cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An Efficient Strategy for Validation of a Point Mutation Associated with Acetylcholinesterase Sensitivity to Azinphosmethyl in Colorado Potato Beetle

An A to G point mutation that results in a serine to glycine amino acid change (S291G) in the acetylcholinesterase (AChE, EC 3.1.1.7) gene was identified previously as associated with azinphosmethyl resistance in Colorado potato beetle due to target site insensitivity. To efficiently validate the detection process of the S291G mutation and base the DNA diagnostic method on direct determination of nucleic acid sequence, a single-stranded conformational polymorphism (SSCP) protocol and a minisequencing reaction were developed. SSCP protocols using a 163-bp DNA template that spans the mutation resulted in an easy, rapid, cheap, and rugged DNA-based diagnostic method, which was capable of separating azinphosmethyl-susceptible and - resistant beetles. For minisequencing, PCR-amplified and biotinylated DNA templates from both susceptible and resistant beetles, which contain the mutation site, were bound to streptavidin-coated microplate strips. Minisequencing was accomplished with a detection primer that annealed adjacent to the point mutation, digoxigenin-labeled dATP, or alternatively, digoxigenin-labeled dUTP and AmpliTaq polymerase. The sequencing reaction added a digoxigenin-labeled dATP only when matched to the biotinylated DNA template (dATP and 3′…GGTCA…5′). Digoxigenin-labeled DNA was detected using peroxidase-conjugated digoxigenin antibodies and quantitated as optical density (OD) at 450 nm in a microplate reader. The OD readings obtained with digoxigenin-labeled dATP in the presence of susceptible AChE DNA template was 0.319 ± 0.05, which was significantly higher than that obtained in the presence of the azinphosmethyl-resistant template (0.031 ± 0.018) (P < 0.001). These highly significant results agree well with the susceptibility of AChE from individual insects as judged by AChE inhibition by azinphosmethyl-oxon and further support the contention that A to G point mutation, which occurs only in AChE gene of azinphosmethyl-resistant beetles, is responsible for enzyme insensitivity. Compared with SSCP, the minisequencing reaction provides a direct means to validate this specific point mutation. Coupling minisequencing with the ease and durability of SSCP will allow us to determine the presence or absence of the S291G mutation in an efficient and unambiguous manner. As such, similar approaches could be used to validate point mutations in any resistant strain of insect.
Micropuncture study of the handling of gentamicin by the rat kidney

Micropuncture study of the handling of gentamicin by the rat kidney. Renal clearance and micropuncture studies were performed in rats infused with 3 H-gentamicin in order to examine the renal handling of this aminoglycoside antibiotic. In non-diuretic control animals, the fractional delivery of ultrafilterable gentamicin averaged 65.5 ± 5.3, 30.7 ± 3.7, and 79.7 ± 1.6% to the late proximal tubule, distal tubule, and urine, respectively. The same pattern of fractional delivery was found in rats loaded with unlabeled gentamicin (60 mg/kg, i.m.) for 3 days. The administration of furosemide (15 mg/kg/hr) did not affect the delivery of gentamicin out of the late proximal tubule but did increase distal delivery to 51.2 ± 4.4% (P Etude par microponction du comportement du rein de rat vis-a-vis de la gentamicine. Des clearances et des microponctions ont ete realisees chez le rat perfuse avec de la gentamicine tritiee afin de pouvoir etudier le comportement renal de cet antibiotique aminoglycoside. Chez les animaux controles non diuretiques, les debits fractionnels de gentamicine etaient respectivement de 65,5 ± 5,3, 30,7 ± 3,7, et 79,7 ± 1,6% a la fin du tube proximal, du tube distal et dans l'urine definitive. Le meme aspect de debits fractionnels a ete observe chez des rats recevant de la gentamicine non marquee (60 mg/kg i.m.) pendant trois jours. L'administration de furosemide (15 mg/kg/hr) n'a pas affecte le debit de gentamicine a la fin du tube proximal mais a augmente le debit distal a 51,2 ± 4,4% (P
Professional styles in government: Touchstones for the new policy scientist

New kinds of policy analysts and policy scientists are being trained in university graduate programs but the outlines of this new profession remain fuzzy. A comparative analysis of other professionals in government advisory roles may provide touchstones by which to develop the new profession. The article reports interviews with urban planners, lawyers, economists and political scientists about their experience in government. Propositions are developed about characteristic modes of thought and problem-solving styles of each profession and conclusions drawn about the relative “effectiveness” of each set of professional skills in a policymaking process. It is then suggested that the new policy scientist profession should develop some of the positive skills of the other fields in order to enhance effectiveness.
Limits on Majorana neutrino masses and lepton mixing angles

Abstract By using a model for fermion mass matrices which is motivated by SO(10), we have obtained limits on the masses m1 and m2 of the first and second generation Majorana neutrinos and on the lepton mixing angle θl for the first two generations. Also derived are relationships among θ l , m 1 m 2 , Δm 2 = (m 2 2 −m 1 2 ) and 〈mν〉, where 〈mν 〉 is an “average” of m1 and m2 that appears in neutrinoless double-beta decays. Implications of our results for neutrinoless double-beta decays and neutrino oscillations are discussed.
Occurrence of Ornithodoros kelleyi (Acari : Argasidae) in Kentucky

A new distribution record is established for the tick Ornithodoros kelleyi Cooley & Kohls for Kentucky. Collections of this tick were associated with bat roosting sites in attics of houses. Scanning electron microscopy was used as an aid in distinguishing various taxonomic characteristics and morphological structures of O. kelleyi.
Sexuality and birth control: impact of outreach programming.

The development of a program of family planning assistance and sex c ounseling at the University of Maine is described. Until the fall of 1970 birth control devices obtained from the university were made availa ble to married students only. Starting in 1970 the student health center ran a family planning clinic of its own. Local physicians worked 2 nights a week doing medical examinations while students assisted in the exams and provided birth control eduction. The following September the program was expanded. Lectures were given covering all aspects of human sexuality. Assisting women with emotional needs became one of the most important parts of the birth control clinic as a fulltime sex counselor was hired in the fall of 1972. Evening lectures were given in dormitories. After this time some doctors and nurses attached to the health center expressed concern that the program was promoting sexual promiscuity on campus. The program split in half with the health center continuing to operate the birth control clinic and the couseling center continuing to employ a peer sex counselor. The program is regard ed a success based on 5 criteria. Unwanted pregnancies have been reduced by 45%. New attitudes toward sexuality - particularly an openness and honesty - have been witnessed. More and more groups both on campus and off have asked for sex education programs. The program has received support from community medical personnel and family planning agencies. Student feedback has in the main been positive. Currently the future of the program is in doubt awaiting sufficient funds to continue.
Iodine-treated starch as easy-to-use, biodegradable material with controllable swelling and stiffening properties

We introduce starch as a new material for MEMS applications, especially in biomedical areas. Starch can be used for micromachined sensors and actuators that need non-electrically triggered and driven actuation or release mechanisms (e.g., stents, valves, one-time release devices) or temporary stiffening of flexible needles for implantation (e.g., flexible neural probes). Our experiments show that starch-gel, formed by heating starch in water undergoes heavy shrinking during dehydration and re-swells quickly when immersed in water. When the starch-gel was immersed into a solution containing iodine, swelling became slow, gradual and heavily dependent on the temperature and on the thickness of the starch. Microfabricated silicon springs dipcoated with approximately 7.5 μm thick starch retracted 100 μm during dehydration and deployed within a few minutes in water at 37°C. When the starch was treated with iodine, the springs deployed within 40 min at 37°C but barely at 23°C. Starch electrically insulates electrodes and can be patterned using spin-coating and dry etching.
Damage levels from arthropod herbivores on Lonicera maackii suggest enemy release in its introduced range

The ‘enemy release hypothesis’ argues when a species is introduced to a novel habitat, release from regulation by herbivores results in increased vigor, abundance, and distribution. The invasive Asian shrub Lonicera maackii appears to benefit from an absence of arthropod herbivores in North America. We assessed the incidence, amount, and type of herbivory occurring on L. maackii in forest edge and interior habitats and investigated differences in timing of damage. In October 2008, leaves were sampled from shrubs in forest interior and edge habitat from 8 sites in Ohio. In 2009, sampling was repeated at 3 sites in spring, summer, and fall with a distinction made between long and short branches. Leaf area removed averaged 1.83% across the 8 populations in 2008 and 3.09% across the 3 populations in 2009, with forest edge plants receiving slightly more damage than forest interior plants in 2008. Additionally, long shoots received more damage than short shoots in 2009. Damage incidence was also higher in the edge habitat and on long shoots compared to short shoots. As measured in 2009, damage accumulated steadily throughout the season. Chewing was the most prevalent type of damage (76. 8%) and low level of pathogen infection was observed (4.81%). Results indicate that levels of herbivory experienced by L. maackii are relatively consistent across sites, vary slightly with habitat and branch identity, but are likely too low to impact fitness of shrubs. These findings indicate that low amounts of arthropod herbivory occur for L. maackii across its introduced range, which may contribute to its invasive success.
Abstract 3647: Dose-dependent alteration of CpG methylation inAHRRandGFI1in mononuclear cell DNA of smokers.

About 45 million (∼19%) of U.S. adults smoke, 46 million are former smokers and >100 million are exposed to environmental tobacco smoke. Tobacco use is associated with many types of cancer, heart disease, stroke, and respiratory disease. While hundreds of tobacco smoke constituents cause DNA damage, many adverse outcomes are not related to DNA damage and an emerging hypothesis is that exposure-induced epigenetic effects may mediate many of these outcomes. Using epigenome-wide association, Joubert et al (Env Health Perspectives, 2012) observed Bonferroni-corrected statistically significant associations (480,000 tests, p Citation Format: Xuting Wang, Gary S. Pittman, Dan Su, Kelly N. Adamski, Michelle R. Campbell, Bonnie R. Joubert, Zhiqing Y. Huang, Cathrine Hoyo, Susan K. Murphy, Stephanie A. London, Douglas A. Bell. Dose-dependent alteration of CpG methylation in AHRR and GFI1 in mononuclear cell DNA of smokers. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 104th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2013 Apr 6-10; Washington, DC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2013;73(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 3647. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2013-3647
Does the Medium Make the Magic? The Effects of Cooperative Learning and Conferencing Software.

Abstract This article explores the effects of computer-assisted writing environments on composition students, focusing on the effects of cooperative learning and conferencing software. I found that word processing alone has little effect on writing behavior; however, conferencing software seems to help create a more authentic writing environment than found in the traditional classroom or in one that uses word processing alone. This conferencing environment became a catalyst for a distinctive learning ecology that interrelated prosocial student behaviors, learner-centered teaching, and assessment. The conferencing class did more than help students to apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills in interaction with others. It helped students identify and use varying learning styles of cooperative groups to successfully reach writing goals.
Novel block ionomers. I. Synthesis and characterization of polyisobutylene-based block anionomers

A series of novel block anionomers consisting of polyisobutylene (PIB) and poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) segments were prepared and characterized. The specific targets were various molecular weight diblocks (PIB-b-PMAA−), triblocks (PMAA−-b-PIB-b-PMAA−), and three-arm star blocks [Φ(PIB-b-PMAA−)3] consisting of rubbery PIB blocks with a number-average degree of polymerization of 50–1000 (number-average molecular weight = 3000–54,000 g/mol) connected to blocks of PMAA− anions with a number-average degree of polymerization of 5–20. The overall strategy for the synthesis of these constructs consisted of four steps: (1) synthesis by living cationic polymerization of t-chloro-monotelechelic, t-chloro-ditelechelic, and t-chloro-tritelechelic PIBs; (2) site transformation to obtain PIBs fitted with termini capable of mediating the atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) of tert-butyl methacrylate (tBMA); (3) ATRP of tBMA, and (4) hydrolysis of poly(tert-butyl methacrylate) to PMAA−. The architectures created and the synthesis steps employed are summarized. Kinetic and model experiments greatly assisted in the development of convenient synthesis methods. The microarchitectures of the various block anionomers were confirmed by spectroscopy and other techniques. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 40: 3662–3678, 2002
INTERLEAVING SYNTAX AND SEMANTICS IN AN EFFICIENT BOTTOM-UP PARSER

We describe an efficient bottom-up parser that interleaves syntactic and semantic structure building. Two techniques are presented for reducing search by reducing local ambiguity: Limited left context constraints are used to reduce local syntactic ambiguity, and deferred sortal-constraint application is used to reduce local semantic ambiguity. We experimentally evaluate these techniques, and show dramatic reductions in both number of chart edges and total parsing time. The robust processing capabilities of the parser are demonstrated in its use in improving the accuracy of a speech recognizer.
Fault location estimation for transmission lines using voltage sag data

This paper presents a general approach to locate any type of fault on either a single-circuit or a double-circuit transmission line when only voltage sag data are available. The voltage measurements employed can be from one bus, two buses, or more buses, which are not restricted to those of the faulted section. It is assumed that the network data are available and the fault type is known. Quite encouraging results have been obtained based on EMTP simulation studies.
The Role of Gender in the Racial and Ethnic Socialization of African American Adolescents

Scholars in the field of African American family studies recognize the influence of gender on socialization. However, few studies investigate how gender influences the racial and ethnic socializati...
Subset specificity of antilymphocyte antibodies in systemic lupus erythematosus

Using indirect immunofluorescence and flow cytometry, we determined the proportion and number of T3+, T4+, and T8+ cells in the peripheral blood of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus whose sera were positive for cold-reactive antilymphocyte antibodies versus values in patients whose sera were negative for these antibodies. There was a disproportionate reduction in T4+ peripheral lymphocytes when cold-reactive antilymphocyte antibodies preferentially cytotoxic for this subpopulation were present in autologous serum. The decrease in this subset was responsible for a reduction in the T4:T8 ratio; variation in the number and proportion of T8+ cells was insignificant. A similar, but autoantibody-independent, alteration in the T4+ subpopulation was found in patients who were receiving prednisone therapy. A relationship between T cell population abnormalities and systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity, per se, was not observed.
Efficient attribute authentication with applications to ad hoc networks

We present a family of certification methods with applications to attribute certification, which in turn has ample applications to ad hoc networks by way of the use of centrally managed recommendation mechanisms. Our construction is based on a Merkle tree consisting of subtrees, each of which corresponds to some aspect of an attribute. We study how the ordering of these subtrees can impact the cost of representing, maintaining, and verifying attribute certificates. We describe the applicability of our construction to vehicle ad hoc networks, detail our proposed methods, and evaluate their suitability to the proposed settings.
Resistance to fatigue of individual Xenopus single skeletal muscle fibres is correlated with mitochondrial volume density.

The purpose of the present study was to compare the individual fatigue characteristics of isolated single skeletal muscle fibres with their mitochondrial volume density (MVD), using direct histological morphometry. Single muscle fibres (n= 14) were microdissected from lumbrical muscle of adult female Xenopus laevis, and force was measured while fibres were stimulated (tetanic contractions of 200 ms trains with 70 Hz stimuli at 9 V) at progressively increasing frequencies (2 min each at 0.25, 0.33, 0.5 and 1 contractions s−1) until fatigue (<50% initial maximal force) had been established. Following the end of the fatigue protocol, MVD was determined by electron microscopy. Time to fatigue varied among the individual fibres from 3.3 to 10 min. MVD of individual fibres ranged from 3.0 to 9.2% and was positively correlated (r= 0.93) with time to fatigue of corresponding fibres. These results, using direct histological measurements of MVD: (1) support on a single cell basis the notion that oxidative capacity is a major determinant of muscle fatigue resistance; and (2) show that the fatigue profile of a single cell can be used to predict oxidative capacity.
Analysis of hospital quality monitors using hierarchical time series models

The VA management services department invests considerably in the collection and assessment of data to inform on hospital and care-area specific levels of quality of care. Resulting time series of quality monitors, provide information relevant to evaluating patterns of variability in hospital-specific quality of care over time and across care areas, and to compare and assess differences across hospitals. In collaboration with the VA management services group we have developed various models for evaluating such patterns of dependencies and combining data across the VA hospital system. This paper provides a brief overview of resulting models, some summary examples on three monitor time series, and discussion of data, modelling and inference issues. This work introduces new models for multivariate non-Gaussian time series. The framework combines cross-sectional, hierarchical models of the population of hospitals with time series structure to allow and measure time-variations in the associated hierarchical model parameters. In the VA study, the within-year components of the models describe patterns of heterogeneity across the population of hospitals and relationships among several such monitors, while the time series components describe patterns of variability through time in hospital-specific effects and their relationships across quality monitors. Additional model components isolate unpredictable aspects of variability in quality monitor outcomes, by hospital and care areas. We discuss model assessment, residual analysis and MCMC algorithms developed to fit these models, which will be of interest in related applications in other socio-economic areas.
Molecular modeling of γ-lactam analogues of β-lactam antibacterial agents: synthesis and biological evaluation of selected penem and carbapenem analoques

Abstract Computational chemistry made possible the prediction of the three-dimensional structures of γ-lactam analogues of penems and carbapenems before the analogues were made. Molecular superpositioning showed that these novel structures with a 7β-acylamino side-chain present the pharmacophoric groups in close spatial similarity to the groups in biologically active cephalosporin and penicillin antibiotics. This suggests that 8-oxo-7-acylamino-1-azabicyclo[3.3.0]-oct-2-ene-2-carboxylates and the 4-thia-analogues can be accommodated in the same active sites of essential bacterial penicillin-binding proteins where cephalosporins and penicillins are recognized. The syntheses of these compounds are reported. The γ-lactams exhibit low, but detectable levels of antibacterial activity and suggest promise that substantial activity can be achieved with other γ-lactams.
Bursal anti-steroidogenic peptide (BASP): modulation of mitogen-stimulated bursal-lymphocyte DNA synthesis

The present study examined the effects of bursal anti-steroidogenic peptide (BASP) on mitogen-induced DNA synthesis in bursa-derived B-lymphocytes in short-term culture. Partially purified extracts of chicken bursa of Fabricius tissue, containing BASP, significantly (P<0.05) reduced DNA synthesis in bursal-lymphocytes exposed to increasing concentrations of phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate (PDB). Following these initial observations, BASP, further purifed from bursal extracts using sequential rpHPLC fractionation, was observed to reduce (P<0.05) both B-lymphocyte PDB-stimulated DNA synthesis and ovarian granulosa cell progesterone biosynthesis with bioactivity observed at similar retention times in each assay, suggesting that each bioactivity may be due to the same or similar molecules. A similar BASP-enriched fraction was not effective in altering basal levels of DNA synthesis in chick embryonic kidney cells. Subsequently, BASP was further purified by several sequential chromatographic methods including: C-18 rpHPLC (preparative rpHPLC followed by a semi-preparative rpHPLC column), cation exchange chromatography, molecular sieve HPLC chromatography, and SDS-PAGE. Biologically active material was observed at approximately 29 or 34 kDa. Protein concentration was determined and bioactivity was evaluated. Anti-proliferative effects of this partially purified BASP on bursal-lymphocytes was observed at concentrations as low as 1.6 μg ml−1, with complete suppression of mitogen-stimulated DNA synthesis observed at approximately 25 μg ml−1. This partially purified BASP was also efficacious for attenuation of ovarian granulosa cell progesterone biosynthesis at concentrations as low as 0.4 μg ml−1, with complete suppression of gonadotrophin-stimulated progesterone biosynthesis observed at approximately 0.8 μg ml−1. While BASP is efficacious for attenuation of both granulosa cell steroidogenesis and bursal-lymphocyte proliferation, these data suggest that BASP is much more potent with regard to anti-steroidogenic activity.
RISK AND THE EVOLUTION OF CELL-CYCLE DURATIONS OF EMBRYOS

Embryos at low risk evolve slower development rates. In seven independent evolutionary contrasts for marine invertebrates (two in asteroids, three in gastropods, one each in phoronids and brachiopods) the more protected embryos had longer cell cycles from first to second cleavage than less protected planktonic embryos. Protected embryos had longer cell cycles even when protected eggs were smaller than planktonic eggs. In an eighth contrast, among tunicates, the embryonic cell cycle was unrelated to brooding and nearly proportional to egg size, but the literature provides examples of especially slow development in some brooding tunicates. The faster development of planktonic embryos is consistent with published estimates of greater mortality rates for planktonic larvae than for embryos in broods or egg masses. Examples from the literature for annelids, arthropods, holothuroids, and chordates also demonstrated longer embryonic cell cycles for more protected embryos with no consistent effect of egg size on cell-cycle duration. Longer cell cycles presumably reduce the benefits of protecting offspring because of longer exposure to whatever hazards remain, but slow development may permit compensating benefits. Hypothesized benefits of longer cell cycles include less maternal investment in rate-limiting materials, more or different transcription, and correction of errors. Such trade-offs are independent of feeding and growth and are influenced by parental protection.
CMU Multi-Engine Machine Translation for WMT 2010

This paper describes our submission, cmu--heafield--combo, to the WMT 2010 machine translation system combination task. Using constrained resources, we participated in all nine language pairs, namely translating English to and from Czech, French, German, and Spanish as well as combining English translations from multiple languages. Combination proceeds by aligning all pairs of system outputs then navigating the aligned outputs from left to right where each path is a candidate combination. Candidate combinations are scored by their length, agreement with the underlying systems, and a language model. On tuning data, improvement in BLEU over the best system depends on the language pair and ranges from 0.89% to 5.57% with mean 2.37%.
Polymorphisms influencing prostate specific antigen concentration may bias genome-wide association studies on prostate cancer

Background: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have produced weak (OR = 1.1–1.5) but significant associations between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and prostate cancer. However, these associations may be explained by detection bias caused by SNPs influencing PSA concentration. Thus, in a simulation study, we quantified the extent of bias in the association between a SNP and prostate cancer when the SNP influences PSA concentration. Methods: We generated 2,000 replicate cohorts of 20,000 men using real-world estimates of prostate cancer risk, prevalence of carrying ≥1 minor allele, PSA concentration, and the influence of a SNP on PSA concentration. We modeled risk ratios (RR) of 1.00, 1.25, and 1.50 for the association between carrying ≥1 minor allele and prostate cancer. We calculated mean betas from the replicate cohorts and quantified bias under each scenario. Results: Assuming no association between a SNP and prostate cancer, the estimated mean bias in betas ranged from 0.02 to 0.10 for ln PSA being 0.05 to 0.20 ng/mL higher in minor allele carriers; the mean biased RRs ranged from 1.03 to 1.11. Assuming true RRs = 1.25 and 1.50, the biased RRs were as large as 1.39 and 1.67, respectively. Conclusion: Estimates of the association between SNPs and prostate cancer can be biased to the magnitude observed in published GWAS, possibly resulting in type I error. However, large associations (RR > 1.10) may not fully be explained by this bias. Impact: The influence of SNPs on PSA concentration should be considered when interpreting results from GWAS on prostate cancer. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev; 24(1); 88–93. ©2014 AACR .
A Simple Quantitative Method for Analyzing Electrographic Status Epilepticus in Rats

Electrographic status epilepticus (ESE) is a medical emergency consisting of repetitive seizures and may result in death or severe brain damage. Epilepsy can develop following ESE. The properties of ESE (e.g., duration and intensity) are variable, as are the effects of putative therapeutic treatments. Therefore a straightforward method to quantify different components of ESE would be beneficial for both researchers and clinicians. A frequency range close to the gamma band was selected for extraction of seizure-related activity from the EEG. This filtering strategy reduced motion artifacts and other noise sources in the electrophysiological recordings, thus increasing the signal-to-noise ratio of the EEG spike activity. EEG spiking was quantified using an energy operator and modeled by an eighth-order polynomial. In a benzodiazepine-resistant rat model of pilocarpine-induced ESE, the efficacy of various pharmaceutical agents at suppressing ESE was analyzed with this and other methods on data collected for ≤24 h after ESE induction. This approach allows for the objective, quantitative, and rapid assessment of the effects of both short- and long-lasting pharmacological manipulations on ESE and other forms of prolonged repetitive electrical activity.
Slow:fast and slow:slow AV nodal reentry in the rabbit resulting from longitudinal dissociation within the posterior AV nodal input.

Objective: The anatomic and electrophysiologic bases for multiple forms of sustained AV nodal tachycardia were determined in the rabbit.
What's Left? (Review of International Law on the Left: Re-Examining Marxist Legacies (Susan Marks, ed. 2008)

In response to the American invasion of Iraq, a group of prominent European legal scholars convened a symposium to explore the causes of the “material economic woes of international society.” A revised and expanded version of that Symposium, including five new essays, was published by Cambridge, International Law on the Left: Re-examining the Marxist Legacies (Susan Marks, ed. 2008).In What’s Left? I review the provocative, scholarly, and occasionally electrifying essays in this volume in two parts, each addressing a version of the question, “What’s Left?” Part I asks, “What‘s ‘Left?” That is, is there a coherent Left in international law and, if so, what does it look like? Part II asks, “What’s left?” in the sense, “What remains?” This Part has two sections. First, what remains of the Marxist legacies after the Cold War and the implosion of the Soviet Union? Second, more poignantly, “What’s left?” of what Martti Koskenniemi calls “international law’s emancipatory promise?”The global economic crisis makes this review especially timely. As the President promises to reduce economic inequality, this rigorous reassessment of Marxism by a new generation of theorists is both useful and illuminating.
Nonionic diffusion of short-chain fatty acids across rat colon

Short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) transport across the colon may occur by nonionic diffusion and/or via apical membrane SCFA−/ HCO 3 − exchange. To examine the relative importance of these processes, s...
All Co2-processed 157-nm fluoropolymer-containing photoresist systems

We present our progress on implementing a completely carbon dioxide-processed 157-nm photoresist system. While current processes rely on the use of large amounts of organic and aqueous solvents, our chemistry and equipment will allow both negative and positive-tone imaging using CO 2 as a casting solvent, developer, and stripping solvent. The unique solubility characteristics of fluoropolymers in CO 2 make it possible to use this cleaner and simpler approach with improved optical transparency at 157 nm and excellent etch resistance. Also, the inherently low surface tension and viscosity and excellent wetting properties of liquid CO 2 will allow us to generate defect-free thin films on large area wafers (300 mm and larger). In addition, CO 2 -based development can virtually eliminate image collapse problems associated with aqueous-base development. Aside from performance issues, our process eliminates several waste streams from the semiconductor manufacturing process and replaces them with the more environmentally benign CO 2 -this reduction in complexity could allow the integration of multiple processes and provide an enormous savings to the industry.
Urban tree cover: an ecological perspective

Analysis of urban tree cover is generally limited to inventories of tree structure and composition on public lands. This approach provided valuable information for resource management. However, it does not account for all tree cover within an urban landscape, thus providing insufficient information on ecological patterns and processes. We propose evaluating tree cover for an entire urban area that is based on patch dynamics. Treed patches are classified by their origin, structure, and management intensity. A patch approach enables ecologists to evaluate ecological patterns and processes for the entire urban landscape and to examine how social patterns influence these ecological patterns and processes.
What Women Want to Know: An Assessment of Online Questions Asked by Women Using an Ask-the-Pharmacist Service

Background: Almost three-quarters of American adults use the Internet. Eighty percent of these adults use online health information resources. Ask-the-Pharmacist (ATP) services provide individualized clinical information to online consumers. Objective: To characterize the content of online queries submitted by or on behalf of women to an ATP service. Methods: A retrospective review was conducted of online queries submitted to the Blue Shield of California ATP service between 2003 and 2004. Questions were characterized and analyzed using Analysis ToolPak package and SPSS software (version 12). Results: A total of 1,056 submitted queries were analyzed. The mean age of female consumers was 45.6 years (range 18-88). Thirty-three percent inquired about drug adverse effects; of these, 19% reported experiencing acute adverse reactions. Drug efficacy or indications were the subject of 26% of queries. The most common drug-related queries were about antidepressants (8.6%) and contraceptives (8.2%), with a majority interested in the adverse effects of these drug classes. Over-the-counter products accounted for 4.9% of the queries. Contraception and dermatology were the most frequent indications listed for women aged 18-35 years; for women over the age of 50 years, menopause was the most frequent indication. Conclusions: The questions asked regarding the health of female consumers reflect the fact that consumers need more information to make treatment decisions. Women want to know the differences in drug efficacy and adverse effects among different medications. Healthcare providers should be aware of these issues to better anticipate women's healthcare needs. In addition, this information may help health plans to develop specific materials targeted toward these issues.
Teratogenic Compounds of Veratrum californicum (Durand). III Malformations of the Veratramine-Induced Type from Ingestion of Plant Or Roots

SummaryCongenital malformations of the type produced by maternal ingestion of the alkaloid veratramine occurred from maternal ingestion of the plant Veratrum californicum. A preliminary identification of veratramine in benzene extracts from the plant by thin layer chromatography was achieved.
Helminth Immunity and Vaccines in Sheep

The potential vaccination of sheep against helminth parasites is discussed. Success will depend upon the recognition of parasite antigens stimulating protective host responses. An understanding of sheep immune responses will aid in the development of vaccination procedures.
Real-time Dynamic Task Allocation Based On CPSO Algorithm

Task allocation is the important premise of multiple missiles collaboratively attacking targets.Considering to meet all kinds of constraints of complex battlefield environment,real-time dynamic algorithm is proposed based on chaotic particle swarm optimization algorithm,which have real-time dynamic character of processing accident goals and corresponding battlefield state anytime in dealing with WTA problems.In order to solve the effect of uncertainty factors on the priority of new targets in the battlefield environment,the target sequencing method is put forward based on complex element of relative entropyrepresented byintervalnumbersofthreeelements.
NIKE laser optical design and propagation issues

The NIKE laser is a KrF facility under construction at the Naval Research Laboratory, which will address technological and physics issues of direct-drive laser fusion. It will consist of a 48-56 beam angularly-multiplexed KrF laser delivering 3 - 4 kJ to a laser-target interaction facility. NIKE will implement the echelon-free ISI technique,1 which uses controlled spatial and temporal incoherence to produce a smooth time-averaged focal distribution. A broadband spatially-multimode KrF oscillator uniformly illuminates a spatial filter, which imposes the desired intensity profile on the beam. This profile is imaged onto the target by relaying its quasi far field through the amplifier system. The far-field encoding ensures that the image remains relatively insensitive to the usual large scale optical nonuniformities within the laser.
Carrier recombination in GalnSb/InAs mid-IR lasers

GaInSb/InAs superlattices hold a number of significant potential advantages relative to GalnAsSb (or InAsSb) alloys as quantum-well materials for 2-5-μm laser diodes. The heavy- and light-hole bands in the superlattices can be separated from each other by more than an energy gap, greatly reducing Auger recombination cross sections. Energy gaps out to 5 μm and well beyond are easily obtained.1
Numerical simulations of partially‐filled rubber mixing in a 2‐wing rotor‐equipped chamber

Partially filled internal batch mixers are used for mixing of rubber compounds in the polymer industry. The use of mixing in such mixers equipped with a rotor is critical to the process itself, and hence, understanding of mixing is important in terms of evaluating how various operating parameters such as rpm, fill factor, and ram pressure affect distribution and dispersion of materials. The objective of the current study is to gain valuable insights on the influence of fill factor, which is the volume of the material relative to the volume of the chamber. Two-dimensional (2D) computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of rubber mixing in a 2-wing rotor-equipped chamber are presented here, for the first time, for fully-filled/100% and partially-filled/75% chambers. The volume-of-fluid (VOF) technique is employed to capture the interface between the rubber and air in partially filled isothermal simulations. Flow patterns are visualized to analyze the material movement. Massless particles are injected and various statistics are calculated from their positions in order to compare dispersive and distributive mixing characteristics between the fully-filled and partially-filled cases. Specifically, quantities such as mixing index and the maximum shear stress distribution history of particles are analyzed to obtain information about dispersive mixing, while length of stretch and cluster distribution index, also calculated from particles, are presented to investigate distributive mixing capabilities. All the results consistently demonstrated the superior effectiveness of partially-filled mixing chambers in terms of their dispersive and distributive mixing characteristics in comparison to fully-filled chambers. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2016, 133, 44250.
Gas-Phase Analysis of the Complex of Fibroblast GrowthFactor 1 with Heparan Sulfate : A Traveling Wave Ion Mobility Spectrometry (TWIMS) and Molecular Modeling Study

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) regulate several cellular developmental processes by interacting with cell surface heparan proteoglycans and transmembrane cell surface receptors (FGFR). The interaction of FGF with heparan sulfate (HS) is known to induce protein oligomerization, increase the affinity of FGF towards its receptor FGFR, promoting the formation of the HS-FGF-FGFR signaling complex. Although the role of HS in the signaling pathways is well recognized, the details of FGF oligomerization and formation of the ternary signaling complex are still not clear, with several conflicting models proposed in literature. Here, we examine the effect of size and sulfation pattern of HS upon FGF1 oligomerization, binding stoichiometry and conformational stability, through a combination of ion mobility (IM) and theoretical modeling approaches. Ion mobility-mass spectrometry (IMMS) of FGF1 in the presence of several HS fragments ranging from tetrasaccharide (dp4) to dodecasaccharide (dp12) in length was performed. A comparison of the binding stoichiometry of variably sulfated dp4 HS to FGF1 confirmed the significance of the previously known high-affinity binding motif in FGF1 dimerization, and demonstrated that certain tetrasaccharide-length fragments are also capable of inducing dimerization of FGF1. The degree of oligomerization was found to increase in the presence of dp12 HS, and a general lack of specificity for longer HS was observed. Additionally, collision cross-sections (CCSs) of several FGF1-HS complexes were calculated, and were found to be in close agreement with experimental results. Based on the (CCSs) a number of plausible binding modes of 2:1 and 3:1 FGF1-HS are proposed. Graphical Abstract ᅟ.
Applying Biomechanics in Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation

Biomechanics also helps professionals in clinical settings to determine the extent of injury and to monitor progress during rehabilitation. Many sports medicine programs have specific evaluation and diagnostic systems for identification of musculoskeletal problems. The physical therapist and athletic trainer analyzing walking gait or an orthopaedic surgeon evaluating function after surgery all use biomechanics to help inform decisions about human movement.
PACAP Regulation of Vascular Tone: Differential Mechanism Among Vascular Beds

The homeostatic control of cranial and cerebral blood flow is essential for normal brain function. Brain surface (cerebral) and meningeal (cranial) arteries/arterioles are densely innervated by sensory and autonomic fibers containing a variety of vasoactive peptides including pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP, Adcyap1) which has been shown to exert potent vasodilatory effects in a variety of vascular beds. Recent studies have demonstrated that PACAP potency, activation of PACAP receptor subtypes, and signaling to potassium channels to mediate vasodilatory responses are different between cerebral and cranial arteries, such as the cerebellar artery and the middle meningeal artery (MMA). PACAP demonstrates exquisite picomolar potency at the PACAP-selective PAC1 receptor (Adcyap1r1) to activate ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channels of the MMA causing vasodilation. Although PACAP frequently colocalizes with the vasodilatory calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP) in the fiber networks innervating the MMA, PACAP potency is nearly three orders of magnitude greater than that of CGRP. CGRP is equipotent in the MMA and cerebral arteries. In contrast, PACAP is a less potent vasodilator of cerebral arteries compared to the MMA, with nanomolar concentrations required to activate VPAC receptors leading to KATP and large-conductance calcium-dependent potassium (BK) channel activation and cerebellar artery dilation. Further, PACAP’s effects on the brain are multidimensional. PACAP signaling also exerts direct neurotrophic and neuroprotective effects in the central nervous system against degenerative processes or physiological insults. Thus, PACAP regulation of cerebral blood flow helps sustains brain metabolic demands, maintains neural physiological functions—including learning and memory, and protects neurons from neurodegeneration in disease and trauma. Coherent with CGRP vascular responses and functions, the vasodilatory effects of PACAP in the MMA also implicate a role in genesis of migraine disorders.
Predictors of psychological distress among cancer patients receiving care at a safety-net institution: the role of younger age and psychosocial problems.

The present study examined prevalence and predictors of psychological distress among cancer patients receiving care at a safety-net institution during the first year of implementation of a distress screening protocol. Differences between screened and unscreened patients were also analyzed. Data on 182 breast and lung cancer patients who were treated at a NCI-designated Academic Comprehensive Cancer Center (ACAD) were abstracted from the patients’ medical charts for a period of 1 year. Among the patients screened for distress, 66.2% reported a score higher than 4 (the established cut-off for distress) on the Distress Thermometer. Results from multiple regression analysis indicated that younger age, practical, and emotional problems were significant predictors of higher self-reported scores of psychological distress. There were no significant differences on socio-demographic and clinical variables between patients screened and those who were not screened. However, patients who were receiving more than one treatment modality were more likely to be screened. The occurrence of psychological distress in this setting was higher than the percentages reported in other similar studies. Furthermore, younger cancer patients and those presenting psychosocial problems were at risk for higher distress, which requires referral to psychosocial providers and the implementation of services able to meet these areas of need.
Mechanical-Bond-Protected, Air-Stable Radicals

Radical templation centered around a heterotrisradical tricationic inclusion complex DB•+⊂DAPQT2(•+), assembled from an equimolar mixture of a disubstituted 4,4'-bipyridinium radical cation (DB•+) and an asymmetric cyclophane bisradical dication (DAPQT2(•+)), affords a symmetric [2]catenane (SC·7PF6) and an asymmetric [2]catenane (AC·7PF6) on reaction of the 1:1 complex with diazapyrene and bipyridine, respectively. Both these highly charged [2]catenanes have been isolated as air-stable monoradicals and characterized by EPR spectroscopy. X-ray crystallography suggests that the unpaired electrons are delocalized in each case across two inner 4,4'-bipyridinium (BIPY2+) units forming a mixed-valence (BIPY2)•3+ state inside both [2]catenanes, an observation which is in good agreement with spin-density calculations using density functional theory. Electrochemical studies indicate that by replacing the BIPY2+ units in homo[2]catenane HC•7+-composed of two mechanically interlocked cyclobis(paraquat-p-phenylene) rings-with "zero", one, and two more highly conjugated diazapyrenium dication (DAP2+) units, respectively, a consecutive series of five, six, and seven redox states can be accessed in the resulting SC·7PF6 (0, 4+, 6+, 7+, and 8+), HC·7PF6 (0, 2+, 4+, 6+, 7+, and 8+), and AC·7PF6 (0, 1+, 2+, 4+, 6+, 7+, and 8+), respectively. These unique [2]catenanes present a promising prototype for the fabrication of high-density data memories.