cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Unit Testing of Software Components with Inter-component Dependencies

Test Driven Development (TDD) is a process for software engineering that advocates constructing test cases before writing actual code; indeed, coding is treated as an exercise in validating the test cases. While such an approach appeals to many software developers, one cannot simply apply TDD to component-based software engineering (CBSE). The primary obstacle is the more complex life cycle for software components that must be packaged, deployed and executed within software containers or deployment environments. In this paper we describe two case studies that show different ways by which TDD can be applied to CBSE. Our focus remains on the dependencies that exist between components and how to manage these dependencies during testing to still enable successful unit testing.
Continuing risk behaviors among HIV-seropositive chronic drug users in Miami, Florida

This study investigates continuing risk behaviors among HIV-seropositive chronic drug users in Miami, Florida. Data were collected on 490 injecting and noninjecting seropositive drug users. Results indicate that from baseline to follow-up, HIV-seropositive injectors and non-injectors reported significant decreases of approximately 50% in risky sexual and injecting practices (IDUs only) associated with transmission of HIV. However, our findings also indicate that approximately one third of HIV-positive injectors and one half of HIV-positive noninjectors continue to have unprotected sex and one third of HIV-positive injectors are continuing to engage in risky injecting practices. Change in one risk behavior was predictive of change in other risk behaviors. Women were more likely to change injection behaviors than sexual practices. Injecting drug users showed greater overall behavioral change than noninjectors. These findings underscore the need to develop, disseminate, and implement effective intervention models specifically targeting HIV-positive drug users.
Coboglobins INFLUENCE OF THE APOPROTEIN ON OXYGEN BINDING TO COBALTOMYOGLOBIN

Abstract It has been previously found possible to reconstitute apomyoglobin with cobalt protoporphyrin IX to form oxygen-carrying cobaltoproteins which are presumably isomorphous with the natural hemoproteins. We have here observed the influence of an apoprotein upon the reactivity of a prosthetic group by comparing oxygen binding to the dimethyl ester of cobalt protoporphyrin IX with that to the metalloporphyrin incorporated in apomyoglobin. The protein environment causes no major alteration on the electronic structure of cobalt porphyrin or its oxygen adduct, yet produces a large effect on the stabilities of the cobaltoxygen linkage: at 25°, both whale and horse skeletal muscle cobaltomyoglobin have the same free energy changes upon oxygenation (+2.4 Cal per mole), and a binding constant ∼300 times greater than that for the N-methyl imidazole complex of porphyrin in solution. Furthermore, the two cobaltomyoglobins have substantially different enthalpies and entropies of oxygen binding: for horse the values are ΔH = -11.3 Cal per mole, ΔS = -46 e.u.; for whale ΔH = -13.3, ΔS = -53 e.u. A formal thermochemical cycle is used to obtain the contributions from apoprotein-prosthetic group interactions to the enthalpy and entropy of oxygen binding. These in turn are used to partition the binding enhancement (300-fold) for the two proteins into enthalpic and entropic contributions. The enhancement of oxygen binding in horse cobaltomyoglobin is entirely entropic, whereas that in whale cobaltomyoglobin is roughly balanced between enthalpic (20-fold) and entropic (15-fold) components. We have thus, for the first time, directly observed how two proteins of similar structure and function achieve similar modifications in prosthetic group reactivity through a different balance of enthalpic and entropic factors.
Differences in how english and german speakers talk and reason about CAUSE

This research identifies how English and German speakers differ in the range of situations they describe as causal and how these difference may influence causal reasoning. In Experiments 1 and 2, English and German speakers described 3D animations of complex events using CAUSE verbs (cause, get) and ENABLE verbs (let, enable). As predicted, English speakers used CAUSE verbs to describe a wider range of events than German speakers. In Experiment 3, English and German speakers viewed 3D animations of CAUSE and ENABLE events and then estimated the likelihood of the effect (E) in the presence of the affector (A), p(E|A), in hypothetical situations similar to the one they just saw. Given the results of Experiments 1 and 2, we predicted that German speakers’ estimates of p(E|A) would be higher than English speakers’ estimates of p(E|A) for ENABLE events, but not necessarily for CAUSE events. The results were as predicted. The findings suggest that English and German speakers differ in the range of situations they describe as causal and that these differences in linguistic coding may lead to differences in causal reasoning.
The Wada Test

ABSTRACT.The intracarotid amobarbital procedure (IAP), or Wada test, was initially performed to ascertain hemispheric language dominance during cranial surgery. It was later used to help test memory and define the focus of epileptogenic tissue, especially in patients being evaluated for temporal lobe resection. Although there are hints the IAP may be displaced by functional PET or fast MRI, it remains a very useful tool for mapping cognitive functions before surgery and for research.This article discusses the Wada test in general; its duration of effects upon various brain structures; and its use for testing language dominance, memory, and localization of foci. The effect of the Wada test on EEG is reviewed, including how slow wave (delta) activity may be used to estimate the drug's duration and effect on brain functions. The protocol from a neurosurgery center is also examined, as a suggested model for standardization.
A New Departure in Programmable Robotic Manipulators

Novel design of a two-degree-of-freedom actuator; its application in a new closed-loop configuration of six-degree-of-freedom robotic manipulator, which permits all such actuators to be mounted on the fixed base, considerably reducing the moving mass and increasing the payload capacity. The amount of computation for controlling the motion of this manipulator is significantly diminished as compared to open-loop serial-link manipulators. Several applications are illustrated.
Donald Richard Nelson: The Most Unforgettable Character I Ever Met

This volume is dedicated to the work, life and memory of Donald Richard Nelson. The present article is based primarily on the author’s 38-year friendship and personal experience with the man. The text chronicles his life and times from budding naturalist to champion spearfisher through graduate school and on to becoming scientist, teacher and mentor to dozens of graduate students. The author perceives Nelson as a unique character, creative, introspective, kind, wise and gentle. His influence in the field of contemporary elasmobranch biology, especially ethology and sensory physiology was enormous.
Tetrodotoxin —A brief history—

Tetrodotoxin (TTX), contained in puffer, has become an extremely popular chemical tool in the physiological and pharmacological laboratories since our discovery of its channel blocking action in the early 1960s. This brief review describes the history of discovery of TTX action on sodium channels, and represents a story primarily of my own work. TTX inhibits voltage-gated sodium channels in a highly potent and selective manner without effects on any other receptor and ion channel systems. TTX blocks the sodium channel only from outside of the nerve membrane, and is due to binding to the selectivity filter resulting in prevention of sodium ion flow. It does not impairs the channel gating mechanism. More recently, the TTX-resistant sodium channels have been discovered in the nervous system and received much attention because of their role in pain sensation. TTX is now known to be produced not by puffer but by bacteria, and reaches various species of animals via food chain.(Communicated by Masanori OTSUKA, M.J.A.).
A region based algorithm for vessel detection in retinal images

Accurate retinal blood vessel detection offers a great opportunity to predict and detect the stages of various ocular and systemic diseases, such as glaucoma, hypertension and congestive heart failure, since the change in width of blood vessels in retina has been reported as an independent and significant prospective risk factor for such diseases. In large-population studies of disease control and prevention, there exists an overwhelming need for an automatic tool that can reliably and accurately identify and measure retinal vessel diameters. To address requirements in this clinical setting, a vessel detection algorithm is proposed to quantitatively measure the salient properties of retinal vessel and combine the measurements by Bayesian decision to generate a confidence value for each detected vessel segment. The salient properties of vessels provide an alternative approach for retinal vessel detection at a level higher than detection at the pixel level. Experiments show superior detection performance than currently published results using a publicly available data set. More importantly, the proposed algorithm provides the confidence measurement that can be used as an objective criterion to select reliable vessel segments for diameter measurement.
Crohn's Disease

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) refers to Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). There are many similarities between CD and UC, and they may have some common genetic and environmental links. This chapter, however, focuses on CD. Although granulomas are the pathological signature of CD, they are discovered in only about 60% of biopsies and surgical resections. It is most likely that several genes impact on the risk for CD and affect its presentation, location, and intensity. There is susceptibility to an IBD-like illness in patients with Turner’s syndrome, Hermansky- Pudlak syndrome, glycogen storage disease type Ib, and various classic immunodeficiency illnesses. It has been proposed that a major environmental factor predisposing to IBD is underexposure to intestinal helminths, which promote strong Thelper 2 (Th2)-type inflammation. Helminths are multicellular worms with complex life cycles that can live within our gastrointestinal tracts and elsewhere. CD is associated with various immunological abnormalities. However, no discrete immunoregulatory defect has proven specific or etiologic for CD. Most of these observations simply reflect ongoing chronic inflammation. Mucus covers the apical surface of epithelial cells, affording protection. Neuropeptides modulate inflammation and can effect granulomatous inflammation. Sulfasalazine and aminosalicylates are commonly used therapeutic agents for CD. Sulfasalazine is sulfapyridine conjugated to 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA, mesalamine).
Current issues in retailing: Relationships and emerging opportunities: Introduction to the special issue from the American Collegiate Retailing Association 2005 and 2006 conferences

article i nfo Retail innovation impacts the entire marketing channel, from manufacturers to retail employees, franchisors to international distributors, and Internet marketers to final consumers. Increased global expansion, a re- emphasis on relationship building, and the explosive growth of e-commerce have transformed all facets of retailing. The papers appearing in this special issue, consisting of the best papers from the Spring and Winter conferences of the American Collegiate Retailing Association held in 2005 and 2006, capture these cutting- edge issues. The papers have gone through two rounds of a double-blind review process and been screened by one of two selection committees.
Activity and expression pattern of cyclin-dependent kinase 5 in the embryonic mouse nervous system

Cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (cdk5) was originally isolated on the basis of its close primary sequence homology to the human cdc2 serine/threonine kinase, the prototype of the cyclin-dependent kinases. While kinase activities of both cdc2 and cdk2 are detected in proliferating cells and are essential for cells to progress through the key transition points of the cell cycle, cdk5 kinase activity has been observed only in lysates of adult brain. In this study, we compared the activity and expression of cdk5 with that of cdc2 and cdk2 in the embryonic mouse forebrain. The expression and activity of cdk5 increased progressively as increasing numbers of cells exited the proliferative cycle. In contrast, the expression and activity of cdc2 and cdk2 were maximum at gestational day 11 (E11) when the majority of cells were proliferating and fell to barely detectable levels at E17 at the end of the cytogenetic period. Immunohistochemical studies showed that cdk5 is expressed in postmitotic neurons but not in glial cells or mitotically active cells. Expression of cdk5 was concentrated in fasciculated axons of postmitotic neurons. In contrast to other cell division cycle kinases to which it is closely related, cdk5 appears not to be expressed in dividing cells in the developing brain. These observations suggest that cdk5 may have a role in neuronal differentiation but not in the cell division cycle in the embryonic nervous system.
Update on CONSER Cataloging Manual Module 31 “Remote Access Electronic Serials (Online Serials)”

This article describes the revisions updated in the CONSER Cataloging Manual Module 31, including MARC 21 coding changes, revisions corresponding to CONSER Standard Record guidelines, and other changes for expansion and clarification.
Determination of Iodixanol Hemodialysis Clearance Using a Novel In Vitro System

AbstractThe hemodialysis clearance of iodixanol, a new non-ionic, low-osmolar, radiographic contrast agent, was studied using an in vitro model. Whole human blood was obtained from healthy volunteers and modified by the addition of urea and saline to mimic uremic, anemic blood from renal failure patients. The blood was inoculated with iodixanol and dialyzed against a 135 SCE cellulose dialyzer and a Fresenius F5 polysulfone dialyzer. Urea and saline solutions were continuously replaced during the procedure. Each membrane was studied at a dialysate flow rate of 500 mL/min and at blood flow rates of 300 mL/min for the first two hours, 400 mL/min for the third hour, and 500 mL/min for the fourth hour of each dialysis run. Simultaneous arterial and venous blood samples were taken from each side of the dialyzer at specified times. Plasma iodixanol concentrations were assayed by HPLC. The cellulose and polysulfone membranes removed a total of 36.1% and 49.6% of iodixanol in four hours. Plasma iodixanol concentr...
Cancer control after low-dose-rate prostate brachytherapy performed by a multidisciplinary team with no previous prostate brachytherapy experience

Abstract Objectives To describe the biochemical disease-free survival observed in the first cohort men treated by a multidisciplinary team of clinicians with no previous experience in low-dose-rate prostate brachytherapy (LDRPB). Methods The information in this report concerns the first 63 men treated with LDRPB alone at our institution between September 1997 and September 1998. All men had histologically confirmed, clinically localized prostate cancer. All men were treated with iodine 125 according to published methods. The prescription dose was 144 Gy according to the Task Group 43 formalism. LDRPB was performed jointly by a radiation oncologist and urologist. Three definitions of biochemical recurrence were used: the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology consensus definition; prostate-specific antigen level greater than 0.4 ng/mL at last follow-up; and prostate-specific antigen level greater than 0.2 ng/mL at last follow-up. Biochemical relapse-free survival was estimated using the product-limit method. Putative covariates for biochemical relapse-free survival were examined using the proportional hazards regression model. All P values are two-sided. Results The median follow-up for the entire cohort was 62 months. Of the 63 men, 45 (71%) had more than 60 months of follow-up. The median pretreatment prostate-specific antigen level was 6.68 ng/mL (range 1.1 to 23), and most men (44 of 63; 70%) had nonpalpable disease. The institutionally assigned Gleason score was less than 7 in 54 men (86%). Nine men developed evidence of biochemical relapse at a median of 19 months (range 6 to 38). The 5-year estimate of biochemical relapse-free survival was 85% (95% confidence interval 80% to 90%), 80% (95% confidence interval 74% to 86%), and 70% (95% confidence interval 64% to 76%) according to the three definitions given above. Conclusions The biochemical results achieved in the first cohort of men treated with LDRPB by a previously inexperienced multidisciplinary team of clinicians are similar to the results reported from centers with extensive LDRPB experience.
General systems: A basis for knowledge engineering

General systems formalizations of expert knowledge play a foundational role in the process of knowledge engineering of intelligent systems. Canonical definitions of systems (knowledge structures) which have been arrived at by a crossdisciplinary inductive modeling process are shown to be the basis for the modeling of certain generic categories of expert reasoning processes which are of current interest in knowledge engineering. The methodology for transforming the representation of knowledge expressed in general systems formalizations to the representation of that knowledge in expert systems is also developed. In particular, transformations from general systems formalizations into frames are presented.
Smoking, periodontal disease and the role of the dental profession

Epidemiological investigations support a firm relationship between smoking and periodontal disease. The likely benefits of smoking cessation programmes are considerable for periodontal disease, cancers and nearly all chronic systemic diseases. The mechanisms by which smoking may influence the development and progression of periodontal disease are as yet unclear, but may include changes in the vasculature, the immune and inflammatory systems, tissue oxygenation and the healing processes. Unfortunately, although dental professionals have more opportunities to encourage smokers to quit (most people visit their dentist more frequently than their doctor), dentists claim that they are not well informed on this subject. The purpose of this review is to describe the evidence for a link between smoking and periodontal disease, the possible pathology induced by smoking on the periodontal tissues and its impact on therapy, and to outline the smoking cessation techniques that are currently available.
Skinfold measurement techniques for estimating percentage body fat

Abstract Skinfold thickness measurements have been advocated as an important supplementary criterion of change in behavior therapy of the obese. This paper describes technical procedures for obtaining reliable data from four body sites and provides a summary of validated and extrapolated norms for converting skinfold data to percentage body fat in males and females.
Agency-Hired Hotel Housekeepers: An At-Risk Group for Adverse Health Outcomes

Agency-hiring practices, an aspect of contingent work, are an emerging trend within the hotel industry with potential for significant health consequences for workers. Hotel housekeepers are the largest workforce within the hotel industry, numbering 1.8 million (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2013). These workers are particularly vulnerable due to workplace hazards and characteristics. Yet the impact of hiring practices on the health of this vulnerable worker group remains unexplored. Debates on contingent work and workers’ health have focused on workers in general (Cummings & Kreiss, 2008; Guerrina, Burns, & Conlon, 2011; Quinlan, Mayhew, & Bohle, 2001; Virtanen et al., 2005) and less attention has been paid to vulnerable groups including hotel housekeepers. This article provides a brief overview of the discussion around contingent work in general and hotel housekeepers specifically to assess how this marginalized and underserved worker group may experience increased risk for poor health outcomes related to agency-hiring practices.
Relationship of 3',5'-adenosine monophosphate accumulation to parathyroid hormone release in dispersed cells from pathological human parathyroid tissue.

We studied the effects of calcium on cellular cAMP and parathyroid hormone (PTH) release in dispersed parathyroid cells from patients with primary hyperparathyroidism. In four cell preparations there was a statistically significant relationship between calcium-induced changes in these two variables. In three others there was no such correlation. In two of these cAMP content was decreased more than PTH release at high calcium concentrations (2–3 mM) (45% and 85% us. 0%and 30% respectively). In a third PTH release was inhibited 30% or more without any change in cAMP levels. The relationships between basal and agonist-stimulated cAMP accumulation and hormone release were also complex. In three cases, there was a good agreement between the concentration of calcium-inhibiting isoproterenol-stimulated cAMP content and PTH release. On the other hand, in one of these cases and in an additional one there was no clear relationship between the effects of calcium on basal and agonist-stimulated cAMP accumulation. The...
Cues to solution, restructuring patterns, and reports of insight in creative problem solving.

Abstract While the subjective experience of insight during problem solving is a common occurrence, an understanding of the processes leading to solution remains relatively uncertain. The goal of this study was to investigate the restructuring patterns underlying solution of a creative problem, and how providing cues to solution may alter the process. Results show that both providing cues to solution and analyzing problem solving performance on an aggregate level may result in restructuring patterns that appear incremental. Analysis of performance on an individual level provides evidence for insight-like solution patterns. However, no evidence is found for a relationship between an individual’s restructuring pattern and their subjective experience of insight during problem solving.
Controller area network for monitor and control in ALMA

The Controller Area Network (CAN), initially developed for the automotive industry, is becoming increasingly popular in industrial process control applications. The need for distributed low data rate monitor and control networking in industry is similar to the needs of the various instrumentation and support equipment in a modern radio telescope. In particular, immunity to noise and low radio frequency emission characteristics are common to both domains. The Atacama Large Millimeter Array project has adopted CAN technology for use in local monitor and control applications at each of its 64 antennas. A standard interface slave node providing flexible I/O options is under development and a simple application-level protocol making use of CAN to access these nodes in a master/slave fashion has been implemented. This paper will present the work which has been completed to date including experiences in the use of CAN in an astronomical environment. In addition, analysis and simulation of CAN networks is compared with the performance of our implementation in the lab.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Imaging clues in the prenatal diagnosis of syndromes and aneuploidy

Advances in fetal sonography and MRI have increased both the range and diagnostic accuracy of detectable fetal anomalies, with many anomalies detectable earlier in pregnancy. The presence of structural anomalies greatly raises the risk that the fetus has a syndrome or abnormal karyotype. In addition, new techniques in maternal serum screening have greatly increased the ability to identify pregnant patients at risk for anomalies and syndromes. This paper reviews maternal first- and second-trimester serum screening and imaging and covers many of the most common fetal karyotypic and structural anomalies.
Sex differences in device therapy for heart failure: utilization, outcomes, and adverse events

Background: Multiple studies of heart failure patients demonstrated significant improvement in exercise capacity, quality of life, cardiac left ventricular function, and survival from cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), but the underenrollment of women in these studies is notable. Etiological and pathophysiological differences may result in different outcomes in response to this treatment by sex. The observed disproportionate representation of women suggests that many women with heart failure either do not meet current clinical criteria to receive CRT in trials or are not properly recruited and maintained in these studies. Methods: We performed a systematic literature review through May 2014 of clinical trials and registries of CRT use that stratified outcomes by sex or reported percent women included. One-hundred eighty-three studies contained sex-specific information. Results: Ninety percent of the studies evaluated included ≤35% women. Fifty-six articles included effectiveness data that reported response with regard to specific outcome parameters. When compared with men, women exhibited more dramatic improvement in specific parameters. In the studies reporting hazard ratios for hospitalization or death, women generally had greater benefit from CRT. Conclusions: Our review confirms women are markedly underrepresented in CRT trials, and when a CRT device is implanted, women have a therapeutic response that is equivalent to or better than in men, while there is no difference in adverse events reported by sex.
Rat hippocampal neurons in dispersed cell culture

An in vitro system has been developed for the study of isolated hippocampal neurons from 18- or 19-day rat fetuses. Following trypsinization the cells are plated out at low density on polylysine-treated coverslips in an enriched medium. The isolated neurons rapidly attach to the substrate and initiate process extension. Little reaggregation occurs and the number of non-neuronal cells present is minimal. Unless co-cultured with tissue explants the neurons survive for only a few days; in the presence of hippocampal explants the initial growth of the isolated cells is improved and their survival in culture is extended to about two weeks. Some of the cells in such cultures develop a characteristic branching pattern closely resembling that of maturing hippocampal pyramidal cells in vivo. There is a clear relationship between the stage of the cells' development and their growth in culture. Cells which had completed DNA synthesis about 48 h before dissociation, and which were in the process of migration to the cortical plate, survived best in our cultures. Early post-mitotic cells which were still within the ventricular zone and cells which had already reached the cortical plate grew poorly. This system should permit the study not only of process formation by these cells, but also of their capacity to form specific synapses in vitro and of the biochemical constituents of their surfaces.
“True clinical fictions”: Medical and literary narratives from the Civil War hospital

Where to find stories of the “real” Civil War? Since Walt Whitman, observers have suggested the place to look is the military hospital. This paper offers a comparative analysis of medical case histories and literary stories written by S. Weir Mitchell, head contract-surgeon at one of the largest Union army research hospitals. I illustrate that Mitchell's case histories and stories were at once complementary and antagonistic in their use of medical knowledge and narrative technique as a means of achieving truth-value.
The influence of sampling interval on the accuracy of trail impact assessment

Trail impact assessment and monitoring (IA&M) programs have been growing in importance and application in recreation resource management at protected areas. This paper addresses a fundamental issue in designing trail IA&M surveys: the choice of sampling interval. Specifically, the influence of sampling interval on the accuracy of estimates for selected trail impact problems was examined using a resampling simulation method. A complete census of four impact-types on 70 backcountry trails in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was utilized as the base dataset for the analyses. The census data were resampled at increasing intervals to create a series of simulated point datasets. At each sampling interval level, the accuracy of simulated datasets was evaluated by comparing the estimates of frequency of occurrence and lineal extent for each impact-type with actual census values. Simulation results indicate that increasing sampling intervals are associated with an overall increase in accuracy loss for all four impact-types. The direction of accuracy loss for lineal extent estimates is mixed, while frequency of occurrence estimates are consistently and substantially lower than the actual values. Responses of accuracy loss to increasing sampling intervals vary across impact-types on extent estimates, but are consistent on the frequency estimates. These findings suggest that systematic point sampling can be an appropriate method for estimating lineal extent but not the frequency of trail impacts. Sample intervals of less than 100 m appear to yield an excellent level of estimate accuracy for the four impact-types evaluated. The census-based trail survey and the resampling simulation method developed in this study can be a valuable first step in establishing long-term trail IA&M programs, in which an optimal sampling interval range with acceptable accuracy is determined before investing efforts in data collection.
A 15-Year Analysis of the Journal for Specialists in Group Work.

Abstract An analysis of content and process categories for JSGW articles was conducted for 15 years of publication. Institutional sources were also examined for this time period. Patterns and trends are discussed.
Distribution of aboveground biomass in corn stover

Corn stover can be a principal feedstock for bioenergy and industrial applications because of its abundance and its current underutilization. Development of strategies/systems for the postharvest handling of corn stover involves quantifying what corn stover biomass is available over time after grain physiological maturity has been reached. It also involves understanding how the biomass is distributed in the different aboveground components of the corn plant. The objectives of this preliminary investigation were to measure the allocation of biomass to aboveground components of the corn plant over time and to develop relationships for estimating total aboveground corn plant biomass through simple corn plant dimensional measurements. Aboveground biomass distribution for two corn cultivars (Pioneer 32K61 and 32K64 Bt) was studied in standing plants from roughly 1 week before grain physiological maturity until 4 weeks after grain harvest from other plots in the field. Over the monitoring period, the amount of dry matter in stover averaged 50% of the total aboveground dry plant mass with stalks comprising 50% of the stover dry matter at the time grain was harvested. This study indicated that the more conservative 0.8:1 stover:grain fresh weight ratio, rather than the 1:1 widely used, may be more realistic at the grain harvest moisture range of 18–31% w.b. Such precondition has not been clearly emphasized in the literature. Regression equations involving stalk diameter and plant height for DeKalb 626 derived to estimate fresh green weight and dry matter of the corn plant above the ground had a maximum R2 of 0.75.
Laser absorption spectroscopy: method for monitoring complex trace gas mixtures.

A frequency stabilized CO2 laser was used for accurate determinations of the absorption coefficients of various gases in the wavelength region from 9 to 11 microns. The gases investigated were representative of the types of contaminants expected to build up in recycled atmospheres. These absorption coefficients were then used in determining the presence and amount of the gases in prepared mixtures. The effect of interferences on the minimum detectable concentration of the gases was measured. The accuracies of various methods of solution were also evaluated.
Political Organization of Space in Advanced Placement Human Geography

Abstract The political geography section of the course offers the opportunity to introduce students to one of the most important ways in which humans have divided up the surface of the Earth for purposes of management and control. By challenging students to consider what lies behind the patterns on political maps, this segment of the course can encourage the development of a critical geographical perspective while enhancing student appreciation of the link between geography and current events.
Direct three-dimensional image transmission through single-mode fibers with monochromatic light

Direct three-dimensional image transmission through one single-mode or multimode fiber is demonstrated. Image transmission is carried out with a grating interferometer under monochromatic, spatially incoherent illumination.
Cancellation of errors in the Higashitani-Pritchard treatment of hole pressures generated by viscoelastic liquids in creeping flow past a transverse slot

Analytical studies of the hole pressure for non-Newtonian creeping flow past a transverse slot are pursued with particular interest in the formulation of Higashitani and Pritchard (HP). To correct the flaws in the treatment of HP's original work, a modified hole-pressure relation (MHPR) is employed. Some important mathematical properties of the MHPR are presented. By studying the MHPR in streamline coordinate formulation, we find a fortuitouserror cancellation phenomenon in the derivation of the HP formula: namely, the error caused by one key flaw is fortuitously cancelled out by the error introduced through another key flaw. For second-order fluids and Tanner's “viscometric model” (under certain assumptions) the cancellation of errors is proved to be exact. It is this cancellation of errors that provides a theoretical explanation for the paradox between an apparently flawed derivation and the fortunate success of the HP prediction.
Milton's Elegia Septima: The Poetics of Roman Elegy and a Verse Translation

L'influence de Properce et Catulle dans l'Elegia Septima permet d' expliquer la tension miltonienne entre persona litteraire et sincerite autobiographique. Une traduction anglaise versifiee de cette elegie ecrite en latin est proposee par l'auteur
Impact factor and exponentiation in high-energy scattering processes

We consider here the exchange of an arbitrary number of photons between two fermions at high energies, and an exponentiation, similar to that in the Glauber approximation and the droplet model, is obtained. When this result is applied to the processes of electron-electron scattering, Delbr\"uck scattering, and photon-photon scattering, the scattering amplitude in each case can again be cast in the impact-factor representation. Although some modifications from the lowest-order result are necessary to account for the multiphoton effects, the impact factors themselves are not changed at all. The limitation of this exponentiation is discussed in connection with more complicated exchanges.
EFFECT OF AGE OF THE DONOR AND RECIPIENT ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSFERRED GOLDEN HAMSTER OVA.

Ova were removed from donors 63-68 hours after ovulation and placed in the uteri of pseudopregnant recipients of the same pregnancy age. In transfers of ova from young (2 1/2-6 month) to old (14–18 month) golden hamsters, only 8.3% developed into term fetuses. From old donors to young recipients, 4.5% of ova developed to term fetuses. In transfers of ova from young donors to young recipients, 49.2% of ova developed into term fetuses. There was no significant difference in percentage of fetal development between the two groups containing old females. The difference between these and the control (young to young) group was highly significant. There was a significantly lower number of ova recovered from old donors. At time of transfer, over one-sixth of the ova from old donors consisted of only one to four cells. At seven and one-half days, embryos developing from ova of old donors in uteri of young recipients were retarded and malformed. It is concluded that while the uterine environment in old hamsters appears inadequate to foster normal fetal development, there are also fewer ova ovulated in old females and these ova more frequently develop abnormally.
Codon optimization of Caenorhabditis elegans GluCl ion channel genes for mammalian cells dramatically improves expression levels

Organisms use synonymous codons in a highly non-random fashion. These codon usage biases sometimes frustrate attempts to express high levels of exogenous genes in hosts of widely divergent species. The Caenorhabditis elegans GluClα1 and GluClβ genes form a functional glutamate and ivermectin-gated chloride channel when expressed in Xenopus oocytes, but expression is weak in mammalian cells. We have constructed synthetic genes that retain the amino acid sequence of the wild-type GluCl channel proteins, but use codons that are optimal for mammalian cell expression. We have tagged the native and codon-optimized GluCl cDNAs with enhanced yellow fluorescent protein (EYFP, GluClα1 subunit) and enhanced cyan fluorescent protein (EFCP, GluClβ subunit), expressed the channels in E18 rat hippocampal neurons and measured the relative expression levels of the two genes with fluorescence microscopy as well as with electrophysiology. Codon optimization provides a 6- to 9-fold increase in expression, allowing the conclusions that the ivermectin-gated channel has an EC50 of 1.2 nM and a Hill coefficient of 1.9. We also confirm that the Y182F mutation in the codon-optimized β subunit results in a heteromeric channel that retains the response to ivermectin while reducing the response to 100 μM glutamate by 7-fold. The engineered GluCl channel is the first codon-optimized membrane protein expressed in mammalian cells and may be useful for selectively silencing specific neuronal populations in vivo.
Perspective on the content of worker notifications

The concept of worker notification has evolved over the years to a prevailing view that workers should be notified of all epidemiologic studies that make use of their medical information. To adequately communicate health information to workers, epidemiologists must consider the intended audience along with its need for risk information that is scientifically valid and clearly outlines areas of uncertainty. This goal is facilitated by full disclosure to workers of information pertinent to the planning, conduct, and interpretation of research efforts. Subjectivity in choosing unanticipated research findings for inclusion in worker notifications may permit bias toward a personal viewpoint, but this can be minimized by prestudy agreement on appropriate criteria for selecting which research findings to communicate. Epidemiologic theory and principles of causal inference should guide the development of appropriate criteria. The timeliness of worker communications has received limited attention, and workers have often been the “last to know” about important studies. This may influence workers’ receptivity to the risk message. Sponsoring organizations should ensure that an acceptable communications plan is included in research protocols and that the plan accords priority to notifying workers about study results. C> 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Foreign Market Entry Mode Behavior as a Gateway to Further Entries: The Nafta Experience

Abstract Trade liberalization policies have created a vibrant economy in Mexico by successfully increasing the flow of trade and foreign direct investments. This study investigates whether involvement in Mexico is considered attractive as a market in and of itself, or whether it is also attractive because Mexico can also serve as a gateway to other Latin American markets. We call this latter idea “The Gateway Proposition” and present it against the backdrop of NAFTA. The Gateway Proposition suggests that the ability of firms to expand their markets further into Latin American countries in the future could be an additional incentive to invest in Mexico. Accordingly, we analyze entry mode strategy for U.S. and Canadian firms in Mexico as well as their involvement level, equity participation, resource commitment, risk tolerance, and control. The findings of these analyses support The Gateway Proposition, suggesting that a firm's future involvement level is motivated not only by the Mexican market potential, but also by Mexico's ability to serve as a gateway to other Latin American markets. Evidence also suggests that large multinational firms with past experience in Mexico are inclined to respond to emerging Latin American market opportunities by becoming more involved in Mexico.
Diagnostic and Semiprognostic Studies of Cumulus Effects in the Presence of Mesoscale Circulations

Abstract Heat and moisture budgets of two mesoscale convective systems of a characteristic horizontal scale of approximately 450 km are studied using the Atmospheric Variability Experiment-Severe Environmental Storms and Mesoscale Experiment mesoscale data with a cutoff wavelength of 150 km. The scale dependence of budget residuals is examined by further varying horizontal resolutions of data with low-pass spatial filters. The results show that the horizontal distributions of the vertically integrated heat source 〈Q1〉 and moisture sink 〈Q2〉 are dependent on horizontal resolutions of data. For the mesoscale data, the horizontal distributions of 〈Q1〉 and 〈Q2〉 show pronounced “dipole” patterns that are closely related to the horizontal fluxes of heat and moisture due to mesoscale circulations. For the larger-scale data, the dipole pattern disappears and the horizontal distributions of 〈Q1〉 and 〈Q2〉 show positive values in the area of convection. However, the vertical profiles of the observed heat source and ...
A Light-Weight Visualization Tool for Support Vector Machines

The family of Support Vector Machines (SVM) is one of the most popular supervised learning algorithms today. It is renowned for its outstanding performance and accuracy in many different application domains. In this paper, we present a visualization tool to enhance the utility of SVM. It provides access to the distance measure of each data point to the optimal hyperplane. It also provides the distribution of distance values in the feature space. %The tool also provides the interactive features of panning, zooming and picking, which are useful in inspecting misclassified data points. The tool also incorporates capabilities for panning, zooming, and picking. These interactive features are useful for inspecting misclassified data points to improve the performance of SVM. The tool was used in a cancer detection project using FT-IR spectra. Visualization of the spectra led to the detection and removal of noisy spectra.
On positive mysterianism

Religious believers react in one of four ways to apparent contradictions among their beliefs: Redirection, Resistance, Restraint, or Resolution. This paper evaluates positive mysterian Resistance, the view that believers may rationally believe and know apparently contradictory religious doctrines. After locating this theory by comparing and contrasting it with others, I explore the best developed version of it, that of James Anderson’s Paradox in Christian Theology. I argue that it faces steep epistemic problems, and is at best a temporarily reasonable but ultimately unsustainable stance.
Novel Inhibitors of Cytokine-induced IκBα Phosphorylation and Endothelial Cell Adhesion Molecule Expression Show Anti-inflammatory Effects in Vivo*

We have identified two compounds that inhibit the expression of endothelial-leukocyte adhesion molecules intercellular adhesion molecule-1, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1, and E-selectin. These compounds act by inhibiting tumor necrosis factor-alpha-induced phosphorylation of IkappaB-alpha, resulting in decreased nuclear factor-kappaB and decreased expression of adhesion molecules. The effects on both IkappaB-alpha phosphorylation and surface expression of E-selectin were irreversible and occurred at an IC50 of approximately 10 microM. These agents selectively and irreversibly inhibited the tumor necrosis factor-alpha-inducible phosphorylation of IkappaB-alpha without affecting the constitutive IkappaB-alpha phosphorylation. Although these compounds exhibited other activities, including stimulation of the stress-activated protein kinases, p38 and JNK-1, and activation of tyrosine phosphorylation of a 130-140-kDa protein, these effects are probably distinct from the effects on adhesion molecule expression since they were reversible. One compound was evaluated in vivo and shown to be a potent anti-inflammatory drug in two animal models of inflammation. The compound reduced edema formation in a dose-dependent manner in the rat carrageenan paw edema assay and reduced paw swelling in a rat adjuvant arthritis model. These studies suggest that inhibitors of cytokine-inducible IkappaBalpha phosphorylation exert anti-inflammatory activity in vivo.
An experimental study on cyclic deformation and fatigue of extruded ZK60 magnesium alloy

Abstract Cyclic deformation and low-cycle fatigue properties of extruded ZK60 magnesium alloy were experimentally investigated by carrying out fully reversed strain-controlled uniaxial tension–compression fatigue experiments along the extrusion direction. The material shows significant yielding asymmetry under monotonic tension and compression. Marginal cyclic hardening is manifested at all the strain amplitudes tested. The shape of the stress–strain hysteresis loop and the mean stress strongly depend on the strain amplitude. When the strain amplitude is higher than 0.52%, asymmetric shape of the stress–strain hysteresis loop and significant tensile mean stress develop. With intermediate strain amplitudes (0.45–0.52%), the stress–strain hysteresis loop evolves from an asymmetric shape at the initial loading cycles to a symmetric shape after approximately 10% fatigue life, accompanied by moderate saturated mean tensile stresses. Symmetric stress–strain hysteresis loop with zero mean stress is observed for the strain amplitudes lower than 0.45%. It is suggested that the twinning–detwinning process plays a dominant role for the deformation at high strain amplitudes while dislocation slip dominates at the low strain amplitudes. The strain–life fatigue curve shows a kinking plateau in the vicinity of 0.52% strain amplitude. Different crack initiation mechanisms are proposed in the two strain amplitude ranges divided by the plateau in the strain–life curve. The material displays a tensile cracking growth behavior and the Smith, Watson, and Topper (SWT) fatigue parameter is appropriate for the description of the fatigue life. The residual twins after fatigue were examined by light microscopy and the fracture surfaces were observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Distinctive features were observed depending strongly on the strain amplitudes. The observed microscopic features are discussed with respect to possible crack initiation and propagation mechanisms.
Initial attitude, source credibility, and involvement as factors in persuasion

Abstract Source credibility was manipulated in factorial combination with the measured variables of initial attitude, issue involvement, and sex, using Japanese university students as subjects. A significant credibility × initial attitude interaction replicated previous findings and was attributed to disparagement of the less credible of two communicators by subjects whose initial attitudes were extremely discrepant from the position advocated. The significant involvement × initial attitude interaction reflected the greater resistance of highly involved subjects to persuasion under extreme rather than under moderate communicator-recipient discrepancy.