cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Market Movements: Nongovernmental Organization Strategies to Influence Global Production and Consumption

Summary This article analyzes nongovernmental organization (NGO) “market campaigns” that seek to motivate changes in global consumption and production patterns. Through campaigns targeting products as diverse as paper, shoes, and computers, advocacy groups seek to use existing concerns of consumers to influence producers, and simultaneously, to expand and deepen consumer demand for more sustainable products and services. NGOs deploy both negative information to critique leading brands, and positive information to help build new markets for improved products. Successful market campaigns construct networks of actors that identify points of leverage within global production and trading regimes; coordinate research, exposure, direct action, and negotiations with brands; identify solutions; advance new multi-stakeholder standards and monitoring and certification schemes; build new nongovernmental regulatory institutions; and occasionally attempt to strengthen state regulation. Through an assessment of three market campaigns focused on Staples, Nike, and Dell, this article describes the nature of these campaigns, discusses how they function, assesses their central strategies and tactics, and analyzes whether they are actually having an impact. The article concludes by discussing the relevance and implications of these campaigns for the field of industrial ecology, and how industrial ecology might support future efforts to advance more sustainable production and consumption.
Returns to Public Irrigation Development and the Concomitant Costs of Commodity Programs

Development of agriculture, and associated agricultural problems, have had a prominent place in congressional deliberations virtually throughout the history of the United States (Benedict). Early policy stressed land development, and the Reclamation Act of 1902 was in such spirit. It was "An Act Appropriating the receipts from the sale and disposal of public lands in certain States and Territories to the construction of irrigation works for the reclamation of arid lands." With later modifications of policy to provide greater sources of income for works construction, Congress continues to support the Bureau of Reclamation's water development, output increasing activities. Yet, since 1929, with time out for war, the federal government also has effected commodity programs designed to reduce the supply of major agricultural commodities so as to maintain product prices "at levels that would be above the market price in a free and reasonably normal market situation"(Benedict, p. 517). Such a situation would tend to strike most economists as peculiar (inefficient). Howe and Easter estimated the annual costs of commodity programs directly related to reclamation irrigation in the range of $83 million to $179 million during the period 1944 to 1964 (p. 143). Some of the "facts" generated by these apparently contradictory policies are the subject of this paper.
One-year follow-up of multisystemic therapy as an alternative to the hospitalization of youths in psychiatric crisis.

ABSTRACT Objective This study presents findings from a 1‐year follow‐up to a randomized clinical trial comparing multisystemic therapy (MST), modified for use with youths presenting psychiatric emergencies, with inpatient psychiatric hospitalization. Method One hundred fifty‐six children and adolescents approved for emergency psychiatric hospitalization were randomly assigned to home‐based MST or inpatient hospitalization followed by usual services. Assessments examining mental health symptoms, out‐of‐home placement, school attendance, and family relations were conducted at five times: within 24 hours of recruitment, shortly after the hospitalized youth was released from the hospital (1‐2 weeks after recruitment), at the completion of MST (average of 4 months postrecruitment), and 10 and 16 months postrecruitment. Results Based on placement and youth‐report measures, MST was initially more effective than emergency hospitalization and usual services at decreasing youths' symptoms and out‐of‐home placements and increasing school attendance and family structure, but these differences generally dissipated by 12 to 16 months postrecruitment. Hospitalization produced a rapid, but short‐lived, decrease in externalizing symptoms based on caregiver reports. Conclusion Findings suggest that youths with serious emotional disturbance might benefit from continuous access to a continuum of evidence‐based practices titrated to clinical need.
Digit induction by Hensen's node and notochord involves the expression of shh but not RAR-beta 2.

It is well established that Hensen's nodes can induce the formation of supernumerary digits after grafting into the anterior margin of the developing limb bud. The recent finding that distinct mesodermal cell populations are segregated within the node has made it possible to isolate different prospective cell types in an attempt to correlate digit-inducing ability with cell fate. We find that the prospective notochord cells contained within Hensen's node are able to induce supernumerary digits, whereas presumptive somite cells cannot. This early difference in inducing ability persists into later stages of development: epithelial somites are unable to induce while notochord from all lengths of the neuraxis continues to induce. Using probes to retinoic acid receptor-β2 and sonic hedgehog (shh) we find no evidence to support the idea that inducing tissues generate extra digits by releasing retinoic acid into adjacent limb tissue but find that the inducing ability of a tissue correlates with its expression of shh.
Design of a Composite Boxbeam

This paper presents an analysis for the preliminary design of boxbeams made of fiber-reinforced composites. The analysis provides deflections, bending and torsional stiffnesses, stresses, and the conditions for buckling and first-ply failure. Use of the analysis is illustrated through the example of a single cell, three bay, cantilevered box beam. This example demonstrates a design procedure for selecting the configuration which results in the required strength and stiffness at a minimum weight.
Targeting sirtuins for the treatment of diabetes.

Sirtuins are a class of NAD+-dependent deacetylases, such as deacetylases, that have a wide array of biological functions. Recent studies have suggested that reduced sirtuin action is correlated with Type 2 diabetes. Both overnutrition and aging, which are two major risk factors for diabetes, lead to decreased sirtuin function and result in abnormal glucose and lipid metabolism. Therefore, restoring normal levels of sirtuin action in Type 2 diabetes may be a promising method of treating diabetes. This article reviews the biological functions of three of the seven mammalian sirtuins – SIRT1, SIRT3 and SIRT6 – that have demonstrated prominent metabolic roles and early potential for drug targeting. Clinical trials investigating the use of sirtuin activators for treating diabetes are already underway and show promise as alternatives to current diabetes therapies. Thus, further research into sirtuin activators is warranted and may lead to a new class of safe, effective diabetes treatments.
Automatic identification and voice-recognition technologies for quality improvement: case studies of Pittsburgh-area service firms

The strategies for profitability in e-commerce must be able to integrate the use of the internet and AIDC (automatic identification and data capture) technologies, especially barcoding, smart card, and voice-recognition systems in data sharing and new product development. In e-commerce, this integration essentially serves as a foundation for the management of data flows for strategic IT purposes; especially in tracking distribution and ensuring quality of manufacture and service delivery. A combination of personal interviews of middle to management, as well as comments from convenient samples of employees was used to gather perceptions of recent AIDC-based initiatives of four highly regarded firms in the Pittsburgh, PA area to examine the technology advancements and continuous quality improvement initiatives of these service-industry firms.
Development of cancer vaccines using autologous and recombinant high molecular weight stress proteins

Abstract High molecular weight heat shock proteins (HSPs), hsp110 and grp170, derived from cancer cells have been previously shown to elicit tumor-specific immunity. This phenomenon is attributed to the antigenic peptides associated with the HSPs. Based on the unique chaperoning properties of these HSPs, a new vaccination strategy has been recently developed to elicit antigen-specific antitumor immunity. This approach utilizes tumor-associated antigens naturally complexed to these highly efficient molecular chaperones under heat shock conditions. This chapter focuses on the methodologies of these two vaccine strategies: I. purification of hsp110 and grp170 from tumor tissue or cell lines; II. generation and characterization of in vitro HSP–antigen complexes by heat shock using recombinant HSPs derived from a baculovirus protein expression system.
Neutral endopeptidase inhibition potentiates the renal actions of atrial natriuretic factor.

Neutral endopeptidase inhibition potentiates the renal actions of atrial natriuretic factor. Atrial natriuretic factor (ANF) is degraded by neutral endopeptidase. We hypothesized that neutral endopeptidase inhibition (NEP-I) increases sodium excretion and that this effect would be potentiated in the presence ofan isolated increase in intrarenal ANF. In seven anesthetized dogs, ANF was infused into one renal artery to produce pathophysiologic concentrations in the supplemented kidney while the control kidney received physiologic circulating concentrations of ANF. In the control kidney, NEP-I (SQ 28,603) produced significant increases in urine flow, absolute sodium excretion and fractional sodium excretion while glomerular filtration rate (GFR) remained constant. These renal actions of NEP-I were associated with marked increases in urinary excretion of ANF and cyclic GMP consistent with decreased renal degradation and increased biologic activity of ANF. All of these effects were significantly greater in the supplemented kidney. The present study suggests that NEP-I produces natriuresis which appears to be independent of changes in GFR. In addition, while NEP-I mimics the renal action of pathophysiologic levels of ANF, NEP-I also potentiates the natriuretic effects of pathophysiologic concentrations of ANF as observed in congestive heart failure or hypertension.
The open structure of a multi-drug-resistant HIV-1 protease is stabilized by crystal packing contacts.

The introduction of HIV-1 protease (HIV-PR) inhibitors has led to a dramatic increase in patient survival; however, these gains are threatened by the emergence of multi-drug-resistant strains. Design of inhibitors that overcome resistance would be greatly facilitated by deeper insight into the mechanistic events associated with binding of substrates and inhibitors, as well as an understanding of the effects of resistance mutations on the structure and dynamic behavior of HIV-PR. We previously reported a series of simulations that provide a model for HIV-PR dynamics, with spontaneous conversions between the bound and unbound crystal forms upon addition or removal of an inhibitor. Importantly, the unbound protease transiently sampled a third fully open state that permits entry to the active site, unlike both crystallographic forms. Recently, a crystal structure of unbound HIV-PR was reported for the MDR 769 isolate (PDB: 1TW7); unlike all previous experimental structures, the binding pocket is open. It is ...
Specific gravity as an auxostat control variable

A U-shaped manometer for sensing pressure between a top bubbler and bottom bubbler in a tall bioreactor established a level for on-off control of specific gravity by pumping dense feed to the continuous culture.
Mammography and the experience of pain and anxiety

Abstract Purpose : To estimate the pain and anxiety experienced by women in relation to mammography, and how radiographers can improve the situation for women attending for the X-ray examination. Methods: The study recruited 170 women aged between 40 and 69 years. Structured questionnaires were used: McGill Pain Questionnaire; State–Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and Questionnaire for Predictor Variables. Results: During mammography, 66.5% of the women reported feeling pain, but most of them described the pain as mild or moderate. There is a correlation between anxiety and pain after mammography ( P Conclusions: Anxiety and pain in connection with mammography were real enough, but were not perceived as a great problem by most of the women in the study.
On the collapse of dented cylinders under external pressure

In this paper the reduction in the collapse pressure of long cylinders which have local dents is evaluated through a combination of experiment and analysis. A number of stainless steel tubes, with diameter-to-thickness ratios of approximately 33,24 and 19, were indented to various degrees with spherical indentors of two diameters. The geometry of each dent was recorded using an imperfection scanning system and the cylinders were subsequently collapsed under external pressure. Denting reduces the local collapse resistance of the cylinder. For larger dents the collapse pressure was found to approach the propagation pressure of the tube. Collapse was found to be relatively insensitive to the detailed geometry of a dent but to be critically dependent on the maximum ovalization of its most deformed cross section (Δ0d). The collapse pressures of tubes with dents produced by indentors of different diameters could be well correlated through this measure of the dent geometry. The denting and collapse processes were simulated numerically using appropriately nonlinear elastoplastic shell analyses. Both steps of such simulations were shown to be in good agreement with experimental results for a broad variation of the parameters of the problem. The key role of the geometric parameter Δ0d was exploited in order to generate a Universal Collapse Resistance Curve for dented cylinders. It was possible to show that the post-limit load response (P — Δ) of a cylinder, with a small but axially uniform initial ovality, provides a very good lower bound to the collapse pressures of the dented cylinders plotted against the dent parameter Δ0d. The significance of this curve is that it can be used to estimate the reduction in the collapse pressure of a cylinder with any dent geometry from only one relatively simple measurement of the geometry of the dented section.
Platelet serotonin transport after a single ECT.

Platelet 5-HT uptake was examined in six depressed patients before and after a single electroconvulsive treatment and compared with six age- and sex-matched controls. The depressed patients had a significantly (P<0.05) lower Vmax of platelet 5-HT uptake prior to ECT (22.9±7.6 pm/2×10 platelets) than did control subjects (37.5±9.1 SEM). After a single ECT treatment, the Vmax significantly (P<0.05) increased to levels (34.6±10.1) no longer significantly different from control. The results are compared with recent data from depressed patients indicating that low baseline levels of platelet imipramine binding increase after ECT treatment.
Tangible comics: a performance space with full-body interaction

Tangible Comics is a computer vision based full-body interactive storytelling environment that also functions as a comics generator. Prevailing applications of full-body computer vision have not utilized the full storytelling or performance potential of these environments.allOur aim is to produce an environment that can create a space for redefining the conventions of comics, performance, film, photography, and animation. In relation to that, we are exploring the design problems that can arise when computer vision technology is contextualized in an interactive story telling environment.
The effect of potassium dichromate and mercuric chloride on urinary excretion and organ and subcellular distribution of [203Hg]mercuric chloride in rats

The mechanism by which subthreshold/non-effective doses or concentrations of potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) potentiate the effect of moderately effective dose/concentrations of mercuric chloride (HgCl2) on renal organic ion transport is not understood. To investigate this effect, the rate of excretion of mercury from the intact animal and the renal and hepatic accumulation and subcellular distribution of mercury within kidney cortex following pretreatment or in vitro exposure to K2Cr2O7 were undertaken. Coincidental administration of K2Cr2O7 had no significant effect in altering the rate of excretion of labeled mercury. Organ distribution showed time dependence; however, the presence of K2Cr2O7 did not increase renal mercury concentrations. In fact, significantly less mercury was found at 4 h in the kidneys of rats receiving both metal salts. Subcellular distribution of labeled mercury (203Hg) was also not significantly altered by the presence of K2Cr2O7, although the distribution patterns for in vitro exposure and pretreated tissues were different. These studies show that K2Cr2O7 does not produce alterations in urinary elimination, organ distribution or subcellular distribution of mercury.
Trends in coronary thrombolytic therapy for acute myocardial infarction (the Minnesota Heart Survey Registry, 1990 to 1993).

Abstract Between 1990 and 1993, patient selection and relative effectiveness of thrombolytic agents were issues for clinical trials of thrombolytic therapy, particularly the Third International Study of Infarct Survival (ISIS-3) and the Second Gruppo Italiano Per Lo Studio Della Streptochinasi Nell'Infarto Miocardico trials. The purpose of this report is to document the use of coronary thrombolytic therapy in community hospital practice during this period. Patients admitted to the coronary care unit of 6 hospitals with suspect acute myocardial infarction (AMI) between 1990 and 1993 were prospectively enrolled in the Minnesota Heart Survey Registry. Of the 1,225 patients with AMI enrolled, 310 men (37%) and 103 women (26%) received thrombolytic therapy (p
Integration of a single vertical-cavity surface emitting laser onto a CMOS inverter chip

An InGaAs/AlGaAs vertical cavity surface emitting laser has been integrated following substrate removal onto a CMOS inverter chip. Digital modulation of the laser is shown.
Relationship of In Vitro Synergy and Treatment Outcome with Daptomycin plus Rifampin in Patients with Invasive Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus Infections

We report the findings of a study examining the relationship between in vitro daptomycin-rifampin synergy and the therapeutic outcome of 12 patients with complex deep methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections treated for prolonged periods with this combination. Checkerboard synergy was found in nine cases and was 100% predictive of therapeutic success; absence of synergy was found in three cases, two of which were therapeutic failures (P = 0.045). No relationship was observed between synergy and outcome by time-kill assessment. Checkerboard synergy may predict clinical response to daptomycin plus rifampin for complex invasive MRSA infections requiring prolonged treatment.
Unanswered Questions about Public Service Motivation: Designing Research to Address Key Issues of Emergence and Effects

As public service motivation research gains momentum, important questions emerge regarding its origins and consequences that are not addressed by existing research. The authors identify some fundamental public service motivation assumptions, including critical gaps in our current understanding of its basic tenets. The authors then discuss specific research studies that, by virtue of their findings and designs, may fill in and inform such apparent gaps. Their aim is to chart new concrete directions for scholarship that complements and advances existing public service motivation research.
Increased diacylglycerols characterize hepatic lipid changes in progression of human nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; comparison to a murine model.

Background and Aims: The spectrum of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) includes steatosis, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), and progression to cirrhosis. While differences in liver lipids between disease states have been reported, precise composition of phospholipids and diacylglycerols (DAG) at a lipid species level has not been previously described. The goal of this study was to characterize changes in lipid species through progression of human NAFLD using advanced lipidomic technology and compare this with a murine model of early and advanced NAFLD. Methods: Utilizing mass spectrometry lipidomics, over 250 phospholipid and diacylglycerol species (DAGs) were identified in normal and diseased human and murine liver extracts. Results: Significant differences between phospholipid composition of normal and diseased livers were demonstrated, notably among DAG species, consistent with previous reports that DAG transferases are involved in the progression of NAFLD and liver fibrosis. In addition, a novel phospholipid species (ether linked phosphatidylinositol) was identified in human cirrhotic liver extracts. Conclusions: Using parallel lipidomics analysis of murine and human liver tissues it was determined that mice maintained on a high-fat diet provide a reproducible model of NAFLD in regards to specificity of lipid species in the liver. These studies demonstrated that novel lipid species may serve as markers of advanced liver disease and importantly, marked increases in DAG species are a hallmark of NAFLD. Elevated DAGs may contribute to altered triglyceride, phosphatidylcholine (PC), and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) levels characteristic of the disease and specific DAG species might be important lipid signaling molecules in the progression of NAFLD.
The effects of chemical pest, disease and weed management practices on the trophic structure of nematode populations in tomato agroecosystems

Abstract We assessed the responses of nematode communities to mixtures of insecticides, fungicides and herbicides in a tomato ( Lycopersicon esculentum L.) field experiment. The treatments were: (i) full spectrum of recommended pesticides; including insecticides (carbaryl, endosulfan and esfenvalerate) a fungicide (chlorothalonil) and herbicides (trifluralin and paraquat); (ii) only insecticides; based on applications of the same insecticides and similar doses to the full spectrum treatment; (iii) only fungicides and herbicides; based on similar fungicide and herbicide applications and doses to the full spectrum pesticide use treatment; (iv) control plots which received no pesticide applications. Nematode populations were separated into plant parasites, bacterivores, fungivores, omnivores and predators. The temporal community dynamics of different nematode trophic groups differed with the pesticide applications. Plant-parasitic nematode populations were much higher in the full spectrum pesticide-treated and in the insecticide-treated plots than in control plots. Fungivorous nematode populations were affected adversely by all treatments. Bacterivorous nematode populations were lowest in the full spectrum pesticide-treated plots and the fungicide- and herbicide-treated plots. Predatory nematode populations were lower in the full spectrum pesticide-treated plots than in the control plots.
On The Structure Of The Time-Optimal Control Of Robot Arms

The time-optimal control problem with hard control bounds has long been of interest to control engineers and researchers. For linear systems, under suitable conditions, such as normality and controllability, the time-optimal control can be shown to be of the bang-bang type. Much of the theoretical study of this problem has been limited to linear systems. In this paper the problem of determining the structure of the minimum-time control for robotic manipulators is addressed. We derive an alternate dynamic model for a robot arm using state variables based on the Hamiltonian Canonical equations. We then show that the structure of the minimum time control law requires that at least one of the actuators is always in saturation while the others adjust their torques so that some constraints on the motion are not violated while enabling the manipulator to achieve its
When do anterior external or internal fixators provide additional stability in an unstable (Tile C) pelvic fracture? A biomechanical study.

This study aimed at evaluating the additional stability that is provided by anterior external and internal fixators in an unstable pelvic fracture model (OTA 61-C). An unstable pelvic fracture (OTA 61-C) was created in 27 synthetic pelves by making a 5-mm gap through the sacral foramina (posterior injury) and an ipsilateral pubic rami fracture (anterior injury). The posterior injury was fixed with either a single iliosacral (IS) screw, a single trans-iliac, trans-sacral (TS) screw, or two iliosacral screws (S1S2). Two anterior fixation techniques were utilized: external fixation (Ex-Fix) and supra-acetabular external fixation and internal fixation (In-Fix); supra-acetabular pedicle screws connected with a single subcutaneous spinal rod. The specimens were tested using a nondestructive single-leg stance model. Peak-to-peak (P2P) displacement and rotation and conditioning displacement (CD) were calculated. The Ex-Fix group failed in 83.3 % of specimens with concomitant single-level posterior fixation (Total: 15/18–7 of 9 IS fixation, 8 of 9 TS fixation), and 0 % (0/9) of specimens with concomitant two-level (S1S2) posterior fixation. All specimens with the In-Fix survived testing except for two specimens treated with In-Fix combined with IS fixation. Trans-sacral fixation had higher pubic rotation and greater sacral and pubic displacement than S1S2 (p < 0.05). Rotation of the pubis and sacrum was not different between In-Fix constructs combined with single-level IS and TS fixation. In this model of an unstable pelvic fracture (OTA 61-C), anterior fixation with an In-Fix was biomechanically superior to an anterior Ex-Fix in the setting of single-level posterior fixation. There was no biomechanical difference between the In-Fix and Ex-Fix when each was combined with two levels of posterior sacral fixation.
Maximizing Chemical Diversity of Fungal Metabolites: Biogenetically Related Heptaketides of the Endolichenic Fungus Corynespora sp.(1)

In an attempt to explore the biosynthetic potential of the endolichenic fungus Corynespora sp. BA-10763, its metabolite profiles under several culture conditions were investigated. When cultured in potato dextrose agar, it produced three new heptaketides, 9-O-methylscytalol A (1), 7-desmethylherbarin (2), and 8-hydroxyherbarin (3), together with biogenetically related metabolites scytalol A (4), 8-O-methylfusarubin (5), scorpinone (6), and 8-O-methylbostrycoidin (7), which are new to this organism, and herbarin (8), a metabolite previously encountered in this fungal strain. The use of malt extract agar as the culture medium led to the isolation of 6, 8, 1-hydroxydehydroherbarin (9), and 1-methoxydehydroherbarin (10), which was found to be an artifact formed during the extraction of the culture medium with methanol. The structures of all new compounds were determined by interpretation of their spectroscopic data and chemical interconversions.
Automated visual quality evaluation of CVD film

This study describes the implementation and performance of a new image analysis algorithm, ALOET, as applied to automatically distinguishing between acceptable and unacceptable chemical vapor deposition (CVD) diamond film. ALOET is a texture feature which measures the homogeneity of the edge orientations in a local window, and which is useful in differentially characterizing large and small polycrystalline structures. The analysis in this study includes a performance metric for film quality evaluation, numerical and visual performance results, and an example analytical model for determining the algorithm's control parameters.
The anodic stripping voltammetry of trace silver solutions employing graphite electrodes Application to silver analysis of rain and snow samples from silver iodide seeded clouds

Summary The characteristics of the anodic stripping curves obtained from 10−11–10−7 M Ag+ have been studied using pyrolytic graphite and wax impregnated spectrographic grade carbon electrodes. It was found that the stripping curves on pyrolytic graphite electrodes (PGE) had essentially only one sharp dissolution peak, while those for wax impregnated carbon (SGE) exhibited multiple dissolution peaks. The nature of the Ag deposits was studied by X-ray fluorescence employing an electron microprobe which showed that PGE had a few preferred sites for deposition but the SGE exhibited a uniform distribution of the deposit. The optimum solution conditions, electrode pretreatments, and procedure are described, as well as the results of the analyses of snow samples containing 10−8–4×10−11 M Ag+.
Las Navas de Tolosa and Liber Alchorani: reflections on Iberian Christians and the Qur'an

Although archbishop Rodrigo Jimenez de Rada commissioned a translation of the Qur'an in conjunction the Las Navas campaign, the resulting text, Mark of Toledo's Liber Alchorani, had far less of an impact than the battle itself. Indeed, like Robert of Ketton's earlier Latin Qur'an, Mark's text scarcely circulated in Spain: intellectuals there showed virtually no interest in reading Islam's holy book in Latin until the fifteenth century. Iberia was – for most of the Middle Ages – at once the land where European intellectuals could most easily find scholars to translate the Qur'an into Latin, and the place where few were interested in reading it in translation.
Brief group treatment of obesity through ancillary self-hypnosis.

Abstract This treatment paradim was developed to increase subjects' control over food intake while considering the economics of time and expense to the client. A three session treatment was provided for 40 subjects. A standard trance induction was followed by a series of behavior specific suggestions related to control of eating. Mean weight loss was 12.6 pounds three months posttreatment and 9.5 six months posttreatment. A discussion of the treatment merits and deficits follows the verbatim therapy procedure.
On the specificity of synapse formation

Abstract Clonal neuroblastome X glioma hybrid cells form synapses with striated muscle cells from different muscles and from different organisms, such as chick, mouse, and rat. Under appropriate conditions 65-80% of the muscle cells exhibited synaptic responses. The results indicate that most striated muscle cells have the same specificity for synapse formation and suggest that synaptogenesis is not dependent on interactions between complementary molecules on neuron and muscle cells that code for different synaptic connections.
High‐speed electrical sampling using optical second‐harmonic generation

We report the application of optical second‐harmonic generation to the measurement of ultrafast electrical pulses. The technique relies on the sensitivity of the second‐harmonic response to electric fields in centrosymmetric materials. Electrical pulses propagating on a silicon‐based coplanar transmission line have been characterized with subpicosecond time resolution and 100 mV/√Hz sensitivity. We have measured the bias dependence of the second harmonic intensity over a 20 V range and have used this data to calibrate the transient response. The observed full‐width at half maximum response time of the SHG waveform is ∼1 ps, which is consistent with the value obtained from an electronic cross‐correlation measurement.
Infectivity of the cloned geminivirus genome requires sequences from both DNAs

Members of the geminivirus group are characterized by their twinned virions which encapsidate a genome of circular, single-stranded DNA1. It has been suggested that the genomes of some members, specifically bean golden mosaic virus2 and tomato golden mosaic virus3,4 are bipartite. Recently, the complete nucleotide sequences of two similar-sized, circular DNA molecules (DNAs 1 and 2) from cassava latent virus (CLV) have been determined in this laboratory5. There has been no unequivocal evidence, however, to show that two such DNA molecules represent the infective unit of the virus genome. Here I describe the construction of recombinant DNA clones that contain full-length copies of CLV DNAs 1 and 2 inserted into bacteriophage M13. The inserts, on excision from the cloning vectors, are together shown to be infectious in Nicotiana benthamiana, verifying the bipartite nature of the genome.
A Design Method for Adsorption Bed Capacity: Steam-Regenerated Adsorbers

Activated carbon adsorbers are used to recover dilute solvent vapors from process streams before they are vented to the atmosphere. Determining the working capacity of an adsorber, or estimating the amount of adsorbent needed for an application, relies upon either crude rules of thumb or rigorous modeling of the process. As an alternative, an approximate solution to the material and energy balances for steaming a fixed bed adsorber is proposed. The new design method reduces the mathematics of modeling steam regeneration from multivariate calculus to algebra. It also permits evaluating vendors' claims of superior performance for their adsorbents, optimizing steam consumption for regeneration, and evaluating different regeneration conditions. Predicted working capacities are compared to experimental results.
Effects of Combination Lipid Therapy in Diabetes Mellitus

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is a major modifiable risk factor for the development of coronary atherosclerosis. Diabetes mellitus is increasing in incidence and prevalence in the United States and has been termed a coronary equivalent following the epidemiologic demonstration that subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus without a history of prior atherosclerosis appear to be at the same risk of nondiabetic individuals who had suffered an acute coronary event [1]. Type 2 diabetes is frequently associated with obesity, sedentary lifestyle, hypertension, and dyslipidemia. The role of lipid management in reducing cardiovascular risk in diabetic subjects has been validated in multiple clinical trials. Diabetic dyslipidemia is frequently a mixed pattern and is associated with high triglycerides, low high-density lipoprotein (HDL), and small, dense low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Statin therapy has provided a major mechanism to reduce the risk in diabetic subjects, although the event rates in treated subjects remain significant. However, hypertriglyceridemia is frequently not optimized by statin therapy. The role of combination therapy utilizing a statin with a second agent that demonstrates a predominant effect on hypertriglyceridemia (eg, fibric acid derivatives, nicotinic acid) has theoretic advantages and has been proposed as potential therapy in diabetic subjects. Fibric acid derivatives have been demonstrated to be efficacious in diabetic subjects in a subgroup analysis of the Veterans Affairs HDL intervention trial ((VA-HIT) [2].The VA-HIT study administered gemfibrozil to 2,531 male subjects or in secondary prevention. However, the administration of fenofibrate in the Fenofibrate Intervention and Event lowering in Diabetes (FIELD) trial did not clearly demonstrate clinical benefit [3]. However, the placebo group had a significant utilization of statin therapy. Additionally, a post hoc analysis demonstrated clinical benefit in subjects who were characterized by mixed dyslipidemia (hypertriglyceridemia and low HDL) [4]. Clinical trials of combination therapy have the potential to show cardiovascular risk reduction in diabetic subjects.
Hemlock woolly adelgid in the southern Appalachians: Control strategies, ecological impacts, and potential management responses

Hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae Annad; or HWA) is a non-native invasive pest that attacks and kills eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carriere) and Carolina hemlock (Tsuga caroliniana Engelm.). Hemlock is a ‘‘foundation species’’ due to its strong influence on ecosystem structure and function, especially in riparian areas. HWA management involves the integrated use of multiple approaches including chemical control, biological control, cultural treatments, host resistance, and host gene conservation. Despite extensive control efforts, large areas in the eastern US, but especially in the southern Appalachian region, have experienced extensive hemlock mortality. Most of the short-term impacts of HWA induced mortality on ecosystem structure and function are localized and small; however, long-term impacts such as large pulses of woody debris and changes in species composition that impact structure and function could be significant. Using a decision analysis framework, land managers should begin to strategically implement land management decisions to address observed short-term impacts and plan and manage for projected longer-term impacts. In order to maintain ecosystem services in response to long-term impacts, restoration efforts may require novel approaches, such as the introduction of non-native species, facilitated movement of native species to new habitats (e.g., white pine), and aggressive management of existing species (e.g., Rhododendron) with mechanical removal, fire, or chemicals.
Conservative Conservationist: Russell E. Train and the Emergence of American Environmentalism – By J. Brooks Flippen

In a blog commentary on the Mother Jones website in October 2004, Russell E. Train commented that the George W. Bush administration's approach to environmental policy constituted an “ideological an...
6. Extensions of Respondent-Driven Sampling: Analyzing Continuous Variables and Controlling for Differential Recruitment

Respondent-driven sampling (RDS) is a network-based method for sampling hidden and hard-to-reach populations that has been shown to produce asymptotically unbiased population estimates when its ass...
Impact Of Health Plan Design And Management On Retirees' Prescription Drug Use And Spending, 2001

ABSTRACT: We examined 2001 prescription drug claims for a range of employer-based retiree plans administered by a national pharmacy benefit management firm, to understand how use and spending diffe...
The limits of realism : Chinese fiction in the revolutionary period

Chinese intellectuals of the early twentieth century were attracted to realism primarily as a tool for social regeneration. Realism encouraged writers to adopt the stance of the independent cultural critic and drew into the compass of serious literature the disenfranchised "others" of Chinese society. As historical pressures forced new ideological commitments in the late twenties and thirties, however, writers grew suspicious both of the "individualism" implicit in the realist model and of the often superficial nature of the sympathies that their fiction evoked in the middle class. Anderson argues that realism must be defined negatively as a "discourse of limitations" and is of minimal utility in the Chinese search for political and cultural empowerment. He shows how hesitations about the realist model affect the fiction of four representative authors, Lu Xun, Ye Shaojun, Mao Dun, and Zhang Tianyi. He also considers the demise of critical realism in the face of a new collectivist understanding of Chinese reality.
The relationship between structure and activity among opioid peptides

Since the discovery and isolation of the endogenous opioid peptides Leu- and Met-enkephalin, structural studies have been focused on deducing the bioactive conformation of the peptide ligands. Theoretically, linear peptides can have many different backbone conformations, yet early, X-ray studies on enkephalin and its analogues showed only two different backbone conformations: extended and single β-bend. More recent reports include a third conformation for Leu-enkephalin and constrained opioid peptides from two ‘new’ classes (i.e. cyclic and ‘allaromatic’ peptides). In this report the relationship between solid-state X-ray structure and opioid peptide activity is examined. The N-terminal amine nitrogen and the two aromatic rings have previously been identified as structural features important to the biological activity of opioid peptides. From X-ray studies we find that the distances between the centroids of the aromatic rings, and between the N-terminal amine nitrogen and the centroid of the phenylalanine ring, vary over a large range. There is a discernible relationship, however, between the separation of the two rings and their orientation that correlates with activity.
Does smoking delay pregnancy? Data analysis by a tweaked geometric distribution answers

Background: Smoking is generally known to be carcinogenic and health hazardous. What is not clear is whether the smoking impacts on the woman’s reproductive process. There have been medical debates on whether a woman in the child bearing age may delay her pregnancy due to smoking. A definitive conclusion on this issue has not been reached perhaps due to a lack of appropriate data evidence. The missing link to answer the question might be exercising a suitable model to extract the pertinent data information on the number of missed menstrual cycles by smoking women versus non-smoking women . This article develops and demonstrates a statistical methodology to answer the question. Methods: To construct such a needed methodology, a new statistical distribution is introduced as an underlying model for the data on the number of missed menstrual cycles by women who smoke. This new distribution is named Tweaked Geometric Distribution (TGD). Several useful properties of the TGD are derived and explained using a historical data in the literature. Results: In the data of 100 smokers and 486 non-smokers, on the average, smoking women missed 3.22 menstrual cycles and non-smoking women missed only 1.96 menstrual cycles before becoming pregnant. The smoking women exhibited more variation than the non-smoking women and it suggests that the non-smoking women are more homogeneous while the smoking women are more heterogeneous . Furthermore, the impairment level to pregnancy due to smoking among the 486 women is estimated to be 5% in a possible scale of zero to one. The 5% impairment level appears like a small amount , but its impact can be felt once it is cast in terms of fecundity . What is fecundity? The terminology fecundity refers the chance for a woman to become pregnant. The fecundity is 0.24 for smoking woman while it is 0.34 for non-smoking woman. The fecundity of a non-smoking woman is more than twice the fecundity of a smoking woman. Conclusion: The smoking is really disadvantageous to any one in general and particularly to a woman who wants to become pregnant.
Hamiltonian indices and rational spectral densities

In this note we announce several (global) topological properties of various spaces of linear systems, particularly symmetric, lossless, and Hamiltonian systems and (for the first time) multivariable spectral densities of fixed McMillan degree. Such a study is motivated by a result asserting that on a connected but not simply connected manifold, one cannot find a vector field having a sink as its only critical point. This is illustrated in the scalar case by showing that only on the space of McMillan degree= |Cauchy index| = n, scalar transfer functions can one define a globally convergent vector field. This result holds in discrete-time, as well as for the nonautonomous case. With these motivations in mind, theorems of Bochner and Fogarty are used to show that spaces of transfer functions defined by symmetry conditions are, in fact, smooth algebraic manifolds. In addition, a particularly simple proof of a regularity theorem of J.M.C. Clark is given based on the Bochmer-Fogarty result. We describe a general philosophy for enumerating the path-components of such a manifold, based on earlier work of Brockett, and illustrate this method in the examples indicated above. As a corollary to these illustrations, we obtain the multivariable Hermite-Hurwitz theorem of Anderson-Bitmead as well as analogues, of this identity of the alternating index of a lossless system and the Hamiltonian index of a symmetric Hamiltonian system.
Ultrasonic relaxation evidence for a two-state glycosyl conformational equilibrium in aqueous solution of adenosine 3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate

A concentration-independent relaxation found in both aqueous and 7M urea solutions of the title compound can be assigned unequivocally to a two-state (syn⇌anti) glycosyl conformational equilibrium.
Influence of seminal plasma on the fecundity of chicken spermatozoa.

Abstract This study was undertaken to investigate the influence of seminal plasma on the fecundity of chicken sperm. Sperm diluted with either incubated seminal plasma (5 or 37°C for 24 h) or seminal plasma from incubated whole semen (5 or 37°C for 24 h) had lower fertility levels and motility scores than sperm diluted in either fresh seminal plasma or a synthetic diluent. The number of sperm with damaged membranes increased with seminal plasma derived from 37°C incubation. The depressive effect of incubated seminal plasma on semen fertility was eliminated by microfiltering .(0.22 μm) the seminal plasma either before or after incubation. Filtration of seminal plasma was only effective in eliminating the depressive effect on sperm motility when filtering was done after incubation. Filtration of seminal plasma reduced the percentage of damaged sperm in all treatments. It can be concluded that there are factors in seminal plasma that are deleterious to the fecundity of chicken spermatozoa and they may be derived from degenerating sperm and/or various fluids, cells and debris collected with the semen during manual semen collection.
Roles of melting equilibria in the processing of high Tc superconductors in the BSCCO system

Three types of liquids were found in the BSCCO system: transient, metastable and stable. The roles of these liquids are discussed; e.g. the role of metastable liquid in the formation of the (Bi,Pb)-2223 phase, applications of the primary phase field, and the effect of oxygen partial pressure and the presence of Ag on melt formation.
Recent trends in high power microwave source research: Multispectral and phase coherent solutions

The development of high power microwave (HPM) sources that can be used in intentional electromagnetic interference (IEMI) applications has matured over the past two decades. The development of fully electromagnetic particle-in-cell codes has revolutionized the source design process. Virtual prototyping has replaced experimental tinkering to streamline the design of sources with new capabilities. This paper reviews recent advances in HPM source capabilities, particularly those with multispectral capabilities. Additionally, the ganging of several sources in a phase coherent manner to achieve a higher power output will also be reviewed. Not intended as a comprehensive review, this paper will highlight recent examples of advances that are representative of both novel capabilities.
Mating relationships within the Collybia dryophila group in Europe

Mating interrelationships of monokaryons derived from 80 collections of the Collybia dryophila group in Europe reveal four intersterile groups (biological species), designated E-I, E-II, E-III and E-IV. Mating within each group is controlled by a bifactorial mating system with multiple alleles. No conspicuous differences in substratum were apparent between the four groups, although some of them may be isolated geographically or temporally (via difference in fruiting season). Reduced mating compatibility between several strains belonging to group E-III may be due to heterogenic incompatibility arising from geographic isolation.