cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A specialized population of Periostin-expressing cardiac fibroblasts contributes to postnatal cardiomyocyte maturation and innervation

During the postnatal period in mammals, the cardiac muscle transitions from hyperplasic to hypertrophic growth, the extracellular matrix (ECM) undergoes remodeling, and the heart loses regenerative capacity. While ECM maturation and crosstalk between cardiac fibroblasts (CFs) and cardiomyocytes (CMs) have been implicated in neonatal heart development, not much is known about specialized fibroblast heterogeneity and function in the early postnatal period. In order to better understand CF functions in heart maturation and postnatal cardiomyocyte cell-cycle arrest, we have performed gene expression profiling and ablation of postnatal CF populations. Fibroblast lineages expressing Tcf21 or Periostin were traced in transgenic GFP reporter mice, and their biological functions and transitions during the postnatal period were examined in sorted cells using RNA sequencing. Highly proliferative Periostin (Postn)+ lineage CFs were found from postnatal day 1 (P1) to P11 but were not detected at P30, due to a repression of Postn gene expression. This population was less abundant and transcriptionally different from Tcf21+ resident CFs. The specialized Postn+ population preferentially expresses genes related to cell proliferation and neuronal development, while Tcf21+ CFs differentially express genes related to ECM maturation at P7 and immune crosstalk at P30. Ablation of the Postn+ CFs from P0 to P6 led to altered cardiac sympathetic nerve patterning and a reduction in binucleation and hypertrophic growth with increased fetal troponin (TroponinI1) expression in CM. Thus, postnatal CFs are heterogeneous and include a transient proliferative Postn+ population required for cardiac nerve development and cardiomyocyte maturation soon after birth.
Small-scale variation in herbivore abundance and grazing on Juncus roemerianus dominated salt marshes

Herbivore-plant interactions have been shown to play central roles in determining the structure of salt marsh communities. However, relatively little is known about how marsh herbivory varies over small spatial scales (e.g., < 2 km) within a single geographic region as well as the potential driving forces for such variability. Here we quantify the small-scale spatial variablity in insect grazing on three Juncus roemerianus marshes in Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, MS, USA. Sampling covered both monthly and seasonal temporal scales (February to November) to capture the well described seasonality in insect grazing in these marshes Our results show large differences in abundance of insect herbivores and intensity of herbivory across, but not within, the three marshes. In addition, the observed spatial differences in herbivory do not appear to be related to herbivore abundance or insect species, but potentially to differences in landscape context, such as proximity to upland habitats (i.e., forestland) or habitat fragmentation. These results demonstrate that insect herbivory in marshes can also vary substantially at small spatial scales and we suggest some mechanisms responsible for such differences.
Comparison of open- and closed-cell stent design outcomes after carotid artery stenting in the Vascular Quality Initiative

Abstract Background The association between stent design and outcomes after carotid artery stenting (CAS) has remained controversial. The available data are conflicting regarding the superiority of any specific stent design. The present study investigated the association between cell design and outcomes after carotid artery stenting (CAS) in a real world setting. Methods Patients who had undergone CAS with distal embolic protection in the Society for Vascular Surgery Vascular Quality Initiative (VQI) database from 2016 to 2018 were included in the present study. Patients undergoing CAS for trauma or dissection or more than two treated lesions were excluded. We also excluded lesions for which more than two carotid stents had been used and lesions confined to the common or external carotid artery. Univariable and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to compare the outcomes after CAS between the open- and closed-cell stent designs. Results Of the 2671 CAS procedures included in the present analysis, 1384 (51.8%) had used closed-cell stents and 1287 (48.2%) had used open-cell stents. On univariable analysis, no significant differences were noted between the closed- and open-cell stents in in-hospital mortality (1.8% vs 1.4%; P = .40), stroke (1.8% vs 2.4%; P = .28), and stroke/death (3.3% vs 3.5%; P = .81). After adjusting for potential confounders (ie, age, symptomatic status, previous major amputation, statin and antiplatelet use, American Society of Anesthesiologists class, elective procedures, approach, and post-stent dilatation), no difference was noted in in-hospital stroke/death between the two stent designs (odds ratio [OR], 1.08; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.68-1.74; P = .74). However, the interaction between stent design (open vs closed) and lesion location (bifurcation vs internal carotid artery [ICA]) was statistically significant (P = .02). Closed-cell stents were associated with five times the odds of in-hospital stroke/death when used in carotid artery bifurcation (OR, 5.5; 95% CI, 1.3-22.2; P = .02). However, when the stent was limited to the ICA, no differences were noted (OR, 0.87; 95% CI, 0.51-1.45; P = .62). One-year follow-up data were available for 19% of patients. No differences in ipsilateral stroke or death at 1 year were noted between the open- and closed-cell stents, except when the lesion was located in the carotid bifurcation (hazard ratio, 6.7; 95% CI, 1.4-31.4; P = .02). Conclusions Closed-cell stents were associated with an increased odds of in-hospital stroke/death for carotid bifurcation lesions, which might be related to the relatively lower conformability of closed-cell stents in the tortuous and diameter-mismatched bifurcation anatomy vs the relatively linear uniform diameter of the ICA. Improved follow-up and in-depth analysis of lesion-specific characteristics that might influence the outcomes of these two designs are needed to validate these results.
Acute Allergic Reactions to mRNA COVID-19 Vaccines.

This study examines the incidence of acute allergic reactions to mRNA COVID-19 vaccine administrations in health care employees in Massachusetts.
The influence of deer browsing on the reproductive biology of Canada yew (Taxus canadensis marsh.) : II. Pollen limitation: an indirect effect.

Hand-pollination significantly increased seed production in a Canada yew (Taxus canadensis) population that had been browsed previously by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) indicating that pollen availability limited seed production in this population. Handpollination did not significantly increase seed production in a population never browsed by deer. Deer-browsing significantly reduces yew density and pollen production, which in turn results in reduced pollination and seed production. Pollen limitation of yew seed production is an indirect effect of deer browsing on Canada yew and results from an interaction between the direct effect of deer browsing and the pollination syndrome of Canada yew. Artificially created female yews had lower seed set than monoecious yews when yew seed production was pollen-limited, but not when pollen did not limit seed production.
A Dynamical Clustering Model of Brain Connectivity Inspired by the N-Body Problem

We present a method for studying brain connectivity by simulating a dynamical evolution of the nodes of the network. The nodes are treated as particles, and evolved under a simulated force analogous to gravitational acceleration in the well-known N-body problem. The particle nodes correspond to regions of the cortex. The locations of particles are defined as the centers of the respective regions on the cortex and their masses are proportional to each region's volume. The force of attraction is modeled on the gravitational force, and explicitly made proportional to the elements of a connectivity matrix derived from diffusion imaging data. We present experimental results of the simulation on a population of 110 subjects from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI), consisting of healthy elderly controls, early mild cognitively impaired (eMCI), late MCI (LMCI), and Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. Results show significant differences in the dynamic properties of connectivity networks in healthy controls, compared to eMCI as well as AD patients.
Affirmative Action in American Law Schools

The United States Commission on Civil Rights recently held a briefing entitled, "Affirmative Action in American Law Schools" at which witnesses with differing perspectives discussed troubling evidence that race-based affirmative action policies may have harmed rather than helped minority students who aspire to become attorneys. In the report the Commission later issued, it took no position on whether this evidence was sufficient to recommend that these policies be discontinued. Instead, it made a number of important recommendations most of which were designed to ensure transparency. Most significantly, the Commission recommended that each law school inform its prospective students (minority or otherwise) of the probability that they will ultimately graduate from that institution and pass the bar given their individual entering academic credentials. Those students could then decide for themselves which law school will best serve their needs. The Commission also recommended that the American Bar Association Council of the Section of Legal Education and Admissions to the Bar refrain from setting a uniform diversity policy for law schools. Under the Commission's vision, the discretion to formulate diversity policy would reside with each law school. The views put forth here are those of one member of the Commission in connection with that report.
User‐Centered Systems Engineering Framework

Human systems integration (HSI) is a systems engineering effort employed across the lifecycle process for the engineering of systems to ensure the incorporation of such critical human factors as usability, reliability, manning, training, and safety within the deployed system. Even when regulations require HSI plans as part of the system acquisition process, process reviews within the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) indicate a failure in making and implementing these plans (cf. DoD, 1994). Many traditional systems engineering efforts result in the generation of rich and precise hardware=software specifications and implementations with only meager representation and accommodation of users and their tasks (Ehrhart, 1994). Crucial information about users and the tasks they must perform is often lost somewhere between initial problem description and final detailed design specification. As a result, technologies introduced to streamline organizational processes and to facilitate other human activities often create new bottlenecks instead. Efforts in reviewing the literature in new product development and associated decisions notice few instances of concern for human issues in product development (Krishnan and Ulrich, 2001). The recent emphasis on quality management in systems engineering (Sage, 1992, 1995; Sage and Rouse, 1999) reflects growing concern over the high cost of systems that either:
Relationship between glucose metabolism and pancreatic cancer.

To the Editor: Dr Gapstur and colleagues 1 observed that higher postload plasma glucose levels were associated with an increased relative risk for pancreatic cancer in their sample of patients, most of whom were white. While working with a predominantly Hispanic adult patient population during the last 6 years, I have come across 3 cases of hepatobiliary cancer in patients with diabetes, none of whom had a history of alcoholism or hepatitis. In recent years, there has been a reported increase in the incidence of hepatobiliary cancer, probably related to hepatitis B and C. 2 One wonders if there is a similar linkage between hepatobiliary neoplasms and hyperglycemia, as there is between the latter and pancreatic malignancy. Is it possible that the insulin-activated insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor 3 could have a proliferative effect on disgestive organs other than the pancreas? Because diabetes mellitus is already associated with considerable morbidity, these newfound risks would be added incentives for attaining glycemic control.
Phagocytosis by blood cells in healthy and diseased caterpillars: II. A consideration of the method of making hemocyte counts

Abstract The influence of certain variations in the technique on the result of total and differential hemocyte counts is described. Experiences and considerations are given regarding the choice of the control insect, the size of experimental groups, and the number of replications necessary to achieve statistical significance in comparisons of total or differential hemocyte counts. The effects of the injection of distilled water, India ink, and suspensions of 1.3-μ latex particles on both hemocyte counts are described. These results are evaluated together with previously published results of injections of Bacillus thuringiensis whereby the various suspensions injected are considered to be models which represent certain features of a suspension of viable bacilli. From this comparison a pattern is derived for the phagocytic response by blood cells in Pseudaletia unipuncta .
Efficient Learning of Real Time One-Counter Automata

We present an efficient learning algorithm for languages accepted by deterministic real time one-counter automata (ROCA). The learning algorithm works by first learning an initial segment, B n , of the infinite state machine that accepts the unknown language and then decomposing it into a complete control structure and a partial counter. A new, efficient ROCA decomposition algorithm, which will be presented in detail, allows this result. The decomposition algorithm works in time O(n2log(n)) where nc is the number of states of B n for some language-dependent constant c. If Angluin's algorithm for learning regular languages is used to learn B n and the complexity of this step is h(n, m), where m is the length of the longest counterexample necessary for Angluin's algorithm, the complexity of our algorithm is O(h(n,m) + n2log(n)).
Las raíces agustinianas de la conceptualidad de "ser y tiempo"

espanolLa progresiva publicacion a lo largo de las ultimas dos decadas de los cursos dictados por Heidegger durante sus primeros anos de docencia ha permitido reconstruir el proceso de gestacion de Ser y Tiempo (1927), sus multiples referencias textuales e influencias. Entre ellas, ocupa un lugar destacado el pensamiento agustiniano, por lo cual me propongo considerar aqui su fuerte presencia en algunos de los conceptos centrales de dicha obra. El primero a tener en cuenta es el de “Sorge” (preocupacion, cuidado) con el que Heidegger caracteriza la constitucion ontologica fundamental del existir humano. Sus primeros esbozos habian surgido de la reflexion en torno al celebre “inquietum cor nostrum” y a la cura por la vita beata de Confesiones X. A partir de este mismo texto Heidegger habia realizado tambien una interpretacion fenomenologica de la tentacion, que constituye una de las primeras elaboraciones de la llamada “caida”, precisamente uno de los momentos estructurales de la “Sorge”. Referencias explicitas o sugerentes analogias entre ambos pensadores pueden apreciarse tambien entre la explicacion de Confesiones XI del “tempus” como “distentio animi” y la tesis heideggeriana de la “temporalidad” como fundamento de la constitucion de la subjetividad humana; el transito desde la busqueda de Dios a la exploracion de la interioridad de aquel que lo busca y el retroceso desde la pregunta por el “ser” a la pregunta por el que comprende el “ser”, entre otros casos no menos significativos. EnglishThe progressive publication -along the past two decades- of the courses taught by Heidegger in his first years in teaching has allowed the reconstruction of the process of creation of Being and Time (1927), its multiple textual references and influences. Among these, St. Augustine’s thought bears a prominent place, for which reason I intend to consider its noticeable presence in some of the key concepts in the work mentioned. The first to be considered is Sorge (concern, care), with which Heidegger characterises the fundamental ontological constitution of human existence. His first drafts emerged from the reflection upon the famous “inquietum cor nostrum” and the cura (care) for the vita beata from Confessions X. Based on this same text Heidegger had offered a phenomenological interpretation of temptation, which constitutes one of the first elaborations of the so-called “fall”, precisely one of the structural moments of the Sorge. Explicit references or suggestive analogies between both thinkers can also be appreciated between the explanation of “tempus” as “distentio animi” in Confessions XI and the heideggerian thesis of “temporality” as the basis of the constitution of human subjectivity; the road from the search of God to the exploration of the interiority of the one who looks for Him and the way back from the question about the “being” to the question about the one who understands the “being”, in other no less significant cases.
Clock generation and distribution for intel Banias mobile microprocessor

This clock generation and distribution scheme enables Intel's first mobile-specific micro-architecture of Banias microprocessor. It employs four phase-locked loops, three of them cascaded, to generate the required clock frequencies, provide low skew and jitter and support the next-generation Intel SpeedStep/spl reg/ technology. The core clock distribution is implemented as two grids with an active continuous de-skewing mechanism. The debug capabilities of this clocking scheme provide easy observability and testing, enabling rapid time to market.
Photothermal/photoacoustic method for in situ evaluation of radiation-hardened polyimide films

Abstract A non-contact, non-destructive method is used to determine viscoelastic and thermal transport properties of a DuPont Kapton film before and after neutron irradiation to determine the changes that would be expected to occur in a nuclear reactor environment. The results demonstrate general capabilities for in situ, non-destructive evaluation (NDE) of radiation-induced material degradation. The specific application demonstrated is evaluation of insulation materials to be used in a superconducting magnet design in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER).
Assessing craving and its relationship to subsequent prescription opioid use among treatment-seeking prescription opioid dependent patients

Background Craving is viewed as a core feature of substance use disorders and has been shown to predict future drug use, particularly over the short term. Accordingly, craving is often assessed in treatment settings as a marker of risk for subsequent drug use. The identification of the briefest measure that maintains predictive validity is of particular value for both clinical and research settings to minimize assessment burden while maintaining utility for the prediction of use.
Chiral nitrogen ligands in late transition metal-catalysed asymmetric synthesis—I. Addressing the problem of ligand lability in rhodium-catalysed hydrosilations

Abstract Treatment of 2,6-dichloropyridine with the potassium salt of ephedrine derivatives afforded the new chiral ligands 2-chloro-6-[(1R,2S)-2(R2N)-1-phenylpropanoxy] pyridine [NR2 = NH2 (1a), NHMe (1b), NMe2 (1c) in good yield. The isomeric and new ligands 2-(X)-[(1R,2S)-2-amino-1-phenylpropanoxy]pyridine [X = 3-chloro (2); X = 5-chloro (3); X = 5-trifluoromethyl (4)] were also prepared in the study. Combining ligand 1a with [(COD)RhCl]2 gave rapid addition and the isolable rhodium(I) complex, (COD)[1a]RhCl (5a). Complex 5a provided the highest enantioselectivity to date for the asymmetric hydrosilation of acetophenone (30% enantioselectivity, 78% chemical yield) using a nitrogen-based, chiral, bidentate ligand in a stoichiometric fashion. Ligands 1b-c and 2-[(1R,2S)-2-amino-1-phenylpropanoxy]pyridine (1d) gave low optical yields for the asymmetric hydrosilation of acetophenone. Ligands 2–4 gave enantioselectivity ranging from 10 to 23% (∼ 1.1:1, ligand/rhodium) and similar chemical yields as 1a for the hydrosilation of acetophenone. Employing a 10-fold excess of ligands 2–4 afforded enantioselectivity of 37–42% for the hydrosilation of acetophenone. The success of ligands 1a and 2–4 as compared with 1d (4% optical yield) and other bidentate nitrogen-based ligands is attributed to the increased π-acidity of the pyridine ring as a result of the electronwithdrawing substituents.
Transverse sinus anomaly simulating a meningioma on CT scanning

A rare, anomalously dilated right transverse sinus with involvement of the torcular herophili strongly suggested the appearance of a meningioma on CT scanning. Carotid and vertebral arteriography did not reveal the nature of the abnormality, since there was only faint opacification of the anomalous vessel, which was interpreted as a faint tumor stain. Transjugular venography was necessary to establish this diagnosis. When a similar lesion is encountered on CT scanning and the transverse sinus is not clearly seen on arteriography, venography should be carried out to determine if the appearance is due to occlusion by a mass or, as in this case, anomalous dilatation of the sinus.
The underwater spark; A photographic light source of high intrinsic brilliance

WHEN an impulse voltage of sufficient magnitude is applied to underwater electrodes, a gaseous conduction channel forms across the gap. If the rate of current rise is thousands of amperes per microsecond, the growth of the gaseous channel is greatly restrained by the inertia of the water and this results in unusually high gas pressure, current density, and temperature. The rapid vaporization of the water at the channel boundary also contributes to the high gas pressure.
Direct and inverse problem in supersonic axisymmetric flow

Introduction SUPERSONIC inviscid flow can generally be solved by the i^method of characteristics or by shock-capturing methods." The method of characteristics computes the flow along characteristics and uses the Rankine-Hugoniot conditions at the shock. This method has the advantage of accuracy, but is regarded as complex and computationally inefficient, especially in regions of near coalescence of the two sets of characteristics.' In shock-capturing methods the shock is smeared over several grid points, where oscillations can occur and the scheme loses accuracy. However, due to their directness and computational ease, shock-capturing methods have been preferred in recent years. In this Note, we develop an efficient method using the characteristics and streamlines of a flow. These are used as coordinates and the flow quantities are expressed in terms of Riemann functions. A scheme is obtained which is significantly more efficient and accurate than shock-capturing methods for flow over axisymmetric bodies. Since streamlines form one of the coordinates, we naturally obtain a body-fit system. It is also a truly shock-fit coordinate system. Not only are the Rankine-Hugoniot conditions used, but the shock lies exactly on grid points also. The success of the present method in the two-dimensional case rests on the discovery of an accurate and simple approximation. In the axisymmetric case, a similarly accurate and simple approximation has eluded us. The approximation presented herein is simple, but generally not as accurate as that for the two-dimensional case. A better iterative procedure has been developed to compensate for this weakness. As was the case for the two-dimensional flow, our method is well suited for the inverse design problem (i.e., given M0>1 and the pressure distribution on the body, find the shape of the body and the flow everywhere).
Acute gastric changes after intracerebral hemorrhage in rats

Severe intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) produces gastric pathology in about 30% of the patient population, even after the standard treatment of H2 receptor blockers or proton pump inhibitors. This study was undertaken to establish a rat model of ICH-induced gastric ulcer. Adult male Sprague-Dawley rats (300-350 g) were divided into two hemorrhage groups and a sham control group. ICH was produced either by injection of 100 microl of autologous arterial blood or by injection of 4 microl saline containing 0.6 unit of bacterial collagenase VII into the right basal ganglia. Rats were sacrificed at 24, 48, 72 h, and 7 days after ICH to harvest brains and stomachs. Greater degrees of hemorrhage and brain edema were observed in collagenase-induced ICH. Motor behavior decreased significantly after 24 h in both models. The incidence of acute ulceration with destruction of the forestomach epithelium was extremely low at 8.7% in the collagenase injection model and 4.8% in the blood injection rats. Small, pinpoint hemorrhages (petechiae) were noticed in 38% of rats after blood injection and 22% after collagenase injection, in the glandular portion of the gastric mucosa with penetration of red blood cells and inflammatory cells into the gastric mucosa. Enhanced tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) expressions were observed in gastric tissues after ICH with more intense staining occurring at 24 and 48 h. Due to the low incidence of ulceration, ICH-induced gastric ulceration in rodents may not appropriate for evaluating the potential human risk of gastric ulceration after ICH.
Thermodynamic Dissection of Estrogen Receptor-Promoter Interactions Reveals that Steroid Receptor Family Members Differentially Partition their Binding Energetics

The quantitative principles responsible for steroid receptor-specific gene regulation are poorly understood. This is in part because most studies have measured only apparent binding affinities or used biochemical rather than biophysical approaches. We previously dissected the thermodynamics of human progesterone receptor (PR) isoform assembly at multisite promoter sequences. We found that the two isoforms maintain surprisingly weak dimerization energetics; however, the receptors can achieve full promoter occupancy via strong cooperative interactions. As a step towards assessing whether cooperative binding energetics are a common feature for all steroid receptors, we dissected the thermodynamics of human estrogen receptor-∗ (ER-∗):promoter interactions under conditions identical to our work on PR. Analytical ultracentrifugation and quantitative footprint titrations demonstrate that ER-∗ and PR dimers maintain similar intrinsic binding affinities toward their respective response elements. This is to be expected noting the near identical structures of the ER and PR DNA binding domains. Unexpectedly, however, ER-∗ exhibits negligible cooperativity - orders of magnitude less than predicted based on our studies of PR. This raises the question of how ER-∗ generates full occupancy (and thus full function) at multisite promoters. Our results reveal that the decrease in ER-∗ cooperative free energy is exactly compensated for via an increase in dimerization free energy. Thus homologous transcription factors partition their promoter binding energetics differentially. We speculate that this serves as a mechanism to receptor-specific gene regulation: differences in assembly state and cooperative stabilization allow for preferential occupancy as a function of response element layout.
Discrete-time nonparametric estimation for semi-Markov models of chain-of-events data subject to interval censoring and truncation.

Chain-of-events data are longitudinal observations on a succession of events that can only occur in a prescribed order. One goal in an analysis of this type of data is to determine the distribution of times between the successive events. This is difficult when individuals are observed periodically rather than continuously because the event times are then interval censored. Chain-of-events data may also be subject to truncation when individuals can only be observed if a certain event in the chain (e.g., the final event) has occurred. We provide a nonparametric approach to estimate the distributions of times between successive events in discrete time for data such as these under the semi-Markov assumption that the times between events are independent. This method uses a self-consistency algorithm that extends Turnbull's algorithm (1976, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series B 38, 290-295). The quantities required to carry out the algorithm can be calculated recursively for improved computational efficiency. Two examples using data from studies involving HIV disease are used to illustrate our methods.
Steroid and plasminogen activator production by cultured rat granulosa cells in response to hormone treatment.

Abstract Granulosa cells isolated from immature, DES-primed female rats were incubated in medium-199 plus 10% chicken serum with addition of FSH, or testosterone, or both. Cultures were incubated at 37°C for 7 days; medium samples were taken daily and analyzed for steroids and plasminogen-activator production. Only cultures containing FSH + testosterone produced significant amounts of both estradiol and progesterone after 2 days of incubation. The rate of estradiol production increased steadily up to the 4th day and then leveled off; the production of progesterone reached a maximum around the 3rd day, and then declined rapidly afterward. FSH alone was able to stimulate plasminogen activator production at the first day. Cultures with FSH + testosterone produced an additional peak of plasminogen activator activity at the 4th day. Plasminogen-activator production is thus not correlated with steroidogenesis in a simple way. We conclude that the granulosa cells require the presence of both FSH and testosterone at the beginning of incubation for normal response. Delayed addition of either hormone, or both, to the culture causes damage to the cells ability to produce normal responses to hormone treatment.
Tissue localization of polyphenol oxidase inSorghum

Plastidic polyphenol oxidase (PPO) was localized in various plastid types ofSorghum bicolor (L.) Moench using cytochemical and biochemical franctionation techniques. PPO was found to be present in the mesophyll plastids yet absent from the bundle sheath and guard cell plastids. Mechanical fractionation of mesophyll and bundle sheath plastids, with subsequent electrophoretic or spectrophotometric assay of the preparations, also indicated that PPO was absent from the bundle sheath but present in the mesophyll fraction. A developmental study revealed that, although all leaf plastids near the basal meristem were ultrastructurally similar, the mesophyll and bundle sheath plastids were already differentiated with respect to PPO activity.
Re-Reversal of Sodium Lines

THE notice of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science in NATURE, vol. xxi. p. 143, misrepresents, of course unintentionally, certain remarks of mine upon “dark” spectrum lines. I have not, and never have had, the slightest doubt that the dark lines of the solar spectrum are true absorption lines. The lines in question, which I am inclined to think may not be due to absorption, are only those produced in certain peculiar cases. If, for instance, a sodium flame be “urged,” by increasing the intensity of the flame and the quantity of metallic vapour present, each of the two D-lines becomes double, as is well known, widening out and showing a dark stripe down the centre. Hitherto this dark stripe has been universally ascribed to the absorption produced by the envelope of colour-vapour surrounding the flame. But if a lime-light be placed behind the flame, then, as I have found by repeated experiment, this central dark stripe re-reverses, and we have the sodium lines quadruple, and dark upon a light ground. The experiment is rather delicate. The bead of fused sodium bicarbonate in the flame of a Bunsen burner is placed some two inches from the slit of a spectroscope of sufficient dispersive power to separate the sodium lines ahout a degree; then the incandescent lime is set four or five inches behind the flame, and so as to bring the edge of the shadow of the bead just on the slit.
The secretable form of trimeric TRAIL, a potent inducer of apoptosis

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-related apoptosis-inducing ligand (TRAIL) is a type II transmembrane cytokine molecule of the TNF family. Soluble recombinant TRAIL has been shown to induce apoptosis in a wide variety of cancer cells in vitro and to specifically limit tumor growth without damaging normal cells and tissues in vivo. These results suggest a strong potential of TRAIL as an anticancer therapy. Here we report an artificial TRAIL gene that expresses and secretes trimeric TRAIL into the culture supernatant. This novel TRAIL gene is composed of three functional elements, including a secretion signal, a trimerization domain, and an apoptosis-inducing moiety of TRAIL gene sequence. The expression vectors delivering this TRAIL gene produced secretable forms of trimeric TRAIL proteins. These TRAIL proteins showed greater apoptotic activity than the known TRAIL protein that does not contain an additional trimerization domain. Our data suggest that the gene therapy using our artificial TRAIL gene may be used as an anticancer therapy.
Variables Differentiating University Women Considering Role-Sharing and Conventional Dual-Career Marriages☆☆☆

Abstract This study examined 174 university women's perceptions of their future marital patterns of work and family integration, specifically their plans for combining parenting and spousal roles with occupational roles. Two patterns of work and family integration were explored: role-sharing marriages and a variation of conventional marriages in which the female spouse is employed. Three categories of variables were examined: those pertaining to dual-career-family issues, career commitment, and agentic personality characteristics. All variables were selected based on their relationship to gender dynamics and their importance in both the women's career development and the dual-career literature. The results offer insight into different options for integrating work and family among career-oriented young women.
Multivariate Analysis: Greater Insights into Complex Systems

Published in Agron. J. 107:799–810 (2015) doi:10.2134/agronj14.0017 Available freely online through the author-supported open access option. Copyright © 2015 by the American Society of Agronomy, 5585 Guilford Road, Madison, WI 53711. All rights reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. ABSTRACT
Calcifications of the heart

Cardiac calcification usually represents the result of a pathologic process. Some forms of calcification represent chronic change in an ageing population, and must be differentiated from pathologic calcification. Still other forms of calcification are associated with ageing and chronic degeneration, but also reflect ongoing pathologic processes. Recognition of cardiac calcification may be an early sign or only sign of a pathologic process. Characterization of the calcification in terms of its distribution and appearance is a helpful means for determining which structures are calcified, differentiating pathologic from nonpathologic processes. This article provides an overview of the types of calcifications of the heart, pathogenesis, and utility of the various imaging modalities for their detection.
Comparative Acute Toxicity to Aquatic Organisms of Components of Coal-Derived Synthetic Fuels

Abstract In acute toxicity tests, green algae Selenastrum capricornutum, diatoms Nitzschia palea, adult snails Physa gyrina, juvenile cladocerans Daphnia magna, larval midges Chironomus tentans, adult amphipods Gammarus minus, juvenile fathead minnows Pimephales promelas, and embryo-larva stages of rainbow trout Salmo gairdneri and largemouth bass Micropterus salmoides were exposed for 4 hours (algae), 48 hours (arthropods and snails), 96 hours (fathead minnows), 7 days (largemouth bass), and 27 days (rainbow trout) to two phenols (phenol and β-naphthol), two azaarenes (quinoline and acridine), and two polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (naphthalene and phenanthrene) present in coal-derived oils. Median lethal or median effective concentrations (LC50s or EC50s) ranged from 0.03 mg/liter for phenanthrene and rainbow trout to 286.54 mg/liter for phenol and the green alga. The rainbow trout embryo-larva assay was the most sensitive of the test systems to all the chemicals except quinoline. For this last compou...
Personal Science And The Concept Of Validation

Abstract The concept of validation-invalidation, following directly from the Fundamental Postulate with its anticipatory emphasis, is central to the psychology of personal constructs. This paper elaborates on the validational process, sometimes with a slightly different twist. The construction of literal assumption versus hypothesis is derived, in part, from Kelly's metaphor of the scientist. Additionally, the theoretical device called the validating agent, derived from the Sociality Corollary, is introduced as another useful elaboration of the validational process.
A fast iterative greedy algorithm for MEG source localization

Recent dynamic source localization algorithms for the Magnetoencephalographic inverse problem use cortical spatio-temporal dynamics to enhance the quality of the estimation. However, these methods suffer from high computational complexity due to the large number of sources that must be estimated. In this work, we introduce a fast iterative greedy algorithm incorporating the class of subspace pursuit algorithms for sparse source localization. The algorithm employs a reduced order state-space model resulting in significant computational savings. Simulation studies on MEG source localization reveal substantial gains provided by the proposed method over the widely used minimum-norm estimate, in terms of localization accuracy, with a negligible increase in computational complexity.
Deposition of high purity Parylene-F using low pressure low temperature chemical vapor deposition

Parylene-F, poly(tetrafluoro-para-xylylene) (PA-F), has potential applications in microelectronics because of its high thermal stability and low dielectric constant. We found that a new precursor, 1,4-bis(trifluoromethyl) benzene (TFB) with a trace presence of α,α′-dibromo-α,α,α′,α′-tetrafluoro-p-xylene (DBX), can be used to produce PA-F films. PA-F films from this precursor are produced using a reaction line and a conventional deposition system. This process is simpler than previously reported processes and produces PA-F films with less impurities. The dielectric constant of the PA-F films produced by this process is 2.25 ± 0.05 at 1 MHz. The deposition process and the material properties of the PA-F films produced are presented.
Emission spectrum and localization of electrons in quantum-well systems induced by a strong laser field.

We analytically solved the problem of a two-level system in a strong time-dependent electric field. We used parameters characteristic of an electron in a double-well heterostructure. The frequency and amplitude of the low-frequency mode were determined for arbitrary initial conditions. We show that lowfrequency generation with a strong amplitude can be obtained even for excitation from the ground state (optical initial condition). For the case of the tunneling initial condition, split even harmonics of the laser frequency dominate the spectrum of the electron, while odd harmonics dominate for the optical initial condition
The doubled CO2 climate and the sensitivity of the modeled hydrologic cycle

Four doubled CO2 experiments with the GISS general circulation model are compared to investigate the consistency of changes in water availability over the United States. The experiments compare the influence of model sensitivity, model resolution, and the sea-surface temperature gradient. The results show that the general mid-latitude drying over land is dependent upon the degree of mid-latitude eddy energy decrease, and thus the degree of high-latitude temperature change amplification. There is a general tendency in the experiments for the northern and western United States to become wetter, while the southern and eastern portions dry. However, there is much variability from run to run, with different regions showing different degrees of sensitivity to the parameters tested. The results for the western United States depend most on model resolution; those for the central United States, on the sea-surface temperature gradient and the degree of mid-latitude ocean warming; and those for the eastern United States, on model sensitivity. The changes in particular seasons depend on changes in other seasons, and will therefore be sensitive to the realism of the ground hydrology parameterization.
Characterization of the Leishmania donovani ribosomal RNA promoter.

The rRNA genes of Leishmania donovani are organized on chromosome 27 as tandem repeats of ∼12.5-kb units that each contain a promoter, the subunit rRNAs, and ∼39 copies of a 64-bp species-specific sequence. The transcription initiation site was mapped to 1020 bp upstream of the 18S rRNA gene by RNase protection and primer extension. A 349-bp sequence between the 64-bp repeats and the 18S rRNA gene appears to contain a promoter, since it directs a 60-fold increase in luciferase expression over the no-insert control in transient transfection assays. Stepwise deletion and 10-bp replacement studies identified three domains that affect promoter activity. In strain LSB-51.1, a naturally occurring gene conversion with a portion of the LD1 sequence from chromosome 35 replaced the rRNA genes within one repeat unit, from downstream of the promoter to within the 64-bp repeats. Northern blot analysis of RNA from LSB-51.1 showed large transcripts from the external spacer regions that are not normally transcribed. These results imply that the gene conversion eliminated sequences at or near the 5′ terminus of the 64-bp repeats which normally function in transcription termination.
Optical Properties of an Ionic Crystal Slab

The theory of the optical properties of an ionic crystal slab is formulated to exhibit explicitly the relation between the optical properties and the virtual modes of the slab. It is shown that the absorption spectrum can be completely understood from the properties of the virtual modes. Expressions for the contribution of a single virtual mode to absorption, reflection, and transmission are compared with exact calculations for LiF. The total width of an absorption peak is shown to be expressible as the sum of a radiative width and a width due to lattice anharmonicities.
Profits from self-employment: The case of Côte d'Ivoire

Abstract In the past, self-employed workers were often viewed as less productive individuals, yet recent research has indicated that the nonagricultural self-employed fill a niche in the economy that large industry cannot. The goods and services they produce may well be a necessary part of the infrastructure within which large-scale industry can flourish. This paper examines the productivity of nonagricultural family enterprises in Cote d'Ivoire. Marginal returns to self-employed labor are somewhat less than the wage rate of equivalent salaried workers. Capital yields extremely high returns in self-employment, possibly above 100% per month. Assuming limited access to credit, the self-employed may do well by establishing enterprises and gaining the large returns to capital that offset the somewhat lower returns to labor.
Tracing Pareto-Optimal Frontiers in Topology Optimization

In multi-objective topology optimization, a design is defined to be “pareto-optimal” if no other design exists that is better with respect to one objective, and as good with respect to others. This unfortunately suggests that unless other ‘better’ designs are found, one cannot declare a particular topology to be pareto-optimal. In this paper, we first show that a topology can be guaranteed to be (locally) pareto-optimal if certain inherent properties associated with the topological sensitivity field are satisfied, i.e., no further comparison is necessary. This, in turn, leads to a deterministic, i.e., non-stochastic, method for directly tracing pareto-optimal frontiers using the classic fixed-point iteration scheme. The proposed method can generate the full set of pareto-optimal topologies in a single-run, and is therefore both efficient and predictable, as illustrated through numerical examples.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Using the stream function for flow governed by Poisson's equation

Abstract For two-dimensional groundwater flow governed by Laplace's equation there exists both a discharge potential function and a stream function, which are each other's conjugate harmonics. The stream function is constant along a streamline, and the difference in its value for two streamlines represents the total flow between these streamlines. Most regional groundwater flow problems, however, exhibit areal recharge and leakage from adjacent aquifers. These problems are governed by Poisson's equation; no stream function exists for that case. In the context of the analytic element method (AEM), a technique has been developed which allows the stream function to be used in models which include areal recharge or leakage. The AEM uses superposition of analytic functions; the majority satisfy Laplace's equation, whereas only a few functions satisfy Poisson's equation. By treating these solutions to Poisson's equation separately, the stream function can be utilized in a manner similar to that for flow without areal recharge or leakage. The approach is applied to streamline tracing and, more importantly, to the modeling of leaky slurry walls and no-flow boundaries, both open and closed.
Individual differences in stress and fatigue in two field studies of driving

This paper reports the findings of two field studies of Australian drivers in which individual differences in stress and fatigue were investigated. In the first study, 58 professional drivers completed measures of mood, fatigue and other subjective stress state measures, before and after performing a prolonged driving trip. The results indicated that the scales were sensitive to increased fatigue following the driving trip, and correlated appropriately with Fatigue Proneness, a driver stress trait. In the second study, 104 non-professional drivers completed identical subjective stress state measures as the professional drivers, before and after performing a driving trip. Drivers completed a measure of driving-related stress traits, the Driver Stress Inventory (DSI), and a measure of coping, the Driving Coping Questionnaire (DCQ). Both measures were predictive of state response to driving, and the association between Fatigue Proneness and post-drive fatigue found in the first study was replicated. Findings from these studies suggest that fatigue and stress reactions to driving are psychometrically distinct, but may have some common antecedents, such as use of emotion-focused coping. The studies confirm the importance of fatigue and stress as potential safety problems, but also highlight the role of individual differences in response to the demands of driving.