cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dominant active Rac and dominant negative Rac revert the dominant active Ras phenotype in Colletotrichum trifolii by distinct signalling pathways.

The small G-protein superfamily is an evolutionarily conserved group of GTPases that regulate diverse signalling pathways including pathways for growth and development in eukaryotes. Previously, we showed that dominant active mutation in the unique Ras gene (DARas) of the fungal phytopathogen Colletotrichum trifolii displays a nutrient-dependent phenotype affecting polarity, growth and differentiation. Signalling via the MAP kinase pathway is significantly impaired in this mutant as well. Here we describe the cloning and functional characterization of Rac (Ct-Rac1), a member of the Rho family of G proteins. Ct-Rac1 expression is downregulated by DARas under limiting nutrition. Co-expression of DARas with dominant active Rac (DARac) stimulates MAPK activation and restores the wild-type phenotype. Inhibition of MAPK activation suppresses phenotypic restoration suggesting Rac-mediated MAPK activation is responsible for reversion to the wild-type phenotype. We also examined the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in these genetic backgrounds. The DARas mutant strain generates high levels of ROS as determined by DCFH-DA fluorescence. Co-expression with DNRac decreases ROS generation to wild-type levels and restores normal fungal growth and development. Pretreatment of DARas with antioxidants or a cytosolic phospholipase A2 inhibitor also restores the wild-type phenotype. These findings suggest that Ras-mediated ROS generation is dependent on a Rac-cPLA 2 -linked signalling pathway. Taken together, this study provides evidence that Rac functions to restore the hyphal morphology of DARas by regulating MAPK activation and intracellular ROS generation.
Structural studies of a synthetic peptide derived from the carboxyl‐terminal domain of RNA polymerase II

The conformation of the repeating heptapeptide unit of the carboxyl-terminal domain of RNA Polymerase II, Y1S2P3T4S5P6S7 has been examined using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and circular dichroism. Nuclear Overhauser effects and CD spectra for the synthetic 56-residue peptide H2N-(S2P3T4S5P6S7Yl)8-COOH in water indicate that the peptide is largely unordered. A small population of folded molecules is observed to contain β-turns located at Ser2-Pro3-Thr4-Ser5 (SPTS) and Ser5-Pro6-Ser7-Tyr1 (SPSY). CD and NMR results in 90% TFE also indicate an equilibrium population of structures, but the fraction of turns is higher. Similarities of nuclear Overhauser effects in water and in 90% TFE suggest that the structures in TFE are biologically relevant. Based on these observations, the average structure of a single conformer of the heptapeptide repeat in 90% TFE was obtained by a distance geometry-simulated annealing method, using distance restraints extracted from nuclear Overhauser data. NMR spectra of the 56-mer show signals corresponding to only one repeat indicating that each repeat is in an identical environment. Thus it is possible to obtain an average structure of the heptapeptide repeat from NOE data on the 56-mer. Twenty-seven final structures were calculated and the root mean square deviations between the 27 structure and the mean coordinates was 1.52 A for the backbone and 2.2 A for all nonhydrogen atoms. The heptapeptide repeat consists of two overlapping β-turns which are potentially stabilized by hydrogen bonds. The hydroxyl side chains of Ser2, Ser5, Thr4, and Ser7 all appear to be equally exposed for potential phosphorylation. The tyrosyl side chain of each repeat is folded inwards to the backbone and can potentially hydrogen bond to the carbonyl oxygen of the tyrosine in the preceding repeat. Iteration of the average structure of the heptapeptide repeat results in a model of the carboxyl-terminal domain with a regular but unusual secondary structure consisting of a series of staggered β-turns. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Can Choline PET Tackle the Challenge of Imaging Prostate Cancer

Positron emission tompography with radiolabeled (with 11C- or 18F-) choline has received much attention, particularly in Europe and Japan, over the past several years. While monitoring cellular membrane lipogenesis with radiolabeled choline is nonspecific for cancer, the malignancy-induced increased demand for cellular membrane synthesis can be a useful feature for imaging-based diagnosis and treatment evaluation. Many choline PET(/CT) studies have focused on prostate cancer given that 18F-flurodeoxyglucose appears to be primarily useful in progressive metastatic disease and is overall limited in the initial staging of disease or for evaluation of men with biochemical recurrence. The current evidence suggests that choline PET(/CT), particularly the 18F- label, may become routinely available, initially in many European countries, for the clinical imaging evaluation of men with prostate cancer.
A new algorithm for transforming exponential current ramp breakdown distributions into constant current TDDB space, and the implications for gate oxide QBD measurement methods

Abstract Charge-to-breakdown (QBD) is one of the manufacturing parameters that is used as a measure of oxide quality. In this work the influence of the measurement conditions on QBD is examined, as well as the relationship between QBD and oxide thickness. Using oxides ranging from 45 to 80 A, two QBD measurement methods are employed: constant current stress (CCS) and an exponential current ramp (ECR). A variety of current densities (for the constant current stress) and step durations (for the exponential current ramp) are studied. It is shown that not only does QBD depend on oxide thickness, but that QBD depends strongly on the measurement conditions, and that, depending on the test conditions, QBD can increase or decrease as the oxide thickness decreases. It is also shown that there is a strong agreement between the QBD measured with a constant current stress and the QBD measured with an exponential current ramp. Finally, an algorithm is proposed for transforming the QBD distribution obtained from a series of exponential current ramps into the QBD and/or tBD domains of constant current stressing.
Vortex generation by topography in locally unstable baroclinic flows

Abstract The dynamics of a quasigeostrophic flow confined in a two-layer channel over variable topography on the beta plane is numerically investigated. The topography slopes uniformly upward in the north–south direction (in the beta sense) and is a smooth function of the zonal coordinate. The bottom slope controls the local supercriticality and is configured to destabilize the flow only in a central interval of limited zonal extent. Linearized solutions indicate that, for a wide enough channel, unstable modes exist for an arbitrary short interval of instability, confirming previous analysis on disturbances with no meridional variation. For small local maximum supercriticality, the instability is maintained by a short bottom-trapped wave localized at the downstream edge of the unstable region and oscillating in phase with the upper-layer disturbance. When nonlinearity is retained in the problem, the equilibration of the bottom-trapped wave is associated with the formation of coherent vortices. Both cyclon...
An atomic scale characterization of coupled grain boundary motion in silicon bicrystals

The mechanical response of symmetric tilt grain boundaries (GBs) in silicon bicrystals under shear loading are characterized using molecular dynamics simulations. It is seen that under shear, high-angle GBs namely Σ5 and Σ13 having a rotation axis [0 0 1] demonstrate coupled GB motion, such that the displacement of grains parallel to the GB interface is accompanied by normal GB motion. An atomic-scale characterization revealed that concerted rotations of silicon tetrahedra within the GB are the primary mechanisms leading to the coupled GB motion. Interestingly, so far, this phenomenon has only been examined in detail for metallic systems. A distinguishing feature of the coupled GB motion observed for the silicon symmetric tilt bicrystals as compared to metallic bicrystals is the fact that in the absence of shear, spontaneous coupled motion is not observed at high temperatures.
Economic impacts of bird damage and management in U.S. sweet cherry production

Bird damage is a common and costly problem for fruit producers, who try to limit damage by using management techniques. This analysis used survey data from producers in five U.S. states to estimate bird damage to sweet cherry (Prunus avium) crops with and without the use of bird management. A partial equilibrium model was applied to the data to estimate the change in the marginal cost of pro- duction resulting from disuse of bird management. The model incorporates both decreased yield and elimination of management costs. A welfare analysis was conducted with short and long run supply elasticities derived from time-series data using geometric distributed lags. With no bird management, total surplus in the United States decreases by about $185 to $238 million in the short run and $21 to $29 million in the long run, indicating that bird management has a large impact on cherry production and associated market outcomes, including price and consumption. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Cellular ATP depletion induces disruption of the spectrin cytoskeletal network.

Ischemia in vivo or ATP depletion in vitro result in disruption and cellular redistribution of the cortical F-actin cytoskeleton in epithelial cells. However, little is known regarding the effect of these two maneuvers on other components of the actin cytoskeleton. Because the spectrin (fodrin in epithelial cells)-based network links the actin cytoskeleton to the surface membrane, we have utilized a reversible model of ATP depletion in LLC-PK1 cells to study the effect of ATP depletion on fodrin and ankyrin. Under physiological conditions, both ankyrin and fodrin were largely Triton X-100 insoluble and colocalized immunofluorescently along the lateral membranes of LLC-PK1 cells. After ATP depletion, there was a rapid and duration-dependent increase in Triton X-100 solubility of both proteins. This was not true for villin and myosin 1, as Triton X-100 solubility was unaffected and reduced by ATP depletion, respectively. The increase in fodrin and ankyrin detergent solubility during ATP depletion was associ...
DPA resistance enhancement through a self-healing PLL based power mask

Attackers can benefit from different side-channel properties such as timing information, electromagnetic leaks and power consumption to achieve private key of a crypto-processor. Among side channel attacks, Differential Power Analysis (DPA) is widely used by hackers. In this paper a new approach is presented to make a system more immune to DPA. The proposed technique employs a low power Phase Locked Loop (PLL) to isolate supply voltage from crypto processor. The proposed method is implemented in 45nm CMOS technology.
Variation in Sensitivity of Mushroom Strains to Diazinon Compost Treatment

Incorporating diazinon into the compost media in which mushrooms are grown is widely practiced to control three dipteran pests, namely, Lycoriella mali (Fitch) and L. multiseta (Felt) (Sciaridae) and Megaselia halterata (Wood) (Phoridae). However, there were indications at times that diazinon-treated compost had lower yields than untreated compost. To determine if the lowered yields were due to differences in sensitivity to diazinon of the different strains, eight commonly used strains were grown in treated and in untreated compost, and the yields were compared. Four strains had significantly lower weights when treated with diazinon, and three of these had significantly fewer mushrooms. The weight of the most sensitive strain was reduced by 30% and the number by 26%. The treatment also delayed the appearance of the growth flushes in sensitive strains. Poor cultural practices tended to result in increased phytotoxicity. There was no difference among the strains in the quantity of diazinon translocated from the compost to the fruiting bodies. The maximum recorded was 0.027 ppm, and most samples contained less than 0.01 ppm.
Motion Blur-Based State Estimation

Motion measurement increasingly deploys image sensors such as charge-coupled device and CMOS arrays, driven by their ever-improving resolution, response time, noise level, and cost. The typical usage is to operate an image sensor and the associated optics as a sampler, by taking a series of high-speed sharp pictures to infer motion. Image blur is treated as an undesirable artifact, to be removed using shorter exposure times or image processing techniques such as deblurring. We have previously shown that dynamic information embedded in image blur may be exploited for model identification in frequency ranges well beyond the Nyquist frequency. In this brief, we investigate the state estimation problem using motion blur. We pose the problem as a minimization, estimating the state at the start of each (slow) sampling period based on the observed motion blur. We show that the local convexity of the minimization corresponds to a generalized observability criterion. This method is compared with other techniques, including the conventional centroid-based method, and that based on the use of multiple image moments. The simulation and experimental results demonstrate the fast response and robustness of the proposed scheme in the presence of synthetic stray light.
Processing and sorting forest residues: Cost, productivity and managerial impacts

Abstract Feedstocks generated from processing forest residues have traditionally been considered as a low value product. The economic potential of these materials can be enhanced by emerging biomass conversion technologies, such as torrefaction, briquetting, and gasification; however, these systems require higher quality feedstock. The objective of this study was to determine the cost of processing and sorting forest residues to produce feedstock, so that the best comminution machines (i.e. chipper vs. grinder) could be used to better control feedstock size distribution. The tree tops left from sawlog processing and small-diameter trees were delimbed and separated from the slash pile. Three harvest units were selected and each unit was divided into three sub-treatment units (no-, moderate, and intensive sorting). Results showed that the cost of operations were higher for the sorted sub-units when compared to the non-sorted. The total cost of operation (felling to loading) for sawlogs was lowest at 40.81 $ m−3 in the nosorting treatment unit, followed by moderate (42.25 $ m−3) and intensive treatment unit (44.75 $ m−3). For biomass harvesting, the cost of operation (felling to delimbing and sorting) ranged from 27 to 29 $ oven dry metric ton−1. The most expensive operational phase was primary transportation; therefore, cost of treating the forest residues had less impact on the overall cost. The cost increase (1150 $ ha−1) of sorting forest residues could offset cost savings from avoided site preparation expenses (1100 $ ha−1), provided that the forest residues were utilized.
Phase-Controlled Converters and Cycloconverters

This chapter describes the characteristics and the principles of diode and thyristor converters and cycloconverters. A converter consists of an array of on-off electronic switches that use power semiconductor devices. If the switches are considered ideal or lossless, the instantaneous and average power will balance at the input and output of the converter. Switching mode operation makes the converter nonlinear, thus generating source, load harmonics, and also electromagnetic induction problems. Diode converters permit only uncontrolled power rectification. Thyristor converters with firing angle control can be operated as rectifiers and inverters, but at zero firing-angle their operation reverts to that of a diode rectifier. Generally, single-phase and three-phase converters are used widely in industry, but multiphase (more than three-phase) operation with the help of a transformer is not uncommon in high-power applications. A cycloconverter is a direct frequency changer that permits lower output frequency, typically up to one-third (blocking type) to two-thirds (circulating current type) of input frequency. Phase control has the advantages of simplicity of converter control and higher equipment efficiency. However, the disadvantages of phase control are complex harmonics at input and output, and poor lagging power factor in the line. The applications of phase-controlled converters, include heating and lighting control, adjustable-speed dc and ac motor drives, and electroplating, anodizing, chemical gas production, metal refining, high voltage direct current (HVDC) systems, static VAR control, dc and ac power supplies, utility system-interactive power converters for renewable energy systems, and slip power recovery drives.
Chaos Theory and Emergent Behavior: How Ephemeral Organizations Function as Strange Attractors through Information Communication Technologies

OF DISSERTATION CHAOS THEORY AND EMERGENT BEHAVIOR: HOW EPHEMERAL ORGANIZATIONS FUNCTION AS STRANGE ATTRACTORS THROUGH INFORMATION COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGIES Chaos theory holds that systems act in unpredictable nonlinear ways and that their behavior can only be observed, never predicted. This is an informative model for an organization in crisis. The West Virginia water contamination crisis, which began on January 9, 2014, fits the criteria of a system in chaos. Given the lack of appropriate response from the established organizations involved, many emergent organizations formed to help fill unmet informational and physical needs of the affected population. Crisis researchers have observed these ephemeral organizations for decades, but the recent proliferation of information communication technologies (ICT’s) have made their activities more widespread and observable. In West Virginia, their activities were indispensable to the affected population and helped restore a sense of normalcy. In this chaotic system, the emergent organizations functioned as strange attractors, helping move the system away from bifurcation and towards normalcy. This dissertation uses a qualitative approach to study the emergent organizations and how their presence and efforts were the mechanism that spurred the self-organization process.
The Bayley-III Language Scale

Publisher Summary This chapter first provides a brief overview of the importance of measuring early communication and language skills in young children, and highlights their strong associations with later developmental and academic skills. The next section pinpoints specific behaviors that can be predictive of later development, and describes how the Bayley-III reflects the theoretical underpinnings, the best available research evidence, and professional consensus regarding these key areas. The subsequent section briefly touches on how the Bayley-III administration procedures enhance child and caregiver participation and ease administration. Sections on scoring and interpreting the test follow, with additional sections on the strengths and concerns of the Bayley-III, and the clinical populations best suited for its use are then provided. Finally, a case study illustrates the use of the Bayley-III Language Scale in assessing a young child who was referred because of delayed language skills.
Regulation of Neuronal Nicotinic Receptors in Primary Cultures

We used [3H]cytisine to characterize nicotinic cholinergic receptor binding sites in rat brain neurons grown in culture. Primary cells were obtained from several different areas of fetal rat brain at 18 days gestation and were kept in culture for up to 15 days. [3H] Cytisine binds with high affinity to primary cultures of neurons from cerebral cortex, hippocampus and striatum; but the highest binding (≈ 50 fmol/mg protein) was found in neurons from a region containing thalamus, midbrain and brainstem, which we refer to here as the TMB. Culturing cortical neurons in the presence of nicotine for 7 days increases the number of nicotinic receptor binding sites labeled by [3H]cytisine. Primary neuronal cultures should be useful as model systems for studies of subunit composition and molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of neuronal nicotinic receptors.
Minerals and Cancer

Only a few epidemiological studies have been conducted to determine the relationship between minerals and the incidence of cancer in humans. This is mainly due to the difficulty of identifying populations with significantly different intakes of the various minerals. In contrast, there have been numerous studies on the carcinogenic effects of many metals, administered at high doses to the animals parenterally. However, the results of these animal studies have shed little light on the potential carcinogenic risk from these elements in the amounts occurring naturally in the diet of humans.
The Effects of the Dark Triad on Unethical Behavior

This article uses behavioral theories to develop an ethical decision-making model that describes how psychological factors affect the development of unethical intentions to commit fraud. We evaluate the effects of the dark triad of personality traits (i.e., psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism) on fraud intentions and behaviors. We use a combination of survey results, an experiment, and structural equation modeling to empirically test our model. The theoretical insights demonstrate that psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism affect different parts of the unethical decision-making process. Narcissism motivates individuals to act unethically for their personal benefit and changes their perceptions of their abilities to successfully commit fraud. Machiavellianism motivates individuals not only to act unethically, but also alters perceptions about the opportunities that exist to deceive others. Psychopathy has a prominent effect on how individuals rationalize their fraudulent behaviors. Accordingly, we find that the dark triad elements act in concert as powerful psychological antecedents to fraud behaviors.
Bayesian group factor analysis with structured sparsity

Latent factor models are the canonical statistical tool for exploratory analyses of low-dimensional linear structure for a matrix of p features across n samples. We develop a structured Bayesian group factor analysis model that extends the factor model to multiple coupled observation matrices; in the case of two observations, this reduces to a Bayesian model of canonical correlation analysis. Here, we carefully define a structured Bayesian prior that encourages both element-wise and column-wise shrinkage and leads to desirable behavior on high-dimensional data. In particular, our model puts a structured prior on the joint factor loading matrix, regularizing at three levels, which enables element-wise sparsity and unsupervised recovery of latent factors corresponding to structured variance across arbitrary subsets of the observations. In addition, our structured prior allows for both dense and sparse latent factors so that covariation among either all features or only a subset of features can be recovered. We use fast parameter-expanded expectation-maximization for parameter estimation in this model. We validate our method on simulated data with substantial structure. We show results of our method applied to three high-dimensional data sets, comparing results against a number of state-of-the-art approaches. These results illustrate useful properties of our model, including i) recovering sparse signal in the presence of dense effects; ii) the ability to scale naturally to large numbers of observations; iii) flexible observation- and factor-specific regularization to recover factors with a wide variety of sparsity levels and percentage of variance explained; and iv) tractable inference that scales to modern genomic and text data sizes.
Elder Abuse and Neglect

Elder abuse, caregiver neglect, financial exploitation, and self-neglect are serious and pervasive problems that cause much harm and even shorten the lives of many elders throughout the world. There are laws in all US jurisdictions that provide for governmental agencies to receive reports, investigate cases, and offer interventions to elders that are abused or neglected. While these are not criminal laws, the actions of caregivers that constitute abuse, neglect, and exploitation may violate criminal laws. Screening for abuse and neglect is encouraged, and health-care providers are required by law to report suspected cases to the responsible governmental agencies. Patients that have the ability to make their own decisions may reject offered assistance. If the patient is believed to lack the capacity to reject assistance, the government may, if necessary, seek to have a court impose services sufficient to protect the elder. The ethical principle of beneficence supports medical providers in helping the government protect elderly victims of abuse and neglect when the patient is unable to exercise their own autonomy.
Corneal Topography of Phase III Excimer Laser Photorefractive Keratectomy: Optical Zone Centration Analysis

Purpose: To determine the amount of optical zone decentration in patients who have undergone excimer laser photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) and assess associations of both decentration and optical zone size with clinical outcomes. Methods: Optical zone centration in 185 patients after PRK was analyzed using computer-assisted videokeratography. A comparison of decentration among the five study centers was performed. Associations of clinical outcomes with procedure decentration and optical zone size were assessed. Results: Decentration from the pupil center ranged from 0.00 to 1.44 mm (mean, 0.46 mm): 21.8% were decentered 0.25 mm or less, 42.5% > 0.25 mm and ≤ 0.50 mm, and 97.1 % ≤ 1.00 mm. In both eyes, the average decentration from the pupil center was located inferonasally. Decentrations among the five study centers were significantly different. Decentration was associated with attempted refractive correction, change in keratometric cylinder, and patient satisfaction. There was a trend toward worse postoperative uncorrected visual acuity with greater decentration but no association with best-corrected vision, predictability, or refractive astigmatism. No significant relation was found between decentration and glare/halo ranking; however, three of six patients with 1.00 mm or greater of decentration demonstrated a high glare/halo grade. Although optical zone size was not associated with glare or halo, subjective patient satisfaction was greater with a 5.0-mm optical zone than with a 4.5-mm optical zone. Conclusions: Centration is an important surgeon-controlled variable in excimer laser PRK. Decentration of excimer laser refractive procedures was found to be nonrandom and may be influenced by preoperative pupil management. Moreover, the amount of decentration may influence clinical outcomes. Improved techniques and centering procedures on nonmiotic pupils may improve future results.
Viscous relaxation of Ganymede’s impact craters: Constraints on heat flux

Abstract Measurement of crater depths in Ganymede’s dark terrain have revealed substantial numbers of unusually shallow craters indicative of viscous relaxation [see companion paper: Singer, K.N., Schenk, P. M., Bland, M.T., McKinnon, W.B., (2017). Relaxed impact craters on Ganymede: Regional variations and high heat flow. Icarus, submitted]. These viscously relaxed craters provide insight into the thermal history of the dark terrain: the rate of relaxation depends on the size of the crater and the thermal structure of the lithosphere. Here we use finite element simulations of crater relaxation to constrain the heat flux within the dark terrain when relaxation occurred. We show that the degree of viscous relaxation observed cannot be achieved through radiogenic heating alone, even if all of the relaxed craters are ancient and experienced the high radiogenic fluxes present early in the satellite’s history. For craters with diameter ≥ 10 km, heat fluxes of 40–50 mW m − 2 can reproduce the observed crater depths, but only if the fluxes are sustained for ∼1 Gyr. These craters can also be explained by shorter-lived “heat pulses” with magnitudes of ∼100 mW m − 2 and timescales of 10–100 Myr. At small crater diameters (4 km) the observed shallow depths are difficult to achieve even when heat fluxes as high as 150 mW m − 2 are sustained for 1 Gyr. The extreme thermal conditions required to viscously relax small craters may indicate that mechanisms other than viscous relaxation, such as topographic degradation, are also in play at small crater diameters. The timing of the relaxation event(s) is poorly constrained due to the sparsity of adequate topographic information, though it likely occurred in Ganymede’s middle history (neither recently, nor shortly after satellite formation). The consistency between the timing and magnitude of the heat fluxes derived here and those inferred from other tectonic features suggests that a single event caused both Ganymede’s tectonic deformation and its crater relaxation. Future observations should permit more robust determination of the relative timing of the heating event that caused viscous relaxation.
Cognitive functioning in schizotypy through the lens of the accessibility model.

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Individuals with schizotypy self-report subjective cognitive complaints commensurate with deficits reported by individuals with schizophrenia. In contrast to schizophrenia, objective deficits in memory are modest in individuals with schizotypy, as compared to their self-reported cognitive complaints. It has been proposed that abnormalities in semantic memory systems may underlie this dysjunction.Methods: This study employed a modified verbal memory paradigm in a sample of 87 individuals with psychometrically defined schizotypy. Appraisals of memory performance were evaluated across global (i.e. drawing on semantic memory systems and assessing perceived typical performance) and situation-specific (i.e. drawing on episodic memory systems) epochs. Objective memory performance was assessed using a verbal recall paradigm.Results: Individuals with schizotypy did not differ in situation-specific appraisals or in objective memory performance. Global appraisals of memory performance predicted...
Outcomes of Endovascular Management of Late Vascular Hemorrhage After Pancreatic Transplant

OBJECTIVE. The aim of this retrospective study is to evaluate the endovascular treatment of hemorrhage in the nonperioperative setting in pancreas transplant recipients. MATERIALS AND METHODS. All ...
“Un Favorzote”: Gender and Reciprocity in the Andes

Resumen En este estudio analizo trabajos reciprocos de mujeres en una comunidad rural en Ayacucho, Peru. Se ha estudiado practicas formales de reciprocidad durante muchas decadas en los Andes, como fundamental para formacion social alli, pero esa literatura se ha centrado en los arreglos convocados para la construccion y produccion agricola. Como consecuencia, la reciprocidad ha sido analizado como fenomeno masculino. Investigacion etnografica con mujeres demuestra que su ayuda mutua en crianza de hijos y otras tareas les permitia entrar a mercados laborales y aprovecharse de programas estatales que buscaban mejorar sus circunstancias, mientras les proveia entornos de apoyo mutuo que muchas habian carecido en el matrimonio. Comprension de esta forma de reciprocidad es fundamental en Ayacucho, donde el numero de madres solteras ha aumentado desde las decadas de guerra. Este estudio presenta un complemento fundamental para descripciones tradicionales de ayni, analizando practicas de mujeres para prosperar en condiciones dificiles. [Andes, clase, genero, labor, Peru]
High-quality TiN/AlN thin film heterostructures on c-sapphire

Abstract We have developed TiN/AlN/c-sapphire epitaxial heterostructures and compared it with TiN/c-sapphire epitaxial heterostructures, needed for GaN-based LEDs and lasers. AlN is used as a buffer layer to provide a high misfit strain and facilitate the 2D growth on sapphire. The large misfit strain between sapphire and AlN makes this substrate a great candidate for GaN-based devices because it guarantees a full relaxation of AlN thin films through domain matching epitaxy paradigm. TiN can also act as an excellent contact and bottom electrode for Ⅲ-Ⅴ nitrides. Also, the introduction of TiN as a buffer layer decreases the critical thickness beyond which dislocations can grow in GaN thin films due to higher misfit strain compared to sapphire, which also improves the quality of potential GaN thin films. The selected-area-electron-diffraction patterns, scanning transmission electron microscopy, and transmission Kikuchi diffractions along with atomic arrangement simulations revealed that films are epitaxial with the following relationships: TiN ‖AlN[ 1 ¯ 2 1 ¯ 0]‖sapphire[01 1 ¯ 0] (in-plane), and TiN ‖AlN[0001]‖sapphire[0001] (out-of-plane). This is equivalent to a 30° rotation of Al basal plane in AlN with respect to that in sapphire. In TiN/c-sapphire epitaxial platforms, there is a 30° rotation: TiN ‖sapphire[01 1 ¯ 0] (in-plane), and TiN ‖sapphire[0001] (out-of-plane). It is shown that these heterostructures are fully relaxed in terms of misfit strains and only thermal strain stays as unrelaxed. The domain matching epitaxy paradigm is used to rationalize the epitaxial growth. The details of dislocations nucleation and glide in these heterostructures were studied and the results also discussed to elucidate the mechanism of strain relaxation.
Red-Headed Physiognomy in Salman Rushdie's MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN

Salman Rushdie often links physical attributes with personality traits in Midnight's Children. He explores the relationship between colonizer and colonized, paying particular attention to the ways ...
Comparative Politics and Comparative Policy Studies: Making the Linkage

The study of comparative politics and the comparative study of public policy have developed independently of one another, and there has not been adequate interaction of the fields. This is true des...
Output feedback Q-learning for discrete-time linear zero-sum games with application to the H-infinity control

Abstract Approximate dynamic programming techniques usually rely on the feedback of the measurement of the complete state, which is generally not available in practical situations. In this paper, we present an output feedback Q-learning algorithm towards finding the optimal strategies for the discrete-time linear quadratic zero-sum game, which encompasses the H-infinity optimal control problem. A new representation of the Q-function in the output feedback form is derived for the zero-sum game problem and the optimal output feedback policies are presented. Then, a Q-learning algorithm is developed that learns the optimal control strategies online without needing any information about the system dynamics, which makes the control design completely model-free. It is shown that the proposed algorithm converges to the optimal solution obtained by solving the game algebraic Riccati equation (GARE). Unlike the value function based approach used for output feedback, the proposed Q-learning scheme does not require a discounting factor that is generally adopted to mitigate the effect of excitation noise bias. It is known that this discounting factor may compromise the closed-loop stability. The proposed method overcomes the excitation noise bias problem without resorting to the discounting factor, and therefore, converges to the nominal GARE solution. As a result, the closed-loop stability is preserved. An application to the H-infinity autopilot controller for the F-16 aircraft is demonstrated by simulation.
Coordination-induced reversible electrical conductivity variation in the MOF-74 analogue Fe2(DSBDC)

Inner-sphere changes at the open Fe centers in Fe2(DSBDC) (DSBDC4− = 2,5-disulfidobenzene-1,4-dicarboxylate), as caused by coordination and release of solvent molecules, lead to reversible structural and electrical conductivity changes. Specifically, coordination of N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) to the open Fe sites improves the room-temperature electrical conductivity by three orders of magnitude. Supported by additional density functional theory calculations, we attribute the electrical conductivity enhancement to partial electron transfer from Fe to DMF, which generates hole carriers and improves the charge carrier density in Fe2(DSBDC).
Empirically Trivial Theories and Inductive Systematization

In recent discussions about the role of theoretical terms in inductive systematization, a claim has frequently been repeated to the effect that a theory having no non-tautological deductive observational consequences cannot achieve any inductive systematization among observational statements. This claim has been made by Bohnert (1968, p. 280), Hooker (1968, p. 157–158), Stegmiiller (1970, pp. 423, 428–429), and Cornman (1973), for the purpose of showing that the examples given by Hempel (1958, pp. 214–215), (1963, pp. 700–701), and Scheffler (1963, pp. 218–222) do not suffice to prove the indispensability of theoretical terms for inductive systematization. The purpose of this note is to criticize this claim in the form it is made by Stegmiiller, who has given, as far as I know, the only explicit argument for it. Elsewhere (see Niiniluoto, 1973) I have tried to discuss more generally the notoriously vague notion of ‘inductive systematization achieved by a theory’ and some main problems connected with it.
The Construct Validity of Holland's Differentiation Concept.

Holland's construct of differentiation was studied with various measures of development, career decisiveness, and achievement.
Did Medicaid Expansions For Pregnant Women Crowd Out Private Coverage

This paper documents the changing picture of health insurance coverage for pregnant women in the four-year period following Medicaid expansion and assesses the extent to which the crowding-out phenomenon may have influenced the observed trends. The report documents the distribution of insurance coverage for pregnant women in the post-expansion period and describes demographic characteristics of women covered under Medicaid. It examines the rate at which Medicaid-eligible women enroll in the program and addresses the crowding-out issue by comparing the trend in employer-sponsored coverage among poor and near-poor pregnant women with those among nonpregnant women and men of similar ages and incomes.
Internalized Stigma Among People Living with HIV-AIDS

HIV is recognized as a highly stigmatized disease; however, there has been a lack of research on the internalization of this stigma by seropositive people. This study examined internalized stigma among HIV-positive men and women (N = 268) in Milwaukee and Madison, Wisconsin, and New York City. The majority of the sample experienced internalized stigma related to their HIV status. Individuals who experienced high internalized HIV stigma (IHS) had been diagnosed with HIV more recently, their families were less accepting of their illness, they were less likely to ever have attended an HIV support group, and they knew fewer people with HIV. Individuals with high IHS also worried more about spreading their infection to others. Heterosexuals and participants from Wisconsin experienced higher levels of IHS. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that IHS contributed significantly to levels of depression, anxiety, and hopelessness after controlling for the effects of key behavioral and psychosocial variables.
Applying Hurricane Recovery Lessons in the United States to Climate Change Adaptation: Hurricanes Fran and Floyd in North Carolina, USA

Hurricanes Fran and Floyd, the two most costly disasters in the history of the state of North Carolina (USA), struck within a three year time span. This provides a unique opportunity to assess the degree to which lessons were transferred from one extreme event to another in terms of the state-level approaches taken to address recovery needs at the local level, including the proactive adoption of supportive state policies advancing hazard mitigation and sustainable development measures in anticipation of the next disaster. The lessons uncovered in a review of these two events include three important themes that are relevant to climate change adaptation: (1) large-scale disasters in the U.S. trigger considerable amounts of post-disaster assistance and attention; (2) the manner in which the “window of opportunity” to garner and effectively coordinate the distribution and use of these resources through changes in policies, plans, public perceptions and programmes varies significantly over time; and (3) the transfer of lessons from one event to another, including the institutionalisation of policies and the hiring of personnel needed to sustain the implementation of these policies requires a significant commitment of political, financial, technical and administrative resources and is difficult to achieve in practice.
Regulation of IP(3)R Channel Gating by Ca(2+) and Ca(2+) Binding Proteins.

Publisher Summary The activity of the inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R) Ca2+ release channel is intricately regulated by a multitude of ligands. The most important ligands regulating IP3R channel activity are IP3 and Ca2+. Generally, cytoplasmic Ca2+ regulates steady-state IP3R channel gating with a biphasic concentration dependence—Ca2+ at low concentrations activates the channel and increases its open probability, whereas at higher concentrations, Ca2+ inhibits the channel. Ca2+ modulates channel activity by binding to several apparently distinct sites that regulate Ca2+activation, IP3-dependent Ca2+ inhibition, IP3-independent Ca2+ inhibition, channel inactivation, and channel recruitment. A separate Ca2+-binding site appears to regulate the functionality of the IP3-independent Ca2+ inhibition site. Quantitative and qualitative molecular models can account for much of the steady-state and kinetic behaviors of IP3R channel gating regulation by cytoplasmic Ca2+. The identification of modal gating has revealed that Ca2+modulates IP3R channel activity primary by regulating its propensity to gate in particular modes. Ca2+ regulation of the channel is impinged on by other channel regulators, including IP3 and ATP, as allosteric modulators.
Adopting a stance: Bandura and Vygotsky on professional development:

Although the importance of professional development for improved student learning is widely recognized and many studies have been devoted to enhancing its effectiveness, the specific mechanism unde...
IgA Responses to Microbiota.

Various immune mechanisms are deployed in the mucosa to confront the immense diversity of resident bacteria. A substantial fraction of the commensal microbiota is coated with immunoglobulin A (IgA) antibodies, and recent findings have established the identities of these bacteria under homeostatic and disease conditions. Here we review the current understanding of IgA biology, and present a framework wherein two distinct types of humoral immunity coexist in the gastrointestinal mucosa. Homeostatic IgA responses employ a polyreactive repertoire to bind a broad but taxonomically distinct subset of microbiota. In contrast, mucosal pathogens and vaccines elicit high-affinity, T cell-dependent antibody responses. This model raises fundamental questions including how polyreactive IgA specificities are generated, how these antibodies exert effector functions, and how they exist together with other immune responses during homeostasis and disease.
GPCR homology model template selection benchmarking: Global versus local similarity measures.

Abstract G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) are integral membrane proteins of considerable interest as targets for drug development. GPCR ligand interaction studies often have a starting point with either crystal structures or comparative models. The majority of GPCR do not have experimentally-characterized 3-dimensional structures, so comparative modeling, also called homology modeling, is a good structure-based starting point. Comparative modeling is a widely used method for generating models of proteins with unknown structures by analogy to crystallized proteins that are expected to exhibit structural conservation. Traditionally, comparative modeling template selection is based on global sequence identity and shared function. However high sequence identity localized to the ligand binding pocket may produce better models to examine protein-ligand interactions. This in silico benchmark study examined the performance of a global versus local similarity measure applied to comparative modeling template selection for 6 previously crystallized, class A GCPR (CXCR4, FFAR1, NOP, P2Y12, OPRK, and M1) with the long-term goal of optimizing GPCR ligand identification efforts. Comparative models were generated from templates selected using both global and local similarity measures. Similarity to reference crystal structures was reflected in RMSD values between atom positions throughout the structure or localized to the ligand binding pocket. Overall, models deviated from the reference crystal structure to a similar degree regardless of whether the template was selected using a global or local similarity measure. Ligand docking simulations were performed to assess relative performance in predicting protein-ligand complex structures and interaction networks. Calculated RMSD values between ligand poses from docking simulations and crystal structures indicate that models based on locally selected templates give docked poses that better mimic crystallographic ligand positions than those based on globally-selected templates in five of the six benchmark cases. However, protein model refinement strategies in advance of ligand docking applications are clearly essential as the average RMSD between crystallographic poses and poses docked into local template models was 9.7 A and typically less than half of the ligand interaction sites are shared between the docked and crystallographic poses. These data support the utilization of local similarity measures to guide template selection in protocols using comparative models to investigate ligand-receptor interactions.