cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Improved supervised prediction of aging-related genes via weighted dynamic network analysis

Background This study focuses on the task of supervised prediction of aging-related genes from -omics data. Unlike gene expression methods for this task that capture aging-specific information but ignore interactions between genes (i.e., their protein products), or protein-protein interaction (PPI) network methods for this task that account for PPIs but the PPIs are context-unspecific, we recently integrated the two data types into an aging-specific PPI subnetwork, which yielded more accurate aging-related gene predictions. However, a dynamic aging-specific subnetwork did not improve prediction performance compared to a static aging-specific subnetwork, despite the aging process being dynamic. This could be because the dynamic subnetwork was inferred using a naive Induced subgraph approach. Instead, we recently inferred a dynamic aging-specific subnetwork using a methodologically more advanced notion of network propagation (NP), which improved upon Induced dynamic aging-specific subnetwork in a different task, that of unsupervised analyses of the aging process. Results Here, we evaluate whether our existing NP-based dynamic subnetwork will improve upon the dynamic as well as static subnetwork constructed by the Induced approach in the considered task of supervised prediction of aging-related genes. The existing NP-based subnetwork is unweighted, i.e., it gives equal importance to each of the aging-specific PPIs. Because accounting for aging-specific edge weights might be important, we additionally propose a weighted NP-based dynamic aging-specific subnetwork. We demonstrate that a predictive machine learning model trained and tested on the weighted subnetwork yields higher accuracy when predicting aging-related genes than predictive models run on the existing unweighted dynamic or static subnetworks, regardless of whether the existing subnetworks were inferred using NP or the Induced approach. Conclusions Our proposed weighted dynamic aging-specific subnetwork and its corresponding predictive model could guide with higher confidence than the existing data and models the discovery of novel aging-related gene candidates for future wet lab validation.
Broadband optical power-limiter metalens

We report a hybrid system that synergically combines a broadband optical power limiter with a transmittance difference between on-state (70°C) and off-state (25°C) about 62.5%, and a diffraction-limited broadband metalens from 1534 nm to 1664 nm.
AdvFoolGen: Creating Persistent Troubles for Deep Classifiers

Researches have shown that deep neural networks are vulnerable to malicious attacks, where adversarial images are created to trick a network into misclassification even if the images may give rise to totally different labels by human eyes. To make deep networks more robust to such attacks, many defense mechanisms have been proposed in the literature, some of which are quite effective for guarding against typical attacks. In this paper, we present a new black-box attack termed AdvFoolGen, which can generate attacking images from the same feature space as that of the natural images, so as to keep baffling the network even though state-of-the-art defense mechanisms have been applied. We systematically evaluate our model by comparing with well-established attack algorithms. Through experiments, we demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of our attack in the face of state-of-the-art defense techniques and unveil the potential reasons for its effectiveness through principled analysis. As such, AdvFoolGen contributes to understanding the vulnerability of deep networks from a new perspective and may, in turn, help in developing and evaluating new defense mechanisms.
Magnetism and piezoelectricity in stable transition metal silicate monolayers

Two-dimensional van der Waals (2D vdW) single layered materials with ferromagnetism and piezoelectricity have been a subject of recent attention. Despite numerous reports of 2D ferromagnetic materials, developing an air stable and transferable vdW material has been challenging. To address this problem, we studied layered transition metal silicates that are derivatives of kaolinites and lizardites with transition metals substituting on ${\mathrm{Al}}^{3+}$ and ${\mathrm{Mg}}^{2+}$ sites using ab initio density functional theory calculations. This class of materials is appealing because they meet the symmetry requirements for piezoelectricity and can host a range of transition metal cations. As oxides, these materials are inherently stable in air. Following our previous experimental work, we predict that these compounds are stable under varying ${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$ partial pressure and can be synthesized using a surface-assisted method. We also show that the oxidation states of the substituted transition metal ions can be tuned through the level of hydrogenation.
Monotonicity in the averaging process

We investigate an averaging process that describes how interacting agents approach consensus through binary interactions. In each elementary step, two agents are selected at random and they reach compromise by adopting their opinion average. We show that the fraction of agents with a monotonically decreasing opinion decays as $e^{-\alpha t}$, and that the exponent $\alpha=\tfrac{1}{2}-\tfrac{1+\ln \ln 2}{4\ln 2}$ is selected as the extremum from a continuous spectrum of possible values. The opinion distribution of monotonic agents is asymmetric, and it becomes self-similar at large times. Furthermore, the tails of the opinion distribution are algebraic, and they are characterized by two distinct and nontrivial exponents. We also explore statistical properties of agents with an opinion strictly above average.
Ibrutinib blocks YAP1 activation and reverses BRAFi resistance in melanoma cells.

Most BRAF-mutant melanoma tumors respond initially to BRAFi/MEKi therapy, although few patients have durable long-term responses to these agents. The goal of this study was to utilize an unbiased computational approach to identify inhibitors which reverse an experimentally derived BRAFi resistance gene expression signature. Using this approach, we found that ibrutinib effectively reverses this signature and we demonstrate experimentally that ibrutinib re-sensitizes a subset of BRAFi-resistant melanoma cells to vemurafenib. Ibrutinib is used clinically as a BTK inhibitor; however, neither BTK deletion nor treatment with acalabrutinib, another BTK inhibitor with reduced off-target activity, re-sensitized cells to vemurafenib. These data suggest that ibrutinib acts through a BTK-independent mechanism in vemurafenib re-sensitization. To better understand this mechanism, we analyzed the transcriptional profile of ibrutinib-treated BRAFi-resistant melanoma cells and found that the transcriptional profile of ibrutinib was highly similar to that of multiple SRC kinase inhibitors. Since ibrutinib, but not acalabrutinib, has significant off-target activity against multiple SRC family kinases, it suggests that ibrutinib may be acting through this mechanism. Furthermore, genes that are differentially expressed in ibrutinib-treated cells are enriched in YAP1 target genes and we showed that ibrutinib, but not acalabrutinib, reduces YAP1 activity in BRAFi-resistant melanoma cells. Taken together, these data suggest that ibrutinib, or other SRC family kinase inhibitors, may be useful for treating some BRAFi/MEKi-refractory melanoma tumors. Significance Statement MAPK-targeted therapies provide dramatic initial responses, but resistance develops rapidly; a subset of these tumors may be rendered sensitive again by treatment with an approved src-family kinase inhibitor – ibrutinub – potentially providing improved clinical outcomes.
Rotational and reflectional equivariant convolutional neural network for data-limited applications: Multiphase flow demonstration

This article deals with approximating steady-state particle-resolved fluid flow around a fixed particle of interest under the influence of randomly distributed stationary particles in a dispersed multiphase setup using convolutional neural network (CNN). The considered problem involves rotational symmetry about the mean velocity (streamwise) direction. Thus, this work enforces this symmetry using SE(3)-equivariant, special Euclidean group of dimension 3, CNN architecture, which is translation and three-dimensional rotation equivariant. This study mainly explores the generalization capabilities and benefits of a SE(3)-equivariant network. Accurate synthetic flow fields for Reynolds number and particle volume fraction combinations spanning over a range of [86.22, 172.96] and [0.11, 0.45], respectively, are produced with careful application of symmetry-aware data-driven approach.
Counterexamples to a Conjecture of Ahmadi and Shparlinski

Ahmadi-Shparlinski conjectured that every ordinary, geometrically simple Jacobian over a finite field has maximal angle rank. Using the L-Functions and Modular Forms Database, we provide two counterexamples to this conjecture in dimension 4.
Omitted Variable Bias of Lasso-Based Inference Methods: A Finite Sample Analysis

We study the finite sample behavior of Lasso-based inference methods such as post double Lasso and debiased Lasso. We show that these methods can exhibit substantial omitted variable biases (OVBs) due to Lasso not selecting relevant controls. This phenomenon can occur even when the coefficients are sparse and the sample size is large and larger than the number of controls. Therefore, relying on the existing asymptotic inference theory can be problematic in empirical applications. We compare the Lasso-based inference methods to modern high-dimensional OLS-based methods and provide practical guidance.
Mutation saturation for fitness effects at human CpG sites

Whole exome sequences have now been collected for millions of humans, with the related goals of identifying pathogenic mutations in patients and establishing reference repositories of data from unaffected individuals. As a result, we are approaching an important limit, in which datasets are large enough that, in the absence of natural selection, every highly mutable site will have experienced at least one mutation in the genealogical history of the sample. Here, we focus on CpG sites that are methylated in the germline and experience mutations to T at an elevated rate of ~10-7 per site per generation; considering synonymous mutations in a sample of 390,000 individuals, ~99% of such CpG sites harbor a C/T polymorphism. Methylated CpG sites provide a natural mutation saturation experiment for fitness effects: as we show, at current sample sizes, not seeing a non-synonymous polymorphism is indicative of strong selection against that mutation. We rely on this idea in order to directly identify a subset of CpG transitions that are likely to be highly deleterious, including ~27% of possible loss-of-function mutations, and up to 20% of possible missense mutations, depending on the type of functional site in which they occur. Unlike methylated CpGs, most mutation types, with rates on the order of 10-8 or 10-9, remain very far from saturation. We discuss what these findings imply for interpreting the potential clinical relevance of mutations from their presence or absence in reference databases and for inferences about the fitness effects of new mutations.
Characterizing Trust and Resilience in Distributed Consensus for Cyberphysical Systems

This work considers the problem of resilient consensus, where stochastic values of trust between agents are available. Specifically, we derive a unified mathematical framework to characterize convergence, deviation of the consensus from the true consensus value, and expected convergence rate, when there exists additional information of trust between agents. We show that under certain conditions on the stochastic trust values and consensus protocol: First, almost sure convergence to a common limit value is possible even when malicious agents constitute more than half of the network connectivity; second, the deviation of the converged limit, from the case where there is no attack, i.e., the true consensus value, can be bounded with probability that approaches 1 exponentially; and third correct classification of malicious and legitimate agents can be attained in finite time almost surely. Furthermore, the expected convergence rate decays exponentially as a function of the quality of the trust observations between agents.
An arachidonoyl (polyenoic)-specific phospholipase A2 activity regulates the synthesis of platelet-activating factor in granulocytic HL-60 cells.

Abstract Human promyelocytic leukemia cells (HL-60) were used as a cell model to determine how arachidonic acid stimulates the synthesis of platelet-activating factor (PAF) synthesized via the remodeling pathway. In these studies HL-60 cells were cultured over 30 passages in fatty acid-free medium to deplete them of arachidonic acid. Even though the phospholipid classes from these cells contained no arachidonate, they could still be differentiated into granulocytes by dimethyl sulfoxide (1.25%). When the differentiated HL-60 cells, depleted of arachidonic acid, were stimulated with calcium ionophore A23187 in the presence of Ca2+ and [3H]acetate, only minimal amounts of [3H]PAF were produced. In contrast, if the differentiated HL-60 cells were supplemented with 10 microM arachidonic acid for 24 h and then stimulated with the ionophore, there was a large amount of [3H]PAF formed. The increase in PAF synthesis depended on the length of time the cells were supplemented with arachidonic acid; only a small increase in PAF synthesis occurred during the early hours of supplementation whereas stimulation of PAF synthesis was maximal (3-5-fold) after a 24-h period of the 20:4 supplementation. Other polyenoic fatty acid supplements (20:5, 22:4, and 22:6 for 24 h) also stimulated PAF production in the ionophore-treated HL-60 cells depleted of 20:4, but the amount of PAF was significantly less than found for the supplements of 20:4 under identical experimental conditions. Also noteworthy is that undifferentiated cells supplemented with 20:4 or their unsupplemented controls could not be stimulated by the calcium ionophore to produce PAF. Addition of indomethacin (cyclooxygenase inhibitor), A63162 (5'-lipoxygenase inhibitor), or eicosatetraynoic acid (cyclooxygenase/lipoxygenase inhibitor) to the incubations caused little change in the production of [3H]PAF in the differentiated cells supplemented with 20:4 for 24 h. On the other hand, the addition of mepacrine, bromophenacyl bromide, or U26384 (phospholipase A2 inhibitors) resulted in very large decreases (80-90% lower than controls) in the amount of [3H]PAF produced under the same conditions. Analysis of the molecular species of [3H]alkylacyl-GroPCho (1-alkyl-2-acetyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine, the precursor of PAF in the remodeling pathway) in 20:4-supplemented cells prelabeled with [3H]alkyl-lyso-GroPCho revealed that only the alkylarachidonoyl-GroPCho species were preferentially decreased after stimulation with the A23187 ionophore.These results demonstrate that arachidonate must be at the sn-2 position of alkylacyl-GroPCho in order for it to serve as a precursor of PAF.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Oxidized Flavor in Milk and Its Simulation

Abstract The flavor of homogenized milk containing oct-1-en-3-one with and without octanal was compared with that of homogenized milk with a copper-induced oxidized flavor by 53 judges in nine laboratories. The results indicate that a mixture of oct-1-en-3-one and octanal added to milk at 1 or 10 ppb simulates oxidized milk flavor for 66% of judges detecting an off-flavor, compared with 67 to 84% for milk with copper-induced oxidized flavor. Of those judges detecting oxidized flavor, 60% considered the oct-1-en-3-one-octanal mixture typical of the defect, compared with 85% for the copper-induced oxidized flavor.
AMMONIA METABOLISM IN NORMAL NEWBORN INFANTS AND THOSE WITH IDIOPATHIC HYPERBILIRUBINEMIA

Normal newborn infants are shown to have a higher content of ammonia in the peripheral blood than their mothers, and the high levels persist for at least 10 days after birth. The level of ammonia in the blood of parturient women is normal. Infants with idiopathic hyperbilirubinemia have abnormally high levels of ammonia in the blood. Samples of blood from the umbilical vein near the entrance of the portal vein have higher concentrations of ammonia than are found in the infant9s peripheral venous blood. Therefore, blood from the portal vein seems to contain elevated levels of ammonia in the newborn. The mechanism of this is not clear. The placenta appears to remove ammonia from the blood of the fetus. The high ammonia content of stored blood, and its possible effects on the infant in exchange transfusions were investigated and are discussed. A correlation between concentrations of unconjugated bilirubin and ammonia in the blood was not found in the newborn period.
A "Lingo of Its Ahn": Linguistic Control in The Shadow of a Gunman

As discussed in much current scholarship, the root of which may be traced to Edward Said's Orientalism, language and writing are intimately involved in the construction and implementation of both representations of reality (both on and off stage) and the power relations in which those representations participate. Sean O'Casey's drama The Shadow of a Gunman demonstrates the interaction between speech, writing, and power in a 1920's Dublin tenement. This essay traces the operation and effects of these relationships as they pertain to the intersections between colonial, national, patriarchal, and economic structures within the play and argues that access to or exclusion from the dominant discourse is directly related to the characters' positions, mobility, and ability to exercise power within these structures.
NP-completeness for all computer science undergraduates: a novel project-based curriculum

It is widely recognized that there are some aspects of intractability and computational complexity that every CS professional should understand and be able to apply. NP-completeness is one of these fundamental concepts. This paper describes a novel project-based curriculum for teaching NP-completeness, classic algorithm design techniques, and techniques for solving intractable problems. The proposed set of projects aims to help all Computer Science undergraduate students learn more about basic computability and NP-completeness, apply the scientific method, apply classic algorithm design techniques, implement algorithms for intractable problems using more advanced techniques, gain exposure to state of the art research, implement sophisticated algorithms and data structures, and apply algorithm design techniques that they have understood to a new domain. The curriculum also seeks to motivate a few undergraduates to pursue research. The set of projects is based on the well-known, NP-complete 3-Satisfiability problem (3SAT). We have used these projects in three offerings of our undergraduate Algorithm Design and Analysis course, while continuing to address the traditional course content. The informal assessment conducted during these course offerings indicates that typical undergraduate students achieve the targeted learning outcomes after completing the proposed curriculum.
Stream invertebrate productivity linked to forest subsidies: 37 stream‐years of reference and experimental data

Riparian habitats provide detrital subsidies of varying quantities and qualities to recipient ecosystems. We used long-term data from three reference streams (covering 24 stream-years) and 13-year whole-stream organic matter manipulations to investigate the influence of terrestrial detrital quantity and quality on benthic invertebrate community structure, abundance, biomass, and secondary production in rockface (RF) and mixed substrates (MS) of forested headwater streams. Using a mesh canopy covering the entire treatment stream, we examined effects of litter exclusion, small- and large-wood removal, and addition of artificial wood (PVC) and leaves of varying quality on organic matter standing crops and invertebrate community structure and function. We assessed differences in functional feeding group distribution between substrate types as influenced by organic matter manipulations and long-term patterns of predator and prey production in manipulated vs. reference years. Particulate organic matter standing crops in MS of the treatment stream declined drastically with each successive year of litter exclusion, approaching zero after three years. Monthly invertebrate biomass and annual secondary production was positively related to benthic organic matter in the MS habitats. Rockface habitats exhibited fewer changes than MS habitats across all organic matter manipulations. With leaf addition, the patterns of functional group distribution among MS and RF habitats returned to patterns seen in reference streams. Secondary production per unit organic matter standing crop was greatest for the leaf addition period, followed by the reference streams, and significantly less for the litter exclusion and wood removal periods. These data indicate that the limited organic matter remaining in the stream following litter exclusion and wood removal was more refractory than that in the reference streams, whereas the added leaf material was more labile and readily converted into invertebrate production. Predator production and total production were tightly coupled in reference and treatment streams, indicating strong relationships between predators and their prey. Results from the artificial wood addition demonstrate that physical structure alone will not restore invertebrate productivity without detrital resources from the riparian forest. Our long-term studies conducted over three decades at the ecosystem scale unequivocally show the necessity of maintaining and restoring aquatic-terrestrial linkages in forested headwater streams.
K-means clustering with multiresolution peak detection

Clustering is a practical data mining approach of pattern detection. Because of the sensitivity of initial conditions, k-means clustering often suffers from low clustering performance. We present a procedure to refine initial conditions of k-means clustering by analyzing density distributions of a data set before estimating the number of clusters k necessary for the data set, as well as the positions of the initial centroids of the clusters. We demonstrate that this approach indeed improves the accuracy and performance of k-means clustering measured by average intra to inter-clustering error ratio. This method is applied to the virtual ecology project to design a virtual blue jay system
Services and Programs for Academically Talented Students With Learning Disabilities

(2005). Services and Programs for Academically Talented Students With Learning Disabilities. Theory Into Practice: Vol. 44, Gifted Education, pp. 148-159.
An Optimal Control Approach to Minimum-Weight Vibrating Beam Design

ABSTRACT A gradient projection algorithm is applied to a class of vibrating cantilever beam optimization problems which are formulated as optimal control problems. The cross-section area is distributed along the beam for minimum total weight subject to fixed natural frequency constraints and a minimum allowed area limit. Three topics receive major emphasis: the effects of shear deformation and rotary inertia, higher-mode frequency constraints, and multiple frequency constraints. Computational results are presented for the cases of fixed fundamental frequency, fixed second-mode frequency, and fixed fundamental and second-mode frequencies under a variety of conditions.
Hydrolytic behavior of some aluminum antiperspirant materials in acid

Abstract The hydrolysis rates of a series of aluminum chlorohydrate materials in hydrochloric acid solutions were studied using a colorimetric procedure. In acidic solutions, these materials exist as polynuclear hydroxy complexes that hydrolyze to monomeric aluminum species at rates which are related to their aluminum to chlorine ratios (basicity) and the pH of the solution. In general, the slower the observed hydrolytic rate the greater was the atomic ratio of aluminum to chlorine. The fraction of polynuclear aluminum species in aqueous solutions of the compounds varied in accordance with their basicity, increasing as the basicity increases. All the chlorohydrates exhibited similar X-ray diffraction patterns. They were typical of non-crystalline materials.
Richmond Free Blacks and African Colonization, 1816–1832

Richard Hakluyt, writing in 1588, was referring to the Elizabethan poor whose ranks were newly enlarged by the economic and social upheavals of the sixteenth century. His rationale for government-sponsored colonization has hardly been improved upon in the subsequent four hundred years and examples of its application can be found over much of the globe, from Acadians in Louisiana to convicts in Australia. Two hundred and forty years after Hakluyt, the American Colonization Society was founded in Washington, D.C., to encourage the emigration of American free blacks to Africa.
High-frequency generalised transduction by bacteriophage T4.

GENERALISED transduction—the transfer of bacterial genes from one cell to another via bacteriophages—is one of a small number of processes by which bacteria can acquire exogenous genetic information. Transduction was first demonstrated in Salmonella typhimurium with the phage P22 by Zinder and Lederberg1,2 and subsequently in Escherichia coli with the phages P13 and T14. Bacteriophage T4 is the largest, and one of the most thoroughly studied of the virulent coliphages but has never been observed to mediate generalised transduction. In this report we describe a multiple mutant of T4 that displays the property of generalised transduction, and transfers E. coli genes with frequencies that, in general, are higher than those observed for other transducing phages.
Topical minoxidil solution (1% and 5%) in the treatment of alopecia areata

Topical minoxidil solution can induce hair regrowth in alopecia areata. A dose-response effect was demonstrated when 48 patients treated with topical 1% minoxidil were compared with 47 patients treated with topical 5% minoxidil. A total of 66 patients were enrolled, 26 of them participating in both study groups. Patients with extensive (75% or greater) scalp hair loss showed a response rate of 38%, defined as terminal hair regrowth, with 1% minoxidil versus an 81% response rate with 5% minoxidil, The current 2% formulation is most likely to elicit cosmetically acceptable regrowth in those with patchy alopecia areata. Occlusion of the treated area appears to be necessary to achieve and maintain maximum results. Nonresponders are most likely to be found among those with the most extensive scalp hair loss. No other clinical features correlate with response to treatment. However, a finding of increased T cell blastogenesis before treatment may predict response. In patients with severe alopecia areata, hair loss generally recurs after treatment is stopped and may recur during treatment. Systemic absorption of topically applied and occluded minoxidil solutions (1% and 5%) was minimal; no clinically significant changes in blood pressure, weight, cardiovascular status, electrocardiogram, electrolytes, complete blood count, or urinalysis were seen. Mild local irritation occurred, and two of the 66 patients developed allergic contact dermatitis to minoxidil, as confirmed by patch tests.
Wavelength locked loops for optical communication networks

Optical communication systems based on dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) would benefit from the ability to adjust the operating wavelength of a laser transmitter. Previous attempts, including thermal adjustment, etalon based wavelength locking, and various types of optical frequency and phase locked loops such as the Pound-Drever-Hall technique suffer from weaknesses including sensitivity to noise at their zero crossings and non-signed error signals which require calibrated differential receivers. In this paper, we describe a new servocontrol circuit technique for wavelength locked feedback loops which overcome many of these concerns. Experimental results are presented illustrating this technique, in which a Fabry-Perot laser is locked to a commercially available DWDM filter within an accuracy of about 3 nm without the need fort thermoelectric cooling.
Porosity, Permeability, And Acoustic Velocity In Granular Materials

The effects clay-content, grain-size on porosity, permeability, and seismic velocities of granular materials was studied through a series of laboratory experiments. Porosity, permeability, and ultrasonic P-wave and S-wave velocities were measured among unconsolidated clean Ottawa sand, pure kaolinite, and ten of mixtures varied by kaolinite weight percent at both dry and brine saturated conditions, and at various confining pressures up to 50 MPa. With clay-content as a variable, porosity is minimized at 20% 40% clay by weight depending on confining pressure. Permeability is most affected when clay-content is less than the above minimums, called here the critical clay-content, and fairly independent of clay when clay-content is greater than the critical claycontent. A peak in P-wave velocity versus clay-content was found at about 40% clay by weight.
Spectral Characteristics of Electrically Exploded Mercury

The spectrum obtained by sending 300 amp. from a 150-volt generator through a small stream of mercury is found to be characterized by great broadening of many of the lines, and by a strong continuous background. In the region between 2537 and 1950A, the continuous emission is strong enough, and sufficiently clear of emission lines, to be useful for absorption experiments. The continuous emission is ascribed to recombinations in which the kinetic energy plays a part, and the broadening of lines is ascribed to the strong electric fields of ions near the emitting atom.
The spread of fire in corridors

Full- and quarter-scale experimental fires in corridor-room assemblies, using various combinations of floor, wall, and ceiling lining materials, yielded some interesting results. Between the small-and large-scale tests, there were marked differences in the relative effects of floor coverings and ceiling linings.
Mercury in organic chemistry. 19. Rhodium promoted methylation of organomercurials

Abstract Alkenyl-, alkynyl- and arylmercurials are methylated in excellent yield upon treatment with stoichiometric amounts of CH3RhI2(PPh3)2 ( 1 ). Catalytic methylation of these organomercurials is possible using 1 and methyl iodide, but side reactions interfere.
How fast can fast food be served

An intermittent phenomenon in the fast-food industry is the practice of enticing new customers by guaranteeing service times. A simple mathematical model is used to argue that this practice does not persist because it is not, by itself, economically sound.
(Non)-Abelian gauge field theories of the Fermi gas. Neutron-quark stars☆

Abstract It is indicated that the ground state of Fermi systems with (non)-Abelian gauge interactions has a well defined quantum theory devoid of infrared divergences and mass singularities. This is exploited to develop a systematic quantum theory of the quark gas. The equation of state of the quark gas is evaluated up to second order in the Gell-Mann-Low charge α S ( μ ). The analysis based on neutron matter models suggests that the matter in the neutron stars can be in the quark phase provided the color interaction is “moderately” strong i.e. α S (3 GeV) ⪅ 0.3.
Punishing pregnant drug users: enhancing the flight from care

One hundred forty-two low income women were interviewed postpartum to determine their attitudes regarding the potential effects of a punitive law on the behavior of substance-using pregnant women. The convenience sample was primarily black (85.2%) and single (81%) and 14.8% admitted use of illicit drugs during pregnancy. A goodness-of-fit chi-square analysis revealed that subjects believed a punitive law would be a significant deterrent to substance-using gravida seeking prenatal care, drug testing or drug treatment (P < 0.01). Comments indicated that substance-using pregnant women would ‘go underground’ to avoid detection and treatment for fear of incarceration and loss of their children.
Lewis acidic stiborafluorenes for the fluorescence turn-on sensing of fluoride in drinking water at ppm concentrations

Prompted by the importance of fluoride in fields such as drinking water analysis and 18F-positron emission tomography, we have synthesized and investigated three Lewis acidic organostiboranes containing the (2,2′-biphenylene)phenylantimony(V) moiety as a common subunit and a catecholate (1), a tetrachlorocatecholate (2) or an alizarin (alizarin = 1,2-dihydroxyanthraquinone) ligand (3). DFT calculations show that the Lewis acidity of these stiboranes arises from the presence of a low lying antimony-centered orbital. While 1 shows no measurable fluoride anion affinity in 7/3 vol. THF–water mixtures, spectrophotometric titrations show that the more electron deficient stiboranes 2 and 3 bind fluoride anions in the same medium with binding constants (K) of 13 500 (±1400 M−1) for 2 and 16 100 (±1100) M−1 for 3. Formation of the fluoride complexes has been confirmed by isolation of TAS[2–F] and TAS[3–F] (TAS = tris(dimethylamino)sulfonium), the structures of which have also been determined. While formation of [2–F]− does not trigger a marked photophysical response, a color change from yellow to dark red is observed upon conversion of 3 into [3–F]− in CH2Cl2. This color change, which has been investigated using TD-DFT calculations, is also accompanied by an increase in the fluorescence of the alizarin chromophore at 616 nm. Owing to its high fluoride affinity and fluorescence turn-on properties, 3 can be used in biphasic water–CH2Cl2 mixtures to assay sub-ppm fluoridation levels in tap water or bottled infant drinking waters.
Evolution of an insect-specific GROUCHO-interaction motif in the ENGRAILED selector protein.

SUMMARY Animal morphology evolves through alterations in the genetic regulatory networks that control development. Regulatory connections are commonly added, subtracted, or modified via mutations in cis-regulatory elements, but several cases are also known where transcription factors have gained or lost activity-modulating peptide motifs. In order to better assess the role of novel transcription factor peptide motifs in evolution, we searched for synapomorphic motifs in the homeotic selectors of Drosophila melanogaster and related insects. Here, we describe an evolutionarily novel GROUCHO (GRO)-interaction motif in the ENGRAILED (EN) selector protein. This “ehIFRPF” motif is not homologous to the previously characterized “engrailed homology 1” (eh1) GRO-interaction motif of EN. This second motif is an insect-specific “WRPW”-type motif that has been maintained by purifying selection in at least the dipteran/lepidopteran lineage. We demonstrate that this motif contributes to in vivo repression of the wingless (wg) target gene and to interaction with GRO in vitro. The acquisition and conservation of this auxiliary peptide motif shows how the number and activity of short peptide motifs can evolve in transcription factors while existing regulatory functions are maintained.
Oscillations and asymptotic behavior of first-order neutral delay differential equations

Consider the neutral delay differential equation [display math001] In this paper we are concerned with the asymptotic behavior and the oscillatory nature of solutions of Eq. (1).
Topography, relief, and TRMM-derived rainfall variations along the Himalaya

[1] Along the southern Himalayan topographic front, the Indian summer monsoon modulates erosive processes and rates. To investigate the influence of topography and relief on rainfall generation and resultant erosion, we processed satellite rainfall amounts for the last 8 years (1998–2005) from the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission (TRMM). Based upon a spatial resolution of ∼5 × 5 km for the Himalaya, we identify (1) the spatial distribution of rainfall and (2) the large-scale relationships between topography, relief, and rainfall locations. Our results show two distinct rainfall maxima along strike in the Himalaya. The first, outer rainfall peak occurs along the southern margin of the Lesser Himalaya within a narrow band of mean elevation (0.9 ± 0.4 km) and mean relief (1.2 ± 0.2 km). The second, discontinuous, inner band typically occurs along the southern flank of the Greater Himalaya (elevation and relief: both 2.1 ± 0.3 km).
A comparative study of proprietary and nonproprietary vocational training graduates

Abstract Questionnaires were sent to 13,549 graduates of four types of proprietary and nonproprietary vocational training programs in four selected metropolitan areas of the United States. Initial responses were received from 5,215 graduates, a response rate of 38.5%. The survey featured an intensive follow-up to reach and estimate the characteristics of the nonrespondent population. Substantial differences favoring nonproprietary programs were found between proprietary and nonproprietary graduates in terms of economic gains following graduation and expressed satisfaction. Nevertheless, both types of programs were found to be generally effective in producing graduates with marketable skills; post-training salaries were high enough to indicate that the training was cost effective in all except proprietary computer training programs. The results supported several recommendations regarding the necessity for uniform standards of accountability in the regulation of vocational training programs, whether they are public or private.
The effect of hydrogen on the slip character of nickel

Abstract Slip line observations were used to compare the slip character of hydrogen-charged and uncharged nickel. Surface and ‘interior’ slip lines were examined in two-stage carbon replicas taken from nickel compression specimens tested at room temperature. The ‘interior’ slip lines were obtained using a prestrain/polish/re-strain method designed to minimize free surface effects. Hydrogen caused the waviness of slip to increase more rapidly with strain in the range of 2.5% to 10% strain. Thin foil observations showed no differences in dislocation arrangement between hydrogen charged and uncharged specimens at any strain. It was concluded that within the accuracy of these measurements, hydrogen does not increase interior slip planarity in nickel and may in fact increase waviness through slip line broadening. Surface slip, on the other hand, does appear more planar in the presence of hydrogen.
On Lattice Isomorphisms of Inverse Semigroups, II

A lattice isomorphism between inverse semigroups S and T is an isomorphism between their lattices of inverse subsemigroups. When S is combinatorial, it has long been known that a bijection is induced between S and T. Various authors have introduced successively weaker "archimedean" hypotheses under which this bijection is necessarily an isomorphism, naturally inducing the original lattice isomorphism. Since lattice-isomorphic groups need not have the same cardinality, extending these techniques to the non-combinatorial case requires some means of tying the subgroups to the rest of the semigroup. Ershova showed that if S has no nontrivial isolated subgroups (subgroups that form an entire D-class) then again a bijection exists between S and T. Recently, this technique has been successfully exploited, by Goberstein for fundamental inverse semigroups and by the author for completely semisimple inverse semigroups, under two different finiteness hypotheses. In this paper, we derive further properties of Ershova's bijection(s) and formulate a "quasi-connected" hypothesis that enables us to derive both Goberstein's and the author's earlier results as corollaries.
Accuracy of the kinematic wave and diffusion wave approximations for time‐independent flows with infiltration included

Errors in the kinematic wave and diffusion wave approximation for time-independent (or steady-state) cases of channel flow with infiltration were derived for three types of boundary conditions: zero flow at the upstream end, and critical flow depth and zero depth gradient at the downstream end. The diffusion wave approximation was found to be in excellent agreement with the dynamic wave approximation, with errors of less than 1.4% for KF 0 2 ≥ 7.5, and up to 14% for KF 0 2 ≤ 0.75 for the upstream boundary condition of zero discharge and finite depth, where K is the kinematic wave number and F 0 is the Froude number. The kinematic wave approximation was reasonably accurate except at the channel boundaries and for small values of KF 0 2 (≤ I). The accuracy of these approximations was significantly influenced by the downstream boundary, both in terms of the magnitude of the error and the segment of the channel reach for which these approximations would be applicable.
Magnetostratigraphy of the Shungura Formation, southwestern Ethiopia: Fine structure of the lower Matuyama polarity epoch

Abstract Paleomagnetic measurements are reported for 500 sites in the lower Omo basin of southwestern Ethiopia, an important region for mammalian and hominid fossils. Magnetozones are defined with varying degrees of reliability for more than 700 m of measured stratigraphic section. In a half dozen sedimentary cycles of lower Member G at the locality sampled, we found the concreted basal sand to be normally magnetized and the upper silt to be reversely magnetized. We hypothesize a reversed primary magnetization of all these beds and a hard secondary magnetization of the permeable beds by groundwater. A chronological interpretation is proposed consistent with K/Ar dates on interbedded tuffs, faunal correlation with Bed I at Olduvai Gorge, and the detailed stratigraphy of J. De Heinzelin and P. Haesaerts. The exposed section is found to span the age range 3.2-0.9 m.y. For the lower Matuyama epoch the following suggestions are made about the fine structure of the geomagnetic polarity scale: (1) there are at least two and possibly three Reunion events near 2.0 m.y., (2) the “X” anomaly of J.R. Heirtzler et al. (1968) does represent a normal event near 2.3 m.y., (3) the Gilsa and Olduvai events are the same.
Approximate numerical method for prediction of temperature distribution in flow through narrow gaps containing porous media

The paper examines an approximate solution to the problem of temperature distribution in the flow through a narrow gap filled with porous medium. This problem is relevant for composite material manufacturing processes, such as the resin transfer molding and its derivatives. In such processes, cold resin is sometimes injected into a closed heated cavity containing a network of stationary fibers. The cavity can be long and wide, but it is usually only a few millimeters thick. The approximate solution is based on an estimated through-the thickness temperature profile that allows one to reduce the complexity from fully three-dimensional to two-dimensional and significantly improve the computational efficiency. The implementation of this solution within an existing simulation code for non-isothermal filling of closed mold is briefly described. Finally, several examples are presented to illustrate the accuracy of the proposed method to predict the midplane temperature of the resin as it impregnates the preform to fill the mold cavity.
Refractive Index Sensing Using Quasi One-Dimensional Nanoslit Arrays

This letter describes the optical properties of quasi one-dimensional (1D) Au nanoslit arrays on a microscale pitch. The transmission spectra exhibited multiple minima that were well characterized by 1D surface plasmon polariton Bloch wave modes. We found that all higher order modes showed a linear response to small changes of refractive index (RI) with sensitivities up to 560 nm per RI unit, which is comparable to that of two-dimensional nanohole arrays. By calibrating the RI response of the nanoslit arrays, we could use the multiple modes to determine the RI of unknown, nonabsorbing solutions.
Parameterization of efficient dynamic reconfigurable trees

We present an algorithm for dynamic reconfiguration from a set of processor nodes connected using a multistage interconnection network into a set of m-ary trees of height h. The algorithm allows parameterization based on the branching factor m, the height of the tree h and bias B and produces a set of isomorphic trees for each value of the bias B. The computation of the identities of the neighbors by the nodes is performed using simple binary operations in parallel.
Immunization strategies for Parkinson's disease

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the most common neurodegenerative movement disorder. Currently, no curative treatments or treatments that interdict disease progression are available. Over the past decade, immunization strategies were developed in our laboratories to combat disease progression. These strategies were developed in laboratory and animal models of human disease. Induction of humoral immune responses can be elicited against misfolded protein aggregates. Robust cell-mediated immunity against nitrated misfolded protein(s) accelerates disease progression through effector T cell responses that facilitate neuronal death. We propose that shifting the balance between effector and regulatory T cell activity can attenuate neurotoxic inflammatory events. We now summarize our works that support immune regulation in PD with the singular goal of restoring homeostatic glial responses. New methods to optimize immunization schemes and measure their clinical efficacy are discussed.
Actin and non-muscle myosin II facilitate apical exocytosis of tear proteins in rabbit lacrimal acinar epithelial cells

The acinar epithelial cells of the lacrimal gland exocytose the contents of mature secretory vesicles containing tear proteins at their apical membranes in response to secretagogues. Here we use time-lapse confocal fluorescence microscopy and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching to investigate the changes in actin filaments located beneath the apical membrane during exocytosis evoked by the muscarinic agonist, carbachol (100 μM). Time-lapse confocal fluorescence microscopy of apical actin filaments in reconstituted rabbit lacrimal acini transduced with replication-deficient adenovirus containing GFP-actin revealed a relatively quiescent apical actin array in resting acini. Carbachol markedly increased apical actin filament turnover and also promoted transient actin assembly around apparent fusion intermediates. Fluorescence recovery after photobleaching measurements revealed significant (P≤0.05) increases and decreases, respectively, in mobile fraction (Mf) and turnover times (t½) for apical actin filaments in carbachol-stimulated acini relative to untreated acini. The myosin inhibitors, 2,3-butanedione monoxime (BDM, 10 mM, 15 minutes) and ML-7 (40 μM, 15 minutes), significantly decreased carbachol-stimulated secretion of bulk protein and the exogenous secretory vesicle marker, syncollin-GFP; these agents also promoted accumulation of actin-coated structures which were enriched, in transduced acini, in syncollin-GFP, confirming their identity as fusion intermediates. Actin-coated fusion intermediates were sized consistent with incorporation of multiple rather than single secretory vesicles; moreover, BDM and ML-7 caused a shift towards formation of multiple secretory vesicle aggregates while significantly increasing the diameter of actin-coated fusion intermediates. Our findings suggest that the increased turnover of apical actin filaments and the interaction of actin with non-muscle myosin II assembled around aggregates of secretory vesicles facilitate exocytosis in lacrimal acinar epithelial cells.