cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Temporal and spatial change in disaster resilience in US counties, 2010–2015*

ABSTRACTThe allure of disaster resilience studies continues to garner interest by policy makers and academics alike. While there are advances in assessing communities’ resilience to natural hazards at different scales, monitoring changes in resilience lags behind. This paper updates the 2010 Baseline Resilience Index for Communities (BRIC) using the six different domains of disaster resilience. The purpose is to test for significant spatial and temporal change in county index values by providing a comparative assessment of increased or decreased resilience over a five-year period across the U.S. The significance of monitoring change is to empirically demonstrate the dynamic nature of resilience and the causal mechanisms that lead to increasing or decreasing resilience in places. Such evidence sets the stage for implementing intervention policies or programs designed to enhance disaster resilience. The national distribution of BRIC index values in 2015 is generally similar to the 2010 BRIC distribution, bu...
Treatment of Neoplastic Diseases

The outstanding characteristic of neoplastic diseases, otherwise called newgrowths or tumors, is the tendency of certain groups of cells to increase in size. In the full-grown adult, all cells normally multiply slowly and at a rate approximately equal to that of the wearing out of old cells so that no growth or enlargement results. But in neoplastic disease some cells increase in number far beyond the needs for replacement so that growth in a particular spot or part of an organ goes on at an unusual rate and an enlargement or tumor develops. Thus, in a tumor or newgrowth of the thyroid gland, there is an excessive number of thyroid cells; in a tumor of the prostate there are too many prostate cells. Comparable situations develop in the blood-forming organs, an excessive number of red blood cells leads to a condition known as polycythemia and an excessive number of white blood cells causes leukemia.
Generalized Semimodularity: Order Statistics

A notion of generalized n-semimodularity is introduced, which extends that of (sub/super)modularity in four ways at once. The main result of this paper, stating that every generalized Open image in new window-semimodular function on the nth Cartesian power of a distributive lattice is generalized n-semimodular, may be considered a multi/infinite-dimensional analogue of the well-known Muirhead lemma in the theory of Schur majorization. This result is also similar to a discretized version of the well-known theorem due to Lorentz, which latter was given only for additive-type functions. Illustrations of our main result are presented for counts of combinations of faces of a polytope; one-sided potentials; multiadditive forms, including multilinear ones—in particular, permanents of rectangular matrices and elementary symmetric functions; and association inequalities for order statistics. Based on an extension of the FKG inequality due to Rinott & Saks and Aharoni & Keich, applications to correlation inequalities for order statistics are given as well.
A Bioluminescence Resonance Energy Transfer-Based Approach for Determining Antibody-Receptor Occupancy In Vivo.

Summary Elucidating receptor occupancy (RO) of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) is a crucial step in characterizing the therapeutic efficacy of mAbs. However, the in vivo assessment of RO, particularly within peripheral tissues, is greatly limited by current technologies. In the present study, we developed a bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET)-based system that leverages the large signal:noise ratio and stringent energy donor-acceptor distance dependency to measure antibody RO in a highly selective and temporal fashion. This versatile and minimally invasive system enables longitudinal monitoring of the in vivo antibody-receptor engagement over several days. As a proof of principle, we quantified cetuximab-epidermal growth factor receptor binding kinetics using this system and assessed cetuximab RO in a tumor xenograft model. Incomplete ROs were observed, even at a supratherapeutic dose of 50 mg/kg, indicating that fractional target accessibility is achieved. The BRET-based imaging approach enables quantification of antibody in vivo RO and provides critical information required to optimize therapeutic mAb efficacy.
Benzimidazolyl Palladium Complexes as Highly Active and General Bifunctional Catalysts in Sustainable Cross-Coupling Reactions

A family of air- and moisture-stable dinuclear palladium complexes bearing 2-benzimidazolyl ligands is reported and shown to be a highly effective and general catalytic platform in diverse cross-coupling reactions. The rigidity and conformation of the ligand scaffold was readily modified via tethering of the 2-benzimidazolyl moiety to diamine ligands, resulting in significant changes in catalytic activity. Under optimal conditions, Suzuki, Heck, and Sonogashira-type couplings of aryl bromides can all be performed efficiently with good functional group compatibility using only 0.1 mol % of catalyst, in aqueous or alcohol solvents. Experimental evidence highlights the importance of the bifunctional character of the ligand for catalytic activity, where the basic N-functionality in the ligand framework is proposed to accelerate (trans)metalation steps via intramolecular assistance.
Inhibition of transcription factor nuclear factor-κB by a mutant inhibitor-κBα attenuates resistance of human head and neck squamous cell carcinoma to TNF-α caspase-mediated cell death

Tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) is a cytokine that can induce cell death of different cancers via a cellular cascade of proteases, the caspases. However, TNF-α has been detected in tumour and serum of patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC), and tumour cell lines derived from this environment often exhibit resistance to TNF-α-induced cell death. Cell death mediated by TNF-α and caspases may be inhibited by cytoprotective genes regulated by transcription factor nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB). We recently showed that NF-κB is constitutively activated in HNSCC, and that inhibition of NF-κB by expression of a nondegradable mutant inhibitor of NF-κB, IκBαM, markedly decreased survival and growth of HNSCC cells in vivo. In the present study, we examined the TNF-α sensitivity and response of HNSCC with constitutively active NF-κB, and of HNSCC cells in which NF-κB is inhibited by stable expression of a dominant negative mutant inhibitor, IκBαM. Human lines UM-SCC-9, 11B and 38, previously shown to exhibit constitutive activation of NF-κB, were found to be highly resistant to growth inhibition by up to 104U/ml of TNF-α in 5 day MTT assay. These TNF-α resistant HNSCC lines expressed TNF receptor I, and exhibited constitutive and TNF-α-inducible activation of NF-κB as demonstrated by nuclear localization of NF-κB p65 by immunohistochemistry. UM-SCC-9 I11 cells which stably expressed an inhibitor of NF-κB, IκBαm, were susceptible to TNF-α-induced growth inhibition. DNA cell cycle analysis revealed that TNF-α induced growth inhibition was associated with accumulation of cells with sub-G0/G1 DNA content. Cell death was demonstrated by trypan blue staining, and was blocked by caspase inhibitor. We conclude that HNSCC that exhibit constitutive and TNF-α-inducible activation of transcription factor NF-κB are resistant to TNF-α, and that inhibition of NF-κB sensitizes HNSCC to TNF-α caspase-mediated cytotoxicity. The demonstration of the role of activation of NF-κB in resistance of HNSCC to TNF-α may be helpful in the identification of potential targets for pharmacological, molecular and immune therapy of HNSCC. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaign
Bulk phase resource ratio alters carbon steel corrosion rates and endogenously produced extracellular electron transfer mediators in a sulfate-reducing biofilm

Desulfovibrio alaskensis G20 biofilms were cultivated on 316 steel, 1018 steel, or borosilicate glass under steady-state conditions in electron-acceptor limiting (EAL) and electron-donor limiting (EDL) conditions with lactate and sulfate in a defined medium. Increased corrosion was observed on 1018 steel under EDL conditions compared to 316 steel, and biofilms on 1018 carbon steel under the EDL condition had at least twofold higher corrosion rates compared to the EAL condition. Protecting the 1018 metal coupon from biofilm colonization significantly reduced corrosion, suggesting that the corrosion mechanism was enhanced through attachment between the material and the biofilm. Metabolomic mass spectrometry analyses demonstrated an increase in a flavin-like molecule under the 1018 EDL condition and sulfonates under the 1018 EAL condition. These data indicate the importance of S-cycling under the EAL condition, and that the EDL is associated with increased biocorrosion via indirect extracellular electron transfer mediated by endogenously produced flavin-like molecules.
Biochemical and physiological importance of the CYP26 retinoic acid hydroxylases

The Cytochrome P450 (CYP) family 26 enzymes contribute to retinoic acid (RA) metabolism and homeostasis in humans, mammals and other chordates. The three CYP26 family enzymes, CYP26A1, CYP26B1 and CYP26C1 have all been shown to metabolize all-trans-retinoic acid (atRA) it's 9-cisRA and 13-cisRA isomers and primary metabolites 4-OH-RA and 4-oxo-RA with high efficiency. While no crystal structures of CYP26 enzymes are available, the binding of various ligands has been extensively explored via homology modeling. All three CYP26 enzymes are inducible by treatment with atRA in various prenatal and postnatal tissues and cell types. However, current literature shows that in addition to regulation by atRA, CYP26 enzyme expression is also regulated by other endogenous processes and inflammatory cytokines. In humans and in animal models the expression patterns of CYP26 enzymes have been shown to be tissue and cell type specific, and the expression of the CYP26 enzymes is believed to regulate the formation of critical atRA concentration gradients in various tissue types. Yet, very little data exists on direct disease associations of altered CYP26 expression or activity. Nevertheless, data is emerging describing a variety of human genetic variations in the CYP26 enzymes that are associated with different pathologies. Interestingly, some of these genetic variants result in increased activity of the CYP26 enzymes potentially leading to complex gene-environment interactions due to variability in dietary intake of retinoids. This review highlights the current knowledge of structure-function of CYP26 enzymes and focuses on their role in human retinoid metabolism in different tissues.
Choose topics for MACS seminars

What are appropriate topics for seminars that involve both mathematics and computer science undergraduates? Programs, architectures, or algorithms may bore the math majors while pure mathematical proofs are likely to be of no interest to the CS majors. A middle ground solution - solving interesting math problems via computer programs - has proven to be attractive to undergraduates of both majors.
Comparison of Phase I-II designs with parametric or semi-parametric models using two different risk-benefit trade-off criteria.

Abstract A semi-parametric stochastic ordering model (SPSO) is introduced to characterize functional relationships between dose level and the probabilities of binary Efficacy and Toxicity events. This model is used to implement a Bayesian adaptive phase I-II clinical trial using one of two different optimality criteria, either dose desirability defined as a function of the marginal Efficacy and Toxicity probabilities, or mean utility based on numerical scores of the four possible (Efficacy, Toxicity) events. A simulation study is conducted to compare designs using the SPSO model to the parametric EffTox model described in Thall and Cook, with each (model, optimality criterion) combination. Each of these four designs adaptively assigns patient cohorts to estimated optimal dose levels after restricting assignments to dose levels that are acceptably efficacious and safe. The simulation study shows that different design configurations may have superior performance depending on the assumed true dose-outcome scenario.
Evaluating Sustainable Product Alternatives by Combining Life Cycle Assessment with Full-cost Accounting: A Highway Guardrail Case Study

Full-cost accounting techniques incorporate the environmental and societal burdens a product generates through its manufacture, use, and disposal into that product’s price. This research generates full-cost prices for functionally equivalent chromated copper arsenate (CCA) treated wood and galvanized steel guardrail posts by combining previously conducted life cycle inventory analyses results with secondary emission valuation data. Based on the analysis, both CCA-treated posts and galvanized steel posts have environmental damage costs associated with emissions generated through the product’s manufacturing, use, and disposal stages. After developing full-cost prices for product alternatives, CCA-treated wood guardrail posts were found to be a more economical and environmentally responsible alternative to galvanized steel. In addition to generating full-cost prices, this research uses Monte Carlo simulation to provide estimates of variability around CCA-treated wood and galvanized steel damage costs.
Tubulin inhibitory activity of a novel colchicine-binding compounds based on a dinaphthospiropyranran scaffold

Abstract Spiropyrans have been investigated for their thermo- and photochromic characteristics, but their biotherapeutic properties have not been addressed. We report anti-proliferative properties of a novel dinaphthospiropyran analogue (1). The compound 1 was synthesized by a simple and expedient method using a one-pot acid-catalyzed aldol condensation of 2-hydroxy-1-naphthaldehyde with 4-piperidone followed by an acetalization reaction. Compound 1 was submitted to anticancer drug screen in the National Cancer Institute’s panel of 60 human tumor cell lines. The average concentration of 1 to inhibit 50% cell growth was 5.4 ± 0.23 µM. All cell lines responded at almost the same concentration, suggesting that the action of 1 is not selective for cancer of origin. COMPARE analysis of dose–response data revealed interaction with tubulin as the possible mechanism of action of 1. At molecular level, 1 induced tubulin reorganization in colon cancer HCT-116 cells. Under cell-free conditions, the efficacy of 1 to inhibit tubulin polymerization was comparable to that of paclitaxel and vinblastine. Molecular docking showed that compound 1 binds to the colchicine-binding site of tubulin. We conclude that dinaphthospiropyrans present a novel scaffold for the development of tubulin inhibitors.
Localized Transitions: The LT and SLT Model

In this chapter we study two localized models found in the luminescence literature, the localized transition model (LT) and the semilocalized transitions model (SLT). We provide R codes for numerically solving the differential equations for the LT model, and compare the solution with the analytical equations involving the Lambert W function. Several examples are presented using the R package RLumCarlo to simulate these types of localized transition phenomena. We present R codes for the important hybrid SLT model developed by Mandowski, which can be used to explain the anomalous heating rate effect observed in several dosimetric materials. Finally, the chapter concludes with the presentation of a simplified form of the SLT model, developed by Pagonis et al.
Conclusion: Science, Politics, Media, and the Virus

People tend to project their politics onto natural entities, like viruses, and these projections can distort our perceptions of reality and our views of science. For instance, if people think that science has a direct view of nature, they will dismiss scientific findings when there is a dispute among scientists. Instead of seeing science as a process of discovery that makes predictions based on probability and consensus, the ideology of scientism presents a false understanding of how science actually works. Since some people will reject all of science when they see a dispute over a single issue, the totalizing view of this discourse helps to fuel reactionary conspiracy theories.
Disruptive Firms in Markets with Rapid Change

Christiansen’s theory of disruptive innovation describes the process by which a new entrant introduces new products and/or services that disrupt the competitive advantage of incumbents (established competitor firms). However, this theoretical framework has trouble explaining the overall sources of technical change in turbulent markets with comprehensive and consistent arguments. This study proposes the concept of disruptive firms: they are firms with market leadership that deliberate introduce new and improved generations of durable goods that destroy, directly or indirectly, similar products present in markets in order to support their competitive advantage and/or market leadership. These disruptive firms support technological and industrial change and induce consumers to buy new products to adapt to new socioeconomic environment. In particular, disruptive firms generate and spread path-breaking innovations in order to achieve and sustain the goal of a (temporary) profit monopoly. This organizational behaviour and strategy of disruptive firms support technological change. Overall, then this study suggests that a distal cause of technological change is due to disruptive firms (subjects), rather than disruptive technologies (objects), that generate market shifts in a Schumpeterian world of innovation-based competition. This study can be useful for bringing a new perspective to explain and generalize one of the prime factors that generates technological and industrial change in markets with rapid change.
Industrial Modernism and the Hegelian Dialectic in Winslow Homer

This paper looks at the themes of nature, humanity, and military and industrial development in the nineteenth century American painter Winslow Homer through the lens of the Hegelian theory of art. Robert Pippin's After the Beautiful (2015) has recently put the Hegelian framework to very fruitful use in understanding pictorial modernism. This study of Homer follows a similar approach but argues that Homer's canvases represent a development in the modern spirt which, in many ways, goes beyond the canvases of Manet – a very tight modernist contemporary of Homer's. Homer communicates a presentment of the immense and, in certain profound respects, horrifying power of humanity's growing industrialization. I trace the development of this idea over the course of his career, from this early Civil War canvases to his final seascapes and argue that an understanding of Homer's work is important for understanding the modern spirit of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
Characterization of urease activity in three marine phytoplankton species, Aureococcus anophagefferens, Prorocentrum minimum, and Thalassiosira weissflogii

The availability of different forms of nitrogen in coastal and estuarine waters may be important in determining the abundance and productivity of different phytoplankton species. Although urea has been shown to contribute as much as 50% of the nitrogen for phytoplankton nutrition, relatively little is known of the activity and expression of urease in phytoplankton. Using an in vitro enzyme assay, urease activities were examined in laboratory cultures of three species: Aureococcus anophagefferens Hargraves et Sieburth, Prorocentrum minimum (Pavillard) Schiller, and Thalassiosira weissflogii (Grunow) Fryxell et Hasle. Cultures of P. minimum and T. weissflogii were grown on three nitrogen sources (NO3 −, NH4 +, and urea), while A. anophagefferens was grown only on NO3 − and urea. Urease was found to be constitutive in all cultures, but activity varied with growth rate and assay temperature for the different cultures. For A. anophagefferens, urease activity varied positively with growth rate regardless of the N source, while for P. minimum, urease activity varied positively with growth rate only for cultures grown on urea and NH4 +. In contrast, for T. weissflogii, activity did not vary with growth rate for any of the N sources. For all species, urease activity increased with assay temperature, but with different apparent temperature optima. For A. anophagefferens, in vitro activity increased from near 0–30°C, and remained stable to 50°C, while for P. minimum, increased in vitro activity was noted from near 0–20°C, but constant activity was observed between 20°C and 50°C. For T. weissfloggii, while activity also increased from 0°C to 20°C, subsequent decreases were noted when temperature was elevated above 20°C. Urease activity had a half-saturation constant of 120–165 μg atom N l−1 in all three species. On both an hourly and daily basis, urease activity in A. anophagefferens exceeded nitrogen demand for growth. In P. minimum, urease activity on an hourly basis matched the nitrogen demand, but was less than the demand on a daily basis. For T. weissflogii, urease activity was always less than the nitrogen demand. These patterns in urease activity in three different species demonstrate that while apparently constitutive, the regulation of activity was substantially different in the diatom. These differences in the physiological regulation of urease activity, as well as other enzymes, may play a role in their ecological success in different environments.
Landmark recognition using projection learning for mobile robot navigation

Mobile robots rely on traffic signs for navigation in outdoor environments. The recognition of these signs using vision is a unique problem. The important aspects of this problem are that the object parameters such as scale and orientation are constantly changing with the motion of the camera. Also, new signs may appear at some time. In this case feature extraction algorithms are unable to meet the constraints of flexibility. Neural networks can be easily programmed for this task. A new learning strategy for self-organizing neural networks is presented. By iteratively subtracting the projection of the winning neuron onto the null space of the input vector, the neuron is progressively made more representative of the input. The convergence properties of the new neural network model are studied. Comparison results with standard Kohonen learning are presented. The performance of the network with respect to training and recognition of traffic signs is studied. >
Reactions of hexamethylsilirane with primary and secondary phosphines and with chlorophosphines

Abstract Secondary phosphines, R2PH, with R = CH3, C6H5, Me3Si, cleave the SiC2 ring of hexamethylsilirane in an exothermic reaction at room temperature to give silylphosphines, R2PSiMe2(CMe2CHMe2). Methylphosphine reacts similarly. The reaction of the silirane with RPCl2 (R = Me, Et, Ph) proceeds differently, giving Me2SiCl2, Me2CCMe2 and cyclo-[RP]5. With Ph2PCl, the reaction with the silirane gives Ph2PPPh2.
A parallel implicit method for the direct numerical simulation of wall-bounded compressible turbulence

A new second-order accurate implicit temporal numerical scheme for the direct numerical simulation of turbulent flows is presented. The formulation of the implicit method and the corresponding tunable parameters are introduced. The numerical simulation results are compared with the results given by explicit Runge-Kutta schemes, theoretical results, and published experimental and numerical data. An assessment of the accuracy and performance of the method to simulate turbulent flows is made for temporally decaying isotropic turbulence and subsonic and supersonic turbulent boundary layers. Whereas no significant advantage over typical explicit time integration methods are found for the incompressible flows; it is shown that the implicit scheme yields significant reduction in computer cost while assuring time-accurate solutions for compressible turbulence simulations.
Studies of the Insertion of an Organic Isothiocyanate into a Rhenium−Rhenium Single Bond and a New Mode of Metal-Promoted Coupling of Isothiocyanates

Five new compounds were obtained from the reaction of Re2(CO)9(MeCN) with EtO2CNCS in a hexane solution at reflux (68 °C). These were identified as Re(CO)4[s-trans-μ-C,S-EtO2CNCS]Re(CO)5 (2, 7% yield), Re(CO)4[μ-C,S,N-EtO2CNCS]Re(CO)4 (3, 40% yield), Re(CO)4[μ-C,N,S2-(EtO2C)2NCNCS2]Re(CO)4 (4, 17% yield), Re(CO)4[μ-C,N,S2-(EtO2C)2NCNCS2]Re(CO)3(NCMe) (5, 5% yield), and trace Re(CO)4[μ-C,N,S2-(EtO2C)(H)NCNCS2]Re(CO)4 (6). All five products have been characterized crystallographically. Compounds 2 and 3 can be described as dimetalated thioimidate complexes formed by the insertion of one EtO2CNCS molecule into the Re−Re bond of 1. Compounds 4 and 5 contain a (EtO2C)2NCNCS2 ligand that was formed by the insertion and rearrangement of two isothiocyanate molecules in the Re−Re bond of 1. Compound 6 is similar to 5 but contains a bridging (EtO2C)(H)NCNCS2 ligand instead. The reaction of Re(CO)4(PMe2Ph)Re(CO)4(NCMe) with EtO2CNCS yielded two isomeric products, trans-Re(CO)4(PMe2Ph)[μ-(EtO2C)NCN(CO2Et)CS2]Re(CO)4 ...
Experimental comparison of two hot-wire techniques in supersonic flow

The performance of two constant-temperature normal hot-wire techniques for resolution of turbulent mass flux and local stagnation temperature in a supersonic flow is examined. The first technique used a single wire and the rapid scanning of multiple overheat ratios. Time averages of the signals at all overheats were used to separate the mean and rms mass flux, stagnation temperature, and their cross-correlation. The second technique used a dual-wire probe with each wire operated at different overheat ratios, giving instantaneous mass flux and stagnation temperature. In spite of a small separation distance (0.18 mm) between the wires in the dual-wire probe and high correlation between their signals, the rms mass flux inferred from the dual-wire technique was a factor of two higher than that from the single-wire technique. A consistency check based on data from one of the wires indicated that the dual-wire method produced results that were too high.
A systems approach to sheet metal processing

Abstract Manufacturing flexibility and reaction time are not simply products of machine automation, but rather of the degree with which design, planning, and operation subsystems are independently defined, then integrated as a system. This paper describes the development of a prototype, fully automated manufacturing system—from part design to machine output—which exemplifies the strategic design of CIM elements so as to facilitate their fit and interaction. The application is presented in the context of sheet metal processing.
Combinatorics of Permutations

In One Line and Close. Permutations as Linear Orders. Descents Alternating Runs Alternating Subsequences In One Line and Anywhere. Permutations as Linear Orders. Inversions. Inversions Inversion in Permutations of Multisets In Many Circles. Permutations as Products of Cycles. Decomposing a Permutation into Cycles Type and Stirling Numbers Cycle Decomposition versus Linear Order Permutations with Restricted Cycle Structure In Any Way but This. Pattern Avoidance. The Basics. The Notion of Pattern Avoidance Patterns of Length Three Monotone Patterns Patterns of Length Four The Proof of the Stanley-Wilf Conjecture In This Way but Nicely. Pattern Avoidance. Follow-Up. Polynomial Recurrences Containing a Pattern Many Times Containing a Pattern a Given Number of Times Mean and Insensitive. Random Permutations. The Probabilistic Viewpoint Expectation Variance and Standard Deviation An Application: Longest Increasing Subsequences Permutations versus Everything Else. Algebraic Combinatorics of Permutations. The Robinson-Schensted-Knuth Correspondence Posets of Permutations Simplicial Complexes of Permutations Get Them All. Algorithms and Permutations. Generating Permutations Stack Sorting Permutations Variations of Stack Sorting How Did We Get Here? Permutations as Genome Rearrangements. Introduction Block Transpositions Block Interchanges Block Transpositions Revisited Solutions to Odd-Numbered Exercises References List of Frequently Used Notation Index Exercises, Problems, and Problem Solutions appear at the end of each chapter.
Automated generation and evaluation of specific MHC binding predictive tools: ARB matrix applications

Prediction of which peptides can bind major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules is commonly used to assist in the identification of T cell epitopes. However, because of the large numbers of different MHC molecules of interest, each associated with different predictive tools, tool generation and evaluation can be a very resource intensive task. A methodology commonly used to predict MHC binding affinity is the matrix or linear coefficients method. Herein, we described Average Relative Binding (ARB) matrix methods that directly predict IC(50) values allowing combination of searches involving different peptide sizes and alleles into a single global prediction. A computer program was developed to automate the generation and evaluation of ARB predictive tools. Using an in-house MHC binding database, we generated a total of 85 and 13 MHC class I and class II matrices, respectively. Results from the automated evaluation of tool efficiency are presented. We anticipate that this automation framework will be generally applicable to the generation and evaluation of large numbers of MHC predictive methods and tools, and will be of value to centralize and rationalize the process of evaluation of MHC predictions. MHC binding predictions based on ARB matrices were made available at http://epitope.liai.org:8080/matrix web server.
Validating regulatory‐compliant wide dynamic range bioanalytical assays using chip‐based nanoelectrospray tandem mass spectrometry

Automated chip-based infusion nanoelectrospray ionization coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (nanoESI-MS/MS) was used to validate a bioanalytical assay conforming to United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory guidelines and Good Laboratory Practices (GLP). Reboxetine was used as the analyte fortified in dog plasma along with an analog internal standard (IS). The best nanoESI response for reboxetine was observed with 90% acetonitrile (ACN)/water without any mobile phase modifiers. The analyte and IS were extracted from dog plasma samples by liquid-liquid extraction (LLE). The supernatant was concentrated to dryness and redissolved in 90% ACN/water for nanoESI. Selected reaction monitoring (SRM) data were collected for all samples to generate ion current profiles with a base width of approximately 20 s. Selectivity experiments showed no interferences in blank plasma samples. Interferences as a result of in-source collision-induced dissociation of metabolites were not an issue due to the previously documented metabolism of reboxetine. Matrix suppression was evaluated across multiple lots of dog plasma as well as over different animal species (rabbit, rat, mouse) and different anticoagulants (heparin, EDTA). Matrix suppression ranged from approximately 30-60% across the different lots, species etc.; however, in all instances, the analyte and the IS were suppressed by similar amounts, suggesting the similarity in ionization properties between the two. A three-batch validation was performed (each batch consisting of four different concentrations, six replicates of each concentration) and demonstrated inter-assay accuracy (% relative error; RE) of less than +/-8% and an inter-assay precision (% relative standard deviation; RSD) of less than 7%, thus meeting regulatory guidelines. A comparison of analyses by nanoESI-MS/MS and liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) showed that nanoESI-MS/MS had a greater slope for the calibration standard curve compared to LC/MS/MS, indicating greater sensitivity for the former technique. It is also noteworthy that the amount of sample infused during nanoESI-MS/MS was approximately 80-fold less compared to the amount of sample injected during LC/MS/MS. The absence of carryover (attributed to the lack of a common fluid path) in the nanoESI technique enabled the extension of the assay linear dynamic range to 500,000-fold, and the possibility of analyzing samples in a single batch without the need for re-analysis of samples with high concentrations. This technology offers the possibility for increased throughput for studies supporting drug development by providing fast data turnaround for assays conforming to regulatory guidelines and GLPs.
Effect of ceria nanoparticles on soot inception and growth in toluene–oxygen–argon mixtures

Abstract Soot formation from the combustion of toluene (C6H5CH3) and of two concentrations of nano-sized-ceria-laden toluene was monitored using a shock tube to observe the effect of the organometallic additive on the formation of soot from its point of inception. Two concentrations of ceria, of chemical composition CeO1.63, were employed to examine the effect on soot production of toluene over the range of temperature 1588–2370 K using two levels of inert gas dilution in which reflected-shock pressure was maintained near 1.5 atm. The ceria nanoparticles were synthesized using a microemulsion technique which employs sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate (AOT), a surfactant, to retard agglomeration. Introduction of the nanoparticles into the shock tube is achieved using a novel, two-stage injection procedure. Soot yield measurements reveal that the presence of ceria has no direct implications on peak soot concentration near 1950 K. A shift in the parabolic soot profile of toluene in the direction of increased temperature was observed for each concentration of ceria with a larger shift occurring for increased concentration of ceria, although the same effect was exhibited for the toluene–AOT mixtures in absence of ceria, supporting an inefficaciousness of ceria on soot suppression on kinetic timescales. It is evidenced in measured soot delay times that the presence of the surfactant in absence of ceria significantly slows the rate of soot growth for T
Orthographic and Phonological Preview Benefits: Parafoveal Processing in Skilled and Less-Skilled Deaf Readers:

Many deaf individuals do not develop the high-level reading skills that will allow them to fully take part into society. To attempt to explain this widespread difficulty in the deaf population, much research has honed in on the use of phonological codes during reading. The hypothesis that the use of phonological codes is associated with good reading skills in deaf readers, though not well supported, still lingers in the literature. We investigated skilled and less-skilled adult deaf readers' processing of orthographic and phonological codes in parafoveal vision during reading by monitoring their eye movements and using the boundary paradigm. Orthographic preview benefits were found in early measures of reading for skilled hearing, skilled deaf, and less-skilled deaf readers, but only skilled hearing readers processed phonological codes in parafoveal vision. Crucially, skilled and less-skilled deaf readers showed a very similar pattern of preview benefits during reading. These results support the notion th...
Effect of Coccidiosis on Plasma Epinephrine and Norepinephrine Levels in Turkey Poults

Abstract Plasma epinephrine, norepinephrine, and glucose levels were measured in 3- to 4-wk-old turkey poults that had been infected with the coccidium Eimeria adenoeides. When measured at 6 days postinoculation, the acute stage of the infection, the epinephrine and norepinephrine levels of the infected poults showed a dose-dependent increase over levels in controls, with poults that were most heavily infected having the highest levels. The catecholamines appeared to show a classic stress-elicited response: this response increases with time to high levels during the acute stage of the infection, and then returns to levels approximately the same as those of the controls as the poults recover from the infection. Anorexia, or feed restriction, appeared to be primarily responsible for the increase in norepinephrine. However, epinephrine levels in the infected poults were significantly higher than in their pair-fed, uninfected counterparts, indicating that factors other than reduced feed consumption contributed to the increase. The data indicate that plasma catecholamines are increased during coccidial infection. As pressor compounds, they may contribute to the previously observed changes in blood pressure and heart function in infected poults.
Estimating hydrogen production potential in biorefineries using microbial electrolysis cell technology

Abstract Future biofuel and bioproducts industries are expected to generate significant volumes of waste streams containing easily degradable organic matter. The emerging MEC technology has potential to derive added-value from these waste streams via production of hydrogen. A methodology to determine hydrogen production potential from wastewaters is reported. Biorefinery process streams, particularly the stillage or distillation bottoms contain underutilized sugars as well as fermentation and pretreatment byproducts, in the case of lignocellulosic biorefineries. Estimates of hydrogen production from existing starch-based biorefineries indicate potential to generate 750–8900 m3/hr of hydrogen. In a lignocellulosic biorefinery designed to produce 265,000 m3 of ethanol per year, it is estimated that 1260–7200 m3/hr of hydrogen can be generated. Removal of fermentation and pretreatment byproducts from stillage streams has the added potential to enable water recycle.
Environment, culture, and radical third parties: Electoral support for the socialists in Arizona and Nevada, 1912–1916

Abstract This article addresses the broad question of why people vote for radical third parties. More specifically, it examines how environmental and cultural factors influenced mass support for the Socialist party in two western mining states at the height of the party's electoral appeal in the 1912 presidential election and as it began to decline in appeal in the 1916 presidential election. Environmental factors (working conditions in the mining industry) were found to be strongly related to socialist support and, generally, to be more significant than cultural factors (European nativity) in this regard. The occupational variable, however, was found to be of greater importance in 1912 than in 1916. Reasons for this variation are explored in light of contextual information and third party theory.
Influence of initiator fragments as chain ends on the Tg-confinement effect and dewetting of thin films of ultralow molecular weight polymer

Abstract Prior research on anionically polymerized polystyrene (PS) indicates that there is little or no influence of molecular weight (MW) from 2 to 3000 kg/mol on the Tg-confinement effect of supported PS films. Synthesis by free radical polymerization (FRP) with 2,2′-azobis(2-methylpropionitrile) (AIBN) or benzoyl peroxide (BPO) as initiator incorporates initiator fragments at chain ends that are distinct from PS repeat units and anionic initiator fragments as chain ends. While the influence of different chain ends on the Tg-confinement effect is negligible for high MW PS, we show that it is substantial for ultralow MW PS. As determined by spectroscopic ellipsometry and fluorescence measurements of films of ultralow MW PS (Mn = ∼4 kg/mol) supported on silicon wafers or glass with native oxide surfaces, the magnitude of Tg (21-nm-thick) – Tg (bulk) for PS made by FRP is reduced by 50% from that for anionically polymerized PS. Ellipsometry results indicate that the muted effect for ultralow MW PS made by FRP originates mainly from a weaker perturbation to Tg near the free surface. However, dewetting studies show that PS made by FRP results in enhanced film stability relative to anionically polymerized PS; this indicates that the nitrogen- or oxygen-containing FRP initiator fragments present as chain ends may undergo hydrogen bonding with hydroxyl groups on the substrate surface. In contrast to PS, supported films of ultralow MW poly(methyl methacrylate) show no significant influence of different chain ends on the Tg-confinement effect down to a thickness of 20 nm.
The efficacy of creative arts therapies to enhance emotional expression, spirituality, and psychological well-being of newly diagnosed Stage I and Stage II breast cancer patients: A preliminary study

Breast cancer is the second most common type of cancer among women in the United States. The psychological impact of the disease may include adjustment disorders, depression, and anxiety and may generate feelings of fear, anger, guilt, and emotional repression. The purpose of this pilot study was to explore the efficacy of a complementary creative arts therapy intervention to enhance emotional expression, spirituality, and psychological well-being in newly diagnosed breast cancer patients. Thirty-nine women with Stage I and Stage II breast cancer were randomly assigned to an experimental group who received individual creative arts therapy interventions or a control group of delayed treatment. A series of analyses of covariance were used to analyze the results, which indicated the intervention was not effective in enhancing the emotional approach coping style of emotional expression or level of spirituality of subjects in this sample. However, participation in the creative arts therapy intervention enhanced psychological well-being by decreasing negative emotional states and enhancing positive ones of experimental group subjects. Recommendations for future research are discussed.
ADRF-CP Surface-Coil Spectroscopy of Synthetic Calcium Phosphates and Bone Mineral

Abstract Proton to phosphorus-31 cross polarization via adiabatic demagnetization in the rotating frame (ADRF-CP) has been used, in conjunction with a surface coil, to detect monohydrogen phosphate (acid phosphate) ions in the presence of a large background of nonprotonated phosphate (orthophosphate) ions in porcine bone and synthetic calcium phosphates. Transient oscillations were observed in the transfer of polarization between the proton dipolar and phosphorus Zeeman nuclear-spin reservoirs at short times after the initiation of thermal contact. The oscillations were observed in all samples, including bone. Orthophosphate suppression was achieved by detecting the signal when the orthophosphate oscillation was passing through zero, and by adjusting the phosphorus RF field to achieve optimal cross polarization with the proton local fields of the acid phosphate ions. ADRF-CP techniques deposit less RF power than traditional spin-lock CP techniques, and are hence compatible with in vivo application. As the ratio of the protonated to nonprotonated phosphate can be used as a marker for bone-mineral maturity, ADRF-CP spectroscopy creates the possibility of characterizing bone-mineral dynamics in vivo by solid-state NMR.
trans-Annular interactions in titanium(III) chelates—a molecular orbital study

Abstract Semi-empirical extended-Huckel molecular orbital (EHMO) calculations have been performed for a variety of pseudotetrahedral (C2v) Cl2TiX2MY2 and square pyramidal (C2v) ClTi(S2PX2)2 (X = H, F) chelates. Trans-annular ligand superhyperfine splittings in the ESR spectra of chelates of these types originate primarily in the through space interaction of metal d and trans-annulare atom s orbitals. Inspection of the symmetry orbitals for these chelates affords a qualitative account of the origin of bridging atom and trans-annular atom superhyperfine splittings.
Message traffic control capabilities of the R-DSDV protocol in mobile ad hoc networks

Mobile and wireless Ad hoc networks are composed of mobile stations communicating through wireless links, without any fixed backbone support. Frequent topology changes caused by node mobility make routing in ad hoc wireless networks a challenginq problem. Message routing requires mobiles to act as routers, by means of store and forward mechanisms. However, limitations on capabilities of mobiles require a control on node congestion due to message forwarding. In this paper, we consider a randomized version of the Destination-Sequenced Distance Vector (DSDV) routing protocol, which we refer to as R-DSDV. We discuss the DSDV algorithm as well as the congestion control mechanism used within the R-DSVD protocol. We also address the feasibility of congestion control using a congestion-related routing metric, the effectiveness of which is evaluated through a probabilistic model. Finally, we report on the simulation experiments we carried out to evaluate and assess the R-DSDV's performance on the ns simulator.
Prostaglandins E1 and E2 Antagonize Norepinephrine Effects on Cerebellar Purkinje Cells: Microelectrophoretic Study

In microelectrophoretic experiments, prostaglandins E1 and E2 antagonize the reduction in discharge rate of cerebellar Purkinje cells produced by norepinephrine. Slowing of discharge evoked by 39,59-adenosine monophosphate or gamma aminobutyric acid is not antagonized. These data provide the first indication that endogenous prostaglandins may physiologically function to modulate central noradrenergic junctions.
Molecular states of heavy quark mesons

We explore molecular states of two open heavy-quark mesons $(Q\overline{q})\ensuremath{-}(q\overline{Q})$ in a quark-based model in terms of a four-body nonrelativistic Hamiltonian with pairwise effective interactions. Molecular states are found in the combinations of ${D,{D}^{*},B,{B}^{*}}$ with ${\overline{D},{\overline{D}}^{*},\overline{B},{\overline{B}}^{*}}$, including a weakly bound $D{\overline{D}}^{*}$ state near the threshold which may be qualitatively identified as the 3872 state observed recently by the Belle Collaboration.
Photophysical Probes of the Amorphous Solid State of Proteins

The properties of amorphous solid proteins influence the texture and stability of low-moisture foods, the shelf-life of pharmaceuticals, and the viability of seeds and spores. We have investigated the relationship between molecular mobility and oxygen permeability in dry food protein films—bovine α-lactalbumin (α-La), bovine β-lactoblobulin (β-Lg), bovine serum albumin (BSA), soy 11S globulin, and porcine gelatin—using phosphorescence from the triplet probe erythrosin B. Measurements of the phosphorescence decay in the absence (nitrogen) and presence (air) of oxygen versus temperature provide estimates of the non-radiative decay rate for matrix-induced quenching (k TS0) and oxygen quenching (k Q[O2]) of the triplet state. Since the oxygen quenching constant is the product of the oxygen solubility ([O2]) and a term (k Q) proportional to the oxygen diffusion coefficient, it is a measure of the oxygen permeability through the films. For all proteins except gelatin, Arrhenius plots of k TS0 reveal a gradual increase of apparent activation energy across a broad temperature range starting at ∼50 °C; this suggests that there is a steady increase in the available modes of molecular motion with increasing temperature within the protein matrix. Arrhenius plots for k Q[O2] were linear for all proteins with activation energies ranging from 24 to 29 kJ/mol. The magnitude of the oxygen quenching constants varied in the different proteins; the rates were approximately 10-fold higher in α-La, β-Lg, and BSA than in 11S glycinin and gelatin. Although the rate of oxygen permeability was not directly affected by the increased mobility of the protein matrix, plots of k Q[O2] versus k TS0 were linear over nearly three orders of magnitude in the protein films, suggesting that the matrix mobility plays a specific role in modulating oxygen permeability. This effect may reflect differences in matrix-free volume that directly influence both mobility and oxygen solubility.