cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Recovering the Lost Lawyer

Writing 20 years ago, Anthony T. Kronman saw law schools, law firms, and courts losing sight of the lawyer-statesman ideal, a professional ideal that encompasses not only a lawyer’s legal knowledge, but also his practical wisdom: the capacity to suspend one’s world-view and truly to understand another’s perspective, to deliberate in a manner that is informed by this understanding while integrating it its broader social context, and to form and be inclined to act in accordance with sound judgments. Like the professional ideal of the lawyer as an officer of the court, the lawyer-statesman ideal recognizes the lawyer’s commitment to public service as an inherent feature of his professionalism. Kronman regretted the loss of the lawyer-statesman ideal, because lawyers’ striving to embody this ideal elevated the profession. I analyze the core values of the lawyer’s professional identity in terms of the lawyer-statesman and the officer of the court, and compare them with social psychological assessments of the core values instilled by feminine socialization. I find that retaining women in the legal profession by accommodating the social roles of both men and women lawyers beyond the workplace would promote a professional culture that allows lawyers to recover both their personal lives and their traditional ideals of professional excellence. Efforts to allow both men and women to participate meaningfully in the domestic sphere, and both senior citizens and young adults to contribute to the workforce, not only promote each person’s well being and ability to engage in the community, but also advance each person’s development through a broader range of experiences and opportunities to attain the practical wisdom that is at the heart of the lawyer-statesman ideal. Policies that allow both men and women to participate fully at home, in their communities, and in their work do more than promote individual health and development: they offer real hope of restoring the dignity and stature of the legal profession.
Numerical simulations of magnetohydrodynamic chemically reactive flows in three dimensions on a vector computer.

Abstract Extensive simulations of chemically reactive magnetohydrodynamic flows have been performed at the Naval Research Laboratory. The paper discusses briefly the numerical scheme and the use of virtual disc storage. It shows how the data flow for the computation of chemical reactions is organized to achieve an optimal computing speed. As an example the plasma flow around the earth is simulated. The results show a detailed structure, therefore demonstrating the almost complete lack of diffusion.
Familial paroxysmal dystonic choreoathetosis: A family study

We interviewed and examined 12 members of a single family affected by paroxysmal dystonic choreoathetosis. Three subjects experienced characteristic painful dystonic spasms, often precipitated by cold and prolonged physical activity. Three other family members suffered painful cramping of their limbs, without involuntary movement, following physical exertion. Based on the clinical features of affected subjects, we suggest that exertional cramping may represent a “forme fruste” of paroxysmal dystonia.
Affirmative Action on Trial: Sex Discrimination in Johnson v. Santa Clara

Affirmative action continues to be one of the most hotly contested issues in America. Volatile and divisive, the debates over its legitimacy have inspired a number of "reverse discrimination" suits in the federal courts. Like the landmark 1978 Bakke decision, most of these have focused on preferential treatment given racial minorities. In Johnson v. Santa Clara, however, the central issue was gender, not race discrimination, and the Supreme Court's decision in that case marked a resounding victory for women in the work force. Johnson v. Santa Clara involved two people who in 1980 competed for a dispatcher position with the transportation department of Santa Clara County, California. Paul Johnson had more experience and slightly higher test scores, but Diane Joyce was given the job based on affirmative action. An irate Johnson sued the county and won, only to have the decision reversed in appellate court. That reversal was subsequently upheld in the Supreme Court's 1987 decision, reaffirming that it was legitimate for employers to consider gender in hiring. Preeminent legal historian Melvin Urofsky proves an exemplary guide through the complexities of this case as he takes us from the workplace through the various levels of our federal court system. Balancing the particulars of the case with an overview of constitutional law and judicial process, he creates a model legal history that is both appealing and enlightening for the non-scholar. Urofsky is especially good at highlighting the fundamental human drama of this case and shows how Johnson and Joyce were simply ordinary people, each with valid reasons for their actions, but both ultimately caught up in legal and social issues that reached well beyond their own lives. "Affirmative Action on Trial" pointedly addresses the issue of sex discrimination and the broader controversy over the place of affirmative action in American society. The latter continues to generate headlines, like those that followed the 1996 Supreme Court decision to let stand a lower-court ruling that race cannot be used as a determination for admission to academic programs. More recently, several states have even taken steps to end affirmative action altogether. While it's hard to tell how such actions will ultimately impact affirmative action, there's no question that the rulings in cases like Johnson v. Santa Clara will continue to guide and influence the debates both inside and outside the courtroom.
Dr. Wagon: a 'stretchable' toolkit for tangible computer programming

Programming can be a challenging activity for young children. While there are numerous programming environments for children, relatively few of these environments take advantage of tangible interfaces. Research suggests that using tangible tools, such as physical blocks, can engage students to explore introductory programming concepts more easily than equivalent virtual programming environments. Dr. Wagon is a tangible programming toy that includes a series of programming blocks and a wagon-shaped robot. The programming blocks include basic functions ("move"), conditions ("if" statements), and loops ("repeat"). These blocks can be connected in various ways to control the behavior of the wagon. In this paper, we discuss our various design choices while creating Dr. Wagon, and shed light on the technical, cognitive, and usability details of the project.
Complete exchange on the CM-5 and Touchstone Delta

The complete exchange (or all-to-all personalized) communication pattern occurs frequently in many important parallel computing applications. It is the densest form of communication because all processors need to communicate with all other processors. This can result in severe link contention and degrade performance considerably. Hence, it is necessary to use efficient algorithms in order to get good performance over a wide range of message and multiprocessor sizes. In this paper we present several algorithms to perform complete exchange on the Thinking Machines CM-5 and the Intel Touchstone Delta multiprocessors. Since these machines have different architectures and communication capabilities, different algorithms are needed to get the best performance on each of them. We present four algorithms for the CM-5 and six algorithms for the Delta. Complete exchange algorithms generally assume that the number of processors is a power of two. However, on the Delta the number of processors allocated by a user need not be a power of two. We propose algorithms that are even applicable to non-power-of-two meshes on the Delta. We have developed analytical models to estimate the performance of the algorithms on the basis of system parameters. Performance results on the CM-5 and Delta are also presented and analyzed.
Investigation of the metabolism of substance P in rat striatum by microdialysis sampling and capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection.

Abstract The metabolism of substance P (SP) was investigated in rat striatum using in vivo microdialysis. Substance P was perfused for 5 h at 0.2 μl/min, and its metabolism was followed for over 13 h. The resulting samples were derivatized precolumn with naphthalene-2,3-dicarboxaldehyde (NDA)/cyanide, separated and detected by cyclodextrin-modified electrokinetic chromatography with laser-induced fluorescence detection (CDMEKC-LIF). Substance P rapidly degraded to form the fragments (3–11), (1–9), (1–4) and, to a lesser extent, (1–7). The metabolites reached steady-state levels 2–3 h after addition of SP.
Different thresholds of Wnt-Frizzled 7 signaling coordinate proliferation, morphogenesis and fate of endoderm progenitor cells

Wnt signaling has multiple dynamic roles during development of the gastrointestinal and respiratory systems. Differential Wnt signaling is thought to be a critical step in Xenopus endoderm patterning such that during late gastrula and early somite stages of embryogenesis, Wnt activity must be suppressed in the anterior to allow the specification of foregut progenitors. However, the foregut endoderm also expresses the Wnt-receptor Frizzled 7 (Fzd7) as well as several Wnt ligands suggesting that the current model may be too simple. In this study, we show that Fzd7 is required to transduce a low level of Wnt signaling that is essential to maintain foregut progenitors. Foregut-specific Fzd7-depletion from the Xenopus foregut resulted in liver and pancreas agenesis. Fzd7-depleted embryos failed to maintain the foregut progenitor marker hhex and exhibited decreased proliferation; in addition the foregut cells were enlarged with a randomized orientation. We show that in the foregut Fzd7 signals via both the Wnt/β-catenin and Wnt/JNK pathways and that different thresholds of Wnt-Fzd7 activity coordinate progenitor cell fate, proliferation and morphogenesis.
Early detection checklist: Searching for the signs of fraud at work

Any transaction or explanation that does not make sense, any failure to follow policy, or any obvious conflicts of interest between investigator and investigated may be a legitimate sign that points toward fraud. Generally, there is strength in numbers: The more signs you find, the more likely you are to be on the trail of fraud. Objective indicators like missing money are more powerful than subjective indicators such as a spending spree. The more you recognize the objective indicators, the greater chance you have of eliminating financial fraud within your company. This article presents checklists of early indicators of fraud in six categories: financial, organizational, procurement and sales, human, documentary, and other things that do not appear to make sense.
Analysis of feed stream acid gas concentration effects on the transport properties and separation performance of polymeric membranes for natural gas sweetening: A comparison between a glassy and rubbery polymer

Abstract A 6FDA based polyamide-imide, 6F-PAI-1, is compared to Pebax ® , a commercially available rubbery polyether/polyamide block copolymer, for the simultaneous separation of CO 2 and H 2 S from CH 4 . Feed streams of 20/20/60 and 5/45/50H 2 S/CO 2 /CH 4 were used to compare the effect of acid gas concentration on the separation efficiency of 6F-PAI-1 and Pebax ® under industrially relevant conditions. 6F-PAI-1 showed CO 2 /CH 4 selectivities at 850 psia total feed pressure of 30 and 40 for the 20/20/60 and 5/45/50 feed streams, respectively, while selectivity for H 2 S/CH 4 was approximately 20 for both feeds. Pebax ® showed selectivities of 40 and 10 for H 2 S/CH 4 and CO 2 /CH 4 , respectively. Both selectivities were mostly independent of acid gas concentration in the feed, an unsurprising trend considering the non-glassy nature of this material. The selectivities in 6F-PAI-1 translated to less than 6% CH 4 lost in the permeate stream for both feeds, while for the 5/45/50 feed, CH 4 fraction in the permeate at 850 psia was less than 4%. These promising results suggest that glassy polymers possessing favorable intrinsic plasticization resistance, such as 6F-PAI-1, may be appropriate for the typical case of natural gas sweetening where CO 2 concentration in the feed is higher than it is for H 2 S.
Racial and Ethnic Stratification in the Relationship Between Homeownership and Self-Rated Health

Social scientists have long demonstrated that socioeconomic resources benefit health. More recently, scholars have begun to examine the potential stratification in the health returns different groups receive for a given resource. Motivated by fundamental cause theory, this paper examines homeownership as a salient health resource with potentially stratified benefits. Homeowners have significantly greater housing quality, wealth, neighborhood quality and integration, and physical and mental health than renters. However, there are compelling theoretical reasons to expect the health advantage of homeownership to be unequally distributed across racial and ethnic groups. Regression analyses of 71,874 household heads in the United States from the 2012 March Current Population Survey initially suggest all homeowners experience a significant health advantage. Further examination finds robust evidence for a homeowner health advantage among Whites, on par with the difference between the married and divorced. The advantage among minority households is considerably smaller, and not significant among Latinos or Asians. Conditioning on a broad array of observable characteristics, White homeowners emerge as exceptionally healthy compared to White renters and all minority groups. This leads to the unexpected finding that racial/ethnic differences in health are concentrated among homeowners. The findings demonstrate the interactive nature of racial/ethnic stratification in health through both access to and returns from socioeconomic resources.
Loss of Genetic Diversity from Managed Populations: Interacting Effects of Drift, Mutation, Immigration, Selection, and Population Subdivision

Abstract: A computer simulation program was used to examine interacting effects of genetic drift, mutation, immigration from outside populations, directional and balancing selection, and population subdivision on the loss of genetic variability from small, managed populations. Stochastic ewnts were simulated with a pseudo-random number generator, and the genetic variation (expected heterozygosity) witbin and between populations was monitored in 25 populations for 100 generations. Genetic drift was the overriding factor controling the loss of genetic variation Mutation has no noticeable effect on populations of the size typically managed in zoos and nature preserves Immigration from a large source population can strikingly slow, halt, or even reverse the loss of genetic variation, even with only one or a few migrants per generation. Unless selection is stronger than commonly observed in natural populations, it is inefficient in countering drift when population sizes are on the order of 100 or fewer. Subdivided populations rapidly lose variability from within each sub-population but retain variation across the subpopulations better than does a panmictic population. These results suggest that population managers should be concerned with the variation-depleting effects of genetic drift, perhaps almost to the exclusion of consideration of selection and mutation Drift can be countered by the introduction of vety occasional immigrants or, less effectively, by division of the managed population into smaller breeding groups that interchange enough migrants to prevent unacceptably deleterious inbreeding within each subpopulation
Adaptation of Arctic and Antarctic ice metazoa to their habitat.

Summary Sea ice is a unique habitat in polar seas. A diverse assemblage of plants and animals lives in its interior parts and at the ice-water interface. Their distribution is to a large extent controlled by abiotic parameters such as light, salinity and space, as well as food availability. In both the Arctic and Antarctic, the highest metazoan concentrations occur mostly in the bottom centimetres of the sea ice. Dominant metazoans are nematodes, turbellarians, rotifers and crustaceans. The ice-water interface itself houses in addition to endemic amphipods migrants from both the ice and the pelagic realm. To survive with the environmental conditions of the sea ice habitat, the ice biota is adapted, specifically to seasonal salinity variations from below 5 to above 60 PSU. Sea ice metazoans feed mainly on the algae growing within the sea ice. The loss of habitat during ice melt periods can lead to substantial sedimentation of ice fauna to the sea floor, where it might act as food source for the benthos.
Texture variations in an aluminum friction stir weld

The banding in a friction stir weld was determined to correspond to a periodic textural variation between the B / B ¯ component and a mixture of B / B ¯ and C components of the simple shear texture. These textures have similar deformation reference frames, indicating that the banding arises from a periodic variation in the strain magnitude or temperature during welding.
Promoting business ethics through annual reports

Growth in socially responsible investing among consumers should encourage them to seek information on business ethics activities during investment decisions. A content analysis of corporate annual reports shows differences in promotion of business ethics activities between 2010 and 2012, across products and on United States (US) Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) inclusion. Greater discussion in 2012 than 2010 was found for compliance in general and ethical treatment of employees and risk-reduction activities among DJSI-listed consumer goods providers, potentially reflecting increased interest in these activities. Results also showed that DJSI-listed companies are missing an opportunity to promote their ethical activities and the DJSI’s third-party verification of their ethical commitment to interested investors. Besides not optimizing their appeal to investors wishing to support ethical businesses, public companies inadequately use annual reports to demonstrate their commitment to ethics to other potential stakeholders such as activists, regulators, competitors, suppliers or the media.
Temporal and spatial factors in gait perception that influence gender recognition.

Several temporal and spatial factors affect gender recognition of a walker when portrayed, without familiarity cues, as a dynamic point-light display. We demonstrate that, among temporal parameters, the duration of the dynamic stimulus must be longer than 1.6 sec, but that 2.7 sec is fully adequate. Given the speed of our walkers, the recognition threshold appears to be roughly two step cycles. In addition, presentation rate of the stimulus must be near to normal, perhaps because nonnormal rates alter apparent gravity and obscure the normal relationship between output and conservation of energy. We demonstrate that, among spatial factors, the discreteness of the joint information must be maintained for accurate recognition. We go on to argue that it is the information about the shoulder and the hip of a walker that is of primary importance. Finally, inversion of the stimulus display produces the unexpected effect of reversing the apparent sex of most walkers. That is, when presented upside down, male walkers appear female and female walkers appear male.
On multilevel iterative methods for optimization problems

This paper is concerned with multilevel iterative methods which combine a descent scheme with a hierarchy of auxiliary problems in lower dimensional subspaces. The construction of auxiliary problems as well as applications to elasto-plastic model and linear programming are described. The auxiliary problem for the dual of a perturbed linear program is interpreted as a dual of perturbed aggregated linear program. Coercivity of the objective function over the feasible set is sufficient for the boundedness of the iterates. Equivalents of this condition are presented in special cases.
1,2,3,4,6-Pentamethylfulvene: a convenient precursor to substituted tetramethylcyclopentadienyl transition metal complexes

Abstract Reaction of 2,3,4,5-tetramethylcyclopent-2-enone with vinylmagnesium bromide in THF gave a 5/1 mixture of 1,2,3,4,6-pentamethylfulvene and vinyltetramethylcyclopentadienes. Treatment of this mixture with LiAlH 4 or LiR (R = CH 3 , C 6 H 5 , P(C 6 H 5 ) 2 ) gave the corresponding substituted tetramethylcyclopentadienide anions {[C 5 (CH 3 ) 4 ]CH(CH 3 )R} − (R = H, CH 3 , C 6 H 5 , P(C 6 H 5 ) 2 ) in high yields. Reaction of these substituted tetramethylcyclopentadienide anions with FeCl 2 in THF led to the formation of the corresponding substituted ferrocene complexes, {[C 5 (CH 3 ) 4 ]CH(CH 3 )R} 2 Fe, in moderate yields.
Human jejunal adenyl cyclase and phosphodiesterase.

Characterization of the two enzymes regulating cyclic adenosine monophosphate concentration (cyclic AMP), adenyl cyclase and cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase, was carried out on tissue obtained from multiple oral intestinal biopsy specimens from six normal subjects. Adenyl cyclase (AC) activity was localized to the insoluble cell fraction and had a Km between 1.2 and 1.7 mm at pH 7.4–7.6. The protein concentration for optimal AC activity was between 0.1 and 0.2 mg. The time course of the reaction was linear up to 20 minutes at 30°. Full activity required the presence of 3–5 mm Mg2+, and appreciable loss of enzyme activity occurred during storage. In the system used for the assay, neither glucagon, epinephrine, nor parathormone gave significant adenyl cyclase stimulation. Cyclic AMP phosphodiesterase activity was localized primarily to the supernatant cell fraction and had a Km of about 1.9 mm at a pH of 7.5–7.8. Enzyme activity was linear up to 40 minutes at a protein concentration between 0.1 and 0.6 mg. Maximal activity was obtained in the presence of 2–5 mm Mg2+, and 8 × 10−2m imidazole. Theophylline 10−2m gave approximately 60% inhibition.
How keeping active pays off in the olfactory system

A protein that is found in the main olfactory epithelium of mice ensures that odour-sensing neurons that are active to have longer lifespans than those that are inactive.
Inequality, Economic Development and Lethal Violence: A Cross-National Analysis of Suicide and Homicide

A theoretical tradition predating Durkheim links suicide and homicide as two currents in a single stream of lethal violence. This paper explores the relationships of inequality and economic development to suicide in a sample of 31 nations using both this perspective and the more traditional approach, which treats suicide and homicide separately. Inequality is generally a better predictor than development. After controlling for development, it is curvilinearly related to homicide and to total lethal violence, and it has negative linear effects on suicide and the SMR, a measure of the direction in which violence is directed. Controlling for inequality, development is unrelated to total violence, curvilinearly related to the SMR, and only weakly related to suicide and homicide.
Food Truck’s Party Hat

As a result of what has been called the crisis of representation in qualitative inquiry, researchers have explored a diverse terrain of textual landscapes in a search for alternative forms of (re)presentation of and about their work. While working on a pilot research project that explored choice, control, and power in the lives of persons with developmental disabilities and their allies, the author joined that search as he sought to (re)present parts of the relationships he shared in ways that would reveal “the multiple meanings and the possible meanings that we create together.” A poetic, fictional narrative is offered as an example of an alternative (re)presentational form, one map of the many that might be drawn of the multiple cartographies of lived texts and shared experiences.
Supply-Side Economics in an Integrated World Economy

The macroeconomic effects of changes in tax and expenditure policies are examined in the context of the competitive equilibrium of a two-country, two-sector model of an integrated world economy. Governments finance purchases and net transfers of tradable and nontradable goods by imposing distortionary taxes on factor incomes and consumption. The model is parameterized and calibrated using data from large industrial economies, including estimates of effective tax rates. Numerical simulations provide estimates of the welfare costs associated with existing distortionary taxes and of the potential gains linked to a more efficient use of these taxes. Welfare gains from tax reforms favoring indirect taxation are substantial. The effects of permanent changes in expenditures depend on their sectoral allocation across tradables and nontradables and on whether they are debtor tax-financed. Trade in goods and assets is very sensitive to fiscal policy changes, but aggregate consumption patterns and welfare implications are not.
Heart transplant survival outcomes for adriamycin-dilated cardiomyopathy.

In 2015, there will be an estimated 11.3 million cancer survivors. With an increasing population of cancer survivors, it is imperative to understand the treatment options available and outcomes for chemotherapy-related cardiomyopathy. Anthracycline-based chemotherapy causes heart failure in approximately 5% of patients. Orthotopic heart transplantation (OHT) is an option for cancer survivors in complete remission who develop end-stage heart failure. We examined retrospective OHT data collected from the United Network of Organ Sharing from 1987 to 2011. The primary aim was to characterize the survival in patients with either the primary diagnosis of "dilated cardiomyopathy: Adriamycin" (DCA) versus "all other" causes of cardiomyopathy. The secondary aim was to define the differences in the primary cause of death and to describe the temporal relationship of DCA OHT. The United Network of Organ Sharing database identified 453 OHTs for the diagnosis of DCA and 51,312 OHTs for all other causes of cardiomyopathy. The DCA group was significantly younger with a greater percentage of women. After adjusting for age, gender, and history of malignancy, the 10-year survival curves showed that patients with DCA have an improved survival compared to those with all other causes of cardiomyopathy (hazard ratio 1.28, p = 0.026). No difference was found in the primary cause of death between the 2 groups. A statistically significant increasing temporal trend was seen in the number of OHTs for the diagnosis DCA. In conclusion, patients who undergo OHT for DCA have favorable 10-year survival, making OHT a good therapeutic option for end-stage heart failure due to anthracyclines. Additionally, no increased risk of cancer-related deaths was found in the DCA group, demonstrating that recurrent malignancy does not affect long-term survival. The temporal trends demonstrated that DCA remains a significant problem for cancer survivors.
The unraveling architecture of the junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum.

The sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) of skeletal muscle controls the contraction-relaxation cycle by raising and lowering the myoplasmic free-Ca2+ concentration. The coupling between excitation, i.e., depolarization of sarcolemma and transvers tubule (TT) and Ca2+ release from the terminal cisternae (TC) of SR takes place at the triad. The triad junction is formed by a specialized region of the TC, the junctional SR, and the TT. The molecular architecture and protein composition of the junctional SR are under active investigation. Since the junctional SR plays a central role in excitation-contraction coupling and Ca2+ release, some of its protein constituents are directly involved in these processes. The biochemical evidence supporting this contention is reviewed in this article.
LESS-INVASIVE SAPHENOUS HARVEST

Vascular and cardiovascular surgeons, having only recently been introduced to less-invasive techniques of saphenous vein harvest and in situ preparation, are embracing these new technologies with cautious enthusiasm. Although the available data are limited, with few prospective randomized trials, less-invasive methods of saphenous vein harvest seem to result in reduced wound complications, improved patient satisfaction, and decreased hospital LOS. The most important but least well defined variable is the effect of harvesting technique on graft patency. Concerns that excess traction and manipulation of the vein during less-invasive harvesting techniques may compromise patency have limited the wide adoption of these techniques. Although an increase in the need for vein repair with 7-0 sutures was reported in one series, limited histologic studies have not shown injury at the cellular level. Patency data for endovascular-assisted, less-invasive, in situ bypass procedures have demonstrated equivalent intermediate results, but less-invasive saphenous vein harvest has limited follow-up data available. Before these less-invasive techniques can be fully embraced, intermediate and long-term patency data must be critically analyzed. If the preliminary impressions of decreased morbidity and hospital LOS are supported by future trials, these savings will certainly eclipse the costs associated with prolonged operating room use and disposable instrumentation. The variety of instruments available and the preponderance of disposables in the market attest to the newness of the field. Although mechanical retraction devices predominate, carbon dioxide insufflation has been used successfully. As the techniques and instrumentation for saphenous harvest are refined, reusable instrumentation will likely play a more prominent role and result in additional cost savings.
Physician knowledge of national cholesterol guidelines before and after an interactive curriculum.

An interactive curriculum on National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) III guidelines was developed and distributed online to 877 physicians at 37 internal medicine residency training programs. Baseline knowledge of NCEP guidelines was tested before the curriculum. A test after the curriculum was compared with baseline performance to determine the impact of the curriculum. Performance was compared based on year of training or attending status. Scores for baseline knowledge of NCEP III concepts were 21.8% for residents and 23.2% for attending physicians, a difference that was not statistically significant. Postgraduate-year (PGY)-3 residents performed better than PGY-1 residents (26.5% vs 17.8%, p
Bridging of a substrate between cyclodextrin and an enzyme's active site pocket triggers a unique mode of inhibition

Abstract Background Methionyl-7-amino-4-methylcoumarin (MetAMC) serves as a substrate for the Escherichia coli methionine aminopeptidase (MetAP) catalyzed reaction, and is routinely used for screening compounds to identify potential antibiotic agents. In pursuit of screening the enzyme's inhibitors, we observed that 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HP-β-CD), utilized to solubilize hydrophobic inhibitors, inhibited the catalytic activity of the enzyme, and such inhibition was not solely due to sequestration of the substrate by HP-β-CD. Methods The mechanistic path for the HP-β-CD mediated inhibition of MetAP was probed by performing a detailed account of steady-state kinetics, ligand binding, X-ray crystallographic, and molecular modeling studies. Results X-ray crystallographic data of the β-cyclodextrin–substrate (β-CD–MetAMC) complex reveal that while the AMC moiety of the substrate is confined within the CD cavity, the methionine moiety protrudes outward. The steady-state kinetic data for inhibition of MetAP by HP-β-CD–MetAMC conform to a model mechanism in which the substrate is “bridged” between HP-β-CD and the enzyme's active-site pocket, forming HP-β-CD–MetAMC–MetAP as the catalytically inactive ternary complex. Molecular modeling shows that the scissile bond of HP-β-CD-bound MetAMC substrate does not reach within the proximity of the enzyme's catalytic metal center, and thus the substrate fails to undergo cleavage. Conclusions The data presented herein suggests that the bridging of the substrate between the enzyme and HP-β-CD cavities is facilitated by interaction of their surfaces, and the resulting complex inhibits the enzyme activity. General significance Due to its potential interaction with physiological proteins via sequestered substrates, caution must be exercised in HP-β-CD mediated delivery of drugs under pathophysiological conditions.
A basis for bromodeoxyuridine resistance in plant cells

Abstract A mutant cell line (BU-54) of soybean ( Glycine max L. Merr) capable of growing at a high rate in liquid suspension culture in 1 mg/ml of 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) has been isolated. The BU-54 cells have an active uptake system for thymidine (dT) and BrdU, and possess dT kinase which utilizes both substrates. Cesium chloride analysis showed that the BU-54 cells incorporated very little BrdU into DNA unless 5-fluorodeoxyuridine (FdU) was present. The BU-54 showed a high degree of resistance to FdU and aminopterin. The cells also contained approximately three times more deoxythymidine monophosphate synthetase and 50 times more dihydrofolate reductase than sensitive wild type soybean cells. The results support the conclusion that the BrdU resistant line may overproduce deoxythymidine monophosphate which could result in a reduced incorporation of BrdU into cellular DNA.
Petroleum Geochemistry: Concepts, Applications, and Results

Petroleum geochemistry has played an important role in many areas of exploration and production for fossil fuels. Many of the more recent developments can be seen to have developed in parallel with developments in analytical chemistry such as gas chromatography and gas chromatography−mass spectrometry. For the past two decades such analytical techniques have been used to search for trace amounts of compounds known as biomarkers present in oils and source rock extracts which can be used to provide valuable information on the origin and history of the oil. In the past two or three years much more effort has been placed on the development and utilization of such techniques as an aid to solving reservoir and production problems. In this paper it is proposed to provide an overview of major developments that have occurred in a number of areas of geochemistry in recent years. This will include developments in reservoir geochemistry such as the use of high-resolution gas chromatography for reservoir continuity st...
A Comparison of hp-Adaptive Strategies for Elliptic Partial Differential Equations

The hp version of the finite element method (hp-FEM) combined with adaptive mesh refinement is a particularly efficient method for solving PDEs because it can achieve an exponential convergence rate in the number of degrees of freedom. hp-FEM allows for refinement in both the element size, h, and the polynomial degree, p. Like adaptive refinement for the h version of the finite element method, a posteriori error estimates can be used to determine where the mesh needs to be refined, but a single error estimate cannot simultaneously determine whether it is better to do the refinement by h or p. Several strategies for making this determination have been proposed over the years. These strategies are summarized, and the results of a numerical experiment to study the performance of these strategies is presented. It was found that the reference-solution-based methods are very effective, but also considerably more expensive, in terms of computation time, than other approaches. The method based on a priori knowledge is very effective when there are known point singularities. The method based on the decay rate of the expansion coefficients appears to be the best choice as a general strategy across all categories of problems, whereas many of the other strategies perform well in particular situations and are reasonable in general.
Changes in Spinal Serotonin Turnover Mediate Age-Related Differences in the Behavioral Manifestations of Peripheral Nerve Injury

The Bennett and Xie model of peripheral nerve injury was used to study the effects of aging on the onset and progression of sciatic nerve ligation (SNL)-induced thermal hyperalgesia and tactile-evoked allodynia in young, mature, and aged Fischer 344 FBNF1 male rats (4-6, 14-16, and 24-26 months old, respectively). A plantar analgesia meter and calibrated von Frey pressure filaments were employed as the analgesiometric assays. In the absence of nerve injury, aged rats were found to be more sensitive than younger animals to noxious thermal stimuli. Following the SNL surgery, thermal hyperalgesia was observed in all three age groups within 3 days. On post-SNL day 35, the paw-withdrawal latency values of the young and mature animals returned to presurgical baseline levels, while the aged rats continued to exhibit thermal hyperalgesia. Tactile-evoked allodynia was apparent within 3 days following peripheral nerve injury in the oldest cohort, but was delayed in the younger animals. On post-SNL days 0 (control), 3, 21, and 35, young, mature, and aged rats were sacrificed and high-performance liquid chromatography and electrochemical detection (HPLC/ECD) methods were used for neurochemical analyses of spinal serotonin (5-HT), norepinephrine (NE), and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA). Spinal 5-HT and NE levels were not significantly altered by the aging process, nor were they affected by peripheral nerve injury. However, spinal 5-HT turnover from the aged animals was greater than that detected in spinal tissue from the younger counterparts. Differences in spinal 5-HT turnover may contribute to age-related variability in spinal nociceptive processing.
Introduction to technology for general education

In the immortal words of Ms. Frizzle of The Magic School Bus fame---"take chances, make mistakes, get dirty." This sentiment is the inspiration for the experiential design course described in this paper. This course for first semester freshmen focuses on the design process. While we all benefit from the products produced by designers, few of us understand the design process. We are like patrons of a fine restaurant enjoying the cuisine without the slightest knowledge of the kitchen. By exposing this process and involving students in it, this course not only empowers students with an understanding of design and technology, but also captivates them with the thrill of creating and exhibiting their own designs. In this course, students apply the principles of User-Centered Design (UCD) to web page design and to the design of an electro-mechanical device. The students not only learn the principles of project management and UCD, but also master the technology inherent in each design application. Among the learning outcomes achieved through these projects are: computer literacy, writing-across-the curriculum, and the development of problem-solving skills such as quantitative reasoning and critical thinking.This course is situated in the new Integrated Liberal Studies program at University of North Carolina at Asheville, the host institution. It could also be offered as part of any general education program fulfilling a computer literacy requirement or supporting writing-across-the-curriculum. Introductory courses that precede the standard curriculum for a major, such as CS0, are being increasingly recognized as an important part of a technical curriculum [7]. This course could also be offered as a first semester course in engineering, computer science and multimedia.
Poly(1-vinyluracil): The preparation and interactions with adenosine derivatives

Abstract Poly(1-vinyluracil) (III) was prepared by radical polymerization of 1-vinyl-4-ethoxy-2-pyrimidinone (I) followed by acid hydrolysis of the resulting polymer II. III could also be prepared by direct polymerization of 1-vinyluracil IV but the yield and purity were lower. Poly(1-vinyluracil) is found to be water soluble and to exhibit hypochromism. Interactions of this polymer with adenosine, pA, ApA, (Ap)6A and poly A have been studied; in the observed interactions the binding of adenosine derivatives by poly(1-vinyluracil) appears to be weaker than analogous binding by poly U.
Hydrogen bonded chiral sheet self-assembled from a C3-symmetric tricarbamate

A crystalline chiral sheet spontaneously assembled under mild conditions from benzene-1,3,5-triyl tris(propylcarbamate), which is a C3-symmetric supramolecular atropisomer. The sheet-like structure was directly observed by TEM, and confirmed by powder and single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis.
Synthesis of the four‐arm star‐block copolymer [PVC‐b‐PBA‐CH(CH3)COOCH2]4C by SET‐DTLRP initiated from a tetrafunctional initiator

Pentaerythritol tetrakis(2-iodopropionate) was used as a tetrafunctional initiator for the Na2S2O4 catalyzed SET-DTLRP of n-butyl acrylate in water at room temperature. The resulting tetrafunctional poly(n-butyl acrylate) macroinitiator with Mn = 14,864 or Mn = 3627 per arm was used to initiate the SET-DTLRP of vinyl chloride and provide the first examples of four-arm star-block copolymers [PVC-b-PBA-CH(CH3)COOCH2]4C. The Mn of the PVC segment from each arm of the four-arm star-block copolymer varied between 353 and 33,622. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 628–634, 2009
Hydrolysis characteristics of tissue fractions resulting from mechanical separation of corn stover

Corn stover has potential as a resource for both fiber and chemical needs if separation strategies can be developed to deal with its heterogeneity. Relative hydrolysis characteristics were assessed for pith (sclerenchyma and parenchyma) and fiber (collenchyma) tissue fractions derived from mechanical separation of corn stover to determine whether classification by tissue type resulted in fractions with different hydrolysis response. The physical characteristics of the tissue fractions were analyzed. The hydrolysis behavior of the fractions was evaluated under both acidic and basic conditions. The results from the hydrolysis experiments are compared with previously reported compositional analysis for the tissue fractions.
CustomVue laser in situ keratomileusis treatment after previous keratorefractive surgery.

Purpose To evaluate the efficacy, predictability, and safety of Visx CustomVue wavefront-guided enhancement after previous keratorefractive surgery. Setting Stanford University Eye Laser Center, Stanford, California, USA. Methods A retrospective analysis was used to evaluate wavefront-guided enhancement in a preliminary set of 120 eyes of 102 patients. All eyes had previous keratorefractive surgery (photorefractive keratoplasty [PRK] in 1 eye, laser in situ keratomileusis [LASIK] in 119 eyes); the prekeratorefractive surgery spherical equivalent (SE) refraction ranged from −1.25 diopters (D) to −7.00 D. Primary outcome variables including uncorrected visual acuity (UCVA), manifest refraction, and complications were evaluated at 1 and 3 months. Results At 1 month, the mean pre-enhancement SE was reduced from −0.91 D ± 0.40 (SD) (range −2.375 to −0.125 D) to −0.13 ± 0.33 D (range −1.25 to 0.75 D) with 91% of eyes within ±0.5 D of emmetropia and 100% within ±1.0 D. All eyes showed equal or improved UCVA (range 20/15 to 20/30) with 20/20 or better in 84 of 91 eyes. At 3 months, the mean was −0.20 ± 0.32 D (range −0.75 to 0.75 D) with 100% of eyes within ±0.75 D of emmetropia. All eyes showed equal or improved UCVA (range 20/15 to 20/30) with 20/20 or better in 74 of 84 eyes. Higher-order wavefront aberration analysis showed that the mean root-mean-square error was reduced from 0.39 ± 0.14 μm (range 0.16 to 0.86 μm) to 0.34 ± 0.12 μm (range 0.12 to 0.78 μm). Coma was reduced from 0.22 ± 0.13 μm (range 0.02 to 0.71 μm) to 0.16 ± 0.11 μm (range 0.01 to 0.62 μm), and trefoil was reduced from 0.16 ± 0.09 μm (range 0.01 to 0.62 μm) to 0.11 ± 0.07 μm (range 0.01 to 0.27 μm). Spherical aberration was unchanged from 0.14 ± 0.14 μm (range −0.18 to 0.59 μm) to 0.14 ± 0.14 μm (range −0.16 to 0.5 μm). Conclusion Preliminary data show that Visx CustomVue wavefront-guided enhancement after keratorefractive surgery is an effective, predictable, and safe procedure.
Early-onset sarcoidosis gets the nod

Comment on Kanazawa et al, page [1195][1] Missense mutations of Nod2/CARD15 are associated with the development of Blau syndrome. Kanazawa and colleagues provide evidence that similar mutations of Nod2 are associated with early-onset sarcoidosis, demonstrating a casual link between these 2
Illuminating light: a casual optics workbench

We describe a novel system for rapid prototyping of laser-based optical and holographic layouts. Users of this experimental direct manipulation tool -- called Illuminating Light -- move physical representations of various optical elements about a workspace; the system tracks these components and projects back onto the workspace surface the simulated propagation of laser light through the evolving layout. This application is built atop the Luminous Room infrastructure, an aggregate of interlinked, computer-controlled projector-camera units called I/0 Bulbs.
Rhodamine-6G-doped fluorophosphate glasses

A high optical quality Rhodamine 6G doped low melting temperature fluorophosphate glass was obtained. The glass transition temperature, crystallization temperature, melting temperature, refractive index, and chemical durability in the water were examined. The absorption spectra, excitation spectra, and emission spectra of the Rhodamine 6G in the low melting temperature fluorophosphate glasses were investigated. The effect of melting time of Rhodamine 6G in the glass on the spectral properties was investigated. The results indicate that this low melting temperature glass is a promising host for laser dyes. The aggregation and degradation of Rhodamine 6G were significantly diminished in this low melting temperature glass.© (1998) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The Optofluidic Microscope - A High Resolution Microscope-on-A-Chip System

In this article, a complete on-chip high resolution OFM device is presented. The OFM method abandons the conventional microscope design and, instead, shares some similarities with direct shadow imaging method where the target object is directly placed on top of a CCD or CMOS imaging sensor chip. In direct shadow imaging, the image resolution is no better than the sensor pixel size. As the typical sensor pixel size is around 10 microns, direct shadow imaging systems are unable to provide images that are comparable in resolution to those of conventional microscopes.
Segment interactions within the swing leg during unloaded and loaded running

In this study, designed to determine the effect of lower extremity inertia manipulation on joint kinetics and segment energetics during the swing phase, 15 male distance runners were filmed as they performed treadmill running (3.35 m s-1) under five load conditions: no added load and loads of 0.25 kg and 0.50 kg added to each thigh or each foot. Results of this study demonstrated that the energetics of the lower extremity movements during the swing phase of the running cycle were dominated by mechanical energy transfers between adjacent segments attributed to the joint reaction forces, which acted to redistribute mechanical energy within the system. These contributions were considerably greater than those of the net joint moments, which primarily reflected muscular generation and dissipation of mechanical energy. Lower extremity loading caused little change in the movement pattern of the swing leg. However, increases in the joint reaction forces and net moments and in the amount of work done and the energy transfer attributed to the reaction forces and moments were observed, but were limited to the joints proximal to the location of the added load. These results were consistent with the increased aerobic demand associated with increases in lower extremity inertia that have been reported elsewhere and also have implications for the manner in which the neuromuscular system controls the motion of the legs during running.