cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A review of severe acute respiratory syndrome - Coronavirus 2

The pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 in 2020 and still raging in 2021 is a global emergency where no country was spared from its high morbidity and mortality. Life changed in innumerable ways, from lock downs to job losses, isolation and mental health crisis. All countries suffered. If it were not for the quick development of medications and vaccines, coupled with preventive measures like facial masks, social distancing and frequent washing of hands, we will be in a worse chaos. Some countries like India and many in Latin America have been devastated and its consequences will be long felt even after the pandemic is controlled. Understanding the cause, its epidemiology and controlled measures is important. Although it took 100 years to encounter a global pandemic of this magnitude, scientists warn of almost inevitable future global pandemics. This review will explore some salient aspects of SARS-CoV-2 impact and measures to control the infection. The world’s death toll caused by SARS-CoV-2 exceeds 3 million and close to 200 million people have been infected. The available vaccines used in more than 400 million individuals, still fall short of producing herd immunity despite the high efficacy rate of most of them. There is a pressing need to immunize 80% or more. Some side effects to vaccine were reported, the majority of minor impact, although some rare ones are more serious such as thrombotic thrombocytopenia or myocarditis. Still the protection afforded from the vaccine vastly outweighs the risks and its wide use is encouraged.
Impact of Bead-Beating Intensity on the Genus- and Species-Level Characterization of the Gut Microbiome Using Amplicon and Complete 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing.

Bead-beating within a DNA extraction protocol is critical for complete microbial cell lysis and accurate assessment of the abundance and composition of the microbiome. While the impact of bead-beating on the recovery of OTUs at the phylum and class level have been studied, its influence on species-level microbiome recovery is not clear. Recent advances in sequencing technology has allowed species-level resolution of the microbiome using full length 16S rRNA gene sequencing instead of smaller amplicons that only capture a few hypervariable regions of the gene. We sequenced the v3-v4 hypervariable region as well as the full length 16S rRNA gene in mouse and human stool samples and discovered major clusters of gut bacteria that exhibit different levels of sensitivity to bead-beating treatment. Full length 16S rRNA gene sequencing unraveled vast species diversity in the mouse and human gut microbiome and enabled characterization of several unclassified OTUs in amplicon data. Many species of major gut commensals such as Bacteroides, Lactobacillus, Blautia, Clostridium, Escherichia, Roseburia, Helicobacter, and Ruminococcus were identified. Interestingly, v3-v4 amplicon data classified about 50% of Ruminococcus reads as Ruminococcus gnavus species which showed maximum abundance in a 9 min beaten sample. However, the remaining 50% of reads could not be assigned to any species. Full length 16S rRNA gene sequencing data showed that the majority of the unclassified reads were Ruminococcus albus species which unlike R. gnavus showed maximum recovery in the unbeaten sample instead. Furthermore, we found that the Blautia hominis and Streptococcus parasanguinis species were differently sensitive to bead-beating treatment than the rest of the species in these genera. Thus, the present study demonstrates species level variations in sensitivity to bead-beating treatment that could only be resolved with full length 16S rRNA sequencing. This study identifies species of common gut commensals and potential pathogens that require minimum (0-1 min) or extensive (4-9 min) bead-beating for their maximal recovery.
Characterizing a High Throughput Computing Workload

High throughput computing (HTC) has aided the scientific community in the analysis of vast amounts of data and computational jobs in distributed environments. To manage these large workloads, several systems have been developed to efficiently allocate and provide access to distributed resources. Many of these systems rely on job characteristics estimates (e.g., job runtime) to characterize the workload behavior, which in practice is hard to obtain. In this work, we perform an exploratory analysis of the CMS experiment workload using the statistical recursive partitioning method and conditional inference trees to identify patterns that characterize particular behaviors of the workload. We then propose an estimation process to predict job characteristics based on the collected data. Experimental results show that our process es-timates job runtime with 75% of accuracy on average, and produces nearly optimal predictions for disk and memory consumption.
Dynamic Aspects of Filament Assembly

Actin and tubulin differ from intermediate filament proteins in their mechanisms for assembly and in the properties of the polymers they form. Built from asymmetric subunits, actin filaments and microtubules have an intrinsic structural and functional polarity. The two ends of actin and tubulin polymers differ in both the assembly rate and the critical concentration for assembly. Unlike intermediate filament polymerization, their assembly is coupled to nucleotide triphosphate hydrolysis. However, hydrolysis is not absolutely required as assembly can also proceed in the presence of ADP (Cooke 1975, Kondo and Ishiwata 1976, Pollard 1974, Lal et al. 1984), or in the presence of nonhydrolyzable analogues of ATP or GTP (Cooke and Murdoch 1973, Weisenberg et al. 1976,Penningroth and Kirschner 1977). Therefore, the energy of hydrolysis does not provide energy for assembly and is not used for useful work (except, perhaps, under certain conditions: Hill 1981). What, then, might be the role of nucleotide hydrolysis during assembly? Could it be used by the cell to organize the networks of actin filaments and microtubules?
Parthenogenetic populations of the freshwater snail Campeloma limum occupy habitats with fewer environmental stressors than their sexual counterparts

Summary 1. Sexual organisms should have half the reproductive rate of their parthenogenetic counterparts (i.e. twofold cost of sex), so the plethora of sexual species relative to parthenogenetic species remains an evolutionary paradox. The rarity of parthenogenesis may in part be due to the accumulation of deleterious mutations. Indeed, parthenogenetic populations of the freshwater snail Campeloma limum have a greater mutation load relative to sexual populations of C. limum, although this does not directly affect their reproductive fitness. We hypothesise that although parthenogenesis has no direct effect on fitness in C. limum, mutation accumulation and environmental stress act synergistically to limit the distribution of parthenogenetic populations. 2. We evaluated this hypothesis, predicting that parthenogenetic populations of C. limum would inhabit sites with fewer environmental stressors than their sexual counterparts. We collected water quality, population density and individual size data at multiple time points from eight parthenogenetic and five sexual populations in the south-eastern United States (Georgia and South Carolina). 3. Consistent with our hypothesis, sexual populations of C. limum inhabited poorer-quality areas (sites with significantly lower dissolved oxygen and significantly more faecal coliform bacteria) than parthenogenetic populations. Despite these stressors, sexual populations still exhibited significantly higher population density than parthenogenetic populations. 4. Our findings support the hypothesis that mutation-laden parthenogenetic C. limum populations occupy habitats with fewer environmental stressors relative to their sexual counterparts. Moreover, sexual C. limum populations inhabit lower-quality habitats where they can presumably evade the twofold cost of sex in the absence of competition from their parthenogenetic counterparts.
Energy conservation and sustainability at Adobe Systems Incorporated

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze a successful sustainability program run by an owner that has invested $23 million, received rebates of $10 million, accrued over $9 million of savings and has won top scores in LEED and Energy Star. Other owners planning to invest in energy conservation and sustainability can apply the lessons learnt to overcome common barriers. Design/methodology/approach – This case study is based on project information supplied by the owner and structured interviews with the operational team. The projects are analyzed based on drivers and payback characteristics. Finally, the case study puts Adobe Systems' results within the context of the industry by matching it to the challenges identified in other reports. Findings – The results show that 40 percent of projects are initiated by operation management personnel. The projects with the biggest savings are supported by third-party incentives. Only 10 percent of projects are evaluated by simulation and account for 12 percen...
ONE METHOD FOR ROBUST CONTROL OF UNCERTAIN SYSTEMS: THEORY AND PRACTICE

We present a controller design methodology for uncertain systems which is based on the constructive use of Lyapunov stability theory. The uncertainties, which are deterministic, are characterized by certain structural conditions and known as well as unknown bounds. As a consequence of the Lyapunov approach, the methodology is not restricted to linear or time-invariant systems. The robustness of these controllers in the presence of singular perturbations is considered. The situation in which the full state of the system is not available for measurement is also considered as are other generalizations. Applications of the proposed discussed in the complete version of the paper.
Transient changes in mesolimbic dopamine and their association with ‘reward’

Mesolimbic dopaminergic neurons modulate complex circuitry in the ventral forebrain involved in reward processing, although the precise function of the dopaminergic input is debated. Electrophysiological measurements have revealed that mesolimbic dopaminergic neurons can fire in either tonic or phasic modes, and that phasic firing accompanies the alerting or anticipatory phases of reward. However, the neurochemical relevance of this rapid neuronal discharge within the reward processing circuitry is not yet clear, in part because of difficulty in interpretation of extracellular dopamine measurements. Herein, the nature of the information provided by different neurochemical techniques is critically discussed. Classical methods of monitoring dopamine reveal changes in extracellular dopamine resulting from tonic neuronal activity, but do not have the temporal resolution to distinguish concentration transients. However, recent advances in dopamine sensors now enable transient dopamine concentrations resulting from phasic firing to be positively identified and followed on a physiologically relevant timescale. This has enabled demonstrations of discrete, phasic dopamine signals accompanying rewarding or alerting stimuli. Thus, enhanced dopamine release at terminals appears to be coincident with phasic electrical activity at cell bodies. These accumulating data promise to help unravel the precise role of phasic dopamine transmission in reward processing.
The Logic of Learning: A Basis for Pattern Recognition and for Improvement of Performance

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the logic of learning. It defines the phenomenon of pattern recognition. The two initial concepts in a theory of pattern recognition are illustrated by the set of states of a problem and the subsets of it required by the search reduction techniques. In considerations of language, one can describe certain subsets of the universe other than the elementary concepts: any logical statement involving the names of the elementary concepts defines subsets of the universe. Moreover, one can define relations between objects by specifying that the two satisfy two related statements. The chapter classifies the programs along a number of different parameters. One will be according to the language used. There are two aspects to this: One is the nature of the atoms in the language, that is, whether the predicates take only one variable (and thus define classes) or can also define relations by using more than one variable. The other aspect that distinguishes the languages used in different programs is in the nature of the Horn clauses themselves. The chapter concludes that the study of learning has been directed to specific tasks and accordingly many basic problems have been clarified. As this understanding deepens, the field, likened to artificial intelligence, will develop into two branches, applied and pure.
Microscopic colitis: A review of etiology, treatment and refractory disease

Microscopic colitis is a common cause of chronic, nonbloody diarrhea. Microscopic colitis is more common in women than men and usually affects patients in their sixth and seventh decade. This article reviews the etiology and medical management of microscopic colitis. The etiology of microscopic colitis is unknown, but it is associated with autoimmune disorders, such as celiac disease, polyarthritis, and thyroid disorders. Smoking has been identified as a risk factor of microscopic colitis. Exposure to medications, such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, proton pump inhibitors, and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, is suspected to play a role in microscopic colitis, although their direct causal relationship has not been proven. Multiple medications, including corticosteroids, anti-diarrheals, cholestyramine, bismuth, 5-aminosalicylates, and immunomodulators, have been used to treat microscopic colitis with variable response rates. Budesonide is effective in inducing and maintaining clinical remission but relapse rate is as high as 82% when budesonide is discontinued. There is limited data on management of steroid-dependent microscopic colitis or refractory microscopic colitis. Immunomodulators seem to have low response rate 0%-56% for patients with refractory microscopic colitis. Response rate 66%-100% was observed for use of anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapy for refractory microscopic colitis. Anti-TNF and diverting ileostomy may be an option in severe or refractory microscopic colitis.
Neutrino masses, the μ -term, and P S L 2 ( 7 )

Using an $SO(10)$-inspired form for the Dirac neutrino mass, we map the neutrino data to the right-handed neutrino Majorana mass matrix, $\mathcal{M}$, and investigate a special form with seesaw tribimaximal mixing; it predicts a normal hierarchy, and the values of the light neutrino masses. It may be generated by mapping he top quark hierarchy onto the vacuum values of familon fields transforming under the family group ${\mathcal{P}\mathcal{S}\mathcal{L}}_{2}(7)$. Next, we investigate the hypothesis that these familons play a dual role, generating a hierarchy in the supersymmetric $\mathbit{\ensuremath{\mu}}$-mass matrix of Higgs bosons carrying family quantum numbers. A special ${\mathcal{P}\mathcal{S}\mathcal{L}}_{2}(7)$ invariant coupling produces a $\ensuremath{\mu}$ matrix with a hierarchy of thirteen orders of magnitude. Only one Higgs field (per hypercharge sector) is light enough (with a $\ensuremath{\mu}$ mass $\ensuremath{\sim}10--100\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{GeV}$) to be destabilized by supersymmetry soft breaking at the TeV scale, and upon spontaneous symmetry breaking, gives tree-level masses for the heaviest family.
Anion exchange method for the sequential determination of uranium, thorium and lead-210 in coal and coal ash

A radiochemical procedure is presented for the sequential determination of uranium isotopes, thorium isotopes, and210Pb in coal and coal ash. This procedure consists of dry ashing the sample, a nitric—hydrofluoric acid dissolution, removal of iron with ether extractions, and separation of the elements of interest by anion exchange chromatography. Uranium and thorium isotopes are measured by alpha spectrometry, while210Pb is measured by beta counting its daugther activity,210Bi. For 10 g coal samples and 1 g ash samples, the chemical yields for the radioactivities measured were 70–80%, and the relative standard deviations for replicate analyses were generally less than 9%. The deviations of the means from the reference values were within the combined errors of each and were usually less than ±5%. Minimum detectable activities were about 0.02 pCi for uranium and thorium isotopes and 0.2 pCi for210Pb.
Tobacco education: emphasizing impotence as a consequence of smoking.

Tobacco use is well-known to be a significant health concern. Nevertheless, millions of men and women around the world continue to use tobacco products. Most antitobacco education and advertising efforts have focused on the traditional warnings of lung cancer, heart disease, and pregnancy
Multicore Optical Fiber Point Sensors

A novel point sensor utilizing multicore fiber is demonstrated. We show the ability to make distributed measurements while operating in both a transmissive and reflective mode, with low cost, simple fabrication, and high stability.
Reactions of gaseous inorganic negative ions: III. SF6− with POF3 and PSF3☆

Abstract Processes for the formation of primary and secondary negative ions in the mass spectra of POF3-SF6 and PSF3-SF6 mixtures have been identified and studied. The principal ion-molecule reaction involves formation of the secondary ions POF4− and PSF4− by reactions of POF3 and PSF3 with SF6− at low electron energies. Rate constants and reaction cross sections were measured for the fluoride-ion transfer reactions. Charge exchange reactions producing “parent negative ions” were not observed.
[3H]3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) interactions with brain membranes and glass fiber filter paper.

The binding of [3H]3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine ([ 3H]MDMA) to both rat brain membrane preparations and glass fiber filter papers was analyzed in the present study. Saturation studies indicate that [3H]MDMA binding is saturable and monophasic in both the presence and absence of rat brain membranes. This apparent 'specific' binding of [3H]MDMA in both the presence and absence of brain homogenates was totally eliminated by pretreating glass fiber filter papers with polyethylenimine. competition studies demonstrated that [3H]MDMA binding displays a distinct 'pharmacological' profile in the absence of brain tissue. These data indicate that apparent [3H]MDMA binding to rat brain homogenates results from artifactual of [3H]MDMA to glass fiber filter paper. In addition, uptake of [3H]MDMA into rat brain synaptosomes could not be detected. We conclude the [3H]MDMA has limited usefulness in radioligand binding studies.
Initiation and Progression of Alcohol, Marijuana, and Cocaine Use Among Adolescent Abusers

Adolescent alcohol and drug use are associated with many negative consequences. Understanding/actors in initiation and patterns of use could aid in treatment and prevention. Sixty-four adolescents calling a cocaine hotline received structured telephone interviews. Mean age was 16.7 years. Two-thirds of the adolescents were young men. Sixty-six percent used alcohol; 60.9%, marijuana; 60.9%, cocaine; mean onset was at 13–57, 13.28, and 14.64 years, respectively. Daily use of alcohol was reported by 25.8%; marijuana, 36.9%; and cocaine, 41.3%. Eighty-four percent tried drugs because of peer pressure. Multiple alcohol/drug use commonly started in early adolescence. Peer use and pressure were major reasons for initiation. Early interventions can incorporate and make use of these factors.
Adult daughters and aging mothers: The role of guilt in the experience of caregiver burden

Although guilt is often identified as being a common emotion experienced by family caregivers in the clinical literature and in small descriptive studies, it has only recently emerged as a construct in the empirical research focused on identifying predictors of caregiver distress. Using Pearlin's stress process model, and based on data from 66 midlife adult daughters caring for aging mothers, we explored the extent to which guilt contributes to caregiver burden. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that guilt was positively correlated with burden and that it accounted for a significant amount of the variance in caregiver's sense of burden even after contextual and stressor variables were controlled. Our research suggests the importance of clinicians seeking to understand how individuals judge their caregiving performance and targeting negative self-appraisals, which affect individuals' mental health, for change. The challenge for clinicians is to help guilt-ridden caregivers revise their evaluative standards and engage in self-forgiveness and self-acceptance.
Analysis of interactive effect of stretch reflex and shortening reaction on rigidity in Parkinson's disease

Abstract Objective To examine the correlation between rigidity and interaction of stretch reflex and shortening reaction during passive movements of the wrist and to compare this correlation with that between rigidity and stretch reflex alone. Methods Twelve subjects with Parkinson's disease participated in the study in Off-medication and On-medication states. A servomotor imposed wrist flexion and extension within ±30° at velocities 50 and 280°/s, while joint torque and EMG of the wrist flexors and extensors were recorded. Rigidity was quantified by integrating torque with joint angle, i.e., objective rigidity (OR) score, for extension and flexion, respectively. The interaction between EMG responses was estimated by calculating a ratio of normalized EMG in stretched to shortened muscles for both movements. Results The OR scores were more strongly correlated with the EMG ratios than with EMG of the stretched muscles alone. The strongest and significant correlation was found between the OR score and EMG ratio during the extension at high velocity in the Off-medication ( r =0.792, p =0.002). Conclusions Both stretch reflex and shortening reaction are important determinants of rigidity. Significance Study findings provide new insight into mechanistic descriptions of rigidity and have implications for development and evaluation of interventions.
Coagulation Activities in Perfused Organs: Regulation by Addition of Animal Plasmas

Summary. Production of factor-VIII and -IX activities was studied in isolated rabbit livers and spleens perfused for I hr to release stored coagulation activity and then for another 4 hr. At 30 min of the second perfusion period, 5 ml citrated dog or rabbit plasma from normal animals or from those with congenital or artificially induced coagulation defects was added to the perfusates. Subsequent production of factor-VIII and -IX activities was monitored at intervals for 3.5 hr. Results indicated that following the addition of animal plasmas to perfused organs, production of coagulation activity was inversely proportional to the level of these coagulation factors in the initial perfusate. In addition, development of clotting factor activities in the liver and spleen perfusates was inhibited by puromycin, cycloheximide, and actinomycin D. Several interpretations of the data have been considered, and the results are compatible with regulation by a negative feedback effect on organ protein synthesis and/or release of previously formed molecules.
Divas at work: Dealing with drama kings and queens in organizations

Abstract Have you ever worked alongside someone who was far more interested in creating controversy than in getting work done? Most people have. These ‘workplace divas’ are individuals who demand a metaphorical spotlight at work and act manipulatively in order to gain attention. Although diva behavior in the entertainment industry can create profits for movie and recording studios, workplace divas undermine morale and productivity in most organizations. Drawing on our own observations and an unscientific poll of working professionals, we describe seven characteristics associated with workplace divas: attention seeking, temperamental, blame avoidance, lack of perspective, overly demanding, self-importance, and self-promoting. We discuss why common responses to divas—avoidance and appeasement—are usually ineffective. Finally, we suggest that organizations can better manage divas by redirecting the spotlight (creating opportunities for a diva to earn attention through good behavior), reviewing the script with the diva (repeatedly conveying expectations about acceptable behavior), making the diva a solo act (eliminating the diva's opportunity to interact with co-workers), or closing the curtain (firing the diva).
Visibly photoluminescent silica aerogels

Abstract Treatment of silica aerogels with microwave-energized reducing gases induces permanent, visible photoluminescence in the material. The emission wavelength ranges from 460–500 nm. The process does not alter the transparency, monolithic structure, or surface area of the aerogel. Electron microscopy and photoelectron spectroscopy reveal no changes between treated and untreated samples. Photoluminescence results from oxygen defect centers in the aerogel matrix that are observed by 29 Si MAS-NMR as a decrease in the relative amount of Si(OSi) 4 sites present in the treated sample. Molecular oxygen strongly quenches the photoluminescence of the treated material. Multiphoton absorbance of infrared light also leads to visible light emission.
Microporous, Responsive Hydroxypropyl Cellulose Gels. 1. Synthesis and Microstructure

An effective technique for the synthesis of microporous gels is developed along with correlations between synthesis conditions and microstructure. Such gels have substantially different properties than their nonporous analogues. Microporous hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) gels were prepared by heating aqueous HPC solutions above their lower critical solution temperatures (LCST's) while cross-linking the polymer with divinyl sulfone. The effective porosity of the gel increased from 23 to 76% by decreasing HPC concentration from 22.6 to 9 wt %, as anticipated from the system phase diagram. The pore size range decreased from 0.5−9.0 to 0.05−0.2 μm by increasing reaction time before phase separation from 1.5 to 25 min, demonstrating that cross-linking in the homogeneous state limits the extent of phase separation possible. Gel morphology changed from open-celled to closed-celled by decreasing reaction time in the phase-separated state, which limits cross-linking in the polymer-rich phase.
Topology impact on the room temperature performance of THz-range ballistic deflection transistors

In this paper, the Ballistic Deflection Transistor (BDT) is reviewed for variations in performance of the device with respect to geometry modifications like change in gate length, side branch angle and permittivity. Experimental study is done for different gate lengths and same study is then done using Silvaco modeling tool to corroborate the behavior of model used. It is confirmed that the performance of BDT can be enhanced by using a complete gate configuration where gate runs along the channel. Silvaco simulations are also used to study the effect of different side channel angles. It is found that for a specific angle of 60 degrees, the output current is maximum. Any angle other than this gives smaller current values. Simulations are also used to study the effect of variation in the dielectric constant filled in the trenches between channel and gate. It is observed that high permittivity dielectrics enhance the output.
Role of gene expression profiling in distinguishing biologically and clinically distinct subclasses of endometrial carcinoma

This presentation will highlight a series on ongoing studies designed to exploit the power of comprehensive, genome-wide, gene expression profiling in distinguishing biologically and clinically relevant subclasses of endometrial carcinoma. Two distinct studies, one directed toward a biological problem and one toward a clinical problem will be presented here. The type I/type II paradigm for endometrial carcinoma is now widely accepted as representing a set clinicopathologic criteria that define two distinct types of endometrial cancer with different outcomes. Although a small number of specific genetic alterations have been attributed to each (e.g., MLH1 methylation and PTEN mutation in type I tumors and TP53 mutation in type II tumors), this candidate gene approach has only begun to define the complex genetic basis for these two classes of endometrial cancers. In the first study, we hypothesized that a supervised class comparison between tamoxifen-associated endometrial cancers and matched cases not associated with tamoxifen exposure may provide insights into the molecular mechanism through which estrogen contributes to endometrial tumorigenesis. No statistically significant difference between the two groups was evident (P = 0.48). However, unsupervised hierarchical clustering of the entire sample of tumors revealed two groups with extremely diverse molecular profiles (P < 108) that were independent of tamoxifen exposure. Of recognized clinicopathologic factors, histologic grade correlated best with these two molecular classes. The first finding suggests that tamoxifen may function to stimulate the progression of clinically occult endometrial carcinomas, such that the spectrum of tumors that is observed in both groups is essentially the same. The second finding provides strong support for the definition of two biologically distinct classes of endometrial carcinoma, and that these two molecular classes may underlie the frequently cited but ill-defined type I and type II distinction. In the second study, we tested the hypothesis that women with intermediate risk endometrial carcinomas could be stratified into subgroups at high-risk (and thus appropriately treated with adjuvant therapy) or low-risk (and thus not likely to benefit from adjuvant therapy) for recurrence. Despite there being no single gene significantly associated with time to recurrence after correcting for multiple comparisons, there was a significant difference in time to recurrence between high-risk and low-risk patients, as defined using a statistical risk score (the basis of which will be presented). The estimated hazard ratio was 3.07 (95% CI, 1.00–9.43, P = 0.04). We conclude that women with intermediate risk endometrial cancers identified as high-risk for recurrence according to a gene expression-based risk score have a significantly increased risk of recurrence compared to those classified as low-risk. This suggests that gene expression profiling may contribute to the clinical management of intermediate risk endometrial cancer patients.
Temporal accumulation and ultrastructural localization of dehydrins in Zea mays

Immunolocalization using polyclonal antibodies raised against a conserved dehydrin amino acid sequence was used to establish the temporal and spatial patterns of dehydrin accumulation in embryo tissue of Zea mays L. (var. Ohio 43) kernels imbibed in the presence of abscisic acid. The temporal pattern of accumulation indicated an increase in dehydrins over time (particularly between 15 and 30 h) and with maximum levels detected 48 h after the onset of imbibition. Dehydrins were first evident, and also the most concentrated, in the cytosol throughout the accumulation period suggesting that the primary function of dehydrins involves the cytosol and the structures contained therein. Only after an accumulation of dehydrins in the cytosol was there an increase in the abundance of nuclear dehydrins. In addition, dehydrins were also observed in association with the proteinaceous matrix of protein bodies and membranes of protein and lipid bodies; these findings have not been reported previously. The observed localization at a number of sites indicates that the specific biochemical roles of dehydrins are likely to be diverse.
Traits and gradients influence the canopy position of small-statured rain forest trees

Plant height determines a species’ position in the canopy and regulates access to light. Shifts in trait values for assemblages (plots) arrayed along abiotic gradients can reflect changes in species composition, and shifts in species trait values. Multivariate analysis was used to quantify the relationship of assemblage-level floristic composition to environmental gradients. Species trait values for maximum height, leaf area, seed size and wood density were quantified for woody species in the assemblage samples, and partitioned into within- and among-assemblage components to enable trait correlations to be identified, including in relation to abiotic gradients. Assemblages in upslope topographic positions had lower height, smaller leaves and higher wood density. Across the assemblages, shifts in species composition, decreasing canopy height and the position of smaller trees in the canopy were all linked to decreasing soil depth in upslope topographic positions. Regardless of stand height, the canopy position of most main canopy dominants remained largely unchanged in response to shifts in environmental gradients. In contrast, shorter-stature tree species retained height along the gradient and subsequently shifted from the subcanopy to the canopy as soil depth and site (plot) canopy height decreased. Within a community, height and position in the canopy can shift under differing environmental conditions.
Immobilization of Enzymes on Polychlorotrifluoroethylene Particles Packed in Small Columns

Abstract The use of polychlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE) particles packed in 5–10 cm × 0.4 cm ID columns for the immobilization of enzymes by hydrophobic adsorption is investigated. Enzyme binding capacity of PCTFE is about 0.2 mg/gm of polymer. PCTFE-immobilized lactate dehydrogenase, alcohol dehydrogenase, and urease-glutamate dehydrogenase are demonstrated to be useful for the determinations of pyruvate, ethanol, and urea, respectively. Immobilized enzyme lifetimes are generally about 1–2 months.
Essential functions and actin-binding surfaces of yeast cofilin revealed by systematic mutagenesis

Cofilin stimulates actin filament turnover in vivo. The phenotypes of twenty yeast cofilin mutants generated by systematic mutagenesis were determined. Ten grew as well as the wild type and showed no cytoskeleton defects, seven were recessive-lethal and three were conditional-lethal and caused severe actin organization defects. Biochemical characterization of interactions between nine mutant yeast cofilins and yeast actin provided evidence that F-actin binding and depolymerization are essential cofilin functions. Locating the mutated residues on the yeast cofilin molecular structure allowed several important conclusions to be drawn. First, residues required for actin monomer binding are proximal to each other. Secondly, additional residues are required for interactions with actin filaments; these residues might bind an adjacent subunit in the actin filament. Thirdly, despite striking structural similarity, cofilin interacts with actin in a different manner from gelsolin segment-1. Fourthly, a previously unrecognized cofilin function or interaction is suggested by identification of spatially proximal residues important for cofilin function in vivo, but not for actin interactions in vitro. Finally, mutation of the cofilin N-terminus suggests that its sequence is conserved because of its critical role in actin interactions, not because it is sometimes a target for protein kinases.
Energy Levels and Transition Probabilities in the Ground-State Configuration of Sulfur-like Ions

Abstract Theoretical level values have been calculated for the energy levels of the 3 s 2 3 p 4 ground-state configuration of all sulfur-like ions of atomic number Z = 16–92. Transition probabilities have been obtained for the magnetic dipole ( M 1) and electric quadrupole ( E 2) transitions within this configuration. The calculations were by means of a multiconfiguration-Dirac-Fock technique which included perturbatively the Breit interaction and the Lamb shift for the K -, L -, and M -shell electrons. Results are presented which use experimental and semiempirical fits to level energies for ions with atomic numbers up to Z = 42. Above Z = 42, purely theoretical results are given. It is shown that the agreement between our theoretical results and the semiempirical values of the level energies improves rapidly as Z increases, with all values in excellent agreement by Z = 42.
Sympathetic cooling in an optically trapped mixture of alkali and spin-singlet atoms.

We report on the realization of a stable mixture of ultracold lithium and ytterbium atoms confined in a far-off-resonance optical dipole trap. We observe sympathetic cooling of $^{6}\mathrm{Li}$ by $^{174}\mathrm{Yb}$ and extract the $s$-wave scattering length magnitude $|{a}_{^{6}\mathrm{Li}\mathrm{\text{\ensuremath{-}}}^{174}\mathrm{Yb}}|=(13\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}3){a}_{0}$ from the rate of interspecies thermalization. Using forced evaporative cooling of $^{174}\mathrm{Yb}$, we achieve reduction of the $^{6}\mathrm{Li}$ temperature to below the Fermi temperature, purely through interspecies sympathetic cooling.
A Rational Approach to Total Thymectomy in the Treatment of Myasthenia Gravis

Thymectomy is important in the treatment of myasthenia gravis. Total removal of the gland is considered indicated. Although median sternotomy has been the accepted surgical procedure, the transcervical approach has been advocated as a safer method of achieving total thymectomy. A surgical-anatomical study of the thymus was made in 22 patients. A high incidence of surgically important variations in thymic anatomy was found in the neck and in the mediastinum. We believe wide exposure by way of median sternotomy with direct vision is required to remove all of the extracapsular mediastinal thymus in many patients, and good cervical exposure is required to remove the anomalous tissue in the neck. If a total thymectomy is to be achieved, we recommend a median sternotomy and a cervical incision, using the meticulous dissection described.
The Joint Democracy–Dyadic Conflict Nexus: A Simultaneous Equations Model

Many statistical studies in international relations investigate the claim that democracies do not fight one another. Virtually all of these studies employ a single-equation design, where the dependent variable measures the presence or absence of a dyadic militarized interstate dispute (MID). A separate group of studies argues that conflict affects democracy and that its effect could be positive or negative. By and large, these two bodies of literature have not incorporated one another's insights. We argue that democracy and dyadic conflict affect each other significantly and that statistical models that ignore the reciprocal nature of these effects may make incorrect inferences. To test this argument, we develop a simultaneous equations model of democracy and dyadic conflict. Our sample includes all the politically relevant dyads from 1950 to 1992. We find that dyadic military disputes reduce joint democracy and joint democracy reduces the probability of MIDs. Compared with the single-equation estimates in the literature, the absolute effect of joint democracy in our paper is smaller while in relative terms, the effect is similar in size. The effect of joint democracy on MID involvement is considerably smaller for noncontiguous countries than for contiguous ones. The effects of a number of control variables in the MID equation are also found to differ from those reported previously in single- equation–based studies.
Correlation of retention data with the chemical structure of the solute molecules

Abstract A method for calculating the retention values of isomeric compounds is proposed, based on the assumption that isomers can be regarded as different energy states of the same substance. The relationships between the retention values of isomers belonging to different classes and their structures are discussed.
Deposition of NiTiN nano-composite films by cathodic arc ion-plating

Abstract Thick composite films containing Ni and TiN were prepared by using the filtered cathodic arc ion-plating method. In this study, Ni and Ti were simulataneously evaporated by vacuum arc discharge in a nitrogen atmosphere. Since a magnetic field in a filtered arc-evaporator transports only small size ionized particles to the substrate, macro-particles are eliminated from the film and a uniform fine structure can be obtained. It was observed by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) that Ni and TiN particles with 5–10 nm diameter were deposited. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) were also used to investigate the morphology and the composition of films. Residual stresses were evaluated by measuring the bending of the substrate before and after the deposition. Hardness measurements were also carried out to investigate the mechanical properties of films. The hardness of the film increased with the increase in the TiN content of the film. When the Ni content was lower than 30 at%, the hardness of the film was nearly the same as TiN itself. The residual stresses of the Ni rich films were 0.05–0.5 GPa (tensile stresses) and those of the TiN rich films were −1–−3 GPa (compressive stresses). Substrate bias voltage and N 2 pressure had a great effect on the residual stress. The compositionally graded multi-layered films (thickness of 350 μm) were synthesized from these results.
Equivariant gauge fixing of SU(2) lattice gauge theory

I construct a Lattice Gauge Theory (LGT) with discrete Z_2 structure group and an equivariant BRST symmetry that is physically equivalent to the standard SU(2)-LGT. The measure of this Z_2-LGT is invariant under all the discrete symmetries of the lattice and its partition function does not vanish. The Topological Lattice Theories (TLT) that localize on the moduli spaces are explicitly constructed and their BRST symmetry is exhibited. The ghosts of the Z_2-invariant local LGT are integrated in favor of a nonlocal bosonic measure. In addition to the SU(2) link variables and the coupling g^2, this effective bosonic measure also depends on an auxiliary gauge invariant site variable of canonical dimension two and on a gauge parameter \alpha. The relation between the expectation value of the auxiliary field, the gauge parameter \alpha and the lattice spacing $a$ is obtained to lowest order in the loop expansion. In four dimensions and the critical limit this expectation value is a physical scale proportional to \Lambda_L in the gauge \alpha=g^2 (11-n_f)/24+ O(g^4). Implications for the loop expansion of observables in such a critical gauge are discussed.
Low oxygen stimulates the immune system

Changes in tissue oxygen levels trigger molecular signaling pathways that regulate cellular proliferation and differentiation in multiple cell types. The functional role of oxygen signaling in the immune system is not well understood. Rama and colleagues demonstrate that hypoxia induces dendritic-cell maturation; thus they provide a novel mechanistic link between hypoxia/ischemia and the activation of the immune system in the kidney.
Impact of financial development, money, and public spending on Malaysian national income: an econometric study

Abstract The objective of this paper is to estimate an econometric model for analyzing the impact of financial development, money, and public spending on Malaysian national income. Selection of variables is made in accordance with the literature on financial sector development and economic growth and the monetarist and Keynesian views on the relative effectiveness of monetary and fiscal policy. After determining the time series characteristics of the dataset, a vector error-correction model (VECM) is estimated. The results show an unambiguous support for the ‘supply-leading’ view of financial development, implying the importance of financial sector development in Malaysia. The findings provide some support for the McKinnon–Shaw repressionist proposition. But there is no noticeable support either for the monetary policy or for the fiscal policy effectiveness in case of Malaysia.
Integration of Viral DNA Sequences in Cells Transformed by Adenovirus 2 or SV40

We have cloned and propagated in prokaryotic vectors the viral DNA sequences that are integrated in a variety of cells transformed by adenovirus 2 or SV40. Analysis of the clones reveals that the viral DNA sequences sometimes are arranged in a simple fashion, collinear with the viral genome; in other cell lines there are complex arrangements of viral sequences in which tracts of the viral genome are inverted with respect of each other. In several cases the nucleotide sequences at the joints between cell and viral sequences have been determined: usually there is a sharp transition between cellular and viral DNAs. The viral sequences are integrated at different locations within the genomes of different cell lines; likewise there is no specific site on the viral genomes at which integration occurs. Sometimes the viral sequences are integrated within repetitive cellular DNA, and sometimes within unique sequences. In some cases there is evidence that the viral sequences along with the flanking cell DNA have been amplified after integration. The sequences that flank the viral insertion in the line of SV40-transformed rat cells known as 14B have been used as probes to isolate, from untransformed rat cells, clones that carry the region of the chromosome in which integration occurred. Analysis of the structure of these clones by restriction endonuclease digestion and heteroduplex formation shows that a rearrangement of cellular sequences has occurred, presumably as a consequence of integration.
Legislative Control over Administration: Congress and the W.P.A..

Under our Constitution, the national administration is an agent of the people acting through the Congress and the President. The legislature determines policies, establishes or authorizes the creation of administrative agencies, appropriates funds for their work, and attempts to control their operations by directions and limitations before and checks after the administration acts. But the establishment of controls at once effective and not unduly restrictive has become increasingly difficult as the business of government, legislative as well as administrative, has expanded and become more technical. Consultation with and advice to administrative agencies by citizens and their organizations are important, but they supplement rather than supplant legislative control, which remains the principal means for supervising the administration. The standard works on public administration discuss methods of control, but do not deal in detail with this relation between legislatures and particular agencies. The present analysis of congressional control of the Work Projects Administration has been undertaken in the belief that “case studies” may be useful for verification, modification, or contradiction of general propositions about legislative control of administration.