cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
RNA and Protein Catalysis in Group II Intron Splicing and Mobility Reactions Using Purified Components

Group II introns encode proteins with reverse transcriptase activity. These proteins also promote RNA splicing (maturase activity) and then, with the excised intron, form a site-specific DNA endonuclease that promotes intron mobility by reverse splicing into DNA followed by target DNA-primed reverse transcription. Here, we used an Escherichia coli expression system for the Lactococcus lactis group II intron Ll.LtrB to show that the intron-encoded protein (LtrA) alone is sufficient for maturase activity, and that RNP particles containing only the LtrA protein and excised intron RNA have site-specific DNA endonuclease and target DNA-primed reverse transcriptase activity. Detailed analysis of the splicing reaction indicates that LtrA is an intron-specific splicing factor that binds to unspliced precursor RNA with a K(d) of </=0.12 pM at 30 degrees C. This binding occurs in a rapid bimolecular reaction, which is followed by a slower step, presumably an RNA conformational change, required for splicing to occur. Our results constitute the first biochemical analysis of protein-dependent splicing of a group II intron and demonstrate that a single intron-encoded protein can interact with the intron RNA to carry out a coordinated series of reactions leading to splicing and mobility.
Discrete-time optimal feedback control via Hamilton-Jacobi theory with an application to hybrid systems

A computational framework for discrete-time optimal feedback control is presented. It is shown that discrete-time necessary conditions for optimality can be uniformly solved for varying boundary conditions, via the recent development of discrete-time Hamilton-Jacobi theory. This is extended to develop computational optimal feedback controls for hybrid systems with a partitioned state space, where discrete switching dynamics occur at the boundary between partitions of the configuration space. The desirable computational properties are illustrated by a numerical example.
Ecosystem response to a temporary sea ice retreat in the Bering Sea: Winter 2009

Abstract Adding acoustic systems onto ocean moorings and observatories provides additional data to more fully document ecosystem responses to environmental perturbations. A passive acoustic recorder and three-frequency echosounder system were integrated into a biophysical mooring on the central eastern Bering Sea continental shelf. An unexpected, transient, mid-winter retreat of the seasonal sea ice was observed over the mooring for a 2-week period in March 2009. Interpretation of the passive acoustic data provided information about sea ice conditions and included the detection and identification of vocalizing marine mammals, while the acoustic backscatter provided information on relative zooplankton and fish abundance before, during, and after the retreat. Hydrographic data confirmed the acoustic signal was associated with changing surface ice conditions, and the combined information from the biophysical mooring sensors revealed changes in winter trophic level dynamics during the retreat, which would have otherwise been undetected by traditional ship-based observations. Changes in the acoustic environment, zooplankton dynamics, and acoustic detection of marine mammals were observed amidst a physically stable and uniform water column with no indication of a phytoplankton bloom. These data demonstrate the value of acoustic technologies to monitor changing ecosystems dynamics in remote and hazardous locations.
Coupled plasmon-waveguide resonators: a new spectroscopic tool for probing proteolipid film structure and properties

A variant of surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectroscopy has been developed that involves a coupling of plasmon resonances in a thin metal film and waveguide modes in a dielectric overcoating. This new technique is referred to as coupled plasmon-waveguide resonance (CPWR) spectroscopy. It combines a greatly enhanced sensitivity (due to increased electromagnetic field intensities at the dielectric surface) and spectral resolution (due to decreased resonance linewidths), with the ability to directly measure anisotropies in refractive index and optical absorption coefficient in a dielectric film adsorbed onto the surface of the overcoating. Experimental data obtained with an egg phosphatidylcholine bilayer are presented to document these properties.
JBrick: accessible lego mindstorm programming tool for users who are visually impaired

Despite advances in assistive technology, relatively few visually impaired students participate in computer science courses. Significant factors in this underrepresentation include lack of precollege preparation, access to resources, and the highly visual nature of computing. This poster describes the development of a prototype to provide an accessible programming environment for Lego Mindstorm NXT. With the popularity of robotics in both pre-college and introductory programming classes, such an environment has the potential to better accommodate students who are visually impaired. JBrick's motivation in addition to its design will be presented.
Mass spectrometry in structural and stereochemical problems—CCXVI: Anomalous cleavage ions in bifunctional compounds resulting from participative interaction

Two types of remote group interaction after electron-impact are possible: one involving the transfer of an atom or group of atoms and the other involving expulsion of a group of atoms concomitant with ring closure. These interactions were examined in a homologous series of polyfunctional compounds at high and low ionizing voltages. Fragmentation resulting from remote group interaction in hydroxy ethyleneketals occurs exclusively via 5-, 6- and 7-membered rings. This is contrasted with the remote group interaction of keto esters, diesters and other literature examples in which ring size (e.g. 5-15-membered) plays no significant role.
Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy in the Term Infant

Hypoxia-ischemia in the perinatal period is an important cause of cerebral palsy and associated disabilities in children. There has been significant research progress in hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy over the last 2 decades, and many new molecular mechanisms have been identified. Despite all these advances, therapeutic interventions are still limited. In this article the authors discuss several molecular pathways involved in hypoxia-ischemia, and potential therapeutic targets.
X-ray reverberations and the giant X-ray bursts

It is shown that the shape and spectral evolution of the giant X-ray bursts from the source 3U 1820-30 can be explained by Compton scattering of a short, intense X-ray pulse in a cloud surrounding the source. Pulse shapes due to Thomson scattering of an X-ray burst in an electron cloud were calculated for the (1) optically thin case on the assumption of one scattering per photon, (2) intermediate case with optical depth of about unity, and (3) optically thick case where the process is regarded as diffusion of photons through a uniform sphere. For the intermediate case, the effects of the reverberation were determined explicitly by Monte Carlo calculation. For an optical depth of 3, square pulse duration of 2 sec, characteristic cloud radius of 70,000 km, characteristic cloud density of 4 times 10 to the 14th per cu cm, and temperature of 5-30 keV, the calculations give a reasonably accurate description of X-ray bursts from 3U 1820-30. The scattering model does not imply the existence of a supermassive, central black hole.
Mechanisms of noise-induced hearing loss potentiation by hypoxia

Potentiation of noise-induced permanent threshold shift (PTS) by hypoxia has been reported [Hear. Res. 172 (1-2) (2002) 186]. In this study in rats, effects of noise (110 dB SPL), hypoxia (10% O(2)), and their combination have been determined on different cochlear potentials and on the expression of genes coding proteins in the outer hair cell (OHC) membrane skeleton (beta-actin) and in the mitochondrial respiratory chain (SDHa & b). The noise exposure alone caused CAP threshold shift only in the noise-band. The combined exposure to noise and hypoxia caused an about 40-dB PTS at all frequencies within and above the noise band. Loss of the cochlear amplification was not always related to the CM-suppression. SP was only affected at high frequencies by the combined exposure. Gene expression of beta-actin was up-regulated by the noise exposure, which was blocked by hypoxia. Gene expression of SDHa was also up-regulated by the noise and the combined exposure. The data suggest that loss of the cochlear active process, due to damage to the OHC membrane skeleton and to the cellular energy generation system, is related to the noise-induced hearing loss potentiation by hypoxia. Inner hair cell damage may also be involved in the hypoxia potentiation in the basal turn.
Louis I. Kahn and His Lenin Memorial

In 1932 Louis I. Kahn designed a startling memorial to Vladimir Ilyich Lenin: two luminous red glass skyscrapers that would have loomed above the harbor of Leningrad, blazing at night as a harbinger of revolution. Yet the Soviet authorities were not impressed, and in years to come Kahn expunged the politically embarrassing project from his reesumee, successfully concealing it from scholars until long after his death in 1974.1 Recently a photograph of his lost competition entry, known heretofore from verbal descriptions, appeared at auction (Figure 1).2 It is a startlingly imaginative performance, Kahn's first purposeful attempt to reconcile contemporary modernism with the Beaux-Arts system that had formed him. He would not make such an attempt again for thirty years, and when he did, he would return to the solution attempted here and in surprising ways. Figure 1 Louis I. Kahn, Proposal for a Lenin Memorial in Leningrad, 1932, photograph of lost drawing (private collection) The Lenin Memorial was but one of many ill-fated projects to come out of the three-year bout of unemployment that Kahn suffered at the trough of the Great Depression.3 In January 1932 he was discharged from the firm of Zantzinger, Borie & Medary, where he had been making drawings for the Justice Department Building in Washington, D.C. (1931––34). Not until 1935, when the Ahavath Israel Synagogue project came his way, would he again have steady work. In the interim, he gathered around himself a dozen or so other jobless architects and draftsmen, rented a pair of rooms, and drew up a portentous "Outline of the Principles of the Society for the Advancement of Architecture."4 This title, upon reflection, was evidently too bourgeois. Thinking perhaps of the ostentatiously objective acronyms that Soviet architectural collaboratives gave themselves during the 1920s, such as the ARU (Union …
AN AUTORADIOGRAPHIC INVESTIGATION OF TOOTH RENEWAL IN THE PURPLE SEA URCHIN (STRONGYLOCENTROTUS PURPURATUS).

The DNA-synthesizing cells in the tooth of the purple sea urchin were labeled with tritiated thymidine and detected with autoradiography. After one hour many cells were labeled in the abaxial peripheral layer of the soft, aboral end of the tooth. These cells were the chief source of new cells for tooth renewal. With time, the cells labeled in the abaxial peripheral layer (and several generations of their progeny) migrated as a zone of labeled cells. The zone migrated in an oral direction toward the hard, biting end of the tooth. The labeled cells in the leading part of the migrating zone occupied lateral positions in the tooth, and the labeled cells in the trailing part of the migrating zone occupied a median position. The time of tooth renewal in young adult specimens of the purple sea urchin maintained in the laboratory is approximately 75 days.
Multiple Evolutionary Origins of Magnetotaxis in Bacteria

Magnetosomes are intracellular, iron-rich, membrane-enclosed magnetic particles that allow magnetotactic bacteria to orient in the earth's geomagnetic field as they swim. The magnetosomes of most magnetotactic bacteria contain iron oxide particles, but some magnetotactic species contain iron sulfide particles instead. Phylogenetic analyses of small subunit ribosomal RNA sequences showed that all known magnetotactic bacteria of the iron oxide type are associated with the a subgroup of the Proteobacteria in the domain Bacteria. In contrast, uncultured magnetotactic bacteria of the iron sulfide type are specifically related to the dissimilatory sulfate-reducing bacteria within the delta subdivision of the Proteobacteria. These findings indicate a polyphyletic origin for magnetotactic bacteria and suggest that magnetotaxis based on iron oxides and iron sulfides evolved independently.
Long-term intravitreal ganciclovir therapy for cytomegalovirus retinopathy.

• The safety and efficacy of intravitreously administered ganciclovir sodium as sole treatment for cytomegalovirus retinitis complicating the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome was studied prospectively in seven patients. All but one of the patients had bilateral cytomegalovirus retinitis and none were able to tolerate therapy with systemically administered ganciclovir because of myelosuppression in six patients and hepatotoxicity in one patient. Intravitreal ganciclovir therapy was discontinued in two patients within the initial 2-week induction phase because of severe intractable thrombocytopenia in one patient and retinal detachment in the other. The retinal detachment could not be conclusively attributed to the injections and was probably a secondary complication of cytomegalovirus retinitis. The remaining five patients were treated weekly, with the course of therapy ranging from a minimum of 14 weeks (18 injections) to a maximum of 56 weeks (58 injections). The patients were followed up for an average of 23.5 weeks. All eyes responded to intravitreal therapy initially, while the six untreated control eyes with cytomegalovirus retinitis all demonstrated progression of disease. Two eyes relapsed while receiving intravitreal doses of 200 μg of ganciclovir sodium and were subsequently treated with 300 μg of ganciclovir sodium per injection. One eye responded to this regimen, while in the other one the disease progressed. In the long-term treatment group, one eye developed Staphylococcus epidermidis endophthalmitis, which was treated with vitrectomy and intravitreal and systemic antibiotics.
High-resolution spectroscopy of H2SO4, HDSO4, and D2SO4 vapor in the region 1200–10,000 cm−1

The high-resolution (0.05 cm(-1)) spectra of gas-phase H2SO4, HDSO4, and D2SO4 were measured over the frequency region 1200-10,000 cm(-1) using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy. The increased resolution of this work compared with previous studies has lead to an improved vibrational analysis of H2SO4. This study has answered unresolved questions about combination bands and overlapping features from previous gas-phase spectroscopic studies of H2SO4 and marks the first experimental measurement of the nu8 and nu15 torsional vibrations in this molecule. This work leads to a brief discussion on vibrational mode mixing in sulfuric acid.
The mating-type locus of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii contains highly rearranged DNA sequences

The mating-type locus of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii exists as two apparent alleles (mt+ and mt-) that control mating in haploid gametes and sporulation and meiosis in diploid mt+/mt- zygotes. Twelve genes, seven unrelated to life cycle transitions, are tightly linked to mt, suggesting that the locus exerts recombinational suppression. A 1.1 Mb chromosome walk from a gene linked to mt demonstrates that the mt+ and mt- loci carry four intrachromosomal translocations, two inversions, and large deletions and duplications within a 190 kb sector, presumably accounting for the recombinational suppression that extends through 640 kb of flanking homologous DNA. The rearranged domain also carries blocks of mt(+)- and mt(-)-specific sequences, at least one of which includes a mt(+)-specific gene. The locus has the properties of an incipient sex chromosome.
On Exergy Losses in AMR Hydrogen Liquefiers

Abstract This paper reports on exergy losses and some performance features of a three-stage active magnetic regenerative (AMR) hydrogen liquefier in which the effects of material bed size, helium flow rate, heat exchanger parameters and magnetic field strength are examined. Results are presented in terms of the cooling capacity and one-cycle exergy losses for the different stages.
Counterexamples to the unique and cofinal branches hypotheses

We produce counterexamples to the unique and cofinal branches hypotheses, assuming (slightly less than) the existence of a cardinal which is strong past a Woodin cardinal.
Rate and Predictors of Serious Neurologic Causes of Dizziness in the Emergency Department

Objective To describe the rate and predictors of central nervous system (CNS) disease in emergency department (ED) patients with dizziness in the modern era of neuroimaging.
THE SWINE LUNGWORM AS A RESERVOIR AND INTERMEDIATE HOST FOR SWINE INFLUENZA VIRUS III. FACTORS INFLUENCING TRANSMISSION OF THE VIRUS AND THE PROVOCATION OF INFLUENZA

1. During a 3 year study of the lungworm as intermediate host for the swine influenza virus 98 transmission experiments, using 216 swine, have been conducted. Of these, 50 gave negative results. In the remaining 48, transmission of swine influenza virus by way of the lungworm was demonstrated in one or more animals of each experiment. Irregularities in the results would appear to be due not so much to lack of transmission of masked virus by the lungworms as to failure to evoke its pathogenic capabilities. 2. The stimulus of choice that was most successful in the provocation of swine influenza consisted of multiple intramuscular injections of H. influenzae suis. In several experiments pigs developed swine influenza virus infections 9 to 17 days after infestation with infected lungworms in the absence of any known provocative stress. In these instances an immune response of the swine to the lungworms themselves is suspected of having furnished the provocation. 3. During May, June, July, and August, swine prepared by the ingestion of lungworms carrying virus were absolutely refractory to the provocation of influenza, and they were relatively refractory in September and October. The masked virus was activated most readily during the first 4 months of the year. 4. In a single experiment we succeeded in demonstrating by direct means the presence of swine influenza virus in the neighborhood of lungworms at the base of the lung at a time when the virus was not demonstrable anywhere else in the respiratory tract. 5. Masked swine influenza virus was found to be present in lungworm ova obtained either from the respiratory tracts or the feces of infected swine. 6. In a number of instances, masked swine influenza virus has been found to persist for over a year in lungworm larvae within the earthworm intermediate hosts, and in one case its presence was demonstrated after 32 months. 7. Two varieties of a single species of earthworm, namely, Allolobophora caliginosa f. typica (Savigny) and A. caliginosa f. trapezoides (Duges), have been found separately capable of serving as intermediate hosts for virus-infected lungworms. 8. Lungworm ova, obtained from convalescent swine which are no longer carrying swine influenza virus in infectious form in their respiratory tracts, contain masked virus.
Is there a stock market wealth effect in emerging markets

Abstract Using a panel of 16 emerging markets, this paper presents some evidence for a small but statistically significant stock market wealth effect. Over a 3-year period a 10% decline (increase) in stock prices is associated, on average, with a 0.2–0.4% decrease (increase) in private consumption.
Global seismicity of 1982: centroid-moment tensor solutions for 308 earthquakes

Abstract The centroid-moment tensor analysis is applied to digital recordings of 308 moderate and large earthquakes that occurred during 1982 and were recorded by the Global Digital Seismograph Network (GDSN) and International Deployment of Accelerometers (IDA) networks. The tables contain numerical results for all events. A graphical representation of the source geometry is shown for the full moment tensor solution, as well as for the “best double couple”.
Coordinated randomness in sparse graphs

We are interested in choosing N distinct objects randomly at N nodes that are inter-connected over a sparse graph. The random assignment should be such that no two nodes are assigned the same object. The challenge in the problem is twofold: (i) there is no central dispatcher; and (ii) the node communication network is not a complete graph. In this setting, each node relies on its neighboring nodes and devises a strategy, uniform across all nodes, such that the resulting assignment is unique, i.e., no two nodes share the same task, and random, i.e., the assignment cannot be predicted beforehand. To this aim, we study some of the existing task-assignment and shuffling problems and note that they are not applicable within the above setup. We then propose a swap and collide algorithm that can achieve the unique and random object assignment in finite-time almost surely (a.s.) The analysis of the proposed approach is based on Markov chain arguments. Parts of this paper are presented in [1].
Vma9p (Subunit e) Is an Integral Membrane V0 Subunit of the Yeast V-ATPase

The Saccharomyces cerevisiae vacuolar proton-translocating ATPase (V-ATPase) is composed of 14 subunits distributed between a peripheral V1 subcomplex and an integral membrane V0 subcomplex. Genome-wide screens have led to the identification of the newest yeast V-ATPase subunit, Vma9p. Vma9p (subunit e) is a small hydrophobic protein that is conserved from fungi to animals. We demonstrate that disruption of yeast VMA9 results in the failure of V1 and V0 V-ATPase subunits to assemble onto the vacuole and in decreased levels of the subunit a isoforms Vph1p and Stv1p. We also show that Vma9p is an integral membrane protein, synthesized and inserted into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), which then localizes to the limiting membrane of the vacuole. All V0 subunits and V-ATPase assembly factors are required for Vma9p to efficiently exit the ER. In the ER, Vma9p and the V0 subunits interact with the V-ATPase assembly factor Vma21p. Interestingly, the association of Vma9p with the V0-Vma21p assembly complex is disrupted with the loss of any single V0 subunit. Similarly, Vma9p is required for V0 subunits Vph1p and Vma6p to associate with the V0-Vma21p complex. In contrast, the proteolipids associate with Vma21p even in the absence of Vma9p. These results demonstrate that Vma9p is an integral membrane subunit of the yeast V-ATPase V0 subcomplex and suggest a model for the arrangement of polypeptides within the V0 subcomplex.
ENU mutagenesis in mice identifies candidate genes for hypogonadism

Genome-wide mutagenesis was performed in mice to identify candidate genes for male infertility, for which the predominant causes remain idiopathic. Mice were mutagenized using N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU), bred, and screened for phenotypes associated with the male urogenital system. Fifteen heritable lines were isolated and chromosomal loci were assigned using low-density genome-wide SNP arrays. Ten of the 15 lines were pursued further using higher-resolution SNP analysis to narrow the candidate gene regions. Exon sequencing of candidate genes identified mutations in mice with cystic kidneys (Bicc1), cryptorchidism (Rxfp2), restricted germ cell deficiency (Plk4), and severe germ cell deficiency (Prdm9). In two other lines with severe hypogonadism, candidate sequencing failed to identify mutations, suggesting defects in genes with previously undocumented roles in gonadal function. These genomic intervals were sequenced in their entirety and a candidate mutation was identified in SnrpE in one of the two lines. The line harboring the SnrpE variant retains substantial spermatogenesis despite small testis size, an unusual phenotype. In addition to the reproductive defects, heritable phenotypes were observed in mice with ataxia (Myo5a), tremors (Pmp22), growth retardation (unknown gene), and hydrocephalus (unknown gene). These results demonstrate that the ENU screen is an effective tool for identifying potential causes of male infertility.
Polybrominated diphenyl ether flame retardants in Chesapeake Bay region, USA, peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) eggs: Urban/rural trends

A total of 23 peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus) eggs were obtained between 1993 and 2002 from 13 nests, encompassing 11 locations in the Chesapeake Bay region, USA. When multiple eggs were available from the same clutch, average clutch contaminant concentrations were calculated. An overall median total polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) level of 201 ng/g wet weight was determined for the eggs/clutches examined. The maximum in an individual egg, from an urban highway bridge site, was 354 ng/g. This egg also exhibited the highest BDE 209 burden (48.2 ng/g). Compared to distributions reported in fish and piscivorous birds, falcon eggs were enriched in the more brominated congeners. The BDE congeners 153, 99, and 100 constituted 26.0, 24.8, and 13.1%, respectively, of total PBDEs. In most aquatic species, BDE 47 is the most abundant congener reported; however, it constituted only 4.4% of total PBDEs in the eggs of the present study. The median BDE 209 concentration was 6.3 ng/g. The sum of the octa- to nonabrominated congeners (BDEs 196, 197, 206, 207, and 208) contributed, on average, 14.0% of total PBDEs, exceeding the contribution of BDE 209 (5.9%). Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and 1,1-dichloro- 2,2-bis( p-chlorophenyl)ethylene (4,4-DDE) also were determined in a subset of 16 eggs (collected in 2001-2002 from six nests) and were an order of magnitude greater than the corresponding PBDEs. Median BDE 209 concentrations were significantly correlated (p 0.01, Spearman R 0.690) with the human population density of the area surrounding the nest. Total PBDEs, total PCBs, and 4,4-DDE levels were not correlated to human population density. Keywords—Persistent organic pollutant Raptor Polybrominated biphenyl Polychlorinated biphenyl Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene
New insights on mast cell activation via the high affinity receptor for IgE.

Abstract Mast cells are innate immune cells that function as regulatory or effector cells and serve to amplify adaptive immunity. In adaptive immunity these cells function primarily through cell surface Fc receptors that bind immunoglobulin antibodies. The dysregulation of their adaptive role makes them central players in allergy and asthma. Upon encountering an allergen (antigen), which is recognized by immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies bound to the high affinity IgE receptor (FcɛRI) expressed on their cell surface, mast cells secrete both preformed and newly synthesized mediators of the allergic response. Blocking of these responses is an objective in therapeutic intervention of allergic diseases. Thus, understanding the mechanisms by which antigens elicit mast cell activation (via FcɛRI) holds promise toward identifying therapeutic targets. Here we review the most recent advances in understanding antigen‐dependent mast cell activation. Specifically, we focus on the requirements for FcɛRI activation, the regulation of calcium responses, co‐stimulatory signals in FcɛRI‐mediated mast cell activation and function, and how genetics influences mast cell signaling and responses. These recent discoveries open new avenues of investigation with therapeutic potential.
Teaching with SimCity: Using Sophisticated Gaming Simulations to Teach Concepts in Introductory American Government

One of the key challenges of teaching a college survey course such as introductory American government is the lack of interest on the part of students, many of whom take the course to satisfy a general-education requirement. Recognizing that young people are fascinated by video games, the author devised a governance simulation built on the popular computer game SimCity. Although the video-game industry designed these sophisticated simulations to be played by a single participant rather than a large group, the author created a simple set of rules that allows students to run them collectively. This article examines five factors for which an instructor must account if games such as SimCity are to have educational value. The author argues that, if conducted properly, this type of in-class exercise provides a fun and interesting way to teach students about the inherent challenges of governing in a democracy.
Initial Emergency Department Diagnosis and Management of Adult Patients with Severe Sepsis and Septic Shock

Severe sepsis is a medical emergency affecting up to 18 million individuals world wide, with an annual incidence of 750,000 in North America alone. Mortality ranges between 28-50% of those individuals stricken by severe sepsis. Sepsis is a time critical illness, requiring early identification and prompt intervention in order to improve outcomes. This observation has led to increased awareness and education in the field of Emergency Medicine; it has also led to the implementation of critical interventions early in the course of patient management, specifically Early-Goal Directed Therapy, and rapid administration of appropriate antimicrobials. This review begins with a brief summary of the pathophysiology of sepsis, and then addresses the fundamental clinical aspects of ED identification and resuscitation of the septic patient.
After Words: The Paratexts of Martin Amis's TIME’S ARROW

Martin Amis's 1991 novel Time's Arrow begins at the end of its story and is narrated backward in an absolute reverse chronology or, as Seymour Chatman calls it, a “sustained, antonymized temporal r...
Quantitative room-temperature mineralization of airborne formaldehyde using manganese oxide catalysts

Appl. Catal. B – Environmental, 2011 Quantitative room-temperature mineralization of airborne formaldehyde using manganese oxide catalysts Meera A. Sidheswaran, Hugo Destaillats, Douglas P. Sullivan, Joern Larsen and William J. Fisk Environmental Energy Technologies Division June 2011
Refining the SAT decision ordering for bounded model checking

Bounded Model Checking (BMC) relies on solving a sequence of highly correlated Boolean satisfiability (SAT) problems, each of which checks for the existence of counter-examples of a bounded length. The performance of SAT search depends heavily on the variable decision ordering. We propose an algorithm to exploit the correlation among different SAT problems in BMC, by predicting and successively refining a partial variable ordering. This ordering is based on the analysis of all previous unsatisfiable instances, and is combined with the SAT solver's existing decision heuristic to determine the final variable decision ordering. Experiments on real designs from industry show that our new method improves the performance of SAT-based BMC significantly.
Interspecific and intraspecific differences in two Liriomyza leafminer species in California

In recent years, the pest status of Liriomyza trifolii (Burgess) and L. huidobrensis (Blanchard) (Diptera: Agromyzidae) has changed in California, as well as other areas of the world. In California, L. huidobrensis has become the predominant Liriomyza species in valleys along the central coast, while L. trifolii remains the predominant species in southern California. To investigate possible reasons for this change in status, differences in host plant use and reproductive success of intraspecific populations were examined for Liriomyza trifolii and L. huidobrensis from both central and southern California. The southern L. trifolii fed, oviposited and reproduced successfully on all five hosts tested, but the central population fed significantly less on all hosts and was restricted to reproducing on pepper only. With the exception of pepper, southern L. trifolii had significantly greater larval survival on all hosts than central L. trifolii. In contrast, the central L. huidobrensis population had greater reproductive success than the southern population of that species on all hosts plants tested. However, pepper was not a suitable host for either L. huidobrensis population. Both species showed positive assortative mating, with homotypic mating occurring more frequently than heterotypic mating; however, the difference between L. trifolii populations was much more pronounced than between L. huidobrensis populations. These data indicate that central and southern California populations of each species are distinct biotypes. Furthermore when coupled with previous genetic data, our results suggest the possible existence of cryptic species within L. trifolii.
Establishment of Latent Epstein-Barr Virus Infection and Stable Episomal Maintenance in Murine B-Cell Lines

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a strict human pathogen for which no small animal models exist. Plasmids that contain the EBV plasmid origin of replication, oriP, and express EBV nuclear antigen 1 (EBNA1) are stably maintained extrachromosomally in human cells, whereas these plasmids replicate poorly in rodent cells. However, the ability of oriP and EBNA1 to maintain the entire EBV episome in proliferating rodent cells has not been determined. Expression of the two human B-cell receptors for EBV on the surfaces of murine B cells allows efficient viral entry that leads to the establishment of latent EBV infection and long-term persistence of the viral genome. Latent gene expression in these cells resembles the latency II profile in that EBNA1 and LMP1 can be detected whereas EBNA2 and the EBNA3s are not expressed.
Cyclosporin-Associated Thrombotic Microangiopathy: Successful Retreatment with Cyclosporin

This report describes a patient who developed cyclosporin-induced thrombotic microangiopathy in a renal allograft. Cyclosporin-induced thrombotic microangiopathy is considered by many as a contraindication to subsequent therapy with cyclosporin. This case is notable for successful treatment with cyclosporin following resolution of thrombotic microangiopathy in a renal allograft.
Fire and shade effects on ground cover structure in Kirtland's warbler habitat

Researchers and managers have suggested that a narrow range of ground-cover structure resulting from fire might be necessary for suitable Kirtland`s warbler nesting conditions. Yet, Kirtland`s warblers have bred successfully in numerous unburned stands and there is little direct evidence to indicate that ground cover structure is a limiting factor for nest sites or habitat suitability within appropriate landform-ecosystems. We documented the range of percent cover for dominant ground-cover structural components in burned and unburned habitat (stand ages 7-23 y) occupied by Kirtland?s warblers. The mean percent cover for the dominant ground-cover structural components was lichen/moss (12.1%), blueberry (Vaccinium angustifolium) (9.5%), bare ground and litter (5.6%), sedge/grass (5.2%), deadwood (4.3%), sand cherry (Prunus pumila) (3.3%), sweet fern (Comptonia peregrina) (2.3%), coarse grass (1.8%) and bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursai) (1.2%). Burned sites had significantly more deadwood, sweet fern and lichen/moss cover, while unburned sites had significantly more bare ground and sedge/grass. We also investigated how fire, shade-history (i.e., pre-fire tree crown cover approximated by tree height and density) and succession influenced the percent cover of the dominant ground-cover structural components from 1 to 5-y after wildfire disturbance. The magnitude of differences in percent cover among shade-histories changed through time for the groundcover components sand cherry, deadwood, grass/sedge and coarse grass. The percent cover of sweet fern, bearberry and bare ground was significantly different between some shade histories. All dominant ground-cover components showed significant difference between at least one shade-history when compared to an unburned harvested reference stand. This suggests that more similarities exist among the three burned sites than between the burned sites and the unburned reference site. Our results suggest that fire, shade-history and succession influence ground-cover, but that various ground-cover components are affected differently by these factors. Because of the complex role disturbance history plays in maintaining ground-cover in Kirtland`s warbler habitat, optimal management prescriptions are difficult to specify, especially when aspects of Kirtland`s warbler ecology other than nest location are also considered. Although suitable ground cover structure can result without fire, maintaining prescribed fire is still desirable because this is a historically fire-regulated system. However, the range of ground-cover structures accepted by the Kirtland?s Warbler and its resilience to disturbance suggests that suitable ground-cover for Kirtland`s warbler could be maintained in some stands without burning after every timber harvest.
Contending with Women and War

The late Jean Bethke Elshtain was a difficult feminist, a public intellectual and scholar who drew on feminist thinking but interpreted or applied it so idiosyncratically that many feminists disavowed her. Elshtain's early works encapsulated the best hopes of 1980s' feminists to bring women and gender to the fore across many academic fields. She was influential in political theory, religious studies, and feminist analysis, and she was one of the leading lights of feminist international relations (IR) well into the 1990s. Yet she was moving in other directions and would let it be known that she disapproved of gay marriage and endorsed George W. Bush's war in Iraq as just. These positions were anathema to most western feminists, and Jean Bethke Elshtain slid down the feminist reputational ladder from pinnacle to the point where she was almost persona non grata, deemed an imperialist traitor to feminist causes. She did not draw back or go quiet under attack: to the last public address she gave shortly before her death, Elshtain was on the road defending her controversial political viewpoints openly and forcefully. Let it not be said that the difficult feminist is shy.
Special Track on Games and Entertainment

Digital games and entertainment are a modern area of enormous economic potential and can have a serious social impact. Digital entertainment has become a constant in our society. Exposure to it begins at a young age, sometimes even before children have started to walk. is exposure contin- ues as they age and does not stop at adulthood, in fact the majority of game sales occur to those over the age of 18. is field represents a large and growing portion of the entertainment sector of the economy. e video game industry has surpassed box office motion picture revenue and the revenue of the entire music industry. Games are becoming the highest and most advanced form of escapism as they provide people of all ages the opportunity to see and do things that would not otherwise be possible.
Vibrational Predissociation Dynamics of Weakly Bonded Dimers: A Summary

During the past year we have seen a dramatic increase in the breadth and depth of experimental studies into the vibrational predissociation dynamics of van der Waals (vdW) molecules, and especially vdW dimers. The interest in this area has been fostered by intriguing, early results of frequency domain measurements, and has been facilitated by advances jointly in molecular beam and laser technologies (after all, most of these experiments are beam photodissociation experiments). Activity in the area of van der Waals vibrational predissociation dynamics encompasses 1) theory, 2) frequency domain measurements, and 3) time domain and energy distribution measurements. In the anticipation of relating very detailed dynamical information to the inter-molecular forces responsible for the van der Waals bonding it is unfortunate that, as yet, there is no single system upon which all three approaches have been successfully used.
Adapt-Mix: learning local genetic correlation structure improves summary statistics-based analyses.

Motivation: Approaches to identifying new risk loci, training risk prediction models, imputing untyped variants and fine-mapping causal variants from summary statistics of genome-wide association studies are playing an increasingly important role in the human genetics community. Current summary statistics-based methods rely on global ‘best guess’ reference panels to model the genetic correlation structure of the dataset being studied. This approach, especially in admixed populations, has the potential to produce misleading results, ignores variation in local structure and is not feasible when appropriate reference panels are missing or small. Here, we develop a method, Adapt-Mix, that combines information across all available reference panels to produce estimates of local genetic correlation structure for summary statistics-based methods in arbitrary populations. Results: We applied Adapt-Mix to estimate the genetic correlation structure of both admixed and non-admixed individuals using simulated and real data. We evaluated our method by measuring the performance of two summary statistics-based methods: imputation and joint-testing. When using our method as opposed to the current standard of ‘best guess’ reference panels, we observed a 28% decrease in mean-squared error for imputation and a 73.7% decrease in mean-squared error for joint-testing. Availability and implementation: Our method is publicly available in a software package called ADAPT-Mix available at https://github.com/dpark27/adapt_mix. Contact: ude.fscu@neltiaz.haon
The Effects of Synthetic Surfactants on Intestinal Permeability to Glucose In Vitro

SummaryTwo anionics, a cationic and a nonionic synthetic surfactant, were examined in an in vitro phloridzinized preparation for their effects on passive intestinal permeability to glucose. These agents increased intestinal permeability to glucose in a dose-related manner with the anionic surfactant, linear alkylate sulfonate, producing this effect at lower concentrations than any of the other surfactants tested. Histologic observations demonstrated that the mucosal epithelium was not altered by low surfactant concentraions which increased intestinal permeability. Increased glucose permeability could account, in part, for decreased glucose uptake by the intestine when exposed to detergents due to the production of a “leak” at the mucosal surface preventing a glucose gradient to be established between the mucosal cell and the serosal border.
Fluorescent Species Formed by Reaction of Trinitroaromatics with N,N-Dimethylformamide and Hydroxide

Trinitrobenzene (TNB) and trinitrotoluene (TNT) react in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) to form multiple species in solution. Despite structural similarities, electronic spectra show that the reactivity is different for TNB and TNT. In addition to reaction with the DMF solvent, residual water in nominally dry DMF generates sufficient hydroxide for reaction with TNB and TNT. Multiple sigma adducts are formed and observed to be fluorescent, which has not been previously reported. Both TNB and TNT show the capacity to form sigma adducts with hydroxide and DMF, while methyl hydrogens of TNT can be deprotonated by hydroxide.
Images in clinical medicine. Bone marrow involvement in acute leukemia.

Figure 1. A genetically engineered, humanized antibody against CD25 (Tac, the interleukin-2–receptor α chain) was labeled with indium-111 and administered to a patient with CD25+ B-cell lymphoblastic leukemia at a dose of 1 mg per kilogram of body weight. The white-cell count decreased from 44,000 per cubic millimeter (80 percent blasts) to 11,000 per cubic millimeter (65 percent blasts) 3 hours after the intravenous infusion, with a further reduction over the next 16 hours. Nuclear scanning at 48 hours showed a marked redistribution of the antibody from the blood (indicated by the absence of visible cardiac and vascular structures on . . .
Transactional memory introduction

This article consists of a collection of slides from the author's conference presentation on transactional memory (TM). Some of the specific topics discussed include: an introduction to TM; TM implementation techniques; hardware TM techniques, and software TM techniques.
Colony and evolutionary dynamics of a two‐stage model with brood cannibalism and division of labor in social insects

Division of labor (DOL) is a major factor for the great success of social insects because it increases the efficiency of a social group where different individuals perform different tasks repeatedly and presumably with increased performance. Cannibalism plays an important role in regulating colony growth and development by regulating the number of individuals in a colony and increasing survival by providing access to essential nutrients and minimizing competition among colony mates. To understand the synergy effects of DOL and cannibalistic behavior on colony dynamic outcomes, we propose and study a compartmental two-stage model using ecological and evolutionary game theory settings. Our analytical results of the ecological and evolutionary models suggest that: (1) A noncannibalistic colony can survive if the efficiency of energy investment reflecting the DOL is greater than the relative death rate of the older population. (2) A cannibalistic colony can die out if both the efficiency of energy investment and the relative cannibalism rate (where each is also reflecting the DOL) are too large; or if the relative cannibalism rate alone is too small. (3) From our numerical analysis, cannibalism can increase or reduce the colony's total population size, which greatly depends on the benefit of egg cannibalism increasing or decreasing of adult's lifespan. (4) A cannibalistic and noncannibalistic colony can experience bistability due to cooperative behavior. (5) In the evolutionary settings, DOL can prevent colony death and natural selection can preserve strong Allee effects by selecting the traits with the largest investment on brood care and the lowest cannibalism rate. (6) Evolutionary dynamics may increase the fitness of the colony, i.e., the successful production of workforce which results in the increase of total worker population size, colony survival, and reproduction. Our results suggest both cannibalism and DOLs are adaptive strategies that increase the size of the worker population, and therefore, persistence of the colony.