cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Glial Cell Line-derived Neurotrophic Factor Regulation of Genes Essential for Self-renewal of Mouse Spermatogonial Stem Cells Is Dependent on Src Family Kinase Signaling

Self-renewal and differentiation by spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) is the foundation for continual spermatogenesis. SSC self-renewal is dependent on glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF); however, intracellular mechanisms stimulated by GDNF in SSCs are unknown. To investigate these mechanisms we utilized a culture system that maintains a mouse undifferentiated germ cell population enriched for self-renewing SSCs. In these cultures mRNA for the transcription factors Bcl6b, Erm, and Lhx1 are up-regulated by GDNF and decreased in its absence. The expression of all three molecules was further identified in undifferentiated spermatogonia in vivo. Using small interfering RNA to reduce expression and transplantation to quantify stem cell numbers, Bcl6b, Erm, and Lhx1 were shown to be important for SSC maintenance in vitro. Next, GDNF was shown to activate both Akt and Src family kinase (SFK) signaling in SSCs, and culture of SSCs with inhibitors to Akt or SFKs followed by transplantation analysis showed significant impairment of SSC maintenance in vitro. Apoptosis analysis revealed a significant increase in the percentage of apoptotic cells when Akt, but not SFK, signaling was impaired, indicating that multiple signaling pathways are responsible for SSC self-renewal and survival. Biochemical and gene expression experiments revealed that GDNF up-regulated expression of Bcl6b, Erm, and Lhx1 transcripts is dependent on SFK signaling. Overall, these data demonstrate that GDNF up-regulation of Bcl6b, Erm, and Lhx1 expression through SFK signaling is a key component of the intracellular mechanism for SSC self-renewal.
Oxidative mechanism and homeostasis of proteinase/antiproteinase in congestive heart failure

Abstract Takenaka et al. [Takenaka H, Kihara Y, Iwanaga Y, Onozawa Y, Toyokuni S, Kita T. Angiotensin II, oxidative stress, and extracellular matrix degradation during transition to LV failure in rats with hypertension, J Mol Cell Cardiol, 2006; in press] in this issue have shown that during LV failure in hypertension, there is induction of oxidative stress in which p47 and gp91, and glutathione peroxidase are increased via the NFkB pathway oxidative stress which induces the MMP/TIMP axis, leading to cardiac dilation and failure. The ARB ameliorates the CHF by decreasing oxidative stress [Funabiki K, et al., Combined angiotensin receptor blocker and ACE inhibitor on myocardial fibrosis and LV stiffness in dogs with heart failure, Am J Physiol, 2004; 287(6): H2487–92]. This study supports the notion that the inciting oxidative stress activates the matrix degrading proteinase. That disrupts the connective tissue matrix homeostasis in between the myocyte and endothelial cells causing disruption in synchronization in cardiac systolic contraction and diastolic relaxation. The treatment with ARB mitigates this disruption in cardiac synchrony.
Prospecting for Zones of Contaminated Ground‐Water Discharge to Streams Using Btottom‐Sediment Gas Bubbles

Decomposition of organic-rich bottom sediment in a tidal creek in Maryland results in production of gas bubbles in the bottom sediment during summer and fall. In areas where volatile organic contaminants discharge from ground water, through the bottom sediment, and into the creek, part of the volatile contamination diffuses into the gas bubbles and is released to the atmosphere by ebullition. Collection and analysis of gas bubbles for their volatile organic contaminant content indicate that relative concentrations of the volatile organic contaminants in the gas bubbles are substantially higher in areas where the same contaminants occur in the ground water that discharges to the streams. Analyses of the bubbles located an area of previously unknown ground-water contamination. The method developed for this study consisted of disturbing the bottom sediment to release gas bubbles, and then capturing the bubbles in a polyethylene bag at the water-column surface. The captured gas was transferred either into sealable polyethylene bags for immediate analysis with a photoionization detector or by syringe to glass tubes containing wires coated with an activated-carbon adsorbent. Relative concentrations were determined by mass spectral analysis for chloroform and trichloroethylene.
Effect of a benzoic acid-detergent germicide on denture-borne Candida albicans

Benzoic acid combined with a detergent was used to safely and effectively decontaminate dentures colonized with Candida albicans. Surface decontamination was accomplished by soaking the dentures in the germicide solution for a period of 6 hours to overnight. Decontamination may occur in as little as 10 minutes when soaking is combined with ultrasonic enhancement.
The Accreting White Dwarf in the Close Binary EUVE J1016–053

The hot white dwarf in the close binary EUVE J1016-053 (=RE 1016-053) has been classified as a DAO white dwarf; its mixed H/He composition has been attributed to steady accretion from the close red dwarf companion. We have obtained extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) photometric and spectroscopic observations of EUVE J1016-053 with the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE). We report the discovery of a ≈ 30% EUV flux variation over a period of 57.3 minutes, which we attribute to surface abundance inhomogeneities modulated over the stellar rotation period, Prot. The EUVE spectrum shows the effect of heavy-element opacities on the white dwarf EUV energy distribution. Spectral synthesis including trace opacities of helium and a group of heavy elements (C, N, O, Si, S, Fe) in the otherwise hydrogen-rich atmosphere constrains abundances to Y/Y☉ = Z/Z☉ = 2 × 10-3, in support of a simple accretion model. The low surface-averaged helium abundance measured in the white dwarf atmosphere limits the accretion rate to between 10-19 and 10-18 M☉ yr-1, i.e., much lower than the Bondi-Hoyle accretion rate, which is of the same order as the red dwarf mass-loss rate (≥10-14 M☉ yr-1), therefore invalidating a simple wind-accretion model. We speculate that weak mass loss from the white dwarf or interaction with a magnetosphere may inhibit accretion onto the white dwarf. Accretion of heavy elements may also be restricted to smaller areas, possibly correlating to magnetic poles.
A semi-supervised tweet classification method using news articles

As the Internet and social media became more popular, the demand for Online Reputation Management (ORM) has increased. For ORM in social media, it is a priority to recognize whether a content of a social message means the named entity. Since Twitter exchanges 500 million tweets per day, it is impossible for a human to analyze this enormous amount of tweet. Because of this, an automated system for tweet disambiguation is necessary. In this paper, we propose a semi-supervised and automated system for the named entity disambiguation in Twitter based on the news articles. A classifier is built with keywords from news articles which are related to a company. The keywords are extracted based on the document frequency. For the keywords that help to discriminate company tweets, a proper threshold was found in a heuristic way. From the experiment, we found that news articles can be used to disambiguate a named entity on tweets as an external source and we verified our system performed well in some cases.
Rhinoscleroma presenting as a nasal-palatal mass with airway obstruction

We report a case of a 45-year-old male with severe rhinoscleroma. The patient presented to the emergency room with dyspnea from a long-standing nasal-palatal mass. A tracheostomy was required for airway control. While dyspnea in the presence of an upper airway mass is typical of malignancy, consideration of non-oncological etiologies is important. We review the epidemiology, pathology, diagnosis, and treatment of rhinoscleroma.
The Genomic Signature of Crop-Wild Introgression in Maize

The evolutionary significance of hybridization and subsequent introgression has long been appreciated, but evaluation of the genome-wide effects of these phenomena has only recently become possible. Crop-wild study systems represent ideal opportunities to examine evolution through hybridization. For example, maize and the conspecific wild teosinte Zea mays ssp. mexicana (hereafter, mexicana) are known to hybridize in the fields of highland Mexico. Despite widespread evidence of gene flow, maize and mexicana maintain distinct morphologies and have done so in sympatry for thousands of years. Neither the genomic extent nor the evolutionary importance of introgression between these taxa is understood. In this study we assessed patterns of genome-wide introgression based on 39,029 single nucleotide polymorphisms genotyped in 189 individuals from nine sympatric maize-mexicana populations and reference allopatric populations. While portions of the maize and mexicana genomes appeared resistant to introgression (notably near known cross-incompatibility and domestication loci), we detected widespread evidence for introgression in both directions of gene flow. Through further characterization of these genomic regions and preliminary growth chamber experiments, we found evidence suggestive of the incorporation of adaptive mexicana alleles into maize during its expansion to the highlands of central Mexico. In contrast, very little evidence was found for adaptive introgression from maize to mexicana. The methods we have applied here can be replicated widely, and such analyses have the potential to greatly inform our understanding of evolution through introgressive hybridization. Crop species, due to their exceptional genomic resources and frequent histories of spread into sympatry with relatives, should be particularly influential in these studies.
Dynamics of coronary artery curvature obtained from biplane cineangiograms

Abstract A system was developed to track the centerlines (axes) of human coronary arteries during the cardiac cycle from biplane cineangiograms. The system employs a time interpolation technique on one image plane and a smoothing technique on the other to create simultaneous image pairs. The image pairs are then used to reconstruct the three dimensional axes of the vessels during the cardiac cycle. Once the vessel axes are reconstructed, acceleration, velocity and geometric parameters such as curvature can be obtained. In the present work, a sequence of human angiograms is used to obtain the axial and temporal variation of the curvature of a portion of the left anterior descending coronary artery distal to the third diagonal branch during two cardiac cycles. For the case studied, the change in curvature during the cycle ranged from 0.25 to 1.8 cm-1, depending upon the position of the site.
EFFECT OF SNOW AND FIRN HYDROLOGY ON THE PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF GLACIAL RUNOFF

Near-surface processes on glaciers, including water flow over bare ice and through seasonal snow and firn, have a significant effect on the speed, volume and chemistry of water flow through the glacier. The transient nature of the seasonal snow profoundly affects the water discharge and chemistry. Water flow through snow is fairly slow compared with flow over bare ice and a thinning snowpack on a glacier decreases the delay between peak meltwater input and peak stream discharge. Furthermore, early spring melt flushes the snowpack of solutes and by mid-summer the melt water flowing into the glacier is fairly clean by comparison. The firn, a relatively constant feature of glaciers, attenuates variations in water drainage into the glacier by temporarily storing water in saturated layer. Bare ice exerts opposite influences by accentuating variations in runoff by water flowing over the ice surface. The melt of firn and ice contributes relatively clean (solute-free) water to the glacier water system.
Whither library education

This paper advances the idea that there is a crisis in library education, varying in severity from country to country and calls for a new (or resuscitated) model of library education that will meet the demands of libraries and librarianship in the years to come. Among the problems seen are that library schools have become hosts to information science and information studies faculty and curricula. These disciplines are, at best, peripheral to professional library work and, at worst, inimical to it. There is a growing gender divide in Library and Information Science (LIS) schools between “information science”‐oriented male teachers and library course‐oriented female teachers. Many of the topics regarded as central to a library education by would‐be employers are no longer central to, or even required by, today's LIS curricula. Modern communications technology has led many library educators to concentrate on that technology and dismiss anything about libraries that is not amenable to a technological solution. The gap between what is taught in many LIS schools and what is being practiced in libraries is wide and widening. This paper calls for a national core curriculum that would apply to all schools in a country.
The role of partitioning and diffusivity of non-electrolytic solutes in membrane permeability of blockcopolyether—esters

Abstract Permeabilities of urea and sucrose, through block-copolyether—ester membranes of varying thickness, were measured. Urea showed a higher permeability to the thicker membranes, while sucrose permeability did not vary significantly. A model, based on the non-attainment of thermodynamic equilibrium at the membrane—solution interface, was proposed to explain the phenomena. The roles of partitioning and diffusivity during membrane permeation are discussed.
Normal Dispersion of Ventricular Repolarization in Patients with Kawasaki Disease Who Develop Coronary Artery Abnormalities

Background Kawasaki disease (KD) is complicated by coronary artery abnormalities (CAA) in 3%-25% of patients, depending on acute therapy. ECG markers of ventricular vulnerability such as QT and JT dispersion, SAECG, and ambulatory monitoring have been shown to have predictive value in disparate diseases such as long QT syndrome, postmyocardial infarction, and atherosclerotic coronary artery disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between QT and JT dispersion and the occurrence of CAA in KD. Methods Over the past 15 years, we evaluated 814 children with acute KD, of which 24 (3%) developed significant CAA (aneurysms, stenoses). An additional 40 children (5%) developed milder CAA (4–5 mm dilation). Multivariate analysis was used to compare QTc, JTc, and dispersion in the 24 patients who developed significant CAA with three other groups: 40 patients with mild CAA, 750 KD patients without evidence of CAA, and 1000 normal control children. A small prospective study included additional noninvasive ECG markers using ambulatory (Holter) monitoring and SAECG. Results There were no significant differences in any ECG measures of ventricular repolarization among any of the three KD groups and the normal control pediatric ECGs. Conclusions Increased dispersion of ventricular repolarization is not associated with coronary-artery abnormalities in KD.
Teaching hydraulic design using equation solvers

Civil engineering graduates need to be competent in hydraulic theory, as well as in the application of that theory to the solution of practical problems. Teachers of hydraulic design are faced with the dilemma that most realistic hydraulics problems are too complex to solve by hand, while most commercially available software packages obscure the theoretical background for program algorithms. Equation solvers provide a valuable tool for bridging these gaps. Students can develop an appropriate linear or nonlinear mathematical model to depict a realistic system, then use an equation solver package to solve that model for any combination of input data desired. Computer–based studio classrooms further enhance the learning experience by allowing students to solve problems under the instructor’s supervision during class periods. This paper will describe how effective equation solvers and the studio classroom can be in teaching hydraulic design for water distribution systems and open–channel flow. The theory is developed in class through the use of printed notes. Students then develop the nonlinear mathematical model for a simple example, solve the model using an equation solver, and check the correctness of the solution. Students are able to investigate the dynamic response and the sensitivity of the model by varying the equation solver input variable values. Next they apply the theory and solution methods to a practical applications exercise. The final step is to complete a comprehensive, realistic design problem. Students are required to present their results to the class at all stages of the process. Course–end evaluation scores have risen significantly since the class has been converted to the studio format. Student comments indicate that they think equation solvers are a valuable engineering design tool, not only for learning, but in professional practice as well. The instructor has observed that students learn and retain the theory much better when they can apply it immediately to realistic problems. Much more realistic and sophisticated quizzes can be given when the students have computers available to assist with the analysis.
(1+1)-Dimensional and (2+1)-dimensional waveguides induced by self-focused dark notches and crosses in LiNbO(3):Fe crystal.

We demonstrate that (1+1)-dimensional and (2+1)-dimensional waveguides can be induced by self-focused dark notches and crosses and stored in LiNbO3:Fe crystals. This is very valuable for information processing and integrated optics. The self-focused dark notches and crosses may be related to the formation of (1+1)-dimensional and (2+1)-dimensional photovoltaic dark spatial solitons in LiNbO3:Fe crystals.
Kalkaska: A Round White Chip-Processing Potato Variety with Common Scab Resistance

Kalkaska is a high yielding, round white potato with an attractive appearance with shallow eyes. Kalkaska has a vigorous vine and a late maturity. This variety has resistance to Streptomyces scabies Thaxter (common scab of potato) similar to Pike. Kalkaska has industry approved chip-processing storage characteristics (light color and low incidence of defects) and it also has better tolerance to blackspot bruise than Snowden. Specific gravity in Michigan averages 1.083, ranging from 1.075 to 1.096. Kalkaska also has a higher marketable yield than Pike and does not express heat necrosis in the tubers. The name Kalkaska was chosen to acknowledge a town located in the Michigan seed growing region.
Clitoromegaly and abdominal tumour as leading signs of a mediastinal non-Hodgkin lymphoma

A 2-year-old girl was admitted with clitoromegaly, mediastinal tumour and enlarged kidneys. A seventh cranial nerve palsy was associated with an increased cell count in cerebrospinal fluid. The diagnosis of a lymphoblastic lymphoma was confirmed by a cervical lymph-node biopsy. Six years after diagnosis and treatment according to the BFM protocol the girl remains in first complete remission.
A microwave system for blood perfusion measurements of tissue; a preliminary study

This paper presents development of a microwave system for noninvasive blood perfusion measurement. The proposed system is based on a thermal perfusion measuring method using microwave techniques. In this method, the tissue temperature is raised by microwave heating (900 MHz) to no more than one degree Celsius, and after the discontinuation of the microwave heating signal, the temperature decay measured using microwave radiometric sensing (1-2 GHz) is indicative of the blood perfusion rate. The preliminary results of the system's test are provided.
Analyzing steady state probability distributions of Context-sensitive Probabilistic Boolean Networks

Context-sensitive Probabilistic Boolean Networks (PBN) have been recently introduced as a paradigm for modeling genetic regulatory networks and have served as the main model for the application of intervention methods, including optimal control strategies, to favorably effect system dynamics. Since it is believed that the steady state behavior of a context-sensitive PBN is indicative of the phenotype, it is important to study the alternation in the steady state distribution due to any variations in the formulations of the context-sensitive PBNs. The goal of this paper is to study the effects of the various definitions of context-sensitive PBNs on the steady state probability distributions and the one-step control policy design.
Knowledge and Women's Interests: Issues of Epistemology and Methodology in Feminist Sociological Research*

This analysis focuses on feminist methodology in the field of sociology by surveying the techniques used in recent research concerning gender-related topics as well as feminist analyses of epistemological assumptions underlying the conduct of inquiry. In addition to the critique and reformulation of standard research practice, feminist methodology involves the development of innovative methodological approaches, including visual techniques, conversational and textual analysis, and analysis of spontaneous events. Linked to the development of innovation is the feminist analysis of the epistemological assumptions which underlie different ways of knowing. These principles of feminist knowledge include (1) the necessity of continuously and reflexively attending to the significance of gender relations as a basic feature of all social life, including the conduct of research; (2) the centrality of consciousness-raising as a specific methodological tool and as a “way of seeing;” (3) the need to challenge the norm of “objectivity” that assumes a dichotomy between the subject and object of research; (4) the concern for the ethical implications of research; and (5) an emphasis on the transformation of patriarchy and the empowerment of women.
Stabilizing quartz slip in the production of immersion sheaths

A technology was developed for stabilizing quartz slip for making immersion sheaths at the Podolsk refractories factory using electrolytes, enabling us to reduce the slip preparation time by 19–22 h, reducing its viscosity with a reduction in the water content from 22 to 17–20%, reducing the loss of greenware. In the conditions of KTs-2 of the Novolipetsk plant, the experimental nozzles showed a resistance similar to that of nozzles obtained by the traditional method used at Podolsk.
Effects of the insecticide dimethoate on the behaviour of Folsomia fimetaria (L.) (Collembola: Isotomidae)

Abstract Combined activity and choice experiments with single juvenile specimens of the collembolan Folsomia fimetaria were carried out in laboratory arena chambers divided into two halves. One side was treated with water and the other with a series of four dimethoate dosages from 0.1 to 5 times recommended field dosage or water. Observations of location in the arena and behaviour of the test specimens were made by microscopic observation and video-recording. A good correlation was found between the occurrence of seven well-defined behavioural patterns and dimethoate dosage in combination with time of exposure. A tendency of preference for the untreated part of the arena was observed, but gradually deteriorating locomotory behaviour interfered with the organism's ability to choose between the treated and untreated parts.
Nanoscale Understanding of Thermal Aggregation of Whey Protein Pretreated by Transglutaminase

Nanoscale structures of whey protein isolate (WPI) pretreated by microbial transglutaminase (mTGase) and subsequent heating were studied in this work and were correlated to zeta-potential, surface hydrophobicity, thermal denaturation properties, and macroscopic turbidity and viscosity. Dispersions of 5% w/v WPI were pretreated by individual or sequential steps of preheating at 80 °C for 15 min and mTGase, used at 2.0–10.2 U/g WPI for 1–15 h, before adjustment of the pH to 7.0 and to 0–100 mM NaCl for heating at 80 °C for 15 and 90 min. The zeta potential and surface hydrophobicity of WPI increased after all pretreatment steps. Preheating increased cross-linking reactivity of WPI by mTGase, corresponding to significantly increased denaturation temperature. Particle size analysis and atomic force microscopy revealed that structures of sequentially pretreated WPI remained stable after heating at 100 mM NaCl, corresponding to transparent dispersions. Conversely, WPI pretreated by one step aggregated at only 1...
Computer-Based Data and Organizational Learning: The Importance of Managers Stories

While many organizations are investing large amounts of money to provide computer‐based data to their managers, little is known about how, or even whether, managers use these data to learn about the business environment. This issue is explored by examining how grocery product managers use supermarket scanner data to learn about changes in the marketing environment. Managers’ stories play a central role in the four‐step process used by one product management organization as it learns from analyzing computer‐based data. First, a manager examines the data and looks for unexpected results—findings that contradict one or more of her stories about the marketing environment. If something is found, the manager carries out a relatively unstructured, multistage process to make sense out of the unexpected result. This process can be viewed as a dialogue between the result and a set of tools at the manager's disposal (including analyses of computer‐based data). Next, the manager tells the story to share her insights ...
Regulation of NF-κB2 p100 processing by its cis-acting domain

Processing of NF-κB2 precursor protein p100 to generate p52 is tightly regulated. However, this proteolytic event could be actively induced by the NF-κB-inducing kinase and the human T-cell leukemia virus-encoded oncoprotein Tax or be constitutively turned on due to the loss of the C-terminal portion of p100. Whereas NF-κB-inducing kinase-mediated p100 processing requires β-transducin repeat-containing protein, constitutive processing of p100 is independent of this protein. On the other hand, Tax-induced processing of p100 appears to be both β-transducin repeat-containing protein-dependent and -independent. We show here that, besides the C-terminal sequences, multiple functional regions, including the two α-helices, dimerization domain, nuclear localization sequence, and glycine-rich region, located in the N terminus of p100, also play important roles in both constitutive and inducible processing, suggesting a common mechanism for p100 processing. We further demonstrate that with the help of the C-terminal death domain and IκB kinase α-targeting serines, the C-terminal ankyrin-repeat domain of p100 strongly interacts with its N-terminal dimerization domain and nuclear localization sequence, thereby bringing the C- and N-terminal sequences together to form a three-dimensional domain. This presumptive domain is not only responsible for suppression of constitutive processing but also required for inducible processing of p100. Taken together, these studies highlight the mechanism by which the different sequences within p100 work in concert to regulate its processing and shed light on the mechanisms of how p100 processing is tightly and delicately controlled.
Newcomb: a POINTS precursor mission with scientific capacity

Newcomb is a design concept for an astrometric optical interferometer with nominal single- measurement accuracy of 100 microseconds of arc ((mu) as). In a three-year mission life, it will make scientifically interesting measurements of O-star, RR Lyrae, and Cepheid distances, establish a reference grid with internal consistency better than 100 (mu) as, and lay groundwork for the larger optical interferometers that are expected to produce a profusion of scientific results during the next century. With an extended mission life, Newcomb could do a useful search for other planetary systems. The instrument is a highly simplified variant of POINTS. It has three (or four) interferometers stacked one above the other. All three (four) optical axes lie on a great circle, which is also the nominal direction of astrometric sensitivity. The second and third axes are separated from the first by fixed 'observation angles' of 40.91 and 60.51 deg. The fourth axis would be at either 70.77 or 78.60 deg from the first. Each interferometer detects a dispersed fringe (channeled spectrum), which falls on a CCD detector array nominally 8 k elements long and a small number of elements wide. With a nominal baseline length of 30 cm and optical passband from 0.9 to 0.3 microns, the Nyquist limit is reached by a star +/- 21 arcmin from the optical axis. The instrument will be constructed of stable materials such as ULE glass, and have neither internal moving parts nor laser metrology.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
DINING A LA HEART

NACNE and COMA have recommended, on health grounds, that the British population's fat intake be reduced to below 35% of total dietary energy. The most recent estimate puts national domestic fat consumption at 43% of total dietary energy, but there is no such data for the dietary fat contribution of foods eaten outside the home.
Imaging depth and spatial resolution using the SPDI technique

The spectral and polarization difference imaging (SPDI) technique is employed for deep subsurface imaging. Experimental results demonstrate 1-cm depth imaging using animal tissues. The spatial resolution as a function of the imaging depth is discussed.
Effects of secondary forces on the ligand binding properties and variable domain conformations of a monoclonal anti-fluorescyl antibody

Abstract Biochemical interactions occurring external to the antibody active site or pocket (i.e. secondary forces) that directly effect ligand binding efficiency, and the microenvironment-sensitive spectral properties of bound homologous ligand, residing within the active site of high affinity monoclonal antifluorescyl antibody (mAb) 4-4–20, have been previously reported. This study describes the synthesis and characterization of a series of specially designed and chemically distinct mono-fluoresceinated peptides of equal size (13-mer) as well as the changes in the spectral properties and free energy in the binding of each fluorescein derivatized peptide, upon interaction with mAb 4-4–20. Significant differences in binding efficiency and fluorescence quenching of the ligand, as well as the intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence, were observed for each monofluoresceinated peptide relative to one another and fluorescein ligand. In addition to the effects on the fluorescence quenching of fluorescein and intrinsic tryptophan residues, and the free energy of binding, the conformation of the variable domains of mAb 4-4–20 upon interaction with the fluoresceinated peptides was probed with polyclonal antimetatype (conformational dependent anti-liganded state) antibodies. Studies comparing the results of a solid-phase inhibition assay, with the binding of antimetatype antibodies in solution, suggested that variant metatypic states of mAb 4-4–20 resulted from binding of the various fluorescein derivatized peptides. Depiction of the mAb 4-4–20 active site as a series of thermally averaged substates is proposed as a model and framework to interpret further the results. It was concluded that secondary forces can dictate conformer selection from the various substates, thereby modulating the primary antibody-ligand interaction.
Brake Hydraulic System Resonance Analysis

Resonance frequencies and the associated pressure amplifications of a typical hydraulic brake system have been studied. Solutions to suppress the pipeline natural frequencies and pressure amplifications were obtained. Preventing the natural frequencies of a brake hydraulic pipeline from matching with the landing gear natural frequencies would minimize landing gear related accidents and avoid brake hydraulic system performance at abnormal resonance conditions. Prevention of the matching frequencies will reduce the aircraft stopping distance.
Fast software image stabilization with color registration

We present the formulation and implementation of an image stabilization system capable of stabilizing video with very large displacements between frames. A coarse-to-fine technique is applied in resolution and in model spaces. The registration algorithm uses phase correlation to obtain an initial estimate for translation between images; then Levenberg-Marquardt method for nonlinear optimization is applied to refine the solution. Registration is performed in color space, using a subset of the pixels selected by a gradient-based sub-sampling criterion. This software implementation runs at 5 Hz on non-dedicated hardware (Silicon Graphics R10000 workstation).
The genomic 'inner fish' and a regulatory enigma in the vertebrates.

Information on how genomic information from fish to human encodes the same tissues has until now emerged one gene at a time. The study published in this issue now provides lists of genes and their expression levels for 20 vertebrate tissues spanning 450 million years of vertebrate evolution. It reveals a core set of genes with similar tissue-expression patterns yet no common regulatory signatures – a gene-expression paradox.
An Optimal Control Approach to Construction of Lyapunov Functions for Power System Models

Previous works in the power systems and control literature have observed the close tie between the quasi-potential function that appears in stochastic exit problems and a Lyapunov function for an underlying deterministic model associated with the stochastic system [3], [6], [7]. Given that the quasi-potential is obtained as the solution to a nonlinear optimal control problem, this raises the question of what conditions on the system model are required to lead to a computable solution. In this paper, the closed form solution for the optimal cost of control is rigorously derived for a class of nonlinear power system models. A simple model representing swing dynamics in the power system is developed to illustrate the optimal control analysis in detail.
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia With t(14;19)(q32;q13) Is Characterized by Atypical Morphologic and Immunophenotypic Features and Distinctive Genetic Features

The t(14;19)(q32;q13) involving the IGH@ and BCL3 loci is an infrequent cytogenetic abnormality detected in B-cell malignancies. We describe the clinicopathologic, cytogenetic, and molecular genetic characteristics of 14 cases of chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) with t(14;19)(q32;q13). All patients (10 men and 4 women) had lymphocytosis; 10 had lymphadenopathy. Blood and bone marrow lymphocytes were predominantly small, but cytologically and immunophenotypically atypical. In all cases, t(14;19) was found in the neoplastic stem line; it was the sole abnormality in 4. Ten cases showed additional cytogenetic abnormalities, including trisomy 12 in 9 and complex karyotypes in 7. Fluorescence in situ hybridization demonstrated IGH@/BCL3 fusion gene in all cases. In all cases, the IGHV genes were unmutated, but only 7 expressed ZAP70. Seven cases preferentially used IGHV4-39. Our results indicate that t(14;19)(q32;q13) identifies a subset of CLL/SLL with distinctive clinicopathologic and genetic features. Furthermore, t(14;19) may represent an early, possibly primary, genetic event.
A New Species of Chelorchestia (Amphipoda: Talitridae) from Southwest Florida, with Comments on Other Species within the Genus

Abstract Amphipods in the genus Chelorchestia are inhabitants of marshes and semiterrestrial environments of principally tropical regions of the world. Only three species are currently assigned to the genus but many undescribed species apparently exist. Along the coasts of Florida and Louisiana populations of Chelorchestia have been known for some time, all presumably representing undescribed species. A population recently discovered living in oligohaline/freshwater swale habitat on Sanibel Island, Florida, has been compared with the two other described species and differs in several consistent ways, principally in the combination of fewer articles of the flagellum of antenna 2, short pereopods 3–5, absence of pellucid lobes on the female gnathopod 1, and the structure of the propod and dactyl of the male gnathopod 2. Notes on the other two species, C. costaricana (Stebbing, 1906) and C. vaggala (Bowman, 1977) are provided. Observations on other possibly conspecific populations of the new species occurrin...
A Finite Element Study of Ultrasonic Wave Propagation in a Tooth Phantom

Ultrasound is used extensively in industry for the detection and characterization of defects in critical engineering structures. Similar techniques could be used in dentistry if a thorough understanding of ultrasonic wave propagation in teeth were available. This paper presents a hypothesis that finite element analysis can be used to solve the hyperbolic partial differential equation which governs ultrasonic wave propagation in teeth. A three-layer tooth phantom based on the geometry of a human second molar is used to illustrate the validity of this hypothesis. Simulated wave propagation studies are described for the tooth phantom with a gold crown layer, with an amalgam restoration insertion, and containing a cavity. Results clearly show the finite element code's ability to predict and visualize ultrasonic wave propagation in complex dental structures.
Cryptococcus neoformans: the yeast that likes it hot

The ability of fungi to grow well at mammalian body temperatures is a fundamental characteristic of invasive human fungal pathogens. Cryptococcus neoformans, with its genetics, molecular biology, robust animal models and clinical importance, has become a premier fungal model system for molecular fungal pathogenesis studies. There has been over a half century of study into how C. neoformans grows at high temperatures. However, recently the understanding of high-temperature growth at a molecular level has dramatically accelerated. Many strategies have been used to identify genes and over a dozen genes have already been identified to be necessary for high-temperature growth. It is likely that there are many more to discover. It is clear that, as further studies understand how this encapsulated yeast is able to withstand the stresses of high temperature at a genetic and molecular basis, we will also know more about how it and other fungal pathogens have evolved into well-established human pathogens.
Murein Lipoprotein, Peptidoglycan-Associated Lipoprotein, and Outer Membrane Protein A Are Present in Purified Rough and Smooth Lipopolysaccharides

Purified lipopolysaccharides (LPSs) have been used for many decades to gain insight into processes that occur during sepsis. Previous studies indicate that purified LPSs often contain trace protein contaminants. To identify protein contaminants of LPSs, we performed immunoblotting using, as antigen, purified LPS from various species of bacteria and, as primary antibodies, anti-murein lipoprotein (MLP), peptidoglycan-associated lipoprotein (PAL), and outer membrane protein A (OmpA). MLP, PAL, and/or OmpA were detected in 10 of the 13 LPS preparations and were present in LPS from rough and smooth bacteria. PAL and MLP have been reported to stimulate inflammation. The studies indicate that PAL and MLP are common contaminants of purified LPS and raise the possibility that these contaminants may influence results of studies performed using purified LPS.
The effect of different chunking strategies in complementing animated instruction

The purpose of this exploratory and small‐scale study was to examine the instructional effects of different chunking strategies used to complement animated instruction in terms of facilitating achievement of higher order learning objectives. Eighty‐five students were randomly assigned to three treatment groups: animated program instruction, simple visual‐text (static images and verbal explanation) chunked animated program instruction and the animated complex visual‐text chunked program instruction. The difference between simple and complex chunked instructions is the content. Simple chunks only deal with one content area while the complex chunks explain two or more related content areas. Students interacted with their respective web‐based instructional treatments and completed four criterion measures. Results (ANOVA) indicated that significant differences in achievement were found to exist in facilitating higher order learning objectives when chunking strategies were specifically designed and positioned t...
Social link recommendation by learning hidden topics

In this paper, a new approach to predicting the structure of a social network without any prior knowledge from the social links is proposed. In absence of links among nodes, we assume there are other information resources associated with the nodes which are called node profiles. The task of link prediction and recommendation from text data is to learn similarities between the nodes and then translate pair-wise similarities into social links. In other words, the process is to convert a similarity matrix into an adjacency matrix. In this paper, an alternative approach is proposed. First, hidden topics of node profiles are learned using Latent Dirichlet Allocation. Then, by mapping node-topic and topic-topic relations, a new structure called semi-bipartite graph is generated which is slightly different from regular bipartite graph. Finally, by applying topological metrics such as Katz and short path scores to the new structure, we are able to rank and recommend relevant links to each node. The proposed technique is applied to several co-authorship networks. While most link prediction methods are low precision solutions, the proposed method performs effectively and offers high precision.
Functions of Heat Shock Proteins in Pathways of the Innate and Adaptive Immune System

For more than 50 years, heat shock proteins (HSPs) have been studied for their role in protecting cells from elevated temperature and other forms of stress. More recently, several roles have been ascribed to HSPs in the immune system. These include intracellular roles in Ag presentation and expression of innate receptors, as well as extracellular roles in tumor immunosurveillance and autoimmunity. Exogenously administered HSPs can elicit a variety of immune responses that have been used in immunotherapy of cancer, infectious diseases, and autoimmune disease.
Ending to What End? The Impact of the Termination of Court Desegregation Orders on Patterns of Residential Choice and High-School Completion

education policy; desegregation; unitary status; residential segregation; dropout; high-school completion
Diagnosing Innovation Readiness in Family Firms

Innovation is essential for family firms to remain competitive. One means to enhance the success of innovation within family firms is to assess readiness prior to beginning the innovation process. This article introduces the Readiness for Innovation in Family Firms (RIFF) framework, which provides a diagnostic assessment and identifies multiple factors associated with innovation readiness. By applying the RIFF framework, managers of family firms can focus on specific factors that prepare the firm to engage in the innovation adoption process, increasing success.
Standardized Tests: Recouping Development Costs and Preserving Integrity

Psychometric tests are designed to measure knowledge and a variety of psychological attributes. To be useful, they must be validated, sometimes at great expense. Developers often seek to recoup costs by controlling reproduction. Often, too, developers seek to avoid validity-defeating publication.Thus far, both ends have been served by copyright law despite a variety of challenges, including ones occasionally based on subject matter. No one, however, seems to have claimed that copyright law is ill suited to control the reproduction of text designed to produce or collect rather than disseminate information.Focusing on that dichotomy, this paper argues that current copyright law should have, at best, a limited role in halting free riders and preserving the potential for reuse of validated questions. It also briefly explains why copyright is rarely needed to recoup the costs of devising standardized tests.
AC-susceptibility investigations of superspin blocking and freezing in interacting magnetic nanoparticle ensembles

We have investigated the effect of dipolar interactions on the superspin blocking and freezing of 9 nm average size Fe3O4 magnetic nanoparticle ensembles. Our dynamic susceptibility data reveals a two-regime behavior of the blocking temperature, T(B), upon diluting a Fe3O4/hexane magnetic fluid. As the nanoparticle volume ratio, Φ, is reduced from an as-prepared reference Φ = 1 to Φ = 1/96, the blocking temperature decreases from 46.1 K to 34.2 K, but higher values reenter upon further diluting the magnetic fluid to Φ = 1/384 (where T(B) = 42.5 K). We found evidence that cooling below T B within the higher concentration range (Φ > 1/48) leads to the collective freezing of the superspins, whereas individual superspin blocking occurs in the presence of weaker interactions (Φ < 1/96). The unexpected increase of the blocking temperature with the decrease of the inter-particle interactions observed at low nanoparticle concentrations is well described by the Morup-Tronc model.
Long-Term Treatment of Osteopetrosis with Recombinant Human Interferon Gamma

Background Congenital osteopetrosis is a rare osteosclerotic bone disease characterized by both a defect in osteoclastic function and reduced generation of superoxide by leukocytes. The disease is frequently fatal during the first decade of life. A six-month trial of therapy with recombinant human interferon gamma-1b in eight patients with osteopetrosis provided evidence of benefit, prompting this study of more prolonged therapy. Methods We studied 14 patients with severe osteopetrosis treated with subcutaneous injections of recombinant human interferon gamma-1b (1.5 μg per kilogram of body weight per dose) three times per week for at least 6 months; 11 patients were treated for 18 months. We assessed the effect of therapy by evaluating the patients' clinical status, measuring blood counts and biochemical markers of bone turnover, and performing bone marrow imaging and bone biopsies. Results After 6 months of therapy, all 14 patients had decreases in trabecular-bone area (determined by histomorphometric a...
How waves shape salt marshes

We present high-resolution field measurements of five sites along the United States Atlantic Coast, and cellular automata simulations, to investigate the erosion of marsh boundaries by wave action. According to our analysis, when salt marshes are exposed to high wave energy conditions their boundaries erode uniformly. The resulting erosion events follow a Gaussian distribution, yielding a relatively smooth shoreline. On the contrary, when wind waves are weak and the local marsh resistance is strong, jagged marsh boundaries form. In this case, erosion episodes have a long-tailed frequency magnitude distribution with numerous low-magnitude events, but also high-magnitude episodes. The logarithmic frequency magnitude distribution suggests the emergence of a critical state for marsh boundaries, which would make the prediction of failure events impossible. Internal physical processes allowing salt marshes to reach this critical state are geotechnical and biological, and related to the nonhomogeneity of salt marshes whose material discontinuities act as stress raisers.