cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Spirituality in African American and Caucasian Women with End-Stage Renal Disease on Hemodialysis Treatment

This reanalysis of data from a previous investigation in the United States was conducted to compare spiritual well-being scores of African American (n = 31) and Caucasian (n = 27) women on hemodialysis for end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Women, aged 24 to 79, completed the spiritual well-being (SWB) scale and other instruments. Results indicated a strong trend for African American women to score higher on religious well-being than Caucasian women. Comparisons of SWB item scores indicated areas of spiritual strengths for African American women: perceptions of God's concern for them, God's help with loneliness, fulfilling relationship with God, satisfaction with life, and sense of life's purpose. These findings have multidisciplinary implications for factors that may mitigate the illeffects of ESRD.
Dynamic recrystallization during creep in a 45 Pct Ni-35 pct Fe-20 pct Cr alloy system

A combined 3.5 wt pct Mo + 1.2 wt pct Ti imparted dynamic recrystallization in a 35 wt pct Fe-45 wt pct Ni-20 wt pct Cr alloy system during creep at 700 °C, whereas 3.5 wt pct Mo addition alone did not initiate recrystallization. Dynamic recrystallization substantially increased the creep elongation and produced a high ductile fracture topography in the present alloy system. A subgrain coalescence nucleation mechanism for dynamic recrystallization mechanism was operative during creep. The critical initiation strain requirements are also discussed.
Soils in an environmental context: an American perspective

Abstract The understanding of fundamental properties of and processes in soils has both agricultural and environmental benefits. Fundamental understanding of soil biology, chemistry, pedology, and physics can be applied to problems of production, environment, and environmental problems caused by production. Although most frequently thought of as agricultural scientists, soil scientists have many roles in modern science including environmental science. The demand for food, animal feed, and fiber continues to increase, driven by growing populations, rising aspirations and improving standards of living. On a global basis, soil science will continue to be viewed as primarily an applied agricultural science. In contrast to the third world, concerns about agricultural production in the developed countries have diminished in this century because of the success of soil and crop science to increase production per unit area. At the same time, concerns about soil, water and air pollution have increased. Soil science knowledge is being employed to understand environmental problems such as non-point water pollution by sediment, air quality diminution by fugitive dust, and trace element transport in runoff. Studies of microbial degradation of farm chemicals has now expanded to biodegradation of organic chemicals with urban sources. Soil science plays a key role in understanding and modeling the transport of pollutants to ground water and to remediation of polluted urban environments. Soils, as occupants of most landscapes, also play important roles in buffering changes in natural ecosystems. Acid rain and global climate change are two environmental problems to which soil scientists have applied themselves. Soil scientists can be proud of their contributions to improving agricultural production and have the opportunity to continue to apply their basic understanding of soils to many environmental problems.
Rational prediction of inertially induced particle deposition rates for a cylindrical target in a dust-laden stream☆

We exploit recent developments on single-particle capture laws (Rosner et al., 1992, 1994) and rational correlations for inertial impaction on a circular cylinder (Israel and Rosner, 1983; Wessel and Righi, 1988) in high Reynolds number crossflow to predict local deposition rates on heat exchanger tubes immersed in polydispersed particle-laden streams of combustion products. Three distinct classes of single-particle capture laws are explicitly considered: constant capture fraction, s (independent of impinging particle velocity and angle of incidence); “on-off” capture behavior expected on a clean, particle-free smooth surface; and capture on a dry, sufficiently thick granular deposit. Our “universal” non-dimensional results are cast in terms of the following accessible parameters: sensitivity of capture fraction to particle incident velocity and angle, ratio of mainstream velocity to the threshold velocity for particle rebound, ratio of mainstream mean particle size to critical size required for impaction on a cylindrical target, spread of log-normal mainstream particle size distribution and the characteristic slip Reynolds number for the critical size particle (for impaction) in the mainstream. Applications of our results and their generalizations are discussed. We also predict the convective heat transfer reduction associated with local fouling layer growth on heat exchanger surfaces, as well as the sensitivity of the deposition rate to several system parameters (gas velocity U, target diameter dt,…) under the control of the designer.
PDA: an automatic and comprehensive analysis program for protein-DNA complex structures

Knowledge of protein-DNA interactions at the structural-level can provide insights into the mechanisms of protein-DNA recognition and gene regulation. Although over 1400 protein-DNA complex structures have been deposited into Protein Data Bank (PDB), the structural details of protein-DNA interactions are generally not available. In addition, current approaches to comparison of protein-DNA complexes are mainly based on protein sequence similarity while the DNA sequences are not taken into account. With the number of experimentally-determined protein-DNA complex structures increasing, there is a need for an automatic program to analyze the protein-DNA complex structures and to provide comprehensive structural information for the benefit of the whole research community. We developed an automatic and comprehensive protein-DNA complex structure analysis program, PDA (for p rotein-D NA complex structure a nalyzer). PDA takes PDB files as inputs and performs structural analysis that includes 1) whole protein-DNA complex structure restoration, especially the reconstruction of double-stranded DNA structures; 2) an efficient new approach for DNA base-pair detection; 3) systematic annotation of protein-DNA interactions; and 4) extraction of DNA subsequences involved in protein-DNA interactions and identification of protein-DNA binding units. Protein-DNA complex structures in current PDB were processed and analyzed with our PDA program and the analysis results were stored in a database. A dataset useful for studying protein-DNA interactions involved in gene regulation was generated using both protein and DNA sequences as well as the contact information of the complexes. WebPDA was developed to provide a web interface for using PDA and for data retrieval. PDA is a computational tool for structural annotations of protein-DNA complexes. It provides a useful resource for investigating protein-DNA interactions. Data from the PDA analysis can also facilitate the classification of protein-DNA complexes and provide insights into rational design of benchmarks. The PDA program is freely available at http://bioinfozen.uncc.edu/webpda .
The Legacy of Ludlow: Exploring Labor Dynamics With Urban Youth

This article reflects on outcomes of a research project conducted with fourteen to twenty-year-old urban students in Chelsea, MA, in which process drama was utilized as an approach to teaching U.S. labor history and collective action. The project addressed the Ludlow Massacre, a coal strike in Ludlow, CO, in 1914, as an exemplar of the dynamics typical of worker–owner conflicts in the past, and moved into present-day labor situations. The process drama experience was part of a larger research project designed to facilitate students' understandings of the ways in which their own experiences of discrimination are reflected in pervasive inequity at the societal level, and to facilitate the acquisition of skills that would allow them to become agents of social change in those dynamics. Outcomes discussed include the effect of the process on students' emerging understanding of unequal power dynamics as they relate to immigrant status in the past and present, the role of collective action in fostering social ch...
Survey of contemporary trends in color image segmentation

In recent years, the acquisition of image and video information for processing, analysis, understanding, and exploitation of the underlying content in various applications, ranging from remote sensing to biomedical imaging, has grown at an unprecedented rate. Analysis by human observers is quite laborious, tiresome, and time consuming, if not infeasible, given the large and continuously rising volume of data. Hence the need for systems capable of automatically and effectively analyzing the aforementioned imagery for a variety of uses that span the spectrum from homeland security to elderly care. In order to achieve the above, tools such as image segmentation provide the appropriate foundation for expediting and improving the effectiveness of subsequent high-level tasks by providing a condensed and pertinent representation of image information. We provide a comprehensive survey of color image segmentation strategies adopted over the last decade, though notable contributions in the gray scale domain will also be discussed. Our taxonomy of segmentation techniques is sampled from a wide spectrum of spatially blind (or feature-based) approaches such as clustering and histogram thresholding as well as spatially guided (or spatial domain-based) methods such as region growing/splitting/merging, energy-driven parametric/geometric active contours, supervised/unsupervised graph cuts, and watersheds, to name a few. In addition, qualitative and quantitative results of prominent algorithms on several images from the Berkeley segmentation dataset are shown in order to furnish a fair indication of the current quality of the state of the art. Finally, we provide a brief discussion on our current perspective of the field as well as its associated future trends.
Clonal diversity of myelin basic protein-specific T lymphocytes

A panel of myelin basic protein (MBP)-specific, class II major histocompatibility complex (As)-restricted T-cell clones were established from SJL/J mice. Three clonotypes, based on their responses to guinea pig MBP and its peptide fragments, were observed. Clonotype I cells, represented by clones HS.6, HS.D2, HS.8, HS.E10, and HS.C1, were reactive to the encephalitogenic C-terminal fragment of MBP, amino acid residues 89–169. Clonotype II, represented by clone HS.E3, was reactive to fragments containing residues 43–88, and clones HS.D12 and HS.C7, representing clonotype III cells, responded to the whole molecule only. Three clones from clonotype I were capable of transferring both clinical and histological signs of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) into naive mice. Southern blot analysis of T-cell receptor β-chain genes using Jβ1- and Jβ2-specific probes showed that the rearrangement pattern was unique in each of the clones. These results suggest that the development of EAE may represent an autoaggressive polyclonal T-cell response.
Effects of γ-Turn and β-Tail Amino Acids on Sequence-Specific Recognition of DNA by Hairpin Polyamides

Three-ring polyamides containing pyrrole (Py) and imidazole (Im) amino acids covalently coupled by a turn-specific γ-aminobutyric acid linker (γ-turn) form six-ring hairpins that recognize predetermined 5-base pair (bp) sequences in the minor groove of DNA. To determine the sequence specificity of the γ-turn and C-terminal β-alanine (β-tail) amino acids, the DNA-binding properties of the hairpin polyamide ImImPy-γ-ImPyPy-β-Dp were analyzed by footprinting and affinity cleavage on DNA-restriction fragments containing the eight possible 5‘-ATGGCNA-3‘ and 5‘-ANGGCTA-3‘ sites (N = A, T, G or C; 5-bp hairpin site is in italics). Quantitative footprint titrations demonstrate that both the γ-turn and β-tail amino acids have a >200−400-fold preference for A·T/T·A relative to G·C base pairs at these positions. Effects of the base pairs adjacent to the 5-bp hairpin-binding site were analyzed by footprinting experiments on a DNA-restriction fragment containing the eight possible 5‘-ATGGCTN-3‘ and 5‘-NTGGCTA-3‘ sites. Quantitative footprint titrations demonstrate that the turn and tail amino acids have reduced specificity (3−20-fold preference) for A·T/T·A relative to G·C base pairs at these positions. These results indicate that the turn and tail amino acids do not simply act as neutral linker residues but, in fact, are sequence-specific recognition elements with predictable DNA-binding specificity.
The effect of diethyldithiocarbamate on brain uptake of cadmium.

Abstract A previous study in mice has shown that the chelating agent diethyldithiocarbamate (DDC), when used to treat intoxication with cadmium, increased the concentration of the metal in brain. Studies were undertaken to confirm these findings in rats and to determine the mechanism of the observed effect. DDC (10 mg/kg, ip) given to male Sprague-Dawley rats 30 min prior to intracarotid Cd administration resulted in a 10-fold increase in the single pass cerebral extraction of cadmium. Two possible mechanisms were studied to explain this observation. First, DDC via a central adrenergic mechanism may cause a generalized increase in cerebral capillary permeability (CCP) to a diffusion-limited substance or may reduce cerebral blood flow (CBF) thereby prolonging cerebral circulatory transit time. Second, DDC ma6 chelate Cd to form a complex more permeable to the blood:brain barrier (BBB). CBF was determined from the ratio of [14C]butanol taken up by the brain to the [14C]butanol in an arterial blood sample withdrawn at a constant rate following iv injection of the tracer. CCP was determined as Ew (extraction fraction of water) by the double-diffusion tracer technique. DDC did not alter either parameter, suggesting that the mechanism of the DDC-Cd interaction may involve the formation of a complex more permeable to the BBB. This conclusion is supported by the finding that the addition of DDC to a CdCl2 solution increased the octanol-water partition coefficient of Cd (as DDC-Cd complex) by 375-fold.
Fc receptor is not required for inducing antibodies but plays a critical role in conferring protection after influenza M2 vaccination

The ectodomain of matrix protein 2 (M2e) of influenza virus is considered a rational target for a universal influenza A vaccine. To better understand M2e immune-mediated protection, Fc receptor common γ chain deficient (FcRγ(-/-) ) and wild-type mice were immunized with a tandem repeat of M2e presented on virus-like particles (M2e5x VLP). Levels of M2e-specific antibodies that were induced in FcRγ(-/-) mice after immunization with M2e5x VLP were similar to those in wild-type mice. In addition, M2e antibodies induced in FcRγ(-/-) mice were found to be equally protective as those induced in wild-type mice. However, M2e5x VLP-immunized FcRγ(-/-) mice were not well protected, as shown by severe weight loss, higher lung viral titres and interleukin-6 inflammatory cytokine production upon influenza virus challenge compared with M2e5x VLP-immunized wild-type mice. Importantly, FcRγ(-/-) mice that were immunized with inactivated influenza virus induced haemagglutination inhibition activity and were well protected without a significant weight loss. Interestingly, interferon-γ-producing CD4 T and CD8 T cells were found to be prevalent in lungs from M2e5x VLP-immunized FcRγ(-/-) mice, which appeared to be correlated with a faster recovery after infection. These results indicate that Fc receptors play a primary role in conferring M2e-specific antibody-mediated protection whereas T cells may contribute to the recovery at later stages of infection.
Use of MgF 2 and LiF Photocathodes in the Extreme Ultraviolet

The photoelectric yields of 2000-A thick samples of MgF2 and LiF have been measured at wavelengths in the range from 1216 to 461 A. Peak values of 43 and 34%, respectively, were obtained at wavelengths around 550 A at 45 deg incidence. Coating the cathode of a channel electron multiplier with 3000 A of MgF2 produced no significant deterioration in the electrical properties and increased the sensitivity by factors of 1.62, 2.76, and 2.60 at wavelengths of 742, 584, and 461 A, respectively. Since the stability of response of the MgF2 photocathodes appears to be equal to that of conventional metallic and semiconducting cathodes, it is concluded that MgF2 would be a practical, high-efficiency photocathode for use in the extreme ultraviolet.
Spin Transfer of Quantum Information between Majorana Modes and a Resonator

We show that resonant coupling and entanglement between a mechanical resonator and Majorana bound states can be achieved via spin currents in a 1D quantum wire with strong spin-orbit interactions. The bound states induced by vibrating and stationary magnets can hybridize, thus resulting in spin-current induced 4π-periodic torques, as a function of the relative field angle, acting on the resonator. We study the feasibility of detecting and manipulating Majorana bound states with the use of magnetic resonance force microscopy techniques.
Back and to the Future: The Intergroup Contact Hypothesis Revisited*

Cet article discute des problemes de definitions et de methodologie qui ont marque depuis quarante ans l'hypothese de contact de Allport-Pettigrew et rapporte une etude menee sur les annees 1974 et 1984 sur le voisinage prive biracial. Cette etude inclut un test des quatre conditions favorables a l'hypothese (a savoir, les effets positifs de l'egalite de statuts, de buts communs, de la dependance cooperative et du soutien institutionnel pour la reduction des prejuges raciaux). Les resultats indiquent que bien que les visites interraciales et les prejuges soient inversement correles plus fortement pour les Blancs que pour les Noirs, la corroboration des conditions favorables a l'hypothese est plus forte pour les Noirs. Mais les resultats ne sont pas homogenes et differents parametres sont examines comme tests a la selection differentielle et comme explications possibles a des anomalies dans les resultats. De nouvelles voies, guidees par des modeles recents et par des reformulations des cadres traditionnels, sont suggerees
Fundus albipunctatus: a clinical study of the fundus lesions, the physiologic deficit, and the vitamin A metabolism.

Two unrelated patients with fundus albipunctatus, each the product of a consanguinous marriage, were studied with reference to their fundus lesions, their physiologic deficit and their vitamin A metabolism.
CURIOSITY AND THE ROLE OF THE INDIVIDUAL IN THE IMPOSITION OF CHANGE

Maslow's description of two types of exploratory behavior, one based on a curiosity motive and the other on a safety motive, is discussed; it is suggested that a more fundamental distinction between these two types of exploratory behavior may lie in the role of the individual in the imposition of the environmental conditions.
Analysis of Resilient Modulus of Dense- and Open-Graded Aggregates

The results of analyses of laboratory resilient modulus testing conducted on dense-graded and open-graded aggregates are presented. The testing program included three different aggregate materials (crushed limestone, natural stone, and slag), five different gradation specifications, and three different moisture conditions (dry, moist, and saturated). In addition to the five aggregate specifications, test specimens were prepared so that they would satisfy the lower, central, and upper bounds for the gradations. Resilient modulus tests were conducted as closely as possible according to Strategic Highway Research Program Protocol P-46 (AASHTO T 294-92 I). The test results were analyzed using log-linear regression analysis with two-parameter (bulk stress) and three-parameter (bulk stress and octahedral shear stress) expressions for resilient modulus. The results of the testing indicate that the resilient modulus of aggregates and regression constants vary significantly depending on the type of material and va...
Coenzyme Q10 attenuates the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) induced loss of striatal dopamine and dopaminergic axons in aged mice

Abstract We investigated whether oral administration of coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) could attenuate 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) neurotoxicity in one-year-old mice. Four groups of one-year-old, male C57BL/6 mice received a either standard diet or a diet supplemented with CoQ10 (200 mg/kg/day) for five weeks. After four weeks, one group that had received the standard diet and one group that had received the CoQ10 supplemented diet were treated with MPTP. The four groups continued on their assigned diets for an additional week prior to sacrifice. Striatal dopamine concentrations were reduced in both groups treated with MPTP, but they were significantly higher (37%) in the group treated with CoQ10 and MPTP than in the group treated with MPTP alone. The density of tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactive (TH–IR) fibers in the caudal striatum was reduced in both MPTP-treated groups, but the density of TH–IR fibers was significantly (62%) greater in the group treated with CoQ10 and MPTP than in the group treated with MPTP alone. Our results indicate that CoQ10 can attenuate the MPTP-induced loss of striatal dopamine and dopaminergic axons in aged mice and suggest that CoQ10 may be useful in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.
Smart meter data analysis

This paper presents a thorough analysis of 15-minute residential meter data sets to identify possible value propositions of smart meter measurements. Meter measurements of 50 houses were used to derive a few key data signatures for several target applications such as identifying demand response potentials, detecting abnormal load behaviors, and fault diagnosis. Results showed that for different applications, the communication needs from meters to control centers, data storage capabilities, and the complexity of data processing intelligence varies significantly. Therefore, it is important to build a dynamic data signature database and optimize the distribution of data processing capability between local devices and control centers to avoid communication congestion and to identify problems early. This paper also demonstrates that highresolution smart meter data can make distribution power grids more economical, reliable, and resilient.
Leadership effectiveness in global project teams

The challenges of managing culturally diverse and globally dispersed project teams are examined in a two-year field study of 27 technology-intensive product developments. The findings provide insight into paradigm shifts in the business environment that led to more open, agile management processes and team leadership. The paper suggests a framework for assessing leadership effectiveness together with the critical success factors for effectively leading team in today's complex project environment.
Automatic Function Interpretation: Using Natural Language Processing on Patents to Understand Design Purposes

In engineering design, establishing functional requirements (FRs) based on customer needs (CNs) is critical to ensure the success of a product. However, it may take a lot of time for a designer to state functional requirements explicitly. To overcome this difficulty, the authors have proposed a method to interpret design intention in accordance with the axiomatic design (AD) framework by applying natural language processing (NLP) techniques on patents. The goal of the proposed method is to provide functional requirements and design parameters that are automatically extracted for designers. Although the initial result shows that the method is dependent on the writing style used in a patent, this fresh attempt demonstrates the feasibility of automatically interpreting design intention.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
A generalized finite-difference time-domain scheme for solving nonlinear Schrödinger equations

Abstract Recently, we have developed a generalized finite-difference time-domain (G-FDTD) method for solving the time dependent linear Schrodinger equation. The G-FDTD is explicit and permits an accurate solution with simple computation, and also relaxes the stability condition as compared with the original FDTD scheme. In this article, we extend the G-FDTD scheme to solve nonlinear Schrodinger equations. Using the discrete energy method, the G-FDTD scheme is shown to satisfy a discrete analogous form of the conservation law. The obtained scheme is tested by three examples of soliton propagation, including bright and dark solitons as well as a 2D case. Compared with other popular existing methods, numerical results show that the present scheme provides a more accurate solution.
Endosomal membrane traffic: convergence point targeted by Mycobacterium tuberculosis and HIV.

Summary Inhibition of phagolysosome biogenesis in infected macrophages is a classical pathogenesis determinant of Mycobacterium tuberculosis . In this review we primarily cover the cellular mechanisms of M. tuberculosis phagosome maturation arrest. A detailed picture is beginning to emerge, involving regulators of membrane trafficking in mammalian cells and phagosomal interactions with endosomal organelles and the transGolgi network. We also present a hypothesis that overlaps may exist between the mycobacterial interference with the host cell membrane trafficking processes and the targeting of the late endosomal sorting machinery by HIV during viral budding in macrophages. We propose that interference with the endosomal sorting machinery contributes to the synergism between the two significant human diseases ‐ AIDS and tuberculosis. Mycobacterium tuberculosis macrophage parasitism Tuberculosis is a leading cause of death in the world, with 2‐3 million fatal cases annually. This is just the tip of an iceberg, because, by conservative estimates, close to a billion people are latently infected with M. tuberculosis . Even when completely asymptomatic, latently infected individuals run a 10% lifetime risk of eventually developing some form of active disease. The odds of progressing into overt tuberculosis increase to a staggering annual risk of 10% for individuals coinfected with HIV (World Health Organization tuberculosis fact sheet; http://www.who.int).
Organophosphonic acids as drug candidates

The discovery of phosphate mimetics that are suitable as drug candidates has been a challenging problem faced by medicinal chemists for many years. Several series of organophosphonic acids have been identified as phosphate mimetics and have resulted in multiple development candidates progressing to the clinic and even successfully reaching the market. This review intends to provide only a sampling of the recent patents covering dianionic phosphonic acids, demonstrating that phosphonates can be developed into suitable drug candidates.
Equity Diversification Internationally

ntil recently, diversification into international stocks has proved valuable to U.S. investors. U.S. investors in internaU tional equities benefited greatly over the past twenty-six years fkom substantial depreciation in the value of the U.S. dollar relative to several major EAFE currencies, including Japan and Germany. As the dollar depreciated, U.S. investors holding stocks denominated in appreciating currencies obtained both the “local market return” of the foreign securities (i.e., the return to local investors in the stock’s host country) and a “currency return” proportionate to the dollar’s decline. Since this trend has been in place for some time, return forecasts used in modeling international securities for asset allocation purposes have necessarily been built on the return distributions that occurred during this period. The effect has been to increase the expected returns of international stocks by the amount of the embedded currency return. In 1995, however, domestic equity markets, proxied by the S&P 500, led international equity markets, proxied by EAFE (the index for stocks in Europe, Australia, and the Far East), by an unusually wide performance margin. Domestic stocks closed 1995 up 37.5% for the twelve-month period, while international stocks posted a more normal 11.2% return for the same period. The decision to diverslfy a domestic portfolio into international stocks substantially reduced portfolio returns relative to an undiversified portfolio during this twelve-month period. Perhaps not coincidentally, in early 1995 the U.S. dollar hit thirty-year lows against major international currencies, before it reversed course and began to appreciate through most of the rest of the calendar year. Although no one can accurately predict the future course of currency exchange rates, it may not be reasonable simply to assume that the dollar’s historic depreciation trend will repeat itself over the next twenty-five years. Rather, it may be more reasonable for institutional fiduciaries to review the impact on their pordolio performance characteristics if the dollar does not continue to depreciate.
Context-sensitivity in conversation: Eye gaze and the German repair initiator bitte?

Just as turn-taking has been found to be both context-free and context-sensitive (Sacks, Schegloff & Jefferson 1974), the organization of repair is also shown here to be both context-free and context-sensitive. In a comparison of American and German conversation, repair can be shown to be context-free in that, basically, the same mechanism can be found across these two languages. However, repair is also sensitive to the linguistic inventory of a given language; in German, morphological marking, syntactic constraints, and grammatical congruity across turns are used as interactional resources. In addition, repair is sensitive to certain characteristics of social situations. The selection of a particular repair initiator, German bitte? ‘pardon?’, indexes that there is no mutual gaze between interlocutors; i.e., there is no common course of action. The selection of bitte? not only initiates repair; it also spurs establishment of mutual gaze, and thus displays that there is attention to a common focus. (Conversation analysis, context, cross-linguistic analysis, repair, gaze, telephone conversation, co-present interaction, grammar and interaction)
Spontaneously Resolved Chiral Three-Fold Interpenetrating Diamondoidlike Cu(II) Coordination Polymers with Temperature-Driven Crystal-to-Crystal Transformation

The chiral 3-fold interpenetrating diamondoidlike Cu(II)-containing coordination polymer [Cu(2,5-bis(4-pyridyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole)2(H2O)](ClO4)2]n (1a) is reported. It undergoes a temperature-driven reversible single-crystal-to-single-crystal structural transformation between room- (293 K, 1a) and low-temperature (150 K, 1b) forms.
Metabolism of cyclopenta(cd)pyrene at the K-region by microsomes and a reconstituted cytochrome P-450 system from rat liver

Abstract Liver microsomes and reconstituted cytochrome P-450 systems purified from phenobarbital or 3-methylcholanthrene pre-treated rats metabolize cyclopenta(cd)pyrene at its K-region to trans -9,10-dihydroxy-9,10-dihydrocyclopenta(cd)pyrene. The rate of formation of the K-region product is from 5% to 25% that of trans -3,4-dihydroxy-3,4-dihydro-cyclopenta(cd)pyrene. The preference of microsomes and purified cytochromes P-450 for oxygenating cyclopenta(cd)pyrene at the ethylenic C(3)–C(4) position is explainable in part by the fact that the C(4) position has the greatest electron density in the highest occupied molecular orbital.
Optimal basis sets for detailed Brillouin-zone integrations

A method is given to obtain optimal basis sets for certain electronic-structure calculations, starting with solutions of Schr{umlt o}dinger{close_quote}s equation at a few crystal momenta and finding periodic functions that best span the periodic parts of such wave functions at all momenta. This is done within a pseudopotential, plane-wave framework. The derived basis sets should be most helpful for modeling quantities such as optical properties of materials: they have enabled the author to solve Schr{umlt o}dinger{close_quote}s equation at thousands of crystal momenta from 4 to 3500 times faster than did a basis set of plane waves. However, one still obtains reasonable wave functions expanded in the same plane-wave representation. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}
Phospholipid fatty acid biomarkers in a freshwater periphyton community exposed to uranium: discovery by non-linear statistical learning

Phospholipid fatty acids (PLFA) have been widely used to characterize environmental microbial communities, generating community profiles that can distinguish phylogenetic or functional groups within the community. The poor specificity of organism groups with fatty acid biomarkers in the classic PLFA-microorganism associations is a confounding factor in many of the statistical classification/clustering approaches traditionally used to interpret PLFA profiles. In this paper we demonstrate that non-linear statistical learning methods, such as a support vector machine (SVM), can more accurately find patterns related to uranyl nitrate exposure in a freshwater periphyton community than linear methods, such as partial least squares discriminant analysis. In addition, probabilistic models of exposure can be derived from the identified lipid biomarkers to demonstrate the potential model-based approach that could be used in remediation. The SVM probability model separates dose groups at accuracies of ∼87.0%, ∼71.4%, ∼87.5%, and 100% for the four groups; Control (non-amended system), low dose (amended at 10 μg UL⁻¹), medium dose (amended at 100 μg UL⁻¹), and high dose (500 μg UL⁻¹). The SVM model achieved an overall cross-validated classification accuracy of ∼87% in contrast to ∼59% for the best linear classifier.
MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF NEUROTROPHIN EXPRESSION AND THE CORRESPONDING TROPOMYOSIN RECEPTOR KINASES (TRKS) IN EPITHELIAL AND STROMAL CELLS OF THE HUMAN PROSTATE

The prostate is one of the most abundant sources of nerve growth factor (NGF) outside of the nervous system. NGF is a member of the neurotrophin family of growth factors which in mammals also includes brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) and neurotrophin-4/5 (NT-4/5). These neurotrophins can bind with high affinity to a family of tropomyosin receptor kinases (trks). These receptors are trkA, which binds NGF; trkB, which binds both BDNF and NT-4/5; and trkC, which binds NT-3. In order to characterize the molecular expression of the neurotrophins and their corresponding trk receptors in the prostate we performed Northern blot analysis for the neurotrophins and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) coupled with Southern blot analysis for the trk family of receptors on smooth muscle stromal cells from the prostate, the androgen responsive LNCaP prostate tumor cell line and the androgen refractory TSU-pr1 prostate tumor cell line. The results show that smooth muscle stromal cells expressed NGF, BDNF and trkC, whereas both epithelial cell lines expressed trkA, trkB and trkC to various degrees. NT-3 was not detected in either the smooth muscle stromal cells or in both epithelial cell lines. This suggests that the stromal cell derived NGF and BDNF may interact via paracrine mechanisms with trkA and trkB receptors, respectively, on the adjacent epithelial cells. Interestingly, the androgen responsive LNCaP cell line did not express any of the neurotrophins, whereas the androgen refractory TSU-pr1 cell line expressed NGF, BDNF and NT-4/5. This suggests that the autocrine expression of NGF, BDNF and NT-4/5 is up-regulated in prostate epithelial cells following their transformation to an androgen refractory pathology. Hence, the malignant transformation of prostate epithelial tumor cells may facilitate their escape from a paracrine dependence on stromal cell derived neurotrophins by the acquisition of the autocrine expression of neurotrophins. Since the pathology of malignant cell migration within the prostate is predominantly by direct extension around prostatic nerves the upregulation of autocrine neurotrophin expression within prostate epithelial tumor cells may be concomitant with transformation to a malignant phenotype capable of invasion along the perineural space and extracapsular metastasis to distant sites of tumor formation.
A simple bipolar technique for the analysis of the vector relationship between the unipolar and standard electrocardiographic leads

Abstract 1. 1. A method of obtaining unipolar-type leads with simple bipolar diametrically opposed electrodes is presented. 2. 2. The unipolar leads may be considered as radius vectors related to the standard leads through an arc of 30°.
Temporal Bone Findings in Alzheimer's Disease†

Sensorineural hearing loss has been reported in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and a topographically specific pattern of degeneration in the central auditory system has been described. Although peripheral visual and olfactory systems have been extensively studied, there is no report of peripheral auditory system abnormalities in AD patients. Comparison of temporal bones from eight AD patients with those from eight non-AD controls revealed a significant difference in the percentage of remaining hair cells, peripheral processes, and spiral ganglion cells in the basal cochlear turn but no significant differences in the overall percentage between the two groups. Furthermore, special stains (thioflavin S and Bielschowsky's silver impregnation) of temporal bone nervous tissue from AD patients did not show neuritic plaques and neurofibrillary tangles. It is unclear whether the differences between the two groups in the basal portion of the cochlea are due to AD or some other process, such as presbycusis. However, lack of significant degeneration in other parts of the cochlea and absence of neurofibrillary tangles and neuritic plaques in all eight patients may suggest that the peripheral auditory system, unlike the peripheral visual and olfactory systems, is not involved in AD. A larger sample of AD patients is necessary to clarify the peripheral auditory system findings in the present study.
Splenic rupture after diagnostic colonoscopy: a case report

Background Colonoscopy is a commonly used diagnostic and therapeutic procedure. Splenic injury or rupture after this procedure is rare.
Some estimates pertaining to sensitivity and robust stability of input-output systems

The estimates derived in this paper strengthen the available results on sensitivity and robust stability of input-output systems. Two types of estimates are discussed: the “sensitivity type”, which establishes a bound for the output change when the system is perturbed but the input remains the same, and the “robustness type”, which gives a bound for the output change when the input changes but the perturbation does not. First, estimates for general systems over abstract extended spaces are derived; these results are then applied to (1) two frequently used control configurations, and (2) systems governed by vector integral and differential equations on the time domain [0, ∞). The applications of the estimates are illustrated by several examples.
Detection of Low Energy X Rays with Si(Li) Detectors

The continuing improvement in energy resolution of semiconductor detector X-ray spectrometers has led to interest in the use of these devices at energies less than 2 keV. This is an energy region of potential analytical interest since the K X rays of several elements of biological and chemical importance occur at these energies. However, the low X-ray fluorescence yield in low-Z elements, combined with the absorption of low-energy X rays due to the entry window of the vacuum chanber and that of the detector, have made work in this energy region impossible with the standard semiconductor detector X-ray spectrometers. In the present work, the X-ray absorption path has been reduced to a minimum to permit low-energy X ray studies of excitation, entry window thickness, detector linearity and resolution. Using electron beam excitation on low-Z targets, we have performed measurements of characteristic K X rays of elements down to and including carbon (277 eV).
Variation in habitat use by juvenile Acadian redfish, Sebastes fasciatus

A basic paradigm in behavioral ecology is that organisms expand their distribution as preferred sites become saturated with individuals that reduce the availability of resources (e.g., shelter, prey) on a per capita basis. Previous fish community studies at Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary have shown that juvenile Acadian redfish Sebastes fasciatus ( 20 cm TL) also occurred in dense cerianthid habitats. Two explanations for these distributions can be advanced. The simplest is that redfish use both boulder and cerianthid habitats on an encounter basis, regardless of habitat saturation or predation pressure. Alternatively, boulder reefs serve as recruitment habitats and cerianthid habitats serve as a conduit for redfish moving away from saturated boulder reef sites, essentially serving as elements of a 'redfish pump'.
E2F in vivo binding specificity: Comparison of consensus versus nonconsensus binding sites

We have previously shown that most sites bound by E2F family members in vivo do not contain E2F consensus motifs. However, differences between in vivo target sites that contain or lack a consensus E2F motif have not been explored. To understand how E2F binding specificity is achieved in vivo, we have addressed how E2F family members are recruited to core promoter regions that lack a consensus motif and are excluded from other regions that contain a consensus motif. Using chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled with DNA microarray analysis (ChIP-chip) assays, we have shown that the predominant factors specifying whether E2F is recruited to an in vivo binding site are (1) the site must be in a core promoter and (2) the region must be utilized as a promoter in that cell type. We have tested three models for recruitment of E2F to core promoters lacking a consensus site, including (1) indirect recruitment, (2) looping to the core promoter mediated by an E2F bound to a distal motif, and (3) assisted binding of E2F to a site that weakly resembles an E2F motif. To test these models, we developed a new in vivo assay, termed eChIP, which allows analysis of transcription factor binding to isolated fragments. Our findings suggest that in vivo (1) a consensus motif is not sufficient to recruit E2Fs, (2) E2Fs can bind to isolated regions that lack a consensus motif, and (3) binding can require regions other than the best match to the E2F motif.
Simulation of multi-agent Prisoners' Dilemmas

This article is a report on computer simulation experiments based on our new agent-based simulation tool to model social situations for the case of large numbers of not necessarily rational decision-makers. It is a simulation of the multiagent Prisoners' Dilemma game for realistic (nondyadic) interactions between agents with various personalities. Our model has a number of user-defined parameters such as the size and shape of the simulation environment, the definition of neighborhood, the payoff (reward/penalty) functions, the learning rules, the agents' personalities, and the initial conditions. We have performed a series of simulation experiments with various combinations of these parameters. For the case of one class of agents we found two distinctly different nontrivial but remarkably regular solutions. For a wide range of initial conditions, the number of cooperators oscillates around a relatively small value. When the initial aggregate cooperation probability is above a certain value, the solutions tend to reach well-defined constant values that are dependent on the initial values. For other types of agents the solutions show interesting chaos-like behavior. The article provides some insight into the conditions of decentralized cooperation in spatially distributed populations of agents.
SU-D-213AB-05: Commissioning a CT Compatible LDR T&O Applicator Using Analytical Calculation with ID and 3D Dosimetry.

Purpose: To determine the characteristics of a new commercially available CT‐compatible LDR Tandem and Ovoid (T&O) applicator using 3D dosimetry.Methods: We characterized source attenuation through the asymmetric gold shielding in the buckets by measuring dose with diode and 3D dosimetry and compared to an analytical line integral calculation. For 3D dosimetry, a cylindrical PRESAGE dosimeter (9.5cm diameter, 9.2cm height) with a central 6mm channel bored for source placement was scanned with the Duke Large field of view Optical CT‐Scanner (DLOS) before and after delivering a nominal 7.7Gy at a distance of 1 cm using a Cs‐137 source loaded in the bucket. The optical CT scan time lasted approximately 15 minutes during which 720 projections were acquired at 0.5° increments, anda 3D dose distribution was reconstructed with a 0.5mm3 isotropic voxel size. The 3D dose distribution was applied to a CT‐based T&O implant to determine effect of ovoid shielding on the dose delivered to ICRU 38 Point A as well as D2cc of the bladder, rectum, bowel, and sigmoid. Results:Dose transmission through the gold shielding at a radial distance of 1–3cm from midplane of the source was 86.6%, 86.1, and 87.0% for analytical calculation, diode, and 3D dosimetry, respectively. For the gold shielding of the bucket, dose transmission calculated using the 3D dosimetrymeasurement was found to be lowest at oblique angles from the bucket witha minimum of ∼51%. For the patient case, attenuation from the buckets leadto a decrease in average Point A dose of ∼4% and decrease in D2cc to bladder, rectum, sigmoid, and bowel of 2%, 15%, 2%, and 7%, respectively. Conclusions: The measured 3D dose distribution provided unique insight to the dosimetry and shielding characteristics of the investigated applicator, the technique for which can be applied to commissioning of other brachytherapy applicators. John Adamovics is the owner of Heuris Pharma LLC. Partially supported by NIH Grant R01 CA100835‐01.
Rice pests in the Ivory Coast, West Africa: Farmers’ perceptions and management strategies

Abstract An understanding of fanners’ perceptions of pests and their existing pest control methods can make an important contribution to the development of effective integrated pest management strategies. While the relatively successful rice IPM technologies in Asia have been extensively documented in studies examining farmers’ pest perceptions and management practices, studies examining, specifically, perceptions and management practices of West African rice farmers are rare. This may reflect the more limited success to date in the implementation of rice IPM strategies in the region. This paper describes rice pests, pest perceptions and management practices of smallholder rice farmers in the Ivory Coast. It was found that the major rice pests, as perceived by farmers, are weeds, vertebrates (birds and rodents) and insects. Farmers are generally unable to diagnose rice plant diseases and thus did not consider them as important production constraints. Implications are derived for an integrated pest managem...