cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Role of glucocorticoids in increased muscle glutamine production in starvation

The role of glucocorticoids in the synthesis of muscle glutamine during starvation was investigated in adrenalectomized fasted rats injected with cortisol (1 mg/100 g body weight). It was found that administration of cortisol in vivo increased (compared to nontreated starved adrenalectomized controls) the glutamine/glutamate ratio and the activity of glutamine synthetase in the diaphragm and the extensor digitorum muscles, and that these effects were abolished by prior treatment with actinomycin D or proflavine. The results obtained in in vitro experiments, using fresh-frozen soleus, extensor digitorum longus, and diaphragm muscle preparations, supported the in vivo indications of the cortisol-enhanced glutamine synthesis and protein turnover in starved adrenalectomized animals.
Canada, Iran and “Controlled Engagement:” A new start with Afghanistan?

While Canada will end its combat mission in Afghanistan this year, Ottawa's commitment to provide military trainers, its continued development and humanitarian assistance programs as well as on-going support for its NATO allies means that formulating a long-term Afghan strategy remains paramount. Given that Canada and its international partners support a regional approach to resolving the Afghan conflict, Kabul's neighbors – including Iran – will need to be involved in the process. As such Ottawa will have to revisit its own often fraught relationship with Tehran. Since 1996, Canadian foreign policy toward Iran has been framed by a strategy known as “Controlled Engagement.” This policy limits the level of official contacts between the two states as well as the issues that Ottawa will put on the table for discussion. One of the permissible topic areas is “Iran's role in the region.” DFAIT has interpreted this phrase to include Afghanistan. In other words, the Canadian Government would not have to alter its...
Diagnosis and management of hyperlipoproteinemia in infants and children.

Abstract Despite the considerable advances that have taken place in our understanding of hyperlipoproteinemia and the recognition that the various primary forms are often genetically determined and may be detected in the asymptomatic child, much remains to be learned. For example, accurate data on the normal lipid and lipoprotein distributions in infancy and childhood and information on the factors that affect them are needed. The prevalence of familial and sporadic forms of type II and other types of hyperlipoproteinemia must be established for different populations and racial groups. The utility of umbilical cord blood analysis requires detailed evaluation on a larger scale before it can be recommended as a nationwide screening procedure. The influences of maternal status, prematurity and intrauterine factors on cord blood lipids must be clarified. These and other problems will be among the special concerns of the network of Lipid Research Clinics which are now being set up throughout the United States by the National Heart and Lung Institute. The main significance of the pediatric aspects of hyperlipoproteinemia lies not so much in the identification of those uncommon but important cases with concomitant clinical features, but in the opportunities that early diagnosis in asymptomatic children may provide for averting later ischemic heart disease. In many respects, primary type II hyperlipoproteinemia is an ideal disorder in which to test the “lipid hypothesis,” namely, whether the reduction of plasma lipid levels is capable of preventing or delaying the atherosclerotic process. It is important that the pediatrician be alert to these possibilities for the early diagnosis and treatment of one of contemporary medicine's most pressing problems.
End-to-end and end-to-side microvascular anastomoses: A comparative study

The decision to use an end-to-end versus end-to-side anastomosis remains a controversial issue in microvascular surgery, although it is generally accepted that certain clinical situations require skills in both techniques (eg, vessel size discrepancy or the need to preserve donor vessel distal flow). Using rats, this investigation presents a unique free flap model comparing not only arterial end-to-end and end-to-side anastomoses, but venous anastomoses as well. There were 15 animals in each anastomosis group with a greater than 80% flap survival rate in each group. This supports findings of earlier studies that suggested no difference in survival when these two anastomosis types were compared. Equally important was the assessment of dermofluorometry as an immediate postoperative perfusion monitoring device. In this model, fluorometry was not found to be useful for predicting flap viability in an early period after completion of the anastomoses.
Variation in the divalent cation requirements of influenza A virus N1 neuraminidases.

Influenza virus N2 neuraminidases were chromatographically purified from several vaccine candidate strains from 1957 to 1994. Enzymatic kinetic parameters and immunogenicity were tested for each strain. For each NA tested, with ionic strength held constant, Ca 2 + or Mg 2 + increased the initial rate of enzymatic activity. Earlier N2-NA strains had the highest initial velocity, V m a x /K m and V m a x . There were significant differences among the influenza virus strains in enzymatic activity before and after addition of Ca 2 + or Mg 2 + : V m a x /K m varied from 0.54 M - 1 s - 1 to 0.88 M - 1 s - 1 and V m a x varied from 2.45 s - 1 to 4.3 s - 1 before the addition of a divalent cation; and increased approximately 2-fold each of these kinetic parameters for each strain after the addition of exogenous Ca 2 + or Mg 2 + . Exhaustive dialysis with EDTA reduced the initial velocity of each strain with significant differences found among strains, with a range of 0.1% to 8% of original activity. Activity was partially restored by the addition of exogenous Ca 2 + or Mg 2 + , varying from 8% to 60% of pre-dialysis levels, but original rates were not achieved. This reduction in enzymatic activity for the tested strains (i.e., A/Japan/57 and A/Johannesburg/94) was accompanied by a parallel decrease in NA-immunogenicity, with antibody response decreasing by as much as 76% as measured by NI titer, and ELISA titer decreasing by as much as 68%. The addition of Ca 2 + or Mg 2 + to the post-dialysis sample restored immunogenicity to as much as 80% of pre-dialysis NI titers and as much as 78% of pre-dialysis ELISA titers. Dialysis had the least effect on early strains as measured by enzymatic kinetic parameters and immunogenicity studies. Zn 2 + had a slight inhibitory effect on the activity of all tested strains. Review of the nucleic acid sequence of each of these strains could not predict their enzymatic activity, immunogenicity or response to dialysis. If immunity against neuraminidase is desirable in vaccination against influenza, selection of vaccine candidate strains must include not only analysis of antigenic changes and sequence analysis but also enzymatic studies and determination of the requirement of divalent cations to maintain immunogenicity and activity during production.
Solubilizing Coelenterazine in Water with Hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin

Coelenterazine is poorly soluble in water except at alkaline pH values that promote auto-oxidation. The solubility is markedly increased by adding hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin in a neutral buffer solution, the solubilization being most effective in the pH range of 6.5 to 7.0. The concentration of coelenterazine dissolved in a pH 7.0 buffer containing 50 mm hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin was about 280-fold higher than that without the additive.
Navigating International River Disputes to Avert Conflict

Building on the findings from the International Negotiation's 2000 issue on negotiations in international watercourses and the major advances in the field during the past nine years, this issue seeks to advance our knowledge about the management of international river disputes. Collectively, the articles in this issue move beyond the simple dichotomy of conflict and cooperation to suggest the possibility that both are often simultaneously present within a basin and should be studied as such. Using a diversity of methodological approaches from comparative case studies to single case studies to quantitative analysis, the articles also illustrate the growth of institutionalization within river basins and their contribution to conflict management. Moreover, the articles advance our knowledge of the role of the relative distribution of power within the basin on the resolution of water disputes and management of resources. Some scholars find power asymmetry important for treaty formation, while others suggest that issue linkages and side payments can provide weaker riparians with the means to gain from cooperation.
Logical Assertion: A Rationale and Strategy

(1984). Logical Assertion: A Rationale and Strategy. The Educational Forum: Vol. 48, No. 2, pp. 165-176.
Stimulated stokes emission with a dye laser: Intense tuneable radiation in the infrared

Tunable stimulated Stokes emission is generated at approximately 2.9 microns in barium vapor with an oscillator-amplifier dye laser. The conversion efficiency is as high as 40% and the energy output as high as 30 mJ. The emission is tuneable over about 100 wavenumbers. At high vapor pressures the tuning profile is markedly asymmetric.
Enhancement of channel wall vibration due to acoustic excitation of an internal bubbly flow

The effect of an internal turbulent bubbly flow on vibrations of a channel wall is investigated experimentally and theoretically. Our objective is to determine the spectrum and attenuation rate of sound propagating through a bubbly liquid flow in a channel, and connect these features with the vibrations of the channel wall and associated pressure fluctuations. Vibrations of an isolated channel wall and associated wall pressure fluctuations are measured using several accelerometers and pressure transducers at various gas void fractions and characteristic bubble diameters. A waveguide-theory-based model, consisting of a solution to the three-dimensional Helmholtz equation in an infinitely long channel with the effective physical properties of a bubbly liquid is developed to predict the spectral frequencies of the wall vibrations and pressure fluctuations, the corresponding attenuation coefficients and propagation phase speeds. Results show that the presence of bubbles substantially enhances the power spectral density of the channel wall vibrations and wall pressure fluctuations in the 250–1200 Hz range by up to 27 and 26 dB, respectively, and increases their overall rms values by up to 14.1 and 12.7 times, respectively. In the same frequency range, both vibrations and spectral frequencies increase substantially with increasing void fraction and slightly with increasing bubble diameter. Several weaker spectral peaks above that range are also observed. Trends of the frequency and attenuation coefficients of spectral peaks, as well as the phase velocities are well predicted by the model. This agreement confirms that the origin of enhanced vibrations and pressure fluctuations is the excitation of streamwise propagating pressure waves, which are created by the initial acoustic energy generated during bubble formation
Biochemical cytology of trichomonad flagellates. I. Subcellular localization of hydrolases, dehydrogenases, and catalase in Tritrichomonas foetus.

To determine the localization of several enzymes in Tritrichomonas foetus , the axenic KV-1 strain was grown in Diamond's medium with bovine serum, homogenized in 0.25 M sucrose, and subjected to analytical differential and isopycnic centrifugation. The fractions were assayed for their enzymatic composition and examined electron microscopically. NADH and NADPH dehydrogenases, about 90% of the catalase, and two hydrolases, α-galactosidase and manganese-activated s-galactosidase I are in the nonsedimentable part of the cytoplasm. α-Glycerophosphate and malate dehydrogenases are associated with a large particle, whose equilibrium density in sucrose gradients is 1.24. This particle corresponds to that population of the paracostal and paraxostylar granules which, having a uniform granular matrix surrounded by a single membrane, resemble microbodies from other organisms. The small sedimentable portion of catalase (about 10% of the total activity) is not associated with these granules and equilibrates at density 1.22. The nature of the subcellular entity carrying catalase could not be ascertained. Hydrolases with a pH optimum around 6–6.5 (protease, s- N -acetylglucosaminidase, s- N -acetylgalactosaminidase, and cation-independent s-galactosidase II), as well as a large part of acid phosphatase, are associated with a population of large particles which equilibrate at densities from 1.15 to 1.20. The hydrolases in these granules lose their structure-bound latency easily after freezing and thawing. These particles correspond to another population of the paracostal and paraxostylar granules which have varied shape and inhomogeneous content with frequent myelin figures, indicating a digestive function. The rest of the phosphatase and most of the acid s-glucuronidase activity are in a smaller granule fraction with an equilibrium density around 1.18. The latency of these enzymes is quite resistant to freezing and thawing. This particle population consists of smaller, very often flattened vesicles and granules, many of which are clearly fragments of the prominent Golgi apparatus of the cell.
Aromatic Nitrogen Mustard-Based Prodrugs: Activity, Selectivity, and the Mechanism of DNA Cross-Linking

Three novel H2O2-activated aromatic nitrogen mustard prodrugs (6-8) are reported. These compounds contain a DNA alkylating agent connected to a H2O2-responsive trigger by different electron-withdrawing linkers so that they are inactive towards DNA but can be triggered by H2O2 to release active species. The activity and selectivity of these compounds towards DNA were investigated by measuring DNA interstrand cross-link (ICL) formation in the presence or absence of H2O2. An electron-withdrawing linker unit, such as a quaternary ammonia salt (6), a carboxyamide (7), and a carbonate group (8), is sufficient to deactivate the aromatic nitrogen mustard resulting in less than 1.5 % cross-linking formation. However, H2O2 can restore the activity of the effectors by converting a withdrawing group to a donating group, therefore increasing the cross-linking efficiency (>20 %). The stability and reaction sites of the ICL products were determined, which revealed that alkylation induced by 7 and 8 not only occurred at the purine sites but also at the pyrimidine site. For the first time, we isolated and characterized the monomer adducts formed between the canonical nucleosides and the aromatic nitrogen mustard (15) which supported that nitrogen mustards reacted with dG, dA, and dC. The activation mechanism was studied by NMR spectroscopic analysis. An in vitro cytotoxicity assay demonstrated that compound 7 with a carboxyamide linker dramatically inhibited the growth of various cancer cells with a GI50 of less than 1 μM, whereas compound 6 with a charged linker did not show any obvious toxicity in all cell lines tested. These data indicated that a neutral carboxyamide linker is preferable for developing nitrogen mustard prodrugs. Our results showed that 7 is a potent anticancer prodrug that can serve as a model compound for further development. We believe these novel aromatic nitrogen mustards will inspire further and effective applications.
Effects of pressure on the arachnoid villus.

Monkey arachnoid villi fixed without controlling the pressures in the subarachnoid space or the venous sinus were irregularly distended. The endothelial cells showed a large number of clear vesicular spaces. In addition there were many greatly enlarged intercellular spaces. Villi fixed with a pressure difference of 10 cm of water between the subarachnoid space and the superior sagittal sinus were more regularly distended. The endothelial cells were stretched and separated by shortened and intermittently widened intercellular spaces. The degree of widening varied greatly. Most of the widenings were minor but a few were relatively large. Many intercellular spaces were permeable to horseradish peroxidase.
Addictive Disorders in Context: Principles and Puzzles of Effective Treatment and Recovery

To consider key issues in understanding effective treatment and recovery, the author reviews selected principles and unresolved puzzles about the context of addictive disorders and the structure, process, and outcome of treatment. The principles focus on the process of problem resolution, the duration and continuity of care, treatment provided by specialist versus nonspecialist providers, alliance and the goals and structure of treatment, characteristics of effective interventions, and the outcome of treatment versus remaining untreated. The unresolved puzzles involve how to conceptualize service episodes and treatment careers, connections between the theory and process of treatment, effective patient–treatment matching strategies, integration of treatment and self-help, and the development of unified models to encompass life context factors and treatment within a common framework. There has been an expanding cornucopia of research on addictive behaviors in the past 30 years. We have formulated conceptual models, measured key constructs, examined salient theoretical issues, and made substantial progress in understanding the ebb and flow of addictive disorders. An integrated biopsychosocial orientation and a theoretical paradigm of evaluation research have supplanted earlier adherence to an oversimplified biomedical model and reliance on a restrictive methodological approach to treatment evaluation. And yet, in an ironic way, more remains to be done than before, in part because of our increased knowledge and in part because of new clinical perspectives and treatment procedures and the evolving social context in which we ply our trade. Here, I set out seven principles that exemplify advances in our effort to understand the processes involved in effective treatment and recovery. I then describe some unresolved puzzles and important questions for future research. Principles: What We Know or Think We Know
3D analysis of cystoceles using magnetic resonance imaging assessing midline, paravaginal and apical defects

This study assesses relative contributions of "midline defects" (widening of the vagina) and "paravaginal defects" (separation of the lateral vagina from the pelvic sidewall). Ten women with anterior predominant prolapse and ten with normal support underwent pelvic MR imaging. 3-D models of the anterior vaginal wall (AVW) were generated to determine locations of the lateral AVW margin, vaginal width, and apical position. The lateral AVW margin was farther from its normal position in cases than controls throughout most of the vaginal length, most pronounced midvagina (effect sizes, 2.2–2.8). Vaginal widths differed in the midvagina with an effect size of 1.0. Strong correlations between apical and paravaginal support were evident in mid- and upper vagina (r = 0.77–0.93). Changes in lateral AVW location were considerably greater than changes in vaginal width in cases vs controls, both in number of sites affected and effect sizes. These "paravaginal defects" are highly correlated with apical descent.
Fabrication of thin-film cold cathodes by a modified chemical vapor deposition diamond process

Thin-film cold cathodes have been grown on molybdenum by a modified microwave assisted plasma chemical vapor deposition diamond process. Electron field-emission tests have been performed on the devices. The modification from the chemical vapor deposition diamond process includes the addition of N2 and O2 into the plasma during the growth stage. Characterization of these films indicates a disordered tetrahedral carbon structure. Raman spectroscopy shows a disturbance in the cubic symmetry of the lattice and x-ray diffraction indicates a disordered tetrahedral structure. Electron emission testing indicate low turn-on voltages. Current densities from 1 to 8 mA/cm2 can be obtained for applied fields of 5–8 V/μm. The results are explained in terms of a change in the electronic band structure and the formation of states in the band gap.
A View from the Top: International Politics, Norms and the Worldwide Growth of NGOs

This article provides a “top-down” explanation for the rapid growth of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in the postwar period, focusing on two aspects of political globalization. First, I argue that international political opportunities in the form of funding and political access have expanded enormously in the postwar period and provided a structural environment highly conducive to NGO growth. Secondly, I present a norm-based argument and trace the rise of a pro-NGO norm in the 1980s and 1990s among donor states and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs), which has actively promoted the spread of NGOs to non-Western countries. The article ends with a brief discussion of the symbiotic relationship among NGOs, IGOs, and states promoting international cooperation.
Dynamic Effects of Tropomyosin D230N Mutation and Fetal Troponin T on the Tropomyosin Overlap Region

Introduction: Mutations in the cardiac thin filament cause changes in protein structure and dynamics. These alterations result in the complex tissue remodeling seen in patients with hypertrophic and dilated cardiomyopathies. Our group is investigating the effects of these mutations on the tropomyosin (Tm) head-to-tail overlap domain. In particular, we are investigating the alpha-Tm D230N mutation that causes a unique bimodal distribution of remodeling. We hypothesize that this is caused by the modulatory effects of the fetal form of cTnT (cTnT1) on overlap structure and function.Methods: Tm was modified to have one cysteine at residue 271 for both wildtype and D230N mutations, and was labeled with the FRET acceptor DDPM. cTnT1 or adult cardiac troponin T (cTnT3) were modified to have one cysteine at residue 100 and labeled with the FRET donor AEDANS. Labeled cTnT1 or cTnT3 were reconstituted into the troponin complex and combined with labeled Tm of either wildtype or D230N. Steady-state and lifetime data was collected.Results: The distance between the labeled sites in the wildtype complex increased with calcium activation. In contrast, the calcium activated state of the D230N complex resulted in a shorter measured distance. cTnT1 also resulted in a closer distance. cTnT1 in addition to D230N mutation resulted in a closer orientation compared D230N or cTnT1 alone. Differences in measured distances caused by the variants were more pronounced in the calcium activated state than in the low calcium state.Conclusion: The increased distance measured with wildtype complex supported the increased flexibility of Tm accompanying thin filament activation. The decreased distance measured at the Tm overlap supports the hypothesis that cTnT1 interacts with D230N in a manner that amplifies the effects of the mutation alone at the Tm overlap region.
A twin titration microcalorimeter for the study of biochemical reactions.

A small-volume (200 microliter) titration calorimeter of high sensitivity (1 mu cal ) has been developed for the purpose of studying biochemical reactions where the amounts of material are limited to a few nanomoles. High sensitivity is achieved by calorimetric twining , use of glass cells, elimination of vapor space, effective low-energy stirring, and reduction of measurement time. The calorimeter operates using the heat conduction principal with computer-controlled electrical compensation, which reduces the measurement time of each point from 10 to 3 min. This reduction in time is accompanied by a corresponding increase in the precision of measurement. The use of the calorimeter is demonstrated by a measurement of the heat of oxygenation of hemocyanin.
Public Employee Quality in a Geographic Context A Study of Rural Teachers

Recruiting high quality employees is one of the key functions of public human resource managers and a critical component of effective public service delivery. This is particularly true in education but little is known about public sector or teacher hiring patterns in areas that are predominantly rural, poor, and isolated from other locales. This article begins to fill that gap. We find that rural educational agencies employ the new teachers of lowest observed aptitude, implying that organizational outcomes associated with these districts may differ in systematic ways that reinforce longstanding gaps in quality. As such, human resources strategies for increasing the attractiveness of geographically and culturally isolated regions for high quality public service are needed. These strategies are likely to require different policy prescriptions than those utilized to enhance the attractiveness to employees in urban areas.
CALCULATION OF GAS TURBINE BLADE TEMPERATURES USING AN ITERATIVE CONJUGATE HEAT TRANSFER APPROACH

One of the most important goals of the gas turbine industry is to produce a gas turbine with an increased thermal efficiency, higher power to weight ratios and reliability. The gas turbine industry is continuously putting an effort on increasing the turbine inlet temperatures to increase the turbine efficiency. But increasing inlet temperature has adverse effects on the life and reliability of the components of the gas turbine. Thus it is important to accurately predict the heat load applied to the components and their temperatures near the combustor for these high inlet temperatures.
Truncated V2 vasopressin receptors as negative regulators of wild-type V2 receptor function.

Accumulating evidence suggests that G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) can form dimeric or oligomeric arrays. Based on this concept, we have tested the hypothesis that truncated GPCRs can act as n...
A Simple Reclassification Method for Correcting Uncertainty in Land Use/Land Cover Data Sets Used with Land Surface Models

With increasing computational resources, environmental models are run at finer grid spacing to resolve the land surface characteristics. The land use/land cover (LULC) data sets input into land surface models are used to assign various default parameters from a look-up tables. The objective of this study is to assess the potential uncertainty in the LULC data and to present a reclassification method for improving the accuracy of LULC data sets. The study focuses on the Southern Great Plains and specifically the Walnut River Watershed in southeastern Kansas, USA. The uncertainty analysis is conducted using two data sets: The National Land Cover Dataset 1992 (NLCD 92) and the Gap Analysis Program (GAP) data set, and a reclassification logic tree. A comparison of these data sets showed that they do not agree for approximately 27% of the watershed. Moreover, an accuracy assessment of these two data sets indicated that neither had an overall accuracy as high as 80%. Using the relationships between land-surface characteristics and LULC, a reclassification of the watershed was conducted using a logical model. This model iteratively reclassified the uncertain pixels according to their surface characteristics. The model utilized normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) measurements during April and July 2003, elevation, and slope. The reclassification yielded a revised LULC dataset that was substantially improved. The overall accuracy of the revised data set was nearly 93%. The study results suggest: (i) as models adopt finer grid spacings, the uncertainty in the LULC data will become significant; (ii) assimilating NDVI into the land-surface models can reduce the uncertainty due to LULC assignment; (iii) the standard LULC data sets must be used with caution when the focus is on local scale; and (iv) reclassification is a valuable means of improving the accuracy of LULC data sets prior to applying them to local issues or phenomena.
Single-plane and biplane echocardiography: use of targeted scan planes improves the estimates of left ventricular volume and shape for analysis of postinfarction remodeling.

Abstract Objective: Acute myocardial infarction and subsequent left ventricular (LV) remodeling induce complex geometric changes quantifiable by 3-dimensional (3D) echocardiography. Our objective was to determine accurate 2-dimensional echocardiographic techniques for analysis of diastolic and systolic LV volume and shape in remodeled hearts. Methods: We obtained 3D apical scans from 16 patients at the acute stage, and at 1 and 6 months after acute myocardial infarction. LV volumes were calculated by 7 methods: (1) Teichholz; (2) Teichholz including the infarcted area; (3) single-plane area-length (AL) using a 2-chamber (2CH) view; (4) single-plane AL using a 4-chamber (4CH) view; (5) single-plane AL using a view including the infarcted area; (6) biplane AL using 2CH and 4CH views; and (7) biplane AL using a view including the infarction region and corresponding orthogonal view (method ALBMIO). LV shape was assessed by 5 methods: (1) a 2CH view; (2) a 4CH view; (3) a single-plane view including the infarcted area; (4) biplane (2CH and 4CH) views; and (5) biplane views including the infarction region and corresponding orthogonal view (method BMIO). Results: For end-diastolic and end-systolic LV volume assessments, all 7 methods correlated with the 3D reference, but method ALBMIO performed best (end-diastolic: r = 0.931, bias = 17.4 mL; end-systolic: r = 0.946, bias = 11.2 mL). For LV shape assessments, method BMIO showed the smallest difference from the 3D reference. Conclusions: With 2-dimensional echocardiographic techniques, quantitative analysis of LV volume and shape is most accurate when a component scan plane is targeted through the infarcted myocardial region.
A NOTION OF COMPLETENESS OF TOPOLOGICAL STRUCTURES

A connector U on a space S is a function from S to the power set of S such that each x in s belongs to its image. The image of x is denoted by xU. In other words, the relation {(x,y): y ϵ xU, x ϵ S) is a reflexive binary relation. A space with a certain set of connectors is a generalization of topological spaces as well as uniform spaces. In this paper, a notion of completeness of such a space is introduced. This completeness corresponds to completeness of uniform spaces if a set of cannectors meets the conditions of uniformity. Compactness of topological Spaces is a special case of the completeness.
Structure of the pressure-assisted cold denatured state of ubiquitin.

The pressure-assisted cold denatured state of ubiquitin in aqueous solution was investigated by high resolution NMR. Hydrogen exchange kinetics were measured for backbone amide protons in the cold denatured protein to determine its structure. In contrast to cold denatured ribonuclease A and lysozyme, cold denatured ubiquitin shows little persistent secondary structure. The behavior of ubiquitin supports the idea of a relationship between the residual structure of pressure-assisted cold-denatured states and the structure of early folding intermediates provided they exist.
Effects of surface reconstructions on oxygen adsorption at AlN polar surfaces

An understanding of oxygen adsorption is important for better control of O incorporation and oxidation of nitride semiconductors. Using the density functional method, we demonstrate that under Al-rich conditions Al adatoms or O substitution on N sites can stabilize oxygen adsorption on the (0001) surface. We identify three stabilization mechanisms: the electron counting rule; oxide stoichiometry; and changes in hybridization of the surface Al. In contrast to previous claims, we find that the O adsorption energies exhibit similar trends with increasing coverage for (0001) and surfaces, showing that the energetics of O adsorption do not strongly depend on polarity.
Comparing clinical features of young onset, middle onset and late onset Parkinson's disease

Abstract Background Parkinson's disease (PD) affects 1–2% of the population over 65 years. There is evidence that the clinical features differ with age at symptom onset, but published information is scarce. Methods We reviewed the charts of 593 PD patients and divided them into young onset (≤49 years), middle onset (50–69 years) and late onset (≥70 years) groups. Data collected included age at symptom onset, year of onset, family history of Parkinson's disease in first and second degree relatives, predominant first symptom, first anti parkinsonian medication prescribed, frequency of levodopa-induced dyskinesia, therapy related dystonia, therapy related gastrointestinal side effects, hallucination, dementia, depression and apathy. Results The middle onset was the largest group (51%), followed by the late onset (39%) and the young onset (10%) groups. Young onset patients had a more frequent family history of Parkinson's disease and a longer survival. Symptoms other than tremor were more frequent as the initial symptom of the young onset group, and the frequency of tremor as the first symptom increased with advancing age at onset. Depression was more frequent in the young onset group. The frequency of treatment related dyskinesia or dystonia decreased with advancing age at onset. Conclusion We have identified specific clinical differences in Parkinson's disease related to the patient's age at onset and added to the existing knowledge of the variability of disease presentation. We suggest an age of onset of 49 years or less for the definition of young onset PD.
Power-efficient prefetching via bit-differential offset assignment on embedded processors

Due to stringent power constraints, aggressive latency hiding approaches such as prefetching are absent in the state-of-the-art embedded processors. There are two main reasons that cause prefetching to be power inefficient. First, compiler inserted prefetch instructions increase code size, therefore could increase I-cache power. Secondly, inaccurate prefetching (esp. for hardware prefetching) leads to high D-cache power consumption due to the useless accesses. In this work, we show that it is possible to support power-efficient prefetching through bit-differentail offset assignment to stack variables.We target the prefetching of relocatable stack variables with a high degree of precision. By assigning the offsets of stack variables in such a way that most consecutive addresses differ by 1 bit, we can prefetch them with compact prefetch instructions to save I-cache power. The compiler first generates an access graph of consecutive memory references and then attempts a layout of the memory locations in the smallest hypercube. Each dimension of the hypercube represents a 1-bit differential addressing. The embedding is carried out in as compact a hypercube as possible in order to save memory space. Each load/store instruction carries a hint regarding prefetching the next memory reference by encoding its differential address with respect to the current one. To reduce D-cache power cost, we further attempt to assign offsets so that most of the consecutive accesses map to the same cache line. Our prefetching is done using a one entry line buffer[1]. As a consequence, many look-ups in D-cache reduce to incremental ones. This results in D-cache activity reduction and power savings.Our prefetching requires both compiler and hardware support. In this paper, we provide implementation on the ARM processor with small modification to the ARM ISA. We tackle issues about out of order commit, predication and speculation through simple modifications to the processor pipeline on non-critical paths. Our goal in this work is to boost performance while maintaining/lowering power consumption. Our results show 12% speed-up and slightly lower power consumption.
Validity of Scaling Relations between Nucleon Form Factors

We prove, within the framework of analytic S-matrix theory and the physical mass spectrum, that the following scaling relations cannot be rigorously true for all t: (i) G M V (t)∝G E V (t), (ii) G M V (t)=R 1 (t)G E V (t)+R 2 (t), where R 1,2 (t) are rational functions of t, (iii) F Π (t)∝G E V (t), and (iv) F Π (t)∝G M V (t).
On the real effects of inflation and inflation uncertainty in Mexico

We estimate an augmented multivariate GARCH-M model of inflation and output growth for Mexico at business cycle frequencies. The main findings are: (1) inflation uncertainty has a negative and significant effect on growth; (2) once the effect of inflation uncertainty is accounted for, lagged inflation does not have a direct negative effect on output growth; (3) However as predicted by Friedman and Ball, higher average inflation raises inflation uncertainty, and the overall net effect of average inflation on output growth in Mexico is negative. That is, average inflation is harmful to Mexican growth due to its impact on inflation uncertainty. (4) The Mexican Presidential election cycle significantly raises inflation uncertainty both during the year of the election and the year following the election which has correspondingly negative effects on output growth.
The effect of laboratory holding on the toxicity response of marine infaunal amphipods to cadmium and tributyltin

Abstract Two species of amphipods, Rhepoxynius abronius Barnard (Phoxacephalidae) and Eohaustorius estuarius Bosworth (Haustoriidae) commonly used in sediment bioassays were used to assess the effects of laboratory holding on their sensitivity to the toxicants tributyltin (TBT) and cadmium (Cd). In all tests, the LC50 decreased 2 to 3-fold for animals held for several weeks in the laboratory versus those recently collected from the field. Additionally, the LD50 for both toxicants was also 2 to 3 times lower for both species of laboratory-maintained animals. For both species, whole-body lipids declined by a factor of 2 to 3 during the holding period and when the LD50 for each toxicant was lipid normalized, the critical body burdens became nearly the same. Because TBT is a lipophilic compound, it is expected to partition according to organismal body lipid, however, Cd is known to not partition preferentially to lipid. It is possible that declining lipid concentrations may be the mechanistic process by which body burdens of TBT are controlled, but for Cd, another mechanism may be more important. It was concluded from these results that decreasing whole-body lipid content may be an indicator of declining animal health (and increased sensitivity to toxicants) but the actual mechanistic control over the toxicity response remains to be elucidated. It is assumed that the standard 10-day test, conducted with recently caught animals, probably has no impact on organism health, but that caution should be used when interpreting bioassay results from long-term studies that use animals which are not maintained in optimum condition. This study also suggests that variability in response to toxicants may occur over the natural, seasonal cycle of physiological variation that occurs in populations.
The mercury resistance operon: from an origin in a geothermal environment to an efficient detoxification machine

Mercuric mercury (Hg[II]) is a highly toxic and mobile element that is likely to have had a pronounced and adverse effect on biology since Earth’s oxygenation ~2.4 Gy ago due to its high affinity for protein sulfhydryl groups, which upon binding destabilizes protein structure and decreases enzyme activity, resulting in a decreased organismal fitness. The central enzyme in the microbial mercury detoxification system is the mercuric reductase (MerA) protein, which catalyzes the reduction of Hg2+ to volatile Hg0. In addition to MerA, mer operons encode for proteins involved in regulation, Hg binding, and organomercury degradation. Here, we examine the composition of 272 individual mer operons and quantitatively map the distribution of mer-encoded functions on both taxonomic SSU rRNA gene and MerA protein phylogenies. The results indicate an origin and early evolution of MerA among thermophilic bacteria and an overall increase in the complexity of mer operons and in the sophistication of transcriptional regulation through evolutionary time, suggesting continual gene recruitment and evolution leading to an improved efficiency and functionality of the Mer detoxification system. Consistent with a positive relationship between the evolutionary history and topology of MerA and SSU rRNA gene phylogeneties (Mantel R = 0.81, p < 0.01), the distribution of the majority of mer functions, when mapped on these phylograms, indicates an overall tendency to inherit mer-encoded functions through vertical descent. However, individual mer functions display evidence of a variable degree of vertical inheritance, with several genes exhibiting strong evidence for acquisition via lateral gene transfer and/or gene loss. These data suggest that (i) mer has evolved from a simple system in geothermal environments to a widely distributed and more complex and efficient detoxification system, and (ii) MerA is a suitable taxonomic marker for examining the functional diversity of mer.
Toward a quantitative model for the formation of gravitational magmatic sulfide deposits

Abstract A preliminary quantitative model for the formation of magmatic sulfide deposits through gravitational sulfide droplet settling is developed. The model incorporates thermodynamic consideration of the oversaturation of sulfide liquid from a silicate melt, and the coupled growth kinetics and settling dynamics of sulfide droplets. The conditions for the sulfide droplets to have enough time to grow and settle to form a sulfide liquid layer at the bottom of a magma chamber are referred to as the necessary criteria for sulfide ore formation. Simulations are carried out for dry Etna basaltic melt because their melt viscosity and sulfur diffusivity have been measured so that the simulations are more realistic rather than parametric. Furthermore, the effects of empirical nucleation rate and condition, and of the variation of solubility, viscosity and diffusivity have been parametrically evaluated. The simulations show that for a given magma containing about 0.1 to 0.3 wt.% sulfur, sulfide melt layer can form for realistic magma body size (with cooling time of 1000 yr or more) and realistic solubility, viscosity and diffusivity. The ability of the sulfide melt to collect ore elements depends critically on the diffusivity of individual ore elements. When the diffusivity of an ore element is similar to or greater than that of sulfur, near equilibrium partitioning is reached. When the diffusivity of an ore element is much smaller than that of sulfur, which is often the case for trivalent and tetravalent ions, the concentration of the element in the sulfide melt would be far below the equilibrium concentration. It is hoped that the model will help both researchers and exploration geologists.
Comparison of Pkd1-targeted mutants reveals that loss of polycystin-1 causes cystogenesis and bone defects

A high level of polycystin-1 expression is detected in kidneys of all patients with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD). Mice that overexpress polycystin-1 also develop renal cysts. Whether overexpression of polycystin-1 is necessary for cyst formation is still unclear. Here, we report the generation of a targeted mouse mutant with a null mutation in Pkd1 and its phenotypic characterization in comparison with the del34 mutants that carry a 'truncation mutation' in Pkd1. We show that null homozygotes develop the same, but more aggressive, renal and pancreatic cystic disease as del34/del34. Moreover, we report that both homozygous mutants develop polyhydramnios, hydrops fetalis, spina bifida occulta and osteochondrodysplasia. Heterozygotes also develop adult-onset pancreatic disease. We show further that del34 homozygotes continue to produce mutant polycystin-1, thereby providing a possible explanation for increased immunoreactive polycystin-1 in ADPKD cyst epithelia in the context of the two-hit model. Our data demonstrate for the first time that loss of polycystin-1 leads to cyst formation and defective skeletogenesis, and indicate that polycystin-1 is critical in both epithelium and chondrocyte development.
Multioutput logical processor using joint transform correlator

Joint transform correlation is applied for real-time optical implementation of logical processor. As an example, a 4–to–2 line encoder is considered. Simulation results for both sequential and parallel implementation techniques are presented. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
18 HIGH PRECISION TURNING ON A STANDARD TOOLROOM CENTRE LATHE

This experiment is designed for investigating the possibilities of producing external and internal diameters to high orders of accuracy on a conventional toolroom centre lathe. This is something that can be achieved with simple, relatively inexpensive equipment giving at the same time an appreciation of the techniques associated with high‐precision manufacture.
Columbia Public Health Core Curriculum: Short-Term Impact

We evaluated a transformed core curriculum for the Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health (New York, New York) master of public health (MPH) degree. The curriculum, launched in 2012, aims to teach public health as it is practiced: in interdisciplinary teams, drawing on expertise from multiple domains to address complex health challenges. We collected evaluation data starting when the first class of students entered the program and ending with their graduation in May 2014. Students reported being very satisfied with and challenged by the rigorous curriculum and felt prepared to integrate concepts across varied domains and disciplines to solve public health problems. This novel interdisciplinary program could serve as a prototype for other schools that wish to reinvigorate MPH training.
JEvTrace: refinement and variations of the evolutionary trace in JAVA.

Background Details of functional speciation within gene families can be difficult to identify using standard multiple sequence alignment (MSA) methods. The evolutionary trace (ET) was developed as a visualization tool to combine MSA, phylogenetic and structural data for identification of functional sites in proteins. The method has been successful in extracting evolutionary details of functional surfaces in a number of biological systems and modifications of the method are useful in creating hypotheses about the function of previously unannotated genes. We wish to facilitate the graphical interpretation of disparate data types through the creation of flexible software implementations.