cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
CARBOHYDRATES OF BEAN PLANTS AFTER TREATMENT WITH INDOLE-3-ACETIC ACID.

During recent years, a number of histological and morphological studies of the tumor-growth responses of bean plants to indole-3-acetic acid have been published (1, 4, 6). One investigation of etiolated bean plants indicated that indole-3-acetic acid (heteroauxin) affects the translocation of carbohydrate and nitrogenous material (7). The general stimulating effect of indole-3-acetic acid on the synthesis of solid matter by bean plants is known (6). Went and Thimann (10) state that in the Avena coleoptile there are deposited on the cell wall large amounts of cellulose, pectin, and hemicelluloses, but that there is no direct relationship between the amount of these substances and the amount of auxin applied. They state further that the action of auxin in these processes is indirect. Although one would expect the rates of respiration to differ between indoleacetic-acid treated and control plants, reports have not confirmed this assumption (7). The present investigation concerns some of the carbohydrate changes which are related to the structural and weight differences previously observed in plants treated after decapitation.
Twelve-month-olds' vocal production during pointing in naturalistic interactions: sensitivity to parents' attention and responses.

There have been many rich, naturalistic studies documenting prelinguistic communicative abilities that suggest that the ntegration of alternating eye gaze, vocal behaviors, and nonverbal gestures are indicative of intentional communication (e.g., ates, Camaioni, & Volterra, 1975; Bates, Benigni, Bretherton, Camaioni, & Volterra, 1979; Dore, 1974; Ninio & Bruner, 1978; revarthen & Hubley, 1978). Many observational studies have noted the increase in pointing and concurrent vocalizations rom the age of 12 months into the 2nd year, primarily during the acquisition of first words and later language abilities e.g., Bakeman & Adamson, 1986; Butcher & Goldin-Meadow, 2000; Carpenter et al., 1998; Goldin-Meadow, 1998; Masur, 983; Murphy, 1977); however, some studies have also documented gestures with concurrent prelinguistic vocalizations in ommunicative interactions prior to the acquisition of first words (Bates, 1976; Franco & Butterworth, 1996; Leroy, Mathiot, Morgenstern, 2009; Messinger & Fogel, 1998). Although there are many studies that document gestures and co-occurring ocalizations, few have examined the potential intentional use of communicative behaviors, particularly vocalizations, in ocial interactions (but see Camaioni, 1992; Franco & Butterworth, 1996). There has been an increase in research to investigate whether infants point with the intent to communicate or not. esearchers suggest that infants point initially for the self, without communicative intent, yet parents respond to infants’ ointing as if it was communicative (Carpendale & Lewis, 2004; see also Iverson & Thal, 1998). Similarly, researchers have uggested that communicative pointing may emerge out of initially non-communicative pointing and can be identified ased on whether or not infants alternate eye gaze to their parent and a target when they point versus pointing without ye gaze alternation (Desrochers, Morissette, & Ricard, 1995; Franco & Butterworth, 1996). Recent experimental studies in hich a social partner’s attention and response to an infant’s point are manipulated have helped to reveal the behaviors hat are indicative of communicative pointing. For example, when adults did not share infants’ interests or misidentified heir interests, infants pointed repeatedly and looked at adults more compared to when adults responded with interest and
Combinatorial aspects of skew representations of the symmetric group

Abstract We give here a very simple combinatorial construction of the skew representations of S n . For the case of hook shapes we give a purely combinatorial proof that our construction does give a representation. In the general case our proof is in terms of A. Young's natural units . One of the biproducts of our construction is an elementary and direct proof of the Murnaghan-Nakayama rule for the character of a general skew representation.
A Two-Particle Model for Rocket Plume Radiation

A radiation model is proposed for the plumes of solid rocket motors firing into what is essentially a vacuum. The plume contains cold scattering particles and hot emitting/absorbing particles in overlapping conical clouds; the half-angle of the hot-particle cloud may be smaller than that of the cold-particle cloud. The clouds have axially varying radiative properties, with the hot particles imagined to lose emissive power and particle emissivity with increasing axial distance. Parametric calculations are made using the hybrid Monte Carlo, radiosity/irradiation technique to show which parameters are critical and how they may be inferred from engineering tests. Nomenclature B = blackbody emissive power aT4, W/m2 7 = radiant intensity (radiance), W/m2 • sr / = radiosity, W/m2 K = extinction coefficient, m"1; with subscript, absorption or scattering coefficient, m"1 M = number of Monte Carlo rays n = power law exponent N = number of surfaces and volumes q = radiant flux, W/m2 R = radial location, m s = slant path, m / = optical depth T = temperature, K z = distance from the apex of the cone along its surface, m ft = angle from conical axis c = emissivity 0 = polar angle from surface normal TT =3.14159... a = Stefan-Boltzmann constant, W/m2 • K4 = azimuthal angle from cone generatrix ( = 0 is directed downstream) a) = albedo for single scatter 0 = solid angle, sr Subscripts
Reproducibility of nerve fiber layer thickness measurements by use of optical coherence tomography

Abstract Objective To evaluate the reproducibility of optical coherence tomograph (OCT) retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) measurements in normal and glaucomatous eyes by means of the commercially available OCT 2000 instrument (Humphrey Systems, Dublin, CA). Design Prospective instrument validation study. Participants One eye each from 10 normal subjects and 10 glaucoma patients. Methods Twenty subjects underwent a total of eight scanning sessions during two independent visits. In each session, five circular scans centered on the optic nerve head were performed. The first two sessions were performed by two experienced technicians. Followed by a 30-minute break, a third and a fourth session was completed by the same technicians. This sequence was duplicated on a second visit. Intrasession, intersession, intervisit, and interoperator reproducibility of quadrant and global RNFL measurements were calculated by use of a components of variance model. Main outcome measures RNFL thickness. Results The coefficient of variation for the mean RNFL thickness was significantly smaller ( P = 0.02) in normal eyes (6.9%) than in glaucoma eyes (11.8%). The estimated root mean squared error based on the statistical model using three scans per patient was 5.8 and 8.0 μm for normal and glaucoma eyes, respectively. A components of variance model showed most of the variance (79%) to be due to differences between patients. Only a modest contribution to variability was found for session (1%), visit (5%), and operator (2%). Conclusion With the commercially available OCT, our results indicate that the RNFL measurements are reproducible for both normal and glaucomatous eyes.
Short-distance expansion for the electromagnetic half-space Green's tensor: general results and an application to radiative lifetime computations

We obtain a short-distance expansion for the half-space, frequency domain electromagnetic Green's tensor. The small parameter of the theory is , where ω is the frequency, 1 is the permittivity of the upper half-space, in which both the source and the point of observation are located, and which is assumed to be transparent, c is the speed of light in vacuum and is a characteristic length, defined as the distance from the point of observation to the reflected (with respect to the planar interface) position of the source. In the case when the lower half-space (the substrate) is characterized by a complex permittivity 2, we compute the expansion to third order. For the case when the substrate is a transparent dielectric, we compute the imaginary part of the Green's tensor to seventh order. The analytical calculations are verified numerically. The practical utility of the obtained expansion is demonstrated by computing the radiative lifetime of two electromagnetically interacting molecules in the vicinity of a transparent dielectric substrate. The computation is performed in the strong interaction regime when the quasi-particle pole approximation is inapplicable. In this regime, the integral representation for the half-space Green's tensor is difficult to use while its electrostatic limiting expression is grossly inadequate. However, the analytical expansion derived in this paper can be used directly and efficiently. The results of this study are also relevant to nano-optics and near-field imaging, especially when tomographic image reconstruction is involved.
Interaction of antibodies with renal cell surface antigens

Over the past ten years it has been increasingly recognized that immune complex nephritides, characterized by the accumulation of granular immune deposits in renal structures, may not only be the consequence of deposition of circulating immune complexes but also of antigen-antibody complexes aggregated locally or formed in situ [1]. One of the sites at which antibodies may interact locally with antigens in the kidney is at the surface of renal cells [1, 2]. There is an abundance of antigens on cells: part of them are intrinsic plasma membrane proteins, while others may be present because they are secretion products or they have been ‘planted" on the cell surface for immunological or physico-chemical reasons. In this article renal lesions that may arise from the binding of antibodies with these various kinds of cell surface antigens will be reviewed. Most of our insights come from animal models of renal disease. In the closing section the potential impact of data derived from experimental pathology on our concepts of human nephropathies will be evaluated.
The Koszul Homology of an Ideal

Recently many researchers have worked on problems connected with various graded algebras associated to an ideal I in a local ring R. Two algebras in particular have received the most attention: the associated graded algebra of Z, gr,( R) = R/Z@ Z/Z’@ ... , and the Rees algebra of Z, defined to be R[Zt]. Brodmann [2] and Goto and Shimoda [9] have studied the local cohomology of R[Zr] for certain primary ideals Z, Herzog has obtained new results in the case where Z is the maximal ideal, Eisenbud and Huneke [7] studied the CohenMacaulayness of these algebras, while the concepts of d-sequences [ 111 and Hodge algebras [S] have been used to understand these graded algebras. Recently Simis and Vasconcelos w, 211 related the Cohen Macaulayness, torsion-freeness, and normality of these algebras to the Koszul homology of I. If Z is an ideal, we let ZZ,(Z; R) denote the jth Koszul homology of the ideal Z with respect to somejixed system of generators for I. We denote the symmetric algebra of a module A4 by Sym(M), and denote thejth graded piece of this algebra by Sym,(M). In [20] and [21] Simis and Vasconcelos construct a complex A’(Z) (or simply A) with the following properties:
Studies of nematic-isotropic transition for a Gay-Berne fluid using the second virial approximation

Abstract In this paper we use the second virial approximation to study the nematic-isotropic (N-I) transition for a Gay-Berne liquid for a broad range of parameters. For Gay-Berne hard Gaussian overlap (HGO) fluid particles we found that a N-I transition exists as a function of density for all length to breadth ratios k > 4, in reasonable agreement with other theoretical studies and results of Monte Carlo simulations. For the full Gay-Berne potential (GB) the location of the N-I transition as a function of density for different temperatures was studied for several values of shape and energy anisotropy parameters k and k′. It was shown that the transition temperature increases or the transition density decreases with increasing k and/or decreasing k′. Wherever the molecular dynamics (MD) or Monte Carlo (MC) data were available, comparison was made. For each system, coexistence density and pressure were calculated, and, wherever possible, also compared with MC or MD data to show qualitative agreement. The r...
Proper names and identifying descriptions

There is an extremely plausible principle about proper names that many philosophers up to the present have either assumed or argued for. I will call it the ‘principle of identifying descriptions’. One illustration of it is in this passage from Strawson’s Individuals: ...it is no good using a name for a particular unless one knows who or what is referred to by the use of the name. A name is worthless without a backing of descriptions which can be produced on demand to explain the application.1
Plasticity effects in crack propagation

Abstract This paper describes experimental results of crack propagation studies in part-through crack specimens. Crack extension under cyclic loading is characterized during the loading cycle by the interaction of the crack with a surface wave. The surface wave signal contains information about the absolute crack length, changes in crack length, and the way the crack front opens and closes during cyclic loading. Simultaneously, compliance measurements have been carried out. The results of the experiments are as follows: 1. (1) Direct measurements of the crack depth as a function of the number of load cycles and of different holding times at various loads have been obtained. 2. (2) Going through the load cycles the surface wave signal displays a change in the ‘apparent’ crack depth vs. load. This is interpreted as crack closure at low load levels. 3. (3) Changes in the loading spectrum cause time dependent relaxation and retardation effects which are not only reflected in the crack growth rate but also in the crack closure behavior. The results are discussed in terms of Elber's model which suggests that internal residual strains are responsible for this crack closure.
Local densities of 2-adic quadratic forms☆

In this paper, we give an explicit from formula for the local density number of representing a two by two 2-integral matrix T by a quadratic 2-integral lattice L over Z2. The non-dyadic case was dealt in a previous paper. The special case when L is a (maximal) lattice in the space of trace zero elements in a quaternion algebra over Q2 yields a clean and interesting formula, which matches up perfectly with the non-dyadic case in terms of the Gross–Keating invariants. This work is used to compare the central derivative of a genus two Eisenstein series with certain generating function of arithmetic 0-cycles on certain Shimura curve, in a joint work with Kudla and Rapoport.
Preference of Redear Sunfish on Zebra Mussels and Rams-Horn Snails

ABSTRACT We tested prey preferences of adult (200- to 222-mm long) redear sunfish (Lepomis microlophus) on two size classes of zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) and two-ridge rams-horns (Helisoma anceps) in experimental aquaria. We also tested physical limitations on consuming these mollusks and determined prey bioenergetic profitability. Redear sunfish strongly preferred rams-horns over zebra mussels, but they displayed no size preference for either prey. Ingestion was not physically limited since both prey species up to 15-mm long fit within the pharyngeal gapes of redear sunfish. Rams-horns were more bioenergetically profitable than zebra mussels and ingestion of rams-horn shell fragments was about three times less than zebra mussels. Rams-horns were somewhat more resistant to shell-crushing, but all size ranges of both prey species tested were crushable by redear sunfish. These studies suggested that the redear sunfish should not be considered a panacea for biological control of zebra mussels.
Hemicelluloses and summative analysis of timothy hay.

Abstract The four hemicellulose fractions of timothy hay showed an increase in the ratio of pentose molecules per uronic acid molecule with the increase in alkalinity of the solvent required to extract them. A summative analysis of the constituents of timothy hay was made.
Multiple Bodies, Actants, and a Composition Classroom: Actor-Network Theory in Practice

James Berlin’s pedagogy employs generalized heuristics grounded in human agency and social-epistemic critique to enable political awareness. By contrast, actor-network theory (ANT) does not explain the composition of reality through pre-fixed heuristics but instead seeks to describe the unique composition of political objects through symmetrical accounts of human and nonhuman agency. ANT-as-pedagogy can be productively applied in the classroom to realize students’ capacities as moralists who comprehend the rhetorical difference between explanation (Berlin) and description (ANT) with regard to their political agencies as writers.
Effects of social stressors on cardiovascular reactivity in black and white women

Background: Behavioral scientists have theorized that perceived racism in social interactions may account for some of the observed disparities in coronary heart disease between Black and White Americans.Purpose: The objective was to examine whether racial stress influences cardiovascular reactivity, a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.Methods: We measured cardiovascular responses in Black and White women (n = 80) as they talked about 3 hypothetical scenarios: (a) being accused of shoplifting (racial stressor), (b) experiencing airport delays (nonracial stressor), and (c) giving a campus tour (control).Results: Relative to White women, Black women had significantly greater mean diastolic blood pressure reactivity (3.81 vs. 0.25 mmHg; p < .05) in response to the racial stressor than in response to the nonracial stressor. Black women exhibited significantly lower heart rate during recovery following the racial stressor than during recovery following the nonracial stressor (−0.37 beats/min vs. 0.86 beats/min; p < .001). Among Black women, those who explicitly made race attributions during the racial stressor had greater systolic but not diastolic blood pressure reactivity than those who did not make racial attributions (8.32 mmHg vs. 2.17 mmHg; p < .05).Conclusions: These findings suggest that perceived racism in social interactions may contribute to increased physiological stress for Black women.
Autonomous Pipe Searching Robots

A pair of autonomous microcontroller-based robots were designed, built, and tested to inspect the inside of an 8 in pipe. The pair consists of a “scout” which travels along the inside of the pipe and scans the surface for holes using an array of touch sensors. Once a hole is found, the “scout” communicates the position of the hole to a second “mule” robot that has an on-board sealant dispensing system. After the scout moves out of the way, the mule moves to the hole location and dispenses sealant to seal the hole. Both robots are controlled by a BASIC Stamp microcontroller and propelled by servomotor driven wheels in response to sensor input. Communication is accomplished using wireless RF transceiver boards. This paper discusses the design, build, and test of these cooperative robots; the problems encountered, and how these problems were solved in order to successfully meet the project requirements of creating a two robot system that could find and simulate the sealing of holes in pipes.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
A molecular dynamics simulation of droplet evaporation

Abstract A molecular dynamics (MD) simulation method is developed to study the evaporation of submicron droplets in a gaseous surrounding. A new methodology is proposed to specify initial conditions for the droplet and the ambient fluid, and to identify droplet shape during the vaporization process. The vaporization of xenon droplets in nitrogen ambient under subcritical and supercritical conditions is examined. Both spherical and non-spherical droplets are considered. The MD simulations are shown to be independent of the droplet and system sizes considered, although the observed vaporization behavior exhibits some scatter, as expected. The MD results are used to examine the effects of ambient and droplet properties on the vaporization characteristics of submicron droplets. For subcritical conditions, it is shown that a spherical droplet maintains its sphericity, while an initially non-spherical droplet attains the spherical shape very early in its lifetime, i.e., within 10% of the lifetime. For both spherical and non-spherical droplets, the subcritical vaporization, which is characterized by the migration of xenon particles that constitute the droplet to the ambient, exhibits characteristics that are analogous to those reported for “continuum-size” droplets. The vaporization process consists of an initial liquid-heating stage during which the vaporization rate is relatively low, followed by nearly constant liquid-temperature evaporation at a “pseudo wet-bulb temperature”. The rate of vaporization increases as the ambient temperature and/or the initial droplet temperature are increased. For the supercritical case, the droplet does not return to the spherical configuration, i.e., its sphericity deteriorates sharply, and its temperature increases continuously during the “vaporization” process.
BOTPPI, a new Wittig salt for the synthesis of 12-(S)-hydroxy-eicosatetraenoic acid [12-(S)-HETE]

An efficient route to (Z)-(8-benzyloxy-8-oxooct-3-en-1-yl)triphenylphosphonium iodide, or BOTPPI, is disclosed, complete with full experimental details, NMR spectra, and HRMS data. BOTPPI serves as a surrogate for (Z)-(8-methoxy-8-oxooct-3-en-1-yl)triphenylphosphonium iodide, or MOTPPI, a Wittig salt previously used in two 12-HETE syntheses. BOTPPI has the advantage over MOTPPI of being derived from a sequence for which every intermediate is UV-active and amenable to large-scale chromatographic purification. A formal asymmetric total synthesis of 12-(S)-HETE is also reported, involving a stereoselective phase-transfer catalyzed (PTC) alkylation in its key step.
A comparative study of the effect of the position of outliers on classical and nontraditional approaches to the two-group classification problem

Abstract Popularity of nontraditional approaches to the statistical classification problem has resulted from the potential of these techniques to outperform the standard parametric procedures under conditions when nonnormality is present. Thus proponents of these nontraditional models have recommended these models when outliers are in the data. However, research showing that these nontraditional models' performances can vary widely depending on where the outlier data are located has not been fully illustrated. The research in this paper demonstrates how the mathematical programming approaches and the nearest neighbor discriminant models can be affected by the position of contaminated normal data and that each of the models studied in this paper may not be robust to all types of outliers in the data. The results of this paper are also important because the study compares two recently proposed mathematical programming models as well as two versions of the nearest neighbor model with the standard classical parametric models. This combination of classification models does not appear to have been studied together under conditions of contaminated normal data in which numerous positions of the outliers are considered.
Isolation and Lipid Biochemical Characterization of Stratum Corneum Membrane Complexes: Implications for the Cutaneous Permeability Barrier

Despite substantial histochemical and ultrastructural evidence suggesting that mammalian stratum corneum is a heterogenous tissue composed of lipid-depleted corneocytes embedded in a neutral lipid-enriched matrix, controversy remains about the distribution of lipids in this layer. In this study we attempted to resolve this issue by cell fractionation and lipid biochemistry of isolated stratum corneum membrane complexes. Intact homogeneous sheets of stratum corneum were obtained from neonatal mice by treatment first with the staphylococcal epidermolytic toxin and then by removal of residual granular cells with trypsin. The resultant sheets were pooled, pulverized at −196°C and homogenized at 20–30,000 psi in a Stansted cell disrupter. Treatment with 0.005% Subtilisin (protease-type VIII) in Tris-HCl buffer, pH 8.8, for 60min at 25°C stripped keratin filaments from beneath the plasma membrane. The resulting homogeneous population of apposed membrane complexes revealed trapped intercellular lipid bilayers when it was examined ultrastructurally. Whereas whole stratum corneum sheets contained 10% lipid/total lipid + protein weight, purified membrane complexes contained about 50% lipid, a 5-fold concentration of lipid in membrane fractions over whole cells. From available quantitative data stratum corneum cytoplasmic domains contained less than 3% lipid, while membrane complexes accounted for over 80% of the total stratum corneum lipid. Moreover, freeze-fracture replicas of isolated membrane complexes revealed intercellular membrane bilayers that were: ( a ) identical to those encountered in whole stratum corneum and ( b ) removed by lipid solvent extraction. Finally, thin-layer chromatography of lipids extracted from membrane complexes revealed a similar spectrum and weight distribution of lipids as encountered in extracts from whole sheets. These results provide direct evidence that stratum corneum cell membrane regions are preferentially enriched in lipids over whole tissue, confirming earlier morphological studies that lipids are progressively segregated in membrane domains during cornification. This heterogeneous structural/chemical organization has profound implications for skin barrier function, stratum corneum cohesion, and for avenues of percutaneous transport.
Using cerebral hemovelocity to measure workload during a spatialised auditory vigilance task in novice and experienced observers.

This experiment was designed to assess cognitive load using transcranial Doppler sonography during the performance of a 40-min communication vigilance task in which messages were presented in different spatial locations or across a single monaural radio channel. In addition, some observers received 14 hours of practice to determine whether the neurophysiological measure was sensitive to a potential attenuation of workload. Critical messages were detected more frequently in the spatialised audio presentation mode condition, but there were no performance differences between experienced and novice observers. Neurophysiological data show that activation was greater in the novice condition than in the experienced condition, suggesting that novice observers expended greater effort. Furthermore, the neurophysiological measure showed more activation in the monaural radio condition than in the spatialised audio condition. The results support a resource account of vigilance and suggest that cerebral blood flow velo...
Paroxysmal Atrial Tachycardia with Atrioventricular Block Its Frequent Association with Chronic Pulmonary Disease

Paroxysmal atrial tachycardia with block is a cardiac arrhythmia that is usually a manifestation of digitalis toxicity in patients with serious heart disease. The arrhythmia generally ends promptly after potassium administration and withdrawal of digitalis. Since the ventricular rates may be slow and regular, the arrhythmia may be difficult to recognize clinically. Atrial rates as slow as 115 per minute may be seen in cases which are otherwise typical of the condition. In our series associated pulmonary disease was present in 54 per cent and cor pulmonale in 27 per cent of the cases.
Mattesia geminata sp. n. (Neogregarinida: Ophrocystidae) a Parasite of the Tropical Fire Ant, Solenopsis geminata (Fabricius)*

SYNOPSIS. A new species of neogregarine, Mattesia geminata sp. n., that infects immature stages of the tropical fire ant, Solenopsis geminata (Fabricius), is described. The parasite, which develops in the hypodermis, causes disruption of the developing eyes, melanization of the cuticle, and death of pupae. lntracolonial infection rates are usually less than 2±, but may exceed 90±. Attempts to transmit the infection were unsuccessful.
Conflicting beliefs: National implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

In March of 1994, the United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) entered into force. This convention requires nations to formulate, implement, and regularly update national programs to mitigate climate change and adapt to its impacts, and to communicate to the international community information about their efforts to comply. The parties to the convention must then review these national reports and assess the effects of all the parties` efforts to meet the objective of the convention. In April of 1995, most developed countries provided to the international community their first national reports. The majority of these have been judged disappointing in that the policies and measures adopted will surely fail to meet the ultimate objective of the convention. The parties have now determined that the commitments contained in the treaty are inadequate and have agreed to negotiate additional, more stringent, commitments by 1997. Should there be agreement on these additional commitments, however, it is not clear whether or not nations would indeed be able to meet them.
Polymerized Ionic Liquid Block and Random Copolymers: Effect of Weak Microphase Separation on Ion Transport

A series of polymerized ionic liquid (PIL) block and random copolymers were synthesized from an ionic liquid monomer, 1-[(2-methacryloyloxy)ethyl]-3-butylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (MEBIm-TFSI), and a nonionic monomer, methyl methacrylate (MMA), at various PIL compositions with the goal of understanding the influence of morphology on ion transport. For the diblock copolymers, the partial affinity between the PIL and PMMA blocks resulted in a weakly microphase-separated morphology with no evident long-range periodic structure across the PIL composition range studied, while the random copolymers revealed no microphase separation. These morphologies were identified with a combination of techniques, including differential scanning calorimetry, small-angle X-ray scattering, and transmission electron microscopy. Surprisingly, at similar PIL compositions, the ionic conductivity of the block copolymers were ca. 2 orders of magnitude higher than the random copolymers despite the weak microphase...
Mechanistic Modeling of Prokaryotic mRNA Decay

A mechanistic model of gene expression was developed to test three prevailing and sliding prokaryotic mRNA decay theories: ribosome protection of mRNA from endonucleases, 5' binding and sliding of endonucleases on mRNA, and hybrid 5' binding/ribosome protection. The discrete event simulation incorporates the molecular events that determine both cellular mRNA and protein levels. A Monte Carlo technique was used to approximate the inherent randomness of the molecular processes involved in gene expression. Each of the decay theories was tested for the ability to predict the effects of ribosome loading and translation rate on mRNA stability as well as the observed 5' to 3' directionality of mRNA decay. The modeling results show that the hybrid decay mechanism best predicts the experimentally-observed mRNA decay behaviors. The 5' binding mechanism fails to adequately predict the sensitivity of mRNA stability to changes in translation rate and ribosome loading, while the ribosome protection mechanism does not correctly predict 5' to 3' decay directionality. In addition to discriminating between the three decay theories, the simulations provide insights into hybrid decay mechanism specific details such as RNase binding and cleavage characteristics. Finally, we discuss the application of the current mechanistic model for analysing and predicting expression from more complex genetic systems.
Total synthesis and structure–activity relationship study of the potent cAMP signaling agonist (−)-alotaketal A

A detailed account of the first total synthesis of alotaketal A, a tricyclic spiroketal sesterterpenoid that potently activates the cAMP signaling pathway, is provided. The synthesis employs both intra- and intermolecular reductive allylation of esters for assembling one of the fragments and their coupling. A Hg(OAc)2-mediated allylic mercuration is used to introduce the C22-hydroxyl group. The subtle influence of substituents over the course of the spiroketalization process is revealed. The synthesis confirms the relative and absolute stereochemistry of (-)-alotaketal A and allows verification of alotaketal A's effect over cAMP signaling using reporter-based FRET imaging assays with HEK 293T cells. Our studies also revealed alotaketal A's unique activity in selectively targeting nuclear PKA signaling in living cells.
Chemical and biological warfare. Should defenses be researched and deployed

The threat of chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction has intensified because of improved delivery systems and advances in chemistry, genetics, and other sciences. Possible US responses to this threat include deterrence, defenses, and/or disarmament, including a reaffirmation of the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention of 1972, which is now in jeopardy. This article discusses the history of chemical and biological warfare, existing and potential weapons, the proliferation of weapons and delivery systems, ways to prevent the use of these weapons, and ways to protect populations from their effects.
Planar induction of anteroposterior pattern in the developing central nervous system of Xenopus laevis

It has long been thought that anteroposterior (A-P) pattern in the vertebrate central nervous system is induced in the embryo's dorsal ectoderm exclusively by signals passing vertically from underlying, patterned dorsal mesoderm. Explants from early gastrulae of the frog Xenopus laevis were prepared in which vertical contact between dorsal ectoderm and mesoderm was prevented but planar contact was maintained. In these, four position-specific neural markers (engrailed-2, Krox-20, XlHbox 1, and XlHbox 6) were expressed in the ectoderm in the same A-P order as in the embryo. Thus, planar signals alone, following a path available in the normal embryo, can induce A-P neural pattern.
HER2 overexpression and amplification in urothelial carcinoma of the bladder is associated with MYC coamplification in a subset of cases

We examined 53 invasive high-grade urothelial carcinomas (UCCs) and 42 paired lymph node metastases to determine frequency of HER2 overexpression, HER2/MYC coamplification, and association between HER2 and MYC status and clinicopathologic features. HER2 overexpression occurred in 19 UCCs (36%) and 14 metastases (30%), with an 88% concordance rate between UCCs and matched metastases. HER2 amplification occurred in 5 (10%) of 50 UCCs and 4 (11%) of 36 metastases, with a 100% concordance rate; MYC amplification occurred in 7 (18%) of 40 UCCs and 4 (13%) of 32 metastases, with a concordance rate of 50% between UCCs and metastases. Of 7 cases demonstrating HER2 amplification, MYC was coamplified in 4 (57%; P = .01), and coamplification was associated in all cases with metastasis and advanced local disease (pT4). Coamplification of HER2 and MYC occurs in a subset of patients with metastatic UCC. HER2 overexpression and amplification in metastatic lesions suggest that HER2-targeted therapy may be valuable for patients undergoing treatment for metastatic UCC, for which current therapy is limited. Further studies into the role of MYC coamplification in this population are needed to determine impacts on treatment with HER2-targeted therapy.
So many sensors, so little data

Future networks are ones in which mobile users are immersed in sensor networks. Application domains such as smart homes, intelligent construction sites, and social networking require users moving through an environment to collect and process data available in that environment. However, even as sensors become increasingly prevalent in our environments, only a handful of applications are available to interact with and process the available sensor data. Poor usability accounts for a good portion of this disparity. In this paper we discuss our directions in creating an architecture for making such sensor data usable by application developers. This has the potential to widen the accessibility of developing mobile applications on embedded sensor networks beyond the niche markets it now enjoys.
A Checkpoint/Restart Scheme for CUDA Applications with Complex Memory Hierarchy

Checkpoint/restart has been an effective mechanism to achieve fault tolerance for many scientific applications. However, as GPU becomes a much bigger role in high performance computing, there is no effective checkpoint/restart scheme yet due to GPU's batch-mode execution manner. The paper proposes an application-level checkpoint/restart scheme to save and restore GPU computation states. A precompiler and run-time support module are developed to construct and save states in CPU system memory dynamically. Secondary storage can be utilized for scalability and long-term fault tolerance. CUDA applications with complicated memory use are support as well. Experimental results have demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.
Characterization of the serum low-density lipoproteins of normal and two rhesus monkeys with spontaneous hyperbeta-lipoproteinemia.

Abstract Cholesterol distribution among the serum lipoproteins was determined and the LDL characterized for normal Rhesus monkeys and two male Type IIb Rhesus monkeys. In fasted normal monkeys, lipoprotein analyses showed no chylomicrons and only small amounts of VLDL. While about 40% of the serum cholesterol was found in the LDL, the majority was in the HDL. The genetically altered monkeys carried much more of the serum cholesterol in the VLDL and markedly less in the HDL. A comparison of the LDL 2 of normal to that of the Type IIb Rhesus showed no major differences. Cholesterol was the major component of the LDL 2 (% by wt) and triglyceride was present in a relatively minor amount. Phospholipid and protein were found in a 1:1 ratio and the cholesterol-phospholipid ratio was about 1.3. About 70% of the phospholipid was lecithin and sphingomyelin made up 11%. The fatty acid composition of each lipid component was unique. Cholesteryl esters were primarily linoleic acid, triglycerides had about 40% oleic acid, and phospholipids had about 60% palmitic and stearic acid (30% of each). When normal and Type IIb LDL 2 were compared, no major differences were found in phospholipids or in the fatty acid compositions. The amino acid composition of the protein moiety of the LDL 2 was determined. Similar results were found for both the normal and the type IIb monkeys. Likewise, a similar molecular weight was found for the intact LDL 2 of both groups. The weight average molecular weight was 3.3 million as determined by sedimentation equilibrium. It was concluded that the LDL 2 of Rhesus monkeys with spontaneous hyperbeta-lipoproteinemia was similar to the LDL 2 of normal Rhesus monkeys. Furthermore, since Rhesus monkey LDL is similar to the human LDL, these genetically altered monkeys may serve as a useful experimental model in which to study human Type IIb hyperlipoproteinemia.
Teach me to dance: exploring player experience and performance in full body dance games

We present a between-subjects user study designed to compare a dance instruction video to a rhythm game interface. The goal of our study is to answer the question: can these games be an effective learning tool for the activity they simulate? We use a body controlled dance game prototype which visually emulates current commercial games. Our research explores the player's perceptions of their own capabilities, their capacity to deal with a high influx of information, and their preferences regarding body-controlled video games. Our results indicate that the game-inspired interface elements alone were not a substitute for footage of a real human dancer, but participants overall preferred to have access to both forms of media. We also discuss the dance rhythm game as abstracted entertainment, exercise motivation, and realistic dance instruction.
Discovering How Environmental Exposures Alter Genes Could Lead To New Treatments For Chronic Illnesses

Emerging research demonstrates that diet, pollution, and other environmental triggers can alter both the function and expression of human genes and lead to a heightened disease risk. These environment-gene interactions can cause so-called epigenetic changes in gene expression—patterns of which genes are switched “on” or “off”—that may account for the rising mortality from chronic diseases in industrialized nations. In this paper, we call for a new transdisciplinary approach to public health that would examine how environmental exposures, both physical and social, influence gene expression and a person’s susceptibility to chronic disease. This initiative could lead to new ways to prevent and treat such illnesses.
Constraining a Bayesian Model of Human Visual Speed Perception

It has been demonstrated that basic aspects of human visual motion perception are qualitatively consistent with a Bayesian estimation framework, where the prior probability distribution on velocity favors slow speeds. Here, we present a refined probabilistic model that can account for the typical trial-to-trial variabilities observed in psychophysical speed perception experiments. We also show that data from such experiments can be used to constrain both the likelihood and prior functions of the model. Specifically, we measured matching speeds and thresholds in a two-alternative forced choice speed discrimination task. Parametric fits to the data reveal that the likelihood function is well approximated by a LogNormal distribution with a characteristic contrast-dependent variance, and that the prior distribution on velocity exhibits significantly heavier tails than a Gaussian, and approximately follows a power-law function.
Solar cells based on colloidal quantum dot solids: Seeking enhanced photocurrent

We describe an all-inorganic metal / PbSe quantum dot (QD) film / metal sandwich photovoltaic (PV) cell that produces a large short-circuit photocurrent (≫ 21 mA cm−2) by way of a Schottky junction at the negative (rear) contact. The PV cell consists of a PbSe QD film, deposited via layer-by-layer (LbL) dip coating that yields an EQE of 55– 65% in the visible and up to 25% in the infrared region of the solar spectrum, with a spectrally corrected AM1.5G power conversion efficiency of 2.1%. This QD device produces one of the largest short-circuit currents of any nanostructured solar cell, without the need for sintering, superlattice order or separate phases for electron and hole transport. To ascertain if the photocurrent is enhanced by multiple exciton generation (MEG), we determined the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of the QD active layers of our devices by combining external quantum efficiency (EQE) and total reflectance measurements with an optical model of the device stack. Good agreement between the experimental and modeled reflectance spectra permits a quantitative estimate of the fraction of incident light absorbed by the QD films at each wavelength, thereby yielding well-constrained QE spectra for photons absorbed only by the QDs. Using a series of devices fabricated from 5.1 ± 0.4 nm diameter PbSe QDs treated with 1,2– ethaneditiol (EDT), we show that thin QD cells achieve an EQE and an active layer IQE as high as 60 ± 5% and 80 ± 7%, respectively, but that there is no evidence for MEG enhancement of the photocurrent. These results are consistent with femtosecond transient absorption measurements showing that the MEG process is quenched by the EDT treatment used to electronically couple the QDs. However, we find enhanced MEG yields using other film treatments, suggesting that MEG photocurrent may be collected from devices prepared using these alternative film treatment chemistries.
Angular regularization of vector-valued signals

A new class of pair-wise regularizers is proposed for vector-valued signals, including several new regularizers that penalize the angular difference between neighboring vectors. The pair-wise model is a generalization of the conventional difference model that includes discretized Tikhonov, L 1 , and Total Variation (TV) as special cases. Whereas Tikhonov and TV regularization have become popular for encouraging signal values to be smooth or piecewise smooth, respectively, angular regularizers are proposed to encourage vector directions to be smooth or piecewise smooth. The regularizers are simple, effective, and general, making them easily applicable to a wide array of problems. Experimental results demonstrate the method's effectiveness in denoising vector fields and color images.
Ovule and embryo development in Doritis pulcherrima (Orchidaceae)

The placental ridge began to proliferate 10 days after pollination. Megaspore mother cell underwent meiosis to form two dyads at first division. At 50 days two megaspores and generating dyad were formed by second division. The functional megaspore divided successively three times to form an eight-nucleate embryo sac at 60 days. Double fertilization occurred forming the zygote and endosperm initial cell. However, the endosperm initial cell degenerate soon thereafter. The zygote divided to form a terminal cell, the middle cell and suspensor initial cell at 70 days. The terminal and middle cells successively divided to form a multi-celled embryo up to 120 days after pollination. Histochemical study showed that the stainability of DNA, RNA and total proteins were almost constant during ovule and embryo development. Stainability of total carbohydrates decreased.
Nicotine Chemistry, Metabolism, Kinetics and Biomarkers

Nicotine underlies tobacco addiction, influences tobacco use patterns, and is used as a pharmacological aid to smoking cessation. The absorption, distribution and disposition characteristics of nicotine from tobacco and medicinal products are reviewed. Nicotine is metabolized primarily by the liver enzymes CYP2A6, UDPglucuronosyltransfease (UGT), and flavin-containing monooxygenase (FMO). In addition to genetic factors, nicotine metabolism is influenced by diet and meals, age, sex, use of estrogen-containing hormone preparations, pregnancy and kidney disease, other medications, and smoking itself. Substantial racial/ethnic differences are observed in nicotine metabolism, which are likely influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. The most widely used biomarker of nicotine intake is cotinine, which may be measured in blood, urine, saliva, hair, or nails. The current optimal plasma cotinine cut-point to distinguish smokers from non-smokers in the general US population is 3 ng ml−1. This cut-point is much lower than that established 20 years ago, reflecting less secondhand smoke exposure due to clear air policies and more light or occasional smoking.
Development and characterization of microsatellite loci for two Caribbean Heliconia (Heliconiaceae: H. bihai and H. caribaea).

 Premise of the study: Microsatellite loci were developed to characterize genetic variation and population subdivision in Heliconia bihai and H. caribaea from the Caribbean Islands.  Methods and Results: A total of 13 new microsatellite markers were developed and characterized in the two Caribbean heliconias. Di-, tri-, and tetranucleotide repeats were identifi ed with one to 17 alleles per locus, and the observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.13 to 0.87. Additionally, cross-species amplifi cation was successful in eight out of 13 loci.  Conclusions: The microsatellite loci developed have discriminatory potential to be used in genetic characterizations of Caribbean Heliconia . Both H. bihai and H. caribaea are known to have adaptive interactions with their hummingbird pollinators, and the characterized microsatellite markers will be used to study mating system, genetic structure, and phylogeographic patterns in Caribbean Heliconia .