cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of sample preservation and storage methods for metaproteomics analysis of intestinal microbiomes

Abstract A critical step in studies of the intestinal microbiome using meta-omics approaches is the preservation of samples before analysis. Preservation is essential for approaches that measure gene expression, such as metaproteomics, which is used to identify and quantify proteins in microbiomes. Intestinal microbiome samples are typically stored by flash freezing and storage at −80°C, but some experimental set-ups do not allow for immediate freezing of samples. In this study, we evaluated methods to preserve fecal microbiome samples for metaproteomics analyses when flash freezing is not possible. We collected fecal samples from C57BL/6 mice and stored them for 1 and 4 weeks using the following methods: flash-freezing in liquid nitrogen, immersion in RNAlater™, immersion in 95% ethanol, immersion in a RNAlater-like buffer, and combinations of these methods. After storage we extracted protein and prepared peptides for LC-MS/MS analysis to identify and quantify peptides and proteins. All samples produced highly similar metaproteomes, except for ethanol-preserved samples that were distinct from all other samples in terms of protein identifications and protein abundance profiles. Flash-freezing and RNAlater™ (or RNAlater-like treatments) produced metaproteomes that differed only slightly, with less than 0.7% of identified proteins differing in abundance. In contrast, ethanol preservation resulted in an average of 9.5% of the identified proteins differing in abundance between ethanol and the other treatments. Our results suggest that preservation at room temperature in RNAlater™, or an RNAlater-like solution, performs as well as freezing for the preservation of intestinal microbiome samples before metaproteomics analyses. Importance Metaproteomics is a powerful tool to study the intestinal microbiome. By identifying and quantifying a large number of microbial, dietary, and host proteins in microbiome samples, metaproteomics provides direct evidence of the activities and functions of microbial community members. A critical step for metaproteomic workflows is preserving samples before analysis because protein profiles are susceptible to fast change in response to changes in environmental conditions (air exposure, temperature changes, etc.). This study evaluated the effects of different preservation treatments on the metaproteomes of intestinal microbiome samples.
Individual response to electroconvulsive therapy is not correlated between multiple treatment courses.

Abstract Objectives Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) effectively treats depressive disorders, but many patients will have subsequent relapses. While some guidelines suggest prior response to ECT is an indication for ECT in a subsequent mood episode, it is unknown whether response to ECT is correlated between treatment courses. This study explores whether response to ECT at a first treatment correlates with response to treatment in a second independent ECT course. Methods Single-center retrospective cohort of patients receiving two different ECT treatment courses between 2011 and 2020 and who self-reported depression symptoms using the Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (QIDS) at baseline and following treatment #5. Results 286 patients received two independent ECT series during the study period, of whom 153 received at least 5 treatments in both series. Patients had similar QIDS scores at the start of each treatment series (Pearson's correlation, r = 0.58, p Limitations retrospective cohort cannot control for factors influencing access to repeat ECT treatment Conclusions While on average final QIDS score was the same following two independent treatment courses, for individual patients the change in depression symptoms was not correlated between treatment series. Further research is needed to identify factors that may predict longitudinal ECT response.
Breast Ultrasound: Diagnostic Imaging and Biopsy Techniques for the Office Practice

Breast ultrasound is not only an important breast imaging tool but also an integral part of the surgeon’s management of a breast patient. The technologic advances in breast ultrasound systems over the past several decades have allowed this technology to take its place in the office setting and to be utilized for the real-time evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of patients being seen for breast abnormalities. The modern surgeon has quickly adopted breast ultrasound as a “hands-on” technology, without deferring the performance of this important diagnostic modality to ultrasound technologists. The comfort with breast pathophysiology and a 3-dimensional intraoperative understanding of breast anatomy have also allowed for more aggressive utilization of breast ultrasound.
Phasmida: Stick and Leaf Insects

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the Phasmida, a nocturnal exopterygote insect. They exhibit a variety of unpredictable and bizarre shapes. Some look like twigs or tree bark and may seem to be covered by lichens or moss. Others are indistinguishable from living or dead leaves, mimicking even leaf veins and mildew spots to perfection. Phasmida are large, and a few are remarkable for their gigantic size. The longest insect species in the world is Phobaeticus kirbyi from Borneo, with one documented female measuring 55 cm in length.The taxonomy of the order is problematic. No workable classification scheme exists, and those that are available are not based on phylogenetic relationships. Assignment to a category such as family, tribe, even suborder provides so little information that it is almost meaningless. This is in contrast to other insect orders, such as Coleoptera, where a suborder, or family-level identification, say, provides a wealth of biological information about the specimen.
Detecting changes in images of street scenes

In this paper we propose an novel algorithm for detecting changes in street scenes when the vehicle revisits sections of the street at different times. The proposed algorithm detects structural geometric changes, changes due to dynamically moving objects and as well as changes in the street appearance (e.g. posters put up) between two traversal times. We exploit geometric, appearance and semantic information to determine which areas have changed and formulate the problem as an optimal image labeling problem in the Markov Random Field framework. The approach is evaluated on street sequences from 3 different locations which were visited multiple times by the vehicle. The proposed method is applicable to monitoring and updating models and images of urban environments.
Thermal emission of GaAs nanowire solar cells

Despite concentrated light absorption and low thermal conductivities, GaAs nanowire solar cells can still have larger thermal emission cooling power than planar ones, resulting in a nearly 10 K lowering in operating temperature.
Functional bacterial opsonic activity of human amniotic fluid

There are some data to suggest that amniotic fluid protects the fetus from invasion by pathogenic bacteria. To examine methods by which amniotic fluid may offer such protection, quantitative antibody, complement activity, and functional opsonic capacity were measured. Immunoglobulins were measured by laser nephelometry and total hemolytic complement was determined by radial diffusion; results suggested activity adequate for bactericidal capacity. The chemiluminescence assay was used to quantitate the functional interaction between polymorphonuclear leukocytes and E. coli, group B streptococci (GBS), or zymosan particles preopsonized with amniotic fluid obtained at different stages of gestation. Results were compared to those for normal serum. Data were analyzed by evaluation of the initial slope, area under the curve, and peak chemiluminescence response. Opsonic activity of amniotic fluid for E. coli and GBS was demonstrated, with E. coli showing greater reactivity (maximum = 15,000 to 25,000 cpm) than GBS (10,000 to 20,000 cpm). Specific, as well as nonspecific, opsonic activity was demonstrated by absorption of amniotic fluid with killed bacteria. Concentration of amniotic fluid did not result in an increase in chemiluminescent activity, which demonstrates that optimal opsonic activity already exists. The classical and alternate pathways of complement were assessed for E. coli and GBS. Preterm amniotic fluid did not differ in response from that of amniotic fluid obtained from term pregnancies. This study demonstrates that amniotic fluid can provide the fetus with protection from bacterial pathogens and delineates mechanisms for such protection.
The reaction of anthramycin with DNA. 3. Properties of the complex.

Abstract Anthramycin has a high degree of specificity for reaction with helical DNA. This specificity must reflect some special configurational relationship between anthramycin and helical DNA. Several physical properties reflecting configuration of anthramycin—DNA complexes were studied. Intrinsic viscosity and radius of gyration were found to be increased in the complex, but only at high anthramycin DNA ratio, and only at sufficiently high DNA molecular weight. There was no significant change in sedimentation constant. These findings argue that at high extents of binding, the DNA helix becomes stiffened but not lengthened. Electric dichroism measurements indicated that the chromophore portion of the anthramycin molecule is oriented at an angle of approx. 36° relative to the helix axis. Anthramycin therefore is not intercalated between base-pairs. Circular dichroism measurements supported the suggestion that anthramycin in the complex resembles the deprotonated form. The patterns for complexes with native and denatured DNA were basically similar. From this and previous data, it is suggested that the major binding of an anthramycin molecule with helical DNA involves only one strand.
Preliminary Results of Resection of Sympathetic Ganglia and Trunks in Seventeen Cases of Chronic Infectious Arthritis

Excerpt Resection of lumbar sympathetic ganglia and trunks for the relief of so called chronic infectious arthritis (rheumatoid arthritis, arthritis deformans) of the lower extremities was first em...
Substrate and Product Inhibition of Rabbit Muscle Lactic Dehydrogenase Heart (H4) and Muscle (M4) Isozymes

Abstract 1. Kinetic data concerning the substrate and product inhibition by pyruvate and l-lactate have been obtained with the M4 and H4 fractions separated from crystalline rabbit muscle lactic dehydrogenase. 2. The studies indicate that the product inhibition by l-lactate or by pyruvate is predominantly noncompetitive for both the M4 and H4 isozymes. Ki values for product inhibition by l-lactate were 130 mm for the M4 isozyme and 26.0 mm for the H4 isozyme. Ki values for product inhibition by pyruvate were 0.28 mm for the M4 isozyme and 0.18 mm for the H4 isozyme. 3. At the concentrations of pyruvate and l-lactate reported by others in contracting muscle, substrate inhibition does not occur to any significant extent under our experimental conditions. However, there is a marked difference in the extent of product inhibition by l-lactate of pyruvate reduction for the two isozymes, but very little difference in the product inhibition by pyruvate of l-lactate oxidation.
A Private-Sector Perspective

Transducing the Genome Information, Anarchy, and Revolution in the Biomedical Sciences. Gary Zweiger. McGraw-Hill, New York, 2001. 287 pp. $24.95. ISBN 0-07-136980-5. This exploration of the emergence and significance of genomics offers non-specialist readers an insider's view of the changes information technology and the entrepreneurial approach have brought to biomedicine.
Comparison of rule-based and artificial neural network approaches for improving the automated detection of clustered microcalcifications in mammograms

Forty-six thousnad women die each year in the US from breast cancer. Mammography is the best method of detecting breast cancer and has been shown to reduce breast cancer mortality in randomized controlled studies. Clustered microcalcifications are often the first sign of breast cancer in a mammogram. The use of a second reader may improve the sensitivity of detecting clustered microcalcifications. Our laboratory has developed a computerized scheme for the detection of clustered microcalcifications that is undergoing clinical evalution. This paper concerns the feature analysis stage of the computerized scheme, which is designed to remove false-computer detections. We have examined three methods of feature analysis: rule-based (the method currently used in the clinical system), an artificial neural network (ANN), and a combined method. To compare the three methods, the false-positive (FP) rate at a sensitivity of 85% was measured on two separate databases. The average number of FPs per image were: 0.54 for rule-based, 0.44 for ANN, and 0.31 for the combined method. The combined method had the highest performance and will be incorporated into the clinical system.
Overview of high performance fiber optic sensing

Summary form only given. For the purposes here, a high performance sensing application is defined as one that simultaneously requires high sensitivity (1-100 f/spl epsiv/), wide bandwidth (1-100 kHz), and large dynamic range (>120 dB). High performance fiber optic sensing applications include tactical and surveillance grade underwater acoustics, high sensitivity acceleration, and acoustic and seismic sensing for oil exploration. Traditionally, high performance fiber optic sensor systems have relied on interferometric measurement techniques to extract the strain information from the fiber optic transducer. Distributed Bragg reflector (DBR) fiber laser based systems with interferometric readout approach the sensitivity of interferometric approaches, but have seen little use outside the laboratory The performance of DFB fiber laser sensors can rival interferometric approaches, but there are questions about the multiplexing the lasers and the packaging requirements for stable operation. While interferometric based approaches still offer the highest performance levels with proven multiplexing gain, DFB fiber laser sensors could fill some application requirements in the near future.
Multiple Shaker potassium channels in a primitive metazoan

Voltage-gated potassium channels are critical elements in providing functional diversity in nervous systems. The diversity of voltage-gated K+ channels in modern triploblastic metazoans (such as mollusks, arthropods and vertebrates) is provided primarily by four gene subfamilies (Shaker, Shal, Shab, and Shaw), but there has been no data from the ancient diploblastic metazoans until now. Diploblasts, represented by jellyfish and other coelenterates, arose during the first major metazoan radiation and are the most structurally primitive animals to have true nervous systems. By comparing the K+ channels of diploblasts and triploblasts, we may determine the fundamental set of K+ channels present in the first nervous systems. We now report the isolation of two Shaker subfamily cDNA clones, jShak1 and jShak2, from the hydrozoan jellyfish Polyorchis penicillatus (Phylum Cnidaria). JShak1 and jShak2 express transient outward currents in Xenopus oocytes most similar to Shaker currents from Drosophila in their rates of inactivation and recovery from inactivation. The finding of multiple Shaker subfamily genes is significant in that multiple Shaker genes also exist in mammals. In Drosophila, multiple Shaker channels are also produced, but by a mechanism of alternative splicing. Thus, the Shaker K+ channel subfamily had an established functional identity prior to the first major radiation of metazoans, and multiple forms of Shaker channels have been independently selected for in a wide range of metazoans.
Wigner-Radon representations for 3-D seismic data analysis

In this paper a local Radon representation is proposed and applied to 3-D seismic data analysis. The derivation of the local Radon power spectrum is based on an extension of the relation between the global Radon transform and multi-dimensional Fourier transform to the non-stationary case. This Wigner-Radon power spectrum is closely related to the Cohen's class of quadratic time-frequency representations. The local Radon power spectrum is very well suited to characterize the geometry of seismic reflection surfaces. The normalized first moment of the Wigner-Radon representation can be used as a measure for the dip angle of the 3-D signal. Analysis of this geometrical information greatly facilitates the geological interpretation of the data.
Urine analysis of platinum species derived from cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum(II) by high-performance liquid chromatography following derivatization with sodium diethyldithiocarbamate

A clinically useful method is described for the quantitative analysis of platinum species derived from cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum(II) in urine. The drug and its biodegradation products are derivatized directly in urine by reaction with sodium diethyldithiocarbamate (DDTC) to form a common product, a 2:1 DDTC-platinum adduct. This complex is stable and can be quantitatively extracted into 0.1 volumes of chloroform. An aliquot of the chloroform layer is then subjected to high-performance liquid chromatography on a muBondapak CN column and the eluent monitored spectrophotometrically at 254 nm. At this wavelength the DDTC-platinum adduct has a molar absorptivity of 43,000, and platinum levels of 25 ng/ml or urine can be detected with a precision of +/- 2.5% and an accuracy of +/- 4%.
The Impact of Moments Near Discontinuities in Structural-Acoustic Systems

The impact of a moment excitation on the vibrational and acoustical response of a fluid-loaded system containing a structural discontinuity is examined. The response metric of interest is the acoustic power radiated from a semi-infinite plate supported in a rigid baffle. The impact of a moment excitation located near a locally reacting distributed-mass discontinuity as well as near the simple supports is examined. Numerical results show that the addition of a moment component can have a dramatic impact on the radiated acoustic power. Both the magnitude and phase of the moment relative to the force can impact the radiated acoustic power.
Vesicle targeting to the apical domain regulates bile excretory function in isolated rat hepatocyte couplets.

Abstract Background & Aims Plasma membrane solute transport may be regulated in many epithelial cells by vesicle traffic to and from the site of residence of the transporter. The aim of this study was to determine if this phenomenon may also play a role in the regulation of canalicular transport of bile acids. Methods Confocal microscopy and image analysis were performed to quantitatively assess changes in secretory capacity and vesicle targeting in isolated rat hepatocyte couplets that had been exposed to fluorescent bile acid after pretreatment with dibutyryl adenosine 3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate (DBcAMP) and/or nocodazole. Results DBcAMP stimulated bile acid secretion by 240% while significantly increasing canalicular circumference. Nocodazole decreased secretion by 410% and significantly decreased canalicular circumference. When DBcAMP was added to nocodazole-treated couplets, a slight but significant increase was found in both fluorescent bile acid secretion and canalicular circumference as compared with nocodazole alone. Finally, DBcAMP stimulated translocation of vesicles to the canalicular membrane as determined by immunocytochemical localization of a putative bile acid transporter, Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ -ecto-adenosine triphosphatase. Conclusions The findings support the view that apical membrane transport activity in the rat hepatocyte is highly regulated by the insertion of vesicles into this domain and that this process involves both microtubule-dependent and -independent mechanisms.
Observation of Zeeman degeneracy effects in collisional intense field resonance fluorescence

Abstract We report observation of the scattered spectrum from a Zeeman degenerate atom at high laser intensities. For a J = 0 to J = 1 transition in the presence of collisions we observe an asymmetric triplet in the polarization parallel to the incident laser and an asymmetric doublet in the polarization perpendicular to the incident laser.
Property, authority and citizenship: land claims, politics and the dynamics of social division in West Africa.

In the contemporary African context of rising competition and anxiety over access to land, neoliberal policy interventions designed to clarify property rights, broaden political participation and increase official accountability have frequently provoked rather than alleviated social and political conflict. Comparing case histories of local struggles over land and authority in selected rural areas in Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire and Benin, this paper argues that in situations where access to land has been linked historically to claims on authority and social belonging, pressures to privatize or clarify ownership have intensified debates over citizenship and governance as well as over land claims per se. Ensuing struggles over land and entitlement have intersected with national as well as local economic and political dynamics, reinforcing ‘traditional’ hierarchies, contributing to the proliferation of formal and informal governing agents and institutions, and frequently disrupting or subverting open governance and sustainable resource use, rather than helping to create conditions for sustainable development and democratization.
Understanding linkages between ecosystem service payments, forest plantations, and export agriculture

Abstract In this paper, I consider how and why payments for ecosystem services (PES) become embedded within a country’s wider land use practices and economic sectors. To do so, I examine the linkages between Costa Rica’s reforestation payments and the country’s agricultural and forestry sectors. I first situate the rise of PES in Costa Rica within a changing political economy of land use by showing how PES emerged during a period of drastic state policy changes toward forestry and agricultural sectors. This was an era that opened political space for PES, but largely left the economic organization of the country’s forestry sector intact. Second, I examine the types of trees that have been planted due to the reforestation modality of Costa Rica’s PES program, and how such trees are used across the wider economy. I find that most trees planted under this program are for the fast growing Melina ( Gmelina arborea ) tree, a species that is almost exclusively used for the production of wooden pallets for agricultural export. Such an outcome renders Costa Rica’s payments for reforestation an indirect state subsidy for large agribusiness. I situate these findings within geographic and policy debates about PES and neoliberal environmental policy more broadly. I argue that the empirical results presented here have little to do with the policy’s purportedly neoliberal features, but instead, derive from the policy’s insertion within long standing patterns of agricultural production and land use.
Demo: a comprehensive framework enabling data-minimizing authentication

Authentication is an all-embracing mechanism in today's (digital) society. While current systems require users to provide much personal data and offer many attack vectors due to using a username/passwords combination, systems that allow for minimizing the data released during authentication exist. Implementing such data-minimizing authentication reduces the number of attack vectors, enables enterprises to reduce the risk associated with possession of sensitive user data, and realizes better privacy for users. Our prototype demonstrates the use of data-minimizing authentication using the scenario of accessing a teenage chat room in a privacy-preserving way. The prototype allows a user to retrieve credentials, which may be seen as the digital equivalent of the plastic cards we carry in our wallets today. It also implements a service provider who requires authentication with respect to a service-specific policy. The prototype determines whether and how the user can fulfill the policy with her credentials, which typically results in various options. A graphical user interface then allows the user to select one of these options. Based on the user's input, the prototype generates an Identity Mixer proof that shows fulfillment of the service provider's policy without revealing unnecessary information. Finally, this proof is sent to the service provider for verification. Our prototype is the first implementation of such far-reaching data-minimizing authentication, where we provide the building blocks of our implementation as open-source software.
Conformational studies of cyclopropane carboxaldehydehyde from temperature-dependent FT-IR spectra of xenon solutions.

Abstract Variable temperature (−60 to −100°C) studies of the infrared spectra (3500–400 cm−1) of cyclopropane carboxaldehyde, c-C3H5CHO, dissolved in liquid xenon have been recorded. Utilizing several doublets due to the syn and anti conformers, the enthalpy difference has been determined to be 95±8 cm−1 (1.14±0.10 kJ/mol) with the anti conformer (oxygen atom trans to the three-member ring) the more stable rotamer. From this ΔH value, along with assigned torsional transitions for both the anti and syn conformers, the potential function governing the conformational interchange has been estimated. Using the new infrared data from the xenon solution, along with some additional Raman data, and ab initio predictions from MP2/6-31G(d) calculations some reassignments of the fundamentals have been made. Ab initio calculations have been carried out with several different basis sets upto 6-311++G(d,p) with full electron correlation by the perturbation method to second order from which structural parameters and conformational stabilities have been determined. From all of the ab initio calculations, the syn conformer is predicted to be the more stable which is at variance with the experimental results. The spectroscopic and theoretical results are compared to the corresponding quantities for some similar molecules.
Deoxy-liquefaction of switchgrass in supercritical water with calcium formate as an in-situ hydrogen donor

Switchgrass was liquefied in supercritical water (SCW) using Ca(HCOO)2 as an in-situ source of hydrogen to enhance deoxygenation and the quality of the biocrude obtained. In SCW, Ca(HCOO)2 produces hydrogen via decomposition and hydrolysis reactions, and simultaneously switchgrass hydrolyzes to form oxygenated hydrocarbon compounds. Because of the close proximity of the newly-formed hydrogen and active hydrocarbons, hydrodeoxygenation occurred whereby some of the oxygenated compounds were upgraded by the removal of oxygen in the form of water. The analysis of the so-formed biocrude revealed the presence of benzene, polyaromatic hydrocarbons, and alkyl phenolics. The benzene formation is attributed to the hydrogenation of phenols but also due to the Diels-Alder alkene addition, followed by dehydrogenation. The addition of Ca(HCOO)2 doubled the yield of biocrude (10 wt%) and increased the heating value from 28 to 34 kJ/g. Formic acid amount increased in the aqueous biocrude due to the enhanced decomposition of xylose and glucose.
Mating type influences chromosome loss and replicative senescence in telomerase-deficient budding yeast by Dnl4-dependent telomere fusion

As we age, the majority of our cells gradually lose the capacity to divide because of replicative senescence that results from the inability to replicate the ends of chromosomes. The timing of senescence is dependent on the length of telomeric DNA, which elicits a checkpoint signal when critically short. Critically short telomeres also become vulnerable to deleterious rearrangements, end-degradation and telomere-telomere fusions. Here we report a novel role of non-homologous end-joining (NHEJ), a pathway of double-strand break repair in influencing both the kinetics of replicative senescence and the rate of chromosome loss in telomerase-deficient Saccharomyces cerevisiae. In telomerase-deficient cells, the absence of NHEJ delays replicative senescence, decreases loss of viability during senescence, and suppresses senescence-associated chromosome loss and telomere-telomere fusion. Differences in mating-type gene expression in haploid and diploid cells affect NHEJ function, resulting in distinct kinetics of replicative senescence. These results suggest that the differences in the kinetics of replicative senescence in haploid and diploid telomerase-deficient yeast are determined by changes in NHEJ-dependent telomere fusion, perhaps through the initiation of the breakage-fusion-bridge cycle.
Growth Factors and Heme Oxygenase-1: Perspectives in Physiology and Pathophysiology

Growth factors are mediators of both normal homeostasis and pathophysiology through their effects on various cellular processes. Similarly, heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) has a role in maintaining physiol...
“We Unite with Knowledge”The Peoples’ Friendship University and Soviet Education for the Third World

The Peoples’ Friendship University was opened in Moscow in 1960 to educate young people from Asia, Africa, and Latin America in medicine, agriculture, engineering, mathematics and science, and law. In addition to being a unique site of Second World–Third World encounter, the university was a symbol around which debates over imperialism, modernity, and development emerged. Instead of simply seeing the university through judgments of “success” or “failure,” this essay offers insight into Soviet self-presentation and its attempt to offer the Third World an alternative path to modernity.
Do holly leaf spines really deter herbivory

Although spinose teeth of holly leaves have been widely cited as an example of a physical defense against herbivores, this assumption is based largely on circumstantial evidence and on general misinterpretation of a single, earlier experiment. We studied the response of third and fifth instar larvae of the fall webworm, Hyphantria cunea Drury, a generalist, edge-feeding caterpillar, to intact American holly leaves and to leaves that had been modified by blunting the spines, by removing sections of leaf margin between the spines, or by removing the entire leaf margin. The results suggest that the thick glabrous cuticle and tough leaf margin of Ilex opaca are more important than the spinose teeth in deterring edge-feeding caterpillars. Microscopic examination of mature leaves revealed that the epidermis is thickened at the leaf margin, and that the leaf is cirucumscribed by a pair of fibrous veins. In simple choice tests neither domesticated rabbits nor captive whitetailed deer discriminated between spinescent holly foliage and foliage from which spines were removed. Nevertheless, we found little evidence of herbivory by mammals in the field, either on small experimental trees or in the forest understory. While it is possible that spinose teeth contribute to defense by reducing acceptibility of holly relative to other palatable plant species, we suggest that the high concentrations of saponins and poor nutritional quality of holly foliage may be more important than spines in deterring vertebrate herbivores. The degree of leaf spinescence and herbivory was compared at different heights with the tree canopy to test the prediction that lower leaves should be more spinescent as a deterrent to browsers. Leaves on lower branches of mature forest trees were slightly more spinescent than were upper leaves, and juvenile trees were slightly more spinescent than were mature trees. However, there was no relationship between degree of spinescence and feeding damage. The greater spinescence of holly leaves low in the canopy is probably an ontogenetic phenomenon rather than a facultative defense against browsers.
Rheological and structural properties of dilute active filament solutions

The rheology and the structure of a dilute semiflexible biofilament solution, like F-actin, interacting via molecular motors is probed by molecular dynamics simulations. Oscillatory external shear is used to measure the storage and loss moduli as a function of motor activity in a range of frequencies and for low shear rates. The overall effect of the motor activity on the rheological properties is interpreted as an increase of the temperature, with the effective temperature proportional to the density of motors. However, the effect of motors on the structural properties of the solution, such as the orientation correlation function, is opposite: the motors drastically increase the orientation correlation length whereas thermal fluctuations decrease it.
The NCAR Airborne Infrared Lidar System: Status and Applications

Abstract The National Center for Atmospheric Research Airborne Infrared Lidar System is being developed for Doppler wind measurements using heterodyne detection. Its design is based on a pulsed CO2 laser transmitter and a single continuous-wave CO2 laser as local oscillator and injection seed for the pulsed laser. Research during the system development has shown the workability of the two-laser concept, the need for optical isolation between the lasers, and advantages of averaging complex autocorrelation functions rather than velocity estimates. The authors describe the system and show calculated performance for wind measurements.
The Meaning of Being Incarcerated on a Domestic Violence Charge and its Impact on Self and Family Among Latino Immigrant Batterers

ABSTRACT This study explores how Latino immigrant male batterers make sense of their incarceration for domestic violence in the U.S. and its impact on their lives and on the lives of their family members. The convenient sample consisted of 15 Latino male immigrants, who were attending a batterers' intervention program in a metropolitan city in California. Seventeen semi-structured, open-ended questions were conducted with Latino immigrant batterers at a batterer treatment center in southern California. Anger, gender role, acculturation stresses, and lack of self-control were identified as the main themes leading to domestic violence. The respondents also reported a need to expand community education on issues of domestic violence. Findings of the study supported the important role of raising cultural awareness in addressing the batterers' attitudes and behaviors. In addition, findings of the study highlighted the concerns of the impact of criminal records on immigration status, employment, and family stab...
Synthesis, transport, and magnetic properties of Ln2−xCexCuO4−y single crystals (Ln = Nd, Pr, Sm)

Abstract Single crystals Ln2-xCexCuO4-y (Ln = Nd, Pr, Sm; 0⩽x⩽0.2) were grown in CuO flux and characterized by means of X-ray diffraction and microprobe analysis, electrical resistivity, and magnetic susceptibility. There is a large variation of the Ce content from crystal to crystal within a given batch and the distribution width decreases with increasing Ce starting composition. The temperature dependence of the normal-state electrical resistivity determined superconducting critical temperature Tc are very sensitive to the heat treatment. The magnetic susceptibility of Ln2-xCexCuO4-y single crystals, measured f or two orientations of the crystals with respect to the applied field H, reveals a high anisotropy and indicates the presence of crystalline electric-field (CEF) effects.
Synthesis of two novel regioisomeric oxospiropyrazole piperidine scaffolds

The synthesis of two unprecedented regioisomeric oxospiropyrazole piperidine scaffolds is detailed. Their potential utility as templates for drug discovery is also exemplified. Chemical stability and solid state conformation were also evaluated.
The effect of bed configuration on the forces prevailing in fluidized beds

Abstract The attrition of fluidized particles and erosion of heat-exchanger tubes are critical engineering problems in fluidized bed reactors, particularly in fluidized bed combustors. To elucidate the fundamental mechanism of the attrition and erosion, the contribution of the transient maximum forces of solid particles and the fractural property of the concerned materials (particles, vessels and heat exchangers) should be investigated separately. In this paper, the quantitative data on the forces prevailing on particles, walls, and tubes in fluidized beds have been systematically obtained at various configurations with different scales and at various operating conditions. This detail is essential to fundamentally understand the attrition and erosion mechanism.
NAD metabolism and sirtuins: metabolic regulation of protein deacetylation in stress and toxicity.

Sirtuins are recently discovered NAD+-dependent deacetylases that remove acetyl groups from acetyllysine-modified proteins, thereby regulating the biological function of their targets. Sirtuins have been shown to increase organism and tissue survival in diverse organisms, ranging from yeast to mammals. Evidence indicates that NAD+ metabolism and sirtuins contribute to mechanisms that influence cell survival under conditions of stress and toxicity. For example, recent work has shown that sirtuins and increased NAD+ biosynthesis provide protection against neuron axonal degeneration initiated by genotoxicity or trauma. In light of their protective effects, sirtuins and NAD+ metabolism could represent therapeutic targets for treatment of acute and chronic neurodegenerative conditions. Our work has focused on elucidating the enzymatic functions of sirtuins and quantifying perturbations of cellular NAD+ metabolism. We have developed mass spectrometry methods to quantitate cellular NAD+ and nicotinamide. These methods allow the quantitation of changes in the amounts of these metabolites in cells caused by chemical and genetic interventions. Characterization of the biochemical properties of sirtuins and investigations of NAD+ metabolism are likely to provide new insights into mechanisms by which NAD+ metabolism regulates sirtuin activities in cells. To develop new strategies to improve cell stress resistance, we have initiated proof of concept studies on pharmacological approaches that target sirtuins and NAD+ metabolism, with the goal of enhancing cell protection against genotoxicity.
Differential QoS and pricing in networks: where flow control meets game theory

This paper looks at ways of providing quality of service (QoS) to users, based on a simple pricing scheme. It is primarily aimed at elastic traffic, and it is users rather than the network who define the flow control schemes. A framework for assessing schemes and algorithms via a distributed game is presented.
Mean motion of Dirac electrons in a gravitational field

Abstract A sequence of Foldy-Wouthuysen transformations applied to the Dirac equation coupled to a background gravitational field is used to obtain evolution equations for the mean position, mean momentum, and mean spin operators. These equations are compared with the analogous Papapetrou equations for a classical gravitationally coupled pole-dipole particle.
Augmentation and dispersion of the in vivo mitotic apparatus of living marine eggs.

The effects of a number of organic reagents on the structure of the mitotic apparatus (MA) of several invertebrate eggs were investigated. In general, the agents induced either a large increase in the volume and retardation of the MA (hexylene glycol, dimethylsulfoxide, etc.) or caused it to partially or completely disappear (formamide, dithiodiglycol, dimethylacetamide, etc.). The immediate effects of the agents on the MA were reversible, but reversibility of embryonic development was only obtained if the eggs did not remain in the reagent for too long a time. The analysis of the specific effects of these agents suggests that the eggs utilized possess a pool of unoriented (or unpolymerized) MA material which may be reversibly affected by the agents studied. In the case of augmenting agents, the material is oriented into the MA or into aster-like bodies, in the case of dispersing agents, the material returns to the pool. Although no decision could be made as to whether the agents act directly or indirectly on the MA, the totality of the observations support the latter possibility.
QUANTITATIVE DETERMINATION OF α–LACTALBUMIN AND β‐LACTOGLOBULIN IN WHEY PROTEIN FRACTIONS AND OF WHEY PROTEIN CONCENTRATE IN FRANKFURTERS USING AN ELECTROIMMUNOASSAY

An electroimmunoassay was developed for quantitating whey protein concentrates incorporated into frankfurters. The simple, precise method has potential for application to a variety of other whey fortified foods. Frankfurters containing 3–7% whey protein concentrate were homogenized in 7M urea and the extract was electrophoresed on agarose plates containing antiserum to α–lactalbumin. Quantitation was obtained by measuring and comparing migration distances for the extracts and control whey concentrates; recoveries ranged from 96–105%. The concentrations of β-lactoglobulin and α–lactalbumin in milk and whey protein fractions were determined in buffer solutions using the respective antisera.
A comparison of two baseline screening approaches to regional energy facility siting

Of the many approaches that might be used by policy makers to simulate the future locational pattern of energy facilities, baseline screening is the most straightforward. Based upon some composite of siting criteria measured for appropriate areal units, decision rules are developed to site energy facilities needed for projected demands. Two baseline methods, one developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the other at Teknekron, Inc. are computerized and applied to the six state Middle Atlantic region. An earlier multiobjective optimization model developed by The Johns Hopkins University for the same region is used as a benchmark against which to compare the screening approaches. Both baseline models are found deficient when a trade-off between environmental suitability and economic efficiency is desired. A multiobjective heuristic model and an optimal transshipment model are developed to overcome the deficiencies inherent in baseline screening approaches.
Further Encounters with Clear Air Turbulence In Research Aircraft

Abstract A series of aircraft penetrations into clear air turbulence zones within upper level fronts is presented. Heat and momentum diffusivities am estimated with a view toward obtaining more realistic parameterizations for numerical models. Two passes through severe turbulence are discussed in detail.
Upper limit on the torsion coupling constant.

Known data are used to place an upper bound on new coupling constants that arise in gravitation with torsion that is derived as the exterior derivative of a potential. The form of the quantum-mechanical interaction is deduced from the classical theory and verified by the nonrelativistic reduction of the Dirac equation. Both minimal and nonminimal coupling is considered. \textcopyright{} 1995 The American Physical Society.
Response of Hibiscus Rosa‐Sinensis L. to varying levels of potassium fertilization: Growth, gas exchange and mineral element concentration

Abstract Little is known about the effect of varying levels of potassium (K) on the mineral element concentration, growth, and gas exchange, characteristics of woody ornamental plants. The commercially important woody ornamental species Hibiscus rosa‐sinensis L. cv. Leprechaun was evaluated for K response in a series of three experiments with full strength Hoagland's nutrient solution, which supplied 0 to 10 mM K. Plants grown with 4 mM K in nutrient solution (2.4% leaf tissue K) had the greatest shoot growth and root extension. Gas exchange rates (net photosynthesis, transpiration, and stomatal conductance) were also highest at 4 mM K compared to the control (0 mM K /0.6% leaf tissue K), 0.2, 2.0 and 10 mM K treatments. The application of 4 mM K increased net photosynthesis and tranpiration by 2.1 fold and stomatal conductance by 4.5 fold over 0 mM K controls. Increasing K in nutrient solution correlated positively with tissue K, manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn), but negatively with nitrogen (N), phosphorus...
Distributed-parameter systems with time-delay

The concern of this paper is with the asymptotic behavior of the solutions of some nonlinear systems of integro-differential equations that occur, quite often, in the study of nonlinear control systems with time-delay and/or distributed-parameter elements.
Fertilisation of Successive Broods of Gammarus chevreuxi

IN a letter in NATURE of May 18, p. 832, an account was given by Mr. K. W. Yarnold of some breeding experiments with red-eyed animals of a new stock (1933) of Gammarus chevreuxi, Sexton, crossed with the red-eyed Stock II (1922). Both these stocks originated in the Marine Biological Laboratory, and have always given red-eyed young when bred inter se, or when crossed with each other.
CARING FOR THE FORMER PEDIATRIC CARDIAC SURGERY PATIENT

Congenital heart defects are the most common major birth defect, occurring in approximately 8 in 1000 live births. 64 With approximately 3.7 million births per year in the United States, this results in 30,000 infants born with a congenital heart defect of whom approximately 25,000 will require heart surgery to correct these defects. With current day results for congenital heart operations, the majority of these patients will survive their surgery and reach adulthood. It is estimated that by the year 2000, there will be approximately 500,000 survivors of congenital heart disease in the United States, 29,35,46,58,82 the majority of whom will be cared for by primary care physicians (PCP). This new group of patients is expected to grow at approximately 5% per annum. As such, the PCP, especially pediatricians, will likely care for a growing number of children and young adults with surgically repaired congenital heart disease. This article reviews the general categories of patients with surgically treated congenital heart disease (CHD), and describes the problems commonly experienced by these patients for which medical intervention may be required after the immediate perioperative period. The importance of a team approach, comprised of the patient and family, the PCP, and the pediatric cardiologist and surgeon is emphasized. Finally, postoperative problems faced in patients with common types of congenital heart defects are reviewed in detail to help the PCP anticipate and recognize these problems so that timely consultation with the cardiologist and surgeon can be obtained.
Increasing precision of lifetime determination in fluorescence lifetime imaging

The interest in fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) is increasing, as commercial FLIM modules become available for confocal and multi-photon microscopy. In biological FLIM applications, low fluorescence signals from samples can be a challenge, and this causes poor precision in lifetime. In this study, for the first time, we applied wavelet-based denoising methods in time-domain FLIM, and compared them with our previously developed total variation (TV) denoising methods. They were first tested using artificial FLIM images. We then applied them to lowlight live-cell images. The results demonstrated that our TV methods could improve lifetime precision multi-fold in FLIM images and preserve the overall lifetime and pre-exponential term values when improving local lifetime fitting, while wavelet-based methods were faster. The results here can enhance the precision of FLIM, especially for low-light and / or fast video-rate imaging, to improve current and rapidly emerging new applications of FLIM such as live-cell, in vivo whole-animal, or endoscopic imaging.