cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Bodies of God and the World of Ancient Israel

Sommer utilizes a lost ancient Near Eastern perception of divinity according to which a god has more than one body and fluid, unbounded selves. Though the dominant strains of biblical religion rejected it, a monotheistic version of this theological intuition is found in some biblical texts. Later Jewish and Christian thinkers inherited this ancient way of thinking; ideas such as the sefirot in Kabbalah and the trinity in Christianity represent a late version of this theology. This book forces us to rethink the distinction between monotheism and polytheism, as this notion of divine fluidity is found in both polytheistic cultures (Babylonia, Assyria, Canaan) and monotheistic ones (biblical religion, Jewish mysticism, Christianity), whereas it is absent in some polytheistic cultures (classical Greece). The Bodies of God and the World of Ancient Israel has important repercussions not only for biblical scholarship and comparative religion but for Jewish-Christian dialogue.
Micro-Object Detection with the Waveguide Microgripper

Our novel micro-electro-opto-mechanical-system (MOEMS) waveguide microgripper device can manipulate micro-scale objects, including cells. In this work we demonstrate its ability to detect the presence of a microscale object between its gripping facets. A sharp edge was used to block the transmitted light and the drop in transmitted light was used to detect the position of the edge. As expected, a significant drop in the output power was observed when an object enters the gap between the gripper arms. The direct optical imaging of light distribution at the output facet of the device was investigated to understand the sensitivity of the device and explore possible applications to micro-scale imaging.
Neurodynamics-Based Nonnegative Matrix Factorization for Classification

This paper contributes to study the influence of various NMF algorithms on the classification accuracy of each classifier as well as to compare the classifiers among themselves. We focus on a fast nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) algorithm based on a discrete-time projection neural network (DTPNN). The NMF algorithm is combined with three classifiers in order to find out the influence of dimensionality reduction performed by the NMF algorithm on the accuracy rate of the classifiers. The convergent objective function values in terms of two popular objective functions, Frobenius norm and Kullback-Leibler (K-L) divergence for different NMF based algorithms on a wide range of data sets are demonstrated. The CPU running time in terms of these objective functions on different combination of NMF algorithms and data sets are also shown. Moreover, the convergent behaviors of different NMF methods are illustrated. In order to test its effectiveness on classification accuracy, a performance study of three well-known classifiers is carried out and the influence of the NMF algorithm on the accuracy is evaluated.
Churchill Warrior: How a Military Life Guided Winston’s Finest Hours. By Brian Lavery. (Oxford, UK: Casemate, 2017. Pp. xiii, 569. $32.95.)

Looking back on becoming Prime Minister in May 1940, Churchill reflected that his past life had been but a preparation for the trial he was about to face. Churchill Warrior elaborates upon that rem...
PREPARATION AND IN VITRO CHARACTERIZATION OF BOSENTAN MICROBEADS USING IONIC GELATION METHOD

The purpose of this study is to formulation and in vitro evaluation of floating microbeads of Bosentan using ionic gelation method. The floating microbeads were taken for micromeritic properties such as bulk density, tapped density, carrs index, hausners ratio, angle of repose which were found to be within limits. From the dissolution data it was evident that, formulations prepared with Sodium alginate and HPMC K 100 were revealed that formulations may not contain even 90% of drug. Hence those formulations were not considered. Formulations prepared with Sodium alginate was shown those contain more than 90% of drug. F4 formulation was retarding the maximum drug release up to 12 hrs. Hence It was considered as optimised formulation. Optimised formulation kept for kinetic study. It was followed Zero order release kinetics.
College Students' Use and Perceptions of Wearable Fitness Trackers.

ABSTRACTBackground: Nearly half of all college students do not engage in the recommended amount of physical activity which may contribute to chronic diseases such as obesity. Purpose: To investigat...
Family Literacy: History, Concepts, Services

Our fascination with how literacy and language skills develop and our concern when children and adults experience difﬁculty in obtaining these skills have led to intensive studies of the roots of literacy. This exploration has taken us to families, the setting in which almost everyone learns the basic skills that form the foundation for later learning. Writers and researchers have examined family practices, beliefs, and resources to understand how families support literacy development. At the same time, they have studied these practices, beliefs, and resources to learn how literacy skills might best develop within families.
Microfluidic removal of teratoma-forming cells from hiPSC-derived Neural Progenitor Cells

Teratoma formation remains a safety concern in therapeutic cells derived from human-induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). Residual Teratoma forming cells are present in small numbers in differentiated hiPSC cultures and yet are of significant roadblock to the manufacturing and clinical translation of stem cell therapies. Rare cells are often difficult to remove with standard flow cytometry or magnetic bead sorting techniques. Here, we first characterized time-dependent expression of a teratoma marker, stage-specific embryonic antigen (SSEA)-5, which binds the H type-1 glycan during neural differentiation of hiPSCs. We engineered a microfluidic geometrically enhanced differential immunocapture (GEDI) technology to remove SSEA-5+ rare cells from hiPSC-derived neural progenitor cells (hiPSC-NPCs). The GEDI chip presents a facile tool to potentially functionalize with multiple antibodies and robustly enhance hiPSC-derived cell population safety prior to therapeutic transplantation. The approach is potentially amenable to generate a wide variety of high-quality therapeutic cells and can be integrated within the pipeline of cell manufacturing to improve patient safety and reduce the cost of manufacturing through early removal of undesirable cell types.
Understanding and targeting the disease‐related RNA binding protein human antigen R (HuR)

Altered gene expression is a characteristic feature of many disease states such as tumorigenesis, and in most cancers, it facilitates cancer cell survival and adaptation. Alterations in global gene expression are strongly impacted by post-transcriptional gene regulation. The RNA binding protein (RBP) HuR (ELAVL1) is an established regulator of post-transcriptional gene regulation and is overexpressed in most human cancers. In many cancerous settings, HuR is not only overexpressed, but it is "overactive" as denoted by increased subcellular localization within the cytoplasm. This dysregulation of HuR expression and cytoplasmic localization allows HuR to stabilize and increase the translation of various prosurvival messenger RNA (mRNAs) involved in the pathogenesis of numerous cancers and various diseases. Based on almost 20 years of work, HuR is now recognized as a therapeutic target. Herein, we will review the role HuR plays in the pathophysiology of different diseases and ongoing therapeutic strategies to target HuR. We will focus on three ongoing-targeted strategies: (1) inhibiting HuR's translocation from the nucleus to the cytoplasm; (2) inhibiting the ability of HuR to bind target RNA; and (3) silencing HuR expression levels. In an oncologic setting, HuR has been demonstrated to be critical for a cancer cell's ability to survive a variety of cancer relevant stressors (including drugs and elements of the tumor microenvironment) and targeting this protein has been shown to sensitize cancer cells further to insult. We strongly believe that targeting HuR could be a powerful therapeutic target to treat different diseases, particularly cancer, in the near future. This article is categorized under: RNA in Disease and Development > RNA in Disease NRA Turnover and Surveillance > Regulation of RNA Stability Translation > Translation Regulation.
Asymmetry of Partisan Media Effects?: Examining the Reinforcing Process of Conservative and Liberal Media with Political Beliefs

There is growing evidence that partisan media could be contributing to the increasing polarization among the public in the United States. Scholars have recently debated whether both liberal and con...
Evolutionary Action Score of TP53 Mutations: Integrated Clinico-pathologic And Protein Structural Analysis in Myelodysplastic Syndromes

ABSTRACTTo determine the impact of TP53 mutations on the phenotype and outcome of myelodysplastic syndromes, we quantified the deleterious effects of missense TP53 mutations using the computationally-derived evolutionary action score (higher score indicates worse impact), based on the phylogenetic divergence of the sequence position and amino acid change perturbation, and correlated with clinico-pathologic-genomic features in 270 newly-diagnosed TP53-mutant patients primarily treated with hypomethylating agents. Using recursive partitioning and regression trees, we identified a subset of patients with low-EAp53 mutations (≤52) with improved overall survival (OS) (n=17, 6%) compared to high-EAp53 (n=253, 94%) [median OS, 48 vs. 10 months; p=0.01]. Compared to high-EAp53, low-EAp53 patients had lower cytogenetic complexity, lower TP53 protein expression, lacked multi-allelic TP53 alterations, but had more somatic mutations in other genes. There was no difference in median TP53 variant allele frequency or distribution of R-IPSS. 3D-protein modeling showed clustering of poor-outcome mutations, indicating structural location influences outcome.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.View Full Text
Therapeutic Touch: Reactive Clothing for Anxiety

The emotional and physical health benefits that come by being touched in safe ways are well established. Therapeutic touch has been used for conditions such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Sensory Processing Disorder and Dementia as a calming agent. Smart clothing and textiles have the potential to not only sense, monitor and collect data (inputs) but also to act on the body with embedded actuation capabilities (outputs) such as promoting mechanical, electrical and thermal tactile stimuli. Thus far, the emphasis in the design of wearables, including smart clothing, has been on inputs, with comparatively little research on the responsive output capabilities. This research presents design requirements for development of a user-friendly wearable product for compression therapy and reports development of a reactive undershirt with embedded textile-based pneumatic actuators that deliver tactile stimulation in response to change in emotional state to calm anxiety. The proposed design can offer novel ways of complementing care to empower people with dementia in everyday situations because of its ubiquitous nature and its affordance.
The North American Cordilleran Anatectic Belt

Abstract The North American Cordilleran Anatectic Belt (CAB) is a ~3,000 km long region in the hinterland of the Cordillera that comprises numerous exposures of Late Cretaceous to Eocene intrusive rocks and anatectic rocks associated with crustal melting. As such, it is comparable in size and volume to major anatectic provinces including the Himalayan leucogranite belt. The CAB rocks are chiefly peraluminous, muscovite-bearing leucogranite produced primarily by anatexis of Proterozoic to Archean metasedimentary rocks. The CAB rocks lack extrusive equivalents and were typically emplaced as thick sheets, laccoliths, and dike/sill complexes. The extent, location, and age of the CAB suggests that it is integral to understanding the tectonic evolution of North America, however, the belt is rarely considered as a whole. This paper reviews localities associated with crustal melting in the CAB and compiles geochemical, geochronologic, and isotopic data to evaluate the melt conditions and processes that generated these rocks. The geochemistry and partial melting temperatures (ca. 675–775 °C) support water-absent muscovite dehydration melting and/or water-deficient melting as the primary melt reactions and are generally inconsistent with water-excess melting and high-temperature (biotite to amphibole) dehydration melting. The CAB rocks are oldest in the central U.S. Cordillera and become younger towards both the north and south. At any single location, partial melting appears to have been a protracted process (≥10 Myr) and evidence for re-melting and remobilization of magmas is common. End-member hypotheses for the origin of the CAB include decompression, crustal thickening, fluid-flux melting, and increased heat flux from the mantle. Different parts of the CAB support different hypotheses and no single model may be able to explain the entirety of the anatectic event. Regardless, the CAB is a distinct component of the Cordilleran orogenic system.
Retrospective Analysis of Nail Biopsies Performed Using the Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Database 2012‐2017

Subungual melanoma (SUM) is subset of acral melanoma that develops within the nail unit and is associated with a poor prognosis. Nail biopsy is the only way to definitively diagnosis SUM. To analyze the Medicare database for nail biopsy utilization and to compare the annual nail biopsy rate with the estimated incidence of SUM in the United States (US). A retrospective study on nail biopsy data was performed using the Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Database 2012-2017. The number of nail biopsies performed per 100 000 people was compared to SUM incidence per 100 000 people. Podiatrists, dermatologists, other physicians, and NP/PAs respectively performed 12.12, 0.42, 0.08, 0.07 nail biopsies per 100 000 people annually. Dermatologists performed adequate nail biopsies to cover the minimum (0.7%), but not the maximum (3.5%) estimated incidence of SUM. Only 0.28% and 1.01% of general dermatologists and Mohs surgeons, respectively, performed nail biopsies in 19/50 (38.00%) states and 69/929 (7.42%) zip codes. Limitations Nail biopsies on patients less than 65 years, and those with no or commercial health insurance were not analyzed. Very few dermatologists performed nail biopsies in the Medicare database. Increased efforts are needed to educate dermatologists on nail surgery. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Crosscutting environmental risk with design: A multi-site, multi-city socioecological approach for Iowa's diversifying small towns.

Globally, the influx of refugee, migrant, and immigrant populations into small centers of industrialized agriculture has called attention to a looming public health crisis. As small towns shift from remote villages into rural, agri-industrial centers, they offer limited access to amenities needed to support human well-being. Our study focused on three Iowa towns that continue to experience an increase in under-represented minority populations and decline of majority populations as a proxy for studying shifting populations in an era of industrialized agriculture and global capital. We aimed to understand the socioecological impact of built environments—outdoor locations where people live and work—and likelihood of environmental exposures to impact vulnerable populations. Urban socioecological measures tend to present contradictory results in small towns due to their reliance on density and proximity. To compensate, we used post-occupancy evaluations (POE) to examine built environments for evidence of access to environmental design criteria to support healthy behaviors. The study systematically identified 44 locations on transects across three small towns to employ a 62 item POE and assess multiple environmental criteria to crosscut design with environmental health disparities. Principal-components factor analysis identified two distinct significant components for environmental risk and population vulnerability, supporting similar studies on parallel communities. Multilevel modeling found a divergence between supportive environmental design coupled with an increase environmental risk due to location. The combined effect likely contributes to environmental health disparities. The study provides a strategy for auditing small town built environments as well as insight into achieving equity.
Library Market Segmentation: An Effective Approach for Meeting Client Needs

Application d'une technique de promotion commerciale, mettant l'accent sur le client et non sur le produit, afin d'identifier les besoins des utilisateurs et de mieux adapter les services offerts a ces besoins
Pavlovian fear conditioning does not readily occur in rats in naturalistic environments

Pavlovian fear conditioning, which offers the advantage of simplicity in both the control of conditioned and unconditioned stimuli (CS, US) presentation and the analysis of specific conditioned and unconditioned responses (CR, UR) in a controlled laboratory setting, has been the standard model in basic and translational fear research. Despite 100 years of experiments, the utility of fear conditioning has not been trans-situationally validated in real-life contexts. We thus investigated whether fear conditioning readily occurs and guides the animal9s future behavior in an ecologically-relevant environment. To do so, Long-Evans rats foraging for food in an open arena were presented with a tone CS paired with electric shock US to their dorsal neck/body that instinctively elicited escape UR to the safe nest. On subsequent test days, the tone-shock paired animals failed to exhibit fear CR to the CS. In contrast, animals that encountered a realistic agent of danger (a looming artificial owl) paired with a shock, simulating a realistic predatory strike, instantly fled to the nest when presented with a tone for the first time. These results illustrate the survival function and precedence of a nonassociative process, rather than associative conditioning, in life-threatening situations that animals are likely to encounter in nature.
Comments on recent Stark-broadening calculations for the Hα and Hγ lines of hydrogen

Abstract Recent Stark-broadening calculations of the lineshapes for the H α and H γ hydrogen lines have been re-evaluated. Consideration is given to the apparent disagreement with respect to the role played by lower-state broadening and “strong collision” effects in accounting for the improved agreement between measured and calculated halfwidth values. The results indicate that further work is necessary on the strong collision and quadrupole contributions to the linewidth.
Chinese hamster liver glutamine synthetase. Purification, physical and biochemical properties.

Abstract Purification procedures to prepare homogeneous glutamine synthetase from Chinese hamster liver and a sensitive radioisotope assay for the enzyme are described. The enzyme has a molecular weight of 335,000 as determined by sedimentation in a glycerol gradient, and consists of 8 identical subunits with molecular weights of 42,000 as determined by mobility in sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gels. The enzyme displays Michaelis-Menten kinetics. The apparent Michaelis constants determined for glutamate, ATP, and ammonia are 3.1 mm, 1.2 mm, and 0.16 mm, respectively. Alanine and serine are noncompetitive inhibitors of glutamate. ATP is competitively inhibited by adenosine diphosphate, noncompetitively inhibited by phosphate, and uncompetitively inhibited by cytidine triphosphate. The maximum velocity of the reaction is increased by α-ketoglutarate. Preincubation of Chinese hamster glutamine synthetase with ATP protects the enzyme from inactivation by heat and by the sulfhydryl-specific reagent N-ethylmaleimide. However, preincubation of glutamine synthetase with ATP is required for inactivation of the enzyme by the glutamine analogs 6-diazo-5-oxo-l-norleucine and 5-diazo-4-oxo-l-norvaline, suggesting that ATP combines with the enzyme to form part of the glutamate binding site.
Middleware for reliable real-time sensor data management

The integration of sensors in networks of embedded systems revolutionize distributed networked applications in a variety of disciplines. The development of the appropriate middleware components and tools that simplify the programming of the applications and enable reliable and timely communication is a key challenge. This paper describes challenges and basic building blocks in the design of such middleware. We first examine in-network data management computations that can be performed in a sensor network. Then we discuss the various challenges that must be addressed in providing a convenient and powerful middleware environment that simplifies the development of distributed applications on sensor networks, concentrating on in-network storage and real-time data dissemination. Such a sensor network middleware is expected to significantly promote the wide adoption of distributed sensor network applications.
Investigating the Change of Web Pages' Titles Over Time

Inaccessible web pages are part of the browsing experience. The content of these pages however is often not completely lost but rather missing. Lexical signatures (LS) generated from the web pages’ textual content have been shown to be suitable as search engine queries when trying to discover a (missing) web page. Since LSs are expensive to generate, we investigate the potential of web pages’ titles as they are available at a lower cost. We present the results from studying the change of titles over time. We take titles from copies provided by the Internet Archive of randomly sampled web pages and show the frequency of change as well as the degree of change in terms of the Levenshtein score. We found very low frequencies of change and high Levenshtein scores indicating that titles, on average, change little from their original, rst observed values (rooted comparison) and even less from the values of their previous observation (sliding).
MEDICAL REGULATION AND HEALTH OUTCOMES: THE EFFECT OF THE PHYSICIAN EXAMINATION REQUIREMENT

This article investigates the effect on health outcomes of the regulation prohibiting physicians from prescribing drugs without a prior physical examination. This requirement could improve health by reducing illegal access to prescription drugs. However, it reduces access to health care by making it more difficult for patients and physicians to use many forms of telemedicine. Thus, this regulation generates a trade-off between access and safety. Using matching techniques, we find that the physician examination requirement leads to an increase of 1% in mortality rates from disease, the equivalent of 8.5 more deaths per 100,000 people, and a decrease of 6.7% in injury mortality, the equivalent of 2.5 deaths per 100,000 people. The magnitude of these effects is larger in rural areas and in areas with low physician density and is accompanied by an 18% increase in the number of days lost each month to illness.
Soil Solution Phosphorus Status and Mycorrhizal Dependency in Leucaena leucocephala.

A phosphorus sorption isotherm was used to establish concentrations of P in a soil solution ranging from 0.002 to 0.807 μg/ml. The influence of P concentration on the symbiotic interaction between the tropical tree legume Leucaena leucocephala and the vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) fungus Glomus fasciculatum was evaluated in pot experiments. The level of mycorrhizal infection in Leucaena roots increased as the concentration of P was raised from 0.002 to 0.153 μg/ml. Higher levels of P depressed mycorrhizal infection, but the level of infection never declined below 50%. Periodic monitoring of P contents of Leucaena subleaflets indicated that significant mycorrhizal activity was detected as early as 17 days after planting, with the activity peaking 12 to 16 days thereafter. The highest level of mycorrhizal activity was associated with a soil solution P level of 0.021 μg/ml. Even though the mycorrhizal inoculation effect diminished as the concentration of P in the soil solution was increased, mycorrhizal inoculation significantly increased P uptake and dry-matter yield of Leucaena at all levels of soil solution P examined. The concentration of P required by nonmycorrhizal L. leucocephala for maximum yield was 27 to 38 times higher than that required by mycorrhizal L. leucocephala. The results illustrate the very high dependence of L. leucocephala on VAM fungi and the significance of optimizing soil solution phosphorus for enhancing the benefits of the VAM symbiosis.
N-linked glycosylation of CD38 is required for its structure stabilization but not for membrane localization

CD38 is a type II transmembrane protein with 25% of its molecular mass consisting of glycosyl moieties. It has long been predicted that the carbohydrate moieties of glycoproteins play important roles in the physical function and structural stability of the proteins on cell surfaces. To determine the structural/functional significance of glycosylation of the human CD38, the four potential N-linked glycosylation sites asparagine residues, N100, N164, N209 and N219 were mutated. The mutant (CD38mu) and wild-type (CD38wt) were expressed separately in Escherichia coli, HeLa, and MCF-7 cells. SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under reducing conditions and western blotting indicated that the molecular mass of the CD38wt is 45 kDa, and that of the CD38mu is 34 kDa in HeLa cells. Importantly, the CD38mu protein expressed in HeLa cells, showed the high molecular weight oligomers in addition to the 34 kDa monomeric form. Similarly, in E. coli, the CD38wt formed dimers and other oligomers besides the monomeric form. Moreover, MCF-7 cells stably transfected with CD38wt cDNA, also revealed the presence of cross-linked oligomers when treated with a N-linked glycosylation inhibitor tunicamycin (TM). These results suggested that the N-linked glycosylation of CD38 plays a crucial role in the structure stability by preventing the formation inter-molecular cross-links. In addition, immunostaining, enzyme activity (cyclase), and western blotting data revealed that the glycosylation of human CD38 protein is not required for its localization to the cell membrane.
Effects of Supercritical CO2 Conditioning on Cross-Linked Polyimide Membranes

The effects of supercritical CO2 (scCO2) conditioning on high-performance cross-linked polyimide membranes is examined through gas permeation and sorption experiments. Under supercritical conditions, the cross-linked polymers do not exhibit a structural reorganization of the polymer matrix that was observed in the non-cross-linkable, free acid polymer. Pure gas permeation isotherms and mixed gas permeabilities and selectivities show the cross-linked polymers to be much more stable to scCO2 conditioning than the free acid polymer. In fact, following scCO2 conditioning, the mixed gas CO2 permeabilities of the cross-linked polymers increased while the CO2/CH4 separation factors remained relatively unchanged. This response highlights the stability and high performance of these cross-linked membranes in aggressive environments. In addition, this response reveals the potential for the preconditioning of cross-linked polymer membranes to enhance productivity without sacrificing efficiency in practical applicatio...
How much does illuminant color affect unattributed colors

Does the light coming from a surface (as opposed to the surface color) appear the same after adaptation to a new illumination as it did before the illumination changed? Many answers have been proposed over the past century, but all have been unsatisfactory. The main measurement problem is to provide a comparison stimulus that is unaffected by the adaptation being tested. My observers used a mental standard. Under 4000-, 6500-, and 10,000-K adaptations (the extremes and the average of daylight) they produced on a CRT unique hues with a constant saturation that was memorized during training. The main evaluation problem is how to determine the theoretical chromaticity shifts that represent illumination invariance for comparison with the data. Like most previous investigators, I used light sources rather than actual surfaces and illuminants. Using a new technique, I determined theoretical surfaces that would have unique hues under the test illuminants. Using Cohen's basis vectors, I derived theoretical reflectances that under 6500 K would produce the chromaticities that the observer chose as unique hues. The chromaticities of those same reflectances under 4000 and 10,000 K are theoretical points representing illuminants-invariant appearance of the light coming from the surfaces. Even for this small range of illuminants the adaptive shifts were too small for invariance, i.e., the appearance of the light was different even after full adaptation. This result sharpens the question of the basis for humans' concept of color as a stable property of surfaces.
Anxiety, cognitive style, and mathematics achievement.

Summary This study examined the relationships among state and trait anxiety, cognitive style, and mathematics achievement. The Ss were 50 junior college students enrolled in a mathematics course. The results confirmed the hypothesis that high state anxiety would be associated with poor mathematics achievement; trait anxiety showed no significant relationship to achievement. The need to develop learning aids and strategies to counteract the possible debilitating effects of state anxiety in learning and mathematics assessment was discussed.
A Priori Assessments of Numerical Uncertainty in Large-Eddy Simulations

Current suggestions for estimating the numerical uncertainty in solutions by the Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) methodology require either a posteriori input or reflect global assessments. In most practical applications, this approach is rather costly for the user and especially time consuming due to the CPU effort needed to reach the statistical steady state. Herein, we demonstrate two alternate a priori graphical exercises. An evaluation of the numerical uncertainty uses the turbulent quantities given by the area under the wave number spectra profiles. These profiles are easily constructed along any grid line in the flow domain prior to the collection of the turbulent statistics. One exercise involves a completion of the spectrum profile beyond the cutoff wave number to the inverse of Kolmorgorov’s length scale by a model of isotropic turbulence. The other extends Richardson Extrapolation acting on multiple solutions. Sample test cases of both LES solutions and direct numerical simulations as well as published experimental data show excellent agreement between the integrated matched spectra and the respective turbulent statistics. Thus, the resultant uncertainties themselves provide a useful measure of accumulated statistical error in the resolved turbulent properties.
K+ channel gating mechanism proposed using EPR.

New results indicate that a K+ channel switches from a closed state to an open state by widening the hydrophobic pore on the cytoplasmic side of the membrane.
Bone morphogenetic protein-2 restores mineralization in glucocorticoid-inhibited MC3T3-E1 osteoblast cultures.

The anti-glucocorticoid potential of BMP-2 in osteoblasts was tested in MC3T3-E1 cells using dexamethasone (1 μM) and rhBMP-2 (10 or 100 ng/ml). rhBMP-2 restored mineralization but not condensation or collagen accumulation. These results demonstrate the potential and limitations of BMPs in counteracting glucocorticoids. Introduction: Pharmacologic glucocorticoids (GCs) inhibit osteoblast function and induce osteoporosis. Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) stimulate osteoblast differentiation and bone formation. Here we tested the anti-glucocorticoid potential of BMP-2 in cultured osteoblasts. Materials and Methods: MC3T3-E1 cells were treated with dexamethasone (DEX; 1 μM) and/or recombinant human BMP-2 (rhBMP-2; 10 or 100 ng/ml). Culture progression was characterized by cell cycle profiling, biochemical assays for DNA, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), collagen, and calcium, and by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) of osteoblast phenotypic mRNAs. Mineralization was characterized by Alizarin red and von Kossa staining and by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Results: DEX inhibited differentiation-related cell cycle, nodule formation, collagen accumulation, osteocalcin, and BMP-2 gene expression as well as mineralization. Replenishment of GC-inhibited cultures with 10 or 100 ng/ml rhBMP-2 dramatically rescued mineral deposition. The rhBMP-2-rescued mineral was bone-like apatite nearly identical to the mineral of control cultures. The rhBMP-2 rescue was associated with increased mRNA levels for α1(I) collagen, osteocalcin, and Cbfa1 types I and II, as well as ALP activity. In contrast, rhBMP-2 did not rescue the GC-inhibited differentiation-related cell cycle, nodule formation, or collagen accumulation. When administered alone, rhBMP-2 also increased the mRNA levels for α1(I) collagen, osteocalcin, and Cbfa1 types I and II, as well as ALP activity. However, treatment with rhBMP-2 alone inhibited cell cycle progression, nodule formation, and collagen accumulation. Surprisingly, in contrast to its rescue of mineralization in DEX-treated cultures, rhBMP-2 inhibited mineralization in the absence of DEX. In parallel to its bimodal effect on mineralization, rhBMP-2 stimulated endogenous BMP-2 mRNA in the presence of DEX, but inhibited endogenous BMP-2 mRNA in the absence of DEX. Conclusions: Suppression of BMP-2 gene expression plays a pivotal role in GC inhibition of osteoblast differentiation. However, the inability of rhBMP-2 to rescue the entire osteoblast phenotype suggests BMP-2-independent inhibitory effects of GCs. BMP-2 exerts both positive and negative effects on osteoblasts, possibly depending on the differentiation stage and/or the existing BMP signaling.
Modeling low-cost hybrid tandem photovoltaics with power conversion efficiencies exceeding 20%

There is a need for photovoltaic technologies with power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) exceeding 20% that can be produced with a module cost under $0.50 per Watt. Here we propose a solution in the form of an organic-inorganic hybrid tandem photovoltaic (HTPV). We have modeled HTPV devices in current-matched and independently operated subcell configurations to explore the potential for an organic top cell to boost the efficiency of inorganic bottom cells. Our modeling shows that with further development of organic photovoltaic technology, an organic top cell may be added to either a Si or CIGS bottom cell of moderate efficiency to achieve tandem efficiencies exceeding 20%.
N-terminal tyrosine phosphorylation of caveolin-2 negates anti-proliferative effect of transforming growth factor beta in endothelial cells

Here we show that tyrosine phosphorylation of caveolin-2 (Cav-2) negatively regulates the anti-proliferative function of transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) in endothelial cells. In contrast to wild-type-Cav-2, retroviral re-expression of Y19/27F-Cav-2 in Cav-2 knockout endothelial cells did not affect anti-proliferative effect of TGF-beta compared to empty vector. Conversely, although less effective than wild-type, re-expression of S23/36A-Cav-2 reduced the effect of TGF-beta compared to empty vector. This differential effect of tyrosine and serine phosphorylation mutants of Cav-2 correlated with TGF-beta-induced Smad3 phosphorylation and transcriptional activation of plasminogen activator inhibitor-1. Thus tyrosine-phosphorylated Cav-2 counteracts anti-proliferative effect of TGF-beta in endothelial cells.
Effects of DNA Methylation Patterns on Chromatin Compaction

Gene regulation in eukaryotic cells is modulated by epigenetic modifications. DNA CpG methylation is the most common epigenetic modification found in DNA. Although DNA methylation has been generally affiliated with chromatin compaction and gene silencing, the effect of different DNA methylation patterns on the chromosome conformation remains elusive. In this study, we evaluated the effect of DNA methylation level and DNA methylation patterns on the dynamic conformations of DNA, nucleosomes and nucleosome arrays. Changes in the nucleosome conformation are monitored using time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy coupled with FRET. The compaction and the self-association pattern of nucleosome arrays are examined using Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS) and Photon Counting Histogram (PCH). Our results suggest that nucleosome and nucleosome array conformations are distinctively modulated by DNA methylation patterns arising from their relative location within a nucleosome. The binding affinity of a histone octamer to DNA can also be altered by different DNA methylation patterns. In addition, DNA methylation is found to play an important role in mediating the self-association between nucleosomes and nucleosomal arrays. The implications of these findings in chromatin organization and gene regulation will be discussed. These findings are expected to elucidate the molecular mechanism of DNA methylation in regulating gene silencing events.
Angiotensin-converting enzymeI inhibitors: Are there significant clinical differences?

Editorial sur l'ensemble de la classe des inhibiteurs de l'angiotensin converting enzyme: efficacite dans le traitement de l'insuffisance cardiaque, mecanisme action (systeme renin-angiotensin), etude comparative
On the decoupling of angular momenta in molecular collisions

It is pointed out that the more exact treatment of the jz-conserving coupled states (R-helicity) approximation is quite closely related to the P-helicity method of Tamir and Shapiro, and the two methods lead to approximate equations identical in form. The difference in interpretation of the magnetic quantum numbers in the two methods is used to understand the accuracy of the crudest approximations obtained by neglecting the transformation from rotating to space-fixed coordinate frames. Further it is expected that the two approaches lead to similar results in the case where the exact diagonal elements of the l2 operator are retained and the correct transformations to non-helicity frames are used. Finally, the two methods should lead to identical results for integral cross sections and opacities.
On the Controllability of the Pendubot

Abstract We consider the question of whether the pendubot system is controllable about the kinematic singularity equilibrium point, where linear controllability is lost. Although accessibility is easily confirmed using Lie brackets, conclusions about the controllability of the pendubot system appear to be quite challenging for the non-specialist–-the system is not driftless and its homogeneity properties are unclear. In this paper, we tackle the question head on and prove controllability of a second order approximation to the system by constructing a family of linearly controllable trajectory loops based at the equilibrium. The structure of the approximation and the selected control input allow us to explicitly integrate the approximate system equations of motion. The trajectory loop construction exploits a particular time reversal symmetry shared by the pendubot and its second order approximation. The trajectory loop construction also works for the (full) pendubot since the corresponding pendubot and second order pendubot trajectories agree to seventh order in the horizon length. Example transition trajectories are shown.
Noradrenergic and cholinergic action on neuronal activity during self-stimulation behavior in the rat

Abstract The effects of drugs with adrenergic and cholinergic actions were studied in unanaesthetized, freely behaving rats. Pairs of drugs—of which the first in each pair suppressed responding and the second one reinstated it—were tested in rats during self-stimulation behavior while effects on neuronal activity correlated with this behavior were determined. Two types of neuronal responses were studied. The first was the occurrence of spikes with fixed latencies in relation to stimulation applied in the posterior lateral hypothalamus. The second was the suppression of spontaneously active neurons as a function of stimulation in the posterior lateral hypothalamus. The first type of response was studied in the cingulate, the preoptic and the ventral midbrain regions. The second type was studied in the middle hypothalamus. The drugs with adrenergic action were tetrabenazine and (+)-amphetamine; the drugs with cholinergic action were physostigmine and scopolamine. The second drug in each pair was administered 30 min after the first one and at the time of maximal effect of the first drug on self-stimulation behavior. Tetrabenazine reduced spike activity with fixed latencies in the ventral midbrain region, but not in the cingulate and the preoptic regions at the time when it suppressed self-stimulating behavior. Amphetamine partially restored the frequency of spikes with fixed latencies in the midbrain region at the time when it reinstated self-stimulation behavior. Tetrabenazine reduced the suppressant effect of stimulation in the posterior hypothalamus (disinhibition) on neuronal activity in the middle hypothalamus. Amphetamine reinstated partially the suppressant action of stimulation on neuronal activity recorded in the middle hypothalamus at the time it reinstated self-stimulation behavior. Physostigmine and scopolamine produced the identical effects of tetrabenazine and amphetamine on self-stimulation behavior, but they were ineffective on neuronal activity.
Predecisional information acquisition: Effects of task variables on suboptimal search strategies

Abstract Effective overall performance in judgment tasks generally involves both acquisition of information and integration of the information acquired. When information is costly the decision maker must balance acquisition costs against improved decisional accuracy, a complex balancing problem in which, laboratory evidence suggests, humans often do poorly. The three experiments reported here extend this earlier evidence to different task structures, subject pools, incentive systems, information volumes, decision aids, and kind of data sources. Though each of these factors was found to affect performance, the general finding was of persistent underpurchase (buying less information overall than is optimal) and mispurchase (buying poor sources when better sources are available at the same cost), with significant inflation of overall costs. It is proposed that unaided human judgment is unequal to the complexity of the cost/benefit trade-offs involved in acquiring costly information, and that formal decision analysis should be preferred whenever the stakes justify.
Discussion of The Roles of Performance Measures and Monitoring in Annual Governance Decisions in Entrepreneurial Firms

In the paper presented at the 2001 JAR Conference, Engel, Gordon, and Hayes [EGH, 2001] identified an important and difficult problem, which is how CEO incentives change in the years following an IPO. To address this question, they gather a sample of 800 firm-year observations for 464 IPOs from 1996 to 1999. A distinguishing feature of the sample is that it includes 244 firm-year observations on 216 internet IPOs. They examine this problem with four measures of incentives: (1) the incentives to increase the stock price provided by the CEO's stock portfolio (median value $11.7 million); (2) the incentives to increase the stock price provided by the median CEO's option portfolio (value not tabulated); (3) the incentives provided by variation in the median CEO's annual post-IPO total pay (median value $0.5 million); and (4) the incentives provided by variation in the CEO's future pay caused by changes in the likelihood that the CEO will be fired.'
Removal of streaking artifact in computed tomography.

In transmission computed tomography, relative X-ray attenuation measurements are made at various angles around a patient's body. These input projection data are reconstructed to yield a cross-sectional view of internal structure. If the body section contains material that severely attenuates the X-ray beam (e.g., surgical clips, lead fragments), high-density streaks that obliterate internal structure will be produced in the process of image reconstruction. This loss of diagnostic information renders the scan useless. A technique has been developed that removes this imaging artifact. The approach views the affected projection data as misinformation. These data are assigned new values, and image reconstruction is performed without changing existing computer hardware or software. Projection data for a head section containing a lead fragment were obtained by Monte Carlo simulation. Three methods of obtaining replacement data were examined. A nearest-neighbor pattern recognition technique yielded excellent results.
Silicate dissolution influence on Filson Creek chemistry, northeastern Minnesota

The chemistry of surface water, precipitation, and ground water in Filson Creek watershed was studied to evaluate the kinetics of dissolution of silicate minerals in a natural watershed underlain by troctolite. Annual chemical budgets in 1977 showed net losses of dissolved silica, bicarbonate, calcium, magnesium, and sodium of about 31.0, 19.6, 4.8, 3.8, and 2.1 kg per hectare per year, respectively, and net gains of dissolved potassium and sulfate of 0.4 and 8.9 kg/ha/yr. On a molar basis, about 1.5 times as much magnesium was lost as was calcium, even though the amount of mafic minerals in till and bedrock underlying the watershed is about 10 times less than the amount of calcic plagioclase. Molar concentrations of magnesium in base flow and ground water were about the same as concentrations of calcium and sodium. These field data indicate that magnesium loss from the mafic minerals may be faster than either calcium or sodium loss from plagioclase. Stoichiometric “reconstruction” of primary minerals from base-flow water chemistry and kaolinite was done as a first approximation to evaluate the rates of loss. The calculations indicated that the release of magnesium from mafic minerals would have to be more than ten times faster than the release of calcium and sodium from plagioclase to account for the amount of magnesium in base flow. These calculations compare favorably with experimental linear rates of cation and silica release from forsterite, enstatite, augite, and labradorite.
Death Consciousness and Social Consciousness: A Critique of Ernest Becker and Jacques Choron on Denying Death

Those who believe that more honest attitudes toward death will provoke more humane social and political attitudes need to confront directly the argument that the denial of death is both necessary and inevitable. Ernest Becker and Jacques Choron have made the most forceful recent cases that death deprives life of meaning and leads to massive denial in modern secular culture. However, while Becker vividly portrays the pervasiveness and desperation of death-denying behavior, he does not perceive that the denial of death may be an effect rather than a cause of inequality and competitiveness in modern culture. Choron's stress on the need for endurance in finding meaning in life amounts to a similar underestimation of the power of human relationships to provide life with significance in the face of death. Rather than establishing the necessity of denying death, Becker and Choron accentuate human vulnerability. The recognition of this vulnerability actually could challenge their assumptions by provoking a deep a...