cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Path Dependence in the Law: The Course and Pattern of Legal Change in a Common Law System

Part I of this Article provides an overview of path dependence theory. It outlines the theory and briefly describes three separate strands of the theory: increasing returns path dependence, evolutionary path dependence, and sequencing path dependence, which are rooted in the economics, biological, and rational choice theory literatures, respectively. Although each of these strands has specific and unique characteristics, they are linked by a central insight: In each, an outcome or decision is shaped in specific and systematic ways by the path leading to it. Each of these strands of path dependence in turn has important implications for the course and pattern of change in the common law system. Accordingly, Part II applies path dependence theory to the common law. At the core of the common law system is the requirement that courts adhere to the body of principles and rules of action that derive their authority "solely from usages and customs of immemorial antiquity, or from the judgments and decrees of the courts recognizing, affirming, and enforcing such usages and customs." Under the doctrine of stare decisis, higher courts' previous decisions are controlling, courts give their own decisions significant weight, and courts look to non-binding decisions for persuasive precedent. Consequently, although there is some flexibility in the system, precedent remains central to legal deliberation. The doctrine of stare decisis thus creates an explicitly path-dependent process. Later decisions rely on, and are constrained by, earlier decisions. More important, the way in which history shapes legal outcomes corresponds to the three-fold division introduced in Part I. Because each legal decision increases the probability that the next will take a particular form, the common law exhibits increasing returns path dependence. Because the law changes through a process of punctuated yet historically constrained evolution, the common law exhibits evolutionary path dependence. And because the legal process involves sequential decisionmaking in a process marked by competing alternatives and multiple actors, the common law exhibits sequencing path dependence. Therefore, just as biological and social processes are constrained by history, the law is firmly guided by the heavy hand of the past. Finally, Part III turns from the descriptive to the normative. It analyzes the implications of path dependence theory for the doctrine of stare decisis. Path dependence theory reveals that significant costs may arise out of the reliance on precedent in a common law system. The Article concludes with the claim that, all other things being equal, where the costs of path dependence are expected to be especially significant, courts should consider relaxing the doctrine of stare decisis. This prescription not only supports modifying existing practices of reliance upon precedent, but also provides a theoretical basis for some existing distinctions in the degree that judges rely on certain categories of precedent.
Combined PDGFR and HDAC Inhibition Overcomes PTEN Disruption in Chordoma

Background The majority of chordomas show activation of the platelet-derived growth factor receptor (PDGFR). Based on in vitro intertumoral variation in response to recombinant PDGF protein and PDGFR inhibition, and variable tumor response to imatinib, we hypothesized that chordomas resistant to PDGFR inhibition may possess downstream activation of the pathway.
Oscillatory serotonin function in depression

Oscillations in brain activities with periods of minutes to hours may be critical for normal mood behaviors. Ultradian (faster than circadian) rhythms of mood behaviors and associated central nervous system activities are altered in depression. Recent data suggest that ultradian rhythms in serotonin (5HT) function also change in depression. In two separate studies, 5HT metabolites in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were measured every 10 m for 24 h before and after chronic antidepressant treatment. Antidepressant treatments were associated with enhanced ultradian amplitudes of CSF metabolite levels. Another study used resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)to measure amplitudes of dorsal raphe activation cycles following sham or active dietary depletions of the 5HT precursor (tryptophan). During depletion, amplitudes of dorsal raphe activation cycles increased with rapid 6 s periods (about 0.18 Hz)while functional connectivity weakened between dorsal raphe and thalamus at slower periods of 20 s (0.05 Hz). A third approach studied MDMA (ecstasy) users because of their chronically diminished 5HT function compared to non-MDMA polysubstance users (Karageorgiou et al., 2009). Compared to a non-MDMA using cohort, MDMA users showed diminished fMRI intra-regional coherence in motor regions along with altered functional connectivity, again suggesting effects of altered 5HT oscillatory function. These data support a hypothesis that qualities of ultradian oscillations in 5HT function may critically influence moods and behaviors. Dysfunctional 5HT rhythms in depression may be a common endpoint and biomarker for depression, linking dysfunction of slow brain network oscillators to 5HT mechanisms affected by commonly available treatments. 5HT oscillatory dysfunction may define illness subtypes and predict responses to serotonergic agents. Further studies of 5HT oscillations in depression are indicated.
5S rRNA gene deletions cause an unexpectedly high fitness loss in Escherichia coli

In Escherichia coli, ribosomal RNAs (16S, 23S and 5S) are co-transcribed in a highly regulated manner from seven genomically dispersed operons. Previous studies on the cellular effects of altered levels of two of these rRNAs (16S and 23S) have been useful in better understanding the regulation of rRNA expression. Furthering these studies, we have investigated the effect of 5S rRNA deficiencies on cell fitness through the sequential deletion of 5S rRNA genes. Our findings indicate that the loss of 5S rDNA from multiple genes decreases cell fitness more rapidly than loss of a similar number of 16S and 23S rRNA genes. These results suggest that the cell's innate ability to up-regulate rRNA operons does not compensate for 5S rRNA deficiencies, as was previously shown for 16S and 23S rRNAs. A plasmid-borne 5S rRNA gene is able to compensate for the deleted 5S rRNA genes.
Quantification of atomic scale defects in poly Si PV devices using atom probe tomography

Characterization of defect locations and their effects on transport in polycrystalline Si photovoltaics is readily accomplished using optical and electrical characterization. Information on the elemental nature of these defects is more difficult due to both the low concentrations and highly localized positions. This work demonstrates the ability to locate and elementally analyze electronic defects in these devices using correlative electron microscopy and spectroscopy within a focused ion beam specimen preparation tool followed by 3-D atom probe tomography.
Research on picosecond processes in biological, chemical, and materials science systems using the infrared beam at the Stanford Free Electron Laser Center

The Stanford free electron laser center was established to support a broad range of biomedical and materials science research. This paper will begin with an introduction to the Center's capabilities, and then will present brief descriptions of some of the experiments utilizing the transform and diffraction limited tunable picosecond pulses of infrared light from the free electron lasers at the Center. The experiments share the common characteristic that they exploit unique aspects of the FEL beams and would be much more difficult to perform with any other light source.© (1999) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Compressible flow with damping and vacuum

We consider the compressible Euler equations with damping. The singular behavior of the flow near vacuum and the large-time states are of particular interest. A class of solutions is constructed and shown to converge to the self-similar solutions of the porous media equation. The porous media equation is derived from the Euler equations through Darcy’s law. Thus we have justified Darcy’s law for the compressible flow time-asymptotically.
Computational Detection of Humor: A Dream or a Nightmare? The Ontological Semantics Approach

This paper deals with computational detection of humor. It assumes that computational humor is a useful task for any number of reasons and in many applications. It discusses the computational linguistic/ semantic precondi¬tions for computational humor and an ontological semantic approach to the task of humor detection, based on direct and comprehensive access to meaning rather than on trying to guess it through statistical-cum-syntactical keyword methods. The pa¬per is informed by the experience of designing and imple¬menting a humor detection model, whose decent success rate confirmed some of the assumptions while its misses made other ideas prominent, including the necessity of full text comprehension. The bulk of the paper explains how the comprehensive representation of meaning and, most impor¬tantly how unstructured natural language text is automati¬cally translated into the ontologically defined text meaning representations that can be used then to de¬tect humor in them, if any, automatically.
A Soil Thermal Model for Remote Sensing

A simulation model of the heat exchange at the soil surface is used to study the effects of the soil characteristics, the initial temperature profile, and the boundary conditions on the surface temperatures. The surface temperature cycle is found to be insensitive to both the initial temperature profile and the lower boundary conditions. The result allows us to treat the soil with an analytic steady-state model as a transmission line problem. Its formulation allows us to calculate the soil conducting flux directly from the satellite temperature data, without the knowledge of the energy exchange process at the ground surface, provided that the soil thermal inertia is known. A simple inverse model can then be formulated to calculate accurately the soil thermal inertia and soil fluxes using visible and infrared satellite data. The model requires neither the linearization of the flux terms at the ground surface nor the knowledge of the lower boundary condition and the soil initial temperature profile.
Investigation of Early Dry and Wet/Dry Cooling Studies

In mid 1974, The U.S. Atomic Energy Commission initiated the Dry Cooling Tower Program to provide the technology to support the increased use of dry cooling for central power stations. The purpose of the program was to provide solutions to existing problems of dry cooling and the development and demonstration of new dry cooling concepts. The program included input from utilities, architect engineers, dry cooling system vendors and others involved in technology development. This paper focuses on initial studies conducted at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to investigate dry and wet/dry cooling concepts to develop economic and performance models for cost optimization of total heat rejection systems using dry and wet/dry cooling to provide a compilation of studies and results.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
The fundamental solution on manifolds with time-dependent metrics

In this article we prove the existence of a fundamental solution for the linear parabolic operator L(u) = (Δ − ∂/∂t − h)u, on a compact n-dimensional manifold M with a time-parameterized family of smooth Riemannian metrics g(t). Δ is the time-dependent Laplacian based on g(t), and h(x, t) is smooth. Uniqueness, positivity, the adjoint property, and the semigroup property hold. We further derive a Harnack inequality for positive solutions of L(u) = 0 on (M, g(t) on a time interval depending on curvature bounds and the dimension of M, and in the special case of Ricci flow, use it to find lower bounds on the fundamental solution of the heat operator in terms of geometric data and an explicit Euclidean type heat kernel.
Na+ transport and flux ratio through apical Na+ channels in toad bladder

In many epithelia, the rate of NaCl reabsorption is determined by the activity of a Na+ transport system in the outer (apical) membrane. In frog skin and toad bladder, this system is thought to involve transmembrane pores through which Na+ ions move down an electrochemical activity gradient1–5. It has been shown, however, that increased intracellular Na+ concentration leads to reduction in unidirectional Na+ influx6,7, raising the possibility that ions do not move through the channel independently. The Ussing flux ratio equation is one test for independence of passive ion movements8. In particular, single-filing of ions through long pores can account for effects such as reduction of unidirectional fluxes by ions on the opposite (trans) side of the membrane; this type of transport mechanism is characterized by flux ratio exponents >1 (refs 9–11). I have evaluated the flux ratio exponent (n′) for the apical Na+ channel in the toad bladder as the ratio of tracer permeability to electrical conductance at electrochemical equilibrium9–11, that is, n′=RT/F2(GNa/JNa), where JNa and GNa are, respectively, unidirectional flux and the conductance for Na+ions through the channel in the absence of net Na+ movement. I report here values of n′ of 1.15±0.10 and 1.08±0.07 for activities of 40mM and 10 mM Na+, respectively, in the outer solution. This channel is therefore occupied by at most one Na+ ion at these activities.
Bird occupancy and richness in ponderosa pine forests with contrasting forest structure and fire history

We compared the effects of two contrasting silvicultural treatments and prescribed fire on bird occupancy at Blacks Mountain Experimental Forest. Each silvicultural treatment was applied to two app...
Predicting posttraumatic growth among Hurricane Katrina survivors living with HIV: the role of self-efficacy, social support, and PTSD symptoms

The study tested the model of adaptation after trauma by Benight and Bandura (2004) indicating that posttraumatic recovery may be predicted directly by coping self-efficacy (CSE) and indirectly by social support. These relations were investigated in the context of posttraumatic growth (PTG) among Hurricane Katrina survivors living with HIV. Additionally, it was hypothesized that among individuals with more intensive Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms, those with strong CSE would experience the strongest PTG. Cross-sectional data were collected among 90 patients with HIV who reinitiated care at the HIV outpatient clinic. Questionnaires were administered approximately 14 months after the hurricane. Higher CSE was related to higher PTG among the survivors who suffered from more intensive PTSD symptoms. Received social support was directly related to only one index of PTG, relating to others. Furthermore, although there was a significant relationship between social support and CSE, the indirect conditional effect of received social support on PTG was not confirmed. Similar results were obtained across the indices of PTG, controlling for the level of exposure to hurricane-related trauma. Cross-sectional design and convenience character of the sample warrants replications.
Motivation in high school science students: A comparison of gender differences in life, physical, and earth science classes

The aims of this study were to examine self-efficacy and other motivation variables among high school science students (n = 502); to determine the degree to which each of the four hypothesized sources of self-efficacy makes an independent contribution to students' science self-efficacy beliefs; to examine possible differences between life, physical, and Earth science classes; and to investigate patterns of gender differences that may vary among the fields of science. In Earth science classes, girls earned higher grades and reported stronger science self-efficacy. In life science classes, girls earned higher grades but did not report stronger self-efficacy, and did report higher science anxiety. In physical science, there were no gender differences in grades or self-efficacy, but girls again reported higher levels of science anxiety. For boys across science fields, science self-efficacy significantly predicted course grades and mastery experiences was the only significant predictor of self-efficacy. For girls, self-efficacy was also the strongest predictor of science grade across fields. Mastery experiences significantly predicted self-efficacy in Earth science for girls, but social persuasions, vicarious experiences, and physiological states were better predictors of science self-efficacy in life and physical science classes. Results support (Bandura, A., 1997) hypothesized sources of self-efficacy, previous research findings on self-efficacy in the domain of science, and validate the suggestion made by Lau and Roeser (2002) to disaggregate data by science field. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 45: 955–970, 2008
Active positioning device for a perimodiolar cochlear electrode array

The authors report on an actuated positioning device for a cochlear prosthesis insertion procedure. The device consists of multiple high-aspect ratio fluidic actuator chambers integrated with a high-density silicon cochlear electrode array and manufactured in a tapered-helix form. Actuation chambers with cross-sectional sizes as small as 40 × 200 μm and lengths of 30 mm have been fabricated using flexible polymers. The device will allow for low-resistance basilar insertion of a stimulating electrode array into the cochlea providing for deep, perimodiolar position considered most beneficial for auditory nerve stimulation, while minimizing intracochlear trauma. Experimental measurements, FEA analysis, and modeling demonstrate a viable and appropriate actuation method for a cochlear implant procedure.
The repeated letter effect in the misspellings

The study consisted of a comparison of the spontaneous misspellings of a dysgraphic (L. H. Oswald) with the ease of perception and recall of similar misspellings by normal Ss. The main results were as follows: (1) Oswald frequently misspelled repeated letters in words (e.g., ELDERY). Similarly, normal Ss found repeated-letter misspellings more difficult to perceive and recall than nonrepeated-letter misspellings. (2) Oswald frequently misspelled repeated letters which were close together as in ANLYZE (for ANALYZE), but he rarely misspelled widely separated repeated letters as in MISSPELLNG. Similarly, normal Ss found repeated-letter misspellings hardest to perceive and recall when the repeated letters were close together, and very easy when they were widely separated. (3) Oswald misspelled the second of two repeated letters (as in ELDERY) more frequently than the first (as in EDERLY). Similarly, normal Ss found repeated-letter misspellings easier to perceive and recall when the first of the repeated letters was misspelled, as in EDERLY, than when the second was misspelled. (4) Oswald sometimes repeated a letter on his own, as in HABITITUATED—but more frequently he dropped a repeated letter as in ELDERY. However, repeated-letter misspellings involving deleted letters were easier for the normal Ss to recall than those involving deletions. Evidence suggesting that repeated phonemes induce analogous errors in normal speech production was discussed, and implications for general models of the serial order of speech behavior were pointed out.
Retrieval analysis of Harris-Galante I and II acetabular liners in situ for more than 10 years.

Background and purpose There have been few reports documenting the wear and oxidation performance of the polyethylene bearing surface of HGPI and HGPII THA devices.We evaluated retrieved HGPI and HGPII acetabular liners that had been in situ for more than 10 years and determined whether there was a relationship between clinical and radiographic factors, surface damage, wear, and oxidation. Materials and methods 129 HGPI and II acetabular liners with implantation times of > 10 years were retrieved at 4 institutions between 1997 and 2010. The liners were made from a single resin and were gamma radiation-sterilized in air. Surface damage, linear wear, and oxidation index (OI) were assessed. Differences in clinical and radiographic factors, surface damage, linear wear, and OI for the 2 designs were statistically evaluated separately and together. Results Articular surface damage and backside damage was similar in the 2 designs. The linear penetration rate was 0.14 (SD 0.07) mm/year for the HGPI liners and 0.1...
A Caulobacter DNA Methyltransferase that Functions only in the Predivisional Cell

Caulobacter crescentus was found to have a DNA methyltransferase, CcrM, that methylates the adenine base of the HinfI recognition sequence, GANTC. The ccrM gene was cloned, and DNA sequence analysis revealed that the predicted amino acid sequence has 49% identity with the Haemophilus influenzae methyltransferase HinfM. Expression of the ccrM gene was found to be restricted to the portion of the cell cycle immediately prior to cell division. At three separate chromosomal sites the CcrM recognition sequence is fully methylated in swarmer cells, becomes hemimethylated upon DNA replication in stalked cells, and does not become remethylated until just prior to cell division. The time of methyltransferase expression coincides with the time of methylation of these three chromosomal sites and of plasmid DNA in the predivisional cell. When ccrM gene expression is placed under control of a constitutive promoter, these chromosomal sites are fully methylated throughout the cell cycle. A high proportion of morphologically aberrant cells, and cells that have undergone an additional chromosome replication initiation, are found in this population. Thus, the temporal control of this methyltransferase appears to contribute to the accurate cell-cycle control of DNA replication and cellular morphology.
Fluorescence investigations of albumin from patients with familial dysalbuminemic hyperthyroxinemia.

Familial dysalbuminemic hyperthyroxinemia (FDH) is an autosomal dominant syndrome in which clinically euthyroid patients have elevated total thyroxine levels. These high serum thyroxine levels are traceable to altered binding of thyroxine to the patient's albumin. Albumin from FDH patients and normal volunteers have been purified. Reverse-phase and ion-exchange high performance liquid chromatography and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis on the FDH-human serum albumin (HSA) samples show a single band that comigrates with normal HSA. In both protein solutions the intrinsic fluorescence, upon 280 nm excitation, is predominantly due to the single tryptophan residue
MAGNESIUM SULFATE ASSOCIATION AT 25C IN SYNTHETIC SEAWATER1

The formation of magnesium sulfate ion pairs, Mg” + SOh’Z+ MgSOd’, in an aqueous NaCl-MgCL-NaeS04 solution was characterized by a stoichiometric association constant, K*M~so, = [MgSO~“I~[Mgz+l [SO,“-]. A value of K*M~so~ = 10.2 was obtained at 25C and at an ionic strength 01 0.670 by a potentiometric procedure. This value was used to make a preliminary estimate of the sulfate speciation in seawater.
Does Lobster Trap Bait Influence the Maine Inshore Trap Fishery

Abstract The potential role of lobster trap bait as a significant food subsidy contributing to unprecedented recent increases in abundance and landings of the American lobster Homarus americanus is seldom considered seriously outside the fishing community. Although bait input is a very small source of organic carbon compared with primary production, the yearly input of bait per unit area to the inshore waters of the Gulf of Maine is about 85 kg/ha, an amount equal to a very productive fishery yield from a marine area. Because much of the bait is imported from outside the inshore area of the Gulf of Maine, it represents a direct subsidy to secondary production within this portion of the system. An empirical relationship between fish yield and primary production in phytoplankton-based marine systems suggests that inshore primary production would have to be increased by about 80% to provide an increment in fish yield equal to the bait input. Moreover, a simple trophic calculation based on an estimated amount...
USA today's innovations and their impact on journalism ethics

This paper surveys some of the innovations introduced by USA Today during its first three and one‐half years of publication. It finds that USA Today's innovations in design, market research, and news have not been widely accepted because these approaches have raised significant ethical dilemmas to many journalists. Professional reservations about USA Today are discussed as well as some of the newspaper's advances in color reproduction, use of information graphics, promotion, and sports coverage.
Generalized reciprocity theorem for semiconductor devices

A reciprocity theorem is presented that relates the short-circuit current of a device, induced by a carrier generation source, to the minority-carrier Fermi level in the dark. The basic relation is general under low injection. It holds for three-dimensional devices with position dependent parameters (energy gap, electron affinity, mobility, etc.), and for transient or steady-state conditions. This theorem allows calculation of the internal quantum efficiency of a solar cell by using the analysis of the device in the dark. Other applications could involve measurements of various device parameters, interfacial surface recombination velocity at a polcrystalline silicon emitter contact, for rexample, by using steady-state or transient photon or mass-particle radiation.
High-throughput transgenesis in Xenopus using I-SceI meganuclease

In this report we describe an easy, highly efficient transgenesis method for Xenopus. The method is very simple; a commercially available meganuclease, I-SceI, is incubated with a transgene construct carrying its recognition sites, and is subsequently microinjected into fertilized eggs. Approximately 30% (in Xenopus tropicalis) or 20% (in Xenopus laevis) of injected embryos exhibit non-mosaic, promoter-dependent transgene expression, and transgenes from the founder animals are transmitted to offspring. The method is compatible with mRNA or antisense morpholino oligonucleotide injection, and these secondary reagents can be introduced simultaneously or sequentially with a transgene to test their interaction. This high-throughput transgenic technique will be a powerful tool for studying the complex wiring of regulatory networks at the genome-wide level, as well as for facilitating genetic studies in the rapidly breeding diploid frog, X. tropicalis.
Evidence of Things Not Seen: Mapping Sentiment in Unstructured Texts about the Herbicide 'Agent Orange'

Sentiment analysis is a new, relatively unexplored, but potentially helpful method technical communicators can measure shifts in feeling, values, attitudes and beliefs, which drive behavior. Sentiment analysis is a relatively new method so there is little research in technical communications that address best practices. This poster demonstrates the process by which I mined sentiment from a corpus of unstructured text using a dictionary, categorization model and co-location algorithms. Preliminary results are consistent with empirical and historical observations, showing an uptick in negative emotion during moments of greatest political and scientific controversy. The implications of this research suggest new programs and greater access to digitized texts offer the practitioner and scholar new sites and tools with which to conduct research wider in scale and scope, but that the disambiguation of texts continues to prevent total automation of such processes.
A comparative cytological study between hepatocytes of insecticide-resistant and susceptible mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis).

Summary The livers from a naturally occurring insecticide-resistant mosquitofish population were examined cytologically and compared to liver preparations from a susceptible population. There was a marked increase in cell size and lipid inclusions in the hepatocytes of resistant mosquitofish as compared to susceptible mosquitofish. The pronounced lipid inclusions in the liver preparations of resistant mosquitofish remained essentially unchanged in mosquitofish starved for up to 2 weeks. No observable differences were noted in any cellular organelles.
Characteristics of Propeller Noise on an Aircraft Fuselage

Exterior noise was measured on the fuselage of a twin-engine, light aircraft at four values of engine rpm in ground static tests and at forward speeds up to 36 m/s in taxi tests. Propeller noise levels, spectra, and correlations were determined using a horizontal array of seven flush-mounted microphones and a vertical array of four flush-mounted microphones in the propeller plane. The measured levels and spectra are compared with predictions based on empirical and analytical methods for static and taxi conditions. Trace velocities obtained from point-to-point correlations are used to describe the propagating and rotating characteristics of the propeller noise field on the fuselage.
PROSPECTS FOR IMPROVING THE FUEL ECONOMY OF LIGHT-DUTY VEHICLES

Abstract US efforts to reduce light-duty vehicle fuel use have focused primarily on policies aimed directly at vehicle fuel economy not use, eg fuel economy standards and research on efficiency technology. Although economists have traditionally favored fuel taxes as a more efficient policy tool, the US political system seems allergic to higher taxes. This paper explores the potential effectiveness of higher gasoline taxes vs. more stringent fuel economy standards, focusing particularly on the fuel price sensitivity of gasoline demand and the technical prospects for improved fuel economy. We conclude that the evidence supports a long-run price elasticity of about −0.4, ie gasoline demand is relatively insensitive to the fuel price, despite early econometric analyses projecting high fuel price elasticities of demand. We also conclude that there are substantial technical prospects for improving fuel economy, although the current marketplace has little interest in such prospects.
Variability of Motor Neuron Spike Timing Maintains and Shapes Contractions of the Accessory Radula Closer Muscle of Aplysia

The accessory radula closer (ARC) muscle of Aplysia has long been studied as a typical "slow" muscle, one that would be assumed to respond only to the overall, integrated spike rate of its motor neurons, B15 and B16. The precise timing of the individual spikes should not much matter. However, but real B15 and B16 spike patterns recorded in vivo show great variability that extends down to the timing of individual spikes. By replaying these real as well as artificially constructed spike patterns into ARC muscles in vitro, we examined the consequences of this spike-level variability for contraction. Replaying the same pattern several times reproduces precisely the same contraction shape: the B15/B16-ARC neuromuscular transform is deterministic. However, varying the timing of the spikes produces very different contraction shapes and amplitudes. The transform in fact operates at an interface between "fast" and "slow" regimens. It is fast enough that the timing of individual spikes greatly influences the detailed contraction shape. At the same time, slow integration of the spike pattern through the nonlinear transform allows the variable spike timing to determine also the overall contraction amplitude. Indeed, the variability appears to be necessary to maintain the contraction amplitude at a robust level. This phenomenon is tuned by neuromodulators that tune the speed and nonlinearity of the transform. Thus, the variable timing of individual spikes does matter, in at least two, functionally significant ways, in this "slow" neuromuscular system.
Dystrophin Delivery to Muscles of mdx Mice Using Lentiviral Vectors Leads to Myogenic Progenitor Targeting and Stable Gene Expression

To explore whether stable transduction of myogenic stem cells using lentiviral vectors could be of benefit for treating dystrophic muscles, we generated vectors expressing a functional microdystrophin/enhanced green fluorescence protein fusion (µDys/eGFP) gene. Lentiviral vector injection into neonatal mdx4cv muscles resulted in widespread and stable expression of dystrophin for at least 2 years. This expression resulted in a significant amelioration of muscle pathophysiology as assessed by a variety of histological and functional assays. To assess whether this long-term expression was accompanied by stable transduction of satellite cells, we harvested muscle mononuclear cells 1 year after vector injection. Up to 20% of the cultured myoblast colonies expressed the µDys/eGFP transgene following myotube formation. Furthermore, transplantation of the muscle mononuclear cells into secondary mdx4cv recipients showed their ability to regenerate dystrophin-expressing myofibers in vivo. The ability to isolate myogenic cells able to form dystrophin-positive myotubes or myofibers in vitro and in vivo >1 year postinjection indicates that the vectors stably transduced muscle satellite cells, or a progenitor of such cells, in neonatal mdx4cv muscles. These studies suggest that integrating lentiviral vectors have potential utility for gene therapy of muscular dystrophy.
Insights from Populations At-Risk for the Future Development of Classified Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) develops through a series of stages. In the seropositive subset of classified RA patients, a preclinical stage is present for years before the onset of clinically apparent disease. Relevant preclinical biomarkers include autoantibodies, alterations of lymphoid populations, elevated cytokines/chemokines, genetic/genomic factors, imaging studies, clinical findings, dietary and environmental biomarkers, cardiovascular disease risk assessment, microbiome analyses, and metabolomic changes. Identifying the population of asymptomatic subjects at sufficiently high risk for disease to be informative and representative of "preclinical patients" is a challenge. This article reviews the results of analyses that have been undertaken in these "at-risk" subjects.
Coming “Home” An Autoethnographic Exploration of Third Culture Kid Transition

Born in the United States, I grew up in Senegal, West Africa, where my parents worked as missionary linguists. “Coming ‘Home’” tells the story of my return to the United States after graduating fro...
A model for level-loading production in the process industries when demand is stochastic

Recent observations of process manufacturing firms have called into question the efficacy of pursuing lean manufacturing approaches in environments where there is inherent inflexibility in the production environment. We examine a multi-item integrated production-inventory system in which changeover times are significant on the process equipment, and customer demand is highly uncertain. We develop and explore a production stabilising policy in which the length of the production cycle is kept between a lower and upper limit. We discuss how capacity utilisation and demand uncertainty interact with lower and upper limits to affect system performance. A numerical study is conducted to evaluate the accuracy of the approach.
Load Diffusion and Absorption Problems From a Finite Fiber to Elastic Infinite Matrix

The load transfer behavior of a finite fiber perfectly bonded to an infinite matrix of distinct elastic moduli is investigated. The fiber is subjected to the uniformly distributed loading applied at infinity or on one cross section of the fiber. The stress disturbance due to the existing fiber is simulated by the equivalent inclusion method, which formulates the inhomogeneity problem to a system of integral equations. By dividing the fiber into finite numbers of ring elements with uniform distributed eigenstrains, the integral equations can be further reduced to a system of algebraic equations with coefficients expressed in terms of the integrals of Lipschitz Hankel type
Persistence in q -state Potts model: A mean-field approach

We study the persistence properties of the $T=0$ coarsening dynamics of one-dimensional q-state Potts model using a modified mean-field approximation (MMFA). In this approximation, the spatial correlations between the interfaces separating spins with different Potts states is ignored, but the correct time dependence of the mean density $P(t)$ of persistent spins is imposed. For this model, it is known that $P(t)$ follows a power-law decay with time, $P(t)\ensuremath{\sim}{t}^{\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\theta}(q)},$ where $\ensuremath{\theta}(q)$ is the q-dependent persistence exponent. We study the spatial structure of the persistent region within the MMFA. We show that the persistent site pair correlation function ${P}_{2}(r,t)$ has the scaling form ${P}_{2}{(r,t)=P(t)}^{2}{f(r/t}^{1/2})$ for all values of the persistence exponent $\ensuremath{\theta}(q).$ The scaling function has the limiting behavior $f(x)\ensuremath{\sim}{x}^{\ensuremath{-}2\ensuremath{\theta}}$ $(x\ensuremath{\ll}1)$ and $f(x)\ensuremath{\rightarrow}1$ $(x\ensuremath{\gg}1).$ We then show within the independent interval approximation (IIA) that the distribution $n(k,t)$ of separation k between two consecutive persistent spins at time t has the asymptotic scaling form ${n(k,t)=t}^{\ensuremath{-}2\ensuremath{\varphi}}{g(t,k/t}^{\ensuremath{\varphi}}),$ where the dynamical exponent has the form $\ensuremath{\varphi}=\mathrm{max}(1/2,\ensuremath{\theta}).$ The behavior of the scaling function for large and small values of the arguments is found analytically. We find that for small separations $k\ensuremath{\ll}{t}^{\ensuremath{\varphi}},n(k,t)\ensuremath{\sim}{P(t)k}^{\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\tau}},$ where $\ensuremath{\tau}=\mathrm{max}[2(1\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\theta}),2\ensuremath{\theta}],$ while for large separations $k\ensuremath{\gg}{t}^{\ensuremath{\varphi}},$ $g(t,x)$ decays exponentially with x. The unusual dynamical scaling form and the behavior of the scaling function is supported by numerical simulations.
Bose-Einstein condensation in an external potential.

We present theoretical results for the critical temperature for Bose-Einstein condensation, condensate fraction, and heat capacity of a gas of Bose particles that are confined by a generic power-law potential trap. All three of these quantities are found to vary markedly with the shape of the potential. Both the ideal and the weakly interacting Bose gas are considered.
Using Elastomeric Membranes as Dry Resists and for Dry Lift-Off

Elastomeric membranes that contained regular arrays of well-defined holes were formed by spin-coating a prepolymer onto a photolithographically defined master. These membranes were used as dry resists or as masks in dry lift-off to produce simple features as small as 5 μm on both planar and nonplanar surfaces. These procedures were “dry” because the membranes conformed and sealed reversibly to surfaces: no solvent was required either to deposit the membrane or to remove it from the substrate. A variety of materials, some of which would be difficult to pattern using conventional methods, were patterned using this technique. These materials included metals, sol−gels, hydrogels, biological macromolecules, and organometallic molecules. The membranes were used in sequential, dry-lift off steps to produce structures with greater complexity than those generated with a single membrane.
Efficacy of Parenteral Antibiotics in the Treatment of Experimentally Induced Intraabdominal Sepsis

An experimental model of intraabdominal sepsis closely approximating the disease in humans was used to evaluate the efficacy of clindamycin, tobramycin, cephalothin, and cefamandole, alone and in combination, in reducing both early mortality due to peritonitis and the subsequent development of abscesses. Sepsis was induced in rats by intraperitoneal placement of gelation capsules containing various amounts of human stool inoculum. Ninety percent of the untreated animals given a high inoculum died of peritonitis within 24 hr, and the survivors showed significant intraabdominal abscesses at the time of sacrifice. Animals treated with clindamycin-tobramycin, cephalothin-tobramycin, cefamandole-tobramycin, or cefamandole alone in the high-inoculum group showed a significant decrease in early mortality. Only animals treated with clindamycin-tobramycin, however, had a significantly increased cure rate (survival with no abscess present at time of sacrifice). In low-inoculum groups, several antibiotics alone or in combination significantly decreased mortality and increased cure rates. The selective use of antibiotics is critical in the treatment of severe forms of intraabdominal sepsis.
Repeated Storybook Reading as an Instructional Method

Repeated storybook reading interventions use storybooks as a context for presenting instructional strategies to promote language and literacy. This article discusses repeated storybook reading using adult scaffolding and phonological awareness strategies to facilitate oral and written language in children with language delays. The discussion is framed around common questions posed by educators considering repeated storybook reading as an instructional method.
Quantitative histochemistry of rat oral mucosa: glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase.

Abstract The levels of activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in six histologically discernable layers of rat palatine and buccal mucosa were determined by quantitative histochemistry. In both regions, activity increased by about fifty per cent between the basal and spinous cells. Between the spinous and granular cells, it decreased slightly, although in the latter it was still higher than in the basal cells. Between the granular cells and the horny layer, it decreased drastically, although there was detectable activity in the horny layer. In homologous layers, activity in the buccal epithelium was about three times as high as in the palatine. The pattern of change as the cells moved towards the surface and the difference between the cheek and palate were discussed in the light of current theories of keratinization.
The Evolving Tale of Immunomodulatory Drugs and Cereblon

The immunomodulatory drugs (IMiDs), of which thalidomide was the first in class, have had a complex therapeutic history. Although these drugs are now widely used to treat multiple myeloma, the precise molecular mechanism of action of these agents has remained elusive. The finding that IMiDs bind cereblon, with subsequent activation of E3-ubiquitin ligase activity and degradation of the key transcription factors IKZF1 and IKZF3, has provided insight into these drugs but leaves many questions unanswered.
MOLECULAR DYNAMICS STUDY OF CLUSTER GROWTH AND POLYMER DEGRADATION

This work is an overview on two molecular dynamics studies of processes at temperatures characteristic of a flame — growth of silicon clusters from binary cluster collisions and thermal degradation of polymers. In the first study, silicon clusters grow as a consequence of cluster-cluster collisions by forming transient agglomerates that coalesce in a few picoseconds. The collision energy accommodates within the cluster favoring the formation of globular larger clusters regardless of the collision energy and of the impact parameter. On the average the probability for the clusters to stick upon collision is almost 1, showing clearly that the process is irreversible. The second study concerns simple polymeric chains undergoing fragmentation when they burn. These fragments are products of thermal degradation. The consorted sequence of depolymerization reactions arises after fragmentation. As a result, a sample of degrading fragments is formed where the polymer chains have dramatically coiled. These fragments ...
Impact of quaternary structure upon bacterial cytochrome c peroxidases: does homodimerization matter?

All known active forms of diheme bacterial cytochrome c peroxidase (bCcP) enzymes are described by a homodimeric state. Further, the majority of bCcPs reported display activity only when the high-potential electron transfer heme of the protein (FeH) is reduced to the ferrous oxidation state. Reduction of FeH results in a set of conformational changes allowing for the low-potential peroxidatic heme (FeL) to adopt a high-spin, five-coordinate state that is capable of binding substrate. Here we examine the impact of dimerization upon the activity of the Shewanella oneidensis (So) bCcP by the preparation of single charge-reversal mutants at the dimer interface and use the resulting constructs to illustrate why dimerization is likely a requirement for activity in bCcPs. The E258K mutant is found to form a monomeric state in solution as characterized by size exclusion chromatography and analytical ultracentrifugation analyses. The resulting E258K monomer has an unfolding stability comparable to that of wild-typ...
Sources of growth in marine fishing industries

Abstract Policy makers and fishery managers require accurate overviews of the performance of their harvesting sectors; trends in effective, as opposed to nominal, effort; and productivity creep due to unmeasurable factors. Traditional measures of nominal effort can lead to biased performance measures since fishing effort Is a multidimensional concept not readily captured by nominal measures. This paper evaluates the sources of growth In catch over time according to Its constituent components — the growth accounting framework — to measure trends In catch, nominal and effective effort, and productivity or fishing power. An empirical study of the US Pacific coast groundfish trawl fishery Indicates that traditional measures of effort and fishing power can be biased and highlights the relative Importance of growth In productivity or fishing power as an often overlooked and perhaps the most Important source of growth.
Contact Electrification and Adhesion Between Dissimilar Materials

Simultaneous measurements of surface force and surface charge demonstrate strong attraction due to the spontaneous transfer of electrical charge from one smooth insulator (mica) to another (silica) as a result of simple, nonsliding contact in dry nitrogen. The measured surface charge densities are 5 to 20 millicoulombs per square meter after contact. The work required to separate the charged surfaces is typically 6 to 9 joules per square meter, comparable to the fracture energies of ionic-covalent materials. Observation of partial gas discharges when the surfaces are approximately 1 micrometer apart gives valuable insight into the charge separation processes underlying static electrical phenomena in general.
The Sorption of HCl by Textile Fibers

The contraction of nylon yarn resulting from the sorption of HCl has been studied under various conditions. Tension applied to the yarn during the sorption of the gas reduces the contraction in a way that can be explained by the theory of reaction rates. It is shown that the uptake of HCl, however, is not affected noticeably by tensioning the yarn. The contraction appears to be largely dependent on the rate of diffusion of the HCl. A coefficient of diffusion has been calculated for this rate at 22° C. The effect of drawing has also been investigated, and it was found that the greater the draw ratio, the greater the contraction, but the previous history of the yarn is very important in this respect. Twisted nylon filament has also been observed to untwist during HCl sorption. This untwisting also appears to be a rate process.