cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mu-Like Prophage Strong Gyrase Site Sequences: Analysis of Properties Required for Promoting Efficient Mu DNA Replication

The bacteriophage Mu genome contains a centrally located strong gyrase site (SGS) that is required for efficient prophage replication. To aid in studying the unusual properties of the SGS, we sought other gyrase sites that might be able to substitute for the SGS in Mu replication. Five candidate sites were obtained by PCR from Mu-like prophage sequences present in Escherichia coli O157:H7 Sakai, Haemophilus influenzae Rd, Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi CT18, and two strains of Neisseria meningitidis. Each of the sites was used to replace the natural Mu SGS to form recombinant prophages, and the effects on Mu replication and host lysis were determined. The site from the E. coli prophage supported markedly enhanced replication and host lysis over that observed with a Mu derivative lacking the SGS, those from the N. meningitidis prophages allowed a small enhancement, and the sites from the Haemophilus and Salmonella prophages gave none. Each of the candidate sites was cleaved specifically by E. coli DNA gyrase both in vitro and in vivo. Supercoiling assays performed in vitro, with the five sites or the Mu SGS individually cloned into a pUC19 reporter plasmid, showed that the Mu SGS and the E. coli or N. meningitidis sequences allowed an enhancement of processive, gyrase-dependent supercoiling, whereas the H. influenzae or Salmonella serovar Typhi sequences did not. While consistent with a requirement for enhanced processivity of supercoiling for a site to function in Mu replication, these data suggest that other factors are also important. The relevance of these observations to an understanding of the function of the SGS is discussed.
Middle-ear development: II. Morphometric changes in the conducting apparatus of the chick

The ontogeny of various middle-ear structures was examined in 11 groups of chicks between 10 days embryonic and adult. Measurements of the tympanic membrane surface area and height, columella length, and that of the columella footplate, annular ligament, and oval window area were obtained using video micrographs and computer digitization techniques. The oval window matures first at 53 days post-hatching, whereas the columella achieves adult size at 74 days. The tympanic membrane surface area is the last middle-ear variable studied to reach adult size (79 days post-hatch). The columella increases its length from 0.63 mm (10 days embryonic) to 2.73 mm in the adult. The tympanic membrane area expands by 280% whereas the columellar footplate area increases by 11x. As a result, the pressure amplification of the middle ear due to the tympanic membrane/columellar footplate area ratio improves by over 400%. These data further contribute to our understanding of the functional development of the middle ear.
Monopole-fermion and dyon-fermion bound states: (IV). Dyon-fermion system with j = |q| − 12 and large κ|q|

Abstract In the first part of the paper, we give analytic, approximate results for dyon-fermion binding energies and wave functions, valid for large values of A = 1 2 Z|eg|κ, where κ is the extra magnetic moment. In the second part, more general results are obtained for the same problem that are valid when either A is large or the binding is weak. Numerical results for the binding energy are tabulated and compared. The case of very strong binding is also discussed.
An invasive plant alters phenotypic selection on the vegetative growth of a native congener

Premise of the study The ecological consequences of plant competition have frequently been tested, but the evolutionary outcomes of these interactions have gone largely unexplored. The study of species invasions can make an important contribution to this field of research by allowing us to watch ecological and evolutionary processes unfold as a novel species is integrated into a plant community. We explored the ecological and evolutionary impact of an invasive jewelweed, Impatiens glandulifera, on a closely related native congener, I. capensis and asked: (1) Does the presence of the invasive jewelweed alter the fitness of native jewelweed populations? (2) Does the invasive jewelweed affect the vegetative growth of the native congener? and (3) Does the invasive jewelweed alter phenotypic selection on the vegetative traits of the native congener? Methods We used a greenhouse competition experiment, an invasive species removal field experiment, and a survey of natural populations. Key results We show that when the invasive jewelweed is present, phenotypic selection favors native jewelweed individuals investing less in rapid upward growth and more in branching and fruiting potential through the production of nodes. Conclusions This research demonstrates that invasive plants have the potential to greatly alter natural selection on native competitors. Studies investigating altered selection in invaded communities can reveal the potential evolutionary impact of invasive competitors, while deepening our understanding of the more general role of competition in driving plant evolution and permitting species coexistence.
Performance of hybrid density functional theory methods toward oxygen electroreduction over platinum

Abstract The performance of a large number of hybrid density functional theory methods is evaluated toward calculating potential-dependent activation energies for uncatalyzed and Pt-catalyzed oxygen reduction and hydroperoxyl oxidation. This reaction is the first step and the rate-determining step in the electrochemical oxygen reduction, which is the cathodic process in electrolyte-based fuel cells. Special focus is put on determining methods that allow results comparable to those previously calculated using MP2 method with the 6-31G(d,p) basis set for O and H and the LANL2DZ basis set for Pt. This level of theory was shown to reproduce well, within the model used here, key features of experimental data. It is found that hybrid density functional theory methods with small (less than 30%) Hartree–Fock exchange contributions give less accurate results mainly due to underestimated calculated activation energies while methods with higher (around 50%) Hartree–Fock exchange contributions give results closer to the target ones. New hybrid density functional theory methods with specific reaction parameters that give superior results are proposed. The best overall performance is found for the method denoted as B1B95-50 in which the Hartree–Fock exchange contribution is half. This method is computationally affordable and offers promise as a reliable method in applications to larger systems.
Postqueer? Examining Tensions Between LGBT Studies and Queer Theory: A Review of LBGT Studies and Queer Theory

This collection of essays, LBGT Studies and Queer Theory: New Conflicts, Collaborations, and Contested Terrain, provides analytical tools from both LGBT studies and queer theory to initiate a postqueer dialogue among scholars, educators, and practitioners. Essays offer a historical perspective and methodologies from specific disciplines to explore the lived experiences of sexual minorities in the United States.
Rapid identification of nonessential genes of herpes simplex virus type 1 by Tn5 mutagenesis

The large genome of herpes simplex virus type of (HSV-1) encodes at least 80 polypeptides, the majority of which have no recognized function. A subgroup of these gene products appears to be nonessential for virus replication in cell culture, but contributes to the complex life cycle of the virus in the host. To identify such functions, a simple insertional mutagenesis method has been used for selective inactivation of individual HSV-1 genes. The bacterial transposon Tn5 was allowed to insert randomly into cloned restriction fragments representing the entire short unique (US) region of the HSV-1 genome. Of the 12 open reading frames that were mutagenized with Tn5, mutant derivatives of US2, US4, and US5 were recombined into the virus. These three genes proved to be nonessential for HSV-1 replication in Vero (African Green monkey kidney) cells and the US4 gene appeared to be involved in viral pathogenesis in the central nervous system of mice. This rapid mutagenesis procedure should prove useful in exploring the entire HSV-1 genome as well as the genomes of other complex animal viruses.
REFLEX SYMPATHETIC DYSTROPHY/CONVERSION DISORDER

Both reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) and conversion disorder are difficult to diagnose and treat. The following article depicts a situation in which diagnosis presents a particular challenge and suggests ways of applying both medicine and psychology in the treatment of this complex problem.
Chemical Syntheses and Biological Studies on Dimeric Chimeras of Oxytocin and the V2-Antagonist, d(CH2)5[d-Ile2,Ile4]arginine Vasopressin‖,∇

Parallel and antiparallel heterodimers have been synthesized that combine into a single molecule the neurohypophyseal hormone oxytocin and the potent vasopressin V(2)-antagonist d(CH(2))(5)[D-Ile(2), Ile(4)]arginine vasopressin. Solid-phase synthesis with N(alpha)-9-fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl (Fmoc) chemistry, featuring appropriate combinations of orthogonal protecting groups for the thiols [S-(N-methyl-N-phenylcarbamoyl)sulfenyl (Snm); S-acetamidomethyl (Acm); S-triphenylmethyl (Trt)], was used to assemble the required linear nonapeptide amide monomer intermediates, which were then brought together in defined ways by solution reactions to provide the two heterodimers. The first disulfide bridge was formed by a directed approach involving attack by the free thiol of the 1-beta-mercapto-beta, beta-cyclopentamethylenepropionic acid (Pmp) residue of one monomer onto the Snm group of a cysteine residue on the other monomer; the inverse directed strategy failed due to steric hindrance. The second disulfide bridge was formed by iodine co-oxidation of Cys(Acm) residues on adjacent chains. Biological studies revealed that both the parallel and antiparallel chimeras lack pressor activity, have low uterotonic activity, and have diuretic activities comparable to that of the monomeric V(2)-antagonist. Sodium excretion depends on experimental conditions. Thus, with a 4% water load, both chimeras display effects similar to that of an equimolar mixture of oxytocin and V(2)-antagonist, i.e., lower sodium excretion than that resulting from administration of oxytocin alone but higher than that when V(2)-antagonist was administered alone. However, when no water load was used, the parallel chimera proved to be more effective in promoting sodium excretion than either oxytocin alone or an equimolar mixture of oxytocin and V(2)-antagonist.
Searching for Emily Hahn on the Streets of St Louis

A surprising number of notable contributors to both highbrow and popular cultural genres were born in St Louis –from writers T. S. Eliot and Kate Chopin, to comedian Dick Gregory and film star Betty Grable, to rocker Chuck Berry and jazz chanteuse Josephine Baker. And yet this metropolis, once the grandest in the Midwest and the fourth largest in the country, has long had an odd sort of inferiority complex, especially vis-a-vis Chicago, the upstart city to the north that also first attracted global attention by holding an international exhibition, in its case the Columbian Exposition of 1893. Many locals now imagine that people in other places, when they think of St Louis at all, view it as a city well past its prime whose only real claim to fame is that it once served as a starting point for journeys toward the Pacific, such as the Lewis and Clark Expedition two hundred years ago. This article draws attention to St Louis author Emily Hahn, who was born here just a year after its World's Fair took place. My interest in this long-lived author, like my interest in cities that had hosted international exhibitions, had a Shanghai connection. (There was also a more local one: her husband, the historian Charles Boxer, once taught at my university and our rare-books library houses both of their papers and manuscripts.) Of the over one-hundred essays Hahn contributed to the New Yorker before passing away in 1997, one of the most famous, 'The Big Smoke', was set in Shanghai, a city she lived in during the 1930s. It certainly has one of her most memorable opening lines: 'Though I had always wanted to be an opium addict, I can't claim that as the reason I went to China.'
Analysis of Bone Counts by Maximum Likelihood

Abstract This paper describes analysis of bone counts by maximum likelihood (abcml), a new statistical method for analysis of bone counts from archaeological sites. It estimates (i) the proportion of the animals in an assemblage contributed by each of several agents of deposition, (ii) the damage from such causes as gnawing by carnivores, and (iii) the number of animals represented in the assemblage. In addition to point estimates, the method provides confidence intervals and measures the goodness of fit of the model to the data. Abcml is evaluated using simulated skeletal part counts and the Hadza pattern of transport. These experiments show that the method yields accurate estimates even with severely damaged assemblages. In contrast to the minimum number of individuals (MNI), which is shown to yield severely biased estimates of the number of individuals in a data set, abcml estimates all its parameters with minimal bias. It is used to consider the hypothesis that the faunal assemblages of Gatecliff and Last Supper caves were deposited by people who transported animal parts in the manner of modern Hadza. Under that hypothesis, the data indicate that both sites are kill–butchery sites rather than home bases. The residuals from this analysis, however, are much larger than they should be. This observation makes it possible to reject the hypothesis that these sites were accumulated by people who behaved in accord with the Hadza small-animal transport model.
β‐Galactoside α2,3‐sialyltransferase‐I gene expression during Th2 but not Th1 differentiation: implications for core2‐glycan formation on cell surface proteins

Biosynthesis of core2 O-glycans on T cell surface glycoproteins is essential for their interactions with selectins expressed by activated endothelium, and may also regulate susceptibility to apoptosis. Beta-galactoside alpha2,3-sialyltransferase-I (ST3Gal-I) is a major inhibitor of core2 O-glycan formation on CD43 and CD45 in naive T cells. Here we show that ST3Gal-I mRNA is extensively expressed during Th2, but not Th1 differentiation. Consistent with this, developing Th1 cells display the non-sialylated core1 galactose (Gal1-3GalNAc-Ser/Thr) and strongly react with peanut agglutinin, while Th2 cells do not. These Th subset differences are also associated with greater expression of the high molecular glycoform of CD43 on the surface of Th1 cells compared with Th2 cells, and similar differences in surface expression of sialyl Lewis-X. We suggest that lack of ST3Gal-I expression in Th1 cells allows the formation of surface core2 O-glycans and supports their interactions with endothelial selectins.
Internal stress effects on fatigue crack initiation at notches

Abstract In this paper the effects of the internal stresses on crack initiation at notches is investigated. Internal stresses are induced by applying two pre-loading cycles at a given load ratio, R = SMIN/SMAX, to the ‘virgin’ notched specimen. After pre-loading, blocks of 106 cycles with a constant nominal stress range, ΔS, slightly larger than the nominal threshold stress range, ΔSth, are applied with increasing minimum stress, SMIN, in each subsequent block until a crack initiates. The lowest SMIN above which a crack initiates is recorded as SIN. The process is repeated for a wide range of positive and negative load ratios in order to obtain SIN/SMAX vs. load ratio curve. This curve for positive load ratios surprisingly resembles the KPR/KMAX plot reported in the literature for a cracked specimen. The results are explained in terms of compressive internal stress and the associated local clamping action at the notch cyclic plastic zone. Both the analytical and finite element calculations show a fairly good agreement with the experimental results.
Hadron spectrum from the lattice

Abstract Considerable progress has been made in the last year in deriving the spectrum from QCD in the quenched approximation. I review these results and show that we are close to getting results with 10% errors for the proton to rho mass ratio. I also present a status report on calculations which include the effect of dynamical fermions. While these calculations are still exploratory, we have reached the stage where realistic simulations can be contemplated.
Notch receptors and hematopoiesis

Notch receptors are involved in a variety of cell-fate decisions that affect the development and function of many organs, including hematopoiesis and the immune system. There are four mammalian Notch receptors that have only partially overlapping functions despite sharing similar structures and ligands. The ligands for Notch are transmembrane proteins expressed on adjacent cells, including Jagged and Delta, and it is quite possible that signaling is bidirectional. A large Notch precursor protein is proteolytically cleaved to form the mature cell-surface receptor. Ligand binding induces additional proteolytic events followed by translocation of the intracellular domain to the nucleus. There, Notch interacts with transcription factors such as RBPJ kappa, activating transcription of basic helix-loop-helix genes such as HES1. These in turn regulate expression of tissue-specific transcription factors that influence lineage commitment and other events. In this review, the details of Notch signaling will be discussed, with a focus on what is known about the role of Notch in hematopoiesis.
Global religion and the re-enchantment of the world: The case of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.

The Catholic Charismatic Renewal movement is a paradigm case for an examination of the globalization of religion. Centred in Rome, but spread throughout the world, it invites reconsideration of centre-periphery and local-global dynamics in the contemporary world system. Working through a small but intriguing body of literature on the movement by ethnographers working independently of one another who have encountered the phenomenon in the field, I trace the international expansion of the movement and compare its local instantiations in India, Brazil and Nigeria. The movement simultaneously invokes contrasting images of universal culture and cultural fragmentation, and raises a series of questions about religion and social class, bodily experience and re-enchantment of the world in a global perspective.
Discrepancies between direct and indirect blood pressure measurements using various recommendations for arm cuff selection.

Objective. The current recommendation for choosing an appropriate size cuff for measuring blood pressure (BP) is a bladder width to equal 40% of the upper arm circumference (UAC). However, most physicians use the older two-thirds or three-fourths upper arm length (UAL) recommendations to choose a cuff. The aim of this study was to verify the disparity in cuff size by using two-thirds UAL, three-fourths UAL, and 40% UAC criteria for cuff selection and to compare the indirectly measured BP by these criteria with directly measured radial intra-arterial BP. Methods. A prospective, cross-sectional, observational study was conducted in 65 hemodynamically stable patients, aged 5 days to 22 years. Direct BP measurements were obtained from a radial intra-arterial catheter. Indirect BP measurements were taken from the same arm as the arterial catheter with a mercury sphygmomanometer and standard-size arm cuffs. UAL and UAC of each patient were measured, and the 3 cuffs closest to two-thirds and three-fourths UAL and 40% UAC were used. For each cuff, 3 direct and 3 indirect BP measurements were taken. Student t test was used to compare mean systolic and diastolic BP for direct and indirect measurements. Results. A total of 172 observations were recorded, including 56 by two-thirds UAL, 55 by three-fourths UAL, and 61 by 40% UAC criteria. There was no significant difference between the means of the ideal cuff size by 40% UAC criterion and the actual cuffs used from the available standard cuffs. However, because of an unavailability of the larger cuffs for UAL criteria, the actual cuffs used were significantly smaller than ideal. Comparison of direct and indirect BP measurements revealed no significant difference in systolic BP when the latter was obtained by 40% UAC criterion. However, the difference in diastolic BP was significant. With available cuffs, a significant difference in systolic as well as diastolic BP was seen with both UAL criteria. Conclusions. Practitioners are likely to use significantly larger arm cuffs when following the two-thirds and three-fourths UAL criteria than when following the 40% UAC criterion. Of the 3 criteria for cuff selection, systolic BP by 40% UAC criterion most accurately reflects directly measured radial arterial pressure. However, the 40% UAC cuff significantly overestimates the diastolic pressure. Using available cuffs for indirect measurements by two-thirds and three-quarters UAL criteria significantly underestimates systolic as well as diastolic BP when compared with radial intra-arterial BP.
Effects of dipyridamole on contractions of the cat's nictitating membrane.

Abstract Contractions of the cat's nictitating membrane produced by intra-arterial injection of adenyl compounds, by acetylcholine, by adrenaline or by noradrenaline were augmented by the previous injection of large doses of dipyridamole, but contractions evoked by nerve stimulation were not affected. Recording of venous flow in the internal jugular vein showed that large doses of dipyridamole increased blood flow in the head and it is concluded that this effect accounts for potentiation of the contractile agents. Dipyridamole selectively potentiated the adenyl compounds in their effects on blood pressure; responses to adrenaline, noradrenaline and acetylcholine were unaffected. Contractions of the membrane produced by ATP were shown to be the result of a direct action on the smooth muscle; no evidence of an action on the superior cervical ganglion was obtained.
Establishing construct validity for Openness-to-Experience in middle childhood: Contributions from personality and temperament

Abstract Controversy exists over the validity of child Openness-to-Experience (OE). To establish construct validity for child OE, data were collected for 346 children (51% girls) aged 9-to-10-years (M = 9.92, SD = 0.83). Parents completed questionnaires about their children’s personality, temperament, and behavioral problems and competencies. Factor analyses of relevant personality and temperament facets revealed a robust OE factor made up of three facets: Intellect, Imagination, and Sensitivity. Evidence for convergent and discriminant validity was established via associations with other personality traits, and behavioral problems and competencies. Results underscore the importance of drawing from both temperament and personality literatures in attempts to establish construct validity for child trait domains as well as examining facet-level associations between OE and child behavior.
Combining triple diagonal forms

Abstract Let R be a Euclidean domain with quotient field F of characteristic not equaling 2. Jacobi showed that every symmetric R-matrix is congruent over R to a matrix in triple diagonal form. Since it is generally not possible to fully diagonalize these matrices, it is of importance to gain as much control as possible of this triple diagonal form. Two different refinements have since been made to Jacobi’s triple diagonal form. This paper works toward combining these refinements.
Large neurohypophysial varicosities amplify action potentials: results from numerical simulations.

Axons in the neurohypophysis are known for their “beads on a string” morphology, with numerous in-line secretory swellings lined up along the axon cable. A significant fraction of these secretory swellings, called Herring bodies, is large enough to serve as an identifying feature of the neural lobe in histological sections. Little is known about the physiological role such large axonal swellings might play in neuroendocrine physiology. Using numerical simulations, we have investigated whether large in-line varicosities affect the waveform and propagation of action potentials (APs) along neurohypophysial axons. Due to the strong nonlinear dependence of calcium influx on AP waveforms, such modulation would inevitably affect neuroendocrine release. The parameters for our numerical simulations were matched to established properties of voltage-gated ion channels in neurohypophysial swellings. We find that even a single in-line varicosity can severely depress AP waveforms far upstream in the axonal cable. In co...
Microstructural changes in SmCo5 caused by oxygen, sinter-annealing and thermal aging

Abstract The solubility of oxygen in SmCo 5 at 1125 °C (sintering temperature) in excess of the 800 °C solubility was determined to be 3500 ± 500 ppm. The source of oxygen during sintering is the samarium oxide subscale. Submicron oxide particles precipitate within SmCo 5 grains on cooling from the sintering temperature. Oxidation also causes depletion of samarium and precipitation of Sm 2 Co 17 particles within SmCo 5 grains. Both inclusions may be sources of domain wall nucleation. The oxide inclusions can be removed by a thermal aging treatment that collects the oxide into a few large grains outside the SmCo 5 grains by a solution/reprecipitation mechanism involving grain boundary transport of samarium. The Sm 2 Co 17 inclusions are not affected by thermal aging, but they can be prevented from occurring by including excess samarium in the sintered compact to replenish samarium lost by oxidation.
Dose-volume-based IMRT fluence optimization: A fast least-squares approach with differentiability

In intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for cancer treatment, the most commonly used metric for treatment prescriptions and evaluations is the so-called dose-volume constraint (DVC). These DVCs induce much needed flexibility but also non-convexity into the fluence optimization problem, which is an important step in the IMRT treatment planning. Currently, the models of choice for fluence optimization in clinical practice are weighted least-squares models. When DVCs are directly incorporated into the objective functions of least-squares models, these objective functions become not only non-convex but also non-differentiable. This non-differentiability is a problem when software packages designed for minimizing smooth functions are routinely applied to these non-smooth models in commercial IMRT planning systems. In this paper, we formulate and study a new least-squares model that allows a monotone and differentiable objective function. We devise a greedy approach for approximately solving the resulting optimization problem. We report numerical results on several clinical cases showing that, compared to a widely used existing model, the new approach is capable of generating clinically relevant plans at a much faster speed. This improvement can be more than one-order of magnitude for some large-scale problems.
Susceptibility of the fat reserves of mice to natural challenges.

Many small rodents living in the wild neither store food nor forage during the daytime. Thus they can feed only at night. Imposing this restriction upon young female laboratory mice maintained at 22°C yields a dramatic daily cycle in their fat stores. Energy is rapidly stored as fat while feeding, and then rapidly utilized during the non-feeding period. Almost one-third of the extractable whole body fat is lost during a 14 hour non-feeding period. Less fat is stored while feeding at 11°C. Thus missing a single feeding period at this cooler temperature results in a total depletion of fat stores. In an ultimate sense then, the daily challenge of surviving with such a paucity of fat reserves probably presents as great a problem to the small mammal as does the thermoregulatory cost of small body size itself. Strategies for solving this problem apparently vary immensely from population to population and from locale to locale.
Versatile Method for Evaluating a Cell Culture by Various Morphological Techniques

Cellulose acetate is a versatile material for evaluating cells grown under identical conditions by various morphological techniques. This inexpensive material is transparent, easily cut to size and shape, nontoxic to cell cultures, and resistant to most chemicals used in histochemistry and in scanning and transmission electron microscopy. Samples may be obtained during and after the culture process. Cellulose acetate slides can be mounted directly over glass slides for direct observation and are easily peeled off plastic blocks for electron microscopy, leaving the cells behind. Relative disadvantages include its autofluorescence and a tendency to soften in strong acids or pure solutions of organic solvents such as xylene and propylene oxide.
Photoassociative spectroscopy of ultracold 39K atoms in a high-density vapor-cell magneto-optical trap.

We have performed photoassociative spectroscopy of ultracold potassium atoms in a high-density vapor-cell magneto-optical trap (MOT) in which atoms are confined predominantly in "dark" hyperfine levels that do not interact with the trapping light. Three well-resolved vibrational series (one strong and two weak) of the $^{39}\mathrm{K}_{2}$ molecule are observed within 8 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ below the $4^{2}P_{\frac{3}{2}}$ atomic limit. One of the series is identified as the ${0}_{g}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ pure long-range state and the other two are assigned to the ${0}_{u}^{+}$ and ${1}_{g}$ states. These photoassociative spectra are obtained by measuring reductions in the trap fluorescence due to trap loss induced by an intense photoassociation laser. By using a vapor-cell-dark MOT technique, we achieve atomic densities greater than ${10}^{11}$ ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$, increasing our trap loss signals by an order of magnitude compared to a normal MOT.
Transient Natural Convection From a Vertically Embedded Heat Source in a Thermally Stratified Porous Layer

Numerical results are presented for transient natural convection from a heat source vertically embedded in a saturated porous layer. The porous layer is initially thermally stratified with a negative temperature gradient. The effects of the source strength and its buried depth on the penetration of convective flows are investigated. The results, which include the buoyancy-induced flow patterns and temperature profiles, as well as the heat transfer coefficient in terms of the Nusselt number, are presented for a wide range of base Rayleigh number and stratification parameter. The results thus obtained have important implications for applications in geothermal energy and underground disposal of nuclear wastes.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
The development of pH and pCO2 microelectrodes for studying the carbonate chemistry of pore waters near the sediment-water interface

We made stable and rapid-responding pH and pC0, microelectrodes. The pH microelectrode has a - 100~pm-diameter half-sphere bulb tip of pH glass, and the pC0, sensor has a 200-300~pm-diameter silicone-membrane covered tip. Because the pH microelectrodes have electrical resistances that arc > 1Oro ohms, all clcctrical connections arc kept scrupulously clean and dry to prevent current leakage during in situ measurements. Suspension effects arc negligible when measuring pH in marine sediments. To demonstrate the performance of the pH and pC0, microelectrodes, WC report in situ microprofiles of pH and pC0, and contiguous profiles of 0, and the formation factor from coastal sediment in San Diego Bay, California. A sharp pH decrease from 7.90 to 7.15 (seawater scale) and a pC0, increase from 578 to 3,000 patm in the top 1 cm of scdimcnt arc interpreted to be primarily the result of HS , Fe2 I , and Mn2 + oxidation by 0, rather than metabolic CO, production. The 02, pH, and pC0, profiles also reveal that there was photosynthetic activity in the top 2 mm of sediment which caused an 0, maximum and a total dissolved inorganic carbon minimum. The early diagenesis of organic C and carbonate C is concentrated at the sediment-water interface. Consequently, considerable effort has been expended to obtain reliable porc-watcr profiles of inorganic C species across this interface. Traditional techniques for extracting pore water from cores introduce pressure and processing artifacts, such as CaCO, precipitation and CO,(g) loss (Gicskes 1973; Murray ct al. 1980). Harpoon-style in situ samplers were designed to remove the pressure artifacts, but the vertical spatial resolution of these samplers is usually poor (3-5 cm), and they may disturb the uppermost sediment layer (Say& et al. 1976; Murray et al. 1980). Recently, whole-core squeezers were developed to provide fine-scale pore-water samples, but in situ squeezing has not yet been reported, and carbonate equilibria may be changed as pore wa
A statistical description of coagulation

Abstract A type of statistical description of a coagulating particle system in which a self-preserving size distribution can exist is described. The approach is based on simple conservation equations and the principle of maximum entropy. The significance of the results and their limitations are interpreted within the framework of statistical mechanics and information theory. It is found that the distributions derived from this approach agree surprisingly well with the solutions obtained from direct numerical methods.
Impact of Self-Heating on Frequency Response of Current Mirrors in Bipolar Technology

This paper presents analytical formulations to characterize the frequency domain nonideal effects due to dynamic self-heating in current mirrors designed on silicon-on-insulator bipolar process technology. This analysis shows that the thermally induced "zero-pole doublet" in the transfer function of the output impedance of current mirrors can show peaking in the frequency response, near the thermal cutoff frequency unless design constraints are imposed. Analytical expressions of output impedance, Zo(s), for the most prevalent current mirrors are derived incorporating thermal effects, and design recommendations are proposed to mitigate such effects. The effects of dynamic self-heating have been demonstrated through simulations in current mirrors using the Vertical Bipolar Inter-Company (VBIC) model in the SPECTRE simulator. The simulation result agrees within 10.0% with the theoretical model.
Reliability and operations: Keys to lumpy aircraft spare parts demands

This study provides unique new insights into the reasons for lumpy aircraft spare parts demands, and identifies opportunities to improve the regularity of aircraft spares demands. The study develops its unique insights into aircraft spare parts demands by considering the typical failure probability distribution (Weibull Distribution) for aircraft spare parts. The study identifies the range of Weibull model parameters that explain typical aircraft part failure rates, and uses these parameters to perform a Monte Carlo simulation of notional aircraft components in typical aircraft fleet sizes and operations. Each notional component is repeatedly used to failure and replaced, providing a simulated spare part demand rate. The data is evaluated to uncover patterns that allow a deeper understanding of how reliability and operational input factors impact the spare part demand characteristics. The study finds that the aircraft fleet size has the greatest impact on the lumpiness of aircraft spare parts demands. The study also recommends other measures that fleet managers may take to reduce the lumpiness of their spares demands.
Epithelial and connective tissue changes in periodontitis.

T H E LOSS OF STRUCTURE and function of the gingiva and alveolar bone in gingivitis and periodontitis, respectively, appears to be in part a reactive process generating gamma globulin producing cells. Oral microorganisms strongly are suspected as the causative agents. Gingivitis appears and disappears with the appearance and disappearance of the dental plaque. 2 Endotoxins released by dental plaque are capable of activating the reticulo endothelial system and increase antibody production. The bacterial cell wall mucopolysaccharides may contribute to gingivitis as they are known to induce necrotic skin lesions. Bacteria taken from the pockets in periodontitis were shown to bind the connective tissue in histologic sections of the gingiva. Fragments of sonified streptococci were shown to bind more intensely to sections of gingivitis than to normal gingiva indicating the presence of specific globulins. The globulins produced by the plasma cells in the oral mucosa include gamma A , G and M . 7 , 8
Groups of galaxies.

I would like to report on some work that Ed Turner and I have done on groups of galaxies and how groups may be used to obtain useful cosmological information. Of course the classic study of groups of galaxies was done by de Vaucouleurs (1975) who made a catalogue of groups and loose associations of galaxies in the local supercluster. Partly to obtain a larger sample of groups with uniform and well defined statistical properties and partly to obtain a sample of denser groups suitable for virial analysis, Ed Turner and I decided to make a new catalogue of groups of galaxies based on picking the groups as surface density enhancements in the Zwicky catalogue (Turner and Gott 1976) (TGI).
Crisis, Charisma, and Consequences: Evidence from the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election

We investigate how conditions of crisis affect perceptions of charisma and how these, in turn, affect blame attribution and self-sacrificial behavior. Our data are from a 2004 experimental study that preceded the U.S. presidential election, in which we manipulated concerns of a terrorist attack. The results show that those in the Crisis condition rated Bush higher on perceptions of charisma compared to those in the Good Times condition. The Crisis condition also directly and indirectly, via perceptions of charisma, affected whether Bush was blamed for failures in Iraq and our subjects' willingness to sacrifice their personal resources for his candidacy.
Somatic vs. dendritic responses to hypercapnia in chemosensitive locus coeruleus neurons from neonatal rats.

Cardiorespiratory control is mediated in part by central chemosensitive neurons that respond to increased CO2 (hypercapnia). Activation of these neurons is thought to involve hypercapnia-induced de...
Proteolysis as a measure of the free energy difference between cytochrome c and its derivatives

Limited cleavage of oxidized and reduced horse heart cytochrome c (Cyt c) and the azide complex of Cyt c by proteinase K at room temperature yields a single cut within the central loop (36-60 in the sequence). Using an assay that allows spectroscopic evaluation of the fraction of intact protein as a function of time, together with a simple kinetic model for proteolysis, fluctuation opening of the loop can be related to the free energy of the corresponding protein. This allows us to estimate quantitatively the free energy difference between the oxidized form of Cyt c and other states using proteolysis as a probe. The results we obtain indicate that oxidized Cyt c is 2.0 kcal mol(-1) less stable than the reduced form, and 0.07 kcal mol(-1) is more stable than the Cyt c: azide complex at 25 degrees C. These values agree in magnitude with results from hydrogen exchange and unfolding studies, suggesting that the stability of a protein can be directly related to its structural dynamics.
Depressed inotropic state and reduced myocardial oxygen consumption in the human heart

Abstract The relation between myocardial oxygen uptake (MVO 2 ) and the mechanical properties of left ventricular contraction were studied in 14 patients with and without left ventricular dysfunction. Coronary blood flow was estimated by helium washout, and left ventricular inotropic state was characterized from the mean left ventricular circumferential fiber shortening velocity in the minor equator (mean V CF ) and the value at peak tension (V CF at max T). Ten patients with left ventricular dysfunction whose mean V CF values were less than 1 circumference/sec were compared with patients whose mean V CF values fell within the normal range. Patients with depressed shortening velocity had lower than normal average coronary blood tlow values (53 ± 3 vs. 70 ± 3 ml/100 g per min, respectively, P 2 (75 ± 5 vs. 120 ± 6 μl/100 g per beat, P 2 . However, mean V CF and V CF at max T correlated significantly with MVO 2 ( r = 0.63, P
Quasi-simultaneous acquisition of nine secondary ions with seven detectors on NanoSIMS50L: application to biological samples

We employed a method of electrostatic peak switching allowing for the quasi-simultaneous measurement of 16O, 18O, C2H, C2D,12C14N, 13C14N, 12C15N, P, and S with the NanoSIMS 50L instrument to derive ratios for D/H, 13C/12C, 18O/16O, and 15N/14N from biological samples. This approach involves two steps: (i) derivation of the D/H ratio from measurements of C2D and C2H and (ii) switching of the voltage on deflection plates located in front of two detectors. The method is reliable and easy to set up compared with the magnetic peak-switching mode usually used to perform this type of analysis.
Job Satisfaction and Women's Spheres of Work

Job satisfaction for women workers is traditionally researched from the job-gender model in which sex roles generate the research framework. Women employed in the labor market are viewed as responding primarily to the confines of sex roles, as opposed to the structural rewards and constraints of the labor market itself. We reexamined earlier studies that found no effect of the labor market on job satisfaction for women. Reanalysis of the 1972–1973 Quality of Employment national survey revealed significantly different levels of job satisfaction, which are in part structured by the characteristics of the labor market sectors in which women and men work. Women working in labor market sectors that are predominantly male or have a balanced proportion of male and female workers jobs have high job satisfaction. This job satisfaction is predicted almost exclusively by their perceptions of fewer income problems, flexibility of hours, and use of job skills. Factors related to maternity benefits and leaves are related only marginally to job satisfaction for women workers in either labor market sector. Women in predominantly female sectors of the labor market have similarly high job satisfaction scores, but these are related to a wider cluster of factors, including fewer perceived income problems, skills, and challenge factors, as well as the socioemotional rewards of their work. This pattern is most similar to males who work in predominantly male sectors. In contrast, males who work in predominantly female or gender-proportionate jobs have significantly lower job satisfaction scores, even after controling for income issues and other benefits. Labor market sectors and the rewards available within them are important structural dimensions of job satisfaction for women and men employees.
Incidence and costs of acute medical conditions in long-stay incontinent nursing home residents.

Objectives To determine the incidence of acute medical conditions in incontinent nursing home residents, and associated costs of diagnostic testing and treatment Design Prospective, cohort study. Setting Three community nursing homes. Participants 161 long-stay residents with urinary incontinence in (mean age 86 years, 77% female, 92% white). Measurements Acute medical conditions were identified prospectively through medical record review based on standardized criteria. All diagnostic testing and treatment provided for these conditions were recorded, and related costs in the nursing home were assigned based on 1997–1998 Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement. Results The highest incidences of illness were for dermatological conditions (107 episodes per 1000 patient-weeks, involving 70% of subjects), respiratory illnesses (29 per 1000 patient-weeks, 47% of subjects) and gas-trointestinal illnesses (24 per 1000 patient-weeks, 36% of subjects). Among episodes with an incidence of at least 5 per 1000 patient-weeks, the illness events with the highest median diagnostic testing and treatment costs per episode were pneumonia, acute bronchitis, and depression. Only 42 out of the total 1071 episodes identified resulted in a hospitalization. Significant predictors of higher illness incidence included greater baseline comorbidity and higher number of routine medications (model adjusted R-square = 0.319, P = 0.021). Conclusion Acute illness is very common among incontinent nursing home residents, and is generally diagnosed and treated at the nursing home site, with variation among conditions in associated costs. Important policy implications include resource allocation (including appropriate staffing patterns), educational and quality improvement activities, and future research and guideline development for the optimal management of medical conditions in the nursing home setting.
Evaluating the sufficiency of protected lands for maintaining wildlife population connectivity in the U.S. northern Rocky Mountains

Aim: The goal of this study was to evaluate the sufficiency of the network of protected lands in the U.S. northern Rocky Mountains in providing protection for habitat connectivity for 105 hypothetical organisms. A large proportion of the landscape falls into one of several categories of protected lands. However, protected lands in the region are primarily higher elevation forest and mountain habitats. Little is known about how the network of protected lands may maintain connectivity for a broad spectrum of species expressing different habitat requirements and dispersal abilities. Location: The study was conducted across the states of Montana and northern Idaho, USA, comprising an area of 30.2 million hectares. Methods: We used resistant kernel modelling to map the extent of the study area predicted to be connected by dispersal for each of 35 species groups with different ecological associations. We evaluated the effect of vagility on protected area sufficiency by varying dispersal ability across three levels for each species group. We evaluated the degree of vulnerability of each of the 105 hypothetical species (35 species groups · 3 dispersal abilities) in terms of the extent of the total study area predicted to be connected by dispersal. We defined nine categories of risk as the combination of species vulnerability because of the extent of connected habitat and the degree to which that habitat was protected. Results: We found high variation in the vulnerability of species because of the extent of connected habitat, and the extent to which connected habitat overlapped protected lands. Species associated with high elevations and species associated with lower elevations were predicted to have limited extent of connected habitat. Species associated with high elevations were predicted to have the vast majority of their connected habitat protected by federal Forest Service and National Park Service lands. In contrast, species associated with lower elevations were poorly protected by the existing network of protected lands. Main conclusions: Low elevation and non-forest habitats are at highest risk of human-induced habitat loss and fragmentation in the study area. Conservation efforts in the region may be most effective if they focus on expanding the network of lower elevation protected lands in such a way that maximizes connectivity across the landscape.