cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Non-Anticoagulant Heparin Increases Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase Activity: Role of Inhibitory Guanine Nucleotide Proteins

Heparin, which is widely used clinically, has recently been shown to have specific properties affecting the vascular endothelium. We hypothesized that heparin stimulates endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) activity by a mechanism independent of its anticoagulant properties and dependent on an inhibitory guanine nucleotide regulatory protein (Gi). We determined the effect of both heparin and N-acetyl heparin (Non-Hep), a heparin derivative without anticoagulant properties, on eNOS activity in cultured bovine aortic endothelial cells and on endothelium-dependent relaxation in isolated vascular rings. The eNOS activity was determined by measuring both citrulline and nitric oxide (NO) metabolite formation. Heparin and Non-Hep dose-dependently increased basal eNOS activity (ED50 1.0 microgram/ml or 0.15 U/ml), an effect that was significantly inhibited by pertussis toxin (100 ng/ml), a Gi-protein inhibitor. Agonist-stimulated (acetylcholine, 10 microM) eNOS activity was potentiated following pre-treatment with both heparin and Non-Hep and reversed by pertussis toxin. Heparin and Non-Hep induced a dose-dependent relaxation in preconstricted thoracic aortic rings, an effect that was significantly inhibited by pertussis toxin, endothelial inactivation (following treatment with sodium deoxycholate) and NG-nitro-L-arginine-methyl ester (L-NAME). We conclude that heparin and non-anticoagulant heparin induce endothelium-dependent relaxation following activation of eNOS by a mechanism involving a Gi-protein. Administration of heparin derivatives without anticoagulant properties may have therapeutic implications for the preservation of eNOS in conditions characterized by endothelial dysfunction.
Analysis of sub-synchronous resonance in doubly-fed induction generator-based wind farms interfaced with gate – controlled series capacitor

This paper first presents a step-by-step tutorial on modal analysis of a doubly-fed induction generator (DFIG)-based series compensated wind farm. The model of the system includes a wind turbine aerodynamics, a sixth-order order induction generator, a second-order two-mass shaft system, a fourth-order order series compensated transmission line, an eighth-order rotor-side converter (RSC) and grid-side converter (GSC) controllers, and a first-order DC-link model. Then, using modal analysis and time-domain simulations, it is shown that a fixed-series compensated DFIG is highly unstable due to the sub-synchronous resonance (SSR) mode. In order to damp the SSR mode, the wind farm is interfaced with the gate-controlled series capacitor (GCSC) - which is a new series flexible AC transmission system (FACTS) device. A SSR damping controller (SSRDC) is designed for the GCSC using residue-based analysis and root locus diagrams, and an effective input control signal (ICS) to the SSRDC is identified in order to simultaneously increase damping of both the SSR and super-synchronous (SupSR) modes. The IEEE first benchmark model on SSR is adapted with an integrated DFIG-based wind farm to perform studies. Matlab/Simulink is used as a tool for designing process, and PSCAD/EMTDC is used for time-domain simulations.
Generation of Adrenergic and Cholinergic Potentials in Sympathetic Ganglion Cells

Norepinephrine elicited a hyperpolarizing response, and acetylcholine (during nicotinic blockade) elicited a depolarizing one. Both responses showed no increase in membrane conductance. The norepinephrine response was suppressed by initial depolarization; the acetylcholine response (frog cells); by hyperpolarization. These neurotransmitters apparently can activate electrogenic mechanisms which do not involve movement of ions down their electrochemical gradients.
Use of the Electron-Reservoir [FeICp(arene)] Sandwiches as Efficient and Selective Electrocatalysts: Syntheses of Homo- and Heterodinuclear Zwitterionic Transition-Metal Fulvalene Complexes

The electron-reservoir complexes [FeICp(C6H6)], [FeICp(C6Me6)], and [FeICp*(C6Me6)] (Cp = η5-C5H5; Cp* = η5-C5Me5) have been used as initiators in THF for the electron-transfer-chain-catalyzed (electrocatalyzed) synthesis of the homobimetallic zwitterions [(CO)3M-FvM+(CO)2(PR3)2] (M = Mo, W; Fv = μ2-η10-fulvalene; R = Me, OMe) from [M2Fv(CO)6] and PR3 and of the heterobimetallic zwitterions [(CO)3MIFvM2(CO)(PR3)2] (M1 = Mo, W; M2 = Fe, Ru) from [M1M2Fv(CO)5] and PR3. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) experiments (DMF, 0.1 M n-Bu4NBF4, Pt, 0.400 V s-1) show that the CV's of the homobimetallic starting materials are unchanged in the presence of PR3 (R = Me, OMe) whereas those of the heterobimetallic complexes in the presence of PMe3 show only the CV's of the zwitterions. This indicates that the electrocatalytic process of the homobimetallic complexes is slow on the electrochemical time scale whereas that of the heterobimetallic complexes with PMe3 is fast on the same time scale. This dichotomy is taken into account i...
The meteoritic environment of the Moon

Diverse evidence concerning the probable particulate influx on the Moon is assembled along with estimates of the rather large uncertainties. The masses under consideration range from 10$^{-14}$ to 10$^{+18}$ g, the total estimated influx amounting to the order of 4 x 10$^{-16}$ g cm$^{-2}$ s$^{-1}$. The occurrence of large lunar craters assumed to have accumulated over 4 x 10$^9$ y appears consistent with the expected production rate by Apollo-type asteroids. Cometary nuclei may or may not have contributed significantly. There is possibly a dearth of smaller craters of diameter less than 50 m as compared to the probable production by meteoritic influx. The overturn of lunar material by cratering impacts may have largely blanketed craters with diameters smaller than 3 to 30 m.
Fishing through (and up) Alaskan food webs

We used a 112-year time series of Alaskan fishery catches to test competing hypotheses concerning trends in mean catch trophic level, a widely used indicator of fisheries sustainability. We found t...
Translational Research on the Pathogenesis of Eosinophilic Esophagitis

Eosinophilic esophagitis (EE) is an inflammatory disease of the esophagus characterized by eosinophilic infiltration of the esophageal epithelium. EE is a relatively new disease from clinical and research standpoints. A recent surge in basic and translational studies has emerged to understand its pathogenesis since its recognition as a separate entity from acid-induced gastroesophageal reflux disease in 1995. Our understanding of this disease is still limited, however. In this article, available evidence from translational studies on EE is discussed, focusing on the allergic nature of the disease and highlighting the role of various inflammatory cells found in the esophagus of patients who have EE. Esophageal remodeling in EE is also discussed.
PET tomographic imaging of the human heart, pancreas, and liver with nitrogen-13 derived from [13N]-L-glutamate.

The first commercial version of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) positron camera was used to image the relative distributions of 13N (T1/2=9.96min) in the human heart, pancreas, and liver after intravenous administration of [13N]-l-glutamate. The instrument was operated in two imaging modes. Conventional 2-dimensional (2-D) focal-plane images showed high concentrations of 13N in the heart and pancreas, and lower levels in the liver. Five PET tomographic transverse section (3-D) images were made through the heart and three through the pancreas. Our results suggest that further studies designed to gain an improved understanding of the biochemistry of [13N]-l-glutamate aided by PET imaging, especially with newer instrumentation, are worthy of further investigation.
Development of a Gene Therapy Virus with a Glucocorticoid-Inducible MMP1 for the Treatment of Steroid Glaucoma

PURPOSE. To design a glucocorticoid-inducible virus vector overexpressing recombinant matrix metalloproteinase 1 (MMP1) and counteract extracellular matrix deposition in the trabecular meshwork only when steroid is present. METHODS. Endogenous MMP1 expression was measured in primary human trabecular meshwork cells (HTM) treated with dexamethasone (DEX), triamcinolone acetate, and prednisolone acetate by TaqMan PCR. Wild-type and mutant MMP1 cDNAs were cloned downstream of a glucocorticoid response element (GRE) and PTAL promoter. Adenoviruses AdhGRE. MMP1 and AdhGRE.mutMMP1 were generated by homologous recombination. HTM cells and perfused human anterior segments were infected with the viruses, with and without DEX. MMP1 mRNA and protein were analyzed by TaqMan PCR, Western blot analysis, and ELISA. Activity of secreted MMP1 was evaluated by FRET and rat tail collagen type I assays. Immunohistochemistry was performed by double-labeling with anti-human MMP1 and collagen type I antibodies. RESULTS. Endogenous MMP1 expression was greatly downregulated by the steroids. DEX-treated cells and perfused organ cultures infected with AdhGRE.MMP1 secreted high levels of MMP1. Induction of MMP1 cycled on and off with the addition or removal of DEX. Secreted wild-type MMP1 degraded collagen type I after activation, whereas secreted mutMMP1 did not. Immunohistochemistry showed faint staining of collagen type I in areas of trabecular meshwork with high MMP1 transgene expression. CONCLUSIONS. The authors have developed a novel glucocorticoid-inducible adenovirus vector that overproduces MMP1 only in the presence of DEX. The availability of this vector sets up the foundation for the development of gene therapy drugs for the potential treatment of ocular hypertension in steroidresponsive patients. (Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. 2010;51: 3029 –3041) DOI:10.1167/iovs.09-4918
The connectedness to nature scale: A measure of emotional connection to nature?

Mayer and Frantz (2004) proposed that their connectedness to nature scale (CNS) provides a measure of people's emotional connection to nature. After reanalyzing data from their article, collecting and analyzing our own data, and conducting a content analysis of CNS scale items, we conclude that the CNS does not measure an emotional connection to nature. Although results from our Study 1 and Study 2 support Mayer and Frantz's conclusion that the CNS measures one predominant factor, we suggest that factor measures cognitive beliefs and not emotional connections. Results from our Studies 3 and 4 suggest that the self-referential, less negatively toned wording of CNS items may account for differences in correlations, between the CNS and environmentalism (a measure of environmental identity) and between the New Ecological Paradigm Scale (a measure of environmental beliefs) and environmentalism, reported by Mayer and Frantz. In Study 5, we suggest that correlation differences reported by Mayer and Frantz may also be attributable to method variance, as opposed to content differences between the CNS and the New Ecological Paradigm scale. We provide recommendations for revising the CNS to focus on beliefs about their connection to nature.
Pagemaster receiver and modulation equipment

At present, there are many varied types of paging systems on the market which are applicable to the many types of services or industries requiring paging systems. Each of these, whether they be audio, inductive loop, r-f (radio-frequency), light, bell, or any other type of system, has certain advantages and limitations. The results of a comprehensive investigation of the paging field showed that there was a definite need and a market for a selective r-f paging system. In many instances such a system could adequately replace, with improved operation, the existing type of system. In other instances it could advantageously supplement an existing paging system with a resultant improvement in the overall paging operation.
Variations in aqueous sulfate concentrations at Panola Mountain, Georgia

Abstract Aqueous sulfate concentrations were measured in incident precipitation, canopy throughfall, stemflow, soil water, groundwater, and streamwater at three locations in a 41 ha forested watershed at Panola Mountain State Park in the Georgia Piedmont. To evaluate the variations in sulfate concentrations, sampling intensity was increased during storms by automated collection of surface water and by incremental subsampling of rainfall, throughfall, and soil solution. Canopy throughfall, stemflow, and runoff from a bedrock outcrop in the watershed headwaters were enriched in sulfate relative to incident precipitation due to washoff of dry deposition that accumulated between storms. Soil waters collected from zero-tension lysimeters at 15 cm and 50 cm below land surface also were enriched in sulfate relative to precipitation, groundwater and streamwater. Sulfate concentrations in groundwater and in streamwater at base flow varied in an annual sinusoidal pattern with winter maxima and summer minima. Stream discharge and groundwater levels varied in a similar annual pattern in phase with the sulfate concentrations. The temporal variability of sulfate concentrations at most groundwater sites was small relative to the spatial variability among groundwater sites. Streamwater sulfate concentrations during base flow were controlled by low-sulfate groundwater discharge. As flow increased, an increasing proportion of shallow, high-sulfate groundwater and soil water contributed to streamflow. The dominant control on stream sulfate concentration shifted from sulfate retention by adsorption in the mineral soil at base flow to mobilization of sulfate from the upper, organic-rich horizons of the soil at high flow.
Bayesian Variable Selection for Latent Class Models

In this article we develop a latent class model with class probabilities that depend on subject-specific covariates. One of our major goals is to identify important predictors of latent classes. We consider methodology that allows estimation of latent classes while allowing for variable selection uncertainty. We propose a Bayesian variable selection approach and implement a stochastic search Gibbs sampler for posterior computation to obtain model averaged estimates of quantities of interest such as marginal inclusion probabilities of predictors. Our methods are illustrated through simulation studies and application to data on weight gain during pregnancy, where it is of interest to identify important predictors of latent weight gain classes.
Dual reciprocity versus Bessel function fundamental solution boundary element methods for the plane strain deformation of a thin plate on an elastic foundation

Abstract Two different direct boundary element methods are used to solve an interior Dirichlet problem for the Navier equations describing the plane strain deformation of a thin plate on an elastic foundation. One method uses dual reciprocity with the Kelvin fundamental solution. The other method develops a fundamental solution that takes into account the effective load term resulting from the elastic foundation. Both methods, related topics, and tradeoffs are described. Test problems and a numerical convergence study are included.
Determination of organics on metal surfaces by Raman spectroscopy

Detection limits of about 1 g/m2 are demonstrated for the Raman determination of two organic materials, polydimethylsiloxane and dimethyl methylphosphonate, on an aluminum surface. A fiber-optic-based system is used. A large sample area is scanned to overcome heterogeneity in sample coverage. Measurements are made without use of an internal standard. Results are reported for both a Hadamard transform technique with argon-ion laser excitation and a conventional spectrometer with diode laser excitation.
13C−1H and 13C−13C Spin-Coupling Constants in Methyl β-d-Ribofuranoside and Methyl 2-Deoxy-β-d-erythro- pentofuranoside: Correlations with Molecular Structure and Conformation

Methyl β-d-ribofuranoside 5 and methyl 2-deoxy-β-d-erythro-pentofuranoside (methyl 2-deoxy-β-d-ribofuranoside) 6 were synthesized with single sites of 13C-enrichment at each carbon, and a complete set of 13C−1H and 13C−13C spin-coupling constants (37 couplings in 5, 41 couplings in 6) in these molecules were obtained by 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy. 2JCH coupling signs were determined from the observation of relative cross-peak displacements in 2D TOCSY data. The 13C−1H couplings (one-, two-, and three-bond) were interpreted in structural and conformational terms with assistance from conformational models of 5 and 6 based on conventional two-state pseudorotational analysis of 3JHH values (PSEUROT) and on theoretical predictions of conformational energies and JCH values obtained from ab initio molecular orbital calculations on the ten envelope and planar conformers of β-d-ribofuranose 4 and 2-deoxy-β-d-erythro-pentofuranose (2-deoxy-β-d-ribofuranose) 3. A comparison of theoretical JCH values in 3 and 4 allow...
DNA methylation in early development

Development from separate parental germ cells through fertilization and proceeding to a fully functioning adult animal occurs through an intricate program of transcriptional and chromatin changes. Epigenetic alterations such as DNA methylation are an important part of this process. This review looks at the role of DNA methylation in early embryonic development, as well as how this epigenetic mark affects stem cell differentiation and tissue-specific gene expression in somatic cells.
The Finley Site: Discovery of Yuma Points, in Situ, near Eden, Wyoming 1

A preliminary report has already been made on the Finley site,2 located in Sweetwater County, southwestern Wyoming, in the southeast corner of the N.E. ¼ of Section 25, Township 24 N., Range 106 W., about four and a half miles east and a little south of the town of Eden, which itself is approximately thirty-seven miles northwest of Rock Springs. The altitude of the site is approximately 6750 feet.
Evaluation of Two Types of Anesthesia for Performing Surgery on Striped Bass

Abstract Tricaine (MS-222) is the most widely used anesthetic for fishes, but induction and recovery times are rather long. Studies on salmonids have shown that electroanesthesia is a good alternative to MS-222 for short term (<1 min) immobilization. However, data on longer-duration (3–5-min) immobilization needed for surgical procedures are lacking. We analyzed induction and recovery times for 20 adult (52–81-cm) striped bass Morone saxatilis immobilized with electroanesthesia and MS-222. We defined induction time as the interval from the onset of each treatment until the fish was immobilized (i.e., did not respond to tactile stimuli) and recovery time as the interval from the fish's return to the water to its resumption of normal swimming. Surgical procedures similar to those necessary to implant a radio transmitter were performed on each fish. Induction time for fish immobilized with electroanesthesia (geometric mean, 8 s; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3–21 s) was much shorter than that for fish immobi...
Unlocking CNS Cell Type Heterogeneity

A major challenge to understanding how cells work together in the central nervous system (CNS) is the heterogeneous cellular composition of the brain. In this issue, Heiman et al. (2008) and Doyle et al. (2008) introduce a new strategy (TRAP) that enables the profiling of translated mRNAs in specific CNS cell populations without the need for purifying cells to homogeneity.
Poly(aniline boronic acid): A New Precursor to Substituted Poly(aniline)s

A novel strategy for preparing a wide range of substituted poly(aniline)s from a single precursor is described. This approach relies on a boron activation/electrophilic displacement reaction resulting in ipso-substitution. Specifically, we demonstrate this strategy to prepare a few of the many possible structures that can be generated from poly(aniline boronic acid), including poly(hydroxyaniline) and halogenated poly(aniline)s. The ability to tune the properties of poly(aniline) through the generation of these new structures will be useful in diverse fields where poly(aniline) is used ranging from polymer-based electronics to sensors.
Cop Knowledge: Police Power and Cultural Narrative in Twentieth-Century America

Whether they appear in mystery novels or headline news stories, on prime-time TV or the silver screen, few figures have maintained such an extraordinary hold on the American cultural imagination as modern police officers. Why are we so fascinated with the police and their power? What relation do these pervasive media representations bear to the actual history of modern policing? Christopher P. Wilson explores these questions by examining narratives of police power in crime news, popular fiction, and film, showing how they both reflect and influence the real strategies of law enforcement on the beat, in the squad room and in urban politics. He takes us from Theodore Roosevelt's year of reform with the 1890s NYPD to the rise of "community policing", from the classic "police procedural" film "The Naked City" to the best-selling novels of LAPD veteran Joseph Wambaugh. Wilson concludes by demonstrating the ways in which popular storytelling about police power has been intimately tied to the course of modern liberalism, and to the rising tide of neoconservatism today.
Evidence of functional vitamin D receptors in rat hippocampus

The steroid hormone vitamin D has important biological roles in calcium transport, cell growth, and cell differentiation. Its cellular activities are mediated by high affinity interaction with the vitamin D receptor. In brain, autoradiographic, immunohistologic, and messenger RNA expression studies implicate a number of neuronal systems, including the hippocampus, as potential targets of vitamin D. However, cellular distribution and protein expression, and binding of the receptor to vitamin D response elements have yet to be established in hippocampus. This investigation was undertaken to characterize the vitamin D receptor in rat hippocampus with western blot, immunocytochemistry, and gel shift analyses. The presence of the receptor protein in hippocampus extracts was revealed with western blotting using an anti-rat vitamin D receptor antiserum. In vivo and in vitro immunocytochemical results confirmed the presence of vitamin D receptor in neuronal and glial cells. In the hippocampus, the receptor was localized in pyramidal and granule cell layers, CA1, CA2, and CA3 subfields and in the dentate gyrus. Double labeling for the vitamin D receptor and glial fibrillary acidic protein revealed that glia also expressed the receptor protein. Gel shift analyses evaluated with the murine osteopontin vitamin D response element indicated a specific, bound receptor-containing complex from hippocampal extracts. Altogether, these findings clearly document the localization of vitamin D receptor in rat hippocampus and that hippocampus contains vitamin D receptors capable of specifically binding to DNA. In combination with reports of a neuroprotective role for vitamin D in hippocampal cell survival, these data suggest that the endogenous vitamin D receptor may mitigate processes related to cellular homeostasis, perhaps through a calcium buffering mechanism.
A Specialized Multiphase Averaging Method for Quasiperiodic Systems of ODEs

We present a specialized averaging method for systems of ordinary differential equations whose fast variables evolve quasiperiodically. We include results for both nonresonant and resonant normal forms, and results on adiabatic invariance for systems with vanishing average. In our method, nonresonance conditions on the frequencies are weak and easily verified, and they give precise meaning to the notion that “resonances above a certain order may be ignored.” Moreover, the normal forms have nice dependence on the frequencies, and the proofs are especially simple, involving no coordinate transformations and instead using a new generalized form of the “Besjes inequality.”
Kinetics and phase transformation evaluation of Fe-Zn-Al mechanically alloyed phases

Fixed composition ratios of Fe and Zn corresponding to γ-(Fe3Zn110), Γ1-(Fe5Zn21), δ-(FeZn7), and ζ-(FeZn13) with the addition of 5 pct Al (wt) were ball milled in an argon gas atmosphere to form homogenous alloys. Nonisothermal kinetic analyses of the mechanically alloyed materials, based on differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) measurements, revealed two diffusion-controlled processes during the evolution of the δ+5 pct Al and ζ+5 pct Al compositions with activation energies of 227±2 and 159±1 kJ/mole, respectively. Other endothermic and exothermic reactions detected for these compositions are consistent with the Fe-Zn-Al equilibrium phase systems with respect to the formation of the Fe3Al, Fe2Al5, and δ-FeZn7 phases Based on the evidence of FeAl2 formation at 440 °C for the ζ+5 pct Al composition from X-ray diffraction (XRD) and DSC measurements, the revision/re-evaluation of the Fe-Zn-Al equilibrium phase diagrams is proposed. The Γ+5 pct Al and Γ1+5 pct Al compositions evolved similarly through the same fields, except at 400 °C, where the former consisted of α-Fe + Γ + δ, while the later was without the Γ phase.
Mechanical design of polypterid fish integument for energy storage during recoil aspiration

Polypterid fishes ventilate their lungs by recoil aspiration. Active exhalation compresses the bony scale jacket; inhalation occurs when the scale jacket recoils to its original shape. Exhalation and loading of the integument are powered by contraction of striated muscle in the lung walls. The integument of polypterid fishes consists of interlocking rhomboid scales held together by collagen fibre strands. The scales imbricate with bevelled edges, so that when the fish is at rest, its integument is circular in cross-section and the overlapping scale edges are parallel. During exhalation, the hemicircular shape of the ventral integument is deformed, and the scales rotate slightly. As the overlapping scale edges become non parallel, the scales act as tiny levers to stretch the collagen fibres between them. When the fish opens its glottis to inhale, the stretched collagen fibres return to their rest lengths and pull the scale jacket back into a circular shape, sucking air into the lungs. Thus, despite the deformation of the integument as a whole in compression, strain energy is stored in tensile elements.
Symmetry constraints in optimal polarization formalisms with an application to p-p scattering*

Abstract The paper contains results (a) for the general optimal polarization formalism with constraints from time reversal invariance, identical particles, and parity conservation, (b) for the specific reaction involving four spin - 1 2 particles, (c) for the application of the formalism to elastic p−p scattering at 6 GeV/c and at 800 MeV. The choice of the orientation axes under various symmetry constraints is discussed for the general optimal formalism, showing the narrowing of the choices which nevertheless retains an infinite continuum of possibilities. The transformation properties of amplitudes among these various optimal frames are specified. The transformation of observables among these frames is also discussed for the reaction with four spin - 1 2 particles. Then the relationship between the observables and the bilinear combination of amplitudes is given for the reaction with four spin - 1 2 particles, for the constraints of identical particles, identical particles and time reversal invariance, and identical particles and time reversal invariance and parity conservation. The results are applied to the analysis of the Argonne data at 6 GeV/c, t = −0.6 GeV2/c2, for elastic p−p scattering. The amplitudes are easily determined when the proper optimal frame is used, and the display of the amplitudes in other optimal frames suggest some features that may be significant in searching for dynamics. Another application is presented to 800 MeV elastic p−p scattering at several angles, showing that in the proper optimal frame very accurate results can be obtained about a subset of amplitude parameters on the basis of an incomplete set of data. Such an analysis is shown to be helpful in the design of future experiments.
Hernia of cecum and ascending colon through the foramen of Winslow.

INTRODUCTION Internal hernias through the foramen of Winslow are rare events and constitute 8% of internal hernias but only 0.1% of all abdominal hernias.
High energy photons and neutrinos from cosmic sources.

Cosmic rays were first detected more than 50 years ago and after a terrestrial origin was disproved they were first taken to be γ-rays. Only when they were found to be deflected in the earth’s magnetic field was it realized that they are charged particles. Until a few years ago there was no direct evidence for the presence of hard radiation from the cosmos. In 1957 x-rays were first detected from the sun by the NRL group (1), but only in the last two or three years have x-ray sources which lie outside the solar system been detected and γ-ray observations been attempted.
Community Action Research

Abstract Community action research is an alternative research method that uses the community as the unit of analysis. This approach forges research alliances with relevant stakeholders in the community to explore and develop solutions to local problems. The authors explain this broad research approach and explore the principles that guide this methodology. In particular, the focus of this article is on the complexities and dilemmas of conducting community action research. The authors use the findings from a field study to illustrate these issues.
Peer Review of Term Papers in Graduate Psychology Courses

I describe and evaluate an exercise in which graduate students provide blind reviews of each other's term papers. Besides helping students with their own papers, the exercise seems to help them lea...
Application of pseudospectral method in stochastic optimal control of nonlinear structural systems

This paper presents the results of numerical study on the optimal control strategy of nonlinear stochastic systems. The systems under investigation are mechanical oscillators and a damping device. The numerical approach to obtain the optimal control strategy involves solving a nonlinear partial differential equation — the Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation. Since civil engineering structural systems usually exhibit nonlinear hysteretic behavior under extreme loading conditions, the potential application of the obtained control strategy could provide an optimal feedback control law to reduce the system response under the random excitations (such as earthquakes, wind load and sea waves). Several numerical examples are presented to verify optimality and demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed optimal control solution. First, a linear oscillator is used to verify that the obtained solution is indeed the optimal solution by comparing it to the closed form solution. Then the proposed method is applied to several nonlinear systems. In each case, optimality is demonstrated by comparing the system responses and costs under optimal control with those obtained using linearized optimal control.
Fault-Tolerance with Graceful Degradation in Quality: A Design Methodology and its Application to Digital Signal Processing Systems

The tremendous increase in device density of present day designs is accompanied by a corresponding increase in transistor failures (hard faults), posing a major challenge to current fault tolerant techniques and tools. We propose a novel "design-time" fault-tolerance methodology at architecture/circuit levels to improve the reliability of applications, where it is possible to classify computations into two categories- (i) those which contribute to quality degradation and, (ii) those which result in total system failure. The proposed scheme enhances system reliability by making appropriate trade-offs between area, output quality (signal to noise ratio or mean square error), and fault tolerance. This low-overhead generic methodology is suitable not only for scaled CMOS technologies, but is also applicable to future nanotechnologies (carbon nanotubes etc.) as well, where such defects are expected to be prevalent. We evaluated this technique on a widely used DSP system - Finite Impulse Response (FIR) filters (where minor degradation in quality can be tolerated). Results show that our technique achieves an improvement between 73.4%-450% (in terms of total system failure probability under iso-redundancy) compared to conventional fault tolerance techniques.
Validity of a disposable end-tidal CO2 detector in verifying endotracheal tube placement in infants and children.

Study objective: To examine the validity of a disposable, colorimetric end-tidal CO 2 detector in verifying endotracheal tube (ETT) placement in infants and children. Design: The detector was studied prospectively in 151 intubations. Setting: Operating room, ICIJ, and emergency department of a children's hospital. Participants: One hundred thrity-seven children undergoing endotracheal intubation for anesthesia (52), respiratory support (76), or CPR (23). Interventions: After endotracheal intubation, tube position was verified, the detector was attached, and readings were obtained. Measurements and results: The detector correctly identified tube position (trachea, 124; esophagus, four) in all 120 patients who were not in cardiac arrest ( P P Conclusion: The detector accurately identifies ETT position in children with spontaneous circulation who weigh more than 2 kg. During CPR, a positive test correctly indicates that the ETT is in the airway, but a negative result (suggesting esophageal placement) requires an alternate means of confirming ETT position.
Subterranean phylogeography of freshwater crayfishes shows extensive gene flow and surprisingly large population sizes

Subterranean animals are currently viewed as highly imperiled, precariously avoiding extinction in an extreme environment of darkness. This assumption is based on a hypothesis that the reduction in visual systems and morphology common in cave faunas reflects a genetic inability to adapt and persist coupled with the perception of a habitat that is limited, disconnected, and fragile. Accordingly, 95% of cave fauna in the United States are presumed endangered due to surface environmental degradation and limited geographic distributions. Our study explores the subterranean phylogeography of stygobitic crayfishes in the southeastern United States, a global hotspot of groundwater biodiversity, using extensive geographic sampling and molecular data. Despite their endangered status, our results show that subterranean crayfish species have attained moderate to high levels of genetic diversity over their evolutionary histories with large population sizes and extensive gene flow among karst systems. We then compare the subterranean population histories to those of common surface stream-dwelling crayfishes. Our results show recent drastic declines in genetic variability in the surface crayfish and suggest that these species also warrant conservation attention.
Intraspecific Root Grafts and Clonal Growth Within Ailanthus altissima Stands Influence Verticillium nonalfalfae Transmission

Verticillium nonalfalfae, causal agent of Verticillium wilt, is being considered as a biocontrol for the highly invasive Ailanthus altissima in Pennsylvania. This soilborne fungus is extremely virulent on Ailanthus and rapidly transmitted from diseased to healthy trees within Ailanthus stands. The rapid transmission of the fungus could be facilitated by root grafts, but neither root graft formation in Ailanthus nor Verticillium transmission by root grafts in trees has been reported. Here, V. nonalfalfae transmission between diseased and healthy Ailanthus trees via intraspecific root grafts and clonal growth is evaluated. Using air-spade excavation, dye translocation, and root graft inoculations, functional root grafts were detected between Ailanthus trees and transmission of V. nonalfalfae across root grafts demonstrated. Inoculation of one Ailanthus parent stem resulted in 187 root sprouts showing Verticillium wilt symptoms 12 months after inoculation. This study revealed that clonal growth and root grafts, normally advantageous growth habits, leave Ailanthus stands vulnerable to widespread V. nonalfalfae infection. This study also broadens the understanding of the Ailanthus-Verticillium pathosystem, growth strategies of invasive Ailanthus, and epidemiology of Verticillium wilt within trees.
Chart Your Own Course: Class Difference and the Construction of Personal Trajectories in Career Portfolio Programs

AbstractIn this article, I examine two students’ experiences with their schools’ career portfolio programs. These initiatives call students to assemble papers, projects, and nonacademic items and to present them in ways that chart their personal trajectories into paid work. Shortly before graduation, students present their portfolios to exit interview panels and discuss how their portfolios reveal who they are, where they are going, and how they plan to get there. In this study, I investigate how two students of different class backgrounds engage in portfolio work. Through conducting discourse analyses of exit interviews, I examine how these students build particular kinds of trajectories into particular kinds of futures. I argue that students and their interviewers work together during their conversations to mobilize class models of personal development. In activating different theories for differently classed students, I contend, they place students on paths toward higher‐ or lower‐status futures.
Where Two or Three are Gathered: Catholic Seminarians’ Perspectives on Individual Versus Communal Living Arrangements of Diocesan Priests

This study addresses the perspectives of Catholic seminarians on a model of diocesan communal living as an alternative to the current more solitary model of diocesan priestly living. An assessment was made of 246 Catholic diocesan seminarians’ attitudes toward communal living in the diocesan priesthood. Seminarians reported high levels of interest in the possibility of communal living after ordination, preference for diocesan communal living, and perceived benefit of life in a priestly community. These positive attitudes toward communal life suggest that seminarians are conscious of a needed restructuring in current priestly living conditions and discern diocesan communal living to be an appealing solution.
Trying Hard or Hardly Trying: An Analysis of Context Effects in Choice

Several studies have shown that consumer choice is often influenced by the context or the set of alternatives under consideration. Context effects have largely been explained in terms of constructive preferences that are consistent with 2 theoretical accounts—effort minimization and perceptual contrast—that emphasize different underlying motivations. We propose that the effect of time pressure on context effects can be used as a moderating variable to determine which of the 2 motives is supported. Specifically, if context effects bias preferences due to effort minimization, time pressure should increase the magnitude of such effects. In contrast, if context effects arise due to an excessive focus on the relational characteristics of the alternatives provided, time pressure should reduce the magnitude of such effects. We examine this proposition in relation to the compromise effect and a choice between an extreme and an all-average option. We find that the compromise effect and the preference for an all-average alternative are both reduced under time pressure. A study using Mouselab provides additional support for the underlying decision mechanisms. We discuss the theoretical implications of this research and explore its consequences for marketers.
Monkey: Approximate Graph Mining Based on Spanning Trees

In the recent past, many exact graph mining algorithms have been developed to find frequent patterns in a graph database. However, many networks or graphs generated from biological data and other applications may be incomplete or inaccurate. Hence, it is necessary to design approximate graph mining techniques. In this paper, we will study the problem of approximate graph mining and propose an optimized solution which uses frequent trees and a spanning tree based pre-verification check in the mining process.
Use of Space-Filling Curves in Generating a National Rural Sampling Frame for HIV/AIDS Research∗

The classical geographic research problem of regionalization and resource allocation is most commonly tackled by means of location-allocation methods. This paper introduces the spatial-order method as an alternative for creating regions or clusters. The spatial-order method utilizes space-filling curves, also known as Peano curves, to determine the nearness or spatial order of areal units, such as counties. Given a capacity constraint, the areal units are grouped consecutively according to their spatial order values. We applied the method to create clusters of rural counties for a national sampling survey of HIV/AIDS patients in the United States. Using the criteria that each cluster had approximately 50 new AIDS cases in 1991–1993 and that contiguity of areal units was maximized, 226 clusters were created from the 1,853 rural counties or health districts. The rural clusters generated by this method have been adopted as the national rural sampling frame in the HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study (HCSU...
Rigor: Lost in the Quest for Evidence-Based Practice

The purpose of this column is to bring to light a lack of rigor in the design of randomized controlled trials. In this effort, basic tenets of quantitative design are considered including delineation of populations along with probability and non-probability sampling techniques in addition to defining random selection and random assignment. The idea that randomized controlled trials, considered the piece de resistance of the evidence-based practice movement, lack rigor because of their use of randomly assigned groups without random selection of subjects is presented.
Biophysics of biofilm infection

This article examines a likely basis of the tenacity of biofilm infections that has received relatively little attention: the resistance of biofilms to mechanical clearance. One way that a biofilm infection persists is by withstanding the flow of fluid or other mechanical forces that work to wash or sweep microorganisms out of the body. The fundamental criterion for mechanical persistence is that the biofilm failure strength exceeds the external applied stress. Mechanical failure of the biofilm and release of planktonic microbial cells is also important in vivo because it can result in dissemination of infection. The fundamental criterion for detachment and dissemination is that the applied stress exceeds the biofilm failure strength. The apparent contradiction for a biofilm to both persist and disseminate is resolved by recognizing that biofilm material properties are inherently heterogeneous. There are also mechanical aspects to the ways that infectious biofilms evade leukocyte phagocytosis. The possibility of alternative therapies for treating biofilm infections that work by reducing biofilm cohesion could (1) allow prevailing hydrodynamic shear to remove biofilm, (2) increase the efficacy of designed interventions for removing biofilms, (3) enable phagocytic engulfment of softened biofilm aggregates, and (4) improve phagocyte mobility and access to biofilm.
Role of α2-Agonists in the Treatment of Acute Alcohol Withdrawal

Objective:To evaluate literature reporting on the role of norepinephrine in alcohol withdrawal and to determine the safety and efficacy of α2-agonists in reducing symptoms of this severe condition.Data Sources:Articles evaluating the efficacy and safety of the α2-agonists clonidine and dexmedetomidine were identified from an English-language MEDLINE search (1966-December 2010). Key words included alcohol withdrawal, delirium tremens, clonidine, dexmedetomidine, α2-agonist, norepinephrine, and sympathetic overdrive.Study Selection and Data Extraction:Studies that focused on the safety and efficacy of clonidine and dexmedetomidine in both animals and humans were selected.Data Synthesis:The noradrenergic system, specifically sympathetic overdrive during alcohol withdrawal, may play an important role in withdrawal symptom development. Symptoms of sympathetic overdrive include anxiety, agitation, elevated blood pressure, tachycardia, and tremor. Therefore, α2-agonists, which decrease norepinephine release, may...
Postpericardiotomy syndrome as a complication of percutaneous left ventricular puncture.

Abstract Two cases of postpericardiotomy syndrome following percutaneous left ventricular puncture have been reported. Both had symptoms identical with the other “cardiotomy” syndromes and responded promptly to adrenal steroid therapy. The fact that one of the patients had a second episode of pericarditis four weeks following open heart surgery may mean that the development of this syndrome following left ventricular puncture may be associated with the development of the postpericardiotomy syndrome following cardiac surgery.
Burst error identification for turbo- and LDPC-coded magnetic recording systems

Although turbo- and low-density parity check (LDPC) codes provide very low bit-error rates, when these inner codes are used in conjunction with an outer error correction code (ECC), the overall recording system performance is based on the sector failure rates. Therefore, it is crucial to identify the blocks having more errors than the ECC correction capability. In this paper, we introduce several "burst error identification" techniques for turbo and LDPC codes. We discuss the effectiveness and the drawbacks of these methods over additive white Gaussian noise and partial response channels.
Accelerating calculations of RNA secondary structure partition functions using GPUs

Background RNA performs many diverse functions in the cell in addition to its role as a messenger of genetic information. These functions depend on its ability to fold to a unique three-dimensional structure determined by the sequence. The conformation of RNA is in part determined by its secondary structure, or the particular set of contacts between pairs of complementary bases. Prediction of the secondary structure of RNA from its sequence is therefore of great interest, but can be computationally expensive. In this work we accelerate computations of base-pair probababilities using parallel graphics processing units (GPUs).
From molecular changes to customised therapy

The revolution in molecular methods has allowed the development of approaches whereby cancer-specific changes can be utilised for targeted therapies. Gene therapy strategies include mutation compensation for correction of cancer-associated defects, and molecular chemotherapy for delivering toxic substances locally to tumour cells. Viruses which replicate only in tumour cells represent a powerful novel approach undergoing intensive development, with some exciting clinical results. Cancer vaccines are promising, although the final clinical evidence is still pending. Monoclonal antibodies, in conjunction with chemotherapeutics, are becoming standard therapy. Recently, the first small molecular inhibitors have made clinical breakthroughs. Importantly, the large amount of information available on genes differentially expressed in cancer cells, allows correlation of prognosis and treatment responses to molecular changes. Thus, the future of cancer treatment could be customised treatment based on the molecular properties of the tumour, utilising combinations of novel and conventional agents.