cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Vendor selection criteria and methods

Abstract The vendor selection process has undergone significant changes during the past twenty years. These include increased quality guidelines, improved computer communications, and increased technical capabilities. Given radical changes in the purchasing selection process, it is appropriate to review the past research and to determine its relevance to the supplier selection decision. This paper reviews, annotates, and classfies 74 related articles which have appeared since 1966. Specific attention is given to the criteria and analytical methods used in the vendor selection process. In response to the increased interest in Just-In-Time (JIT) manufacturing strategies, and analysis of JIT's impact on vendor selection is also presented. Finally, conclusions and potential areas for future research are presented.
Grain yield mutations induced by ethyl methanesulfonate treatment of oat seeds

Arias J. and Frey K.J. Grain yield mutations induced by ethyl methanesulfonate treatment of oat seeds. Radiation Botany 13, 73-85, 1973.-Populations of oat lines derived from seeds that either were treated or not treated with ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) were evaluated for mutations that were suitable for direct yield improvement. Field experiments were carried out with equal numbers of check and normal appearing M2-derived lines for each of 16 cultivars: nine Corn Belt, five non Corn Belt, one tetraploid, and one diploid. The M2-derived lines from cultivars were generated from treatment of seeds with a 0·12 m solution of EMS for 4 hr, and the check lines were bulks from individual plants of the same cultivar. For a mutagen-derived line to be considered a deviant for grain yield, it had to have either a higher or a lower yield than the highest or lowest line, respectively, found in the check population. Using this definition, there were 160 mutagen-derived lines with negative deviations and one with a positive deviation for grain yield among 1141 lines tested. The mutagen-derived line with improved yield was 12 per cent higher than the highest check line from its parent cultivar, but it was considerably lower than several of the highest yielding check lines from other cultivars. The genetic variabilities for grain yield in mutagen-derived populations from the 16 cultivars were 2–10 times larger than those in corresponding check populations. Simultaneously there was a 17 per cent reduction in the overall yield mean of the mutant lines. All check populations showed significant genetic variation among lines for grain yield, which shows that these cultivars were not genetically homogenous for this trait. Seemingly, this variation could be utilized to improve yield by intracultivar selection.
Studies of plasmas excited by intense subpicosecond radiation for x-ray generation (Review Paper)

The use of recently developed high brightness subpicosecond lasers for the study of the interaction of solid matter is leading to the production of powerful incoherent X-ray sources associated with dense plasma environments. The use of these intense pulsed X-ray sources will enable the production of extremely high densities and levels of electronic excitation in materials while leaving the system kinetically cold during the interaction. This general condition is extremely conductive to the amplification of short wavelength radiation. The analysis of a particular case for amplification at a quantum energy of about 1 keV indicates that a total energy of about 1 J of ultraviolet radiation is necessary for excitation. The control of this class of physical processes is expected to lead to a new generation of amplifiers in the X-ray range.
Mexican integration into the North American free trade zone

Mexican integration into the North American free trade zone is modeled as removing the tariff on Mexican imports of manufacturing goods. Using a theoretical model, it is shown that this increases welfare through production, consumption and employment gains. The results are derived by nesting the theory of customs unions, and the Harris-Todaro type intersectoral labor migration model into a unified framework.
Inhibition of methane evolution by calcium sulfate addition to flooded rice

Calcium sulfate, a common soil amendment was applied at rates of 0, 1,000 and 2,000 kg ha-1 to flooded rice plots treated with urea-N (128 kg ha-1). Experimental plots were drill-seeded with Toro-2, a mid-season long-grain rice cultivar, and CH4 emissions were measured over the first cropping season. Over the 70 d sampling season, the low and high rate of CaSO4 reduced CH4 evolution 29 and 46%, respectively, compared to control plots. No significant correlation between soil temperature (0, 5, 10 cm depths) and CH4 emission was observed.
Atrial Fibrillation: The Newest Frontier in Arrhythmia Management

At least 2.3 million people in the United States have atrial fibrillation. Since the risk for developing atrial fibrillation increases with age, the number of people with atrial fibrillation is expected to rise sharply. Atrial fibrillation is a complex condition that adversely influences mortality, morbidity, quality of life, and use of health care resources. Knowledge generated from extensive research has led to innovative management strategies. As the number of individuals with atrial fibrillation increases and treatment options expand, nurses in a variety of settings will be challenged to respond to the multifaceted needs of this population. This review discusses the significance of atrial fibrillation and summarizes research findings influencing current management strategies. Pharmacologic therapies are reviewed and new technologies for atrial fibrillation treatment are introduced. Nursing assessment and treatment of patients' response to atrial fibrillation are discussed. Recommendations for patient education are offered. A plan describing specific nursing diagnoses, outcomes, interventions, and activities for care of patients with atrial fibrillation is presented.
Displaying Photographic Images On Computer Monitors With Limited Colour Resolution

In this paper we address the problem of displaying continuous tone photographic colour images on CRT monitors on which only a limited number of colours can be displayed simultaneously. An algorithm is presented which generates a palette of a limited number of colours, and a method is given for the actual display of a full colour image using such a palette and its associated tables.
@Phillies Tweeting from Philly? Predicting Twitter User Locations with Spatial Word Usage

We study the problem of predicting home locations of Twitter users using contents of their tweet messages. Using three probability models for locations, we compare both the Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) and the Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE). In addition, we propose two novel unsupervised methods based on the notions of Non-Localness and Geometric-Localness to prune noisy data from tweet messages. In the experiments, our unsupervised approach improves the baselines significantly and shows comparable results with the supervised state-of-the-art method. For 5,113 Twitter users in the test set, on average, our approach with only 250 selected local words or less is able to predict their home locations (within 100 miles) with the accuracy of 0.499, or has 509.3 miles of average error distance at best.
Storage Effects on Lipase Activity in Fresh-cut Cantaloupe Melon

: Lipase enzyme in fresh-cut cantaloupe melon (Cucumis melo L. var. reticulatus Naud) was assayed, and the effects of storage at 4 and 15 °C on enzymatic activity were determined. The enzyme was stable for 24 h at both temperatures but decreased by 45% after 120 h of storage time at 15 °C. Isoelectric studies suggest a possible dual lipase and esterase action of the enzyme. Enzymatic activity increased by about 60% when the reaction temperature was increased from 30 °C to 40 °C and remained constant until 70 °C, but the enzyme was unstable when stored at the high temperature. Calcium treatment reduced lipase activity in the fresh-cut fruit.
Achieving Health Care Reform — How Physicians Can Help

Elliott Fisher, Donald Berwick, and Karen Davis write that two threats in particular put reform at risk: conflicting doctrines and opposition to change. Physicians have a choice: to wait and see what happens or to lead the change this country needs.
Variant of the S3 x Z3 model for the 17-keV neutrino.

In extending the recently proposed {ital S}{sub 3}{times}{ital Z}{sub 3} model of quark mass matrices to include leptons to account for a possible 17-keV neutrino, a solution was already obtained with a certain choice for the Majorana neutrino mass matrix. We show here that there is another choice which results in a qualitatively new solution. There will be three pseudo Dirac neutrinos, one of which is formed mostly out of {nu}{sub {ital e}} and {bar {nu}}{sub {mu}}. The 17-keV neutrino decays into {nu}{sub {ital e},{mu}} and a Majoron with a lifetime of about 3{times}10{sup {minus}3} s.
An immunoinhibitory cell wall glycoprotein (mannan) from trichophyton rubrum

Trichophyton rubrum causes 90% of chronic dermatophyte infections. Most patients with widespread chronic T. rubrum infection fail to express a delayed hypersensitivity reaction to intradermally injected trichophytin. We propose that cell-mediated immunity to T. rubrum may be suppressed in chronic infections by the mannan cell wall component of the fungus. The proposed suppressive effect of T. rubrum mannan on cell-mediated immunity was tested by measuring the ability of extracted mannan to inhibit lymphoproliferative responses of human mononuclear leukocytes to antigens, mitogens, and an anti-T-cell receptor antibody (anti-CD3) in vitro. Mannan was found to be highly antigenic in two of five donors and weakly antigenic in the other three. Despite its antigenic property, mannan exhibited a dose-related ability to inhibit lymphoproliferation stimulated by other agents including 1) antigens from Candida albicans, T. rubrum, and tetanus toxoid (ID50 = 250 micrograms/ml); 2) anti-CD3 antibody (ID50 = 250 micrograms/ml); and 3) Phaseolus limensis mitogenic lectin (ID50 = 64 micrograms/ml). Mannan added to cultures later than 24 h after initiation had no inhibitory influence, but culture of cells with mannan for a period of 24 h prior to the addition of stimulus enhanced the inhibitory effect of the glycoprotein. Lymphoproliferation in response to recombinant interleukin-2 (IL-2) was not inhibited. The influence of time of addition of mannan and the failure of mannan to inhibit IL-2-stimulated lymphoproliferation demonstrate that the suppressive effect of mannan must be pharmacologic rather than cytotoxic. The observed ability of T. rubrum cell wall mannan to suppress cell-mediated immune function in vitro may provide an important clue to a mechanism enabling the fungus to avoid elimination in chronically infected patients.
Prefrontal cortical manipulations alter the effects of intra-ventral striatal dopamine antagonists on fixed-interval performance in the rat.

Abstract The nature of the functional relationships between areas of prefrontal cortex and ventral striatum remain undefined. This study was designed to examine functional interactions between activity in two areas of prefrontal cortex, the prelimbic (PL) and agranular insular (AI) areas, and ventral striatal (VS) dopamine (DA) function. Interactions were assessed using a Fixed Interval (FI) schedule of reinforcement shown previously in our laboratory to be modulated by VS DA function. The study compared changes in FI performance following intra-VS DA antagonist injections alone (SCH23390+eticlopride) to those observed when either saline or saline+lidocaine were injected into prefrontal cortex after the intra-VS DA antagonist injections. The intra-VS DA antagonists alone decreased FI response rates and increased postreinforcement pause times at both dose combinations (1/0.1 and 3/0.3 μg of SCH23390/eticlopride per side). Neither saline nor saline+lidocaine injected into the PL area of prefrontal cortex altered the effects of intra-VS DA antagonists on FI performance. Saline administration into the AI area of prefrontal cortex, however, eliminated the FI rate-decreasing effects of intra-VS DA antagonists. The agent or mechanism of this effect, whether it be saline, the act of inserting the cannulae into the cortical tissue, or the act of injecting fluid into this tissue, is not clear. This effect of AI saline was prevented by coadministration of lidocaine with saline into AI. These results, coupled with those from a previous experiment examining lesion effects in PL and AI on FI performance (Evans SB, Cory-Slechta DA. The effects of temporary lesions of the insular and medial prefrontal cortex on fixed-interval schedule-controlled behavior in the rat, Soc Neurosci Abstr 1996;22(1):159) suggest that PL might exert a tonic influence on VS DA function, since FI response rates gradually increase over a 2-week period following lesions of PL. In contrast, AI, although not normally modulating FI performance, can apparently influence VS DA function, possibly when alterations in activity are invoked in AI.
Differential antagonism of Ras biological activity by catalytic and Src homology domains of Ras GTPase activation protein

Ras p120 GTPase activation protein (GAP), a cytosolic protein, is a negative mediator and potential downstream effector of Ras function. Since membrane association is critical for Ras function, we introduced the Ras membrane-targeting signal (a 19-residue peptide ending in CAAX, where C = cysteine, A = aliphatic amino acid, and X = any amino acid) onto the GAP N-terminal Src homology 2 and 3 and the C-terminal catalytic domains (designated nGAP/CAAX and cGAP/CAAX, respectively) to determine the role of membrane association in GAP function. cGAP/CAAX and full-length GAP/CAAX, but not GAP or nGAP/CAAX, exhibited potent growth inhibitory activity. Whereas both oncogenic and normal Ras activity were inhibited by cGAP/CAAX, nGAP/CAAX, despite lacking the Ras binding domain, inhibited the activity of oncogenic Ras without affecting the action of normal Ras. Altogether, these results demonstrate that membrane association potentiates GAP catalytic activity, support an effector function for GAP, and suggest that normal and oncogenic Ras possess different downstream interactions.
Infarct distribution in subhuman primates after acute coronary occlusion.

The extent of epicardial, endocardial and septal infarct was determined in 24 monkeys and five baboons 1 week after acute left anterior descending or diagonal branch coronary artery ligation. All 24 Macaca cynmologous monkeys had non-dominant left anterior descending coronary arteries. A snare ligature was placed just distal to the first diagonal branch for varying time periods (1, 2, 4, and 6 h followed by reperfusion or left in place permanently). In five baboons a chronic ligature was placed around a diagonal branch. All animals lived and were killed a week later. Histological mapping and planimetry of serial cross-sections were employed to quantify the extent and distribution of the infarct. All infarcts were transmural. The extent of epicardial infarct was significantly greater than the extent of endocardial infarct for the 2 h ligations (3.5 ± 0.87% of the left ventricle versus 2.4 ± 0.58% of the left ventricle, P <0.05), the chronic left anterior descending coronary artery ligations (5.4 ± 1.06% of the left ventricle versus 4.5 ± 0.92% of the left ventricle, P <0.05 and for the chronic diagonal branch ligations (4.06 ± 0.66% of the right ventricle + left ventricle versus 2.64 ± 0.51 % of the right ventricle + left ventricle, P <0.02). It is evident, however, that the magnitude of this epicardial preponderance was not great and that, in general, the infarcts were transmural and rectangular in configuration.
Quantifying contributions to polar warming amplification in an idealized coupled general circulation model

An idealized coupled general circulation model is used to demonstrate that the surface warming due to the doubling of CO2 can still be stronger in high latitudes than in low latitudes even without the negative evaporation feedback in low latitudes and positive ice-albedo feedback in high latitudes, as well as without the poleward latent heat transport. The new climate feedback analysis method formulated in Lu and Cai (Clim Dyn 32:873–885, 2009) is used to isolate contributions from both radiative and non-radiative feedback processes to the total temperature change obtained with the coupled GCM. These partial temperature changes are additive and their sum is convergent to the total temperature change. The radiative energy flux perturbations due to the doubling of CO2 and water vapor feedback lead to a stronger warming in low latitudes than in high latitudes at the surface and throughout the entire troposphere. In the vertical, the temperature changes due to the doubling of CO2 and water vapor feedback are maximum near the surface and decrease with height at all latitudes. The simultaneous warming reduction in low latitudes and amplification in high latitudes by the enhanced poleward dry static energy transport reverses the poleward decreasing warming pattern at the surface and in the lower troposphere, but it is not able to do so in the upper troposphere. The enhanced vertical moist convection in the tropics acts to amplify the warming in the upper troposphere at an expense of reducing the warming in the lower troposphere and surface warming in the tropics. As a result, the final warming pattern shows the co-existence of a reduction of the meridional temperature gradient at the surface and in the lower troposphere with an increase of the meridional temperature gradient in the upper troposphere. In the tropics, the total warming in the upper troposphere is stronger than the surface warming.
Effect of Dimethyloldihydroxyethyleneurea on the Properties of Cellulosic Fibers

We have determined the effect of dimethyloldihydroxyethyleneurea (DMDHEU) on the tensile properties, brittleness, and flex fatigue properties of cotton fibers before and after slack mercerization. The tensile strength and extensibility of nonmercerized fibers decrease with DMDHEU application, but there are distinct differences in the effect of mercerization on the tensile properties of the fibers depending on whether a G. barbadense or G. hirsutum sample is being studied. We explain the effects of cross linking on the tensile properties of nonmercerized and mercerized cotton in terms of current knowledge of their fine structure, and we suggest that morphology also plays an important role in determining the effect of resins on such properties. The brittleness of nonmercerized and mercerized cotton fibers as measured by the breaking twist angle (BTA) method increases as DMDHEU content increases. BTA is correlated with various tensile parameters. The correlation coefficient falls in the order extensibility >...
The Ecology of Racial Discrimination in Housing: An Exploratory Model

This research investigates the spatial variation in racial housing market discrimination. Using 1980 data for Cuyahoga County (Cleveland, Ohio), regression analysis indicates that compared to integ...
CrowdScreen: algorithms for filtering data with humans

Given a large set of data items, we consider the problem of filtering them based on a set of properties that can be verified by humans. This problem is commonplace in crowdsourcing applications, and yet, to our knowledge, no one has considered the formal optimization of this problem. (Typical solutions use heuristics to solve the problem.) We formally state a few different variants of this problem. We develop deterministic and probabilistic algorithms to optimize the expected cost (i.e., number of questions) and expected error. We experimentally show that our algorithms provide definite gains with respect to other strategies. Our algorithms can be applied in a variety of crowdsourcing scenarios and can form an integral part of any query processor that uses human computation.
Splicing and transport of eukaryotic mRNAs: a theoretical model.

Abstract Several years have already elapsed since the first discovery of splicing in eukaryotic mRNAs. In this process sections of the precursor mRNAs are spliced out (these are named introns) and the two remaining excised sites, 5′ and 3′ are ligated to form the mature mRNA chains. Very little is known about the splicing and ligation mechanism or about its location inside the cell. It is known to take place in the nucleus, but it is unknown whether it occurs inside the nuclear matter or on the surface of its membrane. Since nearly all eukaryotic messengers undergo splicing, this is a central question. From the theoretical point of view this is an intriguing problem. A lot of data have recently accumulated which have a bearing on this question. Based on current knowledge, this paper proposes a model in which splicing is carried out on the surface of the nuclear membrane and in concert with transport across it. It is suggested that the enzymes that take part in this process are loosely associated with the membrane pore complex. Evidence and results which are relevant to this question are given and discussed.
Crowdsourcing step-by-step information extraction to enhance existing how-to videos

Millions of learners today use how-to videos to master new skills in a variety of domains. But browsing such videos is often tedious and inefficient because video player interfaces are not optimized for the unique step-by-step structure of such videos. This research aims to improve the learning experience of existing how-to videos with step-by-step annotations. We first performed a formative study to verify that annotations are actually useful to learners. We created ToolScape, an interactive video player that displays step descriptions and intermediate result thumbnails in the video timeline. Learners in our study performed better and gained more self-efficacy using ToolScape versus a traditional video player. To add the needed step annotations to existing how-to videos at scale, we introduce a novel crowdsourcing workflow. It extracts step-by-step structure from an existing video, including step times, descriptions, and before and after images. We introduce the Find-Verify-Expand design pattern for temporal and visual annotation, which applies clustering, text processing, and visual analysis algorithms to merge crowd output. The workflow does not rely on domain-specific customization, works on top of existing videos, and recruits untrained crowd workers. We evaluated the workflow with Mechanical Turk, using 75 cooking, makeup, and Photoshop videos on YouTube. Results show that our workflow can extract steps with a quality comparable to that of trained annotators across all three domains with 77% precision and 81% recall.
The Influence of Intertrial Interval Food on Extinction and Devaluation in Chain Schedules

The authors exposed pigeons to 2 equal 3-link chains by using variable-interval schedules of reinforcement. An intertrial interval (ITI) bisected by free food separated the chains. After baseline training, the authors presented terminal links in a successive discrimination to devalue 1 terminal link: The authors reinforced responses to 1 terminal link and extinguished responses to the other. The authors then presented full chains in extinction, except that they continued to deliver free food during the midpoint of the ITI. There were 2 principal findings. First, across all extinction conditions, responding decreased but did not extinguish. Second, when extinction testing revealed a terminal link devaluation effect in the 3rd condition, responding to the initial link was affected, but not middle-link responding. Overall, the results suggested that ITI food presentations can exert a substantial effect on responding in 3-link chain schedules, and they appear to influence both the pattern of extinction and devaluation effects.
Design of high-precision synchros and resolvers

In the design of high-precision resolvers and synchros there are many sources of inaccuracies, such as harmonics generated by winding distributions, slot openings, and mechanical tolerances. This paper develops the equations for output voltage in terms of winding and air-gap factors, gives a method of analysis which is adaptable to digital techniques, and presents a general discussion of the sources of error and a means for minimizing these errors.
THE ENERGETICS OF ION TRANSPORT IN THE PRESENCE OF POLYMERIC COMPOUNDS WHICH ALTER THE RHEOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF WATER.

Abstract : The Arrhenius activation energy of the electrical conduction of aqueous 0.10M KCl solution remains unchanged when a thickening agent such as polyvinylmethel ether or a drag-reducing agent such as polyethylene oxide is added, indicating that these agents, in the small amounts added, probably do not appreciably alter the structure of liquid water. (Author)
Insulin Resistance as the Underlying Cause for the Metabolic Syndrome

Classically, the metabolic syndrome is characterized as group of pathologies including visceral obesity, hypertension, dyslipidemia, and impaired glucose tolerance. It is now realized that insulin resistance plays a principal role in initiating and perpetuating the pathologic manifestations of the metabolic syndrome. A more in-depth understanding of the basic pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying insulin resistance may aid clinicians in treating and possibly delaying or even preventing the onset of the metabolic syndrome and its complications. This article outlines how abnormal insulin signaling and secretion, impaired glucose disposal, lipotoxicity, and proinflammatory cytokines exacerbate insulin resistance and result in the perturbations of the metabolic syndrome.
Phase stability and nondilute Li diffusion in spinel Li 1 + x Ti 2 O 4

We report on a comprehensive first-principles investigation of Li diffusion in spinel ${\text{Li}}_{1+x}{\text{Ti}}_{2}{\text{O}}_{4}$, a viable anode material for Li-ion batteries. Concentration dependent diffusion coefficients are calculated by applying kinetic Monte Carlo simulations to a first-principles parametrized cluster expansion of the configurational energy and migration barriers. Diffusion mechanisms in spinel transition metal oxide intercalation compounds are sensitive to the Li concentration. Below $x=0$ in ${\text{Li}}_{1+x}{\text{Ti}}_{2}{\text{O}}_{4}$, Li ions occupy tetrahedral sites and individual Li hops between neighboring tetrahedral sites pass through intermediate octahedral sites, which we find to be activated states as opposed to local minima. The migration barriers are sensitive to the overall Li concentration, decreasing as the Li concentration over the tetrahedral sites is increased. A miscibility gap exists between ${\text{LiTi}}_{2}{\text{O}}_{4}$ and ${\text{Li}}_{2}{\text{Ti}}_{2}{\text{O}}_{4}$. Li-diffusion mechanisms in ${\text{Li}}_{2}{\text{Ti}}_{2}{\text{O}}_{4}$ are qualitatively different from those in ${\text{Li}}_{1+x}{\text{Ti}}_{2}{\text{O}}_{4}$ when $xl0$, with Li hops between neighboring octahedral sites passing through intermediate tetrahedral sites that are locally stable. The present study provides insight to the origin of the high Li mobility in spinel crystal structures compared to the layered crystal structures of common intercalation compounds used as electrodes in Li-ion batteries.
Subduction, back-arc spreading and global mantle flow

The shapes and orientations of Benioff zones beneath island arcs, interpreted as marking the location of subducted lithosphere, provide the best presently available constraints on the global convective flow pattern associated with plate motions. This global flow influences the dynamics of subduction. Subduction zone phenomena therefore provide powerful tests for models of mantle flow. We compute global flow models which, while simple, include those features which are best constrained, namely the observed plate velocities, applied as boundary conditions, and the density contrasts given by thermal models of the lithosphere and subducted slabs. Two viscosity structures are used; for one, flow is confined to the upper mantle, while for the other, flow extends throughout the mantle. Instantaneous flow velocity vectors match observed Benioff zone dips and shapes for the model which allows mantle-wide flow but not for the upper mantle model, which has a highly contorted flow pattern. The effect of trench migration on particle trajectories is calculated; it is not important if subduction velocities are greater than migration rates. Two-dimensional finite element models show that including a coherent high viscosity slab does not change these conclusions. A coherent high viscosity slab extending deep into the upper mantle would significantly slow subduction if flow were confined to the upper mantle. The maximum earthquake magnitude, M_w, for island arcs correlates well with the age of the subducted slab and pressure gradient between the trench and back-arc region for the whole mantle, but not the upper mantle, flow model. The correlations with orientations of Benioff zones and seismic coupling strongly suggest that the global return flow associated with plate motions extends below 700 km. For both models, regions of back-arc spreading have asthenospheric shear pulling the back-arc toward the trench; regions without back-arc spreading have the opposite sense of shear, suggesting global flow strongly influences back-arc spreading.
Organizational attractiveness and corporate social orientation: Do our values influence our preference for affirmative action and managing diversity?

This study examines the impact of corporate social orientation on organizational attractiveness as it relates to information about an organization’s handling of diversity issues. Using Aupperle’s n...
Multiple forms of endopeptidase activity from jojoba seeds.

Abstract The cotyledons of 27 day post-germination jojoba seedlings ( Simmondsia chinensis ) contained five distinct endopeptidase activities separable by DEAE Bio-Gel and CM-cellulose ion exchange chromatography. The endopeptidases were purified 108- to 266-fold and their individuality was confirmed by activity-specific assays in native acrylamide gels along with differences in their M r and catalytic properties. The five endopeptidases, which showed activity on model substrates and protein, were named EP Ia, EP Ib, EP II, EP III and EP IV. EP Ia was a serine proteinase with a pH optimum of ca 8 and M r of 58 000. EP Ib, II and III were discrete cysteine proteinases showing pH optima of ca 6.8, 6.0 and 5.4 and M r of 41 000, 47 000 and 35 000 respectively. EP IV was an aspartic acid proteinase with a ca pH optimum of 3.5 and M r of 33 000.
Multiple-mode large deflection random response of beams with nonlinear damping subjected to acoustic excitation

Multiple-mode nonlinear analysis is carried out for beams subjected to acoustic excitation. Effects of both nonlinear damping and large-deflection are included in the analysis in an attempt to explain the experimental phenomena of aircraft panels excited at high sound pressure levels; that is the broadening of the strain response peaks and the increase of modal frequency. An amplitude dependent nonlinear damping model is used in the anlaysis to study the effects and interactions of multiple modes, nonlinear stiffness and nonlinear damping on the random response of beams. Mean square maximum deflection, mean square maximum strain, and spectral density function of maximum strain for simple supported and clamped beams are obtained. It is shown analytically that nonlinear damping contributes significantly to the broadening of the response peak and to the mean square deflection and strain.
Bridging legal and economic perspectives on interstate municipal solid waste disposal in the US

Managing municipal solid waste (MSW) within and across regions is a complex public policy problem. One challenge regards conceptualizing precisely what commodity is to be managed across space and time. The US Supreme Court view is that waste disposal is the article of commerce per se. Some justices, however, have argued that while waste disposal is the article of commerce, its interstate flow could be impeded by states on the grounds that they have the authority to regulate natural resource quality within their boundaries. The argument in this paper is that adopting the economic theory view of the article of commerce as landfill space brings the majority and dissenting US Supreme Court views—and the resulting sides of the public policy dispute—into closer alignment. We discuss waste management policy tools that emerge from this closer alignment that are more likely to both withstand judicial scrutiny and achieve economic efficiency.
How projection-pursuit learning works in high dimensions

This paper addresses an important question in machine learning: What kinds of network architectures work better on what kinds of problems? A projection pursuit learning network has a very similar structure to a one hidden layer sigmoidal neural network. A general method based on a continuous version of projection pursuit regression is developed to show that projection pursuit regression works better on angular smooth functions than on Laplacian smooth functions. There exists a ridge function approximation scheme to avoid the curse of dimensionality for approximating some class of underlying functions.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Indoor Sorption of Surrogates for Sarin and Related Nerve Agents

Sorption rate parameters were determined for three organophosphorus (OP) compounds [dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP), diethyl ethylphosphonate (DEEP), and triethyl phosphate (TEP)] as surrogates for the G-type nerve agents sarin (GB), soman (GD), and tabun (GA). OP surrogates were injected and vaporized with additional volatile organic compounds into a 50 m3 chamber finished with painted wallboard. Experiments were conducted at two furnishing levels: (i) chamber containing only hard surfaces including a desk, a bookcase, tables, and chairs and (ii) with the addition of plush materials including carpet with cushion, draperies, and upholstered furniture. Each furnishing level was studied with aged and new painted wallboard. Gas-phase concentrations were measured during sealed chamber adsorb and desorb phases and then fit to three mathematical variations of a previously proposed sorption model having a surface sink and allowing for an embedded sink. A four-parameter model allowing unequal transport rates between surface and embedded sinks provided excellent fits for all conditions. To evaluate the potential effect of sorption, this model was incorporated into an indoor air quality simulation model to predict indoor concentrations of a G-type agent and a nonsorbing agent for hypothetical outdoor releases with shelter-in-place (SIP) response. Sorption was simulated using a range of parameters obtained experimentally. Simulations considered outdoor Gaussian plumes of 1- and 5-h duration and infiltration rates of 0.1, 0.3, and 0.9 h(-1). Indoor toxic loads (TL) for a 10-h SIP were calculated as integral C2 dt for a G-type agent. For the 5-h plume, sheltering reduced TLs for the nonsorbing agent to approximately 10-65% of outdoor levels. Analogous TLs for a G-type agent were 2-31% or 0.3-12% of outdoor levels assuming slow or moderate sorption. The relative effect of sorption was more pronounced for the longer plume and higher infiltration rates.
From Homoligand- to Mixed-Ligand- Monolayer-Protected Metal Nanoparticles: A Scanning Tunneling Microscopy Investigation

The ligand shell that coats, protects, and imparts a large number of properties to gold nanoparticles is a 2-D self-assembled monolayer wrapped around a 3-D metallic core. Here we present a study of the molecular packing of ligand shells on gold nanoparticles based on the analysis of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) images. We discuss methods for optimal nanoparticle sample preparation in relation to STM imaging conditions. We show that the packing of a self-assembled monolayer composed solely of octanethiols on gold nanoparticles depends on the particle's diameter with an average headgroup spacing of 5.4 A, which is different from that of similar monolayers formed on flat Au(111) surfaces (5.0 A). In the case of nanoparticles coated with mixtures of ligands-known to phase separate into randomly shaped and ordered domains on flat surfaces-we find that phase separation leads to the formation of concentric, ribbonlike domains of alternating composition. The spacing of these domains depends on the ligand shell composition. We find that, for a given composition, the spacing increases with diameter in a manner characterized by discontinuous transitions at "critical" particle sizes. We discuss possible interpretations for the observed trends in our data.
Technique for Measuring Modulation Transfer Functions of Recording Media

A technique is described for measuring the modulation transfer functions (MTF) of recording media. In this technique, a coherent optical system interferometrically generates a signal suitable for recording on the medium being tested. A second coherent optical system is used to obtain the MTF; spatial filters are used to remove the effects of film-grain noise, phase errors in the emulsion of the film, and extraneous light distributions. Since both systems are coherent, this technique can be used equally well to measure the MTF of phase-modulated media or bleached photographic film. A satisfying feature of this technique is that the MTF is displayed at the output of the second optical system as an easily detectable light distribution.
Army ants do not eat and run: Influence of food supply on emigration behaviour in Neivamyrmex nigrescens

Abstract Laboratory studies show that the amount and location of food strongly influence the frequency and direction of emigrations. For two overfed colonies, emigrations occurred on only 28% of the nomadic days. By contrast, underfed colonies emigrated on 62% of the nomadic days. In addition, overfeeding kept one colony from emigrating for seven consecutive days, as compared with a maximum of two consecutive days for the underfed colonies. Most emigrations took place in the direction of booty location. It was shown, however, that colonies can also recruit and emigrate to suitable nests, independent of the presence of food.
Teaching Effectiveness and Social Skill Development

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there were any relationships between adjudicated teaching effectiveness scores, assessed by the Survey of Teaching Effectiveness (Hamann & Baker, 1995), an observation-based assessment instrument, and social skills scores, assessed by the Social Skills Inventory (Riggio, 1989), a self-report instrument, of preservice teachers. Subjects for the study, N = 138, were music education and elementary/secondary education students preparing to be teachers at three universities in Ohio and Oklahoma. From regression analysis, it was found that (a) Emotional Expressivity, an individual's skill in nonverbal communication, (b) Emotional Sensitivity, an individual's skill in receiving and interpreting nonverbal communication of others, and (c) Social Control, an individual's ability to engage others in social discourse, were related to teaching effectiveness among preservice teachers.
Dynamic analysis methodology for progressive failure of truss structures considering inelastic postbuckling cyclic member behavior

Abstract Over the years, several catastrophic collapses of truss structures have been reported. Sudden failure or reduction in member capacity of a single member in a truss structure gives rise to dynamic force redistribution in the remaining members and may lead to progressive collapse of the entire structure. During failure, truss members can undergo inelastic cyclic behavior (including postbuckling in compression and yielding in tension) that may not have existed in the intact structure. This paper presents a methodology to incorporate the inelastic cyclic member force–deformation behavior in the dynamic analysis of truss structures and at the same time incorporates the possible dynamic effects arising from the sudden change in load carrying capacity of a member due to failure or buckling/postbuckling. The method tracks and generates the force–deformation characteristics of every member of the truss at each incremental time step. The continuous change in the load-carrying capacity and the stiffness of members during the nonlinear force–deformation history has been incorporated in the analysis scheme using the Pseudo-force approach. The solution methodology for obtaining the dynamic response of the structure is based on the finite element technique and considers elasto-plastic material and large deformation geometric nonlinearities. The methodology is applied to a two-dimensional three-member toggle redundant truss subjected to external static, quasi-static, and dynamic (sinusoidal and ramp) loads. Results delineating the effects of the inelastic cyclic axial force–deformation relation of each member and the time variation of joint displacements and member forces are presented for each loading condition. The results show that there exist cases where modeling a compression member with its actual postbuckling behavior, which although has some reserve load carrying capacity, are more critical than the case where the same member is considered to suddenly lose its full load carrying capacity at its buckling load.
The extraction of wheat germs, milkweed seeds, and cottonseed by trichloroethylene

Specific gravity-concentration data have been determined for wheat germ oil, milkweed seed oil, and cottonseed oil miscellas where trichloroethylene is used as a solvent. Extraction rate data at two temperatures and pilot plant runs on wheat germs, cottonseed, cottonseed meats, and milkweed seeds indicate increasing extraction time in the order given.
Effects of retinoic acid on the binding and mitogenic activity of epidermal growth factor

In this study the effects of retinoic acid on the binding and mitogenic activity of epidermal growth factor (EGF) in mouse fibroblast Balb/c 3T6 cells are further examined. Retinoic acid treatment of 3T6 cells results in a sixfold enhancement of 125I-labeled mouse EGF binding when assayed at 37 degrees C. In both retinoic acid-treated and control cells, cell-associated 125I-EGF is rapidly internalized, degraded, and secreted. Retinoic acid treatment does not seem to have a significant effect on the rate of internalization and degradation of EGF. At 0 degrees C, internalization of EGF is strongly inhibited in both retinoic acid-treated and control cells. Under these conditions retinoic acid-treated cells still exhibit a tenfold higher level of EGF binding compared to control cells. When exposed to high concentrations of EGF both retinoic acid-treated and control cells "down-regulate" their EGF receptors. And although the growth rate of retinoic acid-treated cells is about half that of control cells, the rate at which EGF binding capacity is restored after down-regulation is about three times as fast as in control cells. No direct antagonism on EGF binding was observed between the tumor promoter 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA) and retinoic acid. EGF is a potent mitogen for 3T6 cells in serum-free medium; retinoic acid inhibits the mitogenic activity of EGF even though it increases EGF binding. Retinoic acid also inhibits cell proliferation induced by sarcoma growth factor (SGF) and insulin.
Photographic Parallax Heights of Infrared Airflow Structures

WE recently presented infrared photographs of the night sky which show moving, changing structures1 and argued that these were due to OH airglow emission. A stringent test of the validity of our assertion is the determination of the height of discrete emission patches using parallax photographs from two widely separated sites. Observations were made during the night of May 2–3, 1973, from Capilla Peak Observatory (elevation 2,855 m) and from a station 20 km west of Albuquerque (1,760 m). The sites are separated by 64.8 km, and the Albuquerque site is located 42.3° west of north from Capilla Peak. Consecutive exposures of 5 min centred about 15° east of north were taken simultaneously at each site with f/1.2 cameras from the end of twilight till the beginning of dawn.
Explaining the Resurrection: Conflicting Convictions

Although explanations for the earliest Christian proclamation of Jesus' resurrection vary, certain standard arguments appear again and again. The present article introduces those explanations and those arguments as well as the essays in this theme issue of JSHJ, with a view to clarifying what they add to the traditional discussion.
Visibly pushdown automata for streaming XML

We propose the study of visibly pushdown automata (VPA) for processing XML documents. VPAs are pushdown automata where the input determines the stack operation, and XML documents are naturally visibly pushdown with the VPA pushing onto the stack on open-tags and popping the stack on close-tags. In this paper we demonstrate the power and ease visibly pushdown automata give in the design of streaming algorithms for XML documents. We study the problems of type-checking streaming XML documents against SDTD schemas, and the problem of typing tags in a streaming XML document according to an SDTD schema. For the latter problem, we consider both pre-order typing and post-order typing of a document, which dynamically determines types at open-tags and close-tags respectively as soon as they are met. We also generalize the problems of pre-order and post-order typing to prefix querying. We show that a deterministic VPA yields an algorithm to the problem of answering in one pass the set of all answers to any query that has the property that a node satisfying the query is determined solely by the prefix leading to the node. All the streaming algorithms we develop in this paper are based on the construction of deterministic VPAs, and hence, for any fixed problem, the algorithms process each element of the input in constant time, and use space (d), where d is the depth of the document.
Kinematics of the ribbon fin in hovering and swimming of the electric ghost knifefish

Weakly electric knifefish are exceptionally maneuverable swimmers. In prior work, we have shown that they are able to move their entire body omnidirectionally so that they can rapidly reach prey up to several centimeters away. Consequently, in addition to being a focus of efforts to understand the neural basis of sensory signal processing in vertebrates, knifefish are increasingly the subject of biomechanical analysis to understand the coupling of signal acquisition and biomechanics. Here, we focus on a key subset of the knifefish's omnidirectional mechanical abilities: hovering in place, and swimming forward at variable speed. Using high-speed video and a markerless motion capture system to capture fin position, we show that hovering is achieved by generating two traveling waves, one from the caudal edge of the fin and one from the rostral edge, moving toward each other. These two traveling waves overlap at a nodal point near the center of the fin, cancelling fore–aft propulsion. During forward swimming at low velocities, the caudal region of the fin continues to have counter-propagating waves, directly retarding forward movement. The gait transition from hovering to forward swimming is accompanied by a shift in the nodal point toward the caudal end of the fin. While frequency varies significantly to increase speed at low velocities, beyond approximately one body length per second, the frequency stays near 10 Hz, and amplitude modulation becomes more prominent. A coupled central pattern generator model is able to reproduce qualitative features of fin motion and suggest hypotheses regarding the fin's neural control.