cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Microstructure of Block Copolymers near Selective Surfaces: Theoretical Predictions and Configurational-Bias Monte Carlo Simulation

We report a new density functional theory (DFT) for block copolymers and its performance for representing the microscopic structure has been tested with the configurational-bias Monte Carlo simulation. The segmental density profiles are calculated for systems containing short block copolymers, represented by tangent-sphere square-well chains of sequences "AABB", "AAAABBBB", "ABBBBA", "ABBBBBBA", "BBAABB", and "BBBBAABBBB" confined in slit pores where the planar surfaces attract "A" segments but repel "B" segments. The detailed segmental density profiles are calculated for block copolymers confined in slit pores where the planar surfaces attract "A" segments but repel "B" segments. For all conditions considered, the microscopic structures predicted by the DFT are in excellent agreement with the simulation results. Interesting loop and tail conformations of the block copolymers are observed near the selective surfaces. The effects of surface energy, chain length, and copolymer backbone structures on the microscopic segregation of "AB" segments are also investigated.
High-Temperature Annealing in Electron- Irradiated CdS

The room‐temperature irradiation of as‐grown n‐type CdS by 1‐MeV electrons results in an increase in carrier concentration. The damage anneals in the temperature range 250–300°C, and a study of the annealing kinetics reveals an activation energy of about 1.3 eV which is attributed to sulfur‐vacancy motion.
On the Improvement of COAMPS Weather Forecasts Using an Advanced Radiative Transfer Model

Abstract Fu–Liou’s delta-four-stream (with a two-stream option) radiative transfer model has been implemented in the U.S. Navy’s Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS)1 to calculate solar and thermal infrared fluxes in 6 shortwave and 12 longwave bands. The model performance is evaluated at high resolution for clear-sky and overcast conditions against the observations from the Southern Great Plains of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program. In both cases, use of the Fu–Liou model provides significant improvement over the operational implementation of the standard Harshvardhan radiation parameterization in both shortwave and longwave fluxes. A sensitivity study of radiative flux on clouds reveals that the choices of cloud effective radius schemes for ice and liquid water are critical to the flux calculation due to the effects on cloud optical properties. The sensitivity study guides the selection of optimal cloud optical properties for use in the Fu–Liou parameterization as im...
Ethanol-dependent toxicity in zebrafish is partially attenuated by antioxidants

Ethanol is a well-established developmental toxicant; however, the molecular and cellular mechanism(s) of toxicity remains unclear. It has been suggested that ethanol metabolism leads to oxidative stress resulting in an increase in cell death. Alcohol developmental toxicity has not been well studied in zebrafish; however, zebrafish represent an excellent vertebrate model for investigating and understanding normal and aberrant development. To evaluate ethanol metabolism dependent toxicity, chemical inhibitors of the ethanol metabolizing enzymes were utilized. Embryos co-exposed to ethanol and a combination of ethanol metabolism inhibitors led to a significant increase in the occurrence of pericardial edema. Further, in the presence of the inhibitor mixture there was an increase in developmental malformations at lower ethanol concentrations. Cell death has been implicated as a potential explanation for ethanol-dependent toxicity. Using cell death assays, ethanol significantly increased embryonic cell death. To determine if oxidative stress underlies cardiovascular dysfunction, embryos were co-exposed to ethanol and several antioxidants. The antioxidants, glutathione and lipoic acid, partially attenuated the incidence of pericardial edema. The effectiveness of the antioxidants to protect the embryos from ethanol-induced cell death was also evaluated. The antioxidants provided no protection against cell death. Thus, ethanol-mediated pericardial edema and cell death appear to be mechanistically distinct.
Self-Injectable Epinephrine for Allergic Emergencies

Anaphylaxis is a severe, life-threatening systemic reaction that can affect all ages. Epinephrine is frequently cited as the first-line and single most important agent in the treatment of severe allergic emergencies. Prompt administration of self-injectable epinephrine by patients and caretakers remains a key component in effective out-of-hospital management. This article will review the technique for self-injectable epinephrine administration in allergic emergencies, including discussion of the available dosages and formulations, indications, as well as other issues related to its use.
Colovesical fistula--is a surgical approach always justified?

Objective There is a tendency to over investigate patients with colovesical fistula and to advise surgical intervention as the sole course of action. Most patients are elderly and operative intervention often carries a high morbidity and mortality. Patients and methods A retrospective study of 50 patients diagnosed with a colovesical fistula over a 12-year period was undertaken at our institution. The notes of all these patients were reviewed using a standardized proforma to look at the referral pattern, symtomatology, investigation, treatment and outcomes. Results Data analysis showed the median age of these patients to be 70 years with 92% having either pneumaturia or faecaluria or both as a symptom. There was no significant difference in disease-specific mortality in patients with benign colovesical fistula undergoing surgical intervention and patients treated conservatively. There was not a single documented case of septicaemia despite untreated colovesical fistula being present for a cumulative total of 3254 weeks. There was no statistically significant decline in the renal function due to the disease. Conclusion We suggest that fewer investigations be performed for the diagnosis of colovesical fistula and conservative management offered to patients with benign pathology.
Intracellular light-induced release of signaling molecules from gold-coated liposomes

The combination of laser light and composite nanovesicles enables unique opportunities for precise delivery to, and ondemand release of molecular compounds within, single cells at high spatiotemporal resolution. Here, we demonstrate precise delivery and intracellular release of molecules from gold-coated liposomes via near infrared (NIR) light. The plasmon resonant gold shell provides a light-sensitive trigger for on-demand content release from thermosensitive liposomes. Two demonstrations of intracellular delivery and release from gold-coated liposomes are presented here. The first example uses microinjection to preload gold-coated liposomes into a single cell, followed by exposure to onresonant NIR laser light to trigger release of a fluorescent nuclear dye intracellularly. In the second delivery and release demonstration, gold-coated liposomes encapsulating inositol trisphosphate (IP3), a ubiquitous secondary messenger in cell signaling cascades, passively accumulate within cells via endocytosis. Exposure to on-resonant NIR laser wavelength of light induces rapid release of IP3 from the intracellular liposomes and subsequent activation of Ca 2+ signaling at a single cell, monitored by changes in fluorescence intensity of a Ca 2+ -sensitive dye.
Structural and Kinetic Analysis of the Unnatural Fusion Protein 4-Coumaroyl-CoA Ligase::Stilbene Synthase

To increase the biochemical efficiency of biosynthetic systems, metabolic engineers have explored different approaches for organizing enzymes, including the generation of unnatural fusion proteins. Previous work aimed at improving the biosynthesis of resveratrol, a stilbene associated a range of health-promoting activities, in yeast used an unnatural engineered fusion protein of Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress) 4-coumaroyl-CoA ligase (At4CL1) and Vitis vinifera (grape) stilbene synthase (VvSTS) to increase resveratrol levels 15-fold relative to yeast expressing the individual enzymes. Here we present the crystallographic and biochemical analysis of the 4CL::STS fusion protein. Determination of the X-ray crystal structure of 4CL::STS provides the first molecular view of an artificial didomain adenylation/ketosynthase fusion protein. Comparison of the steady-state kinetic properties of At4CL1, VvSTS, and 4CL::STS demonstrates that the fusion protein improves catalytic efficiency of either reaction less than 3-fold. Structural and kinetic analysis suggests that colocalization of the two enzyme active sites within 70 {angstrom} of each other provides the basis for enhanced in vivo synthesis of resveratrol.
Duality rotation for 2-D classical ferromagnets

Abstract Using an ansatz that allows for propagation of spin excitations, the Landau-Lifshitz equation for 2-D Heisenberg ferromagnets is reduced to a non-linear system of the integrable type. An associated linear set is derived that can be interpreted as an L-A pair of equations, as well as a duality symmetry transformation.
Identification of a novel protein containing two C2 domains selectively expressed in the rat brain and kidney

We have isolated and characterized a rat brain cDNA clone which encodes a new protein of 474 amino acids in length which contains two C2 domains structurally homologous to those present in synaptotagmins. The overall amino acid identity in C2 domains between this protein and the synaptotagmins is 36–44%. This protein also contains 3 putative consensus sequences for phosphorylation by cAMP-dependent protein kinase. RNA blot hybridization revealed a 3.0 kb transcript abundantly expressed only in the rat brain and the kidney. Thus, we called this brain/kidney protein (B/K). In situ hybridization and Northern blot analyses showed that the B/K transcript was found in forebrain including the olfactory bulb, cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and hypothalamus. In the kidney, high levels of B/K transcript were expressed in the papillary region of the inner medulla, the inner stripe of the outer medulla and the cortex. The selective expression in forebrain and kidney suggests that B/K may be involved in similar cAMP-dependent processes at these very different sites.
On the self-perpetuating nature of stereotypes about women and men ☆

Abstract An experiment was conducted to investigate an interpersonal process that contributes to the perpetuation of stereotyped beliefs about women and men. Male-female pairs of unacquainted individuals interacted to negotiate a division of labor on a series of work-like tasks (that differed in their sex-role connotations) in a situation that permitted control over the information that male perceivers received about the apparent sex of female targets. The perceivers' beliefs about the sex of their targets initiated a chain of events that resulted in targets providing behavioral confirmation for perceivers' beliefs about their sex. Targets believed by perceivers to be male chose tasks relatively masculine in nature, and targets believed by perceivers to be female chose tasks relatively feminine in nature. Although this behavioral confirmation effect was initially elicited as reactions to overtures made by perceivers, it persevered so that eventually targets came to initiate behaviors “appropriate” to the sex with which they had been labeled by perceivers. The specific roles of perceivers and targets in the behavioral confirmation process are examined. Implications of these findings for the perpetuation of stereotyped beliefs about the sexes are discussed.
A new metric to help understand Amazon rainforest precipitation

In the Amazon rainforest, the chain of events that turns a small-scale process like a localized increase in evaporation into a towering storm cloud is long and twisted. To understand the complex dynamics that lead to precipitation and to identify the relative importance of various processes, researchers need uninterrupted observations at high-resolution time scales over many years. Such observations have traditionally been scarce for tropical continental environments, such as the Amazon, where logistics are difficult.
Auditory filter asymmetry at 2000 Hz in 80 normal-hearing ears.

Auditory filter asymmetry, bandwidth, dynamic range, and efficiency was measured at 2000 Hz in both ears of 40 naive, normal‐hearing adults, counterbalanced for sex and initial ear tested. The filters were measured with 200‐ms tonal signals temporally centered in 300‐ms maskers. The maskers were notched noises presented at a spectrum level of 40 dB SPL. Quiet thresholds for the signal were also obtained. The distributions of the measured variables and correlations between them are reported. The average filter was nearly symmetric but the most common filters had steeper upper slopes. The shapes of the two sides of the filter were independent. Filter asymmetry was not correlated with the equivalent rectangular bandwidth (ERB), and quiet threshold was not consistently correlated with the dynamic range of the filter or with ERB. The mean ERB was 255 Hz.
Flow discharge influences on input and transport of particulate and sedimentary organic carbon along a small temperate river

Abstract The relative importance of hydrological conditions and upstream processes on the input and transport of organic carbon from land to sea was investigated in the Mullica River, a small system located in the southeastern New Jersey (USA), using molecular and δ13C compositions. Sediment and particulate organic carbon (POC) samples were collected along the river, from upstream (draining predominantly pine-oak forests) in the Pinelands to the Great Bay Estuary (bordered by salt marshes) under normal and high flow conditions. During base river flow, terrestrial biomarkers (e.g., diterpenoids – conifer biomarkers) were detected predominantly upstream and sharply decreased downstream. From mid to down river sites, a mixture of higher plants (primarily from the salt marsh vegetation) and microbial biomarkers (e.g., mycose, cholesterol) predominated. δ13C abundances of individual fatty acids presented a consistent pattern, with depleted values (e.g., δ13Csed = −30.9‰ on average) upstream, becoming heavier toward the Great Bay (e.g., δ13Csed = −23.1‰; δ13CPOC = −22.8‰). During the high discharge event, significant amounts of upland biomarkers (e.g., pimaric acid, ferruginol, ursolic acid) and depleted δ13C values were observed from the Pinelands (δ13Csed = −34.6‰) to mid river (δ13Csed = −32.0‰; δ13CPOC = −30.8‰), clearly demonstrating the transport of terrestrial material farther down river. However, downstream of this point, the occurrence of the terrestrial material strongly decreased, demonstrating that terrestrial plant biomarkers were not transported in significant amounts to the estuarine region, even at high river discharge. Since the mid river site is situated in the upper limit of salt water intrusions, it is likely that flocculation and sedimentation provide a depositional sink for terrestrial OC in the mid Mullica River, thereby depleting the terrigenous signature in downstream OC.
Relationship of Electron Spin Resonance and Semiconduction in Phthalocyanines

The electron mobility of charge carriers in copper phthalocyanine has been determined to be approximately two orders of magnitude greater than that in metal‐free phthalocyanine. This difference can be interpreted in terms of the electron spin resonance results and the intermolecular copper‐nitrogen overlap. The electron spin resonance of copper phthalocyanine magnetically diluted in metal‐free phthalocyanine has been measured in single crystals. The hyperfine structure of the nitrogen ligands, as well as that of the copper hyperfine structure, is clearly resolved. An analysis of the data in terms of molecular orbitals suggests a scheme of strong out‐of‐plane π bonding with the π orbitals of the phthalocyanine ring and almost no in‐plane π bonding. This brings about an inversion of the usual positions of the copper Eg and B2g orbitals. This strong π bonding predicts that in metallo‐organic compounds of this type, the organic π‐electron delocalization is increased to include the central metal atom, and properties dependent on this delocalization should be altered when copper is used. The increased delocalization of the π‐electron orbitals gives rise to larger intermolecular π wavefunction overlap resulting in a greater mobility for charge carriers in copper phthalocyanine.
Reliability-aware Dynamic Voltage Scaling for energy-constrained real-time embedded systems

The dynamic voltage scaling (DVS) technique is the basis of numerous state-of-the-art energy management schemes proposed for real-time embedded systems. However, recent research has illustrated the alarmingly negative impact of DVS on task and system reliability. In this paper, we consider the problem of processing frequency assignment to a set of real-time tasks in order to maximize the overall reliability, under given time and energy constraints. First, we formulate the problem as a non-linear optimization problem and show how to obtain the static optimal solution. Then, we propose on-line (dynamic) algorithms that detect early completions and adjust the task frequencies at run-time, to improve overall reliability. Our simulation results indicate that our algorithms perform comparably to a clairvoyant optimal scheduler that knows the exact workload in advance.
Coordinated Transportation and Land Use Planning in the Developing World: Case of Mexico City

Much of the research on coordinated transportation and land use methods such as transit-oriented development (TOD) has focused on the developed world, particularly the United States. The opportunities and challenges for such policies in the developing world were examined, and it is argued that these policies might have greater benefits in the developing world than in the developed world. Mexico City, Mexico, was used as a case study. In the developing world, where cities are growing rapidly and rates of automobile ownership are still low, TOD provides an opportunity to design a transit-oriented urban form. Low-income people can thus be served by cheap, high-capacity transit; spend less of their income on transportation; and have better access to jobs. They will make fewer and shorter trips by informal low-capacity transit, thereby reducing congestion and pollution. In the long term, TOD may slow down motorization and mitigate its effects. Mexico City faces a crisis of mobility, environment, and equity. However, it has many of the prerequisites for TOD: the densities, an extensive metro system, and metropolitan planning organizations. Opportunities for coordinated transportation and land use planning include station area development, downtown redevelopment, real estate development along a proposed suburban rail line, and a policy of building new affordable housing within walking distance of high-capacity transit. The greater the geographical scope of each option, the more government involvement is required, and the larger its potential positive impact. An estimate of environmental benefits is presented.
A practical concurrent index for solid-state drives

Solid-state drives are becoming a viable alternative to magnetic disks in database systems, but their performance characteristics, particularly those caused by their erase-before-write behavior, make conventional database indexes a poor fit. There have been various proposals of indexes specialized for these devices, but to make such indexes practical, we must address the issue of concurrency control. Good concurrency control is especially critical to indexes on solid-state drives, because they typically rely on batch updates, which may take long and block concurrent index accesses. We design, implement, and evaluate an index structure called FD+tree and an associated concurrency control scheme called FD+FC. Our evaluation confirms significant performance advantages of our approach over less sophisticated ones, and brings ou insights on data structure design and OLTP performance tuning on solid-state drives.
Design and coverage of high throughput genotyping arrays optimized for individuals of East Asian, African American, and Latino race/ethnicity using imputation and a novel hybrid SNP selection algorithm

Four custom Axiom genotyping arrays were designed for a genome-wide association (GWA) study of 100,000 participants from the Kaiser Permanente Research Program on Genes, Environment and Health. The array optimized for individuals of European race/ethnicity was previously described. Here we detail the development of three additional microarrays optimized for individuals of East Asian, African American, and Latino race/ethnicity. For these arrays, we decreased redundancy of high-performing SNPs to increase SNP capacity. The East Asian array was designed using greedy pairwise SNP selection. However, removing SNPs from the target set based on imputation coverage is more efficient than pairwise tagging. Therefore, we developed a novel hybrid SNP selection method for the African American and Latino arrays utilizing rounds of greedy pairwise SNP selection, followed by removal from the target set of SNPs covered by imputation. The arrays provide excellent genome-wide coverage and are valuable additions for large-scale GWA studies.
A Network Perspective on Metabolism and Aging

Synopsis Aging affects a myriad of genetic, biochemical, and metabolic processes, and efforts to understand the underlying molecular basis of aging are often thwarted by the complexity of the aging process. By taking a systems biology approach, network analysis is well-suited to study the decline in function with age. Network analysis has already been utilized in describing other complex processes such as development, evolution, and robustness. Networks of gene expression and protein–protein interaction have provided valuable insight into the loss of connectivity and network structure throughout lifespan. Here, we advocate the use of metabolic networks to expand the work from genomics and proteomics. As metabolism is the final fingerprint of functionality and has been implicated in multiple theories of aging, metabolomic methods combined with metabolite network analyses should pave the way to investigate how relationships of metabolites change with age and how these interactions affect phenotype and function of the aging individual. The metabolomic network approaches highlighted in this review are fundamental for an understanding of systematic declines and of failure to function with age.
Epoprostenol in Primary Pulmonary Hypertension

OBJECTIVE:To review briefly the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and current treatment of primary pulmonary hypertension (PPH) and review the available clinical data on epoprostenol in PPH.DATA SOURCES:A MEDLINE search (January 1966–August 1998) was used to identify case reports and clinical studies pertaining to epoprostenol in PPH. Bibliographic lists were also used.STUDY SELECTION:All English-language clinical studies of epoprostenol in PPH were included. Incomplete study descriptions (abstracts) were not included.DATA EXTRACTION:Study design, population, methods, clinical outcomes, and adverse effects were evaluated.DATA SYNTHESIS:PPH is a relatively rare disease that results in symptoms of congestive heart failure and has a five-year survival rate of 34%. Therapy has consisted of vasodilators, anticoagulation, oxygen, and ultimately lung transplantation. Epoprostenol, which has recently become available as an integral pharmacotherapeutic option, has been shown to improve hemodynamic parameters such as ...
Diffie-HellmanA public key cryptosystem based on actions by semigroups

A generalization of the original Diffie-Hellman key exchange in F/sub p/ found a new depth when Miller (1986) and Koblitz (1987) suggested that such a protocol could be used with the group over an elliptic curve. In the present article, we extend such a generalization to the setting of a semigroup action (G-action) on a finite set. We define this extended protocol, show how it is related to the general Diffie-Hellman key exchange and give some examples. The interesting thing is that every action by an abelian semigroup gives rise to a Diffie-Hellman key exchange. With an additional assumption it is also possible to extend the ElGamal protocol.
Propagating Atmospheric Patterns Associated with Midwest Winter Precipitation

AbstractFor winters over eastern North America, complex Hilbert empirical orthogonal function (HEOF) analysis was used to objectively identify propagating patterns in four atmospheric fields that have potential relevance to precipitation: jet stream–level wind speed, 850-hPa moisture transport (qv), temperature advection (TA), and vorticity advection (VA). A novel phase shift method was used to show the location where each propagating pattern was most correlated with Midwest precipitation, and each of the four phase-shifted HEOF patterns was compared to its respective high-precipitation composite view. The leading HEOFs of the three transport fields (qv, TA, and VA), which collectively represented the dynamics associated with a midlatitude cyclone, accounted for almost half of Midwest precipitation variability and were associated with lake effect snow when propagating downstream from the Midwest. Correlation and spectral analyses revealed how the propagating transport patterns were related to the Pacific–...
Fortunes for sale: Cultural politics and commodification of culture in millennial Turkey:

This article examines a peculiar case of commodification of culture under the shadow of a law serving a repressive agenda of modernist, secularist cultural politics. Fortune-telling, criminalized in the name of nationalist modernization in the early 20th century, has become popularized and commercialized in millennial Turkey in emergent businesses called fortune-telling cafes, where complimentary cup readings are provided with a cup of Turkish coffee to avoid persecution. Informed by fieldwork in fortune-telling cafes, I explicate this commodification in terms of the recent recalibration of Turkey’s national identity and culture, specifically in relation to Europe. The article analyzes the relationship between commodification of culture and cultural politics in the particular context of post-colonial nationalisms that host a strong tension between popular and national cultures.
Diffusion tensor imaging correlates with cytopathology in a rat model of neonatal hydrocephalus

Background Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) is a non-invasive MRI technique that has been used to quantify CNS abnormalities in various pathologic conditions. This study was designed to quantify the anisotropic diffusion properties in the brain of neonatal rats with hydrocephalus (HCP) and to investigate association between DTI measurements and cytopathology.
A season at the John street: From “the theatrical register”

“The Theatrical Register” of the New York Magazine provides a valuable picture of the audience, the repertory, and the acting and production standards of the late‐eighteenth‐century New York theatre. This study concentrates on the 1794–95 season at the John Street Theatre as recorded by the anonymous author of the “Register.”
Use of Borinium Ions as Probes of Steric Effects in Gas‐phase Ion–Molecule Complexes

The relative free energies of binding of the dimethoxy borinium ion to several substituted pyridines were determined using the equilibrium method and were found to correlate well with relative gas-phase basicities except in the case in which different sterics were present near the site of cation attachment. Dimethoxy borinium ion binds to 3,5-dimethylpyridine and 3,4-dimethylpyridine 2.5+0.4 and 3.5+0.3 kcal/mole more strongly than it does to 3-methylpyridine. 2,4-Dimethylpyridine shows a 2.0+0.4 kcal/mole preference over 2-methylpyridine for dimethoxy borinium ion attachment. This difference is in agreement with the difference in gas-phase basicities of these two compounds, suggesting the borinium ion binds to the same position as the proton. 2,3-Dimethylpyridine deviated from this trend, with its borinium ion complex being 1.5+0.4 kcal/mole less stable than that of 3-methylpyridine.
Culture and the socialization of child cardiovascular regulation at school entry in the US.

The measurement of cardiovascular functioning targets an important bridge between social conditions and differential well-being. Nevertheless, the biocultural, psychosocial processes that link human ecology to cardiovas- cular function in children remain inadequately characterized. Childrearing practices shaped by parents' cultural beliefs should moderate children's affective responses to daily experience, and hence their psychophysiology. The present study concerns interactions among family ecology, the normative social challenge of entry into kindergarten, and parasympa- thetic (vagal) cardiac regulation in US middle-class children (N 5 30). Although parents believed children must be pro- tected from overscheduling to reduce stress and improve socio-emotional adaptation, maternal rather than child sched- ules predicted parasympathetic regulation during a nonthreatening social engagement task following school entry. Children of busier married mothers, but less busy single mothers, showed the context-appropriate pattern of parasym- pathetic regulation, low respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA). These findings are expected if: maternal and family func- tioning, rather than the scheduling of the child's daily life, principally drive young children's cardiovascular responsive- ness to a normative challenge; and busy schedules represent high family functioning with married mothers, but not under single-parent conditions wherein adult staffing is uniquely constrained. Family ecology is shaped by culture, and in turn shapes the development of children's cardiovascular responses. Appropriately fine-grained analysis of daily ex- perience can illustrate how culturally driven parenting practices may have unintended consequences for child biological
INTERPOLATING, EXTRAPOLATING, AND COMPARING INCIDENCE-BASED SPECIES ACCUMULATION CURVES

A general binomial mixture model is proposed for the species accumulation function based on presence-absence (incidence) of species in a sample of quadrats or other sampling units. The model covers interpolation between zero and the observed number of samples, as well as extrapolation beyond the observed sample set. For interpolation (sample- based rarefaction), easily calculated, closed-form expressions for both expected richness and its confidence limits are developed (using the method of moments) that completely eliminate the need for resampling methods and permit direct statistical comparison of richness between sample sets. An incidence-based form of the Coleman (random-placement) model is developed and compared with the moment-based interpolation method. For ex- trapolation beyond the empirical sample set (and simultaneously, as an alternative method of interpolation), a likelihood-based estimator with a bootstrap confidence interval is de- scribed that relies on a sequential, AIC-guided algorithm to fit the mixture model parameters. Both the moment-based and likelihood-based estimators are illustrated with data sets for temperate birds and tropical seeds, ants, and trees. The moment-based estimator is confi- dently recommended for interpolation (sample-based rarefaction). For extrapolation, the likelihood-based estimator performs well for doubling or tripling the number of empirical samples, but it is not reliable for estimating the richness asymptote. The sensitivity of individual-based and sample-based rarefaction to spatial (or temporal) patchiness is dis- cussed.
The Brazilian Workers' ABC: Class Conflict and Alliances in Modern São Paulo

John French analyzes the emergence of the Brazilian system of politics and labor relations between 1900 and 1953 in the industrial municipalities of Santo Andre, Sao Bernardo do Campo, and Sao Caetano do Sul. These municipalities, which constitute the so-called ABC region of greater Sao Paolo, were made famous in the late 1970s as a result of a series of strikes by militant autoworkers. French challenges a scholarly consensus that has portrayed Brazilian populism as a "demobilizing" experience in which workers and their leaders were seduced and co-opted by charismatic politicians while being subjected to pervasive domination by the state. This revisionist, grass-roots view of Brazil's corporatist system of state-linked trade unionism in the 1930s examines the tumultuous political transition after World War II, when workers entered into electoral politics on an unprecedented scale. In examining the interplay between the industrial working class, its leaders, and politicians such as Getulio Vargas, Luis Carlos Prestes, and Adhemar de Barroas, French shows that workers were active and resourceful political political actors whose participation propelled Brazilian politics in a new, more democratic direction.
Compiler managed micro-cache bypassing for high performance EPIC processors

Advanced microprocessors have been increasing clock rates, well beyond the Gigahertz boundary. For such high performance microprocessors, a small and fast data micro-cache (ucache) is important to overall performance, and proper management of it via load bypassing has a significant performance impact. In this paper, we propose and evaluate a hardware-software collaborative technique to manage ucache bypassing for EPIC processors. The hardware supports the ucache bypassing with a fag in the load instruction format, and the compiler employs static analysis and profiling to identify loads that should bypass the ucache. The collaborative method achieves a significant improvement in performance for the SpecInt2000 benchmarks. On average, about 40%, 30%, 24%, and 22% of load references are identified to bypass 256 B, 1 K, 4 K, and 8 K sized ucaches, respectively. This reduces the ucache miss rates by 39%, 32%, 28%, and 26%. The number of pipeline stalls from loads to their uses is reduced by 13%, 9%, 6%, and 5%. Meanwhile, the L1 and L2 cache misses remain largely unchanged. For the 256 B ucache, bypassing improves overall performance on average by 5%.
Confession in the Movies: The Transmission of Sacramental Tradition Through Film

Not unlike confessional role-playing among seminarians or pre-sacramental practice sessions between parents and children, cinematic confession scenes re-present Penance as a traditional performance, making a teachable cultural moment out of a rite which, when performed in solemnity, cannot be observed or examined directly by a third party. For this reason, movies can be a useful tool for introducing Catholic penitential belief and practice to students in the secular education classrooms, as the author discovered in working with Catholic and non-Catholic students at the University of Toledo. Confession scenes from six films can be related to themes in medieval exempla, church teachings, and folklore related to the Sacrament of Penance.
Expanding treatment options for type 2 diabetes: the old and the new.

Purpose Type 2 diabetes is characterized by multiple metabolic abnormalities including the dysfunction of pancreatic islet cells. Current treatment options have different mechanisms of action and are variably effective at lowering blood glucose levels. The newest pharmacologic treatments, incretin mimetics and dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-4) inhibitors, target the incretin system, and it is important to understand their role in current treatment paradigms and in addressing the basic pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes-pancreatic islet cell dysfunction. Conclusion This article discusses the pathophysiology of type 2 diabetes including impairment of the incretin effect, and explains how incretin mimetics and DPP-4 inhibitors are being incorporated into treatment algorithms to address pancreatic islet cell dysfunction and enable patients to achieve glycemic targets.
Evaluating the Sensitivity of Various Measures of Operator Workload Using Random Digits as a Secondary Task

Problems have been encountered in previous research in developing a secondary task measure of mental workload that is both sensitive and stable. Ordinarily a single measure of secondary task is analyzed as an indicator of difference in workload. The purpose of the experiment reported here was to determine whether alternate measures taken from a single secondary task might prove more sensitive. Twelve subjects participated in the experiment involving a primary task (meter pointer nulling) and a secondary task (reading random digits aloud). The independent variable (primary task difficulty level) was adjusted by changing the number of meters that had to be monitored (two, three, or four meters). Dependent measures were taken on the (1) number of random digits spoken (usual workload formula), (2) longest interval between spoken responses, (3) longest consecutive string of spoken digits, and (4) the number of “triplets” spoken. Results show that the dependent measures (1), (3), and (4) were significant with (...
The effects of enoximone on renal function in patients with congestive heart failure

Enoximone is an investigational cardiotonic agent with positive inotropic and vasodilatory properties. In this protocol the effects of enoximone on parameters of renal function in patients (n = 14) with New York Heart Association class II or III congestive heart failure were determined after intravenous (IV) treatment (2 mg/kg) and after chronic oral administration (150 mg t.i.d.), either alone or with added furosemide (40 mg b.i.d.). Glomerular filtration rate (GFR), effective renal plasma flow (ERPF), filtration fraction, mean arterial pressure (MAP), renal blood flow (RBF), and renal vascular resistance (RVR) were determined each time. Plasma volume (PV) was determined at baseline and after oral enoximone and after oral enoximone plus furosemide. Significant reductions in GFR (18%) and ERPF (20%) were observed after IV treatment but not after oral treatment with or without furosemide. MAP also was lowered significantly by 14% after IV administration but not after oral treatments. PV after oral enoximone plus furosemide was reduced significantly (31%) compared with baseline. These results demonstrate that enoximone produces acute reductions in GFR and ERPF when given intravenously but has no effect on parameters of renal function when given orally, either alone or with furosemide. Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (1989) 45, 85–91; doi:10.1038/clpt.1989.13
Field Evaluation of a Helicoverpa zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Damage Simulation Model: Effects of Irrigation, H. zea Density, and Time of Damage on Cotton Yield

Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) is an important pest of cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., for which many economic injury and population models have been developed to predict the impact of injury by this species on cotton yield. A number of these models were developed using results from simulated damage experiments, despite the fact that no studies have demonstrated that simulated damage is comparable to real H. zea damage. Our main objective in this study was to compare the effect on yield of H. zea larvae feeding on cotton fruiting structures at different irrigation levels, larval densities, and cotton physiological ages with damage produced artificially by removing fruiting structures by hand using simulated estimates of H. zea injury. To accomplish this, we used two irrigation levels, each divided into real and simulated damage plots. In real damage plots, H. zea larvae were placed on plants and allowed to feed; whereas in simulated damage plots, fruiting structures were removed by hand using a simulation model of H. zea damage to determine numbers and amounts of fruiting structures to remove. Each of these plots was further divided into one undamaged control plot and nine treatment plots. Each treatment plot was randomly assigned one of three damage times (early, middle, or late season) and one of three H. zea densities. In 1998, we found that only artificial H. zea damage (performed by hand removal of fruiting structures) at the highest density and during the late season decreased yield; whereas real damage caused by H. zea larvae placed on plants, and artificial damage occurring at earlier time periods and lower H. zea densities did not affect yield. In 1999, both real and artificial damage decreased yield at the higher H. zea densities compared with the lowest density, but, as in 1998, this was only true when damage occurred late in the season. The most important finding of this study was that high H. zea densities had no effect on cotton yield unless they occurred late in the season. In particular, this was true for artificial H. zea damage. The second most important finding of this study was that, with the exception of late in the season, our model for simulating H. zea damage to cotton through removal of fruiting structures resulted in similar yields as real H. zea larvae damage to cotton.
Educating the Educators: A Fifty-Year Retrospective of Religious Education in the Catholic Context.

AbstractThe progressive spirit of the Second Vatican Council (1962–1965) spawned a myriad of graduate departments of religious education in American Catholic colleges and universities. These departments evolved to include other master degrees (e.g., pastoral studies, pastoral counseling, divinity, spirituality, and social justice). As the numbers of students in religious education degree programs significantly diminished, the degree designation in religious education was often terminated. Today, an ever increasing number of religious education practitioners in the Catholic context do not have graduate degrees in religious education. This ongoing reality significantly alters the field of religious education and its practice in the Catholic context.
Competitive Inhibition of Adrenal Δ5-3β-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase and Δ5-3-Ketosteroid Isomerase Activities by Adenosine 3',5'-Monophosphate

Abstract Microsomal and mitochondrial preparations from rat adrenal glands converted pregnenolone (3β-hydroxypregn-5-ene-20-one) to progesterone, a two step reaction which requires the participation of a DPN+-dependent Δ5-3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and a Δ5-3-ketosteroid isomerase. The mitochondrial enzymes could be prepared as a membrane fraction after sonic treatment of the mitochondria. This preparation revealed a lower apparent Km for DPN+ than the corresponding microsomal system. The submitochondrial fraction rapidly oxidized DPNH formed during the reaction, whereas the microsomal fraction was much less active in this regard. When a DPN+-regenerating system (lactic dehydrogenase + pyruvate) was added to the microsomal system, the apparent Km for DPN+ was indistinguishable from that of the submitochondrial preparation. The conversion of pregnenolone to progesterone was inhibited by cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate (3',5'-AMP) in both subcellular systems, but was more sensitive to inhibition in submitochondrial particles than in the microsomal preparation. However, when the DPN+-regenerating system was added to the microsomal fraction, utilization of pregnenolone to progesterone was inhibited by 3',5'-AMP to a comparable extent in both subcellular preparations. Inhibition of pregnenolone utilization by 3',5'-AMP was strictly competitive with respect to DPN+ in each instance. Among various adenine compounds tested, 3',5'-AMP inhibited the conversion of pregnenolone to progesterone to the greatest extent. Adenosine also produced a significant inhibition. Adenosine 5'-monophosphate and adenosine 5'-diphosphate appeared to be slightly inhibitory. Adenosine 3'-monophosphate, adenosine 5'-triphosphate, and adenosine 2',3'-monophosphate were inactive. Activation of lactic dehydrogenase by DPNH was also inhibited competitively by 3',5'-AMP. This action of the cyclic nucleotide was less specific than its effect on pregnenolone utilization, since 5'-AMP, 5'-ADP, and 5'-ATP inhibited nearly as well. Moreover, adenosine had no effect in this instance. Steroid dehydrogenase and isomerase activities in adrenal subcellular fractions were also studied individually, using substrates which were specific either for Δ4-3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (pregn-4-ene-3β,20β-diol and androst-4-ene-3β,17β-diol) or for Δ5-3-ketosteroid isomerase (pregn-5-ene-3,20-dione and androst-5-ene-3,17-dione). Both enzyme activities were stimulated by DPN+ and competitively inhibited by 3',5'-AMP. At all levels of DPN+ and 3',5'-AMP, the activity of these dehydrogenase systems, as well as that of the conversion of pregnenolone to progesterone, was lower than that of the isomerase systems. These results suggested that Δ5-3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity may be rate-limiting in the over-all reaction and that the inhibitory effects of the cyclic nucleotide on conversion of pregnenolone to progesterone in adrenal subcellular preparations were primarily related to actions on the dehydrogenase.
Abstract 633: Lack of ACE2 Abolishes High Fat Diet-Induced Upregulation of Prolyl Carboxypeptidase

Emerging evidence suggests that activation of the proteases, Ang converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) and prolyl carboxypeptidase (PCP), are associated with metabolic pathologies. We hypothesized that global loss of ACE2 affects high fat diet induced renal expression of PCP. ACE2 knockout (ACE2KO) and wild type (WT) male mice were fed a 60% high fat (HF) or normal chow (NC) diet for 12 weeks. Using dual immunofluorescence microscopy and western blotting, we determined the expression pattern and abundance of ACE2 and PCP in kidney. PCP was co-localized with ACE2 in the Bowman’s capsule of the glomerulus. PCP was also localized along the apical membrane of proximal tubules along with ACE2. There was no evidence for protease co-localization in the tubules. ACE2 was absent in kidney from ACE2KO (immunofluorescence or western). PCP localization was unchanged in ACE2KO and the localization of both proteases did not change in response to HF diet. Protein intensity, normalized to s-actin, showed no difference in PCP between untreated WT and KO (0.76±0.18 vs 0.57±0.07). PCP in HF WT was significantly elevated as compared to HF KO (0.94±0.02 vs 0.57±0.03, p≤0.05) while HF WT ACE2 levels remained unchanged as compared to untreated WT (0.90±0.24 vs 0.94±0.16). Results indicate loss of ACE2 negatively affects HF diet-induced PCP expression. Neither the absence of ACE2 nor HF diet changed the localization of PCP. These results suggest interactions between ACE2 and PCP in metabolic pathologies.