cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Synthesis, structure, and magnetism of BCC KIrO3.

KIrO3 in the body-centered cubic variant of the KSbO3-type structure is reported. Black cube-shaped single crystals, obtained from the solid-state reaction in a half-closed silver capsule in a sealed quartz tube, were used for the structural characterization by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The material, space group Im (no. 204), exhibits a disordered K array and a three-dimensional (3D) IrO6-based tunnel-like framework. Temperature-dependent magnetization and heat capacity measurements suggest a paramagnetic state for KIrO3, with significant contribution of temperature independent paramagnetism and without any sign of long-range magnetic ordering (down to 1.8 K). The 3D motif of this material, based on the 5d Ir5+ ion, is of interest for investigating unconventional magnetism.
An assessment of serum-dependent impacts on intracellular accumulation and genomic response of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in a placental trophoblast model

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a class of environmental contaminants, have been detected in human placenta and cord blood. The mechanisms driving PFAS-induced effects on the placenta and adverse pregnancy outcomes are not well understood. This study investigated the impact of perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), and a replacement PFAS known as hexafluoropropylene oxide dimer acid (HFPO-DA, tradename GenX) on placental trophoblasts in vitro. Several key factors were addressed. First, PFAS levels in cell culture reagents at baseline were quantified. Second, the role of supplemental media serum in intracellular accumulation of PFAS in a human trophoblast (JEG3) cell line was established. Finally, the impact of PFAS on the expression of 96 genes involved in proper placental function in JEG3 cells was evaluated. The results revealed that serum-free media (SFM) contained no detectable PFAS. In contrast, fetal bovine serum-supplemented media (SSM) contained PFNA, PFUdA, PFTrDA, and 6:2 FTS, but these PFAS were not detected internally in cells. Intracellular accumulation following 24 hr treatments was significantly higher when cultured in SFM compared to SSM for PFOS and PFOA, but not HFPO-DA. Treatment with PFAS was associated with gene expression changes (n = 32) in pathways vital to placental function, including viability, syncytialization, inflammation, transport, and invasion/mesenchymal transition. Among the most robust PFAS-associated changes were those observed in the known apoptosis-related genes, BAD and BAX. These results suggest a complex relationship between PFAS, in vitro culture conditions, and altered expression of key genes necessary for proper placentation.
Abstract 3214: BART: An integrative bioinformatics toolkit and web server for functional transcription factor prediction

The goal of this bioinformatics tool is to predict functional transcription factors (TFs) from various queries of target genomic features. TFs play a key role in regulating gene expression in a dynamic chromatin structure. From a target gene set or a genomic region set, it is challenging to identify functional TFs that regulate these genes or bind in these regions, because of complexity of enhancer distributions and insufficient specificity of DNA sequence motifs. Here, we present BART (Binding Analysis for Regulation of Transcription), an interactive bioinformatics toolkit and web server to predict functional TFs that regulate a set of co-regulated genes or associate with a genomic profile. From a gene set, BART first uses a machine learning approach to generate a genome-wide cis-regulatory profile by leveraging hundreds of publicly available ChIP-seq profiles for active enhancer histone mark H3K27ac and DNase-seq profiles for genome-wide cis-regulatory elements. Then it identifies a list of TFs whose binding profiles most correlate with the cis-regulatory profile by comparing with tens of thousands of ChIP-seq datasets. BART can also identify TFs associated with differential chromatin interaction from a pair of three-dimensional (3D) genomic datasets, such as Hi-C. BART integrates over 12,000 ChIP-seq datasets for over 900 TFs for human and over 500 TFs for mouse to make accurate predictions. We demonstrate that BART outperforms existing methods in identifying the true TF from target gene sets. BART can be useful for any researcher in studying cancer gene regulation and cancer epigenetics, and demonstrates the power of utilizing public data for computational biology research. BART web server is freely available at: http://bartweb.org. Citation Format: Zhenjia Wang, Wenjing Ma, Yifan Zhang, Neal E. Magee, Yang Chen, Chongzhi Zang. BART: An integrative bioinformatics toolkit and web server for functional transcription factor prediction [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research 2020; 2020 Apr 27-28 and Jun 22-24. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(16 Suppl):Abstract nr 3214.
US immigration policy and brain waste

The US H-1B visa for highly skilled immigrant labor and the accompanying H-4 visa for their dependents lead to structural constraints that exclude dependents from the labor force. This paper investigates the economic consequences of the US immigration policy that decouples work and admission permission for H-4 visa holders. Using a pool of likely H-1B recipients who were recruited through firms’ job offers, we find that—despite labor force restrictions—the vast majority of married H-1B recipients are accompanied by their spouses. This is particularly the case for male H-1B recipients, making wives rather than husbands carry most of the burden associated labor force exclusions. Using a matched sample of married immigrants with work authorization, we estimate labor force participation probabilities and wages for the pool of likely dependent spouses if they were not facing work restrictions. We find that the policy-imposed labor force exclusion of H-4 spouses leads to substantial losses of spouses’ earnings of about (2014) US$28,000 per capita, which—in the aggregate—implies a sizeable productivity loss for the US due to its restrictive US immigration policy.
The Failure of Free Entry

We study the entry and exit of firms across U.S. industries over the past 40 years. The elasticity of entry with respect to Tobin’s Q was positive and significant until the late 1990s but declined to zero afterwards. Standard macroeconomic models suggest two potential explanations: rising entry costs or rising returns to scale. We find that neither returns to scale nor technological costs can explain the decline in the Q- elasticity of entry, but lobbying and regulations can. We reconcile conflicting results in the literature and show that regulations drive down the entry and growth of small firms relative to large ones, particularly in industries with high lobbying expenditures. We conclude that lobbying and regulations have caused free entry to fail. Institutional subscribers to the NBER working paper series, and residents of developing countries may download this paper without additional charge at www.nber.org.
Supporting Self-Directed Learning: Development of a Faculty Evaluation Scale

Construct: We sought to assess medical education faculty members’ ability to support students in the development of self-regulated learning skills. Background: It is broadly agreed that medical stu...
Time Frequency Representations and Deep Convolutional Neural Networks: A Recipe for Molecular Properties Prediction

In recent years, Quantum Mechanics (QM) has been combined with Machine Learning (ML) algorithms to speed up the design of molecules, drugs and materials. These paradigms known as QM↔ML have been successful in providing the precision of QM at the speed of ML. In this work, we show that by integrating well-known signal processing (SP) techniques in the QM↔ML pipeline, we obtain a powerful methodology (QM↔SP↔ML) that can be used for representation, visualization and molecular properties predictions. Tested on the benchmark QM9 dataset, the new QM↔SP↔ML framework is able to predict the properties of molecules with a mean absolute error below acceptable chemical accuracy, and yield better or similar results compared to other ML state-of-the-art techniques described in the literature.
Plasma biomarkers associated with survival and thrombosis in hospitalized COVID-19 patients

Severe coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) has been associated with fibrin-mediated hypercoagulability and thromboembolic complications. To evaluate potential biomarkers of coagulopathy and disease severity in COVID-19, we measured plasma levels of eight biomarkers potentially associated with coagulation, fibrinolysis, and platelet function in 43 controls and 63 COVID-19 patients, including 47 patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and 16 non-ICU patients. COVID-19 patients showed significantly elevated levels of fibrinogen, tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA), and its inhibitor plasminogen activation inhibitor 1 (PAI-1), as well as ST2 (the receptor for interleukin 33) and von Willebrand factor (vWF) compared to the control group. We found that higher levels of t-PA, ST2, and vWF at the time of admission were associated with lower survival rates, and that thrombotic events were more frequent in patients with initial higher levels of vWF. These results support a predictive role of specific biomarkers such as t-PA and vWF in the pathophysiology of COVID-19. The data provide support for the case that hypercoagulability in COVID-19 is fibrin-mediated, but also highlights the important role that vWF may play in the genesis of thromboses in the pathophysiology of COVID-19. Interventions designed to enhance fibrinolysis and reduce platelet aggregation might prove to be useful adjuncts in the treatment of coagulopathy in a subset of COVID-19 patients.
Financial and Legal Issues

This chapter presents an overview of financial and legal issues. This chapter elaborates matters relevant to abstinence control. Its concern is eliminating immediate access to money, building a fence, so to speak, around temptation. The range and scope of these legal issues vary enormously. Typical charges include outfight theft, embezzlement, misappropriation of funds, failure to pay taxes, tax evasion, bank or credit card fraud, writing bad checks, mail fraud, forgery, securities violations, and making false statements on financial reports. This chapter examines a broader range of financial issues that are essential to long-term stability. Financial concerns are an essential focus of treatment, for they trigger impulses to gamble. Moreover, this chapter also illustrates pathological gambling lifestyle that leads to legal problems either through neglect of financial obligations or through illegal attempts to obtain money. Therapists must raise client and family awareness over potential legal issues and the need for legal advice.
Robust Radiometric Calibration for Dynamic Scenes in the Wild

The camera response function (CRF) that maps linear irradiance to pixel intensities must be known for computational imaging applications that match features in images with different exposures. This function is scene dependent and is difficult to estimate in scenes with significant motion. In this paper, we present a novel algorithm for radiometric calibration from multiple exposure images of a dynamic scene. Our approach is based on two key ideas from the literature: (1) intensity mapping functions which map pixel values in one image to the other without the need for pixel correspondences, and (2) a rank minimization algorithm for radiometric calibration. Although each method has its problems, we show how to combine them in a formulation that leverages their benefits. Our algorithm recovers the CRFs for dynamic scenes better than previous methods, and we show how it can be applied to existing algorithms such as those for high-dynamic range imaging to improve their results.
Cost structures and life cycle impacts of algal biomass and biofuel production

Development and extraction of energy sources, energy production and energy use have huge economic, environmental and geopolitical impacts. Increasing energy demands in tandem with reductions in fossil fuel production has led to significant investments in research into alternative forms of energy. One that is promising but yet not commercially established is the production of biofuel from algae. This research quantitatively assessed the potential of algae biofuel production by examining its cost and environmental impacts. First, two models developed by the RAND corporation were employed to assess Cost Growth defined as the ratio of actual costs to estimated costs, and Plant Performance defined as the ratio of actual production levels to design performance, of three algal biofuel production technologies. The three algal biofuel production technologies examined to open raceway ponds (ORPs), photobioreactors (PBRs), and a system that couples PBRs to ORPs (PBR-ORPs). Though these analyses lack precision due to uncertainty, the results highlight the risks associated with implementing algal biofuel systems, as all scenarios examined were predicted to have Cost Growth, ranging from 1.2 to 1.8, and Plant Performance was projected as less than 50% of design performance for all cases. Second, the Framework the Evaluation of Biomass Energy Feedstocks (FEBEF) was used to assess the cost and environmental impacts of biodiesel produced from three algal production technologies. When these results were compared with ethanol from corn and biodiesel from soybeans, biodiesel from algae
The role of genetic differences in human susceptibility to pesticides

Pesticides are among the most intensively studied and most extensively regulated classes of chemicals throughout the world. In the United States, regulatory decision-making addresses both the specific chemical and the various applications that may lead to significant exposures. In the general framework for risk assessment and risk management, variation in susceptibility is emerging as a variable of interest, as shown in Figure 1:
Interoperability of Standards to Support Application Integration

One of the key challenges in the design, implementation, operation, and maintenance of an industrial automation system is the selection of appropriate standards to facilitate system integration. A significant aspect of the integration challenge is determining whether the standards-conformant components making up the system will operate with each other. The interoperability of these components depends on which interfaces are used in their implementation.
The Growth and Interaction of Bubbles in Rayleigh-Taylor Unstable Interfaces

The dynamic behavior of Rayleigh-Taylor unstable interfaces may be simplified in terms of dynamics of fundamental modes and the interaction between these modes. A dynamic equation is proposed to capture the dominant behavior of single bubbles and spikes in the linear, free fall and terminal velocity stages. The interaction between bubbles, characterized by the process of bubble merger, is studied by investigating the motion of the outer envelope of the bubbles. The front tracking method is used for simulating the motion of two compressible fluids of different density under the influence of gravity.
Transport properties of polycrystalline Mg 2 Si 1 − y Sb y ( 0 ≤ y 0.4 )

Thermal conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, resistivity, and Hall measurements on polycrystalline ${\mathrm{Mg}}_{2}{\mathrm{Si}}_{1\ensuremath{-}y}{\mathrm{Sb}}_{y}$ with $0\ensuremath{\le}y\ensuremath{\le}0.37$ are reported. In these materials, Sb substitutes for Si in the antifluorite structure. As the Sb content increases, vacancies are formed in the lattice on Mg sites, which also contribute to variations in the transport properties. With increasing Sb content, both the absolute Seebeck coefficient and electrical resistivity first decrease, but then increase due to vacancy formation, while the thermal conductivity decreases monotonically with increasing Sb content. We investigate the lattice thermal conductivity by modeling the data using the Debye approximation in order to discern the contributions from different phonon-scattering mechanisms. We discuss the results in the context of potential thermoelectric applications.
Systematics of proton absorption deduced from ( p , p ) and ( p , n ) cross sections for 2.0- to 6.7-MeV protons on Ag 1 0 7 , 1 0 9 and In 115

The ($p$,$p$) and ($p$,$n$) cross sections were measured to accuracies of \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}2% and \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}3%, respectively, for 2.0- to 6.7-MeV protons on $^{107,109}\mathrm{Ag}$ and $^{115}\mathrm{In}$. Hauser-Feshbach calculations, which included $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray emission channels, were used to convert the ($p$,$n$) cross sections to proton absorption cross sections. Analysis of the ($p$,$p$) and deduced proton absorption cross sections were made simultaneously using a conventional optical-model potential. The measured cross sections can be described using parameters extrapolated from the Sn region in a systematic way, except for a large increase required for the depth of the absorptive potential.NUCLEAR REACTIONS $^{107,109}\mathrm{Ag}$ and $^{115}\mathrm{In}$ ($p$,$p$) and ($p$,$n$), $E=2.0 \mathrm{to} 6.7$ MeV, resolution 30 to 70 keV, enriched targets. Measured ($\frac{d\ensuremath{\sigma}}{d\ensuremath{\Omega}}$) ($p$,$p$) at 135\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{} and 165\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}, and total $\ensuremath{\sigma}(p,n)$. Observed analog resonances. Statistical-model and optical-model analyses, deduced model parameters.
Dependence and Autonomy in Old Age: The liberal theory of autonomy

Autonomy is a touchstone for much analysis and discussion in the field of bioethics. To understand its proper application in the context of long-term care, it is important to appreciate the lineage and limitations of this concept by considering its roots in the liberal theory of autonomy. Although there are significant limitations associated with the liberal theory of autonomy, most of these limitations are tractable. Liberal theory is not itself the problem, but the extension of what is primarily a political and legal theory into ethics levels the complex landscape of moral life. We need not reject liberal theory, but can confine it within its proper borders and we can supplement its contribution to ethical analysis and practice by offering a fuller and more adequate view of what it means to be an autonomous agent. Pursuing these points can entangle us in the wider debate over the modern, liberal view of the self and the political and ethical commitments of this view involving a set of controversies that are remote from the subject of this book. For this reason, this book contains only a limited allusion to this complex debate. The goal is to develop an account of autonomy compatible with liberal theory that establishes the practical utility of autonomy for the ethical analysis of long-term care. To do so, the concept of autonomy is examined in a concrete and practical way to establish a framework for re-thinking the ethics of long-term care.
A computational architecture for heterogeneous reasoning

In this paper we describe a computational architecture for applications that support heterogeneous reasoning. Heterogeneous reasoning is, in its most general form, reasoning that employs representations drawn from multiple representational forms. Of particular importance, and the principal focus of the architecture, is heterogeneous reasoning which employs one or more forms of graphical representation, perhaps in combination with sentences (of English or another language, whether natural or scientific). Graphical representations include diagrams, pictures, layouts, blueprints, flowcharts, graphs, maps, tables, spreadsheets, animations, video, and 3D models. By 'an application that supports heterogeneous reasoning' we mean an application that allows users to construct, record, edit, and replay a process of reasoning using multiple representations so that the structure of the reasoning is maintained and the informational dependencies and justifications of the individual steps of the reasoning can be recorded.
The role of the dopaminergic projections in MFB self-stimulation

Psychophysical experiments indicate that the first stage of the reward pathway in medial forebrain bundle self-stimulation consists of small myelinated descending axons. Pharmacological experiments show that neuroleptics attenuate or abolish the rewarding effect. This had led to the hypothesis that the descending myelinated axons synapse on an ascending dopaminergic second stage projection. 2-Deoxy-[14C]glucose autoradiography in self-stimulating animals or animals receiving automatically administered rewarding stimulation after treatment with reward-blocking doses of pimozide reveals activation of a descending myelinated system but no stimulation-produced activation of an ascending dopaminergic projection system, even though the autoradiographic method reveals the mild elevations and depressions of activity in dopaminergic terminal fields consequent upon injections of neuroleptics and amphetamine, respectively, and the strong activation of the nigrostriatal projection produced by stimulating directly in the substantia nigra. When the effects of neuroleptics and clonidine are measured by the psychophysical method (that is, by lateral shifts in the rate-frequency function), it is found that both drugs produce only gradual and rather small attenuations of rewarding efficacy up to doses at which it is no longer possible to measure their effects. It is suggested that, for neuroleptics at least, the rewarding effect abruptly fails at these doses. It is further suggested that these drugs do not act on the rewarding pathway itself, but on the process by which the rewarding signal is converted to an enduring rewarding effect.
Peptides from the site of chicken anti-DNP antibodies.

Hapten binding sites of chicken anti-DNP antibody appear to contain an iodinatable residue since their binding activity is decreased by iodi-nation of the antibody. The presence of the hapten -DNP-lysine during iodination protects the site. Peptides were isolated from peptic digests of the pair-iodinated antibody which appear to have come from the binding site.
When the levee breaks: without bots, what happens to Wikipedia's quality control processes?

In the first half of 2011, ClueBot NG -- one of the most prolific counter-vandalism bots in the English-language Wikipedia -- went down for four distinct periods, each period of downtime lasting from days to weeks. In this paper, we use these periods of breakdown as naturalistic experiments to study Wikipedia's heterogeneous quality control network, which we analyze as a multi-tiered system in which distinct classes of reviewers use various reviewing technologies to patrol for different kinds of damage at staggered time periods. Our analysis showed that the overall time-to-revert edits was almost doubled when this software agent was down. Yet while a significantly fewer proportion of edits made during the bot's downtime were reverted, we found that those edits were later eventually reverted. This suggests that other agents in Wikipedia took over this quality control work, but performed it at a far slower rate.
Were My Diagnosis and Treatment Correct? No News is Not Necessarily Good News

In a recent report, the American Medical Association (AMA) concluded, “we still know very little about patient safety in the ambulatory setting, and next to nothing about how to improve it.”1 Research on patient safety has highlighted the prevalence of poor follow-up after patient–provider encounters. Suboptimal follow-up may be associated with adverse events and poor patient outcomes.2–5 Ensuring timely patient follow-up is essential when a diagnosis or treatment plan is uncertain, or when there is a specific need to closely monitor a patient’s condition. Additionally, when the initial diagnosis is incorrect or initial management misguided, prompt follow-up is often the only way the error can be recognized and corrected.2–4,6 Despite the importance of close follow-up, much remains to be done to improve the process of outpatient follow-up care. In this issue of JGIM, Berner et al. explore the use of an automated interactive voice response (IVR) system to reach patients after acute care visits.7 Systematic approaches to patient follow-up have potential to address several preventable patient safety issues cited by the AMA report, including diagnostic errors and communication breakdowns. IVR-based outreach is an innovative tool that may play a role in developing feasible and cost-effective interventions to facilitate rigorous follow-up. In this editorial, we summarize several implications for current and future safety initiatives in the outpatient setting based on the results of Berner et al.’s study.
Liberating Moral Reflection.

Abstract The author argues that if we are to foster life-giving and liberating moral reflection, we must first liberate moral reflection from distortions; specifically, from the distorting effects of moral insensitivity, destructive moral relativism, and confusions resulting from a failure to understand the dynamics of moral reflection. The author proposes that we should conceptualize moral reflection as an active process that involves the balancing of (1) efforts to step back from morally charged life situations to gain a critically reflective perspective, with (2) focused attention on such situations in order to understand how they shape the ongoing unfolding of our lives.
A two-stage framework for designing visual analytics system in organizational environments

A perennially interesting research topic in the field of visual analytics is how to effectively develop systems that support organizational users' decision-making and reasoning processes. The problem is, however, most domain analytical practices generally vary from organization to organization. This leads to diverse designs of visual analytics systems in incorporating domain analytical processes, making it difficult to generalize the success from one domain to another. Exacerbating this problem is the dearth of general models of analytical workflows available to enable such timely and effective designs. To alleviate these problems, we present a two-stage framework for informing the design of a visual analytics system. This design framework builds upon and extends current practices pertaining to analytical workflow and focuses, in particular, on incorporating both general domain analysis processes as well as individual's analytical activities. We illustrate both stages and their design components through examples, and hope this framework will be useful for designing future visual analytics systems. We validate the soundness of our framework with two visual analytics systems, namely Entity Workspace [8] and PatViz [37].
A rodent model of partial muscle re-innervation.

Abstract Background There is limited appreciation of the risks and benefits of the few salvage treatment options available for inadequate motor function following incomplete spontaneous recovery or surgical repair of major peripheral nerve injuries. The lack of a reliable and economical animal model has hindered laboratory investigation into this difficult clinical problem. We propose a straightforward and reproducible rodent model of partial re-innervation of a hind limb muscle. New method Twelve Sprague-Dawley rats underwent identical surgical manipulations: the left tibial nerve was isolated, partially transected (2/3rds), and the remaining intact portion crushed. Eight weeks later, bilateral (1) gastrocnemius (2) soleus and (3) flexor digitorum longus muscles underwent maximal isometric contraction force testing before being excised and weighed. Results Only the gastrocnemius muscles were statistically weaker (p Comparison with existing methods Our model differs from other published models by: allowing time for compensatory axonal sprouting as would be seen in clinical scenarios, precisely identifying the portion of the tibial nerve to be transected to ensure reproducibility, and achieving temporary but complete denervation by crushing the intact portion of the nerve. Conclusions Controlled partial transection and crushing of the rodent tibial nerve results in a consistently partially re-innervated and clinically weakened gastrocnemius muscle that can serve as a model in studying incomplete recovery following nerve injury.
Positive recurrence for reflecting Brownian motion in higher dimensions

Semimartingale reflecting Brownian motions (SRBMs) are diffusion processes with state space the d-dimensional nonnegative orthant, in the interior of which the processes evolve according to a Brownian motion, and that reflect against the boundary in a specified manner. A standard problem is to determine under what conditions the process is positive recurrent. Necessary and sufficient conditions for positive recurrence are easy to formulate in d=2, but not in d?3. Fluid paths are solutions of deterministic equations that correspond to the random equations of the SRBM. A standard result of Dupuis and Williams (in Ann. Probab. 22:680---702, 1994) states that when every fluid path associated with the SRBM is attracted to the origin, the SRBM is positive recurrent. Employing this result, El Kharroubi et al. (in Stoch. Stoch. Rep. 68:229---253, 2000; Math. Methods Oper. Res. 56:243---258, 2002) gave sufficient conditions involving fluid paths for positive recurrence of SRBM in d=3. Here, we discuss two recent results regarding necessary conditions for positive recurrence of SRBM in d?3. Bramson et al. (in Ann. Appl. Probab. 20:753---783, 2010) showed that the conditions in El Kharroubi et al. (Math. Methods Oper. Res. 56:243---258, 2002) are, in fact, necessary in d=3. On the other hand, Bramson (in Ann. Appl. Probab., to appear, 2011) provided a family of positive recurrent SRBMs, in d?6, with linear fluid paths that diverge to infinity. The latter result shows in particular that the converse of the Dupuis---Williams result does not hold.
Loading Rate Effects on Parameters of the Weibull Stress Model for Ferritic Steels

Abstract This study investigates the effects of loading rate on parameters of the Weibull stress model for prediction of cleavage fracture in a low strength, strongly rate-sensitive A515-70 pressure vessel steel. Based on measured, dynamic fracture toughness data from deep- and shallow-cracked SE(B) specimens, the calibrated Weibull modulus ( m ) at K ˙ I = 22 . 5 MPa m / s shows little difference from the value calibrated previously using static toughness data. This newly obtained result supports the hypothesis in an earlier study [Gao X, Dodds RH, Tregoning RL, Joyce JA. Weibull stress model for cleavage fracture under high-rate loading. Fatigue Fract Engng Mater Struct 2001;24:551–64] that the Weibull modulus likely remains rate independent for this material over the range of low-to-moderate loading rates. Additional experimental and computational results for higher rates show that a constant m -value remains applicable up to the maximum loading rate imposed in the testing program ( K ˙ I ≈ 2200 MPa m / s ) . Rate dependencies of the scale parameter ( σ u ) and the threshold parameter ( σ w-min ) are computed using the calibrated m , and the results indicate that σ u decreases and σ w-min increases with higher loading rates. The predicted cumulative probability for cleavage fracture exhibits a strong sensitivity to small changes in σ u . Consequently, σ u must be calibrated using dynamic fracture toughness data at each loading rate of interest in an application or selected to make the Weibull stress model predict a dynamic master curve of macroscopic toughness for the material.
Quadratic presentations and nilpotent Kähler groups

It has been known for at least thirty years that certain nilpotent groups cannot be Kahler groups, i.e., fundamental groups of compact Kahler manifolds. The best known examples are lattices in the three-dimensional real or complex Heisenberg groups. It is also known that lattices in certain other standard nilpotent Lie groups, e.g., the full group of upper triangular matrices and the free k-step nilpotent Lie groups, k > 1, are not Kahler. The Heisenberg case was known to J-P. Serre in the early 1960’s, and unified proofs of the above statements follow readily from Sullivan’s theory of minimal models [6],[15], [19], or from Chen’s theory of iterated integrals [4], [10], or from more recent developments such as [9].
Intracellular localization of differentially regulated RNA-specific adenosine deaminase isoforms in inflammation

Adenosine-to-inosine (A-to-I) RNA editing is a post-transcriptional process that amplifies the repertoire of protein production. Recently, the induction of this process through up-regulation of the editing enzyme RNA-specific adenosine deaminase 1 (ADAR1) was documented during acute inflammation. Here we report that the inflammation-induced up-regulation of ADAR1 involves differential production and intracellular localization of several isoforms with distinct RNA-binding domains and localization signals. These include the full-length ADAR1 (p150) and two functionally active short isoforms (p80 and p110). ADAR1 p80 starts at a methionine 519 (M519) due to alternative splicing in exon 2, which deletes the putative nuclear localization signal, the Z-DNA binding domain, and the entire RNA binding domain I. ADAR1 p110 is the mouse homologue of the human ADAR1 110-kDa variant (M246), which retains the second half of the Z-DNA binding domain, all RNA binding domains, and the deaminase domain. Additional variations are found in the third RNA binding domain of ADAR1; they are differentially regulated during inflammation, generating isoforms with different levels of activities. Studies in several cell types transfected with ADAR1-EGFP chimeras demonstrated that the p150 and p80 variants are localized in the cytoplasm and nucleolus, respectively. In agreement with this observation, endogenous ADAR1 was identified in the cytoplasm and nucleolus of mouse splenocytes and HeLa cells. Since the ADAR1 variants are differentially regulated during acute inflammation, it suggests that the localization of these variants and of A-to-I RNA editing in the cytoplasm, nucleus, and nucleolus is intracellularly reorganized in response to inflammatory stimulation.
Acute renal failure from xanthine nephropathy during management of acute leukemia

Tumor lysis syndrome is a potentially life-threatening complication of induction chemotherapy for treatment of lymphoproliferative malignancies. Serious complications of tumor lysis syndrome are rare with the preemptive use of allopurinol, rasburicase, and urine alkalinization. We report a case of oliguric acute renal failure due to bilateral xanthine nephropathy in an 11-year-old girl as a complication of tumor lysis syndrome during the treatment of T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Xanthine nephrolithiasis results from the inhibition of uric acid synthesis via allopurinol which increases plasma and urinary xanthine and hypoxanthine levels. Reports of xanthine nephrolithiasis as a cause of tumor lysis syndrome are rare in the absence of defects in the hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase (HGPRT) enzyme. Xanthine nephropathy should be considered in patients who develop acute renal failure following aggressive chemotherapy with appropriate tumor lysis syndrome prophylaxis. Urine measurements for xanthine could aid in the diagnosis of patients with nephrolithiasis complicating tumor lysis syndrome. Allopurinal dosage should be reduced or discontinued if xanthine nephropathy is suspected.
Calcium-induced conformational change in cardiac troponin C studied by fluorescence probes attached to Cys-84.

Abstract Residue Cys-84 of bovine cardiac troponin C (cTnC) located at the C-terminal end of helix D was selectively labeled in the presence of Ca2+ with two fluorescent probes: IAANS (2-(4†-(iodoacetamido)anilino)naphthalene-6-sulfonic acid) and acrylodan (6-acrylol-2-(dimethylamino)naphthalene). The fluorescence of the attached probes was studied by the steady-state and time-resolved methods to gain an insight about the nature of Ca2+-induced conformational changes in the N-domain regulatory region of cTnC. Changes in the experimental emission spectra, quantum yields, and excited-state lifetimes suggested that bound Ca2+ at the single regulatory site induced a less polar microenvironment for both probes attached to Cys-84. However, a twofold increase in the bimolecular collisional quenching constant was observed for both probes in the presence of activator Ca2+, indicating an increase exposure of the probes to solvent. These data were interpreted with reference to the origins of the observed Stokes' shifts. In the apo and 2Mg states of cTnC, the attached probes were partially shielded by helices B and C, and their excited-states were highly quenched in the tertiary structure through strong interactions of a dipolar nature with neighboring amino-acid side chains. In the 3Ca state, these interactions were disrupted so that nonradiative decay processes were suppressed and radiative processes were enhanced, leading to the observed increases in quantum yields and lifetimes and blue-shifts of the emission spectra. As the disruption of internal quenching resulted from separation of helices B and C from helix D, the attached probes became more accessible to solvent and experienced increases in the rate of collisions with external molecules in the solvent. Although this increased exposure to solvent would lead to suppression of radiative decay processes, this effect apparently was overcompensated by the effect of elimination of internal quenching. The present results are consistent with a Ca2+-induced open conformation of the N-domain in cTnC.
A comparison of the effects of metabolic inhibitors upon direct and antibody-dependent lymphocyte mediated cytotoxicity.

Abstract The effect of metabolic inhibitors upon the lysis of allogeneic lymphocyte target cells by cytotoxic T lymphocytes and nonimmune lymphocyte K cells were studied by using identical culture conditions. Inhibition of lysis in both systems was induced by cycloheximide, puromycin, actinomycin D, diisopropylfluorophosphate, 2-deoxyglucose, antimycin A, oligomycin, and cytochalasins A and B, whereas ouabain and mitomycin C did not diminish lysis in either system. The strikingly parallel responses to a variety of agents that alter cellular processes suggest that both forms of lysis utilize similar mechanisms.
Capillary bonding of wet surfaces

Adhesion of wet surfaces to one another through a water film is common and important for a variety of problems. The nature of this adhesion is explored through a simple model of a grooved polyethylene surface adhering to ice. The effects of contact angle and geometry are included. A set of experiments was performed to show how contact area and adhesive force vary with water tension for glass on porous ceramic. The results show that the model describes the general characteristics of the adhesion but further experiments are necessary for materials of particular interest.
Misconceptions Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.

A recent essay in CBE—Life Sciences Education criticized biology education researchers’ use of the term misconceptions and recommended that, in order to be up-to-date with education research, biology education researchers should use alternative terms for students’ incorrect ideas in science. We counter that criticism by reviewing the continued use and the meaning of misconceptions in education research today, and describe two key debates that account for the controversy surrounding the term. We then identify and describe two areas of research that have real implications for tomorrow's biology education research and biology instruction: 1) hypotheses about the structure of student knowledge (coherent vs. fragmented) that gives rise to misconceptions; and 2) the “warming trend” that considers the effects of students’ motivation, beliefs about the nature of knowledge and learning (their epistemic beliefs), and learning strategies (their cognitive and metacognitive skills) on their ability to change their misconceptions in science. We conclude with a description of proposed future work in biology education research related to misconceptions.
Reactivity of effluent organic matter (EfOM) with hydroxyl radical as a function of molecular weight.

The application of advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) for the treatment of wastewater is hindered by scavenging of the hydroxyl radical (HO•) by effluent organic matter (EfOM). This scavenging is directly proportional to the second-order reaction rate constant between EfOM and HO• (kEfOM-HO•). To understand the kinetics of this reaction as a function of the subcomponents of EfOM, four wastewater samples were fractionated by ultrafiltration into distinct apparent molecular weight (AMW) fractions (<1, <3, <5, and <10 kDa), and their kEfOM-HO• values were quantified. In general, the values for kEfOM-HO• decreased as the AMW increased. The values of kEfOM-HO• for the bulk waters varied between 6.32 and 14.1 × 108 MC−1s−1 (units of per molar carbon concentration per second). In the case of the <1 kDa fraction, the values of kEfOM-HO• varied from 14.3 to 35.0 × 108 MC−1s−1, or approximately 2.31(±0.24) times that of the corresponding bulk waters. For the <3 kDa, <5 kDa, and <10 kDa fractions, the kEfOM-HO• val...
The Distribution and Phylogenetic Significance of a 50-kb Chloroplast DNA Inversion in the Flowering Plant Family Leguminosae

Species in 9 of the approximately 650 genera of the flowering plant family Leguminosae are known to possess a large (50-kb) inversion in their chloroplast genomes, relative to the gene order found most commonly among land plants. Putatively basal elements of the family have not been surveyed for the inversion, which is unknown outside the legumes. Using a combination of polymerase chain reaction and restriction-mapping approaches employing primers or hybridization probes flanking inversion endpoints, 132 legume genera were screened for the presence of the inversion. The inversion was found to be absent in all taxa from two of the three subfamilies (Mimosoideae and Caesalpinioideae), whereas the inversion was found to be present in most taxa of the third subfamily (Papilionoideae). Two papilionoid tribes, Swartzieae and Sophoreae, were heterogeneous for the inversion, which is consistent with a number of lines of evidence suggesting the polyphyly of these tribes. The 50-kb inversion appears to be a unique event in the evolution of Leguminosae, providing a synapomorphy for a clade that includes most of the Papilionoideae.
N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea-induced null mutation at the mouse Car-2 locus: an animal model for human carbonic anhydrase II deficiency syndrome

Abstract Electrophoretic screening of (C57BL/6J x DBA/2J)F1 progeny of male mice treated with N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea revealed a mouse that lacked the paternal carbonic anhydrase II (CA II). Breeding tests showed that this trait was heritable and due to a null mutation at the Car-2 locus on chromosome 3. Like humans with the same inherited enzyme defect, animals homozygous for the new null allele are runted and have renal tubular acidosis. However, the prominent osteopetrosis found in humans with CA II deficiency could not be detected even in very old homozygous null mice. A molecular analysis of the deficient mice shows that the mutant gene is not deleted and is transcribed. The CA II protein, which is normally expressed in most tissues, could not be detected by immunodiffusion analysis in any tissues of the CA II-deficient mice, suggesting a nonsense or a missense mutation at the Car-2 locus.
Pulmonary vascular disease in 57 necropsy cases of total anomalous pulmonary venous connection.

In a semi-quantitative necropsy study, total anomalous pulmonary venous connection (TAPVC) was an isolated anomaly in 35 cases and was associated with asplenia and either pulmonary stenosis or pulmonary atresia in 22 cases. A comparison of the two groups showed pulmonary venous obstruction (26% vs. 4%), a small interatrial communication (51% vs. 4%), a patent ductus arteriosus or operative shunt (40% vs. 64%), medial hypertrophy of muscular pulmonary arteries (80 vs. 23%), muscularization of arterioles (80% vs. 23%), capillary engorgement (60% vs. 27%) alveolar wall thickening (29% vs. 0%), interlobular septal oedema (34% vs. 14%), dilated lymphatics (80% vs. 45%), arterialization of pulmonary veins (86% vs. 68%), medial hypertrophy of veins (26% vs. 0%), and venous dilatation (74% vs. 50%). Only one patient, a 5-year-old girl with isolated TAPVC, had severe plexogenic pulmonary arteriopathy. In the remainder, the pulmonary lesions were those generally associated with reversible pulmonary venous hypertension; they were most striking in patients with pulmonary venous obstruction, and were least prominent in patients with pulmonary stenosis or puimonary atresia.
Performance evaluation of the active-flow personal DataRAM PM2.5 mass monitor (Thermo Anderson pDR-1200) designed for continuous personal exposure measurements

Abstract The need for continuous personal monitoring for exposure to particulate matter has been demonstrated by recent health studies showing effects of PM exposure on time scales of less than a few hours. Filter-based methods cannot measure this short-term variation of PM levels, which can be quite significant considering human activity patterns. The goal of this study was to evaluate the active-flow personal DataRAM for PM2.5 (MIE pDR-1200; Thermo Electron Corp., Franklin, MA) designed as a wearable monitor to continuously measure particle exposure. The instrument precision was found to be good (2.1%) and significantly higher than the passive pDR configuration tested previously. A comparison to other proven continuous monitors resulted in good agreement at low relative humidities. Results at higher humidity followed predictable trends and provided a correction scheme that improved the accuracy of pDR readings. The pDR response to particle size also corresponded to previously observed and theoretical errors. The active flow feature of the pDR allows collection of the sampled particles on a back-up filter. The 24-h mass measured on this filter was found to compare very well with a Federal Reference Method for PM2.5 mass.
Immunological and virological markers of HIV-disease progression

This review, based upon scientific literature, evaluates a number of immunological and virological markers for their usefulness as prognostic indicators for progression of HIV disease. The most widely studied marker, the CD4 positive T lymphocyte count, is perhaps the best single indicator of stage of illness. Serum factors such as neopterin and β-2 microglobulin, alone and in combination with CD4 cell counts, have been shown to have good predictive value. Measurement of viral burden by quantification of viral RNA levels in plasma and immune cells also holds promise for following disease progression. It is recommended that a combination of these factors be monitored in evaluating stage of illness and responses to therapy in HIV-infected persons.
The effects of nicotine and extraversion on self-report, skin conductance, electromyographic, and heart responses to emotional stimuli.

Abstract Eysenck's hypothesis that nicotine reduces emotional reactions by reducing cortical arousal and Gilbert's alternative hypothesis that this effect of nicotine occurs because of its tendency to increase perceptual thresholds and/or its tendency to reduce muscular tension were tested by having 48 habitual smokers smoke either high (1.3 mg) or low (0.2 mg) nicotine cigarettes just prior to viewing a series of videotaped emotion-producing scenes. Consistent with predictions, the skin conductance response magnitudes of the subjects who smoked the high-nicotine cigarettes were significantly smaller than were those of subjects who smoked low-nicotine cigarettes. On the other hand, contrary to predictions, there was no significant interaction between extraversion and nicotine for skin conductance or self-report responses. On Day 2, but not Day 1, nicotine reduced self-reports of perceived muscular tension and startle but did not cause a perception of increased heart activity in spite of an actual significant increase in heart rate.