of channels which have been proposed to function as store-operated as well as second messenger-operated channels in a variety of cell types. TRPC channels, together with other more distantly related channel families, make up the larger TRP channel superfamily. This review summarizes recent findings on the structure, regulation and function of the apparently ubiquitous TRPC cation channels. Published by Elsevier B.V.
Serum and urine pepsinogen and gastric pepsin; simultaneous analyses for 24-hour periods in normal persons and in patients with duodenal ulcer, gastric ulcer and achlorhydria

The present investigation was undertaken to measure simultaneously, over 24-hour periods, gastric pepsin and serum and urinary pepsinogen, in normal persons, in patients with gastric or duodenal ulcer, and in patients with achlor­ hydria. The data were examined with regard to diurnal and nocturnal variations, possible sex differences, the correlations between gastric pepsin, urinary pepsi­ nogen and serum pepsinogen, and the relationship of these values to the secretion of HCI.
Age, culture, and communication: Contextualization and framing in a playful online forum

ABSTRACT This paper analyzes frame shifting between playfulness and seriousness and contextualization cues in an extended playful thread in an online Chinese forum. This study takes culture as a necessary complement to computer-mediated discourse analysis, endeavoring to provide a perspective from which to analyze both the linguistic and social dimensions of online communication. CMC acts were classified as bona fide and non-bona fide communication, and categories of contextualization cues were identified. The findings show that in this online environment, frames and contextualization cues can be identified and play a significant role in determining the tone and the expected development of participants’ messages. Specifically, contextualization cues help participants identify a certain frame of expected content, and the identified “playful” or “serious” frame directs participants to respond playfully or seriously. In this process, cultural nationality has a stronger effect than participant age.
Psychoanalysis in Conjunction With Medication: a Clinical Research Opportunity:

The increasingly common practice of introducing medication into the analytic relationship is of practical and theoretical concern to analysts. Pharmacological agents and their somatic effects, it i...
Visual disturbances in cortical degenerative disorders

Visual disturbances due to cortical degenerative disease can be difficult to diagnose owing to the nonspecific visual complaints that accompany such disturbances. This article outlines our current understanding of the anatomy and functional specialization of cortical regions responsible for processing visual stimuli. The clinical presentation and assessment of visual cortical dysfunction is reviewed, along with a discussion of classic visual cortical neurobehavioral syndromes; a case presentation is included. Finally, delineation of the visual disturbances associated with the most common age-related neurodegenerative disorders are reviewed, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and corticobasal degeneration, as well as the nonspecific syndrome referred to as posterior cortical atrophy. The intention of this article is to familiarize the reader with current concepts of clinically relevant visual disturbances in age-related neurodegenerative disease.
A note on “an axiomatic model of voting bodies”

In the article, "An Axiomatic Model of Voting Bodies," (in this Review, June, 1970, pp. 449-470) Brams and O'Leary use a simple combinatorial argument to derive the conditional probability of two randomly chosen members of a voting body agreeing on a particular issue, given the total number of members that voted each way on the issue. They proceed to generate a model of voting behavior over an entire set of issues by assuming (Axiom 2) that the joint distribution of agreements across issues is the distribution generated by the product of the conditional marginal distributions of agreement on each issue, given the total number of votes cast each way on the issue. This axiom forces the researcher to assume not only that voting patterns vary randomly from issue to issue, but also that the finite set of issues being studied displays the mathematical property of complete independence of voting across issues. The purpose of this note is to show that the assumption of independence is neither realistic nor necessary. Suppose that a voting body which contained three members voted on four issues, and that the results are presented in Table 1:
The anatomy of the register file in a multiscalar processor

This paper presents the operation of the register file in the multiscalar architecture. The register file provides the appearance of a logically centralized register file, yet is implemented as physically decentralized register files, queues, and control logic in a multiscalar processor. We address the key issues of storage, communication, and synchronization required for a successful design and discuss the complications that arise in the face of speculation. In particular, the hardware required to implement the register file is detailed, and software support to streamline the operation of the register file is described. Illustrative examples detailing important aspects of the operation of the register file and an evaluation of its effectiveness are provided.
Nine-year reciprocal transplant experiment in the gardens of the basin and mountain big sagebrush ( Artemisia tridentata : Asteraceae) hybrid zone of Salt Creek Canyon: the importance of multiple-year tracking of fitness

We have studied reciprocal transplant gardens involving the hybrid zone between basin and mountain big sagebrush ( Artemisia tridentata ) in Salt Creek Canyon, Utah, for 9 years. Previously, we showed that the parental taxa and hybrids had superior reproductive and vegetative performance in their native garden. These earlier data supported the Bounded Hybrid Superiority model. Now, after 9 years, we find that the mountain seed source plants have greater relative fitness than middle hybrid zone seed source plants in the middle hybrid zone garden. These results may be due to plant density and climatic factors more conducive to mountain seed source growth than that of either basin or middle hybrid zone seed source plants. On the other hand, these fitness estimates do not take into account the timing of reproduction, which together with the age-specific survival rate, can profoundly affect lifetime fitness. The intrinsic rate of increase ( r ) takes both of these factors into account, providing another estimate of fitness. Middle hybrid zone seed source plants had the greatest rate of increase in both the middle hybrid zone and mountain gardens and a greater rate of increase than either parent in the basin garden. This is most likely due to the greater reproductive performance of middle hybrid zone plants earlier in life than either parental taxon. These results partly support the Bounded Hybrid Superiority model and show the importance of long-term studies of hybrid fitness. © 2005 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2005, 86 , 213‐225. ADDITIONAL KEYWORDS: Bounded Hybrid Superiority model ‐ Dynamic Equilibrium model ‐ endogenous selection ‐ Environmental Gradient model ‐ exogenous selection ‐ genotype‐by‐environment interaction ‐ intrinsic rate of increase ‐ stable hybrid zone.
SessionSim: activity-based session generation for network simulation

We present SessionSim, a tool for generating realistic communication sessions such as phone calls, http and email data traffic. Realistic data traffic is a crucial requirement to gauge the realism of any larger communication network simulation study. SessionSim is part of a large-scale communication network simulation environment (MIITS: Multi-scale Integrated Information and Telecommunications System), where detailed information about the individuals in a synthetic population is available, including activities (e.g., sleep, work, lunch) and locations. The key aspect of the SessionSim modeling philosophy is the insight that communication behavior heavily depends on the type of activity people are engaged in; key model parameters in addition to the nature of this dependence are inter-session times, source-destination pairs, and the actual data content that determines session size or duration. We present a mix of empirical data, earlier models and intuition for determining session parameters for phone calls, http and email and briefly discuss validation studies showing that our generated communication sessions adequately mimic real-world data. We also discuss our implementation of SessionSim in the scalable OO-simulation framework called SimCore.
Topical Antimicrobial Therapy for Treating Chronic Wounds

Various agents have been applied topically to treat infected wounds for millennia, but their proper role remains unclear. Topical therapy affords many potential advantages but also has disadvantages. Opinions differ on which clinical signs define wound infection and on whether quantitative microbiological studies are useful. Clinically infected wounds usually require systemic antibiotic therapy, whereas clinically uninfected wounds that are healing as expected do not require antimicrobials. There is controversy over how to treat poorly healing wounds with "secondary" signs suggesting infection; these may benefit from topical antimicrobial agents. Some evidence supports using topical agents for malodorous or burn wounds. Meta-analyses and systematic reviews suggest there are few proven indications for topical antimicrobials. Use of a newer, relatively nontoxic antiseptic (eg, cadexomer iodine or silver dressings) is preferable to use of topical antibiotics, especially agents that are available for systemic use. We provide clinically relevant information on currently available topical antimicrobial agents.
Experiments in Predictive Coordination of a Fuel Cell/Ultracapacitor Hybrid

A rule-based and a model predictive power management strategy are evaluated in experiments for power management of a fuel cell/ultracapacitor hybrid. The two degrees of freedom provided by use of two dc/dc convertors enable independent low-level control of the DC BUS voltage and the current split between the fuel cell and ultracapacitor. The high-level control objectives are to respond to rapid variations in load while minimizing damaging fluctuations in fuel cell current and maintaining the ultracapacitor charge (or voltage) within allowable bounds. Experiments show that both strategies can be tuned to meet these control objectives; however the predictive nature of the model predictive scheme coupled with its ability to aggressively push the ultracapacitor to its constraint line results in smoother fuel cell current transients.© 2008 ASME
A risk assessment screening test for very low birth weight.

Objectives: To develop a risk-assessment screening tool for very low birth weight (VLBW) and to compare our empirically derived tool to the nonempirically derived screening tool used by the State of Florida. Methods: Birth records from the State of Florida Vital Statistics between 04/01/92 and 12/07/94 were matched with State Healthy Start prenatal records, reported from 04/01/92 through 03/31/94. Known and additional potentially important risk factors were identified from both sources. Generalized Linear Modeling techniques were used to estimate associations between risk factors and VLBW. A risk assessment system was then developed using the estimated model. The resulting screening test was compared with the one used by the Florida State Department of Health in terms of sensitivity and specificity on an independent validation sample. Results: The proposed screening tool had comparable specificity to the Healthy Start screening tool but significantly better sensitivity. Both instruments are simple and easy to implement. Conclusions: Identification of women at high risk for VLBW would be improved using the model-based screening tool developed in this paper. Public health policy makers should use statistical methods in addition to expert opinion to improve existing risk assessment methods. The actual value of an improved screening instrument is dependent on the availability of effective intervention programs.
Differentiation therapy for hepatocellular carcinoma: Multifaceted effects of miR-148a on tumor growth and phenotype and liver fibrosis.

The death rate from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is increasing, and liver cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide. Most patients with HCC have underlying liver cirrhosis and compromised liver function, limiting treatment options. Cirrhosis is associated with cell dedifferentiation and expansion of hepatocholangiolar progenitor cells. We identified a microRNA signature associated with HCC and hepatocytic differentiation of progenitor cells. We further identified miR-148a as an inducer of hepatocytic differentiation that is down-regulated in HCC. MiR-148a-mimetic treatment in vivo suppressed tumor growth, reduced tumor malignancy and liver fibrosis, and prevented tumor development. These effects were associated with an increased differentiated phenotype and mediated by IκB kinase alpha/NUMB/NOTCH signaling. Conclusion: miR-148a is an inhibitor of the IκB kinase alpha/NUMB/NOTCH pathway and an inducer of hepatocytic differentiation that when deregulated promotes HCC initiation and progression. Differentiation-targeted therapy may be a promising strategy to treat and prevent HCC. (Hepatology 2016;63:864–879)
Sperm cryopreservation for men with nonmalignant, systemic diseases: a descriptive study.

Cytotoxic drugs and immunosuppressive therapies are used to treat patients with nonmalignant, nontesticular systemic diseases. These therapies can permanently suppress spermatogen- esis. Sperm cryopreservation before treatment theoretically could give these men the opportunity to achieve a pregnancy with a wom- an later in life when the couple decides to do so. However, it is not known whether pretreatment sperm quality in these men is good enough to be used for assisted reproductive techniques. The main objective of this study was to determine the usefulness of cryopres- ervation in this patient population by: 1) assessing their pretreatment semen quality (eg, count, motility, and motion kinetics) and compar- ing it with that of healthy donors before and after cryopreservation; 2) comparing patients' pretreatment semen characteristics with World Health Organization reference values for normal sperm; and 3) examining the differences in semen parameters among patient groups. Semen specimens were obtained from 25 healthy donors and from 23 patients with a variety of disorders (12 had autoimmune disorders, 4 had kidney disorders, 3 had diabetes, 2 had ulcerative colitis, and 2 had heart transplants). All patients, except those with diabetes, required immunosuppressive or cytotoxic therapy. Al- though the pretreatment quality of the semen of these patients was not as good as that of donors, semen samples were within the nor- mal reference range of the World Health Organization. No statisti- cally significant differences in sperm parameters were found within the 4 patient groups except for those with diabetes (n 3), who showed poorer sperm counts (P.04). However, no conclusive evidence can be reached due to the small sample size. Our results indicate that pretreatment semen quality in these patients is ade- quate for reproductive techniques. We believe that cryopreservation should be offered to patients of reproductive age with disease or
Patient perspectives on IVF success and likelihood of multiple gestations

Methods  Who: 34 couples (2 same-sex female) who presented for care with a reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist (REI) at an academic medical center.  What: Separately completed surveys and qualitative interviews.  When: Prior to initial consultation with an REI and up to 5 additional times over 12 months.  Diagnoses and treatment plans based on interview data at ~2 months post initial consultation:  24 couples with pregnancy candidate aged <35 years  10 couples with pregnancy candidate aged 35-40 years  6 couples with diminished ovarian reserve (DOR) who were planning IVF with donor eggs  5 couples with DOR who were planning ovulation induction (OI) with intrauterine insemination (IUI)  6 couples with anovulation who were planning OI with IUI
Imaging of a fluorescent contrast agent in the dog model with spontaneous mammary tumors

Over the past decade, studies of near infrared biomedical optical imaging of deep tissues have focused upon the collection of diffusely propagated light.
Salvage of Difficult Transplant Complications by Percutaneous Techniques

AbstractThe use of percutaneous endourological techniques is demonstrated in recipients of renal allografts. Transplant complications that previously had required prompt surgical intervention may be approached safely by the judicious use of percutaneous manipulations. While examples of perirenal hematoma, renal abscess, urinary fistula and renal pelvic stone extraction are presented, close patient observation and a low threshold for surgical intervention are recommended to permit the continued, safe evaluation of this approach.