cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Rapid in vivo induction of HIV-specific cd8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes by a 15-amino acid unmodified free peptide from the immunodominant V3-loop of GP120

Abstract Efforts to generate a vaccine to prevent infection by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have focused on inducing neutralizing antibodies. However, cytotoxic T-lymphocyte (CTL) responses are a major immune defense mechanism required for recovery from many different virus infections. Since CTL epitopes can be defined by short synthetic peptides, we searched for HIV peptides that elicit a viral-specific CTL response in mice. We have developed a new method for screening CTL-inducing peptides involving a single injection into the footpad of mice to prime CTLs in the draining popliteal lymph node of mice within 10 days. Our results demonstrate that a 15-amino acid peptide (aa 315–329) derived from the V3 loop of HIV gp120 caused a rapid induction of peptide-specific and gp160-specific CD8-positive CTLs. Lysis of targets is specific since cells preincubated with unrelated peptides are resistant to lysis as are cells of a different MHC haplotype pretreated with the cognate peptide. Pretreatment of restimulated node cells with complement plus anti-CD8 but not anti-CD4 removed the lytic activity. We also successfully induced in vivo CTL activity with unmodified synthetic peptides from the influenza and Sendai virus nucleoproteins, indicating general applicability of our method for rapid screening of CTL epitopes. Because HIV replication has been reported by several labs to occur mainly in lymph nodes of infected patients, the rapid induction of HIV-specific CTLs in proximal lymph nodes by unmodified peptides emphasizes the physiological significance of our findings toward vaccine and therapeutic approaches.
The mocking gaze: the social organization of kinect use

As the Kinect sensor is being extended from gaming to other applications and contexts, we critically examine what is the nature of the experience garnered through its current use in gaming in the home setting. Through an exploratory study of family experiences with Kinect in gaming, we discuss the character of the experience as one that entails users reveling in absurdity of movement that is required by the Kinect sensor. Through this analysis, we liken the 'third-space' defined by Kinect-based gestural interaction to that of Bakhtin's mocking gaze in the contexts of carnivals. This is followed by remarks on the implications this re-specification of understanding Kinect-enabled interaction has for the term 'natural' and relatedly the emphasis on the 'user' as 'the 'controller' in HCI. Remarks will be made on the implications of this for the application of the Kinect sensor to distributed gaming and other non-gaming interaction spaces in the home.
Diet Change Processes of Participants in an Intensive Heart Program

Abstract The objective of this investigation was to understand the diet change processes of participants within a program setting. A theory-oriented approach and semistructured qualitative interviews were performed over a 4-month data collection period. Nineteen men and four women at one site of an intensive heart program were purposely sampled. Participants were selected to represent several time points in program participation. The Constant Comparative Method was used for analyzing the qualitative data. The investigation produced a framework for the diet change process that included three phases: an immersion phase, a transition phase, and a resolution phase. Within each phase, participants clustered into groups based on diet adherence. Each group shared a set of specific characteristics that were associated with their dietary behavior. Trajectories of diet change occurred within the context of the program experience with participants moving from (1) Complete Acceptors to Believers to Adoptors, (2) Deprived Dieters to Contemplators to Accommodators, and (3) Deprived Dieters to Strugglers to Dropouts. The conceptual model suggested by the study may be valuable to other researchers and practitioners interested in understanding or promoting diet change.
Agonism, Deliberation, and the Politics of Abortion

Deliberative democracy claims to provide a model for dialogue on difficult political disagreements such as the question of abortion. But this model functions only at the cost of misrepresenting the nature of the disagreement. Agonal democratic theory provides some insight as to why this is so, and a modified agonal approach is more accurate in describing the dynamics of such a contentious issue, and in providing grounds for continued dialogue. The Pro-choice and Pro-life Leaders’ Dialogue sponsored by the Public Conversations Project in Boston, Massachusetts, demonstrates the importance of this alternative conception of democratic interaction to preserve the complexity of an issue and to sustain authentic dialogue.
Functional antagonism of D-1 and D-2 dopaminergic mechanisms affecting striatal acetylcholine release.

Abstract Rat striatal slices prelabelled with [3H] choline were superfused with dopamine D-1 and D-2 agonists and antagonists, separately and in combination, during measurement of [3H]acetylcholine (ACh) release. SKF38393 (D-1 agonist), 10−7− 10−4M, and SCH23390 (D-1 antagonist), 10−7−10−5M, produced a dose-dependent increase in [3H]ACh release when given separately. The increased [3H]ACh release induced by either drug could not be attenuated by sufficient L-sulpiride to block D-2 receptors. yet both SKF38393, 10−6−10−5M, and SCH23390, 10−6−10−5M, were able to partially or fully overcome the [3H]ACh release-depressant effect of cosuperfused LY171555 (D-2 agonist), 10−6M. This suggests that a functional antagonism regarding striatal ACh release exists between D-1 and D-2 dopaminergic receptor-mediated mechanisms, but that D-1 modulation of local ACh release does not occur at the level of the recognition site of the striatal D-2 receptor. Finally, although attenuation of the increased release of striatal [3H]ACh induced by 10−5 SCH23390 by SKF38393 was seen, it is possible that such functional antagonism is not mediated by exclusively D-1 dopaminergic means.
MEANING AND INFORMATION IN CONSTRUCTIVE MATHEMATICS

The publication of Errett Bishop's Foundations of Constructive Analysis presented the working mathematician with a viable alternative to the prevailing interpretation of mathematical statements. The interpretation suggested by Bishop is not wholly new; many of the ideas go back to L. E. J. Brouwer in the early part of this century, and have been refined and embellished by the Dutch intuitionists. But these ideas were never presented in a manner that was convincing to the average mathematician. Their exposition was often accompanied by an implication that classical mathematics was at best built on insecure foundations, if not outright false. The call was for salvage operations, and the recommended action included forbidding the use of widely accepted arguments. People who felt perfectly comfortable with the mathematics they were doing were unimpressed by these appeals. They saw no reason to sacrifice their powerful mathematical tools and theories on the altar of some crackpot notion of legitimacy. Bishop showed that one could adopt a thoroughgoing constructive point of view and still do mathematics as it is usually understood. He did this by appropriating standard mathematical symbolism to carry constructive meaning, rather than introducing a specialized notation, and by developing large areas of rather sophisticated mathematics in a constructive manner. His book can be appreciated by mathematicians unfamiliar with logic or recursive function theory, and avoids the more bizarre intuitionistic notions of choice sequence and bar induction. But Bishop-style constructivists also tend to be polemical, and they are met with some of the same hostility and indifference that Brouwer was. Possibly this situation will improve as the constructivists master their trade and as the revolution in mathematical consciousness, brought about by the advent of the high-speed digital computer, spreads. In the meantime it seems appropriate to try to convey to mathematicians, and to those interested in the philosophy of mathematics, some understanding of what constructive mathematics means to its practitioners. In what follows I shall attempt to do this via a case study. Our starting point is the following seemingly trivial theorem:
Scarcity and Cooperation Along International Rivers

Scarcity is often argued to be an important variable associated with explaining both conflict and cooperation over international freshwater. Yet it is the relationship between scarcity and cooperation that deserves additional scrutiny and, subsequently, rigorous empirical investigation. Building on existing literature, this article highlights the relationship between water scarcity and interstate cooperation. A model is introduced hypothesizing that cooperation is most likely to take place when the resource is neither abundant (when there is no real impetus for cooperation) nor highly scarce (when there is little of the resource to divide among the parties or the degradation too costly to manage). Rather, formal coordination in the form of an international water treaty is most likely to ensue at levels of moderate (or relative) scarcity. An inverted U-shaped curve, rather than a linear interaction, is consequently suggested for the relationship between water scarcity and cooperation. To illustrate this re...
A New Museum‐Based Research Curriculum: Smithsonian Summer Institute in Museum Anthropology

: “The Social Lives of Things”, by Eugenia Kisin “Integrating Training and Research”, by Candace S Greene
The beam filling error in the Nimbus 5 electronically scanning microwave radiometer observations of Global Atlantic Tropical Experiment rainfall

A comparison of rain rates retrieved from the Nimbus 5 electronically scanning microwave radiometer brightness temperatures and observed from shipboard radars during the Global Atlantic Tropical Experiment (GATE) phase I shows that the beam filling error is the major source of discrepancy between the two. When averaged over a large scene (the GATE radar array, 400 km in diameter), the beam filling error is quite stable, being 50 percent of the observed rain rate. This suggests the simple procedure of multiplying retrieved rain rates by 2 (correction factor). A statistical model of the beam filling error is developed by envisioning an idealized instrument field-of-view that encompasses an entire gamma distribution of rain rates. A modeled correction factor near 2 is found for rain rate and temperature characteristics consistent with GATE conditions. The statistical model also suggests that the correction factor varies from 1.5 to 2.5 for suppressed to enhanced tropical convective regimes, and decreases to 1.5 as the freezing level and average depth of the rain column decreases to 2.5 km.
Compressive deformation and fracture in WC materials

Plastic flow and fracture have been studied in WC single crystals and in WC-Co materials. Deformation was introduced by several techniques which resulted in the development of high compressive stresses which encourage slip in WC. Optical and transmission electron microscopy studies show that plastic flow in the carbide phase always precedes fracture. A simple analysis shows that there are only four independent slip systems in WC. Consideration of the limitations for slip in WC lead to a mechanistic model for fracture initiation in WC-Co.
Algorithms and restrictions in the application of optical methods to stress intensity factor determination

Abstract By applying the method to several problems of technological interest, this paper illustrates the features and expected accuracy of a hybrid frozen stress-moire interferometric method for estimating stress intensity distributions in three dimensional cracked body problems associated with complex subcritical flaw growth, the precursor to most service fractures.
Attraction to large gauge orbits

Abstract SU(N) gauge systems are attracted to large orbits of the global gauge group by an invariant and calculable potential. In models the wave function becomes increasingly localized near the maximal orbit as N → ∞, which explains the success of semiclassical methods. Picturing the links Ui of the lattice as particles on an SU(N) group manifold, the effect favors large moments of inertia about U = 1. It thus opposes the magnetic interaction, and tends to destabilize the perturbative vacuum.
Reactions of C+, He+, and Ne+ with vibrationally excited H2 and D2

Abstract Several orders of magnitude enhancements in the rate constants for three slow ion-molecule reactions with H 2 have been observed when the H 2 is vibrationally excited. The atomic cations C + , He + , and Ne + were all observed to react near their respective Langevin rates with vibrationally excited H 2 .
A system for limb-volume measurement using 3D models from an infrared depth sensor

Lymphedema, a chronic disease caused by failure in the lymphatic system, affects nearly 500,000 people in the U.S., and over 2.4 million breast cancer survivors are at-risk for developing this disease at some point in their life. Early detection and management can significantly reduce the potential for symptoms and complications; however, many patients fail to seek medical assistance at the first sign of the disease. In this paper, we present a method for measuring limb volume and for detecting early swelling associated with lymphedema. The system relies on IR imaging sensors, such as in the Microsoft Kinect. This technique will allow for the future development of tools for self-management and specialist monitoring, and when compared to other commercially available devices, our system is less expensive, equally or more reliable/accurate, and much more user friendly.
Characterization of HgCl2 Tridentate Amine Complexes by X-ray Crystallography, NMR and ESI-MS

Two new HgCl2 complexes of tridentate nitrogen ligands were characterized by X-ray crystallography, proton NMR spectroscopy and ESI–MS. The five-coordinate complex [Hg(BMPA)Cl2] (1) (BMPA = bis(2-pyridylmethyl)amine) crystallized from acetonitrile/m-xylene by slow evaporation in the monoclinic space group P21/n with a = 8.3896(8) A, b = 12.8020(13) A, c = 13.3526(13) A, α = 90°, β = 90.480(2)°, γ = 90° and z = 4. The square pyramidal structure (τ = 0.009) has approximate C s symmetry. Despite comparable Hg–N bond lengths in 1, inversion of the central nitrogen was rapid on the chemical shift time scale in dilute solution except at very low temperatures. The related complex [Hg(BEPA)Cl2] (2) (BEPA = bis(2-{pyrid-2-yl}ethyl)amine) crystallized from acetonitrile/ethyl acetate/hexanes by slow diffusion in the orthorhombic space group Pnma with a = 13.424(3) A, b = 14.854(3) A, c = 8.118(2) A, α = 90°, β = 90°, γ = 90° and z = 4. The mixed geometry structure (τ = 0.56) also has crystallographic mirror symmetry as well as C s point group symmetry. In dilute acetonitrile solution, 1 was stable while 2 slowly converted to a more thermodynamically stable complex.
Enhancement of rat lymphocyte proliferation after prolonged exposure to stress

Rats exposed to 5 weeks of isolation, water scheduling (daily consumption restricted to 30 min), and their combination demonstrated significantly enhanced splenic lymphocyte proliferative responses to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) compared to those of group-housed animals (five per cage) maintained under standard vivarium conditions. The increased response found with the combination treatment was of the same magnitude as that found with each stressor alone. Blood lymphocyte responses were similarly increased after 5 weeks of isolation. When animals were exposed to the combination treatment for 12 weeks, both blood and splenic lymphocyte responses were found to be enhanced by greater than 2- and 3-fold, respectively. At the time of sacrifice no changes were found in total white blood cell numbers or plasma corticosterone levels with any of these treatments. These data suggest that prolonged exposure to a stressor results in an enhancement of immune cell activity.
Redox compartmentalization and cellular stress

Mammalian cells are highly organized to optimize function. For instance, oxidative energy-producing processes in mitochondria are sequestered away from plasma membrane redox signalling complexes and also from nuclear DNA, which is subject to oxidant-induced mutation. Proteins are unique among macromolecules in having reversible oxidizable elements, 'sulphur switches', which support dynamic regulation of structure and function. Accumulating evidence shows that redox signalling and control systems are maintained under kinetically limited steady states, which are highly displaced from redox equilibrium and distinct among organelles. Mitochondria are most reducing and susceptible to oxidation under stressed conditions, while nuclei are also reducing but relatively resistant to oxidation. Within compartments, the glutathione and thioredoxin systems serve parallel and non-redundant functions to maintain the dynamic redox balance of subsets of protein cysteines, which function in redox signalling and control. This organization allows cells to be poised to respond to cell stress but also creates sites of vulnerability. Importantly, disruption of redox organization is a common basis for disease. Research tools are becoming available to elucidate details of subcellular redox organization, and this development highlights an opportunity for a new generation of targeted antioxidants to enhance and restore redox signalling and control in disease prevention.
Dissociation of some of the biological activities of porcine and human growth hormones by cyanogen bromide cleavage.

Highly purified porcine (PGH) and human (HGH) growth hormones were reduced,S-aminoethylated and cleaved with cyanogen bromide. The two largest fragments resulting from the cleavage of PGH were separated from the reaction mixture and purified. These were porcine fragment A (about 112 residues) beginning at the fifth residue from the N-terminus and fragment B (55 residues), which follows fragment A in the sequence of the PGH molecule. The largest fragment resulting from the cleavage of HGH, human fragment A (111 residues), was also prepared in purified form. Human fragment A and porcine fragment A represent roughly equivalent portions of their respective hormone molecules. These purified fragments were then tested for biological activity. Porcine fragment A, when injected intraperitoneally into hypophysectomized rats, stimulated the in vivo incorporation of 14C-leucine into the protein of the diaphragm and liver. Also, both porcine fragment A and human fragment A stimulated the in vitro incorporation of leu...
Mouse GGN1 and GGN3, Two Germ Cell-specific Proteins from the Single Gene Ggn, Interact with Mouse POG and Play a Role in Spermatogenesis

The germ cell-deficient (gcd) mutation is a recessive transgenic insertional mutation leading to a deficiency of primordial germ cells (PGCs). We have recently shown that the gene underlying this mutation is Pog, which is necessary for normal proliferation of PGCs. Here we show thatPog is also involved in spermatogenesis in that meiosis is impaired in Pog-deficient mice. Yeast two-hybrid screening revealed that POG interacted with GGN1 and GGN3, two proteins formed by alternate splicing of the same gene, gametogenetin (Ggn).Ggn had more than 10 different splice variants giving rise to three proteins, GGN1, GGN2, and GGN3. The three proteins had different subcellular localizations, with GGN1, GGN2, and GGN3 localized along the nuclear membrane, in the cytoplasm, and in the nucleus/nucleoli respectively. The expression of Ggn was confined to late pachytene spermatocytes and round spermatids, a time window concomitant with the occurrence of meiosis. MouseGgn and Pog were both expressed in primary spermatocytes. Co-expression of POG with GGN1 or GGN3 in HeLa cells changed the localization of POG to the perinuclear localization or the nucleoli, respectively. Our data showed that in addition to functioning in proliferation of primordial germ cells, POG also functioned in spermatogenesis. Two spatial and temporal regulated proteins, GGN1 and GGN3, interacted with POG, regulated the localization of POG, and played a role in spermatogenesis.
An Economic Analysis of the Integrated Farm Management Option for Corn and Wheat Rotations

The Integrated Farm Management Program Option (IFMPO) of the 1990 farm bill is designed to increase crop management flexibility and to promote the use of resource-conserving crops. Economic analysis of this program indicates that although the current format provides flexibility, it provides little economic incentive to adopt resource-conserving crop rotations. A potential change to the IFMPO that would provide the economic incentives needed for adoption of resource-conserving crop rotations is limited to haying or grazing rights.
The effects of zygotic lethal mutations on female germ-line functions in Drosophila

Many genetic loci that result in lethality when mutated may also have an essential role in oogenesis. The maternal effects of EMS-induced zygotic lethal mutations at 48 loci were examined using the dominant female-sterile technique. Three categories of effects were found. In the first group (13 out of 48), no maternal effect was detected. The second set (20 out of 48) exhibited maternal effects on oogenesis, embryogenesis, or both. In 13 of this last group, only a few eggs were produced before a progressive deterioration of development occurred. It is suggested that perdurance of the wild-type gene product could produce this result. The third group (15 out of 48) produced cell lethality in germ-line clones, an effect that may be related to their role in indispensable cell functions. Three loci were found which, in germ-line clones, produced embryonic phenotypes that resemble maternal effect mutations. The implications of this study for the genetic analysis of early development are discussed.
The C-terminal Sterile α Motif and the Extreme C Terminus Regulate the Transcriptional Activity of the α Isoform of p73

p73, a member of the p53 family, is expressed from two separate promoters, generating TA and DeltaN variants. Each variant potentially encodes at least seven alternatively spliced isoforms (alpha-eta). Interestingly, we and others have shown that the alpha isoform of p73 has a weaker transcriptional activity than the beta isoform. Because the alpha isoform has an extended C terminus consisting of a sterile alpha motif (SAM) and an extreme C terminus, it appears that the C terminus is inhibitory. However, how the C terminus inhibits the transcriptional activity of p73 has not been determined. Here, we found that both the SAM and the extreme C terminus exert their inhibitory activity by preventing the accessibility of p300/CBP to the activation domain in p73. Specifically, we showed that the SAM and the extreme C terminus together or individually are capable of repressing the function of p73 activation domain, but neither interacts directly with the activation domain, or suppresses the DNA-binding activity, of the p73 protein. We also showed that the intact state of the SAM and the extreme C terminus is essential for their inhibitory functions such that a small deletion of either the SAM or the extreme C terminus abolishes its inhibitory activity. Furthermore, we showed that both inhibitory domains in the C terminus are capable of suppressing the function of a cis heterologous activation domain from p53 or Gal4. Finally, we showed that both inhibitory domains suppress the ability of p73 to interact with the transcriptional coactivators p300/CBP that are necessary for the initiation of transcription.
Some remarks concerning mod-nK-theory

The spectral sequence predicted by A. Beilinson relating motivic cohomology to algebraic K-theory has been established for smooth quasi-projective varieties over a field (cf. [FS], [L1]). Among other properties verified, this spectral sequence has the expected multiplicative behavior (involving cup product in motivic cohomology and product in algebraic K-theory) and a good multiplicative “mod-n reduction” relating mod-n motivic cohomology to mod-n algebraic K-theory. The purpose of this short paper is to draw two simple conclusions concerning mod-n algebraicK-theory of smooth, quasi-projective varieties over an algebraically closed field by comparing this spectral sequence to its “localization” which we show converges to mod-n etale K-theory. In Theorem 2.1, we verify that the map from mod-n algebraic K-theory to mod-n etale K-theory of a smooth quasi-projective variety X over an algebraically closed field in which n is invertible is surjective in degrees greater than or equal to twice the dimension of X. This refines the surjectivity result of [DFST] and extends an argument by A. Suslin in [S1]. Then, in Example 3.4, we show that certain projective smooth 3-folds X constructed by S. Bloch and H. Esnault have non-zero elements in K0(X,Z/n) which are killed by multiplication by a sufficiently high power of the Bott element β ∈ K2(X,Z/n). Although the existence of such examples is perhaps not surprising, there have been attempts to prove that multiplication by β is always injective. The authors gratefully acknowledge useful conversations with H. Esnault and A. Suslin.
An Exploration of the Impact of Accountability Testing on Teaching in Urban Elementary Classrooms

This study explores accountability testing in the elementary schools of New York City with particular emphasis on the impact of a statewide social studies test on the value given to social studies instruction in comparison to other subjects. The attitudes of a group of elementary teachers are examined. Some of the teachers taught all subjects in the curriculum and others taught only social studies. Through mixed method research this study reveals that, even with a statewide test and social studies specialists created to meet the demands of the test, social studies is valued less than language arts and math, two of the other major curriculum areas that are also tested. Factors influencing this finding are the social studies test’s role in determining the adequate yearly progress report for schools and the promotion of students within New York state’s accountability system, as compared to other subjects. This exploratory study adds to the research on the narrowing of the curriculum in the elementary schools and considers the impact of a statewide test in social studies and the presence of social studies specialists in response to the test.
Information snapshots: What Google searches really tell us about emerging technologies

Summary For most consumers, Google is the window to the (nano) world. At the very least, Google and other search engines are the place where many consumers get the first glimpse of emerging technologies. In order to explore the critical role that online media play as information gateways, we tracked Google search patterns related to nanotechnology over a 17-month period. Our data show that the snippets of websites highlighted in top Google search results present policy themes about nano more than themes about application or social implications. General searches for “nanotechnology” present a neutral tone, while “risk”-related search results present a negative tone and “benefit”-related searches present a positive tone. The majority of websites appearing in Google searches are non-nano specific sites (e.g., www.sciencedaily.com ). We discuss the important implications of Google search results for nanotechnology audiences.
An observable and controllable testing framework for modern systems

Modern computer systems are prone to various classes of runtime faults due to their reliance on features such as concurrency and peripheral devices such as sensors. Testing remains a common method for uncovering faults in these systems. However, commonly used testing techniques that execute the program with test inputs and inspect program outputs to detect failures are often ineffective. To test for concurrency and temporal faults, test engineers need to be able to observe faults as they occur instead of relying on observable incorrect outputs. Furthermore, they need to be able to control thread or process interleavings so that they are deterministic. This research will provide a framework that allows engineers to effectively test for subtle and intermittent faults in modern systems by providing them with greater observability and controllability.
Probing low-energy electron induced DNA damage using single photon ionization mass spectrometry

Abstract Single photon ionization mass spectrometry (SPI MS) followed by gel electrophoresis was developed for investigation of low-energy electron (LEE) induced DNA damage. This method detects neutral species generated from DNA molecules during LEE irradiation. The neutral yields are then correlated with single strand breaks (SSBs) and double strand breaks (DSBs) as a function of incident electron energy. Specifically, fragments with masses of m / z = 27, 68 and 69 show resonance structure between 6–12 and 15–25 eV which is similar to that observed in the SSB and DSB probabilities. These fragments are likely associated with sugar damage and dissociative electron attachment (DEA) channels. Other fragments with masses of m / z = 45, 56, 67 and 70 show a monotonic increase at threshold energies around 10–12 eV, indicating the possible role of direct dissociative excitation or ionization. Resonance structure above the 10–12 eV threshold for fragments with masses of m / z = 43, 44, 67 and 70 are also observed and can be associated with compound states in the continuum and core-excited excitations. The results support the contention that DEA resonances localized on DNA sub-units can lead to damage, especially at energies below the ionization threshold. Damage also occurs due to direct dissociative excitation and dissociative ionization.
Numerical study of transport properties in continuum percolation

The authors present numerical simulations of AC conductance for a random resistor-capacitor network. The conductance obeys a probability density function p(g) varies as g- alpha (0( alpha (1). They use a highly efficient propagation algorithm to calculate the effective conductance of a long strip of a lattice. At low frequencies, they find that for the concentration p of conducting bonds less than the percolation threshold pc, the imaginary part of conductance is proportional to frequency Im(geff) approximately= omega and the real part of conductance shows an anomalous frequency dependence Re(geff) approximately= omega 2- alpha . The results of simulations in such a continuum system are in agreement with the predictions of the effective medium and the Maxwell-Garnett approximation. They also calculate the non-universal DC conductivity exponents in continuum percolation; the results are consistent with earlier theoretical predictions and numerical calculations.
Therapeutic Apheresis in Taiwan

: From July 1, 1999, to June 30, 2000, the Formosan Blood Purification Society conducted a survey on the current status of therapeutic apheresis (TA) treatments in Taiwan. There were 13 centers with a total of 437 patients, 498 courses, and 2,086 procedures. The most common indication was for neurological disorders (58.4%), which included mainly myasthenia gravis (34.9%) and Guillain-Barre syndrome (18.2%). The other indications were hematological disorders (19.3%), hepatic-pancreatic disorders (12.3%), and rheumatic disorders (7.1%). Seventy-one percent of TA treatments were reported to be effective. Plasma exchange (PE) performed by either centrifugation or the filtration method constituted 55.4% of TA treatments, the double-filtration (DF) method constituted 39.3% of treatments, and cytapheresis constituted 5.3% of treatments. The most common machines used for TA were the Plasauto iQ, the KM 8800, the Hemonetics series, and the Fenwal CS-3000. The overall frequency of complications was 42.2% per course and 12.9% per procedure. Among them, fever, urticaria, and hypotension were the major complications. As compared with the trends of TA treatment in the world, PE still represents the major TA treatment in Taiwan, which should be replaced by DF or more selective adsorptive methods to reduce the PE-related adverse effects.
Aboriginal Australian and Canadian First Nations children's literature

In her article "Aboriginal Australian and Canadian First Nations Children's Literature" Angeline O'Neill discusses Canadian First Nations and Australian Aboriginal children's picture books and their appeal to a dual readership. Inuit traditional storyteller and writer Michael Kusugak, Nyoongar traditional storyteller and writer Lorna Little, and Wunambal elder Daisy Utemorrah are cases in point. Each appeals to Indigenous and non-Indigenous, child and adult readerships, thus challenging two assumptions in Western scholarship on literature that 1) the picture book genre is necessarily the domain of children and 2) that traditional Indigenous stories are, similarly, best suited to children. O'Neill considers the ways in which Indigenous children's picture books represent the interaction between text and culture and challenge notions of literariness. Angeline O'Neill, "Aboriginal Australian and Canadian First Nations Children's Literature" page 2 of 10 CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 13.2 (2011): Thematic Issue About Indigenous Literature. Ed. Angeline O'Neill and Albert Braz
Projectionally exposed cones in R3

Programming problems may be classified, on the basis of the objective function and types of constraints, as linear, nonlinear, discrete, integer, Boolean, etc. These programming problems represent special cases of the following more general abstract convex programming problem (ACPP): Find min{ƒ(x):g(x)∈−K, x∈Ω}, where Ω⊆Rn is convex, K is a convex cone, and f,g are convex functions. Characterizations of optimality to the ACPP are of paramount importance in the investigation of optimization problems. A cone K in Rn is called projectionally exposed if for each face F of K there exists a projection PF of Rn such that PF(K) = F. In particular, it has been shown that when the constraint function g of the ACPP takes values in a projectionally exposed cone, then certain multipliers, associated with optimality, may be chosen from a smaller set. The projectionally exposed cones of R3 are completely characterized in this paper.
Rock modeling and matching for autonomous long-range Mars rover localization

This paper introduces the concept and design of a new integrated approach to long-range autonomous Mars rover localization based on the incremental bundle adjustment and visual odometry technologies that have been individually experimented with during the 2003 Mars Exploration Rover mission. The design result indicates that a rover would have a varying performance in traversing from 7.5 to 118 m within one traverse leg under various scenarios including camera systems and traverse geometry, while maintaining the onboard rover localization accuracy at 1%. To implement the proposed integrated approach, the key is to develop autonomous cross-site tie point selection algorithms for automatic generation of a sufficient number of high quality tie points to link all the images and to form the image network. New methods of rock extraction, rock modeling, and rock matching from multiple rover sites are developed to automate cross-site tie point selection. Rocks are extracted from three-dimensional ground points generated by stereo image matching, and then modeled using analytical surfaces such as hemispheroid, semiellipsoid, cone, and tetrahedron. Rocks extracted and modeled from two rover sites are matched by a combination of rock model matching and rock distribution pattern matching. The matched rocks are used as cross-site tie points for a subsequent bundle adjustment. The presented results show that the proposed cross-site tie point selection approach functions successfully for medium-range up to 26 m traverse legs. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals,
Brain stem electrical responses of stutterers and normals by sex, ears, and recovery

Abstract Auditory brainstem electrical responses (BSER) of right and left ears of active stutterers, recovered stutterers, and nonstutterers, both male and female adults, were obtained at click rates of 11.1 and 71.1/sec. Latency intervals of waves I, III, and V were measured. The auditory systems of subjects were stressed using a rapid rate of 71.1 clicks/sec. The latency of wave V was used as the measure of the stress condition. Analysis of variance was used to determine statistical significances of main effects and interactions of mean BSER (waves I, III, V, and wave V in stress condition) of left and right ears of male stutterers (active and recovered), female stutterers (active and recovered), and male and female nonstutterers. With one exception, all main effects and all higher order interactions were nonsignificant. The one main effect that was significant was gender. Females have significantly faster rates of neural transmission than do males. The question was raised, does this finding contribute toward an explanation of the sex ratio in stuttering?
The Impact of Management Image and Non-Audit Service Fees on Investors’ Perceptions of Earnings Quality

Abstract This research examines the extent to which the perceived credibility of a corporation's audited financial statements is a function of the public's perception of the corporation's leadership and/or the auditor's independence. We look specifically at the public image of the CEO as projected in the press, and the perception of auditor independence as projected by mandated public information about non-audit services. We conducted an experiment to examine these two types of publicly available information for their potential effect on the perceived confidence that third year law students have in corporate financial information. The results reveal that even in an environment fully compliant with Sarbanes-Oxley (2002) reforms, public perceptions of the integrity of management and the independence of auditors influence individuals’ confidence in the financial statements. The implications of this research for practice and for future research are also discussed.
Results of Isolated Patellar Debridement for Patellofemoral Pain in Patients with Normal Patellar Alignment

We reviewed the records of 36 patients who underwent arthroscopic patellar debridement for patellofemoral pain. All patients had isolated chondromalacia patellae noted during arthroscopic examination. No patient had a history of patellar instability or physical or radiographic signs of patellar malalignment. The chondromalacia patellae was classified as traumatic or atraumatic in origin. All patients had failed results after a minimum of 4 months of physical therapy before surgery, and all patients had grade 2 or worse chondromalacia patellae at the time of debridement. At the time of followup, patients were evaluated by questionnaire, Fulkerson-Shea Patellofemoral Joint Evaluation score, independent physical examination, and radiographs. Patients were also asked to subjectively score their knees preoperatively, at the time of maximal improvement postoperatively, and at the time of followup for comparison. Preoperative examinations and radiographs were compared with examinations at the time of followup. The most significant finding was the improvement in the overall joint evaluation score. The score for the entire group improved from a mean of 51.9 preoperatively to 78.8 at the time of maximal improvement and 75.3 at the time of followup. All but four patients subjectively thought that surgery had a beneficial effect. There were no observed changes in the preoperative and postoperative radiographs. Patients with traumatic chondromalacia patellae had 57.9% good or excellent results with surgery, and the patients with atraumatic cases had 41.1% good or excellent results with surgery, indicating that many patients who were improved by the surgery still had functional limitations.
More punishment, less default?

The extent of lender recourse following contractual default varies greatly across economies. Intuitively, one would expect these differences to matter for default behavior at the micro-economic level and for equilibrium quantities. The objective of this paper is to study an equilibrium model in the spirit of Dubey et al. (Econometrica 73(1):1–37, 2005) where the implications of recourse for default patterns can be characterized. Under plausible conditions, broader recourse causes yields at origination and default rates to fall for a given set of observable borrower characteristics. On the other hand, the effect of broader recourse on average default rates and the quantity of loans issued is deeply ambiguous because the composition of the pool of borrowers can change. Raising the fraction of assets subject to recourse can well increase equilibrium default rates. I discuss the implications of these results for how one should test empirically whether recourse statutes matter for loss severity rates and the frequency of default in secured loan markets.
KINETICS OF CO2 CONDITIONING OF COPOLYMERS AND BLENDS CONTAINING MMA UNITS

Long-term, high-pressure CO2 permeation experiments were conducted for styrene/methyl methacrylate (SMMA) random copolymers and bischloral polycarbonate/poly (methyl methacrylate) miscible blends to investigate the effects of gas conditioning. The extent and rate of CO2 permeability changes with time increased dramatically with content of MMA units in both series when compared at a constant upstream CO2 pressure of 20 atm. The higher solubility of CO2 in PMMA than polystyrene or the polycarbonate was found to be responsible for a part but not all of this response as shown by isobaric versus isoconcentration experiments. The rate of conditioning cannot be described by a single relaxation time. The conditioning process discussed here seems to be intimately connected to the plasticization process reported earlier for these same systems.
Children's Behavior in the Postanesthesia Care Unit: The Development of the Child Behavior Coding System-PACU (CBCS-P)

Objective To develop and validate a behavioral coding measure, the Children’s Behavior Coding SystemPACU (CBCS-P), for children’s distress and nondistress behaviors while in the postanesthesia recovery unit. Methods A multidisciplinary team examined videotapes of children in the PACU and developed a coding scheme that subsequently underwent a refinement process (CBCS-P). To examine the reliability and validity of the coding system, 121 children and their parents were videotaped during their stay in the PACU. Participants were healthy children undergoing elective, outpatient surgery and general anesthesia. The CBCS-P was utilized and objective data from medical charts (analgesic consumption and pain scores) were extracted to establish validity. Results Kappa values indicated good-to-excellent (’s>.65) interrater reliability of the individual codes. The CBCS-P had good criterion validity when compared to children’s analgesic consumption and pain scores. Conclusions The CBCS-P is a reliable, observational coding method that captures children’s distress and nondistress postoperative behaviors. These findings highlight the importance of considering context in both the development and application of observational coding schemes.
Higher-Level Phylogenetic Relationships of Homobasidiomycetes (Mushroom-Forming Fungi) Inferred from Four rDNA Regions

Homobasidiomycetes include approximately 13,000 described species of mushroom-forming fungi and related taxa. The higher-level classification of this ecologically important group has been unsettled for over 100 years. The goals of the present study were to evaluate a recent phylogenetic classification by Hibbett and Thorn that divided the homobasidiomycetes into eight major unranked clades, and to infer the higher-order relationships among these clades. A dataset of 93 species that represent all eight previously recognized clades was assembled, with 3800 bp of sequence data from nuclear and mitochondrial large and small subunit rDNAs for each taxon. Parsimony and maximum-likelihood analyses support the monophyly of the eight major clades recognized by Hibbett and Thorn. Most groups are strongly supported in bootstrapped parsimony analyses, but the polyporoid clade remains weakly supported. For the first time, the sister-group relationship of the euagarics clade and bolete clade is strongly supported, and the Hygrophoraceae is strongly supported as the sister group of the rest of the euagarics clade. Nevertheless, the backbone of the homobasidiomycete phylogeny, and the internal structure of several clades, remain poorly resolved.
Turbulence Model Comparisons for Supersonic Transports at Transonic and Supersonic Conditions

Results of turbulence model comparisons from two studies on supersonic transport configurations performed during the NASA High-speed Research program are given. Results are presented for both transonic conditions at Mach 0.90 and supersonic conditions at Mach 2.48. A feature of these two studies was the availability of higher Reynolds number wind tunnel data with which to compare the computational results. The transonic wind tunnel data was obtained in the National Transonic Facility at NASA Langley, and the supersonic data was obtained in the Boeing Polysonic Wind Tunnel. The computational data was acquired using a state of the art Navier-Stokes flow solver with a wide range of turbulence models implemented. The results show that the computed forces compare reasonably well with the experimental data, with the Baldwin- Lomax with Degani-Schiff modifications and the Baldwin-Barth models showing the best agreement for the transonic conditions and the Spalart-Allmaras model showing the best agreement for the supersonic conditions. The transonic results were more sensitive to the choice of turbulence model than were the supersonic results.
Effect of frequency oversampling and cascade initialization on permutation control in frequency domain BSS

This paper presents a new algorithm for addressing the permutation ambiguity in convolutive blind source separation. The proposed algorithm seeks to prevent permutations by frequency oversampling, and then exploiting the induced correlation between bins. Any remaining permutation is then corrected by beam pattern estimation. Cascade initialization is shown to improve system performance while decreasing processing time, while frequency oversampling is shown to increase performance with slight increases in computational time. The algorithm is proven robust against isotropic noise, producing a SIR improvement of 12.9 dB when the reverberation time is 260 ms, and the signals at the input are only 5 dB above the noise floor.*
Invertible Boolean Functions

A Boolean function has an inverse when every output is the result of one and only one input. There are 2n! Boolean functions of n variables which have an inverse. Equivalence classes of these functions are sets of equivalent functions in the sense that they are identical under a group operation on the input and output variables. This paper counts through five variables the number of equivalence classes of invertible Boolean functions under the group operation of complementation, permutation, and complementation and permutation, linear transformations and affine transformations. Lower bounds are given which experimentally give an asymptotic approximation. A representative function is given of each of the 52 classes of invertible Boolean functions of three variables under complementation and permutation. These are divided into three types of classes, 21 self-inverting functions, three functions have an inverse in the same class and 14 pairs of functions, each function of the pair in a different class. The four representative functions under the affine transformation are self-invertible.