cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Domain characterization and interaction of the yeast vacuolar ATPase subunit C with the peripheral stator stalk subunits E and G.

The proton pumping activity of the eukaryotic vacuolar ATPase (V-ATPase) is regulated by a unique mechanism that involves reversible enzyme dissociation. In yeast, under conditions of nutrient depletion, the soluble catalytic V1 sector disengages from the membrane integral Vo, and at the same time, both functional units are silenced. Notably, during enzyme dissociation, a single V1 subunit, C, is released into the cytosol. The affinities of the other V1 and Vo subunits for subunit C are therefore of particular interest. The C subunit crystal structure shows that the subunit is elongated and dumbbell-shaped with two globular domains (Chead and Cfoot) separated by a flexible helical neck region (Drory, O., Frolow, F., and Nelson, N. (2004) EMBO Rep. 5, 1148–1152). We have recently shown that subunit C is bound in the V1-Vo interface where the subunit is in contact with two of the three peripheral stators (subunit EG heterodimers): one via Chead and one via Cfoot (Zhang, Z., Zheng, Y., Mazon, H., Milgrom, E., Kitagawa, N., Kish-Trier, E., Heck, A. J., Kane, P. M., and Wilkens, S. (2008) J. Biol. Chem. 283, 35983–35995). In vitro, however, subunit C binds only one EG heterodimer (Fethiere, J., Venzke, D., Madden, D. R., and Bottcher, B. (2005) Biochemistry 44, 15906–15914), implying that EG has different affinities for the two domains of the C subunit. To determine which subunit C domain binds EG with high affinity, we have generated Chead and Cfoot and characterized their interaction with subunit EG heterodimer. Our findings indicate that the high affinity site for EGC interaction is Chead. In addition, we provide evidence that the EGChead interaction greatly stabilizes EG heterodimer.
Distribution, the forgotten element in transnational cinema

This article addresses the circulation of Latin American film in the United States. The background to this research is our concern that activists, journalists, academics, film-makers and policy-makers who seek a diverse film sector tend to focus on production to the exclusion of distribution and exhibition. An absence of publicly available data adds to the problem. In addition to examining the wider political economy of Latin American cinema in the United States, we offer case studies of success and failure.
Placement of genes for ribosomal RNA within the nucleolar organizing body of Zea mays

A maize strain that carried a reciprocal translocation between chromosome 6 and a B chromosome (TB6a) was used in this study. The break in chromosome 6 transected the nucleolar organizing body at approximately the cytological midpoint, and the break in the B was one third the distance from its distal end. As a result both chromosomes 6-B and B-6 contained a portion of the nucleolar organizing body. Because of nondisjunction of chromosome B-6 at the second microspore division after meiosis, crosses between plants carrying six to eight of these chromosomes and homozygous for chromosome 6-B, produced progeny that had between one and about nine chromosomes B-6. Thus a quantitative series of nucleolar organizing body fragments was produced. Molecular hybridization experiments with ribosomal-RNA and DNAs extracted from these plants revealed 1) that genes coding for rRNA were located in the nucleolar organizer fragments on either side of the original translocation breakpoint and 2) that with each additional nucleolar organizer fragment provided by the chromosomes B-6, there is a proportional increase in ribosomal-DNA content. The most important conclusion to be derived from these studies is that the vast majority, if not all, of the ribosomal-RNA genes are unambiguously located within the nucleolar organizing body [with possibly a small percentage of them in the adjacent achromatic gap (Givens and Phillips, 1973, abstract)]. This placement is consistent with that of Givens and Phillips who used a quite different cytogenetic approach. The preciseness of previous determinations in Drosophila, and Xenopus allowed their placement only to the region of the nucleolar organizer. This study showed no evidence for a disproportionate replication of rDNA as a function of different amounts of nucleolar organizing material.
Abstract A3: Enhanced effector responses in CAR-redirected CD8+ T cells deficient in diacylglycerol kinases.

The use of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-redirected CD8+ T cells in the treatment of malignancy is a novel strategy that has shown tremendous promise; however, it remains likely this strategy could be enhanced when combined with additional approaches. We hypothesized that deletion of signaling mediators that negatively regulate TCR signal transduction might enhance CAR signaling and function, since CARs utilize the same machinery that transduces TCR signals. We tested CAR activity and function in T cells that lacked one or both lymphocyte-specific isoforms of diacylglycerol kinase (dgk), proteins that metabolize the second messenger DAG and limit Ras/ERK activation. We found that primary murine T cells transduced with CARs specific for the human tumor antigen mesothelin demonstrated greatly enhanced cytokine production and cytotoxicity when co-cultured with a murine mesothelioma line that stably expresses mesothelin. Additionally, we found that dgk-deficient CAR transduced T cells were more effective in limiting the growth of implanted tumors, both concurrent with and after establishment of tumor. These results suggest that deletion of negative regulators of TCR signaling enhances the activity and function of CAR-expressing T cells, and identify dgks as a potential target for improving the clinical potential of CARs. Citation Format: Matthew Riese, Liang-Chuan Wang, Anjana Ranganathan, Gary Koretzky, Steven Albelda. Enhanced effector responses in CAR-redirected CD8+ T cells deficient in diacylglycerol kinases. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Tumor Immunology: Multidisciplinary Science Driving Basic and Clinical Advances; Dec 2-5, 2012; Miami, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(1 Suppl):Abstract nr A3.
Selecting actions for resource-bounded information extraction using reinforcement learning

Given a database with missing or uncertain content, our goal is to correct and fill the database by extracting specific information from a large corpus such as the Web, and to do so under resource limitations. We formulate the information gathering task as a series of choices among alternative, resource-consuming actions and use reinforcement learning to select the best action at each time step. We use temporal difference q-learning method to train the function that selects these actions, and compare it to an online, error-driven algorithm called SampleRank. We present a system that finds information such as email, job title and department affiliation for the faculty at our university, and show that the learning-based approach accomplishes this task efficiently under a limited action budget. Our evaluations show that we can obtain 92.4% of the final F1, by only using 14.3% of all possible actions.
Use of MRI in preoperative planning for women with newly diagnosed DCIS: risk or benefit?

Background The role of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in preoperative planning for women diagnosed with breast cancer remains controversial. The risks and benefits in women with newly diagnosed ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) are largely unknown.
High-rate MIEX filtration for simultaneous removal of phosphorus and membrane foulants from secondary effluent.

Abstract This work was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of magnetic ion exchange (MIEX) resin under the best possible conditions, passage through a fixed-bed of resin as opposed to the alternative of directly adding resin into a flowing stream. The possibility of using a very small amount of alum in addition to MIEX treatment was also investigated not only to adsorb residual EfOM in the effluent from a bed of MIEX but also to produce a porous cake layer that would keep away foulants from the surface of membrane or its pore walls. The MIEX treatment alone reduced fouling, but to a much lesser extent than for MIEX combined with an under-dosing coagulation (which uses a considerably low amount of alum). Almost all of colloids and organic acids were removed and the nearly complete removal of phosphorus was achieved by MIEX in a fixed-bed even for an extremely short hydraulic retention time of wastewater in the resin bed. MIEX resin removed phosphorus, but organic acids in EfOM were preferentially removed and the effects of competing anions on the removal of EfOM were insignificant. The MIEX treatment with added alum (only 0.5 mg Al L−1) dramatically improved the performance of MF and UF membranes and the subsequent membrane filtration also achieved ≤0.01 mg L−1 of residual phosphorous. This condition also allowed good flux recovery after hydraulic flushing.
Room-Temperature Phosphorimetry to Study Petroleum Product Permeation through Protective Clothing Materials

In this study a simple analytical tool based on room-temperature phosphorimetry (RTP) is developed and used for evaluating the effectiveness of protective clothing materials against permeation of organic substances containing compounds such as the polycyclic aromatic compounds. A special permeation cell is designed, which allows direct RTP measurements of the permeated products after exposure, without requiring any sample extraction procedure. Results for a variety of petroleum product-protective material combinations illustrate the usefulness of the technique.
Green State Joining of Silicon Carbide Using Polycarbosilane

Green state joining of SiC was investigated using a paste consisting of polycarbosilane polymer and SiC powder. The joining process and densification were described. Initial experiments resulted in the formation of symmetrical black bands and cracks on both sides of the joint. However, with modifications in processing conditions, the cracks were eliminated and the resulting joints were indistinguishable from the matrix. The flexural strength of joined samples was measured to be 234 MPa, which was comparable to that of the control sample with similar density. As the applied pressure during joining was increased from 34 to 138 MPa, the strength of the joined samples increased from 180 to 250 MPa.
Modulation of chondrocyte proliferation by ascorbic acid and BMP-2

Chondrocytes show an unusual ability to thrive under serum-free conditions as long as insulin, thyroxine, and cysteine are present. Studies with sternal chondrocytes from chick embryos indicate that thymidine incorporation in chondrocytes cultured under serum-free conditions is 30–50% of that seen with fetal bovine serum (FBS). In contrast, skin fibroblast proliferation in serum-free culture is <5% of that seen with serum. Addition of 30–50 μM ascorbic acid to serum-free medium stimulates chondrocyte proliferation 4–5×, resulting in levels of thymidine incorporation higher than that seen with 10% serum. Three to five hours of ascorbate exposure is sufficient to stimulate proliferation, with maximal stimulation seen after 12–15 h. Bromo-deoxyuridine (BrdU) labelling indicated that approximately 25% of chondrocytes transit S phase during a 4-h period (16–20 h after ascorbate). Once maximal stimulation is reached, the proliferation rate remains fairly constant over at least 40 h. Ascorbate therefore increases the steady-state level of chondrocytes in the cycle. Because the stimulation of chondrocyte proliferation was greater than the net increase in cell numbers, we examined the level of apoptosis. Nuclear morphology, terminal uridine nucleotide end-labelling (TUNEL) assay, and 7-AAD/Hoechst dye FACS analyses all indicated that approximately 15% of the ascorbate-treated chondrocytes were undergoing apoptosis, while only 5% of the control chondrocytes were apoptotic. When prehypertrophic chondrocytes from the cephalic region of embryonic sternae were stimulated to undergo hypertrophy with rhBMP-2 + ascorbate, levels of apoptosis were similar to that seen with ascorbate alone. In contrast, treatment of caudal chondrocytes with BMP plus ascorbate does not induce hypertrophy, and the proportion of apoptotic cells was less than that seen with ascorbate alone. These results imply that in chondrocytes the transition to hypertrophy is associated with a decreased number of proliferating cells and a relatively high level of apoptosis. J. Cell. Physiol. 174:331–341, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Cincinnati collection management and development institute, november 6-9, 1983 the LAPT report

Presentation par les membres de l'Institut des questions attenantes a la gestion et au developpement des collections, principalement dans les bibliotheques universitaires, au moment ou tradition et nouvelles technologies s'affrontent. Des communications ont ete faites sur les methodes de gestion a mettre en place, les questions budgetaires, la place des publications en serie et enfin les travaux d'une commission regionale des Etats-Unis sur le sujet
Effects of wheel running on glucose transporter (GLUT4) concentration in skeletal muscle of young adult and old rats

We examined the effects of voluntary exercise on glucose transporter concentration in skeletal muscle from young adult and old female Long-Evans rats. Rats had free access to voluntary running wheels beginning at 4 months of age or remained sedentary. Exercising rats ran approximately 7.5, 6.2, 5.6 and 5.3 km/day during their 6th, 8th, 9th and 10th month of age, respectively. During the 23rd, 24th and 25th month of age running distance averaged 3.0, 2.8 and 2.4 km/day, respectively. At 10 and 25 months of age, glucose transporter protein concentration was assessed in epitrochlearis and flexor digitorum brevis muscles with a polyclonal antibody directed against the GLUT4 transporter isoform. GLUT4 protein concentration was not altered by the aging process (i.e., comparing 10- and 25-month-old rats) in either muscle type. Wheel running increased GLUT4 protein concentration by 45% in epitrochlearis muscles of 10-month-old rats relative to age-matched sedentary controls. The training-induced adaptation in GLUT4 protein was no longer present at age 25 months, probably because the running distance had declined by 50%. In the flexor digitorum brevis, exercise did not alter GLUT4 concentration at either 10 or 25 months, presumably due to insufficient recruitment of this muscle during wheel running as assessed by measurement of citrate synthase and hexokinase enzyme activities. Wheel running induced cardiac and soleus muscle hypertrophy in 10- and 25-month-old rats. In summary, voluntary wheel running can induce an increase in skeletal muscle GLUT4 protein concentration in adult rats. Older rats that run less exhibit cardiac and soleus muscle hypertrophy, but do not maintain an elevated GLUT4 protein concentration in the epitrochlearis muscle. Aging does not alter GLUT4 protein concentration in the epitrochlearis or FDB muscles.
Performance Assessment: Moonstruck or the Real Thing?

What are the advantages of performance assessment? What are the risks of employing only performance assessments in large-scale testing programs?
Fabrication of polaritonic structures in LiNbO3 and LiTaO3 using femtosecond laser machining

Fabrication of patterned materials in ferroelectric LiNbO3 and LiTaO3 crystals using femtosecond laser micromachining is presented and discussed. Damage feature sizes in the 10–100 μm range were achieved using 800-nm, 50-fs (FWHM) ultra-fast laser pulses with energies ranging from 10 μJ up to 350 μJ. Fabrication of polaritonic devices such as waveguides, resonators, focusing reflectors, diffractive and dispersive elements, photonic band gap materials, and other microstructures is demonstrated.
Biological Constraint, Cultural Variety, and Psychological Structures

: Although biological processes bias humans to develop particular cognitive, affective, and behavioral forms, the cultural context of growth shapes these forms in particular ways. Psychologists have been indifferent to the nature of the mental structures that mediate the varied psychological functions that are the usual target of inquiry. This paper argues that schemata for perceptual events, motor programs, and semantic networks are distinct, although interdependent, forms that rest on different neurophysiologies. The biological constraints are weakest on the semantic networks that are influenced by the history, economy, religion, geography, and social structure of the society. These factors influence how cultures classify names for emotions, categories of self-membership, and popular metaphors for human nature. One class of schemata is derived from changes in body tone. Temperamental variation in the susceptibility to changes in body tone has relevance for understanding personality and a vulnerability to anxiety disorders.
Managing Evacuation Networks

This paper proposes a non-anticipative, adaptive, decentralized strategy for managing evacuation networks. The strategy is non-anticipative because it does not rely on demand forecasts, adaptive because it uses real-time traffic information, and decentralized because all the information is available locally. It can be used with a failed communication network. The strategy pertains to networks in which no links backtrack in the direction of increased risk. For these types of networks, no other strategy exists that can evacuate more people in any given time, or finish the evacuation in less time. The strategy is also shown to be socially fair, in the sense that the time needed to evacuate all the people exceeding any risk level is, both, the least possible, and the same as if less-at-risk individuals did not participate in the evacuation. The strategy can be proven optimal even when backflows happen due to driver gaming.
An alternative explanation for cross-cultural differences in the expression of psychopathy

Multicultural research has shown that rates of psychopathy differ between North America and Europe. Many suggestions have been given to help explain this divergence, including: cultural factors, migration, and inter-rater effects. However, past research has not explored the possibility that samples may be inherently different independent of a cultural factor. This paper explores the prospect of multicultural samples differing due to effects of the legal system. Research suggests that incarceration policies may affect the percentage of psychopaths in the prison systems, where the majority of psychopathy research takes place. Future research and policy implications are discussed to further explore this possibility.
A Submillimeter View of Circumstellar Dust Disks in ρ Ophiuchi

We present new multiwavelength submillimeter continuum measurements of the circumstellar dust around 48 young stars in the ρ Ophiuchi dark clouds. Supplemented with previous 1.3 mm observations of an additional 99 objects from the literature, the statistical distributions of disk masses and submillimeter colors are calculated and compared to those in the Taurus-Auriga region. These basic submillimeter properties of young stellar objects in both environments are shown to be essentially identical. As with their Taurus counterparts, the ρ Oph circumstellar dust properties are shown to evolve along an empirical evolution sequence based on the infrared spectral energy distribution. The combined ρ Oph and Taurus Class II samples (173 sources) are used to set benchmark values for basic outer disk characteristics: Md ~ 0.005 M☉, Md/M* ~ 1% , and α ~ 2 (where Fν ∝ να between 350 μm and 1.3 mm). The precision of these numbers is addressed in the context of substantial solid particle growth in the earliest stages of the planet formation process. There is some circumstantial evidence that disk masses inferred from submillimeter emission may be underestimated by up to an order of magnitude.
Ants with Limited Memory for solving constraint satisfaction problems

Ant colony optimization (ACO) metaheuristic-based algorithms have been successfully applied to solve large-scale constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs). In this paper, we present a novel algorithm, the Limited-Memory Ant-Solver, that extends the state-of-the-art ACO algorithm for solving random, binary CSPs, the Ant-Solver. The ants in our approach have limited memory, enabling them to recall partial assignments from their previous iteration while building new ones. We empirically show that our algorithm matches the Ant-Solver with respect to multiple performance criteria. When combined with local search techniques, our approach is again equally effective as Ant-Solver, but it is vastly superior in efficiency for solving large CSPs.
Blunted Sympathetic Vasoconstriction in Contracting Skeletal Muscle of Healthy Humans: is Nitric Oxide Obligatory?

We tested the hypothesis that nitric oxide (NO) is responsible for blunting sympathetic alpha-adrenergic vasoconstriction in the active muscles of humans (functional sympatholysis). We measured forearm blood flow (Doppler ultrasound) and calculated the reductions in forearm vascular conductance (FVC) in response to alpha-adrenergic receptor stimulation during rhythmic handgrip exercise and during a control non-exercise vasodilator condition (intra-arterial adenosine), before and after local NO synthase (NOS) inhibition in healthy men. The forearm vasoconstrictor responses to endogenous noradrenaline release (intra-arterial tyramine) were significantly blunted during moderate exercise compared with adenosine, and these vasoconstrictor responses were not restored by NOS inhibition with NG-monomethyl-L-arginine (L-NMMA; n = 6) or NG-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME; n = 8). Similarly, L-NAME did not restore the vasoconstrictor responses to tyramine in contracting muscle during heavy rhythmic handgrip exercise (n = 4). In four additional subjects, we also found that the vasoconstrictor responses evoked by tyramine during exercise or adenosine were repeatable in the absence of NOS inhibition (i.e. time control). Finally, in five subjects the forearm vasoconstrictor responses to direct alpha 1-adrenergic (phenylephrine) and alpha 2-adrenergic (clonidine) receptor stimulation were blunted during moderate exercise compared with adenosine; these responses were also unaffected by L-NAME. Taken together, our results demonstrate that NO is not obligatory for functional sympatholysis in contracting skeletal muscles of healthy men.
Rereading Mules and Men: Toward the Death of the Ethnographer

It goes without saying that Zora Neale Hurston, flamboyant celebrity of the Harlem Renaissance and devoted student of Papa Franz Boas, is a noncanonical author. Her race, sex, regional origin, and class background insure her marginality to the Great Tradition of Western letters. But, as Barbara Johnson points out, Hurston is not only an "example of the non-canonical writer," but a "commentator" upon the ideology of the canon (Johnson 1985:279). Indeed, aspects of her work can be read as a commentary upon premises that undergird bourgeois ideology itself. My contention in this essay is that of all Hurston's work, it is her ethnography, especially Mules and Men, that realizes this disruptive commentary most fully. As Hurston gains her rightful place in American letters, most of the serious critical attention is directed toward her fiction. Certainly the importance of Mules and Men, Hurston's collection of southern black folklore, has been acknowledged. For example, Alice Walker includes it on her list of ten essential books (Walker 1977:xii). But the close attention afforded Hurston's stories and novels, especially Their Eyes Were Watching God, has not been matched by critical reassessment in the social sciences of her ethnographies and folklore studies. I will argue that Hurston's social scientific work, though not extensive, is more important than her fiction from the perspective of contemporary critical theory, and that Mules and Men bears interestingly on current discussions of ethnographic practice. Though her ethnographies are literary and her fiction is highly ethnographic, these two sides of her writing strain against one another. In the latter she operates comfortably within the frame of Western ideology. In the former she makes trouble for that ideology. For purposes here I will focus on Mules and Men (Hurston 1978a)' and Their Eyes Were Watching God (Hurston 1978b), accepting the apparent consensus that these are the best examples of the two modes in which Hurston worked. Alice Walker includes them both on her list of essential books, and her reasons typify the reception of these two texts. She picks Mules and Men because, she says, "I would need to be able to pass on to younger generations the life of American blacks as legend and myth; and Their Eyes Were Watching God because I would want to enjoy myself while identifying with the black heroine, Janie Crawford,
Mutually optimizing resolution enhancement techniques: illumination, APSM, assist feature OPC, and gray bars

As sub-half wavelength optical lithography is pursued, the variety of imaging requirements increases. This can result in complex combinations of various resolution enhancement techniques. Optimization based on simple standards or rules is not possible. Although the goal is to design processes so that enhancement approaches work cooperatively as manufacturable solutions, it is often an overwhelming task. Problems often arise as analysis is carried out in a spatial domain, where mask and image properties are evaluated using sizing or dimensional evaluation. A more appropriate perspective for image optimization is that of the lens pupil, in a spatial frequency domain. In this paper, we describe the common characteristics of resolution enhancement, beyond the historical comparisons of alternating PSM and strong OAI. Enhancement techniques including assist feature OPC, custom illumination, attenuated PSM, and pupil filtering are described from a spatial frequency standpoint where each can be utilized to take advantage of strengths and avoid weaknesses. As a result of this type of analysis, we will also describe an alternative OPC method where assist features of varying tone, referred to as Gray Bars, provide for significant image improvement.
Excitation nonlinearities in emission reabsorption laser-induced fluorescence techniques

The effects of the nonlinear behavior of fluorescent intensity with excitation intensity on emission reabsorption laser-induced fluorescence (ERLIF) are investigated. Excitation nonlinearities arise mainly as a consequence of the depletion of the ground-state population stemming from the finite lifetime of molecules in the excited state. These nonlinearities hinder proper suppression of the excitation intensity information in the fluorescence ratio, degrading measurement accuracy. A method for minimizing this effect is presented. This method is based on the approximation of the fluorescence intensity nonlinearities by a power law. Elevating the two-dimensional fluorescent intensity maps to the appropriate exponent allows for proper suppression of excitation intensity in the fluorescence ratio. An overview of the principles and constitutive equations behind ERLIF film-thickness measurements, along with a characterization of the fluorescence's nonlinear behavior, is presented. The power law approximation and processing scheme used to mitigate this behavior are introduced. Experimental proof of the validity of the approximation and processing scheme is provided.
Inflation and Portfolio Choice

To examine the impact of inflation on portfolio choice, this paper estimates a complete system of asset and liability demands for the U.K. nonbank private sector from 1976 through 1985. Among other results, it is found that higher inflation induces investors to take on more debt and to invest the proceeds in financial assets. In general, the pattern of substitution implied by the estimates seems intuitive and reasonable.
Resistance Exercise Induces Region-Specific Adaptations in Anterior Pituitary Gland Structure and Function in Rats

The anterior pituitary gland (AP) increases growth hormone (GH) secretion in response to resistance exercise (RE), but the nature of AP adaptations to RE is unknown. To that end, we examined the ef...
Diagnostic Emergency Imaging Utilization at an Academic Trauma Center From 1996 to 2012

Purpose The aim of this study was to retrospectively review the growth rate in emergency radiology volume at an urban academic trauma center from 1996 to 2012.
Viral and bacterial causes of severe acute respiratory illness among children aged less than 5 years in a high malaria prevalence area of western Kenya, 2007-2010.

Background:Few comprehensive data exist on the etiology of severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) among African children.Methods:From March 1, 2007 to February 28, 2010, we collected blood for culture and nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal swabs for real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction fo
The span of creativity among long‐lived historical artists

Abstract Three studies examined the relationship between age and creativity in terms of when the masterpieces of major historical artists were produced and when their total creative efforts declined. In Study 1, the lifelong output of 21 long‐lived painters (age = 79+) was tallied; in Study 2, the productivity of a new set of 24 long‐lived male and female artists was compared; and in Study 3, the ages at which masterpieces were produced by several sets of up to 100 relatively short‐ and long‐lived artists were examined. Masterpieces were done in the artists’ 40s and 50s, which is later than the often‐cited 30s. Productivity did not decline until the 50s or 60s, which is later than the 40s reported for musicians and writers. The results were discussed in terms of gender differences, group and individual analyses, interdisciplinary research relating psychology to the humanities, the importance of including old and very old subjects in studies of creative development, and an optimistic view of aging and cogn...
Effects of tone and focus on the formation and alignment of f0contours

The present study examines how lexical tone and focus contribute to the formation and alignment of f0contours in speech. This was done through an investigation of f0contour formation in short Mandarin sentences. These sentences all consisted of five syllables with varying tones on the middle three syllables. The sentences were produced by eight Mandarin speakers with four different focus patterns: focus on the first, second, or last word, or with no narrow focus. The f0patterns of these sentences were examined through point-by-point f0tracing, graphical comparison of averaged f0contours, f0-contour-syllable alignment analysis, and analysis of maximum, minimum f0, and slope of f0contours. The results indicate that (a) while the lexical tone of a syllable is the most important determining factor for the local f0contour of the syllable, focus extensively modulates the global shape of the f0curve, which in turn affects the height and even the shape of local contours; (b) the tones of adjacent syllables also extensively influence both the shape and height of the f0contour of a syllable, with the preceding tone exerting more influence than the following tone; (c) despite extensive variations in shape and height, the f0contour of a tone remains closely aligned with the associated syllable; and (d) both focus and tonal interaction may generate substantial f0decline over the course of an utterance. These findings seem to be able to reduce the unpredictability in the formation and alignment of f0contours in speech.
Synucleinopathies: a pathological and molecular review

Abstract Synucleins are a family of small, presynaptic neuronal proteins comprised of α-, β-, γ-synucleins and synoretin, of which only α-synuclein aggregates have been associated with several neurological diseases. The normal neuronal function of synucleins are presently unknown, but several activities such as lipid vesicle binding, inhibition of phospholipase D2 and protein kinase C, dopamine uptake and as a chaperone have been ascribed to α-synuclein. The role of synuclein in the etiology of neuropathology has developed from several observations. Pathologically, synuclein was identified as the major component of Lewy bodies (LBs), the hallmark inclusions of Parkinson's disease (PD), and a fragment thereof was isolated from amyloid plaques of a different neurological disease, Alzheimer's disease (AD). Biochemically, recombinant α-synuclein was shown to be able to form fibrils which recapitulated the ultrastructural features of α-synuclein isolated from patients with dementia with LBs (DLB), PD and multiple system atrophy (MSA). Additionally, the identification of mutations within the synuclein gene, albeit in rare cases of familial PD, demonstrated an unequivocal link between synuclein pathology and neurodegenerative disease. The common involvement of α-synuclein in a spectrum of diseases such as PD, DLB, MSA and the LB variant of AD has led to the classification of these diseases under the umbrella term of synucleinopathies.
Fatigue crack growth mechanisms in Ti6242 lamellar microstructures: Influence of loading frequency and temperature

Fatigue crack growth experiments were carried out on Ti6242 alloy with large colony size. The alloy was heat treated to provide three different lamella size; fine, coarse, and extra coarse. Tests were conducted at two temperatures, 520 °C and 595 °C, using two loading frequencies, 10 and 0.05 Hz. The latter frequency was examined with and without a 300-second hold time. All tests were performed in air environment and at a stress ratio of 0.1. This study shows that at 520 °C, the Fatigue crack growth rate (FCGR) is not significantly influenced by changes in the microstructure. For 0.05 Hz/low ΔK, however, the FCGR is higher in the fine lamellar microstructure and is accompanied by- the appearance of a plateau, which disappears in the extra large lamella microstructure. Furthermore, the addition of a 300-second hold time does not alter the crack growth rate. At 595 °C, while the general level of the FCGR is higher than that at 520 °C, the effects of loading frequency and hold time remain similar to those reported at the lower temperature. Unlike the results at 520 °C, however, the FCGR at low δK is not influenced by variations in lamellar microstructure. Under all test conditions, the fatigue process is predominantly controlled by one single mechanism associated with transcolony fracture and formation of quasi-cleavage facets. The fatigue crack growth results and the associated fracture behavior as obtained in this study are correlated to the crack-tip shear activity and transmission at the α/β interfaces. A general hypothesis accounting for the role of loading frequency, temperature, and microstructure on the observed cracking mechanisms is presented.
The role of neutrophils in the production of hypoxic-ischemic brain injury in the neonatal rat

Neutrophils contribute to ischemic brain injury in adult animals. The role of neutrophils in perinatal hypoxic-ischemic (HI) brain injury is unknown. Allopurinol reduces neutrophil accumulation after tissue ischemia and is protective against HI brain injury. This study was designed to investigate how neutrophils contribute to perinatal hypoxic ischemic brain injury and how neutropenia compared with allopurinol in its neuroprotective effects. A HI insult was produced in the right cerebral hemisphere of 7-d-old rats by right common carotid artery ligation and systemic hypoxia. Half the rats were rendered neutropenic with an anti-neutrophil serum (ANS). At 15 min of recovery from hypoxia, half the neutropenic and nonneutropenic rats received allopurinol (135 mg/kg, s.c.). The protective effect of the four treatment combinations was determined on brain swelling at 42 h of recovery. Neutropenia reduced brain swelling by about 70%, p < 0.01. Allopurinol alone produced similar protection so that the relatively small number of animals studied did not permit assessment of an additive effect. Neutrophil accumulation in cerebral hemispheres was measured by myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity assay and by neutrophil counts in 6-μm sections stained by MPO and ANS immunostaining. MPO activity peaked between 4 and 8 h of recovery in both hemispheres. Hemispheric neutrophil counts peaked at the end of the HI insult and again at 18 h of recovery. Neutrophils were stained within blood vessels and did not infiltrate the injured brain before infarction had occurred. We conclude that neutrophils contribute to HI brain injury in the neonate and that neutrophil depletion before the insult is neuroprotective.
Interface abruptness and dissolution-induced “damage” in LPE InGaAsP heterostructures

Abstract Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) data are presented characterizing the interfacial “damage” that arises during the liquid phase epitaxial (LPE) growth of an arsenic-poor In 1-x Ga x As 1-y P y ≡ Q( y ) quanternary [matched to InP, x = 0.453y(1+0.031y) ] on a previously grown As-rich quaternary layer Q( y′ ), i.e., Q( y )-on-Q( y′ ) with y y′ . Pairs of InP-based quaternary compositions ( y, y′ ) are demonstrated that yield high-quality interfaces. TEM data show, for instance, that an InP-on-Q(0.65) [or Q(0)-on-Q(0.65)] heterostructure is ragged and possesses dislocations whereas a Q(0.40)-on-Q(0.65) heterostructure (λ ∼ 1.3 μm) is flat and dislocation-free. Similar data are presented for a Q(0.40)-on-Q(0.90) heterostructure (λ ∼ 1.55 μm), with the heterointerface flat and dislocation-free.
A woman with headache and blurred vision.

She has non-small-cell lung cancer and patchy symmetrical areas of subcortical edema in the posterior parietal and occipital lobes of the brain. What is the most likely diagnosis?
Certain rheumatoid factors react with nucleosomes

NATURAL antibodies against antigenic sites on the Fc region of human and animal IgG are referred to collectively as rheumatoid factors (RF) and they represent one of the immunological hallmarks of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Thus, the synovial fluid and tissue of RA patients contain large immune complexes which at least in part consist of RF1–4, and RF are present in serum in the majority of patients with definite or classical RA. Recent studies have demonstrated that purified and pepsin-digested polyclonal RF of IgG class from an RA serum (Han), in addition to reacting specifically with IgG, also bind to an antigen associated with cell nuclei from many species5. Furthermore, essentially 100% of the anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) of two sera (Han, Jos) was absorbed by insolubilised human IgG; the antibodies which could be eluted from this immunosorbant bound to cell nuclei, and this binding was specifically inhibited by Fc fragments of human IgG5,6. We show here that RF from serum Jos bind to nucleosomes, the repeating histone–DNA subunit of chromatin.
Recency and suffix effects found with auditory presentation and with mouthed visual presentation: They're not the same thing

Abstract Five experieents investigated recency and suffix effects in a short-term memory recall task with auditory presentation and with visual presentation when subjects silently mouthed the stimuli. It was concluded that recency and suffix effects found with auditory presentation are not mediated by the same mechanisms that mediate those effects found with visual, mouthed presentation. As expected, the typical recency and suffix effects with auditory stimuli were found with lists consisting of syllables that varied in their vowels (such as teek, take, toke) but not with lists that varied in their consonants (such as pape, tape, cape). Much weaker effects were found for mouthed stimuli; moreover, the effects were not affected by the consonant/vowel variable. The recency and suffix effects with auditorily presented stimuli were not dependent on the size of the vocabulary from which the stimuli were drawn. By contrast, the effects with mouthed visually presented stimuli were dependent on vocabulary size.
Temporal variations of the 18O/16O signal of the whole‐canopy transpiration in a temperate forest

[1] Biosphere-atmosphere exchange of water vapor isotopes plays an important role in the global atmospheric 18O-CO2 and 18O-O2 budgets. In this paper, we report the results of the first continuous measurements of isotope ratios of water vapor and the evapotranspiration flux in a temperate forest over one full growing season. We found that the 18O/16O isotopic signal of the whole-canopy transpiration (δT) was not in steady state with respect to plant source water. The departure from steady state was greatest at night and on days of low transpiration rates. Relative humidity was an important driver on timescales shorter than a few hours; on the diurnal timescale, the nonsteady state behavior was driven by relative humidity and the covarying transpiration rate. On average, δT was lowest in midmorning and highest at midnight, with an average peak-to-peak variation on the order of 15‰ over the growing season. A diurnal variation of 60‰ or more was observed on some days. On the seasonal timescale, δT was tightly coupled with the precipitation isotope ratio in the early growing season and fluctuated around the isotope ratio of the stem water of overstory trees in the late growing season. The temporal shift suggests that the forest switched its water source from the shallow to the deep soil pool and that the overstory trees dominated the whole stand transpiration in the late growing season. Using isotopic partitioning, we estimated that the overstory trees contributed roughly 70% to the whole-stand transpiration water loss during the growing season.
Comparative color space analysis of difference images from adjacent visible human slices for lossless compression

This paper reports the compression ratio performance of the RGB, YIQ, and HSV color plane models for the lossless coding of the National Library of Medicine's Visible Human (VH) color data set. In a previous study the correlation between adjacent VH slices was exploited using the RGB color plane model. The results of that study suggested an investigation into possible improvements using the other two color planes, and alternative differencing methods. YIQ and HSV, also know a HSI, both represent the image by separating the intensity from the color information, and we anticipated higher correlation between the intensity components of adjacent VH slices. However the compression ratio did not improve by the transformation from RGB into the other color plane models, since in order to maintain lossless performance, YIQ and HSV both require more bits to store each pixel. This increase in file size is not offset by the increase in compression due to the higher correlation of the intensity value, the best performance being achieved with the RGB color plane model. This study also explored three methods of differencing: average reference image, alternating reference image, and cascaded difference from single reference. The best method proved to be the first iteration of the cascaded difference from single reference. In this method, a single reference image is chosen, and the difference between it and its neighbor is calculated. Then the difference between the neighbor and its next neighbor is calculated. This method requires that all preceding images up to the reference image be reconstructed before the target image is available. The compression ratios obtained from this method are significantly better than the competing methods.© (1997) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Arylamide derivatives as peptidomimetic inhibitors of calmodulin.

Many peptides bind to calmodulin (CaM) in a helical conformation. Here we describe a group of synthetic inhibitors of CaM based on an arylamide scaffold that is intended to mimic smMLCK, a CaM-binding helical peptide. Compound 1 showed a Ki value of 7.10 ± 1.48 nM in a fluorescence polarization assay that monitors the strong association of CaM and its peptide ligand mastoparan X. (1H,15N)-HSQC NMR spectroscopy experiments suggested that 1 binds to CaM in an analogous fashion to that of smMLCK.
Osteochondritis Dissecans of the Adult Knee

Osteochondritis dissecans is a disease that originates in the subchondral bone that affects the articular cartilage. It generally presents gradually and is associated with non-specific symptoms. The true etiology is unknown but likely related to genetic, vascular or trauma. Multiple modes for diagnosis and classification exist. Conservative management often fails in adults unless the lesion is stable. Different surgical techniques have shown improvement over baseline, but there are no randomized controlled trials that demonstrate superiority of one technique over another.
The role of dislocation as sinks for H centers in LiF

The investigation reported shows that the internal friction of compressed LiF crystals which have been irradiated by gamma-rays at liquid nitrogen temperature recovers during isochronal annealing at a low linear rate. An analysis of the annealing process is conducted. It is concluded that the recovery of the internal friction is related to the interaction between dislocations and H centers. The H centers are produced by the gamma-rays.
Lobe-specific telomerase activity in the intact adult brown Norway rat prostate and its regional distribution within the prostatic ducts.

It is generally established that telomerase activity is present in most cancer cells, germ line cells, and established cell lines but typically is not present in normal somatic cells. Among the few exceptions, telomerase activity has been detected in hematopoietic stem cells and in physiologically renewable epithelial cell populations (e.g. skin, small intestine). The adult rat prostate gland is a tissue that has the ability to regenerate in response to androgen. We hypothesized, therefore, that telomerase activity should be present in the normal adult rat prostate. In this study, using a highly sensitive PCR-based telomerase assay [the telomerase repeat amplification protocol (TRAP) assay], we tested this hypothesis by measuring telomerase activity in the ventral, dorsal, lateral, and anterior lobes of the adult rat prostate. We show herein that telomerase activity indeed is present in whole tissue extracts of the ventral, dorsal, and anterior lobes, though at differing levels, but not the lateral lobe. ...
The SIMS Technique: An Introduction

This is a tutorial paper on the SIMS. The SIMS is an acronym for the spectrometre interferentiel a modulation selective (selective modulation interference spectrometer), recently introduced by Marechal and Fortunato. The paper reviews the basic principles of operation, the properties, the implementation configurations, and the current investigations of the SIMS at Utah State University. The following properties make the SIMS a powerful spectroscopic instrument. It has an extremely large optical throughput. For example, the SIMS can be configured with a light gathering capability, throughput, thousands of times larger than that of a conventional slit spectrometer. The SIMS does not require a computer to recover the spectrum; it has moderate resolving power, and it has relatively rugged implementation configurations.
Complementary and integrative medicine for older adults in palliative care.

Complementary and Integrative Medicine (CIM) encompasses many diverse therapies, including natural products and mind and body practices. Use of CIM is common and can benefit patients in palliative care. However, because patients in palliative care are often frail and elderly, the clinician should consider a patient’s comorbidities before recommending certain therapies, such as natural products. In this article, specific examples of CIM are provided for symptoms commonly seen in palliative care.
Orthogonal polynomials with discrete spectra on the real line

Abstract Orthogonal polynomials defined by the classical three-term recurrence relation are considered. Conditions on the coefficients are obtained which are sufficient for the spectrum to be a denumerable set which is unbounded above and below. Observations are made concerning extremal solutions and the accumulation points of the zeros of the orthogonal polynomials when the corresponding Hamburger moment problem is indeterminate.