cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
chy1, an Arabidopsis Mutant with Impaired β-Oxidation, Is Defective in a Peroxisomal β-Hydroxyisobutyryl-CoA Hydrolase

The Arabidopsis chy1 mutant is resistant to indole-3-butyric acid, a naturally occurring form of the plant hormone auxin. Because the mutant also has defects in peroxisomal beta-oxidation, this resistance presumably results from a reduced conversion of indole-3-butyric acid to indole-3-acetic acid. We have cloned CHY1, which appears to encode a peroxisomal protein 43% identical to a mammalian valine catabolic enzyme that hydrolyzes beta-hydroxyisobutyryl-CoA. We demonstrated that a human beta-hydroxyisobutyryl-CoA hydrolase functionally complements chy1 when redirected from the mitochondria to the peroxisomes. We expressed CHY1 as a glutathione S-transferase (GST) fusion protein and demonstrated that purified GST-CHY1 hydrolyzes beta-hydroxyisobutyryl-CoA. Mutagenesis studies showed that a glutamate that is catalytically essential in homologous enoyl-CoA hydratases was also essential in CHY1. Mutating a residue that is differentially conserved between hydrolases and hydratases established that this position is relevant to the catalytic distinction between the enzyme classes. It is likely that CHY1 acts in peroxisomal valine catabolism and that accumulation of a toxic intermediate, methacrylyl-CoA, causes the altered beta-oxidation phenotypes of the chy1 mutant. Our results support the hypothesis that the energy-intensive sequence unique to valine catabolism, where an intermediate CoA ester is hydrolyzed and a new CoA ester is formed two steps later, avoids methacrylyl-CoA accumulation.
Human Sexuality Instruction: Implications for Couple and Family Counselor Educators:

This article reports the results of a sexual curricula questionnaire sent to all U.S. counselor education programs. Some concerns are raised and suggestions are made about ways to include sexuality education in couple and family curicula.
Pyranine as a sensitive pH probe for liposome interiors and surfaces. pH gradients across phospholipid vesicles

Pyranine is shown to be a convenient and sensitive probe for reporting pH values, pHi, at the interior of anionic and at the outer surface of cationic liposomes. It is well shielded from the phospholipid headgroups by water molecules in the interior of anionic liposomes, but it is bound to the surface of cationic liposomes. Hydrogen ion concentrations outside the liposomes, 'bulk pH values', pHo, were measured by a combination electrode. While pHi = pHo for neutral, pHi less than pHo for anionic and pHi greater than pHo for cationic liposomes prepared in 5.0 . 10(-3) M phosphate buffers. pKa values for the ionization of pyranine were 7.22 +/- 0.04 and 6.00 +/- 0.05 in water and at the external surface of cationic liposomes. The surface potential for cationic liposomes containing dipalmitoyl-DL-alpha-phosphatidylcholine, cholesterol and octadecylamine in the molar ratio of 1.00 : 0.634 : 1.01, were calcuated to be +72.2 mV. Proton permeabilities were measured for single and multicompartment anionic liposomes. Transfer of anionic liposomes prepared at a given pH to a solution of different pH resulted in a pH gradient if sodium phosphate or borate were used as buffers. In the presence of sodium acetate proton equilibration is promptly established.
The effect of environment on the mechanism of fretting fatigue

Abstract A randomized complete block fretting fatigue test program was designed to determine statistically the relative roles of the mechanical factor and the chemical factor in the mechanism of fretting fatigue. Fretting fatigue tests were performed in both laboratory air and vacuum environments with the normal pressure and horizontal maximum fatigue stress kept constant at 6000 lbf in−2 and 50 klbf in−2 (within experimental error), respectively. It was found that the number of cycles to failure of the specimens tested in vacuum is between 10 and 20 times longer than that tested in laboratory air. It was determined that the three parameter Weibull distribution best fits the fretting fatigue data for both test environments. The difference in the mean lives of the specimens tested in vacuum and in laboratory air was determined to be significant with 95% confidence. Thus, the alternative hypothesis which states that the chemical factor plays the dominant role in reducing specimen life when fretting occurs simultaneously with fatigue is accepted. Fractographic analysis on the wear surface of the specimen tested in air revealed that pitting was very common while that performed on the wear surface of the specimen tested in vacuum indicated that rewelding of metal was very common. The overall fretting fatigue damage in vacuum was found to be less than that in laboratory air. The results of the fractographic analysis support the alternative hypothesis.
Maintenance of Differentiated Function in Human Fetal Type II Epithelial Cells Cultured as Monolayers

Maintenance of Differentiated Function in Human Fetal Type II Epithelial Cells Cultured as Monolayers
Design and wind tunnel experimentation of a variable blade drag type vertical axis wind turbine

The primary purpose of this research effort is to propose a novel efficiency boosting design feature in a drag type vertical axis wind turbine (VAWT), explore practicality through design and fabrication, and test the viability of the design through wind tunnel experiments. Using adaptive control surface design and an improved blade shape can be very useful in harnessing the wind's energy in low wind speed areas. The new design is based on a series of smaller blade elements to make any shape, which changes to reduce a negative resistance as it rotates and thus maximizing the useful torque. As such, these blades were designed into a modified Savonius wind turbine with the goal of improving upon the power coefficient produced by a more conventional design. The experiment yielded some positive observations with regard to starting characteristics. Torque and angular velocity data was recorded for both the conventional configuration and the newly built configuration and the torque and power coefficient results were compared.
40Ar/39Ar ages from the rhyolite of Alder Creek, California: Age of the Cobb Mountain Normal-Polarity Subchron revisited

New 40 Ar/ 39 Ar age determinations on sanidine from the rhyolite of Alder Creek, California, indicate a 1.186 ±0.006 Ma age for the Cobb Mountain Normal-Polarity Subchron. The new age is statistically older (α = 0.05) than the previously reported K-Ar age (1.12 ±0.02 Ma) and agrees with the age suggested by the astronomical polarity time scale. Incomplete extraction of radiogenic 40 Ar ( 40 Ar*) from the sanidine is the most likely reason for the disparity between the 40 Ar/ 39 Ar and K-Ar ages. Because the Cobb Mountain subchron is a worldwide, short-duration event, and because no widely used interlaboratory 40 Ar/ 39 Ar standard younger than 27 Ma exists, we propose that sanidine from the rhyolite of Alder Creek be considered for use as a new Quaternary 40 Ar/ 39 Ar mineral standard.
Single Photon Counters For The Infrared

Triggered-avalanche photon counting, recently demonstrated in cooled Silicon photodiodes, should also work in any other intrinsic semiconductor material. As carrier-trapping problems are solved, photon-counting diodes and arrays should become available throughout the mid-infrared. Possible applications to astronomical instruments abound.
Comparison of genus- and species-specific probes for PCR detection of mycobacterial infections.

Abstract We describe experiments comparing use of different DNA probes to detect mycobacteria in clinical specimens after PCR. The objective was to assess correlation between results using Mycobacterium genus-specific, and species-specific M. tuberculosis probes. Given sufficient concordance, sequential use of such probes would provide a useful screening tool. An evaluation of genus-specific probes compared use of repetitive sequences in the clone pMAv17 with the 65-kDA sequences. Sensitivity was 100% for pMAv17, 93% using the 65-kDA sequence; specificity was 70% for both. We then compared M. tuberculosis -specific probes developed by us (Tb400) with IS6110 and mpt40. Sensitivity using Tb400 was 100%; using IS6110 was 97%, and using mpt40 was 50%. Specificity using Tb400 and IS6110 was 68%, and was 70% using mpt40. Fourteen specimens which were PCR-positive and culture-negative, were positive using both genus probes, and the M. tuberculosis -specific probes Tb400, and IS6110. Ten of these were positive using mpt40.
Properties of aluminated silica sols

The properties of colloidal dispersions of “Positive Sol 130M” (E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Co.), which contains silica particles coated with alumina, have been studied in detail. Drifts of pH, leaching of aluminum species, and changes of electrokinetic mobility occurred during aging at room temperature for periods of up to a month, and were attributed to surface reactions. Despite its name, the sol has a point of zero charge (PZC) at pH 9, and consequently the particles carry a positive charge only below this pH. The alumina of the coating dissolves in acidic environments; the extent of leaching of aluminum species is dependent upon pH and length of aging at room temperature. The effect of different anions on this process was examined by using various inorganic acids; it was shown that phosphate and sulfate ions exhibit the strongest effects.
Isolation and X-ray structures of four Rh(PCP) complexes including a Rh(I) dioxygen complex with a short O–O bond

Abstract The reaction of RhCl3·H2O with tBu2P(CH2)5PtBu2 afforded several complexes including [RhIII(H)Cl{tBu2P(CH2)2CH(CH2)2PtBu2}] (1), [RhIIIHCl2{tBu2P(CH2)5PtBu2}]2 (2), [RhICl{tBu2P(CH2)2CH CHCH2PtBu2}] (3) and [RhICl{tBu2PCH2C(O)CH CHCH2PtBu2}] (4). X-ray crystal structures of 3 and 4 showed that the C C bond on the C5 unit of tBu2P(CH2)5PtBu2 is bound to Rh(I) in a η2 configuration. In 4, the Rh atom has a trigonal pyramidal coordination geometry. The X-ray crystal structure of 2 consists of two rhodium(III) centers bridged by two tBu2P(CH2)5PtBu2 ligands with two phosphorus atoms, one from each ligand, trans to one another. The crystal structure of the rhodium oxygen adduct with 1,3-bis(di-t-butylphosphinomethyl)benzene [RhO2{tBu2PCH2(C6H3)CH2PtBu2}] (5) was also investigated. In this species the O2 is η2 coordinated to the Rh(I) center with asymmetric Rh–O bond lengths (2.087(7) and 1.998(8) A). The O–O bond distance is short (1.337(11) A) with νO–O of 990.5 cm−1. DFT calculations on complex 5 yielded two η2–O2 structures that differed in energy by only 0.76 kcal/mol. The lower energy one (5a) had near C2 symmetry, and had nearly equal Rh–O bond lengths, while the higher energy structure (5b) had near Cs symmetry and generally good agreement with the experimental structure. The calculated UV–Vis and IR spectra of complex 5 are in excellent agreement with experiment.
Overview to Symposium “Nutrients and Epigenetic Regulation of Gene Expression”

The American Society for Nutrition hosted a symposium entitled Nutrients and Epigenetic Regulation of Gene Expression at the Experimental Biology meeting on April 20, 2009, in New Orleans, LA. The symposium was cochaired by Emily Ho from Oregon State University and the Linus Pauling Institute, and Janos Zempleni from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln. The goal of this symposium was to highlight the interactions among nutrients, epigenetics, and disease susceptibility. The symposium featured 4 speakers, each presenting novel insights into mechanisms by which nutrients participate in gene regulation. Janos Zempleni elucidated mechanisms by which the covalent binding of biotin to histones represses transposable elements, thereby enhancing genome stability. Emily Ho shared valuable insights into bioactive food compounds that inhibit histone deacetylases. James Kirkland from the University of Guelph in Canada talked about a niacin-dependent poly(ADP-ribosylation) of histones, an epigenetic mark that is not currently being given full consideration in nutrition. Patrick Stover from Cornell University described the interrelationships among 1-carbon metabolism, DNA methylation, gene silencing, and their influence in the etiology of folate-related pathologies. All 4 presentations were videotaped and can be viewed online (www.nutrition.org). J. Nutr. 139: 2387‐2388, 2009.
The synthesis of transient processes

This brief presents a procedure for synthesizing a transient process by exciting a causal linear shift-variant system with an orthonormal random sequence. The output process has finite average energy and is described by its average energy density spectrum. This spectrum is equal to the ensemble average of the magnitude-squared of the Fourier transform process associated with the transient process. A prototypical bandpass average energy density spectrum is introduced, and a more general spectrum is obtained by adding together a collection of prototypical spectra each having different values for the center frequency, bandwidth, and peak amplitude. Realizations of the transient process are obtained by a matrix transformation applied to an ensemble of MATLAB-generated random input vectors. The average of the magnitude-squared discrete Fourier transform of the resulting random output vectors approximates the average energy density spectrum of the transient process. >
Arrakis: a case for the end of the empire

In this paper, we argue that recent device hardware trends enable a new approach to the design of operating systems: instead of the operating system mediating access to hardware, applications run directly on top of virtualized I/O devices, where the kernel provides only control plane services. This new division of labor is transparent to the user, except that applications are able to offer more robust extensibility, security and performance than was previously possible. We discuss some of the hardware and software challenges to realizing this vision.
Constraints on Venus Evolution from Radiogenic Argon

From several indicators, Venus has had a low level of tectonism and volcanism, compared to Earth, since resurfacings 500‐1000 My ago. This behavior is generally ascribed to Venus having a very dry upper mantle and crust. Most indicators constrain only the last »20% of Venus’s evolution. Consistent with the dryness—leading to a stiffer, more impenetrable lithosphere, thence smaller length scale convection and smaller percent partial melts—is the deficiency of 40 Ar in the atmosphere: 24(§10)% of the generated 40 Ar, based on an average K/U of 7220(§1220) and primordial mantle abundance 21(§3) ppb of U (contrasting to 52§ 9% for the Earth). This potassium/argon constraint applies to the entire history of Venus. Water must have been expelled from the upper mantle within the first few 100 My, since all argon would have been expelled at the same time. The condition that the upper mantle must have been dry throughout Venus history also favors episodic overturns, in which most of the argon now in the atmosphere would have been outgassed. U abundances at the lander sites indicate partial melts of about 4%. If we assume the frequency of episodes declined with the rate of heat generation, then there have been eight, the most recent at about 0.75 Ga. Each episode scavenged the KC Ar from 2‐2.5% of the mantle and produced about 1-km average thickness of resurfacing. The 3.3 ppb of radiogenic argon in the atmosphere sets an upper limit on the potassium in the crust, and hence the crustal thickness: 22§ 10 km; assuming a 10-km decay depth, it also implies 1.0% average surface density of K2O. The present heat delivery from the mantle of this model is 24 mW/m 2 , about 20% higher than the upper limit for stagnant lid convection (C. C. Reese et al. 1998, J. Geophys. Res. 103, 13,643‐13,657). Reductions of the mantle U and K/U and increase of the atmospheric argon by one standard deviation each would reduce the heat delivery to 16 mW/m 2 . c ∞ 1999 Academic Press
Hyperlipidemia in Children After Heart Transplantation

Background Long-term outcome after cardiac transplantation is limited by graft coronary vasculopathy (GCV). Hyperlipidemia may contribute to the development and progression of GCV. The purpose of this study was to determine the distribution of lipid levels in children after heart transplantation and to determine the incidence and risk factors for hyperlipidemia. Methods We compared the distribution of lipid values 1 year after heart transplantation in children participating in Pediatric Heart Transplant Study to those of normal U.S. children and then performed a multivariable analysis to identify risk factors for hyperlipidemia. Results The median values of total and LDL-cholesterol in heart transplant patients were similar to those of normal U.S. pediatric population. However, total cholesterol level was >200 mg/dl in 14% and >170 mg/dl in 33% of transplant patients. LDL-cholesterol was >130 mg/dl in 12%, >110 mg/dl in 27% and >100 mg/dl (greater than “optimal” levels) in 39% of transplant patients. The distribution curve for serum triglycerides was shifted to the right and that for HDL-cholesterol levels was shifted to the left of the normal U.S. pediatric curve. As a result, triglyceride levels were >75th centile of U.S. normal distribution in 59% of the transplant patients. HDL-cholesterol level was Conclusions Lipid levels considered to be in the intervention range in adults at high risk of coronary artery disease are a common finding after cardiac transplantation in children.
Frontal lobe disinhibition, Rett syndrome and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Motor cortex hyperexcitability in Rett Syndrome (RS) has been ascribed to the failure of an inhibiting system arising from the frontal lobes, a system needed in childhood and early adolescence. It ...
Changes in Weight, Waist Circumference and Compensatory Responses with Different Doses of Exercise among Sedentary, Overweight Postmenopausal Women

Background: It has been suggested that exercise training results in compensatory mechanisms that attenuate weight loss. However, this has only been examined with large doses of exercise. The goal of this analysis was to examine actual weight loss compared to predicted weight loss (compensation) across different doses of exercise in a controlled trial of sedentary, overweight or obese postmenopausal women (n = 411). Methodology/Principal Findings: Participants were randomized to a non-exercise control (n = 94) or 1 of 3 exercise groups; exercise energy expenditure of 4 (n = 139), 8 (n = 85), or 12 (n = 93) kcal/kg/week (KKW). Training intensity was set at the heart rate associated with 50% of each woman's peak VO(2) and the intervention period was 6 months. All exercise was supervised. The main outcomes were actual weight loss, predicted weight loss (exercise energy expenditure/7700 kcal per kg), compensation (actual minus predicted weight loss) and waist circumference. The study sample had a mean (SD) age 57.2 (6.3) years, BMI of 31.7 (3.8) kg/m(2), and was 63.5% Caucasian. The adherence to the intervention was > 99% in all exercise groups. The mean (95% CI) weight loss in the 4, 8 and 12 KKW groups was -1.4 (-2.0, -0.8), -2.1 (-2.9, -1.4) and -1.5 (-2.2, -0.8) kg, respectively. In the 4 and 8 KKW groups the actual weight loss closely matched the predicted weight loss of -1.0 and -2.0 kg, respectively, resulting in no significant compensation. In the 12 KKW group the actual weight loss was less than the predicted weight loss (-2.7 kg) resulting in 1.2 (0.5, 1.9) kg of compensation (P Conclusion: In this study of previously sedentary, overweight or obese, postmenopausal women we observed no difference in the actual and predicted weight loss with 4 and 8 KKW of exercise (72 and 136 minutes respectively), while the 12 KKW (194 minutes) produced only about half of the predicted weight loss. However, all exercise groups had a significant reduction in waist circumference which was independent of changes in weight. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT 00011193
Synthesis of nucleic acid purines in the sea urchin embryo

Abstract Embryos of the sea urchin, Arbacia punctulata , were shown to utilize carboxyl labeled acetate and glycine for the synthesis of nucleic acids and protein. The hypothesis that DNA must arise exclusively from the pre-formed RNA of the virgin egg is unlikely since the specific activities of DNA and its isolated purines from the blastula were at least 10 times greater than the corresponding values for RNA. The specific activities of adenine and guanine of RNA formed from glycine-1-C 14 were identical, whereas in DNA the specific activity of adenine was less than half that of guanine. Comparison of the specific activities of the DNA purines with the glycine in the medium indicated that a large part of the newly formed DNA arose from unlabeled endogenous precursor.
5-HT4 receptor agonists and δ-opioid receptor antagonists act synergistically to stimulate colonic propulsion

Opioid neurons exert a tonic restraint on inhibitory VIP/PACAP/NOS motoneurons of the enteric nervous system. A decrease in opioid peptide release during the descending phase of the peristaltic ref...
Impact of base pair identity 5′ to the spliceosomal branch site adenosine on branch site conformation

The branch site helix from Saccharomyces cerevisiae with pseudouridine (ψ) incorporated in a phylogenetically conserved position of U2 snRNA features an extrahelical branch site adenosine (A) that forms a base triple interaction with the minor groove edge of a widely conserved purineU2 strand-pyrimidineintron strand (RU2-Yintron) base pair two positions upstream. In these studies, NMR spectra of a duplex in which 2-aminopurine (2ap), a fluorescent analog of adenine lacking the proposed hydrogen bond donor, was substituted for the branch site A, indicated that the substitution does not alter the extrahelical position of the branch site residue; thus, it appears that a hydrogen bond between the adenine amino group and the R-Y pair is not obligatory for stabilization of the extrahelical conformation. In contrast, reversal of the orientation of AU2-Uintron to UU2-Aintron resulted in an intrahelical position for the branch site A or 2ap. Fluorescence intensity of 2ap substituted for the branch site A with the original RU2-Yintron orientation (AU or GC) was high, consistent with an extrahelical position, whereas fluorescence in helices with the reversed R-Y orientation, or with a mismatched pair (A-U → G•A or U•C), was markedly quenched, implying that the residue was stacked in the helix. The A 5′ to the branch site residue was not extrahelical in any of the duplexes. These findings suggest that the RU2-Yintron base pair orientation in the ψ-dependent branch site helix plays an important role in positioning the branch site A for recognition and/or function.
A software platform for implementing digital control experiments on the Quanser DC motor control trainer

This paper describes a system that allows students studying digital control to quickly implement and test digital controller designs. Toward this goal custom C code was written for the PIC microcontroller installed on Quanserpsilas DC Motor Control Trainer. A MATLAB graphical user interface was created that allows for simple interaction with the microcontroller for the purposes of testing the controller performance. Examples that implement Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) angular position and Proportional-Integral (PI) angular rate controllers are presented.
Non-traditional performance analysis

Traditional performance analysis methods are applicable to many standard problems, including those examples illustrated in most formal courses. However, there are many real-world situations for which non-traditional methods appear to be more appropriate, mainly because most practical problems involve substantial subjectivity about the inputs and models used. This paper surveys some of the most applicable approaches found in a recent research study. Each approach is developed individually and is illuminated by selecting example situations of apparent applicability. Then, the combinational blending of the approaches with each other and with traditional methodology is discussed.
Natural convection in an enclosed cavity

The problem of buoyancy driven flow in a vertical, rectangular cavity whose vertical sides are at different temperatures and whose horizontal sides are insulated is addressed. An application of the dynamic A.D.I. method to obtain numerical solutions to this problem is described. For large non-dimensional temperature differences characterized by the Rayleigh number the flow patterns develop strong boundary layers. These boundary layers are resolved by applying the D.A.D.I. method to the discretization of this problem on a non-uniform grid.
STRATIFICATION AND SUBSEQUENT BEHAVIOR OF PLANT CELL ORGANELLES

Living excised roots of pea were centrifuged at 20,000 g for 24 hours, and the behavior of organelles was followed by electron microscopy at various intervals after centrifugation. With these forces, organelles are not perceptibly or irreversibly damaged, nor is the viability of the whole root destroyed. Organelles stratify generally in the order of lipid (centripetal pole), vacuoles, smooth endoplasmic reticulum and dictyosomes, proplastids (without starch), mitochondria, rough endoplasmic reticulum, proplastids with starch. The nucleus distends from the vacuolar region to the extreme centrifugal pole of the cell, while the chromatin and nucleolus seek the centrifugal pole of the nucleus. During the redistribution of organelles the rough endoplasmic reticulum is among the first to reorient, and possible explanations for this are discussed. Mitochondria can be stretched elastically many times their original length, but proplastids seem fairly rigid. Small vacuoles, forced together during centrifugation, apparently may fuse to form a large unit. Lipid droplets, on the other hand, tend to remain separate. Dictyosomes and smooth endoplasmic reticulum layer in the same region of the centrifuged cell, indicating a density similarity between these two organelles.
Morphology, Genesis, and Distribution of Nanometer-Scale Pores in Siliceous Mudstones of the Mississippian Barnett Shale

Research on mudrock attributes has increased dramatically since shale-gas systems have become commercial hydrocarbon production targets. One of the most significant research questions now being asked focuses on the nature of the pore system in these mudrocks. Our work on siliceous mudstones from the Mississippian Barnett Shale of the Fort Worth Basin, Texas, shows that the pores in these rocks are dominantly nanometer in scale (nanopores). We used scanning electron microscopy to characterize Barnett pores from a number of cores and have imaged pores as small as 5 nm. Key to our success in imaging these nanopores is the use of Ar-ion-beam milling; this methodology provides flat surfaces that lack topography related to differential hardness and are fundamental for high-magnification imaging. Nanopores are observed in three main modes of occurrence. Most pores are found in grains of organic matter as intraparticle pores; many of these grains contain hundreds of pores. Intraparticle organic nanopores most commonly have irregular, bubblelike, elliptical cross sections and range between 5 and 750 nm with the median nanopore size for all grains being approximately 100 nm. Internal porosities of up to 20.2% have been measured for whole grains of organic matter based on point-count data from scanning electron microscopy analysis. These nanopores in the organic matter are the predominant pore type in the Barnett mudstones and they are related to thermal maturation. Nanopores are also found in bedding-parallel, wispy, organic-rich laminae as intraparticle pores in organic grains and as interparticle pores between organic matter, but this mode is not common. Although less abundant, nanopores are also locally present in fine-grained matrix areas unassociated with organic matter and as nano- to microintercrystalline pores in pyrite framboids. Intraparticle organic nanopores and pyrite-framboid intercrystalline pores contribute to gas storage in Barnett mudstones. We postulate that permeability pathways within the Barnett mudstones are along bedding-parallel layers of organic matter or a mesh network of organic matter flakes because this material contains the most pores.
Bolder, older, and selective: factors of individual-specific foraging behaviors in Steller’s jays

Several species of animals, particularly corvids, will sample from a collection of items before making a decision. There is an expected trade-off between investing effort in making better choices and increased exposure to risk. Little is known about individuals’ consistency in sampling behavior and whether it covaries with other behavior traits. Risk-taking and neophobia are documented components of behavioral syndromes; we examined whether sampling behavior is comparable. We quantified food sampling behavior (i.e., number of items sampled, visit duration, and number of items taken) of individual Steller’s jays (Cyanocitta stelleri) during experimental field trials. Sampling behavior of individual jays was moderately repeatable within and between winter field seasons and was positively correlated with birds’ willingness to approach a novel object and take food in front of a predator mount. These results suggest that food sampling is a measurable component in the suite of traits comprising the Steller’s jay behavioral syndrome. Model selection techniques indicated that sampling behavior was more common in older, neophilic, risk-prone, larger jays, whereas jays that took multiple items were more likely to be older and risk-prone. This suggests that experience and size may additionally influence individuals’ habitual foraging behaviors. Key words: behavioral syndrome, Cyanocitta stelleri, foraging, neophobia, risk-taking, sampling, Steller’s jay. [Behav Ecol]
Novel nonlinear distributed p-n nano-junctions made of p-doped and n-doped single-wall carbon nanotubes

We report on the nonlinear optical properties of distributed, three-dimensional, p-n nano-junctions which are based on single-wall carbon nanotubes.
Isolation and partial characterization of forest floor and soil organic sulfur

The formation of organic sulfur from inorganic sulfate was investigated in hardwood forest floor and mineral horizons. All samples converted sulfate-sulfur into a non-salt extractable form which was recoverable only under conditions which release organic matter. This conversion was inhibited by azide, and depending upon the horizon, by erythromycin, candicidin, chloramphenicol and tetracycline. The form of sulfur generated in the 02 forest floor layer and in Al-horizon soil was characterized after isolation by pyrophosphate extraction at pH 8. The organosulfur extracts exhibited an average C:N:S ratio of 103:6:1. The ester sulfate content of the 02 extract was 61% by hydriodic acid (HI) reduction and 62% by hydrolysis in 3N HCl at 121 °C. However, compared to hydrolysis, reduction yielded lower estimates of ester sulfate for two of the three soil extracts analyzed. In view of the electrophoretic heterogeneity of all extracts, it is suggested that some may contain stable ester linkages that hydrolyze only after prolonged treatment and that the standard procedure for HI-reduction may provide conditions of temperature and contact time with the acid which are insufficient for the release of sulfate from these esters.
Mandates and the Contributions of Open Genomic Data

This research attempts to seek changing patterns of raw data availability and their correlations with implementations of open mandate policies. With a list of 13,785 journal articles whose authors archived datasets in a popular biomedical data repository after these articles were published in journals, this research uses regression analysis to test the correlations between data contributions and mandate implementations. It finds that both funder-based and publisher-based mandates have a strong impact on scholars’ likelihood to contribute to open data repositories. Evidence also suggests that like policies have changed the habit of authors in selecting publishing venues: open access journals have been apparently preferred by those authors whose projects are sponsored by the federal government agencies, and these journals are also highly ranked in the biomedical fields. Various stakeholders, particularly institutional administrators and open access professionals, may find the findings of this research helpful for adjusting data management policies to increase the number of quality free datasets and enhance data usability. The data-sharing example in biomedical studies provides a good case to show the importance of policy-making in the reshaping of scholarly communication.
Effects of Low-Volume, High-Intensity Whole-Body Calisthenics on Army ROTC Cadets.

ABSTRACT Our objective was to determine the effects of high-intensity interval training (HIT) on fitness in Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadets. Twenty-six college-aged (20.5 ± 1.7 years) participants completed 4 weeks of exercise training 3 days · wk−1 consisting of either approximately 60 minutes of typical physical training or HIT whole-body calisthenics involving 4 to 7 sets of 30-second “all out” burpees separated by 4 minutes of active recovery. Several pre- and postintervention fitness variables were compared. We observed no changes across time or differences between groups in aerobic capacity, anaerobic capacity, or Army Physical Fitness Test performance (p > 0.05). However, there was a significant Group × Time interaction (p = 0.015) for skeletal muscle mitochondrial function (Tc: time constant of recovery). For the typical physical training group, we observed improved mitochondrial function (Tc decreased 2.4 ± 4.6 seconds; Cohen’s d = −0.51); whereas, mitochondrial function decreased in...
Keeping Secrets: Social Workers and AIDS

The current epidemic of human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) poses major ethical issues for the profession of social work, as it does for the rest of society. Although social work clearly is establishing a body of literature about the psychosocial issues surrounding AIDS, much less attention has been paid to the particular moral problems that social workers face in their day-to-day practices with people with AIDS. To begin to examine the most relevant and salient moral problems that social workers experience in their practices, 16 social workers were interviewed. The dominant moral theme that was identified was secrecy. The theme of secrecy is analyzed according to four dimensions: (1) ethical, (2) technical, (3) behavioral, and (4) existential. The clarification and justification of the use of secrecy in social work practice with people with AIDS is discussed.
Computer network deception as a Moving Target Defense

Computer Network Defense (CND) has traditionally been provided using reactionary tools such as signature-based detectors, white/blacklisting, intrusion detection/protection systems, etc. While event detection/correlation techniques may identify threats — those threats are then dealt with manually, often employing obstruction-based responses (e.g., blocking). Literature has shown that as threat sophistication grows, perimeter-planted security efforts are ineffective in combating competent adversaries; malicious actors are already seated behind enterprise defenses, navigating the controls. We have developed a novel approach to CND: the Deception Environment. Under the Deception Environment framework, we have created a live, unpredictable, and adaptable deception network leveraging virtualization/cloud technology, software defined networking, introspection and analytics. The environment not only provides the means to identify and contain the threat, but also facilitates the ability to study, understand, and develop protections against sophisticated adversaries. Its extensibility has enabled us to explore its application as a Moving Target Defense (MTD).
Schedule of Presupplemental Molt of White Pelicans with Notes on the Bill Horn

FIGURE 1. Nest of Columbigallina minuta. The first nest I found was on 25 October, with the bird sitting tightly on the still empty nest, a common habit among doves. On the afternoon of 28 October, I found another nest, with a bird sitting on one egg; on the following afternoon there were two eggs. On 9 November at 17.00 there were still Iwo eggs, but on the next afternoon one nestling apparently had just hatched, as it was still wet. The second egg did not hatch and proved infertile. Assuming that the eggs were laid on consecutive days and that incubation started with the first egg, I conclude that the incubation period was 12 days. This is shorter than the period of 14 days established from birds in captivity in Europe (Goodwin 1967).
Ensuring quality in prehospital airway management.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Ensuring quality in prehospital airway management is challenging because the out-of-hospital setting is a fast-paced and unpredictable environment. The first step in meeting this challenge is the recognition by emergency medical service leaders that prehospital airway management is prone to error. Quality core values such as safety, effectiveness, timeliness, efficiency, and equity for prehospital airway management, specifically endotracheal intubation, will be discussed. RECENT FINDINGS Controlled studies in prehospital airway management are few. In those that have evaluated the use of endotracheal intubation in this setting, safety issues, increased scene time, and lack of effectiveness to improve outcome have been revealed. SUMMARY Emergency medical service administrators must critically evaluate the quality of prehospital airway management that they are providing to patients within their system by collecting the data necessary to identify quality issues and developing strategies to implement change. Research into other techniques that can provide ventilation and oxygenation to patients in the prehospital environment and that are safe and effective, such as laryngeal mask airway, need to be performed.
Tentacle morphogenesis in hydra : I. The morphological effect of actinomycin D.

Hydra oligactis exposed to 3 μg/ml actinomycin D for 24 hours regenerated only the first pair of tentacles (the mid-laterals). If left uncut, actinomycin D treated animals underwent a reduction of the normal number of tentacles to two or less.
Optimal traffic calming: A mixed-integer bi-level programming model for locating sidewalks and crosswalks in a multimodal transportation network to maximize pedestrians’ safety and network usability

We study the effect that installing sidewalks and crosswalks, as traffic calming facilities, has on the safety and usability of a transportation network with automobile, public transit and walking as modes of transportation. A mathematical programming model is proposed for this problem whose objective is to minimize the safety hazard for pedestrians and the total transportation cost of the network. We utilize a customized greedy heuristic and a simulated annealing algorithm for solving the problem. The computational results indicate that installing sidewalks and crosswalks at proper locations can reduce the overall transportation cost and improve pedestrians’ safety.
‚You Can Do It!’: An interview with nicole vaysse

Dr. Nicole Vaysse's exceptional achievements in pancreatic research shifted the paradigm in hormonal regulation of pancreatic function. Her observations became a starting point for many investigators in this field. In this article, Dr. Vaysse shares with Pancreatology her experience as a pancreatic researcher and gives advice to young investigators starting in this area.
Catalytic Mechanisms of Metmyoglobin on the Oxidation of Lipids in Liposome Model System

The catalytic mechanism of metmyoglobin (metMb) on the development of lipid oxidation in a phospholipid liposome model system was studied. Liposome model system was prepared with metMb solutions (2.0, 1.0, 0.5, and 0.25 mg metMb / mL) containing none, diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid (DTPA), desferrioxamine (DFO), or ferric chloride and lipid oxidation was determined at 0, 15, 30, 60, and 90 min of incubation at 37 °C. Metmyoglobin catalyzed lipid oxidation in the liposome system, but the rate of lipid oxidation decreased as the concentration of metMb increased. The amount of free ionic iron in the liposome solution increased as the concentration of metMb increased, but the rate of metMb degradation was increased as the concentration of metMb decreased. The released free ionic iron was not involved in the lipid oxidation of model system because ferric iron has no catalytic effect without reducing agents. Both DFO and DTPA showed antioxidant effects, but DFO was more efficient than DTPA because of its multifunctional antioxidant ability as an iron and hematin chelator and an electron donor. The antioxidant activity of DTPA in liposome solution containing 0.25 mg metMb/mL was two times greater than that with 2 mg metMb/mL due to the increased prooxidant activity of DTPA-chelatable compounds. It was concluded that ferrylmyoglobin and DTPA-chelatable hematin generated from the interaction of metMb and LOOH, rather than free ionic iron, were the major catalysts in metMb-induced lipid oxidation in phospholipid liposome model system.
Bare-Forked Animals: King Lear and the Problems of Patriarchalism

With a central character who is father and king, Shakespeare’s King Lear tests the limits of England’s new monarch’s theories of political patriarchalism. At its foundation is the idea of king as pater patriae, father of his country. Tracing the mythical beginnings of Scotland, King James attributed law-making powers to the king’s distribution of land. Going beyond the Union debate, this chapter rereads the first scene as an exchange of land for political allegiance. King Lear shows political patriarchalism’s destabilising effects. Lear undoes the English tradition of heritability of property, while Edmund’s betrayal of Gloucester represents the elevation of political fatherhood. Finally, though patriarchalism traces kingly authority to Adam, Lear’s reduction to an Adamic state is a descent, resulting from tyranny, into disorder.
MicroRNA Therapeutics: Basic Principles, Barriers and Perspectives

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small endogenous non-coding RNAs (nc-RNAs) that are involved in many physiological processes. The deregulation of miRNAs can cause a number of diseases, including cancer. The aberrant expression of these master regulators makes them important as therapeutic targets. Some ncRNA-based therapeutic modalities that have been developed include miRNA mimics, antagomirs, and target protectors. Each of these has its own limitations and challenges that have to be overcome as well as its own delivery system, but all hold promise in cancer therapy. There is substantial expectations for clinical application of these promising technologies in the near future.
Guided entropy-wave scattering

Driven optical scattering from guided entropy-waves is demonstrated in superfluid helium-4 in a hollow-core fiber. A single strongly-coupled second-sound resonance is observed, which varies with temperature in proportion to the known second-sound speed, as predicted.
Measuring the edge recombination velocity of monolayer semiconductors

Understanding edge effects and quantifying their impact on the carrier properties of two-dimensional (2D) semiconductors is an essential step toward utilizing these materials for high performance electronic and optoelectronic devices.1–5 WS 2 monolayers patterned into disks of varying diameters are used to experimentally determine the influence of edges on their optical properties. Carrier lifetime measurements show a decrease in the effective lifetime, τ effective , as a function of decreasing diameter, suggesting that the edges are active sites for carrier recombination. Accordingly, we introduce a metric called edge recombination velocity (ERV) to characterize the impact of 2D material edges on non-radiative recombination. The unpassivated WS 2 monolayer disks yield an ERV ∼ 4 × 104 cm/s. This work quantifies the non-radiative recombination edge effects in monolayer semiconductors, while simultaneously establishing a practical characterization technique towards experimental explorations of edge passivation methods for 2D materials.
Orbits of plane partitions of exceptional Lie type

Abstract For each minuscule flag variety X , there is a corresponding minuscule poset, describing its Schubert decomposition. We study an action on plane partitions over such posets, introduced by Cameron and Fon-der-Flaass (1995). For plane partitions of height at most 2, Rush and Shi (2013) proved an instance of the cyclic sieving phenomenon, completely describing the orbit structure of this action. They noted their result does not extend to greater heights in general; however, when X is one of the two minuscule flag varieties of exceptional Lie type E , they conjectured explicit instances of cyclic sieving for all heights. We prove their conjecture in the case that X is the Cayley–Moufang plane of type E 6 . For the other exceptional minuscule flag variety, the Freudenthal variety of type E 7 , we establish their conjecture for heights at most 4, but show that it fails generally. We further give a new proof of an unpublished cyclic sieving of Rush and Shi (2011) for plane partitions of any height in the case X is an even-dimensional quadric hypersurface. Our argument uses ideas of Dilks et al. (2017) to relate the action on plane partitions to combinatorics derived from K -theoretic Schubert calculus.
Shared understanding is correlated with shared neural responses in the default mode network

Humans have a striking ability to infer meaning from even the sparsest and most abstract forms of narratives. At the same time, flexibility in the form of a narrative is matched by inherent ambiguity in the interpretation of it. How does the brain represent subtle, idiosyncratic differences in the interpretation of abstract and ambiguous narratives? In this fMRI study, we scanned subjects watching a 7-min original animation that depicts a complex narrative through the movement of simple geometric shapes. We additionally scanned two separate groups listening to concrete verbal descriptions of either the social narrative or the physical properties of the movie. After scanning, all subjects freely recalled their interpretation of the stimulus. Using an intersubject representational similarity analysis, we compared the similarity of narrative interpretation across subjects, as measured using text analysis, with the similarity of neural responses, as measured using intersubject correlation (ISC). We found that the more similar two people9s interpretations of the abstract shape movie were, the more similar their neural responses were in the default mode network (DMN). Moreover, these shared responses were modality invariant: despite vast differences in stimulus properties, we found that the shapes movie and the verbal interpretation of the movie elicited shared responses in linguistic areas and a subset of the DMN when subjects shared interpretations. Together, these results suggest that the DMN is not only sensitive to subtle individual differences in narrative interpretation, but also resilient to large differences in the modality of the narrative.
Bios-3 project in Krasnoyarsk, Russia

The article in this issue by Gitelson and Okladnikov provides a valuable summary of some of the work conducted at the Bios-3 project in Krasnoyarsk, Russia. As the title suggests, the focus is on humans and their role in a CELSS biosphere. I am aware of several translated reports and some recent articles by Dr. Gitelson and colleagues in which the Bios project is described, but this paper provides some information that I have not seen previously in an english article. Although the discussion is focused on bioregeneration, the authors state that complementary physicochemical technologies and some stowage may be needed in a CELSS. For example, animal protein foods were taken into the Bios-3 chamber, since, as the authors state, "products of animal origin would make the system considerably more complicated and energy inefficient."