cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Requirement of monovalent cations in the acrosome reaction of guinea pig spermatozoa

The majority of the spermatozoa precapacitated in Ca2+-free medium underwent the acrosome raction rapidly when they were transferred to Ca2+-containing medium. The presence of Na+ and Ca2+ in the medium was essential for the acrosome reaction. The vast majority of spermatozoa failed to undergo the reaction in Ca2+ medium lacking monovalent ions, although they remained motile. At the concentration of 140 mM, Na+, K+, Rb+, and Cs+ all supported the reaction at the maximum level, but at 50 mM the latter three ions were not as effective as Na+. Li+ was least effective in supporting the reaction. Virtually no acrosome reactions took place when precapacitated spermatozoa were first exposed to Na+ medium (no Ca2+) and then to Ca2+ medium (no Na+). On the other hand, a considerably higher proportion of spermatozoa acrosome reacted when they were exposed to these media in the reverse order. The most efficient acrosome reactions took place when the medium contained both a monovalent ion (Na+) and Ca2+ simultaneously. Possible mechanisms by which monovalent and divalent cations participate in the acrosome reaction are discussed.
On the quantum logic approach to quantum mechanics

A quantum logic structure for quantum mechanics which contains the concepts of a physical space, localizability, and symmetry groups is formulated. It is shown that there is an underlying Hilbert space which mirrors much of this axiomatic structure. Quantum fields are defined and shown to arise naturally from the quantum logic structure. The fields ofHaag andWightman are generalized to this theory and an attempt is made to find a local equivalence for these fields.
Intraoperative measurement of indenter-induced brain deformation: a feasibility study

Accurate measurement of soft tissue material properties is critical for characterizing its biomechanical behaviors but can be challenging especially for the human brain in vivo. In this study, we investigated the feasibility of inducing and detecting cortical surface deformation intraoperatively for patients undergoing open skull neurosurgeries. A custom diskshaped indenter made of high-density tungsten (diameter of 15 mm with a thickness of 6 mm) was used to induce deformation on the brain cortical surface immediately after dural opening. Before and after placing the indenter, sequences (typically 250 frames at 15 frames-per-second, or ~17 seconds) of high-resolution stereo image pairs were acquired to capture the harmonic motion of the exposed cortical surface as due to blood pressure pulsation and respiration. For each sequence with the first left image serving as a baseline, an optical-flow motion-tracking algorithm was used to detect in-sequence cortical surface deformation. The resulting displacements of the exposed features within the craniotomy were spatially averaged to identify the temporal frames corresponding to motion peak magnitudes. Corresponding image pairs were then selected to reconstruct full-field three-dimensional (3D) cortical surfaces before and after indentation, respectively, from which full 3D displacement fields were obtained by registering their projection images. With one clinical patient case, we illustrate the feasibility of the technique in detecting indenter-induced cortical surface deformation in order to allow subsequent processing to determine material properties of the brain in vivo.
Sampling termites in forest habitats: a reply to Roisin and Leponce

To characterize the structure and species density of termite assemblages in tropical forests, we developed a sampling protocol based on a single large quadrat (belt transect) that standardises sampling effort and area. Emphasizing the estimation of species richness, Roisin and Leponce (2004, Austral Ecology, 29: 637- 46) recommend sampling numerous small quadrats, and varying the number of quadrats depending on local species density. However, their method would result in the loss of standardisation and speed, taking up to four times longer to collect and process the samples. We show that even for a subtropical forest with low species density, our protocol produces robust results.
[Ni(terpy)(H2O)]-trans-[Ni-(μ-CN)2-(CN)2]n, a one-dimensional linear tetra­cyano­nickelate chain

The one-dimensional chain catena-poly­[[aqua(2,2′:6′,2′′-terpyridyl-κ3N)­nickel(II)]-μ-cyano-κ2N:C-[bis­(cyano-κC)nickelate(II)]-μ-cyano-κ2C:N], [Ni(terpy)(H2O)]-trans-[Ni-μ-(CN)2-(CN)2]n or [Ni2­(CN)4­(C15H11N3)(H2O)], consists of infinite linear chains along the crystallographic [10\overline 1] direction. The chains are composed of two distinct types of nickel ions, paramagnetic octahedral [Ni(terpy)(H2O)]2+ cations (with twofold crystallographic symmetry) and diamagnetic planar [Ni(CN)4]2− anions (with the Ni atom on an inversion center). The [Ni(CN)4]2− units act as bidentate ligands bridging through two trans cyano groups thus giving rise to a new example of a trans–trans chain among planar tetra­cyano­nickelate complexes. The coordination geometry of the planar nickel unit is typical of slightly distorted octahedral nickel(II) complexes, but for the [Ni(CN)4]2− units, the geometry deviates from a planar configuration due to steric interactions with the ter­pyridine ligands.
Vaccinia Virus Protein F12 Associates with Intracellular Enveloped Virions through an Interaction with A36

Vaccinia virus is the prototypical member of the family Poxviridae. Three morphologically distinct forms are produced during infection: intracellular mature virions (IMV), intracellular enveloped virions (IEV), and extracellular enveloped virions (EEV). Two viral proteins, F12 and A36, are found exclusively on IEV but not on IMV and EEV. Analysis of membranes from infected cells showed that F12 was only associated with membranes and is not an integral membrane protein. A yeast two-hybrid assay revealed an interaction between amino acids 351 to 458 of F12 and amino acids 91 to 111 of A36. We generated a recombinant vaccinia virus that expresses an F12, which lacks residues 351 to 458. Characterization of this recombinant revealed a small-plaque phenotype and a subsequent defect in virus release similar to a recombinant virus that had F12L deleted. In addition, F12 lacking residues 351 to 458 was unable to associate with membranes in infected cells. These results suggest that F12 associates with IEV through an interaction with A36 and that this interaction is critical for the function of F12 during viral egress.
Temperature dependence of the tensile behaviour of aramid/aluminium laminates

Aramid/aluminium laminates (ARALL® laminates) are a family of new hybrid composites made of alternating layers of thin aluminium alloy sheets with plies of epoxy adhesive prepreg containing unidirectional aramid fibres. The effect of elevated and cryogenic temperatures on these materials is critical to aerospace applications. ARALL 1, 2, 3, and 4 laminates have been tested in tension at temperatures ranging from −300F–400 °F (−184–204 °C) and at room temperature after exposure. This paper summarizes how tensile properties depend on temperature for these four ARALL laminates under the conditions described. At cryogenic temperatures, no degradation of ultimate tensile strengths, tensile yield strengths and moduli were found for either the longitudinal or transverse directions for ARALL 1–4 laminates. Furthermore, the mechanical properties remained the same or increased slightly as the temperature decreased. Longitudinal and transverse ultimate tensile strengths, tensile yield strengths, and moduli of ARALL 1–3 laminates at room temperature remain nearly constant after the laminates were exposed for 1, 10 and 100 h to temperatures up to 250 °F (121 °C), and up to 350 °F (177 °C) for ARALL 4 laminates. However, these properties determined at the elevated temperatures after 1, 10 and 100 h exposure showed a tendency to decrease with increasing temperature. The properties of ARALL laminates are much better in the longitudinal fibre direction than those of conventional monolithic aluminium alloys. Typical failure modes of the test specimens in the high-temperature range were examined using a scanning electron microscope. The discussions are also described in the paper.
Abductive reasoning for design synthesis

Abstract Abductive reasoning as a type of “intelligent guessing” has significant impacts on design synthesis. This is particularly evident at early design stages when synthesis must be carried out with only intangible intents and incomplete information. This paper elaborates three types of applicability of abductive reasoning for design synthesis including: identification of implicit design targets, ideation of innovative design concepts, and diagnosis of violating design constraints or design axioms. These studies are then combined to develop a synthesis reasoning process in order to support early-stage design. Some real-world examples are used to illustrate the potential applications in design practice.
Fracture strength of composite laminates with an elliptical opening

Abstract The ultimate strength of composite laminates containing elliptical openings can be predicted reasonably well using two fracture models which utilize the first ply failure strength of the notched and corresponding unnotched laminates. These models have the capability to predict the fracture strength of anisotropic laminates with an opening of general construction and subjected to general in-plane loading. Although the characteristic lengths for the present models are determined empirically, it is found that the characteristic lengths for an elliptical opening of any aspect ratio can be expressed in a closed-form function. These parameters are determined using three (e.g., two circular holes and one crack) or more data points. The experimental result shows that the notched strength of the graphite/epoxy cross-ply laminate is quite sensitive to the opening aspect ratio.
Acute, but not repeated, cocaine administration decreases renin secretion in the conscious male rat.

The effects of cocaine on renin secretion have been addressed and a previously unreported inhibitory effect has been identified on this neuroendocrine system in the conscious male rat. Acute intraperitoneal administration of cocaine dose-dependently (1.5, 7.5, 15, and 30 mg/kg; at 15 min) produced a significant decrease in both plasma renin activity (PRA) and plasma renin concentration (PRC). The time course of inhibition by cocaine in PRA and PRC revealed maximal effects at 15 min following a 15 mg/kg dose. In contrast, the long term administration of cocaine for 1, 7, or 30 days (15 mg/kg, twice daily, i.p.) did not produce changes in PRC.
Regulation of DYT1 gene expression by the Ets family of transcription factors.

The DYT1 gene encodes for torsinA, a protein with widespread tissue distribution, involved in early onset dystonia (EOD). Numerous studies have focused on torsinA function but no information is available on its transcriptional regulation. We cloned mouse and human 5′-upstream DYT1 DNA fragments, exhibiting high transcriptional activity, as well as tissue specificity. We identified a proximal minimal DYT1 promoter within −141 bp for mouse and −191 bp for human with respect to the ATG codon. Primer extension analysis indicated multiple transcription start sites. In silico analysis of approximately 500 bp 5′-upstream DYT1 fragment demonstrated lack of a classical TATA or CAAT box and the presence of a highly conserved direct repeat of two Ets binding cores within −86 bp to −77 bp and −78 bp to −69 bp of the mouse and human DYT1 gene, respectively. A single or a two base nucleotide alteration within the downstream Ets core resulted in approximately 90% (mouse) or 45–60% (human) drop in activity. Interestingly, a 3-bp distance increase between the two Ets cores dramatically decreased transcriptional activity which was partially restored when the distance was increased up to 10 bp. Ets-like dominant negatives confirmed the Ets factors as DYT1 transcriptional activators.
Dysfunctional attitudes and the cognitive therapy for depression

Nineteen depressed community volunteers received a replication of the cognitive therapy group treatment used by Shaw (1977). Two groups were created based upon a median split of pretreatment scores on the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (Weissman & Beck, Note 1). The Beck Depression Inventory, Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Hopelessness Scale, and Social Adjustment Scale were administered prior to and following a 4-week treatment and following a 4-week follow-up. Subjects with higher initial levels of dysfunctional attitudes evidenced a poorer response to the treatment than their attitudinally more functional counterparts. This result was robust and held over a residual gain scoring procedure. Results lend support to the hypothesis that dysfunctional attitude level acts as a general psychopathological indicator.
Ecological Comparison between Three Artificial Refuges and the Natural Habitat for Devils Hole Pupfish

Abstract Attempts to maintain refuge populations of Devils Hole pupfish Cyprinodon diabolis in artificial tanks have achieved limited success. Previous studies have documented changes in morphological, behavioral, and genetic characteristics of refuge populations, which suggest that environmental conditions (and thus selective pressures) differ from those found in Devils Hole (DH). Physical, chemical, and biological characteristics were compared among the three Devils Hole pupfish refuges (Hoover Dam, School Springs, and Point of Rocks) and between each refuge and DH. In contrast to the thermally constant environment in DH (∼33°C), mean refuge temperatures were cooler and fluctuated on a weekly and seasonal basis. On two occasions, extreme temperature fluctuations lasting several weeks (due to water supply malfunctions) were recorded at the Hoover Dam (6°C decrease) and School Springs (22°C decrease) refuges. The physical design of the refuges precludes surface runoff from entering them; thick layers of a...
Molecules in focus The NF-E2 transcription factor

NF-E2 belongs to the basic-leucine zipper family of dimeric transcription factors. It consists of a widely expressed 18 kDa subunit, related to chicken Maf proteins, and a tissue-restricted 45 kDa subunit, which contains a cnc domain. It is found almost exclusively in hematopoietic progenitors, and cells of the erythroid/mega/mast cell trilineage. NF-E2 is involved in regulation of globin gene transcription, acting through locus control regions (LCRs) upstream of the alpha and beta globin gene clusters. In addition, it is essential for normal platelet production. Targeted disruption of the gene encoding the 45 kDa subunit leads to severe thrombocytopenia but little if any defect in erythropoiesis, indicating that other molecules can substitute for p45 in red cell maturation in developing mice. However, retroviral integration within the p45 gene has been shown to disrupt erythroid differentiation in erythroleukemia cells; this suggests that p45 could, conceivably, be a target for pharmacologic interventions in patients with excess red cell production due to polycythemia vera.
A performance assessment of objective measures for evaluating the quality of glottal waveform estimates

Automatic glottal waveform estimation remains a challenging problem in speech analysis. Developing criteria for the objective assessment of the quality of glottal waveform estimates would facilitate the design of more robust estimation algorithms. The aim of this paper is to investigate the performance of potential glottal waveform quality measures (GQM's) and to determine whether a combination of these GQM's is able to consistently provide an accurate assessment of glottal waveform estimate quality across several speakers and phonemes. We develop an experimental setup that produces disjoint sets of high and low-quality glottal waveform estimates from real speech and use this data to objectively assess the performance of 12 glottal waveform quality measures on a sustained vowel speech dataset spanning 16 male speakers and 3 phonemes. In addition, we present a rank-based method (RB-GQA) that allows arbitrary GQM subsets to be effectively combined. Using this method, we perform an exhaustive search on the GQM subset space to determine the best-performing GQM combinations for different groups of speakers and phonemes. While it was found that the optimal GQM combinations are speaker and phoneme dependent, optimization across all utterances (speaker-phoneme pairs) resulted in a combination of 4 GQM's (ratio of first harmonic to maximum harmonic over 0-3.7kHz, group delay variance, phase-plane cycles/period, and phase-plane mean sub-cycle length) that performed very well on almost every utterance in the dataset and nearly matched the performance of the GQM subsets obtained via phoneme-dependent optimization.
Fiber optic sensors for health monitoring of morphing airframes: II. Chemical sensing using optical fibers with Bragg gratings

Part I of this two part series described the fabrication and calibration of Bragg gratings written into a single mode optical fiber for use in strain and temperature monitoring. Part II of the series describes the use of identical fibers and additional multimode fibers, both with and without Bragg gratings, to perform near infrared spectroscopy. The demodulation system being developed at NASA Langley Research Center currently requires the use of a single mode optical fiber. Attempts to use this single mode fiber for spectroscopic analysis are problematic given its small core diameter, resulting in low signal intensity. Nonetheless, we have conducted a preliminary investigation using a single mode fiber in conjunction with an infrared spectrometer to obtain spectra of a high-performance epoxy resin system. Spectra were obtained using single mode fibers that contained Bragg gratings; however, the peaks of interest were barely discernible above the noise. The goal of this research is to provide a multipurpose sensor in a single optical fiber capable of measuring a variety of chemical and physical properties.
Stimulus stringing by pigeons: Effect of feedback for correct selections

Previous studies have shown that pigeons could learn a serial list of colors and to select each color in the proper order when presented with an array of colors. Errors of jumping forward in the required sequence (forward errors) were most probable, with jumps backward in the required sequence (backward errors) being relatively improbable. One proposed explanation for the higher probability of forward errors suggests that the pigeon pecks at the correct stimulus without activating the response switch and then pecks the next stimulus in the sequence closing the response switch. This “inadequate-peck” hypothesis suggests that forward errors are due to weak stimulus control and that increased feedback for correct pecks should therefore reduce forward error probability relative to a low-feedback condition. The present study compared responding under conditions of high and no experimenter-provided feedback for correct pecks. As the feedback did not affect the probability of forward errors, the inadequate-peck hypothesis was not supported. A short-term memory explanation is consistent with the data.
L-Malate: NADP oxidoreductase (decarboxylating) from germinating flax rust uredospores

Abstract l -Malate: NADP oxidoreductase (decarboxylating) (here called “malic” enzyme) from germinating flax rust uredospores was purified more than twenty-fold and partially characterized. This enzyme preparation was found to catalyze both the oxidative decarboxylation of l -malic acid to pyruvic acid at pH 7·6 and the decarboxylation of oxalacetic acid at pH 5. The oxidative decarboxylation of l -malate was found to specifically need NADP and required Mn2+ for maximum activity. Optimal pH for enzyme activity was 7·6. A Michaelis constant for l -malate of 1·5 × 10−4 M was found for this partially purified enzyme preparation. The stability and heat lability of the enzyme are reported in addition to the effect of a number of inhibitors.
Ultracold neutral plasmas: recent experiments and new prospects

Photoionizing laser-cooled atoms produces ultracold neutral plasmas with initial temperatures of 1–1000 K and densities as high as 1010 cm−3. Applied radio frequency fields can excite plasma oscillations that are used to monitor the expansion of the unconfined plasma. Significant three-body recombination of electrons and ions into Rydberg atoms takes place during the plasma expansion. Previous experiments have been done with xenon, but a new experiment is planned with laser-cooled strontium. The strontium ion has an optically allowed transition at a convenient blue wavelength. This will allow direct imaging of the plasma through fluorescence or absorption, and may enable laser cooling and trapping of the plasma.
Drinking by Adult Cephenemyia (Diptera: Oestridae)

Frequent citations in the literature indicate that all adult bot flies are aphagous and without functional mouthparts. This paper describes imbibing of free water by two species of adult Cephenemyia . While in the process of drinking, the functioning of the external mouthparts was viewed through a stereoscopic microscope. Intake of fluids was confirmed by vivisection of flies offered a 0.01% solution of aqueous neutral red dye. Amount of fluid imbibed was measured by weighing flies immediately before and after drinking. The longevity of flies drinking water was significantly longer than that of the controls. Possible intake of free fluids by these flies under natural conditions is discussed, and a description of the anatomy of the mouthparts is presented.
A Parametric Study Of Various Synthetic Aperture Telescope Configurations For Coherent Imaging Applications

The comparative advantages of synthetic aperture telescopes (SATs) of segmented primary mirror and common secondary mirror type, on the one hand, and on the other those employing an array of independent telescopes, are discussed. The diffraction-limited optical performance of both redundant and nonredundant subaperture configurations are compared in terms of point spread function characteristics and encircled energy plots. Coherent imaging with afocal telescope SATs involves a pupil-mapping operation followed by a Fourier transform one. A quantitative analysis of the off-axis optical performance degradation due to pupil-mapping errors is presented, together with the field-dependent effects of residual design aberrations of independent telescopes.
Early transcription factor subunits are encoded by vaccinia virus late genes.

Abstract The vaccinia virus early transcription factor (VETF) was shown to be a virus-encoded heterodimer. The gene for the 82-kDa subunit was identified as open reading frame (ORF) A8L, based on the N-terminal sequence of factor purified by using DNA-affinity magnetic beads. The 70-kDa subunit of VETF was refractory to N-terminal analysis, and so N-terminal sequences were obtained for three internal tryptic peptides. All three peptides matched sequences within ORF D6R. ORFs A8L and D6R are located within the central region of the vaccinia virus genome and are separated by about 13,600 base pairs. Proteins corresponding to the 3' ends of ORFs A8L and D6R were overexpressed in Escherichia coli and used to prepare antisera that bound to the larger and smaller subunits, respectively, of affinity-purified VETF. Immunoblot analysis of proteins from infected cells indicated that both subunits are expressed exclusively in the late phase of infection, just prior to their packaging in virus particles. The two subunits of VETF have no significant local or overall amino acid sequence homology to one another, to other entries in biological sequence data bases including bacterial sigma factors, or to recently determined sequences of some eukaryotic transcription factors. The 70-kDa subunit, however, has motifs in common with a super-family of established and putative DNA and RNA helicases.
SU‐GG‐T‐25: Intercomparison Between Nucletron Plato and Simuplan Systems for Ir‐193 HDR Brachytherapy Treatment Planning

Purpose: To compare two commercial TPS systems for 2D HDR planning. Method and Materials: The Nucletron Plato System (NPS) version BPS13.7 is a well established TPS for Brachytherapy procedures and has been used clinically for more than 20 years. New softwares have been released for 2D and 3D calculation using new optimization methods. In this work we intercompare the dose at prescription points calculated by the NPS and by Simuplan Planning System (SPS) version 8.2d, with the same dwell position times. The input data for both systems was done minimizing the geometric error in the final reconstruction. Plannings were done in both systems for several configurations, varying the length of active path (point source, 2, 3, 4 and 5 cm). For each active path calculation distances were changed from 10 to 30 mm from the catheter). The same prescription points were defined in both systems. The optimized plans were generated with the SPS system, adjusting the dwell times aiming a maximum dose difference around ±2% among the prescription points. The total treatment time was verified by manual calculation. The dwell times obtained by SPS system were input into NPS system, to compare the dose at the prescription points. The error at the source and points coordinate positions was evaluated for both systems. Results and Discussion: The dose difference at the prescription points, changing the active length ranged from 0.24% to 0.66%. Keeping the length fixed and varying the treatment distances, these differences ranged from 0.25% to 0.65%. The overall average difference was 0.45%±0.19%. The error in positioning the source and the points was 0.21 mm for SPS and 0.61mm for NPS. All the manual calculations were within ±5% difference.
Crosstalk between the nucleotide excision repair and Fanconi anemia/BRCA pathways

Cells have evolved multiple distinct DNA repair pathways to efficiently correct a variety of genotoxic lesions, and decades of study have led to an improved understanding of the mechanisms and regulation of these individual pathways. However, there is now an increasing appreciation that extensive crosstalk exists among DNA repair pathways and that this crosstalk serves to increase the efficiency and diversity of response to damage. The Fanconi anemia (FA)/BRCA and nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathways have been shown to share common factors, and often work in concert to repair damage. Genomic studies are now revealing that many tumors harbor somatic mutations in FA/BRCA or NER genes, which may provide a growth advantage, but which could also be exploited therapeutically.
Interpretation of miscible displacements in laboratory cores

Results of stable, first-contact miscible displacements are presented for three San Andres carbonate cores from west Texas and eastern New Mexico. All three cores showed evidence of significant heterogeneity at the core scale. Effluent composition measurements were interpreted with two relatively simple models of mixing during flow in heterogeneous porous media: the Coats-Smith (CS) mode, which represents the pore space as flowing and stagnant fractions with mass transfer between them, and a porous sphere (PS) model, which describes flow between an assemblage of porous spheres with diffusive interchange of material in the spheres with fluid flowing past them. Parameters for the two models are reported and compared. Direct measurements of some parameters from thin-sections agreed well with least-error parameters for one sample for which comparisons were possible. PS model fits showed less error than CS model fits. The form of the PS model is then used to examine how mixing effects change with changes in flow velocity, displacement length, the length scale associated with heterogeneity, and the rate of exchange of material between flowing and stagnant zones. The authors conclude that for reservoirs with scales of heterogeneity larger than those present in core samples, laboratory core displacements do not providemore » evidence about mixing behavior at field scale.« less
Hands-On Learning Modules for Interdisciplinary Environments: An Example With a Focus on Weather Radar Applications

Learning modules provide an effective means of encouraging cognition and active learning. This paper discusses several such modules that have been developed within a course on weather radar applications intended for students from Electrical Engineering and Meteorology. The modules were designed both to promote interdisciplinary exchange between the students and to guide them from a theoretical to an applied understanding of weather radar and the interactions of radio waves with geophysical media. The learning modules introduce students to various means of acquiring weather radar data from real-time and archival sources and ways in which to query and visualize them. They are also tasked with analyzing data from several actual and significant meteorological events and asked to assess the strengths and limitations of current methods of retrieving rainfall rates. Data sources include both weather radars and complementary surface-based instrumentation. The modules may be used in a variety of locations and by a diversity of students. Although developed for weather radar applications, the concepts discussed are applicable to other interdisciplinary classroom environments.
Block Faulting and Development of Drainage, Northern Madison Mountains, Montana

The northern Madison Mountains consist of at least three east-west-trending, elongate fault blocks that achieved most of their elevation by Eocene time. The blocks were either (1) initially downfaulted, eroded of all Mesozoic and most Paleozoic strata, and then uplifted, or (2) uplifted without downfaulting, but varied in relative rates of uplift. A subdued topography developed on metamorphic rocks. Fault blocks were buried by a northward-sloping plain of Oligocene-Miocene sediment. Consequent streams on the plain were diverted by highlands of the central fault block. Stream courses were influenced by the slope of the plain, barriers to northerly drainage, exhumed Tertiary valleys, and lowering of base level brought about by the Madison River. Tertiary topography was partially exhumed.
Adaptive, Computational and Intelligent systems in a Smart Grid education curriculum

This paper will present experiences from the introduction of five new, three hour, interdisciplinary courses at the Missouri University of Science and Technology, USA at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The new courses introduced include: Adaptive Devices, Circuits and Systems; Adaptive Critic Designs; Computational Intelligence (CI); CI Methods in Electric Power; and Power System Simulation. The idea of such integrated and interdisciplinary courses, especially at the undergraduate level, is to expose students to different disciplines at an early stage in their degree program and career that is critical today for the Smart Grid environment. The curriculum, possible assessment, implementation, and impacts of interdisciplinary courses for smart grid education will be presented.
Quantitative Determination of Regional Left Ventricular Wall Dynamics by Roentgen Videometry

The use of roentgen videometry as a means of studying regional left ventricular wall dynamics and performance was evaluated in 32 patients undergoing coronary arteriography. Nine patients had normal coronary arteriograms and hemodynamic findings (group 1), 8 patients had generalized decrease in left ventricular contraction and abnormal hemodynamic findings (group 2), and 15 patients with coronary artery disease had regional wall dynamics abnormalities (group 3). Sixty-per-second determinations of wall thickness were performed in selected sites of the left ventricle. Measurements performed included end-diastolic wall thickness (EDTw), mean and peak rates of systolic wall thickening (m and p dTw/dt), and fractional systolic increase in wall thickness (ΔTw/EDTw). In patients with uniformly performing ventricles (groups 1 and 2), these parameters correlated well with other parameters of ventricular function. Best distinction between the "normal" group (group 1) and the "abnormal" group (group 2) was achieved ...
Tunneling between dissimilar quantum wells: A probe of the energy-dependent quasiparticle lifetime

Tunneling between two narrow quantum wells with different effective masses is proposed as a probe of the quasiparticle inelastic lifetime at finite excitation energy. Conservation of energy and of $\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{k},$ the momentum parallel to the interface, allows the tunneling conductance to be large only if the crossing of the two energy bands $[{E}_{1}(\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{k}{)=E}_{2}(\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{k})+eV]$ at an applied voltage V occurs between the two Fermi levels. The abruptness of the change in tunneling current as this crossing passes through one of the Fermi levels can be used to investigate the lifetimes of the quasiparticle states involved. Results based on the random phase approximation are used as an illustration.
Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme DD Genotype and Cardiovascular Disease in Heterozygous Familial Hypercholesterolemia

Background—Controversy exists as to whether the deletion/deletion genotype (DD) of the ACE gene polymorphism increases the risk of myocardial infarction (MI). Studies have suggested that the ACE DD genotype is associated with increased plaque instability. We hypothesized that the ACE DD genotype may increase the risk of myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease (CHD) in patients with heterozygous familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) or familial defective apolipoprotein B-100 (FDB) who, as a group, are at high risk of having lipid-rich plaques in their coronary arteries. Methods and Results—We determined the ACE genotypes and incidence of MI or surgical intervention for CHD in 213 adult patients with heterozygous FH or FDB. The incidence of MI in 35 male patients who carried the ACE DD genotype was 2.5 times that observed in male patients with the II or DI genotypes, and the incidence of CHD in male patients with the DD genotype was 2.2 times higher than in those who had ACE DI+II. The potential effec...
A deceptive estimate? The politics of irregular troop numbers in Vietnam

Director of Central Intelligence Richard Helms has received a great deal of criticism for his role in the conflict between the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the US military over Communist strength in the Vietnam War. Specifically, he has been charged with ordering his subordinates to “cave” into accepting the military's lower numbers for political reasons. However, the evidence casts doubt on the claim that it was his influence that forced an end to the debate – and on the notion that he could or should have pushed the higher numbers through. Moreover, an analysis of the stakes involved in the “numbers game” reveals much about the interested parties' perceptions of the war itself, ultimately bringing into question the possibility that one can “know one's enemy” without first understanding him, and suggesting that any attempt to fight a war without doing so is inevitably self-delusive.
Symmetry effects in the electronic spectrum of ammonia at low temperature

A band intensity alternation has been observed in the absorption spectra to the A1A state of NH3 and ND3 cooled in supersonic expansions. The nuclear statistical explanation for this interesting effect is given here.
Universally Serializable Computation

Cai and Furst proved that every PSPACE language can be solved via a large number of identical simple tasks, each of which is provided with the original input, its own unique task number, and at most three bits of output from the previous task. In the Cai?Furst model, the tasks are required to be run in the order specified by the task numbers. To study the extent to which the Cai?Furst PSPACE result is due to this strict scheduling, we remove their ordering restriction, allowing tasks to execute in any serial order. That is, we study the extent to which complex tasks can be decomposed into large numbers of simple tasks that can be scheduled arbitrarily. We provide upper bounds on the complexity of the sets thus accepted. Our bounds suggest that Cai and Furst's surprising PSPACE result is due in large part to the fixed order of their task execution. In fact, our bounds suggest the possibility that even relatively low levels of the polynomial hierarchy cannot be accepted via large numbers of simple tasks that can be scheduled arbitrarily. However, adding randomization recaptures the polynomial hierarchy. The entire polynomial hierarchy can be accepted by large numbers of arbitrarily scheduled probabilistic tasks passing only a single bit of information between successive tasks (and using J. Simon's “exact counting” acceptance mechanism). In fact, we show that the class of languages so accepted is exactly NPPP.
Depicting by gesture

This paper deals with ways in which gestural “pictures” are made, i.e., manual depictions of phenomena in the world. The view that “iconic” gestures uniformly function by way of some resemblance between signifier and signified is rejected, giving way to an understanding of depiction by gesture as the achievement of a heterogeneous set of practices, some of which rely on relations of contiguity or indexicality to evoke commonly known objects or scenes. Others seem to be derivative of other representation methods (e.g., drawing on surfaces). The paper reviews some existing work on gestural depiction methods, offers a working heuristics, and illustrates some of its categories. It is suggested that some of the basic ways in which actions of the hands evoke the world in gesture correspond to fundamental modes of existence and activity of human hands in the world: hands depict by enacting their familiar, “real-world” capacities as users, transporters, experiencers, assemblers, molders, and shapers of things.
An evaluation of automated structure learning with Bayesian networks: An application to estuarine chlorophyll dynamics

We develop a Bayesian network (BN) model that describes estuarine chlorophyll dynamics in the upper section of the Neuse River Estuary in North Carolina, using automated constraint based structure learning algorithms. We examine the functionality and usefulness of the structure learning algorithms in building model topology with real-time data under different scenarios. Generated BN models are evaluated and a final model is selected. Model results indicate that although the effect of water temperature and river flow on chlorophyll dynamics has remained unchanged following the implementation of the nitrogen Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program; the response of chlorophyll levels to nutrient concentrations has been altered. The results stress the importance of incorporating expert defined constraints and links in conjunction with the automated structure learning algorithms to generate more plausible structures and minimize the sensitivity of the learning algorithms. This hybrid approach towards structure learning allows for the incorporation of existing knowledge while limiting the scope of the learning algorithms to defining the links between environmental variables for which the expert has little or no information.
Measuring the impact of the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group Z0011 trial on breast cancer surgery in a community health system.

Abstract Background The American College of Surgeons Oncology Group Z0011 trial has been lauded as practice changing. We sought to identify its impact on breast cancer surgery in the community hospital setting. Methods A retrospective review was performed from 8 community hospitals identifying patients with invasive breast cancer meeting the Z0011 criteria. The primary outcome measures were the rate of completion axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) and performance of intraoperative sentinel lymph node (SLN) analysis over time. Results A total of 1,125 lumpectomies with SLN biopsies were performed with 180 subjects meeting inclusion criteria. Performance of ALND ( P P Conclusion American College of Surgeons Oncology Group Z0011 trial has been rapidly practice changing in the community hospital setting.
The labyrinth method of comparing wild and domestic rats: Origins of animal psychology revisited

Ten wild and 10 domesticated rats were run in a 4-alley Lashley maze with food as a reward. Domesticated rats learned the maze in fewer trials and less time, but did not make significantly fewer errors. Domesticated animals were judged more active both by an index of activity and by observation. It was concluded, contrary to popular belief, that domesticated rats need not be considered degenerate in their maze-learning ability and that their propensity for exploratory behavior is suggestive as one reason for their faster maze learning.
Similarity-related channel interactions in visual processing.

Lateral interference between letters in the visual field is a joint function of their similarity and physical separation. Data needed to evaluate hypothesis about the processes implicated in these effects were obtained from two experiments in which the task was identification of a target letter always presented in the center of a three-letter display. Variation of target-flanker similarity, the primary variable, was combined factorially with spacing of target and flanker, location of the display in the visual field, delay of patterned postmasks, and exposure duration. The effect of target-flanker similarity on target identification yielded a nonmonotonic function with a minimum at an intermediate degree of similarity. Data from same-different judgments regarding target-flanker similarity indicate that some information about similarity is available even at levels of visibility that do not permit identification of individual letters. All of the findings could be accommodated by a model assuming that only variables determining visibility--exposure duration, mask properties, location in the visual field, separation of letters--influence extraction of featural information pertaining to letter identification. In contrast, visual similarity influences performance by way of sometimes subtle effects on subjects' criteria or response biases and by effects on the encoding and retention of information regarding relative positions of characters in the visual field. The varying effects of similarity reported in the literature on letter identification all appear to be interpretable in these terms. Language: en
Fast vacancy-mediated oxygen ion incorporation across the ceria–gas electrochemical interface

Electrochemical incorporation reactions are ubiquitous in energy storage and conversion devices. Here, the authors perform in operando X-ray spectroscopy to probe the incorporation of oxygen into ceria and demonstrate that the ion-incorporation step is fast compared with the electron-transfer step.
A brief history of T(H)17, the first major revision in the T(H)1/T(H)2 hypothesis of T cell-mediated tissue damage.

For over 35 years, immunologists have divided T-helper (TH) cells into functional subsets. T-helper type 1 (TH1) cells—long thought to mediate tissue damage—might be involved in the initiation of damage, but they do not sustain or play a decisive role in many commonly studied models of autoimmunity, allergy and microbial immunity. A major role for the cytokine interleukin-17 (IL-17) has now been described in various models of immune-mediated tissue injury, including organ-specific autoimmunity in the brain, heart, synovium and intestines, allergic disorders of the lung and skin, and microbial infections of the intestines and the nervous system. A pathway named TH17 is now credited for causing and sustaining tissue damage in these diverse situations. The TH1 pathway antagonizes the TH17 pathway in an intricate fashion. The evolution of our understanding of the TH17 pathway illuminates a shift in immunologists' perspectives regarding the basis of tissue damage, where for over 20 years the role of TH1 cells was considered paramount.
Potential Additives to Promote Seal Swell in Synthetic Fuels and Their Effect on Thermal Stability

Synthetic fuels derived from the Fischer–Tropsch (F-T) process using natural gas or coal-derived synthesis gas as feedstocks can be used for powering ground vehicles, aircraft, and ships. Because of their chemical and physical properties, F-T fuels will probably require additives in order to meet specifications with respect to lubricity and seal swell capability for use in ground and air vehicles. Using both experimental and computational studies, the propensity of certain species to enhance the seal swell characteristics of synthetic fuels and surrogates has been determined, and promising additives have been identified. Important structural characteristics for potential additives, namely an aromatic ring along with a polar constituent, are described. The thermal stability of synthetic and surrogate fuels containing the single-component additive benzyl alcohol, which is representative of this structural class, has been determined by batch stressing of the mixtures at 350 °C for up to 12 h. Synthetic fuels...
Some Factors Involved in the Development of Oxidized Flavor in Milk

Summary Some factors involved in the development of oxidized flavor were considered. Spontaneous and susceptible milks were used in the study. The milks were subjected to three treatments: raw, pasteurized (63° C. for 30min.), and heated (76° C. for 30min.). The factors considered were: the effect of heat, the effect of copper, the effect of hydrogen peroxide, the effect of sulfhydryls, and the role of oxidizing enzymes in oxidized flavor development. The results of the study indicate that an enzyme mechanism is involved in spontaneously oxidized flavor; whereas, a chemical oxidation is involved in induced oxidized flavor. Spontaneously oxidized flavor was prevented either by the use of heat or by an enzyme inhibitor ( p -chloromercuribenzoate). In contrast, these treatments had no effect upon copper-induced oxidized flavor. The copper-induced flavor was inhibited by the use of a copper chelating agent (2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline) and by cysteine. Cysteine was effective in reactivating the enzyme-inhibited milk, thus giving rise to the belief that an enzyme is involved in producing the spontaneously oxidized flavor and that a sulfhydryl group is essential at the active site of the enzyme for enzymatic activity.
Random matrix study of the QCD sign problem

We investigate the severity of the sign problem in a random matrix model for QCD at finite temperature $T$ and baryon chemical potential $\ensuremath{\mu}$. We obtain an analytic expression for the average phase factor---the measure of the severity of the sign problem at arbitrary $T$ and $\ensuremath{\mu}$. We observe that the sign problem becomes less severe as the temperature is increased. We also find the domain where the sign problem is maximal---the average phase factor is zero, which is related to the pion-condensation phase in the QCD with finite isospin chemical potential. We find that, in the matrix model we studied, the critical point is located inside the domain of the maximal sign problem, making the point inaccessible to conventional reweighting techniques. We observe and describe the scaling behavior of the size and shape of the pion condensation near the chiral limit.