cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Soil, vegetation, and seed bank of a Sonoran Desert ecosystem along an exotic plant (Pennisetum ciliare) treatment gradient.

Ecological conditions following removal of exotic plants are a key part of comprehensive environmental management strategies to combat exotic plant invasions. We examined ecological conditions following removal of the management-priority buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare) in Saguaro National Park of the North American Sonoran Desert. We assessed soil, vegetation, and soil seed banks on seven buffelgrass site types: five different frequencies of buffelgrass herbicide plus hand removal treatments (ranging from 5 years of annual treatment to a single year of treatment), untreated sites, and non-invaded sites, with three replicates for each of the seven site types. The 22 measured soil properties (e.g., pH) differed little among sites. Regarding vegetation, buffelgrass cover was low (≤1 % median cover), or absent, across all treated sites but was high (10–70 %) in untreated sites. Native vegetation cover, diversity, and composition were indistinguishable across site types. Species composition was dominated by native species (>93 % relative cover) across all sites except untreated buffelgrass sites. Most (38 species, 93 %) of the 41 species detected in soil seed banks were native, and native seed density did not differ significantly across sites. Results suggest that: (1) buffelgrass cover was minimal across treated sites; (2) aside from high buffelgrass cover in untreated sites, ecological conditions were largely indistinguishable across sites; (3) soil seed banks harbored ≥12 species that were frequent in the aboveground vegetation; and (4) native species dominated post-treatment vegetation composition, and removing buffelgrass did not result in replacement by other exotic species.
Photographic social media: a framework for design

In this paper we explore the potential of using photos and images to promote social connections in the online space. We have conducted contextual interviews focusing on users' photo sharing, organizing, and viewing behaviors to identify the mechanisms and motivations driving image-based social media. Our findings indicate that people are socially motivated by photographs, selective in what they view, and use photographic narratives to correspond with others and to browse information. We conclude with a framework of opportunities for the design of photographic social media: communities where people connect through photo-sharing.
The role of the retromer complex in aging-related neurodegeneration: a molecular and genomic review

The retromer coat complex is a vital component of the intracellular trafficking mechanism sorting cargo from the endosomes to the trans-Golgi network or to the cell surface. In recent years, genes encoding components of the retromer coat complex and members of the vacuolar protein sorting 10 (Vps10) family of receptors, which play pleiotropic functions in protein trafficking and intracellular/intercellular signaling in neuronal and non-neuronal cells and are primary cargos of the retromer complex, have been implicated as genetic risk factors for sporadic and autosomal dominant forms of several neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and frontotemporal lobar degeneration. In addition to their functions in protein trafficking, the members of the Vps10 receptor family (sortilin, SorL1, SorCS1, SorCS2, and SorCS3) modulate neurotrophic signaling pathways. Both sortilin and SorCS2 act as cell surface receptors to mediate acute responses to proneurotrophins. In addition, sortilin can modulate the intracellular response to brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) by direct control of BDNF levels and regulating anterograde trafficking of Trk receptors to the synapse. This review article summarizes the emerging data from this rapidly growing field of intracellular trafficking signaling in the pathogenesis of neurodegeneration.
Integral equation formulation for transient structural synthesis

An exact formulation for time domain structural synthesis is developed. Volterra integral equations are derived from the convolution integral which address substructure coupling and structural modification. The theory is cast in physical coordinates and, therefore, no transformation or mode truncation is required to achieve model reduction. As a minimum, only those coordinates directly involved in the synthesis need be retained, although synthesized transient response can be found for all coordinates, if so desired. The formulation makes use of transient response data and impulse response functions at the retained physical coordinates. Modified or coupled transient response is directly calculated ; no synthesized system model is assembled. The formulation exactly synthesizes system damping, regardless of the uncoupled system damping models used. The numerical solution of the integral equations involves the solution of a lower triangular linear system only ; no matrix factorization or eigensolution is required. Simple yet representative numerical examples are included.
THE NEED FOR PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY

As a viable intellectual and professional pursuit with well defined goals, physical geography is alive and kicking but demands greater commitment from the geography profession generally. In particular, physical geographers are exhorted to be thoroughly trained in the subject matter and methodology of their own and related disciplines, to be integrative in the acquisition, analysis and interpretation of data, to be predictive in their work, and to be proud of the role that they can play in serving society's environmental needs.
Abstract PD03-04: Discovery of metformin derivatives with potent antitumor activity in triple-negative breast cancer

Due to the success of endocrine therapy, the mortality of patients with estrogen receptor-positive tumors has declined significantly in recent years. In contrast, triple-negative breast cancers (TNBC) lack clinical expression of estrogen and progesterone receptors and HER-2 receptor overexpression and cannot be treated with current endocrine or HER2-targeted therapies. TNBC occurs in only 10–15% of patients, yet this disease accounts for a large proportion of all breast cancer deaths. TNBCs are heterogeneous (with most, but not all, categorized as basal-like on gene expression analyses) and occur often in younger and African American women. Although initially responsive to some chemotherapies, TNBCs tend to relapse early and metastasize, leading to poor patient survival. It is urgent to develop new therapeutics. Emerging evidence from epidemiologic and preclinical work suggests that metformin, the most widely used drug to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus, exerts anticancer activity in breast cancer. Diabetic patients treated with metformin have a reduced incidence of and better survival from breast cancer. Moreover, TNBC cells are reportedly uniquely sensitive to metformin, and the antitumor effects of metformin appear to be enhanced at high doses of the drug or by IV administration. Thus, we reason that structural analogs of metformin can be designed and synthesized with even more potent anticancer activity and target specificity than metformin. We now report on development of novel metformin analogues with superior anti-TNBC effects based on preclinical tumor models. We tested metformin and new structural analogues of metformin in TNBC and in estrogen receptor-positive MCF-7 cells. Using cell proliferation assays, cells were treated for 72 hours in the presence of metformin or analogues. Inhibition of cell proliferation was dose-dependant and significant at low concentrations (0.01–1mM) of metformin analogues (P Citation Information: Cancer Res 2012;72(24 Suppl):Abstract nr PD03-04.
The significance of giant vacuolation of endoneurial fibroblasts

Biopsy study by ultrastructural methods of sural nerve from two patients with chronic hypertrophic neuropathy showed giant vacuolation of endoneurial fibroblasts. These fibroblast changes have been described previously only in two sisters with hereditary sensory neuropathy (Schoeneet al.). The pathological background in which giant vacuolation of fibroblasts occurs is in chronic neuropathies with severe nerve fiber loss and prominent looselyarranged interstitial spaces containing amorphous substance of moderate electron density. The histochemical staining reactions of the amorphous interstitial substance are variable and of uncertain usefulness. It is tentatively concluded that giant vacuolation of endoneurial fibroblasts is not a disease-specific reaction, but accompanies those chronic, scarring disease processes of nerve that result in extreme nerve fiber loss and an enlarged loose-textured myxoid interstitium.
On the stability of the creep substructure in NaCl single crystals

Microstructural observations were conducted on NaCl single crystals after creep. The microstructure after a stress increase followed by a stress decrease consisted primarily of cells; no significant number of subgrains were observed although they were present in the microstructures produced during uninterrupted tests. Prestraining in the exponential creep regime produced an uniform distribution of dislocations and a few subboundaries which transformed to equiaxed subgrains when tested in the power law creep region. This substructure was similar to that observed in an as-received specimen deformed to an equivalent strain. Prior creep in the power law creep region produced equiaxed subgrains whose boundaries were found to be mechanically stable when the specimen was retested in the exponential creep region. The role of subboundary migration in the formation of new subgrains is discussed.
Reaction of Au55(PPh3)12Cl6 with thiols yields thiolate monolayer protected Au75 clusters

This paper describes the reaction of the phosphine-protected Au nanoparticle Au55(PPh3)12Cl6 (1, “Au55”) with hexanethiol (2) and other thiols. The voltammetry of the reaction product 2 displays a well-defined pattern of peaks qualitatively reminiscent of Au38 nanoparticles, but with quite different spacing (0.74 ± 0.01 V) between the potentials of initial oxidation and reduction steps (electrochemical gap). Correction of this “molecule-like” gap for charging energy indicates a HOMO−LUMO gap energy of about 0.47 V. Voltammetry of the products (3 and 4) of reaction of 1 with C3H7SH and PhC2H4SH, respectively, is similar. Laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (LDI-MS) shows that 2 contains a high proportion of a core mass in the 14−15 kDa range, which is proposed to be Au75. UV−vis spectra of 2−4 are relatively featureless, similar to previous reports of thiolate-protected Au75 nanoparticles. HPLC analysis of 2 shows a Au75 content of ca. 73%; the electrochemical purity estimate is also high, about ...
Gains from Active Bond Portfolio Management Strategies

The belief that excess returns can be achieved by correctly timing changes in yields and/or yield spreads motivates active bond portfolio management strategies. Given the rich literature linking yield spread patterns to both the business cycle and changes in short-term interest rates, the authors motivate and demonstrate the efficacy of simple spread-trading strategies tied to both. Using 34 years of fixed income returns, they demonstrate that straightforward rules would have led to superior risk-adjusted performance relative to standard fixed-income benchmarks. Furthermore, the strategies tied to short-maturity interest rates are based on the use of past information only.
Controlling articulated robots in task-space with spiking silicon neurons

Emulating how humans coordinate articulated limbs within the brain's power budget promises to accelerate progress in building autonomous biomimetic robots. Here, we used a neuromorphic approach — low-power analog silicon spiking neurons — to control an articulated robot in real-time. We obtained a closed-form control function that computes robot motor torques given the robot's joint angles (state) and desired end-effector forces; factorized the function into a set of sub-functions over five unique three-dimensional domains; and regressed each sub-function on to the steady-state spiking responses of one out of five silicon spiking-neuron pools. The spiking pools controlled a three degree-of-freedom robot's motor torques in real-time and performed reaches to arbitrary locations in space with less than 2 cm root-mean-square trajectory tracking error (of an analytical controller). The controller is compliant and can draw shapes with a pen on a dynamically perturbed surface while remaining stable. Using force control resulted in linear responses to perturbations in end-effector coordinates (task-space), which effectively filtered noise due to neuron spikes. Factorizing the controller reduced the neural regression's complexity to cubic in the dynamic range of the robot's state and desired forces. Doing so made acquiring spiking responses for regression tractable in time (∼2–3 min), and enabled reliable trajectory tracking with only 1280 neurons. This is the first time a neuromorphic system has achieved realtime manipulation for an articulated robot with three or more degrees-of-freedom.
Post-translational aging of proteins in osteoarthritic cartilage and synovial fluid as measured by isomerized aspartate

Aging proteins undergo non-enzymatic post-translational modification, including isomerization and racemization. We hypothesized that cartilage with many long-lived components could accumulate non-enzymatically modified amino acids in the form of isomerized aspartate and that its liberation due to osteoarthritis (OA)-related cartilage degradation could reflect OA severity. Articular cartilage and synovial fluid were obtained from 14 randomly selected total knee arthroplasty cases (56 to 79 years old) and non-arthritis cartilage from 8 trauma cases (51 to 83 years old). Paired lesional cartilage and non-lesioned OA cartilage were graded histologically using a modified Mankin system. Paired cartilage and synovial fluids were assayed for isomerized aspartate, phosphate-buffered saline/EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) extractable glycosaminoglycans, and total protein. Macroscopically normal non-lesioned OA cartilage was separated into superficial and deep regions when cartilage thickness was at least 3 mm (n = 6). Normalized to cartilage wet weight, normal cartilage and deep non-lesioned OA cartilage contained significantly (P < 0.05) more isomerized aspartate than superficial non-lesioned OA cartilage and lesioned cartilage. Synovial fluid isomerized aspartate correlated positively (R2 = 0.53, P = 0.02) and glycosaminoglycans correlated negatively (R2 = 0.42, P = 0.04) with histological OA lesion severity. Neither synovial fluid isomerized aspartate nor glycosaminoglycans nor total protein correlated with histological scores of non-lesioned areas. We show for the first time that human cartilage and synovial fluid contain measurable quantities of an isomerized amino acid and that synovial fluid concentrations of isomerized aspartate reflected severity of histological OA. Further assessment is warranted to identify the cartilage proteins containing this modification and to assess the functional consequences and biomarker applications of this analyte in OA.
Review of the Major Intervention Trials of Lowering Coronary Artery Disease Risk Through Cholesterol Reduction

Results of primary and secondary prevention trials have shown that lowering total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol leads to a reduction in both fatal and nonfatal ischemic events. The reduced coronary artery disease (CAD) risk associated with cholesterol lowering appears to be unrelated to the intervention used, whether it be a low-fat/low-cholesterol diet, partial ileal bypass surgery, or pharmacologic intervention with an agent such as a bile resin, a fibrate, or niacin. Data emerging on the 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors have shown that this newest class of cholesterol-lowering agents also reduces the risk for CAD. The studies provide increasing evidence that high LDL cholesterol levels not only contribute to atherosclerotic plaque formation but also interfere with normal endothelial control of arterial vasomotor tone. Because the small amount of plaque regression observed on angiographic studies is not sufficient to explain the magnitude of CAD risk reduction associated with lowered levels of LDL cholesterol, these studies suggest that vasomotor control and plaque stabilization may have a greater impact on clinical events than the stenosis caused by atherosclerotic plaques.
Arc Spectrum of Lead

Photographic IR arc emission spectrum of Pb analyzed from measurements with electrodeless discharge tubes, discussing spectral lines and atomic energy levels
Mössbauer and Integer-Spin EPR Studies and Spin-Coupling Analysis of the [4Fe-4S]0 Cluster of the Fe Protein from Azotobacter vinelandii Nitrogenase

We have previously shown that the [4Fe-4S] cluster of the Fe protein of nitrogenase from Azotobacter vinelandii can be reduced to the all-ferrous state, [4Fe-4S]0. We have studied here this state with integer-spin EPR and Mossbauer spectroscopy, and analyzed the exchange couplings that give rise to a ground state with cluster spin S = 4. The results are as follows: The cluster contains four high-spin (Si = 2) ferrous sites with isomer shift δ = 0.68 mm/s. One site, FeA, has ΔEQ = 3.08 mm/s while the three other sites exhibit ΔEQ-values between 1.2 and 1.7 mm/s. This asymmetry is surprising in view of the fact that the cluster is suspended at the interface of an α2 protein dimer. A similar 3:1 symmetry is also evident in the magnetic hyperfine tensors, A(i), of the four sites; three sites have negative A-values while that of the fourth site, FeA, is positive. Analysis of the exchange couplings, assumed to be antiferromagnetic, shows that every possible S = 4 ground multiplet that can be constructed from f...
Nutritional modulation of phagocyte function with special emphasis on the newborn

Alterations in nutritional status, including protein-calorie malnutrition in man and studies in animals models, lead to changes in phagocyte (polymorphonuclear neutrophil and mononuclear phagocyte, monocyte-macrophage) function.1–3,61,62 In these acquired immunodeficiencies neutrophils have altered modulation of adherence, decreased random and directed movement and impaired microbicidal activity. These functions may be restored following nutritional repletion. Mononuclear phagocyte studies have been more limited yet suggest effects on metabolic, secretory and microbicidal functions. The problem of early postnatal malnutrition in the newborn is a special one, which requires further intensive investigation. In this situation, malnutrition may compromise an already inadequate immune system and alter host sus ceptibility to infection. We believe that increased understanding of the role of nutritional and immune factors in resistance to infection should yield new insights into the control and prevention of neonatal morbidity and mortality.
Noninvasive assessment of myocardium at risk by TI-201 SPECT imaging in a child with Kawasaki disease: A case report

Serial two-dimensional echocardiograms documented the formation of giant aneurysms, measuring from 0.55 to 3.1 cm in diameter, in the distribution of the left and right coronary arteries, in a 2 1/2-year-old boy with Kawasaki disease. His global left ventricular function, assessed by M-mode echocardiography, was normal, and no significant wall motion abnormalities could be detected on two-dimensinal evaluation. Cardiac catheterization showed multiple aneurysms with no evidence of stenosis. Although he had no clinical symptoms or electrocardiographic evidence of ischemia, pharmacologic stress and delayed Tl-201 SPECT images revealed prominent stress-induced myocardial ischemia in the left ventricle. A resting gated blood pool study showed hypokinesia in corresponding regions of the left ventricle. This case demonstrates the usefulness of Tl-201 myocardial SPECT imaging and resting gated blood pool studies in the management of coronary artery disease in children with Kawasaki disease.
Clustering e-commerce search engines based on their search interface pages using WISE-cluster

In this paper, we propose a new approach to clustering e-commerce search engines (ESEs) on the Web. Our approach utilizes the features available on the interface page of each ESE, including the label terms and value terms appearing in the search form, the number of images, normalized price terms as well as other terms. The experimental results based on more than 400 ESEs indicate that the proposed approach has good clustering accuracy. The importance of different types of features is analyzed and the terms in the search form are the most important feature in obtaining quality clusters.
A Voltage-Tunable Two-Color InGaAs/AlGaAs Quantum well Infrared Photodetector

A voltage-tunable two-color multiple quantum well infrared photodetector was fabricated with two bands at 6.0 and 10.3 im. The molecular beam epitaxy grown structure consists of two stacks of n-type InGaAs wells and GaAs/AlGaAs superlattice barriers. The 6.0 im band was found to be dominant at low bias voltages while the 10.3 im band is dominant at high bias voltages. The optical absorption measurements confirm the presence of both bands. Furthermore, the transfer matrix method is used to estimate the peak position energies of the intersubband transitions in the two stacks.
Long‐Term Consequences of the Linear‐No‐Threshold Dose‐Response Relationship for Chemical Carcinogens

U.S. Government agencies have adopted a linear-no-threshold dose-response relationship for chemical carcinogens, and have set up a Carcinogen Assessment Group (CAG) to determine the proportionality constants in these relationships. Their results are summarized for the carcinogenic elements Be, Cr, Ni, As, and Cd. It is shown that when effects are integrated over ∼105 years, an atom of these elements in the ground has a reasonable chance (10-4-10-1)of being ingested orally by a human. From this it is shown that, over this time period, producing electricity by coal burning causes 320 fatalities/GWe-yr and all coal burning in the United States causes 74,000 fatalities/year. Commercial use of these carcinogenic elements causes the following numbers of fatalities/yr: Be–900, Cr–87,000, Ni–10,000, As–62,000, and Cd–230,000. Use of CdS and GaAs photovoltaics would cause 2200 and 66 fatalities/GWe-yr, respectively, and production of construction materials for photovoltaic arrays would cause 11 fatalities/GWe-yr through use of coal. The calculational methods are derived from those used in risk assessments of radioactive wastes, and their questionable aspects apply equally to those assessments. It is shown that, contrary to present beliefs, it is much safer to dump these elements into rivers than to bury them in the ground, and by far the safest procedure is to dump them in the oceans.
In vitro activity of bursal lymphocytes from two lines of chickens

Summary The bursal lymphocytes from 18-day-old embryos or 1-week-old birds of large bursa line (LBL) and small bursa line (SBL) were cultured in Basal Medium Eagle with Hanks Base (BEM). The lymphocytes from the LBL cultured in media without serum showed significant growth in a 24-h period whereas cells from SBL chicks showed no cell increase. This suggests that the bursa of LBL chicks has the greater growth potential and that there may be intrinsic growth differences in bursal cells of the two lines. The addition of ancestral line (a line from which LBL and SBL were developed) serum significantly increased growth of the cells from SBL. On the other hand, serum from SBL chicks significantly reduced the growth of the LBL bursa cells; whereas the LBL serum enhanced the growth of the SBL cells. The results indicate that there is a serum factor which regulates cell replication in the bursa. Further support for the thesis that the difference in growth potential between the bursa cells of the SBL and LBL chicks resides in the internal environment (sera) comes from the O 2 uptake studies. While the O 2 uptake values are similar for bursal cells of the two lines when studied in their own sera, the O 2 consumption of bursal cells of LBL chicks was significantly increased by the addition of SBL serum. The LBL serum had no effect on the oxygen consumption of SBL bursa cells.
Can Presence of a Dog Reduce Pain and Distress in Children during Venipuncture

The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of animal-assisted intervention as distraction for reducing children's pain and distress before, during, and after standard blood collection procedure. Fifty children (ages 4-11 years) undergoing venipuncture were randomly assigned to the experimental group (EG; n = 25) or to the control group (CG; n = 25). The blood collection procedure was carried on the children in the EG arm in the presence of a dog, whereas no dog was present when venipuncture was conducted on children in CG. In both cases, parents accompanied the child in the procedure room. Distress experienced by the child was measured with the Amended Observation Scale of Behavioral Distress, while perceived pain was measured with a visual analog scale or the Wong Baker Scale (Faces Scale); levels of cortisol in blood also were analyzed. Parental anxiety during the procedure was measured with State Trait Anxiety Inventory. Children assigned to the EG group reacted with less distress than children in the CG arm. Furthermore, cortisol levels were lower in the EG group compared with the CG group. There were no significant differences in pain ratings and in the level of parental anxiety. It appears that the presence of dogs during blood draw procedures reduces distress in children.
Boradeption: a new procedure for transferring water-insoluble agents across cell membranes

A new process has been developed which is called "Boradeption" to signify boronic acid--dependent phase transfer of water-insoluble agents. Highly fluorescent boronic acid dervatives, FluoroBoras, are solubilized with a physiologically compatible carrier buffer containing a receptor group for boronate adduct formation. The system can be used to stain living cells. In another variation of the Boradeption concept, an insoluble reporter molecule containing a boronate receptor is solubilized with a carrier buffer containing a boronic acid functional group. The boronate-receptor complexes, which are in dynamic equilibrium, can be designed as vital stains and reagents for a variety of biological and medical applications.
Hardware and software infrastructure for a family of floating-gate based FPAAs

Analog circuits and systems research and education can benefit from the flexibility provided by large-scale Field Programmable Analog Arrays (FPAAs). This paper presents the hardware and software infrastructure supporting the use of a family of floating-gate based FPAAs being developed at Georgia Tech. This infrastructure is compact and portable and provides the user with a comprehensive set of tools for custom analog circuit design and implementation. The infrastructure includes the FPAA IC, discrete ADC, DAC and amplifier ICs, a 32-Bit ARM based microcontroller for interfacing the FPAA with the user's computer, and Matlab and targeting software. The FPAA hardware communicates with Matlab over a USB connection. The USB connection also provides the hardware's power. The software tools include three major systems: a Matlab Simulink FPAA program, a SPICE to FPAA compiler called GRASPER, and a visualization tool called RAT. The hardware consists of two custom PCB designs which include a main board used to program and control an FPAA IC and an FPAA IC adaptor board used to interface a QFP packaged FPAA IC with the 100 pin ZIF socket on the main programming and control board.
The performance of socially responsible mutual funds: incorporating sociopolitical information in portfolio selection

Outlines increased interest from investors in corporate social policies over the last ten years and previous research comparing the investment performance of “socially responsible” (SR) portfolios with others. Measures performance for a US sample of SR and conventional mutual funds using a variety of methods (including Jensen’s Alpha, the Sharpe Ratio and the Treynor ratio), analysing the funds by investment strategy, size, systematic risk and the use of inclusion screens. Presents the results, which do not give a clear advantage to either group, but show that funds with inclusion screens consistently outperform those without. Calls for further research on the relationship between corporate social performance and portfolio performance and comparisons between SR and conventional funds.
Long Ago and Far Away: How US Newspapers Construct Racial Oppression

This article examines how US general-circulation newspapers construct and convey the idea of racial oppression. A Nexis database search found 146 news items published between 1990 and 2001 prominently using the phrase ‘racial oppression’. Content analysis numerically coded the ‘facts’ of racial oppression (that is the ‘who, what, when, where, why, and how’) and a number of other structural features of the articles. Interpretive textual analysis considered the use of words and phrases to characterize the process of and those involved in racial oppression. The study found that the US press constructed racial oppression in fairly narrow ways. In the news stories, forms of racial oppression typically occurred in the past. The stories focused on apartheid, slavery and the confederate flag, depicted the process as involving almost exclusively blacks and whites and emphasized narratives related to Mandela as hero, white guilt and absolution, bounded empathy and race and rationality.
Controlled activation of protein rotational dynamics using smart hydrogel tethering.

Stimulus-responsive hydrogel materials that stabilize and control protein dynamics have the potential to enable a range of applications that take advantage of the inherent specificity and catalytic efficiencies of proteins. Here we describe the modular construction of a hydrogel using an engineered calmodulin (CaM) within a poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) matrix that involves the reversible tethering of proteins through an engineered CaM-binding sequence. For these measurements, maltose binding protein (MBP) was isotopically labeled with 13C and 15N, permitting dynamic structural measurements using TROSY-HSQC NMR spectroscopy. The protein dynamics is suppressed upon initial formation of hydrogels, with a concomitant increase in protein stability. Relaxation of the hydrogel matrix following transient heating results in enhanced protein dynamics and resolution of substrate-induced large-amplitude domain rearrangements.
Geometric Models to Calculate Left-Turn Sight Distance for Signalized Intersections on Horizontal Curves

At signalized intersections where protected left turn signals are not provided, simultaneous opposing left-turn vehicles may cause insufficient sight distance for each other. There is a lack of literature presenting left-turn sight distance analysis at intersections located on curved highways. In this paper, sight distance calculation models focusing on curved-approach intersections were developed for left-turn maneuvers toward the outside of the curve and toward the inside of the curve, separately. Using those models, it was found that, for left-turn maneuvers toward the outside of the curve, opposing left-turn vehicles might cause serious sight distance problems even for a 3.7-m median. However, for a left-turn maneuver toward the inside of the curve, the curve may mitigate the sight distance problem and the median width plays a more important role in the available sight distance, especially when the curve radius is relatively large. The models and related analyses can be used to lay out intersection design or evaluate the sight distance problem of an existing intersection located on the horizontal curve to ensure safe left-turn maneuvers by drivers.
Photochemical cleavage of nitrate ion coordinated to a Cr(III) porphyrin

Photolysis of the nitrato chromium(III) tetraphenylporphyrinato compound Cr(TPP)(NO3) (TPP, tetraphenylporphyrin) in toluene solution clearly leads to the formation of the Cr(IV) oxo complex Cr(TPP)(O) with a quantum yield of 0.011. The other product, NO2, was detected quantitatively by its reaction with the spin trapping agent 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-piperidine-1-oxyl.
Commodities and Terrorist Financing: Focus on Diamonds

Commodities, trade, and natural resources have long been part of the political economy of conflict, as soldiers and militants usually employ accessible means and methods to raise funds unless there is a clash with honestly held religious or ideological positions. Reports about the role of commodities in the financing of terrorist groups cover many areas of legal and illicit trade, foremost among these diamonds. A brief background to the diamond industry, with particular attention to vulnerabilities and their exploitation in conflict areas, provides the necessary context for two case studies about al-Qaeda (AQ) and Hezbollah. These utilize primary and secondary data to explore the linkages between diamonds and these particular groups. We found conflicting and weak evidence as well as vague language to describe interfaces between terrorist groups and the diamonds trade. We conclude that while there is cause for concern that this industry can be used to support terrorist activity, deeper factual grounding, meaningful context, and a more nuanced understanding of the diamond industry are necessary to fully inform policy makers and law enforcement about the connections between terrorist finance and the commodities trade.
Effect of Inflow Boundary Conditions on the Turbulence Solution in Internal Flows

A FULLY implicit numerical method for the solution of threedimensional transport equations of fluid dynamics cast in generalized curvilinear coordinates has been enhanced to demonstrate the effect of inflow conditions on the downstream development of internal flow in a channel. The effect of inlet boundary conditions on turbulence kinetic energy k and the dissipation rate on the downstream developing flow is assessed in terms of local values of k and Reynolds stress profiles. It is shown that the effect of inflow conditions lasts well over tens of channel heights downstream, before the flow eventually attains a fully developed state. This has an important bearing on turbulent flow (especially internal turbulent flow) simulation results where the characteristic dimensions of interest of engineering systems are much shorter. In some simulations, the solution sought may be in serious error if the inflow conditions chosen are not physically realistic. It is therefore important to account for the effect of wind-tunnel inlet turbulence levels when comparing wind-tunnel experimental data with predictions from a given flow simulation. This study serves as a guide in the prescription of inflow boundary conditions on k and in simulating laminar to turbulence transition in such flows. Also, the enhanced fully implicit method presented here is demonstrated to improve the convergence to steady state by 2 orders of magnitude for a fully developed turbulent channelflow at Reynolds numbers (based on the channel height) of 7700 and 12,300 with the Chien kturbulence model over the previous semi-implicit method developed by the author, where the source terms are treated explicitly. For the case of downstream developing flow, 4 orders of magnitude improvement in convergence to steady state has been realized. The solution of transport equations in fluid dynamics involves solving mixed parabolic-hyperbolic systems. Some of these systems can be very stiff and demanding on the computational resources. Thus, they can require long integration times to achieve a steady state. One such stiff system is a two-equation set of partial differential equations governing turbulence kinetic energy, k, and its dissipation rate, . These two quantities define the dynamic turbulence viscosity, t, required for a Reynolds Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) computation, according to the relation
Structure and Mechanism of O-Acetylserine Sulfhydrylase

Abstract The O-acetylserine sulfhydrylase (OASS) from Salmonella typhimurium catalyzes a β-replacement reaction in which the β-acetoxy group of O-acetyl-l-serine (OAS) is replaced by bisulfide to give l-cysteine and acetate. The kinetic mechanism of OASS is ping-pong with a stable α-aminoacrylate intermediate. The enzyme is a homodimer with one pyridoxal 5′-phosphate (PLP) bound per subunit deep within the protein in a cleft between the N- and C-terminal domains of each of the monomers. All of the active site residues are contributed by a single subunit. The enzyme cycles through open and closed conformations as it catalyzes its reaction with structural changes largely limited to a subdomain of the N-terminal domain. The elimination of acetic acid from OAS is thought to proceed via an anti-E2 mechanism, and the only catalytic group identified to date is lysine 41, which originally participates in Schiff base linkage to PLP. The transition state for the elimination of acetic acid is thought to be asynchronous and earlier for Cβ–O bond cleavage than for Cα–H bond cleavage.
Did the PREDIMED Trial Test a Mediterranean Diet

The U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommend healthy dietary patterns — specifically, the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet and Mediterranean-style diets.1 A persuasive body of evidence from observational studies has documented that Mediterranean-style diets are associated with a substantially reduced risk of cardiovascular disease.2 Mediterranean diets are not a single dietary pattern, but they do have common features — an emphasis on vegetables, fruits, beans, nuts, seeds, breads, unrefined grains, and olive oil (but not necessarily extra-virgin olive oil); inclusion of fish and wine; and minimal intake of meats and full-fat dairy products.3 Such diets are rich in total, monounsaturated, . . .
Demography and Aging

Publisher Summary Demography is the study of the size, growth, and characteristics of populations, and aging is a growing area of inquiry within it. Demographers are affiliated with many disciplines and they investigate both individual behaviors and macro phenomena. This chapter focuses on aging at the level of countries, regions, and the world and highlights the unprecedented population aging of recent decades and projected for the future, demographic changes underlying population aging, alternative demographic indicators of aging, demographic consequences of population aging, and policy responses to population aging that are related to demographic factors. Population aging is commonly defined as the growth in the proportion of a population that is above a particular age. Understanding of the population aging process is informed by the stylized facts of the demographic transition and the epidemiologic transition. The influence of migration on the population aging process in a receiving country is more idiosyncratic, depending on immigrants' age distribution and subsequent fertility in comparison to those of the native-born population. A broader characterization of the population aging process is captured by median ages and population pyramids. Demographic phenomena—changes in fertility and mortality—are the driving forces behind population aging, and population aging has important demographic and socioeconomic consequences.
Assessing the Landfill Disposal Implication of Discarded Electronic Equipment

A major emphasis in the drive by many organizations and governments to recycle discarded electronic equipment is the concern over the fate of potentially hazardous or toxic chemicals when disposed. In the United States and other areas of the world, much of this equipment is disposed in landfills. Research conducted at the University of Florida has been used by the United States environmental protection agency (EPA) and individual states as justification for rule- or policy-making for CRT management and recently work sponsored by the EPA was published that described the hazardous waste characteristics for other electronic devices. In both of these cases, devices that contained lead were often found to be toxicity characteristic hazardous wastes (unless otherwise exempted). But additional work found that the content of the device (e.g., amount of plastic vs steel) played a large role in whether lead leached at sufficient concentrations to be hazardous. States are considering the appropriate regulatory and policy initiatives that must be undertaken to address electronic equipment. Many electronic devices are exempt from regulation as a hazardous waste, as they are generated as a result of household activities. Local and state governments are thus faced with the need to determine whether additional measures should be implemented to collect and recycle these devices. Such programs demand funding which may be in short supply in communities wrestling with funding other recycling programs. Many communities find themselves having to answer is "what is the true risk posed by the disposal of discarded electronic devices in landfills?" A summary of the results of the prior research and new research from the simulated landfill experiments is presented. This information provides possible implications for state or regulatory rule making and information that will give electronic equipment manufacturers a better understanding of how to assess potential impacts of new products on the disposal system
Automated atlas-based clustering of white matter fiber tracts from DTMRI

A new framework is presented for clustering fiber tracts into anatomically known bundles. This work is motivated by medical applications in which variation analysis of known bundles of fiber tracts in the human brain is desired. To include the anatomical knowledge in the clustering, we invoke an atlas of fiber tracts, labeled by the number of bundles of interest. In this work, we construct such an atlas and use it to cluster all fiber tracts in the white matter. To build the atlas, we start with a set of labeled ROIs specified by an expert and extract the fiber tracts initiating from each ROI. Affine registration is used to project the extracted fiber tracts of each subject to the atlas, whereas their B-spline representation is used to efficiently compare them to the fiber tracts in the atlas and assign cluster labels. Expert visual inspection of the result confirms that the proposed method is very promising and efficient in clustering of the known bundles of fiber tracts.
Interpreting loosely encoded questions

Knowledge-based question-answering systems have become quite competent and robust at answering a wide range of questions in different domains, however in order to ask questions correctly, one needs to have intimate knowledge of the structure of the knowledge base, and typical users lack this knowledge. We address this problem by developing a system that uses the content of the knowledge base to automatically align a user's encoding of a query to the structure of the knowledge base. Our preliminary evaluation shows the system detects and corrects most misalignments, and users are able to pose most questions quickly.
Blindness from Orbital Varices: Case Report

A 41-year-old woman presented with a 21-year history of a left orbital mass. She reported 3 distinct episodes of sudden proptosis, periorbital bruising, pain, nausea and vomiting with resulting stepwise deterioration in her vision. Her symptoms resolved spontaneously over several days, with the exception of loss in vision, which persisted. Examination was notable for ipsilateral enophthalmos in primary gaze. With Valsalva she developed proptosis. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated a left orbital apex malformation consistent with a varix. She had no light perception on the left with end-stage optic atrophy. This case illustrates the severity of visual loss that can occur with orbital varices.
Sliding mode based pure pursuit guidance for UAV rendezvous and chase with a cooperative aircraft

This paper introduces a high performance pure pursuit guidance method via sliding mode approach for a UAV's rendezvous with a cooperative aircraft. A guidance method for rendezvous should orient the UAV to a predicted rendezvous position and a specified heading constraint that enable the UAV to continue to follow a cooperative aircraft at a desired distance. For the guidance scheme to accomplish these objectives, a chosen waypoint is used to guide the UAV to a rendezvous point with an allowable heading error. Furthermore, the UAV has to reach the proposed rendezvous point at an admissible time of arrival and to have the same velocity as that of the cooperative aircraft. To this end, a dynamic inversion (DI) based velocity controller is introduced. The proposed pure pursuit guidance in conjunction with a waypoint setting methodology, and the DI based velocity controller are discussed in this paper. Some simulation results are also provided to demonstrate and analyze the performance of the proposed scheme.
Evaluation in vitro and in animals of a new 11C-labeled PET radioligand for metabotropic glutamate receptors 1 in brain

Purpose Two allosteric modulators of the group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluR1 and mGluR5) were evaluated as positron emission tomography (PET) radioligands for mGluR1.
RISCBOT: A WWW-Enabled Mobile Surveillance and Identification Robot

This article describes RISCBOT (RISCBOT name has been derived from RISC lab and `bot' of robot, a modular 802.11 b-enabled mobile autonomous robot built at the RISC lab of the University of Bridgeport. RISCBOT localizes itself and successfully fulfills www --- enabled online user requests and navigates to various rooms, employing a visual recognition algorithm. This article describes the mechanical design, hardware and software algorithms of the robot, and the web-based interface for communicating with the robot.
Conditional alleles of Msx1 and Msx2.

The msh-related homeobox genes, Msx1 and Msx2, have a variety functions during murine organogenesis, Msx1 in the development of the palate and teeth, Msx2 in the skull, teeth, and skin. Msx1 mutants die perinatally. Compound Msx1-2 mutants do not survive past late gestation. The multiplicity of functions of Msx1 and 2, as well as the lethality of Msx1 and Msx1-2 mutants limits the utility of the conventional knockouts. We therefore produced conditional alleles of Msx1 and Msx2. We constructed targeting vectors with LoxP sites flanking the homeodomain-encoding second exons and Frt sites flanking a neo gene. These vectors were used to produce targeted ES cells and mice with floxed alleles. The functionality of the LoxP sites in the floxed alleles was established by crosses with K14-Cre mice (epidermis-specific), and with an Msx2-Cre line that produces a germline deletion. Analysis of progeny by PCR revealed correct Cre-mediated recombination, as well as expected phenotypes. genesis 45:477–481, 2007. Published 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.