cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Efficiency through eavesdropping: link-layer packet caching

The broadcast nature of wireless networks is the source of both their utility and much of their complexity. To turn what would otherwise be unwanted interference into an advantage, this paper examines an entirely backwards-compatible extension to the 802.11 link-layer protocol for making use of overheard packets, called RTS-id. RTS-id operates by augmenting the standard 802.11 RTS/CTS process with a packet ID check, so that if the receiver of an RTS message has already received the packet in question, it can inform the sender and bypass the data transmission entirely. We present the design, implementation, and evaluation of RTS-id on a real hardware platform that provides a DSP-programmable 802.11 radio. While limited in scale due to restricted availability of the CalRadio platform, our testbed experiments demonstrate that RTS-id can reduce air time usage by 25.2% in simple 802.11b infrastructure deployments on real hardware, even when taking into account all of the protocol overhead. Additionally, we present trace-based simulations demonstrating the potential savings on the MIT Roofnet mesh network. In particular, RTS-id provides a 12% decrease in the number of expected data transmissions for a median path, and over 25% reduction for more than 10% of Roofnet paths.
Investigating a Parallel Breeder Genetic Algorithm on the Inverse Aerodynamic Design

Breeder Genetic Algorithms represent a class of random optimisation techniques gleaned from the science of population genetics, which have proved their ability to solve hard optimisation problems with continuous parameters. In this paper we test a parallel version of this technique against a sequential Breeder Genetic Algorithm on a typical inverse design problem in Aerodynamics, the problem of an aerofoil geometry recover starting from a target pressure distribution. Our results show that Parallel Breeder Genetic Algorithms are well suited for applications in Aerodynamics.
Abstract 4200: Interaction between mPGES-1 and iNOS promotes human melanoma progression

Melanoma cells in vivo are well known to express varying inflammatory features, which is not limited by somatic mutational subclass. Among the most prevalent of inflammatory markers are iNOS (inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase) generated NO production and COX-2/PGE2, and for which their active pathways have been shown to enhance carcinogenesis and tumor progression, stimulate angiogenesis, support tumor growth, and promote metastasis. COX-2 inhibitors are well studied agents that inhibit tumor growth and prevent tumor development including melanoma, but the focus of research has shifted to develop inhibitors for enzymes, which are downstream of COX-2, especially microsomal PGE2 synthase-1 (mPGES-1), due to the cardiovascular risk associated with the initial COX-2 inhibitory drugs. Here, we demonstrate crosstalk between iNOS/NO and mPGES-1/PGE2 signaling pathways and suggest that mPGES-1 is a novel potential therapeutic target in human melanoma employing a spectrum of well-defined human cell lines, as well as human tissues. Our melanoma stage III survival Tissue MicroArray analysis shows that the expression of mPGES-1 is elevated in 65% of human stage III melanomas and intense expression of mPGES-1 is significantly associated with the short-term survival of patients. More interestingly, about 90 % of patient samples which express mPGES-1 were also positive for iNOS. In addition, treatment of human melanoma cells with NO donors or constitutively-driven expression of iNOS resulted in increased PGE2 production, which was suppressed by mPGES-1 inhibition, indicating that the pathway is active and targetable. Moreover, iNOS was found to interact directly with mPGES-1, and iNOS or NO donors enhance mPGES-1 activity in melanoma cells and in vitro, suggesting that iNOS-mediated NO promotes PGE2 production through mPGES-1 activation. mPGES-1 inhibition by its shRNA or specific inhibitors suppressed human melanoma cell viability and migration. Collectively, these findings suggest that the interaction between iNOS and mPGES-1 is associated with human melanoma progression and could be considered as a novel target for translational application in melanoma growth regulation. Citation Format: Sun-Hee Kim, Yuuri Hashimoto, Suhendan Ekmekcioglu, Elizabeth A. Grimm. Interaction between mPGES-1 and iNOS promotes human melanoma progression. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 4200. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-4200
A new framework for multi-view image coding

We propose a new framework for the compression of multi-view image sequences. We define three types of frames, and each type is coded with a different strategy. The first type of frame is independently coded and is called I-frame. The second is a B-frame and is coded using a bidirectional disparity estimator and a modified version of the subspace projection technique (SPT). The SPT algorithm compensates the photometric variations between the multi-view frames. The projection block size is chosen to be small so that coding of the residual image is not necessary. On the other hand, to decrease the overhead information both disparity vectors and projection coefficients are coded with a lossy scheme. Finally, the third type of frame is a P-frame and is coded by employing a unidirectional disparity estimator and DC level compensation.
Introduction to Content–Based Video Browsing and Retrieval

This chapter presents five works that represent significant milestones in the short history of the video content analysis, browsing, and retrieval research field. Each of these five papers represents a classical approach to video structure analysis, abstraction, indexing, retrieval, and browsing. Content-based image retrieval technologies can be extended to video retrieval. However, such extensions are not straightforward. Considering a video clip as a sequence of image frames and indexing each of them as a still image not only introduces extremely high redundancy, but also is not feasible given the number of frames in a video of even just one minute. Video indexing schemes involve three primary processes: video parsing, content analysis, and abstraction. These processes are significantly different and more complicated than those involved in image content indexing. Video content analysis, retrieval, and browsing have attracted thousands of researchers from multiple research areas ranging from computer vision to signal processing to speech recognition, natural language processing, and databases.
Regional deformation of the Sierra de San Luis, Argentina: Implications for the Paleozoic development of western Gondwana

[1] Metamorphic and ductile deformation fabrics within the Sierra de San Luis, central Argentina, provide evidence for the Early to Middle Paleozoic development of the paleo-Pacific margin of Gondwana. Presumed Vendian-aged metasedimentary rocks within both the Sierra de San Luis and the Sierras de Cordoba preserve early pressure solution cleavage development. Cambrian peak metamorphism in the Sierras de Cordoba and Ordovician peak metamorphism in the Sierra de San Luis indicate that juxtaposition of these two terranes did not occur prior to the Late Ordovician. Peak metamorphism and regional folding of the Sierra de San Luis metasedimentary rocks is equated with early stages of the development and shortening of the Famatinian magmatic arc along the western margin of Gondwana. Extensive, NNE trending zones of upper greenschist- to amphibolite-facies ductile deformation within the Sierra de San Luis and along the western margin of the Sierra de Comechingones record the dextral oblique juxtaposition of the Sierra de San Luis terrane against the southwestern margin of the Sierras de Cordoba, coincident with, or closely followed by, the suture of the exotic Precordillera terrane to the western margin of Gondwana by the Early Devonian. Middle to Late Devonian restricted, lower greenschist-grade reactivation of ductile faults may record the accretion of the Chilenia terrane, the final stage of Paleozoic convergent tectonism along this segment of western Gondwana.
NMR observations of isolated and stretched polymer chains in their crystalline inclusion compounds formed with small‐molecule host clathrates

Several small-molecule hosts form clathrates or inclusion compounds (ICs) with polymers. In these polymer-ICs the guest polymer chains are confined to occupy narrow channels in the crystalline matrix formed by the host. The walls of the IC channels are formed entirely from the molecules of the host, and they serve to create a unique solid-state environment for the included polymer chains. Each polymer chain included in the narrow, cylindrical IC channels (ca 5.5 A in diameter) is highly extended and also separated by the host matrix channel walls from neighboring polymer chains. The net result is a solid-state environment where extended, stretched (as a consequence of being squeezed) polymer chains reside in isolation from their neighbors inside the narrow channels of the crystalline matrix provided by the small-molecule host. Comparison of the behavior of isolated, stretched polymer chains in their crystalline ICs with observations made on ordered, bulk samples of the same polymer are beginning to provide some measure of the contributions made by the intrinsic nature of a confined polymer chain and the pervasive, cooperative, interchain interactions which can complicate the behavior of bulk polymer samples. Just as dilute polymer solutions at the θ temperature have been effectively used to model disordered, bulk polymer phases (both glasses and melts), polymer-ICs may be utilized to increase our understanding of the behavior of polymer chains in their ordered, bulk phases as found in crystalline and liquid-crystalline samples. Solid-state NMR observations of polymer-ICs can provide detailed conformational and motional information concerning the included, stretched and isolated polymer chains.
Arts Accessibility to Major Museums and Cultural/Ethnic Institutions in Los Angeles: Can School Tours Overcome Neighborhood Disparities?

Major arts and cultural institutions have expanded their exhibits and programs to reflect society's growing diversity, but we know little about potential neighborhood disparities in arts participat...
Mars Organic Detector III: a versatile instrument for detection of bio-organic signatures on Mars

Recent advances in the development of microfabricated lab-on-a-chip analysis systems have enhanced the feasibility and capabilities of in situ chemical and biochemical analyzers. While a wide variety of bio-organic molecules can be probed, we have focused our initial studies on the development of an amino acid analyzer with the hypothesis that extraterrestrial life would be based on homochiral amino acid polymers. In previous work, we developed a prototype electrophoresis chip, detection system and analysis method where the hydrolyzed amino acids were labeled with fluorescein and then analyzed in minutes via a capillary zone electrophoresis (CZE) separation in the presence of γ-cyclodextrin as the chiral recognition agent. In more recent work, we have demonstrated the feasibility of performing amino acid composition and chirality analyses using fluorescamine as the labeling reagent. Fluorescamine is advantageous because it reacts more rapidly with amino acids, has a low fluorescence background and because such a chemistry would interface directly with the Mars Organic Detector (MOD-I) concept being developed at Scripps. A more advanced analysis system called MOD-III is introduced here with the ability to analyze zwitterionic amino acids, nucleobases, sugars, and organic acids and bases using novel capture matrix chemistries. MOD-III, which is enabled by the nanoliter valves, pumps and reactors presented here, will provide a wide spectrum of organic chemical analyses and is suitable for a variety of in situ missions.© (2003) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Coalition Government: The Case of the Second Austrian Republic.

The Second Republic of Austria is now well into its thirteenth year of national existence. The First Republic, thirteen years after its creation, showed all the signs of political disillusionment and impending dissolution. The Second Republic, in happy contrast, presents to the foreign observer a picture of political stability, economic prosperity, and sound foreign relations almost unequalled in this part of Europe. Much of the credit for this unusual state of affairs must be attributed to the two major political parties, the Oesterreichische Volkspartei (OeVP) and the Sozialistische Partei Oesterreichs (SPOe) which, uninterruptedly since 1945, have collaborated in the political resuscitation of the state that was once characterized as having “a strong tendency toward nonexistence.”
Physician Satisfaction in Practices That Transformed Into Patient-Centered Medical Homes: A Statewide Study in New York.

Patient-centered medical home (PCMH) transformation can significantly affect physicians’ job satisfaction, which in turn can affect the quality of patient care. Between November 2012 and March 2013...
Effect of 2 MHz ultrasound on DNA, RNA and protein synthesis in Pisum sativum root meristem cells.

SummaryThe amounts of DNA, RNA and protein synthesis were determined in Pisum sativum root meristem cells at various times after a 1 min exposure to 1 MHz ultrasound at a power density of 30 W/cm2. Immediate depressions in all three macromolecular syntheses occurred after sonication, followed by an apparent recovery several hours later. These events appear to correlate in time with the subsequent reduction and recovery in mitotic index in Pisum sativum root meristem cells exposed to 2 MHz ultrasound.
Highly conserved piggyBac elements in noctuid species of Lepidoptera

The piggyBac transposable element was originally discovered in a Trichoplusia ni cell line and nearly identical elements were subsequently discovered in the tephritid fly, Bactrocera dorsalis. This suggested the existence of piggyBac in additional insects and this study shows highly conserved, though not identical, piggyBac sequences in the noctuid species Heliocoverpa armigera, H. zea, and Spodoptera frugiperda, as well as new piggyBac sequences from the T. ni organismal genome. Genomic piggyBac elements could not be unambiguously identified in several other moth species indicating a discontinuous presence of piggyBac in the Lepidoptera. Most sequences have greater than 95% nucleotide identity to the original IFP2 piggyBac, except for a more diverged sequence in S. frugiperda, having approximately 78% identity. Variants of 1.3 and 0.8kb sequences found in both H. armigera and H. zea most likely became established by interbreeding, supporting the notion that the species are conspecific. None of the independent piggyBac sequences isolated from T. ni larval genomes are identical to IFP2, though all have an uninterrupted reading frame with the potential for encoding a functional transposase. The piggyBac sequences from T. ni and the Helicoverpa species, as well as those previously reported from B. dorsalis, all share three common nucleotide substitutions resulting in a single amino acid substitution in the transposase. This suggests that the original IFP2 piggyBac is a related variant of a predecessor element that became widespread. The existence of conserved piggyBac elements, some of which may have been transmitted horizontally between lepidopteran species, raises important considerations for the stability and practical use of piggyBac transformation vectors.
Multiphoton excitation of organic chromophores in microbubble resonators

We report the observation of multiphoton excitation of organic chromophores in microbubble whispering gallery mode resonators. High-Q microbubble resonators are a formed by heating a pressurized fused silica capillary to form a hollow bubble which can be filled with liquid. In this case, the microbubble is filled with a solution of Rhodamine 6G dye. The resonator and dye are excited by evanescently coupling CW light from a 980nm laser diode using a tapered optical fiber. The two-photon fluorescence of the dye can be seen with pump powers as low as 1 mW.
Domain names (panel session, abstract only): more questions than answers

The DARPA domain name project raises several interesting questions about the underlying assumptions and issues involved in providing a hierarchical naming scheme in an environment the size of the Internet. For example, the project was motivated by the growth of the Internet. However, because the proliferation of hosts took place within the sites belonging to the Internet (due in part to an increase in the number of workstations and other small machines), and not necessarily in the number of sites, a less general solution that maintained a centralized and fully distributed site table, with each site running a name server for its hosts, would have been sufficient.In addition, the distributed implementation of the name to address database uncovered several fundamental naming and addressing issues that had been ignore by the original centralized approach. For example, name servers and resolvers must be able to select a reasonable Internet address for hosts connected to the Internet at multiple points. The decentralized solution also raises questions about authority over host names.
Energy-Aware Scheduling of MapReduce Jobs

The majority of large-scale data intensive applications executed by data centers are based on MapReduce or its open-source implementation, Hadoop. Such applications are executed on large clusters requiring large amounts of energy, making the energy costs a large fraction of the data center's overall costs. Therefore minimizing the energy consumption when executing MapReduce jobs is a critical concern for data centers. In this paper, we propose a framework for improving the energy efficiency of MapReduce applications, while satisfying the service level agreement (SLA). We first model the problem of energy-aware scheduling of MapReduce jobs as an Integer Program. We then propose a greedy algorithm, called Energy-aware MapReduce Scheduling Algorithm (EMRSA), that finds the assignments of map and reduce tasks to the machine slots in order to minimize the energy consumed when executing the application. We perform experiments on a large Hadoop cluster to determine the energy consumption of several MapReduce benchmark applications, and then use this data in an extensive simulation study to characterize the performance of the proposed algorithm. The results show that EMRSA is able to find job schedules consuming 40\% less energy on average than the schedules obtained by a common practice scheduler that minimizes the makespan.
Income, inequality, and pollution: a reassessment of the environmental Kuznets Curve

Abstract Improvements in some measures of air and water quality can accompany rising per capita income, as illustrated by the so-called environmental Kuznets curve. For pollution variables which show such a relationship, we hypothesize that a more equitable distribution of power contributes to these outcomes, by enhancing the influence on policy of those who bear the costs of pollution, relative to the influence of those who benefit from pollution-generating activities. An empirical analysis of international variations in seven indicators of air and water quality supports this hypothesis. Literacy, political rights, and civil liberties are found to have particularly strong effects on environmental quality in low-income countries.
Blood flow to infarct and surviving myocardium: implications regarding the action of verapamil on the acutely ischemic dog heart

After coronary occlusion, myocardium originally supplied by the occluded vessel ultimately separates into infarct and surviving muscle. To clarify this process, evolution of collateral blood flow to infarct and to surviving myocardium was retrospectively analyzed after permanent left anterior descending occlusion in 24 closed chest dogs. Microspheres were injected before occlusion and 5 and 20 minutes and 4 hours after occlusion. Ten minutes after occlusion, dogs received either verapamil, 0.4 mg/kg, followed by 0.6 mg/kg per hour for 6 hours (n = 10) or equivalent saline solution (n = 14). These dogs were sacrificed 3 days later, the distribution of the occluded artery was defined by dye perfusion and infarcted myocardium was determined by triphenyltetrazolium staining of heart slices. Surviving muscle within the distribution of the occluded artery was divided into medial regions adjacent to the infarct (medial adjacent) and remote from the infarct (medial remote) and lateral regions adjacent to infarct (lateral adjacent) and remote from the infarct (lateral remote). In both control and verapamil groups, collateral flows in all regions increased significantly by 140 to 400% over 4 hours. However, the relative magnitude of collateral flow to different regions showed a consistent order: infarct Collateral perfusion begins to show distinctive patterns of change in infarct and surviving muscle very soon after coronary occlusion. Collateral flow within subdivisions of the occluded coronary artery bed increases as distance from the infarct increases, with lateral segments having higher flows than medial segments. This relation persists during the first 4 hours after occlusion. In this study, verapamil neither increased collateral flow to the occluded bed nor altered minimal flow requirements for myocardial survival.
Impact of Phase Shifters on Locational Prices

With the introduction of restructuring in the electric power industry, the price of electricity has become the focus of power market activities. Phase shifters in a power system can mitigate or reduce transmission congestion by redirecting line flows, reduce the cost of power dispatch by adjusting locational marginal prices (LMPs), and enhance market competition by reducing the chance of market power occurrences due to limited transmission flows. This paper analyzes the role of phase shifters in restructured power systems by simulating electricity market prices. The paper further provides a comparison among various alternatives such as transmission expansion for mitigating congestion. The simulation results are analyzed for a three-bus and presented for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 118-bus power system.
Consumer behavior in the online context

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to review the consumer behavior and social network theory literature related to the online and e-commerce context. Design/methodology/approach – To conduct the review, the authors draw on a sample of 942 articles published from 1993 to 2012 addressing consumer behavior or social network issues in the online or social media context. The sample is analyzed by both era (incubation, expansion and explosion) and primary topic. Findings – Eight categories of online consumer behavior research are described. In the order from largest to smallest, these are: cognitive issues, user-generated content, Internet demographics and segmentation, online usage, cross cultural, online communities and networks, strategic use and outcomes and consumer Internet search. Originality/value – The literature has been summarized in each category and research opportunities have been offered for consumer behavior and social network scholars interested in exploring the online context.
Mercury stable isotope fractionation during reduction of Hg(II) to Hg(0) by mercury resistant microorganisms.

Mercury (Hg) undergoes systematic stable isotopic fractionation; therefore, isotopic signatures of Hg may provide a new tool to track sources, sinks, and dominant chemical transformation pathways of Hg in the environment. We investigated the isotopic fractionation of Hg by Hg(II) resistant (HgR) bacteria expressing the mercuric reductase (MerA) enzyme. The isotopic composition of both the reactant Hg(II) added to the growth medium and volatilized product (Hg(0)) was measured using cold vapor generation and multiple collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. We found that exponentially dividing pure cultures of a gram negative strain Escherichia coli JM109/pPB117 grown with abundant electron donor and high Hg(II) concentrations at 37, 30, and 22 °C, and a natural microbial consortium incubated in natural site water at 30 °C after enrichment of HgR microbes, preferentially reduced the lighter isotopes of Hg. In all cases, Hg underwent Rayleigh fractionation with the best estimates of α202/198 v...
True aneurysms of the hand resulting from athletic injury. Report of two cases

We report two cases of true aneurysms arising in the vasculature of the hand after blunt athletic trauma. This relatively rare tumor of the hand should be included as part of the differential diagnosis of masses arising in the hand after athletic injury.
Rural Gentrification and Linked Migration in the United States.

Abstract Although gentrification is a process commonly associated with urban landscapes, rural areas in advanced economies have also experienced gentrification over the past two decades. Largely based on case study approaches, the Rural Studies literature describes transformations in the housing market, changed cultural attitudes toward the environment, political conflicts surrounding land-use planning, and heightened class polarization as outcomes of rural gentrification. The analysis in this paper extends our understandings of rural gentrification in two fundamental ways. First, drawing on US census data from 1990 and 2000, the paper systematically examines gentrification in nonmetropolitan counties across the United States and develops a methodology for identifying areas with similarly strong evidence of gentrification. The second section of the analysis compares the geographic distribution and socioeconomic change in gentrifying counties with the rest of nonmetropolitan America emphasizing the changes in the baby boomer and Latino populations. In so doing, the analysis opens up new possibilities for comparative analysis of gentrification both between and within countries, connects our understandings of rural gentrification to other processes of globalization playing out within rural space, and argues for work on rural gentrification to more explicitly integrate questions surrounding race and ethnicity alongside questions of class.
Effect of coordinated water on the mechanism of neutral hydrolysis of silicon dioxide in gas phase: a first principles study

Abstract Ab initio quantum chemical studies are reported at the B3LYP/6-311++G(d,p), MP2/6-311++G(d,p), and MP2/cc-pVTZ levels for the neutral hydrolysis of silicon dioxide in gaseous phase. These mechanistic studies predict that hydrolysis of silicon dioxide to orthosilicic acid is significantly controlled by the coordinated water molecule at the silicon. The catalytic activity of second water molecule coordinated to silicon lowers the reaction barrier by more than 50% than the first water molecule. The overall reaction is a low barrier process with barrier heights
Isolation of influenza viruses and influenza epidemics in Taiwan, 1999–2002

Abstract The Center for Disease Control established a surveillance system to monitor the activities of influenza viruses and their antigenic variation. Specimens were collected from patients under either outpatient or hospital care in all medical centers and teaching hospitals, as well as patients of the 300 more sentinel clinics throughout the country. Cell culture and IFA method were used to identify influenza virus, and assessment of the subtypes of influenza viruses was done using the WHO Influenza Diagnostic Kit. A total 2821 influenza viruses were isolated, 56.04% were type A and 43.96% were type B. Infection in the northern and eastern parts of the country was usually 2–3 weeks ahead of the middle and southern parts. Analyzing the antigenic variation of isolates, in the winter of 1999/2000, we found primarily A (H1N1), type B in 2000/2001, and A (H1N1) again in 2001/2002. During the last three flu seasons, type B showed more antigenic variation in Taiwan. Long-term surveillance can, in addition to informing the World Health Organization of the selection of vaccine strains, detect the mutation of indigenous influenza virus types in Taiwan.
Synthesis and Characterization of Mesoscopic Hollow Spheres of Ceramic Materials with Functionalized Interior Surfaces

Mesoscopic hollow spheres of ceramic materials whose interior surfaces were functionalized by nanoscopic objects were generated by templating sol−gel precursors against three-dimensional arrays of polystyrene beads whose surfaces had been derivatized with submonolayers of the nanoscopic objects.
Spring hydrology determines summer net carbon uptake in northern ecosystems

Increased photosynthetic activity and enhanced seasonal CO2 exchange of northern ecosystems have been observed from a variety of sources including satellite vegetation indices (such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index; NDVI) and atmospheric CO2 measurements. Most of these changes have been attributed to strong warming trends in the northern high latitudes (greater than or equal to 50N). Here we analyze the interannual variation of summer net carbon uptake derived from atmospheric CO2 measurements and satellite NDVI in relation to surface meteorology from regional observational records. We find that increases in spring precipitation and snow pack promote summer net carbon uptake of northern ecosystems independent of air temperature effects. However, satellite NDVI measurements still show an overall benefit of summer photosynthetic activity from regional warming and limited impact of spring precipitation. This discrepancy is attributed to a similar response of photosynthesis and respiration to warming and thus reduced sensitivity of net ecosystem carbon uptake to temperature. Further analysis of boreal tower eddy covariance CO2 flux measurements indicates that summer net carbon uptake is positively correlated with early growing-season surface soil moisture, which is also strongly affected by spring precipitation and snow pack based on analysis of satellite soil moisture retrievals. This is attributed to strong regulation of spring hydrology on soil respiration in relatively wet boreal and arctic ecosystems. These results document the important role of spring hydrology in determining summer net carbon uptake and contrast with prevailing assumptions of dominant cold temperature limitations to high-latitude ecosystems. Our results indicate potentially stronger coupling of boreal/arctic water and carbon cycles with continued regional warming trends.
Importance of Minor Groove Binding Zinc Fingers within the Transcription Factor IIIA-DNA Complex

The gene-specific transcription factor IIIA (TFIIIA) binds to the internal promoter element of the 5 S rRNA gene through nine zinc fingers which make specific DNA contacts. Seven of the nine TFIIIA zinc fingers participate in major groove DNA contacts while two fingers, 4 and 6, have been proposed to bind in or across the minor groove. Pyrrole-imidazole polyamides are minor groove binding ligands that recognize predetermined DNA sequences with affinity and specificity comparable to natural DNA-binding proteins. We have examined the DNA binding activity of nine finger TFIIIA and shorter recombinant analogs in the presence of polyamides that bind six base-pair sequences (K_d = 0.03 to 1.7 nM) in the minor groove of the binding site for zinc finger 4. DNase I footprint titrations demonstrate that the polyamides and a recombinant protein containing the three amino-terminal zinc fingers of TFIIIA (zf1-3) co-occupy the TFIIIA binding site, in agreement with the known location of zf1-3 in the major groove. In contrast, the polyamides block the specific interaction of TFIIIA or zf1-4 with the 5 S RNA gene, supporting a model for minor groove occupancy by zinc finger 4. Minor groove binding polyamides targeted to specific DNA sequences may provide a novel chemical approach to probing multidomain protein-DNA interactions.
The metabolic response to thyroxine of lizards maintained in a thermal gradient.

Groups of adult lizards, Sceloporus cyanogenys, were maintained in a thermal gradient, temperature range 12°–60°C. One group received daily injections of thyroxine, a second group daily injections of thiourea, the third group as controls received saline. One week of thyroxine treatment increased oxygen consumption, whereas thiourea caused a decrease. Such an increase and decrease were noted for 3 weeks at which time the animals were sacrificed and the oxygen consumption of liver, kidney, and brain tissue was measured. Thyroxine was found to increase and thiourea to decrease oxygen consumption of each tissue. Groups of newborn lizards were observed to respond to thyroxine with an increase in oxygen consumption when maintained at a constant 32°C or in a gradient, but not at a constant 16°C. Metabolic response at a constant 32°C was somewhat greater than in the gradient. These data suggest that a rise in oxygen consumption can occur as the result of the in vivo administration of thyroxine to lizards maintained in a thermal gradient.
Structural Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Their Response to Treatment: A Systematic Review

Since the seminal paper by Bremner et al. in 1995 reporting the findings of reduced hippocampal volumes in Vietnam combat veterans, other groups have examined brain morphology in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, it is often difficult to com- pare these studies directly because of differences in types of trauma, length of trauma exposure, age of trauma exposure, and sex. Despite these limitations, many authors have found volume reduction in the hippocampus, suggesting that a structural brain deficit may either predispose to the development of PTSD or be the result of the disorder, or both. In fact, some findings argue that the relatively smaller hippocampal volume in patients with PTSD is a risk factor for the development of PTSD, whereas other findings suggest that hippocam- pal volume reduction may occur as a result of either stress exposure or PTSD. Regardless of the etiology of the hippocampal volume re- duction, early work hints that pharmacological intervention may alter hippocampal volume. This review evaluates and categorizes the ex- isting research of hippocampal volume reduction in patients with PTSD. Other structural brain abnormalities related to PTSD are re- viewed. Finally, clinical implications of hippocampal volume reduction in PTSD are considered, particularly the response of the hippo- campus to pharmacological intervention.
Electrodynamics of a rotating body; Relativistic theory of circular and axial birefringence

The theory of the electrodynamics of a rotating body is used to show that there exists: 1) circular birefringence of purely relativistic origin, composed of dispersive aether drag and residual, ensemble averaged, magnetization; 2) non-relativistic circular birefringence due to the angular velocity of the body in the observer frame; 3) non-relativistic axial birefringence in chiral media due to the angular velocity of the body; 4) second order, relativistic equivalents of 2) and 3).
Application of the hybrid finite-difference time-domain method to modeling curved surfaces in three-dimensional lithography simulation

The original hybrid-FDTD method developed by Wu and Itoh is extended to handle lossy material with positive or negative dielectric constants. Numerical results are given to compare the hybrid-FDTD method and standard FDTD. The result show that the hybrid-FDTD method is much more accurate than standard FDTD when the same mesh spacing is used in both methods. In the case of lossy materials with negative dielectric constants, the hybrid-FDTD method is found to be found to be much more accurate than standard FDTD even when a mesh spacing four times finer is used in the latter method. These results highlight the importance of modeling curved surfaces accurately in DUV lithography simulation using the hybrid-FDTD method.
Gulf trough: the Atlantic connection

Analyses of seismic reflection profiles and stratigraphic data indicate a continuation of the Gulf trough trend across eastern South Carolina and offshore between Cape Fear and Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Seismic profiles show a linear northeast-trending zone of nondeposition and erosion and areas of chaotic deposition in the Eocene and Oligocene sections. The character of deposition and erosion along this trend is similar to that produced by bottom currents under the core of the present Gulf Stream. The trend separates deep-water from shallower water deposits, indicating that the erosion was produced by strong marine currents flowing through the Gulf trough in the high sea levels of middle Eocene through early Oligocene time.
Clinical Implications of Psychosocial Factors on Pediatric External Fixation Treatment and Recommendations

Background Pediatric limb reconstruction using circular external fixation is a prolonged treatment that interrupts patients’ daily function. Patient personality characteristics and expectations may interfere with planned treatment, making complicated medical procedures more challenging. The aims of this study are to identify factors impacting treatment outcome and recommendations for preoperative evaluation and planning.
Syndrome of Inappropriate Antidiuretic Hormone Secretion due to Osmoreceptor Resetting in a Patient with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis Associated with Pleural Effusion

We report a three-year-old male patient with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) who developed the syndrome of inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion (SIADH). SIADH was proved to be due to osmoreceptor resetting and the cause of the SIADH may have been pleural effusion accompanied by JRA.
Detection and analysis of table of contents based on content association

As a special type of table understanding, the detection and analysis of tables of contents (TOCs) play an important role in the digitization of multi-page documents. Most previous TOC analysis methods only concentrate on the TOC itself without taking into account the other pages in the same document. Besides, they often require manual coding or at least machine learning of document-specific models. This paper introduces a new method to detect and analyze TOCs based on content association. It fully leverages the text information throughout the whole multi-page document and can be directly applied to a wide range of documents without the need to build or learn the models for individual documents. In addition, the associations of general text and page numbers are combined to make the TOC analysis more accurate. Natural language processing and layout analysis are integrated to improve the TOC functional tagging. The applications of the proposed method in a large-scale digital library project are also discussed.
Effects of the pesticide amitraz and its metabolite BTS 27271 on insulin and glucagon secretion from the perfused rat pancreas: involvement of α2D-Adrenergic receptors

Abstract The study purpose was to investigate the direct effect of amitraz, a formamidine insecticide/acaricide, and its active metabolite BTS 27271 on insulin and glucagon secretion from the perfused rat pancreas. Amitraz and BTS 27271 (0.01, 0.1, 1, and 10 μmol/L) inhibited insulin secretion in a concentration-dependent manner. Amitraz increased glucagon secretion at 10 μmol/L, whereas BTS 27271 increased glucagon secretion at 1 and 10 μmol/L. Amitraz- and BTS 27271-induced decreases in insulin secretion and increase in glucagon secretion were not abolished during the 10-minute washout period. During the arginine treatment, both amitraz and BTS 27271 groups (0.1, 1, and 10 μmol/L) had lower insulin secretion and higher glucagon secretion than the control group. Idazoxan, an α 2A 2D -adrenergic receptor (AR) antagonist, prevented the inhibitory effect of amitraz on insulin secretion in a concentration-dependent manner, but prazosin, an α1- and α 2B 2C -AR antagonist, failed to antagonize the effect of amitraz. These results demonstrate that (1) amitraz and BTS 27271 inhibit insulin and stimulate glucagon secretion from the perfused rat pancreas, (2) amitraz inhibits insulin secretion by activation of α2D-ARs, since rats have α2D- but not α2A-ARs, and (3) amitraz and BTS 27271 may have a high binding affinity to the α2D-ARs of pancreatic islets.
Superconductivity and the Quantization of Energy

Ideas about quantized energy levels originated in atomic physics, but research in superconductivity has led to unparalleled precision in the measurement of energy levels. A comparison of levels produced by two Josephson junctions shows that they differ by no more than 3 parts in 1019 at an energy of 0.0003 electron volt. The fact that the myriad of interactions of 1012 particles in a macroscopic body, a Josephson junction, can produce sharply defined energy levels suggests a dynamical state effectively divorced from the complexities of its environment. The existence of this state, the macroscopic quantum state of superconductors, is well established, but its isolation from intrinsic perturbations has recently been shown to be extraordinary. These new results, with an improved precision of about ten orders of magnitude, are discussed in the context of highly accurate results from quantum electrodynamics, atomic spectroscopy, and the standards of metrology. Further refinements in precision may be achievable at higher energy levels, about 12 electron volts, as they become available from a new series array of 18,992 Josephson junctions.
Genetic diversity and reproductive mode in two non-native hydromedusae, Maeotias marginata and Moerisia sp., in the upper San Francisco Estuary, California

Reproductive strategy can play a significant role in invasion success and spread. Asexual and sexual reproduction may confer different advantages and disadvantages to a founding population, resulting in varying impacts on genetic diversity and the ability to invade. We investigate the role of reproductive mode in two species of non-native hydromedusae (Maeotias marginata and Moerisia sp.) in the San Francisco Estuary (SFE). Both species can reproduce asexually and sexually. We employed 7–8 microsatellite markers to determine overall genetic diversity and to investigate contributions of asexual and sexual reproduction to the populations. We found both species had high levels of genetic diversity (Average HE = 0.63 and 0.58, Number individuals sampled = 111 and 277, for M. marginata and Moerisia sp. respectively) but also detected multiple individuals in clonal lineages. We identified the same clones across sampling locations and time, and the index of asexual reproduction (R) was 0.89 for M. marginata and 0.91 for Moerisia sp. Our results suggest both species maintain high population genetic diversity through sexual reproduction, in combination with asexual reproduction, which allows rapid propagation. In addition, we conducted genetic sequence analyses at the ribosomal ITS1 marker, using samples of Moerisia sp. from the SFE and M. lyonsi from Chesapeake Bay. We found 100 % sequence similarity showing that Moerisia sp. in the SFE and Chesapeake Bay are the same species. The two hydromedusae studied here possess the means to propagate rapidly and have high genetic diversity, both of which may allow them to successfully adapt to changing environments and expand their invasions.
Clasmatosis of skin mast cells as affected by moccasin venom

Moccasin venom injected intradermally into mouse skin induces an almost immediate clasmatosis of mast cells, followed by dissolution or loss of staining reaction of the released granules, a condition from which there is no observable recovery for at least 25 days. The possible significance of this reaction is discussed.
Effects of non-contact exposure to rodents on defensive behaviors in mice

These experiments explored the effects of non-contact exposure to two rodent species (rats and gerbils) on the defensive behaviors of male CD-1 mice. In Experiment 1 it was found that rats evoked substantial levels of defensiveness which were positively related to increases in rat activity. This effect was considerably attenuated, but still detectable, 30 min after rat exposure (Experiment 2). In Experiment 3 the effectiveness of rats and gerbils were compared. Gerbils were found to evoke a more modest increase in defensiveness than rats. These experiments indicate that non-contact exposure to rodents displaying varying levels of activity and, perhaps, propensity for predatory behavior provide a useful level of experimental control over the intensity of fear-like responses.
On the distribution of balanced subgroups

Abstract Let n > 2 be an integer. Any element of ( Z / n Z ) × has a unique representative in one of the two intervals ( 0 , n / 2 ) and ( n / 2 , n ) . A subgroup H of ( Z / n Z ) × is balanced if every coset of H intersects these two intervals equally. Such subgroups have repercussions to ranks of elliptic curves over function fields. For a fixed integer g ≠ 0 , 1 , how frequently is the cyclic subgroup 〈 g mod n 〉 balanced? We prove a conjecture of Pomerance and Ulmer that this distribution is essentially determined by two special families of balanced subgroups. One of the deeper tools that we use is a theorem of Grantham which counts primes in a residue class that split completely in a given number field.
Parallel processing in mammalian taste buds

ROPER, S.D. Parallel processing in mammalian taste buds? Physiol Behav XXX(Y) 000-000, 2009. There is emerging evidence that two parallel lines of gustatory information are generated in taste buds. One pathway leads to higher cortical centers and is involved in discriminating basic taste qualities (sweet, bitter, sour, salty, umami) and perceiving flavors. The other pathway may conduct information involved in physiological reflexes such as swallowing, salivation, and cephalic phase digestion. If this notion is true, the existence of two populations of taste bud cells that have different functional characteristics may lie at the origins of the two pathways. This speculative concept is explored in this review of taste signal processing in mammalian taste buds.
Early changes in interferon signaling define natural killer cell response and refractoriness to interferon-based therapy of hepatitis C patients.

Natural killer (NK) cells exhibit a polarized phenotype with increased cytotoxicity and decreased interferon gamma (IFN-γ) production in chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Here, we asked whether this is caused by type I interferon (IFN)-induced expression and phosphorylation levels of signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT) molecules in NK cells and whether it affects the response and refractoriness of NK cells to IFN-α-based therapy of HCV. STAT1 levels in NK cells were significantly higher in patients with chronic HCV infection than in uninfected controls. STAT1 levels and induction of phosphorylated STAT1 (pSTAT1) increased further during IFN-α-based therapy with preferential STAT1 over STAT4 phosphorylation. Induction of pSTAT1 correlated with increased NK cytotoxicity (tumor necrosis factor–apoptosis-inducing ligand [TRAIL] expression and degranulation) and decreased IFN-γ production. NK cells from patients with a greater than 2 log10 first-phase HCV RNA decline to IFN-α-based therapy (>99% IFN effectiveness) displayed strong pSTAT1 induction in vivo and were refractory to further stimulation in vitro. In contrast, NK cells from patients with a less than 2 log10 first-phase HCV RNA decline exhibited lower pSTAT1 induction in vivo (P = 0.024), but retained greater IFN-α responsiveness in vitro (P = 0.024). NK cells of all patients became refractory to in vivo and in vitro stimulation by IFN-α during the second-phase virological response. Conclusion: These data show that IFN-α-induced modulation of STAT1/4 phosphorylation underlies the polarization of NK cells toward increased cytotoxicity and decreased IFN-γ production in HCV infection, and that NK cell responsiveness and refractoriness correlate to the antiviral effectiveness of IFN-α-based therapy. (Hepatology 2012)