cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Successive incrementing non-matching-to-samples in rats: An automated version of the odor span task

The odor span task is a procedure frequently used to study remembering of multiple stimuli in rodents. A large arena is used and odor stimuli are presented using scented cups. Selection of each odor is reinforced when first presented, but not on subsequent presentations; correct selections depend on remembering which stimuli were previously presented. The use of an arena setting with manual stimulus presentation makes the odor span task labor-intensive and limits experimental control; thus, an automated version of the task would be of value. The present study used an operant chamber equipped with an olfactometer and trained rats using successive conditional discrimination procedures under an incrementing non-matching-to-samples contingency. High rates of responding developed to odor stimuli when they were session-novel with low rates of responding to subsequent presentations of that odor. Additional experiments assessed variations of the procedure to determine the role of the frequency of odor presentation and the retention interval separating sample and comparison. Discrimination was impaired with long retention intervals suggesting the importance of this variable. These findings confirmed that rats differentiate between stimuli that are session-novel and those previously encountered and support the use of an automated procedure as an alternative to the odor span task.
Women Left Behind: Migration, Agency, and the Pakistani Woman:

This article examines how migration impacts power dynamics and gender norms for women left behind living in rural Southern Punjab, Pakistan, a site where patriarchal customs and religion are interw...
Safety and Tolerability of Office Hysteroscopic Adhesiolysis for Asherman's Syndrome

Study Objective The primary objective of our study was to assess the proportion of patients who successfully tolerated a primary office-based hysteroscopic lysis adhesions (LOA). Additionally, we assessed the incidence of procedural adverse events associated with office-based hysteroscopic LOA and adjusted for both March classification severity and utilization of ultrasound guidance. Design A retrospective chart review of patients who underwent hysteroscopic LOA during their evaluation and management for Asherman's syndrome. Setting A community teaching hospital. Patients or Participants 355 Asherman's syndrome patients who underwent hysteroscopic LOA from 01/01/2015 to 03/01/2019. Interventions Hysteroscopic adhesiolysis. Measurements and Main Results The 355 Asherman's syndrome patients underwent a total of 813 hysteroscopic LOA (primary and follow-up) at our institution during the study period. The mean number of hysteroscopic procedures performed for all patients in this time period was 2.3 ± 1.5 procedures per patient. When assessed by March classification, mild severity patients underwent 1.5 ± 1.0 procedures/patient, moderate severity underwent 2.8 ± 1.4 procedures/patient, and severe severity underwent 3.3 ± 1.9 procedures/patient. Of the 335 primary hysteroscopies, 93.5% (332 cases) were performed within the office, and 92.8% (308 patients) of these procedures were well tolerated and without any adverse events. Adverse events amongst primary office-based hysteroscopic LOA included 6.3% (21 cases) incomplete procedures due to patient intolerance, 0.6% (2 patients) false passage creation and 0.3% (1 patient) uterine perforation. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed and determined that March classification and utilization of ultrasound guidance were not directly associated with adverse events. Conclusion Hysteroscopy in the office is well tolerated and able to be completed safely in patients who have a diagnosis of Asherman's Syndrome which suggests more operative hysteroscopic should be attempted in the office rather than the operating room.
A comprehensive overview of daratumumab and carfilzomib and the recently approved daratumumab, carfilzomib and dexamethasone regimen in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

Introduction: Novel, effective regimens are needed in patients with relapsed and refractory myeloma (RRMM) who inevitably relapse after PI and IMID containing treatment. Areas covered: Pre-clinical data, early clinical and pivotal trials relevant to the development of the two backbone drugs of carfilzomib and daratumumab, and the two important recent trials, EQUULEUS and CANDOR leading to the FDA approval of the combination regimen of daratumumab, carfilzomib, and dexamethasone (DKd) for RRMM are detailed in this review. Expert opinion: EQUULEUS and CANDOR have established the efficacy of the DKd regimen in the landscape of bortezomib and lenalidomide refractory patients. The split dosing schedule of the first dose of daratumumab was approved by the FDA based on EQUULEUS, significantly improving patient convenience. Subcutaneous daratumumab is being evaluated in this combination to further improve tolerance and convenience. Further studies are needed to evaluate and optimally sequence the many effective and potent drugs available in RRMM.
Fast Food Industry in the Post-pandemic Era — A Case Study of KFC

The global spread of the Covid-19 pandemic exerts great influence on the global economies, and among the economic sectors which are suffering losses, the service industry, especially fast food restaurants, are greatly impacted. Before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the fast food restaurant benefits a lot from the process of globalization, while they lose the benefit when the pandemic causes a lot of limitations on the cross-boarder flow of commodities and people. By taking KFC as an example, based on the analysis, it is found that the reasons behind such impact include slowed globalization, customer’s reducing income and government bans. To help the fast food restaurants get through the difficulties amid pandemic, several possible solutions are proposed in this paper.
Consequences of underexplored variation in biodiversity indices used for land-use prioritization.

For biodiversity protection to play a persuasive role in land-use planning, conservationists must be able to offer objective systems for ranking which natural areas to protect or convert. Representing biodiversity in spatially explicit indices is challenging because it entails numerous judgments regarding what variables to measure, how to measure them, and how to combine them. Surprisingly few studies have explored this variation. Here, we explore how this variation affects which areas are selected for agricultural conversion by a land-use prioritization model designed to reduce the biodiversity losses associated with agricultural expansion in Zambia. We first explore the similarity between model recommendations generated by three recently published composite indices and a commonly used rarity-weighted species richness metric. We then explore four underlying sources of ecological and methodological variation within these and other approaches, including different terrestrial vertebrate taxonomic groups, different species-richness metrics, different mathematical methods for combining layers, and different spatial resolutions of inputs. The results generated using different biodiversity approaches show very low spatial agreement regarding which areas to convert to agriculture. There is little overlap in areas identified for conversion using previously published indices (mean Jaccard similarity, Jw , between 0.3 and 3.7%), different taxonomic groups (5.0% < mean Jw < 13.5%), or different measures of species richness (15.6% < mean Jw < 33.7%). Even with shared conservation goals, different methods for combining layers and different input spatial resolutions still produce meaningful, though smaller, differences among areas selected for conversion (40.9% < mean Jw < 67.5%). The choice of taxonomic group had the largest effect on conservation priorities, followed by the choice of species richness metric, the choice of combination method, and finally the choice of spatial resolution. These disagreements highlight the challenge of objectively representing biodiversity in land-use planning tools, and present a credibility challenge for conservation scientists seeking to inform policy making. Our results suggest an urgent need for a more consistent and transparent framework for designing the biodiversity indices used in land-use planning, which we propose here.
Improving Guideline-Congruent Care for Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting Prophylaxis in Pediatric Oncology Patients.

PURPOSEChemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) is a very common side effect of pediatric cancer therapy. High-quality, evidence-based, pediatric-specific guidelines for prophylaxis and trea...
Alternative Systems and Materials for Splicing Prestressed-Precast Concrete Piles

The use of piles is a common method for establishing deep foundations for bridges where there is a top layer of weak soil. Among various types of pile and installation methods, driving prestressed-...
Folate-hapten conjugate targeted immunotherapeutics: pharmacokinetics, biodistribution, and enhanced antitumor activity.

Proc Amer Assoc Cancer Res, Volume 47, 2006 5574 One class of emerging investigational therapies for cancer treatment has involved the mobilization of the immune system to first recognize and then attack the malignancy. The broad distribution of folate receptor (FR) expression among human neoplasms, along with its pronounced over-expression in malignant tissues and extremely limited distribution among normal epithelium, suggests an exciting potential for a FR-based immunotherapy against epithelial cancers. We have developed an immunotherapy strategy that utilizes a small folate-hapten conjugate (folate-FITC) to redirect endogenously produced anti-hapten antibody to FR-positive tumor cells. In an effort to optimize the therapeutic folate-FITC dosing regimen, pharmacokinetic studies were performed by administering radiolabeled folate-FITC to both tumor- and non-tumor bearing mice that were either naive or FITC-immunized. We found that the folate-FITC conjugate itself displays moderate nonspecific binding to serum proteins, and it is not significantly distributed to erythrocytes. In naive (non-immunized) mice, folate-FITC eliminates quickly through the liver and kidneys; but, in immunized mice, folate-FITC forms immune complexes with FITC-specific antibodies which in turn decreases its plasma clearance rate. The degree of anti-FITC antibody occupancy by circulating folate-FITC (i.e. the immune complex formation) was detectable ex-vivo by ELISA analysis using folate binding protein-coated plates. Here, we learned that excessive folate-FITC dosing simultaneously leads to (i) the saturation of circulating FITC-specific antibodies, and (ii) saturation of the tumor-associated FRs. Under these dosing conditions, “anchoring” of anti-FITC antibody to the FR-positive tumor cells is compromised. Folate-FITC exhibited a linear pharmacokinetics that was dependent on both the dose and the anti-FITC antibody titer. The extended plasma duration of folate-FITC in immunized mice can be viewed as an advantage for maintaining a long-lasting accumulation of folate-FITC on FR-positive tumors. By extending the duration of treatment and optimizing the doses of therapeutic components (folate-FITC in combination with cytokines), enhanced antitumor activity with minimal toxicity was observed in mice bearing established subcutaneous tumors. Overall, our on-going research may allow for the identification of a more therapeutically effective, folate-hapten dosing regimen when given as immunotherapy in patients with FR-positive metastatic tumors.
A New Approach in the College Required Program

(1960). A New Approach in the College Required Program. Journal of Health, Physical Education, Recreation: Vol. 31, No. 8, pp. 17-79.
Learning Binary Hash Codes for Large-Scale Image Search

Algorithms to rapidly search massive image or video collections are critical for many vision applications, including visual search, content-based retrieval, and non-parametric models for object recognition. Recent work shows that learned binary projections are a powerful way to index large collections according to their content. The basic idea is to formulate the projections so as to approximately preserve a given similarity function of interest. Having done so, one can then search the data efficiently using hash tables, or by exploring the Hamming ball volume around a novel query. Both enable sub-linear time retrieval with respect to the database size. Further, depending on the design of the projections, in some cases it is possible to bound the number of database examples that must be searched in order to achieve a given level of accuracy.
The successive conjugate spaces of the space ℭ of all completely continuous operators

We denote by B the Banach space (algebra) of all operators on ℌ and by ℭ its subspace (Banach subalgebra) of all completely continuous operators; the bound of an operator represents its norm.
Computer Vision Systems

Food quality is of paramount consideration for all consumers, and its importance is perhaps only second to food safety. By some definition, food safety is also incorporated into the broad categorization of food quality. Hence, the need for careful and accurate evaluation of food quality is at the forefront of research and development both in the academia and industry. Among the many available methods for food quality evaluation, computer vision has proven to be the most powerful, especially for nondestructively extracting and quantifying many features that have direct relevance to food quality assessment and control. Furthermore, computer vision systems serve to rapidly evaluate the most readily observable foods quality attributes – the external characteristics such as color, shape, size, surface texture etc. In addition, it is now possible, using advanced computer vision technologies, to “see” inside a food product and/or package to examine important quality attributes ordinarily unavailable to human evaluators. With rapid advances in electronic hardware and other associated imaging technologies, the cost-effectiveness and speed of computer vision systems have greatly improved and many practical systems are already in place in the food industry.
Tutorial: wireless technology in education

The explosion of wireless technologies has created a new dimension in education. Wireless, which provides "anytime, anywhere," access to resources, can have a tremendous impact on teaching, learning, and student collaboration. Yet issues still abound. Administrators ponder over which wireless technology to invest in on campus, network administrators wrestled with how to ensure proper security, and faculty struggle with how best to incorporate wireless into student learning both inside and outside the classroom. This session looks at the current state of wireless and wireless security by demonstrating some of the current technologies and also explores how wireless can best be used in education.
Reactions to antipneumococcal rabbit serum: X. Effect on reversed passive anaphylaxis of varying speed of injections of constant shocking doses of antipneumococcal rabbit serum

Abstract 1.1. Evidence is presented that reversed passive anaphylactic reactions in guinea pigs vary with the speed of injection of shocking doses of specific antiserum, when other factors are constant. 2.2. Severe reactions occurred in most animals when the injection time was ninety seconds or less. Reactions were negligible or absent when the injection time was one hundred and eighty seconds or longer. 3.3. It is recommended that therapeutic antisera be injected very slowly if reversed anaphylactic reactions are to be avoided.
Endocrine Adaptation to Hypoxia

The sections in this article are: 1 Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis and Endorphins 1.1 Acute Hypoxia 1.2 Mechanisms 1.3 Chronic Hypoxia 1.4 Endorphins/Lipotropic Pituitary Hormone 2 Catecholamines 2.1 Acute Hypoxia 2.2 Mechanisms 2.3 Chronic Hypoxia 3 Atrial Natriuretic Peptide 3.1 Mechanism 3.2 Chronic Hypoxia 4 Arginine Vasopressin 4.1 Acute Hypoxia 4.2 Mechanisms 4.3 Interactions 4.4 Chronic Hypoxia 5 Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System 5.1 Acute Hypoxia 5.2 Chronic Hypoxia 5.3 Mechanisms 6 Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Thyroid Axis 6.1 Rats 7 Hormones of Reproduction 8 Hormones of the Islets of Langerhans 9 Somatomammotropins 9.1 Prolactin 9.2 Growth Hormone 10 Other Circulating Hormones and Factors
Transglucosylation as a probe of the mechanism of action of mammalian cytosolic beta-glucosidase.

This study establishes that guinea pig liver cytosolic beta-glucosidase generates a common glucosyl-enzyme intermediate from a variety of aryl beta-D-glucoside substrates and that the intermediate can react with various acceptors to form distinct products at rates which are dependent on the structure, nucleophilicity, and concentration of the acceptor. Specifically, we demonstrate that water and linear alkanols will react with the glucosyl-enzyme intermediate to form D-glucose and alkyl-beta-D-glucoside (e.g. octyl-beta-D-glucoside), respectively. The rate of alcoholysis is 24-fold greater than the rate of hydrolysis of the glucosyl-enzyme intermediate and accounts for the increase in steady-state rate of substrate disappearance in the presence of alcohols. In addition, the substrate molecule itself (e.g. p-nitrophenyl-beta-D-galactoside (pNP-Gal)) can serve as an acceptor in the transglycosylation reaction, thereby enabling the enzyme to synthesize disaccharide glycosides (e.g. pNP-beta-Gal(6----1)beta-Gal). The transglycosylation data point to the presence of two hydrophobic subsites in the active site of the cytosolic beta-glucosidase. These data support a model in which the cytosolic beta-glucosidase binds an acceptor and a glycosyl donor simultaneously within its catalytic center and efficiently catalyzes the transfer of a sugar residue from the donor to the acceptor.
A first look at TCP performance in indoor IEEE 802.11ad WLANs

Radio communication in the millimeter-wave (mmwave) frequency bands, recently standardized by the IEEE 802.11ad specification, is emerging as an alternative to the traditional 2.4/5GHz wireless systems, promising multi-Gigabit throughput. Most work in this area until now has focused on PHY/MAC layer design. In contrast, little attention has been paid towards transport layer performance. In this work, we experimentally characterize TCP's behavior and its interplay with the lower layers of the protocol stack over 60GHz links in a typical office environment. Our results differ significantly from the those reported in the past for 60GHz links in a stable datacenter environment.
Progress in circuit oriented techniques for electrical interconnect and package (EIP) modeling

The tools and techniques for EIP modeling are continuously evolving perhaps at a slower pace than the VLSI system technology. VLSI systems involve millions of components and it is impossible to exactly model such complex systems. Continuous progress in the tools and techniques allows the modeling of larger portions of such systems. This paper summarizes recent progress of circuit oriented techniques for EIP and gives an outline of some new techniques and issues for the solution of larger systems in the time domain.
A combined transmission and scattering tomographic approach to composition and density imaging

Abstract A method of imaging the composition and density of industrial samples by combining information obtained from a transmission tomographic scanner and a projective Compton scatter imaging system is described. A reconstruction algorithm with attenuation and multiple scatter correction capabilities is developed around a detailed model of the Compton scatter imaging system. Monte Carlo simulation is used to generate realistic data for the determination of model parameters, the analysis and design of device components, and for testing the reconstruction algorithm.
Effects of mephenytoin and methsuximide on the reaction time of pigeons.

Abstract Although antiepilepsy drugs are used clinically, their behavioral effects are poorly understood. The present study examined the effects of mephenytoin and methsuximide, two antiepilepsy medications, on the reaction times of pigeons. Pigeons were trained to depress and hold a foot treadle until a stimulus change occurred. Releases within 2 sec of the stimulus change were reinforced with access to mixed grain; premature releases or releases occuring after the 2-sec limited hold were not reinforced. Mephenytoin (40, 60, 80, 120, and 160 mg/kg) and methsuximide (25, 50, 75, and 100 mg/kg) produced generally dose-dependent increases in median reaction times and decreases in percent responses that were reinforced. The present procedure has not previously been used with pigeons and is a promising technique for the study of reaction time with this species.
Carbon nanotube amplification strategies for highly sensitive immunodetection of cancer biomarkers.

We describe herein the combination of electrochemical immunosensors using single-wall carbon nanotube (SWNT) forest platforms with multi-label secondary antibody-nanotube bioconjugates for highly sensitive detection of a cancer biomarker in serum and tissue lysates. Greatly amplified sensitivity was attained by using bioconjugates featuring horseradish peroxidase (HRP) labels and secondary antibodies (Ab2) linked to carbon nanotubes (CNT) at high HRP/Ab2 ratio. This approach provided a detection limit of 4 pg mL-1 (100 amol mL-1), for prostate specific antigen (PSA) in 10 μL of undiluted calf serum, a mass detection limit of 40 fg. Accurate detection of PSA in human serum samples was demonstrated by comparison to standard ELISA assays. PSA was quantitatively measured in prostate tissue samples for which PSA could not be differentiated by the gold standard immunohistochemical staining method. These easily fabricated SWNT immunosensors show excellent promise for clinical screening of cancer biomarkers and p...
Additive interactions between the moon snail Euspira heros and the sea star Asterias forbesi, two predators of the surfclam Spisula solidissima

A laboratory experiment was conducted to determine whether the sea star Asterias forbesi and the naticid gastropod Euspira heros feed on surfclams, Spisula solidissima, in an additive or non-additive manner. Predators were allowed to feed on clams with conspecifics and in the presence of the other predator species. Clam mortality (measured as the rate of decline of clam number) and predator feeding rates were noted. To determine the effects of temperature on interactions among the predators, the experiment was conducted at three different temperatures. At all temperatures, feeding rate of each predator was not affected by the presence of the other species, and clam mortality in the presence of both predators was predictable from mortality in the presence of a single predator species. These additive interactions are most likely a result of habitat partitioning between the predators, with naticid snails being infaunal and sea stars being epifaunal. Previous studies in a variety of systems show no clear pattern of occurrence of non-additive interactions. Relatively small differences in predator or prey behavior may be responsible for the presence or absence of non-additive interactions.
Adhesive processing by electromagnetic irradiation

A mathematical model is presented which describes the degree of cure in a thermosetting adhesive used to bond sheet molding compound (SMC) components. The model allows computer aided optimization of the thermosetting process for any type of electromagnetic heating of the various layers of the structure (e.g. dielectric, microwave or induction), arbitrary material properties and arbitrary layer thickness. Computer simulated results are given for the particular case when the cure of the thermosetting material is initiated by its exposure to a high-power radio-frequency electric field (dielectric heating). These results indicate a strong sensitivity of the process to the thickness of the adhesive layer and the degree of coupling with the electromagnetic field. The analysis demonstrates that substantial heat losses from the relatively thin adhesive layer to the structural members of the joint by diffusive heat flow can be counterbalanced by additional electric power dissipated either in the adhesive or the structural members of the joint. Although derived for dielectric heating, those results are general, being independent of the type of electromagnetic heating employed.
Absorption of water in waste glass as a precursor for foam formation

Abstract The objective of this research is to describe the formation of foam glass from waste glass using water as a gasifying agent similar to natural perlite. Artificial perlite with up to 10% water content may be made from waste soda-lime glass by subjecting the glass to water vapor under moderate pressures (less than 250°C). The maximum rate of absorption requires a minimum amount of liquid water to be in contact with the glass. Excess liquid water dilutes the corrosion action of alkali formed. Rate of water absorption as a function of water content and 1N NaOH solution content were examined on rods of glass as well as glass powder. Water adsorption was obtained by heating glass compositions in saturated steam in an autoclave. In general, the absorption of water was related to particle size, liquid water content, hydroxide ion concentration and glass composition.
Mechanical Properties of Active and Passive Rat Middle Cerebral Arteries

Cerebral arteries play an important role in the regulation of cerebral blood flow through autoregulation, a well established phenomenon which is caused by a combination of myogenic, neuronal and metabolic mechanisms [1]. Myogenic reactivity is the ability of the vascular smooth muscle cells (SMC) to contract in response to stretch or to an increase in transmural pressure (TMP), and to dilate in response to a decrease in TMP [2]. It is this active constriction of arteries within the autoregulatory range that prompts studies of not just passive mechanical properties, but also active mechanical properties. Passive properties provide an understanding of the behavior of the extracellular matrix components of arteries (i.e. collagen and elastin); but, in order to understand how the artery behaves in vivo, it is necessary to understand the mechanical properties with smooth muscle cell activation. Mechanical properties might also be altered if the vessel is diseased or damaged. Ischemia has been shown to reduce vascular tone, which might lead to brain tissue damage during stroke [3]. Therefore studying the mechanical properties of vessels in disease states to determine if they are able to adequately take part in controlling local blood flow is also important.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Math5 defines the ganglion cell competence state in a subpopulation of retinal progenitor cells exiting the cell cycle

The basic helix-loop-helix (bHLH) transcription factor Math5 (Atoh7) is transiently expressed during early retinal histogenesis and is necessary for retinal ganglion cell (RGC) development. Using nucleoside pulse-chase experiments and clonal analysis, we determined that progenitor cells activate Math5 during or after the terminal division, with progressively later onset as histogenesis proceeds. We have traced the lineage of Math5+ cells using mouse BAC transgenes that express Cre recombinase under strict regulatory control. Quantitative analysis showed that Math5+ progenitors express equivalent levels of Math5 and contribute to every major cell type in the adult retina, but are heavily skewed toward early fates. The Math5>Cre transgene labels 3% of cells in adult retina, including 55% of RGCs. Only 11% of Math5+ progenitors develop into RGCs; the majority become photoreceptors. The fate bias of the Math5 cohort, inferred from the ratio of cone and rod births, changes over time, in parallel with the remaining neurogenic population. Comparable results were obtained using Math5 mutant mice, except that ganglion cells were essentially absent, and late fates were overrepresented within the lineage. We identified Math5-independent RGC precursors in the earliest born (embryonic day 11) retinal cohort, but these precursors require Math5-expressing cells for differentiation. Math5 thus acts permissively to establish RGC competence within a subset of progenitors, but is not sufficient for fate specification. It does not autonomously promote or suppress the determination of non-RGC fates. These data are consistent with progressive and temporal restriction models for retinal neurogenesis, in which environmental factors influence the final histotypic choice.
Methods for the Elucidation of Protein-Small Molecule Interactions

Understanding the interactions between small molecules and proteins can be approached from different perspectives and is important for the advancement of basic science and drug development. Chemists often use bioactive small molecules, such as natural products or synthetic compounds, as probes to identify therapeutically relevant protein targets. Biochemists and biologists often begin with a specific protein and seek to identify the endogenous metabolites that bind to it. These interests have led to the development of methodology that relies heavily on synthetic and analytical chemistry to identify protein-small molecule and protein-metabolite interactions. Here, we survey these strategies, highlighting key findings, to demonstrate the value of these approaches in answering important chemical and biological questions.
Microplastic Strain Hysteresis Energy as a Criterion for Fatigue Fracture

In this paper an energy criterion for fatigue failure is postulated. Microplastic strain hysteresis energy is considered to be an index for fatigue damage. On this basis, a relation is developed between stress amplitude and the number of cycles to failure which utilizes only material properties obtained from the static true stress-strain tension test. The analysis is found to compare well with an experimentally determined S-N curve for SAE 4340 steel.
Effect of sodium dodecyl sulfate on the kinetic properties and molecular weight of rat striatal tyrosine hydroxylase

Abstract Soluble rat striatal tyrosine hydroxylase is activated by low concentrations (0.006–0.008%) of the anionic detergent sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS). After treatment with the detergent, the enzyme exhibits a Km for cofactor decreased by an order of magnitude, and concamitantly loses the ability to be activated by the specific sulfated polysaccharide heparin (2). The identical effects of both effectors on the kinetic properties of the enzyme suggest that tyrosine hydroxylase is susceptible to specific conformational transitions which modulate its kinetic state.
Sensing-enabled channels for hard-to-detect command and control of mobile devices

The proliferation of mobile computing devices has enabled immense opportunities for everyday users. At the same time, however, this has opened up new, and perhaps more severe, possibilities for attacks. In this paper, we explore a novel generation of mobile malware that exploits the rich variety of sensors available on current mobile devices.Two properties distinguish the proposed malware from the existing state-of-the-art. First, in addition to the misuse of the various traditional services available on modern mobile devices, this malware can be used for the purpose of targeted context-aware attacks. Second, this malware can be commanded and controlled over context-aware, out-of-band channels as opposed to a centralized infrastructure. These communication channels can be used to quickly reach out to a large number of infected devices, while offering a high degree of undetectability. In particular, unlike traditional network-based communication, the proposed sensing-enabled channels cannot be detected by monitoring the cellular or wireless communication networks. To demonstrate the feasibility of our proposed attack, we present different flavors of command and control channels based on acoustic, visual, magnetic and vibrational signaling. We further build and test a proof-of-concept Android application implementing many such channels.
T-stress in orthotropic functionally graded materials: Lekhnitskii and Stroh formalisms

A new interaction integral formulation is developed for evaluating the elastic T-stress for mixed-mode crack problems with arbitrarily oriented straight or curved cracks in orthotropic nonhomogeneous materials. The development includes both the Lekhnitskii and Stroh formalisms. The former is physical and relatively simple, and the latter is mathematically elegant. The gradation of orthotropic material properties is integrated into the ele- ment stiffness matrix using a "generalized isoparametric formulation" and (special) graded elements. The specific types of material gradation considered include exponential and hyperbolic-tangent functions, but micromechanics models can also be considered within the scope of the present formulation. This paper investigates several fracture problems to validate the proposed method and also provides numerical solutions, which can be used as benchmark results (e.g. investigation of fracture specimens). The accuracy of results is verified by comparison with analytical solutions.
Potentiometric microdetermination of 1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazacyclohexane and 1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazacyclooctane in several solvents

Abstract Pyridine, tetramethylguanidine, and hexamethylphosphoramide were evaluated as solvents for the microdetermination of two weakly acidic compounds of ordnance interest, 1,3,5-trinitro-1,3,5-triazacyclohexane (RDX) and 1,3,5,7-tetranitro-1,3,5,7-tetrazacyclooctane (HMX). The titrant was tetrabutylammonium hydroxide in methanol/ toluene. Endpoints were determined potentiometrically by a glass/modified calomel electrode system or by two polarized platinum electrodes. The largest potentiometric break was found in the very basic solvent tetramethylguanidine. Endpoint detection using two polarized platinum electrodes significantly enhanced the precision of the analysis.
Neighbor-list reduction: Optimization for computation of molecular van der Waals and solvent-accessible surface areas

A general, fast, and exact optimization, called neighbor-list reduction (NLR), is presented, which can be used to accelerate the computation of hard-sphere molecular surface areas. NLR allows selected neighbors of a central atom to be removed from the computation in a preprocessing step, thus allowing the calculation of the atom's surface area to proceed with a shorter list of neighbors. The atoms removed are those having intersections with the central atom falling entirely within unions of other atoms' intersections with the central atom. We describe explicit methods for two levels of neighbor-list reduction: 3NLR considers three hard spheres at a time—the central atom, the candidate for removal, and one other neighbor; whereas 4NLR considers two other neighbors. We demonstrate the correctness and efficiency of this optimization by means of a modified version of the NACCESS program, which computes atomic and molecular surface areas numerically. As test cases we used compounds of different size and class, with and without explicit hydrogens. When van der Waals surface (vdWSA) is computed, the NLR methods reduce the length of the neighbor list by as much as 41%; when solvent-accessible surface area (SASA) is computed, the reduction is as great as 74%. The overall speed improvement due to these reductions is a factor of only about 1.2 for vdWSA, but is about 2.0 for the computation of SASA, in the context of this particular program. All 39,554 calculated atomic surface areas (vdWSA and SASA) were found to be identical to within 0.001 A2 to those obtained without NLR. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Comput Chem 19: 797–808, 1998
A signal recognition particle receptor gene from the early-diverging eukaryote, Giardia lamblia ☆

The molecular mechanisms for targeting and translocation of secreted proteins are highly conserved from bacteria to mammalian cells, although the machinery is more complex in higher eukaryotes. To investigate protein transport in the early-diverging eukaryote, Giardia lamblia, we cloned the gene encoding the alpha subunit (SRalpha) of the signal recognition particle (SRP) receptor. SRalpha is a small GTPase that functions in SRP-ribosome targeting to the ER. Sequence and phylogenetic analyses showed that SRalpha from G. lamblia is most homologous to SRalpha proteins from higher eukaryotes, although it lacks some conserved motifs. Specifically, giardial SRalpha has an N-terminal extension that enables SRalpha of higher eukaryotes to interact with a beta subunit that anchors it in the ER membrane. While the C-terminal regions are similar, giardial SRalpha lacks a prominent 13 amino acid regulatory loop that is characteristic of higher eukaryotic versions. Thus, giardial SRalpha resembles that of higher eukaryotes, but likely diverged before the advent of the regulatory loop. The 1.8 kb SRalpha transcript has extremely short untranslated regions (UTRs): a 1-2 nt 5'- and a 9 nt 3' UTR with the polyadenylation signal overlapping with the stop codon. RT-PCR, Northern and Western analyses showed that SRalpha is present at relatively constant levels during vegetative growth and encystation, even though there are extensive changes in endomembrane structures and secretory activity during encystation. Imnuno-EM showed that SRalpha localizes to ER-like structures, strengthening the observation of a typical ER in G. lamlia. Unexpectedly, SRalpha was also found in the lysosome-like peripheral vacuoles, suggesting unusual protein traffic in this early eukaryote. Our results indicate that the eukaryotic type of cotranslational transport appeared early in the evolution of the eukaryotic cell.
Understanding the molecular basis for differential binding of integrins to collagen and gelatin

Integrin-mediated cell adhesion plays a central role in cell migration and signaling. Overexpression of integrins is also associated with cancer invasion and metastasis. Although a number of problems in integrin-matrix interactions have been studied in detail, the molecular specificity, which increases integrin adhesion to native collagen but results in poor integrin-gelatin interaction, is not understood. In this report, we study the role of individual amino acids in integrin-collagen and integrin-gelatin interactions using long-term (>100 ns) molecular simulations. The results, which are force-field independent, show that denatured collagen induces helical conformations in integrin amino acids and significantly reduces the poly-proline II content, which stabilizes the integrin-collagen interactions. Our simulations provide a possible explanation of the molecular specificity in integrin binding and suggest new targets for regulating integrin-mediated invasion and metastasis.
The Intel 376 family for embedded processor applications

A detailed examination is made of the register set, addressing modes, instruction set, protection mechanisms, and debugging features of the Intel 80376 processor, especially as they relate to embedded applications. Hardware for the processor is described. Three other members of the family, namely, the 82370 integrated system peripheral, the 27C203A pipelined 256-byte EPROM, and the 80387SX numeric coprocessor, are also examined. >
Expression and fine structure of the gene encoding N epsilon-(indole-3-acetyl)-L-lysine synthetase from Pseudomonas savastanoi.

Abstract The gene encoding N epsilon-(indole-3-acetyl)-L-lysine synthetase, iaaL, from Pseudomonas savastanoi was localized within a 4.25-kilobase EcoRI fragment derived from pIAA1 of oleander strain EW 2009. Two open reading frames of 606 and 1188 nucleotides were identified upon sequencing, which directed the in vitro synthesis of Mr 21,000 and Mr 44,000 proteins. Expression of an open reading frame-2 subclone, pMON686, in Escherichia coli indicates that (indole-3-acetyl)-L-lysine synthetase is encoded solely by open reading frame-2. Hydrophobicity plots of the deduced open reading frame-1 protein suggest that it may be a membrane-bound protein, whereas the predicted iaaL gene product possesses considerable hydrophilic character, consistent with the demonstration of (indole-3-acetyl)-L-lysine synthetase activity in cell-free aqueous extracts. No nucleotide or protein homologies were found between iaaL and any sequences contained within the GenBank or National Biomedical Research Foundation data bases (April 13, 1989).
Electronic structure of the LPE grown semiconductor, p-ZnSnAs2, explored by newly-observed laser-excited photoluminescence☆

Radiative recombination phenomena are reported for the first time for ZnSnAs2. The specimens are of (112) growth on (111) GaAs and (004) growth on (100) GaAs, the substrates bring semi-insulating. Measurements of photoluminescence (PL) band widths, band energies, and intensities at several excitation power density levels and several temperatures between 5 and 200 K lead to a donor-acceptor pairing assignment for the ca. 0.6 eV PL bands. The agreement between the calculated activation energy within the effective mass approximation and that observed experimentally is consistent with the identification of a shallow acceptor center at 25 ± 5 meV in both (112) and (004) ZnSnAs2. The data also indicate that the ZnSnAs2 has a deep donor center in each of the directional growth types. Finally, (112) ZnSnAs2 on (111) GaAs was found to grow more homogeneously than (004) on (100) GaAs.
Study on Vibration Friction Mechanism of Vibration Compaction System

The mechanism model of vibration compaction system was built. The vibration friction mechanism of vibratory compaction system was studied based on granular dynamics theory. The results show that the void ratio does a great impact on strength and compaction.
Non–indigenous brook trout and the demise of Pacific salmon: a forgotten threat?

Non-indigenous species may be the most severe environmental threat the world now faces. Fishes, in particular, have been intentionally introduced worldwide and have commonly caused the local extinction of native fish. Despite their importance, the impact of introduced fishes on threatened populations of Pacific salmon has never been systemically examined. Here, we take advantage of several unique datasets from the Columbia River Basin to address the impact of non-indigenous brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, on threatened spring/summer-run chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha. More than 41 000 juvenile chinook were individually marked, and their survival in streams without brook trout was nearly double the survival in streams with brook trout. Furthermore, when brook trout were absent, habitat quality was positively associated with chinook survival, but when brook trout were present no relationship between chinook survival and habitat quality was evident. The difference in juvenile chinook survival between sites with, and without, brook trout would increase population growth rate (lambda) by ca. 2.5%. This increase in lambda would be sufficient to reverse the negative population growth observed in many chinook populations. Because many of the populations we investigated occur in wilderness areas, their habitat has been considered pristine; however, our results emphasize that non-indigenous species are present and may have a dramatic impact, even in remote regions that otherwise appear pristine.
Structure and Properties of Synoptic-Scale Wave Disturbances in the Intertropical Convergence Zone of the Eastern Atlantic

Abstract Data from a dense network of ship observations are used to study the structure and properties of westward-moving wave disturbances observed in the eastern Atlantic Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) during Phase III of the GAPP Atlantic Tropical Experiment (GATE). Comparisons are made with similar disturbances found in the ITCZ of the western Pacific. Wave fields are determined by fitting low-order polynomials to the ship data with use of the method of least squares. The wave structures in the two regions are found to be similar in many respects, the principal difference being in the divergence field and associated vertical motion. Unlike in the Pacific a multi-layer divergence pattern exists in the eastern Atlantic, leading us to hypothesize the existence of three main cloud populations with outflow levels near 800, 500 and 250 mb. The soundings for the Atlantic exhibit lesser parcel instability then the Pacific soundings in agreement with the reduced vigor of the convective cells and the gre...
Base metals and other minor elements in the manganese deposits of west-central Arkansas

Abstract Manganese oxides from deposits in west-central Arkansas were analyzed by X-ray diffraction for mineralogy and by atomic absorption spectroscopy for Mn, Fe, Co, Cu, Ni, Zn, V, Al, Li, Na, K, Mg, Ca, Sr and Ba. We report on 42 samples from 25 sites with more than 25 wt.% Mn and less than 7 wt.% Fe. Most samples were mixtures of two or more of the following minerals, many with concentric deposition: cryptomelane, lithiophorite, psilomelane and pyrolusite. In the purer samples of single minerals, lithiophorite contained the higher concentrations of total base metals (Co + Cu + Ni + Zn) than other minerals. In atom % of Mn these concentrations were: 9.51% in lithiophorite; 0.432% in psilomelane; and 0.275% in cryptomelane. The relative concentration of base metals in the pure minerals, proceeding from highest to lowest concentration, were: lithiophorite (Co = Cu > Ni > Zn); psilomelane (Co > Cu > Zn > Ni) and cryptomelane (Zn > Co = Cu > Ni). The concentration of Li correlates with the metals Al, Co, Cu, Ni and Zn, in the mineral samples containing measurable Li. Correlation coefficients (ϱ) for Li with the various metals and sum of the base metals were: Al (ϱ = 0.976); Co (ϱ = 0.44); Ni (ϱ = 0.954); Cu (ϱ = 0.918); Zn (ϱ = 0.875); and (Co + Cu + Ni + Zn) (ϱ = 0.979). Li is believed to be a measure of lithiophorite. Correlation was found between Al content and base metal contents for all samples: Co (ϱ = 0.354); Ni (ϱ = 0.749); Cu (ϱ = 0.808); Zn (ϱ = 0.632); and (Co + Cu + Ni + Zn) (ϱ = 0.884). The Al correlation extended to published values for these and the minerals hollandite and todorokite, except for Zn. Zn correlated with K in published analyses and in the eastern half of the study area where cryptomelane predominated. A mechanism is proposed to explain the enhancement by Al of base metal incorporation into manganese oxide minerals. The mechanism involves the isomorphous substitution of Al3+ for Mn4+ with charge neutralization by bivalent base metal ions.
The convergence of a modified barrier method for convex programming

We show, using elementary considerations, that a modified barrier function method for the solution of convex programming problems converges for any fixed positive setting of the barrier parameter. With mild conditions on the primal and dual feasible regions, we show how to use the modified barrier function method to obtain primal and dual optimal solutions, even in the presence of degeneracy. We illustrate the argument for convergence in the case of linear programming, and then generalize it to the convex programming case.