cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Allhoff, Fritz. ed. 2008. Physicians at war: The dual-loyalties challenge

Physicians at war: The dual-loyalties challenge is a collection of essays which provide philosophical, political, and legal perspectives on many of the conflicting obligations which physicians may face during times of armed conflict. “Armed conflict” is best understood here as broadly construed. While some aspects of the book focus specifically on military physicians and/or the actions of physicians in traditional wars, the majority of the articles deal with issues relating to physician participation in activities in support of national security and/or national defense more generally. In the introduction to this volume Fritz Allhoff grounds the discussion by first identifying what he understands to be the dual-loyalties challenge in the context of armed conflict. The challenge is that there may be a conflict between one’s medical obligations to those under one’s care: for example, in the case battlefield triage or interrogation/torture; or to those who would suffer from one’s actions, as in the case of weapons development; and in one’s non-medical obligations to one’s commander, one’s nation, or those who would suffer as a result of one’s failure to act. Once he has explained the problem Allhoff discusses ways that the challenge is addressed in this book. The first way is to acknowledge the existence of the conflicting obligations, and then to determine which obligation carries the greatest weight. This might take the form of a utilitarian analysis weighing the harms against the benefits of a proposed action. The second option is to deny the force of one of the obligations. The most common form of this would be to deny that extramedical considerations carry any weight in medical considerations. The final option is to deny that there are dual-loyalties at all. This entails the claim that medical obligations apply only to physicians qua physician. That is, only those individuals acting in the role of physician garner medical obligations. In this light a distinction would be made between a person working in the role of physician and a person with medically training working in the role of an interrogator.
Characterization of a Phosphatase Specific for Phosphorylated Histones and Protamine

Abstract A phosphatase which releases orthophosphate from histones and protamine has been purified 60-fold from rat liver. Histone phosphatase was detected by the use of substrates enzymatically phosphorylated by histone kinase. Purified histone phosphatase preparations are inactive in the dephosphorylation of other phosphoproteins, low molecular weight phosphate esters, and phosphopeptides derived from active substrates. The apparent Km for dephosphorylation of histone f1 is 2 x 10-5 m. The reaction products are orthophosphate and intact histone or protamine, as indicated by electrophoretic studies. Optimal reaction rates were observed at pH 7 to 8 and ionic strength 0.1 to 0.2. Chromatography on diethylaminoethyl cellulose resolved histone phosphatase activity into two fractions which exhibited a 2-fold difference in relative rates of dephosphorylation of histone fl and protamine. Histone phosphatase activity was detected in all eukaryotic cells examined, but it was absent in extracts of several prokaryotes.
New Perspectives on Auroral Morphology

The visual aurora takes on a variety of forms. Aurora has a tendency to appear first as very thin, highly structured forms. Over time, these tend to diffuse creating much thicker forms. It is suggested that the extreme variety of auroral forms can be understood in terms of one acceleration mechanism to produce a narrow, field-aligned beam and another process that scatters electrons into trapped orbits. The scattering is due to beam- plasma interactions that generate waves on the upper-hybrid resonance curve. These waves are effective in scattering electrons from parallel to perpendicular directions. The diffuse forms are therefore caused by precipitation of quasi-trapped electrons that have drifted from the field lines on which they were accelerated. Electrons scattered into trapped orbits may also constitute the seed population for the electron radiation belts. It is also suggested that the electron beams are accelerated by inertial Alfven waves that propagate current filaments from the turbulent region in the near-Earth plasma sheet to the auroral zone ionosphere. Electrons can be accelerated by becoming trapped in inertial Alfven waves whose phase velocity increases as they propagate toward the Earth. Specific numerical simulations that could give substance to these suggestions are proposed.
Culture as a Structural Problem in Indigent Defense

Indigent defense lawyers today are routinely overwhelmed by excessive caseloads, underpaid, inadequately supported, poorly trained, and left essentially unsupervised. They face an avalanche of hostility every time they walk into court as judges, prosecutors, and court personnel pressure them to process their clients through the criminal justice system. Many zealous defenders simply burn out and leave the job. Of those who remain, many perform valiantly. But the sheer reality of the difficult task that these lawyers are expected to do is often overwhelming. Especially in contexts where indigent defense lawyers lack institutional support, even lawyers who wish to take their obligations seriously sometimes find themselves overwhelmed and gradually become less sensitive to the routine injustices of the system. Others become cynical and depressed and unhappily continue in the job — aware of the problems, but feeling powerless to effectuate change. The result is a serious cultural problem in indigent defense, especially in jurisdictions where such defense is handled by lawyers lacking the community and institutional reinforcement that strong public-defender offices can provide. Consequently, many indigent defendants who go through the criminal justice system (as well as the friends and families of defendants who suffer through these ordeals with them) often feel confused, angry, and ignored. They have no faith in the system or in the legitimacy of their convictions. Rather, they experience the criminal justice system as an assembly line to prison for poor people of color.In this essay, I will argue that attempts at reform should focus on changing this cultural problem in indigent defense delivery systems. As was true in 1961 (when the symposium that this essay celebrates was published), there is now a feeling that change is coming. Countless commissions have issued reports documenting excessive defender caseloads, a lack of independence, and blatant violations of the constitutional right to counsel across jurisdictions and making recommendations for improvement. Many states have developed bipartisan Indigent Defense Commissions to investigate best practices and implement more effective and efficient delivery systems going forward. Legislators have convened working groups and have proposed legislation to address the crisis. President Obama created the Office for Access to Justice, an initiative designed to analyze and think about how to improve indigent defense delivery systems. And symposia abound detailing the problems with indigent defense delivery systems and recommending potential solutions. A focus on improving the culture of indigent defense delivery systems can and should infuse current reform proposals and inform change going forward. Perhaps this time, we can learn from some of our past mistakes and move toward accomplishing some of the laudable goals that many have been advocating for over fifty years.
Midazolam/butorphanol/ketamine and the clinically effective dose of isoflurane anesthesia of ostriches (Struthio camelus)

Ostrich production facilities expanded exponentially in the United States, leading to crowded conditions and new disease states that required close examination and, occasionally, surgical intervention. Manual restraint was usually inadequate and often dangerous to both the ostrich and the handler, and necessitated chemical immobilization. Few repeatable anesthetic techniques have been established for ostriches. This report describes a predictable general anesthetic technique for ostriches. Seven adult, domesticated ostriches (three male; four female), estimated to weigh 99.2 ± 6.2 kg (mean ± SEM) were hand injected with 0.2 mg kg−1 midazolam and 0.4 mg kg−1 butorphanol IM in the mid-dorsum. Sedative effects were evident and anesthesia was induced 34.13 ± 1.88 minutes after sedation with ketamine (8.69 ± 0.51 mg kg−1 IV in the right jugular vein), followed by intubation and isoflurane anesthesia under controlled ventilation (PaCO2 35–45 mm Hg, 4.7–6 kPa) for surgery (proventriculotomy, n = 6; neck laceration, n = 1). The laceration subject required a second anesthesia one month later. Temperature, ECG, pulse oximetry, blood gases, exhaled gases and arterial blood pressures were monitored and supported. To assess inhalant anesthetic requirement a simple step-down, step-up method (10–20% change) was applied, maintaining a given end-tidal isoflurane (ETISO) concentration for a minimum of 15 minutes during surgical stimulation and observing gross purposeful head movement. Movement was noted at ETiso 1.69 ± 0.11% at the first step-down approach (n = 8), 1.66 ± 0.09% (n = 5) at the second and 1.78 ± 0.06 (n = 4) at the third. Body temperature at instrumentation was 37.2 ± 0.3 °C and dropped to 35.8 ± 0.5 °C by the end of the procedure. Time from induction to start of the step-down analysis was 80.9 ± 20.0 minutes with a total anesthesia time of 268.3 ± 37.4 minutes. In recovery ETISO for head movement was 0.48 ± 0.06%. This movement was followed immediately by 5 mg butorphanol IV, and provided 14.4 ± 2.3 minutes before the next head movement. The second movement was followed immediately by naloxone (0.01 mg kg−1 IV) and minimal delirium in recovery. A relatively controlled, repeatable method for anesthesia of domesticated ostriches was established.
Spontaneous functional closure of ventricular septal defects in fourteen children demonstrated by serial cardiac catheterizations and angiocardiography.

Spontaneous functional closure of ventricular septal defect, demonstrated by serial hemodynamic and angiocardiographic studies, in 14 patients, is reported. The typical holosystolic murmur disappeared in seven patients, and was replaced by an insignificant basal, ejection, systolic murmur in five of them. In the other seven patients the holosystolic murmur persisted, but decreased in intensity. On initial cardiac catheterization a left-to-right shunt at ventricular level was demonstrated in all 14 patients from oxygen saturation data and by angiocardiography. On subsequent cardiac catheterizations performed 13 months to 6 years later, no shunt was shown by oxygen saturation data and only by selective dye dilution studies and left ventricular angiocardiography was a small shunt demonstrable in six cases. Our findings substantiate the views and experiences of others that in some ventricular septal defects, which may occasionally be so large as to result in heart failure in infancy, spontaneous closure does occur. The possible mechanism for this closure is discussed. With this information added to our total experience with ventricular septal defects, we favor a conservative attitude in recommending surgical intervention in infants with this entity.
Hume: a bounded time concurrent language

This paper gives a formal description of Hume, a novel functionally-based concurrent language that aims to target space- and time-critical systems. The language supports rigorous cost and space analyses, whilst providing a high level of abstraction including polymorphic type inference, automatic memory management, and higher-order functions. It is designed around a formal dynamic semantics, integrated with a simple static time analysis.
Purification of a low-molecular-weight, mucin-type glycoprotein from human submandibular-sublingual saliva.

Abstract A low-molecular-weight, monomeric, mucin-type glycoprotein (MG2) has been isolated from human submandibular-sublingual saliva. Initial purification involved sequential gel-filtration on Sephadex G-200 and Sepharose CL-2B, the latter in the presence of g m urea. Fractions containing MG2 were next separated from contaminating secretory IgA by immunoaffinity chromatography or recycling through Sephadex G-200. Mucin fractions were 14C-labeled by reductive methylation, and then the final purification-step entailed recycling radiolabeled materials through Sephadex G-200. Radiolabeling aided in the assessment of purity, as judged by SDS-PAGE and ion-exchange chromatography. The carbohydrate portion accounted for 69.6% of the recovered weight and was composed of N-acetyl-glucosamine, N-acetylgalactosamine, galactose, fucose, and N-acetylneuraminic acid. Sulfate was also present. The protein comprised 30.4% of the recovered weight with threonine, serine, proline, and glycine accounting for 75.2% of the total amino acids. The oligosaccharides were alkali-labile, indicating an O-glycosyl linkage to the peptide. The mucin was weakly acidic and had an estimated mol. wt. of 200 000–250 000.
Current Controversies in the Conduct of the Coronary Bypass Operation

Abstract Recent reports comparing medical versus surgical management of patients with ischemic heart disease highlight the importance of technical quality in the interpretation of surgical results. This review is an attempt to examine current controversies in the conduct of coronary artery bypass with the purpose of suggesting strengths and weaknesses of alternative approaches. Topics include cold cardioplegia versus intermittent aortic occlusion, left ventricular venting, anastomotic technique, optical magnification, "complete revascularization," sequential versus individual grafting, internal mammary artery versus saphenous vein as conduits and the choice of alternative conduits when saphenous vein is unavailable.
Development of a Ceramic-Lined Crucible for the Separation of Salt from Uranium

As part of the spent fuel treatment program at the Idaho National Laboratory, alternate crucible materials are being developed for the processing of uranium and salt. The separation of salt (LiCl/KCl based) from uranium is performed in an inductively heated furnace capable of distillation under vacuum conditions. Historically, salt and uranium have been processed in graphite crucibles coated with a zirconia mold wash. Although the coated crucibles have performed adequately considering the reactive nature of salt and uranium at high temperature, the operations required for multiple use of the crucibles are quite labor intensive. Thus, an alternate ceramic-lined crucible has been developed to simplify remote operations. Two ceramic-lined crucibles have been tested using irradiated materials to verify their compatibility and determine an ultimate life cycle. Although minor process losses and crucible deterioration have occurred with the ceramic-lined crucibles, the overall performance of the crucibles has been adequate for the separation of salt during uranium processing.
Relaxation and breakup of an initially extended drop in an otherwise quiescent fluid

In this paper we examine some general features of the time-dependent dynamics of drop deformation and breakup at low Reynolds numbers. The first aspect of our study is a detailed numerical investigation of the ‘end-pinching’ behaviour reported in a previous experimental study. The numerics illustrate the effects of viscosity ratio and initial drop shape on the relaxation and/or breakup of highly elongated droplets in an otherwise quiescent fluid. In addition, the numerical procedure is used to study the simultaneous development of capillary-wave instabilities at the fluid-fluid interface of a very long, cylindrically shaped droplet with bulbous ends. Initially small disturbances evolve to finite amplitude and produce very regular drop breakup. The formation of satellite droplets, a nonlinear phenomenon, is also observed.
Investigation of the image contrast of tapping-mode atomic force microscopy using protein-modified cantilever tips

In this work we have designed a simple system to investigate empirically the image contrast of tapping-mode atomic force microscopy (TMAFM). We modified the cantilever tips with protein molecules (bovine serum albumin or goat anti-biotin antibody) and used these protein-modified cantilevers to scan poly-L-lysine films and antibody layers deposited on mica in air under ambient conditions. We also investigated the effects of manipulating the setpoint voltage in this system. It was found that extra topographic features with a patchlike appearance were introduced into the TMAFM images of both the poly-L-lysine and antibody films when scanned with the protein-modified tips, even at initial preset setpoints, and were superimposed on the topography of the samples. The surface coverage of the patchlike features in the TMAFM images changes significantly with the setpoint voltage in a reversible and nonlinear manner. These are believed to arise from the surface indentation of the sample or from the structural deformation of the proteins at the tip induced in TMAFM imaging. Interestingly, it was observed in the experiment that no structural alteration or damage was discernible on the sample surface, even after continuous scanning with the protein-modified tips for a long period of time, with varying setpoint voltage. This study provides experimental evidence that cantilever tips modified with protein molecules or, under certain circumstances, even unmodified tips introduce extra topographical features (i.e., artifacts) and enhance the image contrast of TMAFM imaging of soft materials, which is dependent on their mechanical properties.
Postneonatal mortality in Alabama: why no progress in the 90s?

Abstract PURPOSE: To examine the factors associated with postneonatal mortality. METHODS: Logistic regression was used to examine the effects of various variables on postneonatal mortality in Alabama. RESULTS: The most important predictor of postneonatal mortality was birth weight. Social and economic variables were also important in explaining postneonatal mortality. CONCLUSIONS: Reductions in postneonatal mortality may require closer case management of low birth weight neonatal survivors. Survival of these infants creates a cohort at risk of postneonatal mortality. Many of these low birth weight infants are born into an environment where their mothers' parenting potential is compromised by youth and poverty. This may be responsible for the failure to reduce postneonatal mortality and explain its increasing proportion of infant deaths; deaths may be being postponed from the neonatal to the postneonatal period.
Income Tax Credits to Reduce the Regressivity of State‐Local Tax Systems

AT LEAST FOURTEEN STATES and the District of Columbia currently offer some of their residents refundable credits against personal income taxes designed to reduce the regressivity of their state-local tax systems. This paper reviews existing credit plans and their economic effectiveness, and offers various suggestions for improvement. Credits for sales taxes are discussed in Part II and property tax credits in Part III. These credit plans are an outgrowth of a number of state tax system studies which uniformly demonstrated that state sales and property taxes are most burdensome on that segment of the population least able to pay (1). That is, both sales and property taxes are regressive with respect to current income. This relationship is accepted without reservation for the sales tax since the percentage of family income spent on items subject to the general sales tax has been shown to decrease as income increases. This occurs both because of proportionately higher saving among higher income families and because of the lack of sales taxes on many services which are predominantly purchased by those with higher incomes. Although the residential property tax is regressive with respect to current income, several recent studies have shown it to be approximately proportional to permanent income. This result is explained by the infrequency with which individuals change housing, with the result that many families consume either more or less housing than is justified by their current income (2). Many families with temporarily low income do experience cash flow problems which make property tax payments difficult. For this reason alone, some form of property tax relief for those with low current incomes may be justified (3). In addition, for those with permanently low incomes, the property tax does constitute a major outlay which may not be considered equitable by society. This is particularly true of the elderly poor who may own a home but have insufficient cash income to buy food after paying their taxes. Individuals who rent tend to be worse off in that they do not even own a home as an asset. Both property and sales tax credit plans have been referred to as "little negative income taxes," since in most cases the taxpayer is eligible for a refund if his credit is larger than his income tax liability. If a person pays
Mitotic crossing-over as an important mechanism of floral sectoring in Tradescantia

Abstract A purplle flowered Tradescantia hirsuticaulis is described exhibiting three classes of somatic sectors: red-only, red/blue twin spots and blue-only. The twin spots are shown to be the results of a single event since the association of red and blue cells in the same stamenis non-random and intervening purple cells occur far too infrequently to permit hairs containing both red and blue sectors to arise by sequential, facilitated, red-only and blue-only events. As in T. clone 02, deletion, as evidenced by the presence of micronuclei (chromosome fragments), is indicated to be one mechanism producing some kinds of sectors (red-only) in response to ionizing radiation. The predominant, if not exclusive, mechanism of spontaneous sectoring and important mechanism of even 60 R-induced sectoring in this T. hirsuticaulis (and by inference, in other Tradescantia) is argued to be mitotic crossing-over, since other mechanisms operating on its genotype do not allow for twin spots arising as the result of one event. This is supported by the prediction of all three types of sectors in the proper order of frequency as well as by the calculation of a “coefficientof coincidence” and a radiation response that are similar to those found for mitotic crossing-over in Drosophila.
THE EFFECTS OF TRADE WITH DEVELOPING COUNTRIES ON THE REGIONAL DEMAND FOR SKILL IN THE U.S.: EVIDENCE FROM COUNTY DATA*

Using county-level data from the 1980s and 1990s and a county-level trade measure that incorporates the county's industrial mix and patterns of international trade across industries, I provide new evidence that trade with developing countries raises the demand for skill and the skill premium in the U.S. Consistent with Heckscher–Ohlin, I find that trade driven by differences in factor endowments has an economically significant impact on local labor markets. The evidence suggests that when trade with developing countries rises, counties with higher skill endowment and greater employment in industries with larger trade shares experience greater relative demand for high-skilled labor.
Larval moulting hormone of trichophoran Hemiptera-Heteroptera: Makisterone A, not 20-hydroxyecdysone

Abstract The haemolymph ecdysteroids were examined in fifth-stage larvae of Nezara viridula, Podisus maculiventris and Dysdercus cingulatus (Hemiptera-Heteroptera) using high-pressure liquid chromatography to separate the ecdysteroids and a radioimmunoassay to detect the fractionated ecdysteroids. The length of the fifth stage ranged from 5 to 8 days, and a peak in ecdysteroid titre (1700–2650 ng/ml) occurred 2–3 days prior to ecdysis to the adult. An ecdysteroid matching the retention time of makisterone A (24-methyl-20-hydroxyecdysone) was clearly present in haemolymph taken at the time of peak titre in all 3 of these true bugs, whereas little, if any, ecdysone or 20-hydroxyecdysone was detected. These data, along with previously reported data for the milkweed bug Oncopeltus fasciatus, are persuasive evidence that makisterone A is the larval moulting hormone of a group of closely related Heteroptera called the Trichophora (Lygaeoida, Pentatomoidea, Pyrrhocoroidea and Coreoidea).
When a Natural Disaster Occurs: Lessons Learned in Meeting Students' Needs

Across the nation, weather-related natural disasters—tropical storms, floods, tornadoes, and earthquakes—struck even areas where weather concerns are not paramount on the minds of most people. These natural disasters heightened awareness that all geographic areas are susceptible to aberrant weather conditions. The purpose of this article was to relate the lessons learned by one academic health center in meeting students' emergency preparedness and disaster recovery needs following a major hurricane in fall 2008. To gauge students' storm-related needs, a Hurricane Needs Survey (HNS) was conducted in spring 2009, 7 months after the hurricane. Students responded to 26 structured response items and 3 open-ended questions. Five hundred fifteen surveys were completed, constituting a response rate of 37.2%. Data were analyzed by creating frequencies to profile students' hurricane experiences. Results indicated that all students left the island under mandatory evacuation orders; most stayed with their families, and most experienced moderate material losses. For some students, the evacuation process and life after the storm contributed to ongoing problems, worries, and academic performance issues. Qualitative content analysis was used to derive themes from the students' narrative responses to the HNS open-ended questions about their perceptions of the extent to which the University of Texas Medical Branch met their needs. When students' hurricane response comments were analyzed, three major themes emerged: being prepared, needing to be connected, and returning to normalcy. The major lessons learned are that the emergency preparation of students requires greater specificity and that discussion about poststorm recovery expectations is essential. Following a natural disaster, students experience more distress than may be readily apparent.
Optical study of acoustic fields near diffracting edges.

Diffraction phenomena in acoustic fields of ultrasonic frequency in air have been photographed by schlieren technique and by shadow methods employing a spark of extremely short duration. Variations of intensity in the field are observed in the immediate vicinity of apertures and obstacles as indicated by theoretical treatment of the problem in a more rigorous manner than that of Kirchhoff.
Renal vascular resistance in normal children--a color Doppler study.

To investigate the relationship between age and renal vascular resistance and to establish nomative data of the systolic/diastolic ratio (S/D ratio), pulsatility index (PI), and resistant index (RI) of the renal artery in the normal pediatric population, we studied 252 normal children aged newborn to 13 years (a total of 449 kidneys) with a color Doppler unit. After the normality of the kidney was established, color flow mapping was performed to localize the segmental portion of the renal artery. Flow velocity waveforms were then obtained by pulsed Doppler, and S/D ratio, PI, and RI were calculated. Multiple regression analysis confirmed the age dependence of the S/D ratio, PI, and RI of the renal artery in normal children. Renal vascular resistance continuously declines after birth and stabilizes at the age of 102 – 130 months. Normative data for S/D ratio, PI, and RI of the renal artery in normal children were established for each age group. Since renal vascular resistance decreases with age and stabilizes at 8 – 10 years, we suggest using different normal ranges for each age group when studying renal vascular resistance in pediatric patients.
Context-Sensitive Markov Models for Peptide Scoring and Identification from Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Abstract Peptide and protein identification via tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) lies at the heart of proteomic characterization of biological samples. Several algorithms are able to search, score, and assign peptides to large MS/MS datasets. Most popular methods, however, underutilize the intensity information available in the tandem mass spectrum due to the complex nature of the peptide fragmentation process, thus contributing to loss of potential identifications. We present a novel probabilistic scoring algorithm called Context-Sensitive Peptide Identification (CSPI) based on highly flexible Input-Output Hidden Markov Models (IO-HMM) that capture the influence of peptide physicochemical properties on their observed MS/MS spectra. We use several local and global properties of peptides and their fragment ions from literature. Comparison with two popular algorithms, Crux (re-implementation of SEQUEST) and X!Tandem, on multiple datasets of varying complexity, shows that peptide identification scores from o...
CP1-fermion correspondence in three dimensions.

We show that in three dimensions the effective electromagnetic actions of the CP^1 model and of a charged fermion coincide in the vacuum and one-soliton sectors, to lowest order in inverse mass. This implies equivalence between the fermion and CP^1 current operators. In the vacuum sector, the first-order fermion-current-current self-interaction correction, required for equivalence at next-to-leading order, is also obtained. In the soliton phase, the two next to leading order terms appear with coefficients differing by simple numerical factors.
Social Recommendation, Source Credibility, and Recency: Effects of News Cues in a Social Bookmarking Website

A 2 (number of diggs: a few, many) × 2 (source credibility: low, high) × 2 (recency: more recent, less recent) between-subjects experiment was conducted to explore how three news cues individually ...
Management of the Posterior Capsule During Pediatric Intraocular Lens Implantation

One of the major obstacles in pediatric intraocular lens implantation has been the subsequent dense opacification of the posterior capsule. We used a modification of the standard pediatric cataract surgical procedure, which involved endocapsular cataract extraction, posterior chamber intraocular lens implantation, pars plana posterior capsulotomy, and pars plana anterior vitrectomy in 20 consecutive patients with unilateral traumatic, radiation-induced, and developmental cataracts. Visual axes were rapidly restored in all patients without further intervention for posterior capsule opacification. Visual acuity returned to 20/40 or better in all patients and 75% of all patients (15 patients) reached maximum improvement by five weeks. No complications attributed to intraoperative removal of the posterior capsule occurred.
Population Growth, Dependency, and Consumption

This paper examines how population growth affects the average level of utility particularly the consumption per capita. It also focuses on the effects of population growth on the ratio of dependent consumers to working-age adults. The model employed in this paper has three demographic groups: working-age adults who produce and consume and the young and elderly who only consume. This study concluded that the transition to lower population growth requires a long period of reduced dependency in which society benefits from lower spending on children while it has yet to pay for higher old-age dependency. The dependency level after 30 years is not significantly different from that which would exist in an optimal stable population. Any rise in fertility that would decrease old-age dependency in the long run would require a lengthy period of higher-than-steady-state dependency.
Preservation of mitochondrial structure and function after Bid- or Bax-mediated cytochrome c release.

Proapoptotic members of the Bcl-2 protein family, including Bid and Bax, can activate apoptosis by directly interacting with mitochondria to cause cytochrome c translocation from the intermembrane space into the cytoplasm, thereby triggering Apaf-1–mediated caspase activation. Under some circumstances, when caspase activation is blocked, cells can recover from cytochrome c translocation; this suggests that apoptotic mitochondria may not always suffer catastrophic damage arising from the process of cytochrome c release. We now show that recombinant Bid and Bax cause complete cytochrome c loss from isolated mitochondria in vitro, but preserve the ultrastructure and protein import function of mitochondria, which depend on inner membrane polarization. We also demonstrate that, if caspases are inhibited, mitochondrial protein import function is retained in UV-irradiated or staurosporine-treated cells, despite the complete translocation of cytochrome c. Thus, Bid and Bax act only on the outer membrane, and lesions in the inner membrane occurring during apoptosis are shown to be secondary caspase-dependent events.
Marriage Systems and Pathogen Stress in Human Societies

Pathogen stress is an important form of environmental extremeness and uncertainty for humans as well as other organisms. It is predicted to: fl] increase the degree of polygyny (as fewer males become appropriate mates); [2] make non-sororal polygyny more frequent (as variable offspring become more advantageous), and [3] be correlated with signs of sexual selection: physical dimorphism, societal rules about allowed wives for men in different categories, both achieved and inherited. The first two hypotheses are supported. As pathogen stress increases, the degree of polygyny increases, no matter how polygyny is measured. As pathogen stress increases, non-sororal polygyny and capture of women from outside societies increase; sororal and other endogamous forms of polygyny decrease. The third hypothesis is not supported. Measures of male-male competition and reflections of male status are not associated with pathogen stress. A man's actual present appearance (physical, behavioral) may provide a more direct and accurate reflection of a man's worth as a mate. It is possible that the measures available for testing here are not fully appropriate. These results suggest that major pathogens may have been, during human evolutionary history, an important selective force, shifting the polygyny threshold, and resulting in greater polygyny, and polygyny of specific types, in areas of high stress. The relationship appears to be of a threshold sort (at high levels of pathogen stress monogamy, polyandry, and mild polygyny are absent) rather than a linear relationship. We need within-society data for appropriate pathogens regarding relationship between individual pathogen load and probability of getting a mate, possible interactions between pathogen stress and resource accumulation in sexual selection, and impact of pathogen load on fertility.
From Waddington’s epigenetic landscape to small noncoding RNA: some important milestones in the history of epigenetics research

The term epigenetics was coined in 1942 by C.H. Waddington in the context of studies on development. Since then, the meaning of epigenetics changed over time. In the beginning, epigenetics was viewed as a phenomenon above and beyond genetics. Epigenetic explanations were invoked when genetics could not explain a phenomenon. From the mid-seventies, the state of understanding started changing. Epigenetics has now morphed from a phenomenon to a branch of science whose molecular underpinnings are well understood. The current state of knowledge of epigenetics has evolved as our understanding of DNA methylation, chromatin modifications, and noncoding RNA, and their effects on gene expression increased. At this time in the annals of epigentics research, it is appropriate to revisit some of the important discoveries that have helped advance the field to its current state. This is a very brief review of some early discoveries, and by no means is a complete account of the history of epigenetics. In this review, the...
Characterization of low permeability gas separation membranes and barrier materials; design and operation considerations

The isochoric (constant-volume, variable pressure) method for measuring permeation through membranes has been used extensively for several decades. In principle, this technique should be well suited for measuring the permeability of any gas separation membrane. In practice, accurate determination of the permeability becomes difficult as the membrane permeability decreases, due to outgassing and finite leakage of atmospheric gases into the permeate reservoir. To address these issues, an isochoric permeation system incorporating a novel membrane cell has been designed to minimize leakage. New masking techniques have also been developed for brittle materials and small film samples.
CHAOS IN REVERSED-FIELD-PINCH PLASMA SIMULATION AND EXPERIMENT

We investigate the possibility that chaos and simple determinism are governing the dynamics of reversed-field-pinch (RFP) plasmas using data from both numerical simulations and experiment. A large repertoire of nonlinear-analysis techniques is used to identify low-dimensional chaos. These tools include phase portraits and Poincar\'e sections, correlation dimension, the spectrum of Lyapunov exponents, and short-term predictability. In addition, nonlinear-noise-reduction techniques are applied to the experimental data in an attempt to extract any underlying deterministic dynamics. Two model systems are used to simulate the plasma dynamics. These are the debs computer code, which models global RFP dynamics, and the dissipative trapped-electron-mode model, which models drift-wave turbulence. Data from both simulations show strong indications of low-dimensional chaos and simple determinism. Experimental data were obtained from the Madison Symmetric Torus RFP and consist of a wide array of both global and local diagnostic signals. None of the signals shows any indication of low-dimensional chaos or other simple determinism. Moreover, most of the analysis tools indicate that the experimental system is very high dimensional with properties similar to noise. Nonlinear noise reduction is unsuccessful at extracting an underlying deterministic system.
Thermodynamics of acetylene van der Waals dimerization

Integrated band intensities of the 620 cm^(−1) absorption in (C_2H_2)_2 have been measured by FTIR spectroscopy at constant acetylene pressure between 198 and 273 K. These data, in conjunction with ab initio results for (C_2H_2)_2, have been used for the statistical evaluation of the equilibrium constant K_p(T) for acetylene cluster dimerization. Present results are used to clarify the role of molecular clusters in chemical systems at or near equilibrium, in particular in Titan's stratosphere.
A unified model for metal failure capturing shear banding and fracture

Abstract Dynamic fracture of metals may be brittle or ductile depending on factors such as material properties, loading rate and specimen geometry. At high strain rates, a thermo plastic instability known as shear banding may occur, which typically precedes fracture. Experiments on notched plate impact show a ductile–brittle failure transition, where lower impact velocities lead to brittle behavior, while higher impact velocities lead to shear banding. For more complex problems such as armor penetration, both brittle fracture and shear banding have been observed in the same specimen, however, current failure models can either account for fracture or shear banding. For predictive numerical simulations of dynamic failure, it is thus crucial to account for both failure modes, since exclusion of either mode neglects important physics observed in experiments. In this work a thermodynamically consistent model which accounts for both shear banding and dynamic fracture and can thus capture both failure bodes at intermediate strain rates, is presented. The model consists of an elastic–viscoplastic material with strain hardening, strain rate hardening, and thermal softening. Fracture is modeled with the phase field method, for which a novel modification is presented here to account for the creation of fracture surfaces by inelastic work. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the basic behavior of the model, and to compare it to three special cases: a damage free case, an isothermal case, and an isothermal case where the contribution of inelastic work to fracture is excluded.
Software-engineering process simulation model (SEPS)

This paper describes the Software-Engineering Process Simulation (SEPS) model developed at JPL. SEPS is a dynamic simulation model of the software project-development process. It uses the feedback principles of system dynamics to simulate the dynamic interactions among various software life-cycle development activities and management decision-making processes. The model is designed to be a planning tool to examine trade-offs of cost, schedule, and functionality, and to test the implications of different managerial policies on a project's outcome. Furthermore, SEPS will enable software managers to gain a better understanding of the dynamics of software project development and perform postmortem assessments.
Expression of Qa-1 on Mitogen-Stimulated Cells

The Qa-1 alloantigenic system was discovered while reinvestigating the reactivity of (B6 x A-T la b) anti ASLI on spleen and lymph node cells. It was found that this antiserum and a related one, A-Tla b anti A, react with approximately 60-70% of Thy-1 + cells and possibly with a small proportion of Thy-1cells (Stanton and Boyse 1976). Subsequently it was shown that Qa-1 is present on most or all Lyt-1,2, 3 cells, approximately 50% of Lyt-1 cells, and on a small proportion of Ly t cells (Stanton et al. 1978). It has also been demonstrated that Qa-1 + cells are not required to obtain proliferation in response to LPS, but are required in part to obtain proliferative responses to Con A. The pattern of responsiveness obtained by depleting Qa-1 + cells followed by mitogen stimulation (no effect on LPS, 40% reduction of Con A, and total elimination of PHA-M responsiveness), and the overlap of Qa-1, Thy-1, and Lyt reactivity suggested that Qa-1 is mainly or exclusively a T-cell marker. However, while Qa-1 + cells are not required for the LPS-induced proliferative response, we show here that they do consitute a portion of the cells which respond to this mitogen. In addition, Qa-1 § cells form a large proportion of the ceils which respond to Con A. Figure 1 shows the reactivity of anti Qa-1 antiserum, (B6 x A-Tla b) anti ASLI, on LPSor Con A-stimulated C57B1/6-T la a (B6TL +) spleen cells (A) or lymph node cells (B) after 48 h ofmitogen stimulation. It is evident that the majority of cells, after incubation with either LPS or Con A, are Qa-1 +. The reactivity observed is not likely to be due to expression on blast cells of some common antigen which is also present on ASLI tumor cells for the following two reasons. First, C57B1/6 (B6) the Qa-1 base strain from which B6TL +, the Qa-1 + congenic, was derived, expresses no reactivity after mitogen stimulation by either Con A or LPS (Fig. 1A and B). Secondly, unstimulated cells from B6TL + but not B6 spleen and lymph nodes will
Strain localization in the diffuse neck in sheet metal

The onset of diffuse instability in sheet metals is associated with initially small, but grad-ually increasing, changes in the strain rate,e, and in the ratio of the minor to the major principal strains,p = e2/e1in the plane of the sheet. The hardening and softening contri-butions from such changes have been considered to obtain a condition for partial flow sta-biliity in the neck. The effect of the change ine on the uniaxial stress was determined from measurements of e changes in the neck and from the strain rate sensitivity of the materials. Similar evaluation of the change in the axial stress due to a change in p was made by means of an approximate analysis. The combination of these effects, along with the basic strain hardening of the materials, is used to explain the slowness or the rapid-ity of the process of necking in several materials, exhibiting different normal anisotropy, strain hardening and strain rate hardening behaviors. These results can also be used to explain the size of a diffuse neck and the strain distribution within it. Correlation has also been obtained between necking extensions to failure and the forming limits.
A comparative fluid inclusion study of the Waterville and Sangerville (Vassalboro) Formations, south-central Maine

Petrologic and oxygen isotope data indicate that water-rich fluids infiltrated metasedimentary rocks of the Waterville and Sangerville (formally Vassalboro) Formations, south-central Maine, during peak metamorphism, and depleted Sangerville rocks in alkalis but not equivalent Waterville rocks. Fluid inclusion data from two outcrops, ∼ 1 km apart, one of the Waterville and the other of the Sangerville Formations, suggest a cause for the geochemical difference between the two units. Postulated peak metamorphic inclusions, the texturally earliest of aqueous inclusions in the metasediments, approximate the water-rich compositions of peak fluids predicted by mineral-fluid equilibria, and have average salinity in the Sangerville Formation ∼ three times that of equivalent Waterville inclusions. The higher salinity in the Sangerville fluids could explain the greater alkali depletion in these rocks. Probable pre-peak or prograde inclusions are preserved in metasediments as the texturally earliest carbonic inclusions which contain CO2, CH4, N2±H2O, as determined by microthermometry and Raman spectrometry. They may have formed by breakdown of organic matter. Probable retrograde inclusions occur as texturally late aqucous inclusions in healed fractures with salinity ranges indistinguishable between the two formations. Synmetamorphic granitic dikes present in the two outcrops were ruled out as a source for fluids in metasediments because composition and density ranges of inclusions in dikes and metasediments are fundamentally different, and because there is no correlation between the abundance or composition of inclusions in a sample and proximity to dikes. Isochores for many of the inclusions in both metasediments and dikes are not consistent with the inferred P—T conditions of their trapping, but intersect at ∼ 300° to 400°C and 1 to 2 kbar. The intersections probably resulted because inclusion densities continued to equilibrate during uplift and cooling until quartz became rigid. The present densities are those at the last equilibration, not the time of trapping. In contrast, the clear distinctions in inclusion compositions between dikes and between dike and country rock show that the original compositional differences generally have been preserved.
VEGF controls endothelial-cell permeability by promoting the beta-arrestin-dependent endocytosis of VE-cadherin.

How vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) induces vascular permeability, its first described function, remains poorly understood. Here, we provide evidence of a novel signalling pathway by which VEGF stimulation promotes the rapid endocytosis of a key endothelial cell adhesion molecule, VE-cadherin, thereby disrupting the endothelial barrier function. This process is initiated by the activation of the small GTPase Rac by VEGFR-2 through the Src-dependent phosphorylation of Vav2, a guanine nucleotide-exchange factor. Rac activation, in turn, promotes the p21-activated kinase (PAK)-mediated phosphorylation of a highly conserved motif within the intracellular tail of VE-cadherin. Surprisingly, this results in the recruitment of β-arrestin2 to serine-phosphorylated VE-cadherin, thereby promoting its internalization into clathrin-coated vesicles and the consequent disassembly of intercellular junctions. Ultimately, this novel biochemical route by which VEGF promotes endothelial permeability through the β-arrestin2-dependent endocytosis of VE-cadherin may help identify new therapeutic targets for the treatment of many human diseases that are characterized by vascular leakage.