cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Persistent conversation: discourse as document

This minitrack brings together designers and researchers from different disciplines who are grappling with the issues raised by persistent conversation. One goal is to deepen the understandings of how existing systems are being used to support conversation. Phenomena of interest include conversations carried out using email, mailing lists, news groups, bulletin board systems, textual and graphic MUDs, chat clients, structured conversation systems, document annotation systems, etc. Although such systems are typically designed with particular aims in mind, users are adept at turning systems to their own ends, and the ways in which they do so can be startling and enlightening. Another goal of this minitrack is to bring attention to bear on the design of CMC systems. Thus, descriptions of novel systems and innovative approaches, analyses of system usage, observations of the emergence of new practices, and discussions of the implications of existing practices for the design of new CMC systems, are all relevant. Finally, it seems clear that the tools, techniques, and approaches developed by different disciplines can be of great value to others engaged in this work.
Predictors of Feminist Activism among Social Work Students in the United States

While social workers advocate against domestic violence, sexual harassment, and restrictive reproductive practices, there have been virtually no studies on the reasons behind their feminist activism. To address this oversight, this study documented the extent of feminist activism among American undergraduate social work students (n = 159). When moving to explanatory analysis, our data suggest that feminist activism was related to greater educational attainment, knowing activist peers, recognizing heterosexism, and internalizing a commitment to social justice. Moreover, electoral activism was tied to the rejection of traditional gender norms in the family and perceptions of social movement tactics were crucial to protesting for women's rights.
Investigation of the Yamaguchi esterification mechanism. Synthesis of a lux-s enzyme inhibitor using an improved esterification method.

A one-pot procedure for the regioselective synthesis of aliphatic esters is described. This was a result of a study on mixed aliphatic−aromatic anhydrides. The data suggest that during the Yamaguchi esterification reaction, a symmetric aliphatic anhydride is produced in situ, which upon reaction with an alcohol yields the ester. We confirmed that benzoyl chloride could be used instead of the sterically hindered Yamaguchi acid chloride. This method was successfully applied in the synthesis of Lux-S aspartic acid inhibitor.
Morphology of the Blanco Transform Fault Zone-NE Pacific: Implications for its tectonic evolution

The right-lateral Blanco Transform Fault Zone (BTFZ) offsets the Gorda and the Juan de Fuca Ridges along a 350 km long complex zone of ridges and right-stepping depressions. The overall geometry of the BTFZ is similar to several other oceanic transform fault zones located along the East Pacific Rise (e.g., Siquieros) and to divergent wrench faults on continents; i.e., long strike-slip master faults offset by extensional basins. These depressions have formed over the past 5 Ma as the result of continual reorientation of the BTFZ in response to changes in plate motion. The central depression (Cascadia Depression) is flanked by symmetrically distributed, inward-facing back-tilted fault blocks. It is probably a short seafloor spreading center that has been operating since about 5 Ma, when a southward propagating rift failed to ‘kill’ the last remnant of a ridge segment. The Gorda Depression on the eastern end of the BTFZ may have initially formed as the result of a similar occurrence involving a northward propagating rift on the Gorda ridge system. Several of the smaller basins (East Blanco, Surveyor and Gorda) morphologically appear to be oceanic analogues of continental pull-apart basins. This would imply diffuse extension rather than the discrete neovolcanic zone associated with a typical seafloor spreading center. The basins along the western half of the BTFZ have probably formed within the last few hundred thousands years, possibly as the result of a minor change in the Juan de Fuca/Pacific relative motion.
Participatory program planning: including program participants and evaluators

Abstract Many evaluators have written about the usefulness of including stakeholders and program participants in the design and implementation of program evaluations. Policy makers are also beginning to see benefits of including those most affected by policies in their work. However, there has been little attention paid to program planning and how future program participants can assist in the process. Because of their knowledge of program design and their experience with participatory evaluations, many evaluators are well equipped to conduct participatory program planning. Including future program participants and evaluators in program planning could not only improve programs, but also allow for evaluative measures to be included and utilized in the design and administration of new programs. Presented in this paper is a generalizable program planning model that includes participants in eight planning components. Some of the pitfalls of participatory work as well as examples of how participatory planning could be used in various contexts are provided.
Protocols for Gene Silencing in Schistosomes

Schistosomes are parasitic platyhelminths that infect over 200 million people globally. In recent years there have been many advances in schistosome genomics and proteomics and in the development of molecular tools for use with these parasites. Among the more promising methodologies is RNA interference (RNAi) which is a mechanism by which gene-specific double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) triggers degradation of homologous mRNA transcripts. We aim to develop effective protocols utilizing RNAi for use in the intra-mammalian life stages of Schistosoma mansoni. In this work, the gene encoding alkaline phosphatase (SmAP) was targeted by exposing the parasites to dsRNA encoding part of the SmAP coding region. SmAP is known to be expressed in a variety of parasite tissues. We report that both long dsRNAs as well as synthetic short inhibitory RNAs (siRNAs) are effective at eliciting SmAP gene suppression in cultured schistosomula and in adult males and females. Electroporation as a mode of dsRNA delivery is more efficient than simply soaking the parasites in an equivalent dose. Relative SmAP RNA levels >90% lower than controls were routinely detected, when measured 2 days after treatment by electroporation, using quantitative real-time PCR. Commensurate with this decline in SmAP RNA, relative alkaline phosphatase enzyme activity levels >70% lower than controls were detected, 5 days after treatment. Protocols described here that result in the robust suppression of target genes in intravascular schistosomes may have wide applicability and promote functional schistosome genomics.
Contrasting Effects of a Dietary Copper Deficiency in Male and Female Mice

Female rats are protected from the lethal effects of a dietary copper (Cu) deficiency, but female mice fed a Cu-deficient diet develop atrial thromboses and die. To further investigate the effect of sex on Cu status in mice (n = 16), male and female adult Swiss-Webster mice were fed Cu-supplemented (8.4 mg Cu/kg) or Cu-deficient (0.3 mg Cu/kg) diets with deionized water for 43-49 days. Six female mice, but only one male mouse, fed the Cu-deficient diet died during the experiment. Both male and female mice fed the Cu-deficient diet exhibited typical features of deficiency. The severity of anemia and the values observed for several indicators of Cu status (plasma ceruloplasmin [EC 1.16.3.1.] and erythrocyte copper-zinc superoxide dismutase [EC 1.15.1.1.] activities, cardiac Cu) were similar in both male and female Cu-deficient mice. However, cardiac enlargement (0.97 vs 0.73 g/100 g body wt, P < 0.05), cardiac edema (79.9% vs 78.2% cardiac water, P < 0.05) and depletion of renal Cu (10.4 vs 12.5 micrograms/g dry weight, P < 0.05) were more severe in female compared with male, Cu-deficient mice. Furthermore, although hepatic Cu was significantly (P < 0.05) lower in female Cu-deficient compared with Cu-supplemented mice, it was not significantly decreased by deficiency in male mice. These data indicate that the female mice experienced a more extreme form of Cu deficiency than the males.
Distributed Optimization in an Energy-Constrained Network

We consider a distributed optimization problem whereby two nodes Si, S2 wish to jointly minimize a common convex quadratic cost function f(x1,x2), subject to separate local constraints on x1 and x2, respectively. Suppose that node S1 has control of variable x1 only and node S2 has control of variable x2 only. The two nodes locally update their respective variables and periodically exchange their values over a noisy channel. Previous studies of this problem have mainly focused on the convergence issue and the analysis of convergence rate. In this work, we focus on the communication energy and study its impact on convergence. In particular, we consider a class of distributed stochastic gradient type algorithms implemented using certain linear analog messaging schemes. We study the minimum amount of communication energy required for the two nodes to compute an ∈-minimizer of f(x1,x2) in the mean square sense. Our analysis shows that the communication energy must grow at least at the rate of Ω(∈-1). We also derive specific designs which attain this minimum energy bound, and provide simulation results that confirm our theoretical analysis. Extension to the multiple node case is described.
Trajectory-tracking control of underwater inspection robot for nuclear reactor internals using Time Delay Control

This paper addresses the trajectory control problem of an underwater inspection robot for nuclear reactor internals. From the viewpoint of control engineering, the trajectory control of the underwater robot is a difficult task due to its nonlinear dynamics, which includes various hydraulic forces such as buoyancy and hydrodynamic damping, the difference between the centres of gravity and buoyancy, and disturbances from a tether cable. To solve such problems, we applied Time Delay Control to the underwater robot. This control law has a very simple structure not requiring nonlinear plant dynamics, and was proven to be highly robust against nonlinearities, uncertainties and disturbances. We confirmed its effectiveness through experiments.
The role of case reports in evidence-based practice, with suggestions for improving their reporting

Background Case reports are part of the evidence hierarchy in evidence-based practice and guide an important part of dermatologic practice. Objective This article discusses the role of case reports and series in evidence-based practice and suggests how to improve reporting. Methods This article was inspired by a forum on the role of case reporting in dermatologic practice presented at a meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology. It is based on an informal literature review and the authors' experience in systematically reviewing case reports in medicine and dermatology. Results Case reports significantly influence medicine. Often they are the first line of evidence for new therapies but rarely are sufficient to establish treatment efficacy. Frequently they are the first and sometimes major source for detecting rare adverse events. Guidelines for improving the reporting of case reports and series are discussed. Limitations This paper represents the views of the authors and is neither a systematic review of the literature nor a formal consensus document. Conclusion Case reports are an important part of medical literature and need to be taken seriously.
Transfer of the stress wave energy in the drill steel of a percussive drill to the rock

Abstract A method is described for computing the efficiency of conversion of the energy in the stress wave in the drill steel produced by the striker impact into work done by the bit on the rock. This method is applicable to any arbitrary but physically realizable waveform of the stress wave in combination with any arbitrary but physically realizable force-displacement characteristic for the motion of the bit into and out of the rock. The results of representative computations show that fairly good efficiencies (> 50 per cent) are obtained over a fairly wide range of values of a dimensionless parameter that incorporates quantitative measures of the stress waveform, the force-displacement characteristic, and the material properties and geometry of the drill steel. Although efficiency values of 100 per cent are theoretically possible, they may be obtained only under certain special conditions that apparently are not physically realizable with percussive drilling systems as presently conceived. The optimum value of the applied thrust force on a percussive drill is shown to be essentially equal to twice the average rate of transfer of momentum from striker to drill steel. Hence, the maximum benefit with respect to raising the power output of a percussive drill by increasing blow frequency is obtainable only if the thrust force is correspondingly increased.
Landau levels in a topological insulator

Two recent experiments successfully observed Landau levels in the tunneling spectra of the topological insulator Bi${}_{2}$Se${}_{3}$. To mimic the influence of a scanning tunneling microscope tip on the Landau levels we solve the two-dimensional Dirac equation in the presence of a localized electrostatic potential. We find that the STM tip not only shifts the Landau levels but also suppresses for a realistic choice of parameters the negative branch of Landau levels.
Novel Synergistic Protective Efficacy of Atovaquone and Diclazuril on Fetal-Maternal Toxoplasmosis

Over 1 billion people globally are estimated to be infected with Toxoplasma gondii with severe or unknown consequences and no safe and effective therapies are available against congenital or persistent chronic infection. We propose that atovaquone and diclazuril synergistically protect against fetal-maternal toxoplasmosis. Methods: Programmed pregnant mice were treated with atovaquone and diclazuril monotherapy, or combined (atovaquone + diclazuril) therapy and infected with tachyzoites (0, 300, 600) and the course of infection was studied. Results: Infected dams with low dose (300) developed moderate toxoplasmosis complications and treatments were similarly effective with minor differences between monotherapies. In contrast, major differences were observed amongst varied treatments during high-dose (600) infection and severe related-toxoplasmosis complications as follows. Dams developed hydrothorax, ascities and excess weight gain. Combined therapy (&#80 &#80 0.05) protected dams from excess weight, hydrothorax, and ascities. Infected dams exhibited splenomegaly, hepatomegaly and severe hepatitis. Combined therapy synergistically normalized pathology (&#80 &#80 0.01, and atovaquone &#80 0.05) protected dams from hepatitis and splemomegaly. Additionally, behavioral response to pain stimuli and fetal weight and fetal numbers were significantly preserved in treated dams. Conclusions: This is the first report describing combined atovaquone and diclazuril therapy a) to be safe in pregnancy, b) to exert novel synergistic effects, and c) to protect dams and their nested fetuses against adverse effects of severe toxoplasmosis.
The complement of cytoplasmic tRNAs, including queuosine-containing tRNAs, in adult and senescent Wistar rat liver and their levels of aminoacylation.

Abstract Our previous studies showed that both total cytoplasmic tRNAs and aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases isolated from senescent (24–30 month) female Wistar rat liver were less capable of supporting cell-free protein synthesis than were the same fractions isolated from adult (10–13 month) rat liver. The present study investigates the molecular basis for this age-related result. No significant age-related differences were found in the extent of aminoacylation of the liver cytoplasmic tRNA population, the total tRNA synthetase activity, the rate of aminoacylation of individual tRNAs, or in the overall complement of tRNA species as detected by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. In homologous senescent aminoacylation assays, consisting of tRNAs and tRNA synthetases from senescent animals, alanine, arginine and aspartic acid were charged to a greater extent and methionine to a lesser extent compared to homologous adult assays. In heterologous assays, adult synthetases were significantly more active than senescent synthetases when charging isoleucine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline and glutamic acid, and less active when charging alanine, aspartic acid and serine. Also, senescent synthetases charged both adult and senescent tRNAs with methionine to a lesser extent than did adult synthetases. In homologous senescent assays with queuosine-containing tRNAs, asparagine, aspartic acid and histidine were charged to a greater extent and tyrosine to a lesser extent compared to homologous adult assays. Results with queuosine-tRNAs are discussed in terms of their potential ability to lower the efficiency of translation in senescent liver.
Modeling convection/diffusion processes in porous textiles with inclusion of humidity-dependent air permeability

A set of partial differential equations describing time-dependent heat and mass transfer through porous hygroscopic materials was developed. Water in a hygroscopic porous solid may exist in vapor or liquid form in the pore spaces or in bound form when it has been absorbed by the solid, which is typically some kind of hydrophilic polymer. Factors such as the swelling of the solid due to water imbibition, and the heat of sorption evolved when the water is absorbed by the polymeric matrix, were incorporated into the appropriate conservation and transport equations. A numerical code to solve the set of nonlinear coupled equations was developed, and applied to an experimental apparatus designed to simulate transient and steady-state convection/diffusion conditions for textile materials. Experimental measurements of air permeability and diffusion properties as a function of relative humidity provided fundamental data on the changes in transport properties as hygroscopic textiles fibers swell and decrease the free gas phase volume within the porous structure. When these relations were incorporated into the numerical model, it was possible to directly compare the predictions of the numerical code with results generated in the experimental apparatus. Results are shown for hygroscopic porous textiles under several conditions. Under pure diffusion, with no convective flows across the sample, the temperature changes of hygroscopic textiles subjected to step changes in environmental relative humidity are shown to agree with the numerical predictions. These temperature changes are due to sorption of water vapor from the flows on the two sides of the material, and relate to textile fiber equilibrium sorption isotherms and sorption kinetics, as well as the physical structure and thermal properties of the textile. Under conditions of both a concentration gradient and a pressure gradient across the fabric, which results in combined diffusion and convection, it is shown that the effect of fiber swelling, which results in significant changes in the resistance to convective flow, also has an effect on the resulting total mass flux across the textile layer.
Structural Biology: Parkin’s Serpentine Shape Revealed in the Year of the Snake

Parkin is an E3 ubiquitin ligase, mutations in which are responsible for autosomal recessive juvenile parkinsonism. Recently, several structures of Parkin have been solved, revealing its serpentine shape and modes of auto-inhibition.
Phosphatidylinositol distribution and translocation in sonicated vesicles. A study with exchange protein and phospholipase C.

The distribution of phosphatidylinositol and phosphatidylcholine in sonicated phospholipid vesicles (phosphatidylcholine : diphosphatidylglycerol : phosphatidylinositol, 90 : 5 : 5 mol%) has been determined by the use of exchange protein from beef heart and phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C from Staphylococcus aureus. Approximately 70% of the phosphatidylinositol in the sonicated vesicles was accessible to the exchange protein and 70--75% was accessible to the phospholipase C. A similar proportion (65%) of the phosphatidylcholine was accessible to the exchange protein suggesting that phosphatidylinositol was not preferentially located in either surface of the phospholipid bilayer. The rate of translocation of both phospholipids was very slow but the rate for phosphatidylcholine (t 1/2 = 4--7 days) appeared to be greater than that for phosphatidylinositol (t 1/2 = 8--60 days). Production of asymmetric vesicles by removing phosphatidylinositol from the outer surface with either exchange protein or phospholipase C did not induce rapid phospholipid translocation.
DEVELOPMENT OF CYCLIC TRIAXIAL APPARATUS WITH BROAD FREQUENCY AND STRAIN RANGES

A cyclic triaxial testing system capable of measuring very small to large strain properties on a single specimen has been developed by combining a wide variety of existing instrumentation, including piezoceramic bender elements, internal displacement measurement devices (both contact and noncontact), local displacement measurement devices, a sensitive internal load cell, and an external load cell. The bender elements provide information on soil properties in the nearly linear elastic (very small strain) range. Local and noncontact internal displacement measurements provide information about small strain range properties, whereas more traditional internal displacement measurements provide information in the small to large strain range. In addition, this apparatus can be used over a wide range of loading frequencies to investigate the effect of frequency on dynamic soil properties. By combining this equipment in a single testing system, a number of tests may be run on one specimen, eliminating the effects of variability. The broad variety of displacement measuring instruments also allows direct comparisons of these techniques on a single specimen.
Carboxyl Stretching Vibrations of Spontaneously Adsorbed and LB-Transferred Calcium Carboxylates as Determined by FTIR Internal Reflection Spectroscopy

The nature of adsorbed calcium carboxylates (oleate and stearate) has been investigated by in situ/ex situ Fourier transform infrared internal reflection spectroscopy (FTIR/IRS). Experimental results confirm that chemisorbed carboxylate is characterized by a singlet band near 1550 cm−1 while physisorbed calcium dicarboxylate salt is characterized by a doublet band near 1540 and 1575 cm−1. The singlet IR band at 1550 cm−1 was attributed to the carboxylate groups associated with calcium ions in a bridging mode. On the other hand, the doublet IR absorbance band at 1540 and 1575 cm−1, which is observed for adsorbed carboxylate groups at multilayer coverage and for bulk-precipitated calcium dicarboxylate salts, was assigned for the carboxylate groups associated with calcium ions in unidentate and bidentate modes, respectively. In this regard, the IR singlet at 1550 cm−1 and the doublet at 1540 and 1575 cm−1 are correlated to the coordination structure of carboxylate groups with calcium ions. Constrained carboxylate groups at a surface such as a chemisorbed layer at a calcium semisoluble mineral surface (carboxylate bridging coordination at the fluorite surface, for example) and/or a transferred Langmuir–Blodgett (LB) layer at a high-transfer pressure give rise to the IR singlet at 1550 cm−1. Carboxylate groups associated with calcium ions in three-dimensional seven- or eight-fold coordination, which may contain carboxylate groups coordinated with calcium ions in different modes (i.e., unidentate and bidentate modes) are responsible for the IR doublet at 1540 and 1575 cm−1. This assignment is in agreement with the observed IR doublet for bulk-precipitated calcium dicarboxylate salts, adsorbed/surface precipitated calcium carboxylate species at multilayer coverage, and transferred calcium distearate at a low-transfer pressure because under these conditions formation of the three-dimensional structure is possible.
Minimally Invasive Extracavitary Transpedicular Corpectomy for the Management of Spinal Tumors

Management of spinal metastasis is a large and challenging clinical problem. For metastatic epidural spinal cord compression, a prospective, randomized, controlled trial showed the utility of circumferential surgical decompression followed by adjuvant radiotherapy. In the setting of those data, surgical techniques evolved from decompressive laminectomy only to anterior corpectomy to posterior-only transpedicular corpectomy. The transpedicular approach has recently been modernized with minimally invasive and mini-open techniques. This article presents the relevant clinical background on spinal metastasis, reviews the surgical technique for minimally invasive transpedicular corpectomy, and finally reviews relevant results in the literature.
Sea level change tracked along U.S. coastline

When long-term changes in coastal water level are recorded from a fixed point on land, the absolute change in the level of the ocean or the land is not being measured; the difference between two independent variables is. Longterm changes in the level of the ocean are caused by changes in ocean temperatures, salinities, currents, winds, and atmospheric pressures, or changes in the total amount of water in the ocean basins. Long-term changes in land elevation are caused by vertical tectonic motions due to glacial rebound or plate boundary interactions, volcanic processes, deposition and compaction of sediments, or the extraction of oil, gas, or water. For many purposes, only the relative change in water level is of interest; for other purposes, it is important to separate the fluctuations of the ocean from vertical land movement. Information necessary for interpreting changing water levels at many locations along the U.S. coastline is now available online from NOAA (tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov).
Solar collector certification activities and experiences

Abstract This paper is intended to provide organizations which may be involved in the development of certification programs for photovoltaic solar modules with the benefit of the experience gained to date in the development of certification programs for solar collectors. The various public and private sector certification activities that have been undertaken for solar collectors together with issues and concerns that have arisen from their use are presented.
Dynamics of driven charge-density waves: Subharmonic Shapiro steps with devil's staircase structure

Abstract The response of charge-density-wave systems to the joint application of ac and dc electric fields is investigated within the phenomenological model proposed by Tua and Zawadowski. The model is solved numerically using a finite number Ns of segments. Even if overdamped motion is assumed, the dc I–V characteristic shows harmonic as well as subharmonic steps with a devil's staircase structure, in contrast with the classical (single-particle) model with sinusoidal potential. The devil's staircase appears to be complete but no fractal dimension can be inferred. The structure of the staircase depends on NS and vanishes in the thermodynamic limit NS → ∞. The relevance of these results to the available experimental data is discussed.
Abdominal pain in geriatric emergency patients: variables associated with adverse outcomes.

. Objective: To determine the diagnoses and outcomes of geriatric patients with abdominal pain, and to identify variables associated with adverse outcomes. Methods: Geriatric emergency patients (aged 65 years and older) with a complaint of abdominal pain were participants in this longitudinal case series. Eligible patients were followed by telephone contact and chart review, to determine outcomes and final diagnoses. Results: Of 380 eligible patients, follow-up information was available for 375 (97%), for the two months following the ED visit. Final diagnoses included infection (19.2%), mechanical-obstructive disorders (15.7%), ulcers/hypersecre-tory states (7.7%), urinary tract disease (7.7%), malignancy (7.2%), and others. Although 5.3% of the patients died (related to presenting condition), most (61.3%) patients ultimately recovered. Surgical intervention was required for 22.1% of the patients. Variables associated with adverse outcomes (death, and need for surgical intervention) included hypotension, abnormalities on abdominal radiography, leukocytosis, abnormal bowel sounds, and advanced age. Most physical examination findings were not helpful in identifying patients with adverse outcomes. This study demonstrated a higher incidence of malignancy (7.2%) and a lower incidence of disease necessitating surgical intervention (22.1%) than previously reported. Conclusions: The majority of geriatric emergency patients with abdominal pain have significant disease necessitating hospital admission. Morbidity and mortality among these patients are high, and specific variables are strongly associated with death and the need for surgical intervention. Absence of these variables does not preclude significant disease. Physical examination findings cannot reliably predict or exclude significant disease. These patients should be strongly considered for hospital admission, particularly when fever, hypotension, leukocytosis, or abnormal bowel sounds are present.
Adolescents' moral dilemmas: The context.

The purpose of this paper is to present a methodology which outlines the kinds of real-life moral dilemmas adolescents spontaneously present in open-ended semiclinical interviews. A coding procedure is introduced which delineates three aspects of these moral dilemmas, “conflicts,” “context,” and “content,” and an analysis is done of the category labeled “context.” One hundred forty-eight adolescents from two school settings were interviewed. The results show that the majority of both boys and girls in these samples describe moral conflicts in the “context” of a relationship, particularly involving friends. However, boys are more likely than girls to focus on the “the self” as the “context” of the moral dilemma with no other relational context present and significantly more girls than boys focus on relationships rather than self.
Cocrystallization of an immunoglobulin light chain dimer with bis(dinitrophenyl) lysine: tandem binding of two ligands, one with and one without accompanying conformational changes in the protein.

Abstract Previous studies showed that the Mcg dimer of immunoglobulin light chains bound bis(dinitrophenyl)lysine both in trigonal crystals and in solution. On prolonged storage in ammonium sulfate, mixtures of ligand and protein produced small trigonal cocrystals in low frequency. These crystals were nearly isomorphous with those of the unliganded dimer in which the subunits were covalently linked by an interchain disulfide bond. By difference Fourier analyses at 3.5 A resolution and subsequent crystallographic refinement, the cocrystals were found to contain molecules with two ligands aligned in tandem along the interface of the variable (V) domains of the protein. One ligand molecule adopted an almost fully extended conformation, with the ϵ-DNP ring situated near the floor, the α-carboxyl group directed toward the solvent at the entry, and the α-DNP ring outside the rim of the main cavity. As if architecturally designed, the ligand was located symmetrically between the two domains in an orientation that was compatible with both the unaltered structure of the cavity lining and with the known crystal packing interactions of neighboring protein molecules. The second ligand molecule in the cocrystal lodged in the deep pocket immediately under the floor of the main cavity. The ligand adopted a very compact conformation with the two DNP rings roughly antiparallel to each other. This molecule appeared to be semi-permanently sequestered in the pocket since it could not be dislodged by exhaustive perfusion with ammonium sulfate crystallizing media. Relative to its volume in the native dimer, the pocket was expanded to accommodate the oversized ligand. Within a single protein molecule, therefore, two types of binding of a flexible ligand were observed, one with and one without accompanying conformational changes in the protein. The number of cocrystals which could be produced was markedly increased if the interchain disulfide bond between the Mcg monomers was first reduced and alkylated.
Combining ability, heritability, and genotypic correlations for lint yield and fiber quality of Upland cotton in delayed planting

a b s t r a c t Delayed planting is a necessary practice in Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) production when double cropping cotton with small grain crops. All current cultivars used for delayed planting were selected under environments of normal planting. The information about genetic values of parents in delayed planting will help determine if it is necessary for testing parents under environments of delayed planting before their use in development of cultivars for the delayed planting system. General combining ability (GCA), specific combining ability (SCA), broad sense heritability, and genetic correlation were compared between two treatments of planting date, the normal planting (mid-April to early May) and delayed planting (late May). Ten F2 hybrid populations derived from a half diallel crossing design and their five parents were planted in 2012 and 2013 with four replicates each year. GCA effects for lint yield and two yield components of boll no. and seeds per boll were different between delayed planting and normal planting. Both direction changes of SCA effects for yield components were observed between treatments of planting date. However, effects of SCA × year were not significant in delayed planting. Reductions in broad sense heritability of yield traits were observed in the delayed planting (0.01-0.25) compared with that of the normal planting (0.10-0.88). Combining ability effects and heritability for fiber properties were similar between treatments of planting date. Genotypic correlation between lint yield and fiber strength became more negative, −0.83, in delayed planting compared with −0.34 in normal planting. The change of genotypic correlations between lint yield and fiber quality in the delayed planting implies an increase of complexity for interrelationships among fiber traits in the double cropped cotton. Overall, the results should inform cotton breeders the need of testing parents for lint yield under environments of delayed planting. Published by Elsevier B.V.
ASSOCIATION OF HOME MONITORING WITH INTERSTAGE MORTALITY, READMISSIONS, AND WEIGHT GAIN: A MULTICENTER STUDY FROM THE NATIONAL PEDIATRIC CARDIOLOGY QUALITY IMPROVEMENT COLLABORATIVE

In prior single institution studies using historical controls, daily home monitoring of oxygen saturation and weight have been reported to improve interstage outcomes for single ventricle heart disease. We aimed to determine the associations of various home monitoring strategies with interstage
Failure of indomethacin to prevent or ameliorate oleic acid pulmonary edema in the dog

Abstract The possibility that prostaglandin synthesis inhibition might favorably inhibit the development of animal adult respiratory distress syndrome models was investigated in two groups of dogs; one group was pretreated with indomethacin 3 mg/kg. Both groups received oleic acid 0.15 mg/kg. Measurements of gas exchange and hemodynamics were performed every hour for 5 hours following emboiization. Severe pulmonary edema developed in both groups. The indomethacin pretreated group responded similarly to the control group; there was no difference in the 5 hour course of PaO2 (p = .34). P(A-a)02 (p = .21) or QS/QT (p = .99). Prostaglandin synthesis inhibition did not favorably influence the immediate development of acute respiratory failure following oleic acid.
The terminal substituents of 7α, 6-hexanyl derivatives of estradiol determine their selective estrogen receptor modulator versus agonist activities.

Abstract Pure antiestrogens were clinically developed as alternative therapies for estrogen receptor (ER) positive breast cancers. Unlike the selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), these antiestrogens are devoid of tissue-specific ER agonist activity. Many of these compounds are steroidal in nature, containing an estradiol (E2) structural core with long alkyl side chains at the C-7α position. Two novel 7α-substituted E2 derivatives were evaluated that retain high binding affinity for ER. Compared to known pure antiestrogens, these compounds, referred to as compound 13 (C13) and C14, contain shorter 7α alkyl side chains and differ only in their terminal substituent: a hydroxyl moiety versus a benzyloxy group, respectively. Herein we assessed the effects of these compounds on ER transcriptional activity and report that despite their similar overall structure, C13 and C14 produce distinct cell type-specific responses. Of note, C13 functions as a mixed agonist/antagonist in Hela cells, inducing only weak ER transcriptional activity while preventing coactivator recruitment and stabilizing ER expression. However, this compound effectively stimulates ER activity in MCF-7 cells, does not increase ER levels and promotes cell proliferation on par with E2. Conversely, C14 stimulates transcriptional activity in both cell types and enhances ER–coactivator interactions. The activities of both compounds were inhibited by the pure antiestrogen ICI 182,780. Taken together, these results reveal that C13 is a SERM while C14 is an ER agonist, and indicate that the terminal modification of the C-7α hexanyl side chain of these estradiol derivatives is an important determinant of the biocharacter of these ER ligands.
Biodegradability of Orimulsion in Saltwater and Freshwater Environments1

ABSTRACT Shake flask and respirometer experiments were executed to test the biodegradability of Orimulsion in freshwater and saltwater. For each experimental setup, two concentrations of the Orimulsion and the appropriate bacterial inoculum were added to artificial seawater and freshwater solutions, and the concentrations of Orimulsion hydrocarbons were monitored with time. Respirometers were used to monitor oxygen (O2) uptake and carbon dioxide (CO2) evolution to determine when to sample the shake flasks. Sampling of shake flasks occurred periodically by sacrificing triplicate flasks for each treatment. Residual hydrocarbons were extracted with dichloromethane and quantified by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The respirometry flasks were sacrificed on the last shake-flask sampling event and similarly evaluated for residual hydrocarbon content and for Microtox toxicity. Data reported confirm literature citations that Orimulsion is indeed biodegradable, at least to some extent. In the 10 g/L ...
Credible discovery, settlement, and negative expected value suits

We introduce discovery into a model of settlement and negative expected value (NEV) suits under asymmetric information. The option to conduct discovery has several important effects. First, because discovery is cheaper than litigation, it reduces the defendant's incentive to settle under asymmetric information. Second, discovery must be credible. Because discovery is more valuable the greater the uncertainty it resolves, this introduces a credibility constraint on pre-discovery settlement offers. This can further reduce the probability and size of a defendant's pre-discovery settlement offer. Lastly, discovery reduces the ability of NEV plaintiffs to use asymmetric information to extract significant settlements from defendants.
Structure-property relationship of a spray formed Al-Y-Ni-Co alloy

Abstract The structure–property relationship of a spray formed Al–Y–Ni–Co alloy with two sets of processing conditions was investigated. Significant differences in tensile strength, yield strength, and high temperature ductility were observed with respect to the microstructural changes. Fracture toughness values were determined for both sets of specimens and found to be 7.5 and 5.8 MPa·m 1/2 , respectively. Three intermetallic phases were observed in the matrix and constitute a volume fraction of approximately 75%. It is believed that the specimens failed during fracture toughness testing by the mechanism of cleavage, observed in the Al 3 Y intermetallic particles.
EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF IDENTIFICATION AND CONTROL OF STRUCTURES USING NEURAL NETWORK PART 2: CONTROL

SUMMARY Experimental veri"cations of a recently developed active structural control method using neural networks are presented in this paper. The experiments were performed on the earthquake simulator at the University of Illinois at Urbana*Champaign. The test specimen was a 1/4 scale model of a three-storey building. The control system consisted of a tendon/pulley system controlled by a single hydraulic actuator at the base. The control mechanism was implemented through four active pre-tensioned tendons connected to the hydraulic actuator at the "rst #oor. The structure modelling and system identi"cation has been presented in a companion paper. (Earthquake Engng. Struct. Dyn. 28, 995}1018 (1999)). This paper presents the controller design and implementation. Three controllers were developed and designed: two neurocontrollers, one with a single sensor feedback and the other with three sensor feedback, and one optimal controller with acceleration feedback. The experimental design of the neurocontrollers is accomplished in three steps: system identi"cation, multiple emulator neural networks training and "nally the neurocontrollers training with the aid of multiple emulator neural networks. The e!ectiveness of both neurocontrollers are demonstrated from experimental results. The robustness and the relative stability are presented and discussed. The experimental results of the optimal controller performance is presented and assessed. Comparison between the optimal controller and neurocontrollers is presented and discussed. Copyright ( 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Implementing Protection Classes through p-Cycles in Impairment-Constrained Optical Networks

Resiliency is a crucial performance measure for high-speed all-optical networks. Previous work has shown that any algorithm designed for such purpose should take into account the physical layer characteristics of these environments, in other words it must employ a cross-layer design. In particular, cross-layer p-Cycle design has been developed as a desirable approach. In this paper, we propose a classification of network traffic resiliency requirements and present a multi-class link protection scheme. In particular we allow pre-computed but not pre-crossconnected protection routes for some portion of the network traffic. We evaluate the performance of these algorithms in the face of physical layer impairments (PLIs) and show that this classification of traffic can result in higher resiliency or, equivalently, lower vulnerability ratio in the network.
Anatomical evidence for enkephalin immunoreactive climbing fibres in the cerebellar cortex of the opossum

Enkephalin immunoreactivity is present in the cerebellum of the adult opossum within axonal arbors that resemble mature climbing fibres. In the developing cerebellum, enkephalinergic axons form pericellular nests around the perikarya of Purkinje cells in a manner which resembles developing climbing fibres seen in Golgi impregnations. Serial electron micrographs of adult climbing fibres reveal elongate enkephalin immunoreactive profiles that contain synaptic vesicles and make contact with the thorns and shafts of Purkinje cell dendrites. These results suggest that a peptide, enkephalin or an enkephalin-like substance may mediate synaptic interactions between certain populations of climbing fibres and Purkinje cells in the cerebellum of the opossum. Enkephalin immunoreactive axonal arbors, present in the molecular layer, are localized in restricted areas of vermal lobules II–VIII and X. The intermediate cortex and hemispheres are devoid of enkephalinergic climbing fibres except in restricted areas of the paramedian lobule, paraflocculus and the flocculus. In an attempt to establish the origin of enkephalin axons in the cerebellum, a double labelling technique that combines retrograde labelling of cells with horseradish peroxidase and enkephalin immunohistochemistry has been employed. Enkephalin immunoreactive neurons within specific portions of the medial accessory olive are retrogradely labelled in this paradigm. The presence of enkephalin immunoreactivity in selected climbing fibres provides evidence for chemical heterogeneity within one of the major afferent systems to the cerebellum previously thought to be uniform in its transmitter content.
Evaluating performance of image segmentation criteria and techniques

The image segmentation problem is to delineate, or segment, a salient feature in an image. As such, this is a bipartition problem with the goal of separating the foreground from the background. An NP-hard optimization problem, the Normalized Cut problem, is often used as a model for image segmentation. The common approach for solving the normalized cut problem is the spectral method which generates heuristic solutions based upon finding the Fiedler eigenvector. Recently, Hochbaum (IEEE Trans Pattern Anal Mach Intell 32(5):889–898, 2010) presented a new relaxation of the normalized cut problem, called normalized cut $$^\prime $$ problem, which is solvable in polynomial time by a combinatorial algorithm. We compare this new algorithm with the spectral method and present experimental evidence that the combinatorial algorithm provides solutions which better approximate the optimal normalized cut solution. In addition, the subjective visual quality of the segmentations provided by the combinatorial algorithm greatly improves upon those provided by the spectral method. Our study establishes an interesting observation about the normalized cut criterion that the segmentation which provides the subjectively best visual bipartition rarely corresponds to the segmentation which minimizes the objective function value of the normalized cut problem. We conclude that modeling the image segmentation problem as normalized cut criterion might not be appropriate. Instead, normalized cut $$^\prime $$ not only provides better visual segmentations but is also solvable in polynomial time. Therefore, normalized cut $$^\prime $$ should be the preferred segmentation criterion for both complexity and good segmentation quality reasons.
Correlation of freeze-fracture and scanning electron microscopy of epiphyseal chondrocytes.

Chondrocytes in epiphyseal cartilage were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) using freeze-fracture techniques. Freeze-fracture replicas showed large numbers of fingerlike, 0.11–0.15 μm diameter, projections from the chondrocyte surface, with numerous 95–180 A diameter intramembranous particles associated with both the cell membrane surface and these projections. With SEM, these cytoplasmic projections were also obvious, but appeared collapsed into clusters of globular-shaped projections on the surface of the chondrocytes. With freeze-fracture techniques, in which shrinkage artifacts were essentially eliminated, the cytoplasmic projections were often seen in intimate contact with the extracapsular matrix. However, with chondrocytes prepared by both SEM and conventional TEM, there was evidence of shrinkage, the cytoplasmic projections having little contact with the extracapsular matrix. These findings show that the cytoplasmic processes are not artifacts of tissue processing and provide morphological evidence in support of the hypothesis that matrix vesicles are of cellular origin.