cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Crystal structure of human mitochondrial acyl-CoA thioesterase (ACOT2).

Acyl-CoA thioesterases (ACOTs) catalyze the hydrolysis of CoA esters to free CoA and carboxylic acids and have important functions in lipid metabolism and other cellular processes. Type I ACOTs are found only in animals and contain an α/β hydrolase domain, through currently no structural information is available on any of these enzymes. We report here the crystal structure at 2.1 A resolution of human mitochondrial ACOT2, a type I enzyme. The structure contains two domains, N and C domains. The C domain has the α/β hydrolase fold, with the catalytic triad Ser294-His422-Asp388. The N domain contains a seven-stranded β-sandwich, which has some distant structural homologs in other proteins. The active site is located in a large pocket at the interface between the two domains. The structural information has significant relevance for other type I ACOTs and related enzymes.
The model-theoretic structure of abelian group rings

On etudie la theorie des modeles des anneaux de groupe abelien sur des corps de caracteristique zero
Selective variceal decompression in portal vein thrombosis

Thirty-two patients with congenital portal vein thrombosis have been managed for bleeding gastro-oesophageal varices. Fifteen had splenectomy and/or other therapy before referral: nine were managed by endoscopic sclerosis, four by devascularization and two by total shunt; six rebled. Seventeen had their spleen 'in situ' at referral and were evaluated for selective shunt: thirteen had distal splenorenal shunts (DSRS)--one transiently rebled despite a patent shunt and one had shunt thrombosis; four had no veins suitable for shunt, and were managed by splenectomy and devascularization, with two rebleeds. Detailed study of seven patients before, and 1 year after DSRS, showed a rise in platelet count, maintenance of hepatocyte function, portal perfusion, liver blood flow and liver size. The spleen showed a significant (P less than 0.025) reduction in size with trans-splenic decompression. We conclude that DSRS provides an excellent method for long-term control of bleeding in such patients, without alteration of liver function or haemodynamics. Patients managed by splenectomy and direct ablative procedures have a significantly (P less than 0.05) greater risk of rebleeding than patients receiving DSRS.
Trends in Child Support from 1994 to 2004: Does Child Support Enforcement Work?

Using the 1994–2004 waves of the Current Population Survey–Child Support Supplement, this article tracked child support outcomes, including child support orders, receipts, and payments, and examined the associations between state child support enforcement and child support outcomes. The results indicated moderate improvements in child support outcomes over the 1994–2004 period. The strength of state child support enforcement had positive effects on child support outcomes for young mothers under 35. The findings indicate that the recent policy efforts to strengthen child support enforcement may have large effects for recent cohorts of mothers eligible for child support.
The case-only odds ratio as a causal parameter.

Summary. In the simplest case-only design, cases of a disease are cross-classified into a 2 × 2 table describing a genotype attribute and exposure to some environmental agent. In some instances, the genetic attribute has described inherited genes; in other instances, it has described mutations, for instance, damage to proto-oncogenes or tumor suppressor genes leading to cancer. Here, the population case-only odds ratio is written as a causal parameter in terms of potential outcomes with and without exposure to the agent. It is shown that the case-only odds ratio makes sense as a causal parameter with inherited genes, but its magnitude does not have a causal interpretation with mutations, although deviations from 1 do provide information. The difference is that the environmental agent certainly did not cause an individual to inherit particular genes, but it may have caused the mutation.
Natural science, functionalism, and psychology at the University of New Mexico, 1889-1964

The Psychology Department at the University of New Mexico began as a normal department. It was indelibly influenced to be a part of the natural science grouping in the university's liberal arts college by a strong second president, Clarence L. Herrick, himself a comparative neurologist and geologist. However, some change was effected by the influence of Functionalism and World War I. Over the years psychology suffered from pressures of underfunding, ethnicity, and political factors. A sharp change occurred shortly after 1964. The contribution of an Air Force behavioral science contract in 1957-1958 is also discussed.
Alteration of sensory and motor evoked responses by dieldrin

Abstract Dieldrin has specific effects on responses evoked to peripheral by central stimuli. Postsynaptic components of cortical responses to any modality of sensory stimulation are facilitated by dieldrin while subcortical potentials are moderately depressed. Similar postsynaptic facilitation occurs with direct cortical and transcallosal stimulation. In contrast to these findings, cortical and peduncular responses to stimulating fibres in the brachium conjunctivum or at ventralis lateralis were moderately depressed. With dieldrin a late positive-negative potential developed over frontal cortical areas which was indistinguishable from the irradiation potential produced by metrazol. The late wave was the source of the spike discharges that developed in the EEG records. The close similarities observed between dieldrin and metrazol strengthen the hypothesis that they share either a common mechanism or final common pathways responsible for electrophysiological events. Differences in reports of these agents seem more readily explained in terms of their different pharmacokinetic properties.
Human ovaries contain immunoreactive oxytocin.

Ovarian tissues (n = 26) obtained at surgery were assayed for oxytocin (OT) concentrations in different parts of the ovary by a specific and sensitive RIA after homogenization and extraction with 0.4 m acetic acid. Chromatography of the extract on a Sephadex G-25 column revealed a single peak identical to synthetic OT, as measured by RIA. Corpora lutea of the menstrual cycle had 10.8–53.0 ng immunoreactive OT/g tissue (n = 7), while those of early pregnancy had a concentration of 106.0 ng/g (n = 1). Ovarian stromal tissue had either undetectable or lower concentrations of OT (0–21.0 ng/g; n = 5) than the corpus luteum from the same ovary. While a luteoma of term pregnancy (n = 1), a benign cystadenoma (n = 2), and an endometriotic cyst (n = 1) had no detectable immunoreactive OT, the concentrations of immunoreactive OT were 20.0 ng/g in a thecoma, 1.4, 20.0, and 60.0 ng/g in preovulatory follicles (n = 3), and 41.0 and 37.0 ng/g in polycystic ovaries (n = 2). In one patient with premature ovarian failure,...
Adhesive Fracture Energies of Some High Performance Polymers

Abstract A fracture mechanics approach was applied to determine the adhesive fracture energy of various high performance polymers. These polymers, including both thermosetting and thermoplastic materials, generally offer higher temperature capability than conventional epoxies. Double tapered cantilever beam specimens were used for fracture tests at both room temperatures and 225°C. The adhesive fracture energies of a tetrafunctional epoxy and a phthalocyanine resin were also determined at low temperatures. Adhesive fracture behavior of polymers at high temperatures was found to depend on polymer glass transition temperature, whereas at low temperatures it was related to secondary relaxation processes in the glassy state.
Dynamic multi-domain bipedal walking with atrias through SLIP based human-inspired control

This paper presents a methodology for achieving efficient multi-domain underactuated bipedal walking on compliant robots by formally emulating gaits produced by the Spring Loaded Inverted Pendulum (SLIP). With the goal of achieving locomotion that displays phases of double and single support, a hybrid system model is formulated that faithfully represents the full-order dynamics of a compliant walking robot. The SLIP model is used as a bases for constructing human-inspired controllers that yield a dimension reduction through the use of hybrid zero dynamics. This allows for the formulation of an optimization problem that produces hybrid zero dynamics that best represents a SLIP model walking gait, while simultaneously ensuring the proper reduction in dimensionality that can be utilized to produce stable periodic orbits, i.e., walking gaits. The end result is stable robotic walking in simulation and, when implemented on the compliant robot ATRIAS, experimentally realized dynamic multi-domain locomotion.
Quantitative and Comparative Assessment of Learning in a Tongue-Operated Computer Input Device–-Part II: Navigation Tasks

Tongue drive system (TDS) is a novel tongue-operated assistive technology (AT) for the mobility impaired, to empower them to access computers and drive powered wheelchairs (PWC) using their free voluntary tongue motion. We have evaluated the TDS performance in five sessions over 5-8 weeks to study the learning process in different tasks of computer access and PWC navigation on nine able-bodied subjects who already had tongue piercing and used our magnetic tongue studs throughout the trial. Computer access tasks included on-screen maze navigation and issuing random commands to measure the TDS information transfer rate. PWC navigation included driving through a ~50-m obstacle course using three control strategies. Some of the qualitative aspects of using the TDS were also evaluated based on the two Likert scale questionnaires, one of which was short (eight questions) and asked at the end of each session and the other one (46 questions) at the end of the trial. Included in this study was also a task to measure the tongue fatigue as a result of using the TDS continuously for a few hours. All performance measures showed significant improvement from the first to the second session as well as further gradual improvements throughout the rest of the sessions, suggesting a rapid learning process.
Also a Pastoral Theologian: In Pursuit of Dynamic Theology (Or: Meditations from a Recalcitrant Heart)

This essay evolved out of my effort to situate my work from the last quarter-century for an introduction to a collection of previously published essays. After tracing divergent uses of the terms pastoral and practical theology in figures such as Seward Hiltner, Friedrich Schleiermacher, and Don Browning, I turn to the task of differentiating the two disciplines. Although pursuit of dynamic theology lies at the heart of both, I argue that their sloppy conflation is problematic. Whereas practical theology is integrative, pastoral theology is person-and pathos-centered. I situate my work in pastoral theology within practical theology because of the latter’s commitment to wider curricular and ministerial concerns. But I remain a pastoral theologian at heart, appreciative of its appropriation of psychology as a key means to comprehend what matters most to persons. Commitment to a theology of experience has led the discipline to the inadvertent creation of alternative theological loci of angst and flourishing.
A Proper Orthogonal Decomposition based algorithm for smoke filtering in videos

Wildfires exhibit threats of all magnitudes and types to life and property. Past records suggest inevitable need of complete situational awareness and importance of the use of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) to improve the wildland fire management by using onboard digital cameras. A major issue is the presence of smoke that occludes the hot spots in videos taken from such cameras. This research work focuses on reconstructing images from video of scenes occluded by thick smoke and a method for filtering smoke occlusions in fire image streams using Proper Orthogonal Decomposition (POD). Assuming that the image of the wildfire is taken from a static camera, the smoke will be moving over a stream of images or a video but the background will be static. Using POD, the smoke is filtered out of the video and clear background with fire can be seen in the output images. It provides an efficient way of capturing the dominant components of an infinite-dimensional process with only a finite number of “modes”. The technique is applied to a number of sample videos and it is demonstrated at the smoke is sufficiently removed from the video with the background information intact.
Factor analysis of H2S emission at a wastewater lift station: a case study.

Odor and corrosion are common problems in domestic wastewater collection, transportation, pumping, and treatment processes. Based on the comparison among odorous compounds and onsite observations at a wastewater lift station, H2S is more likely to have caused the odor and corrosion problems than methanethiol and other organic sulfides. The field data from both air and wastewater quality monitoring demonstrated that more H2S (1 ppmv) was formed at a more negative redox potential, lower pH, and a higher temperature of wastewater. Since the lower detection level of most current analytical techniques is much greater than human’s smell and the reference concentration for adverse health effects, automatic monitoring on the threshold of H2S formation provides a mechanism to trigger control techniques only when necessary for cost saving purposes. Based on Gibbs free energy, a more negative redox potential is required to form H2S with an increase in pH and a decrease in temperature and SO 4 2− concentration. However, pH effect is more significant than both temperature and SO 4 2− concentration for H2S formation. It is recommended that H2S control techniques be started when the redox potential is below −44 mV, the pH is lower than 5.6, and the temperature is higher than 11.5 °C to control H2S below the reference concentration. Corroded concrete particles were examined by X-ray diffraction, which showed that the dominant crystal form was quartz.
Repeated measurement analysis for nonnormal data in small samples

The small sample performance of Zeger and Liang's extended generalized linear models for the analysis of longitudinal data (Biometrics, 42,121-130,1986) is investigated for correlated gamma data. Results show that the confidence intervals do not provide desirable coverage of the true parameter due to considerably biased point estimates. Improved estimates are proposed using the jackknife procedure. Simulations performed to evaluate the proposed estimates indicate superior properties to the previous estimates.
Influx of serum proteins and their concentration in spinal fluid along the neuraxis

Abstract A difference in protein concentration between cisterna magna ( 27 mg 100 ml ) and spinal subarachnoid space fluid ( 44 mg 100 ml ) has been observed in the cat. The question of whether the elevated protein concentration in spinal CSF was due to an increased permeability of the blood-spinal fluid barrier in the spinal subarachnoid space was examined. CSF formation and absorption and protein flux was studied by perfusing the ventriculocisternal and spinal subarachnoid spaces. Under the influence of acetazolamide, the rates of influx of albumin during perfusion of the ventriculocisternal system was similar to that found in spinal subarachnoid space perfusion experiments. From measurements of both surface areas, the influx of albumin/cm2 was 3- to 5-fold less in the spinal subarachnoid region than in the ventriculocisternal system. These results indicate that the differences in protein concentration in the CSF compartments studied is not due to an increase in permeability to protein in the spinal subarachnoid space. An alternate explanation for the increased protein concentration in the spinal subarachnoid space is based on regional differences of CSF circulation and a constant protein influx in the absence of local CSF formation.
An Overview of Nitrogen Critical Loads for Policy Makers, Stakeholders, and Industries in the United States

Critical load values are calculated to determine ecosystem responses to deposition in a given area; these values may act as a tool to identify sensitive ecosystems in further need of protection. This overview provides an introduction to nitrogen critical loads for policy makers and parties involved in managing nitrogen deposition including electric utility generators, transportation managers and automobile manufacturers, and large-scale agricultural operators in the United States. It examines the use of the critical loads concept in European nations for establishing policy guidelines, current research on nitrogen critical loads in the U.S., and the development of nitrogen critical loads modeling and mapping.
The international decentralisation of US commercial aircraft production: implications for US employment and trade

Abstract This paper examines the role of industrial offset agreements in the global decentralisation of US commercial aircraft production. Particular attention is given to the manufacturing processes involved in the design and assembly of large passenger jets (100 seats or more). It is argued that the current geography of aircraft production at the global level has been shaped by a new international distribution of input costs and technological capability. Specifically, low-cost producers within several of the newly emerging markets (NEMs) have acquired front-end manufacturing expertise as a direct result of industrial offset contracts and/or other forms of technology transfer (e.g. international joint-ventures, imports of advanced machine tools). We find that the growth of international offset agreements portend the transformation of Boeing from an aircraft manufacturer to a systems integrator. The economic implications of this potential reconfiguration of the US commercial aircraft industry are discussed in the context of several techno-market futures, some of which look rather bleak for US workers in this industry.
Insectivora from the Sespe Uppermost Eocene, California.

The insectivores now known from the uppermost Eocene stage of the Sespe (Locality 150) comprise three distinct types. The most abundant form represented at this locality is evidently related to the erinaceid genus Proterix from the Oreodon beds of the White River Oligocene. Associated with this type is a second genus, presumably of erinaceid affinities but known principally by an incomplete ramus of the mandible. The third genus is a member of the Leptictidae. Curiously enough, this was the first insectivore to be recognized in the fauna from Locality 150, but the type remains at present the least known of any of these forms.
Reconstruction of frontal and frontal-nasal deformities with prefabricated custom implants

Abstract The use of prefabricated custom silicone rubber implants for frontal and nasofrontal deformities produces predictable esthetic results with minimal operative and postoperative morbidity and/or complications in selected patients. Over the past 8 years 8 years, 15 custom silicone rubber implants have been placed with good to excellent results. Only one implant was removed due to postoperative infection. This implant was successfully replaced upon resolution of the infection.
Diffusion of hydrocarbons in rubber, measured by the pulsed gradient NMR method

The pulsed field gradient spin echo method was used to measure the diffusion of ten paraffin hydrocarbons in several uncrosslinked rubbers at 51°C. We obtain various free volume parameters from the concentration dependences, establish the approximate proportionality of the translational friction coefficient to paraffin molecular weight, and confirm the equal intrinsic efficiency of the diffusion mechanism of decane and hexadecane in rubbers.
De novo expression of MECA-79 glycoprotein-determinant on developing B lymphocytes in gut-associated lymphoid tissues.

Rabbit is one of several species that depend on development of B lymphocytes in gut-associated lymphoid tissues for primary immunoglobulin-repertoire diversification. The rabbit appendix is an important site of early B-lymphocyte development. We previously reported that peripheral lymph node addressin detected by monoclonal antibody (mAb) MECA-79 played a role in recruitment of immature blood-borne B cells into neonatal rabbit appendix. Here, we report expression of an approximately 127 000 MW O-linked sulphated proteoglycan on developing B cells in appendix and Peyer's patches recognized by the mAb MECA-79. Binding of the mAb to B lymphocytes was sensitive to enzyme treatment with O-sialoglycoprotease and expression was partially inhibited by sodium chlorate, a metabolic inhibitor of sulphation. The proportions of MECA-79(+) B lymphocytes gradually increased from 70% at 6 weeks in appendix and Peyer's patches. The proportions of MECA-79(+) B lymphocytes in spleen and peripheral blood were very low (0.5-2%). However, the MECA-79 determinant was detected on B cells in splenic germinal centres after immunization. In situ labelling of appendix cells showed that the MECA-79 determinant was expressed on fluorescein-labelled B lymphocytes that migrated from appendix into mesenteric lymph nodes. B-cell MECA-79 may be involved in interactions with T cells and/or dendritic cells. Alternatively, because we found that lymphatic endothelium in the thymus-dependent area of appendix, a site for lymphocyte exit, expressed P-selectin (CD62P), interaction of the MECA-79 determinant on B cells with CD62P may have a role in the exit of B lymphocytes from rabbit appendix.
The importance of insulin resistance in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes mellitus

Many patients with type 2 diabetes have hyperglycemia as a result of deficiencies in both insulin secretion and insulin action, that is, β-cell dysfunction and insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is a state of reduced insulin sensitivity, an inability of insulin to lower plasma glucose levels through suppression of hepatic glucose production and stimulation of glucose utilization in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue. Insulin resistance stems from genetic and environmental causes, and its extent varies considerably among individuals. Studies have shown that enhanced insulin secretion can compensate for insulin resistance and that enhanced insulin sensitivity can mask defects in β-cell function. However, insulin resistance is essential to the development of the majority of cases of type 2 diabetes. Numerous epidemiologic studies have demonstrated an increase in the prevalence of insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes in various ethnic populations that have migrated from their native lands to more urbanized and westernized regions of the world. Type 2 diabetes has already reached epidemic proportions worldwide. By 2025, an estimated 300 million people will have diabetes, most of whom will inhabit China, India, and the United States. These studies have also demonstrated the complex interrelationship of hyperinsulinemia, obesity (primarily visceral adiposity), and free fatty acids with β-cell dysfunction, insulin resistance, and the development of type 2 diabetes. Although little can be done to avert a genetic predisposition to type 2 diabetes, normoglycemia can be preserved in individuals who remain insulin sensitive. Lifestyle changes can be implemented and medications can be administered to improve insulin sensitivity, insulin secretion, and glucose utilization and reduce the prevalence of type 2 diabetes.
Developing transnational information systems: A case study

Abstract A case study involving a US-based company that has established information systems (IS) activities in three non-US subsidiaries is used to assess the similarities and differences in these situations and to identify key success factors that may be applicable to the successful development of transnational systems.
Compressed wavefield extrapolation with curvelets

An explicit algorithm for the extrapolation of one-way wavefields is proposed which combines recent developments in information theory and theoretical signal processing with the physics of wave propagation. Because of excessive memory requirements, explicit formulations for wave propagation have proven to be a challenge in 3-D. By using ideas from “compressed sensing”, we are able to formulate the (inverse) wavefield extrapolation problem on small subsets of the data volume, thereby reducing the size of the operators. According to compressed sensing theory, signals can successfully be recovered from an imcomplete set of measurements when the measurement basis is incoherent with the representation in which the wavefield is sparse. In this new approach, the eigenfunctions of the Helmholtz operator are recognized as a basis that is incoherent with curvelets that are known to compress seismic wavefields. By casting the wavefield extrapolation problem in this framework, wavefields can successfully be extrapolated in the modal domain via a computationally cheaper operatoion. A proof of principle for the “compressed sensing” method is given for wavefield extrapolation in 2-D. The results show that our method is stable and produces identical results compared to the direct application of the full extrapolation operator.
Localization of 2′,3′-cyclic nucleotide-3′-phosphohydrolase within the vertebrate retina

Histochemical and immunochemical techniques are used to locate 2',3'-cyclic nucleotide-3'-phosphohydrolase (2',3'-cNMP-3'ase) within cells of the vertebrate retina. A new histochemical method is described which links the hydrolysis of 2',3'-cNADP to the formation of a reduced, insoluble tetrazolium formazan. Photoreceptors from fish, bovine, and rat retinas are stained by this procedure. The reaction is blocked by 2'-AMP, a known inhibitor of 2',3'-cNMP-3'ase. Rabbit antibodies prepared against 2',3'-cNMP-3'ase from bovine brain are found to cross-react with bovine and rat retinal enzymes. Peroxidase-labeled antibody shows by light microscopy the greatest staining along the inner segments of the photoreceptors. Electron microscopy of the same preparations confirms binding to the plasma membrane of the inner segments of both rods and cones. Retinal 2',3'-cNMP-3'ase is thus predominantly associated with the photoreceptors, suggesting some role for 2',3'-cyclic nucleotides as substrates in visual function.
Long-chain alcohols in mammalian tissues.

Abstract Long-chain alcohols have been detected in lipid extracts of bovine and porcine brain and heart muscle. They were found to occur at levels of approximately 0.002% (w/w) of the total lipids. Hexadecanol, octadecanol, octadecenol and, in the bovine tissues, docosanol were identified as major constituents.
RPV Video Communications: A New Challenge To Video Data Compression

The challenge of providing a robust six megahertz video data channel for remotely piloted vehicles (RPV's) has caused several old standby techniques to be reviewed. Spread spectrum methods, the most promising class for robust channel signalling, require source bandwidths much smaller than those of the channel. Consequently, the application of video data compression algorithms to limit source bandwidths play an important role. Several video data compression techniques that have been applied to the RPV problem to date are discussed, ranging from direct pictorial redundancy reduction, to reduction of frame rate, to data synthesis. These illustrate how special requirements of the RPV video problem are addressed in the designs. This paper describes the general scenario in which the RPV video capability will be used. Major techniques discussed will include transform coding on subpictures, hybrid coding, slow frame rate data processing and source content adaptive variable resolution data processing. The RPV video communications system truly provides a new challenge to the video data compression community.
On effective field theories describing (2, 2) vacua of the heterotic string☆

Classical vacua of the heterotic string corresponding to c = 9, N = (2,2) superconformal theories on the world sheet yield low-energy effective field theories with N = 1 space-time supersymmetry in four dimensions, gauge group E6 ⊗ E8, several families of 27 and 27 matter fields, and moduli fields. String theory relates matter fields to moduli; in this article we relate the kinetic terms in the effective lagrangian for both moduli and matter fields to the 273 and 273 Yukawa couplings. Geometrically, we recover the result (obtained previously via the type II superstring and N = 2 supergravity) that moduli space is a direct product of two Kahler manifolds of restricted type, spanned by the moduli related respectively to the 27 and 27 matter fields. The holomorphic functions of the moduli generating the two restricted Kahler metrics also determine the Yukawa couplings of the matter fields. We derive explicit formulae for the metric for the matter fields in terms of the metric for the corresponding moduli; the two metrics are not identical to each other. The precise relation between moduli and matter metrics takes a slightly different form on subspaces of the moduli space where the unbroken gauge symmetry is enhanced beyond E6 ⊗ E8; this phenomenon is illustrated using the examples of (2, 2) orbifolds and tensor products of minimal N = 2 theories.
5′-Single Stranded DNA Duplex Junctions Provide Specific Loading Sites for the E. coli UvrD Single Stranded DNA Translocase

E. coli UvrD is a 3’ to 5’ SF1 helicase/ translocase involved in a variety of DNA metabolic processes. UvrD can function either as a helicase to unwind duplex DNA or simply as a single stranded (ss) DNA translocase. The switch between helicase and ss translocase activities in vitro is controlled by the UvrD oligomeric state, such that a UvrD monomer has only ssDNA translocase activity, whereas at least a dimeric form of UvrD is required to activate its helicase activity in vitro. A 3’-ssDNA partial duplex provides a high affinity site for UvrD monomer binding, however, the monomer is inhibited from initiating DNA unwinding. Here we show that a UvrD monomer also binds with specificity to duplex DNA junctions with a 5’-ssDNA flanking region, with nearly a 20-fold higher specificity than for ssDNA. Furthermore, the UvrD monomer can initiate 3’ to 5’ ssDNA translocation from this site. The higher specificity for the junction results in time courses that reflect the ssDNA translocation of two populations of UvrD monomers: I.) UvrD initially bound a the 5’-ss/dsDNA junction and II.) UvrD initially bound to random sites along the 5’-ssDNA tail. Our results suggest that the population of UvrD initially bound at the junction translocates with different translocation kinetic parameters. We hypothesize that a 5’-ss-duplex DNA junction may serve as a high affinity loading site for the monomeric UvrD translocase, and that this may facilitate its role as an anti-recombinase to disassemble RecA nucleoprotein filaments formed within a ssDNA gap or at arrested replication forks.
Localization of Ferrous Corrosion by Azide

AMONG the very large number of rust inhibitors, one of the simplest in structure, sodium azide, has received only scant attention. I have made some observations on the interaction between ferrous materials and neutral aqueous solutions of azide at ambient temperature.
Characterization of the gray-scale photolithography with high-resolution gray steps for the precise fabrication of diffractive optics

To fabricate a diffractive optical element (DOE) with optimum surface profile, we characterize the relation between the developed height profile on the photoresist and the optical density (OD) value of a high-energy-beam-sensitive (HEBS) gray-scale photomask with high-resolution gray steps. The lithography characteristics of a gray step less than 10 µm are inspected in detail. The gray patterns with various gray-step widths are fabricated for the investigation of the relation between the OD values and the height profiles on the specific photoresist. We demonstrate the dependence of the photoresist height profiles on the width of the gray step, and this dependence agrees well with the simulation results from our model. We provide a proper method to design the OD value of a gray-scale photomask for the fabrication of DOEs with precise surface profiles.
PRA as a management tool: organizational factors and risk-based priorities for the maintenance of the tiles of the space shuttle orbiter

Abstract A probabilistic risk assessment (PRA) model, developed for the Thermal Protection System (TPS) of the space shuttle orbiter and presented in the previous paper, is used as a management tool to identify root-cause, organizational factors of the various failure modes. The objective is to set priorities in the process of resource allocation to minimize the risk of accident caused by the failure of the TPS. Starting with the technical characteristics of the system and the inputs of the risk assessment model, the approach is to identify the human decisions and actions and the key organizational factors that influence the risk. Among the management factors that affect the reliability of the TPS are time pressures that have occurred in the past, liability concerns and conflicts among contractors, the low status of the tile work and material technicians among maintenance personnel, the absence of priorities in tile testing, and under-recognized couplings among subsystems (such as the external tank insulation as a source of debris that may hit the tiles). It is shown here how using the PRA results to set priorities in the maintenance of the tiles can allow reduction of the overall risk, and how critical zones of debris sources can be identified on the surface of the external tank and the solid rocket booster. It was found, for instance, that detecting and fixing loose tiles in the most risk-critical areas and securing insulation by up to 80%, and securing the insulation of external systems in specified areas could reduce the TPS risk by about 75%.
Overcoming the Barriers to Cooperation: Intergovernmental Service Agreements

Interlocal cooperation through service-sharing agreements has a long history, but its use has increased in popularity during the last 20 years. The decisions of local government units to collaborate through intergovernmental service agreements are best understood as a two-stage process. The first stage, in which communities decide whether to consider interlocal cooperation, involves the nature of the immediate problem faced plus specific demands for performance and efficiency gains that can result from service cooperation. In the second stage, communities confront a question of institutional supply, and hence must overcome inherent bargaining and collective action issues in order to forge interlocal agreements. Heckman probit estimates of such complex relationships using data drawn from a 2003 ICMA survey suggest strong support for this model. The authors conclude by discussing the role of network relationships among local actors for reducing transaction costs and facilitating intergovernmental collaboration.
Identification of surface intermediates during ethylidyne formation on Pt(111) by calculation of infrared intensities and deuterium isotope shifts

Abstract The conversion of ethylene to ethylidyne on Pt(111) is a well-studied model reaction related to conversion of hydrocarbons over noble metal catalysts. For this chemistry, a two step mechanism that proceeds via an ethylidene intermediate has been generally accepted since the mid-1990s. However, recent DFT calculations (J. Phys Chem. C 2010, 114, 12190) have suggested that this intermediate may, in fact, be short-lived and should not be observed. Experimental verification of this prediction, though, is not straightforward, and to provide further theoretical results by which the prediction could be more easily evaluated, we present a set of benchmark calculations of infrared frequencies and intensities of candidate intermediates adsorbed on the Pt(111) surface at realistic coadsorbate coverages. The results show that only modest differences in frequencies and intensities exist between these intermediates, rendering direct spectroscopic differentiation difficult. However, by substituting the C 2 species and intermediates with deuterium, it is shown that one characteristic vibrational band of vinylidene and ethylidene can be separated by well over 100 cm − 1 . This result provides a clear prediction that, if coupled with measured vibrational spectra of deuterium-labeled C 2 species, could definitively differentiate between the most likely intermediates in this reaction network.
In vivo sodium chemical shift imaging.

The shift reagents thulium(III) 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane N, N′, N″, N‴ tetramethylenephosphonate (TmDOTPS5−), and dysprosium(III) triethylenetetraminehexaacetate (DyTTHA3−) are compared in this work for their uses in sodium chemical shift imaging (NaCSI). In a series of experiments using phantoms we evaluated the relative contributions of bulk magnetic susceptibility (BMS) effects and hyperfine shifts to the induced 23Na chemical shift for these two shift reagents. The ratios of BMS effects to hyperfine shifts suggest that TmDOTP5− should be a more effective shift reagent than DyTTHA3− for 23Na NMR spectroscopy as well as NaCSI. The dependence on pH and free Ca2+ concentration of the 23Na NMR frequency shift induced by TmDOTP5− was evaluated. It was found that TmDOTP5− produces good spectral resolution under physiologic conditions. Examples presented from in vivo NaCSI experiments using TmDOTP5− to study diffusion in the posterior chamber of the rabbit eye and to monitor the rate of clearance of aqueous fluid from the anterior chamber demonstrate the effectiveness of this new shift reagent and of the NaCSI technique for in vivo studies. © 1992 Academic Press, Inc.
Socializer or Signal?, How Agency Accreditation Affects Organizational Culture

Agency accreditation has grown steadily as a management strategy in recent decades. Accreditation is meant to help professionalize public administration work by requiring an agency to adopt policies and practices that are sanctioned by an external organization. Advocates claim that accreditation facilitates the diffusion of best practices and builds a culture of professionalism in an agency. Accreditation clearly leads agencies to adopt formal policies. This article identifies two ways in which accreditation might affect organizational culture: (1) by socializing employees, and (2) by signaling the agency’s priorities to employees. Analyzing attitudinal data from officers in six American police departments, this study finds no association between accreditation and officers’ own values, but finds that accreditation is strongly correlated with officers’ perceptions of their agencies’ priorities.
Single Cell Biophysics Drives Wound Healing Dynamics

The ability of cells to move in collective groups or sheets is a phenomenon observed in a number of significant biological processes, such as bone remodeling, embryonic morphogenesis, wound repair and cancer invasion and metastasis. These cells are held together through cell-cell adhesion molecules and move using heterogeneous biochemical and/or environmental cues to guide force production and morphological changes. It has been observed that these cell layers exhibit non-trivial dynamics, such as vortical motion and long-range order. This suggests that the physical interactions between neighboring cells may be an important factor guiding multicellular movements. In addition, recent findings have shown that several aspects of these collective motions can be described by the biophysics of single cells, which dictates cell speed, shape, persistence of motion, traction stress and substrate adhesion. Using live-cell imaging and traction force miscopy we experimentally measured biophysical motility parameters of isolated treated and drug-treated epithelial cells. These results were then used in a mathematical model for multicellular motion to determine the role of cellular level biophysics in the collective migration of epithelial cells. The predictions of the model were tested by comparing the results to collective cell migration experiments, where we used image processing techniques to map the velocity field and force distribution of collectively migrating cells. Deviations between the experiments and the model were used to further refine the model, thereby generating new hypotheses for the biophysical mechanisms that guide epithelial cell migration.
ADJUSTMENT OF THE SELECTIVITY OF A DIELS-ALDER REACTION NETWORK USING SUPERCRITICAL FLUIDS

The thermodynamic pressure effect on rate constants is reported in supercritical fluid carbon dioxide for a homogeneous reaction network over a wide density range. The selectivity, or ratio of rate constants, has been controlled over a continuum for the parallel Diels-Alder additions of methyl acrylate and cyclopentadiene by adjusting the pressure at constant temperature. This reaction network is well-suited to provide fundamental insight into the nature of supercritical solvent effects since three simplifications arise: the pressure effect on the selectivity is independent of the partial molar volumes of the reactants, the temperature effect on the selectivity is independent of the partial molar enthalpies of the reactants, and the ratio of the endo- to exo-rate constants based on mole fraction units is the same as that based on concentration units. The selectivity for the more polar product, the endo-adduct, increases as the pressure or density increases, which indicates that it has a more negative part...
A study of the effect of elastic instability on stiffness-based gauge sensitivity indices for vehicle body structure assessment

Abstract Gauge sensitivity indices are a family of techniques for assessing the effect of thickness changes on automotive structural performance. This paper studies the effect of elastic instability on stiffness-based gauge sensitivity indices and demonstrates that as gauge reduction proceeds, the onset of elastic instability results in instantaneous increase in gauges sensitivity. Analysis results are interpreted and validated by a series of numerical examples. The work concludes with application case studies illustrating application of gauge sensitivity for assessing and managing elastic instability present within a light duty truck cab.
SOCIAL REINFORCEMENT OF BAR PRESSING IN MICE.

(1964). Social Reinforcement of Bar Pressing in Mice. The Journal of Genetic Psychology: Vol. 105, No. 2, pp. 223-236.
A Quantitative Study of Effects of Rare Earth Chelates on NMR Chemical Shifts: I. Treatment of 1:1 Complexes and Chemical Shifts of the Pure Complexes

Abstract Recently several rare earth chelates have been found that induce large and dramatic chemical shifts when complexed with a ligand.1 This is due to paramagnetic shielding, the mechanism of which is observed to be a pseudo-contact shift. In cases such as this involving dynamic equilibria where exchange of protons is rapid compared to observation time, the observed chemical shift represents an average environment determined by the time the proton nuclei spend at each site. The effective site of the complex is a lone pair donor such as the oxygen of a carbonyl group, alcohol, or ether, or the nitrogen of various nitrogen containing groups. The oxygen bearing compounds could theoretically form strong complexes with the added possibility of multiple complexes with chelates. The nitrogen bearing compounds of weak donor strength and containing only a lone pair would presumably form only the 1:1 complex.
Simex approaches to measurement error in roc studies

This paper explores the estimation of the area under the ROC curve when test scores are subject to errors. The naive approach that ignores measurement errors generally yields inconsistent estimates. Finding the asymptotic bias of the naive estimator, Coffin and Sukhatme (1995, 1997) proposed bias-corrected estimators for parametric and nonparametric cases. However, the asymptotic distributions of these estimators have not been developed because of their complexity. We propose several alternative approaches, including the SIMEX procedure of Cook and Stefanski (1994). We also provide the asymptotic distributions of the SIMEX estimators for use in statistical inference. Small simulation studies illustrate that the SIMEX estimators perform reasonably well when compared to the bias-corrected estimators.
Zaprinast, a well-known cyclic guanosine monophosphate-specific phosphodiesterase inhibitor, is an agonist for GPR35.

We found that zaprinast, a well-known cyclic guanosine monophosphate-specific phosphodiesterase inhibitor, acted as an agonist for a G protein-coupled receptor, GPR35. In our intracellular calcium mobilization assay, zaprinast activated rat GPR35 strongly (geometric mean EC50 value of 16 nM), whereas it activated human GPR35 moderately (geometric mean EC50 value of 840 nM). We also demonstrated that GPR35 acted as a Gαi/o- and Gα16-coupled receptor for zaprinast when heterologously expressed in human embryonic kidney 293 (HEK 293) cells. These findings will facilitate the research on GPR35 and the drug discovery of the GPR35 modulators.
DYNAMIC TRACKER TEST APPARATUS Static and Dynamic Characterization of a Rotational Table Designed to Evaluate Azimuth Motion

The Dynamic Tracker Test Apparatus (DTTA) was designed by the Helmet Mounted Sensory Technology (HMST) laboratory to accurately measure azimuth rotation in both static and dynamic conditions. The DTTA was characterized for static position data at various increments through a 360° sweep and for speeds up to 1000°/sec or 17.45 rad/sec. This paper describes the design, construction, capabilities, limitations, characterization and performance of the DTTA.
Pressure flow patterns in a cylinder with reabsorbing walls

The problem of fluid motion in renal tubules, in contrast to ordinary flow through cylinders with impermeable walls, is complicated by the existence of radial velocities generated by reabsorption processes. As a first approach to this problem, the Navier Stokes equations for axially symmetric, slow flow in an infinite cylinder whose walls reabsorb fluid are integrated. If the rate of reabsorption is constant, the solutions resemble the conventional Poiseuille flow, i.e., the longitudinal velocity profile is parabolic. In addition the drop in mean pressure is proportional to the mean axial flow, the length of tube between reference points, and inversely proportional to the fourth power of the radius. If the rate of reabsorption is a linear function of the distance from the origin, the presence of an additive term alters these relations. If, for example, the gradient in reabsorption is positive, the axial velocity profile tends to flatten and when the gradient is sufficiently large, the maximum velocity moves from the center of the stream toward the periphery, leaving a relative minimum at the center. In passing from the center of the tube to the walls, the radial velocity passes through a miximum, regardless of the reabsorption properties of the wall.
Effects of relative humidity and applied force on atomic force microscopy images of the filamentous phage fd

The filamentous phage fd was studied by both contact- and tapping-mode atomic force microscopy under conditions of controlled variations in relative humidity and changes in the applied tip force. By spin-coating freshly cleaved mica with phage containing solutions having very low salt content followed by rapid humidity control, stable and reliable sample preparation was achieved. The apparent height of the phage varied by about 10-fold with a quadratic dependence on the stabilized relative humidity, extrapolating to 73% of the accepted X-ray diffraction-based height at 0% relative humidity. The variation in measured height with relative humidity largely reconciles previous widely varying atomic force microscopy estimates of this dimension for the filamentous phage. Our finding that contact-mode images of phage are more difficult to analyze than those acquired in tapping mode are consistent with previously published results on other biological specimens such as DNA.