cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Development of a novel device for applying uniform doses of electron beam irradiation on carcasses.

Abstract The Maxim's Electron Scatter Chamber (Maxim Chamber) was developed to obtain uniform dose distribution when applying electron beam (e-beam) irradiation to materials of irregular surface. This was achieved by placing a stainless steel mesh surrounding a cylindrical area where the target sample was placed. Upon contact with the mesh, electrons scatter and are directed onto the target from multiple angles, eliminating the e-beam linearity and resulting in a uniform dose distribution over the target surface. The effect of irradiation in the Maxim Chamber on dose distribution and pathogen reduction was tested on rabbit carcasses to simulate other larger carcasses. The dose uniformity ratio (DUR) on the rabbit carcasses was 1.8, indicating an acceptable dose distribution. On inoculated carcasses, this treatment reduced Escherichia coli O157:H7 by > 5 log cycles. These results indicate that carcass irradiation using e-beam is feasible using the Maxim's electron scattering chamber. Appropriate adjustments will be further needed for commercial application on beef and other animal carcasses.
Ethics in aging: a decision-making paradigm.

As the number of elderly continue to grow, ethical dilemmas facing them, their families, and their health‐care providers will require a decision‐making paradigm to enhance the process of problem solving. Professional codes, ethical principles, and an ethical decision‐making model are examined. Concepts derived from a scientific model for analysis, philosophical systems of thought, and values clarification are discussed. An ethical dilemma and values conflicts are defined. Examples from the gerontological and ethical literature are used to illustrate the paradigm. The decision‐making model is a step‐by‐step process to examine, define, and solve ethical dilemmas.
Error analysis of cine phase contrast MRI velocity measurements used for strain calculation

Abstract Cine Phase Contrast (CPC) MRI offers unique insight into localized skeletal muscle behavior by providing the ability to quantify muscle strain distribution during cyclic motion. Muscle strain is obtained by temporally integrating and spatially differentiating CPC-encoded velocity. The aim of this study was to quantify CPC measurement accuracy and precision and to describe error propagation into displacement and strain. Using an MRI-compatible jig to move a B-gel phantom within a 1.5T MRI bore, CPC-encoded velocities were collected. The three orthogonal encoding gradients (through plane, frequency, and phase) were evaluated independently in post-processing. Two systematic error types were corrected: eddy current-induced bias and calibration-type error. Measurement accuracy and precision were quantified before and after removal of systematic error. Through plane- and frequency-encoded data accuracy were within 0.4 mm/s after removal of systematic error – a 70% improvement over the raw data. Corrected phase-encoded data accuracy was within 1.3 mm/s. Measured random error was between 1 to 1.4 mm/s, which followed the theoretical prediction. Propagation of random measurement error into displacement and strain was found to depend on the number of tracked time segments, time segment duration, mesh size, and dimensional order. To verify this, theoretical predictions were compared to experimentally calculated displacement and strain error. For the parameters tested, experimental and theoretical results aligned well. Random strain error approximately halved with a two-fold mesh size increase, as predicted. Displacement and strain accuracy were within 2.6 mm and 3.3%, respectively. These results can be used to predict the accuracy and precision of displacement and strain in user-specific applications.
Purification and RNA Binding Properties of the Polycytidylate-Binding Proteins αCP1 and αCP2

Abstract Regulation of mRNA turnover is a critical control mechanism of gene expression and is influenced by ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes that form on cis elements. All mRNAs have an intrinsic half-life and in many cases these half-lives can be altered by a variety of stimuli that are manifested through the formation or disruption of an RNP structure. The stability of α-globin mRNA is determined by elements in the 3′ untranslated region that are bound by an RNP complex (α-complex) which appears to control the erythroid-specific accumulation of α-globin mRNA. The α-complex could consist of up to six distinct proteins or protein families. One of these families is a prominent polycytidylate binding activity which consists of two highly homologous proteins, α-complex proteins 1 and 2 (αCP1 and αCP2). This article focuses on various methodologies for the detection and manipulation of αCP1 and αCP2 binding to RNA and details means of isolating and characterizing mRNA bound by these proteins to study mRNA turnover and its regulation.
Political and Social Change in China Since 1978

Introduction An End to Class Struggle: The Background to the "New Period" "Socialist Spiritual Civilization and the Ideological Bases for an Authoritarian Modernization of "New China" Ideology and the Dialect of Legitimation and Redefinition The Old Ideologues and the New Ideology The Role of China's "Vanguard Party" in the "New Period" Political Authority and the Values of Chinese Modernity Selected Bibliography Index
EFFECT OF COLLAGEN LEVELS AND SARCOMERE SHORTENING ON MUSCLE TENDERNESS

A study was conducted using two muscles of different connective tissue content [13.13 ± 3.11 and 2.47 ± 0.95 mg collagen/g of muscle for sternomandibularis (S) and psoas major (PM) muscles, respectively], which had shortened to various sarcomere lengths (1.35-2.6 μm and 1.7-3.25 μm for the S and PM muscles, respectively). Differences in structural preservation of the mitochondria, triads and Z-lines were noted for the stretched and contracted samples of both muscles. The difference in connective tissue of the two muscles was related to the differences in tenderness of these muscles at all sarcomere lengths. However, the difference in tenderness of these muscles was not constant at all sarcomere lengths, with the S muscle decreasing in shear force at a faster rate due to increasing sarcomere length. This phenomena is probably due to a toughening of both connective tissue and muscle fibers as the S muscle shortens, whereas, in the PM muscle, only the muscle fibers cause a toughening due to shortening. This study also indicates the effectiveness of using a trained sensory panel to detect connective tissue and muscle fiber tenderness separately.
Oxygen sticking coefficients on clean /111/ silicon surfaces.

Oxygen 18 adsorption on silicon activation analysis measurements used to obtain kinetic curve for chemisorption from monolayers
Size dependence saturation and absorption of PbS quantum dots

Abstract The saturation intensity for lead sulfide quantum dots in a titanium dioxide-glycerol matrix ( PbS / TiO 2 -glycerol) on a glass substrate has been studied as a function of quantum cluster concentration and cluster size. The saturation intensity in these materials is strongly dependent on the size of the semiconductor nanocrystals, their concentration, or the sample thickness. The samples are reflective at a certain range of the incoming intensity of the optical field and become transparent over a threshold intensity beyond which the output and input intensities are linearly related. The system studied involves very dilute distribution of PbS QD of dimension∼10 nm embedded in a matrix of TiO 2 -glycerol. Since the distribution is relatively constant in each deposited layer, the total number of QDs in a given area is proportional to the thickness. We found that the threshold of power separating absorption-bleaching, P th is linearly related to the thickness, with values of P th ∼few mW/cm 2 , more than 2–3 orders of magnitude below that of QDs with dimension∼1 μm, representing a typical solid.
Metacognitive errors in change detection: Lab and life converge

Abstract Smilek, Eastwood, Reynolds, and Kingstone (2007) suggests that the studies reported in Beck, M. R., Levin, D. T. and Angelone, B. A. (2007) (Change blindness blindness: Beliefs about the roles of intention and scene complexity in change detection. Consciousness and Cognition) are not ecologically valid. Here, we argue that not only are change blindness and change blindness blindness studies in general ecologically valid, but that the studies we reported in Beck, Levin, and Angelone, 2007 are as well. Specifically, we suggest that many of the changes used in our study could reasonably be expected to occur in the real world. Furthermore, the conclusion from Beck et al. (2007) that knowledge about the role of intention and scene complexity in change detection is not readily accessible applies not only to the laboratory studies we conducted but also to real world situations.
Detection of oxygen-17 n.m.r. in solid MgO☆

The detection of the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) of O/sup 17/ in solids is difficult owing to the broadening from electric quadrupole interactions. A choice of a crystal lattice in which the oxygen is located at a site with cubic symmetry should reduce the quadrupole interaction. Searches for the NMR of O/sup 17/ in pure MgO and MgO doped with 1% MnO/sub 2/ were successful, and the best traces are shown. (D.L.C.)
College-Church Partnerships and Precollege Programs: College Entry and Urban At-Risk Youth.

With interest in university-college partnerships increasing, this paper presents an example of an effective college-church partnership. A Christian college partnered with 19 urban churches to offer precollege activities for urban youth in grades 7 through 12. As expected, the level of poverty associated with young people's neighborhoods (i.e., census tract) is related to eventual college entry and type of postsecondary institution entered (two-year or four-year). This study demonstrates that a precollege program offered in partnership with urban churches is able to help at-risk young people persist in middle and high school and eventually enter some form of postsecondary education. Moreover, the ethnicity of the urban churches—African-American or predominantly white—is seemingly unrelated to ultimate college entry of a group of predominantly African-American students.
Conflicting threat perceptions at a rural agricultural fair

Abstract Tourism is a major industry in Pennsylvania, second only to agriculture. This paper examines their nexus, the rural agricultural fair. The Bloomsburg Fair provides an opportunity to explore risk management for tourism. This event, now in its 150th year, inundates a town of 12,000 with 500,000+ visitors in an 8-day period. Employing a survey of fairgoer behavior, this study explored contrasts between fairgoer and management concerns over a variety of natural and human-induced threats. It also investigated the challenges present in maintaining a quality recreational experience while simultaneously providing adequate fairgoer protection. The findings indicate that fairgoers place greater emphasis on high-probability, low-consequence events while the fair emergency management plan is largely focused on low-probability, high-consequence events such as terrorism. This disconnect suggests that a failure to understand the concerns of the fairgoer or to recognize other threats facing a destination while focusing heavily on low-probability events may create a recreation environment that is relatively less safe overall.
HEMODYNAMIC ASPECTS OF UNCONTROLLED CROSS CIRCULATION IN DOGS.

Summary Studies were conducted to test the hemodynamic effects of a common channel in uncontrolled cross circulation. These results were compared with the effects of arterial and arteriovenous cross circulation without a common channel. Under the conditions of these experiments, there was significantly less hypotension in animals subjected to arterial cross circulation with or without common channel than in animals subjected to arteriovenous cross circulation. On the basis of these experiments as well as previous observations on crossed aortic grafts, it is concluded that arterial cross circulation with a common channel is the optimum means of achieving uncontrolled cross circulation.
Two-dimensional thin-layer chromatography for the screening of disorders of purine and pyrimidine metabolism.

Abstract A method is presented for the two-dimensional thin-layer Chromatographie screening of purines, pyrimidines and their nucleosides in the urine. Prior to chromatography, isolation of these substances from the urine is performed by anion-exchange column chromatography. Purines and pyrimidines are quantitively eluted with formic acid 0.01 M and 4 M respectively. The results of recovery and stability experiments are given. Normal excretory patterns are presented. Also results in patients with various diseases are shown: ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency, adenosine deaminase deficiency, purine nucleoside phosphorylase deficiency, adenine phosphoribosyltransferase deficiency, xanthine oxidase deficiency and hypoxanthine-guanine] phosphoribosyltransferase deficiency. Finally the pattern of a patient on treatment with allopurinol is given.
Social influences on cognitive strategies and cognitive development: The role of communication and instruction

Abstract Cognitive strategy training has been shown empirically to be extremely effective in enhancing learning and memory performance in retarded individuals. However, the theoretical status and applied utility of the strategy concept has been subjected to increasing criticism, particularly regarding the lack of definition and specificity in its use, when it is involved in instructional procedures applied to typical learning and information processing tasks. Extensions of research in language and communication provide a social basis for analyzing instruction, in terms of communication theory and pragmatics, and a possible approach to more general studies of the skills and strategies of information processing. The question arises whether rather disparate views of cognitive processing systems can be synthesized, or, by their mutual consideration, at least provide a basis for clearer articulation of research issues. A synthesis of prominent usages of the “strategic processing” construct derived from the social basis of communication theory is advanced.
Post-transcriptional regulation of ITGB6 protein levels in damaged skeletal muscle

We have identified integrin beta 6 (Itgb6) as a transcript highly enriched in skeletal muscle. This finding is unexpected because Itgb6 is typically associated with epithelial expression domains in normal tissue. Further we find that ITGB6 protein expression in muscle is post-transcriptionally regulated. Uninjured muscle expresses Itgb6 RNA but no ITGB6 protein is detectable. Muscle injury induces ITGB6 protein accumulation rapidly post-injury in myofibers adjacent to the site of injury. As regeneration of the injured muscle tissue progresses ITGB6 protein is found in newly formed fibers up to at least 15 days post-injury.
Long-distance effects in B → V γ radiative weak decays

A systematic approach to long-distance effects in exclusive radiative weak B decays is presented, based on a combination of the heavy quark limit with perturbative QCD. The dominant long-distance effects, connected with weak annihilation and W-exchange topologies, can be computed in a model-independent way using experimental data on B radiative leptonic decays. Nonfactorizable corrections vanish in the chiral limit and to leading twist. The left-handed photon amplitudes are shown to be enhanced relative to the right-handed ones, both in the long- and short-distance parts of the $\overline{B}$ decay amplitudes. Recent CLEO data on $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{B}{K}^{*}\ensuremath{\gamma}$ decays are consistent with standard model estimates of the long-distance contributions, and disfavor an enhanced gluonic penguin contribution. We discuss the implications of our results for the extraction of $|{V}_{\mathrm{td}}|.$
A new speckle removal algorithm for optical coherence tomography

A new speckle removal algorithm is shown to be very effective at enhancing the quality of optical coherence tomography (OCT) images. An analysis of its performance shows advantages over other widely used techniques.
Ion beam excitation of ion-cyclotron waves and ion heating in plasmas with drifting electrons

Ion-cyclotron waves are excited by a cesium ion beam in a cesium Q-machine plasma with drifting plasma electrons. These interactions differ significantly from those in the case of drifting ions in that the drifting electrons play an active role in the instability mechanism. The observed mode frequencies are slightly below those of the electron current driven modes. These waves can be convectively or absolutely unstable, depending on the ion beam velocity. For low beam velocities the instabifities are convective in character with large spatial growth rates k i /k r ∼ 0.2. For larger beam velocities the instabilities are absolute in character with temporal growth rates 0.04. The absolute instabilities are similar to two-stream instabilities. Plasma ion heating is observed and is consistent with a model in which mode amplitudes are saturated by diffusion effects.
Finding our voices in the face of dominant discourse: A closer look at gender roles' impact on student clinicians

The authors explore the impact of dominant discourse in shaping normalized beliefs and attitudes about gender roles by reflecting on their experiences in a doctoral level course on postmodern famil...
Acute wounding alters the beta2-adrenergic signaling and catecholamine synthetic pathways in keratinocytes

Keratinocyte migration is critical for wound re-epithelialization. Previous studies showed that epinephrine activates the beta2-adrenergic receptor (B2AR), impairing keratinocyte migration. Here, we investigated the keratinocyte catecholamine synthetic pathway in response to acute trauma. Cultured keratinocytes were scratch wounded and expression levels of the B2AR and catecholamine synthetic enzymes tyrosine hydroxylase and phenylethanolamine-N-methyltransferase were assayed. The binding affinity of the B2AR was measured. Wounding downregulated B2AR, tyrosine hydroxylase, and phenylethanolamine-N-methyltransferase expression, but pre-exposure to timolol, a beta-adrenergic receptor antagonist, delayed this effect. In wounded keratinocytes, B2AR-binding affinity remained depressed even after its expression returned to prewounding levels. Keratinocyte-derived norepinephrine increased after wounding. Norepinephrine impaired keratinocyte migration; this effect was abrogated with B2AR-selective antagonist ICI-118,551 but not with B1AR-selective antagonist bisoprolol. Finally, for clinical relevance, we determined that norepinephrine was present in freshly wounded skin, thus providing a potential mechanism for impaired healing by local B2AR activation in wound-edge keratinocytes. Taken together, the data show that keratinocytes modulate catecholamine synthetic enzymes and release norepinephrine after scratch wounding. Norepinephrine appears to be a stress-related mediator that impairs keratinocyte migration through activation of the B2AR. Future therapeutic strategies evaluating modulation of norepinephrine-related effects in the wound are warranted.
Characteristics of user file-usage patterns

Abstract The understanding of file access patterns is important when developing efficient and effective schemes for file management and allocation in a distributed environment. In addition, a careful analysis of file usage patterns leads to techniques for increasing file availability by means of file duplication without requiring extra disk storage. Based on the static analysis of file usage patterns, this article describes and evaluates an approach to enhance file availability without increasing disk usage. Data were collected from a typical network file system to establish a Markov chain for analyzing the performance of the proposed strategy. We show that a highly available file system is achievable without requiring extra disk storage. Our approach to disk management will be integrated with our new personal file management facility, PFS. PFS creates a global structure of a user's personal files that appears identical without regard to the server that a user accesses.
ERROR ON CHOROPLETHIC MAPS: DEFINITION, MEASUREMENT, REDUCTION

ABSTRACT Communication, whether oral, written, or graphic depends upon the ability of one individual to transfer information to another. In this essay we have tried to illustrate the fact that error in choroplethic mapping inhibits the transfer of information and that there are methods for improving this type of map as a communicative tool. We have done this by first defining overview, tabular, and boundary map uses. Second, techniques for the measurement of the error components of these three uses have been developed. Third, new reiterative and forcing manipulative techniques for choroplethic map data processing have been evolved. Lastly, the relationship between map accuracy and the information carrying capacity of a choroplethic map is set forth in hypothetical terms.
Ultrastructure of an exocrine dermal gland in the gills of the grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio: Occurrence of transitory ciliary axonemes associated with the sloughing and reformation of the ductule.

Exocrine dermal glands, comparable to the class 3 glandular units of insects, are found in the gills of the grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio. The dermal glands are composed of three cells: secretory cell, hillock cell and canal cell. Originating as a complex invagination of the apical cytoplasm of the granular secretory cell, a duct ascends through the hillock and canal cells to the cuticular surface. The duct is divisible into four regions: the secretory apparatus in the granular secretory cell, the locular complex, the hillock region within the hillock cell and the canal within the canal cell. A tubular ductule is contained within the latter two regions. As the ductule ascends to the cuticular surface, its constitution gradually changes from one of a fibrous material to one which possesses layers of epicuticle. During the proecdysial period, the ductule is extruded into the ecdysial space and this is followed by the secretion of a new ductule. Temporary ciliary structures, located near the secretory apparatus of the secretory cell, are associated with the extrusion and reformation of the ductule. Characterized only by a basal body and rootlets throughout most of the intermolt cycle, the ciliary organelles give rise to temporary axonemic processes which ascend through the ductule toward the ecdysial space at the onset of proecdysis. Subsequently, the old ductule is sloughed off and a new ductule is reformed around the ciliary axonemes. Following this reformation, the ciliary axonemes degenerate. The function of cytoplasmic processes, derived from the apical cytoplasm of the secretory cell, is also discussed.
Capturing group variability using IVA: A simulation study and graph-theoretical analysis

When applied to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, independent vector analysis (IVA) provides superior performance in capturing subject variability within one group, as compared to the widely used group independent component analysis (ICA) approach. However, the effectiveness of IVA algorithms in preserving variability between different groups of subjects has not been studied yet, although it is of great interest in most fMRI studies, especially for identifying biomarkers for diagnosis of mental disorders. In this paper, we introduce a methodology that uses graph-theoretical analysis and statistical analysis for assessing the ability of IVA algorithms to capture group variability. We generate multi-subject fMRI-like datasets with increasing spatial variability for a selected component between two groups and compare a robust IVA algorithm to group ICA approach. Our experimental results show that IVA can successfully preserve group variability, indicating its potential in extracting biomarkers across groups of subjects in fMRI analysis.
Čerenkov radiation in materials with negative permittivity and permeability

The mathematical solution for Cerenkov radiation in a novel medium, left-handed medium (LH medium), which has both negative permittivity and permeability, is introduced in this paper. It is shown that the particle motion in the LH medium generates power that propagates backward. In this paper, both dispersion and dissipation are considered for the LH medium. The results show that in such a material, both forward power and backward power exist. In addition, we show that the losses will affect the Cerenkov angle. The idea of building a Cerenkov detector using LH medium is introduced, which could be useful in particle physics to identify charged particles of various velocities.
Long-distance leaky surface ultrasonic waves

This paper contains a description of an unique wave that was created in a two plate system separated by a layer of water. First, a Lamb wave was created in the upper plate by placing a transducer on a wedge on top of the plate at an appropriate angle and frequency. This wave was created to act like quasi-Rayleigh (surface) waves on both surfaces of the plate. The wave on the bottom surface of the upper plate then leaked through the water into the upper surface of the lower plate. We will show both experimentally and theoretically that the wave on the surfaces of the plates in contact with water leak constructively to create a leaky-wave that can travel great distances.
Preparation and properties of new antitubercular thioureas and thiosemicarbazides

Unsymmetrical thioureas and thiosemicarbazides, valuable as lead compounds for antitubercular drug design and discovery, are prepared by the reactions of isothiocyanates with aromatic amines and acid hydrazides, respectively, in robust procedures that permit considerable structural variety. Occasional isolation of symmetrical thioureas derived wholly from the isothiocyanate components of these reactions may occur by thermal fragmentation of the initial thioureidation products.
Influences of menstrual cycle position and sex hormone levels on spontaneous intrusive recollections following emotional stimuli

Spontaneous intrusive recollections (SIRs) are known to follow emotional events in clinical and non-clinical populations. Previous work in our lab has found that women report more SIRs than men after exposure to emotional films, and that this effect is driven entirely by women in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. To replicate and extend this finding, participants viewed emotional films, provided saliva samples for sex hormone concentration analysis, and estimated SIR frequency following film viewing. Women in the luteal phase reported significantly more SIRs than did women in the follicular phase, and SIR frequency significantly correlated with salivary progesterone levels. The results are consistent with an emerging pattern in the literature suggesting that menstrual cycle position of female participants can potently influence findings in numerous cognitive domains. The potential implications of these results for disorders characterized by intrusions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, are also discussed.
Molecular homology of coexpressed eye- and liver-specific lactate dehydrogenase isozymes from the basketmouth cichlid assessed by oxamate-Sepharose and blue dextran-Sepharose affinity chromatography

Recently, several teleost fishes (Perciformes, Cichlidae) have been found that coexpress both a cathodal, liver-specific and an anodal, eye-specific lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and evidence supporting the hypothesis that these are the products of two distinct genes has been presented (Holt and Leibel, '87). In this study, the molecular homology of these two isozymes from the basketmouth cichlid, Acaronia nassa, relative to each other and to eye-specific and liver-specific isozymes from a variety of other fishes is assessed by oxamate-Sepharose and blue dextran-Sepharose affinity chromatography. Whereas the eye-specific isozyme from the basketmouth cichlid and all other LDHs from a variety of vertebrates bound tightly to the oxamate column in the presence of the cofactor NADH, the liver-specific isozyme from basketmouth, and the testes-specific LDH-X from rat failed to bind. Similarly, the liver-specific isozyme from basketmouth failed to bind to the blue dextran column, whereas the liver-specific C4 from goldfish (Cypriniformes) bound and eluted with NADH; the eye-specific C4 from three cichlids, including the basketmouth, and rat testis-specific LDH-X bound and eluted with NAD+. These results suggest that the eye- and liver-specific LDH isozymes from the basketmouth cichlid are not encoded by the same locus and that this liver-specific isozyme is very different from analogous isozymes that occur in various Cypriniform and Gadiform fishes.
The hydrodynamics of off-center explosions

The behavior of off-center supernova explosions is investigated using a two-dimensional hydrodynamic code. An important application of these calculations is the possible formation of high-velocity pulsars. The dependence of the final velocity of the collapsed remnant on the location and energy of the explosion is computed. The largest remnant velocities result from explosions located at a mass fraction of 0.5. An explosion energy 50% greater than the binding energy of the star ejects 0.51 solar masses, producing a 1.4 solar mass remnant with a velocity of 400 km/s. However, this energy must be generated in a very small region of the star in order to create the required asymmetry in the explosion. Because of this, a specific energy of about 10 to the 20th ergs/g is needed. Nuclear reactions can produce no more than about 5 x 10 to the 17th erg/g, and it is unclear how the energy produced in gravitational collapse models can be sufficiently localized. Unless a supernova mechanism can be found which can produce enough energy in a small region of the star, off-center explosions do not provide a satisfactory explanation for high-velocity pulsars.
A C. elegans Piwi, PRG-1, regulates 21U-RNAs during spermatogenesis.

Summary Background Epigenetic regulation by diverse classes of small RNAs is mediated by the highly conserved Argonaute/Piwi family of proteins. Although Argonautes are broadly expressed, the Piwi subfamily primarily functions in the germ line. Piwi proteins are associated with germline-specific ribonucleoprotein (RNP) granules in Drosophila , zebrafish, and mouse. Depending on the species and on the specific family member, Piwis play important roles in spermatogenesis and/or in maintaining germ cell and stem cell totipotency. Piwis bind to a newly discovered class of small RNAs, called piRNAs. C. elegans contains a large set of Argonaute/Piwi-related proteins, including two closely related to piwi called prg-1 and prg-2 . The function of prg-1 and prg-2 and whether piRNAs exist in C. elegans is unknown. Results Here, we demonstrate that the Piwi-like protein PRG-1 is localized to P granules in germ cells entering spermatogenesis and is required for successful spermatogenesis. Loss of prg-1 causes a marked reduction in expression of a subset of mRNAs expressed during spermatogenesis, and prg-1 mutant sperm exhibit extensive defects in activation and fertilization. Moreover, prg-1 activity is required for the presence of the small RNAs called 21U-RNAs. Conclusions Our data suggest that PRG-1 promotes expression, processing, or stability of 21U-RNAs, which, in turn or in concert with PRG-1, promote proper expression of spermatogenesis transcripts.
The perceived scenic effects of clearcutting in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, USA

The scenic effects of clearcutting have been a volatile issue for the American public for much of the past century. A better understanding of the scenic perceptions associated with the cumulative visible effects of clearcutting should contribute to better decisions about its use. This study evaluates the scenic impacts of simulated alternative clearcutting management systems for the White Mountain National Forest. Alternatives represented an unharvested view, and views with removal of 1-5% of the timber every 12 years using either scattered or concentrated clearcut units of 5, 15 and 30 acres in two viewsheds. A random sample of local citizens, four groups of opinion leaders, and US Forest Service employees evaluated these alternatives. Each factor accounts for significant differences in scenic value. All groups rated the scenic value of unharvested scenes very high. All groups find a large drop in scenic value with the introduction of even the least intense harvesting activity. All groups indicated a statistically significant decrease in visual quality as the intensity of harvesting increases. This effect continues throughout the range of harvesting intensities until the level of sustainable yield is reached. In addition, patches 12-15 acres in size were preferred to larger and smaller ones.
Protein-protein interactions of yeast DNA polymerase III with mammalian and yeast proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)/cyclin.

Abstract We have previously reported the purification of yeast analogs to mammalian DNA polymerase δ and proliferating-cell nuclear antigen (PCNA)/cyclin: DNA polymerase III and yeast PCNA, respectively. Through the use of gel-filtration chromatography, we have studied the interaction of the model template-primer system poly(dA) · (dT) 16 (40:1) with yeast DNA polymerase III and with PCNAs. Yeast DNA polymerase III binds to the DNA in the absence of yeast PCNA/cyclin, but comigration of either yeast or calf thymus PCNA/cyclin with the DNA requires the additional presence of yeast DNA polymerase III. We could also isolate a DNA-calf thymus DNA polymerase δ-calf thymus PCNA/cyclin complex. From these data, we propose that PCNA/cyclin is involved not in the binding step of the polymerase to the template-primer, but in the elongation step. The 3′ → 5′ exonuclease associated with yeast DNA polymerase III acts in a distributive manner on poly(dA) · (pT) 16 , and dissociates from the DNA when addition of dTTP allows switching from the exonuclease to the polymerase mode. Addition of PCNA/cyclin had no effect on these activities.
Characterization of neutron-induced copper-enriched clusters in pressure vessel steel weld : an APFIM study

Embrittlement of pressure vessel steels is controlled by complex interactions between a large number of variables making purely empirical predictions unreliable. It is necessary to have an accurate description of the changes that occur in the microstructure during neutron irradiation. A detailed atom probe field ion microscope examination of the microstructure of a neutron-irradiated commercial A533B-type weld (3.5 × 1019 n cm−2 (E > 1 MeV) at 283°C) is reported in this study. The plane-by-plane type analysis provides an accurate description of the neutron-induced copper-enriched clusters. The size, the morphology, the spatial distribution of solutes and the chemical composition of these features are determined. The matrix chemistry of this irradiated material was determined and compared with the as-fabricated weld and weld material that had been thermally aged for 93 000 h at 280°C. This comparison isolated the effect of neutron irradiation from any thermally induced microstructural evolution.
Experimental Spin Testing of Integrally Damped Composite Plates

The experimental behavior of spinning laminated composite pretwisted plates (turbo-fan blade-like) with small (less than 10% by volume) integral viscoelastic damping patches was investigated at NASA-Lewis Research Center. Ten different plate sets were experimentally spin tested and the resulting data was analyzed. The first-four plate sets investigated tailoring patch locations and definitions to damp specific modes on spinning flat graphite/epoxy plates as a function of rotational speed. The remaining six plate sets investigated damping patch size and location on specific modes of pretwisted (30 degrees) graphite/epoxy plates. The results reveal that: (1) significant amount of damping can be added using a small amount of damping material, (2) the damped plates experienced no failures up to the tested 28,000 g's and 750,000 cycles, (3) centrifugal loads caused an increase in bending frequencies and corresponding reductions in bending damping levels that are proportional to the bending stiffness increase, and (4) the centrifugal loads caused a decrease in torsion natural frequency and increase in damping levels of pretwisted composite plates.
SMALL-ANGLE X-RAY DIFFRACTION ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECT OF FLUORIDE ON HUMAN BONE APATITE.

Abstract Small-angle X-ray diffraction studies were performed on a series of human rib samples containing varying amounts of fluoride. The results show that a rise in fluoride content was accompanied by a decrease in the area of the interface between the mineral apatite phase and the remaining bone tissue. Detailed analysis of the results suggest that this decrease can only be accomplished by an increase in the mean volume and concomitant decrease in the number of the apatite crystallites. Further considerations suggest that the improvement in “crystallinity” as measured by wide-angle X-ray diffraction, as reported in previous publications, can be accounted for entirely by this increase in crystallite size. Apparently these progressive changes in bone mineral can be tolerated by the individual without producing significant physiological consequences.
Sensor networks: a bridge to the physical world

Wireless sensor networks are a new class of distributed systems that are an integral part of the physical space they inhabit. Unlike most computers, which work primarily with data created by humans, sensor networks reason about the state of the world that embodies them. This bridge to the physical world has captured the attention and imagination of many researchers, encompassing a broad spectrum of ideas, from environmental protection to military applications. In this chapter, we will explore some of this new technology's potential and innovations that are making it a reality.
Moloney murine leukemia virus glyco-gag facilitates xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus replication through human APOBEC3-independent mechanisms

Background: One of the unique features of gammaretroviruses is that they contain an additional extended form of Gag, glyco-gag, which initiates in the leader sequence. MuLV glyco-gag, gPr80 Gag , promotes retrovirus replication and disease progression. Although virtually all infectious MuLVs encode glyco-gag, XMRV (xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus) lacks the classical gPr80 Gag sequence. We examined XMRV to determine if its leader sequence contains glyco-gag activity, whether the presence of conventional gPr80 Gag affects replication of XMRV, and we describe the evolution of glyco-gag-deficient MuLVs in Mus. Results: We introduced several mutations disrupting two putative but noncanonical glyco-gag proteins in the leader sequence region in XMRV and found that those mutations did not affect virus release nor susceptibility to the antiviral activity of hA3G (human APOBEC3G). A chimeric XMRV encoding the Moloney MuLV (M-MuLV) leader sequence (MXMRV) demonstrated that M-MuLV glyco-gag facilitated MXMRV release and increased infectivity. Infectivity assays with several cell lines showed that glyco-gag increases XMRV infectivity in all cell lines tested, but the level of this increase varies in different cell lines. Because MuLV glyco-gag counteracts mouse APOBEC3, we investigated whether M-MuLV glyco-gag enhances XMRV infection by counteracting human APOBEC3. Comparison of hAPOBEC3 isoforms expressed in different cell lines indicated that hA3B was the most likely candidate for a restrictive hA3. However over-expression of hA3B showed no enhanced restriction of infection by XMRV compared to MXMRV. Endogenous MuLVs in the sequenced mouse genome were screened for canonical glyco-gag, which was identified in two clades of xenotropic MuLVs (X-MuLVs) and ecotropic MuLVs, but not in other X-MuLVs or in any polytropic MuLVs. Conclusions: M-MuLV glyco-gag facilitates XMRV replication, and the leader sequence region in XMRV does not encode proteins equivalent to M-MuLV glyco-gag. The fact that the ability of glyco-gag to enhance XMRV infection varies in different cell lines suggests a glyco-gag sensitive restrictive factor that further reduces XMRV infectivity. The M-MuLV glyco-gag enhancement for XMRV replication is through a hAPOBEC3 independent mechanism. The absence of glyco-gag in MuLVs carried by western European mice suggests that loss of this sequence is a relatively recent event with limited subspecies distribution.
The many facets of RNA-binding protein HuR.

RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are the best regulator in determining the fate of mRNA that plays an important role in numerous cellular functions. RBPs are present in either the cytoplasm or the nucleus or in both places of the cell. Due to its importance in the biological functions, numerous new findings have been recently revealed about RBPs. The interaction of the RBPs begins with mRNA transcription and remains bound permanently or transiently to the mRNA, and it regulates the splicing, processing, transport, and localization of RNA. The regulation of gene expression occurs at multiple levels, including transcription, mRNA stability, and translation. HuR is one of the well-characterized RBPs; it primarily stabilizes mRNAs and is also known as RNAstabilizing protein (RSP). HuR was first described in Drosophila as being in the embryonic lethal abnormal vision (ELAV) family of Hu proteins, which comprise the human antigen R (HuR or HuA), HuB, HuC, and HuD [1]. Among these, HuB, HuC, and HuD are predominantly expressed in the nervous system and are also called as neuronal Hu proteins [2]. The modulation of the biosynthetic regulation of HuR protein is the key step in developing new strategies in order to treat various diseases, including cardiac diseases. The mRNA itself contains sequence-specific information that determines the stability. It is now well established that the key elements that influence the mRNA stability and translational regulations are the turnover and translation regulatory RNA-binding proteins (TTR-RBPs) and noncoding RNAs such as micro-RNAs (miRNAs), long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs), small nucleolar RNAs (snoRNAs), small cajal body-specific
The Great Mother at Gordion: the hellenization of an Anatolian cult

Gordion, the principal city of Phrygia, was an important center for the worship of the major Phrygian divinity, the Great Mother of Anatolia, the Greek and Roman Cybele. Considerable evidence for the goddess's prominence there have come to light through excavations conducted at the site, first by Gustav and Alfred Korte and more recently by the continuing expedition sponsored by the University Museum in Philadelphia. These include sculptural representations of the goddess and numerous votive objects dedicated to her. The material pertinent to the goddess and her cult in Gordion during the most prominent period of Phrygian culture, the eighth and seventh centuries BC, is similar to that from other contemporary Phrygian centers. Even after the loss of Phrygian political independence in the seventh century, the cult of the goddess in Anatolia continued to flourish, and the older traditions of iconography and votive types were maintained. During the Hellenistic period, however, we see a different version of the goddess at Gordion. The earlier Phrygian forms of cult image and votive were gone, and in their stead are figurines and votive objects which are clearly of Greek inspiration. The Mother goddess was still at home in Gordion—several stone and terracotta representations of her from this period attest to that—but her visual image had become thoroughly Hellenized.
Immediate-early and delayed primary response genes are distinct in function and genomic architecture

The transcriptional program induced by growth factor stimulation is classically described in two stages as follows: the rapid protein synthesis-independent induction of immediate-early genes, followed by the subsequent protein synthesis-dependent induction of secondary response genes. In this study, we obtained a comprehensive view of this transcriptional program. As expected, we identified both rapid and delayed gene inductions. Surprisingly, however, a large fraction of genes induced with delayed kinetics did not require protein synthesis and therefore represented delayed primary rather than secondary response genes. Of 133 genes induced within 4 h of growth factor stimulation, 49 (37%) were immediate-early genes, 58 (44%) were delayed primary response genes, and 26 (19%) were secondary response genes. Comparison of immediate-early and delayed primary response genes revealed functional and regulatory differences. Whereas many immediate-early genes encoded transcription factors, transcriptional regulators were not prevalent among the delayed primary response genes. The lag in induction of delayed primary response compared with immediate-early mRNAs was because of delays in both transcription initiation and subsequent stages of elongation and processing. Consistent with increased abundance of RNA polymerase II at their promoters, immediate-early genes were characterized by over-representation of transcription factor binding sites and high affinity TATA boxes. Immediate-early genes also had short primary transcripts with few exons, whereas delayed primary response genes more closely resembled other genes in the genome. These findings suggest that genomic features of immediate-early genes, in contrast to the delayed primary response genes, are selected for rapid induction, consistent with their regulatory functions.
Decoupled dynamic ternary content addressable memories

The content addressable memory (CAM) is a memory in which data can be accessed on the basis of contents rather than by specifying physical address. In the paper, five novel dynamic ternary CAM cells with decoupled match lines are presented. A ternary CAM cell is capable of storing and matching three values: zero (0), one (1), and don't care (X). The proposed dynamic CAM (DCAM) cells range in the number of transistors from 6 n-type transistors up to 10.5 n- and p-type transistors (one transistor is shared between two cells). The cells are capable of fast match and read operations enhancing the performance of the memory system. Using a 0.25-/spl mu/m CMOS technology, simulations of the proposed CAM cells were performed to compare their performance. With this technology, the shortest match delay is 89.7 ps for the 7.5 DCAM cell. A complete characterization of the five cells is provided in this paper. These results show that the novel CAM cells outperform existing cells. The compact size and low power dissipation of these ternary CAM cells make them suitable for many applications such as routers, database, and associative cache memories.