cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Binding capacity differences for antibodies and Fc-fusion proteins on protein A chromatographic materials

A range of studies were carried out to investigate the underlying reason for differences in dynamic binding capacities observed with various antibodies and Fc-fusion proteins during Protein A chromatography. Dynamic binding capacities were determined for these biomolecules using different protein A stationary phase materials. SEC was carried out to determine the relative sizes of the antibodies and fusion proteins. Pore diffusivities and static binding capacities were also determined on these Protein A resin materials. Trends in the dynamic binding capacities for these molecules did not correlate with differences in pore diffusion coefficients as might be expected for a mass transfer limited system. Instead, dynamic binding capacities were seen to follow the same trends as the static binding capacities and the apparent size of the molecules. Differences in static binding capacities were attributed to be due to differences in steric factor between the molecules. Solution binding stoichiometry studies were employed to estimate intra-Protein A steric effects while binding to the various domains within a Protein A ligand. In addition, steric hindrance was also found to exist between adjacent immobilized Protein A ligands on the chromatographic surface. The combination of intra and inter Protein A steric hindrances can explain differences in binding capacities observed between various antibody and Fc fusion proteins. The effect of Protein A ligand density on these supports was also examined and the results indicate that increasing Protein A ligand density leads to a situation of diminishing returns for binding capacity due to increased steric hindrance on the resin surface. The results presented in this paper show that steric hindrances can dominate over mass transfer effects in causing capacity variation between different molecules on the same stationary phase. This can lead to the development of more cost-efficient chromatographic stationary phases as well as provide information during the selection of Protein A media for preparative purification of monoclonal antibodies and Fc fusion proteins.
Modes of stabilization of a protein by organic solutes during desiccation

Abstract We have investigated the role that stabilization of proteins in solution by organic solutes plays in stabilizing labile enzymes during air-drying. Phosphofructokinase (PFK) was dehydrated to various water contents and rehydrated, and the resulting enzyme activity was then measured. When 60% of the water was removed, 30% of the initial enzyme activity was lost. This loss in activity was clearly due to changes in solution properties during dehydration, since it occurred in excess water. No activity was measurable following dehydration to only 3% of the initial water content. This final loss in activity was attributed to dehydration of the protein. Inactivation at any stage of air-drying was irreversible. In the presence of 100 m M trehalose, by contrast, there was no loss of enzyme activity induced at any stage of the progressive desiccation. Similar results were seen with 100 m M sucrose or maltose or with 200 m M glucose, but the degree of protection was less. Addition of 0.6 m M ZnSO 4 to glucose/PFK solutions enhanced the protection provided by the sugar. Glycerol, proline, and trimethylamine N -oxide protected PFK until up to 90% of the initial water was removed, but not against complete dehydration. Sugars and the other organic solutes inhibited pH-induced dissociation of PFK, indicating that these solutes have a more generalized capacity to stabilize this protein in solution. We conclude that the capacity of sugars to stabilize labile enzymes in solution is a prerequisite for the maintenance of catalytic activity when water is removed by air-drying, but that this effect is not in itself sufficient to stabilize fully dried proteins. We suggest that the capacity of sugars to preserve dried PFK may be dependent on the binding of the sugar to the protein during the final stages of dehydration.
Fiscal Discipline in WAEMU: Rules, Institutions, and Markets

This paper gauges the scope for market discipline and the effectiveness of the regional surveillance framework in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). The paper finds that the responsiveness of sovereign bond rates to governments’ fiscal behavior in the regional financial market remains limited. In addition, the paper examines the effectiveness of fiscal rules and institutions in an environment where financial markets fall short of exerting a significant disciplining effect on governments.
Historical Problem Solving: A Study of the Cognitive Processes Used in the Evaluation of Documentary and Pictorial Evidence

History teachers are frequently urged to use primary sources in their classrooms. Yet little research exists to guide them, for history has been virtually ignored by researchers interested in cognition and instruction. The present study explored how people evaluate primary and secondary sources when considering questions of historical evidence. A group of working historians and high school seniors "thought aloud" as they reviewed a series of written and pictorial documents about the Battle of Lexington. Differences were found in how each group reasoned about historical evidence. It is suggested that these differences are due in part to beliefs that frame the act of historical inquiry. Over 70 years ago J. Carleton Bell asked in the pages of this journal: "What is the historic sense? How can it be developed? These are questions in which the educational psychologist is interested and which it is incumbent upon him to answer" (1917, p. 317). In the years since Bell asked these questions, we have witnessed an explosion of research on school learning. This explosion, part of the "cognitive revolution" in psychology (Gardner, 1985), has shed light on students' thinking in such areas as arithmetic (Nesher & Katriel, 1977; Resnick, 1982), algebra (Sleeman, 1984), geometry (Greeno, Magone, & Chaiklin, 1979), biology (Carey, 1985), physics (diSessa, 1985; McCloskey, 1983), and computer science (Sleeman, Putnam, Baxter, & Kuspa, 1986). These citations represent a tiny sample of an expansive literature on the cognitive psychology of school subjects. But amid this efflorescence of research, the subject matter of history has been ignored. The situation is not much better in the cognitive literature on expertise. Although there are detailed descriptions of the problem solving of mathematicians (Schoenfeld, 1985), radiologists (Lesgold, Feltovich, Glaser, & Wang, 1981), physicists (Chi, Feltovich, & Glaser, 1981), physicians (Kuipers, Mos
Modeling the Drop-Out Mechanism in Repeated-Measures Studies

Abstract Subjects often drop out of longitudinal studies prematurely, yielding unbalanced data with unequal numbers of measures for each subject. Modern software programs for handling unbalanced longitudinal data improve on methods that discard the incomplete cases by including all the data, but also yield biased inferences under plausible models for the drop-out process. This article discusses methods that simultaneously model the data and the drop-out process within a unified model-based framework. Models are classified into two broad classes—random-coefficient selection models and random-coefficient pattern-mixture models—depending on how the joint distribution of the data and drop-out mechanism is factored. Inference is likelihood-based, via maximum likelihood or Bayesian methods. A number of examples in the literature are placed in this framework, and possible extensions outlined. Data collection on the nature of the drop-out process is advocated to guide the choice of model. In cases where the drop-...
28 s and 18 s ribonucleic acid from mammalian spermatozoa.

The majority of RNA in spermatozoa from the epididymis and ductus deferens of mice was found to be 28 s and 18 s RNA. This RNA was also seen in human ejaculated spermatozoa. Our evidence indicates that little or none of the 28 s and 18 s RNA is transcribed in the maturing mouse spermatozoa and that the majority is synthesized in the primary spermatocyte. This RNA may be necessary to maintain post-meiotic translation during spermatogenesis.
Biomimetic synthesis of cannabispiran.

Total synthesis of cannabispiran (1) was accomplished by a biomimetic-type cyclization of the bibenzyl2, using K3Fe(CN)6 or MoOCl4.
Effect of quark sector minimal flavor violation on neutrinoless double beta decay

The question of whether neutrino masses are Dirac or Majorana is one of the most important, and most difficult, questions remaining in the neutrino sector. Searches for neutrinoless double $\ensuremath{\beta}$ decay may help to resolve this question, but are also sensitive to new, higher-dimension $\ensuremath{\Delta}L=2$ operators. In this paper we place two phenomenological constraints on these operators at dimension $d\ensuremath{\le}11$. First, we require that the operators obey the quark flavor symmetries of the standard model, with any violation of the symmetries being due to Yukawa interactions, a scheme known as minimal flavor violation. Second, we require that the operators which generate neutrinoless double $\ensuremath{\beta}$ decay, and any operators related by the flavor symmetries, do not induce neutrino masses above the experimental and astrophysical limits. We find that these requirements severely constrain the operators which can violate lepton number, such that most can no longer contribute to neutrinoless double $\ensuremath{\beta}$ decay at observable rates. It is noteworthy that quark flavor symmetries can play such a strong role in constraining new leptonic physics, even when that physics is not quark flavor changing. Those few operators that can mimic a Majorana neutrino mass then appear with cutoffs below a TeV, and represent new physics which could be directly probed at the LHC or a future linear collider.
Non-linear evolution of the tidal elliptical instability in gaseous planets and stars

Tidally distorted rotating stars and gaseous planets are subject to a well-known linear fluid instability – the elliptical instability. It has been proposed that this instability might drive enough energy dissipation to solve the long-standing problem of the origin of tidal dissipation in stars and planets. But the non-linear outcome of the elliptical instability has yet to be investigated in the parameter regime of interest, and the resulting turbulent energy dissipation has not yet been quantified. We do so by performing three-dimensional hydrodynamical simulations of a small patch of a tidally deformed fluid planet or star subject to the elliptical instability. We show that when the tidal deformation is weak, the non-linear outcome of the instability leads to the formation of long-lived columnar vortices aligned with the axis of rotation. These vortices shut off the elliptical instability, and the net result is insufficient energy dissipation to account for tidal dissipation. However, further work is required to account for effects neglected here, including magnetic fields, turbulent convection and realistic boundary conditions.
Impurity sources at the first wall of Alcator C-Mod and their effect on the central plasma

In this paper we present data concerning impurity sources and transport in a tokamak with a divertor and molybdenum first wall. A spectrometer, viewing visible and UV light, has been used to take time dependent spectra of C, O and Mo from both the divertor and the inner limiter surfaces. In the divertor the sputtering threshold for Mo is not normally reached (T e ≤ 25 eV). Chord measurements from four filtered photo-diode arrays have enabled us to invert the measured brightness profiles tomographically and obtain 2D emissivity information for H α and CIII. The total C flux sputtered at the divertor target can be twice as high as from the inner wall surface, increasing with density to about 2 × 10 18 s −1 . However, modeling the SOL, we find that the penetration efficiency for C is roughly 10 times smaller for the divertor than for the inner wall. Oxygen fluxes are generally observed to be 1/3 of the C flux
Comments on renormalization group series

Abstract In previous articles by Nauenberg and by Niemeijer and Ruijgrok, the renormalization group approach has been used to obtain series expansions for the free energies of certain one- dimensional spin systems. We investigate here the question of whether this method provides a fundamentally new way of approximating the largest eigenvalue of a transfer matrix or kernel. For the models mentioned above, this is not the case. The partial sums of the series are essentially equivalent to the free energies of a sequence of finite models of increasing size.
Comparison of dayside current layers in Venus' Ionosphere and Earth's equatorial electrojet

The major physical aspects of the equatorial electrojet of Earth and the dayside ionospheric current layers of Venus are compared, viz., the electric current intensity and total current, roles of electric field, pressure and gravity, diffusion time scales, and the Bernouille effect. The largest potential differences, of the order of 10 volts, horizontally across the dayside ionosphere of Venus, have important implications for possible dynamo action in the Venus ionosphere and the application of an electric field from the lower atmosphere or from the solar wind. An upper limit to the horizontal scale of vertical magnetic fields in the Venus ionosphere is estimated thereby for the first time. New upper limits on the velocity in, and thickness of, a possible S layer at Venus are presented. If an S layer exists, it is only for extreme conditions of the solar wind. A mechanism for formation of magnetic ropes in the Venus ionosphere is also proposed.
Angular dependence of sputtering yield of amorphous and polycrystalline materials

An analytical formula is developed for the evolution of angular dependence of sputtering yields by extending the theory of sputtering yield proposed by Sigmund. We demonstrate that the peak of sputtering yield at oblique incidence can be attributed to a balance between the increased energy deposited on the surface by incident ion which enhances the sputtering yield and the decreased depth travelled by recoil atom which reduces the sputtering yield. The predicted dependence of sputtering yield on the incident angle is in good agreement with experimental observations.
Cargo Pendulation Reduction of Ship-Mounted Cranes

Ship-mounted cranes are used to transfer cargo from large container ships to smaller lighters when deep-water ports are not available. The wave-induced motion of the crane ship can produce large pendulations of the cargo being hoisted and cause operations to be suspended. In this work, we show that it is possible to reduce these pendulations significantly by controlling the slew and luff angles of the boom. Such a control can be achieved with the heavy equipment that is already part of the crane so that retrofitting existing cranes would require a small effort. Moreover, the control is superimposed on the commands of the operator transparently. The successful control strategy is based on delayed feedback of the angles of the cargo-hoisting cable in and out of the plane of the boom and crane tower. Its effectiveness is demonstrated in a fully nonlinear three-dimensional computer simulation and in an experiment with a 1/24th-scale model of a T-ACS (The Auxiliary Crane Ship) crane mounted on a platform moving with three degrees of freedom. The results demonstrate that the pendulations can be significantly reduced, and therefore the range of sea conditions in which cargo-transfer operations can take place can be greatly expanded.
Sex Differences in Dopamine‐ and Vesicular Monoamine‐Transporter Functions

Men and women differ with regard to their use of, and responses to, methamphetamine (MA). Analogous sex differences with regard to MA are observed in animal models. In this report, data from a series of experiments that focus upon dopamine transporter (DAT) and vesicular monoamine transporter2 (VMAT2) function are reviewed by way of providing some understanding for these sex differences to MA. The amount of dopamine (DA) recovered after infusion of DA into superfused striatal tissue was greater in females and an accentuated amount of extracellular DA was obtained from females after infusion of the DAT-blocking drug, nomifensine. These data suggest a higher level of DAT activity in females. To evaluate the implications of this sex difference in DAT function as related to MA, the amount of DA evoked by an infusion of MA into superfused striatal tissue was tested and found to be significantly greater in males. In contrast, potassium chloride-stimulated DA release was greater in females. The results of these DA-evoked experiments imply that the greater DAT activity of females, by itself, cannot explain the sex differences observed with MA, and our attention was then directed to the VMAT2. Administration of the VMAT2 blocker, reserpine, in vivo resulted in a significantly greater amount of striatal DA depletion within female mice and infusion of reserpine in vitro into striatal tissue produced significantly greater levels of extracellular DA in females. The data of these reserpine experiments suggest that females possess a more active/efficient VMAT2 function. Collectively, the data provide evidence for sex differences in both DAT and VMAT2 functioning, and we propose that the interaction of these two transporter systems contributes to the differences in response to MA between males and females.
Pleasure as a Mental State

Shelly Kagan and Leonard Katz have offered versions of hedonism that aspire to occupy a middle position between the view that pleasure is a unitary sensation and the view that pleasure is, as Sidgwick put it, desirable consciousness. Thus they hope to offer a hedonistic account of well-being that does not mistakenly suppose that pleasure is a special kind of tingle, yet to offer a sharp alternative to desire-based accounts. I argue that they have not identified a coherent middle position.
Hydration assessment techniques

Water in the human body is essential for metabolism, temperature regulation, and numerous other physiological processes that are consistent with good health. Accurate, precise, and reliable methods to assess body fluid compartments are needed. This review describes the hydration assessment techniques of isotope dilution, neutron activation analysis, bioelectrical impedance, body mass change, thirst, tracer appearance, hematologic indices, and urinary markers. It also provides guidance for selecting techniques that are appropriate for use with unique individuals and situations.
The effect of a recombinant elastin-mimetic coating of an ePTFE prosthesis on acute thrombogenicity in a baboon arteriovenous shunt

A recombinant elastin-mimetic triblock protein polymer with an inverse transition temperature (approximately 20 degrees C) was used to impregnate small-diameter (4 mm i.d.) expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) vascular grafts. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed that initial elastin impregnation of the graft followed by further multilayer coating with elastin films filled in the fibril and node structure of the luminal surface of the ePTFE graft and was macroscopically smooth. Elastin protein polymer impregnation reduced the advancing contact angle of the luminal surface to 43 degrees, which was comparable to the advancing contact angle of 47 degrees for a cast elastin film. Attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy and Coomassie blue staining revealed little discernable change in the protein surface film after 24 h of shear at 500 s(-1) and 37 degrees C. Excellent short-term blood-contacting properties as determined by minimal fibrin and platelet deposition were demonstrated using a baboon extracorporeal femoral arteriovenous shunt model. The results of this study demonstrate the applicability of an elastin-mimetic triblock protein polymer as a non-thrombogenic coating or as a component of a tissue-engineered composite.
Sound Semiotics of Osundare's Poetry

In his article "Sound Semiotics of Osundare's Poetry" Christopher Anyokwu postulates that in our increasingly chirographically and typographically oriented culture and society, we often forget how tenacious and over-arching the oral continues to be. Semiotics, the science of signs, highlights among others how speech acts and speech sounds are deployed in everyday human interactions to convey meaning and communicate humanity's need for understanding and fulfillment. This meaningsignaling potential of the tonality of language is even more pronounced in most African languages which are, unlike English, syllable timed and tonal in nature. This tonal nature of African languages is appropriated by Niyi Osundare who uses the sound imagery and symbolism of the Yoruba language to convey meaning in his poetry. Christopher Anyokwu, "Sound Semiotics of Osundare's Poetry" page 2 of 8 CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 15.1 (2013): Thematic Cluster Black African Literatures and Cultures
The Impact of Elder Abuse Education on Young Adults

The present study examined the effectiveness of educational interventions in altering tolerance for and behavioral intentions of elder abuse among college student young adults. Participants were 225 undergraduates who were assigned to one of four educational groups: Elder Abuse Education, Aging Education, Family Education, and a Pre- and Posttest only condition. While the Elder Abuse Education group reported less tolerance and intentions for elder abuse compared to the other groups at the immediate posttest, a decrement in such positive changes at 1-month follow-up was observed in such persons. These mixed findings suggest that while specific interventions may reduce elder abuse tolerance, supplemental educational efforts over time may be necessary to maintain intervention-specific gains in intentions and behaviors particular to elder abuse.
A Prince for All Seasons, With Notes Toward the Delineation of a New Yorker Narratee

Gerald Prince does not know this, but he is often in my company. When I was daunted by preparing for an MLA panel on the short story, I was rescued by Prince’s “The Long and the Short of It,” which in just five pages lays out key issues for considering short fiction in narratological terms. When I taught Salman Rushdie in a narrative theory course, Prince’s pioneering “On a Postcolonial Narratology” became my guide. And when I was working out my concept of “negative plotting,” his notion of the “disnarrated” became a crucial point of contrast. Prince dropped by more recently when I first read “Zusya on the Roof,” a short story by Nicole Krauss that led to the metonymic misprision in my title (for as Prince would rightly remind me, the New Yorker, being no narrative, cannot in itself have a narratee). Before I address that misprision, though, I want to explain why Prince is my narratological man of all seasons—no misprision—and to highlight the approach to context through text that seems to me a hallmark of his method as it has developed in the wake of the “postclassical” turn.
Catalytic reaction profile for alcohol oxidation by galactose oxidase.

Galactose oxidase is a remarkable enzyme containing a metalloradical redox cofactor capable of oxidizing a variety of primary alcohols during enzyme turnover. Recent studies using 1-O-methyl α-d-galactopyranoside have revealed an unusually large kinetic isotope effect (KIE) for oxidation of the α-deuterated alcohol (kH/kD = 22), demonstrating that cleavage of the 6,6‘-di[2H]hydroxymethylene C−H bond is fully rate-limiting for oxidation of the canonical substrate. This step is believed to involve hydrogen atom transfer to the tyrosyl phenoxyl in a radical redox mechanism for catalysis [Whittaker, M. M., Ballou, D. P., and Whittaker, J. W. (1998) Biochemistry 37, 8426−8436]. In the work presented here, the enzyme's unusually broad substrate specificity has allowed us to extend these investigations to a homologous series of benzyl alcohol derivatives, in which remote (meta or para) substituents are used to systematically perturb the properties of the hydroxyl group undergoing oxidation. Quantitative structur...
Construct validity of the San Diego neuropsychological test battery

A group of 259 normal adults were administered the San Diego Neuropsychological Test Battery. Factor analysis of the SDNB supported the construct validity of the battery according to a Luria-based functional systems assessment approach. Using expert ratings to interpret the obtained factor loadings, the following factors were identified: (a) arousal, (b) mnestic processes, (c) complex intelligence, and (d) planning. A second factor analysis of the SDNB, using a sample of 100 schizophrenic and head injured cases, achieved a factor structure very similar to that of the normal sample, offering further empirical support for a functional assessment approach with clinical populations. The clinical factor analysis yielded slightly different proportions of variance contributed by the test measures and two planning factors. The results are discussed as they relate to Luria's qualitative analysis of cortical organization applied to a quantitative methodology.
A novel method for obtaining poliovirus 14 S pentamers from procapsids and their self-assembly into virus-like shells

Abstract Poliovirus procapsids, isolated and partially purified from infected HeLa cells, were found to dissociate into 14 S pentamers following freezing at −20° overnight. Unlike pentameric subunits isolated directly from virus-infected cells or those obtained by alkaline treatment of procapsids, the “freeze-dissociated” subunits self-assembled at room temperature into two kinds of empty capsids, one of which was similar to the shell of poliovirions as shown by its neutral pl, resistance to alkaline dissociation, and the presence of neutralization-related (N) epitopes. The other empty acidic pl and absence of N antigenic determinants. At 37°, the assembly reaction was significantly faster but only SAEC were formed. By following the assembly reaction by electron microscopy, intermediate structures were visualized; their relatively low amount at any given time was consistent with the previous hypothesis ( J. R. Putnak and B. A. Phillips (1981) , J. Virol. 40, 173–183) that initiation is the rate-limiting step in the morphogenesis of empty shells. The relevance of these findings to the morphogenesis of picornaviruses, and polioviruses in particular, is discussed.
Outbreaks of Smut Caused by Tilletia maclaganii on Switchgrass in New York and Pennsylvania.

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a native perennial grass with potential as a biofuel crop. The smut fungus, Tilletia maclaganii (Berk.) Clint., is associated with significant biomass reduction in switchgrass in the Midwest (4), but has not been reported in the northeast United States in more than 60 years (New York in 1890 and Pennsylvania in 1946) (2,3). From 2007 to 2010, smutted panicles were observed on the majority of plants in stands of several switchgrass cultivars at the USDA-NRCS Plant Materials Center in Big Flats (Chemung County), NY; in production fields of several switchgrass cultivars near Meadville (Crawford County), PA; and in an ornamental bed of switchgrass in Ithaca (Tompkins County), NY. Smutted panicles emerged 3 to 4 weeks prior to healthy panicles, had a compact, club-shaped appearance, and enlarged florets with swollen ovaries that readily released a powdery mass of odorless, rusty orange-to-dark brown teliospores when pinched. The entire caryopsis of every floret within a pan...
Modeling and robust control of smart structures

The design and implementation of control strategies for large, flexible smart structures presents challenging problems. One of the difficulties arises in the approximation of high- order finite element models with low order models. Another difficulty in controller design arises from the presence of unmodeled dynamics and incorrect knowledge of the structural parameters. In this paper, the balance-truncation reduced-order models are employed in deriving lower-order models for complex smart structures. These methods do not introduce any spill-over problems in the closed-loop response of the system. The simplified analytical models are compared with models developed by structural identification techniques based on vibration test data. To minimize the effects of uncertainties on the closed-loop system performance of smart structures, robust control methodologies have been employed in the design of controllers. The reduced order models are employed in the design of robust controllers. To demonstrate the capabilities of shape-memory-alloy actuators, we have designed and fabricated a three-mass test article with multiple shape-memory-alloy (NiTiNOL) actuators. Generally, the non-collocation of actuators and sensors presents difficulties in the design of controllers. Controllers for a test article with non-collocated sensors and actuators are designed, implemented and tests. The closed-loop system response of the test article with two actuators and sensors has been experimentally determined and presented in the paper.
Dendritic cell immunotherapy for solid tumors: evaluation of the DCVax® platform in the treatment of glioblastoma multiforme

DCVax(®) (Northwest Biotherapeutics, Inc., MD, USA) is a platform technology for delivering dendritic cell based therapeutic vaccines for a variety of cancers, including glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). DCVax(®)-L, one of the implementations of the DCVax platform, provides personalized active immunotherapy composed of autologous dendritic cells pulsed with autologous whole tumor lysate. Clinical trials with DCVax-L for GBM included previous Phase I/II clinical trials and an ongoing Phase III trial. Preliminary reports of patient outcomes after administration of the DCVax-L vaccine provide a promising therapeutic paradigm for patients with both initially diagnosed and recurrent GBM. Here we evaluate the current literature and clinical experience with the DCVax platform, with a particular focus on GBM treatment.
VNA error model conversion for N-port calibration comparison

This paper examines the extended 12-term error model commonly used in commercial multiport vector network analyzers, introduces a generalized multiport error model, and applies this error model for the purposes of general N-port comparison of calibrations. These tools have been implemented in a commercially available calibration and measurement software product. Previous work demonstrated the utility of these tools in the estimation of calibration error associated with ignoring coupling and for evaluating measurement system repeatability. Equations are presented for bidirectional conversion between an extended 16-term-like error model and the extended 12-term model as well as for calculation of DUT-specific and worst-case multiport calibration comparison error bounds.
A MOLECULAR PHYLOGENY OF THE GELIDIALES (RHODOPHYTA) BASED ON ANALYSIS OF PLASTID rbcL NUCLEOTIDE SEQUENCES1

Parsimony analyses of rbcL nucleotide. sequences were used to develop hypotheses of relationships among taxa in the taxonomically difficult order Celidiales including species from seven currently recognized genera: Capreolia, Gelidiella, Gelidium, Onikusa, Pterocladia, Ptilophora, and Suhria. Nucleotide. sequences of rbcL from red algae are variable and provide a large number of informative characters for phylogenetic analysis, yet the absence of insertion/deletion mutations allows for the unambiguous alignment of sequences. Species were resolved into 10 well-.supported major clades representing genera and species complexes. The topological positions of these 10 clades within trees are also well supported and indicate that Gelidium and Pterocladia as currently circumscribed are not monophyletic. These results call for a revision of the classification of the Gelidiales.
Energy and time response of CCD X-ray detectors

An analysis of X-ray signal charge collection in charge coupled device (CCD) detectors used for X-ray imaging spectroscopy is described. The physics of X-ray signal charge collection are briefly described, and models are compared with experimental data. The implications for event recognition techniques are addressed. It was demonstrated that for the photon counting modes, the serial readout nature of the CCD pixels places a constraint on time resolution and/or count rate capability. However the methods of clocking CCDs are shown to be very flexible, and can offer a range of operating modes that enhance these performance aspects. It is shown that splitting of charge between pixels can be recognized, and a tradeoff between energy resolution and detection efficiency can be performed for some applications. However, this charge splitting places a constraint on the count rate limits attainable. These limits are discussed for a number of readout modes, including integrating count applications. >
A Compiler Analysis of Interprocedural Data Communication

This paper presents a compiler analysis for data communication for the purpose of transforming ordinary programs into ones that run on distributed systems. Such transformations have been used for process migration and computation offloading to improve the performance of mobile computing devices. In a client-server distributed environment, the efficiency of an application can be improved by careful partitioning of tasks between the server and the client. Optimal task partitioning depends on the tradeoff between the computation workload and the communication cost. Our compiler analysis, assisted by a minimum set of user assertions, estimates the amount of data communication between procedures. The paper also presents experimental results based on an implementation in the GCC compiler. The static estimates for several multimedia programs are compared against dynamic measurement performed using Shade, a SUN Microsystem's instruction-level simulator. The results show a high precision of the static analysis for most pairs of the procedures.
How does elevated ozone impact soybean? A meta‐analysis of photosynthesis, growth and yield

Surface ozone concentrations ([O 3 ]) during the growing season in much of the northern temperate zone reach mean peak daily concentrations of 60 p.p.b. Concentrations are predicted to continue to rise over much of the globe during the next 50 years. Although these low levels of ozone may not induce visible symptoms on most vegetation, they can result in substantial losses of production and reproductive output. Establishing the vulnerability of vegetation to rising background ozone is complicated by marked differences in findings between individual studies. Ozone effects are influenced by exposure dynamics, nutrient and moisture conditions, and the species and cultivars that are investigated. Meta-analytic techniques provide an objective means to quantitatively summarize treatment responses. Soybean has been the subject of many studies of ozone effects. It is both the most widely planted dicotyledonous crop and a model for other C 3 annual plants. Meta-analytic techniques were used to quantitatively summarize the response of soybean to an average, chronic ozone exposure of 70 p.p.b., from 53 peer-reviewed studies. At maturity, the average shoot biomass was decreased 34% and seed yield was 24% lower. Even in studies where [O 3 ] was < 60 p.p.b., there was a significant decrease in biomass and seed production. At low [O 3 ], decreased production corresponded to a decrease in leaf photosynthesis, but in higher [O 3 ] the larger loss in production was associated with decreases in both leaf photosynthesis and leaf area. The impact of ozone increased with developmental stage, with little effect on vegetative growth and the greatest effect evident at completion of seed filling. Other stress treatments, including UV-B and drought, did not alter the ozone response. Elevated carbon dioxide significantly decreased ozone-induced losses, which may be explained by a significant decrease in stomatal conductance.
Electronic Spectra of AsO and PO: New Band Systems in the Visible

New band systems were found in the spectra of AsO and PO molecules excited by short-wave oscillations. The new bands of AsO arise from a transition A′2Πi(a) → X2Πr, and their band heads can be arranged in a system given by the formula: ν={2648025145}+633.0(υ′+12)−3.5(υ′+12)2−966.2(υ′+12)+4.9(υ″+12)2. Two new systems F → B and G → B were identified in the spectrum of PO. The term values of the F and G states are about 55585 and 56358 cm−1. New bands were found in the known D → B system which lead to the following constants for the D state Te={4895548926} and ωe′ ≅ 755 cm−1.
Spatial and seasonal patterns of particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, California

This paper presents particulate matter data collected in the California southern Sierra Nevada Mountains (SNM) during 2002 to 2009 from the Central Valley (elevation 91 m) into the SNM (elevation 2 598 m). Annual average concentrations of particles smaller than 2.5 µm in diameter (PM2.5) for all sites during this study ranged from 3.1 to 22.2 µg m –3 . The
Synthesis and assembly of a cholera toxin B subunit SHIV 89.6p Tat fusion protein in transgenic potato

Abstract A cDNA encoding the simian–human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV 89.6p) Tat regulatory element protein was fused to the c-terminus of the cholera toxin B subunit gene ( ctx B- tat ) and introduced into Solanum tuberosum cells by Agrobacterium tumefaciens -mediated transformation methods. The fusion gene was detected in the genomic DNA of transformed potato leaf cells by PCR DNA amplification. Synthesis and assembly of the CTB-Tat fusion protein into oligomeric structures of pentamer size was detected in transformed tuber extracts by immunoblot analysis. The binding of CTB-Tat fusion protein pentamers to intestinal epithelial cell membrane glycolipid receptors was quantified by G M1 -ganglioside enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (G M1 -ELISA). Based on the ELISA results, CTB-Tat fusion protein made up about 0.005–0.007% of total soluble tuber protein or approximately 4.6 mg per 100 g potato tuber tissue. The synthesis and assembly of CTB-Tat monomers into biologically active oligomers in transformed potato tuber tissues demonstrates the feasibility of using viral pathogen antigens synthesized in edible plants for mucosal immunization against HIV-1 infection.
Occupational Therapy Intervention in Chronic Pain

Chronic pain is one of the most costly health problems encountered in our society today. The problems constituting the Chronic Pain Syndrome are typically composed of a complex array of sensory, perceptual, psychological, environmental and other factors which require the coordinated efforts of an interdisciplinary team. Occupational behavior provides a very useful frame of reference for the occupational therapist treating the chronic pain patient. This biopsychosocial approach focuses on well behaviors and functional role performance. This paper provides an overview of chronic pain and presents occupational therapy assessment and treatment strategies with chronic pain patients.
Fatigue Behavior and Life Prediction of Composite Laminates

Abstract : This report presents a survey of some of the available data on the effects of fatigue in composite laminates. Both static and fatigue behaviors of unidirectional laminae are discussed in terms of the static failure and fatigue limit strains of the constituents as well as of the loading conditions. Subcritical failure modes in multidirectional laminates are delineated and correlated with the material responses such as temperature increase, modulus change, and fatigue notch insensitivity. Also included are the effects of test frequency and compression. Methods of predicting the fatigue strengths of off-axis laminae and of angle-ply laminates are summarized. Finally, two statistical life prediction models are discussed using the material 'age'. (Author)
Molecular Pathways: Targeting the Microenvironment in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia—Focus on the B-Cell Receptor

Interactions between malignant B lymphocytes and the tissue microenvironment play a major role in the pathogenesis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and other B-cell malignancies. The coexistence and coevolution of CLL cells with their tissue neighbors provided the basis for discovery of critical cellular and molecular drivers of the disease and identification of new therapeutic targets. Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSC), monocyte-derived nurselike cells (NLC), and T cells are key players in the CLL microenvironment, which activate and protect CLL cells within the tissues. CLL surface molecules, such as the B-cell antigen receptor (BCR), chemokine receptors, adhesion molecules, and TNF receptor superfamily members (e.g., CD40, BCMA, and BAFF-R) engage in cross-talk with respective tissue ligands. This cross-talk results in survival and expansion of the CLL clone, and protects CLL cells from conventional cytotoxic drugs. Inhibiting these pathways represents an alternative therapeutic strategy to more conventional chemoimmunotherapy. Here, we review central components of the CLL microenvironment, with a particular emphasis on BCR signaling, and we summarize the most relevant clinical advances with inhibitors that target the BCR-associated spleen tyrosine kinase/SYK (fostamatinib), Bruton's tyrosine kinase/BTK (ibrutinib), and PI3Kδ (idelalisib).
Doubly spinning black rings

We study a method to solve stationary axisymmetric vacuum Einstein equations numerically. As an illustration, the five-dimensional doubly spinning black rings that have two independent angular momenta are formulated in a way suitable for a fully nonlinear numerical method. Expanding for small second angular velocity, the formulation is solved perturbatively up to second order involving the backreaction from the second spin. The obtained solutions are regular without conical singularity, and the physical properties are discussed with the phase diagram of the reduced entropy vs the reduced angular momenta. Possible extensions of the present approach to constructing the higher-dimensional version of black ring and the ring with the cosmological constant are discussed also.
Amorphous forms: time and subjectivity in Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors

In Sergei Parajanov’s Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1965), new ways of perceiving and thinking shape a radical re-evaluation of traditional modes of cinematic narration and subjectivity. Not only does the film violate some of the most basic expectations of what a film can or should do, it also persistently impedes the conceptual construction of a unified, stable and truthfully presented world. As with Parajanov’s later films, this forms what may be considered a sui generis variation of what Gilles Deleuze describes as the ‘powers of the false’. What most distinguishes Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, however, is not the constant subversion of any primary ‘truth’ implied in the fiction, but rather the extent to which the filmmakers use the manipulation of perception to accomplish the task. This article explores the intrinsic connections between the film’s innovative play with narrative perspective, the destabilization of verisimilitude and its deeply qualitative presentation of time. In this respect, the ...
IMPACT OF DIFFERENTIAL PRICING ON BARGE FREIGHT TRANSPORTATION

Through the Staggers Rail Act (1980) and the Railroad Revitalization and Regulatory Reform Act (1976), Congress deregulated railroad pricing to improve the financial health of the industry. Deregulation legalized differential pricing---the policy of charging customers different prices according to their willingness to pay. While the railroads have returned to profitability, shippers have been angered by railroad pricing strategies that are seen as abusive. Railroads have refused to quote rates to competing transportation facilities or have set prices to divert traffic onto the rail network. An economic measurement of the impact of differential pricing of rail services on barge transportation in the Ohio River Basin is provided by constructing a model to predict freight traffic volumes at barge terminals in the Ohio River Basin.
Identification of Wiener-Hammerstein benchmark model via rank minimization

Abstract In this paper, a Wiener–Hammerstein system identification problem is formulated as a semidefinite programming (SDP) problem which provides a sub-optimal solution for a rank minimization problem. In the proposed identification method, the first linear dynamic system, the static nonlinear function, and the second linear dynamic system are parameterized as an FIR model, a polynomial function, and a rational transfer function respectively. Subsequently the optimization problem is formulated by using the over-parameterization technique and an iterative approach is proposed to update two unmeasurable intermediate signals. For the modeling of static nonlinearity, the monotonically non-deceasing condition was applied to limit the number of possible selections for intermediate signals. At each step of iteration, the over-parametrized parameters are estimated and then system parameters are separated by using a singular value decomposition (SVD). The proposed method is applied to the benchmark problem and the estimation result shows the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
A human globin enhancer causes both discrete and widespread alterations in chromatin structure.

Gene activation requires alteration of chromatin structure to facilitate active transcription complex formation at a gene promoter. Nucleosome remodeling complexes and histone modifying complexes each play unique and interdependent roles in bringing about these changes. The role of distant enhancers in these structural alterations is not well understood. We studied nucleosome remodeling and covalent histone modification mediated by the β-globin locus control region HS2 enhancer at nucleosome-level resolution throughout a 5.5-kb globin gene model locus in vivo in K562 cells. We compared the transcriptionally active locus to one in which HS2 was inactivated by mutations in the core NF-E2 sites. In contrast to inactive templates, nucleosomes were mobilized in discrete areas of the active locus, including the HS2 core and the proximal promoter. Large differences in restriction enzyme accessibility between the active and inactive templates were limited to the regions of nucleosome mobilization, which subsumed the DNase I hypersensitive sites. In contrast to this discrete pattern, histone H3 and H4 acetylation and H3 K4 methylation were elevated across the entire active locus, accompanied by depletion of linker histone H1. The coding region of the gene differed from the regulatory regions, demonstrating both nucleosome mobilization and histone hyperacetylation, but lacked differences in restriction enzyme accessibility between transcriptionally active and inactive genes. Thus, although the histone modification pattern we observe is consistent with the spreading of histone modifying activity from the distant enhancer, the pattern of nucleosome mobilization is more compatible with direct contact between an enhancer and promoter.