cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Zinc, copper, or cerium accumulation from metal oxide nanoparticles or ions in sweet potato: Yield effects and projected dietary intake from consumption

The potential release of metal oxide engineered nanoparticles (ENP) into agricultural systems has created the need to evaluate the impact of these materials on crop yield and food safety. The study here grew sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas) to maturity in field microcosms using substrate amended with three concentrations (100, 500 or 1000 mg kg DW-1) of either nZnO, nCuO, or nCeO2 or equivalent amounts of Zn2+, Cu2+, or Ce4+. Adverse effects on tuber biomass were observed only for the highest concentration of Zn or Cu applied. Exposure to both forms of Ce had no adverse effect on yield and a slight positive benefit at higher concentrations on tuber diameter. The three metals accumulated in both the peel and flesh of the sweet potato tubers, with concentrations higher in the peel than the flesh for each element. For Zn, >70% of the metal was in the flesh and for Cu >50%. The peels retained 75-95% of Ce in the tubers. The projected dietary intake of each metal by seven age-mass classes from child to adult only exceeded the oral reference dose for chronic toxicity in a scenario where children consumed tubers grown at the highest metal concentration. The results throughout were generally not different between the ENP- and ionic-treatments, suggesting that the added ENPs underwent dissolution to release their component ions prior to accumulation. The results offer insight into the fate and impact of these ENPs in soils.
Presence of Estrin in Rat Pregnancy Urine.

ConclusionSmall, but demonstrable amounts of estrin were found in the urine of pregnant rats; no estrin could be demonstrated in rat placentae.
Scaling Laws for Flight Control Development and Testing in the Presence of Aeroservoelastic Interactions

The exibility of current and next generation aircraft can lead to coupling between the ight dynamics and the aeroelastic modes, particularly the interaction between the short-period and the rst wing bending modes. Development of ight control laws without considering the structural dynamics can lead to suboptimal performance. The present work is focused on examining these interactions to facilitate the design of a subscale vehicle whose dynamics will su ciently capture the interactions present in the fullscale vehicle. A parametrization of the aircraft, and the resulting nondimensional groups, are discussed which would provide complete similitude according to Buckinghamtheory. However, this complete similitude is unfeasible, so partial similitude is investigated using two approaches. First, the classical approximations of the ight dynamic modes are used to reduce the order of the coupled model, and consequently the number of scaling parameters required to maintain the physics of the system. The second approach uses sensitivity of the response to errors in the aircraft's nondimensional parameters. Both methods give a consistent set of nondimensional parameters which do not have signi cant in uence on the aeroservoelastic interaction. These parameters do not need to be scaled, thus leading to a viable scaled model.
Further characterization of the sorbitol permease in PAP-HT25 cells

The sorbitol permease enables the efflux of sorbitol from cultured rabbit papillary cells (PAP-HT25) in response to a reduction in osmolality. The anion transport inhibitor 5-nitro-2-(3-phenylpropylamino)benzoate (100 microM) inhibited efflux by 92%, and 4,4'-diisothiocyanostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid (0.5 mM) reduced efflux by 40%. 2,4-Dinitrobenzenesulfonate and p-chloromercuriphenylsulfonic acid had no effect. The protease trypsin (0.05 mg/ml) reduced sorbitol efflux by 53%, pronase (0.01 mg/ml) by 47%, and papain (0.1 mg/ml) by 49%; chymotrypsin had no effect. Sugars and sugar alcohols at different concentrations (10-200 mM) in the bathing solution did not influence sorbitol efflux. Determination of the osmotically induced influx of sugar alcohols showed that xylitol uptake was faster than that of sorbitol; 6-deoxysorbitol was slower; L-sorbitol, arabitol, galactitol, and 2-deoxysorbitol entered at the same rate as sorbitol; and maltitol did not enter the cells. Sorbitol and 6-deoxysorbitol at 9 mM competitively inhibited [14C]sorbitol influx by 24 and 32%, respectively, whereas xylitol, taurine, betaine, and myo-inositol showed no inhibition. We conclude that 1) a specific inhibitor of the permease was not found, 2) the sorbitol permease or associated regulator is a protein, and 3) the C-6 atom of sorbitol is important in the selectivity of the permease.
DNA Methyltransferase Inhibitors and Psychiatric Disorders

Aberrant DNA methylation has been implicated in the pathophysiology of several psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, depression, bipolar disorder, and posttraumatic stress disorder. DNA methylation deficits can potentially be corrected by the administration of drugs that inhibit the enzymes involved in DNA methylation called DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs). Several currently used psychoactive drugs have been shown to affect DNMT function and to be able to induce DNA demethylation, implying that epigenetic effects may contribute to their therapeutic efficacy. In add-ition, animal studies have shown that experimental use of DNMT inhibitors reverses gene expression and behavioral deficits that mimic endophenotypes associated with schizophrenia, depression, and anxiety. Although the prospect of using DNMT inhibitors in the treatment of the major psychiatric disorders is promising and exciting, significant basic and clinical research is necessary before these drugs are ready for clinical use.
Model development for a parallel through-the-road plug-in hybrid electric vehicle

To develop a control strategy for a vehicle, the most important factors are to minimize the cost in terms of time and resources, and availability of a risk-free test environment to test new strategies. This paper presents the strategy for developing control-based models for a plug-in hybrid vehicle. The resulting vehicle model will allow development of advanced supervisory control strategies for the vehicle. Further, it will minimize the required experimentation on vehicle, by enabling model-based control development and calibration. More specifically, the paper will present the methodology and the results of calibration of models for different subsystems.
Possible role of 2-phenylethylamine in the modulation of extrapyramidal function

The classical picture of dopaminergic striatal synapses is simple and elegant. Nigro-striatal neurones release dopamine (DA) which activates inhibitory receptors on the striatal neurones. Parkinsonism would usually be the result of a deficit in striatal DA, and can be treated by replenishing the DA stores by the administration l-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (l-DOPA). Here we present studies which suggest that 2-phenylethylamine and other endogenous compounds metabolically related to DA may modulate dopaminergic transmission at striatal synapses. The presence of endogenous phenylethylamine in brain was demonstrated by Sabelli, Giardina, Mosnaim and Sabelli (1973) and Inwang, Mosnaim and Sabelli (1973), and later confirmed by many others (see references in Sabelli, Mosnaim and Vazquez, 1974).
A 1 MHz bi-directional soft-switching DC-DC converter with planar coupled inductor for dual voltage automotive systems

The 48V – 14V automotive power system is gaining acceptance - due to the increasing number and power rating of electrical and electronic components in vehicles to support advanced functionalities. Multiphase synchronous bi-directional buck/boost converter is currently employed for connecting two bus voltages. However, it has low efficiency at high frequency operation and high EMI noise due to its hard-switching. A zero-voltage transition bi-directional buck/boost converter with coupled inductor is proposed for this application, which provides ZVS for main switches and ZCS for auxiliary switches, and features wide ZVS range and low loss in auxiliary branch. The operating principles including ZVS/ZCS mechanism, details of circuit design, and experimental results from a 1 MHz and 250 W prototype are presented.
How to Develop and Implement a Specialized Heart Failure with Preserved Ejection Fraction Clinical Program

Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF), a highly prevalent and complex clinical syndrome with high morbidity and mortality, is often unrecognized and not optimally treated. Clinical trials for HFpEF have been plagued by low enrollment, and clinicians often approach HFpEF patients with "therapeutic nihilism" given the perceived lack of available therapies based on the disappointing results of these prior trials. Due to these challenges, we have pioneered the successful creation of dedicated, specialized HFpEF clinical programs. Here, we discuss (1) the rationale for the development of a specialized HFpEF clinical program; (2) strategies for the systematic identification of HFpEF patients; (3) a standardized diagnostic and therapeutic approach; (4) validation of the HFpEF clinical program paradigm; (5) staffing and reimbursement considerations; (6) HFpEF clinical trial enrollment; and (7) challenges and future directions for HFpEF clinical programs. We conclude that it is feasible to create HFpEF clinical programs that fulfill the major unmet need of identifying and caring for patients with HFpEF. These clinics are essential for confirming the HFpEF diagnosis, providing standardized treatment, and facilitating clinical trial enrollment. It is our hope that the information provided here will encourage others to establish their own specialized HFpEF programs, thereby allowing for comprehensive care for these complex patients.
Flashover surface spectrometry

A bakeable, ultrahigh vacuum, time-of-flight mass spectrometer has been constructed in order to investigate, for the first time, the nature of the ion species formed prior to the flashover of a parallel plate diode.1 During operation, the field in the gap of the diode is maintained approximately 5% below that required for visible flashover. The anode is biased at some positive potential, V B . When a high voltage pulse, −V p , is applied to the cathode, the ions formed at the anode surface or in the gap of the diode are accelerated and pass through apertures in the cathode, striking an electron multiplier detector one meter away. The time interval between the resulting signal amplified and displayed on an oscilloscope, and the beginning of its sweep triggered by the pulse applied to the cathode is a direct measure of the ion's travel time, T. If the duration of the cathode pulse is long compared to the travel time of the slowest species in the gap of the diode, and if an ion's initial kinetic energy is zero, its identity can be determined from the expression: m/n (amu) = 0.196/L2 V B [1 − d/D(1 + V P /V B )]T2 where L is the cathode to detector distance, d is the distance from the species formation position in the gap to the anode, and D is the gap spacing. Here all distances are expressed in meters, all voltages in kilovolts, and the travel time in microseconds. Since ions will only be detected for O ≤ d/D (1 + V P /V B ) ≤ 1 the extent of ion production in the gap can be probed by varying the ratio of the pulse-to-bias voltage.
Indole alkaloid biosynthesis: Partial purification of “ajmalicine synthetase” from Catharanthus roseus

Abstract The “ajmalicine synthetase” system of Catharanthus roseus has been partially purified from callus, seedlings and mature plants. On gel filtration of the cell-free extract, four β-D-glucosidase isozymes were observed in seedlings and plants. Only two were present in the callus. A protein peak at 55,000 daltons in all three materials was capable of synthesizing ajmalicine from tryptamine and secologanin in the presence of NADPH. This “ajmalicine synthetase” rapidly lost its ability to synthsize ajmalicine, but retained the β-glucosidase activity.
Earthquake ground motion amplification for surface waves

Surface waves from earthquakes are known to cause strong damage, especially for larger structures such as skyscrapers and bridges. However, common practice in characterizing seismic hazard at a specific site considers the effect of near-surface geology on only vertically propagating body waves. Here we show that surface waves have a unique and different frequency-dependent response to known geologic structure and that this amplification can be analytically calculated in a manner similar to current hazard practices. Applying this framework to amplification in the Los Angeles Basin, we find that peak ground accelerations for certain large regional earthquakes are underpredicted if surface waves are not properly accounted for and that the frequency of strongest ground motion amplification can be significantly different. Including surface-wave amplification in hazards calculations is therefore essential for accurate predictions of strong ground motion for future San Andreas Fault ruptures.
The Concept of Screening Revisited

Screening for health problems and handicapping conditions has been recommended as a preventive measure for more than 40 years. Initially, it began in developing countries to identify individuals who constituted a health hazard to others in the community, such as those harboring an infectious disease that, if not isolated or controlled, might spread. An example is the screening for carriers of malaria. This use of screening spread to the United States and other developed countries, which screened for persons harboring tuberculosis and other infectious diseases, such as syphilis. A more recent example of screening to protect the general public is the screening of individuals who may be airplane hijackers and therefore present a threat to other passengers.
Stroke-Like Episodes in Mitochondrial Encephalopathy, Lactic Acidosis, and Stroke-Like Episodes (MELAS)

The syndrome of mitochondrial encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) is a disease marked by a clinical triad of (1) stroke-like episode (SLE) before age 40 years, (2) encephalopathy characterized by seizures and dementia, and (3) lactic acidosis and ragged red fibers. The development of SLEs, acute neurological deterioration marked by radiographic evidence of strokes that do not adhere to vascular territories, is a pathognomonic clinical feature of this disease. A wide array of other systemic features, including short stature, Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, and diabetes mellitus, and neurological symptoms, such as sensorineural hearing loss, depression, and migraines, are also frequent manifestations of the disorder. MELAS is caused by a mutation affecting the mitochondrial genome; more than 30 specific mutations have been recognized, although greater than 80% of cases result from a single adenine-to-guanine transition mutation affecting the mitochondrial tRNA(Leu) gene (m.3243A>G). In this review, we will discuss the mechanisms of mitochondrial inheritance, including concepts such as heteroplasmy and mitotic segregation that underlay the complex genetics of this disease. Clinical and radiographic features of SLEs will be discussed at length, as will hypotheses that attempt to explain the pathogenesis of these events. While current treatment is limited to cofactor supplementation, ongoing research into potential therapies such as idebenone and l-arginine will also be discussed.
Effect of CYP2C9 Polymorphisms on the Pharmacokinetics of Indomethacin During Pregnancy.

Cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2C9 catalyzes the biotransformation of indomethacin to its inactive metabolite O-desmethylindomethacin (DMI). The aim of this work was to determine the effect of CYP2C9 polymorphisms on indomethacin metabolism in pregnant women. Plasma concentrations of indomethacin and DMI at steady state were analyzed with a validated LC–MS/MS method. DNA was isolated from subject blood and buccal smear samples. Subjects were grouped by genotype for comparisons of pharmacokinetic parameters. For subjects with the *1/*2 genotype, the mean steady-state apparent oral clearance (CL/Fss) of indomethacin was 13.5 ± 7.7 L/h (n = 4) and the mean metabolic ratio (AUCDMI/AUCindomethacin) was 0.291 ± 0.133. For subjects with the *1/*1 genotype, these values were 12.4 ± 2.7 L/h and 0.221 ± 0.078, respectively (n = 14). Of note, we identified one subject who was a carrier of both the *3 and *4 alleles, resulting in an amino acid change (I359P) which has not been reported previously. This subject had a metabolic ratio of 0.390 and a CL/Fss of indomethacin (24.3 L/h) that was nearly double the wild-type clearance. Although our results are limited by sample size and are not statistically significant, these data suggest that certain genetic polymorphisms of CYP2C9 may lead to an increased metabolic ratio and an increase in the clearance of indomethacin. More data are needed to assess the impact of CYP2C9 genotype on the effectiveness of indomethacin as a tocolytic agent.
Cause Placement: Initial Empirical Findings: An Abstract

The use of embedded marketing, the practice of seamlessly inserting advertising messages into entertainment media, continues to grow as media consumption shifts to on-demand forms and marketers find it increasingly more challenging to reach audiences. Cause placement is the proposed term for the form of embedded marketing used in social and nonprofit marketing; it involves inserting messages about pro-social causes into entertainment programming. Two studies investigated the effects of various message factors on three measures of the effectiveness of cause placement: recall of the cause, attitude toward the cause, and intention to support the cause. The first study examined the effects of brandedness of the cause and placement modality on the measures of cause placement effectiveness, using a 2 (branded/unbranded) by 3 (verbal/visual/both) between-subjects design. A branded cause yielded better recall of the cause and better attitude toward the cause than an unbranded one regardless of placement modality. There were no significant differences among the groups for intention to support the cause, likely due to a ceiling effect. In the second study, recall of the cause was higher when the main character’s behavior was inconsistent with his personality, regardless of the image of the character. The second study investigated the effect of image of the character and consistency of the behavior being promoted with the character’s personality on the three measures of cause placement effectiveness, using a 2 (“good guy”/“bad guy”) by 2 (consistent/inconsistent) between-subjects design. There was an interaction effect between consistency of the behavior and image of the character, such that attitude toward the cause was higher for consistent than inconsistent behavior when the image of the character was “bad guy,” but there was no significant difference when the image of the character was “good guy.” An analogous pattern for intention to support the cause did not hold, perhaps due to the participants’ sense of moral obligation.
Development and preliminary validation of a feeding coparenting scale (FCS)

Abstract Evidence is growing that fathers, along with mothers, play an important role in children's eating and obesity risk. Qualitative work with a small sample found that the roles of fathers and mothers are not mutually exclusive in shaping their child's eating behaviors, rather fathers and mothers may relate to one another in their roles as parents in food parenting (i.e., feeding coparenting). There is currently no self-reported measure of how fathers and mothers coparent around child feeding. However, it would be useful in order to be able to assess this construct more broadly. Hence, based on prior qualitative work and findings related to the roles of fathers and mothers in food parenting, we developed a feeding coparenting scale (FCS). Parent responses on the FCS and measures of related constructs (i.e., relationship satisfaction, traditional gender-role attitudes, general coparenting, and perceived involvement in child feeding tasks) that were hypothesized to relate to feeding coparenting were assessed among 307 parents (n = 178 females) of preschool-aged children through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) in order to examine the validity and reliability of the FCS. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted to examine the psychometric properties of the FCS. Three factors emerged: 1) shared positive views and values in child feeding, 2) active engagement in child feeding, and 3) solo parenting in child feeding. A total feeding coparenting score was also calculated. Support for construct validity of the measure with constructs hypothesized to be associated with FCS (e.g., relationship satisfaction) was observed. The internal consistency of the FCS total and subscales was adequate for whole sample, fathers, and mothers. Results suggest that the FCS may be a useful tool for assessing how mothers and fathers work together with each other in the child feeding domain.
GLP‐2 receptor is required for glucose homeostasis and energy balance

Glucagon-like peptides (GLP-1/2) are co-secreted from enteroendocrine L cells and preproglucagon neurons, and proposed as key promoters of glucose homeostasis and insulin sensitivity after gastric ...
A New Purpose for International Broadcasting: Subsidizing Deliberative Technologies in Non-transitioning States

In failed or failing states, deliberation as it is operationalized in much of the political communication literature is inapplicable. These states lack advanced communication infrastructures, press systems and public spheres, which require high literacy rates, education, the rule of law and other elements of an enabling regulatory environment. Rather than imagining deliberation as a series of exchanges over focused issues, a scaled down standard of deliberation is appropriate. Such a model could simply involve enhanced communication and information sharing among the citizenry, spreading political norms that aid some level of quasi-governance or simply improving the quality of life in challenging circumstances. Even in both starkly repressive countries and states where governments barely exist, some new communication technologies are increasingly available and they facilitate deliberative exchange. At the same time, foreign international broadcasters are complementing their traditional broadcasting with the development and promotion of deliberation technologies. This paper suggests international broadcasting agencies can find new purpose by utilizing emerging ICTs for the purpose of deliberative development in failed and failing states where public deliberation is under-developed.
Inkjet-printed, self-aligned organic Schottky diodes on imprinted plastic substrates

Roll-to-roll printing provides an efficient way to fabricate large quantities of flexible electronic devices at low cost. However, building a single multilayered electronic device such as a diode requires precise layer-to-layer alignment, which is currently a major technical challenge for roll-to-roll printing. Here, we report a novel self-aligned strategy to fabricate fully printed organic Schottky diodes on pre-patterned plastic substrates. This strategy utilizes imprinted networks of capillary channels to guide the flow of inks delivered sequentially into adjoining ink receivers by inkjet printing, allowing self-alignment at the micrometer level. The optimized design of the capillary channels and ink receivers realized better control of ink flows and significantly improved device yield. Printed diodes exhibited outstanding rectification ratios (>104) and excellent stability against repeated bending. Our work demonstrates a promising method for large-scale manufacturing of flexible and printed diodes.
The Consent Justification for Benefit–Cost Analysis

This paper provides a Consent Justification for benefit–cost analysis (BCA). The Consent Justification is based on a tendency toward actual compensation. A substantial justification for using BCA as a tool is the actual Pareto test, called the Consent Justification, in combination with the net present value criterion for individual projects. The traditional justification, the potential compensation test (PCT), is unsatisfactory on several grounds. In addition, the PCT occupies the uneasy position of being the source of extended criticisms in the economic literature and especially in the legal and philosophy literature. The argument for the Consent Justification lies not only in the deficiencies of the PCT, but also, especially, in a showing through simulation that all tend to gain across a portfolio of projects which is not large but rather robust with respect to errors and assumptions.
Expanding Best Practices in Assessment for Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

School psychologists pay a critical role in the assessment and intervention of students in special education. Within this role, they are highly likely to interact with students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), particularly in the context of school-based assessment associated with special education. Although students with IDD frequently interface with school psychologists during the evaluation process, they continue to face significantly poorer post-school outcomes and family school partnerships than their peers within and outside of special education. Following a content analysis and review of assessment-specific issues, population-specific needs, and previously proposed assessment models, the Collaborative-Adaptive Student-Centered (CASC) framework is proposed. This theoretical framework utilizes a content analysis of practice-oriented approaches that target assessment in order to improve the outcomes experienced by students with IDD and facilitate role expansion for school psychologists. Following a discussion of the CASC framework and associated practice tools, this paper reviews implications of a shift in assessment practices for students with IDD, their families, and school-based practitioners. Barriers to implementation of the CASC framework are also discussed.
Synthetic Control, Synthetic Interventions, and COVID-19 spread: Exploring the impact of lockdown measures and herd immunity

The synthetic control method is an empirical methodology forcausal inference using observational data. By observing thespread of COVID-19 throughout the world, we analyze the dataon the number of deaths and cases in different regions usingthe power of prediction, counterfactual analysis, and syntheticinterventions of the synthetic control and its extensions. Weobserve that the number of deaths and cases in different re-gions would have been much smaller had the lockdowns beenimposed earlier and had the re-openings been done later, es-pecially among indoor bars and restaurants. We also analyzethe speculated impact of herd immunity on the spread giventhe population of each region and show that lockdown policieshave a very strong impact on the spread regardless of the levelof prior infections. Our most up-to-date code, model, and data can be foundon github: this https URL
Possible Mechanisms of Capacitance Enhancement under Magnetic Field: Charge Density Gradient Modulation, Electron Gas Excitation and oscillatory Magnetization-Polarization Coupling

Possible mechanisms of capacitance enhancement by a magnetic field have been analyzed. Through semiclassical description of charge movement under a magnetic field, it can be shown that the charge density gradient, a term coupled with magnetic field strength, could be used to augment the magnetocapacitance. Also a magnetic field could enhance capacitance on the polarized metallic material surface due to the electron gas excitation. Finally, a magnetic field could produce oscillation in the capacitance when relating the polarization with the magnetization through the modification of standard free energy model. By deriving these mechanisms, it can be seen that these approaches are of potential for exploring tunable dielectric materials.
School Finance Reform and Juvenile Crime

Several states initiated school finance reform during the post-1990s, commonly named the “adequacy” era, with the primary purpose of providing adequate funding for low-income school districts. This paper uses the space-time variation in court-ordered reforms in this period as a shock to school spending and investigates its effects on juvenile arrest rates and risky behaviors. Using a 2SLS-DDD approach and a wide range of datasets, I find that exposure to reform reduces the juvenile arrest rates, increases the likelihood of high school graduation, increases the time spent on the educational activity, and reduces risky behaviors at schools. A 10% rise in real per-pupil spending is associated with 7.1 fewer arrests per 1,000 in a population aged 15-19. This rise is equivalent to a reduction of roughly 90,113 arrests annually. It also implies a minimum of 16% social externality in school spending.
Conversations on education, time and the planetary

The materiality of violence within our biosphere is a complex mix of glaringly painful, ameliorable possibilities on multiple scales, and this is a dialogic reflection and a topographical trail map...
Ion Chambers for Monitoring the NuMI Neutrino Beam at FNAL

The Neutrinos at the Main Injector (NuMI) beamline will deliver an intense muon neutrino beam by focusing a beam of mesons into a long evacuated decay volume. The beam must be steered with 1 mRad angular accuracy toward the Soudan Underground Laboratory in northern Minnesota. We have built 4 arrays of ionization chambers to monitor the neutrino beam direction and quality. The arrays are located at 4 stations downstream of the decay volume, and measure the remnant hadron beam and tertiary muons produced along with neutrinos in meson decays. We review how the monitors will be used to make beam quality measurements, and as well we review chamber construction details, radiation damage testing, calibration, and test beam results.
Continuous Wavelet Analysis Based Spectral Feature Selection For Winter Wheat Yellow Rust Detection

Abstract This study aims at identifying some mechanisms based on spectral features through continuous wavelet (CWT) analysis, and examining their estimating and discriminating power. In 2003, an inoculation of yellow rust fungal was conducted. Field measurements of canopy reflectance and biochemical properties were made with 5–7 day intervals during key growing period. Through atwo-tailed paired student t-test, it was found that the variation of chlorophyll content is closely associated with the yellow rust infection. Based on this relationship, four spectral features were thus identified by CWT analysis. According to the results of stepwise linear regression and partial least squares (PLS) regression, the estimating power of those spectral features was not satisfied. However, the discriminating power of those features was revealed by linear discrimination analysis (LDA) and quadratic discriminate analysis (QDA), which yielded a success rate of 76.4%. Therefore, the CWT analysis and discriminate analysis ...
How synonymous mutations alter enzyme structure and function over long time scales

The specific activity of enzymes can be altered over long time scales in cells by synonymous mutations, which change an mRNA molecules sequence but not the encoded proteins primary structure. How this happens at the molecular level is unknown. Here, we resolve this issue by applying multiscale modeling to three E. coli enzymes - type III chloramphenicol acetyltransferase, D-alanine-D-alanine ligase B, and dihydrofolate reductase. This modeling involves coarse-grained simulations of protein synthesis and post-translational behavior, all-atom simulations as a test of robustness, and QM/MM calculations to characterize function. We first demonstrate that our model accurately predicts experimentally measured changes in specific activity due to synonymous mutations. Then, we show that changes in codon translation rates induced by synonymous mutations cause shifts in co-translational and post-translational folding pathways that kinetically partition molecules into subpopulations that very slowly interconvert to the native, functional state. These long-lived states exhibit reduced catalytic activity, as demonstrated by their increased activation energies for the reactions they carry out. Structurally, these states resemble the native state, with localized misfolding near the active sites of the enzymes. The localized misfolding involves noncovalent lasso entanglements - a topology in which the protein backbone forms a loop closed by noncovalent native contacts which is then threaded by another portion of the protein. Such entanglements are often kinetic traps, as they can require a large proportion of the protein to unfold, which is energetically unfavorable, before they disentangle and attain the native state. The near-native-like structures of these misfolded states allow them to bypass the proteostasis machinery and remain soluble, as they exhibit similar hydrophobic surface areas as the native state. These entangled structures persist in all-atom simulations as well, indicating that these conclusions are independent of model resolution. Thus, synonymous mutations cause shifts in the co- and post-translational structural ensemble of proteins, whose altered subpopulations lead to long-term changes in the specific activities of some enzymes. The formation of entangled subpopulations is therefore a mechanism through which changes in translation elongation rate alter ensemble-averaged specific activities, which can ultimately affect the efficiency of biochemical pathways and phenotypic traits. Graphical Abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=109 SRC="FIGDIR/small/456802v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (30K): org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@b83950org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@bac2f1org.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@154859forg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1094a9_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG
Psoriasis and Cardiometabolic Comorbidities: An Evaluation of the Impact of Systemic Treatments in Randomized Clinical Trials.

The association between psoriasis, metabolic syndrome, and cardiovascular disease is well established. The shared pathways between psoriasis, metabolic syndrome, and atherosclerosis suggest that treatments targeting the inflammatory pathways of psoriasis may also be beneficial in the treatment of associated cardiometabolic comorbidities. This paper reviews the most recent data regarding the impact of systemic psoriasis treatments on comorbid cardiovascular and metabolic disease. Data from randomized clinical trials with systemic and biologic agents are presented. Overall, studies demonstrate beneficial effects on several cardiometabolic markers and risk factors in psoriasis patients; however, longer randomized controlled trials to characterize the direct benefit for cardiovascular outcomes are needed.
Central Limit Theorem for Differences

In this chapter I combine the results of Chapter 10 with methods from the probabilistic theory of numbers to study the value distribution of the differences of real additive functions.
The cause of death in patients treated for cervical cancer

Abstract In analyzing the results of the treatment of cancer the usual approach is to evaluate the number of five-year cures with respect to the various forms of therapy. It was felt that an opposite approach, i.e., an analysis of the failures of treatment might reveal equally important information and that is the principal method of attack in this study. Such questions as the following need to be answered: Why do patients die after treatment for cancer? Is it because the growth was too extensive to hope for a curative irradiation response, or a complete surgical removal? Do the patients die because of the local persistence and growth of cancer, or because of lymph node or other metastases? How long do patients live after treatment for cancer? When death occurs after five years, is it because of other disease, other cancer, or recurrence of the original disease? If it is recurrence, is death due to persistent local disease or to metastases which were already present at the time of treatment? Can the role of lymph node metastasis be more precisely defined than it now is? Why is it that some patients with "early" lesions die very shortly after treatment and others with "advanced" growth survive for a long period of time? Can deficiencies in treatment explain the early deaths in early cases? The present study cannot begin to answer all of these questions, but posing them helps to indicate the direction of thought.
Misplacement of the amino-terminal positive charge in the prepro-α-factor signal peptide disrupts membrane translocation in vivo

Abstract We have identified a series of mutations in the signal peptide of yeast prepro-alpha-factor which specifically attenuate translocation across the endoplasmic reticulum membrane in vivo. In prepro-alpha-factor-somatostatin hybrids, transposition of the amino-terminal tripeptide from wild-type NH2-Met-Arg-Phe to NH2-Met-Phe-Lys or NH2-Met-Phe-Arg causes a 45-75% reduction in the efficiency of membrane translocation. This is evidenced by the intracellular accumulation of unglycosylated, signal-containing precursors which are membrane-associated and are exposed to the cytosol. Surprisingly, abolition of the single positive charge by replacing arginine with phenylalanine has little effect on translocation into the endoplasmic reticulum. We conclude that the presence of an amino-terminal positive charge is not necessary for efficient targeting or translocation; however, misplacement by one position markedly disrupts translocation without affecting targeting. These mutations thus define an early stage of membrane interaction that is sensitive to local charge effects. Furthermore, our data suggest that post-translational translocation, signal cleavage, and core glycosylation of these polypeptides may occur to a significant extent in vivo.
Potential benefits of roadside intelligence for flow control in an IVHS

The paper reports a design of the flow control function of the highly automated intelligent vehicle highway system which the authors call SmartIVHS. Work on the architecture, design, experiments, and performance evaluation of this system has been going on for several years. SmartIVHS achieves high throughput and safety through a three-layer control hierarchy distributed between vehicles and infrastructure. Previous work was devoted to the two lowest layers: automatic control of individual vehicles based on onboard sensor information, and coordination of maneuvers by neighboring vehicles. This paper considers the third or "link layer" which controls the vehicle stream based on aggregate traffic variables. The link layer controller is implemented by roadside computers. The two lowest layers are implemented by vehicle computers. The paper divides in two parts. First, a structure of the link layer controller is proposed. Its objectives are to maximize throughput and to maintain smooth traffic flow despite disturbances, including lane-blocking incidents. The objectives are met by proper guidance of the lane changing behavior and speed of vehicles; second, performance of the link layer controller is evaluated using a fluid flow simulator, SmartLink. The results suggest that the controller maximizes throughput and minimizes delay in the presence of disturbances and incidents.
A simple vision system for lane keeping

We present a system for extracting lane marker information from image data in a form suitable for use in the automated steering of moving vehicles. The algorithm was designed with speed and simplicity in mind. It assumes a flat, dark roadway with light colored lane markers, either solid or dashed, painted on it. The algorithm is based on extracting statistically significant 'bright' regions from the image plane and fitting functions to those identified points which are consistent with the qualitative properties of roadway lanes and ground to image plane geometric relationships. It estimates a virtual lane centerline using left and right lane markers if both are available, otherwise it uses whichever lane marker is visible and a rough estimate of the lane width. The system has been tested in various autonomous vehicle control research projects, culminating in its demonstration on Ohio State University's automated vehicles at the 1997 AHS Technical Feasibility Demonstration in San Diego.
Worker displacement in a strong labor market

Ryan T. Helwig is an economist in the Division of Labor Force Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics. e-mail: Helwig_R@bls.gov The U.S. economy continued to expand in 1997 and 1998, experiencing its seventh and eighth consecutive years of economic growth. During this 2-year period, payroll employment rose by 6.4 million jobs, and the unemployment rate averaged less than 5 percent for the first time since the early 1970s.1 As a result of these improved labor market conditions, both the level and incidence of job displacement continued to decline. While many workers benefited from an expanding economy in the late 1990s, job loss continued to affect a substantial number of workers. During the 1997–98 period, 1.9 million workers permanently lost jobs they had held for 3 or more years because their plant or company closed down or moved, their positions or shifts were abolished, or there was insufficient work.2 This compares with 2.2 million workers displaced during 1995–96, and 2.4 million during 1993–94. As the displacement decline suggests, the likelihood of losing a job also fell. The displacement rate—the proportion of long-tenured workers who were displaced from their jobs—was 2.5 percent in 1997–98, down from 2.9 percent in 1995–96, and the lowest in nearly a decade. 3
Alternate-day fasting and daily calorie restriction similarly affect visceral adiposity and circulating inflammatory cytokine concentrations

Background: Visceral obesity is associated with dysregulated inflammatory cytokine secretion. We tested the hypothesis that alternate-day fasting (ADF) would preferentially reduce visceral fat mass...
Transcellular activation of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 long terminal repeat in cocultured lymphocytes.

One of the unexplained aspects of the progression of AIDS is that immunological abnormalities are detectable before CD4+ T-helper cell depletion occurs (A.R. Gruters, F.G. Terpstra, R. De Jong, C.J.M. Van Noesel, R.A.W. Van Lier, and F. Miedema, Eur. J. Immunol. 20:1039-1044, 1990; F. Miedema, A.J. Chantal-Petit, F.G. Terpstra, J.K.M.E. Schattenkerk, F. de Wolf, B.J.M. Al, M. Roos, J.M.A. Lang, S.A. Danner, J. Goudsmit, and P.T.A. Schellekens, J. Clin. Invest. 82:1908-1914, 1988; G.M. Shearer, D.C. Bernstein, K.S. Tung, C.S. Via, R. Redfield, S.Z. Salahuddin, and R.C. Gallo, J. Immunol. 137:2514-2521, 1986). In this report, we describe a mechanism by which human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1)-infected cells can influence neighboring HIV-1-infected T lymphocytes and uninfected T cells as well. We have examined the interaction of T-cell and macrophage cell lines that are transfected with HIV-1 DNA by using cocultured lymphocytes. The HIV-1 constructs we used lack a functional pol gene and therefore do not produce infectious virus. Cocultivation results in the transcellular activation of the HIV long terminal repeat in the cocultured T cells. This transcellular activation is evident in as little as 3 h of cocultivation, at ratios of HIV-expressing cells to target cells as low as 1:1,000, and is dependent on the Tat-responsive element. The demonstration that a small number of HIV-expressing cells can affect a large number of uninfected bystander cells in a short period of time suggests a mechanism by which global immune dysfunction can precede the high prevalence of infected cells.
AlAs two-dimensional electrons in an antidot lattice : Electron pinball with elliptical fermi contours

We report ballistic transport measurements in a two-dimensional electron system confined to an AlAs quantum well and patterned with square antidot lattices of period $a=0.6$, 0.8, 1.0, and $1.5\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{m}$. In this system two in-plane conduction-band valleys with elliptical Fermi contours are occupied. The low-field magnetoresistance traces exhibit peaks corresponding to the commensurability of the cyclotron orbits and the antidot lattice. From the dependence of the position of the peak associated with the smallest commensurate orbit on electron density and $a$, we deduce the ratio of the longitudinal and transverse effective masses ${m}_{l}∕{m}_{t}=5.2\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.4$, a fundamental parameter for the anisotropic conduction bands in AlAs.
Reactive Scattering in the Bending-Corrected Rotating Linear Model

We review the theory and applications of the Bending Corrected Rotating Linear Model (BCRLM) to problems in the quantum description of reactions between atoms and diatomic molecules.
Recent British technical progress in aeronautics part Four—Machine Tool Developments

WHILE Professor Melman's report on the machine tool industry in Western Europe brought many protestations at the time of its presentation, there is no doubt that since its appearance the British machine tool industry has indulged in self reappraisal, and—to its credit—it has reacted vigorously by the adoption of policies whose implementation is most likely to improve its position as a competitor for world markets of machine tools.
The effect of partial closure on the stress intensity factor of a Griffith crack opened by a parabolic pressure distribution

The problem of a Griffith crack in a thin plate, which is opened by a parabolic pressure acting on its surfaces is considered. The crack is then partially closed in a symmetric manner by ties, idealized by point loads in the material, and the effect upon the stress intensity factors is discussed.
Treatment of anorexia nervosa in the context of transsexuality: A case report

Males comprise a minority of patients with eating disorders (ED). However, men who have sex with men, males with gender identity disorder, and transsexual (TS) males are at increased risk for ED. Little has been published about the unique treatment needs of TS patients with ED. A 19-year-old male-to-female TS patient presented with restrictive eating, purging, and weight loss. History revealed that her ED ideation and behaviors were strongly intertwined with her gender identity. She was admitted and during her hospitalization both her ED and TS status were addressed medically. Physicians treating patients with ED should be aware of patients' gender identities and the ways in which gender identity may impact management and recovery. When appropriate, providers should consider addressing medical treatment toward gender transition concurrently with treatment for ED to facilitate medical stabilization and weight restoration in the manner most consistent with the patient's identified gender.
Nearest-neighbor attraction stabilizes staggered currents in the two-dimensional Hubbard model

Using a strong-coupling approach, we show that staggered current vorticity does not obtain in the repulsive two-dimensional Hubbard model for large on-site Coulomb interactions, as in the case of the copper oxide superconductors. This trend also persists even when nearest-neighbor repulsions are present. However, staggered flux ordering emerges when attractive nearest-neighbor Coulomb interactions are included. Such ordering opens a gap along the $(\ensuremath{\pi},0)\ensuremath{-}(0,\ensuremath{\pi})$ direction and persists over a reasonable range of doping.
SDS/sup TM/ gas source feed material systems for ion implantation

The introduction of arsine and phosphine in an atmospheric cylinder provides a safer alternative for users of high pressure hydrides and an alternative for users of solid materials that provides increased productivity. This paper is an overview of an SDS gas source installation at IBM. Concern with respect to SDS applications in high current machines is addressed. Safety aspects and emission treatment are also discussed.