cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Structural and Electronic Properties for Chalcopyrite Semiconducting Materials Based on CuXS2 (X = In, Ga and Al): AB-Initio Computational Study

A theoretical study of structural and electronic properties of chalcopyrite semiconducting materials is presented using the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave method implemented in Wien2k computational package. In this approach, the Generalized Gradient approximation was used for exchange correlation potentials. Our interest in these semiconductor materials is motivated by their promising roles in the manufacture of thin-film solar cells because of their interesting structural and electronic properties.
1787-P: Insulin Pulse Characteristics Do Not Alter Hepatic Glucose Metabolism and Insulin Action

Insulin is secreted into the portal vein in a pulsatile manner. Portal vein insulin concentrations directly and rapidly alter endogenous glucose production (EGP). Pulse frequency has been inversely correlated with hepatic insulin action in some, but not all, human studies. Indeed, increased pulse disorderliness, decreased secretory burst mass and decreased pulse frequency have been observed in type 2 diabetes, in aging and in obesity. In dogs, disruption of pulsatile insulin secretion is associated with defects in hepatic insulin action. As part of a series of experiments examining the mechanisms underlying prediabetes, we studied 29 nondiabetic subjects (BMI 28 ± 1 Kg/m2) on 2 occasions. On one occasion, EGP was measured using [3-3H]glucose after an overnight fast (14.2 ± 0.5μmol/kg/min) and during a euglycemic clamp (6.8 ± 1.1μmol/kg/min). The deuterated water method was used to estimate the contribution of gluconeogenesis to EGP. On a separate study day we utilized nonparametric stochastic deconvolution of frequently sampled peripheral C-peptide concentrations during fasting to reconstruct portal insulin secretion. In addition to measuring basal and pulsatile insulin secretion, we used Approximate Entropy (ApEn) to measure orderliness and a Fourier transform to measure the average and the dispersion of insulin pulse frequency. The gradient of Loge EGP vs. Loge insulin in each individual (-1.2 ± 0.5) was used as a measure of hepatic insulin action. Basal secretion (126 ± 8 pmol/min, R2=0.04), pulse amplitude (41 ± 38 pmol/min, R2=0.02), ApEn (1.14 ± 0.03, R2=0.01), pulse interval (5.7 ± 0.4 min, R2 0.10) with hepatic insulin action. Suppression of gluconeogenesis by insulin also did not correlate with fasting insulin pulse characteristics. Overall, our data demonstrate that insulin pulse characteristics do not directly alter the sensitivity of EGP and gluconeogenesis to insulin in humans. Disclosure M.C. Laurenti: None. C. Dalla Man: Research Support; Self; Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH. R.T. Varghese: None. J. Jones: None. C. Barosa: None. R.A. Rizza: None. A. Matveyenko: None. G. De Nicolao: None. C. Cobelli: None. A. Vella: Advisory Panel; Self; vTv Therapeutics, Zealand Pharma A/S. Research Support; Self; Novo Nordisk A/S, Xeris Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Funding National Institutes of Health (DK78646, DK116231)
Home-Coming: Restoring a Theology of Place Within Christian Education

To be human is to dwell within a particular place—from the moment we are, we are “implaced.” Christian education, as person forming communities, should therefore seek to curate, cultivate and celebrate implacement, particularly in a contemporary age where a haunting sense of placelessness shapes our current generation. This chapter invites Christian educators and leaders to restore a theology of place within the academy and explores the high importance of place and how geography, location, community and neighbourhoods are actually part of a grander story of God’s sovereign purpose in and through creation. This chapter will review and explore a snapshot of the corpus of literature relating to the importance of place as a theological construct and will propose how an understanding and recognition of place can be used as a lens through which to curate the importance of place and implaced embodiment, within our Christian educational communities. The chapter will also explore how principles of placemaking within Christian education that are grounded in an incarnational posture can reflect and celebrate the significance of the incarnation of Christ whereby “The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood” (John 1:14 MSG).
A numerical framework for genetic hitchhiking in populations of variable size

Abstract Natural selection on beneficial or deleterious alleles results in an increase or decrease, respectively, of its frequency within the population. Due to chromosomal linkage, the dynamics of the selected site affect the genetic variation at nearby neutral loci in a process commonly referred to as genetic hitchhiking. Changes in population size, however, can yield patterns in genomic data that mimic the effects of selection. Accurately modeling these dynamics is thus crucial to understanding how selection and past population size changes impact observed patterns of genetic variation. Here, we model the evolution of haplotype frequencies with the Wright-Fisher diffusion to study the impact of selection on linked neutral variation. Explicit solutions are not known for the dynamics of this diffusion when selection and recombination act simultaneously. Thus, we present a method for numerically evaluating the Wright-Fisher diffusion dynamics of two linked loci separated by a certain recombination distance when selection is acting. We can account for arbitrary population size histories explicitly using this approach. A key step in the method is to express the moments of the associated transition density, or sampling probabilities, as solutions to ordinary differential equations. Numerically solving these differential equations relies on a novel accurate and numerically efficient technique to estimate higher order moments from lower order moments. We demonstrate how this numerical framework can be used to quantify the reduction and recovery of genetic diversity around a selected locus over time and elucidate distortions in the site-frequency-spectra of neutral variation linked to loci under selection in various demographic settings. The method can be readily extended to more general modes of selection and applied in likelihood frameworks to detect loci under selection and infer the strength of the selective pressure.
A high-adhesion binding strategy for silica nanoparticle-based superhydrophobic coatings

Abstract One of the long-standing problems for nanoparticle-based liquid-repellent coatings is their poor adhesion to substrates. For polymers with low glass transition temperatures, it is highly desirable to have a low temperature coating strategy to fabricate robust superhydrophobic films. Here, we report a facile method for fabricating robust, transparent, superhydrophobic films on polymer substrates. A mixture of silica particles and silica-based oligomers was spin coated on polymer substrates, followed by oxygen plasma treatment and vapor deposition of 1 H,1 H,2 H,2 H-Perfluorodecyltriethoxysilan (FDTS). The resulting superhydrophobic surface has a static contact angle of 160° and contact angle hysteresis less than 5°. This is a practical solution for improving the adhesion of superhydrophobic films on polymer substrates under ambient conditions.
SCARF1-induced efferocytosis plays an immunomodulatory role in humans, and autoantibodies targeting SCARF1 are produced in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus

Abstract Deficiency in the clearance of cellular debris is a major pathogenic factor in the emergence of autoimmune diseases. We previously demonstrated that mice deficient for scavenger receptor class F member 1 (SCARF1) develop a lupus-like autoimmune disease with symptoms similar to human systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), including a pronounced accumulation of apoptotic cells (ACs). Therefore, we hypothesized that SCARF1 will be important for clearance of ACs and maintenance of self-tolerance in humans, and that dysregulation of this process could contribute to SLE. Here, we show that SCARF1 is highly expressed on phagocytic cells, where it functions as an efferocytosis receptor. In healthy individuals, we discovered that engagement of SCARF1 by ACs on BDCA1+ dendritic cells (DCs) initiates an interleukin-10 (IL-10) anti-inflammatory response mediated by the phosphorylation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1). Unexpectedly, there was no significant difference in SCARF1 expression in SLE patient samples compared to healthy donor samples. However, we detected anti-SCARF1 autoantibodies in 26% of SLE patients, which was associated with dsDNA antibody positivity. Furthermore, our data shows a direct correlation of the levels of anti-SCARF1 in the serum and defects in the removal of ACs. Depletion of immunoglobulin restores efferocytosis in SLE serum, suggesting that defects in the removal of ACs is partially mediated by SCARF1 pathogenic autoantibodies. Our data demonstrate that human SCARF1 is an AC receptor in DCs and plays a role in maintaining tolerance and homeostasis.
Intentional Call to Action: Mindfully Discussing Race in Group Psychotherapy.

Although race is an integral identity of all members in a psychotherapy group, therapists have not always felt equipped to discuss race within the group psychotherapy context. The sociocultural con...
Pushing the Integration Envelope: A Network Analysis of Study Abroad Website Content:

This article demonstrates how network analysis of qualitative content can be used to build on traditional research approaches to confirm and expand prior findings and to point to fruitful direction...
Ferroptotic stress promotes the accumulation of pro-inflammatory proximal tubular cells in maladaptive renal repair

Overwhelming lipid peroxidation induces ferroptotic stress and ferroptosis, a non-apoptotic form of regulated cell death that has been implicated in maladaptive renal repair in mice and humans. Using single-cell transcriptomic and mouse genetic approaches, we show that proximal tubular (PT) cells develop a molecularly distinct, pro-inflammatory state following injury. While these inflammatory PT cells transiently appear after mild injury and return to their original state without inducing fibrosis, after severe injury they accumulate and contribute to persistent inflammation. This transient inflammatory PT state significantly downregulates glutathione metabolism genes, making the cells vulnerable to ferroptotic stress. Genetic induction of high ferroptotic stress in these cells after mild injury leads to the accumulation of the inflammatory PT cells, enhancing inflammation and fibrosis. Our study broadens the roles of ferroptotic stress from being a trigger of regulated cell death to include the promotion and accumulation of proinflammatory cells that underlie maladaptive repair.
#Papuanlivesmatter: black consciousness and political movements in West Papua

After the brutal killing of George Floyd sparked antiracism protests worldwide, Black youth organized protests in West Papua, Indonesia’s marginalized and easternmost region. In 2019, Papuans prote...
Interactive narrative: a novel application of artificial intelligence for computer games

Game Artificial Intelligence (Game AI) is a sub-discipline of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) that explores the ways in which AI and ML can augment player experiences in computer games. Storytelling is an integral part of many modern computer games; within games stories create context, motivate the player, and move the action forward. Interactive Narrative is the use of AI to create and manage stories within games, creating the perception that the player is a character in a dynamically unfolding and responsive story. This paper introduces Game AI and focuses on the open research problems of Interactive Narrative.
Top 10 Tips on Writing for Professional Journals

The author provides ten suggestions for writers aspiring to publish in professional journals, ranging from writing about something you know to leaving yourself adequate time to revise and edit prior to a submission deadline.
Diverse Emotional Reactions to Threat

Abstract Threat is a pervasive concept in the study of international relations and the social sciences more generally, and its documented effects are remarkably consistent. Threat promotes intolerance, forges ingroup unity, and promotes some degree of cognitive “shutdown.” In this review, I consider the implications of threat research within the social sciences for the study of foreign policy opinion among the mass public, focusing on the psychology underlying the differing emotions of anger and anxiety. The review unfolds in several stages. First, the broad effects of threat on public opinion are considered and a number of threat-related constructs defined to better distinguish among threat studies. Second, psychological research on the emotions of anger and anxiety are introduced to add needed complexity to the study of threat. Third, research on the divergent political consequences of anger and anxiety for support of aggressive military action is reviewed. Fourth, I consider the origins of anger in response to collective threats. Fifth, I explore the origins of anxiety in direct personal threat and briefly consider gender differences in anxiety and war support. Finally, I discuss the broad implications of complex threat reactions for research on foreign policy attitudes.
Language, Discourse and Power in African American Culture: When women speak: how and why we enter

I have always marveled at the “black woman laugh.” This is not a hysterical or deep laugh that ripples through your body. I mean the laughter that sits ready at the surface to comment on the irony and hypocrisy witnessed daily in black life. In black women, this laugh is an audible breath that escapes as what Irving Goffman has called a response cry – a ritualized act and dramatization that displays alignment with events and others (1981: 100). It occurs as a surprise even to the speaker, as though she didn't know that opening her mouth would reveal what lay beneath the layers of her memory and longing. I have heard it many times. It was there after a researcher asked Rebecca, a young, pregnant black woman in Los Angeles, how she felt about her health care. Before her car broke down, it took only twenty minutes for Rebecca to get to the doctor's office. Now she has to wait for two buses and it takes two hours to get there. Then, after sitting in the waiting room for another two hours, she spends five minutes with the doctor. To the question do you like to visit the doctor Rebecca responded, “Yes, I like my doctor ( laugh ). He's good ( laugh ).” What is this laugh about? I also heard it in a conversation when two women in Chicago talked about their trip to New Orleans and marveled at what they referred to as “the beautiful, wonderful and courteous black men.”
Zinc-responsive coactivator recruitment by the yeast Zap1 transcription factor

The zinc-responsive Zap1 transcription factor of Saccharomyces cerevisiae controls many genes involved in zinc homeostasis. Zap1 has two activation domains, AD1 and AD2, which are independently regulated by zinc. While AD1 can fully activate most Zap1 target genes, AD2 is active only on a subset of those genes. One hypothesis explaining this promoter specificity was that AD1 and AD2 recruit different coactivators. To address this question, we carried out a genetic screen to identify coactivator complexes that are required for Zap1-mediated activation. SWI/SNF, SAGA, and Mediator complexes were implicated as playing major roles in Zap1 activation. Consistent with this conclusion, we found that these three complexes are recruited to Zap1 target promoters in a zinc-responsive and Zap1-dependent manner. Coactivator recruitment was highly interdependent such that mutations disrupting SAGA impaired recruitment of SWI/SNF and vice versa. Optimal Mediator recruitment was dependent on both SAGA and SWI/SNF. A comparison of the coactivators recruited by AD1 and AD2 found no obvious differences suggesting that recruitment of different coactivators is not likely the mechanism of AD specificity. Rather, our results suggest that AD2 recruits coactivators less effectively than AD1 and is therefore only functional on some promoters.
Paclitaxel and tamoxifen: An active regimen for patients with metastatic melanoma.

BACKGROUND In early trials of paclitaxel administered as a 24-hour infusion, an overall response rate of 16% was reported for patients with metastatic melanoma. Paclitaxel is a natural product-based agent and is thus subject to the problem of multidrug resistance (MDR). Tamoxifen is an agent that can abrogate MDR and potentially enhance the effect of paclitaxel. A Phase II trial of the combination was undertaken with previously treated patients. METHODS Patients with metastatic cutaneous or mucosal melanoma who were previously treated with the Dartmouth chemotherapy regimen (dacarbazine, carmustine, cisplatin, and tamoxifen) were evaluated. Paclitaxel was administered at a dose of 225 mg/m2 intravenously over 3 hours every 3 weeks. All patients also took tamoxifen 40 mg orally daily. Treatment continued until disease progression. RESULTS Twenty-one patients completed at least two cycles of paclitaxel and were evaluable for response. Five responses were observed, 1 complete response, and 4 partial responses, for an overall response rate of 24%. The combination was well tolerated. The most common nonhematologic side effects were myalgia and paresthesia. Hematologic toxicity was mild. No patients developed neutropenic fever. CONCLUSIONS This is the first report of a Phase II trial evaluating paclitaxel as a 3-hour infusion in melanoma patients. The 3-hour infusion is well tolerated and results in little myelosuppression and minimal neurotoxicity. The contribution of tamoxifen is difficult to evaluate because plasma levels were not measured. It is possible that a higher response rate might be observed with larger doses of tamoxifen. Further investigation of paclitaxel in the treatment of patients with metastatic melanoma is warranted. Cancer 2000;88:79–87. © 2000 American Cancer Society.
Cellular Adaptive Responses to Low Oxygen Tension: Apoptosis and Resistance

Oxygen plays such a critical role in the central nervous system that a specialized mechanism of oxygen delivery to neurons is required. Reduced oxygen tension, or hypoxia, may have severe detrimental effects on neuronal cells. Several studies suggest that hypoxia can induce cellular adaptive responses that overcome apoptotic signals in order to minimize hypoxic injury or damage. Adaptive responses of neuronal cells to hypoxia may involve activation of various ion channels, as well as induction of specific gene expression. For example, ATP sensitive K+ channels are activated by hypoxia in selective neuronal cells, and may play a role in cell survival during hypoxia/anoxia. Additionally, hypoxia-induced c-Jun, bFGF and NGF expression appear to be associated with prevention (or delay) of neuronal cell apoptosis. In this paper, these adaptive responses to hypoxia in neuronal cells are discussed to examine the possible role of hypoxia in pathophysiology of diseases.
Gastritis with veno-capillary ectasia as a source of massive gastric hemorrhage.

Summary In a patient with massive gastrointestinal bleeding, the hemorrhage arose in an unusual type of gastritis characterized by veno-capillary ectasia. The lesion was demonstrated at gastroscopy after all other clinical procedures including abdominal exploration had failed. Histologic examination of the resected stomach revealed gastritis with markedly dilated, thin-walled vessels at the most superficial levels of the mucosa.
Structure and function of amino acids

The amino acids relevant for human nutrition comprise a group of dozens of compounds with broad variation of characteristics and functions. By definition, they are always made up of an amino group, an acid, and a side chain. The amino group is most often adjacent to the primary carboxyl group (alpha-position), but may be in beta-position instead. Some amino acids form only a few specific peptides, such as taurine as part of glutaurine, and beta-alanine as part of carnosine and anserine. Several other amino acids such as camitine. taurine, ornithine, and citrulline are not a regular part of human proteins, but serve specific important functions. Several amino acids are synthesized through the addition of an amino group to a common alpha-keto acid. Most amino acids are consumed with a wide variety of proteins and peptides in foods of animal and plant origin. These foods provide all the twenty amino acids used for making the body's own proteins, peptides, and other compounds requiring amino acids as precursors. Daily protein turnover may be as much as 300 g, which means that the same amount has to be resynthesized. 20 basic amino acids are required for the synthesis of most of the more than 30,000 different proteins that constitute the human body. Deficiency of any single one affects all body functions and is ultimately not compatible with life.
The extension of lightning flashes from thunderstorms near Cape Canaveral, Florida

The horizontal distance that intracloud (IC) and cloud to ground (CG) lightning flashes extend from thunderstorms is presented for warm season nonsevere storms near Cape Canaveral, FL. The Warning Decision Support System–Integrated Information (WDSS-II) software allowed us to ingest, display, and make distance calculations using radar reflectivity data from nearby National Weather Service Offices and lightning information from the National Lightning Detection Network and the local Lightning Detection and Ranging network. The flash distances were determined manually using a measuring tool within WDSS-II. Six categories of flashes were investigated: (a) CG flashes measured from the edge of the convective core (30 dBZ) to the ground strike location that is beneath the attached anvil, (b) CG “bolt from the blue” flashes measured from cloud edge (0 dBZ) to the ground strike point that contains only 0 dBZ overhead, (c) CG bolt from the blue flashes as in Category B but measured from the edge of the precipitation (18 dBZ), (d) IC flashes that exit a portion of the cloud that is not an anvil, measured from cloud edge (0 dBZ), (e) IC flashes within anvils measured from the edge of convective precipitation (30 dBZ) to the termination point within the anvil, and (f) IC flashes exiting the edge (0 dBZ) of anvils. Results for each category are presented in the forms of frequency distributions of distances and their cumulative frequency distributions.
Cardiac surgery associated with pregnancy; a report of 27 cases.

Abstract During the 4 year period from 1953 to 1956, inclusive, there have been 39 cardiac operations performed on female patients over the age of 15 years at the United States Naval Hospital, San Diego, California. Twelve of these patients were nulligravidas and are not included further in the study. There were a total of 62 pregnancies in the remaining 27 patients studied. Prior to operation there had been a total of 38 full-term deliveries; one of the infants was a Mongoloid and did not survive. There were no therapeutic abortions before operation in any of the 27 cases. There had been 13 abortions, 9 of which were in one patient, but none were therapeutically induced. One patient had one delivery followed by a commissurotomy. She subsequently became pregnant and went into severe cardiac failure prior to the third month of gestation, so therapeutic abortion and tubal ligation were performed. Seventy per cent of the 27 patients in this report showed marked improvement of the cardiac symptoms after operation and only 2 showed no improvement. Four suffered from embolic phenomena following operation. There were 3 deaths resulting in an operative mortality of 11 per cent. Eight of the patients were pregnant at the time of operation. Two had coarctations of the aorta. Both of these were delivered of viable term infants without difficulty following surgical repair of the lesion. One has since undergone an uncomplicated pregnancy. Six of the patients had mitral commissurotomies for stenosis. One died during operation. One was delivered of a premature infant at 31 weeks' gestation (9 weeks following operation). This infant died and was found at autopsy to have had numerous congenital anomalies. One Mongoloid infant was delivered at term. Three patients were delivered of normal term infants subsequent to their operations.
An Unobserved Societal Issue, Video Game Addiction in the 21st Century

An unobserved and undiagnosed addiction that is becoming prominent in the 21st century is addiction to playing video games. The mental health community, parents, and friends need to be educated on the signs and symptoms of this hidden addiction. Education is necessary to insure that these addicts get the necessary intervention they require. There are many video game players that have healthy relationships with family, friends and colleagues. Many of these relationships are even developed online and expose the individual to other cultures that they may never have had the opportunity to experience. Yet the addicted remain isolated from society at large. One of the reasons that these individuals don't receive the help they need is due to this isolation which goes unobserved by others. Like all other addictions, video game addiction crosses all conventional boundaries (e.g. culture, sex, ethnicity, etc.).This paper attempts to address the growing need to identify individuals suffering from video game addiction.
An approach to turbulent flame theory

Is it possible to express the problem of calculating turbulent flame speeds as an eigenvalue problem that is analogous to the laminar flame speed problem? It is argued for grid turbulence that the answer is affirmative, and some benefits of pursuing such a calculation are exploited for the limiting case of a first-order reaction with vanishingly small heat release. The streamwise turbulent transport of reactant occupies a central role in the analysis. The equation governing the ensemble average of this quantity assumes different simplified forms in the limits of small-scale and large-scale turbulence. The criterion which is obtained for separating the small-scale and large-scale regimes differs from that of Damkohler and also from that of Kovasznay and Klimov. In the small-scale regime, turbulence produces a spatially varying diffusivity, the form of which can be ascertained only through an investigation of non-linear equations describing the statistical dynamics of production and decay of the velocity–concentration correlation. In the large-scale regime, which is of greater practical importance, the ensemble average of the streamwise turbulent reactant flux satisfies a linear ordinary differential equation whose solution for the growth and decay of the flux contains effects resembling wrinkling of the laminar flame, increasing of the effective diffusivity and augmentation of the effective reaction rate. An exact solution to the linear eigenvalue problem which arises in the large-scale limit reveals that turbulence enhances mean reactant consumption in the upstream portion of the flame and retards reactant consumption downstream. Formulas are given for the increase in flame speed and the increase in flame thickness that are produced by turbulence in the large-scale limit. Since the equations are relatively tractable in the large-scale limit, it is suggested that further study of these equations may yield improved descriptions of realistic turbulent flames.
Buoyancy driven convection in near-critical and supercritical fluids

Abstract Buoyancy driven thermal transport in a pure fluid (carbon dioxide) near its gas–liquid critical point is investigated using a two-dimensional numerical model. A square enclosure is considered with side heating. For all cases considered, the initial pressure and temperature of carbon dioxide is pi (>pc) and Ti (>Tc) respectively. The two side-walls of the enclosure are initially at temperature Ti and the left wall temperature is temporally raised to TL∞. The model considers the strong variable property effects (functions of both temperature and pressure) near the critical point, including the bulk viscosity variations. As thermal diffusivity approaches zero near the critical point, the divergence of thermo-physical properties near the critical point gives rise to large Rayleigh number flows even for very small temperature differences. The steady-state convective heat transfer coefficient near the critical point is investigated and a correlation for the steady state, spatially averaged Nusselt number along the vertical walls is developed as a function of the Rayleigh number and the ratios (pi − pc)/pc, (Tm − Tc)/Tc and T pc ′ = (Tpc − Tc)/Tc, where Tm = (Ti + TL∞)/2. The subscripts ‘i’, ‘m’, ‘c’, ‘pc’ and refer to the initial, mean, critical, pseudo-critical conditions respectively while the subscript ‘L∞’ refers to the final value of the left (heated) wall temperature. The effect of critically diverging bulk viscosity on the flow field and heat transport induced by buoyancy in near-critical fluids is also investigated.
Absorption kinetics of regular and isophane (NPH) insulin in the normal dog.

Absorption kinetics of regular and isophane (NPH) insulins were evaluated in seven normal fasted dogs by measuring serial serum concentrations of insulin and glucose following the subcutaneous administration of regular and NPH insulins. These results were compared to serum insulin values determined after injecting similar doses of regular insulin intravenously. Regular insulin was better absorbed than NPH insulin (mean bioavailability index 64.6% vs. 41.1%, P less than .01) resulting in a significantly greater maximal increase in mean circulating insulin concentrations above baseline values (362.2 microU/ml vs. 147.8 microU/ml, P less than .05). The time interval between insulin injection and return of serum insulin values to basal concentrations was also significantly shorter for regular than for NPH insulin (4.9 hr vs. 8.6 hr, P less than .05). However, there were no significant differences between regular and NPH insulins in time to reach peak serum insulin concentrations, maximal reduction in serum glucose concentrations, or time of lowest circulating glucose levels. The results of this study support previously accepted values for time-action characteristics of regular insulin, but suggest that NPH insulin may have an earlier peak and shorter duration of action than has previously been proposed in the dog.
Scattering of Planetesimals by a Protoplanet: Slowing Down of Runaway Growth

Abstract We have investigated the evolution of random velocities of planetesimals due to scattering by a protoplanet through N-body simulations (three-dimensional calculation of a system of one protoplanet and 800 equal-mass planetesimals). If the mass of the protoplanet, M, is large enough, eccentricities em , and inclinations im of planetesimals in the vicinity of the protoplanet ("heated region") are increased by the perturbation of the protoplanet rather than by the planetesimals. The width of the heated region is roughly given by 4[(4/3)(e2m + i2m )a2 + 12h2Ma2]1/2 where a and hMa are the semimajor axis and the Hill radius of the protoplanet, which is twice the width of "feeding zone" of the protoplanet. We have developed a semianalytical model for the growth of the random velocities of the planetesimals in the heated region, which is in good agreement with the results of the N-body simulations. Using the semianalytical theory, we found that em and im are regulated by the perturbation of the protoplanet when M/m > 50 × (m/1023 g)-2/5 at 1 AU, or M/m > 100 × (m/1024 g)-2/5 at 5 AU (m is the planetesimal mass) in the case of the low-mass nebula model. Finally, based on these results, we propose a two-step growth scenario of a protoplanet. The first stage is increasingly rapid growth ("runaway growth" in the usual sense). As a consequence of this runaway growth, M/m increases. When it reaches the critical value (∼50-100), the second stage begins. In the second stage, the growth rate of the protoplanet gradually decreases ("runaway growth" slows down), because em and im are increased by the strong perturbation due to the protoplanet and the gravitational focusing becomes less effective. As a result, the formation time of planets would be much longer than that obtained by simple extrapolation of the runaway growth in the first stage, although it would be shorter than that estimated assuming orderly growth.
Inorganic Phosphorus Reduces Hypercalciuria During Total Parenteral Nutrition By Enhancing Renal Tubular Calcium Absorption

Background: Increasing the inorganic phosphorus content of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) formulas has been shown to decrease TPN-induced hypercalciuria in experimental animals and humans. The mechanism of this effect, however, has been uncertain. Methods: By using a randomized cross-over design, seven patients on cyclic TPN were given otherwise identical formulas providing either 15 or 45 mmol/d of inorganic phosphorus. Urinary calcium excretion, serum ultrafilterable calcium, filtered calcium load, fractional calcium excretion, urinary cyclic adenosine 5'-monophosphate (cAMP), and serum levels of ionized calcium, parathyroid hormone (PTH), and vitamin D metabolites were determined at the end of each study period. Results: Urinary calcium excretion was significantly lower when the patients received the higher inorganic phosphorus formula. Increasing the inorganic phosphorus in the TPN formula did not change ultrafilterable calcium or filtered calcium load, but significantly reduced fractional calcium excretion. No differences in serum levels of ionized calcium, PTH, 25-hydroxyvitamin D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D, or urinary cAMP were observed between treatments. Conclusions: These results demonstrate that increasing the inorganic phosphorus content of the TPN formula decreases urinary calcium excretion by increasing renal tubular calcium resorption. This effect is not due to alterations in the PTH-1,25-dihydroxyitamin D axis, but likely reflects a direct action of inorganic phosphorus on the renal tubules.
Site-directed insertion and insertion-deletion mutations in the Escherichia coli chromosome simplified.

Abstract A procedure to produce an exact chromosomal replica of an insertion or insertion–deletion mutation produced in vitro in a plasmid with a ColE 1 origin of replication is presented. This procedure uses a previously described property of recD mutations (Biek DP, Cohen SN. J. Bacteriol. 1986;167:594–603) and is limited by (1) the compatibility of the new mutation with recD; and (2) the presence of some Escherichia coli DNA flanking the mutation.
Muon-spin-rotation study of vortex states in RBa2Cu3O7 using maximum-entropy analysis.

A maximum-entropy method has been applied to transverse-field muon-spin-rotation vortex data of R${\mathrm{Ba}}_{2}$${\mathrm{Cu}}_{3}$${\mathrm{O}}_{7}$ (R 1:2:3:7; R=Er, Gd, and Eu); this produces spectra representing estimates for the magnetic-field distributions. The information on the field distribution is of better quality than that resulting from Fourier transformation and curve fitting of the same data. Significant deviations from Abrikosov predictions have been observed for the estimated R 1:2:3:7 vortex-field distributions. Below 10 K, for Er 1:2:3:7 and Gd 1:2:3:7, the non-Abrikosov features appear to be influenced by the magnetism of the rare-earth layers.
Electrolytic methods for measuring water velocities

A convection-controlled mass transfer process in which the rate of mass transfer results in an electrical signal should have certain advantages as the working principle for a velocity-and turbulence-measuring device. The velocity can be read at a remote place as a calibrated electrical signal. Compensation for phase shift and amplitude attenuation of a fluctuating signal should be small because the measuring probe would have no capacity for the transferred quantity. In water, such processes are possible whenever electrolysis occurs under conditions of concentration polarization, and they exist in relatively uncomplicated from as the limiting currents of polarographic analysis. The investigation reported here was intended as a survey and evaluation of electrolytic methods for measuring water velocities. The series of experiments that was performed showed that a working instrument could be designed on the principle of convection-controlled electrolysis, but that the chemical reactions involved were unreliable for consistent trouble-free results. Practical instruments appear to be possible only after long development and considerable study of chemical mechanisms.
Optimization of Magnetooptic Device by Low Switching Field Domains

This paper expounds on the optimization of magnetooptic devices using preferential domains that switch at low field strengths. In particular, an all-optical switch for transparent networks based on the Mach-Zehnder interferometer configuration is examined in detail. The switch utilizes bismuth-substituted iron garnets with a specific composition of (Bi1.1Tb1.9)(Fe4.25Ga0.75)O12 as Faraday rotators. It is proposed that switch figures of merit can be improved by preferentially choosing domains which align with applied fields at field strengths much lower than required by the bulk material. Measurement of magnetic domain orientation in the material and Faraday rotation within domains is reported. The domain behavior in low magnetic fields is also investigated to achieve a switch with lower switching times and higher extinction ratios.
Evaluation of stressed state of coker reactor shell with plastic deformation

In the operation of reactors in delayed coking units, plastic deformations accumulate as time passes. It is necessary to evaluate the stressed state of the coker reactor shell in the zone where bulges may appear to predict its reliability. This evaluation is made and a set of studies is conducted to predict the possibility of further service of coker reactors with bulges. The studies include not only measurements of the parameters of the bulge, but also determinations of the operating loads, as well as the thermophysical properties of the coke obtained. A nomogram is constructed for determination of critical dimensions of the bulge.
Variational Theory of Insertion Devices

A variational approach to isolating optimum particle trajectories in insertion devices is presented in this paper. The method is based on assigning performance functions to insertion devices which are functionals of the particle trajectory, and then extremizing the performance functions by varying the particle trajectory. A concrete example of general interest is solved, and an outline of extending the method to general cases is given.
Truly nonstationary techniques for the analysis and display of voiced speech

The assumption of quasi-stationarity in the analysis of speech is questioned from the standpoint of the best resolution of global periodicity and vocal tract formant frequency locations. The generalized class of time-frequency representations is discussed from the standpoint of speech analysis and is integrated with a description of the spectrogram. The spectrogram is known to have minimal interference artifacts, and the truly nonstationary cone-kernel time-frequency representation (CK-TFR) is shown to be similarly free of interference. The CK-TFR is observed to give higher resolution of the time point of glottal closure, and the clarity of some formant frequencies, especially for a nasal consonant, is shown to be better than the spectrogram. It is shown that interference-free representations of speech with a higher simultaneous resolution in time and frequency than the spectrogram are possible, and that these new representations may be applicable to the better analysis and understanding of speech. >
Illitization in a Paleozoic, peat-forming environment as evidence for biogenic potassium accumulation

Abstract Potassium enrichment is common in surface horizons of many paleosols and has been attributed to the formation of authigenic illite from smectites during burial diagenesis. In such cases, the presence of primary smectite is key to the illitization process, which then results in potassium enrichment as a byproduct. Potassium enrichment in paleosols where no primary smectite was present, however, requires a different process of accumulation. A Lower Pennsylvanian, tropical Ultisol from the Southern Anthracite Field in Pennsylvania is enriched in potassium in the surface horizon and formed in an environment unfavorable for smectite accumulation. Kaolinite dominates clay mineral fractions of soils that form in such highly weathering environments. In the absence of primary smectite to scavenge potassium during illitization, there should be no potassium enrichment during burial diagenesis. However, in Lykens Valley paleosol, the pattern of potassium concentration, organic matter distribution and authigenic illite growth suggests that organic matter may have provided an important source of potassium for illite formation. Illitization of kaolinite in the organic-rich surface horizon is complete but, illite coexists with kaolinite in the B horizon. Within the paleosol matrix, illitization is more complete in areas of high organic concentration where organic fragments often have illite haloes with illite whorls growing from their edges. We propose that the potassium enrichment both in the soil profile and in the overlying coal is the result of the luxury uptake of potassium by peat-forming plants (nutrient intake at rates exceeding metabolic requirements). Further, potassium immobilized by adsorption on the peat provided interlayer cations for illite authigenesis to begin. If, as we suggest, luxury nutrient uptake during peat formation sequestered sufficient potassium to promote later illite formation, the pattern and extent of illitization within the paleosol profile reflects early biogenic nutrient accumulation. Thus, illite, in some paleosols, may represent fossil evidence for a biological process: the luxury uptake of potassium.
Phagocyte NADPH oxidase p67-phox possesses a novel carboxylterminal binding site for the GTPases Rac2 and Cdc42.

Rac GTPases regulate activation of the phagocyte NADPH oxidase, a multi-component enzyme complex that produces superoxide in response to host infection. GTP-bound Rac binds to the cytosol protein p67- phox enabling it to participate in oxidase assembly. Details of this interaction are poorly understood. Previous studies showed that Rac/p67- phox binding is GTP-dependent and that several Rac1 mutants lost the ability to activate the oxidase even though they still bound p67- phox. Using two hybrid and blot overlay binding methods, we identified a novel binding site in the p67- phox C-terminus that binds Rac1, Rac2, and Cdc42, a related GTPase which does not activate the oxidase. Binding was independent of the GDP/GTP state. We also showed that GTP-Cdc42 binds p67- phox N-terminus similar to GTP-Rac. Therefore, Rac binding to p67- phox is not synonymous with NADPH oxidase activation, and Rac probably participates in other steps of oxidase activation in addition to binding p67- phox.
Evaluation of simplified leaf inoculation procedures for identification of quantitative resistance to Sclerotinia trifoliorum in alfalfa seedlings

Previous studies established that excised leaf tissues of alfalfa can be inoculated with Sclerotinia trifoliorum to select for heritable resistance, but the original procedures were not practical for use in large-scale screening programs. In this study, simplified leaf inoculation procedures for more rapid screening for resistance, based on direct application of leaf tissues to colonies of the pathogen on agar media, were evaluated. Cotyledons, unifoliate leaves, and leaflets of trifoliolate leaves of plants 7 to 21 days old from three relatively susceptible cultivars and one resistant germ plasm were applied, with and without wounding, directly to colony margins of S. trifoliorum on cornmeal agar, V8 juice agar, and water agar. Leaves were scored according to the rate and extent of development of necrosis. Significant differences between alfalfa populations were expressed in unifoliate leaves and trifoliolate leaflets but not in cotyledons. Disease severity in the resistant germ plasm (Mississippi Sclerotinia-Resistant [MSR]) was less than in the three cultivars on all agar media. Wounding of leaf tissues increased disease severity and greatly reduced the incidence of symptomless leaves, which are indicated to be escapes, but wounding generally did not prevent expression of resistance in MSR. Results indicate that initial screening for resistance to S. trifoliorum in alfalfa seedlings may be accomplished by applying wounded unifoliate leaves and leaflets of trifoliolate leaves directly to colonies on cornmeal or V8 juice agars.
Parallel computing and data compression for pattern matching in remote sensing image databases

If scientists are to fully exploit the terabytes of remote sensing imagery in present and future libraries, techniques must be developed for efficient and reliable pattern matching. In this paper we investigate two technologies that will play major roles in this large-scale computing challenge. We describe a software neural network algorithm that can be used for pattern matching and test its performance for a multispectral classification task on a single processor workstation and a parallel processing machine, the CM-5. We also look at the impact of a commonly used data compression standard, JPEG, on the accuracy of pattern matching for spectral signatures. We find that accuracy degrades as expected as the compression ratio increases, but that the neural net algorithm is significantly more robust than the statistically based maximum-likelihood algorithm. Empirical results are presented from our experiments and discussed.
Inhibition of gap-junctional-intercellular communication in thyroid-follicular cells by propylthiouracil and low iodine diet.

Propylthiouracil (PTU) or low-iodine diet (LID) treatment increases thyroid-follicular-cell proliferation, possibly by disrupting the movement of small molecules (<1.2 kD) through membrane channels called gap junctions. Numerous tumor promoters and proliferative disease states exhibit inhibited gap-junctional-intercellular communication (GJIC) prior to the induction of cell proliferation, yet the association between GJIC and apoptosis is unclear. In the present study, we used an ex vivo method to examine whether GJIC is inhibited in the thyroid of PTU- or LID-treated rats. In addition, the effect of these models of hypothyroidism on thyroid-follicular-cell proliferation and apoptosis was examined to determine the association between GJIC and cell homeostasis. After 14 days of treatment of either PTU or LID (plus 1% KClO4 in the drinking water), serum tri-iodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine, (T4) was decreased to nearly undetectable levels and serum TSH was increased in PTU- and LID-treated rats. At the same time point, GJIC was decreased 30–35% in PTU- and LID-treated rats while thyroid-follicular-cell proliferation increased nearly threefold in both treatment groups. Interestingly, apoptosis increased twofold in both hypothyroid treatment groups. These data suggest that PTU or LID treatment inhibit thyroid GJIC during a state of increased thyroid-follicular-cell proliferation and apoptosis. While the increase in proliferation was anticipated, the paradoxical increase in apoptosis during decreased GJIC in thyroid-follicular cells warrants further examination.