cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Designed and created for a veteran by a veteran: A pilot study of caring cards for suicide prevention

Introduction This pilot study investigates feasibility and acceptability of Caring Cards, a suicide prevention intervention inspired by Caring Contacts and the Recovery Model, where Veteran peers create cards that are sent to Veterans recently discharged from a VA psychiatric hospitalization for suicide risk. Methods Caring Cards consists of: (1) a weekly outpatient group where Veterans (card makers) create cards, and (2) sending cards to recently discharged Veterans (card recipients). Feasibility for card makers was measured by attendance; acceptability (satisfaction) was examined. Card recipients were sent one caring card, one week post-discharge. Feasibility for recipients was measured by the percentage of Veterans that met eligibility and follow-up response rate; acceptability (satisfaction) was examined. Results Caring Cards is feasible and acceptable. The outpatient group had a higher attendance rate (81%) compared with other clinic groups. The percentage of eligible card recipients was 61%. Of these, 69% were reached for follow-up and 50% provided follow-up responses. Card makers and recipients both expressed positive experiences with Caring Cards. Conclusion Caring Cards is a low-intensity, feasible, and acceptable intervention with potential benefits for both Veteran card makers and recipients. Additional research is needed to determine the efficacy of Caring Cards as a suicide prevention intervention.
Corticotropin-Releasing Hormone from the Pontine Micturition Center Plays an Inhibitory Role in Micturition.

Lower urinary tract or voiding disorders are prevalent across all ages and affect >40% of adults over 40 years old, leading to decreased quality of life and high health care costs. The pontine micturition center (PMC; i.e., Barrington9s nucleus) contains a large population of neurons that localize the stress-related neuropeptide, corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) and project to neurons in the spinal cord to regulate micturition. How the PMC and CRH-expressing neurons in the PMC control volitional micturition is of critical importance for human voiding disorders. To investigate the specific role of CRH in the PMC, neurons in the PMC-expressing CRH were optogenetically activated during in vivo cystometry in unanesthetized mice of either sex. Optogenetic activation of CRH-PMC neurons led to increased intermicturition interval and voided volume, similar to the altered voiding phenotype produced by social stress. Female mice showed a significantly more pronounced phenotype change compared with male mice. These effects were eliminated by CRH-receptor 1 antagonist pretreatment. Optogenetic inhibition of CRH-PMC neurons led to an altered voiding phenotype characterized by more frequent voids and smaller voided volumes. Last, in a cyclophosphamide cystitis model of bladder overactivity, optogenetic activation of CRH-PMC neurons returned the voiding pattern to normal. Collectively, our findings demonstrate that CRH from PMC spinal-projecting neurons has an inhibitory function on micturition and is a potential therapeutic target for human disease states, such as voiding postponement, urinary retention, and underactive or overactive bladder. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The pontine micturition center (PMC), which is a major regulator of volitional micturition, is neurochemically heterogeneous, and excitatory neurotransmission derived from PMC neurons is thought to mediate the micturition reflex. In the present study, using optogenetic manipulation of CRH-containing neurons in double-transgenic mice, we demonstrate that CRH, which is prominent in PMC-spinal projections, has an inhibitory function on volitional micturition. Moreover, engaging this inhibitory function of CRH can ameliorate bladder hyperexcitability induced by cyclophosphamide in a model of cystitis. The data underscore CRH as a novel target for the treatment of voiding dysfunctions, which are highly prevalent disease processes in children and adults.
How to Audit Your Library Website for WCAG 2.1 Compliance

The ever-evolving nature of library websites can lead to a mismatched collection of web pages that lack cohesion and, more importantly, lack key accessibility features for users. In Spring 2020, our library’s user experience unit audited our library website—excluding third-party vendor sites and services—for WCAG 2.1 compliance. While we based our method around situation-specific barriers, we believe the process we followed will help library staff who may lack time or money to put toward such projects or who run into organizational barriers. We share our process with others in hopes that it helps reduce barriers to identifying website accessibility issues.
Modula-2 wizard: A programmer's reference

Modula-2 Language Overview Differences Between Pascal and Modula-2 Input and Output Other Modula-2 Libraries Recent Changes to Modula-2 The Borland Modular-2 Implementation Appendixes: Syntax of Modula-2 Modula-2 Reserved Words, Operators, Delimitors and Predefined Procedures ASCII Character Set References and Resources Books Periodicals Reference Card Index.
The Effect of Clustered Scatterers on Volume Reverberation

Abstract : The long term goal of this work is to further the understanding of how clustering in clouds of discrete scatterers has an effect on both forward propagating and backscattered acoustic fields. Clustering is considered to be present when there are spatially dependent correlations in the fluctuating positions of the scatterers. For example, bubble clouds created by oceanic breaking waves have been observed to exhibit clustering at a level that would have a significant impact on the forward propagating acoustic field. Clustering is also expected to be present in fish aggregations (e.g., nearest neighbor distances, school morphologies driven by behavior, inter-school spacing), and consequently should be accounted for when examining bioclutter. This work is based on (a) refining theoretical approaches so that they include clustering; and (b) observing clustering in the important classes of discrete volume scatterers in the ocean. This objectives of this research are to: (1) further develop the basic constructs that have previously been used for examining clustering amongst bubbles so that it can be used to examine reverberation caused by clustering in fish aggregations at mid- to low-frequencies (i.e., at or near swim bladder resonances), and (2) leverage existing fisheries high resolution multibeam sonar data collection efforts (or other similar efforts) to look for clustering within, or between, aggregations of fish, and to then to predict the effect of this clustering on volume reverberation.
Acclimation to temperature of the response of photosynthesis to increased carbon dioxide concentration in Taraxacum officinale.

The relative stimulation of photosynthesis by elevated carbon dioxide in C3 species normally increases strongly with increasing temperature. This results from the kinetic characteristics of Rubisco, and has potentially important implications for responses of vegetation to increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide. It is often assumed that because Rubisco characteristics are conservative, all C3 species have the same temperature dependence of the response of photosynthesis to elevated carbon dioxide. However, in this field study of Taraxacum officinale, there were no significant differences in the relative stimulation of photosynthesis by elevated carbon dioxide among days with temperatures ranging from 15 to 34 °C. Nevertheless, short-term measurements indicated a strong temperature dependence of the stimulation. This suggested that acclimation to temperature caused the lack of variation in the seasonal data. Experiments in controlled environments indicated that complete acclimation of the relative stimulation of photosynthesis by elevated carbon dioxide occurred for growth temperatures of 10 – 25 °C. The apparent specificity of Rubisco for carbon dioxide relative to oxygen at 15 °C, as assayed in vivo by measurements of the carbon dioxide concentration at which carboxylation equalled oxygenation, also varied with growth temperature. Changes in the apparent specificity of Rubisco accounted for the acclimation of the temperature dependence of the relative stimulation of photosynthesis by elevated carbon dioxide. It is premature to conclude that low temperatures will necessarily reduce the relative stimulation of photosynthesis caused by rising atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Subsite mapping of enzymes. Correlation of product patterns with Michaelis parameters and substrate-induced strain.

Abstract The product distributions of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens amylase acting on homologous maltodextrins have been measured and used to map the active site of the enzyme. These data can be used to estimate the energetics of subsite-monomer interactions on the enzyme. The resulting energy contour supplied the information needed to compute the population distribution of productive and nonproductive positional isomers for any set of enzyme-substrate complexes. These calculations lead to a theoretical dependence of the apparent Michaelis parameters, Ki, Km, and Vmax on chain length. The theoretical dependence of the enzyme parameters upon chain length predicted from the representational subsite model is in rather poor agreement with the experimental data. However, modification of the model by introduction of substrate-induced strain brings the computed and experimental data into exceptionally good accord for chain lengths 1 to 12. Thus, the subsite model quantitatively accounts for many important thermodynamic and kinetic facets of enzyme-substrate interactions. Our results reveal that the specific glycosidic monomer undergoing hydrolysis is probably highly strained and that long chains are hydrolyzed more rapidly than shorter ones primarily because of increased strain. To our knowledge this is the first instance in which Michaelis parameters have been quantitatively correlated with product patterns over a wide range of chain lengths.
Influence of Beef Breeds (Brangus, Charolais, or Hereford) on Locoweed Consumption1

Oxytropis sericea and Astragulus mollissimus (commonly referred to as locoweeds) are responsible for significant monetary losses annually to producers in the western United States. Therefore, a study was conducted over 2 yr to evaluate the influence of beef breeds (Brangus, Charolais, and Hereford) on locoweed consumption. Twenty-one steers (seven per breed group) were used initially in each year of the study on pastures located near Sofia, NM in yr 1 and on pastures located near Des Moines, NM in yr 2. Steers were placed in separate pastures for each breed (3 pastures/yr) and were rotated through pastures on a weekly basis. Number of bites taken of cool and warm season grasses, forbs, and locoweed were recorded daily for each steer. Blood samples were collected on d 0, 7, 21, and 28 for determination of serum alkaline phosphatase. A breed x year interaction (P < 0.10) was observed for locoweed consumption. During yr 1, Brangus cattle consumed more locoweed during wk 1 of the study than Charolais or Herefords (12, 2, and 3% of bites recorded for Brangus, Charolais, and Hereford, respectively). During yr 2, Brangus cattle consumed more (P < 0.10) locoweed during wk 1 (15, 2, and 0%), wk 2 (6, 1, and 1%), and wk 3 (9, 4, and 0% for Brangus, Charolais, and Hereford, respectively) of the experiment compared with Charolais and Hereford cattle. No differences were noted among breeds for serum alkaline phosphatase (AP) concentrations during yr 1. Serum AP was increased (P < 0.01) for Brangus versus Charolais and Hereford on d 7 and 14 during yr 2. Results suggest that differences among breeds exist for locoweed consumption.
Effect of Thyroid State on Myocardial Contractility

The mechanical properties of papillary muscles isolated from hyperthyroid, euthyroid and hypothyroid cats were compared and the relationship between hyperthyroidism and endogenous as well as exogenous catecholamines was studied. Changes in the level of thyroid activity profoundly affected the intrinsic contractile state of cardiac muscle primarily byaltering the speed of shortening of the contractile elements, while total force production was not modified markedly. Muscles from hyperthyroid animals were not supersensitive to exogenous norepinephrine and the increased speed of shortening associated with hyperthyroidism was independent of endogenous norepinephrine stores. {Endocrinology 82: 191, 1968)
Temperature Dependence of the Eu3+ 5D0 Lifetime in Europium Tris(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedionato)

The temperature dependence of the Eu3+ 5D0 relaxation rate in solid europium tris(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-3,5-heptanedionato) is presented. Eu3+ emission is strongly quenched in the region of room temperature. It is proposed that thermal quenching of 5D0 emission is via crossover from the 5D0 to a ligand-to-lanthanide charge transfer state. Activation energies for the crossover process were determined using the models of Mott and of Englman and Jortner, yielding values of 4120 ± 20 and 5700 ± 300 cm-1, respectively. The crossover process is less efficient in media in which Eu(thd)3 exists as a monomer.
Selective processing of food, weight, and body-shape words in nonpatient women with bulimia nervosa: Interference on the Stroop task

The study investigated whether the Stroop interference effect could be found in nonpatients with a self-report consistent with a diagnosis of bulimia nervosa. The nonpatient bulimic group showed significantly more interference to disorder-specific words (food, weight, and body shape) than to control words. The two nonpatient comparison groups, a depressed-nonbulimic group and a nonbulimic-nondepressed group, showed no interference. These results indicate that nonpatients with bulimia nervosa can be used to test various models of the cognitive and emotional processes involved in bulimia nervosa with the modified Stroop task. Methodological issues in the use of the computerized Stroop task with clinical populations are also noted.
First-principles theory of the coherency strain, defect energetics, and solvus boundaries in the PbTe-AgSbTe 2 system

Using first-principles data for the elastic properties of PbTe, ${\text{AgSbTe}}_{2}$, and related compounds, we extend our previous theoretical study of the thermodynamics of ${\text{PbTe-AgSbTe}}_{2}$ and present an in-depth analysis of the effects of elastic strain on the thermodynamics of ordering and coherent solvus boundaries. We find that the substitutional site preference for Pb in ordered ${\text{AgSbTe}}_{2}$ and the large asymmetry of the ${\text{PbTe-AgSbTe}}_{2}$ miscibility gap share a common physical origin in the peculiar defect energetics of ${\text{AgSbTe}}_{2}$. In particular, we find that Pb substitution on Ag sites has approximately the same energy cost as a complex defect consisting of Pb substitution on an Sb site combined with an ${\text{Sb}}_{\text{Ag}}$ antisite defect. Configurational entropy contributions strongly favor the latter, explaining why Pb substitutes almost exclusively on the Sb sites in ${\text{AgSbTe}}_{2}$. Coherency strain is shown to increase the solubility limits by a factor of $\ensuremath{\sim}2$ relative to the bulk values both for Ag,Sb in PbTe and for Pb in ${\text{AgSbTe}}_{2}$.
A Scoring Methodology for Equipment Replacement Model Evaluation

Abstract A scoring model was developed and used to rate several analytical techniques used in making equipment replacement decisions. The model incorporates both subjective evaluations by users as well as objective performance measures on several actual replacement problems. Among the several models ranked, the payback criterion ranked highest, primarily because of the ease with which it is understood and implemented. Models incorporating present values, including profit maximization and risk analysis, ranked next, while the MAPI technique received the lowest ranking.
Detergent Extraction of Enzymes from Tobacco Leaves Varying in Maturity

Enzyme activities of tobacco leaves were compared in detergent extracts. Highest levels of chlorogenic acid oxidase, malate-NAD oxidoreductase, and acid phosphatase were obtained from bud tissues. Peroxidase activity was least in young leaves and highest in senescent leaves yellowed with Ethrel. Peroxidase zymograms obtained by means of disc electrophoresis showed differences in isozyme composition among all five samples examined. Although protease was found in material extracted from buds, upper, middle, and lower leaf positions, none could be demonstrated in Ethrel-treated mature leaves.
Out-of-atlas labeling: A multi-atlas approach to cancer segmentation

Conventional automated segmentation techniques for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) fail to perform in a robust and consistent manner when brain anatomy differs wildly from expectations — as is often the case in brain cancers. We propose a novel out-of-atlas technique to estimate the spatial extent of abnormal brain regions by combining multi-atlas based segmentation with semi-local non-parametric intensity analysis. In a study with 30 clinically-acquired MRI scans of patients with malignant gliomas and 29 atlases of normal anatomy from research acquisitions, we demonstrate that this technique robustly identifies cancerous regions. The resulting segmentations could be used to study cancer morphometrics or guide selection/application/refinement of tumor analysis models or regional image quantification approaches.
Abundance not linked to survival across the end-Cretaceous mass extinction: Patterns in North American bivalves

Ecological studies suggest that rare taxa are more likely to go extinct than abundant ones, but the influence of abundance on survivorship in the fossil record has received little attention. An analysis of Late Maastrichtian bivalve subgenera from the North American Coastal Plain found no evidence that survivorship is tied to abundance across the end-Cretaceous mass extinction (65 million years ago), regardless of abundance metric or spatial scale examined. The fact that abundance does not promote survivorship in end-Cretaceous bivalves suggests that the factors influencing survivorship during mass extinctions in the fossil record may differ from those operating during intervals of background extinction.
Cardiovascular, plasma norepinephrine, and thermal adjustments to prolonged exercise in young and older healthy humans.

We tested the hypothesis that the whole body energy expenditure, plasma norepinephrine, cardiovascular, and internal body temperature adjustments to prolonged submaximal exercise (i.e., 'cardiovascular drift') performed at the same per cent of peak oxygen uptake (per cent VO2peak) under thermoneutral ambient conditions would be smaller in older compared to young non-physically trained men. Healthy young (25 +/- 1 years; VO2max = 49.3 +/- 1.6 ml kg-1 min-1; n = 6) and older (66 +/- 2 years; VO2max = 31.5 +/- 2.3 ml kg-1 min-1; n = 6) untrained men with similar levels of chronic physical activity were studied during pre-exercise standing rest and serially during 45 min of constant load treadmill walking at approximately 65% VO2peak (Ta = approximately 23 degrees C; approximately 40 RH). There were no group differences at rest. From rest to 5 min of exercise, the increases in heart rate were less (P < 0.05), the changes in arterial blood pressure and per cent delta blood volume were not different, and the rise in plasma norepinephrine concentration was greater (P < 0.05) in the older men vs. young controls. Consistent with our hypothesis, the increases in rectal temperature and plasma norepinephrine concentrations from 5 to 45 min of exercise were smaller in the older men (1.06-0.18 vs. 1.46 +/- 0.16 degrees C and 110 +/- 132 vs. 443 +/- 189%, respectively, P < 0.05). In contrast, the progressive increases in VO2, heart rate, and perceived effort, as well as the time-dependent reductions in systolic, mean and diastolic arterial blood pressure and per cent delta blood volume, were not different in the two groups. Thus, the whole body energy expenditure and selected cardiovascular adjustments to prolonged submaximal treadmill exercise performed at the same per cent VO2peak under comfortable ambient conditions are not different in healthy, physical activity-matched young and older men, despite a smaller elevation in internal body temperature in the latter.
Protocol for mitigating the risk of hijacking social networking sites

The proliferation of social and collaborative media has been accompanied by an increased level of cyber attacks on social networking and collaboration sites. One serious type of attack is session hijacking attacks which enable the attacker to impersonate the victim and take over his/her networking session(s). In this paper, we present a security authentication protocol for mitigating the risk of hijacking social networking and collaboration sites. The protocol is based on the recognition that users of social and collaborative media connect to their websites using a variety of platforms and connection speeds. To appeal to both mobile devices such as smart phones or tablets using Wi-Fi connections and high-end workstations such as PC's using high-speed connections, a novel Self-Configuring Repeatable Hash Chains (SCRHC) protocol was developed to prevent the hijacking of session cookies. The protocol supports three different levels of caching, giving the user the ability to forfeit storage space for increased performance and reduced workload. Performance evaluation tests are presented to show the effectiveness and flexibility of the SCRHC protocol.
PARDES—an enhanced active database system (abstract)

Traditional databases are passive. They do only what is explicitly requested in the user's query or update operation. The active database paradigm states that a database may react in an intelligent way to an external input by creating and executing database operations, which, though not explicitly requested in the input, are required to preserve invariants associated to the data base.This paradigm replaces many operations traditionally implemented by application programs with descriptive definitions that are part of the database schema. Models and research prototypes based on this paradigm are POST-GRES, HiPAC, SAPIENS, Ariel.Our model extends existing active database models in the following ways:It increases the expressive-power of the language used to define the database schema by allowing the specification of a richer class of invariants than is currently supported. Example: (SALARY:=BASE-SALARY + BONUS + 1000* count (SUBORDINATES)) The proposed language is compact yet powerful. It reduces the cost of development and maintenance of database update applications and reduces the problems of validation and verification.It provides an efficient algorithm for generating the auxiliary operations required to preserve the invariants after an update (In other models these operations have to be explicitly coded, either in the application program or in the database schema.)Our model introduces the notion of Exception-Handling Mode, proposes a number of such modes, and specifies how modes can be defined in the data base schema. The modes we propose eliminate a large portion of the exception handling code that currently exists in application programs.
The scheme of things: streams versus generators

With this article I'm changing the series title to "The Scheme of Things". The original title was a weak pun on the technical term environment. An environment, you see, associates names with their meanings. In the Scheme environment, for example, the word "environment" has the meaning just stated, while in some other parts of the programming language world the word "environment" has a less technical meaning that refers to the stuff that comes with a programming system. One of my purposes has been to explain the meaning of terms in the Scheme environment. Sometimes a word like "environment" or "stream" means something different in Scheme than it does in some other dialect of Lisp, usually because the Scheme terminology follows that of another well-established language or group of languages.
Statistical Criteria For Multiwavelength Comparisons Of Digital Fluorescence Images

Algorithms for geometric correction of digital images, for registration of images acquired at different wavelengths and for sample repositioning after removal from the microscope stages are described. These image processing procedures increase significantly the analytic power of digital imaging fluorescence microscopy and the usefulness of immunocytochemistry.© (1988) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The pausing principle: Increasing the efficiency of memory for ongoing events

Abstract The effectiveness of pausing for learning from lectures was investigated. One hundred and eight subjects listened to a 21-min lecture with the addition of one of the following pausing intervals: a 6-min prelecture pause, three 2-min pauses interspersed at 7-min intervals, or a 6-min postlecture pause. Crossed orthogonally with pause location was the kind of activity conducted during the pause: irrelevant puzzle solution, individual review, or group discussion. Free-recall and cued-recall tests were administered immediately after the lecture and 2 weeks later. Interspersed pauses coupled with group discussion was the most efficient procedure. The postlecture pause with individual review or group discussion was the next most efficient procedure. Puzzle solution during interspersed and prelecture pauses interfered with retention. There was some evidence for the necessity of a consolidation period for long-term retention.
One Genome, Two Ontogenies

The fascination of humans with the notion of multiple personalities (and morphologies) is perhaps best captured in Robert Louis Stevenson's 1886 tale of the Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde . Land plants have been pulling off this trick for 475 million years, although perhaps to less acclaim. All of the roughly 300,000 extant species of land plants ( 1 ) engage in a complex life cycle that alternates between sporophytes (spore-producing organisms) and gametophytes (gamete-producing organisms). Biologists have long pondered how each species of land plant can maintain separate developmental programs that produce fundamentally dissimilar ontogenies and morphologies. On page 1067 of this issue, Sakakibara et al. ( 2 ) provide insights into the developmental and evolutionary origins of this alternation of generations.
Complex heart rate variability and serum norepinephrine levels in patients with advanced heart failure

Abstract Objectives. This study was designed to examine the relation of the Poincare plot heart rate variability pattern to sympathetic nervous system activity as assessed by serum norepinephrine. Background. Poincare plots demonstrate a complexity of beat to beat behavior not readily detected by other heart rate variability measures. Previous studies have described two abnormal Poincare patterns in patients with heart failure: a torpedo pattern with reduced beat to beat variability and a complex pattern with clustering of points. Methods. To assess the relation of these plots to sympathetic activity, plasma norepinephrine at rest and a standard deviation measure of heart rate variability were analyzed in 21 patients with heart failure (mean left ventricular ejection fraction [±SD] 0.22 ±0.05). Results. Eleven subjects had a torpedo-shaped and 10 subjects had a complex Poincare plot pattern. These two groups did not differ significantly in age, functional class, disease etiology, left ventricular ejection fraction, heart rate, ventricular ectopic activity or in a standard deviation measure of heart rate variability. However, patients with a complex Poincare plot pattern had higher norepinephrine levels (722 ± 373 pg/ml) than patients with torpedo-shaped plots (309 ± 134 pg/ml) (p = 0.003). Patients with a complex pattern also had more severe hemodynamic decompensation, as evidenced by their higher levels of pulmonary capillary wedge and mean pulmonary artery pressures and lower values for cardiac index than those of patients with a torpedo-shaped plot. Conclusions. Complex Poincare plots are associated with marked sympathetic activation and may provide additional prognostic information and insight into autonomic alterations and sudden cardiac death in patients with heart failure.
Sequestration of aristolochic acids by the pipevine swallowtail, Battus philenor (L.): evidence and ecological implications

It has long been assumed that the North American pipevine swallowtail, Battus philenor (L.) (Papilionidae, Troidini), is protected from natural enemies by aristolochic acids sequestered from its Aristolochia food plants. This study confirmed that populations of B. philenor from Virginia and east Texas sequester these compounds. A comparison of the aristolochic acid profiles of the Virginia butterflies and their A. macrophylla food plants revealed several differences. The aristolochic acid fraction of the foliage was dominated by aristolochic acids I and II, whereas the insects had a much lower proportion of aristolochic acid II and contained, in addition, substantial amounts of aristolochic acids Ia and IVa, which were not detected in the plants. The eggs, larval integument, osmeterial glands, pupal cuticle, and adults (wings and bodies) all contained aristolochic acids. These findings help explain the abundant ecological data indicating that both immature and adult B. philenor are unpalatable and protected from natural enemies.
Anti-predator vigilance in the red-winged blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus: do males act as sentinels?

Abstract During the nesting season, male red-winged blackbirds frequently scan from prominent perches near active nests. Males engaged in such behaviour appear to be acting as sentinels, guarding their nests against predators. The sentinel hypothesis was tested in three ways. (1) Male response to a simulated predator was observed. On average, males spent significantly more time within 10 m of their nests following predator presentations than at other times during the same day, and many males looked into their nests immediately after the simulated predator was removed. (2) The height and distance distributions of putative sentinel perches near nests that successfully fledged young were compared with those near nests that failed as a result of predation. Successful nests were associated with significantly closer and higher perches than were depredated nests. (3) The effect of artificial sentinel perches on female choice of nest location in a prairie habitat lacking tall perches was observed. Females were more likely to place their nests in areas with nearby artificial perches than in similar areas lacking such perches. These results support the sentinel hypothesis. There was no evidence, however, that more vigilant male red-winged blackbirds were more aggressive in nest defence, or experienced higher pairing and reproductive success than less vigilant males.
Seismic Amplification within the Seattle Basin, Washington State: Insights from SHIPS Seismic Tomography Experiments

Recent observations indicate that the Seattle sedimentary basin, under- lying Seattle and other urban centers in the Puget Lowland, Washington, amplifies long-period (1-5 sec) weak ground motions by factors of 10 or more. We computed east-trending P- and S-wave velocity models across the Seattle basin from Seismic Hazard Investigations of Puget Sound (SHIPS) experiments to better characterize the seismic hazard the basin poses. The 3D tomographic models, which resolve features to a depth of 10 km, for the first time define the P- and S-wave velocity structure of the eastern end of the basin. The basin, which contains sedimentary rocks of Eocene to Holocene, is broadly symmetric in east-west section and reaches a maximum thickness of 6 km along our profile beneath north Seattle. A comparison of our velocity model with coincident amplification curves for weak ground motions pro- duced by the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake suggests that the distribution of Quaternary deposits and reduced velocity gradients in the upper part of the basement east of Seattle have significance in forecasting variations in seismic-wave amplification across the basin. Specifically, eastward increases in the amplification of 0.2- to 5-Hz energy correlate with locally thicker unconsolidated deposits and a change from Crescent Formation basement to pre-Tertiary Cascadia basement. These models de- fine the extent of the Seattle basin, the Seattle fault, and the geometry of the basement contact, giving insight into the tectonic evolution of the Seattle basin and its influence on ground shaking.
Femtosecond pulse coherent combining and spectral synthesis using four parallel chirped pulse fiber amplifiers

We demonstrate spectral synthesis of femtosecond pulses in a coherently combined four-channel fiber chirped pulse amplifier array. This approach offers a path to overcome gain narrowing limitations of individual fiber amplifier channels.
Determination of antibody concentration as the main parameter in a dengue virus antibody-dependent enhancement assay using FcγR-expressing BHK cells.

Dengue virus (DENV) causes a life-threatening illness, with a wide range of symptoms from mild febrile illness, dengue fever (DF), to life-threatening illness, dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF). Antibody-dependent enhancement (ADE) is considered to be a risk factor for DHF. In the present study, we determined the parameters for ADE assays using FcγR-expressing BHK cells. Monoclonal antibodies and human serum samples were used in the assays. We examined antibody concentration and virus concentration and analyzed whether antibody concentration or DENV-antibody ratio determines ADE activity. Virus growth was quantified by a conventional plaque titration method using FcγR-expressing BHK cells. The assay allowed the detection of DENV growth with inoculation doses ranging from 102 PFU/ml to 106 PFU/ml using monoclonal antibodies and undiluted or diluted serum samples. The results indicate that antibody concentration rather than DENV-antibody ratio determines the demonstration of ADE activity. Thus, antibody concentration rather than multiplicity of infection was defined as the main determinant in ADE assays using FcγR-expressing BHK cells.
Photofootprinting in vivo detects transcription-dependent changes in yeast TATA boxes

To elucidate critical steps in the transcription initiation process, we have devised a protocol for obtaining information about DNA structure and DNA–protein interactions at nucleotide level resolution from intact yeast cells. Our procedure combines the ultraviolet light 'footprinting' method developed by Becker and Wang1 with the 'genomic sequencing' technique described by Church and Gilbert2. Using this approach we were able to detect the binding of GAL 4 protein at sites within the upstream activating sequence (UASG) previously mapped using other in vivo and in vitro foot-printing procedures3–5. We also observed transcription-dependent changes in sensitivity of DNA to ultraviolet-induced covalent modification at several positions between the upstream activating sequence and the transcription initiation sites of the GAL 1 and GAL 10 genes. The most prominent of these changes occurs at a common site within the putative 'TATA' boxes of the two genes. Ultraviolet modification at this site is enhanced only in transcrip-tionally active promoters.
Ebola: My Head Is Full of Stories

My head is full of stories. They play out behind my eyes like a movie reel. I suppose that is true of everyone, every day, but some stories warrant telling more than others. Perhaps especially the stories of those who did not live to tell their own tales.
Socioeconomic consequences of the process of transition to adulthood

Abstract Life course theorists have argued that the timing and sequencing of major life events have consequences for individuals. Analyzing data from a 15-year follow-up study of high school students originally surveyed in 1957–1958 and resurveyed in 1973–1974, we examine the effects of the timing and sequencing of role changes during the transition to adulthood on adult socioeconomic attainment. Our findings provide no support for the general hypothesis that individuals who experience events early or late relative to their peers or individuals who experience events in an atypical sequence suffer negative consequences. What we find are associations between the timing and sequencing of particular role changes and adult socioeconomic attainment. Although most effects of the timing and sequencing of role changes are mediated via educational attainment, variation in the process of leaving school and entering the labor force bears an independent relationship to male earnings. Entry into adult family roles and the timing of initiation of the process of entry into those roles also bears an independent relationship to the earnings of both sexes but in opposite directions.
Epoxide hydrase in Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigotes.

Abstract 1. 1. Microsomal fractions from Trypanosoma cruzi epimastigotes catalyze the hydration of styrene oxide to styrene glycol. The activity is linear up to 45 min of incubation is proportional to microsomal protein concentration within certain range, and has an optimum pH of 8.5. 2. 2. Double-reciprocal plots indicate a K m value of 5.3 · 10 −4 M for styrene oxide and a V of 29.6 pmol of styrene glycol formed/min per mg protein at 37°C. 4-Chlorophenyl-2,3-epoxypropyl ether ( K i = 2.08 · 10 −4 M) and juvenile hormone I ( K i = 2.7 · 10 −4 M) are competitive inhibitors; whereas, 1-chloro-2,3-epoxypropane is a non-competitive inhibitor. The enzyme is induced about three-fold by 5 mM phenobarbital in the growth medium. 3. 3. The epoxide hydrase is not activated by detergents but rather inhibited by concentrations of Tween-80 and Lubrol as low as 0.025%. 4. 4. Experiments with intact cells indicate that about 3% of [8- 14 C]styrene oxide penetrates after 90 min of incubation; whereas, over 30% of juvenile hormone I is found intracellularly after the same incubation period. Intracellular styrene oxide is hydrated to styrene glycol to a significant extent and the in vivo hydration is increased by pretreatment with phenobarbital and inhibited upon the addition of 4-chlorophenyl-2,3-epoxypropyl ether. Only a small amount of the intracellular juvenile hormone I is recovered as the corresponding diol ester.
The Management of International Acquisitions

The article reviews the book ‘The Management of International Acquisitions,’ by John Child, David Faulkner and Robert Pitkethly.
Sulphydryl groups of the retina

Abstract 1. 1. The sulphydryl content of isolated whole retinas obtained from albino rats was determined prior to, and after, illumination. 2. 2. After illumination, 6 additional sulphydryl molecules were available for reaction. 3. 3. The sulphydryl content of the retinas was also determined after the addition of N -ethyl maleimide to the eyes prior to, and after, illumination. 4. 4. One molecule of N -ethyl maleimide reacted with 1 of sulphydryl in the dark, and 3 of sulphydryl after illumination.
Binding of 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonate to lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase studied by fluorescence techniques

The solvatochromic fluorescent probe 8-anilino-1-naphthalenesulfonate (ANS) has been used to study the hydrophobicity and conformational dynamics of lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT). The ANS to LCAT binding constant was estimated from titrations with ANS, keeping a constant concentration of LCAT (2 microM). Apparent binding constant was found to be dependent on the excitation. For the direct excitation of ANS at 375 nm the binding constant was 4.7 microM(-1) and for UV excitation at 295 nm was 3.2 microM(-1). In the later case, not only ANS but also tryptophan (Trp) residues of LCAT is being excited. Fluorescence spectra and intensity decays show an efficient energy transfer from tryptophan residues to ANS. The apparent distance from Trp donor to ANS acceptor, estimated from the changes in donor lifetime was about 3 nm and depends on the ANS concentration. Steady-state and time-resolved fluorescence emission and anisotropies have been characterized. The lifetime of ANS bound to LCAT was above 16 ns which is characteristic for it being in a hydrophobic environment. The ANS labeled LCAT fluorescence anisotropy decay revealed the correlation time of 42 ns with a weak residual motion of 2.8 ns. These characteristics of ANS labeled LCAT fluorescence show that ANS is an excellent probe to study conformational changes of LCAT protein and its interactions with other macromolecules.
MR imaging of pulmonary parenchyma with a half-Fourier single-shot turbo spin-echo (HASTE) sequence.

Objective: To evaluate the utility of a half-Fourier single-shot turbo spin-echo sequence (HASTE) at depicting lung parenchyma and lung pathology. Methods and patients: A HASTE sequence was applied to five normal volunteers and 20 patients with various pulmonary disorders to depict the lung parenchyma. Images were acquired with ECG-triggering and breath-holding. In three volunteers, signal intensity measurements from lung parenchyma were performed using four sequences: (a) HASTE; (b) conventional spin echo; (c) fast spin echo; and (d) gradient echo. T2 maps were produced using the HASTE acquisition. Results: Minimal respiratory or cardiac motion artifacts were observed. The signal-to-noise ratios from lung parenchyma were 27.8±5.4, 22.0±3.0, 15.3±0.9, and 6.0±1.9 for HASTE, spin-echo, fast spin-echo, and gradient echo sequences, respectively. The scan time for HASTE was 302 ms for each slice. The T2 values in the right lung and the left lung were 61.2±4.1 and 79.1±8.9 ms in systole and 92.6±5.8 and 97.5±12.2 ms in diastole, respectively (P<0.05 diastole versus systole). The HASTE sequence demonstrated clearly various pulmonary disorders, including lung cancer, hilar lymphadenopathy, metastatic pulmonary nodules as small as 3 mm, pulmonary hemorrhage, pulmonary edema and bronchial wall thickening in bronchiectasis. Conclusion: Our preliminary results indicate that the HASTE sequence provides a practical means for breath-hold MR imaging of lung parenchyma.
Hypersonic speed and isentropic compressibility in pyridine and piperidine

Abstract The hypersonic speed and dynamic isentropic compressibility of pure pyridine and piperidine were measured by Brillouin spectroscopy in the temperature range from 293.6 to 366.7 K in the 5 to 7 GHz frequency region.
A preliminary typology of initial clusters in acquisition

Dans le cadre des recherches sur l'acquisition du systeme phonologique anglais chez les enfants, l'A. avance quelques hypotheses generales concernant l'ordre chronologique d'acquisition des classes, ou ensembles, de sons
Abstract 312: Autophagy mediates HIF2α degradation and suppresses renal tumorigenesis

Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA Autophagy is a conserved process involved in lysosomal degradation of protein aggregates and damaged organelles. The role of autophagy in cancer is a topic of intense debate, and the underlying mechanism is still not clear. Here we reported that the hypoxia inducible factor 2α (HIF2α), an oncogenic transcription factor implicated in renal tumorigenesis, was in part constitutively degraded by autophagy. HIF2α interacts with autophagy protein LC3, autophagy receptor p62, and lysosome protein LAMP1. Inhibition of autophagy results in HIF2α accumulation, while induction of autophagy promotes HIF2α degradation. The E3 ubiquitin ligase activity of the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) is required for autophagic degradation of HIF2α. There is a complementary interaction between the proteasome and autophagy in HIF2α degradation. Autophagy inactivation in ATG5 knockout cells redirects HIF2α to proteasomal degradation, while proteasome inhibition induced autophagy and favored the HIF2α-p62 interaction. Importantly, we reported that clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) was frequently associated with mono-allelic loss and/or mutation of autophagy related gene ATG7, and low expression level of autophagy genes correlated with ccRCC progression. This study sheds light on the anticancer role for autophagy in ccRCC tumorigenesis, and reveals constitutive autophagic degradation of HIF2α as a novel tumor suppression mechanism. Citation Format: Xian-De Liu, Jun Yao, Durga N. Tripathi, Zhiyong Ding, Yi Xu, Mianen Sun, Jiangwei Zhang, Shanshan Bai, Peter German, Anh Hoang, Lijun Zhou, Xuesong Zhang, Claudio J. Conti, Eleni Efstathiou, Tony N. Eissa, Gordon B. Mills, Cheryl L. Walker, Eric Jonasch. Autophagy mediates HIF2α degradation and suppresses renal tumorigenesis. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 312. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-312
Kinetics of lipopolysaccharide-induced transcription factor activation/inactivation and relation to proinflammatory gene expression in the murine spleen

Bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) elicits inflammation and endotoxic shock by inducing proinflammatory cytokine gene expression. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that differential activation of transcription factor binding in the spleen correlates with proinflammatory cytokine gene expression in mice exposed to LPS. When proinflammatory cytokine expression in spleen was evaluated in mice injected ip with 4 mg/kg LPS over an 8-h period, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin (IL)-1beta, and IL-6 mRNAs were elevated up to 5-, 6-, and 300-fold, respectively, over vehicle controls. Both TNF- alpha and IL-6 mRNA peaked at 2 h and begin to decline thereafter, whereas IL-1beta mRNA remained elevated from 2 to 8 h. The capacities of splenic nuclear proteins to bind to six different consensus transcriptional control motifs associated with proinflammatory cytokine promoters were also measured over 8 h. Electrophoretic mobility shift assay (EMSA) revealed that binding activity was markedly increased at 0.5 to 8 h for activator protein-1 (AP-1) as were CCAAT enhancer-binding protein (C/EBP) and nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) at 0.5 to 1.5 h. At 0.5 h, cyclic AMP response element (CRE)-binding protein (CREB) and binding was slightly elevated, whereas activator protein- 2 (AP-2) and specificity protein 1 (Sp1) binding were not affected. Antibody supershift EMSA and Western blot analysis confirmed that increased binding of these factors correlated with LPS-induced increases in nuclear concentrations of AP-1 (c-Jun, phosphorylated c-Jun, Jun D, and Jun B), C/EBPbeta, NF-kappaB (p50, p65, and c-Rel), CREB (CREB-1, CREB-2, and ATF-2), and AP-2alpha proteins. Remarkably, after 8 h, C/EBP, CREB, AP-2, and Sp1 binding activities were greatly depleted relative to both naive and corresponding vehicle controls. When mice were exposed to a second dose of LPS, 8 h after a 4 mg/kg priming dose, TNF-alpha and IL-6 mRNA responses were markedly impaired, suggesting that the mice were endotoxin tolerant at this time point. Taken together, the quiescent, active, and suppressive phases of transcription factor binding observed in this model were highly consistent with the rapid transient nature of LPS-induced proinflammatory cytokine expression in vivo as well as tolerance to secondary LPS exposure.
Intense 8-fs pulse generation in the deep ultraviolet.

By use of the recently developed technique of guided-wave frequency conversion, the generation of sub-10-fs light pulses in the UV has been demonstrated for what is believed to be the first time. Cross-phase modulation of the light in a hollow waveguide produced a bandwidth of 16 nm, with a center frequency of 270 nm, at 1 kHz. A simple grating pair was used to compress the pulses to a duration of 8 fs, as measured by self-diffraction frequency-resolved optical gating. In the experiment the compressed energy was greater than 1 muJ , with a peak power of >100 MW ; the technique can be scaled to higher energy. Further improvements should make it possible to generate pulses as short as approximately 3 fs with this technique.