cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Logistics of Ballistics: Power and Politics in the Global Missile Network

Who proliferates and why? Extant scholarship focuses heavily on the potential effects of weapons transfers. Scholars have sought to understand the relations created and sustained by weapons transfers and the effects on conflict dynamics such as regional and enduring rivalry, superpower competition, and strategy in war, as well as alliance yoking and foreign policy coordination. These analyses focus on the downstream effects of weapons rather than the structure of the network itself. I argue that by situating states in their larger relational environments, we can see how the interaction between the capability-enhancing and symbolic dimension of missiles forms a symbolic message that mediates political relationships between states. “Missile messaging” is a central component in states’ management of their general deterrence relationships.This paper combines data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute with original research to show that careful examination of global missile transfers as a network can shed light on the material and symbolic facets of coercion. I show that coercion is found in the delayed an indirect effects of missile transfers, effects which are only visible when weapons transfers are studied as a network. Additionally, I show that my findings partially reflect the battlefield uses of missile technology (and thus the material facets of coercion): they affect casualties, the onset and duration of war, and overall strategy and tactics. In examining missiles and the larger network structure, this paper contributes to our understanding of proliferation and demonstrates the advantages of a relational perspective in explaining the motivations for weapons technology transfers.
Constellations and named stars

Several constellations are mentioned by Homer and Hesiod, including Orion, Bootes, and the Bear (Ursa Major), which is also called the Wagon. A few conspicuous stars are mentioned: Arcturus, Sirius, and the Pleiades. These names therefore go back to the beginning of Greek literature. The constellations of the Babylonian zodiac were borrowed, probably in the fifth century bce, with minor modifications. For example, where the Babylonians had the Bull of Heaven and the Great Twins, the Greeks placed our Taurus and Gemini. However, our Aries (the ram) corresponds to the Babylonians' “Hired Laborer.” The Babylonians originally called Libra the “Claws” of the scorpion and counted it as a distinct part of a double constellation. In the Hellenistic period, Greek astronomers first called this constellation “Claws” and later “Balance,” a name that also had Babylonian roots. Keywords: archaeology; literature; science
Isolation of Euglena flagella.

Publisher Summary Euglena flagellum has its surface uniformly coated with a glycoprotein layer termed xyloglycorein and the flagellum is partially enveloped with a stable array of filamentous mastigonemes. The Euglena locomotory flagellum extends from a basal body at the base of the reservoir through a narrow canal and finally to the outside of the cell. Flagellar beat is planar in the reservoir-canal region and progressively more helical outside of the cell. Summarized in this chapter are procedures for the cultivation of Euglena and protocols for flagellar isolation. It is required that all media and culturing glassware should be autoclaved and standard sterile techniques should be used when culturing Euglena, as it can be easily overgrown by bacteria and fungi. Cells of E. gracilis strain Z are routinely grown in acetate-containing medium of Cramer and Myers under continuous fluorescent illumination at room temperature. For biochemical and molecular assays, larger quantities of flagella are needed and these can be isolated from a 15-liter batch culture, whereas 500-ml cultures are adequate for smaller-scale experiments such as light and electron microscopy. Harvesting 15 liters of a 5-day Euglena culture at a density of approximately 1x l0 6 cells/ml should yield∼15 g of cells from which 3-6 mg of flagellar proteins can be collected after deflagellation. This chapter describes the harvesting of cells, deflagellation by cold shock, pH shock, mechanical shearing, and by a combined Ca 2+ and cold shock. The protocol using a combined Ca 2+ and cold shock has the advantage of yielding a fraction of flagella containing the putative photoreceptor. To date, the most consistent and reliable method is cold shock, which generates intact Euglena flagella containing most of the axoneme, paraxonemal rod, and flagellar surface.
Nanoporous Ag–GaN thin films prepared by metal‐assisted electroless etching and deposition as three‐dimensional substrates for surface‐enhanced Raman scattering

Three-dimensional (3D) nanoporous gallium nitride (PGaN) scaffolds are fabricated by Pt-assisted electroless hydrofluoric acid (HF) etching of crystalline GaN followed by in situ electroless deposition of Ag nanostructures onto the interior surfaces of the nanopores, yielding a large surface area substrate for surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS). The resulting 3D SERS-active substrates have been optimized by varying reaction parameters and starting material concentration, exhibiting enhanced Raman signals 10–100× more intense than either (1) sputtered Ag-coated porous GaN or (2) Ag-coated planar GaN. The increase in SERS signal is attributed to a combination of the large surface area and the inherent transparency of PGaN in the visible spectral region. Overall, Ag-decorated PGaN is a promising platform for high sensitivity SERS detection and chemical analysis, particularly for reaction and metabolic products that can be trapped inside the highly anisotropic nanoscale pores of PGaN. The potential of this sampling mode is illustrated by the ability to acquire Raman spectra of adenine down to 5 fmol. Additionally, correlated SERS and laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry spectra can be acquired from same sample spot without further preparation, opening new possibilities for the investigation of surface-bound molecules with substantially enhanced information content. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Unstable behavior of plasma in inductive discharges

Summary form only given. Instabilities in a transformer coupled plasma (TCP) source have been studied. An inductive discharge has been created by a 13.56 MHz RF-driven planar inductive coil mounted on the top of an aluminum cylindrical vacuum chamber. Electronegative gases such as O/sub 2/ and SF/sub 6/ and their mixtures with Ar have been used as operating gases. To detect plasma instabilities, time-resolved diagnostics have been used including optical emission spectroscopy and Langmuir probe measurements of the ion current. Instabilities have been observed in a transition region where the discharge changes its mode from capacitive (E-mode) to inductive (H-mode). Frequencies of plasma fluctuations (fluctuations of the ion current or intensity of the light emitted from the plasma) were in the range of 1 Hz-0.9 MHz for operating gas pressures of 2.5-20 mTorr and an absorbed power of 150-600 W. These plasma instabilities may be related to a hysteresis-like behavior of the inductive discharge in the E-H transition region and associated with the balance of power absorbed and lost by electrons.
Directable behavior models for virtual driving scenarios

In this paper, the authors present a model for autonomous driving behavior useful for creating ambient traffic as well as experiment- specific scenarios for driving simulation. The model follows roadways, obeys rules of the road, reacts to other vehicles and traffic control devices, and supports a range of behaviors such as passing, lane changing, and navigating through intersections. The model is established with parameters reflecting the personality of the driver. It also responds to behavior-oriented directives.
MPH1, A MEMBER OF THE MPS1-LIKE FAMILY OF DUAL SPECIFICITY PROTEIN KINASES, IS REQUIRED FOR THE SPINDLE CHECKPOINT IN S. POMBE

The spindle assembly checkpoint pathway is not essential for normal mitosis but ensures accurate nuclear division by blocking the metaphase to anaphase transition in response to a defective spindle. Here, we report the isolation of a new spindle checkpoint gene, mph1 (Mps1p-like pombe homolog), in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, that is required for checkpoint activation in response to spindle defects. mph1 functions upstream of mad2, a previously characterized component of the spindle checkpoint. Overexpression of mph1, like overexpression of mad2, mimics activation of the checkpoint and imposes a metaphase arrest. mph1 protein shares sequence similarity with Mps1p, a dual specificity kinase that functions in the spindle checkpoint of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Complementation analysis demonstrates that mph1 and Mps1p are functionally related. They differ in that Mps1p, but not mph1, has an additional essential role in spindle pole body duplication. We propose that mph1 is the MPS1 equivalent in the spindle checkpoint pathway but not in the SPB duplication pathway. Overexpression of mad2 does not require mph1 to impose a metaphase arrest, which indicates a mechanism of spindle checkpoint activation other than mph1/Mps1p kinase-dependent phosphorylation. In the same screen which led to the isolation of mad2 and mph1, we also isolated dph1, a cDNA that encodes a protein 46% identical to an S. cerevisiae SPB duplication protein, Dsk2p. Our initial characterization indicates that S.p. dph1 and S.c. DSK2 are functionally similar. Together these results suggest that the budding and fission yeasts share common elements for SPB duplication, despite differences in SPB structure and the timing of SPB duplication relative to mitotic entry.
CALM, A Clathrin Assembly Protein, Influences Cell Surface GluR2 Abundance

The clathrin assembly protein, CALM, promotes the assembly of clathrin-coated vesicles. In a previous study, we showed that CALM controls the level of the synaptic vesicle protein VAMP2 at the plasma membrane by regulating VAMP2 endocytosis. Here, we provide evidence that CALM also influences the cell surface level of the AMPA receptor subunit GluR2. Although mechanistic details as well as the physiological relevance of CALM and GluR2 in the neuron have yet to be established, CALM-mediated trafficking could function as a component of a dedicated system for controlling postsynaptic abundance of GluR2.
Fate of homologous and heterologous DNAs after incorporation into human skin fibroblasts

Abstract Homologous DNA from a human lymphoblastoid cell line is taken up in macromolecular form by human skin fibroblasts in culture. Experiments utilizing the heavy buoyant density and ultraviolet-light sensitivity of DNA containing 5-bromouracil reveal that the homologous DNA is retained in the recipient cells in relatively undegraded form for over 20 h. Similar experiments with heterologous DNA from bacteriophage T7 show that this DNA undergoes extensive degradation after entry into the fibroblasts and that the products of degradation are readily incorporated into DNA synthesized de novo .
Restriction endonucleases and modification methylases

Restriction endonucleases and modification methylases offer excellent systems for studying protein-DNA interactions. The past year has seen the experimental verification of some aspects of the catalytic mechanisms of both types of enzyme. The first structures of methylases were determined, and a number of endonuclease structures should become available soon.
INSPECTION AND TESTING METHODS FOR MANUFACTURING PROCESSES. PART II: AN EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH

(1991). INSPECTION AND TESTING METHODS FOR MANUFACTURING PROCESSES. PART II: AN EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH. Quality Engineering: Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 63-73.
Cadmium and manganese distributions in the Hudson River estuary: interannual and seasonal variability

Abstract Surface waters collected along the salinity gradient of the Hudson River estuary in four cruises between 1995 and 1997 were size-fractionated into particulate (>0.45 μm), `dissolved' (
The vectorcardiogram in left ventricular hypertrophy

Abstract The vectorcardiograms and electrocardiograms of 100 patients with left ventricular hypertrophy were studied in detail. The method of selecting patients insured the presence of left ventricular hypertrophy and absence of clinically evident coronary disease. The QRS and T loops, and S-T junction (J) were analyzed. The morphology of the QRS loops was described, and numerous measurements were made. The configuration and orientation of the T loop and its relation to the QRS loop were noted. Position of the S-T junction was noted. A screening diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy can be made on the basis of QRS morphology, S-T segment displacement, T-wave configuration and orientation, QRS-T angle, and certain features of the initial forces and terminal appendage. A definitive diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy can be made on the basis of 11 QRS measurements which are frequently abnormal in left ventricular hypertrophy but only infrequently abnormal in other conditions. As a rule, more than one such abnormal measurement is present in each case. A diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy was made in 91 per cent of 100 cases of uncomplicated left ventricular hypertrophy, using only 3 of the 11 diagnostic measurements. The vectorcardiogram is superior to the electrocardiogram for the diagnosis of left ventricular hypertrophy.
A comparison of quasigeostrophic and nonquasigeostrophic vertical motions for a model-simulated rapidly intensifying marine extratropical cyclone

Abstract Large-scale departures from quasigeostrophic vertical motions are diagnosed for a model simulation of the QE II storm (9–11 September 1978). The simulation was performed by the Limited-Area Mesoscale Prediction System (LAMPS), initialized at 1200 UTC 9 September 1978. The model cyclone intensified from a central pressure of 1003 mb to 976 mb in 24 h, considerably short of the 59 mb (24 h)−1 observed deepening but reasonable in comparison to other model simulations of this storm. This diagnosis centers on a hydrostatic generalized omega equation, which scales to the quasigeostiophic omega equation for small Rossby number. Vertical motions were computed both from this generalized omega equation and the quasigeostrophic omega equation in order to examine the importance of nonquasigeostrophic effects. The high correlation of vertical motions from a control experiment (using most of the terms in the generalized omega equation) with the vertical motions predicted by the model establishes the validity o...
Towards a PAT-Based Strategy for Crystallization Development

A strategy for the rapid, material-efficient development of crystallization processes centred around the use of process analytical technology (PAT) is presented and demonstrated on an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) currently in development at Pfizer's Sandwich laboratories. PAT is implemented at scales as small as 1 mL in high-throughput equipment, enabling the early acquisition of key data to select the best crystallization approach. At a larger scale, PAT offers a window into process kinetics and, for the case study discussed in this contribution, highlighted vulnerabilities of the process arising from the formation of a labile solvate. A combination of on-line and off-line analyses provided the basis for a full assessment of the process.
Upper Oceanic Energy Response to Tropical Cyclone Passage

AbstractThe upper oceanic temporal response to tropical cyclone (TC) passage is investigated using a 6-yr daily record of data-driven analyses of two measures of upper ocean energy content based on the U.S. Navy’s Coupled Ocean Data Assimilation System and TC best-track records. Composite analyses of these data at points along the TC track are used to investigate the type, magnitude, and persistence of upper ocean response to TC passage, and to infer relationships between routinely available TC information and the upper ocean response. Upper oceanic energy decreases in these metrics are shown to persist for at least 30 days—long enough to possibly affect future TCs. Results also indicate that TC kinetic energy (KE) should be considered when assessing TC impacts on the upper ocean, and that existing TC best-track structure information, which is used here to estimate KE, is sufficient for such endeavors. Analyses also lead to recommendations concerning metrics of upper ocean energy. Finally, parameterizatio...
Household schooling behaviors and decentralization

Abstract Educational policies and household behaviors interact to determine educational outcomes. Much educational literature, including that on decentralization, focuses almost exclusively on school resources and ignores substantial household resources devoted to schooling. The failure to consider how households change resource allocations may lead to important misunderstandings of decentralization effects. A simple framework is presented for: (i) how households determine schooling investments through choice and voice; and (ii) what are the implications of decentralization on household behaviors given information problems. Some aspects of decentralization may increase efficiency; others are neutral or reduce efficiency. For both efficiency and distributional reasons, there may be tradeoffs regarding impacts of decentralization. These considerations mean that there are no simple summary conclusions. Instead good analysis must be sensitive to particular aspects of decentralization being evaluated and implications for efficiency and distribution within particular contexts. Systematic empirical studies of household responses to decentralization are high priority for educational research.
Silent Spring, the 50th anniversary of Rachel Carson's book.

David Pimentel is a professor of ecology and agricultural sciences at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853–0901. His Ph.D. is from Cornell University and had postdoctoral research at the University of Chicago, MIT, and fellowship at Oxford University (England). He was awarded a distinguished honorary degree from the University of Massachusetts. His research spans the fields of energy, population ecology, biological pest control, pesticides, sustainable agriculture, land and water conservation, livestock, and environmental policy. Pimentel has published more than 700 scientific papers and 37 books and has served on many national and government committees including the National Academy of Sciences; President’s Science Advisory Council; U.S Department of Agriculture; U.S. Department of Energy; U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare; Office of Technology Assessment of the U.S. Congress; and the U.S. State Department. He is currently Editorial Advisor for BMC Ecology. In this article, he reflects on 50 years since the publication of Rachel Carson’s influential book, Silent Spring.
Eulerian elasto‐visco‐plastic formulations for residual stress prediction

A stabilized, Galerkin finite element formulation for modeling the elasto-visco-plastic response of quasi-steady-state processes, such as welding, laser surfacing, rolling and extrusion, is presented in an Eulerian frame. The mixed formulation consists of four field variables, such as velocity, stress, deformation gradient and internal variable, which is used to describe the evolution of the material's resistance to plastic flow. The streamline upwind Petrov–Galerkin method is used to eliminate spurious oscillations, which may be caused by the convection-type of stress, deformation gradient and internal variable evolution equations. A progressive solution strategy is introduced to improve the convergence of the Newton–Raphson solution procedure. Two two-dimensional numerical examples are implemented to verify the accuracy of the Eulerian formulation. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Magnetic resonance imaging demonstrates long-term changes in brain structure in children born preterm and exposed to chorioamnionitis

Objective We sought to determine if children born preterm and exposed to chorioamnionitis have differences in brain structure measured at 6-10 years of age using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Study Design Structural MRI was performed with 11 preterm children (8.5 ± 1.7 years) with chorioamnionitis and 16 preterm children (8.7 ± 1.4 years) without chorioamnionitis. Cortical surface reconstruction and volumetric segmentation were performed with FreeSurfer image analysis software. Subcortical structures were analyzed using multivariate analysis. Results Widespread regional differences in cortical thickness were observed. With chorioamnionitis, the frontal and temporal lobes were primarily affected by decreased cortical thickness, and the limbic, parietal, and occipital lobes were primarily affected by increased cortical thickness when compared to the comparison group. Subcortical differences were observed in the hippocampus and lateral ventricle. Conclusion Using MRI, chorioamnionitis is associated with long-term widespread regional effects on brain development in children born prematurely. Our study is limited by its small sample size.
Promoting Health Behaviors Using Peer Education: A Demonstration Project between International and American College Students.

Background: Peer education has the potential to promote health behaviors and cultural competence for both international and domestic college students. Purpose: The present study examined a peer education program aimed at promoting cultural competence and health behaviors among international and American students in a university setting. Methods: Thirty-six international and 36 domestic students were recruited and matched in March 2013. Peer pairs met twice a week for 6 weeks. The meetings included tutoring, discussion, counseling, and activities. Results: Significant intervention effects were observed for all variables except nutrition knowledge, physical activity practice, and stress management practice. The intervention effects were different between the American and the international students on nutrition practice, smoking cessation practice, knowledge of stress management, and cultural concepts and cultural patterns. Discussion: Peer education appears to be a promising method for promoting health beha...
Muscle specification in the Xenopus laevis gastrula‐stage embryo

Recent fate maps of the Xenopus laevis gastrula show that mesodermal tissue surrounding the blastopore gives rise to muscle (Keller [1991] Methods Cell Biol 36:61-113; Lane and Smith [1999] Development 126:423-434). In a significant deviation from earlier data, the new maps demonstrate that cells in the ventral half of the gastrula are precursors to a significant portion of trunk somites. However, these posterior somites are not formed until tadpole stages (stages 38-44). We therefore set out to determine the timing of muscle specification within the ventral half of the gastrula. Our approach was to generate a series of tissue explants from gastrula-stage embryos and then culture them to either stage 28 (tailbud) or stage 44 (tadpole). At each endpoint, the presence of muscle in explants was assessed with a muscle-specific antibody. Interestingly, we found that muscle tissue is detected in ventral explants. However, these explants must be cultured to the tadpole stage. This is perhaps not unexpected, as this is the point at which this tissue normally gives rise to muscle. We further show that muscle specification of the involuting marginal zone does not change over the course of gastrulation. Together, these results suggest that dorsalizing signals emanating from the midline during gastrulation are not necessary for muscle specification of the ventral half of the involuting marginal zone.
The Utility of the Robot in Pancreatic Resections

Robotic pancreatic resections have been established as safe alternatives to the open and laparoscopic approaches. The platform has proven to be versatile, and discriminable, allowing an increasing number of surgeons to perform complex pancreatic resections in minimally invasive fashion. To date, the realized advantages of the robotic technique are decreased blood loss, and fewer conversions to laparotomy. Although these are 2 very important metrics, larger experiences comparing robotics to open and/or laparoscopic surgery are ultimately needed if the true potential of robotic pancreatic resections are to be realized.
Analytical noise treatment for low-dose CT projection data by penalized weighted least-square smoothing in the K-L domain

By analyzing the noise properties of calibrated low-dose Computed Tomography (CT) projection data, it is clearly seen that the data can be regarded as approximately Gaussian distributed with a nonlinear signal-dependent variance. Based on this observation, the penalized weighted least-square (PWLS) smoothing framework is a choice for an optimal solution. It utilizes the prior variance-mean relationship to construct the weight matrix and the two-dimensional (2D) spatial information as the penalty or regularization operator. Furthermore, a K-L transform is applied along the z (slice) axis to further consider the correlation among different sinograms, resulting in a PWLS smoothing in the K-L domain. As a tool for feature extraction and de-correlation, the K-L transform maximizes the data variance represented by each component and simplifies the task of 3D filtering into 2D spatial process slice by slice. Therefore, by selecting an appropriate number of neighboring slices, the K-L domain PWLS smoothing fully utilizes the prior statistical knowledge and 3D spatial information for an accurate restoration of the noisy low-dose CT projections in an analytical manner. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method with appropriate control parameters improves the noise reduction without the loss of resolution.© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Stimulation-induced release of coexistent transmitters in the prefrontal cortex: an in vivo microdialysis study of dopamine and neurotensin release.

: Extracellular fluid levels of dopamine and neurotensin in the rat prefrontal cortex were measured using in vivo microdialysis. Electrical stimulation of the median forebrain bundle resulted in increased release of both dopamine and neurotensin from the prefrontal cortex. Thus, stimulation of neurons in which dopamine and neurotensin are colocalized can evoke the in vivo release of both substances.
Dynamic response analysis of truss-type structural networks: A wave propagation approach

Abstract A typical space structure is composed of piece-wise periodic arrays of connected truss units. These arrays can intersect each other, and form multiple closed loops. In this paper, a detailed step-by-step numerical procedure is provided for computing the response of such a structure to external excitations. The basic idea is to treat an array of connected truss units as a multi-channel waveguide, capable of transmitting several types of wave motions. Each waveguide, or each junction where several waveguides intersect, can be characterized by a wave scattering matrix, which is composed of the transmission and reflection submatrices. A reflection submatrix reverses the direction of incoming waves, whereas a transmission submatrix permits the incoming waves to enter, or to be directed to other waveguides. By use of wave scattering matrices in the formulation, the numerical computation always follows the directions of propagation of various waves. Thus, numerical stability is assured, since the amplitude of wave motion decays as it propagates along a path due to structural damping. The numerical procedure described herein represents an extension of the author's previous works by (1) describing, for the first time, the dynamics of individual truss arrays in terms of scattering matrices, (2) adopting a new bookkeeping system to accommodate more complicated configurations of structural networks, and (3) developing an efficient procedure to eliminate step-by-step superfluous unknowns, thus simplifying the calculation. Combination of the three advances makes it possible to treat, for the first time, such complicated configurations as multiple closed loops. Since the actual truss-type construction is retained when obtaining the wave scattering matrices, the procedure is considered more accurate than those based on substitution for truss construction of Timoshenko beam elements. Application of the procedure is illustrated by an example.
Responses of coastal lagoon plant communities to different forms of nutrient enrichment—a mesocosm experiment

Abstract We carried out an enrichment experiment to quantify the effects of different forms of nutrients on the plant communities characteristic of lagoons common along the north east coast of the USA. ‘Lagoon’ mesocosms were enriched with phosphate alone, nitrate alone, nitrate plus phosphate, or ammonium plus phosphate. Nitrogen and phosphorus were added at loadings of 8200 μmol m−2 day−1 and 685 μmol m−2 day−1, respectively. Two control mesocosms remained unenriched. In the controls, as in many unenriched field systems, phytoplankton biomass remained low, eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) beds were sustained, and drift macroalgae and epiphytes were abundant. In mesocosms enriched with phosphate alone, the plant communities were similar to the controls, except that below-ground eelgrass biomass was lowered. Enrichment with nitrate alone generated moderate phytoplankton blooms (dominated by Nannochloropsis spp.), declines of above- and below-ground eelgrass, and declines of drift macroalgae and epiphytes. With combined N + P enrichment the Nannochloropsis blooms were between 4 and 10 times more intense than with nitrate alone. The eelgrass declines also started earlier, proceeded more rapidly, and were ultimately more complete. For none of the plant components were we able to detect significant differences between the N + P mesocosms enriched with nitrate and the N + P mesocosms enriched with ammonium.
Chromosome substitutions of Triticum timopheevii in common wheat and some observations on the evolution of polyploid wheat species.

Whether the two tetraploid wheat species, the well known Triticum turgidum L. (macaroni wheat, AABB genomes) and the obscure T. timopheevii Zhuk. (AtAtGG), have monophyletic or diphyletic origin from the same or different diploid species presents an interesting evolutionary problem. Moreover, T. timopheevii and its wild form T. araraticum are an important genetic resource for macaroni and bread-wheat improvement. To study these objectives, the substitution and genetic compensation abilities of individual T. timopheevii chromosomes for missing chromosomes of T. aestivum ‘Chinese Spring’ (AABBDD) were analyzed. ‘Chinese Spring’ aneuploids (nullisomic-tetrasomics) were crossed with a T. timopheevii x Aegilops tauschii amphiploid to isolate T. timopheevii chromosomes in a monosomic condition. The F1 hybrids were backcrossed one to four times to Chinese Spring aneuploids without selection for the T. timopheevii chromosome of interest. While spontaneous substitutions involving all At- and G-genome chromosomes were identified, the targeted T. timopheevii chromosome was not always recovered. Lines with spontaneous substitutions from T. timopheevii were chosen for further backcrossing. Six T. timopheevii chromosome substitutions were isolated: 6At (6A), 2G (2B), 3G (3B), 4G (4B), 5G (5B) and 6G (6B). The substitution lines had normal morphology and fertility. The 6At of T. timopheevii was involved in a translocation with chromosome 1G, resulting in the transfer of the group-1 gliadin locus to 6At. Chromosome 2G substituted for 2B at a frequency higher than expected and may carry putative homoeoalleles of gametocidal genes present on group-2 chromosomes of several alien species. Our data indicate a common origin for tetraploid wheat species, but from separate hybridization events because of the presence of a different spectrum of intergenomic translocations.
Determinants of porphyrin fluorescence emission spectra of atheromatous plaques

Plaques were obtained via carotid endarterectomy and exposed to the fluorescent dye hematoporphyrin in vitro. Fluorescence emission spectra were used to characterize sites of dye binding. To provide additional information on the role of environment on fluorescence, model systems were studied involving micellar and premicellar systems. The data indicate two distinct fluorescence signals from plaque-bound porphyrin. These signals were at least 50-fold greater than the fluorescence from uninvolved regions of the vessel wall. Fluorescence emission at 618 nm was observed in all plaques examined. A second fluorescence signal at longer wavelengths was associated with the more complex plaques and could be mimicked by mixtures of porphyrin and detergent at a premicellar concentration. These studies suggest the presence of 2 different porphyrin-binding regions in the plaques examined. The first appears to be a predominantly aqueous site which may represent the interior of a cholesterol-rich micellar structure. The second is associated with 'hard' plaque, i.e., collagen and calcification.
Safety and Efficacy of Flumazenil for Reversal of Iatrogenic Benzodiazepine-Associated Delirium Toxicity During Treatment of Alcohol Withdrawal, a Retrospective Review at One Center

Both alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) and benzodiazepines can cause delirium. Benzodiazepine-associated delirium can complicate AWS and prolong hospitalization. Benzodiazepine delirium can be diagnosed with flumazenil, a GABA-A receptor antagonist. By reversing the effects of benzodiazepines, flumazenil is theorized to exacerbate symptoms of AWS and precludes its use. For patients being treated for alcohol withdrawal, flumazenil can diagnose and treat benzodiazepine delirium without precipitating serious or life-threatening adverse events. Hospital admission records were retrospectively reviewed for patients with the diagnosis of AWS who received both benzodiazepines and flumazenil from December 2006 to June 2012 at a university-affiliated inpatient toxicology center. The day of last alcohol consumption was estimated from available blood alcohol content or subjective history. Corresponding benzodiazepine, flumazenil, and adjunctive sedative pharmacy records were reviewed, as were demographic, clinical course, and outcome data. Eighty-five patients were identified (average age 50.3 years). Alcohol concentrations were detectable for 42 patients with average 261 mg/dL (10–530 mg/dL). Eighty patients were treated with adjunctive agents for alcohol withdrawal including antipsychotics (n = 57), opioids (n = 27), clonidine (n = 35), and phenobarbital (n = 23). Average time of flumazenil administration was 4.7 days (1–11 days) after abstinence, and average dose was 0.5 mg (0.2–1 mg). At the time of flumazenil administration, delirium was described as hypoactive (n = 21), hyperactive (n = 15), mixed (n = 41), or not specified (n = 8). Response was not documented in 11 cases. Sixty-two (72.9 %) patients had significant objective improvement after receiving flumazenil. Fifty-six patients required more than one dose (average 5.6 doses). There were no major adverse events and minor adverse effects included transiently increased anxiety in two patients: 1 patient who received 0.5 mg on abstinence day 2 and another patient who received 0.2 mg flumazenil on abstinence day 11. This is the largest series diagnosing benzodiazepine delirium after AWS in patients receiving flumazenil. During the treatment of AWS, if delirium is present on day 5, a test dose of flumazenil may be considered to establish benzodiazepine delirium. With the limited data set often accompanying patients with AWS, flumazenil diagnosed benzodiazepine delirium during the treatment of AWS and improved impairments in cognition and behavior without serious or life-threatening adverse events in our patients.
Quantitative testing of handgrip strength, myotonia, and fatigue in myotonic dystrophy☆

Abstract An electrically calibrated, isometric hand dynamometer was used to quantitate maximum voluntary contraction (MVC), relaxation time and fatigue time (at 50% MVC) in 18 normal and 10 myotonic dystrophy subjects. Precise measurements of MVC and fatigue time were obtained in normals and myotonic dystrophy patients. Relaxation times were markedly prolonged and were quite variable in all patients with myotonic dystrophy in contrast to the highly reproducible times in normals. Neither “warm-up” activity nor acetazolamide treatment altered relaxation time.
Infectivity studies of bromegrass mosaic virus RNA.

Abstract The infectivity of bromegrass mosaic virus (BMV) RNA has been investigated. The infectivity per unit weight of unfractionated RNA was approximately one-third that of an equivalent weight of RNA in the virus. No significant loss of infectivity occurred during 70 hours of incubation at 30°. BMV RNA is known to consist of three components of molecular weights 0.3 × 10 6 , 0.7 × 10 6 , and 1.0 × 10 6 . These components were separated by sucrose density-gradient centrifugation. It was found that infectivity was associated only with the 1.0 × 10 6 molecular weight component; the two smaller components were noninfectious when tested either separately or in combination. An enhancement of infectivity was observed when the infectious component was inoculated in the presence of either of the smaller components or in the presence of unrelated RNAs.
The distal pocket histidine residue in horse heart myoglobin directs the O-binding mode of nitrite to the heme iron.

It is now well-established that mammalian heme proteins are reactive with various nitrogen oxide species and that these reactions may play significant roles in mammalian physiology. For example, the ferrous heme protein myoglobin (Mb) has been shown to reduce nitrite (NO2−) to nitric oxide (NO) under hypoxic conditions. We demonstrate here that the distal pocket histidine residue (His64) of horse heart metMbIII (i.e., ferric MbIII) has marked effects on the mode of nitrite ion coordination to the iron center. X-ray crystal structures were determined for the mutant proteins metMbIII H64V (2.0 A resolution) and its nitrite ion adduct metMbIII H64V−nitrite (1.95 A resolution), and metMbIII H64V/V67R (1.9 A resolution) and its nitrite ion adduct metMbIII H64V/V67R−nitrite (2.0 A resolution). These are compared to the known structures of wild-type (wt) hh metMbIII and its nitrite ion adduct hh metMbIII−nitrite, which binds NO2− via an O-atom in a trans-FeONO configuration. Unlike wt metMbIII, no axial H2O is e...
The temporary inactivation of the red nucleus affects performance of both conditioned and unconditioned nictitating membrane responses in the rabbit

These experiments are part of a series of studies examining the role of the red nucleus in the performance of the conditioned and unconditioned nictitating membrane reflexes in the rabbit. Specifically, the experiments test the hypothesis that the temporary inactivation of the red nucleus selectively affects the performance of the conditioned reflex. The experiments were designed to assess the effects of lidocaine and control saline microinjections on conditioned as well as unconditioned responses in both paired and unpaired trials. Rabbits were chronically implanted with cannulae through which small injecting tubes were passed stereotaxically to the red nucleus. The animals were conditioned using a delay paradigm in which a 1 kHz tone and an air puff applied to the cornea were used as the unconditioned and conditioned stimulus, respectively. Once conditioned, the effects of either lidocaine or saline injection were evaluated while alternating paired trials with unpaired trials in which only the air puff was applied. The principal finding of this study was that the amplitudes of both the conditioned and unconditioned responses were reduced following lidocaine injection into the red nucleus. The effect on the unconditioned response amplitude could not be ascribed to any interaction between the conditioned and unconditioned responses, since it also was present in the unpaired trials. The reduction in amplitude of the conditioned and unconditioned responses was shown to be correlated with changes in other characteristics of the same responses. The data suggest that the red nucleus contributes to the performance of both the conditioned and unconditioned nictitating membrane reflexes and consequently is not likely to be involved only in pathways responsible for mediating and/or storing the engram for the conditioned reflex.
Refractory inclusions from the ungrouped carbonaceous chondrites MacAlpine Hills 87300 and 88107

— MacAlpine Hills (MAC) 87300 and 88107 are two unusual carbonaceous chondrites that are intermediate in chemical composition between the CO3 and CM2 meteorite groups. Calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs) from these two meteorites are mostly spinel-pyroxene and melilite-rich (Type A) varieties. Spinel-pyroxene inclusions have either a banded or nodular texture, with aluminous diopside rimming Fe-poor spinel. Melilite-rich inclusions (Ak4–42) are irregular in shape and contain minor spinel (FeO <1 wt%), perovskite and, more rarely, hibonite. The CAIs in MAC 88107 and 87300 are similar in primary mineralogy to CAIs from low petrologic grade CO3 meteorites but differ in that they commonly contain phyllosilicates. The two meteorites also differ somewhat from each other: melilite is more abundant and slightly more Al-rich in inclusions from MAC 88107 than in those from MAC 87300, and phyllosilicate is more abundant and Mg-poor in MAC 87300 CAIs relative to that in MAC 88107. These differences suggest that the two meteorites are not paired. The CAI sizes and the abundance of melilite-rich CAIs in MAC 88107 and 87300 suggests a genetic relationship to CO3 meteorites, but the CAIs in both have suffered a greater degree of aqueous alteration than is observed in CO meteorites. Aluminum-rich melilite in CAIs from both meteorites generally contains excess 26Mg, presumably from the in situ decay of 26Al. Although well-defined isochrons are not observed, the 26Mg excesses are consistent with initial 26Al/27Al ratios of approximately 3–5 times 10−5. An unusual hibonite-bearing inclusion is isotopically heterogeneous, with two large and abutting hibonite crystals showing significant differences in their degrees of mass-dependent fractionation of 25Mg/24Mg. The two crystals also show differences in their inferred initial 26Al/27Al ratios, 1 × 10−5vs. ≤3 × 10−6.
Impact of Mutual Coupling on MIMO Vehicle-to-Vehicle Systems

This paper proposes a three-dimensional (3-D) model for wideband multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) vehicle-to-vehicle (V-to-V) multipath fading channels that accounts for mutual coupling among both, transmit and receive antenna elements. From the 3-D model, the spatial correlation is derived for a 3-D non-isotropic scattering environment. Finally, this model is used to evaluate the effect of mutual coupling on the antenna element patterns, spatial correlation, and received power of MIMO V-to-V systems in urban environments.
Roughness/error trade-offs in neural network time series models

Abstract Radial basis function neural network models of a time series may be developed ortrained using samples from the series. Each model is a continuous curve that can be usedto represent the series or predict future values. Model development requires a tradeoffbetween a measure of roughness of the curve and a measure of its error relative to thesamples. For roughness defined as the root integrated squared second derivative and forerror defined as the root sum squared deviation (which are among the most commondefinitions), an optimal tradeoff conjecture is proposed and illustrated. The conjecturestates that the curve that minimizes roughness subject to given error is a weighted meanof the least squares line and the natural cubic spline through the samples. 1. Characterization of roughness/error tradeoffs Fitting a curve to a set of points may be accomplished by a radial basis functionneural network.' If the points are time series samples the curve may be used to representthe series or predict future series values. A tradeoff is required between a measure of theroughness of the curve and a measure of its error relative to the points. Here roughness isdefined as the root integrated squared second derivative and error is defined as the rootsum squared deviation. These are among the most commonly used definitions;alternative definitions involve derivatives other than the second, the absolute valueinstead of the square, etc.2There are two limiting cases. In one limiting case the curve is required to havezero roughness, and to enforce parsimony (i.e., to avoid unnecessary assumptions) aminimum error fit to the points is desired. It is readily apparent that the resulting curve isthe least squares line. The phrases "perfect smoothness, best fit" and "full attention totrend, no alteration to detail" characterize this case. In the other limiting case the curve isrequired to have zero error, and to enforce parsimony a minimum roughness curve isdesired. It is well known that the resulting curve is the natural cubic spline.2 The phrases"perfect fit, best smoothness" and "full attention to detail, no attention to trend"characterize this case.
Role of the CCL21 and CCR7 pathways in rheumatoid arthritis angiogenesis.

Objective These studies were performed to determine the role of CCL21 and its corresponding receptor CCR7 in the pathogenesis of Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA).
Chance, destiny, and the inner workings of ClpXP.

AAA+ proteases are responsible for protein degradation in all branches of life. Using single-molecule and ensemble assays, Cordova et al. investigate how the bacterial protease ClpXP steps through a substrate's polypeptide chain and construct a quantitative kinetic model that recapitulates the interplay between stochastic and deterministic behaviors of ClpXP.
A Cluster Study of Cl2-Microhydration: Size-Dependent Competition between Symmetrical H-Bonding to the Anion and the Formation of Cyclic Water Networks in the Cl2-·1-5(H2O) Series

We report argon predissociation spectra of the Cl 2 - . n H 2 O (n = 1-5) clusters in the OH stretching region. The spectra of the mono- and dihydrates consist of only a single sharp feature, indicating that the water molecules bind symmetrically to the ion in both cases. The spectra become much more complex in the n = 3-5 clusters, displaying band positions consistent with the formation of cyclic networks similar to those found in the hydration of other small diatomic anions. We contrast this behavior with that of the related Cl - .(H 2 O) 1 - 3 clusters, where the primary difference arises from delocalization of the excess electron density over two atomic centers in the diatomic anion.