cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Inhibitors of pore-forming toxins

Modern rational drug design methods explore individual characteristics of target biomolecules, small and macromolecule drug candidates, and the physical forces that govern their interactions. The focus of this chapter is on the biophysical studies of channel-forming bacterial toxins that suggest new approaches to block their virulent action. It starts by addressing the constructive role of the attractive interaction between the channel and blocker molecules, and then gives several practical examples of the inhibition of AB-type and membrane-perforating bacterial toxins by tailor-made channel blockers. The examples provided herein include both small molecules and polyvalent inhibitors alike. The most effective rationally designed pore-blocking antitoxins are then outlined and subsequently compared with small-molecule channel-blocking inhibitors of ion-selective channels of neurophysiology.
Effects of Small Patch Cutting on Sugar Maple Regeneration in New Hampshire Northern Hardwoods

In many northern hardwood stands in New Hampshire and New England, partial cutting or single-tree selection result,s in understories with a high proportion of beech and other species with low timber values. Patch cutting, using small openings of about 1/4-ac in size or larger coupled with sufficient logging disturbance, has proved to be an effective way to replace understories of beech and other less valuable species with a new stand containing a high proportion of yellow and paper birch in mixture with other deciduous species. Unless present as well-developed advanced regeneration, sugar maple is seldom common in the new stands produced by small patch cutting. However, when these early successional stands reach 40-50 years of age, understories dominated by sugar maple and with lesser proportions of beech frequently develop, possibly due to the rich leaf-fall, lower proportions of beech litter, and/or changed light conditions. Although small patch cutting may not immediately regenerate abundant sugar maple, it appears as though this technique may help over time to maintain sugar maple as a significant component of northern hardwood forests.
Estimation of Glomerular Filtration Rate in Patients With Cirrhosis by Using New and Conventional Filtration Markers and Dimethylarginines.

Background & Aims Equations used to estimate glomerular filtration rate (GFR) are not accurate in patients with cirrhosis. We aimed to develop a new equation to estimate the GFR in subjects with cirrhosis and compare its performance with chronic kidney disease epidemiology collaboration (CKD-EPI) cystatin C and creatinine-cystatin C equations, which were derived in populations without cirrhosis. Methods From 2010 through 2014, we measured GFR in 103 subjects with cirrhosis based on non-radiolabeled iothalamate plasma clearance. We measured blood levels of creatinine, cystatin C, β-trace protein, β 2 -microglobulin, L-arginine, and symmetric and asymmetric dimethylarginines simultaneously with GFR. Multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to develop models to estimate GFR. Overall accuracy, defined by the root mean square error (RMSE) of our newly developed model to estimate GFR, was compared with that of the CKD-EPI equations. To obtain an unbiased estimate of our new equation to estimate GFR, we used a leave-one-out cross-validation strategy. Results After we considered all the candidate variables and blood markers of GFR, the most accurate equation we identified to estimate GFR included serum levels of creatinine and cystatin C, as well as patients' age, sex, and race. Overall, the accuracy of this equation (RMSE = 22.92) was superior to that of the CKD-EPI cystatin C equation (RMSE = 27.27, P = .004). Among subjects with cirrhosis and diuretic-refractory ascites, the accuracy of the equation we developed to estimate GFR (RMSE = 19.36) was greater than that of the CKD-EPI cystatin C (RMSE = 27.30, P = .003) and CKD-EPI creatinine-cystatin C equations (RMSE = 23.37, P = .004). Conclusions We developed an equation that estimates GFR in subjects with cirrhosis and diuretic-refractory ascites with greater accuracy than the CKD-EPI cystatin C equation or CKD-EPI creatinine-cystatin C equation.
Two functionally different dihydroorotic dehydrogenases in bacteria.

Taylor, W. H. (Portland State College, Portland, Ore.), M. L. Taylor, and D. F. Eames. Two functionally different dihydroorotic dehydrogenases in bacteria. J. Bacteriol. 91:2251–2256. 1966.—We have investigated the relationship between the two kinds of dihydroorotic dehydrogenases produced by bacteria. A pseudomonad, capable of growth on a salts medium with glucose, aspartate, glycerol, or orotate as the carbon source, was isolated from lake bank mud. A particle-bound dihydroorotic dehydrogenase, similar to the biosynthetic enzyme in Escherichia coli, was formed by the pseudomonad when the carbon source was orotate, glucose, glycerol, or aspartate. A soluble, degradative nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-linked dihydroorotic dehydrogenase, as well as the particle-bound biosynthetic enzyme, was formed when the pseudomonad was cultivated on orotate. The biosynthetic enzyme links to oxygen or ferricyanide, but not to pyridine nucleotides. Zymobacterium oroticum, when cultivated on glucose, contained only the biosynthetic type of dihydroorotic dehydrogenase. The presence of two functionally different dihydroorotic dehydrogenases in the pseudomonad was suggested on the basis of the following observations: (i) the two enzyme activities were separated by centrifugation; (ii) the pyridine nucleotide-linked activity was formed only when orotate was present in the growth medium; and (iii) the biosynthetic enzyme was stable to storage at −20 C for 4 months, whereas the degradative enzyme activity was destroyed by storage under these conditions.
Metabolic indicators for detecting in situ anaerobic alkylbenzene degradation.

Monitoring programs for intrinsic bioremediation of fuel hydrocarbonsrequire indicators that can convincingly demonstrate in situ metabolism. In this evaluation of potential indicators of in situ anaerobic alkylbenzene metabolism, laboratory and field data are reviewed for two classes of aromatic acids: (i) benzylsuccinate, E-phenylitaconate, and their methyl homologs, and (ii) benzoate, and methyl-, dimethyl-, and trimethylbenzoates. The review includes previously unpublished field data from a hydrocarbon-contaminated site in Fallon (Nevada), at which both classes of metabolites were detected in groundwater. The two classes of compounds were evaluated with respect to specificity (i.e., unique biochemical relationship to a specific alkylbenzene), stability, and generation as degradation intermediates versus dead-end products; recent developments in the biochemistry of anaerobic toluene and xylene degradation were incorporated in this evaluation. In general, benzylsuccinates/E-phenylitaconates are superior to benzoates in terms of their very high specificity to their parent hydrocarbons and their lack of commercial and industrial sources. They are also uniquely indicative of anaerobic conditions. All of the benzoates, benzylsuccinates, and E-phenylitaconates are relatively stable chemically and (with the exceptionof benzoate) biologically under anaerobic conditions, based on the limited data available. Although benzoate, benzylsuccinate, and E-phenylitaconate are intermediates of anaerobic toluene mineralization to carbon dioxide, their methyl homologs can be either mineralization intermediates or cometabolic dead-end products of alkylbenzenes, depending on the bacteria involved. Benzoates are far more commonly reported in field studies of hydrocarbon-contaminated aquifers than are benzylsuccinates and E-phenylitaconates, although it is not clear whether this is an accurate representation of the relative occurrenceof these metabolites at contaminated sites, or whether it instead reflects the limited range of target analytes used in most field studies to date.
The Evolution of Supernova Remnants and the Structure of the Interstellar Medium

Supernova remnants (SNRs) play a key role in astrophysics. Young SNRs inject the nucleosynthesis products of supernova explosions into the interstellar medium (ISM). SNRs are thought to produce most of the cosmic rays and the nonthermal radio emission in the Galaxy (Blandford 1982). They are also one of the major energy sources for the medium and thereby affect its structure and ultimately the star formation process which leads to supernovae.
Millimeter Observations of Luminous IRAS Galaxies

We have observed a group of luminous IRAS galaxies in the continuum at 1.25mm with the Caltech Submillimeter Observatory in 1988 May and September. Table I lists the galaxies and their measured flux densities in a 30 beam. The observing conditions for these observations were excellent and stable. Uranus was the fundamental flux density calibrator, it was assumed to have a brightness temperature of 100 K at 1.25 mm (Hildebrand et al. 1985; Ulich 1974). Integration times were typically a half hour per night, repeated for a total of two or three nights. The bolometer NEFD is 0.5 Jy Hz-1/2 giving statistical errors of 8 to 12 mJy. Systematic uncertainties have not been included in the error estimates, but we believe that they are small, at most 20%.
ClawHMMER: A Streaming HMMer-Search Implementatio

The proliferation of biological sequence data has motivated the need for an extremely fast probabilistic sequence search. One method for performing this search involves evaluating the Viterbi probability of a hidden Markov model (HMM) of a desired sequence family for each sequence in a protein database. However, one of the difficulties with current implementations is the time required to search large databases. Many current and upcoming architectures offering large amounts of compute power are designed with data-parallel execution and streaming in mind. We present a streaming algorithm for evaluating an HMMs Viterbi probability and refine it for the specific HMM used in biological sequence search. We implement our streaming algorithm in the Brook language, allowing us to execute the algorithm on graphics processors. We demonstrate that this streaming algorithm on graphics processors can outperform available CPU implementations. We also demonstrate this implementation running on a 16 node graphics cluster.
Coruscating Glamour: Lynda Hull and the Movies

First because of the stage, then because of cinema, spectators (including au thors) have long been vulnerable to the amiable delusion of being actors, of performing their personal experience in a self-generated spotlight. In the twen tieth century especially, trained by habitual moviegoing from the time of childhood, each of us has imagined a camera positioning us in artful compo sitions wherever we are?walking the streets, engaging with landscape, mak ing love?until some internal censor shuts down the show. That our Uves are movies cast with our selves and others has become a cUch? so perdurable it has hardened into one of the few indisputable assumptions of postmodern culture. How, we sometimes ask, can we escape the inauthenticity of seeming unreal shadows of ourselves? One way is by resorting to popular movies that affirm the integrity of the self, thereby compounding our anxiety. Lynda HuU's poetry offers one of the most intriguing examples of this syndrome in the canon of contemporary American Uterature. Even in her more reportorial poems focused on family, the miUeux of travel, or figures at the fringes of society, she tends to trope her cast of characters as bit-players on the movie set her imagination has made of the world. For the most part, hers is a poetry carried out in the spirit of voyeuristic self-regard. When she looks backward to frame her younger personae in the memory-scenario of her Ufe, she declares rhapsodicaUy, though not without irony, "Dream time, the inner time/ where towers and battlements erect/ their coruscating glamour &
Long-term results of the treatment of aortic graft infection by in situ replacement with femoral popliteal vein grafts

Objective Graft excision and neo-aortoiliac system (NAIS) reconstruction with large caliber, femoral popliteal vein (FPV) grafts have been reported as successful treatment of aortic graft infection (AGI) in several small series with limited follow-up. The goal of this study was to evaluate long-term outcomes in large cohort of consecutive patients treated with NAIS for AGI. Methods From 1990 to 2006, 187 patients (age: 63 ± 10 years) with AGI were treated with in situ reconstructions using 336 FPV grafts. Data from a prospectively maintained data base were analyzed. Results NAIS reconstruction was performed for 144 infected aortofemoral bypasses, 21 infected aortic-iliac grafts, and 22 infected axillofemoral bypasses that had been placed to treat AGI. Polymicrobial cultures were present in 37% while 17% showed no growth. There were 55% gram positive, 32% gram negative, 13% anaerobic, and 18% fungal infections. The mean Society for Vascular Surgery run-off resistance score was 4.5 ± 2.3. Concomitant infrainguinal bypass was necessary in 27 (14%) patients (32 limbs). Major amputations were performed in 14 (7.4%) patients. Out of 14 amputations, five patients had irreversible ischemia and in four, there was no conduit available. Graft disruption from reinfection occurred in 10 patients (5%). While 30-day mortality was 10%, procedure-related mortality was 14%. Independent risk factors for perioperative death on multivariate analysis were: preoperative sepsis (odds ratio [OR] 3.5) ASA class 4 (OR 2.9), Candida species (OR 3.4), Candida glabrata (OR 7.6), Klebsiella pneumoniae (OR 3.5), and Bacteroides fragilis (OR 4.1). Perioperative factors included use of platelets (OR 2.4), blood loss >3.0 liters (OR 9.5). Cumulative primary patency at 72 months was 81%; secondary/assisted primary patency was 91%. Limb salvage at 72 months was 89%. Five-year survival was 52%. Conclusions These results compare favorably with other methods of treating AGI, especially in patients with multilevel occlusive disease. Principle advantages include acceptable perioperative mortality, low amputation rate, superior durability with excellent long-term patency, and freedom from secondary interventions and recurrent infections.
Development and validation of a liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry assay for the simultaneous quantification of buprenorphine, norbuprenorphine, and metabolites in human urine

A liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry method for the simultaneous quantification of buprenorphine (BUP), norbuprenorphine (NBUP), buprenorphine glucuronide (BUP-Gluc), and norbuprenorphine glucuronide (NBUP-Gluc) in human urine was developed and fully validated. Extensive endogenous and exogenous interferences were evaluated and limits of quantification were identified empirically. Analytical ranges were 5–1,000 ng/mL for BUP and BUP-Gluc and 25–1,000 ng/mL for NBUP and NBUP-Gluc. Intra-assay and interassay imprecision were less than 17% and recovery was 93–116%. Analytes were stable at room temperature, at 4 °C, and for three freeze–thaw cycles. This accurate and precise assay has sufficient sensitivity and specificity for urine analysis of specimens collected from individuals treated with BUP for opioid dependence.
An Investigation of the Rater-Ratee Acquaintance and Rater Bias

This study examines correlates of rater-ratee acquaintance. Results indicated that differences in sales productivity could account for overall rating and promotion differences associated with both ...
Automated Receiver Function Processing

The aim of this is article is twofold: first to introduce an automated processing system based on SOD (Standing Order far Data , http://www.seis.sc.edu/SOD/) (Owens et al. , 2004), and second to give some initial results and pitfalls from our experience with using this system for automated receiver function calculations. EARS, the EarthScope Automated Receiver Survey, aims to calculate bulk crustal properties for all stations within the continental United States that are available from the IRIS DMC using receiver functions and to distribute these results to interested research and education communities as a “product” of the USArray component of EarthScope. Because of the high level of automation that this requires, a natural extension of this effort is to calculate similar results for all stations in the IRIS DMC. To do this we have employed SOD , a FISSURES/DHI-based software package (Ahern, 2001a, b) that we have developed to do automated data retrieval and processing. We introduce EARS as an example of what we term “receiver reference models” They are standard analysis techniques applied to stations. These are analogous to the Harvard Centroid Moment Tensor solutions (which could be termed source reference models). An RRM need not be a definitive result but rather provides a standard, well known, globally consistent reference. This may be sufficient for many users, just as CMT's are sufficient for many, but may also be a starting point for more in-depth, focused studies. The key features of an RRM are that it be generated from a well known and widely accepted technique, produce results for most or all stations, and provide updated results as new sources of data become available. In addition, it must produce results that are of interest in a form usable by the community. Because automated processing proceeds, by definition, without a large …
Alive and well . . . or just alive? Rejoinder to Chase-Dunn and Lawrence

Chase-Dunn and Lawrence respond to a critique of world-systems analysis (WSA) made in 2005. In reply I suggest that WSA does in fact excessively privilege exogenous over endogenous factors; exaggerates the extent to which a core-periphery hierarchy is based on exploitation; fails to give due consideration to recent efforts showing that foreign investment promotes development in non-core societies; and is unduly optimistic about the possibilities of a future world socialist society.
Projectile angular dependence of the ratio of double to single ionization produced by fast protons in collision with helium.

We suggest an explanation for the structure, observed by Giese and Horsdal, in the projectile angular dependence of the ratio of double to single ionization produced by fast protons in collision with helium. We postulate that two incoherent mechanisms, a first that produces slow electrons and a second that produces fast electrons, combine to give the effect.
Generalization of the linear matched filter concept to nonlinear matched filters

A nonlinear matched filter based image correlator is investigated. The linear matched filter is expressed as a bandpass function containing the amplitude and phase of the Fourier transform of the reference signal. The bandpass filter function is then applied to a kth law nonlinear device to produce the nonlinear matched filter function. Analytical expressions for the nonlinear matched filter are provided. The effects of the nonlinear transfer characteristics on the correlation signals at the output plane are investigated. The correlation signals are determined in terms of the nonlinear characteristics used to transform the filter. We show that the nonlinear filter results in a sum of infinite harmonic terms. Each harmonic term is envelope modulated due to the nonlinear characteristics of the device, and phase modulated by m times the phase modulation of the linear filter function. The correct phase information of the filter is recovered for the first-order harmonic of the series. The envelope of each harmonic term is proportional to the kth power of the Fourier transform magnitude of the reference signal. We show that various types of filter such as the continuous phase-only filters can be produced simply by varying the severity of the nonlinearity. Nonlinear filters provide higher correlation peak intensity and a better defined correlation spot.
Remobilization of Tol2 transposons in Xenopus tropicalis

Background The Class II DNA transposons are mobile genetic elements that move DNA sequence from one position in the genome to another. We have previously demonstrated that the naturally occurring Tol2 element from Oryzias latipes efficiently integrates its corresponding non-autonomous transposable element into the genome of the diploid frog, Xenopus tropicalis. Tol2 transposons are stable in the frog genome and are transmitted to the offspring at the expected Mendelian frequency.
Rotationally resolved state-to-state photoelectron study of niobium carbide radical.

By employing the two-color visible (VIS)-ultraviolet (UV) laser photoexcitation scheme and the pulsed field ionization-photoelectron (PFI-PE) detection, we have obtained rovibronically selected and resolved photoelectron spectra for niobium carbide cation (NbC+). The fully rotationally resolved state-to-state VIS-UV-PFI-PE spectra thus obtained allow the unambiguous assignments of rotational photoionization transitions, indicating that the electronic configuration and term symmetry of NbC+(X) ground state are …10σ2 5π4 11σ2 (X1Σ+). Furthermore, the rotational analysis of these spectra yields the ionization energy of NbC [IE(NbC)] to be 56 369.2 ± 0.8 cm−1 (6.9889 ± 0.0001 eV) and the rotation constant B0+ = 0.5681 ± 0.0007 cm−1. The latter value allows the determination of the bond distance r0+ = 1.671 ± 0.001 A for NbC+(X1Σ+). Based on conservation of energy, the IE(NbC) determined in the present study along with the known IE(Nb) gives the difference of 0 K bond dissociation energies (D0’s) for NbC+ a...
Search for a Long-Lived Charged Particle

A search was made for particles with a mass of 500mc, using the gamma - ray beam of the Cornell electron synchrotron. In run with a beam of 2 x 10/sup 11/ equivalent quanta, 510 counts were observed with the Be target in, and 400 counts were observed with the target out. If the mass of the particle is assumed to be 500m/sub e/, the particle is assumed to be produced in pairs, and the lifetime is assumed to be 150 mu sec, an average upper limit to the cross section from 550 to 1100 Mev of 4 x 10/sup -33/ cm/sup 2/nucleon can be set. (M. H.R.)
Language and the Making of Place: A Narrative‐Descriptive Approach

Abstract How places are made is at the core of human geography. Overwhelmingly the discipline has emphasized the economic and material forces at work. Neglected is the explicit recognition of the crucial role of language, even though without speech humans cannot even begin to formulate ideas, discuss them, and translate them into action that culminates in a built place. Moreover, words alone, used in an appropriate situation, can have the power to render objects, formerly invisible because unattended, visible, and impart to them a certain character: thus a mere rise on a flat surface becomes something far more—a place that promises to open up to other places—when it is named “Mount Prospect.’The different ways by which language contributes toward the making of place may be shown by exploring a wide range of situations and cultural contexts. Included in this paper are the contexts of hunter-gatherers, explorers and pioneers, intimate friendship, literary London, Europe in relation to Asia, and Chinese gard...
Whatever Happened to Arms Control

Cooperative Threat Reduction, Missile Defense, and the Nuclear Future. By Michael Krepon. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002. 304 pp., $59.95 (ISBN: 0-312-29556-1). Russian–US arms control, the strategic nuclear balance between Russia and the United States and, to a lesser extent, US deployment of theater and national missile defenses have in recent years dropped off the list of important issues for international diplomacy. This shift has not occurred because those who champion arms control are misguided, or because nuclear weapons are no longer unimaginably destructive. Nor does it reflect a judgment that arms control failed during the Cold War, or that missile defenses produce only positive results. Instead, this change in focus reflects the facts that the Cold War has been over for more than a decade and that the security threats and agendas that once dominated foreign and defense policy have been replaced by the war on terrorism, the need to deal with the general spread of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, and a growing realization that Islam is being used by the kleptocracies of the Middle East to hide totalitarianism, poverty, and hate. Under these circumstances, it is not clear how arms control with Russia, a junior member of NATO through its participation in the Partnership for Peace Program, would have much impact on anyone's security. In Cooperative Threat Reduction, Missile Defense, and the Nuclear Future (a veritable tour of the global nuclear landscape), Michael Krepon addresses the changing strategic and political developments that have …
Increased hippocampal excitability produced by amitraz

The present study characterized the effect of the formamidine pesticide, amitraz, upon hippocampal function in male Long-Evans rats. Animals were chronically prepared with a stimulating electrode in the perforant path and field potentials were recorded from a bipolar electrode situated across the granule cell layer of the dentate gyrus. Input/output functions and paired pulse inhibition were monitored in unrestrained, unanesthetized animals over a number of days following acute administration of 100 mg/kg of amitraz. Input/output functions revealed a decrease in excitatory postsynaptic potential (ESP) slope and an increase in population spike height 4 and 24 hr after treatment, with return to baseline by 48 hr. Tests of inhibition using pairs of stimulus pulses delivered at intervals ranging between 20 and 100 msec revealed a decrease in inhibition following amitraz. Both of these effects could be mimicked by administration of 0.1 mg/kg of the alpha-2 agonist clonidine, supporting this mode of action of amitraz on CNS function. These results indicate that systemic amitraz treatment produced a transient enhancement of excitatory and reduction of inhibitory processes in a CNS pathway.
Progress in zirconium resonance ionization spectroscopy

We have examined the stepwise-resonant three-photon-ionization spectrum of neutral Zirconium atoms using three separately-tunable pulsed visible dye lasers. The ground-level (first-step) transitions were chosen on the basis of demonstrated 91Zr selectivity. Lifetimes of even-parity levels around 36000 cm-1, measured with the delayed- photoionization technique, range from 10 to 100 nsec. Direct ionization cross sections appear to be less than 10-17 cm2; newly-detected autoionizing levels give peak ionization cross sections (inferred from saturation fluences) up to 10-15 cm2. Portions of Rydberg series converging to the 315 and 763 cm-1 levels of Zr+ were identified. 'Clumps' of autoionizing levels are thought to be due to Rydberg-valence mixing.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Compromise solutions to the acid deposition control problem: a theoretical model and some simulation results

Acid deposition is a muitifaceted environmental phenomenon whose control represents one of the most controversial environmental policy areas. Because of the longrange transport of air pollutants contributing to acid deposition, its control is the responsibility of more than one region. Given the interdependence between the economic and environmental impacts of acid deposition as well as the interregional conflicts over its control, the present article proposes an interregional integrated economic-environmental model for the study of the impacts of acid deposition control policies. This model is solved with the use of a compromise programming procedure which facilitates the explicit treatment of conflicting regional goals. After the theoretical and operational forms and the solution procedure of the proposed model are described, the use of the model is illustrated with a simulation example using the 1963 MRIO accounts and hypothetical environmental data. The compromise programming procedure can form the basis for interactive decision processes when policy makers are exposed to the solutions yielded by the model. The model's usefulness and future research directions are discussed.
Forced Hot-Air Quarantine Treatment for Mangoes Infested with West Indian Fruit Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Quarantine efficacy for mangoes against the West Indian fruit fly, Anastrepha obliqua (Macquart), was demonstrated using a forced hot-air system. Extrapolation from the probit model fitted to preliminary experimental data indicated a 99.9968% mortality at pulp temperature of 48.1°C. The probit analysis showed that goodness-of-fit was poor, but that this was caused by large errors at the lower temperatures rather than systematic departure from the model. We killed an estimated 109,839 larvae with no survivors in 2,221 mangoes giving >97% confidence that the mortality was greater than the probit 9 level. By running air temperature at 50°C, air speed at about 0.4 m3/s, and increasing humidity at a rate such that the dew point was always at least 2°C lower than the mango surface temperature, we were able to heat :the mangoes at a rapid rate without surface scald or other phytotoxic effects. We recommend that mangoes be heated until seed-surface temperatures reach 48°C and that air temperatures, air speeds, load sizes, and other factors determining rate of heating be determined for individual commercial systems. In our confirmatory tests, treatment time ranged from 101 to 213 min depending on mango sizes and numbers of boxes treated. Consumer panels, in the laboratory and made up of the public, found no difference in taste, odor, or overall acceptability but frequently judged treated mangoes superior to controls for appearance factors. Position of mangoes in the chamber was frequently a significant factor in panel ratings. More even heat distribution by such means as a reversible fan system may decrease this variation.
Experimental Nondestructive Testing Using Magnetostrictive Particles Embedded in Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer Beams

In this paper, the experimental sensing results of damage testing using magnetostrictive particulate sensors, embedded in fiber reinforced polymer laminates, are presented. Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminates (Hexcel AS4/3501-6) are embedded with terfenol-d particles and the ply count is varied to observe the change in the sensing. Sensing is observed using a non-contacting magnetostrictive strain sensor setup. The sensing parameter observed is the voltage induced in the secondary circuit. Two of the three batches presented have laminates that are embedded with .5″×.5″, release agent coated patches that prevent bonding between the terfenol-d and the CFRP layer. The laminate ply count ranges from 2–14 unidirectional plies. Two fabrication methods are used to distribute the particles in the laminate. The experimental results from the three batches reveal that the fabrication technique has a significant effect on the sensing signal. The effect of particle accumulation near the sensor dominates the sensing signal and makes the presence of a delamination difficult to assess. The experiments also show that when the ply count is varied, there is not much variation in the sensing signal.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Spiral CT and three-dimensional CT of musculoskeletal pathology: Emergency room applications

Although MR imaging has become the dominant modality for cross-sectional musculoskeletal imaging, the widespread availability, speed, and versatility of CT continue to make it a mainstay of emergency room (ER) diagnostic imaging. When plain films are unable to provide sufficient information regarding cases of skeletal trauma or musculoskeletal infection, CT can often delineate additional findings that lead to correct patient diagnosis and triage. When musculoskeletal CT is indicated in the ER setting, the use of spiral acquisition provides several specific advantages, including extremely rapid data acquisition; optimization of contrast delivery (when appropriate); and minimization of respiratory misregistration. This article reviews the applications of musculoskeletal spiral CT most often encountered in the ER setting, including skeletal trauma and musculoskeletal infection or inflammatory disease. The role of multiplanar (MPR) reconstruction and three-dimensional imaging are discussed.
Localization of histone fractions by radioautography

Wurzeln vonVicia faba nehmen3H-markierte Histon-Bruchstucke auf. Mikroautoradiographien lassen auf eine unterschiedliche intrazellulare Lokalisation der Histon-Bruchstucke schliessen.
Maximum allowable radiotracer injections for flow-rate measurements in public streams

Abstract A treatment has been developed that allows the prediction of the allowable amount of single-pulse radiotracer injection for the measurement of stream-flow rates. This treatment is based on a mathematical model of stream flow. Experimental results from the literature and on a small stream near Oak Ridge, Tennessee, are used to measure dispersion coefficients which are necessary in the model prediction. The treatment is derived, the parameters are discusśed and the use of the treatment is explained.
South Carolina Mayflies (Ephemeroptera)

An extensive review of published record data, and the amassing of new collection data from the study of numerous collections and surveys has led to the accounting of 182 species of Ephemeroptera from the state of South Carolina. Previous listings are corrected, and all species are supported by previously available or, for the most part, new collection data. Twenty-two species are listed for the state for the first time, and supporting data are provided for the first time for another 39 species. Three species previously listed for South Carolina are discounted. Over 1000 new county records are given for 160 of the species and all 46 state counties.
Treatment of chronically injured spinal cord with neurotrophic factors stimulates βII-tubulin and GAP-43 expression in rubrospinal tract neurons

Exogenous neurotrophic factors provided at a spinal cord injury site promote regeneration of chronically injured rubrospinal tract (RST) neurons into a peripheral nerve graft. The present study tested whether the response to neurotrophins is associated with changes in the expression of two regeneration-associated genes, betaII-tubulin and growth-associated protein (GAP)-43. Adult female rats were subjected to a right full hemisection lesion via aspiration of the C3 spinal cord. A second aspiration lesion was made 4 weeks later and gel foam saturated in brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), glial cell-line derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF), or phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) was applied to the lesion site for 60 min. Using in situ hybridization, RST neurons were examined for changes in mRNA levels of betaII-tubulin and GAP-43 at 1, 3, and 7 days after treatment. Based on analysis of gene expression in single cells, there was no effect of BDNF treatment on either betaII-tubulin or GAP-43 mRNA expression at any time point. betaII-Tubulin mRNA levels were enhanced significantly at 1 and 3 days in animals treated with GDNF relative to levels in animals treated with PBS. Treatment with GDNF did not affect GAP-43 mRNA levels at 1 and 3 days, but at 7 days there was a significant increase in mRNA expression. Interestingly, 7 days after GDNF treatment, the mean cell size of chronically injured RST neurons was increased significantly. Although GDNF and BDNF both promote axonal regeneration by chronically injured neurons, only GDNF treatment is associated with upregulation of betaII-tubulin or GAP-43 mRNA. It is not clear from the present study how exogenous BDNF stimulates regrowth of injured axons.
USAF Academy Fast-Tracking Telescope

We are currently building a new 2 m optical observatory at the United States Air Force Academy. Our aim is to create a ground based facility capable of tracking and imaging low Earth and astronomical objects. In conjunction with the Laser and Optics Research Center at the Academy, we can leverage lasers with an extensive range of wavelengths, powers and temporal profiles. This will make it possible to conduct a wide range of experiments involving optical ranging, communications and characterization of satellites. Plans are also being considered to use the telescope to improve the capabilities of a pre-existing thermometric lidar as well as developing innovative lidars for atmospheric analysis and relativistic studies. Future telescope research will also incorporate adaptive optics technologies being developed in the Department of Physics. The telescope will also greatly enhance the astronomical studies of cadets and faculty.
Hierarchical Density-Based Clustering Using Level-Sets

This paper introduces the concept of graphing the size of a level-set against its respective density threshold. This is used to develop a new recursive version of DBSCAN that successfully performs hierarchical clustering, called Level-Set Clustering (LSC).
Perceptions of and Reactions to the Homeless: A Survey of Fourth-Grade, High School, and College Students in a Small Midwestern Community

A total of 459 fourth-graders, high school students, and undergraduates completed a Homelessness Questionnaire developed for use in this study. Although participants generally expressed positive and supportive attitudes toward the homeless, attributing homelessness to either social maladjustment (e.g., drug problem) or negative characteristics (e.g., laziness) within the homeless was positively associated with “fear of and anger toward the homeless” for all groups of participants. In addition, perceptions of and reactions to the homeless were influenced by both the participants’ gender and age group. Although high school and college students’ interest in helping the homeless was associated with various attitudes and reactions (e.g., feelings of sympathylsupport), their indication that they had ever helped homeless people (either directly or indirectly) was consistently associated only with the acknowledgement that their mother and father had ever helped homeless people (either directly or indirectly). Among these older participants, homelessness in the United States was rated as a more serious problem at the end of the questionnaire than at the beginning.
Variation in brevetoxin and brevenal content among clonal cultures of Karenia brevis may influence bloom toxicity.

Karenia brevis, the major harmful algal (HA) species in the Gulf of Mexico, produces a suite of brevetoxins and brevenal, a nontoxic brevetoxin antagonist. K. brevis growth is reported to be optimum at oceanic conditions, yet blooms are most problematic in coastal waters. Differences in growth rate, total brevetoxin production, brevetoxin profiles and brevenal production were evaluated among eight K. brevis clones grown at salinities of 35 and 27, but otherwise identical conditions. All measured parameters varied significantly among clones and the individual responses to decreased salinity varied as well. At 27, growth rates of four clones increased (Wilson, TXB3, SP1 and SP2), but decreased in three others (TXB4, SP3 and NBK) as compared to 35. Total brevetoxin cellular concentration varied up to ∼ten-fold among clones. For most clones (5 of 8), no significant difference in total toxin production between salinity treatments was observed; however, there was a shift in brevetoxin profiles to a higher proportion of PbTx-1 vs. PbTx-2 (in 7 of 8 clones). Brevenal production decreased in the majority of the clones (6 of 8) when grown at a salinity of 27. Results suggest that K. brevis produces more PbTx-1 and less brevenal in lower salinity waters.
Mechanism of oxidation of carbon monoxide by bacteria.

Abstract Double label experiments were performed employing 13CO and either H218O or 18O2 in the presence of a CO utilizing bacterium. CO2 generated was trapped and m e ratios 47 45 showed that the second oxygen atom in the oxidation of CO to CO2 by this bacterium comes neither from O2 nor H2O.
Randomized, double-blind comparison of propranolol alone and a propranolol-verapamil combination in patients with severe angina of effort

This study compared propranolol alone with a combination of propranolol and verapamil in patients with severe, limiting angina of effort. Accordingly, 13 men (average age 57 years) with severe angina were enrolled in a study of 7 weeks' duration. Throughout the study, a stable dose of propranolol (295 ± 83 [mean ± standard deviation] mg/day) was administered. In addition to propranolol therapy, each patient was given 2 weeks of up-titration of open label verapamil, 1 week of verapamil down-titration and two 2 week periods of randomized, double-blind therapy, one of placebo and the other of verapamil (431 ± 77 mg/day). A propranolol-verapamil combination caused a decline in anginal episodes/ week (7.3 ± 6.9/week during propranolol-placebo, 4.7 ± 5.0/week during propranolol-verapamil, p = 0.03) and nitroglycerin tablets used/week (7.6 ± 6.6/week during propranolol-placebo, 4.4 ± 4.2/week during propranolol-verapamil, p = 0.008). With propranolol-placebo, all 13 patients had angina after 4.6 ±2.1 minutes of supine bicycle exercise. With propranolol-verapamil, five had no angina with exercise even though their duration of exercise increased; in the other eight, time to angina increased (from 4.0 ±1.5 minutes with propranolol-placebo to 5.3 ± 1.6 minutes with propranolol-verapamil, p = 0.01). A propranolol-verapamil combination induced no change in rest or peak exercise left ventricular volumes or ejection fraction (assessed by equilibrium gated blood pool scintigraphy). With propranolol-verapamil, four patients had PR interval prolongation, and two had fatigue and dyspnea. In addition, two had marked sinus bradycardia with junctional escape rhythm that was resolved with a reduction of verapamil dosage. No patient developed congestive heart failure or high degree atrioventricular block. Thus, a combination of propranolol and verapamil is superior to propranolol alone in patients with severe, limiting angina, but such a combination must be used cautiously because of potentially serious adverse effects.
NEIGHBORHOOD FORM AND PEDESTRIAN LIFE: TAKING A CLOSER LOOK

Conventional planning measures are critiqued as inadequate for distinguishing key aspects of neighborhood scale urban form. Looking specifically at the question of physical qualities that might influence pedestrian life, two Seattle area neighborhoods are compared with an eye to developing a more contextually based approach to understanding the urban environment. Using detailed mapping and field photography, a range of urban form variables that seem potentially significant for pedestrian life are identified. The variables, which go beyond the typical concerns of density and use, are organized within a series of basic categories that include zone form, structural scale, use boundaries, connectivity, and a range of micro-scale elements. The intent is to work towards developing a series of environmental measures that could help urban planners recognize and incorporate important neighborhood design considerations into the planning process.
A cadaveric model for ligamentum teres function: a pilot study

Despite the prevalence and clinical consequences of ligamentum teres pathology, its function is poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to help define the role the ligamentum teres may have in hip joint stabilization and determine whether a ball and string model could be used to describe the function of the ligamentum teres. Eight embalmed cadavers were dissected to remove all soft tissue from around the hip, leaving only the ligamentum teres intact. Available hip abduction, adduction, medial rotation, and lateral rotation range of motion were measured for three repeated trials. The position of the ligamentum teres in relation to the femoral head was recorded at the endpoint position of these movements. An endpoint position as limited by the ligamentum teres for abduction, medial rotation, and lateral rotation was identified at a mean of 73°(SD 11°), 64°(SD 11°), and 58°(SD 10°), respectively. Hip adduction was limited by bony contact and therefore was not measured. The ligamentum teres wrapped around the femoral head to prevent inferior, posterior, and anterior subluxation with abduction, medial rotation, and lateral rotation, respectively. Repeated measures ANOVA indicated no significant difference in endpoint position based on trial number for the three movements (n.s.). The ligamentum teres consistently tightened to limit hip abduction, medial rotation, and lateral rotation. These results support a ball and string model for the femoral head and ligamentum teres. This information could be important for those with hip instability and ligamentum teres pathology.
Electric potentials recorded from mandibular alveolar bone as a result of forces applied to the tooth

Abstract Alveolar bone surrounding a tooth which is subjected to a 1,000 to 2,000 gram force produces an electric potential difference so that areas of expected bone formation become negatively charged with respect to areas of expected bone resorption. These potentials can be recorded by means of electrodes which have been placed on the cribriform plate of the bone through holes drilled in the outer table (inset electrodes). There is a gradation of the magnitude of the peak potential difference recorded from the cortical plates which is related to the force delivered to the tooth. The recording of mandibular potentials may be of considerable value in evaluating the response of bone to orthodontic forces and/ or techniques.
Greenland aquifer properties measured for the first time

A dozen meters beneath the surface of the southeastern Greenland Ice Sheet is an aquifer that holds roughly as much water as Israel's Dead Sea. The unconfined aquifer occupies about 980 cubic kilometers of Greenland's porous firn, snow that is more than a year old but has not yet compacted to ice. Were the aquifer to drain into the ocean, the water could cause as much as 0.4 millimeter of global sea level rise. Koenig et al. build on their 2011 discovery of the aquifer and report the first attempts to directly measure its properties.
Two-dimensional self-consistent simulation of the relativistic magnetron

The relativistic multiresonator magnetron is analyzed extensively in cylindrical geometry using the two-dimensional self-consistent particle-in-cell simulation code MAGIC. In particular detailed comparisons are made between the simulation results and the experiments by Palevsky and Bekefi [Phys. Fluids 22 986 (1979)] using the A6 magnetron configuration. Within a constant scale factor the computer simulations show a similar dependence of microwave power on magnetic field with dominant excitations in the ir and 2ir modes. In the preoscillation regime it is found that the electron flow in the simulations differs substantially from the ideal Brillouin flow model. In the nonlinear regime the gain is dominated by the formation of spokes. The effects of the power supply impedance on magnetron performance are also investigated. 1.© (1990) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Semisynthetic modification of hygromycin A. 2. synthesis and antibacterial activity of aryl analogs.

Abstract Syntheses of analogs exploring the SAR of the aryl region of hygromycin A are described. Antibacterial activities against Serpulina (Treponema) hyodysenteriae and Pasteurella multocida, two key animal health pathogens, are reported.