cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Defective-interfering (DI) RNAs of influenza viruses: origin, structure, expression, and interference.

Influenza virus was the first virus for which defective-interfering particles were reported. Von Magnus (1947) observed that when he passaged influenza viruses serially undiluted in embryonated chicken eggs, both the amount of total virus particles as assayed by hemagglutinating units (HAU) and the amount of infectious virus particles as assayed by egg infectivity titer (EID50) decreased. However, he observed that the proportion of infectious particles as assayed by EID50 decreased precipitously when compared to the total virus particle (HAU) production. During the undiluted passages many particles were produced which were noninfectious. These noninfectious influenza virus particles produced at high multiplicity were called “incomplete” particles. Von Magnus (1951 a–c) also described the phenomenon of interference when he reported that these “incomplete” particles interfered with the multiplication of complete (infectious, nondefective, or standard) virus particles. This phenomenon of multiplicity dependent production of noninfectious virus particles is also called the “von Magnus phenomenon.” Since this observation was made with influenza viruses, similar multiplicity-dependent formation of noninfectious particles has been observed with almost all animal viruses carefully studied to date; indeed, formation of such particles has also been reported for plant, yeast, and bacterial viruses (Kane et al. 1979; Mills et al. 1967) and, thus, probably represents a general phenomenon for all viruses. The term “defective-interfering” (DI) particles was introduced by Huang and Baltimore (1970) to describe the definitive characteristics of these noninfectious particles and to separate them from other noninfectious particles which may be noninterfering.
Recent Developments in Body Fuel Metabolism

The major energy-yielding fuels ingested in the diet and found as normal body constituents are carbohydrate, fat, and protein. This review will focus on some recent advances in the disposal, production, and interconversion of these substrates. Emphasis will be placed on normal physiology, inasmuch as various disease states (e.g., diabetes, obesity, amino acid disorders) are covered in detail elsewhere in this volume. In addition, the fuel response to such conditions as starvation and exercise will also be reviewed.
A Monte Carlo study of the impact of phosphor optical properties on EPID imaging performance

We have developed a Monte Carlo computational model of a clinically employed electronic portal imaging device (EPID), and demonstrated the impact of phosphor optical properties on the imaging performance. The EPID model was built with Geant4 application for tomographic emission. Both radiative and optical transport were included in the model. Modulation transfer function (MTF), normalized noise-power spectrum times the incident x-ray fluence (qNNPS), and detective quantum efficiency (DQE) were calculated for simulated and measured data, and their agreement was quantified by the normalized root-mean-square error (NRMSE). MTF was computed using a 100 µm wide slit tilted by 1.5° and qNNPS was estimated using the Fujita-Lubberts-Swank method. DQE was calculated from MTF and qNNPS data. The NRMSE value was 0.0467 for MTF, 0.0217 for qNNPS, and 0.0885 for DQE, showing good agreement between measurement and simulation. Five major optical properties, phosphor grain size, phosphor thickness, phosphor refractive index, binder refractive index, and packing ratio were tested for their influence on the qNNPS, MTF, and DQE(0) of the model. Generally, the effect on the qNNPS is greater than MTF, and no impact on DQE(0), except from phosphor thickness, was observed. Multiple applications, such as imager design optimization and investigations of the dosimetric performance, are expected to benefit from the validated model.
Marijuana Induced Type I Brugada Pattern: A Case Report

Marijuana is the most common drug of abuse in the United States. Marijuana acts on cannabinoid receptors CB1, CB2 and another distinct endothelial receptor. Marijuana is known to cause tachycardia, hypotension and hypertension. Various arrhythmias including atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, II degree AV block, ventricular fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia, asystole and brugada pattern associated with marijuana use have been reported. We here present an interesting case of Type I Brugada pattern in electrocardiography (ECG) in a 36 year old healthy African American male who presented after smoking four joints. Urine toxicology test proved marijuana use. Acute coronary syndrome was ruled out, coronary angiogram revealed normal coronaries, 2D echocardiogram showed no evidence of structural heart disease. Upon resolution of Brugada pattern in ECG, procainamide challenge performed in electrophysiology laboratory did not induce Brugada pattern. Patient was asked to return to hospital if he developed fever that did not resolve with antipyretics. Further studies are required to to understand the effect of marijuana on cardiac ion channels.
Thermally tunable band gaps in architected metamaterial structures

Abstract The combined characteristics of periodic and locally resonant features in metamaterial structures, or meta-structures, give rise to unique wave propagation characteristics such as relatively low and wide band gaps. These meta-structures have a fixed geometry and thus a fixed behavior, however applications that require structural vibration mitigation such as spacecraft and automotive components have variable vibration mitigation requirements over a range of operation and external conditions. In this paper, we propose a method to thermally tune the band gaps of composite meta-structures, which combine a periodic lattice and locally-resonant inclusions, through changes in temperature of the structure. The concept primarily takes advantage of the different moduli of the two materials in the meta-structure that have drastically different temperature dependences, to preferentially tune the modulus of the lattice material compared to the resonant inclusion. We introduce an additional concept, termed thermal partitioning, to partially or fully open and close band gaps by locally controlling the temperature within the meta-structure. We demonstrate these results numerically with finite element simulations.
Vector acoustic study of ship noise during the 2017 Sediment Characterization Experiment off New England

The Intensity Vector Autonomous Recorder (IVAR) is a bottom deployed system measuring particle velocity and pressure. Results using IVAR in the Sediment Characterization Experiment (SBCEX) conducted off New England (spring 2017), involving active sources have been presented [P. H. Dahl and D. R. Dall’Osto, IEEE J. Ocean. Eng. (2019)]. Here, passive ship noise is studied from a 200-m length cargo vessel that is tracked over a 10 km course a 15 knots for which the closest point of approach (CPA) to the IVAR deployment location (1.25 m above the seafloor) was 500 m, as confirmed by Automatic Identification System (AIS) data. The time-frequency interference pattern of the noise as the vessel closes and opens in range is studied by way of vector acoustic field indicators. These are non-dimensional ratios of second-order quantities, e.g., kinetic energy over potential energy, which preserve magnitude over the track. Inferences on the seabed made from study of the field indicators are compared with geoacoustic models emerging from studies related to SBCEX. The aspect-dependent source level of the vessel is also estimated, with method tested on a known, omni-directional source towed past IVAR from the research vessel R/V Endeavor. [Study supported by Office of Naval Research.]
Engineering a PTAS for Minimum Feedback Vertex Set in Planar Graphs

We investigate the practicality of approximation schemes for optimization problems in planar graphs based on balanced separators. The first polynomial-time approximation schemes (PTASes) for problems in planar graphs were based on balanced separators, wherein graphs are recursively decomposed into small enough pieces in which optimal solutions can be found by brute force or other methods. However, this technique was supplanted by the more modern and (theoretically) more efficient approach of decomposing a planar graph into graphs of bounded treewidth, in which optimal solutions are found by dynamic programming. While the latter approach has been tested experimentally, the former approach has not.
Power and Refrigeration

It is impossible to overestimate the impact that the development of steam- and gasoline-powered engines have had on the history of Western civilization. Indeed, the availability of large sources of power fueled the Industrial Revolution, while sources of increasingly higher power density extended the range of travel to the global scale. Today we are so dependent on easy access to power that it is difficult to imagine life without it. In this part of the current chapter, we will study the technical aspects of this development.
Single-molecule sequencing of long DNA molecules allows high contiguity de novo genome assembly for the fungus fly, Sciara coprophila

ABSTRACT The lower Dipteran fungus fly, Sciara coprophila, has many unique biological features. For example, Sciara undergoes paternal chromosome elimination and maternal X chromosome nondisjunction during spermatogenesis, paternal X elimination during embryogenesis, intrachromosomal DNA amplification of DNA puff loci during larval development, and germline-limited chromosome elimination from all somatic cells. Paternal chromosome elimination in Sciara was the first observation of imprinting, though the mechanism remains a mystery. Here, we present the first draft genome sequence for Sciara coprophila to take a large step forward in aiding these studies. We approached assembling the Sciara genome using multiple sequencing technologies: PacBio, Oxford Nanopore MinION, and Illumina. To find an optimal assembly using these datasets, we generated 44 Illumina assemblies using 7 short-read assemblers and 50 long-read assemblies of PacBio and MinION sequence data using 6 long-read assemblers. We ranked assemblies using a battery of reference-free metrics, and scaffolded a subset of the highest-ranking assemblies using BioNano Genomics optical maps. RNA-seq datasets from multiple life stages and both sexes facilitated genome annotation. Moreover, we anchored nearly half of the Sciara genome sequence into chromosomes. Finally, we used the signal level of both the PacBio and Oxford Nanopore data to explore the presence or absence of DNA modifications in the Sciara genome since DNA modifications may play a role in imprinting in Sciara, as they do in mammals. These data serve as the foundation for future research by the growing community studying the unique features of this emerging model system.
Reliability Evaluation of DC Distribution Network Considering Uncertainty of Source-Load

In view of power generation and consumption of DC distribution network in the future, a comprehensive analysis means for reliability of DC system considering generation and load uncertainty, grid topology and equipment factors is proposed. For the DC distribution network grid-connected and islanded operation modes, the distribution system fault rate and repair rate of each load point of the DC distribution system under the grid-connected operation mode are calculated based on the network equivalent method. During the islanded operation, the adequacy transition rate parameter reflecting the uncertainty of power and load, the distributed generation mechanical operation parameter and the starting and switching parameter of islanded system were calculated. Finally, the two operating modes are integrated, and the Markov was used to calculate the reliability index of the network for the modified IEEE-RBTS BUS6 example. The accuracy and effectiveness of the method is proven and considered as a reference for research on reliability evaluation of DC distribution network .
Age and Gender Related Changes in Normal Levels of Circulating Human Immune Cells

During the last few years there has been an increase in interest in the nature and function of circulating human immune cells. This has been paralleled by increased availability of monoclonal-based reagents which react with specific cell surface markers, allowing rapid and sensitive detection of different functional cell types.
The MMP-9/NGAL complex plays a role in breast tumor growth and is present with high frequency in the urine of breast cancer patients

4706 Having previously demonstrated that the binding of neutrophil-associated lipocalin (NGAL) to matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) protects this extracellular matrix remodeling enzyme from autodegradation, we hypothesized that the addition of NGAL to breast cancer cells, which do not express this protein but do express MMP-9, might result in a more aggressive phenotype in vitro and in vivo. Based on our previous reports that MMPs can be detected in the urine of cancer patients, we also asked whether MMP-9/NGAL could be detected in the urine of breast cancer patients and whether it might be predictive of disease status. In order to test our initial hypothesis, clones of MCF-7 human breast cancer cells differentially expressing NGAL were generated by stable transfection with human NGAL expression constructs. The established clones were then implanted subcutaneously in immunodeficient mice and tumor growth was monitored. In addition, we analyzed the urine of individuals with breast cancer and age-matched, sex-matched controls using gelatin zymography for the presence of MMP-9/NGAL. Increased NGAL expression resulted in significant stimulation of tumor growth. Immunohistochemical analysis of MCF-7 tumors revealed that NGAL-overexpressing ones exhibited increased growth rates that were accompanied by increased levels of MMP-9, increased angiogenesis and an increase in the tumor cell proliferative fraction. In addition, MMP-9/NGAL complex was detected in 86.36% of the urine samples from breast cancer patients but not in those from healthy age and sex-matched controls. These findings suggest for the first time that NGAL may play a positive role in breast cancer in vivo by protecting MMP-9 from degradation thereby enhancing its enzymatic activity and facilitating angiogenesis and tumor growth. Clinically, these data suggest that the urinary detection of MMP-9/NGAL may be useful in non-invasively predicting disease status of breast cancer patients. (This study was supported in part by NIH grants CA83106 (M.A.M.), PO1CA45548 (M.A.M.) and 1P50 DK065298 (M.A.M.) and by support from the Simeon Fortin Charitable Foundation, the Advanced Medical Foundation and GMP Companies, Inc.)
Integrating Differential Gene Expression Analysis with Perturbagen-Response Signatures May Identify Novel Therapies for Thyroid-Associated Orbitopathy.

Purpose To evaluate the efficacy of Library of Integrated Network-based Cellular Signatures (LINCS) perturbagen prediction software to identify small molecules that revert pathologic gene signature and alter disease phenotype in orbital adipose stem cells (OASCs) derived from patients with thyroid-associated orbitopathy (TAO). Methods Differentially expressed genes identified via RNA sequencing were inputted into LINCS L1000 Characteristic Direction Signature Search Engine (L1000CDS2) to predict candidate small molecules to reverse pathologic gene expression. TAO OASC cell lines were treated in vitro with six identified small molecules (Torin-2, PX12, withaferin A, isoliquiritigenin, mitoxantrone, and MLN8054), and expression of key adipogenic and differentially expressed genes was measured with quantitative polymerase chain reaction after 7 days of treatment. OASCs were differentiated into adipocytes, treated for 15 days, and stained with Oil Red O (OD 490 nm) to evaluate adipogenic changes. Results The expression of key differentially expressed genes (IRX1, HOXB2, S100B, and KCNA4) and adipogenic genes (peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-γ, FABP4) was significantly decreased in TAO OASCs after treatment (P < .05). In treated TAO adipocytes (n = 3), all six tested small molecules yielded significant decrease (P < .05) in Oil Red O staining. In treated non-TAO adipocytes (n = 3), only three of the drugs yielded a significant decrease in Oil Red O staining. Conclusions Combining disease expression signatures with LINCS small molecule prediction software can identify promising preclinical drug candidates for TAO. Translational Relevance These findings may offer insight into future potential therapeutic options for TAO and demonstrate a streamlined model to predict drug candidates for other diseases.
Cardiovascular Events and Costs With Home Blood Pressure Telemonitoring and Pharmacist Management for Uncontrolled Hypertension

Uncontrolled hypertension is a leading contributor to cardiovascular disease. A cluster-randomized trial in 16 primary care clinics showed that 12 months of home blood pressure telemonitoring and p...
Gene loss during the transition to multicellularity

Summary Multicellular evolution is a major transition associated with momentous diversification of multiple lineages and increased developmental complexity. The volvocine algae comprise a valuable system for the study of this transition, as they span from unicellular to undifferentiated and differentiated multicellular morphologies despite their genomes being highly similar, suggesting multicellular evolution requires few genetic changes to undergo dramatic shifts in developmental complexity. Here, the evolutionary dynamics of five volvocine genomes were examined, where a gradual loss of genes was observed in parallel to the co-option of a few key genes. Protein complexes in the five species exhibited a high degree of novel interactions, suggesting that gene loss promotes evolutionary novelty. This finding was supported by gene network modeling, where gene loss outpaces gene gain in generating novel stable network states. These results suggest developmental complexity may be driven by gene loss rather than gene gain.
Quality, Heterogeneous Goods, and Cross-Section Demand

In recent years, attention has focused on cross-section and panel data sets that have become available to researchers for applied demand analysis. Such data sets present unique challenges to analysts as discussed in this chapter. This chapter addresses the issue of the specification of commodity demand when estimated with cross-sectional and/or panel data where the role of quality through price changes becomes an issue. The chapter also discusses how to model systems of heterogeneous demand functions, including linear utility and hedonic distance function models. Finally, panel data models for food demand systems are discussed with how to model demographic variables and higher order Engel curves. Issues of zero values and censoring, as well as missing prices, are also addressed with a focus on empirical implementation with systems of demand functions. The advantages of an alternative approach to panel data based on pseudo-panel data are discussed.
Analysis and prediction of produced water quantity and quality in the Permian Basin using machine learning techniques

Abstract Appropriate produced water (PW) management is critical for oil and gas industry. Understanding PW quantity and quality trends for one well or all similar wells in one region would significantly assist operators, regulators, and water treatment/disposal companies in optimizing PW management. In this research, historical PW quantity and quality data in the New Mexico portion (NM) of the Permian Basin from 1995 to 2019 was collected, pre-processed, and analyzed to understand the distribution, trend and characteristics of PW production for potential beneficial use. Various machine learning algorithms were applied to predict PW quantity for different types of oil and gas wells. Both linear and non-linear regression approaches were used to conduct the analysis. The prediction results from five-fold cross-validation showed that the Random Forest Regression model reported high prediction accuracy. The AutoRegressive Integrated Moving Average model showed good results for predicting PW volume in time series. The water quality analysis results showed that the PW samples from the Delaware and Artesia Formations (mostly from conventional wells) had the highest and the lowest average total dissolved solids concentrations of 194,535 mg/L and 100,036 mg/L, respectively. This study is the first research that comprehensively analyzed and predicted PW quantity and quality in the NM-Permian Basin. The results can be used to develop a geospatial metrics analysis or facilitate system modeling to identify the potential opportunities and challenges of PW management alternatives within and outside oil and gas industry. The machine learning techniques developed in this study are generic and can be applied to other basins to predict PW quantity and quality.
Revisiting consistency of a recursive estimator of mixing distributions.

Estimation of the mixing distribution under a general mixture model is a very difficult problem, especially when the mixing distribution is assumed to have a density. Predictive recursion (PR) is a fast, recursive algorithm for nonparametric estimation of a mixing distribution/density in general mixture models. However, the existing PR consistency results make rather strong assumptions, some of which fail for a class of mixture models relevant for monotone density estimation, namely, scale mixtures of uniform kernels. In this paper, we develop new consistency results for PR under weaker conditions. Armed with this new theory, we prove that PR is consistent for the scale mixture of uniforms problem, and we show that the corresponding PR mixture density estimator has very good practical performance compared to several existing methods for monotone density estimation.
Receiving “Corporate Compliance” in Latin America

International treaties and transnational practices suggest convergence around a model for preventing and prosecuting corporate crime based, among other features, on corporate liability, incentives for corporations to prevent corruption through the implementation of compliance programs and internal controls, and incentives offered to individuals and corporations to supply evidence to prove the offence and/or to recover the proceeds of the crime, in exchange for lenient sanctions or even immunity. The institutions required to implement this enforcement model were, until recently, absolutely alien to Latin American legal systems. Nevertheless, in an unprecedented shift, the leading Latin American economies introduced corporate liability regimes and incentives for preventing, policing, self-reporting, and remedying corporate crime, particularly corruption offences. This chapter analyzes how these legal institutions are being received and adapted to Latin America’s legal and institutional landscapes.
A lower bound for the size of monodromy of systems of ordinary differential equations

The material discussed in my talk in Tokyo was mostly contained in the manuscript submitted for the proceedings of ICM-90. The present paper concerns a subject which was not mentioned in Tokyo—I would have discussed it briefly, had there been more time at the end of my talk. Then, the discussion would have been purely conjectural, but in the months after the conference I have been able to give the proof in the rank two case. I apologize for this somewhat tenuous connection between my talk and the material presented here.
MYC and metabolism on the path to cancer

The MYC proto-oncogene is frequently deregulated in human cancers, activating genetic programs that orchestrate biological processes to promote growth and proliferation. Altered metabolism characterized by heightened nutrients uptake, enhanced glycolysis and glutaminolysis and elevated fatty acid and nucleotide synthesis is the hallmark of MYC-driven cancer. Recent evidence strongly suggests that Myc-dependent metabolic reprogramming is critical for tumorigenesis, which could be attenuated by targeting specific metabolic pathways using small drug-like molecules. Understanding the complexity of MYC-mediated metabolic re-wiring in cancers as well as how MYC cooperates with other metabolic drivers such as mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) will provide translational opportunities for cancer therapy.
Unusual spectral energy distribution of a galaxy previously reported to be at redshift 6.68

Observations of distant galaxies are important both for understanding how galaxies form and for probing the physical conditions of the Universe at early times. It is, however, very difficult to identify galaxies at redshifts z > 5, because they are so faint and have few spectral characteristics. We previously reported1 the probable identification of a galaxy at z = 6.68, based on one line and an apparent break in the spectrum just shortwards of that, which we interpreted as Lyman α emission and the Lyman α break, where photons with shorter wavelengths are absorbed by the intervening neutral hydrogen gas. Here we present optical photometry that shows moderate detections of light in the B- and V-band images, which are inconsistent with the expected absence of flux shortwards of the Lyman α break for a galaxy at z > 5, and inconsistent with the previous flux measurement. Moreover, the spectral energy distribution for this object cannot readily be fitted by any known galaxy spectral template at any redshift, so the redshift is undetermined.
ICE imaging of the left atrial appendage.

Imaging of the left atrial appendage (LAA) is useful for excluding thrombus, facilitating LAA ablation and exclusion procedures, and is an important adjunct for physiological assessment of LAA function.1–3 The gold standard for thrombus evaluation in the LAA is transesophageal echocardiography (TEE).1, 4, 5 However, for real-time guidance of invasive procedures that require venous access anyway, intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) has the advantage of easy incorporation into the procedure without the need for esophageal manipulation and general anesthesia. However, obtaining high resolution images of the LAA with ICE is challenging even for experienced operators.4 Thus, in contemporary LAA occlusion procedures, despite already available venous access, concurrent TEE is performed. In this installment of Techniques & Technology, Fassini et al6 explain in clearly elucidated steps, the technique and expected results with ICE imaging from the left atrium (LA) to guide occlusion of the LAA.6 The authors outline the essential knowledge of LAA anatomy required for safe and successful occlusion and also describe adjunctive angiography in obtaining supplementary information.6 The sole use of ICE in these patients was because of significant patient comorbidities that precluded additional TEE evaluation. For the reader to place in context their described technique for possible, more widespread use of ICE alone for LAA visualization we have provided a review of techniques to potentially optimize LAA images from standard (RA) and less commonly used ICE probe locations; right ventricular outflow tract (RVOT) and left pulmonary artery (LPA).1, 7 We provide an animation video (Video 1) and ICE images Figure 1A–C) to help the operator correlate in real time both the probe manipulation and the anatomic views obtained. Figure 1 Intracardiac Echocardiographic views of the left atrial appendage
How exploitation impedes and impels exploration: Theory and evidence

Research summary: This study suggests that strategy and organizational scholars seeking to analyze the impact of exploitation on exploration would benefit by moving away from the generally assumed unitary perspective on exploitation. Specifically, we propose a multifaceted perspective on exploitation by theoretically and empirically distinguishing between repetitive exploitation versus incremental exploitation. We argue that repetitive exploitation can impede exploration and delay firms' responses to environmental changes, while incremental exploitation can impel exploration and accelerate firms' responses to environmental changes. We test our arguments using extensive longitudinal data from the hard disk drive (HDD) industry, and our supportive empirical findings highlight the relevance of our distinction between the two types of exploitation and their very different effects on exploration. Managerial summary: This study offers a solution to the puzzle of why many believe firms cannot excel at advancing existing practices and developing new initiatives, typically described as the trade-off between exploitation and exploration. We introduce the distinction between repetitive and incremental exploitation and show that only the former type of innovation generates rigidity toward exploration, whereas the latter actually promotes exploration. More specifically, our evidence from the hard disk drive industry shows that those firms emphasizing incremental innovation (as opposed to repetition of their existing practices) were most likely to remain explorative over time, whereas firms emphasizing more repetitive innovation proved less open to changes. We discuss the implications of our findings as suggesting that firms seeking to optimize their innovativeness over the long term should strive to remain active in incrementally innovating their existing practices. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Design and analysis of search algorithms for lower power consumption and faster convergence of DAC input of SAR-ADC in 65nm CMOS

We propose a new approach in reducing the power consumption of the Successive approximation register Analog to Digital Converter (SAR-ADC) by changing the convergence algorithm of the Digital to Analog converter (DAC) input of the SAR-ADC. Different search algorithms such as binary search tree, moving binary search tree (BST), least significant bit shifter (LSB), adaptive algorithm and split-register moving BST algorithm are designed and analyzed for faster convergence of the DAC input. In this paper, we design a 0.8 GS/s, 8 bit (Effective number of bits (ENOB) − 7.42), 8.352 mW SAR ADC with a proposed moving BST algorithm in 65nm CMOS which ranks amongst the current state of the art ADCs with a FOM 65.25fJ/step.
Finite-Element simulation of the start-up problem for a viscoelastic fluid in an eccentric rotating cylinder geometry using a third-order upwind scheme

We numerically simulate the flow field of a dilute polymeric solution using a finitely extendable nonlinear elastic (FENE) dumbbell model. A third-order accurate finite element upwind scheme is used to discretize the convection term in the FENE dumbbell equations for the configuration tensor. The numerical scheme also avoids unphysical negative values for diagonal components of the configuration tensor. The FENE dumbbell equations are solved along with the momentum and continuity equations at small Reynolds numbers with an accuracy of second order in time. In this work we apply this numerical technique to the motion of a viscoelastic fluid in an eccentric rotating cylinder geometry. We obtain the velocity and the polymer contribution to the stress fields as a function of time, and also examine the steady solutions. A particular focus is the influence of coupling between changes in polymer conformation and changes in the flow that occurs as the polymer concentration is increased to a level where the polymer contribution to the zero-shear viscosity of the solution is equal to that of the solvent.
Selection for agonistic begavior in wild female Mus musculus.

Artificial selection was used to establish different levels of agonistic behavior in laboratory-reared wild femaleMus musculus. A within-family selection design with replicated high and low lines and two nonselected control lines was employed. Females only were tested at 8 weeks of age on 2 consecutive days. Testing consisted of placing a C57BL/6 female mouse in the home cage of the isolation-reared wild mouse for 7 min or until an attack occurred. The wild females were rated on a 5-point scale for agonistic behavior, and the sum of the scores over the 2 test days was the criterion for selection. The six lines, each containing ten breeding pairs, were selected for four generations. By the fourth selected generation, the responses of the high and low lines had diverged in the expected directions. One-way analyses of variance indicated reliable differences among high, low, and control lines in the second, third, and fourth generations. It was concluded that female agonistic behavior is influenced by genotype and that the level of this behavior can be manipulated by means of artificial selection.
On the advective and diffusive heat balance in the interior of a subtropical ocean

An exponential solution to the thermoeline equations is scaled and calibrated for the intermediate circulation in middle latitudes of the open ocean in accordance with the scaling and results of the more complete numerical models of Bryan & Cox. Evaluation of the average potential vorticity for a number of stations is a main feature of the calibration method. The results of tests on the calibrated model in which the wind stress parameter E is varied show good qualitative agreement with the published numerical results for the region in which the analytical model is valid. The effects of varying the vertical thermal diffusion parameter K are investigated. A significant feature of the results is the lack of appreciable difference in temperature distributions for the cases when E = K = 1 (the reference case) and E = 1, K = 0 (the purely advective case). The relative sizes of terms in the heat-balance equation are investigated. It is shown that the dominant balance near the surface (but beneath the frictional layer) is between horizontal and vertical advection if the ratio E / KC >1 where C is the dimensionless thermocline scale parameter evaluated from the potential vorticity equation. The value of the above ratio is approximately 5 in the reference case. For all values of the parameters it is shown that the ratio of horizontal advection to vertical diffusion is not less than one just beneath the surface layer in middle latitude regions of surface downwelling. DOI: 10.1111/j.2153-3490.1971.tb00584.x
Viewpoint: Dried plum, an emerging functional food that may effectively improve bone health

Osteoporosis is a debilitating disorder that affects both female and male, albeit to a greater extent in women than men. As the demographic shift to a more aged population continues, a growing number of men and women will be afflicted with osteoporosis and a search for potential non-pharmacological alternative therapies for osteoporosis is of prime interest. Aside from existing drug therapies, certain lifestyle and nutritional factors are known to reduce the risk of osteoporosis. Among nutritional factors, recent observations suggest that dried plum, or prunes (Prunus domestica L.) is the most effective fruit in both preventing and reversing bone loss. Animal studies and a 3-month clinical trial conducted in our laboratories have shown that dried plum has positive effects on bone indices. The animal data indicate that dried plum not only protects against but more importantly reverses bone loss in two separate models of osteopenia. Our initial animal study indicated that dried plum prevented the ovariectomy-induced reduction in bone mineral density (BMD) of the femur and lumbar vertebra. In another study, to mimic established osteoporosis, rats were ovariectomized and allowed to lose bone before the initiation of treatment. Dried plum as low as 5% (w/w) restored BMD to the level of intact rats. More importantly, dried plum reversed the loss of trabecular architectural properties such as trabecular number and connectivity density, and trabecular separation. We have also shown the effectiveness of dried plum in reversal of bone loss due to skeletal unloading. Analysis of BMD and trabecular bone structure by microcomputed tomography (microCT) revealed that dried plum enhanced bone recovery during reambulation following skeletal unloading and had comparable effects to parathyroid hormone. In addition to the animal studies, our 3-month clinical trial indicated that the consumption of dried plum daily by postmenopausal women significantly increased serum markers of bone formation, total alkaline phosphatase, bone-specific alkaline phosphatase and insulin-like growth factor-I by 12, 6, and 17%, respectively. This review summarizes the findings of studies published to date which examine the beneficial effects of dried plum on bone in both female and male animal models of osteoporosis as well as the only published clinical study.
Engineering E. coli for caffeic acid biosynthesis from renewable sugars

Caffeic acid is a valuable aromatic compound that possesses many important pharmacological activities. In structure, caffeic acid belongs to the hydroxycinnamic acid family and can be biosynthesized from the aromatic amino acid tyrosine. In the present paper, the caffeic acid biosynthesis pathway was reconstituted in engineered Escherichia coli to produce caffeic acid from simple biomass sugar glucose and xylose. Different engineering approaches were utilized to optimize the production. Specifically, two parallel biosynthesis routes leading from tyrosine to caffeic acid were studied. The copy number of the intermediate biosynthesis genes was varied to find appropriate gene doses for caffeic acid biosynthesis. Three different media, including a MOPS medium, a synthetic medium, and a rich medium, were also examined to improve the production. The highest specific caffeic acid production achieved was 38 mg/L/OD. Lastly, cultivation of engineered E. coli in a bioreactor resulted in a production of 106 mg/L caffeic acid after 4 days.
Getting to the core of the apple: A theoretical view of the knowledge base of teaching

Language of the “knowledge base of teaching” is common parlance in educational circles today, yet the constructs under discussion are still unclear. Some educators talk of domains of knowledge, such as pedagogical content knowledge. Some talk of ways of knowing, such as practical knowledge. Others talk of credit hours of particular topics, such as curriculum and instruction. Still others talk of ways of doing, such as effective teaching practices. The purpose of this article is not to give a detailed account of the historical development of what we now think of as the knowledge base of teaching. Neither is it within the scope of the article to explore the various epistemologies from which discussions of the knowledge base emerge. Others have already initiated these conversations (Carter, 1990; Shulman, 1986a; Tom & Valli, 1990). Rather, the goal is to identify what others have said about what teachers do and know, to offer some clarifications, and then to integrate them in a theoretical framework that might be useful for those involved in the education and assessment of teachers. In the process, three issues are addressed: (1) why a theoretical framework is necessary; (2) what a comprehensive framework might consist of; and (3) how the proposed framework might be used.
Subfractionation of lung surfactant. Implications for metabolism and surface activity.

Abstract Because previous studies have suggested that lung surfactant is not a simple compartment of homogeneous material, we subfractionated lamellar bodies and components of alveolar lavage from male New Zealand white rabbits, according to differences in sedimentability. We recovered two lamellar body populations at different densities in discontinuous sucrose density gradients; we separated six subfractions of alveolar lavage by differential centrifugation. To determine whether or not precursor-product relationships existed among the subfractions, we injected radioactive palmitate intravenously, killed the rabbits 1–72 h later, and measured phospholipid specific activities. The two populations of lamellar bodies had similar phospholipid composition, fatty acyl composition of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylglycerol, and surface activity. Light lamellar bodies had a higher ratio of phospholipid to protein, and labelled with tracer later in time than dense ones. For alveolar lavage subtractions, later labelling with tracer, lower adsorption rate and lower total protein and phosphatidylglycerol content seemed to correlate with decreasing average density and particle size as well as with the disappearance of tubular myelin structure and appearance of predominantly vesicular structure. The subtractions appear to be in a metabolic sequence in which heavier, more dense material is a precursor to lighter, less dense material. The results suggest that subfractions of surfactant are extensively recycled.
Hydrocarbon Flames as Reference uv Light Sources

Premixed hydrocarbon–air flames stabilized on Meker burners are proposed for use as reference sources of ultraviolet (uv) light. A measure for the uv light intensity output is given by the flame chemi-ionization. The ratio of optical energy output per unit of electrical charge generated is a function of the wavelength band of the flame emission spectrum but is independent of size of the flame, applied electric field required for measuring flame ionization, burner–electrode configuration, temperature, and of small fluctuations of pressure and composition of the hydrocarbon fuel. An approximate, average value of 8 · 10−3 J/C was determined for the 2000–2100-A spectral band of a stoichiometric, premixed methane–air flame.
Histopathology update: Otomycosis

Although the systemic mycosis; aspergillosis, mucormycosis, candidiasis, coccidioidomycosis, cryptococcosis and histoplasmosis, were at one time largely medical curiosities, there has been an increase in mycotic infections of the head and neck over the past two decades.’ Most potentially pathogenic fungi are ubiquitous soil saprophytes or even normal human commensals. They are capable of causing isolated limited disease if local defense mechanisms are compromised. Recent advances in medicine, such as the widespread use of steroids, broad-spectrum antibiotic, and chemotherapeutic agents, have decreased the frequency and severity of bacterial infections of the ear; however, fungal labyrinthitis has become a devastating and real otologic threat.‘s3 We present a case of otomycosis with severe systemic infection following treatment with several chemotherapeutic agents.
Adaptive functioning of childhood brain tumor survivors following conformal radiation therapy

Adaptive functioning is not often examined in childhood brain tumor (BT) survivors, with the few existing investigations relying on examiner interviews. Parent questionnaires may provide similar information with decreased burden. The purpose of this study was: (1) to examine adaptive behaviors in BT survivors relative to healthy peer and cancer survivor groups, and (2) to explore the validity of a parent questionnaire in relation to an examiner administered interview. Participants (age 13.11 ± 2.98 years) were BT survivors treated with conformal radiation therapy (n = 50), healthy siblings of BT survivors (n = 39) and solid tumor (ST) survivors who did not receive CNS-directed therapy (n = 40). Parents completed the Adaptive Behavior Assessment System–2nd Edition (ABAS-II). For a subset of the BT cohort (n = 32), examiners interviewed the parents using the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS) within 12 months. Groups differed significantly on each of the ABAS-II indices and the general adaptive composite, with the BT group scoring lower than the sibling and ST groups across indices. Executive functioning, but not IQ, was associated with adaptive skills; no clear pattern of clinical and demographic predictors was established. VABS scores were correlated with ABAS-II scores on nearly all indices. BT survivors showed significantly lower adaptive functioning when compared to healthy and cancer controls. The ABAS-II proved sensitive to these behavioral limitations and was consistent with scores on the VABS. The use of a parent questionnaire to assess adaptive functioning enhances survivorship investigations by increasing flexibility of assessment and decreasing examiner burden.
The Use of a Silicone T‐tube to Treat Tracheal Stenosis in a Llama

A female llama was presented at 4 days of age with severe dyspnea resulting from bilateral choanal atresia. A tracheostomy was performed before surgical treatment of the airway obstruction. Although the choanal atresia was successfully corrected, tracheal stenosis secondary to mucosal necrosis, malacia of the cartilage rings, and proliferation of intraluminal granulation tissue at and distal to the tracheal storrta developed. The affected segment of the trachea was resected and an end-to-end anastomosis was performed, but the lumen again became obstructed by granulation tissue. A silicone “T-tube” was placed in the trachea to provide a patent airway and intraluminal support. The llama has done well for 12 months with this prosthesis, and the complications that are often seen with long-term use of traditional tracheostomy tubes have not developed.
In-vivo Breast Imaging Using An Ultra-Portable Hand-Held Near-Infrared Optical Scanner (NIROS)

A non-contact ultra-portable near-infrared optical scanner (NIROS) was developed for in-vivo breast imaging. Preliminary studies on healthy breast tissues differentiated regions of increased absorption from targets placed in the intra-mammary fold.
Competition Encountered by U.S. Companies That Manufacture Abroad

This article reports that data from a variety of sources indicate that U.S. companies manufacturing abroad face non-U.S. competitors that are both larger and growing faster than their U.S. counterparts.
Ablation of NF1 function in neurons induces abnormal development of cerebral cortex and reactive gliosis in the brain

Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is a prevalent genetic disorder that affects growth properties of neural-crest-derived cell populations. In addition, approximately one-half of NF1 patients exhibit learning disabilities. To characterize NF1 function both in vitro and in vivo, we circumvent the embryonic lethality of NF1 null mouse embryos by generating a conditional mutation in the NF1 gene using Cre/loxP technology. Introduction of a Synapsin I promoter driven Cre transgenic mouse strain into the conditional NF1 background has ablated NF1 function in most differentiated neuronal populations. These mice have abnormal development of the cerebral cortex, which suggests that NF1 has an indispensable role in this aspect of CNS development. Furthermore, although they are tumor free, these mice display extensive astrogliosis in the absence of conspicuous neurodegeneration or microgliosis. These results indicate that NF1-deficient neurons are capable of inducing reactive astrogliosis via a non-cell autonomous mechanism.
Interband cascade laser progress

Recent advances in the development of mid-IR antimonide type-II "W" interband cascade lasers have led to a considerably improved high-temperature operation of the devices. We report an experimental investigation of four interband cascade lasers with wavelengths spanning the mid-infrared spectral range, i.e., 2.9-5.2 μm near room temperature in pulsed mode. One broad-area device had a pulsed threshold current density of only 3.8 A/cm at 78 K (λ = 3.6 μm) and 590 A/cm 2 at 300 K (λ = 4.1 μm). The room-temperature threshold for the shortest-wavelength device (λ = 2.6-2.9 μm) was even lower, 450 A/cm 2 . A cavity-length study of the lasers emitting at 3.6-4.1 μm yielded an internal loss varying from 7.8 cm -1 at 78 K to 24 cm -1 at 300 K, accompanied by a decrease of the internal efficiency from 77% to 45%. Preliminary cw testing led to a narrow-ridge device from one of the wafers with emission at λ = 4.1 μm operating to 288 K, a new record for interband devices in this wavelength range.