cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Promoter-promoter interactions influencing transcription of the yeast mitochondrial gene, Oli 1, coding for ATPase subunit 9. Cis and trans effects

The gene for ATPase subunit 9 of yeast mitochondria (Oli 1) contains two promoter sequences (Op1 and Op2) separated by 78 nucleotides. Both promoters are transcribed in vivo and in vitro though with different efficiency. The upstream promoter (Op1) is 12-15 times stronger than the downstream promoter (Op2), and this difference in promoter activity is partly attributable to the influence of the +2 nucleotide (Biswas, T. K., and Getz, G. S. (1986) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 83, 270-274). In addition, the presence of the strong promoter (Op1) in close proximity to the weak promoter (Op2) partially inhibits the expression of the latter (Op2). The relative orientation of the two promoters has no influence on these inhibitory effects. When both promoters are present in the same reaction mixture, the strong promoter always competes effectively with the weak promoter for limited RNA polymerase (trans or competition effect). When the two promoters are present in the same plasmid, there is an inhibitory interaction between them that decreases as the distance between the two promoters increases (cis or position effect). Thus, the difference between the activities of a strong and a weak mitochondrial promoter in tandem is a function of two effects, the trans or competition effect and the cis or position-related effect. A model for promoter-promoter interactions is proposed.
A stochastic assignment problem

There are n boxes with box i having a quota value Balls arrive sequentially, with each ball having a binary vector attached to it, with the interpretation being that if Xi = 1 then that ball is eligible to be put in box i. A ball's vector is revealed when it arrives and the ball can be put in any alive box for which it is eligible, where a box is said to be alive if it has not yet met its quota. Assuming that the components of a vector are independent, we are interested in the policy that minimizes, either stochastically or in expectation, the number of balls that need arrive until all boxes have met their quotas. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 62:23–31, 2015
Reversible inactivation of rabbit liver fructose 1,6-diphosphatase by adenosine triphosphate and adenosine diphosphate.

Abstract ATP, ADP, and other nucleoside pyrophosphates converted homogeneous rabbit liver fructose 1,6-diphosphatase into a conformer with low catalytic activity, and altered the nature of the allosteric inhibition by AMP from sigmoidal to hyperbolic. This transition was both prevented and reversed by 3-phosphoglycerate or EDTA. Higher concentrations of inorganic phosphate and certain polycarboxylic acids and phosphate esters had similar effects. Two phosphonic acid analogues of ATP,β,γ-methylene adenosine 5'-triphosphate and α,β-methylene adenosine 5'-triphosphate, were found to inactivate the enzyme very specifically at much lower nucleotide concentrations. Mg2+ was required both for ATP inactivation to occur and for the prevention of this process by 3-phosphoglycerate. On the other hand, low concentrations of substrate markedly slowed down the interconversions in either direction.
Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism

Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism. Richard H. Robbins. Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon, 1999. 421 pp.
Making Sense of Methods and Measurement: Defining the Latent Variable

The purpose of this edition of Making Sense of Methods and Measurement is to introduce the concept of the latent variable. We will also describe how the INACSL Standards of Best Practice: Simulation Standard I Terminology offers a wonderful starting place for simulation educators and researchers who are interested in measuring complex phenomena such as clinical judgment, critical-thinking, and problem-solving abilities. Two of the most important and often overlooked steps in evaluation and research are (a) to decide what you want to measure (your variable of interest) and (b) to clearly and unambiguously define that variable. In simulation evaluation and research, we are often interested in measuring phenomena such as clinical judgment, critical-thinking, or problemsolving abilities. The challenge is to define explicitly these variables so that we can develop effective methods to measure them. Variables such as clinical judgment that are not directly observable are called latent variables. Unlike variables such as height, weight, or temperature that are easily measured with a measuring tape, scale, or thermometer, respectively, there is no way to directly measure someone’s clinical judgment, critical-thinking, or problem-solving abilities. To overcome this lack of directly observable behavior, we develop rubrics, evaluation instruments, and other measures that provide proxies or scores that can represent our latent variables. However, we cannot begin to develop such proxies
NH3 and H2O Emission in our Galaxy

In 1968 NH3 molecules were discovered in gas clouds near the center of our Galaxy. The NH3 molecules showed emission lines in transitions arising from metastable J=K rotational states. NH3 has many transitions at about 1.25 cm; hence, a great deal can be learned about the gas clouds. In particular, 1–1, 2–2, 3–3, 4–4 have excitation temperatures of 24 K, 65 K, 125 K, 203 K respectively. Thus, one can determine temperatures very accurately by comparing line strengths to statistical theory. NH3 is particularly useful as an interstellar thermometer since all of these lines can be detected by a single radio telescope with essentially the same beam size. Generally, a telescope measures the antenna temperature T A of an object which is related to the brightness temperature T B of an object by T A = Ω S / Ω A T BJ ; Ω A ≤ 1. T A = T B when Ω S ≥ Ω A , where Ω A is the solid angle of the antenna pattern and Ω S is the solid angle of the source as seen from the antenna. If measurements can be made with the same telescope, T B for different spectral lines will be simply related to the T A for the lines and one does not have the complication of source size and geometry.
A computational study on brain tissue under blast: primary and tertiary blast injuries

SUMMARY In this paper, a biomechanical study of a human head model exposed to blast shock waves followed by a blunt impact with the surface of the enclosing walls of a confined space is carried out. Under blast, the head may experience primary blast injury (PBI) due to exposure to the shockwaves and tertiary blast injury (TeBI) due to a possible blunt impact. We examine the brain response data in a deformable finite element head model in terms of the inflicted stress/pressure, velocity, and acceleration on the brain for several blast scenarios with different intensities. The data will be compared for open space and confined spaces. Following the initial impact of the shock front in the confined space, one can see the fluctuations in biomechanical data due to wave reflections. Although the severity of the PBI and TeBI is dependent on the situation, for the cases studied here, PBI is considerably more pronounced than TeBI in confined spaces. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Influence of Iodine on the Treatment of Spacecraft Humidity Condensate to Produce Potable Water

Several compounds in the ersatz humidity condensate do react with iodine to form iodine-substituted organic compounds (TOI), most notably phenol, acetaldehyde, ethanol, and sodium formate. Iodination of the ersatz humidity condensate produced 3.0 to 3.5 mg/L of TOI within 24 hours. The TOI that was produced by the passage of the ersatz humidity condensate through the first iodinated resin (IR) in the adsorption system was removed by the granular activated carbon that followed. TOI detected in the final effluent was formed by the reaction of the non-adsorbable condensate compounds with the final IR in the treatment series. The activated carbon bed series in the adsorption system performed poorly in its removal of TOC. The rapid breakthrough of TOC was not surprising, as the ersatz humidity condensate contained several highly soluble organic compounds, alcohols and organic acids.
Review: Donald K. Sharpes (2006). Sacred Bull, Holy Cow: A Cultural Study of Civilization's Most Important Animal

SHARPES nimmt die Leser(innen) mit auf eine Reise, die von Zeichnungen in prahistorischen Hohlen bis in die Fast-Food-Ketten der Neuzeit reicht. Dabei hilft er – ruckgreifend auf ein enormes Wissen uber Religion, Geschichte und kulturelle Praktiken und auf eigene Erfahrungen – den "human context of the cow" zu verstehen und zeigt, dass Viehzucht ein unverzichtbarer Teil des zivilisierten Lebens ist. Der Autor besticht durch seinen Humor, seinen engagierten Stil und seinen Detailreichtum in einem eher ungewohnlichen Gegenstandsbereich. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0703248
Venus Cloud Contrasts

Contrast of the Venus cloud patterns is measured by photoelectric scans using a sequence of narrow-band interference filters. The contrast appears constant in the range 3100–3600 A, drops to the limit of detectability at about 4100 A, and is absent at longer wavelengths.
A generalization of a theorem of Z. Janko and J. G. Thompson

2. Janko and J. G. Thompson [6] have shown that if G is a finite non- abelian simple group having a Sylow 2 subgroup T which has no normal, elementary abelian subgroups of order 8 and whenever t is an involution in T satisfying [T: CT(t)] < 2, then Cc(t) is solvable, then the simple group G is isomorphic to one of the following simple groups: L,(p), A, , M,, , L,(3), U,(3) or U,(4). In this paper, we replace the condition of solvability of Cc(t) by that C,(t) is 2-constrained and show that the simple group G is isomorphic to one of the simple groups L,(q), A, , M,, , L,(3), U,(3), U,(4) or to one of the Janko simple groups of order 604,800 or 50,232,960. We will use the following unpublished results besides the ones quoted in [6]. The terminology is the same as in [6]. J. G. Thompson. Let G be a non abelian finite simple group, T a Sylow 2 subgroup of G and suppose that T has no normal elementary abelian subgroups of order 28, Z(T) is noncyclic, and Nc( T) = T. C,(T), then T g Tl
The forging of a black community : Seattle's Central District, from 1870 through the Civil Rights Era

Foreword Acknowledgments Introduction | Seattle: The Urban Frontier Part 1 | African Americans in a Frontier City, 1860-1899 1. Origins and Foundations, 1860-1899 Part 2 | The Black Community Emerges, 1900-1940 2. Employment and Economics, 1900-1940 3. Housing, Civil Rights, and Politics, 1900-1940 4. Blacks and Asians in a White City, 1870-1942 5. The Forging of a Black Community Ethos, 1900-1940 Part 3 | Black Seattle in the Modern Era, 1941-1970 6. The Transformation of the Central District, 1941-1960 7. From "Freedom Now" to "Black Power," 1961-1970 Conclusion | Black Seattle, Past, Present, and Future Appendix 1. Founding Members of the Seattle NAACP Appendix 2. Black Seattle: The Social Nexus Appendix 3. Growth of Seattle's Black Population, 1860-1990 Appendix 4. Seattle's Minority Population, 1900-1990 Notes Bibliography Index
Presumption and prejudice in logical inference

Abstract Two nonstandard modes of inference, confirmation and denial, have been shown by Bandler and Kohout to be valid in fuzzy propositional and predicate logics. If denial is used in combination with modus ponens, the resulting inference mode (“augmented modus ponens”) yields more precise bounds on the consequent of an implication than are usually called for in approximate reasoning. Similar results hold for augmented modus tollens constructed from confirmation and conventional fuzzy modus tollens. Two simpler modes of inference, presumption and prejudice, are also valid under the same assumptions as confirmation and denial. Prejudice imposes an upper bound on the truth value of the consequent of a fuzzy implication regardless of the truth value of the antecedent; presumption imposes a lower bound on the truth value of the antecedent regardless of that of the consequent. Some of the consequences of presumption and prejudice cast doubt on the suitability of fuzzy propositional and predicate logics for use in expert systems that are designed to process real-world data. A logic based directly on fuzzy sets is explored as an alternative. Fuzzy set logic supports fuzzy modus ponens and modus tollens but does not entail the more problematic modes of confirmation, denial, presumption, and prejudice. However, some of the expressive power derivable from the diversity of fuzzy propositional logics and their derivative fuzzy predicate logics is lost.
Local control after craniospinal irradiation, intensity-modulated radiotherapy boost, and chemotherapy in childhood medulloblastoma.

BACKGROUND: The current study was conducted to determine whether the use of cochlear-sparing intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) boost results in excess local failures in children with medulloblastoma. METHODS: Fifty children with a median age of 7.8 years underwent resection, craniospinal irradiation (CSI), IMRT posterior fossa (PF) and/or tumor bed (TB) boost, and cisplatin-based chemotherapy for medulloblastoma. For standard-risk patients, the CSI dose was 18 to 23.4 grays (Gy) and was followed either by an IMRT PF boost to 36 Gy and a TB boost of 54 to 55.8 Gy (n = 29) or by an IMRT TB boost to 55.8 Gy (n = 4). For high-risk patients, the CSI dose was 36 to 39.6 Gy followed by an IMRT PF boost to 54 to 55.8 Gy (n = 8), an IMRT PF boost to 45 Gy and a TB boost to 55.8 Gy (n = 2), or an IMRT TB boost to 55.8 Gy (n = 7). For the TB boost, a 2-cm margin around the surgical bed was treated in most patients. RESULTS: The 5-year overall and progression-free survival rates (±standard deviation) were 72% ± 6.6% and 68.3% ± 6.8%, respectively, for all patients; 77.8% ± 7.4% and 75.1% ± 7.6%, respectively, for standard-risk patients; and 60.8% ± 12.8% and 55.4% ± 12.8%, respectively, for high-risk patients. The 5-year PF control rate was 90.5% ± 4.6%. TB failures occurred in 3 patients (including 2 patients who had distant failure), whereas an isolated non-TB PF failure occurred in 1 patient. CONCLUSIONS: The use of IMRT was associated with excellent local control and did not result in excess PF failures outside of the TB. Cancer 2011. © 2010 American Cancer Society.
Survival of turned and roughened dental implants in irradiated head and neck cancer patients: A retrospective analysis

Statement of problem Dental implants placed into previously radiated fields in survivors of head and neck cancer can demonstrate survival rates that are less than optimal. Understanding this behavior may assist with treatment planning in accordance with expected survival rates in these patients. Purpose The purpose of this study was to compare the survival of implants with turned and roughened surfaces placed in patients who had previously received head and neck radiation, and to identify factors associated with implant failure. Material and methods The records of 48 patients who had prior head and neck radiation and had 271 dental implants placed between May 1987 and July 2008 were examined. All of the implants were placed in a previously irradiated field dosed to at least 50 Gy. Implant survival was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method and univariate Cox models with robust standard errors were fitted to evaluate the association between patient/implant factors and implant failure. Results There were 62 implants placed in the maxilla (32 roughened, 30 turned) and 209 implants (107 roughened, 102 turned) placed in the mandible. The 5-year implant survival rate for implants placed in the maxilla was 72.6% for turned implants and 87.5% for roughened implants. For implants placed in the mandible, the 5-year survival rate was 91.7% for turned implants and 100% for roughened implants. Among implants with a turned surface, implants were more likely to fail if they were placed in the maxilla ( P =.008) and if the diameter was ≤3.75 mm ( P =.002). Conclusions Implants with turned surfaces were 2.9 times more likely to fail compared to the roughened dental implants, although the difference did not reach statistical significance. For implants with turned surfaces, there was a tendency for implants in the maxilla to fail more frequently compared to the mandible. Implants with turned surfaces had a higher likelihood of failure in the posterior region than in the anterior region. For implants with roughened surface there was no significant association between implant survival and location of the implant, type of bone, or length or diameter of the implant.
Droplet Formation and Deposition1

At the EPPO Conference in Belgrade on 1970 the author reported on work showing that small, uniform, and non-volatile droplets appeared to offer the prospect for greatly reduced dosages of pesticides by both providing a more effective deposit and by controlling drift. Three recent studies provide further evidence for this hypothesis, which questions the very principles on which our present spraying practices are based. However, the deposition of droplets by the external forces of wind and gravity imposes lower limits on the droplet sizes capable of being used. These are 30 μm for insecticides and fungicides (except in the case of flying insects) and 150 μm for herbicides, since the droplets require sufficient energy to impact themselves on the target. Electrostatic charging of droplets promises to free us from these size constraints by providing the droplet with a depositional force of its own, allowing it to impact on any surface. Electrostatics, however, is solely a force of deposition and thus must be balanced with the forces required for spray dispersion so that the droplets can penetrate the crop canopy and/or be transported to the target
Convex Arrhenius plots and their interpretation

This paper draws attention to selected experiments on enzyme-catalyzed reactions that show convex Arrhenius plots, which are very rare, and points out that Tolman's interpretation of the activation energy places a fundamental model-independent constraint on any detailed explanation of these reactions. The analysis presented here shows that in such systems, the rate coefficient as a function of energy is not just increasing more slowly than expected, it is actually decreasing. This interpretation of the data provides a constraint on proposed microscopic models, i.e., it requires that any successful model of a reaction with a convex Arrhenius plot should be consistent with the microcanonical rate coefficient being a decreasing function of energy. The implications and limitations of this analysis to interpreting enzyme mechanisms are discussed. This model-independent conclusion has broad applicability to all fields of kinetics, and we also draw attention to an analogy with diffusion in metastable fluids and glasses.
Ultrastructure of the larval hemocytes of the pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders) (Lepidoptera : Gelechiidae)

Based on ultrastructural characteristics, 5 types of hemocytes were observed in the hemolymph of mature fourth-instar larvae of the pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella. These are prohemocytes, plasmatocytes, granular hemocytes, spherule cells, and oenocytoids. Prohemocytes are relatively small and infrequent, with simple cellular organization. Plasmatocytes are pleomorphic, and the 2 kinds most frequently noticed are spindle-shaped cells and ovoid cells, the latter with a large number of pseudopodial-ike extensions. Granular hemocytes contain granules of different types and are involved mainly in phagocytosis. A progressive accumulation of lipid droplets by these cells gives rise to what are often reported as adipohemocytes. Spherule cells contain many spherules made up of a flocculent material that is synthesized by the rough endoplasmic reticulum and packaged in the Golgi apparatus. Oenocytoids possess bundles of microtubule-like structures interspersed with free ribosomes and few Golgi elements. Their function, like that of the spherule cells, is not clear although it is speculated that both types are the source of some blood proteins. Another hemocyte type reported as podocyte in an earlier study was not noticed in any of the preparations.
Supplementing traditional instruction with objectives-based instructional development

A teacher guide incorporating objectives, learner practice, and assessment was developed for use with an existing instructional booklet on electricity. Eight classes of fourth graders were randomly assigned by class to one of two conditions: the booklet taught by teachers using their own teaching styles or using the objectives-based guide. Mean pretest scores of the two groups were comparable. Posttest means were 15.28 (76 percent) for objectives-based subjects and 10.29 (51 percent) for those under the more traditional instruction,t(126)=8.11,p<.0001. The objectives-based program took longer to complete but yielded a faster learning rate and more favorable student attitudes.
Different effects of variation in Xanthium strumarium L. (Compositae) on two insect seed predators.

To determine the relative importance of variation in several plant characters on susceptibility to herbivores, we examined patterns of seed predation by two monophagous insect species and patterns of variation in ten populations of the cocklebur, Xanthium strumarium. Multiple regression analysis disclosed that one seed predator was most influenced by plant chemical variation, the other was significantly influenced by both chemical and morphological variation, but variation in yet another character, general burr size, was most important in conferring resistance to both insects simultaneously. The plant populations differed most in this character. Although many of the plant characters were correlated with each other, those important in determining susceptibility to each insect species were uncorrelated and independent of those conferring resistance to both insects simultaneously.These results imply that ecological similar herbivores may be influenced by different aspects of plant variation, and that predictions of evolutionary responses of local plant populations to herbivory may require knowledge of the structure of local herbivore communities and the dynamics of their establishment.
On the Front Lines: Educating Teachers about Bullying and Prevention Methods

Problem statement: Bullying is a serious problem in American schools a nd is characterized by aggressive behavior distinguished by unequal power and the intention to cause physical, social, or emotional harm to others Bullying is evolving from the classic image of a big schoolyard bully picking on smaller kids to a more technologically, sophisti cated model of kids using cyber technology to electronically tease, bully and harass their peers with texting, voicemails, emails and posts on publi c websites, like Facebook, that are popular with youn g students. While parents are and should be encouraged and trained to recognize understand the insidious nature of techno bullying, it is not enou gh. The schools should take an active stance against bu llying and this includes training teachers and othe r personnel to be trained to recognize the signs and to intervene in bullying. Approach: This article discussed a research project undertaken to get asse ss the following: how educators recognize bullying, what they can do and actually do to intervene as we ll as their need for more training and autonomy to intervene. Results: There were 145 completed surveys, with 51 partiall y completed surveys. The results were reported for the completed surveys onl y. Conclusion: This study examined how well a subset of teachers recognize the signs of cyber/tec hno bullying as well as their feelings of preparedn ess to intervene with the bullies and the bullied.
Hypertension and Cerebral Atherosclerosis

This study consisted of an analysis of autopsy material from 3,824 persons who were 30 years of age or older in whom the arterial circle of Willis was scored for the severity and extent of atherosclerosis. Several criteria were used for hypertension. These consisted of the heart weight, the clinical diagnosis of hypertension, and the blood pressure. Regardless of which criterion was used, a definite increase in the severity of atherosclerosis of the circle of Willis was noted in the presence of hypertension. The increase was most pronounced when clinical criteria were used.
Use of positively selected Lyt-2+ mouse splenocytes to examine interleukin-2 secretion in responses to alloantigens and to TNP-modified syngeneic cells

Abstract Current models for T-cell interactions in the generation of cytotoxic T lymphocytes have encountered a technical problem, since it has until recently been impossible to purify the peripheral Lyt-1 + 2 + subset from the Lyt-1 + 2 − helper cell set. Reports that the helper factor Interleukin-2 (IL-2) can be synthesized by Lyt-2 + spleen cells have suggested that the peripheral Lyt-2 + set, unlike Lyt-2 + thymocytes, might not depend on help from Lyt-1 + 2 − cells. To clarify this question, we have produced spleen Lyt-2 + cells, and the complementary Lyt-2 − set, by a positive selection method. The Lyt-2 + cells were able to produce high levels of anti-hapten CTL only if supplemented with either Lyt-2 − cells or with semi-purified IL-2. Although IL-2 synthesis from Lyt-2 + cells, or from unseparated T cells, could be induced by H-2I region-disparate stimuli, Lyt-2 + cells produced very little IL-2 in response to H-2I or to H-2K region-disparate cells. IL-2 synthesis in hapten-stimulated cultures was found not to depend on the presence of the hapten per se, and probably represents a response to components of the fetal calf serum supplementation. Lyt-2 + cells were also much less able to generate IL-2 than Lyt-2 − cells in response to these stimuli. Cell mixing experiments provided no evidence that Lyt-2 + cells could suppress IL-2 secretion by Lyt-2 − cells. We conclude that generation of CTL from splenic Lyt-2 + cells requires IL-2 produced by Lyt-2 − cells, because Lyt-2 + cells do not produce high levels of IL-2 themselves, even when stimulated across an H-2K difference alone.
Two Perspectives on Tenure

Here, two college professors explore the dilemma of tenure, and ultimately argue for a change in the way tenure is promoted and perceived within the academy. One professor—an associate dean and former department head—has over 35 years of experience with the academy and has observed the best and worst aspects of tenure. The other, currently teaching his third semester of classes, has a perspective on tenure based more on expectations than experience. The perspectives differ, but at the same time provide insight into the two sides of tenure—one that views tenure as a public good needed to protect academic freedom and the other which sees it as a menace that protects incompetence.As a young professor, I was a vocal opponent of the Vietnam War at a university in very conservative section of the Midwest. My public stand against the war was criticized on local radio, television, and in the newspaper. In that Midwestern city, the war could be seen in two ways: through the eyes of the patriotic American or those of the traitor. The community made clear its attitude toward opposition to the war. Being an untenured assistant professor, I was most fortunate that the department head and academic dean were devoted defenders of academic freedom. If these academic administrators had not held their respective positions during the Vietnam War, there is no doubt my contract would have expired without renewal.
Hormonal responses to cardiac tamponade: inhibition of release of atrial natriuretic factor despite elevation of atrial pressures.

Atrial distension, rather than change in intra-atrial pressure, has been suggested as a principal mediator of release of atrial natriuretic factor (ANF). During cardiac tamponade, atrial pressures rise whereas transmural pressures and atrial stretch may not be affected. The roles of atrial pressure and atrial distension were investigated in six open-chest dogs subjected to cardiac tamponade and rapid volume expansion as disparate means of affecting intra-atrial pressures and atrial stretch. Hemodynamic measurements, immunoreactive ANF (ir-ANF), plasma renin activity, antidiuretic hormone, epinephrine, and norepinephrine were monitored before, during, and after three interventions: (1) tamponade, (2) rapid volume loading followed by tamponade, and (3) volume loading during tamponade. Volume expansion increased right atrial pressure and caused a significant rise in ir-ANF. Elevations of right atrial pressure caused by tamponade were comparable to those induced by volume infusion, but an increase in ir-ANF was not elicited during tamponade, and the ir-ANF response to volume loading was abolished when performed during tamponade. The relation between the change in ANF concentration and change in right atrial pressure were highly significant in the absence of tamponade, when atrial stretch was freely responsive to volume expansion (r = .73, p less than .0001), but not when stretch was inhibited (r = -.16, p = NS). These observations underscore the importance of considering the modulating effects of atrial compliance, transmural pressure, and atrial stretch on the relation between atrial pressures and ANF release.
A New Environmental Biosensor for Cell Free Synthetic Biological Systems

Biosensors utilize fundamental properties of biophysics to enable detection of environmental analytes. While these systems are frequently based on living cells, they have potential applications in multiple fields. Cell-free synthetic biological systems, such as artificial cells (i.e., liposomal encapsulations of functional biological parts), are an example of systems that could be enhanced by new biosensors. Here, we created a biosensor based on the biophysical interactions of biotin and streptavidin. Biotin plays an essential role in cell growth and the typical amount of biotin required by cells is low (e.g., 1 ng/ml in E. coli). Biotin is also widely used in molecular assembly because of its strong conjugation to streptavidin, with a Kd around 10−15 M). We leveraged this strong attraction in a competitive binding scheme to create a biotin sensor that is both specific and sensitive in comparison to common biotin assay methods that are based on radioactive labeling, microbiological, or physicochemical principles. This new biosensor has a detection limit in pg range, and significantly discriminates between biotin and its metabolic precursor in E. coli, dethiobiotin. This engineered biosensor can be used as a biotin detector for biotin synthesis by engineered cells. Additionally, it can be deployed in cell-free synthetic systems. Ultimately, our engineered biosensor can be coupled to cell-free systems to act as an environmental reporter. Alternatively, it can trigger cell-free gene expression in artificial cells. We anticipate this new technology will impact work in fields ranging from synthetic biology to the biophysics of biomaterial assembly.Acknowledgements: We gratefully acknowledge funding from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.
Trade restriction indices and US trade policy

The proper way to measure differences in trade protection across countries and economic sectors has been a vexing problem for economists studying international trade. Based on research by Anderson and Neary (2005) and Kee et al. (KNO) (2009), this article proposes the use of Trade Restriction Indices (TRIs) when studying US trade policy. TRIs can potentially solve several problems related to measuring the restrictiveness of trade policy. To this end, this article creates a data set of TRIs for US imports by sector at several different levels of aggregation using the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HS), the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) and the Standard International Trade Classification industry coding systems.
Childhood Living Arrangements and the Intergenerational Transmission of Divorce

Using detailed data on the childhood living arrangements of children taken from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG), the impact of multiple dimensions of parent histories on the likelihood of offspring divorce is investigated. Although past research is replicated by finding a positive impact of parental divorce on offspring divorce, the author also finds that living apart from both parents, irrespective of the reason, is associated with an increased risk of divorce. In particular, children who were born out of wedlock and who did not experience parental divorce or death experience a very high risk of marital disruption. However, neither the number of transitions in childhood living arrangements nor parental remarriage appear to substantially affect the risk of marital dissolution. Finally, variations in the timing of and circumstances surrounding marriage appear to mediate a substantial proportion of the effect of parent histories on offspring divorce.
Optical analysis and thermal modeling of a window for a small particle solar receiver

Abstract Concentrated solar power (CSP) systems use heliostats to concentrate solar radiation in order to produce high temperature heat, which drives a turbine to generate electricity. A 5 MWth Small Particle Solar Receiver is being developed for power tower CSP plants based on volumetric absorption by a gas-particle suspension by the support from the U.S. Department of Energy under the SunShot Initiative. The radiation enters the pressurized receiver (0.5 MPa) through a curved window, which must sustain the thermal loads from the concentrated solar flux and infrared reradiation from inside the receiver. The thermal load from the solar flux on the window is calculated by using the computer code MIRVAL from Sandia National Laboratory which uses the Monte Carlo Ray Trace (MCRT) method, along with two other codes developed by the authors. Thermal loading was calculated from energy absorbed at various points throughout the window from both the heliostat field and inside the receiver. Transmission and reflective losses were also calculated for different window materials in order to find out how much radiation will enter the receiver or will be lost. The three dimensional temperature distribution of the window is analyzed by an energy balance taking into account spectral volumetric absorption, spectral surface emission, conduction within the window, and convection from both surfaces. A maximum window temperature of 800 °C must be enforced to prevent cracking and/or devitrification due to overheating. Several grades of quartz are considered for this study with detailed spectral calculations. For a chosen material, the window temperature was found to be held under 800 °C. The results showed that most of the heat load on the window comes from the inside of receiver due to spectral variation.
Digoxin in heart failure: Implications of recent trials☆

Abstract Although supported by 2 centuries of anecdotal clinical evidence, the safely and efficacy of the cardiac glycosides for the treatment of congestive heart due to systolic ventricular dysfunction had never been rigorously examined by prospective clinical trials until the past decade. A reevaluation of the appropriate role of these drugs in modern cardiovascular pharmacology was prompted by the introduction in the 1970s of new classes of drugs for the treatment of congestive heart failure and supraventricular arrhythmias. Concurrently, several reports appeared, questioning the routine prescription of digoxin for the treatment of heart failure, particularly in patients in sinus rhythm. The majority of clinical trials published since 1980, most of which examined patients with New York Heart Association class II and III congestive heart failure, indicate that digoxin with or without concomitant administration of a vasodilator lessens symptoms and reduces the morbidity associated with congestive heart failure, particularly in patients with more advanced symptoms and ventricular dysfunction. The data on efficacy are less clear in support of the routine prescription of digoxin in the treatment of mild (class I and II) congestive heart failure. Although most recent trials attest to the relative safety and efficacy of digoxin in patients with congestive heart failure whose serum levels are maintained between 1 and 2 ng/ml, there is no conclusive evidence as yet that cardiac glycosides improve survival, as has been documented for vasodilators and, in particular, angioteisin-converting enzyme inhibitors. The National Institutes of Health-sponsored Digitalis Investigators Group (DIG) trial now underway should provide an answer to this question within the few years.
Surface Sensitive Studies of the Reactive Uptake of Chlorine Nitrate on Ice

The reactive uptake of chlorine nitrate (ClONO2) on ice surfaces (ClONO2 + H2O → HOCl + HNO3) was studied with surface sensitivity using laser-induced thermal desorption (LITD) techniques. Thin fil...
What College Professors Want from a Job

This study compares the job preferences of 57 college professors and 965 other professional workers from the General Social Surveys, 1972–1988 by the Roper Center. Analysis shows college professors are significantly more likely to prefer important, meaningful work and significantly less likely to prefer high pay or chances for advancement. College professors appear to be more strongly motivated than other professionals by intrinsic job considerations.
Psychoactive Drug Use in Evolutionary Perspective

Pure psychoactive drugs and direct routes of administration are evolutionarily novel features of our environment. They are inherently pathogenic because they bypass adaptive information processing systems and act directly on ancient brain mechanisms that control emotion and behavior. Drugs that induce positive emotions give a false signal of a fitness benefit. This signal hijacks incentive mechanisms of “liking” and “wanting,” and can result in continued use of drugs that no longer bring pleasure. Drugs that block negative emotions can impair useful defenses, although there are several reasons why their use is often safe nonetheless. A deeper understanding of the evolutionary origins and functions of the emotions and their neural mechanisms is needed as a basis for decisions about the use of psychoactive drugs.
Formula For The Meridional Section Of The Point Spread Function Of Wolter I X-Ray Telescope And Thin-Film Multilayered Optics

The flux flow equation of Burkhard and Shealy1 is a simplified equation which can be used to evaluate the energy flux density at the image plane for a general optical system. Since the flux flow equation is based on the differential geometry of the wave front passing through the system, the energy flux density at the image plane can be computed by tracing a single ray through the system and using the flux flow equation. This technique has been used to calculate the meridional section of the point spread function of Wolter I x-ray telescopes and thin-film multilayered optics. Results, which have been obtained by the flux flow ray tracing method for the point spread function of several Wolter I x-ray telescopes and hybrid x-ray telescopes using convexed thin-film multilayered optics located near the primary focus, are compared with the RMS blur circle results and the point spread function results obtained by conventional ray tracing techniques.
Bacteriostatic qualities of human milk

A practical concern of the working mother is the bacteriostatic quality of human milk over time without benefit of refrigeration. Therefore, quantitative cultures of human milk stored at room temperature were performed at 0, 2, 4, 6, and 24 hours after expression. Milk from 10 mothers less than six days postpartum (colostrum) and from 10 mothers 7 to 42 weeks postpartum (mature milk) was studied. The number of colony-forming units per milliliter of milk cultured at 0 time did not significantly increase in mature milk after 6 hours nor in colostrum after 24 hours of storage at room temperature. Thus, mothers who express milk for their own infants while at work may assume that the bacterial contamination of their milk will not increase significantly for up to but no longer than 6 hours after expression, even if they have no access to refrigeration.
New insights into calicheamicin-DNA interactions derived from a model nucleosome system

Abstract Using the Xenopus borealis 5S RNA gene, we have identified several new features of the interaction of calicheamicin (CAL), an enediyne antitumor agent, with nucleosomal and naked DNA targets. CAL-mediated DNA damage was generally reduced by incorporation of the DNA into a nucleosome. However, in one instance, the frequency of DNA damage was enhanced in the nucleosome compared to naked DNA. This increase in CAL damage may result from bending-induced changes in the target site, while the association of histone proteins with DNA in the nucleosome may generally reduce the affinity of CAL for its targets by imposing dynamic constraints on the DNA, by altering target structure, or by steric hindrance. One implication of these observations is that new structural features created by incorporation of DNA into chromatin may produce ‘hot spots’ for CAL-mediated DNA damage not apparent in naked DNA studies. In a second set of experiments, the orientation of CAL at damage sites in naked 5S rDNA was determined. The results suggest that minor groove width per se is not a major determinant of CAL target selection. Our studies support the generality of an oligopurine recognition element, with the additional requirement that the purine tract is interrupted at the 3′-end by a pyrimidine(s). To account for these observations, we propose a model in which CAL recognizes the unique structural and dynamic features associated with the 3′-end of an oligopurine tract. Finally, we conclude that the dyad axis of pseudosymmetry of the 5S rRNA gene nucleosome cannot be determined with any degree of certainty. This places significant limitations on the interpretation of results from the study of drug-DNA interactions with reconstituted nucleosomes.
The absorption spectrum of aqueous curium (III)

Abstract The absorption spectrum of aqueous curium (III) has been studied in 0·04 N HClO4, using the isotope 244Cm. Three prominent absorption peaks have been discovered at 3754 A, 3812 A and 3965 A, in addition to absorption in the far ultra-violet. These same peaks are found in HCl, HNO3 and H2SO4 solutions. The general characteristics of the spectra in these three acids and some general observations on the radiation decomposition of aqueous curium solutions are reported.
Novel Aromatic Residues in Transmembrane Domains IV and V Involved in Agonist Binding at α1a-Adrenergic Receptors

We examined the role that aromatic residues located in the transmembrane helices of the α1a-adrenergic receptor play in promoting antagonist binding. Since α1-antagonists display low affinity binding at β2-adrenergic receptors, two phenylalanine residues, Phe-163 and Phe-187, of the α1a-AR were mutated to the corresponding β2-residue. Neither F163Q nor F187A mutations of the α1a had any effect on the affinity of the α1-antagonists. However, the affinity of the endogenous agonist epinephrine was reduced 12.5- and 8-fold by the F163Q and F187A mutations, respectively. An additive loss in affinity (150-fold) for epinephrine was observed at an α1a containing both mutations. The loss of agonist affinity scenario could be reversed by a gain of affinity with mutation of the corresponding residues in the β2 to the phenylalanine residues in the α1a. We propose that both Phe-163 and Phe-187 are involved in independent aromatic interactions with the catechol ring of agonists. The potency but not the efficacy of epinephrine in stimulating phosphatidylinositol hydrolysis was reduced 35-fold at the F163Q/F187A α1a relative to the wild type receptor. Therefore, Phe-163 and Phe-187 represent novel binding contacts in the agonist binding pocket of the α1a-AR, but are not involved directly in receptor activation.
Evaluation of current therapy in cerebral vascular disease.

0 NE of the most pressing problems in medicine is the management of the increasing numbers of patients with overt manifestations of cerebral dysfunction associated with vascular disease. Numerous neurologic syndromes are the result of occlusion of diseased cerebral vessels with curtailment of blood supply below the minimum requirements of a nonsilent area of the brain.’ Not only does the central nervous system react acutely to reduction of its blood supply below critical levels, but impairment of function to a degree which might be trivial in other organs is commonly manifested in dramatic fashion in the case of the brain. It is difficult to say with certainty whether in the above instances the cerebral vessels are more severely involved by atherosclerosis than those of other organs or whether their involvement is not remarkable in degree but is simply more obvious. The precise nature of the relationship between diffuse cerebral atherosclerosis and generalized cortical dysfunction is not clear. Studies of cerebral hemodynamics and metabolism in various age groups demonstrate a progressive reduction of cerebral blood flow and oxygen consumption with advancing years, even in the absence of obvious functional impairment.2 Other data indicate that within certain limits even further acute reduction of cerebral blood flow can be induced in elderly subjects without the appearance of untoward symptoms.s The reduced cerebral blood flow of many aged individuals may therefore exist coincidentally with diminished cerebral oxygen consumption and impaired mental function due to reduced cellular activity of independent pathogenesis. At the present time there is no successful method for the prevention or reversal of cerebral atherosclerosis. The therapeutic and corrective measures employed in the management of patients with acute and chronic cerebral vascular disturbances include administration of vasodilating agents, cerebral stimulants
An atypical cause of extensive left-lower-extremity DVT: May-Thurner syndrome

Abstract May-Thurner syndrome is a rare condition requiring both clinical acumen and correct imaging studies to diagnose. We present a case of a 49-year-old male who was initially admitted for chest pain and was later found to have extensive left-lower-extremity deep vein thrombosis. Subsequent computed tomography (CT) imaging was able to reveal a right common iliac aneurysm compressing the left common iliac vein. Radiologic findings and procedural angiographic studies are reviewed with reference to pertinent literature.
On estimation in binary autologistic spatial models

There is a large and increasing literature in methods of estimation for spatial data with binary responses. The goal of this article is to describe some of these methods for the autologistic spatial model, and to discuss computational issues associated with them. The main way we do this is via illustration using a spatial epidemiology data set involving liver cancer. We first demonstrate why maximum likelihood is not currently feasible as a method of estimation in the spatial setting with binary data using the autologistic model. We then discuss alternative methods, including pseudo likelihood, generalized pseudo likelihood, and Monte Carlo maximum likelihood estimators. We describe their asymptotic efficiencies and the computational effort required to compute them. These three methods are applied to the data set and compared in a simulation experiment.