cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Photosynthetic carbon metabolism in Panicum milioides, a C3-C4 intermediate species: Evidence for a limited C4 dicarboxylic acid pathway of photosynthesis

Panicum milioides, a naturally occurring species with C4-like Kranz leaf anatomy, is intermediate between C3 and C4 plants with respect to photo-respiration and the associated oxygen inhibition of photosynthesis. This paper presents direct evidence for a limited degree of C4 photosynthesis in this C3-C4 intermediate species based on: (a) the appearance of 24% of the total 14C fixed following 4 s photosynthesis in 14CO2-air by excised leaves in malate and aspartate and the complete transfer of label from the C4 acids to Calvin cycle intermediates within a 15 s chase in 12CO2-air; (b) pyruvate- or alanine-enhanced light-dependent CO2 fixation and pyruvate stimulation ote- or alanine-enhanced light-dependent CO2 fixation and pyruvate stimulation of oxaloacetate- or 3-phosphoglycerate-dependent O2 evolution by illuminated mesophyll protoplasts, but not bundle sheath strands; and (c) NAD-malic enzyme-dependent decarboxylation of C4 acids at the C-4 carboxyl position, C4 acid-dependent O2 evolution, and 14CO2 donation from (4-14C)C4 acids to Calvin cycle intermediates during photosynthesis by bundle sheath strands, but not mesophyll protoplasts. However, P. milloides differs from C4 plants in that the activity of the C4 cycle enzymes is only 15 to 30% of a C4 Panicum species and the Calvin cycle and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase are present in both cell types. From these and related studies (Rathnam, C.K.M. and Chollet, R. (1979) Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 193, 346-354; (1978) Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 85, 801-808) we conclude that reduced photorespiration in P. milioides is due to a limited degree of NAD-malic enzyme-type C4 photosynthesis permitting an increase in pCO2 at the site of bundle sheath, but not mesophyll, ribulose-bisphosphate carboxylase-oxygenase.
Studies with 4'-deoxyepivincristine (vinepidine), a semisynthetic vinca alkaloid.

The antitumor activity of 4'-deoxyepivincristine (vinepidine, VNP) was examined against a human rhabdomyosarcoma line, HxRh12, grown as a xenograft in immune-deprived mice. The efficacy of VNP was lower than that of vincristine (VCR) but far superior to that of vinblastine (VLB) in this model. After i.p. administration, accumulation of [G-3H]VNP in tumors was biphasic and progressive for at least 72 hr. In contrast, VCR and VLB achieved maximal tumor levels within 4 hr, after which the level of VCR was maintained but VLB levels decreased 3-fold by 72 hr. Analysis of tumor extracts by high performance liquid chromatography showed that at 72 hr after VNP injection 98% of the radiolabel chromatographed with parent compound. In normal tissues, VNP was cleared less rapidly than VCR or VLB, and analyses of tissue extracts suggested that VNP was less rapidly metabolized than VCR or VLB. This may account for why the potency of VNP is greater than that of VCR in mice.
SU-GG-I-26: A Simple Technique to Improve Image Quality of CBCT for Brain

Purpose: Improve the image quality of Cone‐Beam CT from the Elekta Synergy Linear Accelerator for its use for radio surgery system or external radiation therapy for small braintumors.Method and Materials: The image quality of the CBCTimages using manufacturer‐recommended preset value are not adequate to take full advantage of image fusion with planned CT and CBCTimages for daily setup, especially for small targets or organs with low contrast in the brain. To resolve this issue various parameters, including the gantry rotational settings and the XVI image panel are experimentally optimized to improve imagecontrast in the CBCTimages of the brain.Results: Choosing a voltage of 120KVp instead of 100KVp reduced the bony artifacts, especially in the region of skull base. Increasing gantry rotation from 200° to 300° reduced streak artifacts. Increasing the x‐ray tube current by a factor of 2 or 4 increased the signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR) while minimizing the radiation dosage to a patient. Reducing the collimator setting for x‐ray generator from a size of ∼25cm by 25cm (at the Isocentre) to 25cm by 10cm minimized scattered radiation and radar artifacts, while covering whole brain independent of tumor position in the brain. Using 0.1 to 2mm thick aluminum filter effectively reduced scattered radiation from the head of the patient. Conclusion: New protocol qualitatively improves low contrast of the brain. This setup is especially useful to correlate the targets in the middle of the brain when there are rotational discrepancies between CT and CBCTimages. Further investigation of the this technique is required to qualitatively improve the CBCTimage quality.
Addition compounds of n-methyl cyclic imines with trimethylboron,

A manometric investigation was made of the addition compounds of trimethylboron with the N-methyl derivatives of ethylenimine (aziridine), trimethylenimine (azetidine), pyrrolidine and piperidine. The stability order obtained was 3-> 4-> 5-> 6-membered ring. This order is differ- ent from that /'eported by BROWN and GERSTEIN tl) for the trimethylboron addition compounds with the unsubstituted cyqli¢ imines, the order being 4-> 5-> 6-> 3-membered ring. The complete r~:versal in position of the 3-membered ring upon substituting a methyl group for the hydrogen on the nitrogen in this series is due to large steric interaction. This effect becomes more pronounc- ed as the ring size increases, thereby leading to the systematic decrease in stability. Only in the case of the 3-membered ring does methyl substitution result in a more stable addition compound. For the other ring compounds methyl substitution results in decreased stability, the decrease becom- ing progressively larger as the ring size increases. IN a manometric study of the trimethylboron addition compounds of the unsubsti- tuted cyclic imines, BROWN and GERSTEINtI~ observed a stability order of 4-> 5-> 6-> 3-membered ring which they attributed to the opposing effects of two steric factors, namely "F-strain" and "I-strain". "F-strain" was presumed to arise from the interaction of the methyl groups of the trimethylboron with the ~-methylene hydrogen atoms of the cyclic imJne, an effect which should increase with increasing ring size. "I-strain" was presumed to result from the change in co-ordination number (and, therefore, preferred bond angle) of the hetero-atom upon complex formation, an effect which should decrease with increasing ring size. Investigation of the basicity of the cyclic imines and N-methyl cyclic imines by means of hydrogen bonding with methanol-d and by pKa measurements in aqueous solution showed a basicity order of 5- ~> 4- > 6- > 3-membered ring. t2~ In that study "I-strain" was judged to be small in hydrogen bonding because of the
Neonatal 6-hydroxydopa alters conspecific odor investigation by male rats.

Abstract Odor-guided behavior was examind in male rats injected at birth and 48 h later with either the catecholaminergic neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (60 μg/g, i.p.) or vehicle. In odor preference tests administered 8 or 74 days postnatally, drug-treated animals avoided novel odors which were neutral for controls and showed reduced preference for conspecific nest odors. In emergence tests administered 73–75 days postnatally, odors from an anesthetized female reduced approach latency and increased investigation of familiar conspecific odors for control but not drug-treated males. Neonatal drug treatment decreased adult olfactory cortex norepinephrine (NE) levels by 50%, but did not significantly influence either cardiac NE or olfactory cortex dopamine. The results imply that brain NE facilitates attraction to familiar conspecific odors.
Natural language interfaces using limited semantic information

In order to analyze their input properly, natural language interfaces require access to domain-specific semantic information. However, design considerations for practical systems -- in particular, the desire to construct interfaces which are readily portable to new domains -- require us to limit and segregate this domain-specific information. We consider here the possibility of limiting ourselves to a characterization of the structure of information in a domain. This structure is captured in a domain information schema , which specifies the semantic classes of the domain, the words and phrases which belong to these classes, and the predicate-argument relationships among members of these classes which are meaningful in the domain. We describe how this schema is used by the various stages of two large natural language processing systems.
Academic Couples: Implications for Medical School Faculty Recruitment and Retention

Background Academic couples constitute 36% of the US professoriate. Universities are in the midst of a major transition in hiring practices to support these and other faculty with working partners. However, less is known about academic couples among medical school faculty and surgical specialties specifically. This study was designed to address this gap. Study Design In 2006−2007, the Michelle R Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University designed and administered the "Managing Academic Careers Survey" to nearly 30,000 full-time faculty across all academic fields at leading research universities nationwide. This study included 2,475 medical school faculty survey respondents at 12 participating institutions. Main outcomes measures were academic partner status; number of journal articles/chapters during career; and applications to other academic position(s) in last 5 years. Results A total of 73.3% of medical school faculty respondents were in dual-career partnerships (where both partners actively pursue employment) and 32.2% had an academic partner. Sixty-nine percent of academic partners were also in medical schools. Women faculty were more likely than men to have an academic partner. Among surgery faculty, 40% of women had an academic partner, as compared with 29.3% of men. In fully adjusted regression models, faculty with academic partners had higher publication counts than other faculty, and had higher odds of applying to other academic positions. Conclusions Academic couples constitute one-third of all medical school faculty. They represent a productive and potentially mobile component of the medical faculty workforce. Because women had a higher rate of academic partnering, dual-career academic hiring policies are especially important for recruitment and retention of female faculty in surgical specialties.
An acoustic investigation of seagrass photosynthesis

The use of high-frequency acoustics has recently emerged as a viable method for mapping the areal coverage of seagrasses. Since the bubbles produced by seagrass plants are partly responsible for the observed acoustic signature, it is likely that sound transmission throughout a seagrass canopy varies on circadian cycles coinciding with photosynthetic bubble production. This study examined the propagation of high-frequency (100 kHz) sound energy through the seagrass canopies of Syringodium filiforme, Halodule wrightii and Thalassia testudinum in a shallow outdoor mesocosm. Relative changes in the received acoustic energy were recorded every hour during a 24-h period and compared to independently measured rates of oxygen production. The mean acoustic intensity of energy transmitted throughout the seagrass canopy varied by 3.5 dB for S. filiforme, 4.4 dB for T. testudinum and 4.7 dB for H. wrightii over a 24-h period. These transmission characteristics are encouraging for the future development of in situ acoustic assessments of seagrass photosynthesis.
Natural convection from a vertical surface covered with hair

Abstract Heat transfer through a vertical skin surface covered with perpendicular hair strands of uniform density is investigated numerically. The heat transfer rate is the result of (1) direct heat transfer to the air that makes contact with the skin and (2) the heat conducted by each strand away from the skin. The hair strand and its surrounding air are not in local thermal equilibrium. Hair strands have the desirable effect of slowing the air that sweeps the vertical surface and the undesirable effect of acting as fins, thereby augmenting the overall heat transfer rate. Two distinct air flow models are considered: the Darcy model and the Forchheimer-Brinkman extended Darcy model. The overall heat transfer charts reported in this paper show that heat transfer rate can greatly exceed the estimate based on the traditional homogeneous porous medium model. By means of numerical examples, the Darcy model is shown to be adequate for modeling air flow through mammal hair.
Early diagnosis of blood culture isolates in patients with candidemia using PNA FISH

Candidemia is associated with high mortality, especially with neutropenic and intensive care unit patients. A delay in early, effective antifungal therapy has been associated with increased mortality and hospital costs. Peptide nucleic acid fluorescent in-situ hybridization (PNA FISH) can identify Candida species within 3 hours after a positive blood culture demonstrates yeast. A Candida albicans probe and a dual C. albicans/Candida glabrata probe are available in clinical practice, and multi-Candida species probes and flow cytometry are in development. Recent data suggest that the rapid identification of Candida species with PNA FISH can provide early targeted therapy to patients and thus reduce antifungal costs and improve patient care. This review evaluates the clinical and laboratory effects of the Candida probes and their limitations, and competing technologies. Candida PNA FISH probes offer clinicians the early knowledge of the species they are treating, allowing them to appropriately tailor therapy.
Mesodermal Patterning by a Gradient of the Vertebrate Homeobox Gene goosecoid

Amphibian mesoderm arises from the marginal zone of the early gastrula and generates various tissues such as notochord, muscle, kidney, and blood. Small changes (twofold) in the amount of microinjected messenger RNA encoding the goosecoid (gsc) homeodomain protein resulted in marked changes in the differentiation of mesoderm in Xenopus laevis. At least three thresholds were observed, which were sufficient to specify four mesodermal cell states. Endogenous gsc messenger RNA was expressed in the marginal zone in a graded fashion that is congruent with a role for this gene in dorso-ventral patterning of mesoderm at the early gastrula stage.
Differential expression of neuroligin genes in the nervous system of zebrafish

The establishment and maturation of appropriate synaptic connections is crucial in the development of neuronal circuits. Cellular adhesion is believed to play a central role in this process. Neuroligins are neuronal cell adhesion molecules that are hypothesized to act in the initial formation and maturation of synaptic connections. In order to establish the zebrafish as a model to investigate the in vivo role of Neuroligin proteins in nervous system development, we identified the zebrafish orthologs of neuroligin family members and characterized their expression. Zebrafish possess seven neuroligin genes. Synteny analysis and sequence comparisons show that NLGN2, NLGN3, and NLGN4X are duplicated in zebrafish, but NLGN1 has a single zebrafish ortholog. All seven zebrafish neuroligins are expressed in complex patterns in the developing nervous system and in the adult brain. The spatial and temporal expression patterns of these genes suggest that they occupy a role in nervous system development and maintenance.
Low-level laser effect on mandibular distraction osteogenesis.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine whether low-level laser (LLL) application during distraction osteogenesis could accelerate bone regeneration and decrease the length of the consolidation phase and thereby reduce potential patient morbidity. Materials and Methods Nine adult female New Zealand white rabbits underwent bilateral mandibular corticotomies and placement of unidirectional distraction devices (KLS-Martin LP, Jacksonville, FL). Each rabbit served as its own internal control. After a latency of 1 day, distraction progressed bilaterally at 1 mm per day for 10 days. Immediately after each device activation, the experimental side, chosen randomly, was treated with real LLL (Laser Medical Systems, Hedehusene, Denmark) of 6.0 J × 6 transmucosal sites in the area of the distraction gap. Radiographs were taken presurgically, immediately postsurgically, and weekly until sacrifice, and the bone was analyzed using a semiquantitative 4-point scale (Bone Healing Score [BHS]). Three animals each were sacrificed at 2, 4, and 6 weeks postdistraction, and each hemimandible was prepared for histologic examination in a blinded fashion. Results Ten millimeters of distraction was achieved in each rabbit bilaterally. Radiographically, the BHS was higher for the LLL-treated group at all time periods. Histologically, the area of new bone trabeculation and ossification was more advanced for the LLL-treated group, with less intervening fibrovascular intermediate zone in the bony regenerate, at all time periods. The formation of a complete inferior border occurred sooner in the treatment group than in the controls. Conclusions LLL accelerates the process of bone regeneration during the consolidation phase after distraction osteogenesis. The adjunctive use of LLL may allow a shortened period of consolidation and therefore permit earlier device removal, with the avoidance of morbidity associated with prolonged device retention.
Modification of the dielectric properties of parylene films by ion implantation

Abstract Dielectric properties of normally insulating Parylene C films were measured before and after chloride and argon ion irradiation. Bulk dielectric constants increased from 2.8 to approximately 15 - 20 after an ion flux of 10 16 Cl + or Ar + ions cm -2 . Bulk conductivity and dielectric losses also increased with ion irradiation.
Racial and ethnic differences in personal cervical cancer screening amongst post-graduate physicians: Results from a cross-sectional survey

Racial and ethnic disparities in cervical cancer screening have been attributed to socioeconomic, insurance, and cultural differences. Our objective was to explore racial and ethnic differences in adherence to cervical cancer screening recommendations among female post-graduate physicians. We conducted a cross-sectional survey at one university hospital among a convenience sample of 204 female post-graduate physicians (52% of all potential participants), examining adherence to United States Preventive Services Task Force cervical cancer screening recommendations, perception of adherence to recommendations, and barriers to obtaining care. Overall, 83% of women were adherent to screening recommendations and 84% accurately perceived adherence or non-adherence. Women who self-identified as Asian were significantly less adherent when compared with women who self-identified as white (69% vs. 87%; Relative Risk [RR] = 0.79, 95% Confidence Interval [CI], 0.64–0.97; P < 0.01). Women who self-identified as East Indian were significantly less likely to accurately perceive adherence or non-adherence when compared to women who self-identified as white (64% vs. 88%; RR = 0.73, 95% CI, 0.49–1.09, P = 0.04). Women who self-identified as Asian were significantly more likely to report any barrier to obtaining care when compared with women who self-identified as white (60% vs. 35%; RR = 1.75, 95% CI, 1.24–2.47; P = 0.001) and there was a non-significant tendency toward women who self-identified as East Indian being more likely to report any barrier to obtaining care when compared with women who self-identified as white (60% vs. 34%; RR = 1.74, 95% CI, 1.06–2.83; P = 0.06). Among a small group of insured, highly-educated physicians who have access to health care, we found racial and ethnic differences in adherence to cervical cancer screening recommendations, suggesting that culture may play a role in cervical cancer screening.
What mathematics should students learn

With this Special Issue, entitled “Visions of School Mathematics,” the Journal of Mathematical Behuvior begins the most exciting project that it has undertaken, an international discussion of what mathematics students should be learning. This includes both the selection of “content” or “topics,” and also the more subtle, but even more important question of whut kind of knowledge students need to develop about each topic. This distinction may require explanation. Deciding whether the curriculum should include the topic of “adding fractions” falls into the first category, as a “content” decision. But in what way do we want students to be able to deal with “adding fractions”‘? Know from memory a rote rule’? Be able to show how this rule can be arrived at by thinking of certain heuristics? Be able to make numerical replacements for the variables in a formula such as
Constructing backbone of a multi-hop cognitive radio network with channel bonding

In this paper, we propose a backbone construction scheme for multi-hop wireless cognitive radio networks (MWCRN) with a channel bonding technique. In our proposed scheme, the backbone is established purely in licensed bands using cognitive radio (CR) technology. We introduce a channel bonding technique to get higher performance of the network. To get higher reliability of MWCRN, we use backup channels in our proposed scheme. The proposed scheme includes two major steps. The first step is to formulate a backbone network; and the second step is to assign operating channels and backup channels to each backbone link. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme achieves higher network performance of multi-hop wireless cognitive radio networks.
Fructose metabolism in the cerebellum.

Under normal physiological conditions, the brain utilizes only a small number of carbon sources for energy. Recently, there is growing molecular and biochemical evidence that other carbon sources, including fructose, may play a role in neuroenergetics. Fructose is the number one commercial sweetener in Western civilization with large amounts of fructose being toxic, yet fructose metabolism remains relatively poorly characterized. Fructose is purportedly metabolizedvia either of two pathways, the fructose-1-phosphate pathway and/or the fructose-6-phosphate pathway. Many early metabolic studies could not clearly discriminate which of these two pathways predominates, nor could they distinguish which cell types in various tissues are capable of fructose metabolism. In addition, the lack of good physiological models, the diet-induced changes in gene expression in many tissues, the involvement of multiple genes in multiple pathways involved in fructose metabolism, and the lack of characterization of some genes involved in fructose metabolism have complicated our understanding of the physiological role of fructose in neuro-energetics. A recent neuro-metabolism study of the cerebellum demonstrated fructose metabolism and co-expression of the genes specific for the fructose 1-phosphate pathway, GLUT5 (glut5) and ketohexokinase (khk), in Purkinje cells suggesting this as an active pathway in specific neurons? Meanwhile, concern over the rapid increase in dietary fructose, particularly among children, has increased awareness about how fructose is metabolizedin vivo and what effects a high fructose diet might have. In this regard, establishment of cellular and molecular studies and physiological characterization of the important and/or deleterious roles fructose plays in the brain is critical. This review will discuss the status of fructose metabolism in the brain with special reference to the cerebellum and the physiological roles of the different pathways.
"Phronesis" on tour: cultural adaptability of Aristotelian ethical notions.

How might bioethics take account of cultural diversity? Can practical wisdom of an Aristotelian sort be applied across cultures? After showing that practical wisdom involves both intellectual cleverness and moral virtue, it is argued that both these components have universality. Hence practical wisdom must be universal as well. Hellenic ethical thought neither depended on outdated theoretical notions nor limited itself to the Greek world, but was in fact developed with constant awareness of cultural differences, so it arguably works as well in other times and places as when formulated. Even the eudaemonistic setting for practical wisdom is unproblematic.
Allergic Bronchopulmonary Aspergillosis and Aspergilloma: Long-term Follow-up without Enlargement of a Large Multiloculated Cavity

A 47-year-old man with a history of mild asthma presented with hemoptysis attributed to a large multiloculated cavitary mycetoma. Peripheral blood eosinophilia of 43 percent led to the diagnosis of allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA). Treatment of ABPA with prednisone led to resolution of an upper lobe infiltrate and a dramatic reduction in the total serum IgE level. Evaluation over a two-year period did not demonstrate enlargement of the cavity or disseminated aspergillosis.
Irregular firing of isolated cortical interneurons in vitro driven by intrinsic stochastic mechanisms

Pharmacologically isolated GABAergic irregular spiking and stuttering interneurons in the mouse visual cortex display highly irregular spike times, with high coefficients of variation ≈0.9--3, in response to a depolarizing, constant current input. This is in marked contrast to cortical pyramidal cells, which spike quite regularly in response to the same current injection. We applied time-series analysis methods to show that the irregular behavior of the interneurons was not a consequence of low-dimensional, deterministic processes. These methods were also applied to the Hindmarsh and Rose neuronal model to confirm that the methods are adequate for the types of data under investigation. This result has important consequences for the origin of fluctuations observed in the cortex in vivo.
Mathematical description and computer detection of alpha waves

Abstract Surface recordings of alpha waves are compared with narrow-band Gaussian random noise and the two are found to be indistinguishable. The three bases of comparison are the time domain, the frequency domain, and the probability density functions. Using the mathematical description of narrow-band noise, the complex demodulation technique for the detection of the alpha-wave envelope is developed and an analog computer circuit for its implementation is presented. The envelope is shown to have a Rayleigh probability density function that is completely specified by one parameter, σ x . This parameter, which is a function of time, since the EEG is a nonstationary process, should be used to summarize alpha-wave amplitude information.
Effects of surface roughness on the aerodynamic characteristics of the Space Shuttle Orbiter configuration

An investigation has been conducted to determine the effects of surface roughness on two Space Shuttle Orbiter models. The tests were conducted over a Mach number range from 0.2 to 6.0 in the Langley Low Turbulance Pressure Tunnel, 8-foot Transonic Pressure Tunnel, Unitary Plan Wind Tunnel, 20-Inch Mach 6 Tunnel, and the Vought High Speed Tunnel. Analytical estimates of the degradation of the subsonic performance resulting from the roughness were made and are presented. The investigation also included tests to explore the possibility of asymmetric flow separation or attachment over the wings during transition from high to low angles of attack that might cause roll divergence.
Converting a Three-Stage Pseudoclass-AB Amplifier to a True-Class-AB Amplifier

We convert a low-voltage low-transistor-count wide-swing multistage pseudoclass-AB amplifier proposed by Mita et al. to a true-class-AB amplifier. The conversion is made possible using gate-drain feedback to combine two inverting common- source amplifiers to form a single noninverting stage. Both the pseudoclassand true-class-AB amplifiers were fabricated in a 0.5-μm CMOS 2P3M process. They are designed to operate from ±1.25-V supplies at a nominal quiescent current of 175 μA and a minimum phase margin of 45° when driving capacitive loads from 1 to 200 pF and resistive loads from 500 Ω to 1 MΩ. The total com- pensation capacitance of the proposed class-AB amplifier is 12 pF, which is 50% less than the pseudoclass-AB amplifier. The simu- lated unity-gain frequency of the class-AB amplifier is 4.9 MHz at a load of 25 pF||1kΩ, which is 88% higher than that of the pseudoclass-AB amplifier. Experimental measurements show that the proposed amplifier has a maximum total bias current of 175 μA, as compared with 1.05 mA for the pseudoclass-AB am- plifier. Measured slew rates of the proposed amplifier are 2.7 and 3.3 V/μs, twice as much as those of its pseudoclass-AB counterpart.
αB-crystallin in oxidative muscle fibers and its accumulation in ragged-red fibers: a comparative immunohistochemical and histochemical study in human skeletal muscle

The alpha B-crystallin gene is abundantly expressed in the vertebrate lens and at lower levels in various non-lenticular tissues. Among the non-lenticular tissues, alpha B-crystallin is present at high levels in the heart and skeletal muscle. Using a specific antibody against alpha B-crystallin, the cellular localization of alpha B-crystallin was studied in biopsies of human skeletal muscles. Expression of alpha B-crystallin was observed in normal oxidative muscle fibers that show positive reactions for NADH-tetrazolium reductase and cytochrome c oxidase. In muscle diseases increased immunoreactivity for alpha B-crystallin was found in ragged-red fibers, which stained darkly with histochemistry for succinate dehydrogenase. Since alpha B-crystallin is related to small heat-shock proteins and can be induced by various stress conditions, the increased alpha B-crystallin immunoreactivity of ragged-red fibers could result from profound oxidative stress produced by the abnormal mitochondrial metabolism.
Effect of Feed Withdrawal on Yields, Muscle pH, and Texture of Broiler Breast Meat

Abstract The effects of various feed withdrawal times on yields, pH, and shear values of breast meat deboned 4 h post-mortem (PM) were determined. A total of 144 commercially reared female broilers was obtained from the holding area of a local processor, and housed for 5 days in floor pens to recover from the stress associated with transport to the plant. After 5 days, the birds were placed in one of two finishing batteries for 48 h prior to feed withdrawal treatments. Feed withdrawal times were 0, 8, 16, or 24 h prior to slaughter. Measurements included live shrink, prechill and postchill carcass yields, breast meat yield, pH at 2 and 4 h PM, and shear values. There was a progressive loss in body weight as feed withdrawal time increased. The 0-h withdrawal treatment resulted in the lowest prechill yield. Quadratic effect of feed withdrawal on shear values was significant. Breast meat from the 0-h withdrawal treatment required more force to shear, 7.09 kg, than did the meat from the 8 and 16 h treatments, 5.84 and 5.78 kg, respectively, meat from the 24-h treatment required 6.01 kg. The results indicate that feed withdrawal schedules can affect not only the carcass yields but also the objective texture of broiler meat deboned 4 h PM.
ASSIMILATING MODELS AND DATA TO ENHANCE PREDICTIONS OF SHORELINE EVOLUTION

A modeling system that considers both long- and short-term process-driven shoreline change is presented. The modeling system is integrated into a data assimilation framework that uses sparse observations of shoreline change to correct a model forecast and to determine unobserved model variables and free parameters. Application of the assimilation algorithm also provides quantitative statistical estimates of uncertainty that can be applied to coastal hazard and vulnerability assessments. Significant attention is given to the estimation of four non-observable quantities using the data assimilation framework that utilizes only one observable process (i.e. ,shoreline change). The general framework discussed here can be applied to many other geophysical processes by simply changing the model component to one applicable to the processes of interest.
40Ar/39Ar age and chemistry of manganese mineralization in the Moab and Lisbon fault systems, southeastern Utah

Diagenetic iron and manganese mineralization is associated with the Moab and Lisbon faults and is an important indicator of fluid flow in Jurassic Navajo Sandstone of southeastern Utah. Reducing brines originating from the Pennsylvanian Paradox Formation (with or without hydrocarbons) mobilized disseminated iron and manganese in the Jurassic sandstones and mixed with shallow, oxygenated groundwater to precipitate both iron and manganese mineralization. Mineralization consists of colliform and concretionary hematite, pyrolusite, and cryptomelane-hollandite that contains 1.33–2.12 wt% K. The 40Ar/39Ar dating of vacuum-encapsulated cryptomelane yields age estimates of 25–20 Ma, indicating mineralization coincident with either a Colorado Plateau uplift episode or La Sal Mountains volcanism.
A sequential experiments design for estimating a scale parameter from quantal life testing data

A quanta1 life testing experiment in which failures can be detected only at inspection is discussed. If each unit is inspected only once, the data acquired are censored; the inspection time is a lower limit on failure time if the unit has not yet failed or an upper limit if it has failed. The resulting data can be used to estimate the distribution of times to failure. A sequential experimental plan for use when the distribution of times to failure is known apart from a scale parameter is introduced. Advantages of this design over other sequential plans include a computationally simple asymptotic analysis and the ability to know ahead of time the number of units to be inspected at each stage. Under certain conditions, the design is shown to be asymptotically efficient, and finite sample efficiencies are presented for the exponential distribution.
The Global Pigeon. By Jerolmack Colin, 2013. Chicago & London: University of Chicago Press. 2013. ISBN: 9780226002088 288 pp.

A century ago the poet Wallace Stevens gave us “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird,” and now Colin Jerolmack has given us Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Pigeon, sociologically speaking. Based on research that was both wide (from the Bronx to South Africa to Germany to London to Venice; from the rooftops of Brooklyn to backyards in Berlin’s Turkish immigrant ghetto to resorts outside Pretoria; from third-generation Italian Americans to Puerto Rican newcomers to Afrikaners and lonely old ladies) and deep (drawing on urban sociology, interactionism, animal studies, ethnic studies, social history, symbolic interactionism, and Weberian theories of rationalization), Jerolmack shows how humanpigeon relationships illuminate some of the central themes of sociological inquiry. This is truly an extraordinary book. Some background in the intellectual history of inter-species relations will help us assess what Jerolmack has achieved. Western thinking about the human-animal connection has evolved along the following lines. The early view assumed an absolute break, going back to Adam and/or to Aristotle, between the human and everything else, animate or inanimate. Animals existed to serve human needs, and their sufferings, indeed their independent existence, were literally inconceivable. In the early modern period this anthropocentric view gave way to an interest in Nature qua Nature, notwithstanding its possible relationship to human needs. This period, extensively documented by historian Keith Thomas (1996) ,g ave rise to the designation of certain animals as unproductive “pets” and to dawning concerns about cruelty. Such a revolution in thinking, which continues to the present, draws a line between creatures that deserve human concern and protection (dogs, horses) and creatures that do not (rats, mosquitoes). The line is always shifting, as when species move in and out of the endangered category, and struggles such as those over factory farming come from efforts to pull entire categories of animals toward one side or another. Pigeons perch directly on this line. Ubiquitous, feral, gray with iridescent neck feathers, aggressively interactive as they try to cajole people into tossing them some food, pigeons are synanthropes that have evolved with human urbanites. City people regard them both as a refreshing representation of vanishing nature and as a disgusting pollution, existentially out of place (Douglas 1966). Thus, human beings feed them and exterminate them, sometimes at the
Confounding by Season in Ecologic Studies of Seasonal Exposures and Outcomes: Examples From Estimates of Mortality Due to Influenza

PURPOSE: Many health outcomes exhibit seasonal variation in incidence, including accidents, suicides, and infections. For seasonal outcomes it can be difficult to distinguish the causal roles played by factors that also vary seasonally, such as weather, air pollution, and pathogen circulation. METHODS: Various approaches to estimating the association between a seasonal exposure and a seasonal outcome in ecologic studies are reviewed, using studies of influenza-related mortality as an example. Because mortality rates vary seasonally and circulation of other respiratory viruses peaks during influenza season, it is a challenge to estimate which winter deaths were caused by influenza. Results of studies that estimated the contribution of influenza to all-cause mortality using different methods on the same data are compared. RESULTS: Methods for estimating associations between season exposures and outcomes vary greatly in their advantages, disadvantages, and assumptions. Even when applied to identical data, different methods can give greatly different results for the expected contribution of influenza to all-cause mortality. CONCLUSIONS: When the association between exposures and outcomes that vary seasonally is estimated, models must be selected carefully, keeping in mind the assumptions inherent in each model.
Lessons from a class on handheld augmented reality game design

This paper describes the structure, format, and outcome of an experimental class in Handheld Augmented Reality Game Design conducted as an inter-institutional collaboration between the Georgia Institute of Technology and Savannah College of Art and Design. It analyzes several unique elements of the class, especially the need for rapid prototyping of multiple games when exploring game design using novel game technology, and highlights important issues regarding interdisciplinary collaboration and mobile augmented reality gaming. The paper also discusses several approaches taken by students in completing class assignments, which suggest viable design strategies for the creation of future handheld augmented reality experiences.
Miniature Medicine: Nanobiomaterials for therapeutic delivery and cell engineering applications

The 21st century has embraced miniaturization and witnessed the emergence of multidisciplinary nanotechnology in the medical field, popularly known as nanomedicine. It has long been established that chronic infections such as hepatitis and malaria, as well as diseases such as cancer and arthritis, are diverse, complex, and heterogeneous, wherein patients do not respond identically to the same spectrum of drugs. Traditional bolus delivery of biotherapeutics offers medical practitioners limited control over dosage, tissue distribution, and bioavailability in vivo. Many therapeutic agents, particularly chemotherapy drugs such as Paclitaxel, are highly toxic to the body, and therefore, limited dosage can be administered in a patient. Similarly, soluble protein growth factors have limited potential to penetrate cell membrane barriers to transform the functioning and fate of cells. Consequently, the effective delivery of biotherapeutics is a major goal of current biomaterial-based strategies.
Optimization of PEM fuel cell flow channel dimensions—Mathematic modeling analysis and experimental verification

Abstract The objective of this work is to optimize the dimensions of gas flow channels and walls/ribs in a proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell. To achieve this goal conveniently, a relatively easy-to-approach mathematical model for PEM fuel cells has been developed. The model was used for the design optimization of fuel cells, which were fabricated and experimentally tested to compare the performance and examine these optimization effects. The model analyzes the average mass transfer and species' concentrations in flow channels, which allows the determination of an average concentration polarization, the humidity in anode and cathode gas channels, the proton conductivity of membranes, as well as the activation polarization. An electrical circuit for the current and ion conduction is applied to analyze the ohmic losses from anode current collector to cathode current collector. This model needs relatively less amount of computational time to find the V – I curve of the fuel cell, and thus it can be applied to compute a large amount of cases with different flow channel dimensions and operating parameters for optimization. Experimental tests of several PEM fuel cells agreed with the modeling results satisfactorily. Both simulation and experimental results showed that relatively small widths of flow channels and ribs, together with a small ratio of the rib's width versus channel's width, are preferred for obtaining high power densities. To further demonstrate the advantage of optimized fuel cell designs, two four-cell stacks, one with optimized channel/rib designs and the other without, were compared experimentally and a much better performance of the one with the optimized design was confirmed.
Multiple Adenosine 3',5'- Monophosphate Response Element DNA-Binding Proteins Generated by Gene Diversification and Alternative Exon Splicing

The protein sequence deduced from the open reading frame of a human placental cDNA encoding a cAMP-responsive enhancer (CRE)-binding protein (CREB-327) has structural features characteristic of several other transcriptional transactivator proteins including jun, fos, C/EBP, myc, and CRE-BP1. Results of Southwestern analysis of nuclear extracts from several different cell lines show that there are multiple CRE-binding proteins, which vary in size in cell lines derived from different tissues and animal species. To examine the molecular diversity of CREB-327 and related proteins at the nucleic acid level, we used labeled cDNAs from human placenta that encode two different CRE-binding proteins (CREB-327 and CRE-BP1) to probe Northern and Southern blots. Both probes hybridized to multiple fragments on Southern blots of genomic DNA from various species. Alternatively, when a human placental c-jun probe was hybridized to the same blot, a single fragment was detected in most cases, consistent with the intronless ...
Compressed sensing phase retrieval

Theory of absolute uniqueness for phase retrieval with random illumination is presented. Suitable random illumination eliminates all sources of ambiguity, trivial and nontrivial. As a result, random-illumination-aided phase retrieval algorithms can accurately recover objects with a below-Nyquist sampling rate close to the minimum and reduce the number of iterations by order of magnitude.
Photosynthetic acclimation of the liana Stigmaphyllon lindenianum to light changes in a tropical dry forest canopy

Tropical plant canopies show abrupt changes in light conditions across small differences in spatial and temporal scales. Given the canopy light heterogeneity, plants in this stratum should express a high degree of plasticity, both in space (allocation to plant modules as a function of opportunity for resource access) and time (photosynthetic adjustment to temporal changes in the local environment). Using a construction crane for canopy access, we studied light acclimation of the liana Stigmaphyllon lindenianum to sun and shade environments in a tropical dry forest in Panama during the wet season. Measured branches were randomly distributed in one of four light sequences: high- to low-light branches started the experiment under sun and were transferred to shade during the second part of the experiment; low- to high-light branches (LH) were exposed to the opposite sequence of light treatments; and high-light and low-light controls , which were exposed only to sun and shade environments, respectively, throughout the experiment. Shade branches were set inside enclosures wrapped in 63% greenhouse shade cloth. After 2 months, we transferred experimental branches to opposite light conditions by relocating the enclosures. Leaf mortality was considerably higher under shade, both before and after the transfer. LH branches reversed the pattern of mortality by increasing new leaf production after the transfer. Rates of photosynthesis at light saturation, light compensation points, and dark respiration rates of transferred branches matched those of controls for the new light treatment, indicating rapid photochemical acclimation. The post-expansion acclimation of sun and shade foliage occurred with little modification of leaf structure. High photosynthetic plasticity was reflected in an almost immediate ability to respond to significant changes in light. This response did not depend on the initial light environment, but was determined by exposure to new light conditions. Stigmaphyllon responded rapidly to light changes through the functional adjustment of already expanded foliage and an increase in leaf production in places with high opportunity for carbon gain.
Actions of neuroleptics on the acetylcholine-induced phospholipid effect in rat neostriatal homogenates ☆

Abstract The proposal that the severity of extrapyramidal side effects of neuroleptics are inversely related to their potency as musearinic antagonists was tested using a unique biochemical assay of cholinergic receptor activity. This assay is based on reported findings that the stimulation in vivo and in vitro of cholinergic muscarinic receptors results in increased incorporation of radiolabelled inorganic phosphate into certain phospholipids in the CNS. This cholinergie “phospholipid effect” as it is known, appears to be a biochemical event which occurs with, or soon after, the initial transmitter-receptor interaction, probably prior to the receptor-mediated cyclic GMP response, to which it may be related. Anticholinergic agents and neuroleptics show the following relative potencies of inhibition of the phospholipid effect in rat neostriatal homogenates: benztropine > atropine > trihexyphenidyl > clozapine > thioridazine > chlorpromazine > pimozide > haloperidol > fluphenazine. The results agree well quantitatively with those reported using a radioligand binding displacement assay of muscarinic receptors and those using the muscarinic receptor-mediated cyclic GMP response, thereby providing additional support for the hypothesis. In addition, these and other studies indicate that the phospholipid effect is a sensitive, specific, accurate, and reasonably simple biochemical assay of muscarinic, α-adrenergic and H 1 -histaminic receptor activity which may be utilized to evaluate the actions of psychopharmacological agents.
A Geological History of the Turkana Basin

The Turkana Basin preserves a long and detailed record of biotic evolution, cultural development, and rift valley geology in its sedimentary strata. Before the formation of the modern basin, Cretaceous fluvial systems, Paleogene lakes, and Oligo-Miocene volcano-sedimentary sequences left fossil-bearing strata in the region. These deposits were in part related to an early system of rift basins that stretched from Sudan to the Indian Ocean. The present-day basin has its origins in Pliocene tectonic developments of the modern rift, with subsidence making room for more than one kilometer of Plio-Pleistocene strata. Much of this sequence belongs to the Omo Group, richly fossiliferous sediments associated with the ancestral Omo River and its tributaries. Modern Lake Turkana has a record stretching back more than 200 thousand years, with earlier lake phases throughout the Plio-Pleistocene. The geologic history of the basin is one of dynamic landscapes responding to environmental influences, including tectonics, volcanic activity and climate.