cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Impact of radionuclide techniques on evaluation of patients with ischemic heart disease

Abstract Radiotracer studies of the heart have become clinically important in the last decade, especially for evaluation of patients with known or suspected ischemic heart disease. Radionuclide ventriculography provides quantitative measures of biventricular function and regional wall motion. Recent technical advances include the development of computer programs for analyzing diastolic function, parametric imaging methods such as "phase" analysis and methods for calculating absolute ventricular volumes. Thallium-201 scans provide maps of regional myocardial perfusion. Recent advances include development of computer programs to quantitate regional thallium-201 uptake and to calculate thallium-201 turnover rates and the development of tomographic imaging systems. Technetium-99m pyrophosphate localizes in irreversibly damaged myocardium and provides a method for diagnosing, localizing and sizing acute myocardial infarcts. Recent applications include tomographic imaging to improve image contrast and development of criteria to identify high risk patients after infarction. Two important trends affecting the application of all the radionuclide studies in clinical cardiologic practice are the increasing use of decision analysis for incorporating results of multiple tests into single diagnostic probability statements, and the use of diagnostic algorithms that include the radionuclide studies to optimize the cost effectiveness of evaluation of patients with ischemic heart disease.
The onset of ablation of the evoked adductor pollicis muscle twitch in children: a clinical perspective.

The time to loss of the adductor pollicis muscle response to ulnar nerve stimulation at 1 Hz (twitch) after succinylcholine, 1.5 mg·kg-1 intravenously (IV), or vecuronium, 0.1 mg·kg-1 (IV), administration was assessed visually in 134 children, age 2-13 yr, during clinically determined, deep halothane, enflurane and isoflurane anaesthesia. The overall time to twitch ablation and duration of succinylcholine’s action is in agreement with published times obtained under controlled experimental conditions; the onset time following vecuronium is comparable to those observed during a simitar anaesthetic background measured under controlled experimental conditions. Twitch ablation after succinylcholine was achieved in half the time needed following vecuronium regardless of anaesthetic agent. Succinylcholine’s and vecuronium’s onset time as well as succinylcholine’s duration is adequately assessed by the outlined, simple clinical means. The choice of inhalation agent does not affect the time to visible twitch ablation in a clinically relevant manner; nor does it make an appreciable difference, in clinical terms, in succinylcholine’s duration of action.
Empirical and molecular formula determination of polymer pyrolyzates by multi-referencing GC-MIP spectroscopy

Abstract Multi-element simultaneous specific detection of Chromatographie eluents through atomic plasma emission spectroscopy provides a means to determine quantitative element ratios and thus empirical formulae for resolved components. Since experimental conditions and observational changes vary for plasma detection during gas chromatography thus decreasing accuracy and precision of quantitation, reference eluates of known formula have been included in chromatograms for comparisons. However, single references may be insufficient for high precision. Thus a multireferencing technique is now described which utilizes pyrolysis products from known polymers to provide a reproducible reference range. Calculations of formulae from element ratios are made with reference to this range of pyrolyzates, and results are evaluated with relative errors
Liberating lab computing: building a stable yet flexible computing environment for students and faculty

Indiana State University has found a way in its 25+ computing facilities to combine the need for a central stable lab image and small support staff with the academic needs of flexible software choices. This paper is unique in that it combines the diverse perspectives of central information technology with those of an academic unit. Through combining Reborn Card hardware technology and Ghost imaging software, Indiana State University has created a powerful computing environment that produces a win-win situation giving students a consistent look and feel across colleges and schools yet accommodating enough to meet the specific needs of faculty in disparate disciplines without adding additional personnel or breaking the technology support budget.
Computer control for simultaneous carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen determinations in organic compounds

The automation, via a digital computer, of CHN determinations in organic compounds by a manometric procedure is described. The accuracy of the method is expected to be ± 0.03%.
Comparison of measured and calculated neutron transmission through steel for a 252Cf source

Abstract The ENDF/B-VI evaluated nuclear data file, recently released by the U.S. National Nuclear Data Center, contains several improvements over earlier ENDF/B-IV and ENDF/B-V evaluations which are known to overestimate the iron inelastic cross sections in the energy interval above 1.0 MeV. In order to benchmark the ENDF/B-VI iron data, in this paper a comparison is made of calculated vs measured neutron leakage spectra obtained for a 252 Cf fission source located at the center of an iron sphere. In addition, various response parameters that are sensitive to high-energy neutrons are examined. It is found that although the ENDF/B-VI cross sections substantially improve the computed neutron transmission relative to ENDF/B-V results, the differential energy spectrum obtained using ENDF/B-VI above 1.0 MeV is generally lower than that of the measurements. However, the integrated flux above the 1 MeV threshold is within the experimental uncertainty. The results appear to indicate that the ENDF/B-VI cross sections will not entirely resolve the spectrum discrepancies observed at high neutron energies.
Structural evolution of nanoparticles under picosecond stress wave consolidation

Abstract In this work, large-scale atomistic modeling is conducted to explore a relatively cold consolidation process: nanoparticles compressed by a stress wave from a sacrificial layer that is ablated by a picosecond laser. The temperature, stress, atomic configuration, and crystallinity are studied in detail to understand the structural behaviors under extreme compression. Study of the temperature and structure evolution reveals that compression and reconstruction are cold processes indeed. Despite the destruction–reconstruction process, the material temperature is below its melting point. The stress wave consolidation leads to a final nanocrystalline structure. An orientation–radial distribution function (ODF) is designed to study the status of the nanocrystalline structure in detail. Compared with the radial distribution function, the ODF provides a 2D picture of the material structure, and uncovers details of material twisting and destruction. Smaller nanoparticles are easier to consolidate and reconstruct, and the final structure is more like amorphous and structural defects are observed. The center part of the particle retains its original crystalline structure while cold-consolidation primarily occurs in the particle–particle contact region. The number of reconstructed atoms is higher when the particle size is smaller, and strong structure twisting in space is observed.
Specificity of Growth Inhibition of Melanoma by 4‐Hydroxyanisole

An experimental study using human melanoma (NEL-MI), rat hepatoma (Fu5-5), and human kidney (293-31) cell lines was undertaken in order to evaluate the antitumor activity of 4-hydroxyanisole (4-OHA) in vitro. Prior reports have indicated highly specific antitumor activity of 4-OHA against melanoma cells in vitro. This specific antitumor activity has been proposed to be due to the oxidation of 4-OHA by tyrosinase to cytotoxic oxidation products. Dose-dependent cytotoxicity was observed when cells were cultured for 72 h in the presence of 4-OHA. At 100 microM, 4-OHA produced growth inhibition of 62%, 32%, and 55% in melanoma, hepatoma, and kidney cell lines, respectively. No effect was seen at 10 microM 4-OHA. 1,000 microM 4-OHA produced 100% kill. Tyrosinase activity was detected only in melanoma cells. The effect of 100 microM 4-OHA on the incorporation of 3H DNA precursors in melanoma, hepatoma, and kidney cells was also studied. Thymidine incorporation was inhibited in all three cell lines at the lowest cell density tested, with the greatest inhibition seen on melanoma cells. As cell density increased, the effect of 4-OHA on thymidine incorporation decreased. With respect to RNA synthesis, 4-OHA significantly reduced the incorporation of uridine in all three cell lines, with the greatest effect in melanoma cells. Cell density also affected the inhibition of uridine incorporation, but to a lesser extent than that observed on thymidine incorporation. The effect of 4-OHA on leucine incorporation was modest and uninfluenced by cell density. Thus, cytotoxicity of 4-OHA may involve two different mechanisms.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Matrix regulators in neural stem cell functions.

Background Neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) reside within a complex and dynamic extracellular microenvironment, or niche. This niche regulates fundamental aspects of their behavior during normal neural development and repair. Precise yet dynamic regulation of NSPC self-renewal, migration, and differentiation is critical and must persist over the life of an organism.
Argumentativeness and affirming communicator style as predictors of satisfaction/dissatisfaction with subordinates

While previous research has focused on the communication characteristics of superiors which predict their subordinates’ satisfaction, this study investigated subordinates’ communication and satisfaction with the subordinate from the perspective of the superior. Superiors from a variety of organizations rated the communicator style and argumentativeness and verbal aggressiveness of a subordinate with whom they were either satisfied, dissatisfied, or undecided regarding the subordinate's job performance. The results supported a hypothesis about affirming communicator style and satisfactory subordinate job performance, and also a counterintuitive prediction about how argumentativeness relates to appraisal of subordinates.
Images and ideas: Leeuwenhoek's perception of the spermatozoa.

Henry Power, that optimistic devotee of the early microscope, warned in the I 660s that "our best Philosophers will but prove empty Conjecturalists, and their profoundest Speculations herein, but gloss'd outside Fallacies" if they did not exploit such new instruments.' He himself looked to the further confirmation and elucidation of the corpuscular natural philosophy,2 but in the following decades the most consequential revelations of the miscroscope might reasonably have been expected to pertain more specifically to biological generation. No other question in seventeenth-century and eighteenth-century science was more laden with philosophical and religious overtones, for it asked if and how a despiritualized, mechanistic nature could engender the purposeful complexity of living organisms, including man. As such exceptional observers as Marcello Malpighi, Jan Swammerdam, and Antoni van Leeuwenhoek probed various instances of generation with their microscopes, the community of the learned, the "Republic of Letters," waited for some decisive new testimony. For Leeuwenhoek, whose microscopes were the finest before the nineteenth century and whose persistence pushed early microscopy to its furthest limits, the generation of living things became an enduring preoccupation, and his observations and conclusions unsettled a recently recast consensus. However, these observations also revealed how little as yet though Leibniz, for one, was convinced otherwise3 the microscope could offer philosophy and how much, rather, it ultimately supported a resurgent skepticism. Probing the limits of what could then be observed in the minute mechanisms of living things, Leeuwenhoek's instruments seemed in the end to reaffirm that the fundamental processes of generation would remain unknown.
A new intersection algorithm for cyclides and swept surfaces using circle decomposition

Abstract The present vocabulary of a solid modeler is canonically the plane, (some subset of) the quadrics, and the torus. The class of cyclides is also becoming important. Quadrics and cyclides lie in the more general class of ringed surfaces: surfaces that can be swept out by a circle. This class also contains the important class of revolute surfaces. We will present a method for the exact intersection of any ringed surface with any quadric or cyclide. This algorithm shows that it is feasible to expand the vocabulary of solid modeling primitives to include all ringed surfaces. In solid modeling, surface intersection is crucial to the design of solids and their subsequent analysis. Our intersection algorithm is exact: that is, the intersection is computed symbolically rather than numerically. For exact intersection, we must reduce to degree-4 computations. We do this by concentrating on the decomposition of a surface into simpler components. Previous algorithmic development has centered around the degree of an algebraic surface. Two keys to our algorithm are circle decomposition and inversion. Solutions are provided for the inversion of a cyclide to a torus, a torus, a torus to a cyclide, and the inversion of any circle.
Snowmelt Energy Budgets in Southern and East-Central Wisconsin

Abstract The energy budgets of melting snowpacks at three Wisconsin stations—Madison. Milwaukee, and Green Bay—were analyzed by use of a physical model for 12 years of data. Contrary to many published accounts of melt at snow research stations, the model output suggested that turbulent heat flux, rather than absorbed solar irradiance, is the dominant energy source for most melt events in this region. This discrepancy is related to a process whereby deep, long-standing snowpacks increase in density by settling, compaction, and meltwater retention. The increased density of these snowpacks results in a greater absorptivity to solar irradiance, thereby enhancing its role in the melt process. For the three Wisconsin stations studied, snowpacks tend to be relatively shallow and shortlived, producing snow covers of low density and high albedo. The effect of densification on the energy balance is demonstrated by examining the melt process during a season with an atypically deep, long-standing snowpack. The result...
Effect of Rejection and Acceptance from a Group on Conformity to Two Types of Social Influence

Summmy.-An experiment was designed to test the hypothesis that after rejeccion from a group subjects will conform more to group requests to act like the group than to act differently from the group. The conformity behavior of 76 female subjects to requests to act like the others (similarity) or differently from them (dissimilarity) was compared after rejection from or acceptance by the group. Both rejected and accepted subjects conformed more when asked to act like others than to act differently. Intropunitive reactions by the rejected subjects were positively associated with conformity but only in rhe dissimilarity condition. These and other results are discussed in terms of the invidious meaning of behavioral dissimilarity in a threatening situation. Several experimental studies have examined the effect of acceptance by or status in a group on conformity to its influence attempts (e.g., Dittes & Kelley, 1956; Feshbach, 1967; Jackson & Saltzstein, 1958; Kiesler & Corbin, 1965; Raven, 1959; Kelley & Shapiro, 1952). In some of these studies (e.g., Jackson & Saltzstein, 1958; Kiesler & Corbin, 1965) rejected or very low status subjects conformed at a fairly high level, even in their private judgments. This is an interesting finding because the usual reasons advanced to explain conformity (e.g., Deutsch 8: Gerard, 1955), such as obligation to the group because of task interdependence (so-called "group locomotion"); lack of confidence in one's judgments ("need for social reality"); or, the hope of gaining acceptance by the group, do not seem to explain the behavior. This suggests hat a special motive may be operative in a rejection or low status condition which is not accounted for by the above principles. Jackson and Saltzstein (1958) and Snoek (1962) proposed such a motive and termed it "the need for social reassurance," by which they meant the need to be reassured as to one's social worth. In the present study we have adopted this same assumption, that rejection may lead to the arousal of a general need to be reassured. The question arises as to what is the aim of this need for social reassurance. When actual acceptance in the group is possible, such would be the goal. But,
Social competition in the Mongolian gerbil, Meriones unguiculatus

Gerbils were tested for social dominance under the same and different incentives and under varying levels of motivation. Significant consistency was found within tests and between tests for the same incentive, though none was found between tests for different incentives, nor did consistency vary with level of motivation. These data, along with the absence of any correlated displays, were interpreted as indicating the absence of dominance-regulated competition for this species, such consistency as was found being ascribed to individual differences in the level of skill required for the various tests.
Properties of an affinity-column-purified human deoxycytidylate deaminase.

Abstract Deoxycytidylate deaminase was purified about 7000-fold to homogeneity from a human source (HeLa cells). The final step in the purification employed an affinity column, which increased the specific activity of the enzyme from the previous step by 500-fold. Similar to most other dCMP deaminases, this enzyme is allosterically regulated by μM levels of dCTP and dTTP. However, unlike the other enzymes the most dramatic allosteric responses occur at substrate levels of 0.1 mM dCMP or less, where at least a 10-fold increase in activity is effected by dCTP. The enzyme is particularly sensitive to inhibition by dTTP with 50% inhibition being obtained at 1.5·10-6M in the absence of dCTP. Antibody to the human enzyme did not cross-react with a dCMP deaminase induced in Escherichia coli by T4-bacteriophage, nor did antibody to the phage- induced enzyme cross-react with the human deaminase. A potential transition-state analogue of the substrate, 2′-β- d -deoxyribose-pyrimidin-2-one 5′-phosphate was prepared, and found to inhibit dCMP deaminase competitively with a Ki of 1.2·10-8 M.
Elsevier's Scopus® Database

Scopus® is an abstract and citation database from Elsevier that covers peer-reviewed literature in addition to trade publications, conference proceedings, patent records, and Web sites. It contains the cited references of articles from 1996 forward and provides author and article citation data.
Flow-of-Funds Social Accounts for the Farm Sector

Flow-of-funds accounts and component sources-and-uses-of-funds statements relate changes in balance sheet accounts to income statements, describing movement from one balance sheet to the next. While the Federal Reserve System compiles a farm business sector sources-and-uses-of-funds statement consistent with and part of the national flow-of-funds accounts, the statement is not definitionally and conceptually consistent with published farm income and balance sheet accounts. An alternative farm sector sources-and-uses-of-funds statement is proposed that contains these features, and its potential applications and extensions are delineated.
Cholinergic involvement in the action of formetanate on operant behavior in rats

Formetanate (FMT) is a formamidine acaricide/insecticide with a carbamate moiety in its molecular structure. FMT-induced lethality is reportedly due to inhibition of acetylcholinesterase. Here we report evidence of the neurochemical basis for the sublethal, behavioral effects of FMT in rats. In this experiment, 0.5 mg/kg of FMT (5 min before the 55-min test session) produced a pronounced suppression of response rates in rats trained to lever-press under a multiple fixed-interval 1-min fixed-interval 5-min schedule of milk reinforcement. Injections of scopolamine (0.1 mg/kg) and methylscopolamine (0.1 mg/kg) 15 min before FMT blocked the response rate suppression, whereas pretreatment with either mecamylamine (2 mg/kg) or hexamethonium (2 mg/kg) did not. These data suggest that FMT acts as an indirect agonist on central and peripheral muscarinic receptors, by inhibiting acetylcholinesterase, to produce changes in schedule-controlled responding.
Astronomy: close encounters of the tidal kind.

Between the Magellanic Clouds, in a region swept with tides of gas, stars are forming. The detection of carbon monoxide shows gas is condensing, and further observations may reveal the ultimate fate of the clouds.
Biofield-based therapies: a systematic review of physiological effects on practitioners during healing.

Background Several recent reviews have reached guardedly positive conclusions about the effectivenessof biofield therapies in healthcare. 1,2 These studies mainly involved randomized controlled trials to determine changes in condition-related outcome measures, but few addressed the biological basis of these effects. Study Objective and Rationale We performed a systematic review of studies designed to examine whether biofield therapists undergo physiological changes as they enter the healing state. If reproducible changes can be identified, they may serve as markers to reveal events that correlate with the healing process. Methods Databases were searched for controlled or non-controlled studies of biofield therapies in which physiological measurements were made on practitioners in a healing state, with or without a healee present. Design and reporting criteria, developed in part to reflect the pilot nature of the included studies, were applied using a yes (1.0), partial (0.5), or no (0) scoring system. Results Of 67 identified studies, the inclusion criteria were met by 22, 10 of which involved human healees. Overall, the studies were of moderate to poor quality and many omitted information about the training and experience of the healer. The most frequently measured biomarkers were electroencephalography (EEG) and heart rate variability (HRV). EEG changes were inconsistent and not specific to biofield therapies. HRV results suggest an aroused physiology for Reconnective Healing, Bruyere healing, and Hawaiian healing but no changes were detected for Reiki or Therapeutic Touch. Conclusions Despite a decades-long research interest in identifying healing-related biomarkers in biofield healers, little robust evidence of unique physiological changes has emerged to define the healers׳ state.
Merging neutron stars. 1. Initial results for coalescence of noncorotating systems

We present three-dimensional Newtonian simulations of the coalescence of two neutron stars, using a smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) code. We begin the simulations with the two stars in a hard, circular binary, and have them spiral together as angular momentum is lost through gravitational radiation at the rate predicted by modeling the system as two point masses. We model the neutron stars as hard polytropes (gamma = 2.4) of equal mass, and investigate the effect of the initial spin of the two stars on the coalescence. The process of coalescence, from initial contact to the formation of an axially symmetric object, takes only a few orbital periods. Some of the material from the two neutron stars is shed, forming a thick disk around the central, coalesced object. The mass of this disk is dependent on the initial neutron star spins; higher spin rates result in greater mass loss and thus more massive disks. For spin rates that are most likely to be applicable to real systems, the central coalesced object has a mass of 2.4 solar mass, which is tantalizingly close to the maximum mass allowed by any neutron star equation of state for an object that is supported in part by rotation. Using a realistic nuclear equation of state, we estimate the temperature of the material after the coalescence. We find that the central object is at a temperature of approximately 10 MeV, while the disk is heated by shocks to a temperature of 2 to 4 MeV.
TDPSS: A Scalable Time Domain Power System Simulator for Dynamic Security Assessment

Simulation plays a very crucial role to model, study and experiment with any design innovation proposed in the power systems. Since mathematical modeling of power systems leads to tens of thousands of stiff DAEs (differential and algebraic equations), the design of power system simulators involve exercising a trade-off between the simulation speed and modeling accuracy. Lack of efficient and detailed simulators forces the designers to experiment their techniques with small test systems and hence, the results obtained from such experiments may not be representative of the results obtained using real-life power systems. In this paper, we present TDPSS, a high speed time domain power system simulator for dynamic security assessment. TDPSS has been designed using object-oriented programming framework, and thus, it is modular and extensible. By offering a variety of models of power system components and fast numerical algorithms, it provides the user with the flexibility to experiment with different design options in an efficient manner. We discuss the design of TDPSS to give insights into the simulation infrastructure and also discuss the areas where TDPSS can be extended for parallel contingency analysis. We also validate it against the commercial power system simulators, namely PSSE and DSA Tools. Further, we compare the simulation speed of TPDSS for different numerical algorithms. The results have shown that TDPSS is accurate and also outperforms the commonly used commercial simulator PSSE in terms of its computational efficiency.
Preparation and spectral characterization of the heme d1 · apomyoglobin complex: An unusual protein environment for the substrate-binding heme of Pseudomonas cytochrome oxidase

The heme d1 prosthetic group isolated from Pseudomonas cytochrome oxidase combines with apomyoglobin to form a stable, optically well-defined complex. Addition of ferric heme d1 quenches apomyoglobin tryptophan fluorescence suggesting association in a 1:1 molar ratio. Optical absorption maxima for heme d1.apomyoglobin are at 629 and 429 nm before, and 632 and 458 nm after dithionite reduction; they are distinct from those of heme d1 in aqueous solution but more similar to those unobscured by heme c in Pseudomonas cytochrome oxidase. Cyanide, carbon monoxide and imidazole alter the spectrum of heme d1.apomyoglobin demonstrating axial coordination to heme d1 by exogeneous ligands. The cyanide-induced optical difference spectra exhibit isosbestic points, and a Scatchard-like analysis yields a linear plot with an apparent dissociation constant of 4.2 X 10(-5) M. However, carbon monoxide induces two absorption spectra with Soret maxima at 454 or 467 nm, and this duplicity, along with a shoulder that correlates with the latter before binding, suggests multiple carbon monoxide and possibly heme d1 orientations within the globin. The 50-fold reduction in cyanide affinity over myoglobin is more consistent with altered heme pocket interactions than the intrinsic electronic differences between the two hemes. However, stability of the heme d1.apomyoglobin complex is verified further by the inability to separate heme d1 from globin during dialysis and column chromatography in excess cyanide or imidazole. This stability, together with a comparison between spectra of ligand-free and -bound derivatives of heme d1-apomyoglobin and heme d1 in solution, implies that the prosthetic group is coordinated in the heme pocket through a protein-donated, strong-field ligand. Furthermore, the visible spectrum of heme d1.apomyoglobin varies minimally with ligand exchange, in contrast to the Soret, which suggests that much spectral information concerning heme d1 coordination in the oxidase is lost by interference from heme c absorption bands. A comparison of the absorption spectra of heme d1.apomyoglobin and Pseudomonas cytochrome oxidase, together with a critical examination of the previous axial ligand assignments from magnetic resonance techniques in the latter, implies that it is premature to accept the assignment of bishistidine heme d1 coordination in oxidized, ligand-free oxidase and other iron-isobacteriochlorin-containing enzymes.
Stochastic filtering for damage identification through nonlinear structural finite element model updating

This paper describes a novel framework that combines advanced mechanics-based nonlinear (hysteretic) finite element (FE) models and stochastic filtering techniques to estimate unknown time-invariant parameters of nonlinear inelastic material models used in the FE model. Using input-output data recorded during earthquake events, the proposed framework updates the nonlinear FE model of the structure. The updated FE model can be directly used for damage identification and further used for damage prognosis. To update the unknown time-invariant parameters of the FE model, two alternative stochastic filtering methods are used: the extended Kalman filter (EKF) and the unscented Kalman filter (UKF). A three-dimensional, 5-story, 2-by-1 bay reinforced concrete (RC) frame is used to verify the proposed framework. The RC frame is modeled using fiber-section displacement-based beam-column elements with distributed plasticity and is subjected to the ground motion recorded at the Sylmar station during the 1994 Northridge earthquake. The results indicate that the proposed framework accurately estimate the unknown material parameters of the nonlinear FE model. The UKF outperforms the EKF when the relative root-mean-square error of the recorded responses are compared. In addition, the results suggest that the convergence of the estimate of modeling parameters is smoother and faster when the UKF is utilized.
The Saccharomyces cerevisiae ACP2 gene encodes an essential HMG1-like protein.

Abstract The high-mobility-group (HMG) proteins, a group of nonhistone chromatin-associated proteins, have been extensively characterized in higher eucaryotic cells. To test the biological function of an HMG protein, we have cloned and mutagenized a gene encoding an HMG-like protein from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. A yeast genomic DNA library was screened with an oligonucleotide designed to hybridize to any yeast gene containing an amino acid sequence conserved in several higher eucaryotic HMG proteins. DNA sequencing and Northern (RNA) blot analysis revealed that one gene, called ACP2 (acidic protein 2), synthesizes a poly(A)+ RNA in S. cerevisiae which encodes a 27,000-molecular-weight protein whose amino acid sequence is homologous to those of calf HMG1 and HMG2 and trout HMGT proteins. Standard procedures were used to construct a diploid yeast strain in which one copy of the ACP2 gene was mutated by replacement with the URA3 gene. When this diploid was sporulated and dissected, only half of the spores were viable. About half of the nonviable spores proceeded through two or three cell divisions and then stopped dividing; the rest did not germinate at all. None of the viable spores contained the mutant ACP2 gene, thus proving that the protein encoded by ACP2 is required for cell viability. The results presented here demonstrate that an HMG-like protein has an essential physiological function.
Proline is biosynthesized from arginine in Staphylococcus aureus.

Staphylococcus aureus NCTC 8325 exhibited a long lag phase (11 h) when inoculated into defined medium lacking proline, that could be shortened by increasing the concentration of arginine in the medium, or by supplying ornithine. Radioactivity from L-[14C]arginine, but not L-[14C]glutamate was incorporated into a spot with the chromatographic mobility of [14C]proline in the pool metabolites fraction. Selection for transposon Tn917-lacZ mutants impaired in arginine catabolism yielded four proline auxotrophs. Enzyme assays and precursor feeding experiments suggested that the major pathway for proline biosynthesis in S. aureus was from arginine via ornithine and Δ#-pyrroline 5-carboxylate, rather than from glutamate. Strain 8325 Pro+, a proline prototrophic variant obtained by cultivation of 8325 in the absence of proline, accumulated L-[14C]arginine from the medium at about eight times the rate of strain 8325, suggesting its response to proline starvation was to increase arginine uptake.
The Creation of a Corpus of English Metalanguage

Metalanguage is an essential linguistic mechanism which allows us to communicate explicit information about language itself. However, it has been underexamined in research in language technologies, to the detriment of the performance of systems that could exploit it. This paper describes the creation of the first tagged and delineated corpus of English metalanguage, accompanied by an explicit definition and a rubric for identifying the phenomenon in text. This resource will provide a basis for further studies of metalanguage and enable its utilization in language technologies.
Acquired Ichthyosis in a Child with Rhabdomyosarcoma

: A generalized ichthyosiform eruption developed in a 13-year-old boy three weeks before presentation with a paravertebral rhabdomyosarcoma. His skin returned to normal shortly after the onset of chemotherapy and remission of the tumor. This case is unusual because the ichthyosis developed acutely, following a generalized urticarial eruption, and also involved the palms and soles.
Initiation of pulsed corona discharge under supercritical conditions

Supercritical carbon dioxide is a medium with unique properties and variety of applications in modern green chemistry. The generation of pulsed corona discharge in supercritical CO/sub 2/ is studied experimentally for point-to-plane and wire-to-plane geometries. The low breakdown voltages recorded near the critical point are attributed to peculiarities of electron kinetics in a medium characterized by high spatial inhomogeneity and enhanced cluster formation.
Variability in the Length and Frequency of Steps of Sighted and Visually Impaired Walkers.

The variability of the length and frequency of steps was measured in sighted and visually impaired walkers at three different paces. The variability was low, especially at the preferred pace, and similar for both groups. A model incorporating step counts and step frequency provides good estimates of the distance traveled. Applications to wayfinding technology are discussed. Many thanks to members of the Minnesota Laboratory for Low Vision Research for their assistance, especially Rudrava Roy for writing the software program interfaced to the pedometer system and MiYoung Kwon for help in preparing the manuscript. We also thank Scott Kalpin for his helpful discussion and for supplying the computer-readable pedometer. This research was funded by Grant EY02857 from the National Institutes of Health and Grant H133A011903 from the National Institute of Disability and Rehabilitation Research.
Current Scientific Issues regarding Bioavailability/Bioequivalence Studies: An Academic View:

During the past 20 years considerable progress has been made in developing the science of bioavailabiity/bioequivalence (BA/BE) testing. This paper focuses on a variety of issues and assumptions that may affect the validity of BA/BE studies. Examples are discussed relating to: the effect of gender and menstrual cycle, individual subject bioequivalence and drug product variability, the importance of special patient populations, and the role of the gastric contents in assessing the BA/BE of orally administered dosage forms.
An Overview of Recent Results from STAR

The STAR experiment at the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider has collected wealthy data in multiple collision systems at different beam energies. We present an overview of recent results from STAR. Results of anisotropic flows, heavy flavors and dileptons are reported.
Optimization for peptide sample preparation for urine peptidomics

Analysis of native or endogenous peptides in biofluids can provide valuable insights into disease mechanisms. Furthermore, the detected peptides may also have utility as potential biomarkers for non-invasive monitoring of human diseases. The non-invasive nature of urine collection and the abundance of peptides in the urine makes analysis by high-throughput ‘peptidomics’ methods , an attractive approach for investigating the pathogenesis of renal disease. However, urine peptidomics methodologies can be problematic with regards to difficulties associated with sample preparation. The urine matrix can provide significant background interference in making the analytical measurements that it hampers both the identification of peptides and the depth of the peptidomics read when utilizing LC-MS based peptidome analysis. We report on a novel adaptation of the standard solid phase extraction (SPE) method to a modified SPE (mSPE) approach for improved peptide yield and analysis sensitivity with LC-MS based peptidomics in terms of time, cost, clogging of the LC-MS column, peptide yield, peptide quality, and number of peptides identified by each method. Expense and time requirements were comparable for both SPE and mSPE, but more interfering contaminants from the urine matrix were evident in the SPE preparations (e.g., clogging of the LC-MS columns, yellowish background coloration of prepared samples due to retained urobilin, lower peptide yields) when compared to the mSPE method. When we compared data from technical replicates of 4 runs, the mSPE method provided significantly improved efficiencies for the preparation of samples from urine (e.g., mSPE peptide identification 82% versus 18% with SPE; p = 8.92E-05). Additionally, peptide identifications, when applying the mSPE method, highlighted the biology of differential activation of urine peptidases during acute renal transplant rejection with distinct laddering of specific peptides, which was obscured for most proteins when utilizing the conventional SPE method. In conclusion, the mSPE method was found to be superior to the conventional, standard SPE method for urine peptide sample preparation when applying LC-MS peptidomics analysis due to the optimized sample clean up that provided improved experimental inference from the confidently identified peptides.
Analog VLSI Cellular Implementation of the Boundary Contour System

We present an analog VLSI cellular architecture implementing a simplified version of the Boundary Contour System (BCS) for real-time image processing. Inspired by neuromorphic models across several layers of visual cortex, the design integrates in each pixel the functions of simple cells, complex cells, hyper-complex cells, and bipole cells, in three orientations interconnected on a hexagonal grid. Analog current-mode CMOS circuits are used throughout to perform edge detection, local inhibition, directionally selective long-range diffusive kernels, and renormalizing global gain control. Experimental results from a fabricated 12 × 10 pixel prototype in 1.2 µm CMOS technology demonstrate the robustness of the architecture in selecting image contours in a cluttered and noisy background.
Langlands Reciprocity for C∗-Algebras

We introduce a C∗-algebra \({\mathcal A}_V\) of a variety V over the number field K and a C∗-algebra \({\mathcal A}_G\) of a reductive group G over the ring of adeles of K. Using Pimsner’s Theorem, we construct an embedding \({\mathcal A}_V\hookrightarrow {\mathcal A}_G\), where V is a G-coherent variety, e.g. the Shimura variety of G. The embedding is an analog of the Langlands reciprocity for C∗-algebras. It follows from the K-theory of the inclusion \({\mathcal A}_V\subset {\mathcal A}_G\) that the Hasse-Weil L-function of V is a product of the automorphic L-functions corresponding to irreducible representations of the group G.
Invariant imbedding, iterative linearization, and multistage countercurrent processes. VI. Complex distillation column and multipoint boundary value problem

Abstract The complex distillation column problem is formulated as a multipoint boundary value problem in difference equations. It is shown that this nonlinear multipoint boundary value problem can be solved easily by the quasilinearization technique. With very rough initial approximations, only ten iterations are needed to obtain a four digit accuracy in concentrations. The advantage of this approach is that the complex column can be solved in essentially the same way as the simple column with approximately the same computation requirements.
Lighting up H2O2: The Molecule that Is a “Necessary Evil” in the Cell

A cunning plan: In the multifunctional fluorescent probe MitoPY1 the phosphonium head group (red) targets mitochondria and the boronate group (green) responds to hydrogen peroxide. MitoPY1 reacts selectively with mitochondrial H(2)O(2) in living cells, and an increase in fluorescence is triggered by the conversion of MitoPY1 into MitoPY1ox (yellow).
High Prevalence of Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head in HIV-Infected Adults

Results: Fifteen (4.4% [95% CI, 2.5% to 7.2%]) of 339 HIVinfected participants had osteonecrosis lesions on magnetic resonance imaging, and no HIV-negative participants had similar lesions. Among HIV-infected participants, osteonecrosis occurred more frequently in those who used systemic corticosteroids, lipidlowering agents, or testosterone; those who exercised routinely by bodybuilding; and those who had detectable levels of anticardiolipin antibodies. Conclusions: Patients infected with HIV have an unexpectedly high occurrence of osteonecrosis of the hip. Although screening asymptomatic patients is not warranted, HIV-infected patients with persistent groin or hip pain should be evaluated for this debilitating complication. Ann Intern Med. 2002;137:17-24. www.annals.org For author affiliations, see end of text.
Brain-specific polyA- transcripts are detected in polyA+ RNA: do complex polyA- brain RNAs really exist?

Transcripts encoded by 2 different rat genomic clones, rg13 and rg100, appear to be typical brain-specific polyA- RNAs, as defined by previous criteria (rare, polysomal, and postnatally expressed from single-copy genes). However, we have found by using a sensitive nuclease protection assay that low levels of these transcripts (10% and 3%, respectively) are detected in polyA+ RNA. To determine if rg transcripts that fractionate as polyA- could have resulted from nicking of polyA+ RNA, we assessed the integrity of 2 known polyA+ RNAs, those of tyrosine hydroxylase, a 2-kilobase (kb) mRNA, and sodium channel, a 9.5-kb RNA. Using RNA prepared by several different procedures, including LiCl-urea and guanidine thiocyanate followed by CsCl centrifugation, the shorter message fractionated as polyA+ after 2 cycles over oligodeoxythymidine (oligo-dT) cellulose, whereas the majority of the longer sodium channel RNA fractionated as polyA, as assayed by nuclease protection using probes from the 5′ end of the 2 genes. However, on Northern blots, the same RNA preparations showed an intact 9.5-kb sodium channel band only in polyA+ RNA, suggesting that the polyA- RNAs were randomly cleaved, resulting in a smear of sizes that could not be detected as a discrete band. These data imply that long messages may be nicked during standard isolation procedures and that this would not be detected by Northern blot analysis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The Constitutive Function of Native TRPC3 Channels Modulates Vascular Cell Adhesion Molecule-1 Expression in Coronary Endothelial Cells Through Nuclear Factor κB Signaling

Rationale: Upregulation of endothelial vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM)-1 and the subsequent increase in monocyte recruitment constitute critical events in atherogenesis. We have recently shown that in human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs) regulated expression of VCAM-1 depends, to a significant extent, on expression and function of the Ca 2+ -permeable channel transient receptor potential canonical (TRPC)3, regardless of the ability of the stimulatory signal to induce regulated Ca 2+ influx, leading to the hypothesis that TRPC3 constitutive, rather than regulated function, contributes to the underlying signaling mechanism. Objective: The present studies addressed this important question and gathered mechanistic insight on the signaling coupling constitutive TRPC3 function to VCAM-1 expression. Methods and Results: In HCAECs, maneuvers that prevent Ca 2+ influx or knockdown of TRPC3 markedly reduced tumor necrosis factor (TNF)α-induced VCAM-1 and monocyte adhesion. TNFα also induced TRPC3 expression and TRPC3-mediated constitutive cation influx and currents. Stable (HEK293 cells) or transient (HCAECs) overexpression of TRPC3 enhanced TNFα-induced VCAM-1 compared to wild-type cells. IκBα phosphorylation/degradation was reduced by TRPC3 knockdown and increased by channel overexpression. Inhibition of calmodulin completely prevented nuclear factor κB activation, whereas blocking calmodulin-dependent kinases or NADPH oxidases rendered partial inhibition. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that in HCAECs expression of VCAM-1 and monocyte adhesion depend, to a significant extent, on TRPC3 constitutive function through a signaling mechanism that requires constitutive TRPC3-mediated Ca 2+ influx for proper activation of nuclear factor κB, presumably through Ca 2+ -dependent activation of the calmodulin/calmodulin-dependent kinase axis.
Nonlethal rodent repellents: Differences in chemical structure and efficacy from nonlethal bird repellent.

At least some anthranilates (e.g., methyl anthranilate), and acetophenones (e.g., orthoaminoacetophenone) are aversive to mice as well as to birds. Here we systematically examined nine acetophenone isomers (ortho, meta, para) and moieties (amino, hydroxy, methoxy) previously tested as drinking and feeding repellents for European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). All nine substances reduced intake by mice in single-bottle tests. When molecular characteristics were examined, amino group reactivity and, to a lesser extent, isomeric position (i.e., resonance), were related to the strength of the avoidance response. Unlike effective avian repellents, the presence of intramolecular hydrogen bonds did not appear to affect avoidance responding.
Dynamic and vibration modeling of a cartesian robot

Quality of the dynamic response of a robotic manipulator is dependent upon a variety of factors. In this paper, we will discuss the effects on dynamic performance of robot system design and of structural resonant characteristics. A model of the actuator and controller system for a cartesian robot will be presented and its simulated performmance evaluated. Comparison will be made between performance of the model and that of the actual robot system. A model for system resonant characteristics will then be developed and predictions compared with experimental data.
The Effects of Supervisors' Verbal Aggressiveness and Mentoring on Their Subordinates

This study examined the association between supervisors’ mentoring and verbal aggression and their subordinates’ perceived communication satisfaction, job satisfaction, and organizational commitmen...