cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A fluorometric-high-performance liquid chromatographic assay procedure for several enzymatic activities using formycin analogs of adenosine 5'-mono, 5'-tri, and cyclic 3',5'-monophosphate as substrates.

The present study describes the synthesis of formycin 5′-triphosphate (FoTP), formycin 5′-monophosphate (FoMP), and formycin 3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate (cFoMP) from formycin A (FoA). These compounds, analogs of ATP, AMP, cAMP, and adenosine, respectively, are all fluorescent and differ chemically from the adenosine compounds by the reversal of the carbon atom at position 8 and the nitrogen at position 9 of the purine ring. Both FoMP and cFoMP were synthesized by chemical procedures from FoA while FoTP was made from FoMP enzymatically. All the analogs could be separated from each other using a high-performance liquid chromatographic (hplc) reverse-phase isocratic system that includes a μBondapak C-18 column as stationary phase and a solution of 0.01 m KH2PO4 adjusted to pH 5.5 with NaOH containing methanol as a mobile phase. At a flow rate of 2 ml/min, FoTP had a retention time of about 1 min followed by FoMP (2 min), cFoMP (3.5 min), and finally FoA (5.5 min). The analogs were detected by fluorometry using an excitation wavelength of 300 nm and an emission wavelength above 320 nm. This detection system proved to be more sensitive than absorbtion spectroscopy and as little as 2 pmol of the compounds could be measured. The analogs, together with the hplc system, were used to develop fluorometric (nonradioactive) assays for several enzymes including 3′5′-cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase (PDase), ATP pyrophosphohydrolase, and alkaline phosphatase. With these enzymes, the conversion of cFoMP to FoMP, FoTP to FoMP, and FoMP to FoA, respectively, could be followed. The conversion of FoA to formycin B (FoB), an analog of inosine, was also followed. The intracellular PDase activity isolated from the eukaryotic microorganism Dictyostelium discoideum was studied in some detail, and an apparent Km of 5 μm and Vmax of 0.1 nmol/min/mg protein were obtained for the enzyme at pH 7.5 and 30°. These values are compared to those in the literature. A number of advantages of this fluorometric-hplc assay procedure are discussed, including the facts that it offers an increase in sensitivity over other spectrophotometric assays and is at least equivalent to radiochemical assays currently in use.
Study of Transition in a High-Disturbance Environment

A theory is developed for a form of bypass transition that is induced by a high-disturbance environment and is used to study transitional e ows at low speeds. It employs an approach similar to that developed for natural transition. In this approach, transitional e ows are treated in a turbulencelike manner, and transition onset and extentaredeterminedaspartofthesolution.Itisshownthatthisform ofbypasstransitionisaresultofareceptivity mechanism, where the disturbance is characterized by a scale different from that of Tollmien ‐Schlichting waves. The theory is calibrated and validated by considering a range of low-speed e ows, with high freestream turbulence intensities, in the presence and absence of pressure gradients, referred to as the T3 test cases. Excellent agreement with measurements is indicated. It is suggested that transition in one of the test cases, T3C4, is a result of the bursting of a laminar separation bubble.
Adaptive State Filtering for Space Shuttle Main Engine Turbine Health Monitoring

Real-time estimation of system states or parameters that are dife cult or expensive to measure directly is often needed for adaptive control or health monitoring purposes. A practical algorithm is proposed for adaptive state e ltering in nonlineardynamic systemswhen the state equations areunknown or too complex to model analytically. The state equationsare constructively approximated by using recurrent neural networks. The proposed algorithm is based on the predictor-update approach of the Kalman e lter, but a least-mean-square e lter implementation with an adaptive e lter gain is used. Furthermore, unlike the Kalman e lter and its nonlinear extensions, the proposed algorithm makes minimal assumptions regarding the underlying nonlinear system dynamics and their noise statistics. The e lter is used to estimate the high-pressure turbine discharge temperature of the space shuttle main engine, during setpoint changes and turbopump failures. The e lter is developed by using simulated engine data, and its performance is tested on both simulated and actual recorded space shuttle main engine transients. When the complexity of the problem studied is considered, the resulting e lter accuracy is shown to be quite acceptable. Further use of the adaptive e lter gain developed is to enable real-time detection of certain system failures, such as the turbopump failures of the space shuttle main engine. This concept is demonstrated also by using both simulated and experimental failure data.
Propagation of hydromagnetic waves in a relativistic plasma

The hydrodynamic approach to a relativistic gas is studied on the basis of methods used by Chew, Goldberger & Low and by Scargle. As the result of this study, the explicit form of the energy–momentum tensor is obtained by straight-forward application of Lorentz transformation. The term corresponding to non-zero momentum density in the plasma frame of reference is included in the energy–momentum tensor. For the limiting case of small bulk velocities compared with the speed of light in vacua , the energy flux as described by non- relativistic theory is immediately recovered. For the special case of scalar pressure, the energy–momentum tensor considered by Taub and by Harris follows directly from our expression. In a small-perturbation approximation, it is possible to close the system of MHD equations. As a result the solution describing all possible wave modes is derived. This solution coincides with the solution obtained by means of the kinetic theory.
Magnetism and superconductivity in rare earth–nickel–borocarbides

Abstract The R Ni 2 B 2 C ( R = Gd – Lu , Y ) series of compounds offers a spacious testing ground for the interaction between 4 f and conduction electrons and specifically for interactions between local magnetic moments and the superconducting ground state. In this review we will survey the effects that local moments have on the superconducting transition temperature ( T c ), the upper superconducting critical field ( H c 2 ( T ) ) and the vortex pinning and critical current density ( J c ). To cite this article: S.L. Bud'ko, P.C. Canfield, C. R. Physique 7 (2006).
Design, Analysis, and Tests of a Structural Prototype Viking Aeroshell

A design procedure and test results for a lightweight, ring-stiffened, 140° conical shell having structural proportions and loadings appropriate for the Viking aeroshell are reported. Objectives were to develop a rational design procedure for establishing the buckling strength of a structurally efficient aeroshell and to demonstrate the reliability of the design procedure by the acquisition of test data from full-scale models. Part I describes the computerized design procedure which iterates between a design program based on approximate equations to determine skin and ring gages and ring spacings, and a sophisticated system of shell-of-revolution programs for more accurate analysis as a basis for redesign. Part II discusses fabrication techniques, test procedures, and test results. Two aeroshells which differed only in base ring stiffness were fabricated and tested. Measured prebuckling strains in skin and rings agreed well with theoretical predictions for both models. Each aeroshell appeared to buckle in the general instability mode at approximately the ultimate design pressure. Appropriate buckling knockdown factors for this type of construction are identified.
The evolution of the upper mantle beneath mid-ocean ridges☆

Several recent measurements of Rayleigh wave dispersion in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans have demonstrated conclusively that phase and group velocities in the period range 20–200 seconds increase systematically with increasing age of the sea floor. The increase in velocity can be explained by the growth and cooling of the oceanic lithosphere as it moves away from the mid-ocean ridges. If the base of the lithosphere is defined as the top of the low-velocity zone, the average lithospheric thickness can be no more than 25 km for a region from the ridge axis to an isochron of 5 million years. Within 10 m.y. after formation, the lithosphere reaches a thickness of about 60 km. As the mantle continues to cool, the thickness gradually increases, reaching a maximum of about 90 km in old ocean basins. In addition to the slow growth after 10 m.y., there is a gradual increase in shear velocity within the lithosphere from about 4.4 km s−1 at 10 m.y. to 4.6 to 4.7 km s−1 beneath old sea floor. The increase has also been found in regional studies of Sn velocity in the Atlantic. Beneath the lithosphere extending to a depth of about 175 km, there is a zone of very low shear velocities apparently associated with partial melting. There is a significant increase in the shear velocity within this low-velocity zone with increasing age. A narrow zone of low Q and increased partial melting has been outlined directly beneath the ridge axis by observations of lateral variation in attenuation of longperiod S-waves and Rayleigh waves. This zone is roughly coincident with the elevated region of low compressional and shear velocities under sea floor which is less than 10 m.y. old. The seismic data are consistent with a model of the oceanic lithosphere as a thermal boundary layer growing at the expense of a laterally homogeneous asthenosphere. Substantial partial melting occurs at shallow depths beneath the ridge axis where the asthenospheric mantle material rises near the surface. The boundary-layer model is consistent with the change in elevation of the sea floor with age and with recently revised estimates of oceanic heat flow.
Altered polyamine metabolism in Chinese hamster cells growing in a defined medium.

Chinese hamster cells (line CHO) maintained in McCoy's 5A medium (modified) supplemented with insulin (10 μg/ml), transferrin (5 μg/ml), and ferrous sulfate (1.1 μg/ml) proliferate at rates similar to cultures growing in the McCoy's medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum. Colony-forming ability is similar in cultures supplemented with either serum or the combination of growth factors. By 6 hours after replacement of serum with growth factors, ornithine decarboxylase (ODCase) activity increases, reaching a maximum value by 24 hours after serum replacement. This maximum is cell density dependent and can exceed a 30-fold increase over enzyme activity in cultures supplemented with serum. The increased enzyme activity is due to a decrease in the turnover rate of the enzyme, based on protein synthesis inhibition studies, and an accumulation of active enzyme molecules rather than an activation of existing molecules, since the catalytic activity of ODCase, determined using the radiolabeled form of α-difluoromethylornithine (an enzyme-activated, irreversible inhibitor of ODCase) in concert with immuno-chemical techniques, is unchanged by the different growth medium supplements. Intracellular putrescine and spermidine levels are substantially decreased when cultures are maintained in medium supplemented with insulin, transferrin, and ferrous sulfate, rather than serum, which is the sole source of exogenous ornithine. Titration of cultures growing in the defined medium with ornithine leads to a decrease in ODCase activity and an increase in intracellular putrescine and spermidine levels. Putrescine- and spermidine-dependent S-adenosyl-L-methionine decarboxylase activities are similar in cultures maintained in either medium. These data demonstrate that some, but not all, aspects of polyamine biosynthesis are affected by the availability of ornithine, the first substrate in the pathway.
Maxillary ameloblastoma: Case report

Ameloblastoma of the maxilla is an unusual epithelial tumor of odontogenic origin. Although it is considered benign, it can behave in a slowly growing infiltrative fashion, with multiple recurrences and eventual intracranial, or even distant, spread. Information on this tumor consists, to a large extent, of case reports presented in the oral surgery literature. This study is a retrospective review of our combined institutional experience with nasomaxillary tumors from 1980 to 1988. Among these cases were four patients with maxillary ameloblastoma, two males and two females, ranging in age from 16 to 66 years at presentation. Disease extent varied from ameloblastoma localized to a cyst in the maxillary sinus to extensive maxillary and ethmoid involvement. Follow-up ranged from 2 to 13 years, and disease course varied from apparent disease control to persistent intracranial tumor, despite attempts at extirpation. An analysis of this experience and the related literature is presented, along with recommendations for radical therapy, when appropriate, to best ensure control.
FINDING POLITICS IN THE SILLY AND THE SACRED: ANTI-RAPE ACTIVISM ON CAMPUS

Volunteers often describe what they do as nonpolitical. That is, they tend to construct their efforts as simultaneously above and below politics but rarely as explicitly within the realm of politics. Using data from field research at a campus antirape organization, I analyze these aspects of participants' efforts and consider how they are linked to politics. I argue that even actions which appear at first glace to be nonpolitical have political consequences for movements and movement participants. Constructing volunteers' efforts as apolitical, either above or below politics, has the consequence of limiting the transformative potential of volunteer and activist work. I conclude by discussing this and other consequences of avoiding politics.
Advanced teleoperation controller architecture

This paper describes a real-time controller architecture being implemented within the Advanced Teleoperation Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. We address system performance/integration trade-off issues with respect to the system's computational needs and the present day technology, while considering a variety of specification goals in addition to performance, e.g., the flexibility to enable fast prototyping of new real-time control algorithms and control/sensor interfaces.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Edward Royal Warren (1860–1942) and the Development of Coloradan Mammalogy

SYNOPSIS. NO individual has been identified more strongly with the development of Coloradan mammalogy than Edward Royal Warren. Warren's two books on Coloradan mammals represent landmark summaries of our evolving knowledge of the rich mammalian fauna of the state. This paper reviews briefly the history of mammalogical research in Colorado and attempts to place Warren in context in that history. The paper relies almost exclusively on a quantitative and qualitative analysis of Warren's published work, which comprises some 96 papers and books, mostly on the Coloradan fauna. He contributed a number of new records to the state's faunal list, but made little contribution to taxonomy. His nomenclature was uncritical and he made no significant contribution to biological theory. His natural history observations are largely anecdotal (although his papers on beavers in Colorado and Wyoming are of enduring importance). Despite its magnitude, Warren's published contribution has not stood the test of time particularly well. A body of unpublished documentation, however, survives in addition to the published papers. That raw documentation may prove eventually to be Warren's most enduring contribution to science and to Coloradan natural history. Warren provided us, like few naturalists have done, a carefully documented description of biotic normality, a description of a Coloradan environment less disturbed than it is today.
Urbanization alters spatiotemporal patterns of ecosystem primary production: a case study of the Phoenix metropolitan region, USA.

Previous studies have found that urbanization often decreases net primary production (NPP), an important integrative measure of ecosystem functioning. In arid environments, however, urbanization may boost productivity by introducing highly productive plant communities and weakening the coupling of plant growth to naturally occurring cycles of water and nutrients. We tested these ideas by comparing NPP estimated for natural and anthropogenic land covers in the Phoenix metropolitan region of USA using MODIS NDVI data and a simplified parametric NPP model. Most anthropogenic land covers exhibited higher production than the natural desert. Consequently, the combined urban and agricultural areas contributed more to the regional primary production than the natural desert did in normal and dry years, whereas this pattern was reversed in wet years. Primary production of this urban landscape was only weakly correlated with rainfall, but strongly with socio-economic variables. Our productivity estimates agreed well with NPP predicted by a process-based ecosystem model for the area. Significant uncertainties, however, remain due to extremely high heterogeneity of urban vegetation. Nevertheless, our results clearly show that urbanization may not only increase regional NPP and disrupt the coupling between vegetation and precipitation, but also increase spatial heterogeneity of NPP in this arid region.
Recruiting and Retaining Teachers: Turning Around the Race to the Bottom in High-Need Schools

What is it that keeps some people in teaching and chases others out? What can be done to increase the power of the teaching profession to recruit and retain effective teachers and to create a stable, expert teaching force in all kinds of districts? This issue of the Journal of Curriculum and Instruction explores these questions from a number of different angles, illuminating a range of strategies that can be used to address them. In this article, I examine the central factors affecting teacher recruitment and retention in high-need schools, and the strategies that have been found to be effective in getting and keeping high-quality teachers in the neediest communities.
Cerebral Artery Alpha-1 AR Subtypes: High Altitude Long-Term Acclimatization Responses

In response to hypoxia and other stress, the sympathetic (adrenergic) nervous system regulates arterial contractility and blood flow, partly through differential activities of the alpha1 (α1) - adrenergic receptor (AR) subtypes (α1A-, α1B-, and α1D-AR). Thus, we tested the hypothesis that with acclimatization to long-term hypoxia (LTH), contractility of middle cerebral arteries (MCA) is regulated by changes in expression and activation of the specific α1-AR subtypes. We conducted experiments in MCA from adult normoxic sheep maintained near sea level (300 m) and those exposed to LTH (110 days at 3801 m). Following acclimatization to LTH, ovine MCA showed a 20% reduction (n = 5; P<0.05) in the maximum tension achieved by 10−5 M phenylephrine (PHE). LTH-acclimatized cerebral arteries also demonstrated a statistically significant (P<0.05) inhibition of PHE-induced contractility in the presence of specific α1-AR subtype antagonists. Importantly, compared to normoxic vessels, there was significantly greater (P<0.05) α1B-AR subtype mRNA and protein levels in LTH acclimatized MCA. Also, our results demonstrate that extracellular regulated kinase 1 and 2 (ERK1/2)-mediated negative feedback regulation of PHE-induced contractility is modulated by α1B-AR subtype. Overall, in ovine MCA, LTH produces profound effects on α1-AR subtype expression and function.
Predicting failure-proneness in an evolving software product line

ContextPrevious work by researchers on 3years of early data for an Eclipse product has identified some predictors of failure-prone files that work well. Eclipse has also been used previously by researchers to study characteristics of product line software. ObjectiveThe work reported here investigates whether classification-based prediction of failure-prone files improves as the product line evolves. MethodThis investigation first repeats, to the extent possible, the previous study and then extends it by including four more recent years of data, comparing the prominent predictors with the previous results. The research then looks at the data for three additional Eclipse products as they evolve over time. The analysis compares results from three different types of datasets with alternative data collection and prediction periods. ResultsOur experiments with a variety of learners show that the difference between the performance of J48, used in this work, and the other top learners is not statistically significant. Furthermore, new results show that the effectiveness of classification significantly depends on the data collection period and prediction period. The study identifies change metrics that are prominent predictors across all four releases of all four products in the product line for the three different types of datasets. From the product line perspective, prediction of failure-prone files for the four products studied in the Eclipse product line shows statistically significant improvement in accuracy but not in recall across releases. ConclusionAs the product line matures, the learner performance improves significantly for two of the three datasets, but not for prediction of post-release failure-prone files using only pre-release change data. This suggests that it may be difficult to detect failure-prone files in the evolving product line. At least in part, this may be due to the continuous change, even for commonalities and high-reuse variation components, which we previously have shown to exist.
Drug-seeking behavior in an invertebrate system: evidence of morphine-induced reward, extinction and reinstatement in crayfish.

Several lines of evidence suggest that exploring the neurochemical basis of reward in invertebrate species may provide clues for the fundamental behavioral and neurobiology underpinnings of drug addiction. How the presence of drug-sensitive reward relates to a decrease in drug-seeking behavior and reinstatement of drug-seeking behavior in invertebrate systems is not known. The present study of a conditioned place preference (CPP) paradigm in crayfish (Orconectes rusticus) explores morphine-induced reward, extinction and reinstatement. Repeated intra-circulatory infusions of 2.5 μg/g, 5.0 μg/g and 10.0 μg/g doses of morphine over 5 days serve as a reward when paired with a distinct visual or tactile environment. Morphine-induced CPP was extinguished after repeated saline injections for 5 days in the previously morphine-paired compartment. After the previously established CPP had been eliminated during the extinction phase, morphine-experienced crayfish were challenged with 2.5 μg/g, 5.0 μg/g and 10.0 μg/g, respectively. The priming injections of morphine reinstated CPP in all training doses, suggesting that morphine-induced CPP is unrelenting, and that with time, it can be reinstated by morphine following extinction in an invertebrate model just like in mammals. Together with other recent studies, this work demonstrates the advantage of using crayfish as an invertebrate animal model to investigate the basic biological processes that underline exposure to mammalian drugs of abuse.
Venous loop fistula for vascular access in childhood haemodialysis

Seven children on chronic haemodialysis have received in-situ venous loop arterio-venous fistulae for vascular access. The saphenous vein was used in five patients and the basilic vein in two. The patency rate was 71.4% with two loops being lost due to thrombosis. Long-term needling has been successful in both sites.
Four-party unlockable bound entangled state

I present a four-party unlockable bound entangled state, that is, a four-party quantum state which cannot be written in a separable form and from which no pure entanglement can be distilled by local quantum operations and classical communication among the parties, and yet when any two of the parties come together in the same laboratory they can perform a measurement which enables the other two parties to create a pure maximally entangled state between them without coming together. This unlocking ability can be viewed in two ways, either as a determination of which Bell state is shared in the mixture or as a kind of quantum teleportation with cancellation of Pauli operators.
Self-Organization at Nonzero Temperatures.

The effects of introducing a temperaturelike parameter in three different models of self-organized criticality are studied numerically. In the original models, the temperature is set to zero. The scaling behavior changes dramatically on the introduction of a nonzero temperature.
Residual stress and damage-induced critical fracture on CO2 laser treated fused silica

Localized damage repair and polishing of silica-based optics using mid- and far-IR CO 2 lasers has been shown to be an effective method for increasing optical damage threshold in the UV. However, it is known that CO 2 laser heating of silicate surfaces can lead to a level of residual stress capable of causing critical fracture either during or after laser treatment. Sufficient control of the surface temperature as a function of time and position is therefore required to limit this residual stress to an acceptable level to avoid critical fracture. In this work we present the results of 351 nm, 3ns Gaussian damage growth experiments within regions of varying residual stress caused by prior CO 2 laser exposures. Thermally stressed regions were non-destructively characterized using polarimetry and confocal Raman microscopy to measure the stress induced birefringence and fictive temperature respectively. For 1~40s square pulse CO 2 laser exposures created over 0.5-1.25kW/cm 2 with a 1-3mm 1/e 2 diameter beam (T max ~1500-3000K), the critical damage site size leading to fracture increases weakly with peak temperature, but shows a stronger dependence on cooling rate, as predicted by finite element hydrodynamics simulations. Confocal micro-Raman was used to probe structural changes to the glass over different thermal histories and indicated a maximum fictive temperature of 1900K for T max ≥2000K. The effect of cooling rate on fictive temperature caused by CO 2 laser heating are consistent with finite element calculations based on a Tool-Narayanaswamy relaxation model.
Excitatory amino acid binding sites in the periaqueductal gray of the rat.

We used receptor autoradiography to determine the distribution of excitatory amino acid (EAA) binding site subtypes in the periaqueductal gray (PAG) of the rat. N-Methyl-o-aspartate (NMDA), kainate, quisqualate-ionotropic, and quisqualate-metabotropic binding sites were all present in the PAG. Distribution was inhomogeneous with greatest density of all binding site subtypes in the dorsolateral subdivision and lowest density in the ventrolateral subdivision. Relative to regions of brain with high densities of EAA binding site subtypes, quisqualate-metabotropic binding sites had the highest relative density and NMDA binding sites the least. The presence of all subtypes of EAA binding sites in the PAG suggests that EAA action within the PAG is likely to be complex. The periaqueductal gray (PAG) is a mesencephalic nucleus implicated in the control of nociception, vocalization and defensive behaviors [2, 8, 9, 13-16]. Physiological, immunocytochemical, biochemical, and [3H]Daspartate transport studies suggest that excitatory amino acids (EAAs) are important neurotransmitters within the PAG [1, 2, 4, 7-10, 13-16, 23]. EAAs act via multiple receptors named after their prototype agonists [24]. The so-called N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), quisqualate (QA), and kainate (KA) receptors all act by control of ion channels. In addition, a second QA preferring recep
DIVERSITY IN BODY SIZE AND FEEDING MORPHOLOGY WITHIN PAST AND PRESENT VULTURE ASSEMBLAGES

Vultures comprise two geographically isolated and taxonomically distinct groups, Old World accipitrids and New World vulturids, and provide a classic case of convergent evolution. In both regions, several species of vultures often feed together in large numbers on carcasses. Behavioral studies of East African and Amazonian vultures have documented parallels in apparent ecological separation within this guild of specialized scavengers. Here morphological differences in skull, beak, and mandibular dimensions are compared among sympatric vultures in East Africa, South Africa, the Indian subcontinent, Amazonia, and the Pleistocene Rancho La Brea deposits in California. A discriminant function analysis based on morphological indices separates three basic feeding types: rip- pers, gulpers, and scrappers. Vultures of the three feeding types are present in both Pleis- tocene and Recent assemblages and show a similar distribution of body sizes into three size classes, suggesting that competition has favored similar pathways of ecological sepa- ration. This is true even when phylogenetic differences among some of the assemblages are partially accounted for. Comparisons between the fossil and extant New World vultures indicate that more specialized species were prone to extinction and that there has been a reduction in body size since the Pleistocene.
Francisella tularensis LVS surface and membrane proteins as targets of effective post-exposure immunization for tularemia.

Francisella tularensis causes disease (tularemia) in a large number of mammals, including man. We previously demonstrated enhanced efficacy of conventional antibiotic therapy for tularemia by postexposure passive transfer of immune sera developed against a F. tularensis LVS membrane protein fraction (MPF). However, the protein composition of this immunogenic fraction was not defined. Proteomic approaches were applied to define the protein composition and identify the immunogens of MPF. MPF consisted of at least 299 proteins and 2-D Western blot analyses using sera from MPF-immunized and F. tularensis LVS-vaccinated mice coupled to liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry identified 24 immunoreactive protein spots containing 45 proteins. A reverse vaccinology approach that applied labeling of F. tularensis LVS surface proteins and bioinformatics was used to reduce the complexity of potential target immunogens. Bioinformatics analyses of the immunoreactive proteins reduced the number of immunogen targ...
Market responses to publicly-provided information: the case of automative safety

Over the last 25 years the federal government has become increasingly involved in the provision of information on automobile quality and safety. Its release of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data on occupant crash survivablity is a prominent example. This paper examines the impact of the agency's crash test results on the sales growth of tested automobile lines. Finding no impact, the crash data is then compared to privately collected insurance industry data on actual bodily injury claims by car line. these data sets show little consistency. based on these findings, we conclude that consumers's apparent disregard of government crash test data may well be rational.
Effect of electron withdrawing substituents on substrate hydrolysis by and inhibition of rat neutral endopeptidase 24.11 (enkephalinase) and thermolysin.

Abstract A series of N -acylphenylalanylglycine dipeptides were synthesized and examined as substrates for neutral endopeptidase 24.11 (NEP) and thermolysin. Those N -acyl dipeptides containing an N -acyl group derived from an acid whose p K a is below 3.5 were considerably more reactive with both enzymes than those peptides containing an N -acyl group derived from an acid whose p K a is above 4. The data are interpreted to suggest that electron withdrawal at the scissile bond increases k cat for both NEP and thermolysin. The pH dependence for inhibition by the dipeptides Phe-Ala, Phe-Gly, and Leu-Ala showed binding dependent upon the basic form of an enzyme residue with a p K a of 7 for NEP and a p K a of 6 for thermolysin. In the case of thermolysin this p K a was decreased to 5.3 in the enzymeinhibitor complex. When examined as alternate substrate inhibitors of NEP, N -acyl dipeptides showed three distinct profiles for the dependence of K i on pH. With N -trifluoroacetyl-Phe-Gly as inhibitor, binding is dependent upon the basic form of an enzyme residue with a p K a value of 6.2. N -methoxyacetyl-Phe-Gly inhibition appears pH independent, while N -acetyl-Phe-Gly inhibition is dependent upon the acidic form of an enzyme residue with a p K a of approximately 7. All inhibitions of thermolysin by N -acyl dipeptides exhibit a dependence on the acidic form of an enzyme residue with a p K a of 5.3 to 5.8. These results suggest that with NEP, binding interactions at the active site involve one or more histidine residues while with thermolysin binding involves an active site glutamic acid residue.
Grain clusters in wet snow

Abstract The grain boundaries in snow are generally unstable when the pore space is filled with liquid water (i.e., liquid-saturated snow. Thus, when unstressed snow is saturated with the melt, the ice particles in snow are cohesionless spheres. This leads to very low strengths and to rapid grain growth due to heat flow among particles of different sizes. The grain boundaries in highly unsaturated snow (up to about 7% liquid by volume with small applied loads are stable and the grains must be arranged in clusters to achieve local force equilibrium. Two grains bond together with geometrical constraints on the radii of the phase boundaries. Three grains join at a liquid vein whose size is determined by grain size and capillary pressure (i.e., liquid “tension”. Slow grain growth occurs by sublimation, vapor diffusion, and condensation and intergrain strength is relatively high. Once grain clusters are formed force equilibrium imposes constraints on the curvature of the phase boundaries which limit changes in the capillary pressure.
Epidermal patterning and induction of different hair types during mouse embryonic development.

An intriguing question is how epidermal pattern formation processes are established, and which are the molecular mechanisms involved in these events. The establishment of the pattern is concomitant with the formation of ectodermal appendages, which involves complex interactions between the epithelium and the underlying mesenchyme. Among ectodermal appendages, hair follicles are the ‘mini organs’ that produce hair shafts. Several developmental and structural features are common to all hair follicles and to the hair shaft they produce. However, many different hair types are produced in a single organism. Also, different characteristics can be observed depending on the part of the body where the hair follicle is formed. Here, we review the mechanisms involved in the patterning of different hair types during mouse embryonic development, as well as the influence of the body axes on hair patterning.
Using original music to explore gender and sexuality with adolescents

This paper discusses the use of original music in the treatment of adolescents-individually, in groups, and with their families. The approach expands the therapist-client relationship at the same time that it stimulates new adaptive possibilities. Particular focus is on how the therapist can use music to explore the often difficult areas of gender and sexuality with teenagers. The specific songs also have potential applicability beyond the treatment context in high schools, health clinics, and elsewhere.
Analyzing Data from Ordered Categories

Abstract Clinical investigations often involve data in the form of ordered categories — e.g., "worse," "unchanged," "improved," "much improved." Comparison of two groups when the data are of this kind should not be done by the chi-square test, which wastes information and is insensitive in this context. The Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test provides a proper analysis. Alternatively, scores may be assigned to the categories in order, and the t-test applied. We demonstrate both approaches here. Sometimes data in ordered categories are reduced to a two-by-two table by the collapsing of the high categories into one category and the low categories into another. This practice is inefficient; moreover, it entails avoidable subjectivity in the choice of the cutting point that defines the two super-categories. The Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney procedure (or the t-test with use of ordered scores) is preferable. A survey of research articles in Volume 306 of the New England Journal of Medicine shows many instances of ordered-categ...
The use of wiener deconvolution (an optimal filter) in nuclear magnetic resonance imaging

A computer software technique has been developed and employed to insert a modified-Wiener-deconvolution filter (an optimal filter) immediately following the quadrate detector of a magnetic resonance imager. The purpose of this effort is to try to suppress the undesirable effect of the noise found in the magnetic resonance imaging receiving antenna. This technique convolves the sampled real and imaginary signals taken directly from the antenna quadrature detector with a transfer function which is expressed in terms of the power spectrum of the measured signal with noise and the measured power spectrum of the noise, alone. The latter factor is measured during the dummy cycles which precede a normal scan sequence. Results are presented using data taken with a commercially available phantom.
Total body chlorine: calibration of the in vivo neutron activation measurement.

Abstract Total body chlorine (TBCl), used to estimate the extracellular space, is measured by delayed-gamma neutron activation (DGNA) using the reaction 37 Cl(n,γ) 38 Cl, at Brookhaven National Laboratory. During the calibration process, we noticed that different values were obtained when different amounts of Cl were placed in the phantom. This non-linear relationship is due to the thermal neutron flux suppression by the thermal neutron capture reaction 35 Cl(n,γ) 36 Cl. Monte Carlo simulations confirm the results of phantom measurements showing an inverse relationship between the Cl content in the phantom and the γ-ray yield per gram Cl. Thus, it is important to calibrate the DGNA system for TBCl using phantom standards containing an amount of Cl close to that expected in the individual undergoing measurement.
Clinical characteristics and prevalence of early repolarization associated with ventricular arrhythmias following acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction.

Early repolarization (ER) on a 12-lead electrocardiogram has recently been associated with ventricular tachyarrhythmias (VTAs) in patients without structural heart disease and in patients with healed myocardial infarction (MI). An association between ER and VTAs in the setting of acute ST-segment elevation MI (STEMI) has not been explored. In a single-center retrospective case–control design, 50 patients with STEMI complicated by VTAs (cases), defined as ventricular fibrillation, sustained ventricular tachycardia, or nonsustained ventricular tachycardia within 72 hours of the index hospitalization, were matched for age and gender with 50 subjects with STEMI without VTAs (controls). Electrocardiograms obtained an average of 1 year before STEMI were analyzed for ER pattern, defined as notching or slurring of the terminal QRS complex or J-point elevation >0.1 mV above baseline in ≥2 contiguous leads. A higher prevalence of ER was associated with VTAs overall in cases compared to controls (26% vs 4%, p = 0.01) and localized to anterior (16% vs 0%) and inferior (14% vs 2%, p = 0.07) leads but not lateral limb leads. Notching (10% vs 2%, p = 0.1) and J-point elevation (16% vs 0%) were more common in cases. Slurring was uncommon. ER was associated with VTAs (odds ratio [OR] 6.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.5 to 28.8, p = 0.01), even after adjustment for creatine kinase-MB (OR 9.2, 95% CI 1.6 to 53.4, p = 0.01) and ejection fraction (OR 5.7, 95% CI 1.2 to 27.1, p = 0.03). In conclusion, ER is associated with VTAs in patients with STEMI even after adjustment for left ventricular ejection fraction or creatine kinas-MB levels. Larger prospective studies exploring potential associations and mechanisms of ventricular arrhythmogenesis with ER pattern are needed.
Subphotospheric Structure of Sunspots and Active Regions

New methods of local area helioseismology provide three-dimensional maps of sound-speed variations and mass flows in the upper convection zone, giving important insight into the internal structure and dynamics of sunspots and active regions. Most of these results are obtained from SOHO/MDI data using the method of time-distance helioseismology (or acoustic tomography). Robustness of this method has been significantly improved by incorporating most important wave propagation effects and stochastic properties of solar oscillations. Time-distance helioseismology reveals that developed sunspots have a two layer structure: a relatively thin sub-photospheric layer of lower sound speed, and a deeper layer of higher sound speed. The mass flows in the upper layer are typically converging and directed downward, while in the deeper interior the flows are mostly diverging. These results support the cluster model of sunspots suggested by Parker. New observations also provide interesting information about emerging magnetic flux, formation and evolution of active regions and complexes of activity, and allow us to investigate effects of sub-photospheric dynamics of active regions on the global circulation of the Sun and also small-scale rapid shear flows associated with flares and CME.To search for other articles by the author(s) go to: http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abstract_service.html
Productivity in the Cognitive Overload Era

Could technologies that emphasize the concept of "we" rather than "me" help modern society overcome its information overload?
Evaporation of nebular fines during chondrule formation

Abstract Studies of matrix in primitive chondrites provide our only detailed information about the fine fraction (diameter 700 K higher than the evaporation temperatures of nebular fines. The scale of chondrule forming events is not known. The currently popular shock models have typical scales of about 10 5 km . The scale of nebular lightning is less well defined, but is certainly much smaller, perhaps in the range 1 to 1000 m. In both cases the temperature pulses were long enough to evaporate submicrometer nebular fines. This interpretation disagrees with common views that meteoritic matrix is largely presolar in character and CI-chondrite-like in composition. It is inevitable that presolar grains (both those recognized by their anomalous isotopic compositions and those having solar-like compositions) that were within the hot fluid would also have evaporated. Chondrule formation appears to have continued down to the temperatures at which planetesimals formed, possibly around 250 K. At temperatures >600 K, the main form of C is gaseous CO. Although the conversion of CO to CH4 at lower temperatures is kinetically inhibited, radiation associated with chondrule formation would have accelerated the conversion. There is now evidence that an appreciable fraction of the nanodiamonds previously held to be presolar were actually formed in the solar nebula. Industrial condensation of diamonds from mixtures of CH4 and H2 implies that high nebular CH4/CO ratios favored nanodiamond formation. A large fraction of chondritic insoluble organic matter may have formed in related processes. At low nebular temperatures appreciable water should have been incorporated into the smoke that condensed following dust (and some chondrule) evaporation. If chondrule formation continued down to temperatures as low as 250 K this process could account for the water concentration observed in primitive chondrites such as LL3.0 and CO3.0 chondrites. Higher H2O contents in CM and CI chondrites may reflect asteroidal redistribution. In some chondrite groups (e.g., CR) the Mg/Si ratio of matrix material is appreciably (30%) lower than that of chondrules but the bulk Mg/Si ratio is roughly similar to the CI or solar ratio. This has been interpreted as a kind of closed-system behavior sometimes called “complementarity.” This leads to the conclusion that nebular fines were efficiently agglomerated. Its importance, however is obscured by the observation that bulk Mg/Si ratios in ordinary and enstatite chondrites are much lower than those in carbonaceous chondrites, and thus that complementarity did not hold throughout the solar nebula.
Selective Vapor Deposition of Hydrous RuO2 Thin Films

Thin films of mixed-conducting hydrous ruthenium dioxide (RuO 2 .xH 2 O or RuO x H y ) were deposited via chemical vapor deposition at ambient pressure and temperature. The RuO 4 (g) precursor was generated in situ and reducedto RuO 2 .xH 2 O when it contacted specific functional groups, including alcohols, thiols, amines/amides, and clean metal surfaces. The RuO 4 was nonreactive when in contacted with surfaces of hydrocarbons, carboxylic acid groups, or metal oxides. Because of the selectivity of the deposition process, RuO 2 .xH 2 O lines and patterns can be formed on substrates that are decorated with specific areas of reactive and nonreactive functional groups. RuO 2 .xH 2 O films are conductive, catalytic for chloride evolution from brine, and may ultimately be useful as oxidation catalysts and methanol barrier layers in direct methanol fuel cells.
Direct Classification with Indirect Data

We classify an input space according to the outputs of a real-valued function. The function is not given, but rather examples of the function. We contribute a consistent classifier that avoids the unnecessary complexity of estimating the function.
A statistical theory for optimal detection of moving objects in variable corruptive noise

In this paper, the classical analysis of variance is extended to three-dimensional (3-D) Graeco-Latin squares design for multiframe processing applications. Conspicuous physical features, including edges, lines, and corners, can then be expressed as contrast functions. This enables the development of a new methodology for detecting moving objects embedded in noise. The new detector exploits spatial and temporal information uniformly most powerful in a Gaussian environment with unknown and time-varying noise variance. Also found is that a moving object detector based on contrast functions coincides with a sufficient statistic of the generalized likelihood ratio test. Extensive image analysis demonstrates the practicality of the detector and compares favorably to other classes of detectors.
A Meta-Analysis of School-Based Social Skills Interventions for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders:

Social skills deficits are a central feature of autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This meta-analysis of 55 single-subject design studies examined the effectiveness of school-based social skills interventions for children and adolescents with ASD. Intervention, maintenance, and generalization effects were measured by computing the percentage of non-overlapping data points. The results suggest that social skills interventions have been minimally effective for children with ASD. Specific participant, setting, and procedural features that lead to the most effective intervention outcomes are highlighted, and implications for school personnel are discussed. Finally, the results are compared to the outcomes of similar meta-analyses involving social skills interventions with other populations of children.
PyBamView: a browser-based application for viewing short read alignments

UNLABELLED Current sequence alignment browsers allow visualization of large and complex next-generation sequencing datasets. However, most of these tools provide inadequate display of insertions and can be cumbersome to use on large datasets. I implemented PyBamView, a lightweight Web application for visualizing short read alignments. It provides an easy-to-use Web interface for viewing alignments across multiple samples, with a focus on accurate visualization of insertions. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION PyBamView is available as a standard python package. The source code is freely available under the MIT license at https://mgymrek.github.io/pybamview.