cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Abstract LB-247: Circulating proteolytic products of tumor-resident enzyme as potential biomarkers for early detection of breast cancer

Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA In theory, any or all of tumor-secreted proteins can serve as cancer biomarkers. However, the reality is challenging to monitor because of the large degree of fluctuation in abundance and localization of these tumor-secreted proteins, especially in the early stage of tumor development and/or metastasis. As such, it seems feasible that we might take advantage of the fact that secreted proteases/peptidases in the tumor microenvironment generate proteolytic products, also referred to as “circulating peptides”, which are detectable in bloodstream and provide ample information about the body, “coded” in the patterns and quantity of these peptides. Herein we clearly link the catalytic activity of Carboxypeptidase N (CPN) to its proteolytic products during breast tumor progression in mouse model and clinical samples. CPN plays important roles in regulating vasoactive peptide hormones, growth factors, and cytokines by specifically cleaving their C-terminal basic residues. Circulating fragment profiling, by an approach combining nanopore fractionation and mass spectrometry, revealed the nature and extent of cleavage by CPN. These results correlated with the level of CPN-catalyzed peptides in blood taken from the tumor-bearing mice, healthy women and breast cancer patients. We showed that generation of C3f_R1310-L1319 specifically correlated with the CPN expression level. In both mouse and clinical patient samples, the amount of CPN was increased in tumor tissues compared to that seen in normal breast tissue, while its counterpart in blood remained constant. The amount of 6 CPN-catalyzed peptides predominantly increased in sera taken from both the mice at 2 weeks after orthotropic implantation and the patients’ plasma as early as the first pathologic stage of breast cancer. In conclusion, the circulating level of the selected 6 CPN-catalyzed proteolytic products reflects the extent of this enzyme's activity in tumors, and our results clearly indicate their strong potential as biomarkers for non-invasive early diagnosis of breast cancer. Citation Format: Ye Hu. Circulating proteolytic products of tumor-resident enzyme as potential biomarkers for early detection of breast cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-247. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-LB-247
Apoptosis and cancer risk assessment

Apoptosis is one form of physiological or active cell death. The balance between cell proliferation and cell death or apoptosis not only effects organ growth but also has a profound impact on the net increase and growth of initiated cells and preneoplastic and tumor cell populations. With respect to cancer development apoptosis is becoming widely recognized as being an innate tissue defense against carcinogens by inhibiting survival and controlling growth of precancerous cell populations and tumors at different stages of carcinogenesis. Experimental data on cell birth and cell death rates help identify the mode of action of a chemical and can be incorporated into biologically based cancer models. This article describes the quantitation and regulation of apoptosis in rodent liver and how loss of regulation can have a role in hepatocarcinogenesis. A biologically-based mouse liver cancer model is presented and utilized to describe how treatment related growth effects affect the process of carcinogenesis. Advantages and limitations of biologically based cancer models in cancer research and risk assessment are discussed.
In vivo cholinesterase inhibition in Tribolium castaneum with organophosphate insecticides.

Topical and residual LD50dosages of selected organophosphates inhibited cholinesterase of red flour beetles, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), to widely different levels in both knockdown and survivor beetles. A relationship appears to exist between cholinesterase levels in both knockdown and survivor beetles and time of knockdown after topical treatment with tepp, malathion, and dicrotophos. The in vivo recovery rate of dicrotophos-inhibited cholinesterase was about 4% per day.
Bilateral jugular paragangliomas A rare cause of raised intracranial pressure

A 28-year-old woman presented with a 2-year history of pulsatile tinnitus, with recent onset of headaches and bilateral transient visual obscurations. Examination revealed bilateral optic disc edema. MRI showed enhancing lesions surrounding the internal jugular veins and magnetic resonance venography showed bilateral internal jugular vein occlusions with extensive collaterals (figure 1). Both lesions were resected. The pathology was that of a paraganglioma (figure 2).
Development of a spontaneous immersion process for deposition of cerium oxide coatings on copper substrates

A spontaneous immersion process has been developed to deposit cerium oxide/hydroxide coatings on copper foil substrates. The immersion process selectively deposits adherent cerium oxide/hydroxide coatings on exposed copper areas using an aqueous, room temperature process. The development and optimization of process parameters that result in film deposition and the characterization of the coatings are described. The effect of process parameters and bath additives with respect to coating morphology and formation are discussed. Cerium oxide/hydroxide coatings on copper foils were found to consist primarily of tetravalent cerium compounds by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, exhibiting a previously unreported crystal structure by X-ray and selected area electron diffraction. The coatings were composed solely of cerium and oxygen with no copper incorporated within the coating by Auger electron spectroscopy. Deposition was very sensitive to process parameters, in particular pH and hydrogen peroxide concentration. Millimolar additions of chloride ion were found to increase the deposition rate. Uniform, adherent coatings ranging from 40 to 250 nm were produced under optimum conditions.
The association between parent's health and the educational attainment of their children.

Abstract In this paper we compare the educational attainment of adults who had relatively unhealthy parents when they were adolescents to those whose parents were relatively healthy during this time of their lives. We use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (n = 13,556) to show that U.S. adolescents whose parents described their health as “fair” or “poor” at Wave 1 of the study were more likely to drop out of high school compared to those whose parents reported better levels of health. We do not observe any association between parental health and the likelihood of attending college among those who graduated from high school, however we do show that completing college (among college attendees) is more likely among those whose parents reported better health when they were adolescents. This association persists despite a wide range of statistical controls including socioeconomic status of the household, the physical and mental health status of the respondent, the grade point average of the respondent, the health behaviors of parents, as well as parental time investment. These findings add an important intergenerational component to research on the relationship between socioeconomic status and health.
Proliferation, preemption, and intervention in the nuclearization of second-tier states

Traditional interpretations of politics among nuclear-weapons states—as epitomized by Schelling’s theory of deterrence through mutually-assured destruction—are less useful in today’s proliferation environment than they were during the Cold War’s superpower rivalry. As regionally-important states begin to pursue nuclear weapons, they do so in an environment that is shaped by the preferences and behaviors of the great powers. Using an elaboration on Powell’s bargaining model of conflict, this article shows that nuclear proliferation radically alters the future distribution of power, introducing a commitment problem vis-a-vis conventionally-stronger neighbors. This explains the occurrence of preemptive war in cases of attempted nuclearization, although the empirical paucity of such bargaining failures requires the shadow of great-power intervention in understanding the relations of second-tier states.
Takayasu arteritis: lessons from the American National Institutes of Health experience

Investigators from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), in the United States, have prospectively studied 60 patients with Takayasus's arteritis over a period of 20 years. Unique observations resulted from the requirement that all patients be part of Institutional Review Board-approved standardized protocols that required periodic complete clinical, laboratory and angiographic evaluations, regardless of degree of disease activity. Patients judged to have active disease received protocol defined treatment that always included prednisone, and to which cytotoxic agents were added in the event that relapse followed tapering or withdrawal of corticosteroids. The prospective standard approach applied to this cohort has provided new insights into the presentation, course and treatment-responsiveness of Takayasu's arteritis. This article will focus on the questions raised by this study and implications for patient care.
Effects of Social Facilitation on Listening Comprehension.

Social facilitation theory suggests that the presence of strangers produces arousal in humans. Although the arousal may facilitate over‐motor responses, it tends to debilitate more implicit responses, especially overt intellectual activity. Based upon the assumption that listening comprehension is more an implicit response than overt‐motor behavior, the present study investigated the effects of social facilitation upon listening comprehension. Results indicate that subjects listening to instructional material while alone comprehend significantly more than those listening as an audience member. Moreover, trend analysis indicated that there is a significant and nonlinear relationship between the number of strangers present and listening comprehension. The addition of strangers has only a marginal impact on the listener.
Piezoelectric cantilever sensors with asymmetric anchor exhibit picogram sensitivity in liquids

Abstract We show for the first time that self-exciting and self-sensing piezoelectric cantilevers consisting only of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) measure resonance only if they are asymmetrically anchored. Symmetric-anchoring did not give rise to electrically measurable bending resonant modes in the 0–100 kHz range. Sensitivity of first and second bending mode resonances was characterized in a flow apparatus using small density changes in liquid (0.003–0.01 g/cm 3 ) and by dodecanethiol chemisorption at 30 pM. Density change results were consistent with existing models of submerged cantilevers, and yielded mass-change sensitivity of ∼33 ng/Hz and 217 pg/Hz for the first two modes. In chemisorption experiments, where binding was localized to 1 mm 2 distal tip of the PZT cantilever, sensitivity improved by an order of magnitude to 2 pg/Hz and 414 fg/Hz for the same two resonant modes.
Chemical transformations of pyridoxal and pyridoxal 5′-phosphate condensation products with amino acids

The mechanism of chemical transformations of pyridoxal and pyridoxal 5′-phosphate condensation products with amino acids is studied by kinetic measurements. The Schiff bases are shown to be fairly stable in neutral media. In acid media, the Schiff bases are hydrolyzed into the initial components. In alkaline media, cleavage of α-hydrogen from the amino acid fragment and structural rearrangement into the quinoid form followed by hydrolysis of the latter with elimination of pyridoxamine and keto acid take place. The rate constants of the chemical transformations of the Schiff bases are found to depend on the pH of the medium. It is shown for the first time that the phosphate group in the pyridoxal 5′-phosphate fragment catalyzes the α-hydrogen cleavage and strongly accelerates alkaline decomposition of the Schiff bases.
Space-charge-limited transistors in switching circuits

Lateral complementary pairs of SCL transistors have been fabricated on high resistivity substrates with three masking steps including metallization. Both NPN and PNP transistors exhibit a very high current gain in the microampere current region. The complementary pairs were operated as inverters at a power level as low as 6µW with a power supply voltage of 0.6V. The delay times per stage with 0.6 and 0.9V supply voltages were 80 and 50ns, respectively, with a 2pf load. Complementary flip-flops of SCL transistors require only a 0.3 7V supply voltage with a standby power of 35nW. The complementary pairs have very low capacitances. The f t 's of the complementary pair are about 700 MHz in the micro-ampere current region. The device and wiring capacitances can be further reduced to about 1% of the conventional bipolar capacitance.
Partitioned first-level cache design for clustered microarchitectures

The high clock frequencies of modern superscalar processors make the wire delay incurred in moving data across the processor chip a significant concern. As frequencies continue to increase, it will become more difficult for a centralized first level data cache to supply the timely data bandwidth required by superscalar processors.This paper presents a complete solution for the partitioning of the first level of the memory hierarchy. The first level data cache is split into several independent partitions, which are arbitrarily distributable across the processor die. After being decoded, memory instructions are sent to the reservation stations of the functional unit adjacent to the cache partition that they are most likely to access. The partition assignments for both static instructions and cache data are dynamically changed to adapt to data access patterns. A data cache line is permitted to reside in only one partition at a time, allowing each store to update only a single partition, and allowing the partitioning and simplification of the memory disambiguation logic. The partitioned cache achieves a reduction in cache access latency through a combination of reduced wire delay and reduced cache array size. A partitioned cache with eight 8KB direct-mapped partitions maintains a hit rate greater than that of a 32KB direct-mapped cache. A machine utilizing the partitioned cache outperforms a machine with a conventional 64KB direct-mapped cache by 4.5% and a machine with a 64KB 8-way set-associative cache by 7.0%, when cache latencies estimated through the use of the CACTI cache simulation tool are taken into account.
Chains of modular elements and shellability

Let L be a lattice admitting a left-modular chain of length r, not necessarily maximal. We show that if either L is graded or the chain is modular, then the (r-2)-skeleton of L is vertex-decomposable (hence shellable). This proves a conjecture of Hersh. Under certain circumstances, we can find shellings of higher skeleta. For instance, if the left-modular chain consists of every other element of some maximum length chain, then L itself is shellable. We apply these results to give a new characterization of finite solvable groups in terms of the topology of subgroup lattices. Our main tool relaxes the conditions for an EL-labeling, allowing multiple ascending chains as long as they are lexicographically before non-ascending chains. We extend results from the theory of EL-shellable posets to such labelings. The shellability of certain skeleta is one such result. Another is that a poset with such a labeling is homotopy equivalent (by discrete Morse theory) to a cell complex with cells in correspondence to weakly descending chains.
Design and application of a peak voltage detector to industrial control systems

MANY industrial control, or servo, systems are characterized by their high power level, low cost, and moderate performance when compared with the high-performance servo systems that are used extensively in military applications. This paper describes the control portion of such an industrial type of servo system in some detail. Application of the control portion, or peak voltage detector, to a complete servo system is described briefly.
Environmental policy: The biggest wager

Jon Christensen unpacks the fraught story of a biologist, an economist, and the polarization of US environmental policy.
Realism and Risk Taking

Ss made decisions on a questionnaire for real payoffs and for hypothetical payoffs. They tended to be less risky when their decisions were made for real consequences than when their decisions were hypothetical, suggesting that one should be cautious in predicting real risk-taking behavior from measures of hypothetical risk.
Time-Domain Optical Memory in Hole-Burning Materials

Abstract We have demonstrated storage of 2 Kbits of data at 40 Mbits/s in the Eu3+ doped Y2SiO5 crystal using the time-domain echo approach. Preventing coherent saturation, caused by the long data pulse train, is critical to the successful implementation of this technique. The experimentally inferred storage capacity of 6 × 104 spatial spot demonstrates the potential of this optical memory.
Relation of potassium to urate accumulation by kidney slices from desert spiny lizards (Sceloporus magister).

Abstract 1. 1. The relation of medium potassium concentration to urate accumulation by kidney slices from desert spiny lizards ( Sceloporus magister ) was studied. 2. 2. Incubation in 40 mM potassium caused a marked increase in urate accumulation. Preparation and incubation in potassium-free medium depressed, but did not eliminate, active urate accumulation. 3. 3. Incubation of potassium-depleted slices in media of increasing potassium concentration restored tissue potassium when medium potassium reached 40 mM but did not completely restore urate accumulation. 4. 4. These data suggest that severe depletion of potassium impairs mechanisms for both potassium and urate accumulation, and that the latter is not restored even when tissue potassium is restored. 5. 5. These results differ from those observed previously with kidney slices from domestic fowl and ophidian reptiles. Differences may be related to the membrane site of transport.
In vivo characterization of endogenous proliferating cells in adult rat subcortical white matter

Proliferating cells in adult rat subcortical white matter were characterized in vivo using stereotactic injections of a replication-deficient retrovirus containing the construct for beta galactosidase (BAG); BAG was deposited into the cingulum at the level of the septal nuclei. Morphological profiles, generated using Xgal substrate to visualize labeled cells, revealed a population of simple, immature cells. The antigenic profile, generated immunohistochemically with cell-specific markers 2 or 30 days post injection (dpi), showed a population of cells that primarily expressed nestin or an oligodendrocyte-specific glutathione-S-transferase isoform, Yp (GST-Yp) at 2 dpi and nestin, GST-Yp or Rip at 30 dpi. Occasionally, labeled cells differentiated in vivo into myelinating oligodendrocytes 30 dpi. Labeled cells did not express the astrocyte markers GFAP, GST-Yb, or S100 beta at 2 or 30 dpi. Comparisons of cell distribution 2 and 30 dpi indicated the non-migratory nature of these cells. Cell distribution patterns and nearest neighbor analyses confirmed the emergence of clusters of labeled cells 30 dpi, which bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) incorporation studies suggested arose from continued proliferation of some labeled cells. In vivo characterization of proliferating cells in the adult revealed a non-migratory, primarily undifferentiated population of cells.
High-affinity DNA binding by a Mot1p–TBP complex: implications for TAF-independent transcription

Yeast Mot1p, an abundant conserved member of the Snf2p-ATPase family of proteins, both dissociates TBP from DNA in vitro using the energy of ATP and represses gene transcription in vivo, yet paradoxically, loss of Mot1p function also leads to decreased transcription of certain genes. We conducted experiments utilizing fluorescently labeled DNA, TBP, fluorescence anisotropy spectroscopy and native gel electrophoresis to study Mot1p action. We have made a number of observations, the most intriguing being that a stable Mot1p–TBP complex has the ability to bind TATA DNA with high affinity, albeit with dramatically altered specificity. We propose that this altered TBP–DNA recognition is integral to Mot1p’s ability to regulate transcription, and further postulate that the Mot1p–TBP complex delivers TBP to TAF-independent mRNA encoding genes.
SiO $_2$ Barriers for Increasing Gain Events in Solid-State Impact-Ionization Multipliers

A solid-state impact-ionization multiplier (SIM) was designed to amplify signals from arbitrary current sources through impact ionization. A primary application is amplification of signals produced by photodiodes. Photodiodes made from any semiconductor can be wired directly to the SIM's injection node. Planar versions of the SIM suffer from nonideal impact ionization efficiency as a result of injected carriers drifting through the device's depletion region to the output electrode without passing through the highest electric field regions and undergoing ionization events. Low impact ionization efficiency can lead to an increased excess noise factor, higher temperature sensitivity, and higher voltage sensitivity (rate of gain change with respect to applied voltage). This paper describes increasing SIM ionization efficiencies by introducing an insulator between the SIM's injection and output electrodes, effectively directing the carriers into the highest electric field. This method has shown to greatly increase the impact ionization efficiency in simulation and experimental results. Ionization efficiency improvements are demonstrated primarily through decreases in voltage sensitivity.
Inducing the paramagnetic Meissner effect in Nb disks by surface ion implantation.

After implanting Kr ions to a depth of 120 nm below both surfaces of disk-shaped Nb samples, the magnetization in a field-cooling measurement becomes positive at temperatures slightly below the superconducting transition temperature ${\mathit{T}}_{\mathit{c}}$\ensuremath{\approxeq}9.2 K. In contrast, the field-cooled magnetization on similar disks prior to the ion implanting was diamagnetic. This behavior confirms earlier evidence that the paramagnetic Meissner effect (PME) is extremely sensitive to the surface microstructure. Furthermore the occurrence of the PME in these ion-implanted Nb disks results from the existence of lower ${\mathit{T}}_{\mathit{c}}$ surface defects having a sufficient depth relative to the disk thickness such that the resulting strong flux pinning from these defects gives rise to an inhomogeneous local field distribution. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
Changes in naming ability with age.

We administered to 80 optimally healthy subjects, 30-80 years old, the Boston Naming Test, a test of confrontation naming. Results indicated that naming ability remains fairly stable across the adult life span until individuals are in their 70s, at which point there is a significant decline in performance (p less than or equal to .0001). Semantic errors (i.e., circumlocutions, semantically related associates, and nominalizations) and perceptual errors increase with age. Lexical errors (i.e., phonologically related real words and phonologically related nonwords) do not increase with age. Results of multiple regressions that included other neuropsychological variables indicate that estimated IQ, but not new learning ability, predicts a subject's naming score.
Second revision of American Dental Association Specification No. 4 for Dental Inlay Casting Wax

Revisions o f the American Dental Asso­ ciation specifications for dental materials are usually made as test methods, mate­ rials and uses are developed. T he “ Pro­ cedure for Formulating and Revising American Dental Association Specifica­ tions” is given in American Dental Asso­ ciation Specifications for Dental Materials 1960-1961} Usually a subcommittee o f the Specifications Committee o f the D en­ tal Materials Group (International Asso­ ciation for Dental Research) is given the task of revising or formulating a specifica­ tion. This tentative revision or formula­ tion serves as the basis for the various steps involved in processing a specification to completion. The subcommittee in­ volved in the revision o f the American Dental Association Specification No. 4 for Inlay Casting W ax included George C. Paffenbarger, senior research associate, American Dental Association Research Division, National Bureau o f Standards, Washington, D . C., chairman; William H. Crawford, dean, School of Dentistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; William F. Talbot, formerly vice-presi­ dent for research, Kerr Manufacturing Company, Detroit; J. R . Reasonberg, chief, research and development, Mizzy, Inc., Clifton Forge, V a .; Frank J. Demsko, chief chemist, The S. S. White Dental Manufacturing Company, Prince Bay, Staten Island, N. Y .; and John W. Stanford, research associate, American Dental Association Research Division, National Bureau o f Standards, Washing­ ton, D . C., secretary.
Thinned spectrum radar waveforms

Small phase perturbations applied to a stepped-frequency or linear-frequency-modulated radar waveform have been proposed as a means to generate frequency nulls in the spectrum of the transmitted waveform. By nulling selected frequencies (or thinning) in the spectrum of transmitted pulses, the interference between the transmitted and received signals is reduced, which facilitates the spectral cohabitation of multiple RF users. Preliminary experimental results of two methods of spectral nulling are presented with consideration to in-band and out-of-band interference. Range processing is examined to determine the effects of the phase perturbation on radar operations.
TLR gateways to CD1 function

CD1-restricted T cells can be activated by diverse lipids derived from mammals, bacteria and protozoa. Certain lipids function as antigens, which bind to CD1 proteins and contact T cell antigen receptors. Other lipids activate CD1-restricted T cells by functioning as adjuvants. By stimulating Toll-like receptors on antigen-presenting cells, these adjuvants alter cytokine secretion, lipid antigen synthesis and CD1 protein translation. Delineation of the separate mechanisms by which adjuvants and antigens activate CD1-restricted T cells is leading to new hypotheses about the functions of individual CD1 proteins during the transition from innate to acquired immune responses.
Improved cat gene cassette for promoter analysis and genetic constructions

A plasmid, pJS133, was constructed which contains a promoterless cat gene encoding chloramphenicol (Cm) acetyltransferase (CAT) conferring Cm resistance. This improved cat cassette, derived from the cat gene in plasmid pKK232-8 [Brosius, Gene 27 (1984) 151-160], offers several advantages over currently available cat cassettes. Expression of cat from this cassette reflects only transcriptional activity because of translational stops in all three reading frames, and possesses facile insertion/excision properties employing the flanking polylinker restriction sites. In plasmid pJS133, this cassette can be obtained by a single digestion with SmaI, HindIII, SalI, BamHI or PstI restriction enzymes. Additionally, 28 different cat cassettes with unique flanking restriction sites can be created by the appropriate double digestions.
The Gender Gap in Attitudes about Childlessness in the United States.

Acceptance of childlessness has increased since the 1970s, with women reporting greater acceptance than men. Using the National Survey of Families and Households (1987 – 1988; N = 10,648) and the General Social Survey (1994; N =1,395), we examined this gender gap as it relates to both structural and sociocultural factors, including religion, gender attitudes, and other attitudes about gender and family. Women were more likely than men to hold positive attitudes about childlessness, and women’s less traditional attitudes about marriage, gender equality, and women’s employment only partially explained this difference. In the childbearing ages, positive attitudes were strongly related to intentions to remain childless and showed a greater gender gap at higher education levels. The findings highlight important differences in men’s and women’s experiences of family, work, and gender issues.
Progress in the use of microarray technology to study the neurobiology of disease

The diverse functions of the brain are mediated by neurons and glia whose phenotype is defined by a dynamically maintained set of gene transcripts, or 'transcriptome'. Large-scale analysis of gene expression in postmortem brain using microarray technology has the potential to elucidate molecular changes that occur in disease states. There are unique challenges associated with studies of postmortem brain, including limited sample sizes and variable clinical phenotypes that are typical of complex disorders. Nevertheless, recent microarray-based studies have implicated both individual dysregulated genes and abnormal patterns of gene expression in brain disorders.
Cognitive Activity Engagement Predicts Future Memory and Executive Functioning in Older Adults

This study examined cognitive activity engagement, depression, executive functioning, and memory in a sample of older adults. Participants were assessed at baseline and 15 months later. Depression and activity level were significantly correlated at baseline, such that increased depressive symptoms were associated with decreased cognitive activity. Higher baseline activity scores, particularly on a measure of participation in cognitively challenging activities, predicted higher scores on memory and executive functioning tests at follow up. Findings highlight the benefits of activity engagement in later life, such that activity engagement is associated with reduced cognitive decline in older adults.
Optimizing a Small-Scale Corn-Starch Extraction Method for Use in the Laboratory

ABSTRACT The objectives of this experiment were to determine the effects of altering starch extraction procedures designed for use in the laboratory on starch yield, protein content, and thermal properties. Public Corn Belt inbred line Mo17 was used in this study. The altered procedures that were examined included steeping time (24, 48, or 72 hr), numbers of corn kernels extracted (2, 5, or 10 kernels), and isolation method (sedimentation or centrifugation). Starch thermal properties were obtained by using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Starch yield and protein content were significantly different among the experimental treatments. In general, more kernels, and sedimentation rather than centrifugation, resulted in greater yields. Also, treatments involving more kernels or sedimentation rather than centrifugation, yielded starch with the lowest protein content. Starch extracted after steeping for 24 hr and purified by the sedimentation method had the lowest gelatinization onset temperature (by DS...
Phonon-Energy-Coupling Enhancement: Dramatic Improvement of the Reliability of Silicon MOS Transistors

The vibrational modes of the Si-Si and Si-O bonds exhibit enhanced energy coupling when RTP is applied to the SiO2/Si system. When applying this effect to the MOS transistors, we observed dramatic reliability improvement of MOS devices. The breakdown voltage of the gate oxide (10-20 nm) has been improved by 40%. The hot-electron related lifetime of MOS transistors has been improved by 100 times over the deuterium-annealed transistors.
Radar Characteristics of Precipitation Features in the EPIC and TEPPS Regions of the East Pacific

Abstract Ship-based radar data are used to compare the structure of precipitation features in two regions of the east Pacific where recent field campaigns were conducted: the East Pacific Investigation of Climate Processes in the Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere System (EPIC-2001; 10°N, 95°W) in September 2001 and the Tropical Eastern Pacific Process Study (TEPPS; 8°N, 125°W) in August 1997. Corresponding July–September 1998–2004 Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) precipitation radar (PR) data are also used to provide context for the field campaign data. An objective technique is developed to identify precipitation features in the ship and TRMM PR data and to develop statistics on horizontal and vertical structure and precipitation characteristics. Precipitation features were segregated into mesoscale convective system (MCS) and sub-MCS categories, based on a contiguous area threshold of 1000 km2 (these features were required to have at least one convective pixel), as well as an “other” (NC) category. Com...
Multicultural Counseling Competencies: Lessons From Assessment

This article addresses multicultural counseling competencies from the perspective of quantitative assessment. A conceptual review of the current measures identifies 4 relevant issues: (a) diverse factor structures, (b) the working definition of multicultural awareness, (c) test takers' frame of reference, and (d) the implications of an inclusive definition of culture for assessment. Este articulo se dirige aconsejar las capacidades multiculturales de la perspectiva de la evaluacion cuantitativa. La revision conceptual de las medidas actuales identifica 4 asuntos pertinentes: (a) factor de estruturas diversas, (b) preparaciones de la definicion del conocimiento multiculturales, (c) tomadores de examenes marco de referencia, y (d) las implicaciones de una definicion inclusiva de la cultura para la evaluacion.
Identification and localization of vegetative STORAGE PROTEINS IN LEGUME LEAVES

Leaves from 12 legume species representing two subtribes were examined by various techniques for the presence of vegetative storage proteins (VSPs) similar to the 27, 29, and 94 kD VSPs of soybean. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) of leaf protein followed by western immunoblotting using antibody that recognizes soybean VSP94, a lipoxygenase, demonstrated that this protein is present in six of the nine species tested. Blotting with antibody to soybean VSP27/29, which are glycoproteins, gave labelling in seven species and glycoprotein affino-blots showed that glycosylated proteins ranging around 27 to 29 kD were present in all nine species examined. Immunocytochemical localization studies of eight species demonstrated that proteins antigenically similar to VSP94 and VSP27/29 are specifically accumulated in the vacuole of paraveinal mesophyll (PVM) cells. They were not detectable at significant levels in other mesophyll cells using this technique. Comparisons of protein compositions of isolated PVM and mesophyll protoplasts from seven species further confirmed the specialized nature of the PVM. VSP94 and proteins ranging from 25 to 35 kD molecular mass were the major proteins of PVM of all but one species while Rubisco was quite low in amount compared to mesophyll protoplasts. The results show that VSP synthesis and accumulation is a general feature of legume leaves containing a PVM layer and indicate that the PVM plays a specialized role in nitrogen metabolism and partitioning in these species.
Subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord: MRI detection of preferential involvement of the posterior columns in a child

Subacute combined degeneration of the spinal cord (vitamin B12-deficient myelopathy) is a neurologic disorder manifesting progressive symptoms of paresthesia and spastic paralysis. As shown by pathology, it initially involves the posterior columns of the thoracic cord. We present a case of vitamin B12 deficiency with preferential posterior column involvement of the thoracic cord in a child. Theoretically, this should be the earliest, most reversible stage of the disease, making recognition of this MRI pattern of critical importance.
Cloaking locations for anonymous location based services: a hybrid approach

An important privacy issue in Location Based Services is to hide a user's identity while still provide quality location based services. Previous work has addressed the problem of locational $\mathcal{K}$ -anonymity either based on centralized or decentralized schemes. However, a centralized scheme relies on an anonymizing server (AS) for location cloaking, which may become the performance bottleneck when there are large number of clients. More importantly, holding information in a centralized place is more vulnerable to malicious attacks. A decentralized scheme depends on peer communication to cloak locations and is more scalable. However, it may pose too much computation and communication overhead to the clients. The service fulfillment rate may also be unsatisfied especially when there are not enough peers nearby. This paper proposes a new hybrid framework called HiSC that balances the load between the AS and mobile clients. HiSC partitions the space into base cells and a mobile client claims a surrounding area consisting of base cells. The number of mobile clients in the surrounding cells is kept and updated at both client and AS sides. A mobile client can either request cloaking service from the centralized AS or use a peer-to-peer approach for spatial cloaking based on personalized privacy, response time, and service quality requirements. HiSC can elegantly distribute the work load between the AS and the mobile clients by tuning one system parameter base cell size and two client parameters - surrounding cell size and tolerance count. By integrating salient features of two schemes, HiSC successfully preserves query anonymity and provides more scalable and consistent service. Both the AS and the clients can enjoy much less work load. Additionally, we propose a simple yet effective random range shifting algorithm to prevent possible privacy leakage that would exist in the original P2P approach. Our experiments show that HiSC can elegantly balance the work load based on privacy requirements and client distribution. HiSC provides close to optimal service quality. Meanwhile, it reduces the response time by more than an order of magnitude from both the P2P scheme and the centralized scheme when anonymity level(value of $\mathcal{K}$ ) or number of clients is large. It also reduces the update message cost of the AS by nearly 6 times and the peer searching message cost of the clients by more than an order of magnitude.
Conflict and Motivation in Instructional Design

Abstract This article discusses the concept of conflict in relation to motivation and its implications for instructional design. Research is reviewed which indicates that motivation is enhanced by the use of conflict which encourages people to react in non‐routine ways. When instruction is simplified through design processes, it may well decrease student motivation. These ideas are discussed in terms of the TOTE unit (Miller, Gallanter, and Pribram, 1960), Piaget's research on learning, and the use of ‘conceptual conflict’ by Berlyne (1965). The article concludes that instructional design must provide for the trade‐off between learning variables and motivational variables in instructional design.
Bone Turnover and Insulin-like Growth Factor I Levels Increase After Improved Glycemic Control in Noninsulin-dependent Diabetes Mellitus

It is unclear whether both bone resorption and formation are affected by glycemic control, and contribute to diabetic osteopenia. In this study, 20 patients with noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (12 men and 8 postmenopausal women) and 20 healthy control subjects (10 men and 10 postmenopausal women) were examined at baseline and 2 months. The diabetic patients showed an improvement of glycemic control (decreased HbA1c) at the second measurement. Analysis of variance showed that there was no effect of gender on the variables that increased with improved glycemic control, and therefore results are presented for both male and female subjects. Baseline values of serum osteocalcin, a marker of formation, were significantly lower in diabetic patients compared with healthy subjects (2.5 +/- 1.3 versus 4.4 +/- 1.4 ng/ml; P = 0.0006), but markers of bone resorption [urinary pyridinoline (PYD), deoxypyridinoline (DPD)] did not differ. Improved glycemic control in diabetic patients resulted in increased values of PYD (P = 0.012), DPD (P = 0.049), serum osteocalcin (P = 0.001), and serum insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I, P = 0.003), but no change in serum parathyroid hormone or 25-hydroxyvitamin D. In diabetic patients there were inverse correlations for the percent change from baseline to improved glycemic control for osteocalcin and HbA1c (r = -0.53; P = 0.016) and glucose (r = -0.46; P = 0.050). These data suggest that improved glycemic control is accompanied by an increase in bone turnover for male and female diabetic patients, possibly mediated by increased levels of circulating IGF-I.
Modulation of the redox potential of the [Fe(SCys)(4)] site in rubredoxin by the orientation of a peptide dipole.

Rubredoxins (Rds) may be separated into two classes based upon the correlation of their reduction potentials with the identity of residue 44; those with Ala44 have reduction potentials that are 50 mV higher than those with Val44. The smaller side chain volume occupied by Ala44 relative to that occupied by Val44 has been proposed to explain the increase in the reduction potential, based upon changes in the Gly43-Ala44 peptide bond orientation and the distance to the (Fe(SCys)4) center in the Pyrococcus furiosus (Pf) Rd crystal structure compared to those of Gly43-Val44 in the Clostridium pasteurianum (Cp) Rd crystal structure. As an experimental test of this hypothesis, single-site Val44 T Ala44 exchange mutants, (V44A)Cp and (A44V)Pf Rds, have been cloned and expressed. Reduction potentials of these residue 44 variants and pertinent features of the X-ray crystal structure of (V44A)Cp Rd are reported. Relative to those of wild-type Cp and Pf Rds, the V44A mutation in Cp Rd results in an 86 mV increase in midpoint reduction potential and the (A44V) mutation in Pf Rd results in a 95 mV decrease in midpoint reduction potential, respectively. In the crystal structure of (V44A)Cp Rd, the peptide bond between residues 43 and 44 is 0.3 A closer to the Fe center and the hydrogen bond distance between the residue 44 peptide nitrogen and the Cys42 A-sulfur decreases by 0.32 A compared to the analogous distances in the wild-type Cp Rd crystal structure. The results described herein support the prediction that the identity of residue 44 alone determines whether a Rd reduction potential of about -50 or 0 mV is observed.
Temperature and power consumption measurements as a means for evaluating building thermal performance

Abstract A simple methodology is introduced to obtain an empirical relation between power consumption and indoor–outdoor temperature variations for a small residential building. The effects of house occupants, air/moisture leakage, material deterioration, etc. were not considered in the analysis. The Tuskegee Healthy House was used as a test building for the experiment. Empirical equations for power consumption as a function of temperature area differences were obtained from the measured data of winter 2009 with and without mechanically-induced ventilation fresh air, i.e. using fan “ON” and fan “OFF” condition, respectively. The equations were applied to the measured temperature data of winter 2002 to compare and evaluate the thermal performance of the test house. The equations agree favorably with the winter 2002 data revealing that there is no significant difference in power consumption values of winter 2002 and winter 2009 and, hence, no appreciable change in the thermal performance of the house. The methodology presented in the work can be utilized to compare and evaluate the thermal performance of a given building envelope from season to season and between the same seasons in different years.
Collective coupling of atoms with cavity mode and free-space field

We report an experimental study of the collective coupling of three-level atoms with a cavity mode and a free-space laser field. The measurement of the cavity transmission with a weak probe field coupled into the cavity mode reveals three spectral peaks: two sidebands and a central peak, which is produced by the coherent interaction of the free-space field with individual atoms and the collective interaction of the multiple atoms with the cavity mode. The experimental results agree with a simple calculation based on the classical light transmission through a cavity containing multiple atoms coherently driven by a free-space laser.
Steric and electrostatic effects on photoisomerization dynamics using QM/MM ab initio multiple spawning

Photoisomerization of conjugated systems is a common pathway for photomechanical energy conversion in biological chromophores. There are many examples where the local environment of the chromophore plays an important role in determining the outcome of photoisomerization. We have investigated the effect of simple steric and electrostatic environments on the excited-state photodynamics of ethylene, a simple model for larger conjugated systems. Ab initio electronic structure methods were combined with molecular mechanical force fields to describe the ground and excited-state potential energy surfaces of ethylene embedded in electrostatic and steric environments. The time evolution of the system following photoabsorption was modeled using the ab initio multiple spawning (AIMS) method for quantum dynamics. We introduce a new method for integration of the equations of motion in AIMS, which detects conical intersections automatically and then decreases the timestep adaptively around them. Neither steric hindrance nor electrostatics have a large effect on the excited-state lifetime, even at effective pressures as large as 2 GPa. However, a nearby point charge creates an electric field that stabilizes one of two symmetry-related conical intersections, biasing the reaction toward a particular photoisomerization pathway. For the larger tetramethylethylene, where steric hindrance is expected to be more pronounced, we also see no effect on the excited-state lifetime. Our results suggest that electrostatic interactions are more effective than steric hindrance in modifying the course of excited-state reactions.
Complementation Analysis Demonstrates That Insulin Cross-links Both α Subunits in a Truncated Insulin Receptor Dimer *

The insulin receptor is a homodimer composed of two αβ half receptors. Scanning mutagenesis studies have identified key residues important for insulin binding in the L1 domain (amino acids 1-150) and C-terminal region (amino acids 704-719) of the α subunit. However, it has not been shown whether insulin interacts with these two sites within the same α chain or whether it cross-links a site from each α subunit in the dimer to achieve high affinity binding. Here we have tested the contralateral binding mechanism by analyzing truncated insulin receptor dimers (midi-hIRs) that contain complementary mutations in each α subunit. Midi-hIRs containing Ala14, Ala64, or Gly714 mutations were fused with Myc or FLAG epitopes at the C terminus and were expressed separately by transient transfection. Immunoblots showed that R14A+FLAG, F64A+FLAG, and F714G+Myc mutant midi-hIRs were expressed in the medium but insulin binding activity was not detected. However, after co-transfection with R14A+FLAG/F714G+Myc or F64A+FLAG/F714G+Myc, hybrid dimers were obtained with a marked increase in insulin binding activity. Competitive displacement assays revealed that the hybrid mutant receptors bound insulin with the same affinity as wild type and also displayed curvilinear Scatchard plots. In addition, when hybrid mutant midi-hIR was covalently cross-linked with 125I(A14)-insulin and reduced, radiolabeled monomer was immunoprecipitated only with anti-FLAG, demonstrating that insulin was bound asymmetrically. These results demonstrate that a single insulin molecule can contact both α subunits in the insulin receptor dimer during high affinity binding and this property may be an important feature for receptor signaling.