cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dirac nodal lines and large spin Hall effect in the 6 H -perovskite iridate Ba 3 TiIr 2 O 9

Nodal line semimetals with symmetry protected band structure offer a platform for the investigation of a number of emerging quantum phenomena. Using first-principles calculation combined with symmetry analysis, we show that ${\mathrm{Ba}}_{3}{\mathrm{TiIr}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{9}$ hosts a Dirac nodal line (DNL) along the $A\text{\ensuremath{-}}L$ direction of the Brillouin zone, protected by the glide reflection symmetry. In the presence of the spin-orbit coupling, even though the DNL along the $A\text{\ensuremath{-}}L$ direction is protected, DNLs along other directions as well as multiple nodal loops present in the system gap out. The gapped out Dirac nodal loops act as a source of spin Berry curvature, resulting in a large spin Hall conductivity ($\ensuremath{\approx}300$ $\frac{\ensuremath{\hbar}}{e}\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}{\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Omega}}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$). This suggests the possible application of the material as a spin current detector.
Mice and Covert Channels

Any secure network is only as secure as its weakest component. With overt channels tightly secured and attackers have started focusing on optical, audible, magnetic, and thermal covert channels to access sensitive systems. In this paper, we present a novel, reliable and bidirectional optical covert channel which uses optical mice. In this channel, the photocell in the mouse is used as a receiver while the LED is used as a transmitter. Our multiple experiments, which use mouse to mouse, mouse to camera and torch to mouse, show that the transmission rate can go as high as 10 bits per second. Additionally, we study the effects of infrared, distance and brightness on mouse input. We also show that infrared mice are susceptible to a similar kind of attack.
A comparison of the bioconversion rates and the Caco-2 cell permeation characteristics of Coumarin-based cyclic prodrugs and methylester-based linear prodrugs of RGD peptidomimetics

Purpose. To compare the bioconversion rates in various biological media and the Caco-2 cell permeation characteristics of coumarin-based cyclic prodrugs (3a, 3b) and methylester-based linear prodrugs (1b, 2b) of two RGD peptidomimetics (la, 2a).
In-vitro biomineralization and biocompatibility of friction stir additively manufactured AZ31B magnesium alloy-hydroxyapatite composites

Abstract The present study aims to evaluate effect of hydroxyapatite (HA, Ca10(PO4)6OH2), a ceramic similar to natural bone, into AZ31B Mg alloy matrix on biomineralization and biocompatibility. The novel friction stir processing additive manufacturing route was employed to fabricate Mg-HA composites. Various HA contents (5, 10, 20 wt%) were incorporated into Mg matrix. Microstructural observation and chemical composition analysis revealed that refined Mg grains and dispersion of HA particles at micro/nanoscales were achieved in Mg-HA composites after the friction stir processing. The biomineralization evaluation were carried out using immersion experiments in simulated body fluid followed by mineral morphology observation and chemical composition analysis. The wettability measurements were conducted to correlate the biomineralization behavior. The results showed improvement in wettability and bone-like Ca/P ratio in apatite deposit on the composites compared to as-received Mg. In addition, the increase of blood compatibility, cell viability and spreading were found in the higher HA content composites, indicating the improved biocompatibility. Therefore, friction stir processed Mg-20 wt%HA composite exhibited the highest wettability and better cell adhesion among other composites due to the effect of increased HA content within Mg matrix.
The Political Economy of Development: A Game Theoretic Approach

Those studying development often address the impact of government policies, but rarely the politics that generate these policies. A culmination of several decades of work by Robert Bates, among the most respected comparativists in political science, this compact volume seeks to rectify that omission. Bates addresses the political origins of prosperity and security and uncovers the root causes of under-development. Without the state there can be no development, but those who are endowed with the power of the state often use its power to appropriate the wealth and property of those they rule. When do those with power use it to safeguard rather than to despoil? Bates explores this question by analyzing motivations behind the behaviour of governments in the developing world, drawing on historical and anthropological insights, game theory, and his own field research in developing nations.
Eliciting Language Samples for Analysis (ELSA): A New Protocol for Assessing Expressive Language and Communication in Autism.

Expressive language and communication are among the key targets of interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and natural language samples provide an optimal approach for their assessment. Currently, there are no protocols for collecting such samples that cover a wide range of ages or language abilities, particularly for children/adolescents who have very limited spoken language. We introduce a new protocol for collecting language samples, eliciting language samples for analysis (ELSA), and a novel approach for deriving basic measures of verbal communicative competence from it that bypasses the need for time-consuming transcription. Study 1 presents ELSA-adolescents (ELSA-A), designed for minimally and low-verbal older children/adolescents with ASD. The protocol successfully engaged and elicited speech from 46 participants across a wide range of ages (6;6-19;7) with samples averaging 20-25 min. The collected samples were segmented into speaker utterances (examiner and participant) using real-time coding as one is listening to the audio recording and two measures were derived: frequency of utterances and conversational turns per minute. These measures were shown to be reliable and valid. For Study 2, ELSA was adapted for younger children (ELSA-Toddler [ELSA-T]) with samples averaging 29 min from 19 toddlers (2;8-4;10 years) with ASD. Again, measures of frequency of utterances and conversational turns derived from ELSA-T were shown to have strong psychometric properties. In Study 3, we found that ELSA-A and ELSA-T were equivalent in eliciting language from 17 children with ASD (ages: 4;0-6;8), demonstrating their suitability for deriving robust objective assessments of expressive language that could be used to track change in ability over time. We introduce a new protocol for collecting expressive language samples, ELSA, that can be used with a wide age range, from toddlers (ELSA-T) to older adolescents (ELSA-A) with ASD who have minimal or low-verbal abilities. The measures of language and communication derived from them, frequency of utterances, and conversational turns per minute, using real-time coding methods, can be used to characterize ability and chart change in intervention research. LAY SUMMARY: We introduce a new protocol for collecting expressive language samples, ELSA, that can be used with a wide age range, from toddlers (ELSA-T) to older adolescents (ELSA-A) with autism spectrum disorder who have minimal or low-verbal abilities. The measures of language and communication derived from them, frequency of utterances and conversational turns per minute, using real-time coding methods, can be used to characterize ability and chart change in intervention research.
Abstract P421: Alternate Health Eating Index & Cognitive Function Among Middle-aged and Older Hispanics/ Latinos: The Hispanic Community Health Study/ Study of Latinos

Introduction: A healthy diet may promote healthy cognitive aging; however, little is known about associations between diet quality and cognition in Hispanics/Latinos. Hypothesis: Higher diet qualit...
A 1D encoder-decoder deep network for pressure estimation from 4D flow MRI: in-vitro experiments

In this paper we propose a deep learning framework to estimate pressure from 4D flow MRI. Pressure drop is an important parameter to detect and diagnose different cardiovascular diseases. Accurate estimation of pressure from 4D flow MRI is hampered however due to noise and low resolution of 4D flow data. In the proposed method we consider the pressure estimation as a mapping function between velocity to pressure and employ an encoder-decoder based deep network for the mapping. A computational fluid dynamic model was designed which identically matched the geometry of a stenotic flow phantom used in 4D Flow MRI experiments and velocity and pressure data was simulated for 1000 different flow conditions to train the network. In addition, the proposed network was tested on real in -vitro 4D flow MRI in the same stenotic model for 3 different flow rates. Estimated pressures from the network showed excellent agreement with the reference CFD simulated pressures. As measure of fidelity, relative pressure drop across the stenosis was computed between the reference pressure and estimated pressure and were compared with the simplified Bernouli method. It was determined that the pressure drop estimation by the proposed method is more accurate than competing method.
The Weakness of Mass Tourism in the Covid-19 Period and the Contribution of Architecture

According to the World Tourism Organization, tourism is the largest industry in the world. The tourist activity with elements that refer to the mass model of tourism, emerges in many cases as the key activity for the economic development of a place. This phenomenon is constantly recorded during the last decades worldwide and not only in the wider Mediterranean but also in Greece. In this context and to serve as many guests as possible the quality of accommodation services was sacrificed on the altar of the ephemeral. Huge hotel units were built and areas of natural beauty were destroyed. Also, the primary sector was abandoned and rural areas were turned into tourist destinations. The need to move from mass tourism to quality tourism has been highlighted for many years and for many different reasons. The failure of this model and the shift to quality or alternative tourism has already begun. However, the current global crisis regarding the pandemic due to the COVID-19 has once again highlighted the weaknesses of this tourism model. The purpose of this paper is to investigate and assess the current situation and the reasons that led tourists may prefer small accommodation, apartments and houses to the standards of alternative tourism. It also aims to highlight the lack of flexibility in the event of a crisis, both in planning and programming, and to highlight another reason for the transition from mass to alternative tourism.
Comment on: van Dijk et al. Exercise Therapy in Type 2 Diabetes: Is Daily Exercise Required to Optimize Glycemic Control? Diabetes Care 2012;35:948–954

We read with great interest the recent article by van Dijk et al. (1) supporting the importance of exercise in the treatment of diabetes. The authors deserve credit for conducting a difficult study on a topic that is of interest to researchers and clinicians alike. We wish to comment on the study design as well as important findings of the study that were overlooked in the manuscript. Authors compared the glucose control between daily exercise (DE) (30 min) to exercise done every other day (EEOD) (60 min). We compliment the authors for controlling …
Foldamers Reveal and Validate Novel Therapeutic Targets Associated with Toxic α-Synuclein Self-Assembly

ABSTRACT Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder for which there is no successful prevention or intervention. The pathological hallmark for PD involves the self-assembly of functional Alpha-Synuclein (αS) into non-functional amyloid structures. One of the potential therapeutic interventions against PD is the effective inhibition of αS aggregation. However, the bottleneck towards achieving this goal is the identification of αS domains/sequences that are essential for aggregation. Using a protein mimetic approach, we have identified αS sequences-based novel targets that are essential for aggregation and will have significant therapeutic implications. An extensive array of in vitro, ex vivo, and in vivo assays was utilized to validate αS sequences and their structural characteristics that are essential for aggregation and propagation of PD phenotypes. The study aids in developing significant mechanistic and therapeutic insights into various facets of αS aggregation, which will pave the way for novel and effective treatments for PD.
Efficacy and mechanism of poloxamine-assisted polyplex transfection.

Background Amphiphilic block copolymers acting as biological response modifiers provide an attractive approach for improving the transfection efficiency of polycationic polymer/DNA complexes (polyplexes) by altering cellular processes crucial for efficient transgene expression. Methods The present study aimed to investigate the effect of the poloxamine Tetronic T904, a four-arm polyethylene oxide/polypropylene oxide block copolymer, on polyplex transfection and to determine its mechanism of action by analyzing the cellular uptake of polyplex, the nuclear localization of plasmid and RNA transcript production. Results T904 significantly increased the transfection efficiency of polyplexes based on 25-kDa branched polyethylenimine in a dose-dependent manner in the presence of serum in C6 glioma cells, as well as human fibroblasts and mesenchymal stem cells. The activity of T904 was not promoter-dependent, increasing the expression of reporter genes under both cytomegalovirus and SV40 promoters. Although T904 did not affect the internalization or nuclear uptake of plasmid, mRNA expression levels from both promoters showed dose-dependent increases that closely paralleled increases in gene expression. Conclusions The present study demonstrates that T904 significantly increases polyplex transfection efficiency and suggests a mechanism of increased transcriptional activity. As a four-arm, hydroxyl-terminated polymer, T904 is amenable to a variety of end group functionalization and covalent cross-linking strategies that have been developed for preparing hydrogels from multi-arm polyethylene glycol, making it particularly attractive for scaffold-mediated gene delivery. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Detonation structure simulation with AMROC

Numerical simulations can be the key to the thorough understanding of the multi-dimensional nature of transient detonation waves. But the accurate approximation of realistic detonations is extremely demanding, because a wide range of different scales needs to be resolved. In this paper, we summarize our successful efforts in simulating multi-dimensional detonations with detailed and highly stiff chemical kinetics on recent parallel machines with distributed memory, especially on clusters of standard personal computers. We explain the design of AMROC, a freely available dimension-independent mesh adaptation framework for time-explicit Cartesian finite volume methods on distributed memory machines, and discuss the locality-preserving rigorous domain decomposition technique it employs. The framework provides a generic implementation of the blockstructured adaptive mesh refinement algorithm after Berger and Collela designed especially for the solution of hyperbolic fluid flow problems on logically rectangular grids. The ghost fluid approach is integrated into the refinement algorithm to allow for embedded non-Cartesian boundaries represented implicitly by additional level-set variables. Two- and three-dimensional simulations of regular cellular detonation structure in purely Cartesian geometry and a two-dimensional detonation propagating through a smooth 60 degree pipe bend are presented. Briefly, the employed upwind scheme and the treatment of the non-equilibrium reaction terms are sketched.
Serendipitous research process

Abstract This article presents the results of an exploratory study asking faculty in the first-year writing program and instruction librarians about their research process focusing on results specifically related to serendipity. Steps to prepare for serendipity are highlighted as well as a model for incorporating serendipity into a first-year writing course.
Hidden Markov Models

A hidden Markov model (HMM) is a statistical approach that is frequently used for modelling biological sequences. In applying it, a sequence is modelled as an output of a discrete stochastic process, which progresses through a series of states that are ‘hidden’ from the observer. Each such hidden state emits a symbol representing an elementary unit of the modelled data, for example, in case of a protein sequence – an amino acid. The parameters of a hidden Markov model can be estimated by learning from training data. Efficient algorithms are available to infer the most likely paths of states for given sequence data, which often lead to biological predictions and interpretations. Thanks to the well developed theories and algorithms, hidden Markov models have found wide applications in diverse areas of computational molecular biology. Key Concepts: Hidden Markov model is a statistical approach for modelling sequences with broad applications in computational biology. In an HMM, a biological sequence is modelled as being generated by a stochastic process moving from one state to the next state, where each state emits one element of the sequence according to some emission probability distribution which, in general, is different in different states. Training of an HMM is a process in which the parameters of the model are computed based on a training set of representative examples. Overfitting/overtraining the model occurs when model parameters correctly represent the training set but the model cannot generalise the training data to a larger set. Gene finding is a process of computational identification of genes, including exon/intron structure, in a genome. Keywords: HMM; gene finding; profile HMM; training HMM; protein structure prediction; epigenetics; phylogenetics
Optical and infrared studies of stellar populations: the Galactic nuclear bulge.

Giants in the Galactic nuclear bulge are different from solar neighborhood giants in terms of their observed photometric and spectroscopic characteristics and their mean metallicity. These bulge stars are the best available sample to use in stellar synthesis models of early-type galaxies. Observations from the main sequence to the top of the giant branch show no evidence for a component of the bulge population much younger than 10 Gyr. Several independent lines of evidence indicate a strong metallicity gradient in the bulge as would be expected if it formed dissipatively.
Distributed optical testbed (DOT): a grid applications and optical communications testbed

The distributed optical testbed (DOT) is a wide area experimental grid infrastructure designed to facilitate the creation of new techniques for the efficient execution of distributed applications, supported by agile optical networks. The architecture of the testbed enables the close investigation of new methods for supporting distributed heterogeneous environments that are interconnected by high performance, application-addressable lightpaths. Currently, almost all grid implementations are supported through communication services based on non-adaptive, non-deterministic packet-routed data networks. The DOT architecture allows grid applications to take advantage of flexible, reconfigurable, and deterministic optical channels. By directly provisioning lightpaths, applications can enhance data communications by supplementing or by passing traditional data transport services. Experiments conducted on this testbed demonstrate that a significant potential exists for supporting grid applications through adaptive optical networking
Effect of Competence Induction on Macromolecular Synthesis in a Group H Streptococcus

The effects of competence induction by competence factor (CF) on macromolecular synthesis in group H streptococcus strain Wicky were investigated. CF preparations (culture filtrates from competent group H streptococcus strain Challis) were either heated or partially purified to remove a bacteriocin. These preparations did not inhibit growth, although they induced high levels of competence in strain Wicky. The action of the CF preparations did not affect the overall rates of deoxyribonucleic acid and protein synthesis, but caused a reduction in the rates of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and peptidoglycan synthesis. When competence induction by CF was prevented, no alterations in RNA or peptidoglycan synthesis were observed, indicating that these changes are in fact related to the development of competence.
Governors and the Development Regime in New Orleans

Regime theory argues that local actors shape city politics even though state government sets the rules under which urban players act. Regime theorists typically do not focus on conditions under which governors assume important roles in local regimes. The authors examine major economic development projects in New Orleans to highlight conditions under which extralocal actors, namely, governors, become involved in local regimes. A scarcity of both resources and business leaders in New Orleans, competition with other states, and political considerations motivated Louisiana governors to increase their participation in New Orleans’s urban development regime. Governors constituted part of the mobilization effort to move the city from a caretaker regime to a progrowth regime. They used their authority, fiscal resources, and leadership skills to assume this greater role. Gubernatorial participation in the regime benefited governors, New Orleans mayors, and major businesses at the expense of tourists, working-class...
Two Steps Forward, One Step Back?

This article offers a narrative of the author’s efforts to integrate gendered approaches more fully into an introductory course in international politics. It describes the author’s first tentative step to introduce gendered analysis into the syllabus at the end of the Cold War. Simply adding feminist approaches to a traditional format, however, proved too disruptive and disjointed, so the author developed a new, constructivist format that featured gender, along with sovereignty, capitalism, and national identity, as one of the key constitutive structures of contemporary world politics. After September 11, however, changes in the global agenda, as well as changes in the author’s priorities, led to revisions in this format that again left gendered approaches somewhat disconnected from other parts of the course. The article ends with ideas on how to reformulate the course to again bring gender back as an integral part of the syllabus as a whole.
A citrus system dynamic model of Japan

Midterm effects of alternative quota adjustments on production, prices, and orchard retirements are simulated taking into account interseasonal effects between early and late varieties. Real world corroboration is accomplished through institutional and technical feedbacks and the recent agreement to expand quotas by 11,000 metric tons per year for the next four years.
A multigrid methodology for assimilation of measurements into regional tidal models

This paper presents a rigorous, yet practical, method of multigrid data assimilation into regional structured-grid tidal models. The new inverse tidal nesting scheme, with nesting across multiple grids, is designed to provide a fit of the tidal dynamics to data in areas with highly complex bathymetry and coastline geometry. In these areas, computational constraints make it impractical to fully resolve local topographic and coastal features around all of the observation sites in a stand-alone computation. The proposed strategy consists of increasing the model resolution in multiple limited area domains around the observation locations where a representativeness error is detected in order to improve the representation of the measurements with respect to the dynamics. Multiple high-resolution nested domains are set up and data assimilation is carried out using these embedded nested computations. Every nested domain is coupled to the outer domain through the open boundary conditions (OBCs). Data inversion is carried out in a control space of the outer domain model. A level of generality is retained throughout the presentation with respect to the choice of the control space; however, a specific example of using the outer domain OBCs as the control space is provided, with other sensible choices discussed. In the forward scheme, the computations in the nested domains do not affect the solution in the outer domain. The subsequent inverse computations utilize the observation-minus-model residuals of the forward computations across these multiple nested domains in order to obtain the optimal values of parameters in the control space of the outer domain model. The inversion is carried out by propagating the uncertainty from the control space to model tidal fields at observation locations in the outer and in the nested domains using efficient low-rank error covariance representations. Subsequently, an analysis increment in the control space of the outer domain model is computed and the multigrid system is steered optimally towards observations while preserving a perfect dynamical balance. The method is illustrated using a real-world application in the context of the Philippines Strait Dynamics experiment.
Effect of high-axle load traffic on subsoil physical properties and crop yields in the Pacific Northwest USA

Abstract Cultural practices for winter wheat production in the Pacific Northwest USA include rotations with spring crops. These cultural practices result in heavy wheel traffic (≥ 9 Mg per axle) during wet soil conditions, which could result in serious soil compaction. A field experiment was initiated in the spring of 1986 near Moscow, Idaho, USA, on a silt loam soil to determine the effect of heavy axle loads on subsoil physical properties and crop yields. Compaction treatments consisted of axle loads of
Measuring the Influence of Persuasion Marketing on Young Wine Consumers

The development of trust between sales personnel and their customers has traditionally been considered a critical element in developing and maintaining a successful sales relationship. The use of persuasion in sales settings is a method that organizations utilize in training sales personnel, developing advertising campaigns within the promotional mix. However, little consideration is given to the consequences that occur when consumers recognize the sales persons' persuasion attempts, or persuasion knowledge. This study addresses the use of persuasion in the marketing of wine to the growing market segment of the Millennial generation, utilizing sales scenarios as the research method.
Fixed-ratio discrimination training as replacement therapy in Parkinson's disease: studies in a 6-hydroxydopamine-treated rat model

Severe 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA)-induced neostriatal dopamine (DA) depletion is generally held to be irreversible. Adult rats administered 6-OHDA soon after weaning, or neonatally, respectively model Parkinson's disease (PD) and Lesch-Nyhan syndrome (LNS). Prior studies in our laboratory indicate that prolonged training on incrementally more difficult fixed-ratio (FR) discriminations can reverse 'irreversible' 6-OHDA-induced neostriatal DA depletion in adult LNS rats. The present study evaluated the effects of such training on neostriatal DA depletion and its functional consequences in adult PD and control (vehicle-injected) rats. After recovery from 6-OHDA-induced hypophagia, rats were sacrificed to assess neostriatal DA depletion magnitude, or were food-deprived and either subjected to food-maintained operant FR discrimination training or allowed to remain in their home cages. 6-OHDA treatment antagonized amphetamine (AMP)-induced increases in brief rearing behavior and locomotor activity in 3-month-old PD rats prior to training, and reduced operant response rates throughout training without affecting learning rates. One week after training, AMP-increased locomotor and brief-rearing frequencies were augmented in all groups except trained controls, and the prior inhibitory effect of 6-OHDA treatment on AMP-increased behavioral frequencies was essentially eliminated. Cumulative apomorphine (APO) dose-effect curve (0.1-3.2 mg/kg) construction 3 weeks post-training revealed that 6-OHDA treatment abolished APO-induced intense licking behavior. However, training eliminated the hyperresponsiveness of 6-OHDA-treated rats to the locomotor- and brief-rearing stimulant effects of APO but did not affect the depletion of neostriatal DA. Nevertheless, 6-OHDA-induced increases in neostriatal DOPAC/DA and HVA/DA ratios were normalized by age/food-deprivation while that of 3MT/DA was not. These findings suggest that training reduces the functional responsiveness of at least some central DA receptors, FR discrimination training could be a useful adjunct to PD replacement therapy and that the neostriatal DA-repleting action of training in 6-OHDA-treated rats depend on the age at which 6-OHDA is administered.
Fundamentals of X-ray imaging and radiation safety.

A basic understanding of the means by which images are acquired and processed in the cardiac catheterization laboratory should be a fundamental part of every cardiology training program. This review outlines the entire X-ray system step-by-step by following the flow of energy from the generator to the monitor display. In addition, an overview of the major issues in radiation safety are discussed in simple terms focusing on both occupational and patient exposure, and the ways to minimize radiation dosage. Cathet Cardiovasc Intervent 2001;54:126-135.
Histones in fixed cytological preparations of Chinese hamster chromosomes demonstrated by immunofluorescence.

HISTONES and DNA make up the bulk of the chromosomal material and are presumably present in approximately a 1:1 ratio. Although it is known that histone fractions elicit specific antibodies1; a crude basic nuclear protein will bind to chromosomes2; antisera against lysine-rich histones will stain nuclei3; and purified histone antisera will bind to chromatin4, little is known about the distribution of histones in fixed preparations of chromosomes. We used the immuno-fluorescent technique to show that an antiserum prepared from the F3 histone fraction of human leukaemic lympho-blasts binds to both human and Drosophita salivary gland chromosomes5. We have now made antisera against the five major histone fractions of calf thymus and characterised them by microcomplement fixation6. Using selected antisera, we found that all except the F1 histone antiserum bind to acid-fixed Chinese hamster chromosomes to various degrees. Furthermore, in some preparations a pattern of transverse banding appears. We have also found that histones remaining on the chromosome after acid fixation are very firmly bound, which is necessary for the credibility of our observations.
Economic comparison of MHD equilibrium options for advanced steady state Tokamak power plants

Progress in theory and in tokamak experiments leads to questions of the optimal development path for commercial tokamak power plants. The economic prospects of future designs are compared for several tokamak operating modes: (high poloidal beta) first stability, second stability and reverse shear. Using a simplified economic model and selecting uniform engineering performance parameters, this comparison emphasizes the different physics characteristics - stability and non-inductive current drive - of the various equilibria. The reverse shear mode of operation is shown to offer the lowest cost of electricity for future power plants.
Membrane Protein Folding: Mechanistic and Kinetic Implications

Membrane proteins exist in every living organism and many of them have direct medical relevance, as do those related to immune system recognition, cystic fibrosis, or resistance to chemoterapy. Due to the difficulty of manipulating membrane proteins in the lab, only a few crystal structures are known, and the basic principles of membrane protein folding are still unknown. In the late 1980's Wolynes and Bryngelson developed a quantitative energy landscape theory to address the statistical physics of the protein folding problem. in this approach, we tried to extend the energy landscape theory to study the folding process of membrane proteins. We started by developing a simple model accounting for the preferential burial of hydrophobic residues into a membrane bilayer. We incorporated this model into a purely structure based method like that used for globular proteins (Go-like). A toy system composed of two hydrophobic helices connected by a small loop was used in coarse-grained simulations. The topological and energetic frustration implications, as well as the kinetic or thermodynamic factors guiding the process are discussed.
Temperature dependence of phonons on stepped surfaces studied with molecular dynamics

Abstract With the aid of a new molecular dynamics (MD) program, we have calculated the phonon spectrum for the stepped Lennard-Jones (LJ) surfaces (533) and (511). We observe surface phonons on both systems. On the LJ(533) surface at Q = XA , we also observe modes localized at the step, identical in character to the step modes investigated by Knipp. 8 These edge modes, E 1 and E 2 , involve motions of atoms perpendicular to the step edge and are observed by resolving each of the four terrace atoms' contributions to the spectrum. The observation of step modes in MD simulations is also important, since only single force constant models in the harmonic approximation have previously been used to calculate phonons on stepped surfaces. 5–8 We have also investigated the the temperature dependence of the z -polarized surface and step modes as a function of temperature on LJ(533). As the temperature is raised, the step and surface modes decrease and broaden in frequency. For a surface temperature equal to 15% of the LJ bulk melting point T m , the step modes are 4 times broader than in the low temperature simulations (about 3% T m ), while the surface modes are only 1.7 times broader. At these elevated temperatures, the step modes also couple strongly to the surface modes, creating a broad energy band on all four terrace atoms. This mode coupling may be important when considering vibrational energy flow on stepped surfaces, as well as the rate enhancements that catalytic reactions have on such surfaces as compared to their low Miller index counterparts.
User information seeking behavior in a medical web portal environment: a preliminary study

The emergence of information portal systems in the past few years has led to a greatly enhanced Web-based environment for users seeking information online. While considerable research has been conducted on user information-seeking behavior in regular IR environments over the past decade, this paper focuses specifically on how users in a medical science and clinical setting carry out their daily information seeking through a customizable information portal system (MyWelch). We describe our initial study on analyzing Web usage data from My-Welch to see whether the results conform to the features and patterns established in current information-seeking models, present several observations regarding user information-seeking behavior in a portal environment, outline possible long-term user information-seeking patterns based on usage data, and discuss the direction of future research on user information-seeking behavior in the MyWelch portal environment.
Comparison of palmitic acid and glucose metabolism in the rabbit urinary bladder

This study was designed to investigate the relative importance of carbohydrate and fatty acids as substrates for energy production in the urinary bladder and to obtain information about the kinetics involved in the oxidation of glucose and a representative fatty acid by rabbit bladder incubated in vitro. Isolated strips of rabbit bladder body were incubated in the presence of various concentrations of 14C-glucose or 14C-palmitate for different periods of time up to 90 minutes. The rate of 14CO2 generation was measured. In addition, the effect of bethanechol on both glucose and palmitic acid metabolism was determined. The results can be summarized as follows: (1) The oxidation of glucose showed a distinct lag period with time lasting for about 30 minutes. From 30 to 90 minutes the rate of 14C2-palmitate was linear over the entire 90-minute period of incubation. (2) Experiments in which the concentration of glucose was varied showed saturation kinetics. From a Lineweaver-Burk plot a Vmax of 0.645 umol/g/hr was obtained with a km of 2.30 mM. (3) Preincubation of tissues without substrate caused a significant increase in the rate of glucose oxidation. (4) The rate of oxidation of 14C-palmitate increased with concentration of the fatty acid. (5) A Lineweaver-Burk plot showed a Vmax of 30.0 nmol/g/hr and a km of 2.50 mM. Addition of unlabeled glucose to tissues oxidizing 14C-palmitate had no effect on 14CO2 production. Similarly, the addition of non-radioactive palmitate to tissues incubated with 14C-glucose did not decrease glucose oxidation. When both radioactive substrates were present the rates of oxidation were additive. (6) Although bethanechol stimulated glucose oxidation, the drug had no significant effect on palmitate metabolism.
The bremsstrahlung weighted cross section and two-body correlations in nuclei☆

Abstract The effect of two-body correlations on the calculation of the bremsstrahlung weighted cross section σ −1 is investigated for 4 He, 16 O and 40 Ca by making partial sums of the linked cluster expansion. It is found that σ −1 is sensitive to long-range correlations but is quite insensitive to the inclusion of short-range correlations.
Distribution of large currents in finite-size random resistor networks.

The distribution of large currents in random resistor networks is controlled by current enhancing defects. For randomly diluted networks the critical defect is linear and consists of two lines of insulating bonds separated by a conducting bond. For networks in which the conductances take two values (0[lt][ital G][sub 1][lt][ital G][sub 2]) the critical defect for very large currents was shown previously to be a funnel shape with a 45[degree] opening angle. We show that for an intermediate range of currents the critical defect is a funnel shape with an opening angle which differs from 45[degree] and depends on the ratio [ital G][sub 1]/[ital G][sub 2] and the relative concentration of the two conductances. For small currents the critical defect is linear. Finite-size corrections to the asymptotic result for the distribution of large currents are discussed.
Biochemical and structural characterization of the Pak1-LC8 interaction.

Pak1 (p21-activated kinase-1) and the dynein light chain, LC8, are overexpressed in breast cancer, and their direct interaction has been proposed to regulate tumor cell survival. These effects have been attributed in part to Pak1-mediated phosphorylation of LC8 at serine 88. However, LC8 is homodimeric, which renders Ser88 inaccessible. Moreover, Pak1 does not contain a canonical LC8 binding sequence compared with other characterized LC8 binding sequences. Together, these observations raise the question whether the Pak1/LC8 interaction is distinct (i.e. enabled by a unique interface independent of LC8 dimerization). Herein, we present results from biochemical, NMR, and crystallographic studies that show that Pak1 (residues 212-222) binds to LC8 along the same groove as canonical LC8 interaction partners (e.g. nNOS and BimL). Using LC8 point mutants K36P and T67A, we were able to differentiate Pak1 from canonical LC8 binding sequences and identify a key hydrogen bond network that compensates for the loss of the conserved glutamine in the consensus sequence. We also show that the target binding interface formed through LC8 dimerization is required to bind to Pak1 and precludes phosphorylation of LC8 at Ser88. Consistent with this observation, in vitro phosphorylation assays using activated Pak1 fail to phosphorylate LC8. Although these results define structural details of the Pak1/LC8 interaction and suggest a hierarchy of target binding affinities, they do not support the current model whereby Pak1 binds to and subsequently phosphorylates LC8 to promote anchorage-independent growth. Rather, they suggest that LC8 binding modulates Pak1 activity and/or nuclear localization.
CLASSIFICATION OF THE BRACONID SUBFAMILY OPIINAE (HYMENOPTERA)

The tribal and subtribal structure of the braconid subfamily Opiinae is dismantled, and several changes in the generic classification are made. Thoracoplites Fischer and Aspilodemon Fischer are removed from the Opiinae. Utetes Foerster and Pseudorhinoplus Fischer are elevated to generic rank and Bracanastrepha Brethes is treated as a subgenus of Utetes. Five generic names currently in use are treated as synonyms of Opius Wesmael, Rhinoplus Foerster is synonymized with Biosteres Foerster, and Kephalosema Fischer is synonymized with Hydrangeocola Brethes. Relationships of species groups formerly included in the subtribe Biosterina are discussed in phylogenetic terms.
Re-analysis of NAEP Math and Reading Scores in States with and without High-stakes Tests: Response to Rosenshine

Here we address the criticism of our NAEP analyses by Rosenshine (2003). On the basis of his thoughtful critique we redid some of the analyses on which he focused. Our findings contradict his. This is no fault of his, the reasons for which are explained in this paper. Our findings do support our position that high-stakes tests do not do much to improve academic achievement. The extent to which states with high-stakes tests outperform states without high-stakes tests is, at best, indeterminable. Using 1994-1998 NAEP reading and 1996-2000 NAEP math data and accounting for NAEP exemption rates for the same years, we found that states with high-stakes tests are not outperforming states without high-stakes tests in reading in the 4th grade or math in the 8th grade at a statistically significant level. States with high-stakes tests are, however, outperforming states without high-stakes tests in math in the 4th grade at a statistically significant level. Our findings also support our earlier stance that states with high-stakes tests are exempting more students from participating in the NAEP than are states without high-stakes tests. This is more prevalent the more recent the NAEP test administration. This is illustrated in the tables below.
Dense Graphs and Sparse Matrices

We consider rigorous definitions for dense graphs and sparse matrices, thus quantifying these concepts that have been hitherto used in a qualitative manner. We assign to every graph the compactness...
Small-energy asymptotics for the Schrödinger equation on the line

The one-dimensional Schrodinger equation is considered when the potential is real valued and integrable and has a finite first moment. The small-energy asymptotics of the logarithmic spatial derivative of the Jost solutions are established. Some consequences of these asymptotics are presented, such as the small-energy limits of the scattering coefficients and a simplified characterization of the scattering data for the inverse scattering problem. When the potential also has a finite second moment, some improved results are given on the small-energy asymptotics of the scattering coefficients and the logarithmic spatial derivatives of the Jost solutions.
High-Pressure Transitions of Germanium and a New High-Pressure Form of Germanium.

Some transitions in germanium and other semiconductor systems have been detected after very long exposure to high pressures followed by various quenching techniques. In the case of Ge, a new high-pressure polymorph, Ge-IV, has been synthesized above 110 kilobars with a body-centered-cubic structure. The pressure for the Ge-I ⇀ Ge-III (body-centered-tetragonal structure) transition has been revised from about 120 to 25 kilobars at 30°C. The transition from the Ge-I (diamond structure) to the Ge-II (white tin structure) is metastable up to 140 kilobars. Thus some phase diagrams based on discontinuities observed in essentially dynamic systems may be inaccurate.
Effects of Time, Temperature, and pH on the Stability of Fumonisin B1 in an Aqueous Model System

Fumonisins, mycotoxins produced by Fusarium moniliforme in corn, have been implicated in several animal and human diseases. The effects of processing time and temperature on fumonisin B1 (FB1) stability (5 ppm) in aqueous solutions at pH 4, 7, and 10 were determined. Analysis of the thermally processed solutions by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry indicated the predominant presence of hydrolysis products of FB1. The rate and extent of FB1 decomposition increased with processing temperature. After processing at ≤125 °C for 60 min, 90% of FB1 was lost after processing for 60 min, regardless of pH. FB1 levels may be substantially reduced in foods that reach ≥150 °C during processing. Keywords: Fumonisin B1; thermal processing; decomposition
Austerity and Neighborhood Politics in Guadalajara, Mexico

The literature on the politics of the urban poor in Latin America is largely bifurcated into two opposing schools. One of these interprets the political behavior of the poor as clientelist, and the other finds the poor engaging in insurgent political participation. In this paper I argue that examining the political economy of place offers us a way to understand these political behaviors on a continuum, rather than recreating a false dichotomy. I examine the impact of political economy and urbanization on home ownership as a survival strategy of the poor in Guadalajara, Mexico, as well as addressing the impact of both these factors on political behavior. In so doing, I show why a neighborhood on the outskirts of Guadalajara grew increasingly supportive of opposition politics. I further suggest that examining political economy effects on urban politics offers a way to understand the politics of the urban poor in Latin America in a more nuanced fashion.
Dihydrogen Evolution by Protonation Reactions of Nickel(I).

Nickel-mediated formation of H2 by protonation of Ni(I) has been established and the kinetics of the process investigated. The diamagnetic complex [NiII(psnet)](BF4)2 was prepared and reduced to [NiI(psnet)](BF4) with NaBH4 in THF (psnet = bis(5-(diphenylphosphino)-3-thiapentanyl)amine). Both complexes were structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction. [Ni(psnet)]1+ was demonstrated to be an authentic Ni(I) complex with a ...(dz2)1 ground state. Under appropriate conditions, [Ni(psnet)]+ reacts with acids in nonaqueous media to give near-quantitative yields of H2 according to the stoichiometry NiI + H+ → NiII + 1/2H2. Dihydrogen production was demonstrated to be directly related to Ni(I) oxidation. The reaction system [Ni(psnet)]+/HCl/DMF, which gives H2 yields of ≳90%, was subjected to a kinetics analysis. The overall reaction [Ni(psnet)]+ + HCl → [Ni(psnet)Cl]+ + 1/2H2 proceeds by two parallel pathways dependent on chloride concentration. Addition of Bu4NCl accelerates the reaction, whereas (Bu4N)(PF...
Presence of crystals is not an evidence of absence of infection

Acute monoarthritis is one of the most common rheumatologic presentations. However, it is clinically difficult to distinguish between an inflamed joint due to crystal-induced arthritis and an inflamed joint due to septic arthritis. Arthrocentesis and synovial fluid analysis are used to differentiate between these 2 conditions. The presence of crystals and positive synovial fluid culture confirm the diagnosis of crystal-induced arthritis and septic arthritis, respectively. Although uncommon, these 2 arthritides can coexist, and presence of crystal does not exclude bacterial arthritis. We reported a case of 85-year-old woman whose synovial fluid contained crystals and was initially diagnosed with crystal-induced arthritis. However, her joint fluid culture subsequently grew Staphylococcus aureus, and she was treated with arthroscopic debridement and antibiotics.