cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Using directional bit sequences to reveal the property-liability underwriting cycle as an algorithmic process

This paper presents a computational economics model of the property-liability insurance underwriting cycle. This computer experiment is built on downward-sloping demand, a simplistic version of the capacity constraint model of insurance supply, and a simple pricing rule. The pricing rule has each experimental insurer determine its price from the expected losses per-policy (a constant), the previous year’s policyholders’ surplus and the previous year’s number of customers. Through the use of directional bit sequences a common structure is revealed between the simulated aggregate underwriting margin and the actual aggregate underwriting margin, 1930–2000. The common structure between these aggregate variables is evidence the property-liability underwriting cycle, in a consistent effort to reach equilibrium, follows an algorithmic process. Of more general inference; the pursuit of equilibrium, as an attractor, is the only consistent characteristic of the algorithmically generated process. This algorithmic process precludes the notion of a consistent continuous probability distribution being the basis of a data generating process (DGP). The times series behavior of the simulated underwriting margin, as it fluctuates around the equilibrium attractor, can assume a variety of shapes across many realizations of the algorithmic process. Finally, behavior of the simulated individual companies is not, for the most part, correlated with the aggregate behavior, and virtually all individual transactions are out-of-equilibrium transactions in the sense that they occur along the demand curve.
Setting Sights on Chlamydia Immunity's Central Paradigm: Can We Hit a Moving Target?

Johnson and Brunham's intent to reframe Chlamydia immunity's central paradigm ([1][1]) seems especially relevant to vaccine development. While prevailing dogma maintains that Chlamydia vaccines will need to elicit robust, pathogen-specific TH1-type responses, these authors suggest that proper
Moral Authority, Men of Science, and the Victorian Novel

Introduction 1. The religion of science from natural theology to scientific naturalism 2. Moral uses, narrative effects: natural history in the novels of George Eliot and Elizabeth Gaskell 3. 'The actual sky is a horror': Thomas Hardy and the problems of scientific thinking 4. 'The moral influence of those cruelties': the vivisection debate, antivivisection fiction, and the status of Victorian science 5. Science, aestheticism, and the literary career of H. G. Wells Epilogue.
Howard Eichenbaum (1947-2017)

Remembering Howard Eichenbaum's career prompts the recall of many vivid memories, which is appropriate given Howard's influential research on declarative memory function. His work elucidated the neural basis of memory organization in the brain. As director of the Center for Memory and Brain and the Laboratory of Cognitive Neurobiology and as Warren Professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, all at Boston University, Massachusetts, Howard performed research on the intricacies of memory processing in the hippocampus, a brain structure essential for the memory of episodes. As editor-in-chief of the journal Hippocampus until his passing on 21 July at the age of 69, Howard remained a vital leader in elucidating the role of the hippocampus in cognition and behavior.
Total Theatre, Indigenous South Asian Theatre, and Prasad: Some Reflections

(1980). Total Theatre, Indigenous South Asian Theatre, and Prasad: Some Reflections. South Asian Review: Vol. 4, No. 1, pp. 46-50.
SERCA2b Cycles Its Way to UCP1-Independent Thermogenesis in Beige Fat

A new study in Nature Medicine, by Ikeda et al. (2017), reports that calcium cycling in beige adipocytes elevates energy expenditure and glucose oxidation in the absence of uncoupling protein 1. Thermogenic calcium cycling in beige fat is mediated by SERCA2b and improves cold tolerance and metabolic status.
Mitochondrial Transport Systems

The specialized role of mitochondria in intermediary metabolism requires that only certain substrates, cofactors, and metals be accessible to their interior compartments. Of the substrates that must be capable of entering the matrix space, the most important are O2, H2O, ADP, phosphate, pyruvate, and fatty acids. At the same time, products of mitochondrial oxidations and phosphorylation must have a means of exiting from the organelle. These include CO2 and ATP. Virtually all mitochondria, irrespective of their source, have been shown to be either freely permeable or to have specific transport systems that accommodate an efficient passage of these essential metabolites across the permeability barriers separating the matrix space from the surrounding cytoplasm.
Voices of victory: a computational focus group framework for tracking opinion shift in real time

Social media have been employed to assess public opinions on events, markets, and policies. Most current work focuses on either developing aggregated measures or opinion extraction methods like sentiment analysis. These approaches suffer from unpredictable turnover in the participants and the information they react to, making it difficult to distinguish meaningful shifts from those that follow from known information. We propose a novel approach to tame these sources of uncertainty through the introduction of "computational focus groups" to track opinion shifts in social media streams. Our approach uses prior user behaviors to detect users' biases, then groups users with similar biases together. We track the behavior streams from these like-minded sub-groups and present time-dependent collective measures of their opinions. These measures control for the response rate and base attitudes of the users, making shifts in opinion both easier to detect and easier to interpret. We test the effectiveness of our system by tracking groups' Twitter responses to a common stimulus set: the 2012 U.S. presidential election debates. While our groups' behavior is consistent with their biases, there are numerous moments and topics on which they behave "out of character," suggesting precise targets for follow-up inquiry. We also demonstrate that tracking elite users with well-established biases does not yield such insights, as they are insensitive to the stimulus and simply reproduce expected patterns. The effectiveness of our system suggests a new direction both for researchers and data-driven journalists interested in identifying opinion shifting processes in real-time.
Abstract 4390: Developing methods for investigating cold atmospheric plasma effects on cervical cancer

Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) has been suggested for use as a novel cancer therapeutic due to its reported ability to induce cell-specific death. Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women. Its prevalence and accessibility for topical treatment make cervical cancer an ideal target for CAP treatments. Despite its potential impact, effects of CAP in biological systems are not well understood. To better understand the viability of CAP as a therapy, this project investigated in vitro cellular responses induced by CAP treatment within cancerous cervical cells (SiHa) and non-cancerous cervical (Ect1/E6E7 and End1/E6E7) and vaginal cells (VK2/E6E7). Plasma is a state of ionized gas, produced using a controlled electric field or extreme heat. CAP, however, is a subset of plasma that is produced near 1 atm and 40oC. This allows for CAP treatment of biological systems without heating-induced effects. A dielectric barrier discharge plasma pen was developed for this study. Plasma modeling was conducted in order to predict the reactive species present in the system. CAP treatments were performed on cells for 30 seconds using a helium carrier gas at a flowrate of 1 L/min and a DC power supply with input settings of 10kV, 1µs, and 0.1A. Cell vitality assays demonstrated induced cell death following exposure to CAP treatment in both cancerous and noncancerous cervical cells as indicated by flow cytometric analysis and florescence microscopy. CAP treatment induced cell death in 76 ± 8% of treated cancerous, SiHa, cells. In comparison, noncancerous cell lines Ect1/E6E7, End1/E6E7, and VK2/E6E7 underwent 49 ± 8%, 42 ± 13%, and 51 ± 7% cell death, respectively. Flow cytometry characterization and wound healing assays indicate that CAP treatment does not significantly affect the expression of investigated cell surface adhesion molecules or cell migration. Cells were treated with helium carrier gas as the negative control and hydrogen peroxide as an induced death control. Altered levels and locations of uptake of FITC and quantum dots following CAP treatment suggest modification of cell membranes as compared to carrier gas treatment controls. Adjustments in membrane permeability may be a mechanism through which CAP treatment increases exposure to apoptotic triggers. In conclusion, comprehensive understanding of CAP effects on cancerous and non-cancerous cells could lead to the development of effective CAP-based therapies for cervical cancer. Citation Format: Nicole J. Sova, Yonry Zhu, Quinn O. Mitchell, Ariel L. Lanier, David Burnette, Monica M. Burdick. Developing methods for investigating cold atmospheric plasma effects on cervical cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2018; 2018 Apr 14-18; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2018;78(13 Suppl):Abstract nr 4390.
Health Care Access: Implications for Higher Education

The author discusses historical factors contributing to the health care crisis in America and reasons for the skyrocketing costs of health using an analogy of David versus Goliath. Even though Americans spend trillions on health care, the author states that America is ranked 37th in the world in terms of its health care delivery system. The author uses the methods used to manage the health care system in discussing how such a system could impact higher education and offers some solutions to same.
Concomitant Medial Patellofemoral Ligament Reconstruction and Tibial Tubercle Osteotomy Do Not Increase the Incidence of 30-Day Complications: An Analysis of the NSQIP Database:

Background:Lateral patellar dislocations account for 2% to 3% of total knee injuries, especially in adolescents. Depending on the anatomic abnormality contributing to lateral patellar instability, ...
The Structure and Economic Determinants of CEO Compensation: A Comparative Analysis between Pre and Post Financial Crisis Periods

Inadequate risk monitoring and executive incentive system of US financial institutions have been considered as significant factors in exacerbating the financial crisis of 2008. Regulators put efforts to reform the executive compensation system in the post-crisis period. In this study, we conduct a comparative analysis on the economic determinants of the compensation for chief executive officers (CEOs) between the pre and post financial crisis periods. We use the data from US financial service institutions, since this is the sector that has been mostly affected by the financial crisis. We find that the mean values of total compensation and its incentive components including cash bonus and long-term compensations reduced significantly in post-crisis period. The proportion of fixed salary to total compensation has increased whereas the bonus has decreased significantly from pre- to post-crisis periods. In pre-crisis period, total compensation is determined by stock performance, accounting profit, long-term growth and leverage of the firms, whereas in post-crisis period stock return and leverage are the major economic factors that influence total compensation. We also find that leverage is positively associated with total compensation and leverage of the firm negatively influence the sensitivity of the pay for performance in both pre- and post-crisis periods. But the influence of leverage on pay for performance is weaker in post-crisis period compared to pre-crisis period. The Dodd-Frank Act, enacted in 2011, empowered the shareholders’ say on CEO pay. This influences the CEOs to focus on short-term stock returns in order to satisfy the scrutiny of the empowered shareholders. Disregarding other economic factors and narrowing down the focus on stock return in determining the executive compensation in post-crisis period could bring unintended consequences, and hinder the firms to take wider forward-looking approaches for the long-term sustainability.
Semium brailovskyi , new species (Heteroptera: Miridae: Phylinae: Semiini) from Baja California, with an updated key to species

Semium brailovskyi, new species, is described from Baja California Norte, Mexico. The host is reported as Euphorbia misera (Euphorbiaceae). Color habitus images of male and female specimens, line drawings of the male genitalia, a key and distribution map to all Semium species are provided.
Revenue Opportunities for Electric Storage Resources in the Southwest Power Pool Integrated Marketplace

This paper explores the revenue potential for electric storage resources (ESRs), also referred to as electrical energy storage, in the Southwest Power Pool Integrated Marketplace. In particular, opportunities in the day-ahead market with the energy and frequency regulation products are considered. The revenue maximization problem is formulated as a linear program model, where an ESR seeks to maximize its revenue through the available revenue streams. The ESR has perfect foresight of historical prices and determines the optimal policy accordingly. A case study using FY2018 data shows that frequency regulation services are the most lucrative for revenue potential. This paper also explores different methods of using area control error data to infer the regulation control signal and the consequent effect on the optimization. Finally, the paper conducts a sensitivity analysis of ESR payback period to energy capacity and power rating.
Toward a critical race pedagogy of physical education

Background: A critical race theory of education has a been a popular framework for understanding racial inequities teaching and teacher education. Furthermore, it has served as the foundation for c...
Correction: Performance of electrode-supported silica membrane separators in lithium-ion batteries

Correction for ‘Performance of electrode-supported silica membrane separators in lithium-ion batteries’ by Kishen Rafiz et al., Sustainable Energy Fuels, 2020, 4, 1254–1264.
Block Copolymer Pressure-Sensitive Adhesives Derived from Fatty Acids and Triacetic Acid Lactone

A method for the development of ABA triblock copolymers for high-performance pressure-sensitive adhesives from the biorenewable chemicals lauryl acrylate and triacetic acid lactone (TAL) is present...
Feasibility and Implications of the Modular Construction Approach for Rapid Post-Disaster Recovery

The adverse social and financial impacts of catastrophic disasters are increasing as population centers grow. In recent years, destroying homes and infrastructures has resulted in a major loss of life and created countless refugees. For example, Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 damaged over 214,700 homes in New Orleans and forced over 800,000 citizens to live outside of their homes due to flooding. After disastrous events, the government agencies have to respond to post-disaster housing issues quickly and efficiently and provide sufficient resources for temporary housing for short-term disaster relief and reconstruction of destroyed and damaged housing for full rehabilitation. Modular construction is a promising solution for improving the process of post-disaster housing reconstruction because of its inherent characteristic of time-efficiency. This study aimed to evaluate the potentials and feasibility of the prefabricated/modular construction approach that can be adapted to facilitate the post-disaster recovery process. An extensive literature review has been carried out to identify the features of modular construction, which can add value to the post-disaster recovery process. To investigate the suitability and practicability of implementing modular construction for post-disaster reconstruction and to identify major barriers of its implementation, a survey has been conducted among Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) experts who have experience in prefabrication/modularization, and/or involved in post-disaster reconstruction projects. The results of the study indicate that prefabricated/modular construction is a promising approach to improve time-efficiency of post-disaster reconstruction and tackle challenges of current practices by its unique benefits such as reduced demand for on-site labor (overcome local labor pool constraints impacted by the disaster) and resources (overcome the shortage of equipment and materials), shorter schedule (due to concurrent & non-seasonal), reduced site congestion, and improved labor productivity (due to assembly line-like and controlled environment).
Gene-set Enrichment with Mathematical Biology (GEMB)

Abstract Background Gene-set analyses measure the association between a disease of interest and a “set" of genes related to a biological pathway. These analyses often incorporate gene network properties to account for differential contributions of each gene. We extend this concept further—defining gene contributions based on biophysical properties—by leveraging mathematical models of biology to predict the effects of genetic perturbations on a particular downstream function. Results We present a method that combines gene weights from model predictions and gene ranks from genome-wide association studies into a weighted gene-set test. We demonstrate in simulation how such a method can improve statistical power. To this effect, we identify a gene set, weighted by model-predicted contributions to intracellular calcium ion concentration, that is significantly related to bipolar disorder in a small dataset (P = 0.04; n = 544). We reproduce this finding using publicly available summary data from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (P = 1.7 × 10−4; n = 41,653). By contrast, an approach using a general calcium signaling pathway did not detect a significant association with bipolar disorder (P = 0.08). The weighted gene-set approach based on intracellular calcium ion concentration did not detect a significant relationship with schizophrenia (P = 0.09; n = 65,967) or major depression disorder (P = 0.30; n = 500,199). Conclusions Together, these findings show how incorporating math biology into gene-set analyses might help to identify biological functions that underlie certain polygenic disorders.
Novel Mode of Molybdate Inhibition of Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough.

Sulfate-reducing microorganisms (SRM) are found in multiple environments and play a major role in global carbon and sulfur cycling. Because of their growth capabilities and association with metal corrosion, controlling the growth of SRM has become of increased interest. One such mechanism of control has been the use of molybdate (MoO42-), which is thought to be a specific inhibitor of SRM. The way in which molybdate inhibits the growth of SRM has been enigmatic. It has been reported that molybdate is involved in a futile energy cycle with the sulfate-activating enzyme, sulfate adenylyl transferase (Sat), which results in loss of cellular ATP. However, we show here that a deletion of this enzyme in the model SRM, Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough, remained sensitive to molybdate. We performed several subcultures of the ∆sat strain in the presence of increasing concentrations of molybdate and obtained a culture with increased resistance to the inhibitor (up to 3 mM). The culture was re-sequenced and three single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were identified that were not present in the parental strain. Two of the SNPs seemed unlikely candidates for molybdate resistance due to a lack of conservation of the mutated residues in homologous genes of closely related strains. The remaining SNP was located in DVU2210, a protein containing two domains: a YcaO-like domain and a tetratricopeptide-repeat domain. The SNP resulted in a change of a serine residue to arginine in the ATP-hydrolyzing motif of the YcaO-like domain. Deletion mutants of each of the three genes apparently enriched with SNPs in the presence of inhibitory molybdate and combinations of these genes were generated in the Δsat and wild-type strains. Strains lacking both sat and DVU2210 became more resistant to molybdate. Deletions of the other two genes in which SNPs were observed did not result in increased resistance to molybdate. YcaO-like proteins are distributed across the bacterial and archaeal domains, though the function of these proteins is largely unknown. The role of this protein in D. vulgaris is unknown. Due to the distribution of YcaO-like proteins in prokaryotes, the veracity of molybdate as a specific SRM inhibitor should be reconsidered.
Abstract IA06: Mutational signatures of environmental carcinogens in mouse and human cancers

Mouse models of cancer have been instrumental in the development of our understanding of the processes that drive multistage carcinogenesis from the initiation stage to metastasis. Tumors induced in mice by exposure to carcinogenic chemicals replicate many of the biologic and genetic features of multistage cancer in human populations. Skin and lung tumors initiated by chemical mutagens generally have carcinogen-specific mutations in Hras and Kras, respectively. However, these mutation patterns are seen not only in the target Ras genes, but also can be detected genome-wide as “mutational signatures” that are diagnostic for each carcinogen. We have extended this concept to search for new mutation signatures in tumors induced in mice by a wide range of physical (high- and low-energy radiation) and chemical carcinogens to which humans are exposed. In collaboration with the National Toxicology Program and the Sanger Institute (UK), we have carried out whole-genome and/or -exome sequencing of several hundred mouse tumors induced by a wide range of known or suspected human carcinogens. Our data identify highly variable tumor genomic imprints of carcinogen exposure as reflected in the relative numbers and types of structural variants (copy number changes, translocations, complex rearrangements) and point mutational signatures found in tumors induced by different agents. Analysis of these mutation patterns may illuminate the specific mechanisms by which these agents act to initiate or promote cancer development and provide novel information for use in risk assessment. Citation Format: Allan Balmain. Mutational signatures of environmental carcinogens in mouse and human cancers [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Environmental Carcinogenesis: Potential Pathway to Cancer Prevention; 2019 Jun 22-24; Charlotte, NC. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Can Prev Res 2020;13(7 Suppl): Abstract nr IA06.
Structural and spectrophotometric investigation of two unnatural amino-acid altered chromophores in the superfolder green fluorescent protein

The spectrophotometric properties of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) result from the post-translationally cyclized chromophore composed of three amino acids including a tyrosine at the center of the β-barrel protein. Altering the amino acids in the chromophore or the nearby region has resulted in numerous GFP variants with differing photophysical properties. To further examine the effect of small atomic changes in the chromophore on the structure and photophysical properties of GFP, the hydroxyl group of the chromophore tyrosine was replaced with a nitro or a cyano group. The structures and spectrophotometric properties of these superfolder GFP (sfGFP) variants with the unnatural amino acids (UAAs) 4-nitro-l-phenylalanine or 4-cyano-l-phenylalanine were explored. Notably, the characteristic 487 nm absorbance band of wild-type (wt) sfGFP is absent in both unnatural amino-acid-containing protein constructs (Tyr66pNO2Phe-sfGFP and Tyr66pCNPhe-sfGFP). Consequently, neither Tyr66pNO2Phe-sfGFP nor Tyr66pCNPhe-sfGFP exhibited the characteristic emission of wt sfGFP centered at 511 nm when excited at 487 nm. Tyr66pNO2Phe-sfGFP appeared orange due to an absorbance band centered at 406 nm that was not present in wt sfGFP, while Tyr66pCNPhe-sfGFP appeared colorless with an absorbance band centered at 365 nm. Mass spectrometry and X-ray crystallography confirmed the presence of a fully formed chromophore and no significant structural changes in either of these UAA-containing protein constructs, signaling that the change in the observed photophysical properties of the proteins is the result of the presence of the UAA in the chromophore.
The Kendler levels--of--functioning theory: comments and an alternative schema.

Publisher Summary This chapter examines the Kendler levels-of-functioning theory. The theory constitutes a major departure from the associationistic theories favored in earlier Kendler formulations. Specifically, it is noted that Kendler envisions the incremental mode of learning and the hypothesis-testing mode as being regulated by different processes. This assumption appears to represent abandonment by Kendler of a thorough-going associationistic view of behavior regulation. An alternative schema is presented in which an attempt is made to provide an associationistic account of the occurrence of hypothesis-testing behavior in human subjects. It is suggested that this schema is more consonant with earlier Kendler formulations. Some of the implications of the theory are described for developmental changes, stereotypes and strategies, the shift paradigms, and future research.
Structural Characteristics and Nucleotide Sequence Analysis of Genomic RNA from RD-114 Virus and Feline RNA Tumor Viruses

The results of molecular hybridization experiments have demonstrated that the RNA genome of RD-114 virus has extensive nucleotide sequence homology with the RNA genome of Crandell virus, an endogenous type C virus of cats, but only limited homology with the RNA genomes of feline sarcoma virus and feline leukemia virus. The genomic RNAs of RD-114 virus and Crandell virus also had identical sedimentation coefficients of 50S. A structural rearrangement of genomic RNA did not exist within released RD-114 virions, whereas a structural rearrangement of genomic RNA did occur within feline sarcoma virions and feline leukemia virions after release from virus-producing cells.
HCV infection-associated hepatocellular carcinoma in humanized mice.

Background and Aims Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a major risk factor for chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Our aim is to explore molecular changes that underlie HCV infection-associated HCC in a humanized mouse model, in order to identify markers of HCC progression.
Intestinal absorption and tissue distribution of carotenoids

Abstract Human metabolism of carotenoids is of interest not only because of the provitamin A function of certain carotenoids, but also because these compounds have been associated with reducing risks of certain cancers and chronic diseases. Full understanding of carotenoid metabolism is complicated by a number of factors: variations in physiochemical properties among carotenoids; altered carotenoid utilization as a result of the normal vicissitudes of lipid absorption and transport; divergence in metabolic fate within the intestinal enterocyte (especially carotenoid cleavage to retinoids); differences in packaging and transport in lipoproteins; dissimilarity in tissue uptake of specific carotenoids; and the possible isomerization of carotenoids within tissues. Hampering research progress is the lack of animal models that perfectly mimic human carotenoid metabolism and the limited number of carotenoids approved for human consumption in a pure form. It is clear, however, that diet affects carotenoid absorption. The efficient digestion and absorption of dietary fat, as well as the presence of bile salt micelles, is essential for carotenoid absorption. Competition among carotenoids and other dietary components for absorption, transport, and uptake by tissues is documented but needs further research. From limited data it seems that the more polar carotenoids (xanthophylls) may be absorbed more efficiently than are carotenes (hydrocarbon carotenoids). The mechanism in humans for the phenomenon of “nonresponders” to oral doses of β-carotene requires further study to determine whether it is an effect of inefficient absorption or of intestinal cleavage of β-carotene. The delayed maxima in plasma carotenoid concentrations after ingestion, relative to plasma triacylglycerol, are explainable as secondary secretion of carotenoids transferred to other lipoproteins after chylomicron clearance. The site and degree of isomerization of carotenoids after consumption has not yet been defined. In this article the absorption, transport, and tissue uptake of carotenoids will be reviewed and possible differences among carotenoids and factors influencing their utilization will be discussed.
Catalytic synthesis of amino acid and peptide derivatized gadonanotubes.

A new Rh6(CO)16-catalyzed functionalization of gadonanotube MRI probes offers the opportunity to prepare a number of amino acid and peptide derivatized gadonanotubes under RT conditions, containing, for example, the cyclic RGD peptide for the biological targeting of cancer.
Characterization of the mitochondria of the free-living nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans.

Abstract 1. 1. Conditions are discussed for obtaining population levels of 200,000/ml in 6 days using axenic cultures of the nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans. Lifespan and growth data under these conditions are presented. 2. 2. An isolation procedure which results in high quality mitochondria is presented, and metabolic data on respiaration rates, respiratory control ratios, and ADP: O ratios using various substrates are given. 3. 3. The effects of inhibitors of respiration and ATPase activity and of uncouplers of oxidative phosphorylation are presented. 4. 4. Cytochrome content of the mitochondria as determined from difference spectra is given. No indication of the large amounts of the b type pigment reported in Turbatrix aceti was found. 5. 5. The metabolism and respiratory chain of C. elegans appear to be similar to the classic mammalian systems. The only gross difference noted was the absence of ATPase stimulation by traditional uncouplers of oxidative phosphorylation. In this respect, the C. elegans mitochondria resemble more closely those of ascaris.
Integrated heterostructure devices based on II–VI compound semiconductors

Integrated heterostructure devices which combine small band gap and large band gap II–VI materials in multilayered structures for light emission and detection applications are described.
Extracting deltas from the deuteron

Abstract When deuterons are struck by high energy beams, the relative frequency of breakup into two Δ-resonances may be related to P , the ΔΔ probability in the deuteron. That relation is studied in an isobar model which employs a static NN-ΔΔ mixing potential. A number of effects reduce the expected breakup frequency substantially below that in the standard peripheral model. However, the large Δ-N mass difference makes the nonrelativistic approximations of the isobar model highly questionable, so that a relativistic calculation is required. Even a crude treatment of the relativistic problem shows that drastic suppression of breakup must occur. It is concluded that previously reported experiments did not have the sensitivity to detect ΔΔ breakup at the expected level. Suitable design might improve sensitivity, but the analysis required to deduce P from the data would still have to be far more complex than done heretofore.
Radiation-resistant extremophiles and their potential in biotechnology and therapeutics

Extremophiles are organisms able to thrive in extreme environmental conditions. Microorganisms with the ability to survive high doses of radiation are known as radioresistant or radiation-resistant extremophiles. Excessive or intense exposure to radiation (i.e., gamma rays, X-rays, and particularly UV radiation) can induce a variety of mutagenic and cytotoxic DNA lesions, which can lead to different forms of cancer. However, some populations of microorganisms thrive under different types of radiation due to defensive mechanisms provided by primary and secondary metabolic products, i.e., extremolytes and extremozymes. Extremolytes (including scytonemin, mycosporine-like amino acids, shinorine, porphyra-334, palythine, biopterin, and phlorotannin, among others) are able to absorb a wide spectrum of radiation while protecting the organism's DNA from being damaged. The possible commercial applications of extremolytes include anticancer drugs, antioxidants, cell-cycle-blocking agents, and sunscreens, among others. This article aims to review the strategies by which microorganisms thrive in extreme radiation environments and discuss their potential uses in biotechnology and the therapeutic industry. The major challenges that lie ahead are also discussed.
Observations of asexual and sexual processes in Protoperidinium depressum (Dinophyceae)

Life cycle stages of the heterotrophic dinoflagellate Protoperidinium depressum were determined for a culture isolated from the west coast of Ireland. Division, sexuality, DNA content, gamete morphology, and identity of morphologically distinct life-history stages were revealed for the first time using a suite of morphological and molecular tools. Asexual division occurred by eleutheroschisis within a temporary, immotile cyst, yielding two daughter cells. Morphological features, including apical and antapical horns, were not fully formed upon emergence from the division cyst, but developed some time after cell division. Daughter cells were half to two-thirds the size of parent cells and swam attached in an epitheca-to-hypotheca orientation before separating. Stages indicating a completed life cycle, including gametes, planozygotes, and nuclear cyclosis were observed. Small cells, believed to be gametes, formed in repeated clonal and non-clonal re-isolations of the culture. In addition to their small size (40–50 μm), blunt apical horn, small antapical horns, and lack of pink pigmentation, these putative gametes had a thecal plate morphology different from that described for P. depressum. The LSU rDNA sequence (D1–D3 region) of small cells was, however, the same as that of P. depressum. Gametes were never witnessed to feed, but did form fusing, isogamous pairs. When isolated to well plates, gamete pairs failed to complete fusion to form a planozygote. Thus, the morphology of the initial planozygote remains uncertain. Large cells believed to be planozygotes had “typical”P. depressum morphology, but possessed two longitudinal flagella and had 2C DNA based on DAPI. Nuclear cyclosis was documented in one such tri-flagellated, motile cell. The cell remained motile after the completion of nuclear cyclosis, but did not progress to the next life stage. Dormant hypnozygotes were not observed.
Substitution of Ala for Tyr567 in RB69 DNA Polymerase Allows dAMP To Be Inserted opposite 7,8-Dihydro-8-oxoguanine,

Accurate copying of the genome by DNA polymerases is challenging due in part to the continuous damage inflicted on DNA, which results from its contact with reactive oxygen species (ROS), producing lesions such as 7,8-dihydro-8-oxoguanine (8-oxoG). The deleterious effects of 8-oxoG can be attributed to its dual coding potential that leads to G → T transversions. The wild-type (wt) pol α family DNA polymerase from bacteriophage RB69 (RB69pol) prefers to insert dCMP as opposed to dAMP when situated opposite 8-oxoG by >2 orders of magnitude as demonstrated using pre-steady-state kinetics (kpol/Kd,app). In contrast, the Y567A mutant of RB69pol inserts both dCMP and dAMP opposite 8-oxoG rapidly and with equal efficiency. We have determined the structures of preinsertion complexes for the Y567A mutant with dATP and dCTP opposite a templating 8-oxoG in a 13/18mer primer-template (P/T) at resolutions of 2.3 and 2.1 A, respectively. Our structures show that the 8-oxoG residue is in the anti conformation when paired...
Advances in the three-portal technique for anatomical single- or double-bundle ACL reconstruction

Purpose To describe the “three-portal technique for anatomical ACL single- or double-bundle reconstruction” and the arthroscopic viewing improvement provided by this technique.
The Increasingly Important Role of Off-Level Testing in the Context of the Talent Development Perspective

In the context of increasing interest and support for a developmental conception of giftedness, there is perhaps an ever-greater need for off-level testing for students with high potential. Off-lev...
Taking librarians off the desk: one library changes its reference desk staffing model

Purpose – This paper is a case study of the decision at Central Michigan University to take librarians off the reference desk. Departmental data on reference desk traffic and other ancillary functions of the reference department was used to make the case for removing the librarians from the desk. Data collected since the decision was made has supported the decision to move to an on-call reference desk staffing model. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – The department reviewed and analyzed data on reference desk transactions of all types from previous years to inform its decision making. Data trends and an analysis of the nature of the questions asked at the reference desk were instrumental in the analysis. Findings – The department determined that the statistical data justified the removal of the librarians from the reference desk. Data collected since moving to the on-call model supports the earlier decision. Originality/value – This paper provides libraries considering ...
Closed-loop control techniques for an adaptive-optical system with an interferometric wavefront sensor

The self-referencing interferometer (SRI) wavefront sensor (WFS) is being developed for applications requiring laser propagation in strong scintillation. Because it directly measures the optical field of the wavefront, the SRI WFS is less effected by scintillation than conventional WFSs. This feature also means the phase determined from the WFS measurements is limited to the range -π to π, due to the use of the arctangent function. If a segmented wavefront corrector is used, this constraint is not a problem. However, if a continuous facesheet deformable mirror is used, the resulting phase should be unwrapped in order to minimize fitting error. There are a couple of places in the adaptiveoptical (AO) closed-loop control process where an unwrapping algorithm can be inserted. Simulations of these configurations have shown that how and where the unwrapping is carried out affects overall AO performance and loop stability. This paper presents an overview of the unwrapping options and the associated issues. A laboratory demonstration of two control loop configurations was carried out to test the validity of the simulation results. These experiments and their outcome are discussed.
New Isotope Methods for Estimating Milk Intake and Yield

Abstract Two isotope tracer methods, based on the transfer of isotopic tracer via milk from a female to offspring, were developed for estimating milk intake of nursing offspring. One method depended upon the transfer of tritiated water from female to offspring in milk and simultaneous determination of water turnover of the offspring by deuterium oxide. The second method was based on the transfer of radiocesium from female to offspring in milk and required the use of whole body counting techniques for evaluating the radiocesium body burden of the offspring. Experiments evaluating the two methods were with hand-reared Holstein calves given fixed milk intake. The methods gave valid estimates of milk intake; estimates were within ± 2.5% of the actual intakes. The application and limitations of these methods for estimating milk intake and yield of other species are discussed.
Temporal and Spatial Relationships between Ultraviolet and Hard X-Ray Emission in Solar Flares

Hard X-ray and ultraviolet emissions in solar flares provide evidence for the interaction of particles accelerated in the solar corona with the ambient plasma in the chromosphere. Previous studies have shown that these emissions are temporally correlated indicating a common source, presumably magnetic reconnection, governing the flare energy release. We use the high spatial resolution of the RHESSI and TRACE telescopes to explore the temporal connections of spatially resolved hard X-ray and UV sources in a flare occurring on 2002 July 16. While exhibiting a strong temporal correlation, there are distinct differences in the spatial distribution of the UV and hard X-ray emissions. The UV emission is found to be distributed in two well-defined ribbons spanning 50''-100'' and separated by some 50''-70'', while the hard X-ray emission is localized to a compact distribution at one end of the southernmost ribbon. We argue that the temporally correlated, but spatially well-separated, emissions result from the interaction of an evolving multipolar magnetic flux system with the flare energy release predominantly occurring along a separator marking the intersection of separate topological domains defined by an emerging bipolar system and the preexisting active region magnetic field.
The decline of male employment in low-income black neighborhoods, 1950–1990

Abstract Many urban theorists, notably W.J. Wilson, hypothesize that rates of male joblessness in low-income urban neighborhoods have increased since the 1960s. This paper examines this claim by tabulating male employment trends in census tracts in 49 metropolitan areas from 1950 to 1990, and models causes of these trends. The results show a marked decline in the employment of working-age men in low-income black tracts, both in absolute terms and relative to the employment rates of male residents of other types of tracts. This decline occurred among cities in all regions of the country. By 1990, more than 40% of working-age black men in low-income tracts were not employed, about two-thirds of whom were adults between the ages of 25 and 64. Models indicate that declining urban manufacturing employment contributed to the declining rates of work for black men in low-income neighborhoods, but they do not support explanations based on spatial mismatch, suburbanization, or black out-migration. The paper concludes that Wilson is right to focus on the employment problem of low-income black neighborhoods, and that black male joblessness in low-income neighborhoods in 1990 reached crisis levels.
25 Why no group II introns in nuclear genomes? translational repression, RNA-RNA interactions and mis-compartmentalization of mRNAs

Group II introns are commonly believed to be the progenitors of spliceosomal introns. However, the notable absence of group II introns from nuclear genomes begs examination. We have shown that although nuclear expression of a group II intron-containing pre-mRNA in yeast results in efficient transcription and protein-dependent splicing, RNA transcripts suffer nonsense-mediated decay and translational repression (Chalamcharla et al. 2010). To demonstrate the possible mechanism for the translational repression, we have investigated cellular dynamics of group II intron-containing RNAs, from transcription to cellular localization, by utilizing multi-disciplinary techniques. Specialized 5’-RACE indicates that group II intron-containing RNA and its spliced product are both 5’-capped and 3’-polyadenylated and are most eukaryotic RNA polymerase II transcripts. Additionally, primer extension assay showed that RNA transcription and splicing both initiate from the correct sites. Importantly, molecular pull-down exper...
A drag reduction method for turbulent boundary layers

A novel method to reduce skin friction drag in a turbulent boundary layer is presented. The technique combines the beneficial effects of a longitudinally ribbed surface and suction. The streamwise grooves act as a nucleation site causing a focusing of low-speed streaks over the peaks. Suction is then applied intermittently through longitudinal slots located at selected locations along those peaks to obliterate the low-speed regions and to prevent bursting. During the first phase of the present research, selective suction from a single streamwise slot was used to eliminate either a single burst-like event or a periodic train of artificially generated bursts in laminar and turbulent boundary layers. The experiments were conducted using a flat plate towed in an 18-m water channel. Flow visualization and hot-film probe measurements were used together with pattern recognition algorithms to demonstrate the feasibility of the drag-reducing method.
Hybrid feedback stabilization of systems with quantized signals

This paper is concerned with global asymptotic stabilization of continuous-time systems subject to quantization. A hybrid control strategy originating in earlier work (Brockett and Liberzon, IEEE Trans. Automat. Control 45 (2000) 1279) relies on the possibility of making discrete on-line adjustments of quantizer parameters. We explore this method here for general nonlinear systems with general types of quantizers affecting the state of the system, the measured output, or the control input. The analysis involves merging tools from Lyapunov stability, hybrid systems, and input-to-state stability.
Intrapartum stress and lipid status of term infants: relation to fetal adrenal production of dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate.

Objective. Evaluate the effect of acute intrapartum stress on umbilical cord plasma levels of cholesterol, triglyceride and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DS) in term infants.Methods. Umbilical cord plasma levels of cholesterol, triglyceride and DS were measured in 176 infants that delivered ≥37 weeks' gestation. Eighty-eight infants experienced acute intrapartum stress while the remaining infants were non-stressed controls who were case-matched by gestational age and delivery method.Results. The umbilical cord plasma levels of cholesterol in the stressed infants (71.7 ± 16.1 mg/dL, mean ± SD) were similar to those of the control infants (70.9 ± 16.0 mg/dL). Triglyceride levels in stressed infants were significantly higher (p = 0.003) than those of control infants. Both stressed and control infants with increased triglyceride levels had normal DS levels; however, those with increased cholesterol levels had reduced umbilical cord plasma levels of DS. Stressed infants with increased cholesterol levels had...
Values and behaviors of trout anglers, and their attitudes toward fishery management, relative to membership in fishing organizations: a Michigan case study.

Abstract A controversial proposal to adopt catch-and-release regulations for a section of the Au Sable River near Grayling, Michigan, provided an opportunity to study differences in management preferences and related characteristics between members of fishing organizations and nonmembers. Two fishing organizations were prominent among the Au Sable River sample of anglers, Trout Unlimited (TU, 43%) and the Fly Fishing Federation (FFF, 14%). However, only 1.8% of a statewide sample of stream trout anglers belonged to TU and 0.3% were members of FFF. Members were more specialized, had more fishing experience, and participated in trout (brown trout Salmo trutta, brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis, and rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss) fishing more intensely and frequently than nonmembers. In addition, a higher percentage of members than nonmembers favored the proposed catch-and-release regulation and had supporting attitudes for special regulations. However, members and nonmembers were similar regarding motiv...
Uniqueness for a hyperbolic inverse problem with angular control on the coefficients

Suppose $q_i(x)$, $i=1,2$ are smooth functions on $\R^3$ and $U_i(x,t)$ the solutions of the initial value problem {gather*} \pa_t^2 U_i- \Delta U_i - q_i(x) U_i = \delta(x,t), \qquad (x,t) \in \R^3 \times \R U_i(x,t) =0, \qquad \text{for} ~ t 0$, independent of $r$, so that \[\int_{|x|=r} | \Delta_S (q_1 - q_2)|^2 \, dS_x \leq \gamma \int_{|x|=r} |q_1 - q_2|^2 \, dS_x, \qquad \forall r \in [R, (R+T)/2].\] Here $\Delta_S$ is the spherical Laplacian on $|x|=r$.