How hard is hard science, how soft is soft science? The empirical cumulativeness of research.

This article notes the parallels between methods used in the quantitative synthesis of research in the social and in the physical sciences. Essentially identical methods are used to test the consistency of research results in physics and in psychology. These methods can be used to compare the consistency of replicated research results in physics and in the social sciences. The methodology is illustrated with 13 exemplary reviews from each domain. The exemplary comparison suggests that the results of physical experiments may not be strikingly more consistent than those of social or behavioral experiments. The data suggest that even the results of physical experiments may not be cumulative in the absolute sense by statistical criteria. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The problem of hyperparamodulation

This article is the thirty-second of a series of articles discussing various open research problems in automated reasoning. The problem proposed for research asks one to find a variant of the inference rule hyperparamodulation that avoids generating many of the binary paramodulants ordinarily deduced.This work was supported by the Office of Scientific Computing, U.S. Department of Energy, under Contract W-31-109-Eng-38.     

Recursive Quantum Functions, Avoidable Points, & Shadow Points in Recursive Analysis

In this paper we summarize our approach and findings in a point-free setting for recursive topology and recursive analysis. Recursive analysis has received intensive attention recently and our approach, while differing from those of other schools, does have connections to them. Here, we also present some of our findings on quantum and total recursive functions on the reals, introduce our classification of nonrecursive points, and remark on the connections between our work and the works of others.     

Ascorbate and phenolic antioxidant interactions in prevention of liposomal oxidation

Efficient prevention of membrane lipid peroxidation by vitamin E (α-tocopherol) may involve its regeneration by vitamin C (ascorbate). Conceivably, the efficacy of antioxidants designed as therapeutic agents could be enhanced if a similar regeneration were favorable; thus, a model membrane system was developed which allowed assessment of interaction of phenolic antioxidants with ascorbate and ascorbyl-6-palmitate. Ascorbate alone (50–200 μM) potentiated oxidation of soybean phosphatidylcholine liposomes by Fe²⁺/histidine-Fe³⁺, an effect which was temporally related to reduction of Fe³⁺ generated during oxidation. Addition of 200 μM ascorbate to α-tocopherol-containing liposomes (0.1 mol%) resulted in marked, synergistic protection. Accordingly, in the presence but not absence of ascorbate, α-tocopherol levels were maintained relatively constant during Fe²⁺/histidine-Fe³⁺ exposure. Probucol (4,4′-[(1-methylethylidine)bis(thio)]bis[2,6-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl)]phenol), and antioxidant which prevents oxidation of low density lipoproteins, and its analogues MDL 27,968 (4,4′-[(1-methylethylidene)bis(thio)]-bis[2,6-dimethyl]phenol) and MDL 28,881 (2,6-bis(1,1-dimethylethyl)-4-[(3,7,11-trimethyldodecyl)thio]phenol) prevented oxidation but exhibited no synergy with ascorbate. Ascorbyl-6-palmitate itself was an effective antioxidant but did not interact synergistically with any of the phenolic antioxidants. Differential scanning calorimetry revealed significant differences among the antioxidants in their effect on the liquid-crystalline phase transition of dipalmitoyl phosphatidylcholine (DPPC) liposomes. Both α-tocopherol and MDL 27,968 significantly reduced the phase transition temperature and the enthalpy of the transition. MDL 28,881 had no effect while probucol was intermediate. The potential for ascorbate or its analogues to interact with phenolic antioxidants to provide a more effective antioxidant system appears to be dictated by structural features and by the location of the antioxidants in the membrane.     

Use of certain alcohol ethoxylates to maintain protease stability in the presence of anionic surfactants

Anionic surfactants, including linear alkylbenzene sulfonate (LAS), are known to decrease the stability of detergent proteases, possibly by hastening autoproteolytic processes. Thus, protease shelf life in enzyme-containing, heavy-duty liquid laundry detergents (HDL) is typically maintained by adding stabilizers, by limiting the level of interfering anionics, or by utilizing more compatible anionics, such as alcohol ethoxysulfates (AES). This study examines the stability of Savinase^® detergent protease in HDL formulations based on LAS and containing different alcohol ethoxylates (AE) for protection against protease inactivation. Dose response curves demonstrated that all commonly used anionic surfactants except AES promote loss of protease activity. In HDL formulations with equal percentage compositions of LAS and AE, the structure of the selected AE was found to have a profound influence on protease stability. Inclusion of AE with chain length ≥C₁₄ and ethoxylate levels >70% resulted in greater protease stability. HDL containing LAS and these protective AE could be formulated to achieve protease stability matching those of simulated commercial products. Unlike polyhydric stabilizers, the AE by themselves confer no additional stability to the protease. It is more likely that the stabilizing effect of the “protective” AE is due to decreased availability of LAS to the protease.     

Ontogeny of the acoustic startle response and sensitization to background noise in the rat.

The purpose of this study was to characterize the ontogeny of the acoustic startle response (ASR) and response sensitization to background noise in preweanling rats. Animals were tested daily from 11 to 21 days of age using one of four sets of background white noise levels [45–80 dB(A)]. With constant low-level (45 dB, SPL) background noise, response latency decreased steadily with age, whereas both response incidence and amplitude increased nonmonotonically with age. Two approaches were used to examine the ontogeny of sensitization to background noise: The first compared the ASR of animals tested at 75 dB background noise with ones tested at 45 dB; the second compared the ASR of animals tested at three background levels (30 dB range) within the test session. Sensitization was not evident before 15–26 days of age. By comparing these results with the results from naive animals, it was found that daily test experience does not alter ASR amplitude, latency, incidence, or the development of sensitization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The problem of extending the set of support strategy

This article is the third of a series of articles discussing various open research problems in automated reasoning. The problem proposed for research focuses on redefining or extending the definition of the set of support strategy so that the resulting strategy is as effective at all clause levels as it is at level 1. We include specific test problems for evaluating a proposed solution to this research problem.     

Construction of a Gene Bank of Streptococcus lactis Plasmid pLM2001 Deoxyribonucleic Acid in Escherichia coli

Plasmid pLM2001, which is essential for the fermentation of lactose by Streptococcus lactis LM0232, was isolated and cut into eight fragments with restriction endonuclease EcoRI. The deoxyribonucleic acid fragments ranged in size from approximately .8 to 10.3 kilobases as determined by agarose gel electrophoresis. EcoRI-restricted pLM-2001 deoxyribonucleic acid was shotgun cloned into the single EcoRI site of the multifunctional Escherichia coli-Streptococcus sanguis shuttle vector, pSA4, insertionally inactivating the chloroamphenicol resistance gene. Following transformation of the deoxyribonucleic acid into Escherichia coli HB101, 242 transformants containing chimeric plasmids were detected by their resistance to tetracycline and failure to grow in the presence of chloramphenicol. Plasma deoxyribonucleic acid from 98 transformants was cleaved with EcoRI and analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis for the presence of pLM2001 inserts. Clones were obtained, which individually contained each of the eight fragments. In addition, a series of clones containing various combinations of the fragments was obtained. The availability of a system for cloning and rapidly screening for fragments of Streptococcus lactis deoxyribonucleic acid under conditions where deletion of passenger or vector deoxyribonucleic acid does not occur will facilitate studies designed to isolate and characterize metabolically important genes carried by plasmids from the group N streptococci.