cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Role of Carbon Dioxide in Catabolism of Propane by "Nocardia paraffinicum" (Rhodococcus rhodochrous).

The catabolism of propane by “Nocardia paraffinicum” (Rhodococcus rhodochrous) has been shown to involve CO2 fixation after its oxidation to propionic acid. “N. paraffinicum” failed to grow on either propane or 1-propanol in the absence of CO2. The rate of propane utilization was directly related to the initial CO2 concentration, and Warburg respirometry suggested that CO2 was required for the catabolism of 1-propanol, propionaldehyde, and propionate but not for 2-propanol. These data also suggested that the predominant pathway for the utilization of propane by “N. paraffinicum” was through 1-propanol. The use of [2-14C]propane and 14CO2 confirmed the catabolism of propane and the fixation of CO2. Through the use of these isotopes and the pyruvate carboxylase inhibitor sodium arsenite, the labeled 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine derivative of pyruvate was trapped and isolated via thin-layer chromatography. The trapping of [14C]pyruvate in this manner was considered to be indicative of the presence of the methylmalonyl coenzyme A pathway for CO2 fixation.
Compression and aggregation-resistant particles of crumpled soft sheets.

Unlike flat sheets, crumpled paper balls have both high free volume and high compressive strength, and can tightly pack without significantly reducing the area of accessible surface. Such properties would be highly desirable for sheet-like materials such as graphene, since they tend to aggregate in solution and restack in the solid state, making their properties highly dependent on the material processing history. Here we report the synthesis of crumpled graphene balls by capillary compression in rapidly evaporating aerosol droplets. The crumpled particles are stabilized by locally folded, π–π stacked ridges as a result of plastic deformation, and do not unfold or collapse during common processing steps. In addition, they are remarkably aggregation-resistant in either solution or solid state, and remain largely intact and redispersible after chemical treatments, wet processing, annealing, and even pelletizing at high pressure. For example, upon compression at 55 MPa, the regular flat graphene sheets turn ...
Beet Juice-Induced Green Fabrication of Plasmonic AgCl/Ag Nanoparticles

A simple, green, and fast approach (complete within 5 min) was explored for the fabrication of hybrid AgCl/Ag plasmonic nanoparticles under microwave (MW) irradiation. In this method, beet juice served as a reducing reagent, which is an abundant sugar-rich agricultural produce. Interestingly, the obtained AgCl/Ag samples have a smaller size than the AgCl reaction precursor. This makes it an unusual top-down hydrothermal synthesis. The as-prepared material displayed good photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methyl orange (MO) dye.
Recurrent flank pain from 'lobster claw'.

A 56-year-old woman with sickle-cell trait (hemoglobin electrophoresis with 53.5% hemoglobin A, 3.7% hemoglobin A2, 41.7% hemoglobin S and 1.1% hemoglobin F) was seen for recurrent episodes of ‘bilateral’ flank pain associated with gross hematuria and passage of cellular debris. These episodes had occurred on an infrequent basis for many years and seemed to be triggered by fasting. Her past medical history was pertinent for osteoarthritis and nephrolithiasis. She was on no medications and did not use any non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or other over-the-counter medications. Physical examination was unremarkable. Renal function was normal (serum creatinine of 0.7 mg/dL). Hematocrit was 34.8. There was no proteinuria. A computed tomographic urogram (CTU) of abdomen demonstrated bilateral papillary necrosis. Papillary necrosis reflects ischemic damage to renal medulla. Sickling facilitated by hyperosmotic, hypoxic and acidotic environment of the medulla leads to infarct. Diabetes mellitus, analgesic abuse, pyelonephritis, renal vein thrombosis, tuberculosis and obstructive uropathy are other major causes of papillary necrosis. Multidetector-row CTU helps in the detailed assessment of the renal parenchyma and collecting system and facilitates identification of papillary necrosis at a very early stage [1]. Necrosis of the papilla causes swelling followed by shrinkage of the papilla with widening of the fornices. The necrotic papilla may either remain in situ or detach and form a cavity. Necrosis may be limited to the central tip of the papilla (medullary form) or involve the entire papilla (total papillary necrosis) [2]. Radiographically, tracks of contrast arising from the fornices of blunted calyces are seen. Sloughed papillae are seen as central filling defect with a surrounding ring of contrast. Figures 1 and ​and22 show the typical ‘egg in a cup’ appearance with central pooling of contrast and ‘lobster claw’ pattern of contrast extravasation seen in papillary necrosis [3]. Fig. 1. (A) CTU with intravenous contrast demonstrating bilateral papillary necrosis (3D reconstruction) shows the ‘egg in a cup’ appearance with central contrast pooling (long arrow, left), ring shadow of sloughed papilla with central lucency ... Fig. 2. CTU with intravenous contrast demonstrating bilateral papillary necrosis (coronal section) shows the ‘egg in a cup’ appearance with central contrast pooling (long arrow, left), ring shadow of sloughed papilla with central lucency (arrow ...
Software simulation accurately predicts the microwave oscillator Q factors

Prediction of the oscillator Q factors, prior to its fabrication, is often necessary in determining the oscillator's operating parameters such as; phase noise, pulling figure, tuning bandwidth and frequency stability. This paper first discusses the techniques used for the Q factor measurement and then utilizes the HP EEsof Series IV design software to measure the Q factors associated with the microwave resonators and oscillators. It also compares the results of the software simulation with the actual measurements of the Q factors. The measured data indicates that, if the oscillator elements are accurately modeled, the software measurements are very close to the actual hardware measurements.
Why IDLs are not ideal

The dominant approach to addressing heterogeneity, interoperability and legacy software components at present is based on the use of interface description languages (IDLs) such as the OMG/CORBA IDL. We believe that this approach has serious drawbacks. In this paper we outline our objections to the IDL-based approach, then describe ongoing research directed toward producing a superior alternative, which we refer to as the polylingual systems approach. We illustrate both our objections to the IDL-based approach and also our new polylingual systems approach with examples based on the IWSSD common case study.
Out-of-Wedlock Childbearing, Marital Prospects and Mate Selection

We apply marital search theory to examine whether out-of-wedlock childbearing affects mate selection patterns among American women. Using 1980-1995 CPS data, we apply probit models with selection to account for potential selection bias due to differences in "marriageability" between women in and not in unions. Compared to those without unmarried births, women with unmarried births are more likely to cohabit than to marry, and they are more likely to have less-educated and older spouses or partners. White women with unmarried births are also more likely than those without to have husbands or partners of another race. Thus, women with unmarried births tend to cohabit and are less "well matched." These results have important implications for public policy that increasingly regards marriage as a panacea for low-income women.
Preventing tree saturation in multistage networks

In a large-scale multiprocessing system, contention for a particular memory location (called hotspot), may create congestion in the interconnection network. Usually a tree of saturated buffers rooted at the hot memory module and extending to the processors is formed which causes excessive delay for both hotspot and regular nonhotspot requests. To prevent tree saturation, a simple combining technique is proposed. The technique attempts to increase the chances of request combining. The new scheme called input queue combining uses simpler queueing structure compared to those proposed for conventional pairwise combining. The component count in each queue reduces to one-third of that in pairwise combining and the number for the waitbuffer reduces to half. While conventional pairwise combining is effective only for smaller networks, the proposed technique eliminates tree saturation even in very large networks, with reasonable delay. Networks delays reported here are among the lowest reported to date. >
Creating a mixed-signal test and product engineering course

The paper presents a new mixed-signal test engineering course geared for undergraduate seniors and master's-level graduate students. The course provides a capstone experience for our electrical and computer engineering students, integrating many undergraduate topics while providing industrial hands-on experiences. The students were enthusiastic about the real-world experiences with an industrial grade automatic tester (ATE), the knowledge gained about data converters, and felt that the course had a good integration of lectures and labs.
Same and Different: Latino College Students’ Perceptions of Themselves and Others on Campus

In this study, most Latino college students preferred the term “Hispanic” over “Latino” as a panethnic term. These Latino students also detailed their differences based on how they perceive other s...
A hierarchy of subgraphs underlying a timing graph and its use in capturing topological correlation in SSTA

This paper shows that a timing graph has a hierarchy of specially defined subgraphs, based on which we present a technique that captures topological correlation in arbitrary block-based statistical static timing analysis (SSTA). We interpret a timing graph as an algebraic expression made up of addition and maximum operators. We define the division operation on the expression and propose algorithms that modify factors in the expression without expansion. As a result, they produce an expression to derive the latest arrival time with better accuracy in SSTA. Existing techniques handling reconvergent fanouts usually use dependency lists, requiring quadratic space complexity. Instead, the proposed technique has linear space complexity by using a new directed acyclic graph search algorithm. Our results show that it outperforms an existing technique in speed and memory usage with comparable accuracy.
EFFECTS OF CADMIUM ON GLUTATHIONE PEROXIDASE, SUPEROXIDE DISMUTASE, AND LIPID PEROXIDATION IN THE RAT HEART: A POSSIBLE MECHANISM OF CADMIUM CARDIOTOXICITY

Cadmium treatment of rats maintained on a low-selenium diet produced a significant increase in specific heart weight together with histopathological changes. This increase was accompanied by a decrease in the activities of the selenoenzyme, glutathione peroxidase, and the copper-containing enzyme superoxide dismutase, together with a rise in thiobarbiturate-reactive substances in the heart. Increased dietary selenium prevented the lowering of glutathione peroxidase activity but did not influence the effect of cadmium on superoxide dismutase. The effect of cadmium on thiobarbiturate-reactive materials was markedly reduced in the rats fed high dietary selenium.
Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Level Correlates With Transforming Growth Factor-β Isoform Levels in Pleural Effusions

Background: Recent studies have demonstrated high levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in exudative pleural effusions and a possible etiologic role. The factors regulating VEGF accumulation in the pleural space are unknown. Transforming growth factor (TGF)-b is a potent stimulator of VEGF expression in vitro. We hypothesized that TGF-b induces VEGF production in pleural tissues, and, hence, the pleural fluid VEGF levels should correlate with the levels of TGF-b in pleural fluid of different etiologies. Methods: Seventy pleural fluid samples were analyzed. These included 20 malignant, 13 post-coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), 8 parapneumonic, 11 miscellaneous exudative, and 18 congestive heart failure (CHF) pleural effusions. Results: Pleural fluid VEGF levels showed good correlation with those of TGF-b1 (r 5 0.58; p < 0.0001), TGF-b2 (r 5 0.43; p < 0.001), and lactate dehydrogenase (r 5 0.65; p < 0.001). The levels of TGF-b1 and TGF-b2 also were correlated (r 5 0.60; p < 0.0001). The median levels of TGF-b1 (2,480 pg/mL) and TGF-b2 (266 pg/mL) in the CHF group were significantly lower than those in the malignant (TGF-b1, 4,902 pg/mL; TGF-b2, 428 pg/mL), post-CABG (TGF-b1, 5,456 pg/mL; TGF-b2, 377 pg/mL), parapneumonic (TGF-b1, 5,024 pg/mL; TGF-b2, 464 pg/mL), and miscellaneous exudate groups (TGF-b1, 7,690 pg/mL; TGF-b2, 369 pg/mL). There was no significant difference in TGF-b1 and TGF-b2 levels among the four exudate groups. Conclusions: VEGF levels in pleural effusions are significantly correlated with the levels of TGF-b1 and b2 isoforms. VEGF, TGF-b1, and TGF-b2 levels were all higher in exudative effusions than in effusions secondary to CHF. (CHEST 2000; 118:1747‐1753)
Dynamics of individual deoxyribonucleic acid molecules visualized in situ with shear strain

Many groups have investigated macromolecular dynamics under strain in the past due to its importance in numerous fields. The prediction of the conformation of individual molecules in shear is still heartily discussed today. We report the first real-time imaging of the dynamics of individual DNA molecules under a well-defined shear flow. Individual DNA molecules are placed under a shear flow while visualizing their complex dynamic conformations in real-time. DNA molecules are larger than the micrometer scale and thus can be visualized using optical microscopy via fluorochromes. This novel experiment allows us to understand the structural deformations of individual DNA molecules. This opens up a new world of real-time visualization of individual polymers under shear and reveals a completely new and fundamental insight into the behavior of individual polymers under shear with potential applications in fields from biology, to mechanics, to medicine.
Microsatellite primers for the fungi Rhizopogon kretzerae and R. salebrosus (Rhizopogonaceae) from 454 shotgun pyrosequencing.

Premise of the study: Rhizopogon kretzerae and R. salebrosus (Rhizopogonaceae) are ectomycorrhizal fungi symbiotic with pines and the mycoheterotrophic plant Pterospora andromedea (Ericaceae). Microsatellite loci will allow population genetic study of fungal hosts to P. andromedea. Methods and Results: Shotgun pyrosequencing of R. kretzerae DNA resulted in primer development of 23 perfect microsatellite loci and screened across two populations each for R. kretzerae and R. salebrosus. Twelve loci were polymorphic in R. kretzerae populations, and 11 loci cross-amplified in R. salebrosus populations. For R. kretzerae and R. salebrosus, number of alleles was one to eight and one to nine, respectively, and observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.00–0.57 and 0.00–0.70, respectively. Conclusions: These are the first microsatellite loci developed for any species within Rhizopogon subgenus Amylopogon. These microsatellite loci will be used in conservation genetic studies of rare to endangered eastern populations and...
Health care resource utilization and costs during episodes of care for type 2 diabetes mellitus-related comorbidities.

Abstract Aims To obtain costs of episodes of care for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM)-related comorbidities. Methods Data from the MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters Database were analyzed with the Medical Episode Grouper software, which uses proprietary algorithms to identify episodes of care. Episodes relevant to the T2DM population were examined, including: coronary artery disease with acute myocardial infarction, ventricular fibrillation, shock, and/or cardiac arrest (CAD episodes); cerebrovascular disease with stroke (CVD episodes); hypoglycemia; T2DM with complications (complication episodes); and renal failure. Results 45,350 CAD; 85,287 CVD; 29,886 hypoglycemia; 40,339 complication; and 211,673 renal failure episodes were identified. Mean (SD) episode durations were 15.2 (39.1), 25.5 (55.0), 5.9 (24.0), 21.2 (54.6), and 364.0 (0.0) days, respectively. Inpatient visits were the largest component of unadjusted costs for CAD, CVD, and complication episodes (93.4%, 78.3%, and 91.9%, respectively). Other ancillary care represented the largest component of unadjusted costs for hypoglycemia (53.3%) and renal failure (80.5%) episodes. Mean adjusted total costs were $16,435; $4558; $445; $5675; and $8765 for CAD, CVD, hypoglycemia, complication, and renal failure episodes, respectively. Conclusions This study adds important information to the literature regarding costs of episodes of care for patients with T2DM in the US.
All-digital replica techniques for managing random mismatch in time-to-digital converters

We propose replica techniques with statistical post processing to improve integral non-linearity (INL) and code distribution performance of time-to-digital converters (TDC). We consider three different types of TDC namely: vernier delay line, multi-resolution, and ring oscillator based. We show that using a replica delay line with additional digital processing at the output, one can achieve better INL and code distribution (at every code) in each of the TDC architectures. The quantum of improvement is only limited by the additional hardware that is to be added, and can be traded for arbitrarily high improvements in INL and code distribution.
Pulmonary complications of childhood cancers

Pulmonary complications are frequently seen in survivors of childhood cancer, and are due to both disease-related and treatment-related causes. While primary lung cancer is extremely rare in the pediatric population, the lung is a common site for metastatic disease. Furthermore, therapies used to treat the pediatric population can often cause pulmonary toxicity. Specifically, chemotherapy, radiation, hematopoietic stem cell transplant, and surgery can all cause long-term damage to the sensitive lung tissue. These pulmonary sequelae can be further subdivided into acute and late effects.
vEye: behavioral footprinting for self-propagating worm detection and profiling

With unprecedented speed, virulence, and sophistication, self-propagating worms remain as one of the most severe threats to information systems and Internet in general. In order to mitigate the threat, efficient mechanisms are needed to accurately profile and detect the worms before or during their outbreaks. Particularly, deriving a worm’s unique signatures, or fingerprints, is of the first priority to achieve this goal. One of the most popular approaches is to use content-based signatures, which characterize a worm by extracting its unique information payload. In practice, such content-based signatures, unfortunately, suffer from numerous disadvantages, such as vulnerable to content mutation attacks or not applicable for polymorphic worms. In this paper, we propose a new behavioral footprinting (BF) approach that nicely complements the state-of-the-art content-based signature approaches and allows users to detect and profile self-propagating worms from the unique worm behavioral perspective. More specifically, our behavioral footprinting method uniquely captures a worm’s dynamic infection sequences (e.g., probing, exploitation, and replication) by modeling each interaction step as a behavior phenotype and denoting a complete infection process as a chained sequence. We argue that a self-propagating worm’s inherent behaviors or infection patterns can be detected and characterized by using sequence alignment tools, where patterns shared by the infection sequences will imply the behavioral footprints of the worm. A systematic platform called vEye has been built to validate the proposed design with either “live” or historical worms, where a number of real-world infection sequences are used to build worm behavioral footprints. Experimental comparisons with existing content-based fingerprints will demonstrate the uniqueness and effectiveness of the proposed behavior footprints in self-propagating worm detection and profiling.
Some Aspects of Circulation and Climate over the Eastern Equatorial Atlantic

Abstract The South Atlantic trades cross the equator at the height of northern summer, recurving from south-easterly to southwesterly near 5°N, and undercut the northeast trades along an extended discontinuity. The negative surface stress curl of this atmospheric current leads to upwelling and a cold ocean surface immediately south of the equator, with downwelling and higher sea temperatures to the north. This clockwise turning, cross-equatorial flow is markedly divergent between the equator and about 5°N. A band of convergence extends poleward from 5°N into the southern fringe of the northeast trades. Maximum convergence, cloudiness and precipitation frequency all occur ∼350 km south of the surface wind discontinuity and pressure minimum, in a region of high directional steadiness of wind.
Probabilistic Seismic Loss Analysis for the Design of Steel Structures: Optimizing for Multiple-Objective Functions

An optimized seismic performance-based design (PBD) methodology considering structural and nonstructural system performance and seismic losses is considered to optimize the design of a steel struct...
Biophysical constraints on lateral inhibition in the olfactory bulb

The mitral cells (MCs) of the mammalian olfactory bulb (OB) constitute one of two populations of principal neurons (along with middle/deep tufted cells) that integrate afferent olfactory information with top-down inputs and intrinsic learning and deliver output to downstream olfactory areas. MC activity is regulated in part by inhibition from granule cells, which form reciprocal synapses with MCs along the extents of their lateral dendrites. However, with MC lateral dendrites reaching over 1.5 mm in length in rats, the roles of distal inhibitory synapses pose a quandary. Here, we systematically vary the properties of a MC model to assess the capacity of inhibitory synaptic inputs on lateral dendrites to influence afferent information flow through MCs. Simulations using passivized models with varying dendritic morphologies and synaptic properties demonstrated that, even with unrealistically favorable parameters, passive propagation fails to convey effective inhibitory signals to the soma from distal sources. Additional simulations using an active model exhibiting action potentials, subthreshold oscillations, and a dendritic morphology closely matched to experimental values further confirmed that distal synaptic inputs along the lateral dendrite could not exert physiologically relevant effects on MC spike timing at the soma. Larger synaptic conductances representative of multiple simultaneous inputs were not sufficient to compensate for the decline in signal with distance. Reciprocal synapses on distal MC lateral dendrites may instead serve to maintain a common fast oscillatory clock across the OB by delaying spike propagation within the lateral dendrites themselves.
Microwave Radiation Heating in Pressurized Vessels for the Rapid Extraction of Coal Samples for Broad Spectrum GC–MS Analysis

Soxhlet extraction has been successful at processing difficult to extract compounds from a variety of solid samples; however, the extraction is often time-consuming, uses large volumes of solvent, and can only process one sample at a time. This has been more evident in the sample preparation of coal and other complex geochemical samples for analysis by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), where 72-h Soxhlet extractions are the norm. This study presents the development of a fast approach using a pressurized vessel system with either a hot air oven or microwave radiation heating. The techniques were tested with sub-bituminous (Powder River Range, Wyoming, U.S.A.) and bituminous (Fruitland Formation, Colorado, U.S.A.) coal samples. Performance of the pressure-vessel techniques in terms of extraction efficiency and extracted compound profiles (via GC–MS) were compared to that of a Soxhlet extraction. Overall 30–40% higher extraction efficiencies (by weight) were obtained with a 4 h hot air oven and a...
Abstract 1914: Consumption of Lake Ontario sport fish and prostate cancer incidence in the New York State Angler Cohort Study (NYSACS)

Fish from the Great Lakes are an important source of exposure to persistent organic pollutants, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (e.g., Mirex and DDT). Some of these pollutants are hypothesized to be hormonally active and therefore may increase the risk of prostate cancer. Conversely, fish are also a source of micro- and macro-nutrients hypothesized to have chemopreventive properties. We investigated the consumption of sport-caught fish from Lake Ontario and the incidence of prostate cancer in the NYSACS, a prospective cohort of 17,110 anglers and their spouses aged 18 to 40 years old at enrollment. Participants completed a mailed self-administered questionnaire upon enrollment in 1991. Demographic factors, smoking history and selected potential confounders were ascertained. The questionnaire also queried for the number of years that fish from Lakes Ontario and Erie were consumed as well as the preparation and cooking practices for sport caught fish. As of December 31, 2008 fifty-eight first primary incident prostate cancers were identified via the New York State Cancer Registry. Vital status was determined by linkage with the Social Security Administration Death file. Of the 10,436 males enrolled at baseline, 10% (n=1,075) were lost to follow-up. Fish consumption was dichotomized into never vs. ever. Duration of consumption was categorized into tertiles based on the distribution among the cases who reported eating L Ontario sport caught fish. Poisson regression was used to calculate rate ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals, adjusting for age, education and pack-years of smoking. Ever eating Lake Ontario fish was inversely associated with prostate cancer incidence (RR adjusted =0.5 (95% CI=0.3-0.9)) compared with never consumers. In addition, we found a suggestion of an inverse association with increasing duration of L. Ontario fish consumption (non-eaters RR = 1.0 (ref); 1 st tertile RR = 0.6 (95% CI = 0.3-1.3); 2 nd tertile RR = 0.4 (95% CI = 0.2-1.0); 3 rd tertile RR = 0.5 (95% CI = 0.2-1.0); although the exposure-response gradient was neither monotonic nor significant (p trend = 0.157). The exposure-response gradients were similar when consumption was lagged 5- and 10-years (5-year lag p trend = 0.289; 10-year p trend = 0.269). While interpretation is complicated by a lack of information on family history of prostate cancer, and a small number of cases, these preliminary results are suggestive of an inverse association between Lake Ontario fish consumption and prostate cancer risk. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 1914. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-1914
Inferring salesperson capability using stochastic frontier analysis

This paper proposes an easy-to-implement econometric method for inferring salesperson capability from archival panel data, namely stochastic frontier (SF) analysis. We demonstrate this method with a sample of salespersons provided by a life insurance company. Using the proposed SF model, we are able to estimate each salesperson’s capability. Furthermore, we examine the relationship between the estimated salesperson capability and three future outcomes (i.e. future sales performance, future customer attrition, and future salesperson turnover) under different time horizons. We find that, in general, the estimated salesperson capability has a stronger explanatory power for the near than for the more distant future. Since an individual salesperson’s capability cannot be directly observed by researchers (and thus is typically omitted), traditional analyses of sales performance suffer from an omitted-variable problem that can lead to biased estimates of focal variables. The SF model can significantly mitigate t...
HIV-1 DNA based vaccine induces a CD8 mediated cross-clade CTL response

Novel approaches for the generation of more effective vaccines for HIV-1 are of significant importance. In this report we analyse the immunogenicity and efficacy of a DNA vaccination approach in a chimpanzee model system. Three chimpanzees were vaccinated with DNA constructs which express the env, rev, gag and pol proteins. These animals developed specific cellular responses to these proteins, although the nature of the responses varied among the animals. We demonstrated that DNA vaccination led to a CD8 mediated killing of targets expressing the homologous clade B envelope as well as targets expressing heterologous clade E envelope. In addition seronegative individuals have been inoculated with a DNA construct which expresses the env, rev proteins. These studies serve as an important benchmark for the use of DNA vaccine technology for the production of protective immune responses.
Archaeology and the study of cultural ecosystems

Wilson and colleagues have provided an important and thought-provoking discussion of how the cultural ecosystem approach might inform the study of religious diversity. In doing so they also critica...
Uncanny Plantations: The Repeating Gothic

‘Uncanny Plantations’ argues that, far from being a static genre with fixed attributes and tropes, the Gothic is a repeating, metastasizing literary mode peculiarly suited to negotiate the vexed racial politics and dynamics of narration presented by slavery, Jim Crow, and contemporary mass incarceration. As such, the Gothic mode always surreptitiously reminds the reader that the brutalities of racial power relations are not effects of literary imagination, but rather the ‘uncanny’ return of the real horrors of their actuality. Freud’s theory of the uncanny is, of course, pertinent. William Styron’s The Confessions of Nat Turner is discussed as a crucial link between the plantation Gothic and the age of mass incarceration.
The Texas/Czech Republic International Connection: A Reciprocal Exchange of Faculty and Students

Community colleges provide international educational opportunities for a diverse group of students and, indirectly, for their faculty, staff, and administrators. Some of these educational opportunities consist of credit/non-credit courses in foreign languages and study abroad. At Texas Community College (TCC), many of the students, faculty, staff, and administrators reflect the larger local community of Mexican-Americans, Czech-Americans, and African Americans. After the fall of the Berlin Wall, locals traveled to the new Czech Republic in hopes of reuniting with their families and to economically promote traditional Czech products. In 1995, two TCC instructors visited Masaryk University (Brno) to initiate talks of a reciprocal faculty and student exchange program. This informal discussion began TCC’s international connection and the first of its kind in Texas.
Ribulose-1,5-Bisphosphate Carboxylase Protein in Higher Plants by a New Rapid HPLC Method

In the context of a study on the relationships between biochemical and biophysical parameters of photosynthesis of the leaf we needed a rapid and sensitive method for quantification of RuBPCase protein. The methods hitherto described all appear time consuming and most are multistep processes. Here we suggest a new fast method of determination of RuBPCase by Hydrophobic Interaction Chromatography (HI-HPLC) which allows the quantitative determination of this enzyme without apparently affecting its specific activity.
Marangoni Instability Driven Surface Relief Grating in an Azobenzene-Containing Polymer Film

The Marangoni effect describes fluid flow near an interface in response to a surface tension gradient. Here, we demonstrate that the Marangoni effect is the underlying mechanism for flow driven feature formation in an azobenzene-containing polymer film; features formed in azobenzene-containing polymers are often referred to as surface relief gratings or SRGs. An amorphous poly(4-(acryloyloxyhexyloxy)-4′-pentylazobenzene) was synthesized and studied as a model polymer. To isolate the surface tension driven flow from the surface tension pattern inscription step, the surface tension gradient was preprogrammed via photoisomerization of azobenzene in a glassy polymer film without forming topographical features. Subsequently, the latent image was developed in the absence of light by annealing above the glass transition temperature where the polymer is a liquid. The polymer flow direction was controlled with precision by inducing different surface tension changes in the exposed regions, in accordance with expect...
An evaluation of methods for estimating decadal stream loads

Abstract Effective management of water resources requires accurate information on the mass, or load of water-quality constituents transported from upstream watersheds to downstream receiving waters. Despite this need, no single method has been shown to consistently provide accurate load estimates among different water-quality constituents, sampling sites, and sampling regimes. We evaluate the accuracy of several load estimation methods across a broad range of sampling and environmental conditions. This analysis uses random sub-samples drawn from temporally-dense data sets of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, nitrate, and suspended-sediment concentration, and includes measurements of specific conductance which was used as a surrogate for dissolved solids concentration. Methods considered include linear interpolation and ratio estimators, regression-based methods historically employed by the U.S. Geological Survey, and newer flexible techniques including Weighted Regressions on Time, Season, and Discharge (WRTDS) and a generalized non-linear additive model. No single method is identified to have the greatest accuracy across all constituents, sites, and sampling scenarios. Most methods provide accurate estimates of specific conductance (used as a surrogate for total dissolved solids or specific major ions) and total nitrogen – lower accuracy is observed for the estimation of nitrate, total phosphorus and suspended sediment loads. Methods that allow for flexibility in the relation between concentration and flow conditions, specifically Beale’s ratio estimator and WRTDS, exhibit greater estimation accuracy and lower bias. Evaluation of methods across simulated sampling scenarios indicate that (1) high-flow sampling is necessary to produce accurate load estimates, (2) extrapolation of sample data through time or across more extreme flow conditions reduces load estimate accuracy, and (3) WRTDS and methods that use a Kalman filter or smoothing to correct for departures between individual modeled and observed values benefit most from more frequent water-quality sampling.
Infanticidio y disciplina popular en el sistema judicial de Sonora, México entre 1855 y 1929

El articulo explora por que las comunidades locales en el estado de Sonora utilizaron la judicatura estatal en nuevas maneras para disciplinar a mujeres acusadas de infanticidio, aborto provocado y abandono infantil durante el porfiriato. Analiza los procesos penales contra mujeres para descubrir los cambios en los sistemas de genero y proponer que estos contribuyeron al aumento de la vigilancia de la conducta sexual de las mujeres por las identidades masculinas de la epoca. Los juicios por infanticidio dieron pie a los discursos de inferioridad etnica, economica y de genero hacia las mujeres, especialmente con las jovenes que ocultaban sus embarazos. Concluye que los agentes estatales no se unificaron en su tratamiento de la delincuencia femenina, pero la presion popular desempeno un papel represivo en la expansion del poder del Estado para imponer el orden moral y asegurar un espacio para la verguenza publica de la sexualidad femenina.
Evaluation of Geotechnical Properties and Liquefaction Behavior of Cohesive Subgrade Soil Stabilized with Fly Ash, Gypsum and Lime

This paper is an investigation to evaluate the stabilization of silty clay subgrade (A-6) brought from Ohio State-United States .Atterberg limits standard proctor compaction, unconfined compression, triaxial, consolidation and swelling tests, in addition to liquefaction tests were carried out on subgrade mixed with 5% fly ash, 5% gypsum, 10% fly ash, 10% gypsum and 10% fly ash mixed with 5% lime.
The Study of Behavior

The attempt to understand and classify the behavior of animals, and in particular that of humans, has engaged scholars for many centuries, at least since the time of the Greek philosophers Aristotle and Plato. Ethology developed from zoology, that is, from the study by naturalists of animals in their natural habitat, whereas psychology developed from philosophy. Much of the difference between the theoretical and methodological approaches taken by ethologists and psychologists can be traced to their different origins. The following sections briefly summarize the principal branches of the behavioral sciences, ethology, and comparative psychology, the controversies between them during the 1950s and 1960s, and the subsequent synthesis that has developed into the modern study of animal behavior. This may be the most difficult chapter in the book to master.
Cyber anonymity based on software-defined networking and Onion Routing (SOR)

Cyber anonymity tools have attracted wide attention in resisting network traffic censorship and surveillance, and have played a crucial role for open communications over the Internet. The Onion Routing (Tor) is considered the prevailing technique for circumventing the traffic surveillance and providing cyber anonymity. Tor operates by tunneling a traffic through a series of relays, making such traffic to appear as if it originated from the last relay in the traffic path, rather than from the original user. However, Tor faced some obstructions in carrying out its goal effectively, such as insufficient performance and limited capacity. This paper presents a cyber anonymity technique based on software-defined networking; named SOR, which builds onion-routed tunnels across multiple anonymity service providers. SOR architecture enables any cloud tenants to participate in the anonymity service via software-defined networking. Our proposed architecture leverages the large capacity and robust connectivity of the commercial cloud networks to elevate the performance of the cyber anonymity service.
IBM’s V Compiler

IBM’s V compiler produces Register- Transfer level designs, which can then passed on to the LSS system for logic synthesis. The V compiler includes scheduling and data path synthesis, and can produce high level software simulators for the designs. A subset of the language is used to produce YIF format output for IBM’s Yorktown Silicon Compiler and IBM’s HIS System.
Hydrogen-deuterium exchange coupled to top- and middle-down mass spectrometry enables high-resolution measurements of histone tail dynamics before and after nucleosome assembly

Until recently, a major limitation of hydrogen deuterium exchange mass spectrometry (HDX-MS) was that resolution of deuterium localization information was limited to the length of the peptide generated during proteolysis. Recently, however, it has been demonstrated that electron transfer dissociation (ETD) allows for preservation of deuterium label in the gas phase and therefore can be used to obtain more resolved information. To date, this technology has remained mostly limited to single, small, already well-characterized model proteins. Here, we optimize, expand, and adapt HDX-MS/MS capabilities to accommodate histone and nucleosomal complexes on top-down (TD) HDX-MS/MS and middle-down (MD) HDX-MS/MS platforms and demonstrate that near site-specific resolution of deuterium localization can be obtained with high reproducibility. We are able to study histone tail dynamics in unprecedented detail, which have evaded rigorous analysis by traditional structural biology techniques for decades, revealing important novel insights into chromatin biology. This work represents the first heterogeneous protein complex and protein-DNA complex to be analyzed by TD- and MD-HDX-MS/MS, respectively. Together, the results of these studies highlight the versatility, reliability, and reproducibility of ETD-based HDX-MS/MS methodology to interrogate large protein and protein/DNA complexes.
Diagnosis-based cohort augmentation using laboratory results data: The case of chronic kidney disease.

PURPOSE In this report, we use data from FDA's Sentinel System to focus on how augmenting a diagnosis-based chronic kidney disease cohort with patients identified through laboratory results impacts cohort characteristics and outcomes. METHODS We used data from 2 Data Partners. Patients were eligible if they were health plan members on January 1, 2012. We classified chronic kidney disease patients into mutually exclusive categories according to the hierarchy of (1) ICD-9-CM diagnosis (DXGroup), or (2) two estimated glomerular filtration rates <60 mL/min/1.73m2 , separated by at least 90 days (2-LabGroup), or (3) a single estimated glomerular filtration rates <60 mL/min/1.73m2 (1-LabGroup). We compared the groups on demographic, clinical, and health care utilization characteristics using pairwise standardized differences. We used Cox regression to compare the groups on mortality, adjusting for baseline covariates. RESULTS We identified 209 864 patients: 107 607 in DxGroup (51%) and 102 257 (49%) from laboratory data alone. For every characteristic, the DxGroup was the sickest, followed by the 2-LabGroup and then the 1-LabGroup. The DxGroup was more likely to die than 2-LabGroup (hazard ratio [HR], 1.47; 95% CI, 1.22-1.77) at Site 1; that effect was observed, but attenuated, at Site 2 (HR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.07-1.25). The DxGroup was more likely to die than the 1-LabGroup at Site 1 (HR, 1.36; 95% CI, 1.20-1.55), but not at Site 2 (HR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.89-1.00). CONCLUSIONS We suggest that drug safety researchers consider whether the method of cohort identification contributes to generalizability of safety findings.
Gender Identity Diagnoses: History and Controversies

This chapter begins with a review of psychiatric and medical theorizing about transsexualism and transgender presentations since the nineteenth century. Until the middle of the twentieth century, with rare exceptions, transgender presentations were usually classified as “psychopathological.” By the middle of the twentieth century, transsexualism and sex reassignment surgery became more common and more available, leading to greater popular, medical, and psychiatric awareness of the concepts of gender identity and recognition of an increasing number of people wishing to “cross over” from their birth-assigned sex to another. In the twenty-first century, international expert guidelines support transition in carefully evaluated individuals, although the healthcare systems in only a minority of countries now cover needed medical services for sex reassignment.
Coupled 1-D stress and thermal waves in temperature dependent nonlinear elastic and viscoelastic media*

A general analysis is formulated for the closed loop coupled thermal and displacement viscoelastic 1-D wave problem. The proper inclusion of the highly temperature sensitive viscoelastic material p...
Using a Mindset Intervention to Reduce Anxiety in the Statistics Classroom

The primary goal of this article is to provide detailed instructions as to how to run a mindset intervention in a psychology statistics course. A secondary goal is to provide preliminary data on su...
Angiotensin II receptor blocker attenuates stress pressor response in young adult African Americans.

African Americans (AAs) are susceptible to hypertension (HTN) and its associated organ damage leading to adverse cardiovascular (CV) outcomes. Psychological stress is proposed to contribute to the development of HTN; however, the potential role of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in stress-related HTN in AAs is largely unknown. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that activation of RAS is a potential contributing factor for altered CV responses to stress, and suppression of angiotensin II (Ang II) activity will improve hemodynamic responses to a prolonged mental stressor in healthy young AAs. Utilizing a double-blind, randomized, crossover study design, 132 normotensive AAs (25 ± 7 years) were treated with either a placebo (PLC) or 150 mg/d irbesartan (an Ang II type 1 receptor blocker; ARB) for 1 week. On the final day of each treatment, hemodynamic measures and urinary sodium excretion (UNaV) were collected before, during and after a 45 minute-mental stress. The magnitude of stress-induced increase in blood pressure with ARB was blunted and delayed compared to PLC. Systolic blood pressure at the end of recovery on ARB was significantly lower compared to either PLC (110 ± 13 vs 117 ± 12 mm Hg respectively; P < 0.001) or the prestress level on ARB (P = 0.02). ARB treatment reduced overall vasoconstriction and improved poststress UNaV. ARB attenuated blood pressure responses to mental stress and improved the poststress BP recovery process which were partly linked to reduced overall vasoconstriction and improved stress-induced UNaV in young adult AAs prior to the development of disease conditions. These results suggest that treatment approaches that inhibit RAS action could have significant relevance to potentially lower susceptibility to stress responses and eventually the premature development of HTN in AAs.
Preliminary Characterization of pAT-3, a Symmetry Enhanced Reaction Center Mutant of Rhodobacter capsulatus

A Rhodobacter capsulatus reaction center mutant has been constructed in which residues M187 through M203 have been replaced by the homologous region of the L polypeptide (L160 through L176). This mutant expresses reaction centers, grows photosynthetically and undergoes electron transfer forming P+QA − with high quantum yield. Absorption and Stark measurements indicate a significant alteration in the electronic nature of the special pair, and time-resolved fluorescence measurements suggest changes in the photochemistry of the initial electron transfer reaction. Finally, the redox potential of the special pair has apparently been increased significantly in this mutant to greater than 500 mV.
Big Data and Procedural Justice: Legitimizing Algorithms in the Criminal Justice System

Big data algorithms are becoming more common in the criminal justice system: they are used to provide more effective allocation of police resources, to notify police of potentially dangerous individuals at specific locations, to guide efforts to intervene with individuals before they engage in criminal activity, to advise judges making decisions about pre-trial detention, and to provide guidance to judges at sentencing. The debate about the propriety of using these algorithms has primarily focused on whether they are fair to the defendants they are evaluating. However, those in favor of using these tools in the criminal justice system must also consider another potential hurdle: whether these new tools will be accepted by the general public. For centuries, decisions in the criminal justice system have been made by individuals: police officers, judges, bureaucrats, and legislators. The general public is accustomed to these decision-makers and, for the most part, accepts their legitimacy. However, the public may not be as comfortable with the idea that critical criminal justice decisions are made or heavily influenced by computer programs instead of human beings. This question is a critical one for big data supporters: even if these tools can provide predictions that are more fair, efficient, and accurate than the clinical judgments made by human beings, they will never become widespread if they cannot gain public support.