cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
ANALYSIS OF ANDROGEN REGULATED HOMEOBOX GENE NKX3.1 DURING PROSTATE CARCINOGENESIS

ABSTRACTPurpose: NKX3.1 is an androgen regulated gene that is largely specific to the prostate for expression and it is predicted to encode a homeobox protein. Null alleles of NKX3.1 in mice results in impaired prostate development as well as hyperplasia and dysplasia of the prostate. In addition, the NKX3.1 gene maps to a region of high loss of heterozygosity in prostate cancer in humans, suggesting that NKX3.1 might have a direct role in prostate carcinogenesis, possibly functioning as a tumor suppressor protein. Previous studies of the levels of NKX3.1 mRNA or protein in prostate cancer specimens have resulted in conflicting findings.Materials and Methods: To resolve this issue we assessed NKX3.1 expression by mRNA in situ analysis and immunohistochemistry on the same prostate cancer tissue arrays.Results: Data showed that NKX3.1 mRNA and protein levels in prostate cancer specimens are correlated, suggesting that most regulation is at the transcriptional level. There was no correlation of NKX3.1 expres...
Cytotoxicity of Resin Composites Containing Bioactive Glass Fillers

Objective To determine the in vitro cytotoxicity of dental composites containing bioactive glass fillers.
Reduction of pile head displacement for restrained-head single pile

The effect of pile head fixity on the displacement of laterally loaded pile groups was investigated using analytical methods. The reduction of lateral displacement by a pile cap is generalized using a reduction factor, and the effect of soil and pile properties was investigated through a parametric study using the Davies and Budhu method. It was found that the soil properties have a major influence on the reduction factor, while the pile property influence is relatively minor. These results are presented graphically and show further the decrease in the reduction factor with increasing load level. Based on these results, a design chart for the reduction factor is suggested.
Gas chromatographic assay of the diastereomeric composition ofall‐rac‐α‐tocopheryl acetate

It has been established by an evaluation of 6 production samples ofall-rac-α-tocopheryl acetate that all 4 racemates (RRS/SSR, RRR/SSS, RSR/SRS and RSS/SRR) are consistently present in equimolar amounts (SD<0.3, RSD<1.2%). An analysis of variance indicated variance due to signal noise to be consistent within a sample run but to vary from day to day. Variance due to area measurement was greater for the first and last eluted racemates than for the second and third. Peak width and asymmetry were found to be extremely sensitive to sample loading and, even within acceptable limits for good quantitation, the distortion was sufficient to give the elution profile the appearance of a sample composed of 4 components in unequal proportions increasing according to the order of elution.
OBSERVATIONS ON THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE THYROID TO THE POLYURIA OF EXPERIMENTAL DIABETES

THE FEEDING of large doses of desiccated thyroid to animals with diabetes Tinsipidus is known to produce an exaggeration of the polyuria already present (Fisher and Ingram, 1936; White, et al., 1938; Bruhn, 1939; Hare, 1940; Clarke, 1940). Conversely, thyroidectomy reduces the urine volume in diabetes insipidus (Fisher and Ingram, 1936; Blotner and Cutler 1941; Hare, 1940). In animal experiments the reduction of the polyuria amounted to as much as 25 to 50 per cent, but the urine volume under these conditions was still 1 to 4 times the volume in normal cats. The specific role of the thyroid gland in the maintenance of the full polyuria of diabetes insipidus is not known. No studies of renal physiology i n such animals after thyroidectomy have been reported. The diuretic effect of thyroid feeding appears to be associated with the metabolism-Stimulating factor (Bruhn, 1939), although the administration of such substances as dinitrophenol and dinitroorthocresol has no effect on water exchange in animals with...
Municipal subsidies for public housing

A comparison of the relative merits of tax exemption and cash subsidies as a means of municipal assistance for local housing projects.
Autocontour-based evaluation of multivariate predictive densities

Abstract We contribute to the rather sparse literature on multivariate density forecasting by introducing a new framework for the out-of-sample evaluation of multivariate density forecast models which builds on the concept of “autocontours” proposed by Gonzalez-Rivera, Senyuz, and Yoldas (2011) . This approach uniquely combines formal testing with graphical devices. We work with the one-step-ahead quantile residuals, which must be i.i.d. (univariate and multivariate) normal under the null hypothesis of a correct density model. Their corresponding autocontours are mathematically very tractable, and the tests based on them enjoy standard asymptotic properties. We show that parameter uncertainty is asymptotically irrelevant under certain conditions, and that, in general, a parametric bootstrap provides outstanding finite sample properties. We provide simulation evidence on the finite sample performances of the tests and compare their performances with that of an alternative testing procedure. We also illustrate this methodology by evaluating bivariate density forecasts of the returns on US value and growth portfolios.
19F magnetic resonance imaging of the reticuloendothelial system

In this study sequential 1H and 19F magnetic resonance imaging methods were used to map the distribution of fluorinated compounds in vivo. An intravenously administered emulsion of perfluorooctylbromide (PFOB), an agent known to localize in the reticuloendothelial system, was detected in the liver and spleen of all studied hamsters and mice using 19F MRI. Lungs and salivary glands were also affected in some animals. Using a G. E. NMR CSI 2-T spectroscopy/imaging system, projection 19F images were obtained in 4 to 8 min. Subsequent mouse studies using a thick-slice driven equilibrium pulse sequence produced 19F images with an improved signal-to-noise ratio in a shorter acquisition time. With PFOB, 19F MRI has the capability of detecting macrophages in the reticulo-endothelial system and in other sites where macrophages congregate. This is the first report where the reticuloendothelial system was specifically imaged in live animals and where driven equilibrium imaging techniques have been applied to 19F MRI.
Clocking Tertiary Cyclopropylcarbinyl Radical Rearrangements1

Three independent methods have been employed to estimate the rate constant, k1, for ring-opening of the 2-cyclopropyl-2-propyl radical, 1, at room temperature. These three estimates are based on chemical trapping of 1 and the ring-opened 4-methylpent-3-ene-1-yl radical by thiophenol (k1 = (1.65 ± 0.41) × 107 M-1 s-1), 9-azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane-N-oxyl (k1 = (1.76 ± 0.34) × 107 M-1 s-1) and 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxyl (k1 = (2.1 ± 0.4) × 107 M-1 s-1) and absolute rate constants for nonrearranging radicals structurally related to 1. The mean value for k1 ((1.84 ± 0.4) × 107 M-1 s-1) should be used when 1 is employed as a tertiary alkyl free radical clock at ambient temperatures.
Utilization of a receptor reserve for effective amplification of mitogenic signaling by an epidermal growth factor mutant deficient in receptor activation.

The idea of a receptor reserve in mediating cellular function is well known but direct biochemical evidence has not been easy to obtain. This study stems from our results showing that L15 of epidermal growth factor (EGF) is important in both EGF receptor (EGFR) binding and activation, and the L15A analog of human EGF (hEGF) partially uncouples EGFR binding from EGFR activation (Nandagopal et al., [1996] Protein Engng 9:781-788). We address the cellular mechanism of mitogenic signal amplification by EGFR tyrosine kinase in response to L15A hEGF. L15A is partially impaired in receptor dimerization, shown by chemical cross-linking and allosteric activation of EGFR in a substrate phosphorylation assay. Immunoprecipitation experiments reveal, however, that L15A can induce EGFR autophosphorylation in intact murine keratinocytes by utilizing spare receptors, the ratio of total phosphotyrosine content per receptor being significantly lower than that elicited by wild-type. This direct biochemical evidence, based on function, of utilization of a receptor reserve for kinase stimulation suggests that an EGF variant can activate varying receptor numbers to generate the same effective response. L15A-activated receptors can stimulate mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) that is important for mitogenesis. The lack of linear correlation between levels of receptor dimerization, autophosphorylation, and MAPK activation suggests that signal amplification is mediated by cooperative effects. Flow cytometric analyses show that the percentages of cells which proliferate in response to 1 nM L15A and their rate of entry into S-phase are both decreased relative to 1 nM wild-type, indicating that MAPK activation alone is insufficient for maximal stimulation of mitogenesis. Higher concentrations of L15A reverse this effect, indicating that L15A and wild-type differ in the number of receptors each activates to induce the threshold response, which may be attained by cooperative activation of receptor dimers/oligomers by van der Waal's weak forces of attraction. The maintenance of a receptor reserve underscores an effective strategy in cell survival. J. Cell. Biochem. 83: 326–341, 2001. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Impact of using paper mill sludge for surface-mine reclamation on runoff water quality and plant growth.

Paper mills generate large amounts of solid waste consisting of fibrous cellulose, clay, and lime. Paper mill Sludge (PMS) can improve reclamation of surface-coal mines where low pH and organic-carbon levels in the spoil cover material can inhibit revegetation. When applied at high rates, however, PMS may adversely impact the quality of surface runoff. Therefore, we applied PMS at 0, 224, and 672 dry Mg ha{sup -1} to 22.1 x 4.6-m plots at a recently mined site and monitored runoff for a total of 13 mo. The zero-rate plots served as controls and received standard reclamation consisting of mulching with hay and fertilization at planting. Compared to the control plots, PMS reduced runoff fourfold to sixfold and decreased erosion from 47 Mg ha{sup -1} to < 1 Mg ha{sup -1}. Most of the reduction occurred in the 2.5 mo before the plots were planted. Flow-weighted average dissolved oxygen concentrations in runoff from plots at the 224 and 672 Mg ha{sup -1} rates, however, were much lower ({<=} 0.4 vs. 8.2 mg L{sup -1}) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) was much higher for the 672 Mg ha{sup -1} rate plots than the control plots during the pre-plant period (7229 vs. 880more » mg L{sup -1}). There were few noteworthy differences in water quality among treatments post-planting, but plant dry-matter yields were greater for the PMS plots than for the controls. The 672 Mg ha{sup -1} rate did not increase COD or nutrient loads compared to the 224 Mg ha{sup -1} rate and may have more persistent beneficial effects by increasing soil organic carbon levels and pH to a greater extent.« less
Polycrystalline silicon technology for bipolar integrated circuits

Polycrystalline silicon regions in the epitaxial layer of integrated circuits can perform isolation and buried-layer contact, and form surface elements such as field plates, capacitors, crossunders, and electrostatic shields. Recent experimental developments include new methods of selective growth and doping of these polycrystalline regions to provide very high voltage breakdown, low parasitic capacitance, and smooth surfaces with excellent pattern definition.
Patterns of NBA team performance from 1950 to 1998

This paper examines team performance in the NBA over the last five decades. It was motivated by two previous observational studies, one of which studied the winning percentages of professional baseball teams over time, while the other examined individual player performance in the NBA. These studies considered professional sports as evolving systems, a view proposed by evolutionary biologist Stephen Jay Gould, who wrote extensively on the disappearance of .400 hitters in baseball. Gould argued that the disappearance is actually a sign of improvement in the quality of play, reflected in the reduction of variability in hitting performance. The previous studies reached similar conclusions in terms of winning percentages of baseball teams, and performance of individual players in basketball. This paper uses multivariate measures of team performance in the NBA to see if similar characteristics of evolution can be observed. The conclusion does not appear to be clearly affirmative, as in previous studies, and pos...
Induction in vitro and complete coding region sequence of cytochrome P4501A1 cDNA from cultured whole rat conceptuses during early organogenesis

Abstract Exposures of cultured whole rat conceptuses during organogenesis to 3-methylcholanthrene (MC; 0.025-25 μM), 5,6-benzoflavone (BNF; 5–100 μM) or benz[ a ]athracene (BA; 5–100 μM) were effected by placement of each of these “MC-type” inducing agents in the culture medium at the time of explantation on day 9.5 of gestation. Conceptuses were then cultured for 48 hr and evaluated on day 11.5 for increased expression of inducible conceptal cytochrome P450 (P450). The three agents each elicited concentration-dependent increases in 7,8-benzoflavone (ANF)-inhibitable ethoxyresorufin O -deethylase (EROD) activities and increased P4501A1 mRNA as detected by primer-specific reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) in cell-free preparations of the treated, cultured conceptuses. At effective inducing concentrations, dysmorphogenic or other embryotoxic effects were not detectable. At 20 μM concentrations, the three agents exhibited roughly equal induction that was approximately equivalent in magnitude (6- to 13-fold) to that achieved previously with exposures to MC in utero . Additions to the culture medium of 2.5 to 10 μM concentrations of dexamethasone (DEX) did not alter significantly the magnitude of MC-elicited induction in vitro . Repeated full-length sequencing of an RT-PCR-amplified cDNA revealed a coding region sequence identical to that reported for the P4501A1 sequence from adult rat liver. The results provide a basis for investigations, in the absence of maternal influences, of the regulation of mammalian conceptal P4501A1 in intact tissues during organogenesis, a gestational period critical in terms of the dysmorphogenic and other embryotoxic effects of foreign organic chemicals. The results are also pertinent to studies of embryotoxicity, particularly to the transplacental carcinogenicity, mutagenicity and dysmorphogenicity of P4501A1 substrates.
What Motivates Firms to Contribute to Consortium-Based E-Business Standardization?

E-business standards are a key infrastructure for electronic commerce. In many industries, they are collaboratively developed by firms in an open and neutral industry consortium. It is imperative to understand what drives firms' resource investments in such consortia, as they are critical for the success of e-business standardization. Based on collective action theory, we propose a research model to investigate the drivers of standard development within consortia. We test the model through a data set of 232 firms from 7 consortia. Consistent with collective action theory, our results demonstrate that firms' interests, resource availability, and consortium management effectiveness jointly determine their resource expenditures within the consortium. However, our exploratory investigation indicates differences between vendors and users, as vendors are more motivated by perceived standard benefits whereas users are more motivated by perceived process benefits. Our research provides a deeper understanding of firms' behaviors within consortia and factors driving their standard making.
Polyurethane Foams from Dried Whey

Abstract A potentially useful means of utilizing dried sweet or acid whey is in the preparation of polyurethane foams. The product formed, using the lactose in whey powder as the polyhydroxy compound and dimethyl sulfoxide as the reaction medium, is a polyurethane type of foamed cellular plastic. Other ingredients necessary to produce this foam include a polyisocyanate, catalyst(s), and a blowing agent (water). The presence of 8 to 14% protein in the whey powder is believed to contribute to a desirable texture in the foamed product possible through amine-isocyanate cross-linking reactions and, therefore, obviates the need for a surfactant to control the cell-forming process. The inherent moisture present in dried whey helps to blow or expand the foam by reacting with the polyisocyanate to produce carbon dioxide. The physical properties of whey-based foams have been compared to a conventional polyether type foam. Whey-based foams have self-extinguishing flammability properties, a highly open-celled structure, low compressive strength properties at 10% deflection, low densities, good dimensional stability at low temperatures, and fair dimensional stability at high temperatures.
A safe, efficient regression test selection technique

Regression testing is an expensive but necessary maintenance activity performed on modified software to provide confidence that changes are correct and do not adversely affect other portions of the softwore. A regression test selection technique choses, from an existing test set, thests that are deemed necessary to validate modified software. We present a new technique for regression test selection. Our algorithms construct control flow graphs for a precedure or program and its modified version and use these graphs to select tests that execute changed code from the original test suite. We prove that, under certain conditions, the set of tests our technique selects includes every test from the original test suite that con expose faults in the modified procedfdure or program. Under these conditions our algorithms are safe. Moreover, although our algorithms may select some tests that cannot expose faults, they are at lease as precise as other safe regression test selection algorithms. Unlike many other regression test selection algorithms, our algorithms handle all language constructs and all types of program modifications. We have implemented our algorithms; initial empirical studies indicate that our technique can significantly reduce the cost of regression testing modified software.
Microfluidic pneumatic logic circuits and digital pneumatic microprocessors for integrated microfluidic systems

We have developed pneumatic logic circuits and microprocessors built with microfluidic channels and valves in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). The pneumatic logic circuits perform various combinational and sequential logic calculations with binary pneumatic signals (atmosphere and vacuum), producing cascadable outputs based on Boolean operations. A complex microprocessor is constructed from combinations of various logic circuits and receives pneumatically encoded serial commands at a single input line. The device then decodes the temporal command sequence by spatial parallelization, computes necessary logic calculations between parallelized command bits, stores command information for signal transportation and maintenance, and finally executes the command for the target devices. Thus, such pneumatic microprocessors will function as a universal on-chip control platform to perform complex parallel operations for large-scale integrated microfluidic devices. To demonstrate the working principles, we have built 2-bit, 3-bit, 4-bit, and 8-bit microprocessors to control various target devices for applications such as four color dye mixing, and multiplexed channel fluidic control. By significantly reducing the need for external controllers, the digital pneumatic microprocessor can be used as a universal on-chip platform to autonomously manipulate microfluids in a high throughput manner.
Multimodal Imaging and Detection Strategy With 124 I-Labeled Chimeric Monoclonal Antibody cG250 for Accurate Localization and Confirmation of Extent of Disease During Laparoscopic and Open Surgical Resection of Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma:

Renal cell carcinoma (RCC) accounts for approximately 85% to 90% of all primary kidney malignancies, with clear cell RCC (ccRCC) constituting approximately 70% to 85% of all RCCs. This study describes an innovative multimodal imaging and detection strategy that uses 124I-labeled chimeric monoclonal antibody G250 (124I-cG250) for accurate preoperative and intraoperative localization and confirmation of extent of disease for both laparoscopic and open surgical resection of ccRCC. Two cases presented herein highlight how this technology can potentially guide complete surgical resection and confirm complete removal of all diseased tissues. This innovative 124I-cG250 (ie, 124I-girentuximab) multimodal imaging and detection approach, which would be clinically very useful to urologic surgeons, urologic medical oncologists, nuclear medicine physicians, radiologists, and pathologists who are involved in the care of ccRCC patients, holds great potential for improving the diagnostic accuracy, operative planning and approach, verification of disease resection, and monitoring for evidence of disease recurrence in ccRCC patients.
Form, Structure, and Esthetics of the Senegalese Novel

It has become almost impossible to write anything about Senegal without making at least an oblique reference to the politics of assimilation introduced and practiced in that country in the nineteenth century. This is understandably so since Senegal was the only country in Africa where the politics of assimilation was systematically applied. The proponents of assimilation assumed that Senegal was a cultural vacuum, and that the Senegalese, like other Africans, were "une race maudite," a damned race, who basked in a jungle of primitive savagery, without any kind of civilization, history, or law. The French therefore adopted a policy of "tabula rasa," and proclaimed themselves the civilizers of Senegal and of those other parts of Africa under their jurisdiction. This was the origin of the mission civilisatrice, the self-imposed colonial task whose primary aim, allegedly, was to sweep the Senegalese from darkness into modernity by making them as culturally French as possible.
A solid water phantom material for radiotherapy x-ray and γ-ray beam calibrations

The formulation, manufacture and testing of an epoxy resin-based solid substitute for water is presented. This "solid water" has radiation characteristics very close volumetrically to those of water. When it is used as a dosimetry phantom for x- and gamma-ray beams in the radiotherapy range, phantom-to-water corrections and density corrections are eliminated. Relative transmission measurements have shown that the transmission through 10 cm of solid water is within 0.2% of that through an equal thickness of water for x and gamma rays. The use of this material for calibration phantoms can help achieve the goal of radiotherapy beam calibrations within +/- 1.0% of the true dose rate, easier to achieve.
Quantifying moisture damage at mastic–aggregate interface

This study quantifies moisture damage at the asphalt mastic–aggregate interfaces using finite element method modelling technique in ABAQUS. A model aggregate surrounded by a layer of mastic is subjected to static loads of varying magnitudes and patterns. Using dynamic shear and elastic moduli of wet and dry mastic and aggregate as model inputs, moisture-induced damage is quantified through parameters such as contact stresses at interface, load to initiate damage and de-bonding at the interface. Results show that contact stresses are significantly higher in dry samples than wet samples. It is revealed that damage initiates at a smaller magnitude of deformation (0.0508 mm) in the wet sample than that (0.508 mm) in the dry sample. That is, a stiffer dry sample carries more loads and deforms less before damage initiation than a softer wet sample. In addition, approximately 6.8% interface de-bonding occurs in the dry sample, whereas 49.1% de-bonding occurs in the wet sample.
Fast dense 3D reconstruction using an adaptive multiscale discrete-continuous variational method

We present a system for fast dense 3D reconstruction with a hand-held camera. Walking around a target object, we shoot sequential images using continuous shooting mode. High-quality camera poses are obtained offline using structure-from-motion (SfM) algorithm with Bundle Adjustment. Multi-view stereo is solved using a new, efficient adaptive multiscale discrete-continuous variational method to generate depth maps with sub-pixel accuracy. Depth maps are then fused into a 3D model using volumetric integration with truncated signed distance function (TSDF). Our system is accurate, efficient and flexible: accurate depth maps are estimated with sub-pixel accuracy in stereo matching; dense models can be achieved within minutes as major algorithms parallelized on multi-core processor and GPU; various tasks can be handled (e.g. reconstruction of objects in both indoor and outdoor environment with different scales) without specific hand-tuning parameters. We evaluate our system quantitatively and qualitatively on Middlebury benchmark and another dataset collected with a smartphone camera.
Optimal unified approach to warping and overlapped block estimation in video coding

Among the class of block-based motion estimators, warping prediction and overlapped block motion estimation have emerged recently as two of the most effective inter-frame estimation algorithms. Warping estimation is based on linear operations in the motion field, while overlapped block estimators are based on a linear sum of motion-based estimators in the intensity field. In this paper, we propose a unified framework for estimation of pixel intensities based jointly on warping and overlapped blocks. We motivate our estimator through a discussion of ambiguities in an incomplete (sparsely sampled) motion field; and that different object motions call for resolution of motion ambiguities in either the motion or intensity domain. We offer a means of optimizing the joint estimator simultaneously in intensity and motion domains, thus guaranteeing improved performance compared to warping and overlapped block estimators, which the joint model contains as special cases. Furthermore, the joint framework provides an excellent vehicle for studying the interactions and relative merits of warping and overlapped block estimators in the presence of various motion scenarios.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Viruses and Raman spectroscopy: determination of secondary structures of viral capsids and chromosomes by difference methods

Vibrational spectra of the double-stranded DNA genome of an icosahedral virus (P22) in packaged and unpackaged states have been accurately compared by digital difference Raman spectroscopy. The difference Raman spectrum, which is sensitive to structural changes at the level of < 2% of a given nucleotide type, reveals the effects of packaging upon sugar pucker, glycosyl orientation, phosphodiester geometry, base pairing, base stacking and the electrostatic environment of DNA phosphate groups. At the experimental conditions employed, the B form secondary structure of unpackaged P22 DNA is minimally perturbed by packaging the viral genome in the virion capsid. However, the electrostatic environment of DNA phosphates is dramatically altered with packaging. The present results suggest a simple model for organization of the condensed dsDNA chromosomes of icosahedral viruses.
Are family meal patterns associated with disordered eating behaviors among adolescents

Abstract Purpose To examine associations between family meal patterns (frequency, priority, atmosphere, and structure of family meals) and disordered eating (unhealthy weight control behaviors, binge eating, and chronic dieting) in adolescent girls and boys. Methods Survey and anthropometric data were collected from 4746 ethnically diverse adolescents from public middle and senior high schools who participated in the Project EAT study (Eating Among Teens). Variables of interest included family meal patterns and disordered eating behaviors. Logistic regressions were performed to examine associations between family meal patterns and disordered eating behaviors adjusting for body mass index, sociodemographic characteristics, family connectedness, and weight pressures within the home. Results In general, adolescents who reported more frequent family meals, high priority for family meals, a positive atmosphere at family meals, and a more structured family meal environment were less likely to engage in disordered eating. For example, 18.1% of girls who reported 1–2 family meals/week engaged in extreme weight control behaviors compared with 8.8% of girls who reported 3–4 family meals/week. Making family meals a priority, in spite of scheduling difficulties, emerged as the most consistent protective factor for disordered eating. Associations between family meal patterns and disordered eating behaviors tended to be stronger among girls than among boys. Family meal patterns were more consistently associated with unhealthy weight control behaviors than with chronic dieting and binge eating. Although associations between family meals and disordered eating were weakened after adjusting for more global familial factors, including family connectedness and weight-specific pressures within the home, a number of the associations remained statistically significant, suggesting an independent relationship between family meals and disordered eating. Conclusion Family meals have the potential to play an important role in the prevention of unhealthy weight control behaviors among youth. Findings suggest that attention needs to be directed toward increasing family meal frequency and creating a positive environment for family meals.
Identification of genetic diversity and mutations in higher plant acquired thermotolerance

Plants experience high air and soil temperatures during periods of drought and when fields receive limited irrigation. Elevated plant temperatures that occur under these conditions negatively impact plant health and productivity. Plants, like all organisms, respond to an elevation in temperature by the synthesis of heat shock proteins (HSP). The appearance of plant HSP is strongly correlated to the development of a condition termed ‘acquired thermotolerance’. Acquired thermotolerance is induced by pre-exposure to elevated but non-lethal temperatures and leads to enhanced protection of plant cells from subsequent heat induced injury. Although the correlation between the development of acquired thermotolerance and the appearance of HSP is strong, a cause-and-effect relationship between the two has been difficult to demonstrate. To understand the relationship between HSP and acquired thermotolerance, mutations would be required that result in a coordinate change in the expressions of HSP. This paper describes research efforts leading to the development of a screening procedure for the isolation and characterization of acquired thermotolerance mutants. This method for identifying mutants is based on the inhibition of chlorophyll accumulation in etiolated tissue following challenges at lethal temperatures and the prevention of this inhibition by pre-incubation at a non-lethal elevated temperature; i.e. acquired thermotolerance. Arabidopsis thaliana mutants deficient in varying levels of acquired thermotolerance have been identified from both the RLD and Columbia ecotypes and these mutants are currently undergoing a detailed characterization at both the protein and molecular levels.
Effects of H2O Pretreatment on the Capacitance–Voltage Characteristics of Atomic-Layer-Deposited Al2O3 on Ga-Face GaN Metal–Oxide–Semiconductor Capacitors

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) of Al2O3 on Ga-face GaN is studied with respect to the effects of growth saturation, precursor injection sequence, and H2O pretreatment. A metal–oxide–semiconductor capacitor (MOSCAP) structure is fabricated to measure the capacitance–voltage (C–V) characteristics. The origin of C–V hysteresis is explained by a model considering the different trapping behaviors of interface states and oxide border traps. The interface state density (Dit) is extracted as a function of band bending using an ultraviolet (UV)-assisted method. It is found that H2O pretreatment followed by saturated ALD growth produces the best interface quality, with a reduced Dit compared with growth without H2O pretreatment.
Shear fatigue crack growth - A literature survey

Recent studies of shear crack growth are reviewed, emphasizing test methods and data analyses. The combined mode I and mode II elastic crack tip stress fields are considered. The development and design of the compact shear specimen are described, and the results of fatigue crack growth tests using compact shear specimens are reviewed. The fatigue crack growth tests are discussed and the results of inclined cracks in tensile panels, center cracks in plates under biaxial loading, cracked beam specimens with combined bending and shear loading, center-cracked panels and double edge-cracked plates under cyclic shear loading are examined and analyzed in detail.
Experimental demonstration of evanescent coupling and photon confinement in oxide-clad silicon microcavities.

For use in on-chip and integrated applications, photonic crystals must not only be embedded in silica but must also be able to easily integrate with other photonic devices. Here we provide an experimental demonstration of resonance in a SiO2-clad two-dimensional photonic crystal microcavity that is coupled to standard Si strip waveguides. We further show that well over 90% of the resonant field is confined within the cavity’s silicon layer, which is necessary if the microcavity is to be used as a high-efficiency electro-optic modulator.
Aspartylglucosaminuria: Psychomotor retardation masquerading as a mucopolysaccharidosis

A 5-year-old girl with coarse facies, visceromegaly, and vacuolated lymphocytes is presented as the first case ofaspartylglucosaminuria diagnosed in this country. This metabolic defect in glycoprotein catabolism can be clinically confused with other storage diseases such as the mucopolysaccharidoses and mucolipidoses. It is not diagnosed by routine laboratory screening methods. Special studies are required to confirm the diagnosis, but a thin-layer chromatography method for screening urine is presented for use when the diagnosis is suspected. The developmental potential in this inborn error of metabolism is documented.
Matching Management Practices to National Culture in India, Mexico, Poland, and the U.S.

The article discusses a study of management practices in India, Mexico, Poland, and the United States, in which researchers examined important aspects of the relationship between culture and management practices. The researchers believe that the management practices of empowerment and continuous improvement may be particularly sensitive to practice-culture fit. The data for the study were collected from employees of a U.S.-based multinational company specializing in light manufacturing. The practice of empowerment was initially expected to be received better within cultures endorsing individual equality. The author concludes that the management practices of empowerment and continuous improvement have several desirable consequences for organizations.
Determining the Forces between Polystyrene Latex Spheres Using Differential Electrophoresis

The attractive force holding two polystyrene latex spheres in a doublet was measured by the method of differential electrophoresis. The two spheres of each doublet had different surface chemistries (e.g., sulfate and carboxylate) and different ζ potentials ζ i and ζ 2 . The doublet acted as a dipole, and an applied electric field (E∞) caused the doublet to rotate such that the less negative sphere pointed in the direction of the field. Once the doublet was aligned, the tendency of the spheres to translate at different velocities produced a tension, the electrophoretic displacement force. This force, proportional to ζ 2 - ζ 1 and the applied electric field E∞, is calculated from solutions to the electrostatic and hydrodynamic equations. For our systems (5 μm diameter spheres, ζ 2 - ζ 1 40 mV, E∞ 200 V/cm) the electrophoretic displacement force was 20-50 pN, which is more than a factor of 10 greater than the maximum attractive force predicted by DLVO theory for doublets in a secondary minimum. In no case could we break the doublets with the electrophoretic displacement force. We conclude that DLVO theory is inadequate for our colloidal system, either because the doublets were in a primary minimum (even though DLVO theory predicted an insurmountable energy barrier) or because the depth of the secondary minimum was more than a factor of 10 greater than predicted.
On Making Transactional Applications Resilient to Data Corruption Faults

Multicore architectures are becoming increasingly prone to transient faults and data corruption. Relying on a multicore architecture is the common solution for increasing performance and scalability of core applications including transactional applications. In this paper we present SoftX, a low-invasive protocol for supporting execution of transactional applications relying on speculative processing and dedicated committer threads. Upon starting a transaction, SoftX forks a number of threads running the same transaction independently. The commit phase is handled by dedicated threads for optimizing synchronization's overhead. We conduct an evaluation study showing the performance obtained with the implementation of SoftX on a 48 cores AMD machine, running List, Bank and TPC-C benchmarks. Results reveal better performance than classical replication-based fault-tolerant systems and limited overhead with respect to non fault-tolerant protocols. We ported SoftX to a message-passing architecture, Tilera TILE-Gx. Hardware message-passing is an important emerging trend in multicore architectures. Our experiments on Tilera show that SoftX is still more efficient than replication.
Mitral valve replacement with complete retention of native leaflets

Although both mitral leaflets contribute equally to the preservation of left ventricular function after mitral valve replacement, most surgeons routinely excise the anterior mitral leaflet. Possible disadvantages of leaflet retention are left ventricular outflow tract obstruction and interference with prosthetic valve motion. In 31 patients undergoing mitral valve replacement, all mitral valvular and subvalvular tissue was completely retained using a technique that involved reefing the native leaflets into the valve sutures. Fifteen Carpentier-Edwards porcine and 16 St. Jude Medical valves were implanted. Two patients died of causes unrelated to this technique. In the others, echocardiography demonstrated either no or an insignificant left ventricular outflow tract gradient, and, in most, no valvular tissue could be seen in the left ventricular outflow tract. No interference with prosthetic leaflet mobility occurred. The salutary results of mitral valve replacement with complete leaflet retention recommend its use.
Vortex ring velocity and minimum separation in an infinite train of vortex rings generated by a fully pulsed jet

A pulsed jet with a period of no flow between pulses (i.e., a fully pulsed jet) produces a multiplicity of vortex rings whose characteristics are determined by the jet pulsing parameters. The present study analyzes the case of impulsively initiated and terminated jet pulses in the limit of equal pulse duration and period to determine the minimum possible vortex ring separation obtainable from a fully pulsed jet. The downstream character of the flow is modeled as an infinite train of thin, coaxial vortex rings. Assuming inviscid flow and matching the circulation, impulse, kinetic energy, and frequency of the jet and vortex ring train allow the properties of the vortex ring train to be determined in terms of the ratio of jet slug length-to-diameter ratio (L/D) used for each pulse. The results show the minimum ring separation may be made arbitrarily small as L/D is decreased and the corresponding total ring velocity remains close to half the jet velocity for L/D 1.5. The results are discussed in the context of models of pulsed-jet propulsion.
The mdx mouse diaphragm reproduces the degenerative changes of Duchenne muscular dystrophy

ALTHOUGH murine X-linked muscular dystrophy (mdx) and Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) are genetically homologous and both characterized by a complete absence of dystrophin1,2, the limb muscles of adult mdx mice suffer neither the detectable weakness nor the progressive degeneration that are features of DMD3–8. Here we show that the mdx mouse diaphragm exhibits a pattern of degeneration, fibrosis and severe functional deficit comparable to that of DMD limb muscle, although adult mice show no overt respiratory impairment. Progressive functional changes include reductions in strength (to 13.5% of control by two years of age), elasticity, twitch speed and fibre length. The collagen density rises to at least seven times that of control diaphragm and ten times that of mdx hind-limb muscle. By 1.5 years of age, similar but less severe histological changes emerge in the accessory muscles of respiration. On the basis of these findings, we propose that dystrophin deficiency alters the threshold for work-induced injury. Our data provide a quantitative framework for studying the pathogenesis of dystrophy and extend the application of the mdx mouse as an animal model.
Efficient FIB caching using minimal non-overlapping prefixes

The size of the global Routing Information Base (RIB) has been increasing at an alarming rate. This directly leads to the rapid growth of the global Forwarding Information Base (FIB) size, which raises serious concerns for ISPs as the FIB memory in line cards is much more expensive than regular memory modules and it is very costly to increase this memory capacity frequently for all the routers in an ISP. One potential solution is to install only the most popular FIB entries into the fast memory (i.e., a FIB cache), while storing the complete FIB in slow memory. In this paper, we propose an effective FIB caching scheme that achieves a considerably higher hit ratio than previous approaches while preventing the cache-hiding problem. Our experimental results show that with only 20K prefixes in the cache (5.36% of the actual FIB size), the hit ratio of our scheme is higher than 99.95%. Our scheme can also handle cache misses, cache replacement and routing updates efficiently.
A material derivative approach in design sensitivity analysis of three-dimensional contact problems

A shape design sensitivity analysis (DSA) and the optimization of a three-dimensional (3-D) contact problem is proposed using a material derivative approach. A penalty-regularized contact variational equation is differentiated with respect to the shape design parameter. A die shape DSA is also carried out by defining a design velocity field at rigidbody geometry. The material derivative that is consistent with the frictional return-mapping scheme is derived by using nonassociative plasticity. A linearized design sensitivity equation is solved without iteration by using a meshfree method at each converged load step. In order to improve the convergence behavior of the contact problem, a C 2 -continuous contact surface is constructed from the scattered set of particles. The accuracy and efficiency of the proposed method is shown using two-dimensional and 3-D design examples of the DSA and optimization process. 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
UNDETECTED PENETRATING BLADDER INJURIES PRESENTING AS A SPONTANEOUSLY EXPULSED BULLET DURING VOIDING: A RARE ENTITY AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Abstract Background Patients presenting with a penetrating missile lodged in the pelvis are at risk for having a urinary tract injury. Once in the bladder, the missile can become impacted in the urethra, causing retention that requires extraction. Rarely, the missile can be expulsed spontaneously through the urethra. Objectives To describe the world literature regarding undetected penetrating bladder injuries presenting as spontaneously voided bullets and to contribute an additional case to the literature. Case Report We present a case report of a 37-year-old man who sustained a gunshot wound to the right buttock, with an undetected urinary system injury and subsequent spontaneous voiding of a bullet. Conclusion There have been
Uncertain Linear Programs: Extended Affinely Adjustable Robust Counterparts

In this paper, we introduce the extended affinely adjustable robust counterpart to modeling and solving multistage uncertain linear programs with fixed recourse. Our approach first reparameterizes the primitive uncertainties and then applies the affinely adjustable robust counterpart proposed in the literature, in which recourse decisions are restricted to be linear in terms of the primitive uncertainties. We propose a special case of the extended affinely adjustable robust counterpart---the splitting-based extended affinely adjustable robust counterpart---and illustrate both theoretically and computationally that the potential of the affinely adjustable robust counterpart method is well beyond the one presented in the literature. Similar to the affinely adjustable robust counterpart, our approach ends up with deterministic optimization formulations that are tractable and scalable to multistage problems.
Suicidal performances: voicing discontent in a girls' dormitory in Kabul.

Female suicide in Afghanistan has generally been given economic and psychological explanations. More rarely has its social dimension been analysed. In this paper, I underline the communicative potential of Afghan women’s suicide in the ‘post-war/reconstruction’ context. I highlight its ambiguous symbolic power and its anchorage in the subversive imaginary universe of women’s poetic expression. I argue that while reproducing certain cultural ideas about women’s inherent emotional fragility, women’s suicide also challenges the honour system in powerful ways and opens possibilities for voicing discontent. I qualify female suicide as the ‘art of the weak’ (De Certeau 1980, 6), a covert form of protest, a performance—in the sense of Bauman (2004)—that builds upon traditional popular ‘knowledge’ about gender in order to manage the impression of an audience and make women’s claims audible.
Ovarian hormone replacement affects cocaine-induced behaviors in ovariectomized female rats.

Abstract To determine whether cocaine-induced behavioral alterations are modulated by ovarian hormones, ovariectomized rats were randomly assigned to one of two drug treatment conditions: “binge” cocaine (three 15-mg/kg intraperitoneal (ip) injections, 1 h apart) or saline administration; and four hormone pretreatment sub-groups: vehicle control, estrogen, progesterone, or estrogen+progesterone. Cocaine-treated animals displayed more locomotor activity than saline-treated animals and locomotor activity was higher after the third injection than after the first two injections. When analyzed according to hormone group, the administration of estrogen+progestrone suppressed cocaine-induced locomotion after the first injection; this effect was significant when compared to estrogen-pretreated animals. While in each condition cocaine-treated animals displayed significantly higher stereotypic activity than saline-treated animals, in the estrogen+progesterone replacement group, there was more activity after the second injection of cocaine than after the first. Interestingly, animals in the estrogen+progesterone group had significantly lower plasma levels of the cocaine metabolite, benzoylecgonine, than animals in the progesterone or estrogen groups. These results extend our earlier findings in the intact female rat, which suggest an interaction between the endocrine environment, cocaine metabolism, and cocaine-induced behaviors. These effects may underlie reported sex and estrous cycle differences in cocaine-induced behavioral activity.