cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effective co-delivery of doxorubicin and dasatinib using a PEG-Fmoc nanocarrier for combination cancer chemotherapy.

A simple PEGylated peptidic nanocarrier, PEG5000-lysyl-(α-Fmoc-e-Cbz-lysine)2 (PLFCL), was developed for effective co-delivery of doxorubicin (DOX) and dasatinib (DAS) for combination chemotherapy. Significant synergy of DOX and DAS in inhibition of cancer cell proliferation was demonstrated in various types of cancer cells, including breast, prostate, and colon cancers. Co-encapsulation of the two agents was facilitated by incorporation of 9-Fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl (Fmoc) and carboxybenzyl (Cbz) groups into a nanocarrier for effective carrier-drug interactions. Spherical nanomicelles with a small size of ∼30 nm were self-assembled by PLFCL. Strong carrier/drug intermolecular π-π stacking was demonstrated in fluorescence quenching and UV absorption. Fluorescence study showed more effective accumulation of DOX in nuclei of cancer cells following treatment with DOX&DAS/PLFCL in comparison with cells treated with DOX/PLFCL. DOX&DAS/PLFCL micelles were also more effective than other treatments in inhibiting the proliferation and migration of cultured cancer cells. Finally, a superior anti-tumor activity was demonstrated with DOX&DAS/PLFCL. A tumor growth inhibition rate of 95% was achieved at a respective dose of 5 mg/kg for DOX and DAS in a murine breast cancer model. Our nanocarrier may represent a simple and effective system that could facilitate clinical translation of this promising multi-agent regimen in combination chemotherapy.
Programming model support for dependable, elastic cloud applications

An attractive approach to leveraging the ability of cloud-computing platforms to provide resources on demand is to build elastic applications, which can scale up or down based on resource requirements. To ease the development of elastic applications, it is useful for programmers to write applications with simple, inelastic semantics and rely on runtime systems to provide elasticity. While this approach has been useful in restricted domains, such as MapReduce, we argue in this paper that adding elasticity to general distributed applications introduces new fault-tolerance challenges that must be addressed at the programming model and run-time level. We discuss a programming model for writing elastic, distributed applications, and describe an approach to fault-tolerance that integrates with the elastic run-time to provide transparent elasticity and fault-tolerance.
Temperature distribution in the duct wall and at the exit of a 19-rod simulated LMFBR fuel assembly (FFM bundle 2A)

Experiments were performed with a 19-rod test assembly in the fuel failure mockup sodium loop in which fuel rods were simulated by electrical cartridge heaters having the same external configuratio...
A method for characterization of PhytoPET in plant growth media

A positron emission tomography (PET) system (PhytoPET) designed specifically for plant biology imaging is being developed for use at the Duke University Biology Department Phytotron. The system has a modular design to accommodate various shapes and sizes of plants and plant structures. The target isotope, 11C in 11CO 2 gas, is absorbed by the leaf through photosynthesis then converted to sugars, and translocated to other parts of the plant. A large fraction of positrons from 11C can escape from thin leaves without annihilation, while in the root a large fraction of positrons annihilate because of surrounding materials such as water or soil. Since the PhytoPET system can be used for imaging both leaves and roots, it is required to characterize system performance with various surrounding materials. A capillary tube phantom was designed and fabricated to allow placement within different absorbing media such as air, water, and soil. We report on sensitivity and spatial resolution measurements of the PhytoPET system using this phantom.
Cell Cycle Analysis of Budding Yeast Using SYTOX Green

Flow cytometric determination of DNA content is a standard tool for cell cycle analysis in the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Using SYTOX Green instead of propidium iodide (PI) in a standard ethanol fixation protocol increases the accuracy and reproducibility of cell cycle analyses. SYTOX-stained cells exhibit improved coefficients of variation (CVs), a better correlation between DNA content and fluorescence, and decreased sensitivity to variances in experimental conditions when compared with PI-stained cells. The SYTOX Green protocol provides researchers with a more accurate and reliable alternative to standard PI-based protocols for the analysis of the budding yeast cell cycle.
Case–Control Studies

A case–control study is an observational study that is generally retrospective in nature. In case–control studies, investigators sample subjects with and without some trait (possibly a disease), and then look back in time to assess the antecedent risk factors. In the case–control study, the margin of disease is fixed. This means that we cannot directly calculate the relative risk. However, when the prevalence of the disease is low, the relative risk can be approximated by the odds ratio, which can always be computed regardless of whether the study is retrospective or prospective. Keywords: cohort study; observational study; odds ratio; relative risk; retrospective study
The health status of African-American elderly

This article reviews the health status of African-American elderly, based on a computerized search of the medical literature from 1987 to 1991, as well as careful review of the report of the Secretary of Health's Task Force on Black and Minority Health. Black Americans have a higher prevalence of malignancies, diabetes, hypertension, obesity, homicide, and unintentional injury than white Americans. These problems contribute to a high mortality rate in young blacks and a greater prevalence of problems with activities of daily living in elderly blacks. Despite the high disease burden among young blacks, blacks are living progressively longer. As the number of elderly blacks increases, health-care practitioners will need to increase risk factor reduction in young-old blacks. Additionally, there will be a need for increased support of physical functioning in elderly African American.
Group II activators of G-protein signalling and proteins containing a G-protein regulatory motif

Beyond the core triad of receptor, Gαβγ and effector, there are multiple accessory proteins that provide alternative modes of signal input and regulatory adaptability to G-protein signalling systems. Such accessory proteins may segregate a signalling complex to microdomains of the cell, regulate the basal activity, efficiency and specificity of signal propagation and/or serve as alternative binding partners for Gα or Gβγ independent of the classical heterotrimeric Gαβγ complex. The latter concept led to the postulate that Gα and Gβγ regulate intracellular events distinct from their role as transducers for cell surface seven-transmembrane span receptors. One general class of such accessory proteins is defined by AGS proteins or activators of G-protein signalling that refer to mammalian cDNAs identified in a specific yeast-based functional screen. The discovery of AGS proteins and related entities revealed a number of unexpected mechanisms for regulation of G-protein signalling systems and expanded functional roles for this important signalling system.
Astronomical (Heteroscedastic) Measurement Errors: Statistical Issues and Problems

A statistical model for astronomical data with measurement errors is described and discussed. Attention is drawn to the distinction between two types of measurement errors according to whether or not the magnitude (variance) of the measurement error depends on the measurement. It is emphasized that when the magnitude of the measurement error does not depend on the measurement, more efficient procedures based on suitable weighting of the observations are possible. However, when the magnitude of the measurement error depends on the measurement, weighting biases the procedure. A method for comparing multivariate data sets, valid for both kinds of measurement error, is described and a variety of other statistical problems are considered and solutions are proposed.
Chronic Hypersensitivity For Inflammatory Nociceptor Sensitization Mediated by the ε Isozyme of Protein Kinase C

We have identified a mechanism, mediated by the epsilon isozyme of protein kinase C (PKCepsilon) in peripheral neurons, which may have a role in chronic inflammatory pain. Acute inflammation, produced by carrageenan injection in the rat hindpaw, produced mechanical hyperalgesia that resolved by 72 hr. However, for up to 3 weeks after carrageenan, injection of the inflammatory mediators prostaglandin E(2) or 5-hydroxytryptamine or of an adenosine A(2) agonist into the same site induced a markedly prolonged hyperalgesia (>24 hr compared with 5 hr or less in control rats not pretreated with carrageenan). A nonselective inhibitor of several PKC isozymes and a selective PKCepsilon inhibitor antagonized this prolonged hyperalgesic response equally. Acute carrageenan hyperalgesia could be inhibited by PKA or PKG antagonists. However, these antagonists did not inhibit development of the hypersensitivity to inflammatory mediators. Our findings indicate that different second messenger pathways underlie acute and prolonged inflammatory pain.
Toll-like Receptor 4, but Not Toll-Like Receptor 2, Is a Signaling Receptor for Escherichia and Salmonella Lipopolysaccharides

Two members of the mammalian Toll-like receptor (TLR) family, TLR2 and TLR4, have been implicated as receptors mediating cellular activation in response to bacterial LPS. Through the use of mAbs raised against human TLR2 and TLR4, we have conducted studies in human cell lines and whole blood to ascertain the relative contribution of these receptors to LPS induced cytokine release. We show that the contribution of TLR2 and TLR4 to LPS-induced cellular activation correlates with the relative expression levels of these two TLRs in a given cell type. In addition, we have found that significant differences in cell stimulatory activity exist between various smooth and rough LPS types that cannot be ascribed to known LPS structural features. These results suggest that impurities in the LPS may be responsible for some of the activity and this would be in agreement with recently published results of others. Upon repurification, none of the commercial LPS preparations activate cells through TLR2, but continue to stimulate cells with comparable activity through TLR4. Our results confirm recent findings that TLR4, but not TLR2, mediates cellular activation in response to LPS derived from both Escherichia coli and Salmonella minnesota. Additionally, we show that TLR4 is the predominant signaling receptor for LPS in human whole blood.
Plasma electrochemistry for nanomaterials synthesis and patterning

Summary form only given. Electrochemical reactions are typically initiated at the interface of a solid metal electrode and ionic electrolyte. A small number of experiments, dating back to more than 100 years ago, have suggested that plasmas can be used as a gaseous electrode to mediate electrochemical reactions at the surface of liquids or thin films. However, plasmas are normally operated at low pressure which limits the scope of these experiments and their applications.
Serial magnetic resonance imaging in experimental primate stroke: Validation of MRI for pre-clinical cerebroprotective trials

Abstract Precise assessment of stroke outcome is critical for pre-clinical testing of cerebroprotective strategies. Differences in stroke volume measured by various magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques are documented in humans, but not well described in experimental primate stroke. This study characterizes changes in stroke volume using serial MRI scans in a baboon model of reperfused cerebral ischemia. The location/area of hyperintensity on MRI corresponded with the TTC-stained infarct region. T2-weighted fast spin echo (T2W FSE), fluid attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR), and diffusion weighted imaging (DWI) showed a decrease in infarct volume between 72 h and nine days post-ischemia (p = ns, p = 0.029, and p = 0.006). T2W FSE and FLAIR demonstrated an increase in infarct volume from 24 h to nine days postischemia, while DWI displayed a decrease over the same period. While early T2W FSE, FLAIR, and DWI all correlated with late infarct volume (p < 0.001), 72 h T2W FSE was the best direct measure...
Blink-related sensorimotor anatomy in the rat

Protection of the eye and maintenance of the precorneal tear film depend on sensory innervation of the cornea and eyelids and motor innervation of muscles involved in closing and opening the eyes. Using a variety of fluorescent and transganglionic tracers, the sensorimotor innervation of blink-related orbital and periorbital structures was studied in Sprague-Dawley rats. The orbicularis oculi muscle surrounded the entire palpebral fissure and was innervated by motoneurons located along the dorsal cap of the ipsilateral facial motor nucleus. Upper and lower eyelid orbicularis oculi motoneurons were strictly ipsilateral and co-extensive, but upper eyelid orbicularis oculi motoneurons were, on average, slightly rostral and lateral to lower eyelid orbicularis oculi motoneurons. Facial motoneurons supplying the frontoscutularis, a muscle that helps to elevate the upper eyelid, were located in the medial division of the ipsilateral facial motor nucleus. Presumptive type Aβ afferents from the cornea terminated most prominently at the junction of the first cervical segment and the spinal trigeminal nucleus, pars caudalis. There was a second concentration of corneal terminations at the junction of pars caudalis and pars interpolaris of the spinal trigeminal nucleus. Sparse projections to the spinal trigeminal nucleus, pars oralis and the principal trigeminal nucleus were also detected. Presumptive type Aβ afferents from the eyelids terminated throughout the rostrocaudal extent of the spinal trigeminal nucleus with a heavy concentration within laminae III and IV of the first cervical segment. Presumptive types Aδ and C terminals from the eyelids were virtually limited to laminae I and II of the first cervical segment. Central terminations from the frontal nerve were present in the principal trigeminal nucleus and throughout the spinal trigeminal nucleus, but were most prominent within the dorsal horn of the first cervical segment. Our comprehensive description of blink-related sensorimotor anatomy in rats will provide a foundation for future physiological studies of blinking.
Choroid epithelial cell pH.

Abstract The aim of the study was to obtain a reliable estimate of the pH of the parenchymal ( i.e. , epithelial) cell compartment of the choroid plexus. From the analysis of the distribution of 14C-dimethyloxazol-idinedione (DMO) and 3H-inulin in the lateral ventricular plexus, a value of 7.0 can be calculated for choroid cell pH. Because of the presence in choroid plexus of carrier-transport systems for various organic acids, the effect of carrier DMO on the measurement of cell pH was ascertained. The addition of carrier DMO (15 mg/kg, i.p.) did not significantly affect the value of choroid cell pH as calculated from the steady-state distribution of 14C-DMO. Thus if DMO is actively transported by the choroid plexus, it is probably translocated by a system that is saturated by low concentrations of carrier (ca 1 mg/kg, i.p.).
Constitutive equations for modeling non-Schmid effects in single crystal bcc-Fe at low and ambient temperatures

Abstract Constitutive equations are developed for single crystal bcc-Fe at low and ambient temperatures based on the assumption that non-Schmid effects are primarily influential on orientation dependence and tension–compression asymmetry of the initial yield stress. Temperature dependence of the non-Schmid parameters is extracted from a fit to available experimental data. Constitutive models are also developed for the decay of the influence of non-Schmid stresses with inelastic deformation. These equations are used in a dislocation density-based crystal plasticity framework to model the mechanical behavior of bcc-Fe. The stress–strain response is modeled and fit to the experimental data at 298 K. Orientation-dependent yield stress and tension–compression asymmetry simulations are compared to available experiments.
Complete oxidation of metolachlor and methyl parathion in water by the photoassisted Fenton reaction

Metolachlor [2-chloro-N-(2-methyl-6-ethylphenyl)-N-(2-methoxy-1-methylethyl)acetamide] or methyl parathion [O,O-dimethyl-4-nitrophenyl phosphorothioate] at (1–2) × 10−4 M was rapidly decomposed using a photoassisted Fenton reaction (Fe3+/H2O2/u.v.). At 10−2 M H2O2 and blacklight u.v. (300–400 nm) comparable in intensity to midday summer sunlight, metolachlor reacted in 8 min and was completely mineralized to HCl (40 min), inorganic N (7:1 ratio of NH3 and HNO3, > 2 h), and CO2 (6 h). The aromatic ring was mineralized in 2.5 h. The transient organic intermediates identified—chloroacetate, oxalate, formate, serine, and several derivatives with the aromatic ring intact—indicate non-selective attack on the molecule. Under the same conditions, methyl parathion reacted in 5 min giving quantitative yields of HNO3 and H2SO4 (5 min) and H3PO4 (30 min). Oxalic acid, 4-nitrophenol, dimethyl phosphoric acid, and traces of O,O-dimethyl-4-nitrophenyl phosphoric acid were identified as intermediates and shown to be oxidized further. Solutions of 14C-4-nitrophenol evolved HNO3 concomitant with disappearance of starting material, and evolved 14CO2 within 45 min. Based on the intermediates and their yields the initial oxidant attack on methyl parathion appears to be on the PS group leading to elimination of 4-nitrophenol and dimethyl phosphate. The results suggest that photoassisted Fenton oxidation can be a mild and effective remedy for dilute pesticide wastes.
Molecular electronics: charged with manipulation.

The ability to control charge transport through individual molecules sandwiched between electrodes could lead to further miniaturization of electronics. A better understanding of how such junctions work is crucial.
Infection control through the ages.

To appreciate the current advances in the field of health care epidemiology, it is important to understand the history of hospital infection control. Available historical sources were reviewed for 4 different historical time periods: medieval, early modern, progressive, and post–World War II. Hospital settings for the time periods are described, with particular emphasis on the conditions related to hospital infections.
Modeling of Lymphatic Contractility

The lymphatic system is responsible for maintaining fluid and protein homeostasis, collecting approximately 4 liters of interstitial fluid per day and returning it to the venous system. Transporting this fluid, however, is no trivial task. Given that the point of return is located in the upper torso, most of the body’s lymph is pumped “uphill”. Furthermore, tissue pressures are very low, no higher than 15 mmHg, suggesting that lymph flow is not solely pressure driven. In fact, lymphatic vessels rely on intrinsic and extrinsic pumping mechanisms to propel lymph.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Electronic properties of InAsGaSb superlattices

Abstract Experimental results in InAs-GaSb superlattices are reviewed, focussing on the difference between this type of superlattice and that of GaAsGa 1− x Al x As. The emphasis is on electronic properties obtained from optical and magneto experiments, including semiconductor-semimetal transitions observed recently. The process of fabrication by molecular beam epitaxy and the characteristics of heterojunctions will also be briefly described.
Probabilistic multi-level maps from LIDAR data

Recent research has shown that robots can model their world with Multi-Level (ML) maps, which utilize patches in a two-dimensional grid space to represent various environment elevations within a given grid cell. Although these maps are able to produce three-dimensional models of the environment while exploiting the computational feasibility of single elevation maps, they do not take into account in-plane uncertainty when matching measurements to grid cells or when grouping those measurements into patches. To respond to these drawbacks, this paper proposes to extend these ML maps into Probabilistic Multi-Level (PML) maps, which use formal probability theory to incorporate estimation and modeling errors due to uncertainty. Measurements are probabilistically associated with cells near the nominal location, and are categorized through hypothesis testing into patches via classification methods that incorporate uncertainty. Experimental results on representative objects found in both indoor and outdoor environments show that PML generally outperforms ML, including in noisy and sparse data environments, by producing more consistent, informative and conservative maps. In addition, PML provides the framework to heterogeneous, cooperative mapping and a way to probabilistically discriminate between conflicting maps.
Adoption of Insurance Coverage and Modes of Information Transfer: Case Study of Eastern North Carolina Floodplain Residents

In September 1999, the passage of Hurricane Floyd created a catastrophic flood in eastern North Carolina. Residents of floodplains across the region were forced to evacuate their homes on short notice. Upon their return a week later, many residents found extensive damage to their homes, and total losses amounted to billions of dollars. A normal assumption would be that many of the individual losses within the 100-year flood zone would be covered under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). The Floyd flood, however, was so catastrophic that areas outside the 100-year flood zone often found themselves under several feet of water. There has been limited examination of the effects of flooding on areas outside the NFIP zone. This study was designed to determine how much insurance coverage existed both inside and outside the 100-year zone, and why residents did or did not purchase flood insurance. Pertinent information was obtained by means of a questionnaire delivered to floodplain residents a year after the flood. The results show that whereas a large number of flood-zone residents did not have insurance coverage, almost none of the residents outside the zone were covered. It was also found that respondents received little information concerning flooding potential of their property from realtors, mortgage officers, or insurance agents. These three groups of agents play an important role in house purchasing, and should provide new homeowners with important information concerning house location in the floodplain, flood vulnerability, and insurance availability.
A theory of codetermination

This paper has developed a framework of theory within which codetermination, collective bargaining, individual bargaining, and workers' management may be compared. This has required a rather long digression on the theory of labor contracts in general when effort is endogenous but is wholly specified by the contract (section II) and when effort is multidimensional and labor contracts are incomplete (section III). When labor contracts are incomplete, suboptimization behavior results, and this in turn implies inefficiency. The inefficiency is displayed in a maximization problem by a structure which formally resembles the Lipsey-Lancaster “second-best” solution. Codetermination permits improved efficiency by creating a context of joint management decision in which some of the “free” variables may be jointly determined, with the result that some “second-best” constraints are relaxed. Thus the theory allows a possibility that power-sharing can in itself shift the effort-productivity frontier outward. This is an empirical question, of course, but one which is excluded from consideration by theories in the neoclassical and Illyrian tradition which are based on homogenous labor and complete labor contracts. Thus, the theory set forth here should supplant the less general neoclassical and Illyrian hypotheses unless and until evidence is offered which supports those hypotheses.
A regression approach to estimating the average number of persons per household

In the housing unit method, population is calculated as the number of households times the average number of persons per household (PPH), plus the population residing in group quarters facilities. Estimates of households and the group quarters population can be derived directly from concurrent data series, but estimates of PPH have traditionally been based on previous values or estimates for larger areas. In our study, we developed several regression models in which PPH estimates were based on symptomatic indicators of PPH change. We tested these estimates using county-level data in four states and found them to be more precise and less biased than estimates based on more commonly used methods.
Normal part of (H,T) phase diagram of a superconductor: Possible applications to proximity systems.

It is shown that for weak superconductivity in a uniform field (the Eilenberger Green's function \ensuremath{\Vert}f\ensuremath{\Vert}\ensuremath{\ll}1) microscopic Eilenberger equations reduce to the linear equation ${\ensuremath{\Pi}}^{2}$F=${k}^{2}$F, where \ensuremath{\Pi}\ensuremath{\rightarrow} is the gauge-invariant gradient and F is the average of the function f over the Fermi surface. This equation holds in uniform fields for any impurity concentration and applies to ${H}_{c2}$ and ${H}_{c3}$ problems, to fluctuations of superconductivity at Tg${T}_{c}$(H), as well as to various situations in proximity systems such as the superconductivity induced deep in the normal metal, the critical temperature, and the upper critical field of these systems. The parameter ${k}^{2}$ is to be determined self-consistently for each problem. The field and temperature dependence of ${k}^{2}$(H,T) is obtained for a ``moderately dirty'' case. At a certain curve which starts at the zero-field ${T}_{c}$ and is situated in the normal part of (H,T) phase diagram, ${k}^{2}$ is zero.
Tissue distribution of lead in young common terns: Influence of time since exposure

Newly hatched common tern (Sterna hirundo) chicks were injected at 2 days of age with 0.2 mg/g of lead, and subsets were examined at 1, 2, 3, and 20 days postexposure. Control birds (water injection) had low levels (
Need and Unmet Need for Care Coordination Among Children With Mental Health Conditions

OBJECTIVE: To determine prevalence and correlates of need and unmet need for care coordination in a national sample of children with mental health conditions. METHODS: Using data from the 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health, we identified children aged 2 to 17 years with ≥1 mental health condition (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, anxiety disorder, conduct disorder, or depression) who had received ≥2 types of preventive or subspecialty health services in the past year. We defined 2 outcome measures of interest: (1) prevalence of need for care coordination; and (2) prevalence of unmet need for care coordination in those with a need. Logistic regression models were used to estimate associations of clinical, sociodemographic, parent psychosocial, and health care characteristics with the outcome measures. RESULTS: In our sample ( N = 7501, representing an estimated 5 750 000 children), the prevalence of having any need for care coordination was 43.2%. Among parents reporting a need for care coordination, the prevalence of unmet need was 41.2%. Higher risk of unmet need for care coordination was associated with child anxiety disorder, parenting stress, lower income, and public or no insurance. Parents reporting social support and receipt of family-centered care had a lower risk of unmet need for care coordination. CONCLUSIONS: Approximately 40% of parents of children with mental health conditions who reported a need for care coordination also reported that their need was unmet. Delivery of family-centered care and enhancing family supports may help to reduce unmet need for care coordination in this vulnerable population.
A novel μ‐ESI source for coupling capillary electrophoresis and mass spectrometry: Sequence determination of tumor peptides at the attomole level

Membrane preconcentration transient isotachophoresis capillary electrophoresis (mPC-tITP-CE) was coupled to an ion trap mass spectrometer (MS) through a porous glass joint ion electrospray ionization source (μ-ESI source). This novel CE/MS interface gave enhanced signal with less chemical background while proving to be both durable and easy to manufacture. The utility of the mPC-tITP-CE/μ-ESI/MS combination for providing a separation orthogonal to high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with detection limits compatible with immunological samples was demonstrated using a melanoma tumor cell extract from the DM6 cell line. This system easily resolved the antigen peptide from other candidate peptides not differentiated after multiple dimensions of HPLC. Detection limits of <50 amol in full-scan MS and MS/MS modes were observed. This system was not concentration limited. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Micro Sep 10: 281–285, 1998
Constructive neutral evolution: exploring evolutionary theory's curious disconnect.

Constructive neutral evolution (CNE) suggests that neutral evolution may follow a stepwise path to extravagance. Whether or not CNE is common, the mere possibility raises provocative questions about causation: in classical neo-Darwinian thinking, selection is the sole source of creativity and direction, the only force that can cause trends or build complex features. However, much of contemporary evolutionary genetics departs from the conception of evolution underlying neo-Darwinism, resulting in a widening gap between what formal models allow, and what the prevailing view of the causes of evolution suggests. In particular, a mutationist conception of evolution as a 2-step origin-fixation process has been a source of theoretical innovation for 40 years, appearing not only in the Neutral Theory, but also in recent breakthroughs in modeling adaptation (the “mutational landscape” model), and in practical software for sequence analysis. In this conception, mutation is not a source of raw materials, but an agent that introduces novelty, while selection is not an agent that shapes features, but a stochastic sieve. This view, which now lays claim to important theoretical, experimental, and practical results, demands our attention. CNE provides a way to explore its most significant implications about the role of variation in evolution.
Preparation of nearly monodisperse nickel nanoparticles by a facile solution based methodology and their ordered assemblies

Nickel nanoparticles have been synthesized by a simple wet chemical reduction technique in the presence of a surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and a capping agent oleic acid. Varying the concentration of the surfactant and the capping agent has been found to critically govern the nature of the nanoparticles prepared. It is observed that at an optimum concentration of SDS and oleic acid, nearly monodisperse Ni nanoparticles are obtained that form highly ordered hexagonally close-packed structures on electron microscopy grids by a simple drop coating procedure. It is also shown that the presence of oleic acid is necessary for the stability of the Ni nanoparticles synthesized. Structural and magnetic characterizations of the nanoparticles are also presented.
Dynamics of CD Clusters of Galaxies: 4; Conclusion of a Survey of 25 Abell Clusters

We present the final results of a spectroscopic study of a sample of cD galaxy clusters. The goal of this program has been to study the dynamics of the clusters, with emphasis on determining the nature and frequency of cD galaxies with peculiar velocities. Redshifts measured with the MX Spectrometer have been combined with those obtained from the literature to obtain typically 50–150 observed velocities in each of 25 galaxy clusters containing a central cD galaxy. We present a dynamical analysis of the final 11 clusters to be observed in this sample. All 25 clusters are analyzed in a uniform manner to test for the presence of substructure and to determine peculiar velocities and their statistical significance for the central cD galaxy. These peculiar velocities were used to determine whether or not the central cD galaxy is at rest in the cluster potential well. We find that 30%–50% of the clusters in our sample possess significant subclustering (depending on the cluster radius used in the analysis), which is in agreement with other studies of non-cD clusters. Hence, the dynamical state of cD clusters is not different than that of other present-day clusters. After careful study, four of the clusters appear to have a cD galaxy with a significant peculiar velocity. Dressler-Shectman tests indicate that three of these four clusters have statistically significant substructure within 1.5 h Mpc of the cluster center. The dispersion of the cD peculiar velocities is 164 km s-1 around the mean cluster velocity. This represents a significant detection of peculiar cD velocities but at a level that is far below the mean velocity dispersion for this sample of clusters. The picture that emerges is one in which cD galaxies are nearly at rest with respect to the cluster potential well but have small residual velocities due to subcluster mergers.
Inhibition of basal and stimulated gastric H+ and pepsin secretion in duodenal ulcer patients by metiamide, an H-2 histamine antagonist.

Metiamide was given orally in one dose of 200 mg in 23 studies in patients with duodenal ulcer, 4 in the basal state, 11 during histamine infusion, and 8 before insulin hypoglycemia stimulation. In the latter 8 patients insulin was given at another time without metiamide. In 17 studies acid secretion was suppressed by metiamide—up to 75% in the basal state, 53% after histamine, and 80% after insulin. Pepsin secretion was reduced to the same extent as H+ in the histamine studies but not in the basal (57%) or insulin (44%) studies, so that in the latter pepsin/acid ratios were 3-fold greater than in controls. Blood levels of metiamide were measured in 17 studies. In 10 out of 11 who showed inhibition of 40% or more, peak blood levels of metiamide were 0.45 μg/ml to 1.25 μg/ml. In 5 of 6 who did not show inhibition, blood levels were 0.05–0.4 μg/ml; in the sixth it was 0.8 μg/ml. Therefore a critical blood level for suppression of basal or stimulated secretion appears to be ∼0.45 μg/ml.
Exploratory Space–Time Analysis of Burglary Patterns

This paper introduces two new methods for the exploratory analysis of the spatial and temporal dynamics of residential burglary patterns. The first is a conditional spatial Markov chain which considers the extent to which a location’s probability of experiencing a residential burglary in a future period is related to the prevalence of residential burglaries in its surrounding neighborhood in an initial period. The second measure extends this conditional perspective to examine the joint evolution of residential burglary in a location and its surrounding neighborhood. These methods are applied to a case study of residential burglary patterns in Mesa, Arizona over the period October 2005 through December 2009. Strong patterns of spatial clustering of burglary activity are present in each year, and this clustering is found to have an important influence on both the conditional and joint evolution of burglary activity across space and time.
Work Family Programs and the Employment Relationship

This research was supported by the Spencer Foundation. I am grateful to Rose Batt for superb research assistance and to Lotte Bailyn, Steve Barley, Peter Cappelli, David Knoke, and Maureen Scully for comments. Using data from a representative sample of American private-sector establishments, this paper explains variation across firms in the implementation of work/family programs by examining how these are related to the employment strategy of organizations. The central hypothesis is that firms seeking to implement so-called high-performance or high-commitment work systems, incorporating employee involvement and quality programs, are more likely to adopt work/family programs as part of an effort to build up the level of workforce commitment to the enterprise. This hypothesis is tested, controlling for two other broad hypothesized effects: (1) that adoption of work/family programs is linked to the demand for them arising either from workforce problems such as absenteeism and turnover or from pressure from the labor force; and (2) that adoption is linked to whether employers already have in place elements of well-developed internal labor markets such as job ladders and human resource departments. Results show considerable support for the link between work/family programs and the use of high-commitment work systems.'
Processing, characterization, and bactericidal activity of undoped and silver-doped vanadium oxides

Abstract Vanadium oxide (V) and silver-doped vanadium oxide (Ag-V) powders were prepared via sol–gel processing. Structural evolution and bactericidal activity was examined as a function of temperature ranging from 250, 350, 450 and 550 °C. Powders were characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Raman spectroscopy. Results from all techniques showed vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) is the predominant phase regardless of heat treatment temperature or the addition of silver (Ag). XRD analysis suggests Ag is present as AgCl in samples heat treated to 250, 350, and 450 °C and as AgV6O15 at 550 °C. Bactericidal activity was evaluated against Escherichia coli using the agar disk diffusion method considering both Ag-V and undoped, V powders. While the addition of Ag significantly increased bactericidal properties, the specific Ag valency, or crystal structure and morphology formed at higher temperatures, had little effect on functionality.
New developments in the diagnosis of the dementias

The most common errors in the diagnosis of dementia are underdiagnosis and overdiagnosis. Underdiagnosis is best avoided by careful use of psychometric screening tests to detect cognitive impairment in patients unaware of their own defect. Overdiagnosis can be avoided by not applying the label of “dementia” until the diagnosis is unequivocal. Complete evaluation is necessary to rule out treatable causes of dementia, and should include medical, neurological, and psychiatric history and examination, simple psychometric tests, laboratory battery, computerized transaxial tomographic brain scan, and electroencephalogram. Ultimately, the diagnosis of dementia may change at follow-up examination, and the unequivocal diagnosis of a specific form of dementia still requires autopsy and neuropathological examination of the brain. The most common causes of cognitive impairment in the elderly include Alzheimer's disease, multi-infarct dementia, depression, and other specific illnesses such as tumors, Jakob-Creutzfeldt disease, and normal pressure hydrocephalus. Even systemic disease can present as dementia. The evaluation outlined above may help distinguish among these causes. New diagnostic techniques may eventually be helpful as well.
CMOS analog processor for telemetry signals

The design of a custom CMOS analog integrated circuit to process telemetry signals will be presented. The telemetry system seeks to filter and extract information from 64 channels of signals transmitted from either chronically implanted sensors or Doppler devices. Each channel is buffered and filtered before further signal transformations. The transforming circuits include individually adjustable scaling circuit for each channel and a phase shifter and summing amplifier for each pair of channels. The scaling circuit is designed to be user-programmable thus increasing the flexibility in the signal processing algorithms implemented based on this processor. The circuit is designed using 2 im CMOS technology and fabricated by MOSIS. The design approaches of the amplifier and scaler circuits will be presented. The results will be compared to the original specifications to discuss circuit performance. 1.© (1990) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Membrane triangles with corner drilling freedoms II: the ANDES element

This is the second article in a three-part series on the construction of 3-node, 9-dof membrane elements with normal-to-its-plane rotational freedoms (the so-called drilling freedoms) using parametrized variational principles. In this part, one such element is derived within the context of the assumed natural deviatoric strain (ANDES) formulation. The higher-order strains are obtained by constructing three parallel-to-sides pure-bending modes from which natural strains are obtained at the corner points and interpolated over the element. To attain rank sufficiency, an additional higher-order 'torsional' mode, corresponding to equal hierarchical rotations at each corner with all other motions precluded, is incorporated. The resulting formulation has five free parameters. When these parameters are optimized against pure bending by energy balance methods, the resulting element is found to coalesce with the optimal EFF element derived in Part I. Numerical integration as a strain filtering device is found to play a key role in this achievement.
An assessment of protein secondary structure prediction methods based on amino acid sequence.

Abstract Five of the several secondary structure prediction methods based on protein amino acid sequence have been computerized, allowing the calculation of joint prediction histograms which have been shown to be superior to any individual prediction. The known structures of about 40 proteins experimentally determined by X-ray crystallography are compared with the predictions resulting from calculated histograms. The accuracy of the predictions for helices is generally much better than for both β-sheet regions and for turns. The overall agreement between prediction and observation within the amino terminal half of the protein molecules is clearly superior to that for the carboxyl half, suggesting an amino nucleating core. Predictions for smaller proteins and thermally stable proteins are generally good, indicating the sensitivity of the methods to short-range but not long-range interactions. In less than half the cases tested were the predictions useful; there was no way of knowing ahead of time if a favorable prediction would result. Given the lack of dramatic improvement with an increase in data base for the schemes and the generally poor agreement factors, it appears that a perfect predictive algorithm must include a consideration of energy minimization, thermalization, and long-range interactions. Extreme caution is suggested in applying present prediction routines to unknown protein structures.
A new look at discriminative training for hidden Markov models

Discriminative training for hidden Markov models (HMMs) has been a central theme in speech recognition research for many years. One most popular technique is minimum classification error (MCE) training, with the objective function closely related to the empirical error rate and with the optimization method based traditionally on gradient descent. In this paper, we provide a new look at the MCE technique in two ways. First, we develop a non-trivial framework in which the MCE objective function is re-formulated as a rational function for multiple sentence-level training tokens. Second, using this novel re-formulation, we develop a new optimization method for discriminatively estimating HMM parameters based on growth transformation or extended Baum-Welch algorithm. Technical details are given for the use of lattices as a rich representation of competing candidates for the MCE training.
Synthesis of 3,5-Disubstituted-4,5-dihydroindeno[1,2-c] [1,2]diazepin-6(1H)-ones

3,5-Disubstituted 4,5-dihydroindeno[1,2-c][1,2]diazepin-6 (1H)-ones (3a–g) were obtained in 29–72% yields by condensing 2-(substituted-2-acylethyl)-1,3-indandiones (1a–n) with hydrazine. The NH group of the indenodiazepinones 3a–g is quite unreactive. Two methods based on the Michael reaction were used for preparing the acylethylindandiones 1a–n: one from 1,3-indandione and chalcone-type compounds and the other from 2-benzylidene-1,3-indandione and acetophenones. The latter method was found more practical and of more general application.
Molecular Recognition of CXCR4 by a Dual Tropic HIV-1 gp120 V3 Loop

HIV-1 cell entry is initiated by the interaction of the viral envelope glycoprotein gp120 with CD4, and chemokine coreceptors CXCR4 and CCR5. The molecular recognition of CXCR4 or CCR5 by the HIV-1 gp120 is mediated through the V3 loop, a fragment of gp120. The binding of the V3 loop to CXCR4 or CCR5 determines the cell tropism of HIV-1 and constitutes a key step before HIV-1 cell entry. Thus, elucidating the molecular recognition of CXCR4 by the V3 loop is important for understanding HIV-1 viral infectivity and tropism, and for the design of HIV-1 inhibitors. We employed a comprehensive set of computational tools, predominantly based on free energy calculations and molecular-dynamics simulations, to investigate the molecular recognition of CXCR4 by a dual tropic V3 loop. We report what is, to our knowledge, the first HIV-1 gp120 V3 loop:CXCR4 complex structure. The computationally derived structure reveals an abundance of polar and nonpolar intermolecular interactions contributing to the HIV-1 gp120:CXCR4 binding. Our results are in remarkable agreement with previous experimental findings. Therefore, this work sheds light on the functional role of HIV-1 gp120 V3 loop and CXCR4 residues associated with HIV-1 coreceptor activity.
Negative Incremental Resistance Induced by Calcium in Asymmetric Nanopores

Single polymer nanopores with permanent surface charges act as rectifiers of ionic current. The pores are tapered cones with narrow openings of several nanometers and wide openings of ∼1 μm. The pores are cation-selective, and in symmetric solutions of potassium chloride they rectify the flow of potassium ions from the small opening toward the wide opening. Millimolar concentrations of calcium reverse the rectification, and a negative incremental resistance is observed. These observations can be interpreted by a model containing flashing ratchets.
Considerations in planning for reliable electric service

To assure reliability of electric power, it is essential to have effective transmission and adequate interconnections, adherence to operating limitations, and recognition that, in spite of all that can be done, there is always the chance that an unforeseen contingency will cause system separation and possibly generator deficiency. The first consideration requires system studies to demonstrate that no single disturbance will cause cascading tripouts of lines or generators; the second may be facilitated by automatic monitoring of the system condition; the third requires automatic load shedding on low frequency.