cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dispersion-induced depletion instabilities in cavity-enhanced optical parametric chirped pulse amplification

In a cavity-enhanced optical parametric chirped-pulse amplifier, natural instabilities arise due to the interplay of pump depletion and dispersion when pulse durations longer than the pump to signal/idler walk-off lengths are used.
The Christmas Tree: Traditions, Production, and Diseases

This article takes a historical look at the Christmas tree industry and discuss three diseases limiting growers' ability to meet the demand for noble and Fraser fir in North America: Phytophthora r...
Effect of dietary phosphorus on reticuloendothelial clearance of Salmonella organisms in endotoxin treated guinea pigs.

Abstract Guinea pigs fed purified diets that contained either 0.4% or 1.0% of phosphorus were injected intraperitoneally with crude Salmonella typhimurium endotoxin. Functional activity of the RES was evaluated after endotoxin administration by determining the initial clearance rates of non-viable 32 P-labeled Salmonella typhimurium . Three days after administration of endotoxin the RES clearance rates were approximately 2 1 2 times greater in animals fed 1.0% than in those fed 0.4% of dietary phosphorus. After the RES response had risen to a maximum (5–6 days), there was no difference between dietary groups and RES clearance rates remained high throughout an 18-day period. The increased clearance rate induced by endotoxin involved largely the liver RES. Endotoxin administration led to a decrease in blood inorganic phosphorus in both dietary groups but the concentration in those fed the higher phosphorus level remained significantly higher. It was concluded that the protective action of high phosphorus is mediated at least in part by its beneficial effect on RES function.
Joint sensors-sources association and tracking under a power constraint

This work considers the problem of tracking multiple sources using observations acquired at spatially scattered sensors and under power constraints. The Kaiman filtering minimization formulation is extended with norm-one regularization terms and a power constraint. The resulting minimization formulation is capable to associate sources with sensors, and track the unknown sources while adhering to the communication power constraint imposed across sensors. Coordinate descent techniques are used to recover the unknown sparse observation matrix, select pertinent sensors and subsequently obtain source state estimates. Numerical tests demonstrate the potential of the novel approach to identify the source-informative sensors and accurately track the field sources.
Determining the Dimensionality in Sliced Inverse Regression

Abstract A general regression problem is one in which a response variable can be expressed as some function of one or more different linear combinations of a set of explanatory variables as well as a random error term. Sliced inverse regression is a method for determining these linear combinations. In this article we address the problem of determining how many linear combinations are involved. Procedures based on conditional means and conditional covariance matrices, as well as a procedure combining the two approaches, are considered. In each case we develop a test that has an asymptotic chi-squared distribution when the vector of explanatory variables is sampled from an elliptically symmetric distribution.
The Impact of Principal as Authentic Leader on Teacher Trust in the K-12 Educational Context

K-12 principals exhibiting authentic leadership and the benefits derived from teacher trust in the principal beg for attention in today's educational milieu. Authentic leadership scholars proposed a major conceptual framework, which linked authentic leadership to follower's attitudes and behaviors. The framework purported that authentic leadership leads to trust, yet is mediated through personal and organizational identification. The current study empirically tested these relationships within the context of principals and teachers in the K-12 setting. The context is ideal because principals are increasingly called upon to create open, collaborative, and positive learning communities. Nineteen public and private schools in the state of Maryland participated in the study, with 398 teachers (77% response rate) responding. The results support a framework of principals exhibiting authentic leadership where personal identification is a mediator in the causal pathway from authentic leadership to teacher trust. The results do not substantiate the framework regarding organizational identification being a mediator in the same causal pathway. Educational leaders can view the study as prescriptive, thereby building overall trust in the often strained asymmetrical relationship between administrators and teachers.
Reversible plasticization of nylons 6 and 11 with anhydrous ammonia and their deformation by solid‐state coextrusion

Reversible plasticization of nylons with anhydrous ammonia is a new concept. In the present studies, nylons 6 and 11 have been plasticized with anhydrous ammonia and subsequently were solid-state coextruded below the melting point. The plasticization is attained by a temporary disruption of the strong hydrogen bonding between amide groups of adjacent nylon chains. Thermogravimetric and infrared analysis show that for the nylons 6 and 11 the amount of ammonia absorbed is 18% and 10% of the weight of the dry samples, respectively. The ammonia incorporation to preformed nylon ribbons prior to extrusion alleviated significantly the processing difficulties encountered with untreated nylons and aided the rapid extrusion of highly oriented states (EDR 12). The extent of orientation is documented by the high total birefringence values (8.25 × 10−2 for nylon 6 and 5.8 × 10−2 for nylon 11), by the significant increase in crystallinity (23.5%–53% for nylon 6 and 25.7%–40% for nylon 11), and by the enhanced tensile moduli (13 GPa for nylon 6 and 4 GPa for nylon 11).
The Influence of Three Emergent Literacy Skills on the Invented Spellings of 4-Year-Olds.

This study of 40 4-year-olds investigated whether tests of phonological sensitivity, print awareness, or word awareness accounted for a significant amount of variability in preschool children’s inv...
The effects of metal ions on glycine uptake into the alga Euglena gracilis

1. Uptake of glycine by Euglena gracilis proceeds by a carrier mediated transport process in which Vmax = 3.8 × 10−16 mol/cell/min and Km = 4.2 × 10−4 M, and the zwitterion form is transported by initially binding the H3N+ — group and secondarily binding the group. 2. Na+ and K+ have no effect on the transport process, but other metal ions capable of binding to glycine and membranes reduce glycine uptake in order of increasing effectiveness Ca2+ < Mg2+ andPb2+ < CH3Hg+ and Hg2+.
Hemodynamic responses elicited by systemic injections of isotonic and hypertonic saline in hemorrhaged rats.

Purpose The objectives of this study were (i) to characterize the hemodynamic responses caused by controlled hemorrhage (HEM) in pentobarbital-anesthetized rats, and (ii) to determine the responses elicited by systemic bolus injections of isotonic saline (0.15 M) or hypertonic saline (3 M) given 5 min after completion of HEM.
Efficient use of land to meet sustainable energy needs

An analysis shows that generation of solar power within the existing built environment could easily meet California’s current energy demand.
The influence of travel time on breast cancer characteristics, receipt of primary therapy, and surveillance mammography.

Travel time has been shown to influence some aspects of cancer characteristics at diagnosis and care for women with breast cancer, but important gaps remain in our understanding of its impact. We examined the influence of travel time to the nearest radiology facility on breast cancer characteristics, treatment, and surveillance for women with early-stage invasive breast cancer. We included 1,012 women with invasive breast cancer (stages I and II) who had access to care within an integrated health care delivery system in western Washington State. The travel times to the nearest radiology facility were calculated for all the U.S. Census blocks within the study area and assigned to women based on residence at diagnosis. We collected cancer characteristics, primary and adjuvant therapies, and surveillance mammography for at least 2.5 years post diagnosis and used multivariable analyses to test the associations of travel time. The majority of women (68.6%) lived within 20 min of the nearest radiology facility, had stage I disease (72.7%), received breast conserving therapy (68.7%), and had annual surveillance mammography the first 2 years after treatment (73.7%). The travel time was not significantly associated with the stage or surveillance mammography after adjusting for covariates. Primary therapy was significantly related to travel time, with greater travel time (>30 min vs. ≤ 10 min) associated with a higher likelihood of mastectomy compared to breast conserving surgery (RR = 1.53; 95% CI, 1.16–2.01). The travel time was not associated with the stage at diagnosis or surveillance mammography receipt. The travel time does seem to influence the type of primary therapy among women with breast cancer, suggesting that women may prefer low frequency services, such as mastectomy, if geographic access to a radiology facility is limited.
The effect of insulin on the permeability of phosphatidyl choline bimolecular membranes to glucose.

Insulin, on the outside of phosphatidyl choline bimolecular membranes, inceeased the permeability of the membranes to glucose. The magnitude of the increase in glucose permeability was dependent upon the insulin concentration and was independent of the glucose concentration over the range 2.7 to 14.4mm. The increase in the permeability of the membranes to glucose was not accompanied by a change in the direct current electrical resistance of the membranes. Ovalbumin resulted in a smaller increase in the permeability of the membranes to glucose and no change in their electrical resistance, while phloretin changed neither the permeability to glucose nor the electrical resistance. Insulin, on both sides of the bimolecular membranes, did not change the permeability to glucose from that observed when insulin was present only on the outside, nor did it change the electrical resistance.
Protonation equilibria of marine dissolved organic matter1

Dissolved organic matter isolated by activated charcoal adsorption from river, estuarine, coastal, and open ocean waters was examined by acid-base titration in 0.7 molal NaClO, medium. Two types of sites were present in the pH range 2-8. One set of sites with an inflection point at pH 3.5 amounted to 11 prnol of sites per milligram of organic carbon. These sites were present in all samples and showed uniform properties among the samples from different marine environments. A second set of sites with an inflection point at pH 6.5 was present in some samples and amounted to <l pmol of sites per milligram of organic carbon. These results provide a characterization of the acid-base equilibria of marine organic matter which is required in an assessment of possible trace metal-organic interactions in seawater. Only IO-20% of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in seawater has been identified in terms of specific molecular substances. The remaining uncharacterized fraction probably is a complex mixture of compounds which are relatively stable. DOM may play important roles in dissolution and precipitation kinetics of solid phases, in hydrocarbon solubilization, and in trace metal speciation. The chemical interactions of dissolved organic matter with other seawater constituents must be understood before a predictive model of seawater chemistry can be made. The acid-base properties of DOM yield information on the types and numbers of pHactive functional groups present on the organic matter that determine many of the chemical properties of DOM. In order to achieve adequate sensitivity, dissolved organic matter must be extracted from seawater and concentrated before studies can be made of its acidbase properties. The isolation technique may alter properties of the dissolved organic material. Yields may vary for different organic compounds so that the resulting isolate may not be representative of the original DOM, or conditions during isolation may cause chemical alteration of the organic matter functional groups. Amberlite XAD-2 resin has been used to isolate humiclike materials from freshwater and seawater (Mantoura and
Cross‐talk between the ligand‐ and DNA‐binding domains of estrogen receptor

Estrogen receptor alpha (ERa) is a hormone-responsive transcription factor that contains several discrete functional domains, including a ligand-binding domain (LBD) and a DNA-binding domain (DBD). Despite a wealth of knowledge about the behaviors of individual domains, the molecular mechanisms of cross-talk between LBD and DBD during signal transduction from hormone to DNA-binding of ERa remain elusive. Here, we apply a multiscale approach combining coarse-grained (CG) and atomistically detailed simulations to characterize this cross-talk mechanism via an investigation of the ERa conformational landscape. First, a CG model of ERa is built based on crystal structures of individual LBDs and DBDs, with more emphasis on their interdomain interactions. Second, molecular dynamics simulations are implemented and enhanced sampling is achieved via the “push-pull-release” strategy in the search for different LBD–DBD orientations. Third, multiple energetically stable ERa conformations are identified on the landscape. A key finding is that estradiol-bound LBDs utilize the well-described activation helix H12 to pack and stabilize LBD–DBD interactions. Our results suggest that the estradiol-bound LBDs can serve as a scaffold to position and stabilize the DBD–DNA complex, consistent with experimental observations of enhanced DNA binding with the LBD. Final assessment using atomic-level simulations shows that these CG-predicted models are significantly stable within a 15-ns simulation window and that specific pairs of lysine residues in close proximity at the domain interfaces could serve as candidate sites for chemical cross-linking studies. Together, these simulation results provide a molecular view of the role of ERa domain interactions in response to hormone binding.
Novel Inhalational Murine Model of Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis

We developed a novel model of invasive aspergillosis (IA) that recapitulates human disease. Mice were immunosuppressed with cyclophosphamide and cortisone acetate and then infected in an aerosol chamber. This procedure reproducibly delivered 1 x 10(3) to 3 x 10(3) conidia to the lungs. Lethal pulmonary IA developed over 2 weeks and was prevented by amphotericin B.
Children with moderate/severe brain damage/dysfunction outperform adults with mild-to-no brain damage on the Medical Symptom Validity Test

Primary objective: This study sought independent confirmation that the English computerized Medical Symptom Validity Test can be easily passed by children with moderate-to-severe brain injury/dysfunction (e.g. traumatic brain injury, stroke) and/or developmental disabilities. In addition, it was hypothesized that a higher percentage of such children would pass the MSVT compared to adults with mild traumatic brain injury or head injury (MTBI/HI) and would rate the task as easier.Methods: Thirty-eight children and 67 adults were administered the MSVT during an outpatient neuropsychological evaluation.Results: Two children (5%) failed the MSVT, whereas 14 (21%) of adults failed. Children performed significantly better on the MSVT and rated it as significantly easier compared to adults who failed the MSVT. There were no such differences when children were compared to adults who passed the MSVT.Conclusions: Findings independently validate the use of the MSVT with children and demonstrate symptom exaggeration i...
Dynamic testing of shock absorbers under non-sinusoidal conditions

This paper deals with the dynamic characterization of an automotive shock absorber, the continuation of an earlier work ( 1). The objective of this ongoing research is to develop a testing and analysis methodology for obtaining dynamic properties of automotive shock absorbers for use in CAE-NVH low-to-mid-frequency chassis models. Stepped sine sweep excitation is currently used in industry to obtain shock absorber parameters along with their frequency and amplitude depen- dence. Sine-on-sine testing, which involves excitation using two di Verent sine waves, has been done in this study to understand the e Vects of the presence of multiple sine waves on the estimated dynamic properties. In an e Vort to obtain all frequency dependent parameters simultaneously, di Verent types of broadband random excitation have also been studied. Results are compared with stepped sine sweep tests. Additionally, actual road data measured on di Verent road proe les have been used as input excitation to obtain the shock absorber parameters for broad frequency bands under realistic amplitude and frequency conditions. These results are compared with both simulated random excitation and stepped sine sweep test results.
Nonmedical Interventions for Children With ASD: Recommended Guidelines and Further Research Needs

OBJECTIVE To use the findings of a systematic review of scientific evidence to develop consensus guidelines on nonmedical interventions that address cognitive function and core deficits in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and to recommend priorities for future research. METHODS The guidelines were developed by a Technical Expert Panel (TEP) consisting of practitioners, researchers, and parents. A systematic overview of research findings was presented to the TEP; guideline statements were drafted, discussed, debated, edited, reassessed, and presented for formal voting. RESULTS The strength of evidence of efficacy varied by intervention type from insufficient to moderate. There was some evidence that greater intensity of treatment (hours per week) and greater duration (in months) led to better outcomes. The TEP agreed that children with ASD should have access to at least 25 hours per week of comprehensive intervention to address social communication, language, play skills, and maladaptive behavior. They agreed that applied behavioral analysis, integrated behavioral/developmental programs, the Picture Exchange Communication System, and various social skills interventions have shown efficacy. Based on identified gaps, they recommend that future research focus on assessment and monitoring of outcomes, addressing the needs of pre/nonverbal children and adolescents, and identifying the most effective strategies, dose, and duration to improve specific core deficits. CONCLUSIONS The creation of treatment guidelines and recommendations for future research represents an effort by leading experts to improve access to services for children with ASDs while acknowledging that the research evidence has many gaps.
Vaccine Trials for the Clinician: Prospects for Viral and Non-Viral Vectors.

Recent progress in tumor genetics, tumor biology, and tumor immunology has renewed interest in the development of tumor vaccines. Unlike the previous generation of vaccines that consisted of the patient’s own tumor cells in some form, the new vaccines contain defined peptides or genes with a known function. In order to induce a potent and long-lasting cell-mediated antitumor response, viral as well as nonviral vectors have been explored as vehicles for gene delivery. Both types of vectors have shown encouraging results in animal models. However, because of the many possible vectors that have been designed, it may be too early to say which type of vector is most efficient in the human. Clearly, viral vectors have a higher transduction efficiency than most nonviral delivery systems. A drawback is that viral vectors may be toxic or immunogenic. Current research focuses on enhancing the targeting and specificity of both viral and nonviral vectors and control of transgene expression levels. Clinical studies using a variety of both viral and nonviral vectors have begun, and the results are forthcoming. The Oncologist 1997;2:300-310
Heater Effects on Cyclone Performance for the Separation of Solids from High Temperature and Pressure Effluents

A 25.4-mm diameter hydrocyclone with an underflow receiver was evaluated for its ability to achieve separation of fine particles from water at elevated temperatures and pressures relevant to supercritical oxidation. Temperature was varied from 25°C to 340°C, while pressure was maintained at 27.6 MPa. The particles studied were α-alumina. Particle-removal efficiency was affected by the separation capabilities of the hydrocyclone, deposition on the heater surface, and flocculation of the particles. Particle-size distributions and suspended solids analyses confirmed that cyclone, separation efficiency was controlled by the (densityparticle − densitywater)/viscositywater ratio. Because this ratio is sensitive to temperature, especially in the neighborhood of the supercritical point, separation efficiencies sharply increased with temperature. Contrary to traditional air cyclone theory, removal efficiency was inversely correlated to flow rate. This result was caused by particle deposition and particle flocculat...
High Rates of Pneumocystis carinii Pneumonia in Allogeneic Blood and Marrow Transplant Recipients Receiving Dapsone Prophylaxis

Chemoprophylaxis for Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) is routinely given after allogeneic blood or marrow transplantation. We evaluated the effectiveness of dapsone prophylaxis (50 mg orally twice daily, 3 times per week) compared with twice-weekly trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMZ) in preventing PCP after allogeneic blood or marrow transplantation. Patients included all (n=646) who received allogeneic blood or marrow transplants between 1 September 1993 and 31 December 1996 who survived at least 100 days after transplantation. A cohort of 111 dapsone recipients was compared with the remaining 535 who received TMP-SMZ. Ten patients developed PCP; 8 were taking dapsone. PCP incidence in the TMP-SMZ cohort was 0.37% versus 7.2% for dapsone. The relative risk for PCP associated with dapsone use was 18.8 (P<.001) and was not accounted for by age, clinical extensive chronic graft-versus-host disease, donor source, or malignant relapse. Dapsone prophylaxis at this dosage is associated with significantly higher rates of PCP than is TMP-SMZ after allogeneic marrow transplantation. We advise caution in prescribing alternatives to TMP-SMZ prophylaxis in this setting.
Structure and Stability of Duplex DNA Containing (5'S)-5',8-Cyclo-2'-deoxyadenosine: An Oxidatively Generated Lesion Repaired by NER.

Cellular respiration and ionizing radiation generate 5′,8-cyclo-2′-deoxyribonucleosides, a special type of DNA damage that involves two modifications in the same nucleotide. These lesions evade the action of base excision glycosylases, and their removal is a function of the nucleotide excision repair pathway. Diastereomeric 5′,8-cyclo-2′-deoxyadenosine blocks mammalian DNA replication, diminishes the levels of DNA transcription, and induces transcriptional mutagenesis. Using solution state NMR spectroscopy and restrained molecular dynamics simulations, we have determined the structure of an undecameric DNA duplex having a centrally located (5′S)-5′,8-cyclo-2′-deoxyadenosine residue paired to T. The damaged duplex structure is a right-handed helix having Watson–Crick base-pair alignments throughout, and 2-deoxyribose puckers within the B-form conformation. Only small structural perturbations are observed at the lesion-containing and 5′-flanking base pair. The 2-deoxyribose of the damaged nucleotide adopts ...
Computational Complexity of Web Service Composition Based on Behavioral Descriptions

The Web service composition (WSC) problem on behavioral descriptions deals with the automatic construction of a coordinator web service to control a set of web services to reach the goal states. As such, WSC is one of the fundamental techniques to enable the Service Oriented Architecture on the Web. Despite its importance and implications, however, very few studies exist on the computational complexities of the WSC problem. In this paper, we present two novel theoretical findings on WSC problems: (1) Solving the WSC problem with "complete" information is EXP-hard, and (2) Solving the WSC problem with "incomplete" information is 2-EXP-hard. These findings imply that more efforts to devise efficient approximate solutions to the WSC problem be needed.
Heracles: Fully Synthesizable Parameterized MIPS-Based Multicore System

Heracles is an open-source complete multicore system written in Verilog. It is fully parameterized and can be reconfigured and synthesized into different topologies and sizes. Each processing node has a fully bypassed, 7-stage pipelined microprocessor running the MIPS-III ISA, a 4-stage input-buffer, virtual-channel router, and a local variable-size shared memory. Our design is highly modular with clear interfaces between the core, the memory hierarchy, and the on-chip network. In the baseline design, the microprocessor is attached to two caches, one instruction cache and one data cache, which are oblivious to the global memory organization. The memory system in Heracles can be configured as one single global shared memory (SM), or distributed shared memory (DSM), or any combination thereof. Each core is connected to the rest of the network of processors by a parameterized, realistic, wormhole router. We show different topology configurations of the system, and their synthesis results on the Xilinx Virtex-5 LX330T FPGA board. We also provide a small MIPS cross-compiler tool chain to assist in developing software for Heracles.
Kinematic analysis and control of an omnidirectional mobile robot in rough terrain

An omnidirectional mobile robot is able, kinematically, to move in any direction regardless of current pose. To date, nearly all designs and analyses of omnidirectional robots have considered the case of motion on flat, smooth terrain. This paper presents a kinematic analysis and control method for an omnidirectional mobile robot driven by active split offset casters operating on rough, uneven terrain. Robot average isotropy is analyzed as a function of wheel module geometry on both flat and rough terrain. A simple kinematic control scheme that considers the effects of terrain unevenness is presented. The performance of the algorithm in rough terrain is studied in simulation. It is shown that with knowledge of terrain conditions, near- omnidirectional mobility is achievable in rough terrain.
Structure of Concatenated HAMP Domains Provides a Mechanism for Signal Transduction

HAMP domains are widespread prokaryotic signaling modules found as single domains or poly-HAMP chains in both transmembrane and soluble proteins. The crystal structure of a three-unit poly-HAMP chain from the Pseudomonas aeruginosa soluble receptor Aer2 defines a universal parallel four-helix bundle architecture for diverse HAMP domains. Two contiguous domains integrate to form a concatenated di-HAMP structure. The three HAMP domains display two distinct conformations that differ by changes in helical register, crossing angle, and rotation. These conformations are stabilized by different subsets of conserved residues. Known signals delivered to HAMP would be expected to switch the relative stability of the two conformations and the position of a coiled-coil phase stutter at the junction with downstream helices. We propose that the two conformations represent opposing HAMP signaling states and suggest a signaling mechanism whereby HAMP domains interconvert between the two states, which alternate down a poly-HAMP chain.
McBindall - A better name for CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins?

C/EBP-related transcription factors regulate the balance between cell proliferation and mitotic growth arrest during terminal differentiation. Three new studies give evidence that this regulation is mediated by protein:protein interactions completely distinct from the role of C/EBPs in gene expression.
Differential diagnosis of CD4-/CD8- γδ T-cell large granular lymphocytic leukemia and hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma.

To the Editor We thank Erber and Finlayson1 for their thoughtful review of our article on the clinical, morphologic, immunophenotypic, and molecular cytogenetic assessment of CD4–/CD8– γδ T-cell large granular lymphocytic (T-LGL) leukemia.2 We appreciate their additional comments on the overlapping hematologic features of γδ T-LGL leukemia and hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma (HSTCL).1 The main purpose of our report on CD4–/CD8– γδ T-LGL leukemia was to raise awareness of the clinicopathologic features of this rare subset of T-LGL leukemia. We also emphasized the overlapping features of CD4–/CD8– γδ T-LGL leukemia and γδ HSTCL, particularly with regard to the immunophenotype. While the abnormal morphologic features of the neoplastic cells in HSTCL have been described extensively in the literature, Erber and …
Application of absorption filter planar Doppler velocimetry to sonic and supersonic jets

An absorption filter planar Doppler velocimeter has been constructed and tested on a pressure-matched sonic jet and an overexpanded supersonic jet (A/design = 1-9). The current system can acquire single-velocity-component single-shot planar images (15-ns exposures) at 30 Hz. A unique aspect of the system is the use of a single camera and lens, made possible by the application of an image splitter system. This development reduces the expense and experimental complexity of the technique. The most extensive of the three data sets taken comprises 1100 centerline planes of instantaneous velocity acquired in the overexpanded supersonic jet. Mean and rms velocity fields are presented for this data set; a mean centerline and a mean transverse profile are extracted and compared with profiles from a computational fluid dynamics solution generated using the LARCK computer code employing a k-e turbulence model.
Charisms, Congregational Sponsors, and Catholic Higher Education

As gifts of the Holy Spirit, charisms serve as reference points and guiding forces for women and men religious. Charisms can be agents of stability, as well as vehicles for change within the Catholic Church itself. This article explores how the Church and religious congregations generally understand charisms and why they both believe in their preservation and transmission within Catholic higher education. The article concludes with the hope that both religious congregations and the Church will plan for and develop leaders who will understand, respect, and cherish the role that charisms play in Catholic higher education.
Size spectra of ice particles in frontal clouds: Correlations between spectrum shape and cloud conditions

Ice particle size spectra measured by optical particle size spectrometers during airborne sampling of clouds associated with several frontal precipitation systems in the Pacific Northwest are presented and discussed. In the majority of the spectra measured, the concentration densities of particles <2 mm in diameter deviated significantly below or above the exponential curve fitting larger diameters (we term these sub-exponential and super-exponential spectra, respectively). Sub-exponential spectra were found to be dominant in regions of weak stratiform cloud, where liquid water was scarce. Super-exponential spectra were dominant in convective regions between the -1 and -9°C levels, where supercooled liquid water was present in amounts up to 0.2 gm-3. Exponential spectra were dominant in convective regions at the -11 °C level and above. Microphysical processes as well as shear-induced particle size sorting were found to play a role in the development of spectrum shapes. Depletion of small particles due to aggregation appears to have been an important cause of sub-exponential spectra. Secondary ice crystal production appears to have been responsible for the formation of super-exponential spectra. the role of particle size was largely to broaden the range of spectrum shapes present, rather than to promote the dominance of a particular spectrum type. The impact of spectrum deviations on the relationship between radar reflectivity factor and snowfall rate, though observable, is found to be small with respect to other sources of error often found in radar estimates of snowfall.
Intracerebroventricular losartan infusion modulates angiotensin II type 1 receptor expression in the subfornical organ and drinking behaviour in bile-duct-ligated rats.

Bile duct ligation (BDL) causes congestive liver failure that initiates hemodynamic changes including peripheral vasodilation and generalized edema. Peripheral vasodilation is hypothesized to then activate compensatory mechanisms including increased drinking behavior and neurohumoral activation. This study tested the hypothesis that changes in the expression of AT1R mRNA and protein in the lamina terminalis is associated with BDL induced hypoosmolality in the rat. All rats received either BDL or sham ligation surgery. The rats were housed in metabolic chambers for measurement of fluid and food intake and urine output. Angiotensin type 1 receptor (AT1R) expression in the lamina terminalis was assessed by western blot and quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR). Average baseline water intake significantly increased in BDL rats compared to sham and upregulation of AT1R protein and AT1aR mRNA were observed in the subfornical organ (SFO) of BDL rats. Separate groups of BDL and sham ligated rats were instrumented with minipumps filled with either losartan (2.0 µg/µl) or 0.9% saline for chronic intracerebroventricular (ICV) or subcutaneous (SC) chronic infusion. Chronic ICV losartan infusion attenuated the increased drinking behavior and prevented the increased abundance of AT1R protein in the SFO in BDL rats. Chronic SC did not affect water intake or AT1R abundance in the SFO. The data presented here indicate a possible role of increased central AT1R expression in the regulation of drinking behavior during congestive cirrhosis.
Cell density regulates cancer metastasis via the Hippo pathway

Metastatic spread of cancer cells from the primary tumor site to distant organs is the major cause of death in cancer patients. To disseminate, cancer cells detach from the primary tumor, enter the blood stream and extravasate at distant organ sites such as the liver, lung, bone or brain. While cancer cells are known to evade contact inhibition during growth in culture, we found that cell density is still sensed and can signal through the Hippo pathway effectors LATS1 and YAP. These effectors control cancer cell invasive behavior into stromal tissues, expression of cytokines that recruit inflammatory cells and progression toward metastatic spread. In this perspective, we discuss the drivers and the significance of pathways controlled by cell growth density.
A cache-efficient implementation of the lattice Boltzmann method for the two-dimensional diffusion equation: Research Articles

The lattice Boltzmann method is an important technique for the numerical solution of partial differential equations because it has nearly ideal scalability on parallel computers for many applications. However, to achieve the scalability and speed potential of the lattice Boltzmann technique, the issues of data reusability in cache-based computer architectures must be addressed. Utilizing the two-dimensional diffusion equation, $T_t=\mu(T_{xx}T_{yy})$, this paper examines cache optimization for the lattice Boltzmann method in both serial and parallel implementations. In this study, speedups due to cache optimization were found to be 1.9–2.5 for the serial implementation and 3.6–3.8 for the parallel case in which the domain decomposition was optimized for stride-one access. In the parallel non-cached implementation, the method of domain decomposition (horizontal or vertical) used for parallelization did not significantly affect the compute time. In contrast, the cache-based implementation of the lattice Boltzmann method was significantly faster when the domain decomposition was optimized for stride-one access. Additionally, the cache-optimized lattice Boltzmann method in which the domain decomposition was optimized for stride-one access displayed superlinear scalability on all problem sizes as the number of processors was increased. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Mycolic acid-specific T Cells protect against Mycobacterium Tuberculosis infection in a humanized transgenic mouse model

Most cases of tuberculosis are caused by a bacterium called Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which is believed to have infected one third of the world’s population. Most of these infections are dormant and don’t cause any symptoms. However, active infections can be deadly if left untreated and often require six months of treatment with multiple antibiotics. One reason why these infections are so difficult to treat is because the M. tuberculosis cell walls contain fatty molecules known as mycolic acids, which make the bacteria less susceptible to antibiotics. These molecules also help the bacteria to subvert and then hide from the immune system. The prevalence of the disease and the increasing problem of antibiotic resistance have spurred the search for an effective vaccine against tuberculosis. While most efforts have focused on using protein fragments in tuberculosis vaccines, some evidence suggests that human immune cells can recognize fatty molecules such as mycolic acids and that these cells could help manage and control M. tuberculosis infections. However, it has been difficult to determine whether these immune cells genuinely play a protective role against the disease because most vaccine research uses mouse models and mice do not have an equivalent of these immune cells. Now, Zhao et al. have engineered a “humanized” mouse model that produces the fatty molecule-specific immune cells, and show that these mice do respond to the presence of mycolic acids. Infecting the genetically engineered mice with M. tuberculosis revealed that the fatty molecule-specific immune cells were quickly activated within lymph nodes at the center of the chest. These cells later accumulated at sites in the lung where the bacteria reside, and ultimately protected against M. tuberculosis infection. The results show that these specific immune cells can counteract M. tuberculosis, and highlight the potential of using mycolic acids to generate an effective vaccine that provides protection against tuberculosis.
Thermal Boundary Resistance and Heat Diffusion in AlGaN/GaN HFETs

We theoretically investigate the thermal boundary resistance and heat diffusion in AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors. Our calculations based on the diffuse mismatch model show that the thermal boundary resistance at the interface between GaN and SiC can strongly influence the temperature rise in the device channel.
Maturation changes of vaginal epithelium in pregnant rats

SummaryStudies on the effects of estrogen-progestrone levels on the MI of the squamous epithelium of vagina of pregnant rats were made. We observed fluctuations in MI for different periods of gestation as well as variations in cytological criteria which occurred especially on days 7 and 14. The MI shifts and marked alterations of the cytological criteria coincides on the same gestational days.
A method of estimating tensile strength master curves using dynamic storage modulus master curves

In order to obtain tensile strength master curve,based on the dynamic storage modulus master curve,the relaxation modulus master curve of solid propellants and Griffith equation,quantitative relations between dynamic and static uniaxial tension property of the solid propellants were established.The ratio of the tensile strength of solid propellants after converting temperature was equal to the root-mean-square ratio of dynamic modulus after some transform.According to this relation,the stress of solid propellants under any temparature and tensile speed was estimated from the dynamic storage modulus master curve,thereby the tensile strength master curve was plotted.The comparison results show that the predicted data is close to the tested data.The tensile strength master curve can evaluate whether the propellants have the mechanical properties to bear ignition impact.
Reverberation robust acoustic modeling using i-vectors with time delay neural networks.

In reverberant environments there are long term interactions between speech and corrupting sources. In this paper a time delay neural network (TDNN) architecture, capable of learning long term temporal relationships and translation invariant representations, is used for reverberation robust acoustic modeling. Further, iVectors are used as an input to the neural network to perform instantaneous speaker and environment adaptation, providing 10% relative improvement in word error rate. By subsampling the outputs at TDNN layers across time steps, training time is reduced. Using a parallel training algorithm we show that the TDNN can be trained on ∼ 5500 hours of speech data in 3 days using up to 32 GPUs. The TDNN is shown to provide results competitive with state of the art systems in the IARPA ASpIRE challenge, with 27.7% WER on the dev test set.
A fresh look at the molecular pharmacology of plasminogen activators: From theory to test tube to clinical outcomes

The molecular pharmacology of plasminogen activators and its implications for thrombolytic therapy are discussed. The benefits of coronary thrombolysis were first demonstrated with intracoronary and i.v. streptokinase. Tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) or recombinant t-PA (alteplase) proved to be superior to streptokinase with respect to speed of reperfusion and reperfusion efficacy. Since alteplase neither lessened the risk of bleeding found with streptokinase nor generated Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) grade 3 flow rates above about 50%, the quest for faster-acting, safer, and more effective thrombolytic agents has continued. The ideal agent would be highly efficient at converting plasminogen to plasmin, have an intermediate half-life, have a low affinity for fibrin, and be of reasonable cost. Genetic engineering of the wild-type t-PA molecule resulted in reteplase, which has a longer half-life than alteplase and may be superior in terms of lytic activity, myocardial salvage, and survival. Also under investigation are TNK-t-PA and n-PA, which have longer half-lives and, in animal models, seem to produce more rapid and complete thrombolysis, at less risk of intracranial bleeding, than alteplase. The risk of intracranial bleeding remains a problem with all thrombolytics; the risk versus the benefit will have to be assessed in large randomized trials. An understanding of the functions of various regions of the t-PA molecule has led to genetic engineering of new and promising plasminogen activators.
Calciferol metabolism and intestinal calcium transport in the chick with reduced renal function.

Abstract The metabolism of 3 H- and 14 C-labeled cholecalciferol (D 3 ) and the intestinal transport of calcium, as measured in vitro, were evaluated in chicks with renal insufficiency of 7 to 10 days duration and in sham-operated control chicks. Previous treatment with nonradioactie D 3 was suboptimal, averaging 0.7 to 3.4 I.U. per day compared with normal requirements of 10 to 20 I.U. per day. Intestinal calcium transport was reduced in uremic chicks compared to control chicks. Also, there was reduced intestinal localization of labeled metabolite chromatographically identical to 1,25-dihydroxycholecalciferol (1,25(OH) 2 D 3 ), the kidney-produced active form of D 3 , in the uremic chicks compared to sham-operated control chicks. This difference was detectable only in the birds that received lower quantities of nonradioactive D 3 . The demonstration of decreased quantities of 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 in the intestine in association with impaired calcium transport are consistent with the theory that reduced availability of 1,25(OH) 2 D 3 may underlie the abnormality of calcium absorption found in uremia.
Shakespearean Reverberations: from Religion to Responsibility in Roberta Torre’s Sud Side Stori

A reflection of the post-secular turn, Jacques Derrida’s late writings assay the relationship between religion and responsibility seeking to explain their mutual accountability while also exploring their irreducible differences. Curiously, he contends, both religion and responsibility are ‘built upon the heritage and patrimony of secrecy’ (2008a, p. 9, emphasis in original). As an example, Derrida poses the archetypal enigma of the Abrahamic covenant: God promises Abraham that a great nation will spring from Isaac’s seed, only to insist that Abraham sacrifice his firstborn son as an exercise of his responsibility toward God. The secrecy surrounding this strange compact recurs, of course, in the mysterium tremendum — the unknowable ethical imperative encrypted in God’s ‘gift’ of his own son. Derrida also engages the patrimony of secrecy as it pertains to the mystery of Christian hospitality. In the foundational stories of Lot and the Levite, for instance, the respective hosts solve the riddle posed by the strangers at their gates by offering their daughters to the rapacious men of the city, rather than allowing sexual ‘outrages’ to be committed against their unexpected male guests. In the end, both fathers, like Abraham, do not have to sacrifice their children, as the ethic of responsibility is superseded by a literal deus ex machina effect whereby that which is sacrificed is, in fact, mysteriously retained — a ‘miracle’ attributed to the inscrutable workings of God’s grace.
Picosecond Acoustic Interferometry

Spontaneous, stimulated [1–4] and impulsive [5] Brillouin scattering are well established optical techniques to study phonon velocity and attenuation in solids and liquids. The Brillouin frequency ν is $$ v = \left( {2nv/\lambda } \right)\sin \Psi /2 $$ (1) where ψ is the scattering angle, n is the index of refraction, v is the sound velocity and λ the wavelength of the incident light. The sound velocity in a material can be determined from (1); the sound attenuation in transparent materials is related to the linewidth of the scattered light. Due to instrumental linewidth limitations weak attenuation cannot be easily measured by Brillouin scattering. In this paper we present a new technique to study phonons in transparent materials in the Brillouin frequency range using picosecond optical pulses. The technique is first order in strain, can measure weak attenuation, and is particularly well adapted to study thin films and regions close to interfaces where acoustical properties may vary.
High Energy Phenomenon of Baryon Number Violation

We discuss the possibility of observing baryon number violation induced by electroweak instantons at high energy colliders. The event rate at the SSC is found about a few per hour if the naive-instanton amplitudes were valid for energy larger than 17 TeV.
Optimal fiber design for large capacity long haul coherent transmission [Invited]

Fiber figure of merit (FOM), derived from the GN-model theory and validated by several experiments, can predict improvement in OSNR or transmission distance using advanced fibers. We review the FOM theory and present design results of optimal fiber for large capacity long haul transmission, showing variation in design results according to system configuration.
Editors' Introduction: Presenting Writing Assignments as Intellectual Work and as Disciplinary Practice

This article introduces the debut issue of Prompt , a multidisciplinary journal focused specifically on collegiate writing assignments. This journal highlights the pedagogical process of crafting writing assignments and offers contextualized reflections on teaching writing in varied disciplines. This essay reflects on the process for developing the journal and offers a brief overview of the five essays and assignments that make up the first issue.