cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Diagnosis of cystic fibrosis during adolescence.

The manifestations of cystic fibrosis (CF) may be minimal, absent, or overlooked during childhood, thus 8–10% of cases are diagnosed during adolescence. Between 1970 and 1982, 14/157 (8.9%) patients were diagnosed as having CF as teenagers, based on clinical findings and elevated sweat electrolyte levels. Of these 14 patients ( X¯ = 15 years, range=12–20 years), 50% had pulmonary and gastrointestinal symptoms dating from childhood; 50% became symptomatic during adolescence (primarily with pulmonary manifestations). None had a family history of CF. Four had false-negative sweat tests resulting in a mean diagnostic delay of 7.3 years. Because of the potential long-term complications of CF on physical maturation, completion of the psychosocial tasks of adolescence, adaptation to a chronic illness, and issues of sexuality and fertility, consideration of this diagnosis is crucial.
Effect of Hydrogen on Thin Cu/Ti and Cu Films

Thin films of Cu and Cu on Ti were prepared by sputtering films onto SiO2 substrates. The films were annealed at temperatures between 350 and 400°C in vacuum and hydrogen ambiente. The stress was measured in-situ during the anneals. The stress in vacuum initially was compressive, then became tensile and remained so. The stress in hydrogen started in compression and remained so throughout the anneal. The origin of these stresses is explained as a result of compound formation. In vacuum anneals, TiCu forms during the compressive stage with an activation energy of 1.7 eV, then TiCu3 forms during the tensile stage with an activation energy of 2.5 eV. In hydrogen, a single compound, TiH2, forms under the Cu with an activation energy of 0.93 eV. Studies on the Cu films indicate that hydrogen reduces the incremental stress formed in the films during annealing. A possible explanation is presented for the stress change in that hydrogen has been shown to assist in annealing dislocations. Experimental evidence of an instantaneous change in the stress state upon the introduction of a new ambient is also presented.
Electrophoresis and immunoelectrophoresis in an agar gel-paper medium☆

Abstract The electrophoresis and immunodiffusion steps for an open, atmospheric-un-equilibrated system in dilute agar gel on vegetable parchment paper has been described. Studies were carried out on resolution and precipitin identification. Figures showing the attempt to identify individual components of serum were presented.
Patient case study: in the case of Miss Christine

Young stroke survivors often return to the community for ongoing recovery and reintegration. Their needs are somewhat different than their older counterparts, and they can be easily lost in the complex health care system of specialty and primary care services. This young woman and her outpatient rehabilitation providers exemplify some problems encountered and the persistent, caring, and successful work that teams can accomplish to maximize ongoing recovery.
Visual feature selectivity in frontal eye fields induced by experience in mature macaques

When examining a complex image, the eye movements of expert observers differ from those of novices; experts have learned to ignore features that are visually salient but are not relevant to the interpretation of the image. We have studied the neural basis of this form of perceptual-motor learning using monkeys that have learned to search for a visual target among distractors. Monkeys trained to search only for, say, a red stimulus among green distractors will ignore green stimuli even if they subsequently appear as targets in a complementary search array, that is, among red distractors. We recorded from neurons in the frontal eye field (FEF), a cortical area that responds to visual stimuli and controls purposive eye movements. Normally, FEF neurons do not exhibit feature selectivity, but their activity evolves to signal the target for an incipient eye movement. In monkeys trained exclusively on targets of one colour, however, FEF neurons show selectivity for stimuli of that colour. Because this selective response occurs so soon after presentation of the stimulus array, and is independent of location within the visual field, we propose that it reflects a form of experience-dependent plasticity that mediates the learning of arbitrary stimulus-response associations.
Nematicidal activity of two monoterpenoids and SER-2 tyramine receptor of Caenorhabditis elegans.

Abstract In vitro cultures of two nematodes ( Caenorhabditis elegans and Ascaris suum ) were established to study the nematicidal activity of three monoterpenoids (thymol, carvacrol and p -cymene). Toxicity of thymol and carvacrol was found for the two nematodes tested. The study was then aimed to address whether nematode tyramine receptor (TyrR) could interact with the two compounds by using HEK293 mammalian cells transfected with a C. elegans TyrR (ser-2) sequence, in hope of developing a high-throughput cell-based platform for future screening of new antihelminthic compounds. SER-2 expression and functionality in the transfected cells was first confirmed by green fluorescent protein tagging, competitive receptor binding, intracellular cyclic AMP, and intracellular calcium [Ca 2+ ] i mobilization assays. Thymol and carvacrol were then tested and demonstrated to interact with TyrR in desensitizing SER-2 for tyramine activation in [Ca 2+ ] i mobilization assay, and in translocating SER-2 from membrane to cytoplasm in receptor internalization assay. Receptor internalization activity of thymol and carvacrol was significantly blocked in cells expressing mutant SER-2 with the S210A/S214A double mutations, thus confirming specificity of the interactions. In summary, the current study showed that the nematicidal activity of thymol and carvacrol might be mediated through TyrR as the two compounds could trigger the signaling cascade downstream from the receptor in cells expressing wild-type but not a mutant SER-2. The TyrR-expressing cell system may prove to be a good screening platform for developing new antihelmintic compounds that may overcome parasite drug resistance, especially when such chemicals are used in combination with commercial drugs.
Developments in resistance welding

A survey of the recent developments that have given resistance welding its present importance in high-speed industrial production
The macromolecular properties of peanut agglutinin

Abstract The dependence upon solution conditions of the quaternary structure and gross conformation of peanut agglutinin was examined by sedimentation equilibrium, sedimentation velocity, gel chromatography, and circular dichroism. At pH 8, the protein exists as a compactly folded tetramer of molecular weight 98,000. Between pH 4.75 and pH 3.0, the molecular reversibly dissociates to a (still globular) dimer. In the presence of denaturants such as SDS or guanidinium chloride, the protein dissociates to its four equal-sized constituents polypeptide chains. The circular dichroic spectrum of peanut lectin exhibits changes in the near ultraviolet upon binding of lactose, whereas the far ultraviolet spectrum remains unchanged. Dissociation to the dimeric state produces subtle changes in both the near and far ultraviolet circular dichroic spectrum.
Experimenting with the automatic assignment of educational standards to digital library content

This paper describes exploratory research concerning the automatic assignment of educational standards to lesson plans. An information retrieval based solution was proposed, and the results of several experiments are discussed. Results suggest the optimal solution would be a recommender tool where catalogers receive suggestions from the system but humans make the final decision.
Enzyme characterization studies on the rate-limiting barrier in rabbit buccal mucosa

Abstract In the present study, hyaluronidase, neuraminidase, chondroitinase ABC, heparinase, heparitinase, and trypsin were used to help characterize components of the rate-limiting barrier, i.e., upper epithelial cell layers, of rabbit buccal mucusa. Visualization of horseradish peroxidase permeability and quantitative measurements of glycerol, choline, and salicylic acid permeability, in the presence and absence of enzymes, were employed to evaluate the enzyme's effect on the tissue. The results indicate that the ability of an enzyme to alter the permeability of a diffusing solute through buccal mucosa appears to depend on the chemical properties of the solute itself. Moreover, it appears that protein as well as chondroitin sulfate and dermatan sulfate are important constituents, i.e., large amounts and/or most accessible, of the rate-limiting barrier of rabbit buccal mucosa.
Probability based power aware error resilient coding

Error resilient encoding in video communication is becoming increasingly important due to data transmission over unreliable channels. In this paper, we propose a new power-aware error resilient coding scheme based on network error probability and user expectation in video communication using mobile handheld devices. By considering both image content and network conditions, we can achieve a fast recoverable and energy-efficient error resilient coding scheme. More importantly, our approach allows system designers to evaluate various operating points in terms of error resilient level and energy consumption over a wide range of system operating conditions. We have implemented our scheme on an H.263 video codec algorithm, compared it with the previous AIR, GOP and PGOP coding schemes, and measured energy consumption and video quality on the IPAQ and Zaurus PDAs. Our experimental results show that our approach reduces energy consumption by 34%, 24% and 17% compared with AIR, GOP and PGOP schemes respectively, while incurring only a small fluctuation in the compressed frame size. In addition, our experimental results prove that our approach allows faster error recovery than the previous AIR, GOP and PGOP approaches. We believe our error resilient coding scheme is therefore eminently applicable for video communication on energy-constrained wireless mobile handheld devices.
The role of ecodevelopmental context and self-concept in depressive and externalizing symptoms in Hispanic adolescents

The present study examined the extent to which self-concept is related to depressive and externalizing symptoms in Hispanic adolescents, in the presence of contextual variables. A sample of 167 Hispanic adolescents and their primary caregivers completed measures of family functioning, and of school bonding and competence. Adolescents completed measures of self-concept and peer antisocial behavior. Reports of depressive symptoms were gathered from adolescents only, whereas reports of externalizing symptoms were gathered from both adolescents and parents. Self-concept was directly and negatively related to adolescent reports of both depressive and externalizing symptoms, but not to parent reports of externalizing problems. The relationships of school bonding and peer antisocial behavior to adolescent-reported adjustment appeared to operate through self-concept, and the strong bivariate relationships of adolescent-reported family functioning to adolescent-reported adjustment appeared to operate through school bonding and self-concept. Implications for further research and for intervention are discussed.
Increased Severity of Local and Systemic Anaphylactic Reactions in Gp49b1-Deficient Mice

gp49B1 is an immunoglobulin (Ig) superfamily member that inhibits FceRI-induced mast cell activation when the two receptors are coligated with antibodies in vitro. The critical question of in vivo function of gp49B1 is now addressed in gene-disrupted mice. gp49B1-deficient mice exhibited a significantly increased sensitivity to IgE-dependent passive cutaneous anaphylaxis as assessed by greater tissue swelling and mast cell degranulation in situ. Importantly, by the same criteria, the absence of gp49B1 also resulted in a lower threshold for antigen challenge in active cutaneous anaphylaxis, in which the antigen-specific antibody levels were comparable in gp49B1-deficient and sufficient mice. Moreover, the absence of gp49B1 resulted in a significantly greater and faster death rate in active systemic anaphylaxis. These results indicate that gp49B1 innately dampens adaptive immediate hypersensitivity responses by suppressing mast cell activation in vivo. In addition, this study provides a new concept and target for regulation of allergic disease susceptibility and severity.
INFLUENCE OF ADRENERGIC RECEPTORS ON BLOOD SUGAR AND LACTIC ACID LEVELS IN THE RAT.

Six treatment combinations were compared for their production of blood sugar and lactic acid in rats. The challenging drugs—saline, epinephrine, and levarterenolisoproterenol combined—were tested against saline (without adrenergic blockers) and against DCI combined with hydergine. Epinephrine and levarterenol-isoproterenol, the challenging amines, were both effective in increasing the production of blood sugar and lactic acid. The adrenergic blockade produced by DCI combined with hydergine was effective in inhibiting both hyperglycemia and hyperlacticacidemia. Since a specific blockade of both α and β adrenergic receptors prevented the glycogenolytic effects of epinephrine and levarterenol-isoproterenol, it is concluded that this effect is mediated through these receptors.
Prognostic Value of Ocular Trauma Scores in Patients With Combined Open Globe Injuries and Facial Fractures.

Purpose To assess the prognostic value of the Ocular Trauma Score in patients with combined open globe injuries and facial fractures. Design Retrospective cohort study. Methods A comprehensive chart review was conducted on 25 patients (28 eyes) identified from the Elmhurst City Hospital Trauma Registry between January 1, 2000 and June 30, 2012. Elmhurst City Hospital is a level 1 trauma center located in Elmhurst, New York, USA. Results Average age was 52 (range 18–88) and patients were predominantly male (84%). The majority of patients had an Ocular Trauma Score of 1 (87.5%), and of these patients, 76% and 14% had final visual acuities of no light perception (NLP) and light perception/hand motion (LP/HM), respectively. These corresponded to 74% and 15% predicted by the original Ocular Trauma Score guidelines (100% sensitive and 100% specific). Ocular Trauma Score of 1 was associated with zone 3 eye wound location ( P = .02). Independent of Ocular Trauma Score, initial visual acuity and frontal bone fractures were predictive of NLP ( P = .006 and P = .047). Nonblindness was associated with nasal bone fractures ( P = .047). Conclusion This study validates the use of the Ocular Trauma Score in patients with combined facial fracture and open globe injury. The presence of facial fractures does not appear to influence visual prognosis for open globe injuries with an Ocular Trauma Score of 1. In the absence of data to calculate a full Ocular Trauma Score, initial visual acuity was the strongest predictor of final visual outcome.
Quantitative Analysis of Bidding Strategies: A Hybrid Agent Based-System Dynamics Approach

Economic slowdown and construction demand shrinkage reduces the profit backlog for construction contractors and bites into their profit margin. The resulting fierce competition for jobs forces construction companies to look for more sophisticated analytical tools to analyze and improve their bidding strategies. For each contractor, bidding strategy is a decision-making process that is driven by the firm’s financial goals with the final objective of maximizing the firm’s gross profit and surpassing the breakeven point. This paper proposes a methodology to model and analyze different bidding strategies with hybrid agent based-system dynamics (ABSD) simulation. To capture the winning ratio of different bidding strategies, two generic types of agents are defined: “Regular” contractors, for whom the markup calculation process is only an internal decision; and “Learning” contractors, who, as adaptive agents, gradually enhance their prediction capabilities with learning mechanisms. The results of demonstrative simulations based on the proposed methodology show that the learning capability of a construction firm can effectively improve its bid-hit ratio and financial performance.
The pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea can directly acquire organic nitrogen and short-circuit the inorganic nitrogen cycle.

Background: Despite the large stocks of organic nitrogen in soil, nitrogen availability limits plant growth in many terrestrial ecosystems because most plants take up only inorganic nitrogen, not organic nitrogen. Although some vascular plants can assimilate organic nitrogen directly, only recently has organic nitrogen been found to contribute significantly to the nutrient budget of any plant. Carnivorous plants grow in extremely nutrient-poor environments and carnivory has evolved in these plants as an alternative pathway for obtaining nutrients. We tested if the carnivorous pitcher plant Sarracenia purpurea could directly take up intact amino acids in the field and compared uptake of organic and inorganic forms of nitrogen across a gradient of nitrogen deposition. We hypothesized that the contribution of organic nitrogen to the nitrogen budget of the pitcher plant would decline with increasing nitrogen deposition. Methodology and Principal Findings: At sites in Canada (low nitrogen deposition) and the United States (high nitrogen deposition), individual pitchers were fed two amino acids, glycine and phenylalanine, and inorganic nitrogen (as ammonium nitrate), individually and in mixture. Plants took up intact amino acids. Acquisition of each form of nitrogen provided in isolation exceeded uptake of the same form in mixture. At the high deposition site, uptake of organic nitrogen was higher than uptake of inorganic nitrogen. At the low deposition site, uptake of all three forms of nitrogen was similar. Completeness of the associated detritus-based food web that inhabits pitcher-plant leaves and breaks down captured prey had no effect on nitrogen uptake. Conclusions and Significance: By taking up intact amino acids, Sarracenia purpurea can short-circuit the inorganic nitrogen cycle, thus minimizing potential bottlenecks in nitrogen availability that result from the plant’s reliance for nitrogen mineralization on a seasonally reconstructed food web operating on infrequent and irregular prey capture.
ACE-Asia intercomparison of a thermal-optical method for the determination of particle-phase organic and elemental carbon.

A laboratory intercomparison of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) measurements of atmospheric particulate matter samples collected on quartz filters was conducted among eight participants of the ACE-Asia field experiment. The intercomparison took place in two stages: the first round of the intercomparison was conducted when filter samples collected during the ACE-Asia experiment were being analyzed for OC and EC, and the second round was conducted after the ACE-Asia experiment and included selected samples from the ACE-Asia experiment. Each participant operated ECOC analyzers from the same manufacturer and utilized the same analysis protocol for their measurements. The precision of OC measurements of quartz fiber filters was a function of the filter's carbon loading but was found to be in the range of 4−13% for OC loadings of 1.0−25 μg of C cm^(-2). For measurements of EC, the precision was found to be in the range of 6−21% for EC loadings in the range of 0.7−8.4 μg of C cm^(-2). It was demonstrated for three ambient samples, four source samples, and three complex mixtures of organic compounds that the relative amount of total evolved carbon allocated as OC and EC (i.e., the ECOC split) is sensitive to the temperature program used for analysis, and the magnitude of the sensitivity is dependent on the types of aerosol particles collected. The fraction of elemental carbon measured in wood smoke and an extract of organic compounds from a wood smoke sample were sensitive to the temperature program used for the ECOC analysis. The ECOC split for the three ambient samples and a coal fly ash sample showed moderate sensitivity to temperature program, while a carbon black sample and a sample of secondary organic aerosol were measured to have the same split of OC and EC with all temperature programs that were examined.
Using rate monotonic scheduling technology for real-time communications in a wormhole network

The demand for systems with predictable communication delays is growing as the number of applications for real-time systems expands. We present a design for guaranteeing deadline constraints for real-time communications in a wormhole network. An important feature of the design is that it requires few changes to current wormhole networks that support logical channels. The design approach applies rate monotonic scheduling technology to wormhole networks, which allows us to verify whether an assignment of real-time traffic can have deadlines guaranteed. We provide a tool that analyzes the feasibility of real-time traffic assignments, which aids designers who develop applications that use real-time communication features of a wormhole network. >
Receptor for advanced glycation end product (RAGE)-dependent modulation of early growth response-1 in hepatic ischemia/reperfusion injury

Background/Aims We previously showed that blockade of RAGE significantly attenuates hepatic ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury in mice. Here, we identify that early growth response-1 (Egr-1) is a downstream target of RAGE in hepatic I/R injury. Methods Hepatic I/R was induced in male mice. Liver remnants were analyzed for induction of Egr-1 and cytokines, as well as regulation of apoptotic pathways after reperfusion. Results Egr-1 was upregulated in the liver remnants after hepatic I/R injury and was suppressed by administration of soluble RAGE or deletion of the RAGE gene. RAGE-mediated increased expression of Egr-1 upregulates a central downstream gene, MIP2. In contrast, RAGE-stimulated Egr-1-independent pathways regulate TNF-α production and apoptosis in response to I/R. Consistent with these findings, phospho-p44/42 and phospho-JNK MAPK and c-Jun were strikingly suppressed in RAGE −/− versus WT mice, but not in Egr-1 −/− mice. RAGE ligand HMGB1 was upregulated after I/R in the liver remnants. In vitro , incubation of RAGE-expressing liver dendritic cells (DCs) with recombinant HMGB-1 resulted in increased Egr-1 transcripts, in a manner suppressed by RAGE gene deletion, soluble RAGE and inhibitors of p44/p42 or JNK MAP kinase. Conclusions Suppression of Egr-1 may contribute to the protective mechanisms underlying the beneficial impact of RAGE blockade or deletion.
Improved nerve cuff electrode recordings by sub-threshold anodic currents

Computer simulations indicate that the propagation velocity of action potentials in a length of a nerve axon can be decreased by sub-threshold extracellular anodic currents. This phenomenon can be used to increase the amplitude of whole nerve recordings made with a short cuff electrode with circumferencial metal bands, since larger propagation delays between the bands result in larger recorded signals. Computer simulations predicting the slowing effect of anodic currents and experimental data verifying the simulations are presented. The increase in the amplitude of nerve signals (fivefold), recorded experimentally from a short cuff, is demonstrated.
Self-consistent multidimensional electron kinetic analysis for inductively coupled plasma sources

Based upon the kinetic equations coupled with electromagnetic analysis for the recently developed inductively coupled plasma sources (ICPS), a self-consistent electron kinetic model is presented for 2-D (r, z) in a cylindrically symmetric configuration space and 2-D (/spl nu//sub /spl part//, /spl nu//sub z/) in the velocity space, The EM model is based on the mode analysis, while the kinetic analysis gives the perturbed Maxwellian distribution of electrons by solving the Boltzmann-Vlasov equation. The kinetic analysis shows that the RF energy in an ICPS is extracted by a collisionless dissipation mechanism, once the electron thermovelocity is close to the RF phase velocities determined by the reactor height and mode indexes. In this context, the effect of varying the reactor geometry is reported in terms of the electron energy distribution function. The analytical results are compared to the experimental data of Barnes et al. (see Appl. Phys. Lett., vol.62, no.21, p.2622-4 (1993)), which shows qualitative agreements in many aspects. >
Metal–Polymer Composite Interconnections for Ultra Fine-Pitch Wafer Level Packaging

The decrease in feature sizes of microelectronic devices has underlined the need for higher number of input-outputs (I/Os) in order to increase its functionality. This has spurred a great interest in developing electronic packages with fine and ultra fine pitches (20-100 mum). Most of the compliant interconnects that are currently being developed have inductance and resistance higher than desirable. This paper presents a novel low-temperature fabrication process that combines polymer structures with electroless copper plating to create low stress composite structures for extremely fine-pitch wafer level packages. Analytical models for these structures justify the stress reduction at the interfaces and superior reliability as integrated circuit (IC)-package interconnects. Low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) polyimide structures with ultra-low stress, high toughness, and strength were fabricated using plasma etching. The dry etching process was tuned to yield a wall angle above 80deg. The etching process also leads to roughened sidewalls for selective electroless copper plating on the sidewalls of polymer structures. This work also describes a selective electroless plating synthesis route to develop thin IC-package bonding interfaces with lead-free solder. Lead-free alloy films were deposited from aqueous plating solutions consisting of suitable metal salts and reducing agents at 45degC. The lead-free solder composition was controlled by altering the plating bath formulation. Solder film formed from the above approach was demonstrated to bond the metal-coated polymer interconnects with the copper pads on the substrate using a standard reflow process. Metal-coated polymer structures in conjunction with the thin solder bonding films can provide low-cost high-performance solutions for wafer-level packaging.
Remote-neocortex control of robotic search and threat identification

Robots with remote processing capabilities would be useful in hazardous or complex environments presenting weight and cost constraints. We implemented a novel robotic system that incrementally triangulates and navigates towards a speaking target. This system comprises a distributed, biologically inspired, three-layer control system. High-level decision making is performed via Internet protocol by a pulse-coded neocortical simulator situated remotely in a secure location. The robot navigated towards and contacted an animated human mouth target in 75 of 80 trials (χ 2 = 20.3, P< 0.0001). Current work involves classification and appropriate tactical response to acquired audio and visual speech information.
Using a topographic index to distribute variable source area runoff predicted with the SCS curve-number equation

Because the traditional Soil Conservation Service curve-number (SCS-CN) approach continues to be used ubiquitously in water quality models, new application methods are needed that are consistent with variable source area (VSA) hydrological processes in the landscape. We developed and tested a distributed approach for applying the traditional SCS-CN equation to watersheds where VSA hydrology is a dominant process. Predicting the location of source areas is important for watershed planning because restricting potentially polluting activities from runoff source areas is fundamental to controlling non-point-source pollution. The method presented here used the traditional SCS-CN approach to predict runoff volume and spatial extent of saturated areas and a topographic index, like that used in TOPMODEL, to distribute runoff source areas through watersheds. The resulting distributed CN–VSA method was applied to two subwatersheds of the Delaware basin in the Catskill Mountains region of New York State and one watershed in south-eastern Australia to produce runoff-probability maps. Observed saturated area locations in the watersheds agreed with the distributed CN–VSA method. Results showed good agreement with those obtained from the previously validated soil moisture routing (SMR) model. When compared with the traditional SCS-CN method, the distributed CN–VSA method predicted a similar total volume of runoff, but vastly different locations of runoff generation. Thus, the distributed CN–VSA approach provides a physically based method that is simple enough to be incorporated into water quality models, and other tools that currently use the traditional SCS–CN method, while still adhering to the principles of VSA hydrology. Copyright  2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
WIP: bridging cognitive and motivational psychology to combat shortage of engineers

The decline in interest among U.S. students in engineering programs of study, which has the potential to severely affect our technology-based society, has motivated the formation of a team of engineers and psychologists to examine the psychological foundations of effective engineering education. The team's work in progress is focused on a rigorous examination of the cognitive psychology and motivational psychology aspects of engineering education
Computer literacy objectives for college faculty

The personal computer has had an enormous impact on our society during its short life span. Microcomputer sales are soaring; costs continue to decrease putting the computer within the reach of nearly everyone. Schools have rapidly begun to acquire hardware and software to aid teachers in the educational process. The infusion of computers into the schools extends upward into higher education. College faculty are becoming increasingly aware that the computer is going to have some impact in every discipline. The fact that computer literacy objectives are being established for students in many institutions makes faculty even more aware that they, too, must become computer literate. In trying to meet the literacy needs of faculty some questions arise: What is computer literacy? What should the content of a faculty computer literacy program be? How much is enough? Who will provide for the computer education of faculty? The purpose of this paper is to provide answers to some of these questions.
Microwave radiation and leakage of albumin from blood to brain

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is a cell layer in the blood vessels of the brain. The BBB partitions the circulating blood from the brain tissue proper and regulates the passage of vital substances and nutrients into brain tissues and carbon dioxide and metabolic waste products out of it. The selective passage prohibits harmful toxins from infiltrating the brain, and also excludes many drugs and therapeutic agents from reaching brain tissues. Many investigators have published studies on the effect of microwave radiation on the BBB of experimental animals with varied results. Studies showing, and not showing, a microwave-induced increase in rat BBB permeability changes had used both high and low levels of microwave exposure. However, a series of reports showing disruption of BBB at various times following microwave exposure has caught the attention of many in the field.
Distribution and dynamic state of sterols and steroids in the tissues of an insect, the roach Eurycotis floridana.

The total concentrations of sterols in the tissues of the roach, Eurycotisfloridana, reared under aseptic conditions and on semisynthetic diets, are similar to, but somewhat lower than, those of tissues of vertebrates. Total concentrations of tissue sterols are relatively inde- pendent of dietary concentration of sterols whether the diet contains 0.1% cholesterol as the sole sterol, or a "minimal cholesterol" mixture (0.1% cholestanol together with 0.005% cholesterol). Under the latter conditions the cholesterol is incorporated preferentially into most tissues and remains almost exclusively unesterified, while the cholesterol-sparing sterol is esterified to varying degree, depending upon the tissue. The turnover of tissue sterols has teen studied. Cholesterol of the tissues of adult insects grown on a diet containing this sterol alone may be displaced by cholestanol fed as 5% of the total diet, initially at an appreciable rate but later much less rapidly. In growing insects that have received a diet containing cholestanol together with minimal cholesterol, the unesterified cholesterol turns over slowly in all tissues and immeasurably slowly in some. 7 he unesterified sparing sterol, on the other hand, turns over at a much greater rate. The turnover of sterols during growth is accompanied by a shift of sterols from the unesterified to the esterified pool in all tissues. The fat body of the growing insect stores sterols (apparently as their esters) that have been displaced from other tissues. The fat body of the adult does not show evidence of sterol storage. Polar derivatives of sterols are present in minor amount in all tissues of the insect, most abundantly in the mid-intestine and gastric caeca. These compounds seem likely to be Cz7 steroids. Abbreviations: cholestahol, 5a-cholestan-3j3-ol; A7-choleetenol, 5a-cholest-7-en-3a-01; GLC, @s-liquid chromatography. * Postdoctoral fellow of the American Heart Association. The results are discussed in terms of the concept that the sterols incorporated into the tissues of this insect function pri- marily as components of subcellular membranous structures. It seems likely that unesterified cholesterol is a tightly bound and highly specific component of such structures, while the unesterified cholesterol-sparing sterol is less firmly bound into the same structures or into others of lesser general stability.
More Options Available Under the Nonaccrual Experience Method of Accounting

Certain accrual basis service providers are not required to accrue as income the portion of charges for services the company estimates will not be collected. This system is tantamount to a reserve system for a loss, in a tax system that generally does not permit deductions for losses before they have actually occurred. The article analyzes the alternatives for estimating charges for services that will not be collected. Recently proposed regulations provide 5 safe harbor methods. The taxpayer can elect to use one of these methods, or develop a method subject to a system of "self-testing." The article notes that all of the methods are based on averaging results over as long as six years and thus errors in classifications of accounts (as collectible or uncollectible) will affect results for several years.
On Blending Competitive Trade Models

Three standard models typically discussed in the theory of international trade are the Ricardian model, the Heckscher–Ohlin model and the Specific-Factors model. Models are often compared with each other, in an attempt to analyze which model is best or fits reality better. Instead, I suggest that these international trade models can often be blended to take account of finite changes when, as a country develops, the appropriate model to be used changes as the pattern of production changes. Trade allows countries to produce fewer commodities than it consumes, and which commodities are selected to be produced may change as the economy grows in the size of its endowment bundle and/or technology changes. At issue is not only the question of which commodities are produced, but also how many commodities are produced, especially with reference to the number of productive factors.
Toward a Rational Theory of Decentralization: Another View

This paper observes that analyses of the process of decentralization often fail to recognize that constraints are imposed by the nature of the organization being examined. In particular, the analysis of an organization producing economic goods can be misleading if applied, without qualification, to organizations producing government goods. Taking as its point of departure the analysis of an economic organization, the article focuses on three salient differences in the operation of the two types of organizations. First, in the economic organization both its personnel and its clients agree on the items produced. In the government organization there may be substantial disagreement about what should be produced. Second, in the economic organization the information flows will generally be of a compact numerical form. In the government organization the information flow will often not take a numerical form. Information transmission will be less dense and, therefore, more expensive. Third, in the economic organization prices act as â€œsufficient statistics,â€ which completely measure the organization's performance of its objective (profit maximization). For many government organizations no such sufficient statistics exist.
Calcium carbonate suspended in Arabian Gulf and Red Sea waters; biogenic and detrital, not "chemogenic"

The warm saline waters of the Arabian Gulf and Red Sea are supersaturated with respect to aragonite and magnesian calcite. Despite the local dominance of these phases in the Arabian Gulf sediment and their general abundance in southern Red Sea sediments, little or no evidence of "chemogenic" carbonate is found in the overlying waters; suspended carbonate grains are either biogenic or detrital. Precipitation of calcium carbonate appears limited to bottom or interstitial waters.
Letter to the editor: Importance of serum bactericidal activity for estimating the breadth of protection for new meningococcal vaccines

To the editor: Brehony and colleagues [1] recently reported their investigation of six Neisseria meningitidis serogroup B (NmB) vaccines by deducing the prevalence of the vaccine components in isolates represented in publicly accessible sequence repositories of NmB. Based on the frequency of exact match of deduced peptide sequences in the databases to at least one component of each vaccine, and by assessing published data, the authors estimated the breadth of strain coverage. Their findings led them to conclude that meningococcal vaccines with multiple antigens would provide greater breadth of coverage against meningococcal disease. However, their evaluation did not incorporate important information about the diversity of factor H binding protein (fHBP) variants and the demonstration of protective immune responses against antigenically diverse MnB invasive disease strains following vaccination with Trumenba. Consequently, the authors’ analysis underestimates the potential for vaccine benefit provided by this licensed vaccine. We provide here a description of published data, including results that use the recognised correlate of protection for NmB, serum bactericidal activity measured using serum bactericidal assays performed with human complement (hSBA) [2,3]. This correlation was first validated in large clinical studies using outer membrane vesicle (OMV) vaccines that confer protection via induction of immune response directed against the PorA antigen of NmB [4]. Protection is essentially restricted to strains expressing the matched PorA sequence in the vaccine [5], thus the approach used by the authors to estimate vaccine strain coverage is appropriate for PorA based vaccines, such as the experimental vaccine NonaMen, as described.
COMMISION DEBUGGING OF AIR-COOLED ISLAND SYSTEMS FOR 600MW AIR-COOLED UNITS

The problems appeared in commission debugging of the air-cooled island systems for two 600 MW air-cooled units of Guodian Longshan Power Generation Co Ltd,such as undue fast vacuum drop in air-cooled island during start-up of said units after their shutdown in winter,the rapid rise of back-pressure in said air-cooled isrand due to full-load operation of all cooling air fans and air-leakage in the steam seal system,etc.,have been analysed,and corresponding preventive measures adopted for above-mentioned problems in the commission debugging process being given.Regarding to a part of problems,which hadn't been solved in debugging,some concrete recommendations have been put forward.
The Effect of Environment on the Ageing of Photographic Films

AbstractStorage of photographic film for long periods of time, particularly under adverse conditions, may lead to a loss in sensitivity and a gain in fog density. The effect of ageing photographic films in various atmospheres has been examined. Storage in oxygen causes a more rapid loss in sensitivity, but less fog formation, than storage in nitrogen. Deterioration of photographic properties during storage of film under reduced pressure appears due, at least in part, to removal of oxygen and moisture. It is concluded that the effect of environmental conditions on ageing is, in general, in agreement with the equation: where Ag represents a sensitivity or fog centre on the surface of the silver halide grain.It has been shown that ageing fog predominates at the surface of the silver halide grains. However, an internal fog is also produced, which is attributed to a thermal Herschel effect. The internal fog is not attacked by oxygen.
The Distribution of Primes and the Riemann Zeta Function

We recall that the problem of the distribution of primes had been raised at least as far back as the Greek antiquity. The proof of our Theorem 3.9, that there are infinitely many primes, appears in Euclid (Book 9, Section 20), and Eratosthenes† devised a systematic method for obtaining all primes up to any given number x.
Cognitive Reserve in Primary Age-Related Tauopathy (P6.205)

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate whether education protects against cognitive impairment in primary age-related tauopathy (PART). BACKGROUND: PART is a new neuropathological diagnosis describing the accumulation of neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) in brains of aging individuals with minimal or no amyloid-β pathology. Clinically, PART patients range from normal to mildly impaired cognition. Cognitive reserve factors, such as education, are shown to have a protective effect on the cognitive manifestations of Alzheimer’s disease, in which there is both NFT and significant amyloid-β pathology. Cognitive impairment is generally thought to be related to NFT burden, which is linked to neuronal integrity. Therefore, we hypothesized that educational achievement will have a protective effect on cognitive decline in PART. DESIGN/METHODS: Data were obtained from the National Alzheimer’s Coordinating Center (NACC) database. All subjects (N=268) were over the age of 50, completed an MMSE, and were defined as having definite- or probable-PART based on Braak staging of NFTs (I-IV) and CERAD neuritic plaque score (0-1). Years of education were categorized as high school ( 16, N=80). RESULTS: We observed that MMSE declined with advanced Braak stage (W=11522; p<0.001), as previously reported. This association was mediated by education. Individuals with professional degrees exhibited mild decline in MMSE across Braak stages (W=972; p=0.064), college educated individuals exhibited a greater decline across Braak stages (W= 2381; p<0.001), and individuals with a high school education had initially lower MMSE scores, due to vulnerability of cognitive impairment related to less education, but did not decline across Braak stages (W=697; p=0.2925). CONCLUSIONS: We observed a protective effect of education against cognitive impairment in PART. Study Supported by: NIH (AG043503;AG010124;AG039510), Penn Institute on Aging, & Dana Foundation. NACC database funded by NIA/NIH Grant U01 AG016976, data contributed by NIA-funded ADCs. FOCUS Medical Student Fellowship supported by Patricia Kind. Disclosure: Dr. Jefferson-George has nothing to disclose. Dr. Lee has nothing to disclose. Dr. Wolk has received personal compensation for activities with Piramal. Dr. McMillan, PhD has nothing to disclose.
Cheap noisy sensors can improve activity monitoring under stringent energy constraints

This paper proposes a low-power acoustic sensor built using off-the-shelf components. To reduce energy consumption, the ADC and the microphone's signal-conditioning circuit are replaced by a low-power analog comparator with adjustable thresholds. Although the SNR of the proposed sensor is reduced, we demonstrate how recent advancements in adaptive sensor scheduling can utilize this sensing modality at the right times to deliver high estimation performance in the presence of extremely stringent device-energy constraints. In a long-term acoustic wildlife monitoring application, energy consumption is reduced by a factor of up to 15× over the scheduling policy that does not utilize the proposed sensor. Furthermore, when device energy is extremely scarce, optimal sensor management can reduce error rate from nearly 40% to 8%.
America's New Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Part I

This purpose of this research was to assess the contribution of skilled immigrants in the creation of engineering and technology businesses and intellectual property in the United States. We found there was at least one immigrant key founder in 25.3% of all engineering and technology companies established in the U.S. between 1995 and 2005 inclusive. We estimate that together, this pool of immigrant-founded companies was responsible for generating more than $52 billion in 2005 sales and creating just under 450,000 jobs as of 2005. This research shows that immigrants have become a significant driving force in the creation of new businesses and intellectual property in the U.S. and that their contributions have increased over the past decade.
Rapid Approximation: African Americans and the Transformation of Muskogee Society, 1700-1819

For historians of the Southeast few questions inspire more debate than that of what role Africans and African Americans played in Creek Indian society. Long ignored by scholars, the interplay between persons of native and African descent recently came back to the attention of academics. However, these studies have thus far failed to recognize certain cultural cues of both Creeks (also known as Muskogees) and blacks in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. In fact, contact between these groups led to a transformative process within both ethnic spheres. This paper explores the ways in which Indians and ethnic Africans interacted in the Muskogee world and demonstrates that contact with blacks resulted in the end of one Muskogean confederacy and the rise of another.
Brief Paper: Simultaneous Constrained Model Predictive Control and Identification of DARX Processes

In this work, we formulate a new approach to simultaneous constrained model predictive control and identification (MPCI). The proposed approach relies on the development of a persistent excitation (PE) criterion for processes described by DARX models. That PE criterion is used as an additional constraint in the standard on-line optimization of MPC. The resulting on-line optimization problem of MPCI is handled by successively solving a series of semi-definite programming problems. Advantages of MPCI in comparison to other closed-loop identification methods are (a) Constraints on process inputs and outputs are handled explicitly, (b) Deterioration of output regulation is kept to a minimum, while closed-loop identification is performed. The applicability of the method is illustrated by a number of simulation studies. Theoretical and computational issues for further investigation are suggested.