cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of 2-Chloroadenosine on Cerebrovascular Reactivity to Hypercapnia in Newborn Pig

The effect of local administration of vasodilative concentrations of the adenosine receptor agonist 2-chloroadenosine (2-CADO) on the hyperemic responses of the pial and parenchymal microcirculations to graded hypercapnia was determined. The cranial window and brain microdialysis–hydrogen clearance techniques were utilized in two groups of isoflurane-anesthetized newborn pigs to measure changes in pial diameters and local CBF, respectively, in response to graded hypercapnia in the absence and presence of 2-CADO. Progressive size-dependent dilations of pial arterioles [small = 41 ± 7 μm (mean ± SD), intermediate = 78 ± 13 μm, and large = 176 ± 57 μm in diameter] occurred in response to graded hypercapnia alone (Paco2 = 58 and 98 mm Hg) and to superfusions of 2-CADO (10−5M) during normocapnia; the magnitude of the dilative response to each of these stimuli was inversely proportional to vessel size. When hypercapnia was induced concomitantly with 2-CADO superfusion, the dilative effects of each stimulus were...
The electronic spectrum of lead telluride

Abstract The absorption and emission spectra of PbTe have been measured. The results have been compared with some earlier data and a revised value for the first excited level is suggested.
Photoacoustic Generation of Focused Ultrasonic Pulses with Predefined Temporal Profiles Including Quasi-unipolar Pressure Pulses

One of the applications of the photoacoustic effect in biomedical research is generation of ultra-short acoustic pressure pulses in tissue. An acoustic wave is generated directly in tissue or in an acoustically well coupled immersion liquid, thus avoiding mechanical resonances of the piezoelectric ultrasonic transducer. Although laser generation of the unipolar pressure pulses has been proposed and used before, little attention was paid to the change of the temporal shape of the pulse when it propagates from a transducer. Here we derive simple mathematical solution which helps to predict the pulse shape in the focal region of the transducer and to experimentally verify theoretical calculations showing generation of short quasi-unipolar pressure pulses.
Optical properties of porous silicon: A first-principles study

We show that first-principles electronic structure calculations of silicon wires with diameters up to \ensuremath{\sim}1.5 nm support the idea that quantum confinement and surface effects are responsible for the luminescence in porous silicon. Instead of the indirect gap of crystalline bulk silicon, the band structure of these wires exhibits a direct gap at k=0. The imaginary part of the dielectric function, polarized in the direction of the wire, shows a peak in the visible range. The dependence of this feature on wire size is analyzed and correlated to experimental luminescence spectra.
Injectable agents: Present and future

Stress urinary incontinence (SUI) is primarily managed by conservative strategies. When these methods fail, minimally invasive treatments, if effective, safe, and durable, can result in a considerable reduction in current medical costs for this common condition. Injection of currently available bulking agents is a safe, minimally invasive procedure and offers a degree of efficacy. The long-term durability of several of these agents is yet to be determined. The use of bulking agents for the treatment of anatomic SUI has been demonstrated to produce success rates similar to those observed when these materials are used in patients with intrinsic sphincter deficiency, opening up new therapeutic options for women with SUI. We review the current basic science and clinical research into the development of newer agents for soft-tissue bulking.
Magnitude estimation scaling of annoyance in response to rock music: effects of sex and listeners' preference.

The present study parallels an earlier one Fucci, Petrosino, and Banks in 1994 concerned with sex and listeners' preference effects on magnitude estimation scaling of rock music. The difference between the two studies is that the subjects in 1994 were asked to scale "loudness" while the present subjects were asked to scale "annoyance." The prior results and those of the present study were different, i.e., the women's preference appeared influential in the magnitude estimation scaling of rock music previously but here the men's preference appeared influential. If subjects are instructed to judge the annoyance of an auditory signal, they may respond differently than if asked to judge its loudness. Judgments of annoyance appear to be more context dependent whereas loudness judgments may reflect a perceptual process more closely related to physical aspects of the signal.
Social networks and the institutionalization of the idea of sustainable development

Recently there has been a resurgence in the study of how ideas shape policies. Two perspectives which dominate this literature are what Habermas has called the empirical‐analytical tradition and historical‐hermeneutic tradition. These two epistemological positions represent contrasting views. They depict very different pictures of how ideas sway popular values and the policy choices confronted by policymakers. Each also raises important questions about how the processes of knowledge formation and promotion unfold and what actors play a dominant role in furthering these developments.
Collage: a presentation tool for school teachers

We present Collage, a software application designed for classroom presentations for school teachers in the developing world. An in-depth investigation of teaching practices in several schools in India led us to believe that a simple tool that enabled the display of images and textbook materials while facilitating blackboard-like interactions would be very helpful for these teachers. Collage is a simple media viewer with a small number of features that enables teachers to prepare lessons with little overhead and then present them in classrooms with maximum flexibility. The tool was piloted in three schools in suburban India for use in real-world classroom teaching. All teachers who used Collage uniformly praised it, and students' learning of visual concepts seemed to improve through it. Interestingly, some teachers continue to use the tool now for their own teaching needs and have spontaneously shared it with colleagues from other schools.
Design And Analysis Of Spectral Slicing X-Ray Telescope Systems

Layered Synthetic Microstructure (LSM) x-ray optics can he used to couple a conventional Wolter Type I or Wolter-Schwarzschild x-ray mirror to a high sensitivity/broad wavelength response detector. Since the LSM mirror can effectively reflect only a narrow spectral slice of the incident radiation, this new instrument is referred to as a "Spectral Slicing X-Ray Telescope." By the use of figured multilayer (LSM) optics, it is possible to alter the plate scale of the primary mirrors to allow improved spatial resolution to he realized with solid state detectors. We will present the results of theoretical design and analysis studies of several spectral slicing x-ray telescope systems utilizing LSMs figured as hyperboloids, spheres, ellipsoids, and constant optical path aspheric elements. The RMS spot size and point spread function calculations will be presented for systems in which the LSM optics are figured to yield magnifications of 2X, 6X, and 8X, and it will be demonstrated that these systems yield superior off-axis performance over the primary optic alone.
The implementation of evidence-based practice for the prevention/management of post-operative nausea and vomiting.

Aim To bring the research evidence for the prevention/management of post-operative nausea and vomiting into clinical practice in the surgical services department of a community hospital. Methods Audit and feedback were used to lead organisational change at the project hospital. A team of key stakeholders was created and helped to bring change to the way post-operative nausea and vomiting was treated and managed at the institution. The Chief of Anesthesia, Assistant Chief Nursing Officer, Nurse Researcher, Director of Surgical Services, operating room manager, post-anaesthesia care unit manager, pre-admission testing nurse and author as team leader made up the change management team. Current compliance with the six criteria set forth as research evidence for the change was derived from a surgical chart audit. Strategies for changes to increase compliance were then developed by the team. For the next several months change management occurred. Results There was a vast improvement in evidence-based practice following change management. Furthermore, post-operative nausea and vomiting decreased from 18% at the start to 5% nausea and 0% vomiting at the end. Conclusion Change management using audit and feedback is effective in changing organisational practice and in improving patient outcomes following surgery.
SOLUBILITY OF THE PROTEINS OF MACKEREL LIGHT MUSCLE AT LOW IONIC STRENGTH

Over 90% of the proteins of mackerel light muscle were soluble in solutions of physiological ionic strength or less. To accomplish this solublization, it was necessary, to extract certain proteins at moderate ionic strength and neutral pH before extracting the rest of the myofibrillar and cytoskeletal proteins in water. Six proteins were favorably solubilized by sodium chloride solutions of moderate ionic strength at neutral pH under conditions that allowed later dissolution of myofibrillar and cytoskeletal proteins in water. The possibility is suggested that three of these proteins were involved in preventing the solubilization in water of other myofibrillar and cytoskeletal proteins of mackerel light muscle. Based on molecular masses and relative abundance, these proteins could possibly be M-protein (166 kDa), α-actinin (95 kDa) and desmin (56 kDa).
The high cost of lost opportunities for prevention.

To the Editor. —The article by Dr Hoffman and colleagues 1 details the enormous cost our nation pays for chronic health conditions. It would be easy to bemoan the huge burden of these conditions in terms of higher taxes and health insurance costs, but there is a far larger tragedy that the authors failed to mention: a large proportion of the morbidity, mortality, and costs from chronic conditions is preventable. The major risk factors that cause most chronic diseases have been identified. For example, heart disease is largely attributable to unhealthy diet, elevated blood cholesterol, elevated blood pressure, smoking, and physical inactivity. 2 Cancer is caused largely by unhealthy diet and smoking. 3 Stroke is caused largely by elevated blood pressure. 4 Modifiable risk factors have been delineated for most of the other leading chronic conditions, and research also has identified effective techniques for controlling these risk factors and preventing
CYP2E1-dependent and leptin-mediated hepatic CD57 expression on CD8 + T cells aid progression of environment-linked nonalcoholic steatohepatitis

Environmental toxins induce a novel CYP2E1/leptin signaling axis in liver. This in turn activates a poorly characterized innate immune response that contributes to nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) progression. To identify the relevant subsets of T-lymphocytes in CYP2E1-dependent, environment-linked NASH, we utilized a model of diet induced obese (DIO) mice that are chronically exposed to bromodichloromethane. Mice deficient in CYP2E1, leptin (ob/ob mice), or both T and B cells (Pfp/Rag2 double knockout (KO) mice) were used to delineate the role of each of these factors in metabolic oxidative stress-induced T cell activation. Results revealed that elevated levels of lipid peroxidation, tyrosyl radical formation, mitochondrial tyrosine nitration and hepatic leptin as a consequence of metabolic oxidative stress caused increased levels of hepatic CD57, a marker of peripheral blood lymphocytes including NKT cells. CD8+CD57+ cytotoxic T cells but not CD4+CD57+ cells were significantly decreased in mice lacking CYP2E1 and leptin. There was a significant increase in the levels of T cell cytokines IL-2, IL-1β, and IFN-γ in bromodichloromethane exposed DIO mice but not in mice that lacked CYP2E1, leptin or T and B cells. Apoptosis as evidenced by TUNEL assay and levels of cleaved caspase-3 was significantly lower in leptin and Pfp/Rag2 KO mice and highly correlated with protection from NASH. The results described above suggest that higher levels of oxidative stress-induced leptin mediated CD8+CD57+ T cells play an important role in the development of NASH. It also provides a novel insight of immune dysregulation and may be a key biomarker in NASH.
Conformational study of methotrexate binding to L. casei dihydrofolate reductase by laser Raman spectroscopy

From the Raman spectrum of aqueous L. casei dihydrofolate reductase the protein backbone was found to be predominantly random-coil (∽45%), ∽30% β-sheet and ∽25% α-helical conformations. The Raman spectrum of the binary methotrexate-dihydrofolate reductase complex showed the polypeptide backbone to be predominantly random-coil (∽55%) and β-sheet (∽38%) conformers with a very small percentage of α-helix conformation. A change in the tyrosine doublet intensity (I860/I835) were observed upon binary complex formation. This change in intensity ratio supports a fluctuation in tyrosine hydrogen bonding environment in DHR upon complex formation. In the methotrexate–dihydrofolate reductase complex the pteridine ring of methotrexate was shown to be protonated. Comparison of the Raman spectra of the solution of the native enzyme and binary methotrexate complex supported the hypothesis of significant conformational changes in the L. casei dihydrofolate reductase upon complex formation.
Power Series Expansions for the Frequency and Period of the Limit Cycle of the Van Der Pol Equation

An equation reported by van der Pol (1926) in connection with relaxation-oscillations studies is considered. The equation contains the factor epsilon which can assume values in the range from zero to infinity. The period T(epsilon), or equivalently the frequency nu(epsilon) of the limit cycle has been studied. However, to date there has been little success in discovering the analytical structure of T(epsilon) as a function of epsilon. The present investigation has the objectives to present the Taylor series expansion of nu(epsilon), to locate the singularities which determine the radius of convergence of that expansion, to introduce a new damping variable in terms of which the expansion converges for all epsilon, to form a new expansion for the period T(epsilon) which improves the rate of convergence of the series, to attempt to 'complete' the series, and to compare the obtained results with the numerically determined values of T(epsilon) and with the asymptotic approximation valid for large epsilon.
The cumulants of an analogue of pearson's chi-squared

Pearson's chi-squared for a multinomial sample is defined as where An analogous or supplementary statistic Yt: is defined as .The statistic Y t , should be powerful when the alternative hypotheses:are obtained from the null hypothesis by adding to it bumps or dips wider than the bin width. Algorithms are supplied for calculating the cumulants of Y 1 especially when the null hypothesis is Most of the formulae depend on an unproved but certainly true conjecture concerning the characteristic polynomial of the matrix product Formulae for the bivariate cumulants of X 2,Y 1 are also provided.
SPATIAL DETERMINANTS OF RURAL LIVELIHOOD IN COSTAL GUYANA

(1973). SPATIAL DETERMINANTS OF RURAL LIVELIHOOD IN COSTAL GUYANA. The Professional Geographer: Vol. 25, No. 4, pp. 363-368.
Feeding by Hessian fly [Mayetiola destructor (Say)] larvae does not induce plant indirect defences

1. Recent research has addressed the function of herbivore-induced plant volatiles in attracting natural enemies of feeding herbivores. While many types of insect herbivory appear to elicit volatile responses, those triggered by gall insects have received little attention. Previous work indicates that at least one gall insect species induces changes in host-plant volatiles, but no other studies appear to have addressed whether gall insects trigger plant indirect defences. 2. The volatile responses of wheat to feeding by larvae of the Hessian fly Mayetiola destructor (Say) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) were studied to further explore indirect responses of plants to feeding by gall insects. This specialist gall midge species did not elicit a detectable volatile response from wheat plants, whereas a generalist caterpillar triggered volatile release. Moreover, Hessian fly feeding altered volatile responses to subsequent caterpillar herbivory. 3. These results suggest that Hessian fly larvae exert a degree of control over the defensive responses of their host plants and offer insight into plant-gall insect interactions. Also, the failure of Hessian fly larvae to elicit an indirect defensive response from their host plants may help explain why natural enemies, which often rely on induced volatile cues, fail to inflict significant mortality on M. destructor populations in the field.
Understanding Diffraction Using Paper and a Protractor

Students are often able to manipulate the mathematics behind diffraction, but have a hard time grasping the concepts of point sources, constructive interference, and diffraction order. An in-class activity has been developed to assist students in discovering the conceptual basis of diffraction. Students build a diffraction grating model out of provided materials and then rotate two “light rays” and measure angles. Using the measured angles, students can calculate the wavelength (the spacing) of the lines on the paper as a function of diffraction order. Furthermore, students can calculate dispersion as a function of order of diffraction. Using this activity, students have an opportunity to make an abstract concept more concrete.
Using stochastic analysis to capture unstable equilibrium in natural convection

A stabilized stochastic finite element implementation for the natural convection system of equations under Boussinesq assumptions with uncertainty in inputs is considered. The stabilized formulations are derived using the variational multiscale framework assuming a one-step trapezoidal time integration rule. The stabilization parameters are shown to be functions of the time-step size. Provision is made for explicit tracking of the subgrid-scale solution through time. A support-space/stochastic Galerkin approach and the generalized polynomial chaos expansion (GPCE) approach are considered for input-output uncertainty representation. Stochastic versions of standard Rayleigh-Benard convection problems are used to evaluate the approach. It is shown that for simulations around critical points, the GPCE approach fails to capture the highly non-linear input uncertainty propagation whereas the support-space approach gives fairly accurate results. A summary of the results and findings is provided.
Improved Two-Fiber Probe for in Situ Spectroscopic Measurement

A simple two-fiber probe has been modified and improved for in situ spectroscopic measurements that utilize front-surface geometry. The efficiency of the probe for fluorescence measurement across a window is improved by maximizing the overlap of the light cones of the two fibers at the outside surface of the window where the sample is in contact with the window. This is achieved by polishing the ends of the fibers at predetermined angles and using different probe geometries. Improvement factors up to 14 have been obtained for fluorescence of phenol in distilled water, anthracene in 75% methanol, and the solutions mixed with sands and clay. The improved two-fiber probe can be used for fluorescence as well as phosphorescence, Raman, and infrared (reflectance) spectroscopic measurements.
A Comparative Study on I/O Performance between Compute and Storage Optimized Instances of Amazon EC2

Cloud computing infrastructure helps users to minimize cost by outsourcing data and computation on-demand. Due to the varying user needs in terms of computation power, storage capacity, etc., cloud providers offer various machines to choose from, to maximize the intended need. In this paper, we disprove several common conceptions regarding the performance and cost of cloud by experimenting on instances of two different families (compute and storage optimized) of the most popular cloud platform, Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2). Our analysis shows the interesting finding that, for the machines of the same configuration, storage optimized instances have lower disk read-write speed than compute optimized, which does not completely reflect the claim made by Amazon in all cases. Additionally, storage optimized instances have notable performance difference among them. We also identify that the I/O performance of same instance type varies over different time periods.
Mutational analysis of the EMCV 2A protein identifies a nuclear localization signal and an eIF4E binding site

Cardioviruses have a unique 2A protein (143 aa). During genome translation, the encephalomyocarditis virus (EMCV) 2A is released through a ribosome skipping event mitigated through C-terminal 2A sequences and by subsequent N-terminal reaction with viral 3Cpro. Although viral replication is cytoplasmic, mature 2A accumulates in nucleoli shortly after infection. Some protein also transiently associates with cytoplasmic 40S ribosomal subunits, an activity contributing to inhibition of cellular cap-dependent translation. Cardiovirus sequences predict an eIF4E binding site (aa 126–134) and a nuclear localization signal (NLS, aa 91–102), within 2A, both of which are functional during EMCV infection. Point mutations preventing eIF4E:2A interactions gave small-plaque phenotype viruses, but still inhibited cellular cap-dependent translation. Deletions within the NLS motif relocalized 2A to the cytoplasm and abrogated the inhibition of cap-dependent translation. A fusion protein linking the 2A NLS to eGFP was sufficient to redirect the reporter to the nucleus but not into nucleoli.
Principle of non-interaction of waves

Non-interaction of waves (NIW) in the linear domain is an unappreciated but general principle of nature. Explicit recognition of this NIW-principle will add renewed momentum to the progress of fundamental physics and related technologies like spectrometry, coherence, polarizations, laser mode-locking, etc. This principle helps us appreciate that the mathematical correctness of a theorem and its capability to predict certain groups of measured data, do not necessarily imply that the theorem is always capable of mapping real interaction processes in nature. The time-frequency Fourier theorem (TF-FT) is an example since superposed light beams, by themselves, cannot reorganize or sum their energies. Quantum Mechanics (QM) correctly discovered that photons (light beams) are non-interacting bosons. Yet, to accommodate (i) the classical belief that light beams interfere (interact) by themselves, and (ii) Einstein's heuristic hypothesis that discrete packets of energy emitted by molecules travel as indivisible quanta (contradicting spontaneous diffractive spreading), QM has been forced to hypothesize that a photon interferes only with itself. In reality, it is the quantized detecting material media that make the superposition effects become manifest as their physical transformations, from bound electrons to released photoelectrons, after absorbing energy from all the beams due to induced simultaneous stimulations by the beams.
Nesterov's algorithm solving dual formulation for compressed sensing

We develop efficient algorithms for solving the compressed sensing problem. We modify the standard @?"1 regularization model for compressed sensing by adding a quadratic term to its objective function so that the objective function of the dual formulation of the modified model is Lipschitz continuous. In this way, we can apply the well-known Nesterov algorithm to solve the dual formulation and the resulting algorithms have a quadratic convergence. Numerical results presented in this paper show that the proposed algorithms outperform significantly the state-of-the-art algorithm NESTA in accuracy.
A New Estimate of the Proton Lifetime

Abstract We find a theoretical upper limit of 10 32 years for the proton decay lifetime in the SU(5) grand unified theory of Georgi and Glashow based on a calculation at the two-loop level.
Robust optimum detection of transform domain multiplicative watermarks

Digital watermarking is an emerging technique to protect data security and intellectual property right. Identification or verification of watermarking patterns can be achieved by detecting watermarks in received signals. However, one of the biggest challenges in watermarking detection is that the strengths of the watermark signals will change after being distorted by an attacker in a watermarking channel. Meanwhile, the embedding strengths may be adapted to the original signals, which are unknown at the receiver end. Further, the original signals are often highly non-Gaussian. Although some work has been done on optimum detection of watermarks, the uncertainty of watermark signal strengths and real statistical behavior of multimedia contents have not been taken into account simultaneously. Much more study is needed to enhance the performance of watermarking systems. Since multiplicative watermarks are robust and well suited for copyright protection, this paper presents our investigation on robust optimum detection of multiplicative watermarks. For sub-band transformed domains such as the discrete cosine transform (DCT), discrete wavelet transform (DWT), and pyramid transform, a class of generalized correlators is constructed based on the generalized Gaussian distributions. Thresholding methods to achieve a given false alarm rate, and the performance analyses are provided. The square-root detector is designed and demonstrated to have near optimal performance for a large set of natural images and can be employed as a "universally optimal" detector or decoder for images and video. The locally most powerful detection method is then extended to DFT domain multiplicative watermarking, with the magnitudes of coefficients modeled by the Weibull distributions. Another class of detectors is built based on this statistical modeling. The robust optimum detection of multiplicative watermarks can be applied to copyright notification, enforcement, and broadcast monitoring. We have applied the robust optimum watermarking detection to combined audio and video watermarking.
All three RNA recognition motifs and the hinge region of HuC play distinct roles in the regulation of alternative splicing

The four Hu [embryonic lethal abnormal vision-like (ELAVL)] protein family members regulate alternative splicing by binding to U-rich sequences surrounding target exons and affecting the interaction of the splicing machinery and/or local chromatin modifications. Each of the Hu proteins contains a divergent N-terminus, three highly conserved RNA recognition motifs (RRM1, RRM2 and RRM3) and a hinge region separating RRM2 and RRM3. The roles of each domain in splicing regulation are not well understood. Here, we investigate how HuC, a relatively poorly characterized family member, regulates three target pre-mRNAs: neurofibromatosis type I, Fas and HuD. We find that the HuC N-terminus is dispensable for splicing regulation, and the three RRMs are required for splicing regulation of each target, whereas the hinge region contributes to regulation of only some targets. Interestingly, the regions of the hinge and RRM3 required for regulating different targets only partially overlap, implying substrate-specific mechanisms of HuC-mediated splicing regulation. We show that RRM1 and RRM2 are required for binding to target pre-mRNAs, whereas the hinge and RRM3 are required for HuC-HuC self-interaction. Finally, we find that the portions of RRM3 required for HuC-HuC interaction overlap with those required for splicing regulation of all three targets, suggesting a role of HuC-HuC interaction in splicing regulation.
Process-Parameter-Dependent Optical and Structural Properties of ZrO(2) MgO Mixed-Composite Films Evaporated from the Solid Solution.

The process-parameter-dependent optical and structural properties of ZrO2MgO mixed-composite material have been investigated. Optical properties were derived from spectrophotometric measurements. By use of atomic force microscopy, x-ray diffraction analysis, and energy-dispersive x-ray (EDX) analysis, the surface morphology, grain size distributions, crystallographic phases, and process-dependent material composition of films have been investigated. EDX analysis made evident the correlation between the oxygen enrichment in the films prepared at a high level of oxygen pressure and the very low refractive index. Since oxygen pressure can be dynamically varied during a deposition process, coatings constructed of suitable mixed-composite thin films can benefit from continuous modulation of the index of refraction. A step modulation approach is used to develop various multilayer-equivalent thin-film devices.
2,5-Dihydro-2,2-dimethyl-5,5-bis(propylthio)-1,3,4-oxadiazole

[222625-77-6] C10H20N2OS2 (MW 248.41) InChI = 1S/C10H20N2OS2/c1-5-7-14-10(15-8-6-2)12-11-9(3,4)13-10/h5-8H2,1-4H3 InChIKey = FJYVPCVLZLZWFK-UHFFFAOYSA-N (reagent used as bis(propylthio)carbene precursor) Physical Data: solid at −78°C, thermolysis occurs at 0°C and above. Solubility: hexanes, cyclohexane, dichloromethane, benzene, toluene, xylene. Form Supplied in: colorless oil as synthesized. Purification: column chromatography at 0°C using hexanes–ethyl acetate (20:1); product elutes first; collect fractions in an ice bath; remove solvent in vacuo at 0°C; dry under high vacuum at 0°C for 1 h. Handling, Storage, and Precautions: to prevent premature thermolysis, reagent should be stored in a sealed flask in a cooler with dry ice at −78°C. Since the reagent is thermally labile and thermolysis is exothermic, avoid exposure to heat to prevent rapid evolution of nitrogen gas leading to a possible explosion. Thermolysis will occur at 0°C and above. Use of an explosion shield and slow addition to refluxing solvents are recommended.
Spatial optimization of an array of aligned microcantilever based sensors

The present work establishes the optimized spatial arrangement for an array of aligned microcantilever sensors placed inside a fluidic cell. The results of the present investigation show that the optimum spacing distance between the microcantilevers decreases as the fluidic cell height decreases. An increase in the flow Reynolds number is found to increase the optimum spacing distance. However, this increase is not noticeable at relatively small Reynolds numbers where the flow exhibits creep characteristics. Hydromagnetic effects are found to decrease the optimum spacing distance. The results of the present investigation show that the location of the microcantilevers from the wall of the fluidic cell also plays a significant role on the optimum distance between the microcantilevers. Finally, a correlation for the optimum spacing distance between the microcantilevers is obtained for various pertinent parameters. This correlation can be used to determine the minimum size of biochips that will produce similar flow conditions on each microcantilever, resulting in independent microcantilever detections for different analytes.
Type-zero copper proteins

Many proteins contain copper in a range of coordination environments, where it has various biological roles, such as transferring electrons or activating dioxygen. These copper sites can be classified by their function or spectroscopic properties. Those with a single copper atom are either type 1, with an intense absorption band near 600 nm, or type 2, with weak absorption in the visible region. We have built a novel copper(ii) binding site within structurally modified Pseudomonas aeruginosa azurins that does not resemble either existing type, which we therefore call 'type zero'. X-ray crystallographic analysis shows that these sites adopt distorted tetrahedral geometries, with an unusually short Cu–O (G45 carbonyl) bond. Relatively weak absorption near 800 nm and narrow parallel hyperfine splittings in electron paramagnetic resonance spectra are the spectroscopic signatures of type zero copper. Cyclic voltammetric experiments demonstrate that the electron transfer reactivities of type-zero azurins are enhanced relative to that of the corresponding type 2 (C112D) protein.
Ubiquitination of the yeast a-factor receptor.

The a-factor receptor (Ste3p) is one of two pheromone receptors in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae that enable the cell-cell communication of mating. In this report, we show that this receptor is subject to two distinct covalent modifications-phosphorylation and ubiquitination. Phosphorylation, evident on the unstimulated receptor, increases upon challenge by the receptor's ligand, a-factor. We suggest that this phosphorylation likely functions in the adaptive, negative regulation of receptor activity. Removal of phosphorylation by phosphatase treatment uncovered two phosphatase-resistant modifications identified as ubiquitination using a myc-epitope-tagged ubiquitin construct. Ste3p undergoes rapid, ligand-independent turnover that depends on vacuolar proteases and also on transport of the receptor from surface to vacuole (i.e., endocytosis) (Davis, N.G., J.L.Horecka, and G.F. Sprague, Jr., 1993 J. Cell Biol. 122:53-65). An end4 mutation, isolated for its defect in the endocytic uptake of alpha-factor pheromone (Raths, S., J. Rohrer, F. Crausaz, and H. Riezman. 1993. J. Cell Biol. 120:55-65), blocks constitutive endocytosis of the a-factor receptor, yet fails to block ubiquitination of the receptor. In fact, both phosphorylation and ubiquitination of the surfacebound receptor were found to increase, suggesting that these modifications may occur normally while the receptor is at the cell surface. In a mutant strain constructed to allow for depletion of ubiquitin, the level of receptor ubiquitination was found to be substantially decreased. Correlated with this was an impairment of receptor degradative turnover-receptor half-life that is normally approximately 20 min at 30 degrees C was increased to approximately 2 h under these ubiquitin-depletion conditions. Furthermore, surface residency, normally of short duration in wild-type cells (terminated by endocytosis to the vacuole), was found to be prolonged; the majority of the receptor protein remained surface localized fully 2 h after biosynthesis. Thus, the rates of a-factor receptor endocytosis and consequent vacuolar turnover depend on the available level of ubiquitin in the cell. In cells mutant for two E2 activities, i.e., ubc4 delta ubc5 delta cells, the receptor was found to be substantially less ubiquitinated, and in addition, receptor turnover was slowed, suggesting that Ubc4p and Ubc5p may play a role in the recognition of the receptor protein as substrate for the ubiquitin system. In addition to ligand-independent uptake, the a-factor receptor also undergoes a ligand-dependent form of endocytosis (Davis, N.G., J.L. Horecka, and G.F. Sprague, Jr. 1993. J. Cell. Biol. 122:53-65). Concurrent with ligand-dependent uptake, we now show that the receptor undergoes ligand-induced ubiquitination, suggesting that receptor ubiquitination may function in the ligand-dependent endocytosis of the a-factor receptor as well as in its constitutive endocytosis. To account for these findings, we propose a model wherein the covalent attachment of ubiquitin to surface receptor triggers endocytic uptake.
Oxygen Consumption and Insensible Water Loss in Premature Infants Under Radiant Heaters

Oxygen consumption ((Vo2), carbon dioxide production (Vco2), and insensible water loss (IWL) were measured simultaneously in nine nondistressed, appropriately grown, premature infants less than 2 weeks old, nursed in a conventional, blow-warmed incubator, and were compared with measurements made on the same infants under a radiant heater. The infants had a pronounced increase (148% on average) in IWL when under the radiant heater (P < .001) whereas Vo2 increased by only 4.6% (P = .073). Abdominal skin temperature (servocontrolled to maintain 36.5 C) and esophageal temperature were the same under both conditions, but ambient air temperature was 0.7 C higher in the incubator (P < 05). Although a positive correlation was found between the increase in IWL and the change in Vo2 (r = .75, P < .01), the large increase in IWL (and, therefore, evaporative heat loss) under the radiant heater is out of proportion to, and cannot be accounted for, by the change in metabolic heat production. The heat transfer processes involved in maintaining body temperature constant under these conditions require further study.
A new diminutive species of shearwater of the genus Calonectris (Aves: Procellariidae) from the Middle Miocene Calvert Formation of Chesapeake Bay

Abstract Calonectris kurodai, new species, is described from the Middle Miocene Calvert Formation of Virginia and Maryland. This shearwater was much smaller than any living congeneric species and provides the earliest record for the genus Calonectris. A femur referred to Calonectris sp. is probably from later Miocene deposits of the Choptank Formation and was about the size of the smallest living species C. edwardsi.
CC Chemokine Receptor 2 Is Required for Macrophage Infiltration and Vascular Hypertrophy in Angiotensin II–Induced Hypertension

Recent studies have identified the presence of macrophages in the arterial wall of hypertensive animals and suggested that as is the case in atherosclerosis, macrophage products may be important mediators of the adaptive response of the arterial wall. In support of this, we have previously shown that the expression of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 is upregulated in the arteries of hypertensive animals. We hypothesized that macrophage recruitment is a critical step in the pathogenesis of hypertension. To obtain insights into this potential mechanism, we made use of mice deficient in the CC chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2), the receptor for monocyte chemoattractant protein-1. Hypertension was induced with the subcutaneous administration of angiotensin II (0.75 mg. kg(-1). d(-1)) for 7 days. Using in situ hybridization with a probe for c-fms to identify macrophages, we found that hypertension-induced macrophage infiltration of the arterial wall was virtually eliminated in CCR2-deficient mice. In addition, vascular hypertrophy was reduced by approximately 65% compared with wild-type animals. These data demonstrate that CCR2 is essential for the recruitment of macrophages into the arterial wall in the setting of hypertension. Furthermore, the decreased hypertrophic response suggests that vascular hypertrophy occurs in part as a consequence of macrophage infiltration. In angiotensin II-induced hypertension, CCR2-mediated responses are critical to the process of macrophage recruitment and vascular hypertrophy and may represent one mechanism by which at least some forms of hypertension may lead to the development of atherosclerosis.
Refactoring-Aware Configuration Management for Object-Oriented Programs

Current text based Software Configuration Management (SCM) systems have trouble with refactorings. Refactorings result in global changes and lead to merge conflicts. A refactoring-aware SCM system reduces merge conflicts, preserves program history better and makes it easier to understand program evolution. This paper describes MolhadoRef, a refactoring-aware SCM system and the merge algorithm at its core. MolhadoRef records change operations (refactorings and edits) used to produce one version, and replays them when merging versions. Since refactorings are change operations with well defined semantics, MolhadoRef treats them intelligently. A case-study shows that MolhadoRef solves automatically more merge conflicts than CVS while resulting in fewer merge errors.
Sensor Management for Particle Filter Tracking

Different information theoretic sensor management approaches are compared in a Bayesian target-tracking problem. Each approach compares the expected improvement to the posterior from potential sensor queries, taking into account the current estimated prior but not the actual measurements, to determine the optimal myopic sensing action to take. Specifically the results of prioritizing sensor selection using the expected Renyi divergence with different parameter values are compared with a random sensing scheme and to a computationally efficient linear-Gaussian approximation of the Renyi divergence. The approximation is only used in the optimization step. A particle filter representation of the tracker is used for the motion and measurement updates for all methods. Included is the special case in which the expected Renyi divergence is equal to the expected Kullback-Leibler divergence, which is also equivalent to both the mutual information and the expected change in differential information for this Bayesian updating problem. Two example problems from the context of antisubmarine warfare (ASW) using sonar systems are considered. Each involves a single maneuvering target and both bearing-only and time delay of arrival multistatic sensors. Compared with a random selection of measurements, all of the prioritized schemes localize the target more quickly and more precisely. It is shown that the computationally efficient linear-Gaussian approximation method provides better target localization than the more complex Renyi divergence implementation under some circumstances and generally performs at least comparably in the examples considered. Additionally, the role of the Renyi α parameter is examined both generally and through several numerical examples.
Identity and the Politics of American Indian and Hispanic Women Leaders

This article examines the influence of race/ethnicity and gender identity on the politics of American Indian and Hispanic women leaders. The data are drawn from personal interviews with 50 public officials and grassroots leaders active in state, local, or tribal politics in New Mexico. Borrowing from Tolleson Rinehart's model of “gender consciousness,” the author creates a classification scheme for assessing the role that race/ethnicity and gender play in the political ideology and motives of the leaders. The findings reveal that racial/ethnic identity is generally more important to Native leaders and grassroots activists, while gender identity is somewhat more salient for Hispanic leaders and public officials. Her classification system for measuring racial/ethnic and gender identity is useful for analyzing qualitative data and may be helpful to other researchers.
Do Men and Women Perceive White-Collar and Street Crime Differently? Exploring Gender Differences in the Perception of Seriousness, Motives, and Punishment:

Public perceptions of white-collar crime have shifted from indifference to awareness based on recent, highly publicized corporate collapses and Ponzi schemes. This research explores perceptions of ...
Multifamily Psychoeducation for First-Episode Psychosis: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis

Objective Family psychoeducation is considered part of optimal treatment for first-episode psychosis, but concerns about the cost of this intervention have limited its availability. Although evidence suggests that family psychoeducation is cost-effective, many cost-effectiveness analyses have suffered from limitations that reduce their utility in guiding decisions to incorporate this intervention within existing clinical services. These include not presenting results in present-day dollars and not examining whether the intervention would remain cost-effective in situations where the clinical benefits achieved were smaller than those reported in past studies. Thus the goal of this study was to investigate the cost of providing a specific psychoeducation program-multifamily group psychoeducation-to individuals with first-episode psychosis and their families. Methods Statistical simulation was used to estimate the cost and burden of illness associated with usual treatment versus usual treatment plus multifamily group psychoeducation. In addition, the simulation model was rerun to test whether multifamily psychoeducation would remain cost-effective in situations where the clinical benefits achieved were smaller than those reported in past studies. Results When provided for two years, multifamily group psychoeducation ranged from a cost-effective to a cost-saving intervention, depending on the clinical benefits achieved by staff delivering the intervention. When provided for longer durations (five, ten, or 20 years), multifamily psychoeducation was a cost-saving intervention even in scenarios where the clinical benefits of the intervention were reduced by 90%. Conclusions The results suggest that multifamily group psychoeducation may not only be a cost-effective intervention for first-episode psychosis but may often be a cost-saving intervention.
GROWTH REQUIREMENTS AND THERMAL RESISTANCE OF FUNGI BELONGING TO THE GENUS BYSSOCHLAMYS

Studies have been conducted to determine growth requirements for fungi belonging to the genus Byssochlamys. Incubation temperature significantly affected growth, with visual detection in 2 days at 30° C and 4 days at 20° C. Sugar concentration was important in liquid culture techniques, with no growth observed in 30° Brix apple drink base after 2,640 hr vs growth in 15° Brix apple drink base after 48 hr. Thermal death studies of three Byssochlamys isolates (G-5, G-52, and M-78) demonstrated wide variation in heat resistance with z-values of 7°, 9.5°, and 14°F respectively. Excellent electron micrographs were obtained of conidia, aleuriospores, and ascospores using a JEOL JSM 35 scanning electron microscope. The micrographs also revealed asci with thicker walls in older (90 days vs 30 days) M-78 cultures. A modification of the Shaeffer-Fulton Spore Stain Technique was used to stain the ascospores within an intact ascus.
Overlap of US FDA residue tests and pesticides used on imported vegetables: Empirical findings and policy recommendations

Abstract In the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registers pesticides and sets crop-specific tolerances while the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) enforces EPA regulations by testing plant-based foods for pesticide residues. Pesticide treatment histories are almost always unknown, especially on imported produce, posing an empirical question: to what extent do FDA’s residue testing methods used on imported produce correspond to the pesticides used on the crops? In this article I show that FDA residue testing would have missed residues of the majority of pesticides used on two crops exported to the US from Costa Rica in 2003, suggesting that FDA residue testing on imported produce is inadequate in its coverage. Policy recommendations discussed include better communication of US tolerances to exporters around the world; increased testing for pesticides, especially fungicides, that are currently not part of FDA’s regular testing procedures; and the creation of price floors and fair trade relationships in the transnational vegetable market to support farmers’ attempts to comply.
A Polymorphism in npr-1 Is a Behavioral Determinant of Pathogen Susceptibility in C. elegans

The nematode Caenorhabditis elegans responds to pathogenic bacteria with conserved innate immune responses and pathogen avoidance behaviors. We investigated natural variation in C. elegans resistance to pathogen infection. With the use of quantitative genetic analysis, we determined that the pathogen susceptibility difference between the laboratory wild-type strain N2 and the wild isolate CB4856 is caused by a polymorphism in the npr-1 gene, which encodes a homolog of the mammalian neuropeptide Y receptor. We show that the mechanism of NPR-1-mediated pathogen resistance is through oxygen-dependent behavioral avoidance rather than direct regulation of innate immunity. For C. elegans, bacteria represent food but also a potential source of infection. Our data underscore the importance of behavioral responses to oxygen levels in finding an optimal balance between these potentially conflicting cues.