cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Yeast and Mold Counts by Spiral, Pour, and Streak Plate Methods

Foods with naturally occurring yeast and mold were used in a comparative study of 4 plating techniques. Oats, green beans, and cheese were incubated for 3 and 5 days at 25 degrees C. Although 3 days of incubation would be sufficient for yeast, 5 days were necessary for the mold count. The percent recovery of yeast and molds by the spiral and streak methods ranged from 200 to 357% compared with the pour plating method described in the Bacteriological Analytical manual (BAM). The spiral method had the highest overall recovery and the lowest replicate plating error.
The Hidden Economics of Telemedicine

This issue contains a position paper from the American College of Physicians on telemedicine. The editorialist discusses this paper and how telemedicine will awaken us to many things that we believ...
Graduated nonconvexity algorithm for image estimation using compound Gauss Markov field models

The authors describe the development of a deterministic algorithm for obtaining the global maximum a posteriori probability (MAP) estimate from an image corrupted by additive Gaussian noise. The MAP algorithm requires the probability density function of the original undegraded image and the corrupting noise. It is assumed that the original image is represented by a compound model consisting of a 2-D noncausal Gaussian-Markov random field (GMRF) to represent the homogeneous regions and a line process model to represent the discontinuities. The MAP algorithm is written in terms of the compound GMRF model parameters. The solution to the MAP equations is realized by a deterministic relaxation algorithm that is an extension of the graduated nonconvexity (GNC) algorithm and finds the global MAP estimate in a small number of iterations. As a byproduct, the line process configuration determined by the MAP estimate produces an accurate edge map without any additional cost. Experimental results are given to illustrate the usefulness of the method. >
Use of heme reporters for studies of cytochrome biosynthesis and heme transport.

Strains of Escherichia coli containing mutations in the cydDC genes are defective for synthesis of the heme proteins cytochrome bd and c-type cytochromes. The cydDC genes encode a putative heterodimeric ATP-binding cassette transporter that has been proposed to act as an exporter of heme to the periplasm. To more fully understand the role of this transporter (and other factors) in heme protein biosynthesis, we developed plasmids that produce various heme proteins (e.g., cytochrome b5, cytochrome b562, and hemoglobin) in the periplasm of E. coli. By using these reporters, it was shown that the steady-state levels of polypeptides of heme proteins known to be stable without heme (e.g., cytochrome b5 and hemoglobin apoprotein) are significantly reduced in a cydC mutant. Exogenous addition of hemin to the cydC mutant still resulted in < 10% of wild-type steady-state levels of apohemoglobin in the periplasm. Since the results of heme reporter studies are not consistent with lower heme availability (i.e., heme export) in a cydC mutant, we analyzed other properties of the periplasm in cydC mutants and compared them with those of the periplasm in cydAB (encoding cytochrome bd) mutants and wild-type cells. Our results led us to favor a hypothesis whereby cydDC mutants are defective in the reduction environment within the periplasmic space. Such an imbalance could lead to defects in the synthesis of heme-liganded proteins. The heme reporters were also used to analyze strains of E. coli with a defect in genes encoding homologs of a different ABC transporter (helABC). The helABC genes have previously been shown to be required for the assembly of c-type cytochromes in Rhodobacter capsulatus (R. G. Kranz, J. Bacteriol. 171:456-464, 1989; D. L. Beckman, D. R. Trawick, and R. G. Kranz, Genes Dev. 6:268-283, 1992). This locus was shown to be essential in E. coli for endogenous cytochrome c biogenesis but not cytochrome b562 synthesis. Consistent with these and previous results, it is proposed that the HelABC transporter is specifically involved in heme export for ligation (hel). This class of periplasmic cytochromes is proposed to require heme liganding before undergoing correct folding.
Achievable position resolution of an alpha detector with continuous spatial response for use in associated particle imaging

Deuterium-Tritium (D-T) neutron generators have seen increasing use as high energy neutron sources tor active, nondestructive assay in arms control, treaty verification, and nuclear and homeland security applications. The D-T reaction produces a 3.5 MeV alpha and a 14.1 MeV neutron that travel in opposite directions, which facilitates transmission and stimulated fission tomography to reconstruct images of inspection objects and closed containers to infer isotopic and geometric information. However, the accuracy of this information is controlled by image quality, which is directly dependent on the performance of the detectors used to detect the neutron and its associated alpha. This work presents improved spatial performance for an associated particle detector by using a thin sapphire window as the D-T generators optical-vacuum medium and reading a position sensitive photosensor with a continuous spatial response. Measurements of achievable position resolution were performed with a custom vacuum chamber and flange for a 2 mm thick sapphire window that mimicked the neutron generators alpha detector interface. Measurements were used to validate detailed, light transport simulations that were then used to optimize light sharing over the multi-anode PMT by parameterizing the thickness of the sapphire window. A position resolution <0.5 mm was demonstrated, which is a factor of 3 times improvement over what has previously been demonstrated by associated particle detector designs that pixelate monolithic scintillators with a slotted light guide. This gain in position resolution showed good agreement with light transport simulations. Achievable position resolution is shown for different sapphire window thicknesses and the benefits of this designs implementation into D-T neutron generators are presented.
Convergent Compilation Applied to Loop Unrolling

Well-engineered compilers use a carefully selected set of optimizations, heuristic optimization policies, and a phase ordering. Designing a single optimization heuristic that works well with other optimization phases is a challenging task. Although compiler designers evaluate heuristics and phase orderings before deployment, compilers typically do not statically evaluate nor refine the quality of their optimization decisions during a specific compilation. This paper identifies a class of optimizations for which the compiler can statically evaluate the effectiveness of its heuristics and phase interactions. When necessary, it then modifies and reapplies its optimization policies. We call this approach convergent compilation, since it iterates to converge on high quality code. This model incurs additional compilation time to avoid some of the difficulties of predicting phase interactions and perfecting heuristics This work was motivated by the TRIPS architecture which has resource constraints that have conflicting phase order requirements. For example, each atomic execution unit (a TRIPS block) has a maximum number of instructions (128) and a fixed minimum execution time cost. Loop unrolling and other optimizations thus seek to maximize the number of mostly full blocks. Because unrolling enables many downstream optimizations, it needs to occur well before code generation, but this position makes it impossible to accurately predict the final number of instructions. After the compiler generates code, it knows the exact instruction count and consequently if it unrolled too much or too little or just right. If necessary, convergent unrolling then goes back and adjusts the unroll amount accordingly and reapplies subsequent optimization phases. We implement convergent unrolling which automatically matches the best hand unrolled version for a set of microbenchmarks on the TRIPS architectural simulator. Convergent compilation can help solve other phase ordering and heuristic tuning compilation challenges. It is particularly well suited for resource constraints that the compiler can statically evaluate such as register usage, instruction level parallelism, and code size. More importantly, these resource constraints are key performance indicators in embedded, VLIW, and partitioned hardware and indicate that convergent compilation should be broadly applicable.
Filling a Void

Random gel networks formed from chalcogenide clusters and metal ions can selectively remove heavy metal ions from water.
Bearing Capacity Tests on Reinforced Earth Slabs

Results are presented for some 65 bearing capacity tests using a 3-in. (75-mm) wide strip footing on sand reinforced with strips of aluminum foil. Three foundation conditions are considered: (1) Uniform density sand to large depth; (2) sand overlying an extensive soft layer; and (3) sand overlying a potential cavern or localized weak pocket. The vertical spacing and concentration of reinforcing layers were varied to obtain the optimum arrangement for each condition. The data show that considerable benefit may be obtained in both load settlement and ultimate bearing capacity by use of a modest amount of reinforcing.
Palette: A Reuse-Oriented Specification Language for Real-Time Systems

We present Palette, a reusable specification language for real-time control systems. Palette is a meta-language that is programming language independent and has generic, reusable functional abstractions that can be customized to construct a real-time system in a given context. The abstractions allow modeling of the interactions of the system with its physical environment, including the specification of data and event stream properties, and allow expression of quality of service (QoS) requirements such as timeliness and survivability. Palette supports mechanisms that allow construction of new abstractions from existing ones. The set of reusable, domain specific abstractions provided by the language thus serves as an implementation vehicle for constructing new real-time control systems—promoting reuse-in-the-large—or enhance existing systems within the domain by reusing individual components—promoting reuse-in-the-small. Further, the abstractions of the language support underlying mechanisms for ensuring QoS requirements are achieved. This promotes reuse of QoS management solutions, techniques, and infrastructures.
Perceiving the Actions of Other People

What is responsible for the commonality of perception across individuals? This article examines this question from an ecological perspective, beginning with Gibson's (1979/1986) conception of the optic array, which establishes that information about the world is public, that is, available to any observer. Experiments on sitting, bipedal climbing, stepping across gaps, and reaching showed that observers were able to perceive critical action boundaries for other people as accurately as they did for themselves. For each action the obtained critical boundaries were invariant across diverse actors when expressed in terms of relevant aspects of the prospective actor's body scale. This was true when observers judged their own action capabilities as well as when they judged the capabilities of other people. Two additional experiments examined observers' ability to perceive someone else's intention from seeing another person's actions. These experiments provide additional support for Runeson and Frykholm's (1981, ...
Min-power strong connectivity

Given a directed simple graph G = (V,E) and a cost function c: E → R+, the power of a vertex u in a directed spanning subgraph H is given by pH(u) = maxuv∈E(H) c(uv), and corresponds to the energy consumption required for wireless node u to transmit to all nodes v with uv∈E(H). The power of H is given by p(H) = Σu∈V pH(u). Power Assignment seeks to minimize p(H) while H satisfies some connectivity constraint. In this paper, we assume E is bidirected (for every directed edge e ∈ E, the opposite edge exists and has the same cost), while H is required to be strongly connected. This is the original power assignment problem introduce in 1989 and since then the best known approximation ratio is 2 and is achieved by a bidirected minimum spanning tree. We improve this to 2 - e for a small e > 0. We do this by combining techniques from Robins-Zelikovsky (2000) for Steiner Tree, Christofides (1976) for Metric Travelling Salesman, and Caragiannis, Flammini, and Moscardelli (2007) for the broadcast version of Power Assignment, together with a novel property on T-joins in certain two edge-connected hypergraphs. With the restriction that c: E → {A,B}, where 0 ≤ A < B, we improve the best known approximation ratio from 1.8 to π2/6-1/36+e ≤ 1.61 using an adaptation of the algorithm developed by Khuller, Raghavachari, and Young (1995,1996) for (unweighted) Minimum Strongly Connected Subgraph.
Morphological Analysis of Random Sets an Introduction

This paper provides a brief introduction to the problem of processing random shapes by means of mathematical morphology. Compatibility issues with mathematical morphology suggest that shapes should be modeled as random closed sets. This approach however is limited by theoretical and practical difficulties. Morphological sampling is used to transform a random closed set into a much simpler discrete random set. It is argued that morphological sampling of a random closed set is a sensible thing to do in practical situations. The paper concludes by reviewing three useful random set models.
Raman spectroscopy of iron molybdate catalyst systems

Abstract Iron molybdates (mixed oxides of iron and molybdenum) are used to effect the partial oxidation of methanol to formaldehyde. In the present work, Raman spectroscopy was used to characterize supported mixed iron/molybdenum oxide catalysts. These supported catalysts were prepared by impregnation of silica and alumina with solutions of ferric nitrate and ammonium molybdate. The Raman spectroscopic studies were employed to obtain information about the influence of variations in the preparation protocol on the properties of the final catalysts. The spectra were indicative of surface enrichment of one species [(MoO3 or Fe2(MoO4)3)] and also provided evidence for catalyst-support interactions.
Video caching network for on-demand video streaming

Previous years have seen a tremendous growth in streaming continuous media such as videos over the Internet, resulting in an enormous increase in the demand on various server and networking resources. To minimize service delays and reduce the loads placed on these resources, we propose a video caching network (VCN) that utilizes an aggregated cache space of distributed systems along the delivery path between the server and the users for caching popular videos. VCN is set up and adjusted dynamically according to users' locations and request patterns. Our simulation results indicate that VCN outperforms the video proxy approach by a significant margin.
Morphologic changes in chicken cells after in vitro exposure to Mycoplasma gallisepticum.

SUMMARY. Mycoplasma gallisepticum (MG) was used to expose chicken peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs), red blood cells (RBCs), heterophils, and chicken tumor cells (MSB-1 and HD-11 cells). Incubation of PBLs with MG for 3 hr resulted in extensive clumping of lymphocytes. Incubation of the MSB-1 cells with MG also caused clumping of the cells, with many of the cells showing perforations and others showing capping of the surface projections. Incubation of RBCs with MG resulted in an altered cell surface morphology, a decrease in cell size, and perforation. There were no discernible changes on the surface of the heterophils and the HD-11 cells. However, the HD-11 cells appeared to have a decreased ability to attach to the surface of the plastic and to have a decreased ability to respond to chemoattractant fMLP after 24 hr of incubation. These results suggest that, under the conditions used, MG caused certain damage to peripheral blood cells and a significant decrease in chemotactic response in the HD-11 cells.
In Vitro Antibiotic Resistance Profiles of Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale Strains Isolated from Minnesota Turkeys During 1996–2002

Abstract Antimicrobial resistance in nearly all human and animal pathogens is on the increase. In poultry, Ornithobacterium rhinotracheale has been identified as a newly emerging respiratory bacterial pathogen that has caused significant economic losses to the poultry industry. In this study, we examined in vitro antibiotic resistance profiles of 125 isolates of O. rhinotracheale isolated from turkeys in Minnesota during 1996–2002. A majority of isolates was sensitive to clindamycin, erythromycin, spectinomycin, and ampicillin. Resistance against sulfachloropyridiazine decreased from 1996 to 2002, but an increase in resistance was seen against gentamicin, ampicillin, trimethoprim sulfa, and tetracycline. The annual trend slopes for these antibiotics were 7.36%, 3.02%, 2.43%, and 1.95%, respectively. The resistance against penicillin remained constant from year to year with a trend slope of only 0.54% per year. These results emphasize the need for continued monitoring of O. rhinotracheale isolates for anti...
Vetiver grass is capable of removing TNT from soil in the presence of urea.

Abstract The high affinity of vetiver grass for 2,4,6 trinitrotoluene (TNT) and the catalytic effectiveness of urea in enhancing plant uptake of TNT in hydroponic media we earlier demonstrated were further illustrated in this soil-pot-experiment. Complete removal of TNT in urea-treated soil was accomplished by vetiver at the low initial soil-TNT concentration (40 mg kg −1 ), masking the effect of urea. Doubling the initial TNT concentration (80 mg kg −1 ) significantly ( p p = 0.475) change in the soil-TNT concentrations was observed over a period of 48 days, suggesting that natural attenuation of soil TNT could not explain the documented TNT disappearance from soil.
Neurodevelopmental disorders: Clinical criteria for Rett syndrome

Advances in the clinical and genetic understanding of Rett syndrome have meant that existing diagnostic guidelines for this neurodevelopmental disorder need to be revisited. New clinical criteria for the diagnosis of Rett syndrome by Neul and colleagues are welcome, but should more prominence be given to molecular diagnosis?
Identification of a non-junction phosphodiester that influences an autolytic processing reaction of RNA

Oligoribonucleotides with specific sequences derived from the satellite RNA of tobacco ringspot virus undergo autolytic cleavage at the CpA phosphodiester that is the junction between unit sequences of multimeric satellite RNA. Buzayan et al. (Nucleic Acids Res., 16, 4009-4023 (1988)) showed that an oligoribonucleotide with 97 satellite RNA-derived nucleotide residues self-cleaved with greatly reduced efficiency when it was synthesized in vitro from adenosine-5'-O-(1-thiotriphosphate) (abbreviated rATP alpha S) and three rNTPs. No other substitution of one rNTP by the corresponding rNTP alpha S had this effect, suggesting that a phosphorothioate CpA junction inhibits self-cleavage. Here, we replaced the usual CpA junction of a small self-cleaving oligoribonucleotide with a CpU junction. Self-cleavage of this molecule was reduced not only by rUTP alpha S-substitution, as expected, but also by partial and complete rATP alpha S-substitution. By analysis of the locations of rAMPS residues in cleavage products derived from partially rATP alpha S-substituted oligoribonucleotides, we identified A26 as the residue contributing the non-junction phosphorothioate diester that most strongly inhibited self-cleavage. Manganese ions strongly stimulated the self-cleavage of the rATP alpha S-substituted, CpU-junction oligoribonucleotide but was less effective when the junction was CpA.
Seasonal changes in testicular histology of three species of the lizard genus Uma

Desert-dwelling male Uma notata, U. inornata and U. scoparia were autopsied monthly from 1959 through 1962. Seasonal changes in the histological morphology of the testes were observed. A series of eight stages, indicating these changes in spermatogenic activity, was established. These categories arbitrarily divide a continuous process into several recognizable stages. Present evidence indicates that male breeding cycles can be determined rather precisely by examining any of several reproductive features. Data from several sources reveal that the male breeding season of U. scoparia is shorter than that of U. notata or U. inornata. Nevertheless, the testes of all three species appear to function reproductively during the hottest month of the year. Possible explanations for this ability are suggested. Little difference was observed in the time the seminiferous tubules of U. notata testes reached full breeding condition (stage 6) following dry winters. This is in contrast to the time motile sperm appeared at the cloacal end of the vas deferens in these animals. Thus is appears that the major cause of postponement in male U. notata reproductive activity following dry winters is due to a delay in sperm reaching the vas deferens rather than a retardation in sperm production.
A Dimensionality Reduction Technique Based on a Least Squared Error Criterion

A method of achieving dimensionality reduction is presented. The reduced dimensionality is achieved by utilizing a least squared error technique under the assumption that the goodness criterion is the maximum separation of classes. The criterion is met by first maximizing the spread of the cluster centers, and then minimizing the within class scatter. The derivation of the desired transformation from an arbitrary p-space to a space of lower dimension, say l, is completed with the assumption that the cluster centers are known. The criterion for the cluster center location is the minimization of the variance of the distance between the cluster center and the transformed pattern. It is demonstrated that the resulting cluster center set is similar to the simplex signal set in communication theory, which is a minimum energy signal set.
Street-running LRT may not affect a neighbour's sleep

Abstract A comprehensive dynamic finite difference model and analysis was conducted simulating LRT running at the speed of 24 km/h on a city street. The analysis predicted ground borne vibration (GBV) to remain at or below the FTA criterion of a RMS velocity of 72 VdB (0.004 in/s) at the nearest residence. In the model, site-specific stratography and dynamic soil and rock properties were used that were determined from in situ testing. The dynamic input load from LRT vehicle running at 24 km/h was computed from actual measured data from Portland, Oregon's West Side LRT project, which used a low floor vehicle similar to the one proposed for the NJ Transit project. During initial trial runs of the LRT system, vibration and noise measurements were taken at three street locations while the vehicles were running at about the 20–24 km/h operating speed. The measurements confirmed the predictions and satisfied FTA criteria for noise and vibration for frequent events. This paper presents the analytical model, GBV predictions, site measurement data and comparison with FTA criterion.
Ignition of particle suspensions by radiant emission from bounding walls

In a previous paper [1] a model was developed for predicting the stationary thermal ignition of a heat-generating particle suspension dominated by radiative heat transfer and bounded by emitting and diffusely reflecting walls. This model allowed for multiple, anisotropic scattering, as well as a highly nonlinear, diffusion-limited, Arrhenius heat generation rate. It was found that the particle suspension could ignite only if its optical thickness exceeded a critical value which depends on the temperature and reflectivity of the bounding wails, and that the ignition is quite sensitive to the numerical values of the parameters in the heat generation model [2]. However, in this earlier investigation, the simultaneous stationary solution of the energy balance and radiative transfer equations was obtained by an iterative numerical procedure which assumed an initial large positive value for the scattered and thermally emitted radiation in the suspension. This initial radiation source thus served as the ignition source. In this communication, two extreme cases for ignition of a particle suspension are considered. In one case, ignition of the particle suspension is
Curvature-Dependent Localization of the Bacterial Cytoskeleton Drives De Novo Morphogenesis in Escherichia Coli

A peptidoglycan cell wall determines the shape of nearly all bacteria. The cell wall, along with the shape that it adopts, is crucial to cellular physiology. The mechanical integrity and morphology of the cell wall is determined by the spatiotemporal patterning of cell wall synthesis; therefore a rod-shaped cell such as Escherichia coli faces the challenge of coordinating the nanoscale proteins responsible for peptidoglycan synthesis to construct a micron-scale sacculus. What are the principles that allow cell wall synthesis proteins to establish order over a range of length scales spanning nearly three orders of magnitude? We approached this question by examining the process of reversion in cell-wall-deficient ‘L-forms’ of E. coli, in which cell-wall synthesis has disrupted by beta-lactam antibiotics. An L-form undergoing reversion begins in a spherical shape without an intact cell wall. When cell wall synthesis inhibiting antibiotics are removed, the cell generates newrod-shaped protrusions, which eventually undergo septation and adopt the normal rod morphology of E. coli. The reversion of L-forms thus provides on opportunity to study morphogenesis in bacteria lacking an intact cell wall. We therefore investigated the morphological dynamics of the reversion process in L-forms of E. coli, and simultaneously imaged the localization of MreB, a bacterial actin required for the rod-like morphology of many bacteria. We found that MreB localizes to negatively curved regions of the cell (e.g. invaginations), and furthermore targets cell wall synthesis to those regions. Our results therefore suggest a model in which the localization of MreB in response to geometric cues is crucial to morphogenesis in E. coli.
Diverse Trafficking Patterns Due to Multiple Traffic Motifs in G Protein-Activated Inwardly Rectifying Potassium Channels from Brain and Heart

Abstract G protein-activated inwardly rectifying potassium channels (Kir3, GIRK) provide an important mechanism for neurotransmitter regulation of membrane excitability. GIRK channels are tetramers containing various combinations of Kir3 subunits (Kir3.1–Kir3.4). We find that different combinations of Kir3 subunits exhibit a surprisingly complex spectrum of trafficking phenotypes. Kir3.2 and Kir3.4, but not Kir3.1, contain ER export signals that are important for plasma membrane expression of Kir3.1/Kir3.2 and Kir3.1/Kir3.4 heterotetramers, the GIRK channels found in the brain and the heart, respectively. Additional motifs in Kir3.2 and Kir3.4 control the trafficking between endosome and plasma membrane. In contrast, the Kir3.3 subunit potently inhibits plasma membrane expression by diverting the heterotetrameric channels to lysosomes. Such rich trafficking behaviors provide a mechanism for dynamic regulation of GIRK channel density in the plasma membrane.
Detection of apoptotic gene expression in human osteoblast-like cells by cDNA microarrays.

Global gene expression during the induction of ion pair-mediated apoptosis was evaluated by an apoptosis microarray system. Human bone marrow stromal cells were cultured in the presence of 10−6 M dexamethasone to promote osteogenesis. After 28 days, these cells expressed elevated alkaline phosphatase activity and maintained Cbfa1 expression even when challenged with an apoptogen. Apoptosis was initiated by treating cells with 3 mM Ca2+ and 5 mM Pi for 4 h. 32P-Labeled mRNA was hybridized to a human apoptosis microarray containing 205 cDNA fragments. We found that apoptosis influenced the expression of 15 genes mainly involved in cell cycle and cell signaling. These genes included IGFBPs and ERK1, known to play a role in cell survival; GST and GST mu, required for maintenance of thiol redox; TNFR1, a gene product that initiates cell death; and finally, BAD, a gene that encodes a proapoptotic protein. Real-time PCR analysis showed that the expression of ERK1, TNFR1, and GST was modulated by 1.89-, 2.66-, and 1.6 fold after 4 h and by 1-, 1.91-, and 1.5 fold, respectively, after 8 h treatment with the ion pair. In addition, we also measured the expression of Bcl-2 and Bax by quantitative RT-PCR. We noted that these two genes were increased 3.07 and 2.99 fold, respectively, after 8 h treatment with the apoptogen. Results of this study suggest that the ion pair influenced ERK1 and TNFR1 signaling pathways and affected thiol metabolism, whereas Bcl-2 and Bax were expressed at late stages of the death process.
An iterated beam search algorithm for the multi-level production smoothing problem with workload smoothing goal

This paper is concerned with a generalised version of the production smoothing problem. The problem involves both usage and loading goals at multiple levels. Three existing heuristic approaches, namely the one-stage (1SH), two-stage (2SH) and earliest-due-date (EDD) heuristics are adapted, as well as a novel iterated beam search (IBS) algorithm is proposed to solve the problem. An extensive computational study is designed in the paper and used to compare the four heuristic approaches. The results show that IBS finds the best solution in the majority of test instances and requires less computation time than 2SH.
Ultrasound Mammographic-Histopathologic Correlation:

A simple technique for the production of ultrasound mammograms employing unmodified commercially available B-scanners has been developed. Specific image criteria of breast lesions were correlated with the histopathologic appearances of the tissue. Special connective tissue stains were employed. The thickness and echogenicity of the breast tumor border correlated with the level of surrounding collagenosis and tumor invasion. The acoustic attenuation of breast tumors was qualitatively proportional to the amount of collagen within the tumor. The accuracies of specific image criteria for the diagnosis of carcinoma were determined. Water-lipid interfaces appear to be important in the production of echoes from within breast tissue and at the tumor margin.
Chinese American Adults' Relationship with Their Parents

This investigation examines the relationship between Chinese American adults and their parents. A group of 143 American- and foreign-born Chinese Americans residing in San Francisco participated in the study. Contact with parents was found to be very frequent (two to three times a week), and was primarily mediated by geographic proximity. Immigrant women maintained significantly more frequent contact with their parents than American-born women. Intimacy was primarily predicted by respondent's understanding of his/her mother. Implications of the findings are discussed.
John Vetch and the Egyptian ophthalmia

During the Napoleonic Wars from 1798-1815, severe epidemics of keratoconjunctivitis affected the military and civilian populations of Western Europe. This disease was known as the Egyptian ophthalmia because it was first described in troops stationed in Egypt. Most physicians believed this condition was not infectious, but caused by various climatological factors. John Vetch, a British physician, emphasized that this disease was spread by direct conveyance of pus from the diseased to the healthy eye. His insistence that the ophthalmia was contagious, and his suggestions for prevention and treatment were milestones in the history of ophthalmology.
Honey as an environmental marker.

Abstract Contents of Zn, Cd and Pb in honey samples (15) from the Pomeranian region were determined by atomic absorption spectrometer AAS. The mean values for Zn, Cd and Pb were 7.76, 0.015 and 0.048 mg/kg, respectively. Also determined in the honey samples were invert sugar, sucrose, HMF, diastase activity, pH, electrical conductivity, moisture and mechanical pollutions. Pomeranian honeys were of good quality, but they were not free of heavy metals. Results suggested that honey may be useful for assessing the presence of environmental contaminants.
Glassy Polymeric Carbon Resistivity as a Function of Carbon Nanotubes

Glassy Polymeric Carbon (GPC) is a material widely used because of its high temperature properties, inertness and biocompatibility [1]. GPC samples were prepared from a phenolic resin, cured in a careful process at 100 °C and pyrolyzed to 1000 °C. In this work, we have introduced 3wt%, 10wt%, and 20 wt% of Carbon Nano Tubes (CNT) in the precursor resin to study the evolution of the electrical conductivities of the nanocomposite as a function of the CNT concentration.
A small dopamine permeability of storage vesicle membranes and end product inhibition of tyrosine hydroxylase are sufficient to explain changes occurring in dopamine synthesis and storage after inhibition of neuron firing

Computer simulations of dopamine (DA) regulation at a striatal varicosity were developed to determine basic principles that explain the pattern of changes in level of neurotransmitter and its rate of synthesis and metabolism when DA neuron firing is inhibited. The models suggest that DA synthesis is normally at a slower rate because of end-product inhibition of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) by cytosolic DA. The vast majority of DA in the cytosol arrives there via "recycling"--DA that was released during an exocytotic event is moved into the cytosol via the dopamine transporter (DAT). When neuronal firing is inhibited, the amount of cytosolic DA markedly decreases as there is no recycling. The rate of DA synthesis then increases because of the loss of end-product inhibition of TH. The newly synthesized DA is stored in vesicles, thus increasing the total amount of DA in the vesicles. A small amount of DA is continually leaking out of vesicles, and the amount leaking out increases proportionally to the amount of DA in vesicles. When the amount of DA leaking out balances the amount being stored by the vesicular monoamine transporter, DA accumulates in the cytosol. The accumulating DA inhibits TH activity, and the system enters a steady state condition characterized by approximately double the normal amount of DA in vesicles and approximately normal rate of DA synthesis and metabolism.
THE EFFECTS OF FLOODING ON THE TRANSPIRATION AND SURVIVAL OF SOME SOUTHEASTERN FOREST TREE SPECIES.

species is modified by periodic flooding of the soil. There appear to be distinct differences between species with respect to the amount of flooding which they will tolerate. Overcup oak, for example, often occurs on areas which are flooded for considerable periods of time during the year, but northern red oak usually occurs only on the better drained sites. Cypress commonly grows on flooded soil, but loblolly pine seldom occurs in such wet locations. Presumably the roots of some species are more susceptible to injury from the lack of oxygen and excess of carbon dioxide found in flooded soils, and injury to the roots usually results in decreased absorption of water and minerals and in damage to the shoots. Since very few measurements of the effect of flooding the soil on forest trees have been made, a study was planned on potted seedlings. It was assumed that injury to the roots by flooding would be indicated by a decrease in transpiration resulting from decreased water absorption. Measurement of transpiration should therefore indicate the extent of injury to the roots caused by flooding. The species used and their origin were as follows : Loblolly pine, Pinus taeda, L., North Carolina. Red cedar, Juniperus virginiana, L., North Carolina. Cypress, Taxodium distichum, (L.) Richard, South Carolina. White oak, Quercus alba, L., North Carolina. Swamp chestnut oak, Quercus prinus, L., Tennessee. Red oak, Q. borealis, var. maxima (Marsh.) Ashe, North Carolina. Overcup oak, Q. lyrata, Walt., Tennessee. Dogwood, Cornus florida, L., North Carolina. All of these seedlings except cypress had been grown out-of-doors in clay pots for two years and were about 16 inches tall. The cypress was brought from the Coastal Plain about four months before the experiments were started and kept out-of-doors in clay pots until used.
Endogenous prostaglandins modulate lipolytic processes in adipose tissue.

Specific prostaglandin antagonists have been used to show that endogenous prostaglandins are concerned with the regulation of basal and hormone-induced lipolysis.
Teacher research in urban Philadelphia: twenty years working within, against, and beyond the system

This article takes the history of teacher research in one large urban school district over a period of 20 years as a telling case of the intensely local character of this work. Beginning with an overview of the variations and different conceptions of teacher research in the USA, we argue that teacher research is continually being invented and reinvented by participants in the movement and is strongly informed by local conditions, agendas and epistemologies. Using a multi‐voiced text juxtaposed with published accounts, focused interviews and institutional histories, the narrative highlights work in three time periods, showing how teacher research has been within, against, and beyond the system, explicitly embedded in larger and local social and political contexts. The defining characteristic of teacher research in Philadelphia has been its primary commitment to improving the life chances of urban students and schools in a complex, embattled, and continually restructuring system. Although teacher researcher...
Active sites of solid acidic catalysts: III. Infrared study of the water gas conversion reaction on alumina

The alumina-catalyzed water gas reaction in either direction, i.e., the reaction of carbon dioxide with molecular hydrogen and the reverse reaction of carbon monoxide with water were monitored by IR spectroscopy at steady state and 200/sup 0/-600/sup 0/C. Surface formate species were detected in both reactions. The formate concentrations were reproducible after the temperature was varied over a wide range and responded rapidly to pressure changes, which indicated that the surface fromate ions are in equilibrium with the reactants in both reactions. There was a linear relationship between formate concentration and reaction rates for both reactions, but below 500/sup 0/C, the rate vs. concentration plot did not go through the origin. This result suggested that a part of the formate ions were strongly adsorbed and did not participate in the reaction. A study of the formate decomposition rate in the presence and absence of water showed that the decomposition controls the over-all rate of the carbon monoxide/water reaction and also the carbon dioxide/molecular hydrogen reaction rate in the absence of water. With water present, the rate-controlling step in the latter reaction was formate ion formation.
Functionalized europium oxide nanoparticles used as a fluorescent label in an immunoassay for atrazine

A method for simply and cheaply preparing inorganic phosphor nanoparticles of Eu2O3 as labels in biology has been demonstrated with a simple microwave-assisted surface chemistry. The capping process adds a silane layer to the surface of the particles and provides amine groups that can be used for biological conjugation. The surface layer also protects the particles during conjugation chemistry. The particles retain their desirable optical properties that are typical of europium, that is, a spectrally narrow, red emission and a long fluorescence lifetime. The application of the nanoparticle labels in an immunoassay yields very good sensitivity in an immunoassay for atrazine (sub-parts-per-billion detection limit) without optimization of the detection system. The microwave functionalization technique will permit a broad range of inorganic nanophase phosphors to be used in high-throughput assays for environmental monitoring.
SU-FF-T-183: Application of a Gantry-Mounted Diode Array System for QA Dosimetry of High-Energy Photon Beams

Purpose: To investigate the utility of a commercial diode-array system mounted on the gantry of linear accelerators to perform relative QA dosimetry of photon beams at different gantry angles. Method and Materials: The diode-array Profiler (Sun Nuclear Corp.) was mounted on the head of the linac. Beam profiles were measured at multiple gantry angles for 6 and 10 MV photon beams. Flatness, asymmetry, and central-axis relative output were determined. Dynamically-wedged (EDW) profiles were measured at various gantry positions for different wedge angles. For a given EDW field, the speed of the Y-jaw motion was varied by changing the number of MUs for studying the effect of jaw speed on the EDW profile. The potential effects of gravity and leaf speed on the dynamic delivery of MLC-based IMRT beams were also investigated. The IMRT fields were designed such that the MLC leaves move against or along gravity when the linac gantry is at horizontal position. The MLC leaf speed was varied by changing the total MU. Results: (1) The gantry angle has no influence on the flatness, asymmetry, and the central-axis output of the clinical beams. (2) Our data validated the delivery of EDW treatments at any gantry position. (3) For IMRT fields, the beam profiles are accurately reproduced at any gantry angle for all leaf speeds. No gravity effect on dMLC delivery was observed. However, the diode-array system was able to detect a difference of about 3% in beam profiles produced by leafs traveling in opposite directions at a high leaf speed of 2.5 cm/sec, attributable to the communication time lag between MLC controller and the Linac beam control but not to gravity. Conclusion: The gantry-mounted linear diode array Profiler is an efficient tool for performing QA of basic beam characteristics, EDWs, and dMLC, especially at different gantry angles.
Use of a geographic information system to determine appropriate means of trauma patient transport

Objective: To determine whether a geographic information system (GIS) and historical transport data can be used to create a map that identifies locations (zones) from which either ambulance or helicopter transport will result in shorter out-of-hospital times. Methods: A retrospective, cross-sectional review of a trauma registry was conducted in a two-county region served by a single trauma center. Data were gathered for all patients transported directly to the trauma center between 1993 and 1996. Incident locations and times from first 911 contact until arrival at the trauma center (out-of-hospital time) were extracted. A GIS was used to create a reference map with all incident locations plotted and given z-coordinates corresponding to out-of-hospital time. Two contour surfaces were interpolated: one for all helicopter transports and one for all ground transports. Areas where the helicopter surface was lower than the ambulance surface were designated air zones since helicopter transport resulted in shorter out-of-hospital times. The remaining area was designated a ground zone since ambulance transport resulted in shorter out-of-hospital times. The mean out-of-hospital times were calculated for each mode of transport in both zones and were compared using a two-tailed t-test. Results: An air zone was identified beginning between 5 and 16 miles from the trauma center. Mean (±SD) out-of-hospital time from the air zone was 50 ± 9 minutes for helicopter transport (n = 54) and 63 ± 14 minutes for ambulance transport (n = 140). The difference between the means was 13 minutes (p < 0.000001; 95% CI = 8.95 to 17.05). Mean out-of-hospital time from the ground zone was 68 ± 16 minutes for helicopter transport (n = 122) and 32 ± 14 minutes for ambulance transport (n = 2,047). The difference between the means was 36 minutes (p < 0.000001; 95% CI = 33.59 to 38.41). Conclusions: A GIS and historical transport data can be used to create a map identifying locations from which either helicopter or ambulance transport will minimize out-of-hospital time. Inappropriate choice of transport mode is associated with increased out-of-hospital time.
Animal Ceremonialism in Central California in the Light of Archaeology

ANIMAL CEREMONIALISM IN CENTRAL CALIFORNIA IN THE LIGHT OF ARCHAEOLOGY By ROBERT F. HEIZER and GORDON W. HEWESl C ALIFORNIAN ethnological literature is replete with descriptions of ceremonial observances and treatments accorded various animals, living and dead. Notwithstanding the fact that special attitudes have ap­ parently. been developed by all peoples toward their local faunas, it appears that in California this phenomenon has been emphasized and specialized into what certain ethnographers have called cults. This general aspect of Californian ethnography has been recognized by numerous investigators. 2 Certain recently excavated archaeological sites in Central California have revealed evidence of ritual post-mortem treatment of animals. It is the purpose of this paper to determine whether and ·to what extent these may be interpreted through the application of ethnographic data. Californian culture has long been pointed out as a unique example of cultural conservatism. Historical reconstructions, using ethnographic data as a point of departure, have heretofore been limited to the extent that they had little archaeological evidence of physical and cultural types with which they might effect a correlation. This simple, uniform culture, assumed to have persisted in essentially the same form from earliest times to the present day, was the background against which the ethnographic culture was pro­ jected. The archaeology of the last few years, however, has been able to establish definitely a succession of physical and cultural types in Central California. 3 Early Sacramento, so far the oldest culture discernible in the central valley, occurs in highly compacted calcareous midden sites now almost submerged in the alluvium of this overflow region. Most striking in this horizon are burials fully extended, face down, heads oriented invariably to the west; the skulls are dolichocephalic, and the bones are permineral­ ized. Cremation is absent. Certain types of shell beads, bone and stone ob­ jects, are distinctive; the slab metate seems to be the characteristic grinding implement. In less calcareous and less compacted middens, and more widely distributed, the Transitional culture presents features linking it with the 1 The authors are indebed to the following for infonnation: J. B. Lillard, Franklin Fenenga and E. B. Niehaus of Sacramento, and to Dr Ann Gayton for unpublished Yokuts notes. 2 See especially: Merriam, 1908; Gifford, 1916, 1926; Barrett, 1917; Kroeber, 1925; Gayton, 1930. 2 Heizer and Fenenga, 1939. In this paper will be found a full description of the three cul­ tural horizons. See also, Lillard and Purves, 1937; Heizer, 1939; Kroeber, 1936, 1938; Lilliard, Heizer, and Fenenga, 1939.
Content Analysis of Video Games: Challenges and Potential Solutions

A handful of recent content analyses have explored video games to date, focusing primarily on violence and gender issues. Further work in this area is needed, but several methodological challenges must be addressed. In particular, scholars need to consider the problems of effectively unitizing and sampling interactive content, accounting for nonindependence. In addition, they need to improve coder training and take steps to mitigate potential bias in favor of hypothesized patterns. Existing work in the field is used to illustrate both problems and potential solutions involving these issues.