cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Functional Characterization of the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii ERG3 Ortholog, a Gene Involved in the Biosynthesis of Ergosterol

Background The predominant sterol in the membranes of the alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii is ergosterol, which is commonly found in the membranes of fungi, but is rarely found in higher plants. Higher plants and fungi synthesize sterols by different pathways, with plants producing cycloartenol as a precursor to end-product sterols, while non-photosynthesizing organisms like yeast and humans produce lanosterol as a precursor. Analysis of the C. reinhardtii genome sequence reveals that this algae is also likely to synthesize sterols using a pathway resembling the higher plant pathway, indicating that its sterols are synthesized somewhat differently than in fungi. The work presented here seeks to establish experimental evidence to support the annotated molecular function of one of the sterol biosynthetic genes in the Chlamydomonas genome. Methodology/Principal Findings A gene with homology to the yeast sterol C-5 desaturase, ERG3, is present in the Chlamydomonas genome. To test whether the ERG3 ortholog of C. reinhardtii encodes a sterol C-5 desaturase, Saccharomyces cerevisiae ERG3 knockout strains were created and complemented with a plasmid expressing the Chlamydomonas ERG3. Expression of C. reinhardtii ERG3 cDNA in erg3 null yeast was able to restore ergosterol biosynthesis and reverse phenotypes associated with lack of ERG3 function. Conclusions/Significance Complementation of the yeast erg3 null phenotypes strongly suggests that the gene annotated as ERG3 in C. reinhardtii functions as a sterol C-5 desaturase.
Intercalation of Conductive Polyaniline in the Mesostructured V2O5

Starting from mesoporous V2O5 containing a small amount of Mg, V2O5/PANI (polyaniline) nanocomposites with lamellar and wormlike structures and fibrous morphologies were synthesized. Mesoporous V2O...
Bryozoan provinces and patterns of generic evolution and extinction in the Late Ordovician of North America

The Late Ordovician bryozoan genera of central and southeastern North America are geographically distributed in three biotic provinces, separated by boundaries reflecting major lithofacies differences. The central Cincinnati Province contains most of the North American endemic genera, and represents a narrow ecological zone separating the clastic wedges of the marginal Reedsville-Lorraine Province from the cratonic carbonate platform of the Red River-Stony Mountain Province. The provinces provided major life zones, or biomes, for each of the five bryozoan orders. Genera comprising the provinces differed as well in morphologic complexity, geochronologic survivorship, tiering, endemism and eurytopy. Regions on either side of the Cincinnati Province were dominated by inferred immigrants from Baltoscandia. Al-logenic provincial succession produced time-averaged mixed faunas in regions near the provincial boundaries. Although most generic originations took place within the Cincinnati Province, evolutionary novelties are associated with the Reedsville-Lorraine Province. The loss of the diverse Cincinnati Province, connected with global cooling and a eustatic lowering of sea level, may have been a chief factor in the Late Ordovician extinction of bryozoan genera. Genera from the Red River-Stony Mountain Province differentially survived into the Silurian.
Screening allergens for acrylate dermatitis associated with artificial nails

Abstract Background: Acrylates are increasingly observed to be a cause of allergic contact dermatitis (ACD), especially in the cosmetic industry. Patients suspected of acrylate allergy are generally tested to 33 acrylates, and acrylate-allergic patients commonly react positively to many of these allergens. Objective: The objective of the study was to develop a short list of screening acrylates to diagnose acrylate allergy in patients wearing artificial nails. Methods: Twenty-three patients with ACD to acrylates were studied and their patch test reaction rates to 33 acrylates analyzed to identify the acrylates that were most frequently positive. Results: Based on the frequency with which each acrylate was positive in a group of 11 patients wearing artificial nails and the known use of specific acrylates in the nail industry, ethyl acrylate, 2-hydroxy ethyl acrylate, etylene glycol dimethacrylate, ethyl α cyanoacrylate, and triethylene glycol diacrylate were identified as screening acrylates. Conclusion: The pattern of acrylate cross-reactivity among the most frequently positive acrylates suggests that a functional group that is a “carboxy ethyl side group” may be requisite for ACD to acrylates.
The engineer’s moral right to reputational fairness

This essay explores the issue of the moral rights of engineers. An historical case study is presented in which an accomplished, loyal, senior engineer was apparently wronged as a result of actions taken by his employer in pursuit of legitimate business interests. Belief that the engineer was wronged is justified by showing that what happened to him violated what can validly be termed one of his moral rights as an engineer: the right to reputational fairness. It is then argued that, this right notwithstanding, under certain circumstances it is morally permissible for employers to override it. The paper concludes by identifying two complementary facets of this right, discussing its scope, and indicating what is required of employers obliged to respect it in two types of action contexts.
Rapid clinical assessment of hemodynamic profiles and targeted treatment of patient with acutely decompensated heart failure

Acutely decompensated heart failure (ADHF) is characterized by hemodynamic abnormalities and neurohormonal activation that contribute to heart failure (HF) symptoms, end-organ dysfunction, arrhythmias, and progressive cardiac failure. The management of ADHF in the emergency department (ED) can be simplified and improved by a 2-min bedside assessment that identifies any of four possible hemodynamic profiles on the basis of clinical signs and symptoms. The profiles are based on whether congestion is present or absent (wet or dry) and perfusion is adequate or limited (warm or cold). A wet-warm profile is seen more frequently in the ED than any of the other three profiles (wet-cold, dry-warm, and dry-cold). The four clinically determined profiles have been shown to predict clinical outcomes and may be used to guide initial HF therapy. The goals of treating ADHF are to stabilize the patient, reverse acute hemodynamic abnormalities, rapidly reverse dyspnea and/or hypoxemia caused by pulmonary congestion, and initiate treatments that will decrease disease progression and improve survival. An ideal agent for the wet-warm profile would rapidly reduce pulmonary congestion, produce balanced arterial and venous dilation, promote natriuresis, lack direct positive inotropic effects, and not cause reflex neuroendocrine activation. Intravenous nesiritide in conjunction with loop diuretics has been found safe and effective as initial treatment for patients with the wet-warm profile. For the wet-cold profile, more intensive therapy and invasive hemodynamic monitoring may prove useful. This review will discuss the rapid clinical determination of hemodynamic profiles in patients presenting to the ED with ADHF and the options for their initial medical management. Case studies representing the wet-warm, wet-cold, dry-warm, and dry-cold profiles will be presented and discussed.
Malignant transformation of mammalian cells in culture, including human cells

This overview of the malignant transformation of mammalian cells in culture, including human cells, describes the earliest evidence of spontaneous, virus-induced, and carcinogen-induced transformation. It discusses several systems developed to assay the carcinogen-induced transformation of highly selected infinite life span ("established") cell lines as well as finite life span diploid cells. Evidence is presented to support the multistep hypothesis of the process of malignant transformation, and the theoretical requirement for acquisition of an infinite, or greatly extended, life span in culture if a cell is to become malignant is explained in light of the multistep nature of the process. The use of oncogene transfection studies to analyze the number and kinds of changes involved is discussed, with emphasis on studies using human cells. Finally, the results of earlier studies on viral- and carcinogen-induced transformation of mammalian cells (or chicken cells) are reinterpreted in the light of more recent insights into the process of carcinogenesis.
Interleukin-7 induces recruitment of monocytes/macrophages to endothelium.

Aims Interleukin-7 (IL-7) is a master regulator of T-cell development and homoeostasis. Increased IL-7 levels are associated with inflammatory diseases. The aims of this study were to determine whether IL-7 is a biomarker for inflammatory conditions or an active participant in atherogenesis. Methods and results Advanced atherosclerotic lesions in Apoe−/− mice were regressed by long-term cholesterol lowering through treatment with a helper-dependent adenovirus expressing apolipoprotein E ( n = 6–10). Using this model, gene expression patterns in the aorta were analysed at an early phase of regression by microarray. After stringent statistical analysis, we found that IL-7 expression is significantly reduced in response to lowering of cholesterol ( n = 6). To understand the importance of IL-7 down-regulation for atherosclerotic regression, we studied the effects and mechanisms of action of IL-7 on endothelial cells (ECs) in vitro as well as in vivo . Our major findings are: (i) IL-7 up-regulates cell adhesion molecules and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 in ECs and promotes monocyte adhesion to ECs; (ii) this regulation is mediated by phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K)/AKT-dependent and -independent activation of NF-κB; (iii) elevation of plasma IL-7 induces recruitment of monocytes/macrophages to endothelium without affecting plasma cholesterol ( n = 5, 6); and (4) lack of IL-7 in bone marrow-derived cells reduces migration of monocytes/macrophages to the lesions ( n = 5, 6). Conclusion These results suggest that IL-7 inflames endothelium via PI3K/AKT-dependent and -independent activation of NF-κB and recruits monocytes/macrophages to the endothelium, thus playing an active role in atherogenesis.
Efficient integral image computation on the GPU

We present an integral image algorithm that can run in real-time on a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU). Our system exploits the parallelisms in computation via the NIVIDA CUDA programming model, which is a software platform for solving non-graphics problems in a massively parallel high-performance fashion. This implementation makes use of the work-efficient scan algorithm that is explicated elsewhere. Treating the rows and the columns of the target image as independent input arrays for the scan algorithm, our method manages to expose a second level of parallelism in the problem. We compare the performance of the parallel approach running on the GPU with the sequential CPU implementation across a range of image sizes and report a speed up by a factor of 8 for a 4 megapixel input. We further investigate the impact of using packed vector type data on the performance, as well as the effect of double precision arithmetic on the GPU.
Worry regarding major diseases among older African-American, Native-American, and Caucasian women.

This study examined worry regarding seven major diseases and their correlates in a sample of African-American (n = 57), Native-American (n = 50), and Caucasian (n = 53) women ages 36 to 91 years. African-American and Native-American women were most worried about developing cancer (44% and 50%, respectively) while Caucasian women were most worried about osteoporosis (37%) and cancer (33%). Women from each ethnic group were more worried about developing cancer than cardiovascular diseases and conditions. African-American and Native-American women were more worried than Caucasian women about developing diabetes and high cholesterol. Body mass index (BMI) was a consistent correlate of worry: heavier women were more worried about developing diseases than were leaner women. Other risk factors (e.g., physical activity, blood pressure), however, were generally not associated with disease worry. In fact, age was inversely associated with worry regarding diabetes, cancer, and osteoporosis. Although women who were more worried about developing cancer were more likely to perform monthly breast self-exams, worry regarding other diseases was not associated with preventive actions. These results are generally consistent with other studies that indicate women are more concerned about cancer than cardiovascular diseases.
THE EFFECT OF AIR-FUEL RATIO CONTROL STRATEGIES ON NITROGEN COMPOUND FORMATION IN THREE-WAY CATALYSTS

The ability of three-way catalysts (TWCs) to effectively remove CO and NOx from the exhaust is directly controlled by the air-fuel ratio at which the accompanying engine is operated. In a stoichiometric engine, small variations in the air-fuel ratio have large effects on the catalyst performance. These effects include wide variations in removal efficiencies and catalytic production of ammonia. The effect of the air-fuel ratio on catalysts has been well studied on automotive engines; these studies show the importance of maintaining an air- fuel ratio close to stoichiometric conditions. In automotive systems a 'dithering' technique is used in which the air- fuel ratio is modulated to widen the window of control. The effect of dithering on industrial engines has not been studied. A research programme was conducted to evaluate the effects of the air-fuel ratio on the performance of threeway catalysts operating on natural gas-fuelled industrial engines, the test programme aims at optimizing the engine based on the performance of the catalyst. This project has shown that dithering is an effective technique for enhancing the performance of TWCs on industrial engines. These results show that the allowable air-fuel ratio deviations are much larger with dithering and that the production of ammonia is significantly reduced. (A)
Electrochemical and vacuum behavior of carbon monoxide and lead coadsorbed on platinum(111)

Abstract The electrochemical and vacuum behavior of coadsorbed CO and Pb on Pt(111) was examined in situ by cyclic and linear sweep voltammetry and ex situ by Auger electron spectroscopy and thermal desorption spectroscopy (TDS) in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV). Lead was deposited electrochemically from 0.1 M HClO4 with 1 mM Pb2+, and CO was adsorbed by either solution dosing in situ or vapor dosing in UHV. Coadsorbed CO alters the Pb surface redox reaction Pbad2+ Pbad⇔0,reducing its potential from 0.65 V/RHE in 0.1 M HClO4 without CO to 0.52 V with CO. The CO + Pb/Pt(111) system exhibits dynamic emersion with a constant emersion potential of about 0.5 V established by the CO-shifted Pb surface redox reaction. The electro-oxidation potential of CO, which is in the range 0.7–0.8 V in the absence of Pb, is largely unaffected by small and moderate coverages of Pb. A near-saturated monolayer of Pb (θpb = 0.60 expressed as Pb atoms per Pt surface atom) substantially reduces the over potential for CO oxidation, with the reaction occurring over the range 0.3–0.6 V. In agreement with earlier studies, substantially more CO can be adsorbed by solution dosing than by vapor dosing. The maximum local CO coverage for solution dosing is approximately θCO,loc = 0.7 (molecules per Pt surface atom) for Pb coverages ranging from zero to 0.4. For vapor dosing the maximum local CO coverage is θCO,loc = 0.5 independent of Pb coverage. Either species, when present as a saturated monolayer, blocks adsorption of the other, and Pb at lower coverages acts as a site blocker towards CO. The activation energy for CO desorption was measured with TDS and fitted to a three-parameter model over the entire range of allowed Pb and CO coverages. This model shows that coadsorbed Pb destabilizes CO by reducing its activation energy for desorption by up to 15%.
Sleep and purposive behavior: inverse deviations from randomness of neuronal firing patterns in the feline thalamus. A new form of homeostasis?

In behaving cats trained to press a bar for small aliquots of milk reward, single neuronal firing patterns were monitored from the nucleus reticularis (NR) thalami during bar bressing (BP), subsequent quiet wakefulness with EEG spindles (S- QW ), grooming behavior (GR) and slow-wave sleep (SWS). The temporal patterns in the neuronal spike trains were analyzed using a non-parametric method based on relative relations between sequential spike intervals. The deviations of pattern occurrences from the random model were quantified. During BP, specific patterns occurred much more often while others occurred much less often than predicted by the random model. Patterns that were dominant during BP, were selectively suppressed or virtually eliminated during S- QW , GR and SWS, despite the increased firing rate; and, vice versa, patterns that were suppressed below chance level during BP, became dominant during S- QW , GR and SWS. The magnitudes of these inversions of the statistical distribution of patterns were not random but graded and positively correlated, thus indicating that they were homeostatically controlled. Since the inversions were already evident shortly after the satiated ceased bar pressing, they may be related to the 'need' for sleep. On the basis of the known mechanisms of pattern generation and changes in receptors for putative transmitters, it was postulated that the inversions of pattern distribution are related to the recuperative function of SWS, i.e. resensitization of receptors that had been desensitized during the animal's stereotypic BP performance. The NR and other neuronal ensembles seem to constitute an oscillatory system with two modes of reciprocal connectivities : one is supporting wakefulness and emission of specific firing patterns, and the other is incompatible with wakefulness and instead is associated with inversion of statistical distribution of firing patterns and recuperative function of SWS.
Rapid ultramicrospectrophotometric determination of magnesium

Abstract An improved ultramicrospectrophotometric procedure for the rapid determination of magnesium in biological fluids has been developed. It employs the “Mann” dye, sodium 1-azo-2-hydroxy-3 (2,4-dimethylcarboxanilide)naphthalene-1(2-hydroxybenzene-4-sulfonate), and requires only 40 μl of sample. In contrast to titan yellow procedures the presence of gluconate does not interfere with the proposed method.
Non-invasive monitoring in the pediatric ICU, Part I: Transcutaneous oxygen monitoring (PtcO2).

PtcO2 monitoring is a reliable technique of predicting change in PaO2 However there are many factors that should be taken into account to minimize sources of error. Such factors include skin properties, site of application, skin perfusion, blood pressure, anesthetic agents and electrode temperature. Despite these limitations PtcO2 continues to be a useful, non-invasive monitoring device in the intensive care unit.
Regulation of adipose triglyceride lipase by rosiglitazone

Aim To elucidate the mechanism by which rosiglitazone regulates adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL).
On some efficient interior point methods for nonlinear convex programming

Abstract We introduce two interior point algorithms for minimizing a convex function subject to linear constraints. Our algorithms require the solution of a nonlinear system of equations at each step. We show that if sufficiently good approximations to the solutions of the nonlinear systems can be found, then the primal-dual gap becomes less that e in O( n |lne|) steps, where n is the number of variables.
Determination of Teat Dip Germicidal Activity Using the Excised Teat Model

Fifteen postmilking teat antiseptics were evaluated in seven trials using the excised teat model. All products were tested against Staphylococcus aureus Newbould 305 and Streptococcus agalactiae Cornell 48. Eight of nine iodophor products provided log reductions greater than 3 against Staph. aureus and Strep. agalactiae. A .045% iodophor product was ineffective. A .5% chlorhexidine product yielded a log reduction of 3.22 against Staph. aureus but only 2.92 against Strep. agalactiae. Two products containing fermented milk emulsified in detergent were tested upon receipt and after 1 yr storage. Fresh product provided log reductions greater than 3 against both pathogens. Storage for 1 yr resulted in minimal loss of germicidal activity. Three products containing 1, .5, and .2% dodecylaminoalkyl glycine provided log reductions greater than 3.5 against Staph. aureus and greater than 4 log reduction against Strep. agalactiae.
Wetting and Spreading of Styrene−Butadiene Latexes on Calcite

The wetting behavior of individual styrene−butadiene latex particles on the cleavage surface of calcite is described for latexes with glass transition temperatures above and below room temperature. Contact angles of the spread particles, as determined from scanning force microscope images corrected for tip artifacts, were measured. Both types of latex spread with a slight anisotropy, resulting in a continuous variation of the local contact angle by ±6° around the particle edges. Pull-off force measurements were used as a transfer standard to show that the surface energy of the latex particles, after spreading, was the same as that of continuous films made from the same latex. The work of adhesion W, as determined by the Young−Dupre equation, was found to be 80−85 mJ/m2 for the latex with a high glass transition temperature. Lifshitz theory was used to show that nondispersive interactions make a large contribution to W. Individual particles of the latex with a low glass transition temperature had a large v...
Seasonal change in the flux of organic carbon to the deep Sargasso Sea

Recent evidence1–5 has suggested that diurnal and annual periodicities affect the deep sea which traditionally had been thought to be the least variable environment at the surface of the Earth6,7. We report here what we believe to be the first direct measurements of seasonal change in the total flux of particles <13 cm and in the flux of organic carbon associated with those particles. The change seems to be related to seasonal change in the primary productivity of the surface water.
Mediation and child custody issues in abusive relationships

Contested divorces and child custody cases have increased in number in recent years, and many have involved domestic violence. Victims of domestic violence need an informed legal system to help them achieve equitable settlements and safe arrangements. Two areas of concern presented in this article are mediation and joint custody. Professionals in the mental health, social service, criminal justice, and legal fields must understand the ramifications of joint custody and mediation in abusive relationships. The effects on the children and adults are discussed, and specific recommendations are presented for dealing with power and other issues in abusive relationships.
Discovery of Penicillin

The recent article on Antibiotic Resistance by Richard Stein in ABT (August 2011) attributes a rather astounding achievement to Louis Pasteur—the discovery …
Synchrotron White Beam Topography Studies of Residual Stress in SiC Single Crystal Wafers with Epitaxial Thin Films

The residual stress in a 6H-SiC wafer with a 3C-SiC epitaxial overlayer is determined by the technique of Synchrotron white beam x-ray topography (SWBXT). The short wavelength and high energy attributes of synchrotron radiation are exploited to very accurately determine the wafer curvature. Different approaches including absorption edge contour (AEC) mapping, multiple diffraction line (MDL) analysis and diffracted x-ray beam divergence (DXBD) analysis in both transmission and reflection geometry are demonstrated. The residual stress distribution is calculated from the wafer curvature measurement.
On the automatic generation of the minimally restrictive liveness enforcing supervisory policy for manufacturing- and service-systems modeled by a class of general Free Choice Petri nets

References [1], [2] provide the theoretical underpinnings for the synthesis of a minimally restrictive, liveness enforcing supervisory policy (LESP) for ordinary Free-Choice Petri nets (FCPNs), and a class of general FCPNs. The observations in these references apply equally to other families of PNs that satisfy the property that the existence of an LESP for a member of the family implies that there is an LESP whenever the same structure is initialized with a larger marking (eg. [3]). In this paper we present, after a fashion, the implementation details of the procedures outlined in references [1], [2] using an illustrative example. We refer the reader to [4] for additional details and examples.
An Atomic View of Surface Diffusion on Metal Surfaces

The dynamical behavior of individual atoms on single-crystal surfaces is a subject of considerable current interest. A fundamental understanding of how atoms migrate across surfaces and interact with each other is essential to the development of realistic models of thin-film growth, surface alloying, and heterogeneous catalysis. In general, there are two experimental approaches to the study of surface diffusion. Details of the different methods are given in a recent review article by Gomer [l].The first involves observations of changes in a pre-established concentration gradient of the diffusing species as the system approaches equilibrium [2]. One measures the net transfer of material over a surface in a direction that decreases the free energy of the system. The diffusion coefficient is determined from an analysis based on Fick’s second law. A wide range of surface analytical techniques may be employed for the measurements, which makes the method applicable to investigations of self-diffusion or adsorbate diffusion on surfaces of essentially any solid material. However, the extraction of quantitative diffusion parameters is difficult because the concentration of diffusing species changes as a function of time, and the effects of adatom-adatom interactions are generally unknown. There is also the possibility of surface defects that can have a significant effect on the transport rate. These problems can be avoided to a certain extent by keeping the net concentration fixed and measuring the time correlation of concentration fluctuations [3], but adatom-adatom interactions may still be present.
THOR: a performance analysis tool for java applications running on multicore systems

The growing scale of available commercial multicore systems has increased the need for concurrent programming, because these systems expose hardware parallelism to the programmer that must be explicitly managed in software. Commercial software developers that are traditionally skilled in sequential programming are now forced to reason about concurrency to exploit multicore parallelism. More than ever, this new group of concurrent programmers has to rely on performance tools for help. This paper introduces a new tool called THOR, which addresses the complexities introduced by multicore parallelism by organizing views in terms of Java®threads and using vertical profiling techniques to understand the state of a Java thread at all layers of the execution stack. Data collection supports visualization by tagging each trace event with a corresponding thread identifier and with a time-stamp from the machine's high-resolution timer. By exhaustively tracing fine-grain events, such as operating system context switches and Java lock contention, data collection allows a user to utilize visualization to reconstruct the precise behavior of his application. In this paper, we present the details of the THOR architecture and design. THOR is currently available from IBM alphaWorks®as part of the multicore software development kit.
In situ growth kinetics of ZnO nanobelts

For the first time, the growth of ZnO nanobelts was monitored in situ using x-ray diffraction. The growth was carried out by heating metallic zinc powder in air at temperatures ranging from 368 to 568 °C. The morphology depends on both the growth temperature and the rate of heating to that temperature. A morphology diagram for the synthesized products was generated after systematic study of the experimental parameters. Higher temperatures and faster heating rates favor one-dimensional growth. Faster growth was observed for samples with higher growth temperatures, lower heating rates, and one-dimensional growth. These results give insight into the mechanism for the growth of ZnO nanobelts by metal oxidation.
2.1 VOC solvent borne 2K clear coats based on star oligoethers

Abstract The European product directive 2004/42/CE on 2K (2-component) car repair coatings forces the customers to use 3.5 lbs/gal volatile organic compounds (VOC) products for topcoats and clear coats as of 2007. There will be a new discussion on solvent emission levels as of 2008 in view of actual technologies available and the EC commission may come up with more stringent proposals. The main binders used in 3.5 VOC 2-pack refinish topcoats and clear coats are acrylic polyols sometimes combined with polyester based diluents which are cross-linked with 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate trimer (HDI-trimer). This technology will not allow formulating substantial lower VOC products (e.g. 2.1 lbs/gal) at an acceptable overall balance of potlife, overall drying, appearance and durability. It is believed today that those emission levels and product performance can only be reached: - In solvent borne systems with oligomers if reactive functional groups, like hydroxyl or amine, are blocked. The blocking of the functional groups result in sufficient long potlife and unblocking takes place upon hydrolysis during film formation. - In water borne systems with standard polyol dispersions and emulsions. Both solutions will have limitations as far as paint application conditions because of the dependence of either the hydrolysis reaction (in solvent borne) or the evaporation of water (in water borne) on air humidity. Other issues related to water borne are the reactivity of the polyisocyanate with water causing foaming and film defects remain unsolved. Technologies depending on a fast hydrolysis reaction with water will probably also be limited to unpigmented formulations. It would therefore be an advantage if a standard hydroxyl–isocyanate binder system could be developed that can be used in low VOC pigmented and unpigmented 2K formulations. In this paper we will discuss hydroxyl functional, branched polyethers that allow formulating regular 2K clear and top coats at 2.1 lbs/gal VOC with an acceptable overall balance of potlife, appearance, durability and productivity impossible or difficult to obtain with acrylic or polyester polyols. The structure of the polyether oligomer has to be branched (at least four functional) to get the overall property balance. The polyether oligomers are prepared by ring-opening polyetherification giving narrow functionality and molecular weight distributions and a favorable solids/viscosity relation. The ratio of mono epoxyester to polyol and type of polyol will determine functionality, molecular weight (Mw) and hydroxyl number (OH#) of the polyether oligomer. The paper will comment on relation solids/viscosity with glass transition temperature (Tg), functionality (F) and Mw, all-important factors to get the property balance. We will show how final clear coat properties correlate with some initial oligomer/cross-linker properties in view of Mw, Tg and F of oligomer and type of polyisocyanate hardener.
Reprograming T cells: the role of extracellular matrix in coordination of T cell activation and migration

The stable immunological synapse between a T cell and antigen-presenting cell coordinates migration and activation. Three-dimensional collagen gels transform this interaction into a series of transient hit-and-run encounters. Here we integrate these alternative modes of interaction in a model for primary T cell activation and effector function in vivo.
Slow light by hybridized concentric-twisted double split ring resonators and THz application

Here, we demonstrate that hybridizing two double split ring resonator (DSRR) leads to two distinct characteristics dependent upon the rotational direction of the small SRRs. The large SRRs are stationary while the small SRRs rotate equally. Counter-directional rotation of small SRRs results in a red shift of the first resonance and blue shift of the second one, while co-directional twisting of small SRRs brings about splitting of the first resonance into two distinct modes. Therefore, a terahertz plasmon induced transparency (PIT) window with a slow light characteristic is observed in between two split modes.
Effect of growth hormone on alcohol dehydrogenase activity in hepatocyte culture

The effect of growth hormone on the activity of alcohol dehydrogenase was determined in hepatocyte culture from normal and hypophysectomized male rats. Alcohol dehydrogenase activity was highest in hepatocytes harvested from hypophysectomized rats. The enzyme activity remained stable in hepatocytes harvested from normal rats during 2 to 6 days of culture but declined steadily in hepatocytes cultured from hypophysectomized rats. The combination of growth hormone (1 microgram per ml) and corticosterone (1 microM) increased alcohol dehydrogenase activity in hepatocytes from normal rats, while neither hormone alone had an effect. Corticosterone (1 microM) prevented the decline of the enzyme activity in hepatocytes from hypophysectomized rats, and the combination of growth hormone (1 microgram per ml) and corticosterone (1 microM) resulted in a further increase in enzyme activity. The increases in alcohol dehydrogenase, due to the exposure of the hepatocytes to the combination of growth hormone and corticosterone, were associated with increases in the rate of ethanol elimination. These observations indicate that growth hormone enhances liver alcohol dehydrogenase activity and ethanol elimination, and that this effect is dependent on the permissive influence of corticosterone.
Petroleum hydrocarbon toxicity studies: XIV. Animal and human response to vapors of “High Aromatic Solvent”

Abstract The suggested hygienic standard for human inhalation of “High Aromatic Solvent” (HAS), based upon the results of inhalation studies with rats and dogs and the sensory response of human subjects, is 0.15 mg/liter (26 ppm). Rats and dogs that inhaled a 0.38-mg/liter (66 ppm) vapor concentration of HAS for 6 hr daily, 5 days each week for 13 weeks did not differ significantly from their controls, except for a few scattered instances with no apparent relationship to dosage, in the monitored criteria of effect. A vapor concentration of 0.38 mg/liter represents the highest attainable concentration at which chromatographic analysis of the components of the vapor phase parallel those of the liquid phase. An 8-hr inhalation by rats of an aerosol composed of droplets, 1 μm and less in diameter, at a level of 8.7 mg/liter, resulted in early nasal and ocular irritation followed by progressive loss of coordination, tremors, and death. A similar aerosol (8.2 mg/liter) caused time-related signs of toxicity suggestive of central nervous system depression when inhaled by cats for 6 hr. The odor threshold, as determined by a sniff test involving six human subjects, is approximately 0.0004 mg/liter (0.07 ppm). Only mild nasal irritation was reported by one of six human subjects during inhalation of 0.1 mg/liter (17 ppm) for 15 min, but several subjects reported eye, nose, and throat irritation while inhaling 0.19 and 0.41 mg/liter (33 and 72 ppm). It is anticipated that 0.15 mg/liter (26 ppm) would be tolerable for inhalation in the workroom atmosphere with only mildly irritating effects upon sensitive workers.
Modeling Framing Effects: Comparing an Appraisal-Based Model with Existing Models

One significant challenge in creating accurate models of human decision behavior is accounting for the effects of context. Research shows that seemingly minor changes in the presentation of a decision can lead to shifts in behavior, phenomena collectively referred to as framing effects. This work presents a computational modeling analysis comparing the effectiveness of Context Dependent Utility, an appraisal-based approach to modeling the multi-dimensional effects of context on decision behavior, against Cumulative Prospect Theory, Security-Potential/Aspiration Theory, the Transfer of Attention Exchange model, and a power-based utility function. To contrast model performance, a non-linear least-squares analysis and subsequent calculation of Akaike Information Criterion scores, which take into account goodness of fit while penalizing for model complexity, are employed. Results suggest that multi-dimensional models of context and framing, such as Context Dependent Utility, can be much more accurate in modeling decisions which similarly involve multi-dimensional considerations of context. Furthermore, this work demonstrates the effectiveness of employing affective constructs, such as appraisal, for the encoding and evaluation of context within decision-theoretic frameworks to better model and predict human decision behavior.
Induction of chronic oxidative stress, chronic inflammation and aberrant patterns of DNA methylation in the liver of titanium-exposed CBA/CaJ mice.

AbstractPurpose: To investigate the biological effects of titanium (48Ti, one of the important heavy ions found in space) in the liver of exposed-mice.Materials and methods: We gave adult male CBA/CaJ mice a whole-body exposure to a total dose of 0, 0.1, 0.25 or 0.5 Gy of 48Ti ions. The liver was collected at 1 week, 1 month, and 6 months post-irradiation (five mice per treatment-group at each harvest-time). Three biological endpoints were used for evaluating the effects of 48Ti ions: Oxidative-stress, inflammatory responses, and DNA-methylation (5-methylcytosine and 5-hydroxymethylcytosine).Results: Our data clearly demonstrated dose-dependent increases in oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in the liver of exposed mice at all time-points (Analysis of Variance or ANOVA, p < 0.05). Significant dose-dependent increases in the levels of 5-methylcytosine were detected at 1 week and 1 month (ANOVA, p < 0.05). At 6 months post-irradiation, a significant increase in the level of 5-methylcytosine was fou...
Balancing safety against performance: tradeoffs in Internet security

All Internet-accessible computing systems are currently faced with incessant threats ranging from simple script-kiddies to highly sophisticated criminal enterprises. In response to these threats, sites must perform extensive intrusion monitoring. This intrusion monitoring can have significant costs in terms of bandwidth, computing power, storage space, and licensing fees. Furthermore, when exploits are detected, the victims must take actions that can consume further resources and compromise their objectives (e.g., by reducing e-commerce server throughput). In this paper, we explore techniques for modeling the costs and benefits of various security monitoring and response actions. Given these models and stochastic expectations about the types of attacks that a site is likely to face, our CIRCADIA (cooperative intelligent real-time control architecture for dynamic information assurance) automatic security control system is able to make real-time tradeoffs between the level of safety and security that is enforced, and the level of system resources/performance that are applied to the main computational objectives (e.g., e-commerce transactions). We show how CIRCADIA is able to dynamically adjust its security activities to account for changing threat profiles and objectives. The result: a continually-optimized balance of security-maintaining activity that reduces risk while still allowing the system to meet its goals.
Stackable Resistive Memory Device Using Photo Cross-linkable Copolymer

A multi-stackable memory device was fabricated using a photo cross-linkable copolymer. Once cross-linked, the polymer film became insoluble, making multi-level stacking possible. It can also be directly patterned using a photomask, reducing the numbers of processing steps. The memory device consisted of a polymer film sandwiched between two electrodes. The device could be switched from a high resistive state to a low resistive state using 4 V pulse, and back to its high resistive state using a 9 V pulse. Our device showed stable performance achieving more than 4000 times of write/erase cycles.
Formalin-Inactivated Coxiella burnetii Phase I Vaccine-Induced Protection Depends on B Cells To Produce Protective IgM and IgG

To further understand the mechanisms of formalin-inactivated Coxiella burnetii phase I (PI) vaccine (PIV)-induced protection, we examined if B cell, T cell, CD4(+) T cell, or CD8(+) T cell deficiency in mice significantly affects the ability of PIV to confer protection against a C. burnetii infection. Interestingly, compared to wild-type (WT) mice, PIV conferred comparable levels of protection in CD4(+) T cell- or CD8(+) T cell-deficient mice and partial protection in T cell-deficient mice but did not provide measurable protection in B cell-deficient mice. These results suggest that PIV-induced protection depends on B cells. In addition, anti-PI-specific IgM was the major detectable antibody (Ab) in immune sera from PIV-vaccinated CD4(+) T cell-deficient mice, and passive transfer of immune sera from PIV-vaccinated CD4(+) T cell-deficient mice conferred significant protection. These results suggest that T cell-independent anti-PI-specific IgM may contribute to PIV-induced protection. Our results also suggested that PIV-induced protection may not depend on complement activation and Fc receptor-mediated effector functions. Furthermore, our results demonstrated that both IgM and IgG from PIV-vaccinated WT mouse sera were able to inhibit C. burnetii infection in vivo, but only IgM from PIV-vaccinated CD4(+) T cell-deficient mouse sera inhibited C. burnetii infection. Collectively, these findings suggest that PIV-induced protection depends on B cells to produce protective IgM and IgG and that T cell-independent anti-PI-specific IgM may play a critical role in PIV-induced protection against C. burnetii infection.
Two microRNAs, miR-330 and miR-125b-5p, mark the juxtaglomerular cell and balance its smooth muscle phenotype

We have shown that microRNAs (miRNAs) are necessary for renin cell specification and kidney vascular development. Here, we used a screening strategy involving microarray and in silico analyses, along with in situ hybridization and in vitro functional assays to identify miRNAs important for renin cell identity. Microarray studies using vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) of the renin lineage and kidney cortex under normal conditions and after reacquisition of the renin phenotype revealed that of 599 miRNAs, 192 were expressed in SMCs and 234 in kidney cortex. In silico analysis showed that the highly conserved miR-330 and miR-125b-5p have potential binding sites in smoothelin (Smtn), calbindin 1, smooth muscle myosin heavy chain, α-smooth muscle actin, and renin genes important for the myoepithelioid phenotype of the renin cell. RT-PCR studies confirmed miR-330 and miR-125b-5p expression in kidney and SMCs. In situ hybridization revealed that under normal conditions, miR-125b-5p was expressed in arteriolar SMCs and in juxtaglomerular (JG) cells. Under conditions that induce reacquisition of the renin phenotype, miR-125b-5p was downregulated in arteriolar SMCs but remained expressed in JG cells. miR-330, normally absent, was expressed exclusively in JG cells of treated mice. In vitro functional studies showed that overexpression of miR-330 inhibited Smtn expression in SMCs. On the other hand, miR-125b-5p increased Smtn expression, whereas its inhibition reduced Smtn expression. Our results demonstrate that miR-330 and miR-125b-5p are markers of JG cells and have opposite effects on renin lineage cells: one inhibiting and the other favoring their smooth muscle phenotype.
A multiple network learning approach to capture system-wide condition-specific responses

Motivation: Condition-specific networks capture system-wide behavior under varying conditions such as environmental stresses, cell types or tissues. These networks frequently comprise parts that are unique to each condition, and parts that are shared among related conditions. Existing approaches for learning condition-specific networks typically identify either only differences or only similarities across conditions. Most of these approaches first learn networks per condition independently, and then identify similarities and differences in a post-learning step. Such approaches do not exploit the shared information across conditions during network learning. Results: We describe an approach for learning condition-specific networks that identifies the shared and unique subgraphs during network learning simultaneously, rather than as a post-processing step. Our approach learns networks across condition sets, shares data from different conditions and produces high-quality networks that capture biologically meaningful information. On simulated data, our approach outperformed an existing approach that learns networks independently for each condition, especially for small training datasets. On microarray data of hundreds of deletion mutants in two, yeast stationary-phase cell populations, the inferred network structure identified several common and population-specific effects of these deletion mutants and several high-confidence cases of double-deletion pairs, which can be experimentally tested. Our results are consistent with and extend the existing knowledge base of differentiated cell populations in yeast stationary phase. Availability and Implementation: C++ code can be accessed from http://www.broadinstitute.org/~sroy/condspec/ Contact: sroy@broadinstitute.org Supplementary information:Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Addressing the Antiquity of Lyme Disease: Detection of B. burgdorferi DNA in Museum Specimens of Ixodes dammini

Lyme disease is a tick-borne immune-mediated multisystem disorder occurring at any age and in both sexes [1–3]. Its clinical hallmark is an early expanding skin lesion, erythema chronicum migrans (ECM), which may be followed weeks to months later by neurologic, cardiac, or joint abnormalities. Many of these subsets of the clinical manifestations of Lyme disease were recorded in the European medical literature early in this century [4–7], but recognition of the disease as a distinct clinical entity in the United States has been relatively recent [1–3]. While some epidemiologic studies have suggested a relatively rapid spread from earlier enzootic foci, it is not known how long Borrelia burgdorferi, the spirochetal etiologic agent of Lyme disease [8,9], has existed in foci of these reservoir or vector populations.
When Wanting Is Better than Having: Materialism, Transformation Expectations, and Product-Evoked Emotions in the Purchase Process

Materialists believe that acquiring products will make them happier, but the validity of this premise has not been examined empirically. In this research, two cross-sectional and one longitudinal studies examine the emotions evoked by products before and after purchase. High-materialism consumers consistently showed hedonic elevation in product-evoked emotions before purchase, followed by hedonic decline after purchase. Low-materialism consumers, however, did not display this pattern. Findings show that hedonic elevation appears to be due to expectations among high-materialism consumers that purchase of the desired product will transform their lives in significant and meaningful ways. Findings further indicate that satisfaction processes may partially explain the hedonic decline that follows purchase among high-materialism consumers but also suggest that for these consumers, the state of anticipating and desiring a product may be inherently more pleasurable than product ownership itself.