cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Improved reproducibility and quantitative analysis of phospholipids by flame ionization detection

Abstract Quantitative analysis of phospholipids by flame ionization was improved by careful application of samples with a Hamilton syringe and use of a sealed dual tank system. Chromarods developed more consistently with reproducible scanning times or R F values (coefficient of variation of 1%) and with sharper peaks if development was carried out in a sealed dual tank system. The Chromarods were placed in the inner tank, which was the standard ground glass topped tank furnished with the Iatroscan TH-10 system. This inner tank was placed inside a larger thin-layer chromatography tank which was sealed with silicone grease and the lid held in place with a lead brick. Both tanks were lined with absorbent paper and contained the same solvent system. Biological samples quantified with these procedures and measured in amounts between 1 and 30 μg had coefficients of variation between 0.2 and 6%. An efficient method of completely separating neutral lipids from phospholipids and allowing quantitative determination of cholesterol is desribed. Scanning times and R F values of various phospholipids are compared to determine the best separation of the major phospholipids found in 3T3-L1 and leukocyte membranes.
Effective hepatic blood flow and hepatic bioenergy status in murine peritonitis.

Abstract To assess the effects of sepsis on effective hepatic blood flow (EHBF) and hepatic tissue bioenergy status 250–350 g rats underwent either sham laparotomy or cecal ligation and perforation (CLP). At 5-, 10-, and 20-hr intervals cardiac output (CO), EHBF, and tissue adenine nucleotide levels were measured. CLP rats showed a hyperdynamic response to sepsis at 20 hr, with CO increased by 25% over sham rats. At all time intervals studied EHBF was decreased and at 20 hr it was maximally decreased by 35%. Hepatic energy charge (HEC) was calculated from tissue adenine nucleotide measurements. HEC was not statistically different in sham and CLP rats at 5 hr and was 11 and 9% reduced from sham levels in CLP rats at 10 and 20 hr, respectively. Thus, EHBF is decreased very early in sepsis; before any changes in hepatic bioenergy status are noted. In this hyperdynamic model of sepsis EHBF is decreased early and decreases progressively with time which may contribute to the significant decrease in HEC that is demonstrated.
MMPI personality factors as predictors of vocational needs assessed by Minnesota Importance Questionnaire.

Summary.-The MMPI and Minnesota Importance Questionnaire were administered to 56 rehabilitation clients to determine what personality factors related to vocational needs. Pd scores were negatively correlated with high supervision and strict rules, and high Ma scores with high activity needs. The second order MMPI factors of anxiety and internalization scores were computed with a regressional analysis of vocational needs. The anxiety factor was predicted by avoidance of decision-making situations. Internalization dynamics were predicted by intrinsic moti\.ation factors. Three personaliry types were determined as psychotic, neurotic, and character disorder and were discriminated significantly by the Minnesota scales. Significantly different predictions of job satisfaction were related to each personality type and implications for vocational counselors were discussed. The theory of work adjustment posited by Dawis, England, and Lofquist (1964) holds that work adjustment is a function of ". . . the correspondence between an individual's set of abilities and the ability requirements of a work environment," and ". . . the correspondence between the reinforcer system of the work environment and the individual's set of needs" (p. 6). The emphasis on the relationship between individual needs and the reinforcer systems of work environment provided the theoretical basis for the Minnesota Importance Questionnaire (MIQ) . The questionnaire evolved as an instrument designed to measure an individual's vocational needs, or more specifically, his preferences for occupational reinforcers. It also provided a basis for determining the pattern of occupational reinforcers characteristic of specific occupations. What a person considers to be important on a job can be termed as an occupational reinforcer for his continuing or discontinuing in that specific job. This occupational reinforcer, whatever it be, could then be translated into a vocational need measurable by the questionnaire. The probability of his continuing his vocational behavior would then be contingent upon whether or not the properties of that occupation met his needs. Thus, an individual's vocstional need profile and the occupational reinforcer patterns of a series of work environments can be compared with the questionnaire. As suggested by the theory and measured by this scale, close correspondence between an individual's needs and the occupational reinforcer patterns of a particular occupation is predictive of job satisfaction. The literature in vocarional psychology also suggests a relationship between personality variables and vocational interest patterns. Super ( 1957) suggested,
Characterization of a Cytolytic Strain of Equine Infectious Anemia Virus

A novel strain of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) called vMA-1c that rapidly and specifically killed infected equine fibroblasts (ED cells) but not other infectible cell lines was established. This strain was generated from an avirulent, noncytopathic strain of EIAV, MA-1. Studies with this new cytolytic strain of virus have permitted us to define viral parameters associated with EIAV-induced cell killing and begin to explore the mechanism. vMA-1c infection resulted in induction of rapid cell death, enhanced fusogenic activity, and increased rates of spread in equine fibroblasts compared to other strains of EIAV. The highly cytolytic nature of vMA-1c suggested that this strain might be superinfecting equine fibroblasts. Receptor interference studies demonstrated that prior infection of equine fibroblasts with EIAV did not alter the ability of vMA-1c to infect and kill these cells. In similar studies in a canine fibroblast cell line, receptor interference did occur. vMA-1c infection of equine fibroblasts was also associated with large quantities of unintegrated viral DNA, a well-established hallmark of retroviral superinfection. Cloning of the vMA-1c genome identified nucleotide changes that would result in at least one amino acid change in all viral proteins. A chimeric infectious molecular clone containing the vMA-1c tat, S2, and env open reading frames recapitulated most of the characteristics of vMA-1c, including superinfection, fibroblast killing, and fusogenic activity. In summary, in vitro selection for a strain of EIAV that rapidly killed cells resulted in the generation of a virus that was able to superinfect these cells, presumably by the use of a novel mechanism of cell entry. This phenotype mapped to the 3' half of the genome.
Measurement of Diffusivity and Solubility of Carbon Dioxide in Gelatinized Starch at Elevated Pressures

The effect of pressure on diffusivity in binary or multicomponent systems such as gas−liquid or gas−solid systems has rarely been reported. The diffusivity of carbon dioxide in extruded gelatinized starch has been measured in this study at pressures of up to 117 bar (1700 psi). Such data are fundamentally not only useful in the understanding of the supercritical carbon dioxide (SC-CO2)/starch systems but also can be useful for the design and control of processes utilizing carbon dioxide injection or mixing in starch-based matrices. The methodology developed here was an improvement over a previously reported technique, enabling high-pressure data to be obtained. The diffusivity of carbon dioxide in the melt was found to be a strong function of pressure but not of moisture content in the range of 34.5−39% (w/w) studied. This diffusivity value decreased from 7.5 × 10-10 to 0.9 × 10-10 m2/s as pressure was increased from atmospheric to 115 bar. The low-pressure diffusivity value was only an order of magnitude...
Circulation is established in a stepwise pattern in the mammalian embryo

To better understand the relationship between the embryonic hematopoietic and vascular systems, we investigated the establishment of circulation in mouse embryos by examining the redistribution of yolk sac–derived primitive erythroblasts and definitive hematopoietic progenitors. Our studies revealed that small numbers of erythroblasts first enter the embryo proper at 4 to 8 somite pairs (sp) (embryonic day 8.25 [E8.25]), concomitant with the proposed onset of cardiac function. Hours later (E8.5), most red cells remained in the yolk sac. Although the number of red cells expanded rapidly in the embryo proper, a steady state of approximately 40% red cells was not reached until 26 to 30 sp (E10). Additionally, erythroblasts were unevenly distributed within the embryo's vasculature before 35 sp. These data suggest that fully functional circulation is established after E10. This timing correlated with vascular remodeling, suggesting that vessel arborization, smooth muscle recruitment, or both are required. We also examined the distribution of committed hematopoietic progenitors during early embryogenesis. Before E8.0, all progenitors were found in the yolk sac. When normalized to circulating erythroblasts, there was a significant enrichment (20- to 5-fold) of progenitors in the yolk sac compared with the embryo proper from E9.5 to E10.5. These results indicated that the yolk sac vascular network remains a site of progenitor production and preferential adhesion even as the fetal liver becomes a hematopoietic organ. We conclude that a functional vascular system develops gradually and that specialized vascular–hematopoietic environments exist after circulation becomes fully established.
Pharmacological characterization of the postsynaptic alpha-adrenoceptors in isolated canine mesenteric arteries and veins

This investigation was undertaken to characterize the postsynaptic alpha-adrenoceptors in isolated canine mesenteric arterial and venous preparations. Contractile responses to cumulative additions of phenylephrine (selective alpha, -adrenoceptor agonist), UK-14,304 (selective alpha2-adrenoceptor agonist), noradrenaline (non-selective alpha-adrenoceptor agonist), and dopamine (non-selective alpha-adrenoceptor agonist) were measured in the presence and absence of rauwolscine, a selective alpha2-antagonist, and terazosin, a selective alpha1-antagonist. Phenylephrine was a more potent agonist in the mesenteric artery than in the mesenteric vein; UK-14,304 exhibited the opposite profile of activity. Terazosin was a more potent antagonist than rauwolscine against each of the agonists, except dopamine, in the mesenteric artery but rauwolscine was more potent than terazosin in the vein. Terazosin and rauwolscine were equipotent in inhibiting the contractile responses to dopamine in the artery while rauwolscine was more potent than terazosin in the vein. The pA2 values measured in both vessels failed, however, to demonstrate a high selectivity for either alpha-adrenoceptor antagonist. These results suggest that the alpha-adrenoceptors in the canine mesenteric artery and vein exhibit pharmacological characteristics typical of both alpha,- and alpha2-adrenoceptor subtypes.
Stark-modulation spectroscopy of the B(1)[3π] state of PbO

We report detailed spectroscopic measurements of the X(0)[{sup 1}{sigma}{sup +}](v=0){yields}B(1)[{sup 3}{pi}](v=5) transition in PbO. Using a Stark-modulated laser absorption technique, we have measured the hyperfine constant of {sup 207}PbO in the B(1) state, as well as the B(1)(v=5) rotational constant, X-B isotope shifts, etc. The hyperfine constant of the B(1) state is of interest as a benchmark for calculations of PbO electronic structure related to experiments to search for the electric dipole moment of the electron.
Continuous vapor-phase trichloroethylene biofiltration using hydrocarbon-enriched compost as filtration matrix

Two sources of finished compost material were examined for the capacity to support trichloroethylene(TCE)-degrading microbial populations in a gas-phase bioreactor. Gaseous hydrocarbon was passed through the bioreactor to stimulate cometabolic oxidation of TCE. Significant differences in TCE removal efficiencies were observed between the two compost types, and between hydrocarbon-stimulated and non-stimulated compost. At an average column retention time of 5.6 min, deciduous leaf debris compost removed more than 95% of a 5–50 ppm (by vol.) TCE gas stream, whereas less than 15% removal was observed under similar conditions with a woodchip and bark compost. Trichloroethylene removal efficiency varied with the hydrocarbon-stimulation regime employed, although propane and methane stimulated TCE degradation equally well. Amendment of compost with granular activated carbon substantially increased biological TCE removal. Differences in TCE removal efficiencies observed between the two compost types and between hydrocarbon-stimulated and non-stimulated composts were investigated in terms of changes in the overall heterotrophic microbial populations by using community-level physiological profile analysis.
Personality trait theory and multitasking performance: implications for ergonomic design

Although system designers usually minimise the role of individual differences in operation, personality variables could explain differences in multitasking performance. A concomitant theoretical issue is whether primary or surface personality traits do a better job of predicting performance than the Five-Factor Model (FFM) or global traits. A sample of 174 undergraduates completed the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF), which was followed by a performance task. A computer-based task that measured simultaneous performance on an arithmetic task and a mental rotation task was used to measure multitasking performance; scores measured the percent accuracy. Primary traits for low emotional sensitivity and high abstractedness, self-control, and general reasoning were all correlated with performance (R 2 = .11), but global or traits corresponding to the FFM were not, except in one sporadic task trial. There was also a strong gender effect on performance. Implications for the study of personality trai...
Uterine receptor for oxytocin: effects of estrogen.

Summary The effect of estrogen treatment on the affinity and concentration of uterine binding sites for oxytocin was studied. The oxytocin receptor was present in the uterus of the ovariectomized rat but the affinity for oxytocin increased more than four-fold 24 hr after a single injection of diethylstilbestrol. An increase in affinity was apparent 6 hr after estrogen. An increase in the number of oxytocin binding sites per uterus was apparent only 12 hr after estrogen, reaching twice the initial value by 24 hr. These results suggest that the enhanced sensitivity of the rat uterus to oxytocin following estrogen treatment is the result of an increase in the affinity and number of oxytocin receptors in the uterus. The affinity of uterine binding sites for (lysine)vasopressin was less than for oxytocin, whether or not the rats were treated with estrogen.
Translating A Doll House in Taiwan

Abstract This article examines the three most important translations of Ibsen's A Doll House in Taiwan. It first explores to what degree the translations are determined by extratextual factors, such as the cultural and social climate of the times and the publication strategies. The second part, building upon previous literature on the translation of Ibsen into English, draws attention to the nuances and styles of the language in the original text and examines how they are tackled in these Chinese translations. Whenever it is possible, potential solutions to specific translation problems are suggested. In addition to providing a springboard for future Chinese translators of A Doll House, this paper aims to demonstrate Ibsen's dramatic art, which is much imbedded in his distinctive use of the vernacular language.
Optimal constraint management for system operations under neta

The New Electricity Trading Arrangements implemented in England and Wales impose new challenges for the National Grid as the system operator to operate and manage the transmission system. This paper presents the development of a system constraint management program, which addresses the aspects of optimising the 'balancing mechanism units' to resolve the system constraints. The post-fault generation redispatch forms the basis for the constraint management, for which computer algorithms have been developed.
A novel approach for US-guided central venous cannulation in phantom models: the oblique technique

reduction in the rate of PVWP with the oblique technique. We detected a higher likelihood of PVWP with SA (22%, 95% CI 11-32%) versus LA (5%, 95% CI -1-11%), or oblique (10%, 95% CI 2-18%) (Pearson chi2 8.2; df=2; p=0.02). Conclusion The three techniques for US-guided central vessel cannulation are equivalent with respect to time to cannulation and rates of successful cannulation. The SA technique for US-guided central access is associated with a significant increase in PVWP when compared with LA or oblique approaches. This deserves further investigation, as it is the most frequently employed technique.
Adenylate cyclase activity during growth and maturation of keratinocytes: comparison of two methods of study.

SUMMARY The adenylate cyclase activity of primary cultures of guinea-pig ear keratinocytes was studied at different times by challenge with various agonists after labelling of ATP by exposure of the cells to [3H]-adenine. The [3H]-cAMP (cyclic adenosine-3′,5-monophosphate) formed was assayed by scintillation counting. In other experiments, cells were exposed to the equivalent amount of unlabelled adenine, challenged and cAMP was then assayed by radioimmunoassay. These absolute amounts were compared to [3H]-cAMP levels expressed as percentage conversion of [3H]-ATP. Comparison of the two methods suggested that the use of the prelabelling method would result in underestimation of cAMP formed. It was found that the response of the enzyme to different agonists changed with the length of time of the cells in culture.
Global existence, uniqueness and optimal solvers of discretized viscoelastic flow models

This paper is devoted to studying the well-posedness and optimal solution techniques for a full discretization scheme, proposed by Lee and Xu (2006), for a large class of viscoelastic flow models. By using some special properties of the scheme such that it is stable in the energy norm and it preserves the positivity of the conformation tensor, the global existence and uniqueness of the solution of the discrete scheme is established. Furthermore, it is shown that the solution of the discrete scheme at each time step can be obtained by an iterative procedure that only requires operations (with N being the number of nodes of the underlying finite element grid).
Maternal intestinal flora and wheeze in early childhood

SummaryBackground Increasing evidence links altered intestinal flora in infancy to eczema and asthma. No studies have investigated the influence of maternal intestinal flora on wheezing and eczema in early childhood. Objective To investigate the link between maternal intestinal flora during pregnancy and development of wheeze and eczema in infancy. Methods A total of 60 pregnant women from the Boston area gave stool samples during the third trimester of their pregnancy and answered questions during pregnancy about their own health, and about their children's health when the child was 2 and 6 months of age. Quantitative culture was performed on stool samples and measured in log10colony-forming units (CFU)/gram stool. Primary outcomes included infant wheeze and eczema in the first 6 months of life. Atopic wheeze, defined as wheeze and eczema, was analysed as a secondary outcome. Results In multivariate models adjusted for breastfeeding, day care attendance and maternal atopy, higher counts of maternal total aerobes (TA) and enterococci (E) were associated with increased risk of infant wheeze (TA: OR 2.32 for 1 log increase in CFU/g stool [95% CI 1.22, 4.42]; E: OR 1.57 [95% CI 1.06, 2.31]). No organisms were associated with either eczema or atopic wheeze. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance In our cohort, higher maternal total aerobes and enterococci were related to increased risk of infant wheeze. Maternal intestinal flora may be an important environmental exposure in early immune system development.
Vision-Based Stop Sign Detection and Recognition System for Intelligent Vehicles:

The traffic sign detection and recognition system is an essential module of the driver warning and assistance system. A vision-based stop sign detection and recognition system is presented here. This system has two main modules: detection and recognition. In the detection module, the color thresholding in hue, saturation, and value color space is used to segment the image. The features of the traffic sign are investigated and used to detect potential objects. For the recognition module, one neural network is trained to perform the classification and another one is trained to perform the validation. Joint use of classification and validation networks can reduce the rate of false positives. The reliability demonstrated by the proposed algorithm suggests that this system could be a part of an integrated driver warning and assistance system based on computer vision technologies.
On machine precision, computation error and condition number in solving linear algebraic systems

Abstract : The relationship among the machine precision, computation error and condition number in solving linear algebraic systems is derived for floating elimination method by using backward error analysis. It is shown that the negative of the logarithm of the relative error is proportional to the machine precision for fixed system and to the negative of the logarithm of the condition of the system for fixed t. It is also shown that for fixed relative error, the machine precision required to achieve this is proportional to the logarithm of the condition of the system. Numerical experiments have been carried out and the observed data do coincide with what was expected. (Author)
Estimation of hedonic price functions with incomplete information

Existence of persistent price dispersion suggests that some buyers find lower prices through search and information acquisition, while some sellers charge higher prices by gathering information on potential buyers. If buyers are not fully informed of the lowest price available in the market they end up paying a price higher than if they had full information. Similarly, if sellers are not fully informed about the highest price they could charge, they too suffer by receiving a price lower than had they had full information. This paper develops a hedonic price model that incorporates the effects of incomplete information on both sides of the market and obtains estimates of the discrepancies between market prices and buyers’ maximum willingness to pay and sellers’ minimum willingness to accept. Correlates of such price discrepancies are also explored. We apply the technique to a data set constructed from the American Housing Survey, and find that incomplete information has had a significant impact on housing prices.
Heartbeat-related fundamental frequency and amplitude variation in healthy young and elderly male voices*

Summary Modulation of the acoustic amplitude and fundamental frequency of a sustained vowel across the heart cycle was examined via signal-averaging. Ten normal young and ten normal elderly men prolonged phonations of the vowel /a/. Consistent with previous studies, the young men's maximal heart-beat-related frequency and amplitude variations averaged 1.0% and 8.4% of their respective means. Such modulation was estimated to account for 6.6% of the absolute jitter and 11.3% of the shimmer measured in these voice samples. The extent of this systematic variation was significantly greater in the older voices, averaging 2.4% of the mean frequency and 15.4% of the mean amplitude and was estimated to account for approximately 12.9% and 15.8% of their mean absolute jitter and shimmer, respectively. This age-related difference is thought to be a manifestation of involutional changes in laryngeal vascular and soft tissues and in ventilatory biomechanics.
PATHOBIOLOGY OF Artystone trysibia SCHIOEDTE (ISOPODA: CYMOTHOIDAE), AN ENDOPARASITIC ISOPOD OF SOUTH AMERICAN FRESH WATER FISHES*

The endoparasitic isopod, Artystone trysibia, was found within a pouch-like encapsulation in the abdomen of a naturally-infected, fresh water discus fish, Symphysodon discus, imported from South America. Larval stages released from the female isopod penetrated various body sites in the albino catfish, Corydoras aeneus, where they caused mechanical damage and hemorrhage. In one case, a larva that penetrated behind a pectoral fin was observed during a 72 day period to grow and develop into an immature male isopod which was separated from the internal organs of the catfish by a host-produced capsule. The isopod maintained an opening to the outside by the continuous movement of its abdominal appendages. The capsules surrounding isopods in both the discus fish and albino catfish contained tissue elements of body wall origin suggesting that the growing isopod causes fibrous changes of the body wall which expands to form a protective invagination. A proposed life history is discussed.
Rheumatoid Arthritis and Reproduction

Additional research is needed to establish the safety of biologic agents in pregnancy and lactation. The practitioner should convey information regarding the natural history of rheumatoid arthritis during pregnancy and safety issues related to pharmacotherapies to every woman of childbearing age with RA, well before conception and pregnancy, to ensure optimal outcomes.
Negative urgency: A personality predictor of externalizing behavior characterized by neuroticism, low conscientiousness, and disagreeableness.

Negative urgency, the tendency to act rashly when distressed, is characterized by high Neuroticism, low Conscientiousness, and low Agreeableness. Because of this set of characteristics, the authors hypothesized that (1) negative urgency (NU) is a particularly important predictor of externalizing dysfunction; (2) traits that reflect primarily high Neuroticism predict internalizing dysfunction and (3) traits that reflect primarily low Conscientiousness predict those types of externalizing dysfunction that include intense affect less strongly than does NU. In three studies, the authors showed that negative urgency concurrently predicted alcohol dependence symptoms in disordered women, drinking problems and smoker status in pre-adolescents, and aggression, risky sex, illegal drug use, drinking problems, and conduct disordered behavior in college students. High Neuroticism traits predicted internalizing dysfunction but predicted none of these externalizing criteria beyond negative urgency. Low Conscientiousness did not add to prediction from negative urgency, except in a few cases. The tendency toward affect-driven rash action may underlie many externalizing behaviors.
Collisional redistribution of radiation. I. The density matrix

As a first step in deriving accurate, calculable expressions for collisional redistribution of radiation, valid outside the impact regime a method for calculating an accurate binary-collision density operator for an atom in the presence of a driving field and perturbers is presented. Projection-operator techniques to establish first the precise validity of the Markoff approximation for radiative relaxation are used. Using the same techniques, it is shown how the collisional-relaxation problem may be analyzed in a practical manner outside the Markoff approximation. The effect of correlations between radiative and collisional events is included in a consistent way and the physical implications of these correlation effects are demonstrated for a simple example, the two-level atom with nondegenerate levels.
Remote Sensing Of Aerosol Properties Using Laser Radar Techniques

Single-wavelength lidar systems can be used to observe distributions of aerosol, cloud, and precipitation elements over extended atmospheric regions with extremely high spatial and temporal resolution. Atmospheric structure revealed by this technique can provide information on atmospheric dynamic and physical behavior that is difficult to obtain by other means. However, quantitative evaluation of optical or physical densities from back-scatter records normally requires information or assumptions on the size, shape, and composition of the scattering particles. Recent research efforts have been directed to the development of lidar techniques for remote density analysis that minimize uncertainties introduced by particle characteristics and that assess the magnitude of these uncertainties. This paper reviews the capability of lidar for remote observation of atmospheric structure and presents recently obtained experimental data pertaining to the remote measurement of aerosol optical and physical properties. Presented are: (1) a comparison of backscattering observed from black and white smoke; (2) two-wavelength (0.7 and 10.6 µm) data obtained from lidar measurement of large-sized dust and small-sized smoke particles; and (3) transmission measurements of generated aerosols of various known size distributions at visible and 3.39-µm wavelengths. These data indicate that an optimum wavelength region exists for single-wavelength measurement of aerosol physical density and that multi-wavelength techniques can be used to derive particle size information.© (1978) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Chronic electrical stimulation of auditory nerve in cat: Physiological and histological results.

Cats were implanted with two-channel scala tympani bipolar electrode arrays consisting of four PtIr wires in a molded silicone rubber carrier. The electrically evoked auditory brainstem response (ABR) was recorded to monitor the physiological response to biphasic pulsatile stimulation in these chronic preparations. Baseline data were collected over a 1–6 month period. Animals were then subjected to a long period of continuous high level stimulation delivered through a system designed to insure delivery of charge-balanced biphasic waveforms. Subsequent changes in physiological response were interpreted as indicating electrically induced damage to the cochlea. Localized loss of hair cells and growth of connective tissue resulted from the implantation of scala tympani inserts. Electrically evoked ABR responses were not altered by the long-term presence of the electrode, nor by the presence of intervening connective tissue. Physiological manifestations of stimulus-induced change appeared only after hundreds of hours of continuous stimulation. Apparent functional damage was not suspended or reversed with cessation of stimulation, but rather continued for several hundred hours after the stimulation was terminated. Deterioration of physiological response was accompanied by two deleterious histological changes: 1. (a) bone growth within the scala tympani; 2. (b) loss of nerve fibers and spiral ganglion cells. Both of these changes were restricted to an area corresponding to the implant intracochlear location and were most marked in the region adjacent to the chronically stimulated electrode pair. In cases where stimuli were not charge balanced or surgical trauma was incurred, bone growth was most extensive and nerve damage most pervasive. The data from cases stimulated at lower levels of charge density i.e. 20–40 μC/cm2, suggest that these may be more feasible levels for safe chronic electrical stimulation in scala tympani.
Response of plastic shells with metal cores to transient external pressures

An analysis of the response of plastic shells with solid metal cores to transient external pressures is presented. Failure criteria are determined for shells exposed to pressure pulses with a step rise and an exponential decay. Modes of failure considered are cracking and spalling. Conditions of failure are calculated for linear-elastic shell materials by means of both graphical and numerical methods, the graphical method providing a more descriptive picture of the stress-wave motion following incidence of the pulse. The graphical results show that pulses of the type considered may be classified in three groups (pulses with fast, moderate, and slow decay) depending on the response mechanism produced. The numerical method is more powerful since it allows the consideration of particle velocity effects, and of nonelastic as well as nonlinear material properties in addition to the linear-elastic analysis. Nonlinear effects are found to be more important than nonelastic effects. For pulses of long duration, the numerical results show that the effect of particle velocity cannot be neglected; for impulsive loads (short pulse duration), the numerical results show that the graphical method is adequate.
The Tel Rumeida Circus for Detained Palestinians

for Jonas Moffat and Katie Miranda, who perform circus routines at checkpoints in the Occupied Territories Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? for...
Java-based architecture for digital library data storage

ABSTRACT The Alexandria Digital Library Project has been tasked with the goal of building a digital geographical library. To meetthese requirements we have designed and prototyped an intelligent Data Store to store its holdings; the library' s map, image,and geographical data are viewed as a collection of distributed objects. Developed using the Java language, the Data Storewas designed to address the problems associated with digital library storage: interoperability, extensibility, distribution, andelimination of server bottlenecks.Keywords: digital library, storage, distributed objects, extensibility, interoperability. 1 INTRODUCTION The Alexandria Digital Library Project at UC Santa Barbara was initiated in 1994 with the goal of building a digitallibrary ofmap and imagery data. The library's geographical images are massive, some taking up to a terabyte of disk space;furthermore, the number of images are voluminous, library holdings easily exceeding 1,000,000 items. With such largeamounts of data, heavy demands are made on its storage and management. To address these requirements, we introduce thedesign of an intelligent Data Store.The Data Store is a storage manager that provides users with a host of services. At the heart of the Data Store is itsdata model. Each item in the Data Store is viewed as an object, belonging to some class. Associated with the class are aset of methods that operate on the object. To take an example, a LANDSAT photograph of Santa Barbara County consistsof an image associated with meta-data; this is treated as an instance of an object stored by the Data Store. The objectbelongs
FINITE-ELEMENT MODEL UPDATING, EIGENSTRUCTURE ASSIGNMENT AND EIGENVALUE EMBEDDING TECHNIQUES FOR VIBRATING SYSTEMS

Abstract This paper presents a brief overview of the existing direct methods for the finite-element model (FEM) updating problem and reviews the recently developed ‘direct and partial modal’ approach for the partial eigenstructure assignment problem and the ‘eigenvalue embedding’ techniques for vibrating systems, in the context of the solution of this problem.
Reactive and unreactive pathways in a photochemical ring opening reaction from 2D femtosecond stimulated Raman.

Two-dimensional femtosecond stimulated Raman spectroscopy (2D-FSRS) is used to probe the structural evolution of a modified cyclohexadiene as it undergoes a photoinduced ring opening reaction. Analysis of the excited state stimulated Raman vibrational data reveals oscillations of the center frequencies and amplitudes of 21 high frequency modes. These oscillations in vibrational properties are due to anharmonic couplings between the high frequency finger print modes and the impulsively driven low frequency molecular distortions in the excited state. The largest anharmonic couplings, with intrinsic oscillation magnitudes of up to 40 cm−1, are observed between the 467 cm−1 C–C bend and the 1333 cm−1 C–C stretch with the 191 cm−1 methyl wag, all of which are centered on the reactive cyclohexadiene moiety. Conversely, motions located on the periphery – the 993 cm−1 phenyl bend, the 1389 cm−1 methyl bend and 1580 cm−1 phenyl C–C stretch – are coupled with the 104 cm−1 asymmetric bend. These couplings reveal two key energetic pathways: one leading to formation of the ring-opened product and the other reversion back to the ground state. This work is also important because it presents a new powerful method for measuring anharmonicities of potential energy surfaces and determining their role in chemical reactivity.
CE hospital service utilization is reduced following neuropsychological evaluation in a sample of U.S. veterans.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the objective value of neuropsychological evaluation (NPE) through reduction in Emergency Room (ER) visits and hospitalizations. Retrospective analysis examined trends in ER visits and hospitalizations in 440 U.S. veterans who completed NPE between the years of 2003 and 2010. Within-subjects comparisons showed significant decreases in incidence of hospitalization and length of hospitalization in the year after evaluation compared to the year prior. Mean number of hospitalizations declined from 0.31 (SD = 0.64) pre-NPE to 0.22 (SD = 0.59) post-NPE; there were a total of 41 fewer hospitalizations in the year following NPE. Mean length of hospitalization decreased from 1.9 days (SD = 5.6) pre-NPE to 1.06 days (SD = 3.9) post-NPE; there were a total of 368 fewer days of hospitalization post-NPE. This reduction was not attributable to age or time. Incidence of ER visits also decreased from pre-NPE (M = 0.74, SD = 1.3) to post-evaluation (M = 0.69, SD = 1.3), though this wa...
Of price and prejudice: The importance of being earnest about environmental impact statements

Environmental impact statements (EIS's) stem from the realization that the old open system of boundless resources and opportunities has been replaced by a closed system in which nothing can be acquired without our paying a price. EIS's are intended to identify (and perhaps minimize) that price, and thus to provide the information required to decide wisely whether the purchase is worth the price. Although EIS's are of great importance to our society, we tend to view them with aversion and prejudice. We must change that view, by responding to the challenge of the EIS and by keeping its purpose sharply in focus. We must apply the best talents available and insist on commensurate rewards. To do less is to shrink from our responsibilities as scientist-citizens in today's closed-system world.
Improved biological agent sensing integrated circuit (BASIC)

In this paper, a previously proposed biological sensor system is improved to be more compatible with integrated circuit (IC) technology. The re-designed sensor head detects electromagnetic changes caused by the presence of ferromagnetic tags attached to target pathological and bioterrorism agents (zoonotic microorganisms) both in liquid or gaseous specimens. The system circuits then transform the measured magnetic effects into digital data used to count the number and type of organisms present. The advanced one piece wiring inductor in the conical shape acts as the sensor head. Most important is that the wire geometry achieves ultra-uniformity of the magnetic field magnitude, which ensures a high level of the system accuracy since the randomly located particles will produce nearly the same magnetic flux change over the surface of the sample container. A 3D model is used to simulate organisms tagged with iron nanoparticles being sensed in the system, and the results indicate a maximum difference in effect of 7% when a single biological is moved to various locations across the sensing container surface.
Nanowastes and the environment: Using mercury as an example pollutant to assess the environmental fate of chemicals adsorbed onto manufactured nanomaterials

Emerging nanotechnologies hold great promise for creating new means of detecting pollutants, cleaning polluted waste streams, and recovering materials before they become wastes, thereby protecting environmental quality. Studies focusing on the different advantages of nanoscience and nanotechnology abound in the literature, but less research effort seems to be directed toward studying the fate and potential impacts of wastes that will be generated by this technology. Using a combination of biogeochemical and toxicological methods, we conducted a preliminary investigation of the potential environmental fate of Hg as an example pollutant bound to nanomaterials used in treatment of gas effluents. Methylation of Hg sorbed onto SiO(2)-TiO(2) nanocomposites was used as a proxy for Hg bioavailability to sedimentary microorganisms, and the FluoroMetPLATE assay was used to assess the toxicity of both virgin and Hg-loaded SiO(2)-TiO(2) nanocomposites. Our results show that the bioavailability of Hg sorbed onto SiO(2)-TiO(2) nanocomposites to sedimentary microorganisms is pH dependent, with decreasing reaction rates as the pH increases from 4 to 6. Toxicity tests conducted using liquid extracts obtained by leaching of Hg-loaded SiO(2)-TiO(2) nanocomposites with the synthetic precipitation leaching procedure solution showed an average inhibition of 84% (vs 57% for virgin SiO(2)-TiO(2) nanocomposites). These results suggest that Hg sorbed onto engineered nanoparticles could become bioavailable and toxic if introduced into natural systems. Accordingly, studies focusing on the environmental implications of nanomaterials should include determination of the fate and impacts of pollutants that enter the environment bound to engineered nanomaterials.
The 1976 UK‐IMF crisis: The markets, the Americans, and the IMF

This article examines the multiple levels of external pressures (structural, bilateral, and multilateral) that were brought to bear on British economic policy during the mid‐1970s. Specifically, it will be argued that in 1974 and early 1975, the Wilson‐Callaghan Labour government's domestic political imperatives set the direction of economic policy. By the middle of 1976, however, these had largely given way. External influences and pressures had become dominant and culminated in explicit economic policy constraints that were imposed upon the government in December 1976 through the mechanism of IMF (International Monetary Fund) loan conditionality.
Methodology for assessment of structural vibrations by spectral domain optical coherence tomography

Clinical diagnosis of cochlear dysfunction typically remains incomplete due to a lack of proper diagnostic methods. Medical imaging modalities can only detect gross changes in the cochlea, and non-invasive in vivo cochlear measurements are scarce. As a result, extensive efforts have been made to adapt optical coherence tomography (OCT) techniques to analyze and study the cochlea. Herein, we detail the methods for measuring vibration using OCT. We used spectral domain OCT with ~950 nm as the center wavelength and a bandwidth of ~80 nm. The custom spectrometer used was based on a high speed line scan camera which is capable of line rates up to 28 kHz. The signal-to- noise ratio of the system was ~90 dB. The data collection and processing software was written in LabVIEW and MATLAB. We tested whether streaming directly from the camera, writing the data to multiple hard drives in the RAID- 0 configuration, and processing using the GPU shortened experiment times. We then analyzed the A-line phase noise over several hundred milliseconds and growth curves from a piezoelectric element. We believe this is the first step towards a diagnostic device which generates vibration information of cochlear structures.
A Critique and Extension of Bronfenbrenner's Moral Dilemma Test

Abstract Critical reading of Bronfenbrenner's Moral Dilemmas Test (MDT) suggests that it measures two basic kinds of moral dimensions: (1) “Negative-passive” moral choices which require the child to resist peer pressure to violate conventional norms in situations fraught with potential adult sanctions, and (2) “Positive-active” moral choices which require performance of an act that affirms a moral principle and implies a benefit for recipients of the act. To test the validity of these distinctions, additional positive-active type dilemmas were constructed to balance the overemphasis on negative-passive situations found in the original MDT. This expanded MDT was then administered to samples of Mormon, Catholic and public school children. Responses from all samples were subjected to factor and cluster analyses and then to a “multitrait-multimethod matrix”. The se analyses provide support for the need for making moral sub-distinctions by producing item clusters that are consistently based on the a priori def...
Purification and analysis of colorful hypothetical open reading frames: An inexpensive gateway laboratory.

This laboratory exercise is an inquiry-based investigation developed around the core experiment where students, working alone or in groups, each purify and analyze their own prescreened colored proteins using immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC). Here, we present reagents and protocols that allow 12 different proteins to be purified in parallel without specialized equipment and within a 2.5- to 3-hour undergraduate teaching laboratory. The visual feedback of purifying a colored biomolecule provides real-time emphasis of the power and simplicity of recombinant DNA technology and IMAC. As presented here in its simplest form, this laboratory occupies two laboratory periods: purification followed by SDS-PAGE analysis. As such, it can be easily inserted into the existing curriculum of a Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, or even Genetics course to illustrate core concepts of central dogma and protein purification. Furthermore, the proteins in hand at the end of this 2-week module can also be used for follow-up experiments tailored to the needs, timeframe, and facilities available. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education Vol. 39, No. 2, pp. 141–144, 2011
Thin film adhesion: New possibilities for interface engineering

Abstract The good adhesion performance of a thin film on a solid substrate is now understood to depend on a variety of the attributes of the interface region, including its atomic bonding structure, its elastic moduli and state of stress, and its thickness, purity and fracture toughness. Many of these qualities can be explicitly tailored during film deposition to enhance the resulting bond. Many opportunities exist for new research in this area, and this paper is intended to review some of these possibilities. References to other more detailed publications are cited.