cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Receiving a Diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias on Social Relationships of Older Adults.

Introduction Although early diagnosis has been recognized as a key strategy to improve outcomes of Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD), the effect of receiving a diagnosis on patients' well-being is not well understood. This study addresses this gap by examining if receiving a dementia diagnosis influences social relationships. Methods Data from the 3 waves (2012, 2014, and 2016) of the Health and Retirement Study were utilized as part of this study. This study examined whether receiving a new diagnosis of ADRD changed subsequent social relationships (social networks, social engagement, and social support). Regression analyses with inverse probability weighting were performed to estimate the impact of receiving a dementia diagnosis on changes in social relationships. Results Receiving a new diagnosis of ADRD reduced both informal and formal social engagement. We found no statistically significant impacts of receiving a diagnosis of ADRD on social networks and social support. Conclusions Results suggest that receiving a new diagnosis of ADRD may have unintended impacts on social relationships. Practitioners and policymakers should be aware of these consequences and should identify strategies to alleviate the negative impact of receiving a diagnosis of ADRD and methods to mobilize support networks after receiving a diagnosis.
Evolution Strategies and Other Methods

Evolution strategies (ESs) are algorithms which imitate the principles of natural evolution as a method to solve parameter optimization problems [12], [263]. They were developed in Germany during the 1960s. As stated in [263]: “In 1963 two students at the Technical University of Berlin met and were soon collaborating on experiments which used the wind tunnel of the Institute of Flow Engineering. During the search for the optimal shapes of bodies in a flow, which was then a matter of laborious intuitive experimentation, the idea was conceived of proceeding strategically. However, attempts with the coordinate and simple gradient strategies were unsuccessful. Then one of the students, Ingo Rechenberg, now Professor of Bionics and Evolutionary Engineering, hit upon the idea of trying random changes in the parameters defining the shape, following the example of natural mutations. The evolution strategy was born.”
Delaware's Takeover Law: The Uncertain Search for Hidden Value

It is easy sport to criticize the Delaware takeover cases as inconsistent with the empirical evidence, each other, and a sensible allocation of power between managers and shareholders. We in fact believe all of these things. Here, however, we offer a more sympathetic account of the core Delaware takeover cases. We argue that they reflect an often unstated "hidden value" model, in which a firm's true value is visible to corporate directors but not to shareholders or potential acquirers. We explore the assumptions needed to make the hidden value model internally consistent, and contrast those assumptions to those that underlie to a "visible value" model in which shareholders and potential acquirers are well informed about firm value or can be made so through disclosure by the target's board. (One outcome of carefully stating the hidden value model's assumptions is to expose the model's problems.) We also address and reject a "control premium" theory, sometimes invoked by the Delaware courts, in which control is a corporate asset that the law protects by imposing Revlon duties on the target's board. Assuming that the Delaware courts continue to embrace hidden value, we argue that takeover decisions should, at a minimum, be governed by a bilateral decision-making structure, in which a target board's initial decision to approve an acquisition, block a takeover bid, or choose one bidder over another must be approved or rejected by shareholders. Under this approach, target boards could adopt modest deal protections and say "no" to a takeover bid by adopting a poison pill, but could not say "never" by using a staggered board to block a bid after the bidder wins a proxy contest. The courts must also strictly limit efforts by target boards to stuff the ballot box or otherwise alter shareholder vote outcomes.
Killing Kids: The Impact of Domingues V Nevada on the Juvenile Death Penalty as a Violation of International Law

This Note examines the debate over the legality of the juvenile death penalty, and concludes that the use of the juvenile death penalty in the United States represents a flagrant transgression of international human rights law. Several forms of international law, including a number of multilateral human rights treaties, customary international law and jus cogens prohibit the execution of children below the age of eighteen. The existence of these contrary legal obligations demands that the United States abandon its vigilante stance and bring its practices into cot iformity With the greater international cot uniunity.
Genetic mapping in the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum

The Plasmodium falciparum genome sequence has boosted hopes for a new era of malaria research and for the application of comprehensive molecular knowledge to disease control, but formidable obstacles remain: approximately 60% of the predicted P. falciparum proteins have no known functions or homologues, and most life cycle stages of this haploid eukaryotic parasite are relatively intractable to cultivation and biochemical manipulation. Genetic mapping based on high-resolution maps saturated with single-nucleotide polymorphisms or microsatellites is now providing effective strategies for discovering candidate genes determining important parasite phenotypes. Here we review classical linkage studies using laboratory crosses and population associations that are now amenable to genome-wide approaches and are revealing multiple candidate genes involved in complex drug responses. Moreover, mapping by linkage disequilibrium is practicable in cases where chromosomal segments flanking drug-selected genes have been preserved in populations during relatively recent P. falciparum evolution. We discuss the advantages and limitations of these various genetic mapping strategies, results from which offer complementary insights to those emerging from gene knockout experiments and/or high-throughput genomic technologies.
Liver Cytosol Tyrosine Aminotransferase PRODUCT INHIBITION AND INTERACTION WITH SUBSTRATES

Abstract The reaction catalyzed by purified rat liver cytosol tyrosine aminotransferase (l-tyrosine + 2 oxoglutarate = p-hydroxyphenylpyruvate + l-glutamate, EC 2.6.1.5) has been analyzed with regard to product inhibition and combination with each of its rate-limiting substrates by the Hill equation. Glutamate is a linear competitive inhibitor with respect to tyrosine, a linear noncompetitive inhibitor with respect to coenzyme or α-ketoglutarate. p-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate is a linear noncompetitive inhibitor with respect to tyrosine or pyridoxal-P but is a linear competitive inhibitor with respect to α-ketoglutarate. These data, considered with replots of slopes and intercepts, indicate a "ping-pong" mechanism random in the sense that either coenzyme or Schiff's base of coenzyme and amino acid can add to the apoenzyme. A study of the half-reaction with apoenzyme, pyridoxamine-P, and α-ketoglutarate showed that 90% or more of the complete chemical reaction rate was achieved when freshly isolated apoenzyme was used. The pH dependence of the half-reaction paralleled that of the complete chemical reaction and supports the conclusion that the same protein catalyzes the complete and half-reaction. Furthermore, the magnitude of the half-reaction compared to the complete transamination would dictate that the mechanism does not switch between ping-pong and ordered depending upon the level of substrates available. By use of the Hill equation, the reaction between enzyme and substrates is first order with respect to tyrosine, pyridoxal-P, and α-ketoglutarate. Reduction of the concentration of α-ketoglutarate to a rate-limiting value does not change the order with respect to tyrosine or to pyridoxal-P. Reduction of the concentration of pyridoxal-P, or of tyrosine, or of both of these reactants to rate-limiting levels when the concentration of α-ketoglutarate is varied does not affect the order of the reaction with respect to α-ketoglutarate. Thus, homotropic effects are not manifested by this system.
Test Tube Families: Why the Fertility Market Needs Legal Regulations (Chapter)

This book focuses on the dilemmas of applying conflicting values to egg and sperm donation, arguing that the law must develop an integrated approach to the otherwise distinct aspects of technology, families, markets, and relationships. The thesis of this book is that sperm and egg donors are not simply selling “spare” body parts but are instead providing hope to recipients, genetic identity to the resulting children, and profits within the marketplace. This book argues that private regulation has not responded to these competing demands, and it examines the historical circumstances that brought about the current lackadaisical approach to legal regulation of the gamete market. This book concludes that the government, both at the federal and state levels, must regulate the gamete donor process. This book identifies four outcomes that these governmental regulations must achieve: (1) adequate protection of donors against exploitation; (2) delivery to recipients of the promised “goods”; (3) guaranteed access of children to their genetic information; and (4) market efficiency.
Directed evolution of xylose specific transporters to facilitate glucose-xylose co-utilization

A highly active xylose specific transporter without glucose inhibition is highly desirable in cost-effective production of biofuels from lignocellulosic biomass. However, currently available xylose specific transporters suffer from low overall activity and most are inhibited by glucose. In this study, we applied a directed evolution strategy to engineer the xylose specific transporter AN25 from Neurospora crassa with improved xylose transportation capacity. After four rounds of directed evolution using two different strategies, we obtained an AN25 mutant AN25-R4.18 with 43-fold improvement in terms of xylose transportation capacity while maintaining its high xylose specificity. In addition, glucose inhibition was almost completely eliminated in the final evolved mutant. We demonstrated that improved xylose transportation of AN25 mutants in the exponential growth phase led to significant improvement of xylose consumption in high cell-density fermentation. Finally, we showed that AN25 mutant AN25-R4.18 can enable relatively efficient glucose-xylose co-utilization in high concentrations of mixed sugars.
Overview and new results in disturbance observer based adaptive vibration rejection with application to advanced manufacturing

Summary Vibrations with unknown and/or time-varying frequencies significantly affect the achievable performance of control systems, particularly in precision engineering and manufacturing applications. This paper provides an overview of disturbance-observer-based adaptive vibration rejection schemes; studies several new results in algorithm design; and discusses new applications in semiconductor manufacturing. We show the construction of inverse-model-based controller parameterization and discuss its benefits in decoupled design, algorithm tuning, and parameter adaptation. Also studied are the formulation of recursive least squares and output-error-based adaptation algorithms, as well as their corresponding scopes of applications. Experiments on a wafer scanner testbed in semiconductor manufacturing prove the effectiveness of the algorithm in high-precision motion control. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Voltage clamp analysis of ethanol effects on pacemaker currents ofAplysia neurons

The effect of 4% ethanol on pacemaker currents ofAplysia neurons was studied under voltage clamp. In normal seawater the n-shape in the I–V disappeared and outward current increased. Ion substitution and drug blocking experiments determined that leakage current and the slow inward calcium current were decreased and that the outward currents, IA and IK, were increased. This knowledge can be used to explain ethanol effects on spontaneous firing patterns.
Coherent Active-Sterile Neutrino Flavor Transformation in the Early Universe

We solve the problem of coherent Mikheyev-Smirnov-Wolfenstein resonant active-to-sterile neutrino flavor conversion driven by an initial lepton number in the early Universe. We find incomplete destruction of the lepton number in this process and a sterile neutrino energy distribution with a distinctive cusp and high energy tail. These features imply alteration of the nonzero lepton number primordial nucleosynthesis paradigm when there exist sterile neutrinos with rest masses m(s) approximately 1 eV. This could result in better light element probes of (constraints on) these particles.
Third parties, elections, and roll-call votes: the populist party and the late nineteenth-century U.S. Congress

What effect do electorally successful third parties have on congressional roll-call votes? There is widespread belief among scholars that third parties influence the policies of the major parties, but there is little systematic evidence of this influence. I exploit the unique historical context surrounding the Populist Party formation in 1892 to examine the effect of the Populist Party's electoral success on congressional roll-call votes related to Populist issues. The results are consistent with two claims. First, co-optation of the Populist Party's issues occurred even before the formation of the party. Second, the co-optation of Populist policies does not appear to be correlated with the electoral success of the Populist candidates.
Attitude toward Medication and Perceived Competence among Chronically Psychotic Patients

19 chronically psychotic outpatients who had consistently expressed doubt about their need for psychotropic medication provided significantly more inflated estimates of their performance on a problem-solving task than 18 subjects who had not expressed such skepticism. The findings are consistent with the view that the observed relationship between denial of deficits and noncompliance with treatment among psychotic individuals is a function of a broader pattern of self-deception.
Time-optimal synthesis of SU(2) transformations for a spin-1/2 system

We consider a quantum control problem involving a spin-$1/2$ particle in a magnetic field. The magnitude of the field is held constant, and the direction of the field, which is constrained to lie in the $x--y$ plane, serves as a control parameter that can be varied to govern the evolution of the system. We analytically solve for the time dependence of the control parameter that will synthesize a given target SU(2) transformation in the least possible amount of time, and we show that the time-optimal solutions have a simple geometric interpretation in terms of the fiber bundle structure of SU(2). We also generalize our time-optimal solutions to a control problem that includes a constant bias field along the $\stackrel{\ifmmode \hat{}\else \^{}\fi{}}{\mathbf{z}}$ axis and to the case of inhomogeneous control, in which a single control parameter governs the evolution of an ensemble of spin-$1/2$ systems.
Scanning electrochemical microscopy. 40. Voltammetric ion-selective micropipet electrodes for probing ion transfer at bilayer lipid membranes.

Voltammetric ion-selective micropipet electrodes for use in scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) for detection of potassium ion were fabricated. These used pulled borosilicate capillaries with tip orifice radii of 0.7−20 μm with silanized inner walls filled with a solution of 10 mM valinomycin and 10 mM ETH 500 in dichloroethane. The electrodes were characterized by determining the steady-state tip current for K+ concentrations of 0.05−0.3 mM. The tips were used in the SECM feedback and generation−collection modes to study K+ transfer through gramicidin channels in a horizontal bilayer lipid membrane (glycerol monooleate).
Risk of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and History of Physical Activity: A Population-Based Case-Control Study

Objective To assess in greater detail than previous studies the purported association between a history of physical activity and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Methods A population-based case-control study was used to identify risk factors for ALS. Case patients were from 3 counties of western Washington State who were newly diagnosed as having ALS by a neurologist. Two control subjects matched with each case patient for sex and age within 5 years were identified by random digit telephone dialing or random selection from Medicare eligibility lists. All subjects underwent an in-person structured interview including detailed information about physical activity before a reference date, which was the month and year the case patient was diagnosed as having ALS. Various measures of physical activity both at work and leisure time were evaluated using conditional logistic regression taking into account the matching for sex and age. Results One hundred seventy-four case patients and 348 control subjects participated in the study. Physical activity was not significantly different between case patients and controls—whether at work, leisure time or both combined, and whether during a person's lifetime (from 10 years before reference date back to age 15 years) or during specific decades before reference date. An exception was that case patients reported having participated in organized sports in high school slightly more frequently than control subjects (odds ratio, 1.52; 95% confidence interval, 1.03-2.25). Conclusion A history of physical activity has little, if any, effect on the risk of ALS.
Structural Insights into the Generation of Single-Base Deletions by the Y Family DNA Polymerase Dbh

Dbh is a Y family translesion DNA polymerase that accurately bypasses some damaged forms of deoxyguanosine, but also generates single-base deletion errors at frequencies of up to 50%, in specific hot spot sequences. We describe preinsertion binary, insertion ternary, and postinsertion binary crystal structures of Dbh synthesizing DNA after making a single-base deletion. The skipped template base adopts an extrahelical conformation stabilized by interactions with the C-terminal domain of the enzyme. DNA translocation and positioning of the next templating base at the active site, with space opposite to accommodate incoming nucleotide, occur independently of nucleotide binding, incorporation, and pyrophosphate release. We also show that Dbh creates single-base deletions more rapidly when the skipped base is located two or three bases upstream of the nascent base pair than when it is directly adjacent to the templating base, indicating that Dbh predominantly creates single-base deletions by template slippage rather than by dNTP-stabilized misalignment.
Evidence for neutral-beam-injected oxygen impurities in 2XIIB

A series of experiments indicates that the principal source of impurities in the 2XIIB mirror confinement plasma experiment at Lawrence Livermore Laboratory is oxygen in the neutral beams. The dependence of O II 539 A emissions on neutral-beam current, spatial scans of oxygen emissions, impurity injection experiments, spectral scans of the O VI 1032 A line, and other experiments all support this conclusion.
Single-molecule dilution and multiple displacement amplification for molecular haplotyping.

Separate haploid analysis is frequently required for heterozygous genotyping to resolve phase ambiguity or confirm allelic sequence. We demonstrate a technique of single-molecule dilution followed by multiple strand displacement amplification to haplotype polymorphic alleles. Dilution of DNA to haploid equivalency, or a single molecule, is a simple method for separating di-allelic DNA. Strand displacement amplification is a robust method for nonspecific DNA expansion that employs random hexamers and phage polymerase Phi29 for double-stranded DNA displacement and primer extension, resulting in high processivity and exceptional product length. Single-molecule dilution was followed by strand displacement amplification to expand separated alleles to microgram quantities of DNA for more efficient haplotype analysis of heterozygous genes.
A Model of Judicial Influence on Congressional Policy Making: Grove City College v. Bell

Traditional law and economic analysis has focused on legal rules directly related to the allocation of resources. Today, economic analysis is being used to examine more traditional legal issues. This article explores one such traditional legal issue by applying economic methodology to the legislative-judicial interaction or "bargaining game." The purpose of this article is to determine the impact of judicial interpretation on regulatory legislation. Most studies of the political economy of regulation have focused on elected politicians (e.g., Congressmen), ignoring the role of the courts. Yet, judges interpret the law and may, in the extreme, reverse legislative decisions. Studying the influence of the judiciary on the legislature’s regulatory decisions remains an unexplored but important issue. The model allows us to address a variety of issues central to national policy making, for example, how the court influences legislative choices. We focus on an issue raised in the legal literature and in judicial opinions. Suppose a regulatory statute has been altered or reinterpreted by the courts, and we then observe that Congress does not act to change the court ruling. What can we infer from this lack of action? Many prominent political and legal scholars conclude that this inaction indicates acceptability by a majority of legislators. Because there exists no analytical foundation for assessing how judicial decisions affect legislative decision making over regulatory issues, however, such conclusions rest on questionable assumptions. The purpose of this article is to develop a formal economic model of legislative-judicial interaction. The model allows us to predict the circumstances in which Congress will and will not change judicial decisions. The model shows that congressional inaction is not a sign of acceptability by a majority of legislators. Instead, congressional inaction is a consequence of congressional structure and procedures: committees play an important role here, as does bicameralism. This model will be used to explore and explain the legislative events surrounding the Supreme Court decision Grove City College v. Bell (1984), a case involving statutory interpretation and the Department of Education’s regulatory provisions prohibiting sex discrimination. (JEL D72, D78, K00, K40, Z18)
An Inexpensive Pulsed Power Supply for a Septum Magnet

A 16 ?H, 6 m? septum magnet load must be pulsed while extracting beam from the 200 MeV booster of the Zero Gradient Synchrotron (ZGS). A power supply was designed for this purpose that can deliver ~ 2 ms wide, half sine wave pulses with a PRF of 30 pulses per second. The peak current is adjustable from 3 kA to 10 kA and repeatable within ± 0.05% by means of a novel charging circuit. By providing a transformer between the magnet and the capacitor bank, the overall cost of the system was reduced to less than onehalf of that of a conventional capacitor discharge system. A high-Q choke shunts the negative half wave of the current around the transformer, thereby extending the life expectancy of the magnet and increasing the circuit efficiency.
Sprint speed and degree of wariness in two populations of whiptail lizards (Aspidoscelis tesselata) (Squamata Teiidae)

Predation is an important selective force that can influence morphology, physiology, behavior, and life-history traits in natural populations. Lizards exhibit a variety of antipredator strategies including flight. Laboratory studies were conducted to determine sprint speed at various body temperatures for juveniles from two populations of the unisexual whiptail lizard Aspidoscelis tesselata. Lizards reared from eggs collected at Terlingua Creek, TC (a site characterized by more abundant vegetation; Big Bend National Park, Texas) exhibited significantly slower sprint speeds regardless of body temperature (25, 30, or 35 °C), as compared to conspecifics from Hot Springs, HS (sparse vegetation). At 30 °C, maximal sprint speed of HS and TC lizards was 46.9 and 38.1 cm/sec, respectively. Field studies were also conducted to assess degree of wariness. Lizards from the HS site ran at a greater approach distance, ran to a greater final distance, and to a greater final total distance than their counterparts of simi...
Time Scales in Polymer Electrophoresis through Narrow Constrictions: A Brownian Dynamics Study

Brownian dynamics simulations are used to characterize the time scales involved in polymer electrophoresis through narrow constrictions. The polymer is modeled as a freely jointed bead−rod chain with a total charge distributed uniformly among the beads. The narrow constriction is a thin channel with height hs < Rg which separates two thicker channels, both of height hl ∼ Rg where Rg is the polymer radius of gyration. The polymer is initially placed in a thick channel, and an applied electric field drives it into the next thick channel through the intervening narrow constriction. We find that the electrophoresis of the polymer is characterized by three time scales, each of which depends on the polymer chain length, N. An approach time, τapp, describes the motion of the polymer to the entrance of the thin channel. Upon reaching the entrance of the thin channel, the polymer is entropically trapped, and its escape from the trap is associated with an activation time, τact. After the activation event, the motio...
Spatial Oscillation in SHS of Ni/Al Multilayer Foils: Measurements and Models

Spatial oscillations have been observed after self-propagating high temperature synthesis (SHS) of multilayer bi-metallic foils. These oscillations have been correlated with periodic variations in the flame front velocity. Previous researchers have reported oscillation for which the direction of the spatial oscillations coincides with the velocity vector of the flame front. In this study, we find another mechanism for creation of spatial oscillations. Experiments on Ni/Al multilayer foils show oscillations that lie normal to the propagation direction of the flame front. We observe that the effect is consistent with microstructure formation characteristic of directional solidification. The results contribute to increased understanding of SHS combustion mechanisms in thin Ni/Al films, in particular that the combustion temperature exceeds the melting point of all reactants and reaction products, and that the mechanism for formation of reaction products is solidification from a fully molten zone. Previous results from the literature have been inconclusive on these points.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
A new approach to control design with overlapping information structure constraints

In this paper, a new strategy is proposed for decentralized state feedback design with overlapping information structure constraints. The method combines linear matrix inequalities and the inclusion principle in a way that eliminates controllability problems that are inherent to standard decentralized control design in the expanded space. This approach can be extended to include an important class of uncertain nonlinearities, and its validity is demonstrated through applications to strings of moving vehicles.
An effective evolutionary algorithm for the practical capacitated vehicle routing problems

The evolutionary algorithms are extensively adopted to resolve complex optimization problem. Genetic algorithm (GA), an evolutionary algorithm, has been proved capable of solving vehicle routing problems (VRPs). However, the resolution effectiveness of GA decreases with the increase of nodes within VRPs. Normally, a hybrid GA outperforms pure GA. This study attempts to solve a capacitated vehicle routing problem (CVRP) by applying a novel hybrid genetic algorithm (HGA) that is practical for use by manufacturers. The proposed HGA involves three stages. First, a diverse and well-structured initial chromosome population was constructed. Second, response surface methodology (RSM) experiments were conducted to optimize the crossover and mutation probabilities in performing GA. Finally, a combined heuristics containing improved insertion algorithm and random insertion mutation operator was established to stir over gene permutations and enhance the exploration capability of GA diversely. Furthermore, an elitism conservation strategy was implemented that replace inferior chromosomes with superior ones. As the proposed HGA is primarily used to solve practical problems, benchmark problems involving fewer than 100 nodes from an Internet website were utilized to confirm the feasibility of the proposed HGA. Two real cases one for locally active distribution and another for arms part transportation at a combined maintenance facility, both involving the Taiwanese armed forces are used to detail the analytical process and demonstrate the practicability of the proposed HGA for optimizing the CVRP.
Recent progress in automatic image analysis

SUMMARY A general survey has been made of the present utility of computing equipment and automatic devices for common problems in stereology and morphometry. Three situations have been evaluated: (1) Commonly available computer facilities permit easy and rapid prediction of two-dimensional measurement distributions characteristic of any mathematically defined spatial structure. Tabulated predictions can be computed by direct simulation of sampling processes and random perturbations may be introduced if desired. Resort to formal mathematical solutions is not normally required. (2) For purposes of controlling the quality of useful solid materials, the materials engineer can be satisfied by description of a Gestalt which characterizes the material as a whole and which can reasonably be presumed to control the behaviour of the material in service. Six stereologically valid parameters are sufficient to describe such a Gestalt. These are: volume fraction (Vv), mean free path in the matrix (lα), mean intercept width of particles (lβ) and measures of material variability, general anistropy, and degree of patternness. Practical measurements of the latter parameters have been defined. Current scanner models are intrinsically suitable for these measurements but will benefit from standardized data outputs and improvements to increase measuring accuracy. (3) While Gestalt measurements may perhaps be applicable to some biological problems, many problems in this field are specifically concerned with the micro-architecture of individual objects or cells. Micro-architectural observations such as counting and measuring, or identifying, individual object sections are inefficiently performed in ordinary computers. Large programming effort is required for limited machine intelligence and the operating speeds are unsatisfactory. These machine operations are not yet competitive with human observers. A partnership combining human identification with machine measurement of identified objects is practical and equipment is presently available. There is reason to presume that computer methods of object identification which have been employed are not similar to the methods actually employed by humans. New hardware systems appear to be necessary either to obtain satisfactory operating speeds by known processes or, if possible, to economically simulate human processes of image recognition.
The pleiotypic response in mammalian cells: Search for an intracellular mediator

Abstract The reactions included in the definition of this regulatory program, called the “pleiotypic response”, are very similar to those under “stringent” control in bacteria. The latter appears to be mediated by a novel nucleotide, ppGpp, and we therefore assayed for the presence of this nucleotide in cultured fibroblasts under a variety of conditions of growth restriction which elicit the pleiotypic response. We were unable to detect it in any of these circumstances and we conclude that ppGpp is not the mediator of the pleiotypic response, at least in the cell lines studied.
Time scales, persistence and patchiness

We consider competition in patch-dynamical and more general diffusion-extinction models. These models identify three time scales in ecology. We begin with a reformulation of Levin's 1978 basic model, using a geometric description of diffusion. As in Levin's model, diffusion drives short-term dynamics, and longer-term dynamics depends upon a diffusion-extinction ratio; maximizing this ratio is shown to be an Evolutionarily Stable Strategy. Over still longer times, the effect of organisms upon their environments becomes paramount. We use Mandelbrot's 1977 fractals to develop these models, and thus relate persistence with relative patchiness. Finally, we propose a numerical measure, the fractal exponent H, of successional stage.
Enhanced somatic embryogenesis in sorghum bicolor from shoot tip culture

Shoot tip cultures from 2- to 3-d-old seedlings ofSorghum bicolor (L.) Moench cv. IS3620C develop highly embryogenic callus from which plants can be regenerated when transferred to plant growth regulator-free medium. Isolated shoot tips were cultured on Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with 2.5 mg/liter 2,4-dichloro-phenoxyacetic acid and 0.05 mg/liter kinetin. Purple pigmentation characteristic of sorghum cultures on growth regulator-free medium is virtually eliminated with the shoot tip culture. Embryogenic callus is white and hard with an undulating appearance but can be separated into multiple bipolar structures by application of gentle pressure. The well-developed embryos have a cup-shaped scutellum. These germinate like zygotic embryos and develop root-shoot axis. Lack of vascular connections to the parent tissue and the synchronous development of the plumule and radicle suggest that these embryos may be of unicellular origin. In contrast, when the entire seedling serves as the explant, all meristematic centers in the shoot, including the coleoptile sheath close to the apical meristem respond to plant growth regulators in the medium by callus formation. Upon subsequent reculture onto growth regulator-free medium several modes of development occur. The differential response of these tissues to identical culture conditions indicate the presence of different population of cells that respond differently to exogenous plant growth regulators.
Matrix metalloproteinase activities in avian tibial dyschondroplasia

Abstract Tibial dyschondroplasia (TD) in poultry is a disorder of growth plate cartilage that fails to resorb and consequently prevents bone formation. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) contribute to the process of resorption through the degradation of extracellular matrices and facilitating vascularization, growth plate remodeling, and maturation. In order to understand the cause of the failure of cartilage degradation in TD, the gelatinase and collagenase activities, and the levels of collagen and glycosaminoglycans of conditioned media derived from cartilage-explant cultures of normal and TD growth plates were measured. Substrate zymography exhibited two prominent gelatinolytic and collagenolytic bands corresponding to MW 63, 59, and a broad but fuzzy band of activity between 100 and 200 kDa. On treatment with 4-aminophenylmercuric acetate, a compound that converts proenzyme forms of MMP, the 63 kDa MW gelatinolytic band migrated as a approximately 60 kDa band and contributed to the broadening of the 59 kDa band. The TD-growth plate-conditioned media had significantly lower collagenolytic-gelatinolytic activities. The sulfated glycosaminoglycans, but not the collagen contents of the conditioned media from TD-explant cultures, were also reduced significantly. It is likely that the decreased matrix metalloproteinase activities of growth plate chondrocyte may contribute to a reduced turnover of extracellular matrices (ECM), leading to the retention of cartilage and its lack of vascularity in TD-affected growth plates.
Predicting emotional responses to horror films from cue‐specific affect

Applying theories of cognition and affect that predict emotional responses to a stimulus on the basis of prior affect toward specific cues included in that stimulus, a study was conducted assessing individuals' fear and enjoyment reactions to horror films. Prior fear of specific cues included in each film was a significant predictor of overall fear reactions, after controlling for prior exposure to the film, fear of specific cues not included in the film, and manifest anxiety. Prior liking of specific cues included in each film did not emerge as a significant predictor of overall enjoyment. The contributions of gender and of level of forewarning about the film's content were also assessed.
Electronic Conductivity, Seebeck Coefficient, and Defect Structure of La1-xSrxFeO3 (x=0.l, 0.25)

The electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficients of La1-xSrxFeO3 (x=0.1, 0.25) were measured as a function of oxygen partial pressure, PO2, at T=900° to 1300°C. The electrical conduction was p type in the higher PO2 range, and n type in the lower PO2 range. The Seebeck coefficient indicated that the conduction was due to electron hopping between Fe×Fe and FeFe, in the higher PO2 range and electron hopping between Fe′Fe and Fe×Fe in the lower range. The carrier concentrations were calculated from the values of electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient. From the PO2 dependences of the carrier concentrations, the defect structure of La1-xSrxFeO3 was determined. It was found that the electrical properties can be described by considering the imperfections SrLa, Vo, FeFe, and Fe′Fe.
URINARY 17-KETOSTEROID AND 17-KETOGENIC STEROID EXCRETION IN CUSHING'S SYNDROME

ABSTRACT Utilizing Norymberski's method for determination of urinary 17-ketogcnic steroid (glucocorticoicl) excretion, normal subjects and patients with either suspected or proved Cushing's Syndrome were studied with reference to their response to ACTH stimulation as an indication of adrenocortical function. Of 123 patients studied, 67 were found to have signs and symptoms suggestive of excessive adrenocortical activity. Sixteen of the 67 had definite signs and symptoms of Cushing's syndrome. Of the remaining 51 patients, 36 (70 per cent) showed abnormal responses to ACTH stimulation. The 16 patients with frank Cushing's syndrome were treated by bilateral adrenalectomy. It is postulated that Cushing's syndrome may initially be cyclic, or even self limited. A plea is made for continued and repeated observations of patients with signs and symptoms of early disease in order to ascertain the natural history, early treatment, and disability limitations of persistently abnormal adrenocortical function.
Practical control studies of batch reactors using realistic mathematical models

Abstract Most of the optimal control studies of batch chemical reactors have assumed simple, ideal systems where heat removal can be changed instantaneously between zero and some maximum rate. These systems are of low order, usually second, so elegant variational mathematics can be employed to compute optimal time-temperature trajectories. This paper reports results of studies of more realistic systems in which the dynamics of the cooling and heating systems are not neglected, giving systems of much higher order (7th–10th). Reversible and consecutive exothermic reactions are considered. A variety of practical heat removal systems are studied. Reactor performance is found to be reasonably insensitive to some of the practical departures from ideality, but quite sensitive to others.
Effect of hydrogen sulfide on chemical looping combustion of coal-derived synthesis gas over bentonite-supported metal-oxide oxygen carriers

The effect of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) on the chemical looping combustion of coal-derived synthesis gas with bentonite-supported metal oxides—such as iron oxide, nickel oxide, manganese oxide, and copper oxide—was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis, mass spectrometry, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). During the reaction with synthesis gas containing H2S, metal−oxide oxygen carriers were first reduced by carbon monoxide and hydrogen, and then interacted with H2S to form metal sulfide, which resulted in a weight gain during the reduction/sulfidation step. The reduced/sulfurized compounds could be regenerated to form sulfur dioxide and oxides during the oxidation reaction with air. The reduction/oxidation capacities of iron oxide and nickel oxide were not affected by the presence of H2S, but both manganese oxide and copper oxide showed decreased reduction/oxidation capacities. However, the rates of reduction and oxidation decreased in the presence of H2S for all four metal oxides.
Percutaneous-endoscopic biliary stenting in patients with occluded surgical bypass

Abstract purpose: The purpose of this investigation was to test the feasibility of using a recently developed technique of placing internalized biliary stents into patients who have had reobstruction after initial surgical bypass. patients and methods: Seven men and three women, 46 to 85 years of age (eight with pancreatic carcinoma, one with metastatic colon, and one with metastatic ovarian carcinoma), all had reobstruction after initial surgical bypass palliation. Subsequent attempts to place stents via endoscope failed in five patients; a pair of 7-Fr stents placed in one patient failed to drain well. Endoscopic stenting in four patients was not even attempted because of severely distorted anatomy. Nine of the 10 patients then had successful internal stent placement by a combined percutaneous-transhepatic and peroral-endoscopically guided technique. results: One of these nine placeable stents failed to drain well and the patient died 8 days later with massive tumor. Seven showed a significant decrease in bilirubin levels and improved quality of life. Two of these had sepsis that responded to antibiotics. Life span ranged between 11 days and 10 months, with one patient still alive; no deaths were directly due to stents. conclusion: A combined transhepatic-peroral technique of placing internalized biliary stents can be expected to result in repalliation in a majority of patients with reobstruction after earlier surgical bypass and in whom subsequent attempts at endoscopic placement of stents have failed or in whom tumor growth prevents undertaking the endoscopic approach.
Grain growth and chemical ordering in (Fe,Mn)3Si

Nanophase, chemically-disordered bcc alloys of Fe3Si and Fe2.7Mn0.3Si were prepared by mechanical attrition. Using x-ray diffractometry and Mossbauer spectrometry, the kinetics of grain growth and DO3 ordering in these two alloys were compared for a variety of annealing temperatures and times. Compared to binary Fe3Si, in Fe2.7Mn0.3Si the ordering kinetics was accelerated, but the grain growth kinetics was retarded. Both alloys had their highest grain boundary mobilities when they were chemically disordered, and we suggest that the faster ordering kinetics in Fe2.7Mn0.3Si may suppress its grain growth. Another difference between the two alloys was an early clustering of Mn atoms (possibly a grain boundary segregation).
Periodic paralysis in quarter horses: a sodium channel mutation disseminated by selective breeding.

We recently reported on a linkage study within a Quarter Horse lineage segregating hyperkalaemic periodic paralysis (HYPP), an autosomal dominant condition showing potassium–induced attacks of skeletal muscle paralysis. HYPP co–segregated with the equine adult skeletal muscle sodium channel α subunit gene, the same gene that causes human HYPP. We now describe the Phe to Leu mutation in transmembrane domain IVS3 which courses the horse disease. This represents the first application of molecular genetics to an important horse disease, and the data will provide an opportunity for control or eradication of this condition.
Modulation of Membrane Domain Sizes and Properties by Hybrid Lipids

At present, there is a fundamental discontinuity between model membranes and real cellular membranes: The macroscopic Lo domains in model membranes and the nanoscopic lipid rafts found in cell membranes not only differ in size, but also in lipid order and protein partition behavior. Recently, new experimental evidence shows that nanometer-size Lo domains can exist in model membranes; however, the lipid mixtures must have at least 4-component and one of the components needs to be a “hybrid lipid”, which is a lipid having one saturated acyl chain and one unsaturated chain. In this study, lattice model Monte Carlo simulation was used to simulate 4-component DSPC/DOPC/SOPC/Cholesterol lipid bilayers. The two chains from the same PC are physically linked in the simulation. SOPC (18:0,18:1PC) is a “hybrid lipid” with one chain identical to DOPC (di18:1PC) chains and another identical to DSPC (di18:0PC) chains. We found that: (a) hybrid lipids can significantly shrink the 2-phase region, change the compositions of the coexisting phases, and increase interfacial area; (b) depending on the concentration of hybrid lipids, lipid bilayers can go through a macroscopic to nanoscopic domain size transition; (c) in addition to hybrid lipids, cholesterol also serves as a line tension reducing molecule; (d) hybrid lipids are not very good surfactant molecules: Their preferences to occupy lipid domain interfaces and to orient in the “correct direction” are only modest. Thus, as imperfect surfactants, hybrid lipids can modulate the sizes and biophysical properties of lipid domains in a complex way.
Effect of palladium dispersion on the capture of toxic components from fuel gas by palladium-alumina sorbents

The dispersion and location of Pd in alumina-supported sorbents prepared by different methods was found to influence the performance of the sorbents in the removal of mercury, arsine, and hydrogen selenide from a simulated fuel gas. When Pd is well dispersed in the pores of the support, contact interaction with the support is maximized, Pd is less susceptible to poisoning by sulfur, and the sorbent has better long-term activity for adsorption of arsine and hydrogen selenide, but poorer adsorption capacity for Hg. As the contact interaction between Pd and the support is lessened the Pd becomes more susceptible to poisoning by sulfur, resulting in higher capacity for Hg, but poorer long-term performance for adsorption of arsenic and selenium.
Aegyptopithecus endocasts: oldest record of a pongid brain.

Incomplete endocasts of Aegyptopithecus, one of the oldest known pongids. indicate that by 26 to 28,000,000 years ago the pongid brain was advanced over that of most prosimians in having relatively more visual cortex, relatively smaller olfactory bulbs and a well developed central sulcus, and in being relatively larger. The brain of Aegyptopithecus was more primitive than that of modern anthropoids in having a relatively smaller frontal lobe. The brain of Aegyptopithecus was relatively long and low, like that of Alouatta, but unlike that of most other anthropoids; that difference in shape may be the result of allometric factors, or may reflect retention of primitive cranial features in Aegyptopithecus.
A new approach to multivariable system design for controller integrity

Integrity refers to the property that a system remains functional despite failures of certain subsystems. In multivariable systems controller integrity means that stability is preserved despite failures of certain sensors or actuators. In this paper we first show by examples that typically multivariable controllers designed by the standard state feedback observer approach lack integrity even when plant and controller are open loop stable. With this background as motivation we develop a technique of designing controllers that do possess integrity. The main mathematical tools are our recent results on computation of sets of stabilizing PID controllers and the Mapping Theorem of Robust Control Theory. The method can be extended beyond PID control and also to the plant integrity problem. Illustrative examples are included and areas for further research are indicated.