cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Renal function and pituitary hormone release during cerebral osmostimulation and TRH in dogs

Abstract The effects of increases in serum osmolality on renal function and plasma levels of radioimmunoassayable prolactin (PRL) and luteinizing hormone (LH) were examined during intracarotid (IC) infusions of hypertonic NaCl in conscious dogs with a sustained water diuresis (SWD). A 10 minute bilateral IC infusion of 45 μmole/kg·min·artery of NaCl during SWD which raised jugular osmolality by 10.1 mOsm/kg, without significantly altering peripheral venous osmolality, produced a significant decrease in free water clearance (C H 2 O) at 20 to 40 minutes postinfusion. IC infusions of 0.9% NaCl did not produce an antidiuretic response. No change in heart rate or blood pressure from preinfusion control values occurred during NaCl infusions. Elevations in cerebral osmolality did not result in changes in circulating levels of LH or PRL which qualitatively differed from levels of these hormones recorded during IC infusions of 0.9% NaCl. Although fluctuations in levels of LH occurred during experiments, renal function was not concomitantly affected. The results suggest that a specificity exists in the hormonal response to selective elevations of cerebral osmolality. The administration of TRH 3.8–4.2 μg/kg produced a transient increase in blood pressure and inhibited a water diuresis, the latter possibly as a result of releasing antidiuretic hormone.
Commentary on “Problem-based learning in a surgery clerkship”

The Department of Surgery at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine is developing a modified third-year clerkship which stresses active student involvement in the educational process, the stimulation of life-long intellectual curiosity, and the development of problem-solving and time-management skills. The cornerstone of this program is problem-based learning (PBL). PBL places students in a situation in which they must identify, the major learning issues and solve the clinical problems presented in a series of paper cases. The students learn and practice a problem-solving method which rekindles their intellectual excitement for medical knowledge. After completing this program, the students are prepared and stimulated to be ‘immersed’ in the clinical setting through acting internships. The first students to complete the program have articulated concerns about the mixture of traditional clerkship clinical activities and PBL. These concerns are being addressed in subsequent modifications of the clerk...
Design considerations for beamwaveguide in the NASA Deep Space Network

A generalized solution is found for retrofitting a large dual-shaped reflector antenna for a beamwaveguide. The design is termed as a bypass beamwaveguide. Both highpass design feed imaging and bandpass design feed imaging are considered. Each design was studied using geometrical optics, Gaussian wave analysis, and both low-frequency and high-frequency diffraction analysis. An important extension of the Mizusawa-Kitsuregawa criteria was discovered (M.M. Zusama and T. Kitsuregawa, ibid., vol.AP-21, pp.844-8, Nov. 1973). The principle revealed shows how a two-reflector cell, although in itself distorting, may be combined with a second cell which compensates for the first and delivers an output beam which is a good image of the input beam. >
Trichodina myicola n. sp., a Peritrichous Ciliate from the Marine Bivalve Mya arenaria L.

A new ciliate from the marine clam Mya arenaria is described and figured. The form is designated Trichodina myicola with specific characters as follows: Bell-shaped to discoidal; length 31–86 microns; diam. 62–103 microns; diam. denticulate ring 29–46 microns; 26–36 denticles; diam. of basal disk 42–79 microns; adoral ciliary spiral performs slightly more than one turn; posterior ciliature in three closely applied, concentric tiers: an anterior circlet of marginal cilia, a middle circlet of overlapping membranelles, and a posterior circlet of inner cilia; macronucleus C-shaped; micronucleus small, round, lying near outer curvature of left arm of macronucleus; large contractile vacuole present near end of left arm of macronucleus. Taxonomy in the genus Trichodina is discussed and outlined. Special attention is given to details of the oral ciliature. T. myicola is compared with other members of the genus. A checklist of Trichodina species is presented.
Legacy Stabilization Using Income Annuities

Although it is generally agreed that income annuities (including both immediate and deferred income annuities) can help prevent investors from exhausting their assets during retirement, it is a common misconception among financial planners and wealthy investors that using income annuities will inevitably reduce the size of an investor’s estate. In fact, in many instances annuities are as likely to increase the size of an estate as to decrease it. In such cases, the effect of income annuities—when used appropriately—is a large reduction in the uncertainty associated with retirement planning, accompanied by a smaller but still significant reduction in the uncertainty associated with legacy planning. The authors demonstrate that annuities can be used both before and after retirement to reduce uncertainty surrounding the size of an estate, roughly maintain its expected size, and at the same time eliminate the risk of complete asset exhaustion during retirement.
Recognition of occult bladder injury during the tension-free vaginal tape procedure

OBJECTIVE: To identify signs and the etiology of occult bladder injury during the tension-free vaginal tape sling procedure. METHOD: The charts of 140 women who underwent a tension-free vaginal tape procedure were reviewed, and complications were tabulated and analyzed. The tension-free vaginal tape procedure was performed in six fresh-frozen pelves to demonstrate the mechanism of the occult bladder injury. RESULTS: Occult bladder injury was suspected when cystoscopy instillation fluid flowed from the plastic sheath that covers the prolene tape after the extraction of the tension-free vaginal tape trocar. Three of six cases of intraoperative bladder injury had occult bladder injury identified on repeat cystoscopic inspection. The bladder injury caused by the rough edge at the point of attachment of the tension-free vaginal tape to the trocar was reproducible in three of 12 tension-free vaginal tape applications in fresh-frozen pelves. Traction on the tension-free vaginal tape reapproximates the injured bladder edges and potentially promotes spontaneous healing. CONCLUSION: Bladder injuries may go unrecognized during a tension-free vaginal tape procedure. Continuous seepage of water through the prolene plastic sleeve is suggestive of occult bladder injury and requires repeat cystoscopy to identify the potential site of injury.
Satellite cell numbers in senile rat levator ani muscle.

Abstract Ageing in skeletal muscle results in motor frailty and a reduced capacity for self repair after injury. The contractile characteristics of muscle are determined principally by the myosin heavy chain (MHC) composition of its myofibers. During the restorative process, satellite cells play a central role. The present study compares the levator ani muscle of very old (32 months) and young (4 months) male WI/HicksCar rats in terms of structural integrity, MHC and satellite cell content. Myofiber typing was carried out by indirect immunohistochemistry using a panel of anti-MHC antibodies. Single myofibers for nuclear enumeration were isolated by an enzymatic technique while fiber cross-sectional areas and satellite cell frequencies were determined by computerized planimetry and electron microscopy. In both groups of rats, the myofiber population was homogeneously MHC type IIb-reactive. Cross-sectional data reflected a marked degree of atrophy in the muscle of the senile rats (710.05±63.6 μm2, compared with 1519.98±79.0 μm2 in young). The myofiber population was reduced by only about 6.7% with ageing and the representation of satellite cells, as a fraction of total sublaminal nuclei, was relatively stable (1.15 versus 1.91% in young; P>0.05). The results indicate that ageing had a considerable atrophic effect on the levator ani muscle but induced neither MHC isoform transition nor massive depletion of the satellite cell pool. They suggest that the well-documented impairment of the restorative capacity of senile muscle could be due more to alterations in the nature of microenvironmental cues than to quantitative aspects of its cellular capacity to respond.
Spectrum-sensing based interference mitigation for WLAN devices

The concept of spectrum sensing is, in the broad sense, the ability to detect and interpret other signals in the band and take appropriate actions by implementing adaptive techniques in the upper layers in addition to traditional interference cancellation techniques applied in the PHY layer. In this paper we present algorithms to trigger and detect interference from microwave oven for WLAN devices in the 2.4 GHz spectrum and methods to mitigate the impact from the interference. The concept can be extended to other coexistence issues as well as spectrum sharing between primary and secondary users.
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Studies of Imperfect Ionic Crystals

The method of nuclear magnetic resonance is applied to the study of ionic crystals containing point defects, i.e., vacancy, interstitial, or impurity ions. Experiments are described which show that the presence of such defects can have marked effects on the resonance line and can lead to a complicated temperature dependence of its width. A brief theoretical discussion is given of two effects important if the nucleus whose resonance is observed has a large electric quadrupole moment: (1) line width due to static second-order quadrupole interaction with defects, and (2) contribution to the nuclear relaxation time ${T}_{1}$ by quadrupole interaction with fluctuating electric fields caused by diffusing defects. Experimental results on the Br resonances in AgBr are analyzed in detail in terms of these effects. It is shown that the quadrupolar relaxation time due to diffusing defects in this salt can become sufficiently short to cause lifetime broadening of the resonance line, in particular that the motion of Ag vacancies seems to lead to a characteristic minimum of ${T}_{1}$ at about 0\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}C. The data also give some evidence for the association of defects in AgBr below 200\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K. Cases of motional narrowing of the resonance line caused by the diffusion of defects are illustrated by experimental results on NaCl and LiBr. The existence of the various effects discussed in connection with these experiments indicates that nuclear resonance techniques can provide a means of studying the behavior of point defects in solids, their motion and in some cases their association, from a rather microscopic point of view. The desirability of careful relaxation time measurements is pointed out.
Diurnal cortisol rhythms in youth from risky families: Effects of cumulative risk exposure and variation in the serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region gene-ERRATUM

Building on research on cumulative risk and psychopathology, this study examines how cumulative risk exposure is associated with altered diurnal cortisol rhythms in an ethnically diverse, low-income sample of youth. In addition, consistent with a diathesis-stress perspective, this study explores whether the effect of environmental risk is moderated by allelic variation in the serotonin transporter linked polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) gene. Results show that youth with greater cumulative risk exposure had flatter diurnal cortisol slopes, regardless of 5-HTTLPR genotype. However, the association of cumulative risk with average cortisol output (area under the curve [AUC]) was moderated by the 5-HTTLPR genotype. Among youth homozygous for the long allele, greater cumulative risk exposure was associated with lower cortisol AUC, driven by significant reductions in cortisol levels at waking. In contrast, there was a trend-level association between greater cumulative risk and higher cortisol AUC among youth carrying the short allele, driven by a trend-level increase in bedtime cortisol levels. Findings are discussed with regard to the relevance of dysregulated diurnal cortisol rhythms for the development of psychopathology and the implications of genetically mediated differences in psychophysiological adaptations to stress.
Polarity dependence of the conduction mechanism in inter-level low-k dielectrics

Leakage currents of inter level carbon-doped silicon oxide low-k dielectric in copper interconnect structure are investigated over the electric field range of zero to the breakdown field at different temperatures. A remarkable bias polarity dependence of conduction current and breakdown voltage is observed in such structure. Different conduction mechanisms are found in different electric field ranges. Ohmic conduction of electron hopping dominates at the low electric field. Poole-Frenkel emission and Fowler-Nordheim tunneling occur at high field on the different bias conditions respectively. The activation energy or energy barrier belong to each conduction mechanism was estimated. These conduction phenomena were explained by the asymmetry energy band diagram and surface defects. The bias polarity dependence of breakdown voltage indicates the breakdown mechanism of inter level low-k dielectric is attribute to carrier current but not electric field as ascribed by E-model.
Dielectric and piezoelectric properties of lanthanum-modified lead magnesium niobium-lead titanate ceramics

Abstract Dielectric and piezoelectric properties of relaxor ferroelectrics in the solid solution, formulated (1−x)(Pb1–1.5yLay)(Mg1/3Nb2/3)—x PbTiO3, have been investigated. The dielectric properties show typical first order ferroelectric behavior for PT ≥ 35% and relaxor type below being indicative of the morphotropic phase boundary. Lanthanum doping resulted in reduction of grain size and shifting of the Tc (Curie Temperature) −25 °C/mole% downward in PMN-PT polycrystalline ceramics. The optimum value of piezoelectric constant, d 33, obtained was 560 pC/N for compositions near the morphotropic phase boundary. Based on this investigation, La doped PMN-PT compositions appear to be promising candidates, for fine grain size piezoelectrics, pyroelectric bolometers, and through hot pressing or hot isostatic pressing, for electro-optic applications.
Membrane Interactions of Antimicrobial Peptoids - Restriction of Conformational Flexibility as a Strategy to Enhance Activity

Non-natural oligomeric mimics of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) can be designed to display chemical moieties analogous to the active side chains of natural peptides, while their abiotic backbone provides protection from proteolytic degradation. N-substituted glycine oligomers (peptoids) are an outstanding example of potential anti-infectious agents that have evoked a significant research effort to optimize their structures. In this study, we evaluated the effect of macrocyclization on the activity of antimicrobial peptoids. Cyclization is effective strategy to restrain the peptoid molecules conformational flexibility. Here, we examined the mode of membrane interactions mode for three pairs of cyclic and linear peptoids using Langmuir monolayer constant pressure insertion assays, fluorescence microscopy, and synchrotron X-ray scattering. The outer leaflets of the outer Gram-negative and cytoplasmic Gram-positive membranes were modeled with LPS (lipid A-kdo2) and DPPG monolayers, respectively. We demonstrate that both cyclic and non-cyclic peptoids readily incorporate into the bacterial membrane mimics, causing a rapid deterioration of the structural ordering of the lipid acyl chains. We also observe that cyclic and linear peptoids differ substantially in their mechanism of action. In particular, analysis of X-ray reflectivity data shows that the cyclic peptoids penetrate into the lipid hydrophobic core to a greater extent than the corresponding linear analogues.
Survey of apple growing, harvesting, and cider manufacturing practices in Wisconsin: implications for safety.

To evaluate the safety of current apple growing, harvesting and cider manufacturing practices in Wisconsin, cider manufacturers were contacted in a three-phase survey. Results revealed that seasonal, small-scale production was characteristic of the industry. Most cider mills produced less than 5,000 gal/year; only 6% produced more than 20,000 gal/year. Most cider makers used only tree picked apples (86%), inspected apples before washing (94%), washed (93%) and brushed (87%) apples, but only 16% of mills sanitized washed apples. Most mills (92%) sanitized cider making equipment after each use; however, only a few sanitized between custom pressing apples from different customers. Respondents reported that they strived to improve cider safety by pasteurization (43% of all cider), UV light treatment (4%), use of preservatives (30%), and HACCP (17%). For 31% of all cider, however, processors relied solely on refrigeration and/or freezing. These results show that most cider mills practice many steps believed to enhance cider safety, but results also identify procedures that must be addressed to further improve cider safety.
The isolation of perseitol and volemitol from Sedum. and some other observations on Sedum constituents

Because D-e~~t~l~O-D-g~~~C~O-OCtitOl is closely related to D-gijxero-D-mzmooctulose and both have been found in the avocado3, and because that octulose has been found also in Sedum3, a special search was made for the octitol in Sedum. To this end, 37.5 kg of S. speciabile Bor. was processed as described in the Experimental section, and &rally fractionated on a column of Dowex 5OW-X8 (Bat+) ion-exchange
Dehydration and linkage isomerization in K4[Ni(NO2)6]-H2O

Abstract The dehydration of K4[Ni(NO2)6]-H2O and the simultaneous linkage isomerization have been studied using differential scanning calorimetry. Two types of behavior were found for different samples. In one case, complete dehydration occurs and there is partial conversion of N-bonded nitrite to the O-bonded form. In the other case, only about 20% of the water is removed during the isomerization. The enthalpy change is estimated to be 3.5 kcal mol−1 for each nitrite converted and 9.6 kcal mol−1 for the dehydration.
A study of innovation in the pesticide industry: Analysis of the innovation record of an industrial sector*

Abstract This is a study of innovation in pesticides from 1930 to 1980. Innovation output indicators used are product innovation and patent counts. Innovations are evaluated in terms of originality and market success. Market demand is measured by the value of sales per year at constant prices. The distribution of these indicators over the 50 year period is compared and contrasted to the historical development of the sector. A number of hypotheses are proposed regarding the dynamics of the process of innovation, notably, the importance of market successful radical innovations as driving forces, the central role of large research intensive companies, the interplay between basic and applied research, and the effects of corporate technological traditions. Lastly, the potential, and some limitations in the use of patents as innovation output indicators are described.
Printed hybrid quantum dot light-emitting diodes for lighting applications

Novel quantum dot (QD) materials are explored to generate light and color. Inkjet printing of a QD single layer hybrid device is used to generate light. The QD/conjugated polymer interface is controlled via ligand attachments.
The Paradoxes of Analysis and Identity

– The paradoxes of analysis and identity each consist of a pair of statements sharing the same referents, but differing in their informativeness properties. Carnap employs a different solution for each of these paradoxes. Church, Davidson, and others have maintained that the two paradoxes can, and should, be resolved by a single method, viz. one based on the Fregean distinction between sense and reference. The present paper argues that Carnap's solution for the paradox of analysis is unsatisfactory on several counts, but primary among these is that Carnap is driven to hold that no semantic distinction can be drawn between the informativeness properties occurring in this paradox. Nevertheless, the paper shows (i) how the required distinction can be formulated within the general framework of Carnap's extensional-intensional system of semantics, and (ii) that such a distinction provides a single solution for both paradoxes. Resume – Les paradoxes de ľ analyse et de ľ identitye consistent chacun en une paire ?enonce's qui signifient la meme chose, mais qui different entre eux ? apres ľ information que comportent leurs expressions. Carnap donne une solution differente pour chacun ? eux; mais Church, Davidson, et ? autres encore ont soutenu que les deux paradoxes peuvent et devraient etre resolus par une seule methode, notamment basee sur la distinction de Frege entre sens (Sinn) et signification (Bedeutung) des mots. Cet article soutient que la solution qu'a donnee Carnap du paradoxe de ľ analyse n'est pas satisfaisante, pour plusieurs raisons, la principale tant que Carnap est amenea nier la possibilitye? une distinction semantique entre les proprietes ? information dont il s'agit dans ce paradoxe. Toutefois, cet article montre: 1 comment on peut formuler la distinction necessaire dans le cadre general du systeme extensionnel-intensionnel de la semantique Carnapienne; et 2 qu'une telle distinction permet une seule solution pour les deux paradoxes. Zusammenfassung – Die Paradoxe der Analyse und der Identitat bestehen jedes in einem Paar von Aussagen, welche sich auf den gleichen Gegenstand beziehen, sich aber hinsichtlich der Information, die sie liefern, unterscheiden. Carnap entwickelt eine be-sondere Losung fur jedes dieser Paradoxe. Church, Davidson und andere haben behauptet, dass beide Paradoxe durch eine gemeinsame Methode gelost werden konnen, und zwar eine solche, die auf Freges Unterscheidung von Sinn und Bedeutung beruht. Die vorliegende Arbeit will darlegen, dass Carnaps Losung des Paradoxons der Analyse aus mehrfachen Grunden unbefriedigend ist hauptsachlich aber deshalb, weil Carnap zu der Ansicht genotigt ist, dass kein semantischer Unterschied gemacht werden kann zwischen den informativen Inhalten der zwei Aussagen, die in diesem Paradoxon betrachtet werden. Nichtsdestoweniger aber wird hier gezeigt, 1. wie die erforderliche Unterscheidung innerhalb des allgemeinen Rahmens von Carnaps extensional-intensio-nalem System der Semantik formuliert werden kann; und 2. dass eine solche Unterscheidung eine gemeinsame Losung fur beide Paradoxe ermoglicht.
REGULATION OF A BACTERIOPHAGE T4 LATE GENE, SOC, WHICH MAPS IN AN EARLY REGION

We have sequenced and analyzed the expression of an early region of the bacteriophage T4 genome that surprisingly contains a late gene, soc. soc is oriented in the same direction as early genes, like the T4 lysozyme gene. Northern hybridization of early and late T4 RNA, using cloned T4 restriction fragments as probes, identified two long early transcripts and a short late transcript, all containing the soc-coding sequence. Thus, soc is transcribed both early and late. It is, however, translated only late. The inhibition of soc translation from the long early transcripts can be explained by formation of a hairpin in the RNA that sequesters the soc ribosome-binding site. The transcript initiated at the late promoter cannot form this hairpin and is, therefore, translated.
The Use of Ultrasonic Shears for the Harvest of Perforator Free Flaps

A retrospective chart review was performed at a university medical center to evaluate the use of ultrasonic shears for the harvest of perforator free flaps over an 18-month period. The anterolateral thigh (ALT) was the perforator free flap site selected for the study. The site of origin and the number of musculocutaneous perforator vessels that were dissected using ultrasonic shears were recorded, and ALT flap viability and wound-healing complications were evaluated to assess safety. Seventeen patients underwent harvest of ALT perforator free flaps. Successful dissection of musculocutaneous perforators was achieved in 96% (27 of 28) of the descending branch perforators and in 100% (9 of 9) of the transverse branch perforators. Flap viability was 100% (17 of 17). We found that ultrasonic shears were effective and safe to use for harvesting perforator free flaps. According to these preliminary findings, the use of ultrasonic shears appears promising, yet further prospective analysis is needed.
Predicting toxicity of sediments spiked with silver

Previous experiments conducted with feshwater sediments spiked with silver have shown that, when expressed on a dry weight basis, the toxicity of silver is sediment-specific and dependent on the form of silver added (e.g., AgNO3, Ag2S). This study was conducted to assess the usefulness of silver interstitial water toxic units (IWTU) and acid volatile sulfide (AVS) concentrations in predicting the biological effects of silver species across sediments, regardless of the species of silver present. Two saltwater sediments were spiked with a series of concentrations of silver. The amphipod, Ampelisca abdita, was then exposed to the sediments in ten-day toxicity tests. Amphipod mortality was sediment-specific when expressed on a dry weight basis, but not when based on IWTU or simultaneously extracted metal (SEM)-AVS. Sediments with an excess of AVS relative to SEM had IWTU 0.5, but no measurable AVS, and were generally toxic. Sediments with measurable AVS were not toxic. Reanalysis of the previously published data from the freshwater sediments spiked with silver showed mortality to be correlated with nominal SEM-AVS and with silver IWTU. Taken together, these results support the use of AVS and silver IWTUs in predicting the toxicity of silver in sediments.
Maximum likelihood reconstruction for tomosynthesis

We present a maximum likelihood(ML) algorithm for tomosynthesis that reconstructs a 3D radiation attenuation coefficient map from a set of radiograms taken from various view angles. The ML algorithm is developed based on the Poisson model of two dimensional radiography. The ML reconstruction yields better image quality with fewer artifacts than the wildly used filtered backprojection (FBP) reconstruction. Finally, we show representative results on simulated data.
EPR studies of the thermal decay of the OH radicals in electron irradiated lithium sulfate at 77°K☆☆☆

Abstract Single crystals of lithium sulfate have been grown with labeled Li and H isotopes and irradiated in a 1 MeV electron beam at 77°K. After warming to room temperature and again returning to 77°K, the previously reported OH radical spectrum disappears and two new types ( B and C ) of spectra are observed. The type B spectrum can be explained by an axially symmetric Hamiltonian containing a Zeeman term and an isotropic proton hyperfine interaction term. This spin Hamiltonian is assigned to a modification of the original OH radical, forming an O 2 H radical. The type C spectrum can be explained by an axially symmetric Hamiltonian containing only a Zeeman term, and is attributed to an O 2 − radical produced simultaneously with the type B center.
Energy Efficient Sleep/Wake Scheduling for Multi-Hop Sensor Networks: Non-Convexity and Approximation Algorithm

We study sleep/wake scheduling for low duty cycle sensor networks. Our work is different from prior work in that we explicitly consider the effect of synchronization error in the design of the sleep/wake scheduling algorithm. In our previous work, we have studied sleep/wake scheduling for single hop communications, e.g., intra-cluster communications between a cluster head and cluster members. We showed that the there is an inherent trade-off between energy consumption and message delivery performance (defined as the message capture probability). We proposed an optimal sleep/wake scheduling algorithm, which satisfies a message capture probability threshold (assumed to be given) with minimum energy consumption. In this work, we consider multi-hop communications. We remove the previous assumption that the capture probability threshold is already given, and study how to decide the per-hop capture probability thresholds to meet the quality of services (QoS) requirements of the application. In many sensor network applications, the QoS is decided by the amount of data delivered to the base station(s), i.e., the multi-hop delivery performance. We formulate an optimization problem, which aims to set the capture probability threshold at each hop such that the network lifetime is maximized, while the multi-hop delivery performance is guaranteed. The problem turns out to be non-convex and hard to solve exactly. By investigating the unique structure of the problem and using approximation techniques, we obtain a solution that achieves at least 0.73 of the optimal performance.
Fast analysis of transient scattering in lossy media

The solution of time-domain integral equations pertinent to scattering from perfectly conducting objects residing in unbounded lossy media is considered. The computational cost of classical marching-on-in-time (MOT) schemes for the solution of such equations scales as O(N/sub t//sup 2/N/sub s//sup 2/), where N/sub t/ and N/sub s/ are the number of temporal and spatial unknowns, respectively. A fast Fourier transform (FFT)-based algorithm that reduces the computational complexity to O(N/sub t/N/sub s//sup 2/log/sup 2/N/sub t/) is introduced. When combined with spatial FFT algorithms, the proposed scheme further reduces the complexity of MOT-based integral equation solvers, for example to O(N/sub t/N/sub s/log(N/sub t/N/sub s/)logN/sub t/) if the objects are uniformly meshed. Numerical simulations that demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of the algorithm are presented.
Gas Chromatography‐Mass Spectrometry‐Basic Principles, Instrumentation and Selected Applications for Detection of Organic Compounds

Abstract This mini‐review discusses the analytical technique of gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC‐MS), specifically basic principles and instrumentations. The applications of GC‐MS to a number of studies for determining organic compounds from around the world are presented and highlight its universal use and acceptance. Selected applications show that GC‐MS is an integral and complimentary part of many field studies involving organic compound detection and determination.
Regulation of sexual plasticity in a nematode that produces males, females, and hermaphrodites.

Summary The mechanisms by which new modes of reproduction evolve remain important unsolved puzzles in evolutionary biology. Nematode worms are ideal for studying the evolution of mating systems because the phylum includes both a large range of reproductive modes and large numbers of evolutionarily independent switches [1, 2]. Rhabditis sp. SB347, a nematode with sexual polymorphism, produces males, females, and hermaphrodites [3]. To understand how the transition between mating systems occurs, we characterized the mechanisms that regulate female versus hermaphrodite fate in Rhabditis sp. SB347. Hermaphrodites develop through an obligatory nonfeeding juvenile stage, the dauer larva. Here we show that by suppressing dauer formation, Rhabditis sp. SB347 develops into females. Conversely, larvae that under optimal growth conditions develop into females can be respecified toward hermaphroditic development if submitted to dauer-inducing conditions. These results are of significance to understanding the evolution of complex mating systems present in parasitic nematodes.
Deterministic Learning for Maximum-Likelihood Estimation Through Neural Networks

In this paper, a general method for the numerical solution of maximum-likelihood estimation (MLE) problems is presented; it adopts the deterministic learning (DL) approach to find close approximations to ML estimator functions for the unknown parameters of any given density. The method relies on the choice of a proper neural network and on the deterministic generation of samples of observations of the likelihood function, thus avoiding the problem of generating samples with the unknown density. Under mild assumptions, consistency and convergence with favorable rates to the true ML estimator function can be proved. Simulation results are provided to show the good behavior of the algorithm compared to the corresponding exact solutions.
COAXIAL NANOTUBES FROM POLY(ETHYL 2-CYANOACRYLATE)/POLY(p-XYLYLENE) CONFORMAL COATINGS VIA VAPOR DEPOSITION

Ultra-thin (10–100 nm) conformal coatings of poly(ethyl 2-cyanoacrylate) and poly(p-xylylene) have been synthesized via vapor deposition in the confined nanochannels of anodized alumina membranes. Poly(ethyl 2-cyanoacrylate) nanotubes and coaxial poly(ethyl 2-cyanoacrylate)/poly(p-xylylene) nanotubes with precisely-controlled wall thickness were obtained after the removal of the inorganic anodized alumina membrane. Platinum nanoparticles have also been deposited in the coaxial nanotubes via supercritical carbon dioxide.
Neutron and X-ray Diffraction Studies and DFT Calculations of Asymmetric Bis(silyl) Niobocene Hydrides

The first asymmetric bis(silyl) niobocene hydrides Cp2Nb(SiHMe2)H(SiXMe2) (2: X = F (a), Cl (b), Br (c), I (d)), having interligand interactions Nb−H···Si−X, were prepared by selective halogenation of the Si−H bond in Cp2Nb(SiHMe2)2H. X-ray studies of 2b,c and a combined X-ray/neutron diffraction study of 2b establish a slightly stronger interaction of the niobium-bound hydride with the halosilyl ligand.
Dealing with infectious and parasitic diseases in safari parks, roadside menageries, exotic animal auctions and rehabilitation centres.

Summary: Safari parks, roadside menageries, exotic animal auctions and wildlife rehabilitation centres exist world-wide, and serve as sites of wild animal concentrations. When these animals are brought together, the potential is great for the spread and eventual outbreak of many different infectious and parasitic diseases. It is therefore necessary that procedures be developed in these facilities to minimize the risk of occurrence and spread of these diseases. This will require financial resources for professional personnel, diagnostic testing and appropriate facility design.
- SkMLCK: Skeletal muscle myosin light chain kinase (vertebrates)

Skeletal muscle myosin light chain kinase (SkMLCK) is a highly specific Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase that phosphorylates the regulatory myosin light chain in skeletal muscle. Phosphorylation moves the myosin head away from the backbone of the myosin thick filament, thereby increasing the rate at which the myosin cross bridge goes into the force-producing state upon attachment with actin. Physiologically, this movement of the myosin head potentiates the contractile performance of skeletal muscle. SkMLCK is a monomer. The form found in skeletal muscle is structurally and genetically distinct from the form found in smooth and nonmuscle cells. The Ca2+/calmodulin (CaM)-binding and kinase domains form a globular structure with the N-terminal region having an extended conformation. An acidic residue N-terminal to the kinase domain may bind to basic residues in the light chain substrate. The chicken skeletal muscle kinase is 83% identical to the rabbit enzyme in the catalytic core and calmodulin-binding domains, but there is no significant identity in the N-terminal regions. The function of the extended N-terminus is not known although it accounts for the size heterogeneity between species and the aberrant migration on SDS-PAGE. This region is rich in A, P, G, and charged residues. The autoinhibitory domain has not been defined in SkMLCK, but based on analogy with SmMLCK, it most likely includes a portion of the calmodulin-binding domain and residues in the connecting peptide between the catalytic core and calmodulin-binding domain.
Experimental Dynamic Substructuring of a Catalytic Converter System Using the Transmission Simulator Method

This paper contains an example of experimental substructuring using the transmission simulator method on an assembly of automotive catalytic converters. These structures could be challenging to model with finite elements because of uncertainties in the material properties of the catalytic converts and the joint between ceramic catalysts and metal housings. This system is of interest because it has a production joint that has been found to exhibit nonlinearity and linear modeling presented here will be a precursor to modeling the nonlinearity in the joint. The substructure being used is a single catalytic converter attached to a steel plate. A modal test was performed in order to obtain a model of the substructure. The substructure model was developed using elastic modes and rigid body modes that were analytically constructed from measured rigid body mass properties and extracted FRF test data. This substructure is replicated about the connection axis and coupled to itself to generate a model of the full system; this assumes that each catalytic converter is identical. The steel plate was attached to the substructure to serve as the transmission simulator, and thus was subtracted from the final assembly. The substructuring predictions from were then compared to a truth model which was derived from a modal test of a fully assembled system.
Computational dynamics of acoustically driven microsphere systems

We propose a computational framework for the self-consistent dynamics of a microsphere system driven by a pulsed acoustic field in an ideal fluid. Our framework combines a molecular dynamics integrator describing the dynamics of the microsphere system with a time-dependent integral equation solver for the acoustic field that makes use of fields represented as surface expansions in spherical harmonic basis functions. The presented approach allows us to describe the interparticle interaction induced by the field as well as the dynamics of trapping in counter-propagating acoustic pulses. The integral equation formulation leads to equations of motion for the microspheres describing the effect of nondissipative drag forces. We show (1) that the field-induced interactions between the microspheres give rise to effective dipolar interactions, with effective dipoles defined by their velocities and (2) that the dominant effect of an ultrasound pulse through a cloud of microspheres gives rise mainly to a translation of the system, though we also observe both expansion and contraction of the cloud determined by the initial system geometry.
Genome Engineering of the 2,3-Butanediol Biosynthetic Pathway for Tight Regulation in Cyanobacteria

Cyanobacteria have gained popularity among the metabolic engineering community as a tractable photosynthetic host for renewable chemical production. However, though a number of successfully engineered production systems have been reported, long-term genetic stability remains an issue for cyanobacterial systems. The genetic engineering toolbox for cyanobacteria is largely lacking inducible systems for expression control. The characterization of tight regulation systems for use in cyanobacteria may help to alleviate this problem. In this work we explore the function of the IPTG inducible promoter PLlacO1 in the model cyanobacterium Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 as well as the effect of gene order within an operon on pathway expression. According to our experiments, PLlacO1 functions well as an inducible promoter in S. elongatus. Additionally, we found that gene order within an operon can strongly influence control of expression of each gene.
Physiologic indicators of vitamin A status.

Physiologic indicators reflect the functional consequences of vitamin A deficiency and may be particularly useful for detecting early perturbations in vitamin A status. In conjunctival impression cytology (CIC), epithelial morphology and the presence or absence of mucin spots and goblet cells allow samples, obtained by applying filter paper to the temporal conjunctiva, to be characterized as normal or typical of vitamin A-deficient keratinizing metaplasia. The validity of CIC has been established with reference to other indicators of vitamin A status, and a prevalence of ≥20% abnormal results has been suggested as indicative of a public health problem. However, interpretation of specimens requires considerable training, and nonresponsiveness to supplementation is a frequent problem, which limits the utility of CIC as a method for evaluating the impact of intervention programs. Several simplified field protocols for dark adaptation have been developed, including one in which dark adaptation is assessed by the responsiveness of the pupil to light. Night blind subjects have consistently shown abnormal results on this test, and a significant response to placebo-controlled dosing has been demonstrated for children and pregnant women. Scores have correlated significantly with serum retinol and relative dose response. Pupillary dark adaptation testing is acceptable to most children as young as 2 y old. Limitations of this technique include a time course for recovery after dosing as long as 4-6 wk, a testing time of 20 min, and the need for 1-3 d of training. Given its low cost, noninvasive nature, and lack of the need to transport samples, pupillary dark adaptation offers advantages over other techniques for assessing a population's vitamin A status.
Normative Judgments and Individual Essence

A growing body of research has examined how people judge the persistence of identity over time-that is, how they decide that a particular individual is the same entity from one time to the next. While a great deal of progress has been made in understanding the types of features that people typically consider when making such judgments, to date, existing work has not explored how these judgments may be shaped by normative considerations. The present studies demonstrate that normative beliefs do appear to play an important role in people's beliefs about persistence. Specifically, people are more likely to judge that the identity of a given entity (e.g., a hypothetical nation) remains the same when its features improve (e.g., the nation becomes more egalitarian) than when its features deteriorate (e.g., the nation becomes more discriminatory). Study 1 provides a basic demonstration of this effect. Study 2 shows that this effect is moderated by individual differences in normative beliefs. Study 3 examines the underlying mechanism, which is the belief that, in general, various entities are essentially good. Study 4 directly manipulates beliefs about essence to show that the positivity bias regarding essences is causally responsible for the effect.
Data parsing using tier grammars

Parsing turns unstructured data into structured data suitable for knowledge discovery and querying. The complexity of grammar notations and the difficulty of grammar debugging limit the availability of data parsers. Tier grammars are defined by simply dividing terminals into predefined classes and then splitting elements of some classes into multiple layered sub-groups. The set of predefined terminal classes can be easily extended. Tier grammars and their extensions are LL(1) grammars. Tier grammars are a tool for big data preprocessing.
Composition of glycosaminoglycans from aortas from deoxycorticosterone-induced hypertensive pigs.

Hypertension was induced in young male pigs by subcutaneous implantation of deoxycorticosterone acetate in a Silastic rubber carrier. Hemodynamic variables were periodically monitored. Six to eight weeks after implantation, the animals were necropsied and aortas were dissected. Glycosaminoglycans (GAG) were isolated from aortas from hypertensive pigs and from normotensive controls. lndividual glycosaminoglycans in mixtures were fractionated and quantitated by chromatography on Dowex 1 C1- column. No differences were noted in total glycosaminoglycan concentration between hypertensive and control animal aortas; the differences in individual GAG in aorta media-adventitia between the groups were not statistically significant. The relative proportions of heparan sulfate and dermatan sulfate in aorta intima were significantly greater (p < 0.05) in hypertensive aortas than in normotensive intima. These two glycosaminoglycans increased in hypertensive animals at the expense of chondroitin 4-sulfate and hyaluronic acid. There was no difference in chondroitin 6-sulfate between the groups. A possible explanation of changes of glycosaminoglycans in hypertension because of altered 1ySOSOmal activity iS suggested. 0 1985 Society for Expenmental Biology and Medicine.
Effect of chronic administration of mercurial diuretics on glomerular filtration in the dog.

SummaryMercurial diuretics administered intravenously in chronic dosage to dogs reduced the glomerular nitration rate as measured by the creatinine clearance. This reduction in glomerular filtration rate was found to be temporary in most dogs that did not have severe symptoms of mercury poisoning.Thiomerin, when administered intravenously in comparable chronic dosage to the dog, was found to be of higher toxicity than either Mercuhydrin or Merthyl, as indicated by reduced creatinine clearances, and other signs of mercury poisoning.
Aeroelastic Instability of Tactical Aircraft in Nonlinear Flow Regimes

An aeroelastic simulation methodology was applied to an F-16 fighter configuration in transonic flight. The flow was represented with the Navier-Stokes equations using a Beam-Warming, approximately factored algorithm, and coupled with a linear, second-order structural model via subiteration. Transonic simulations were performed at moderate angles of attack that captured shock induced trailing-edge separation, in agreement with experiment. This nonlinear flow feature tended to attenuate the aeroelastic instability of the aircraft. One flight condition was demonstrated to be limit-cycle oscillation.
Global Spread of Carbapenemase-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae

When gram-negative pathogens infect hospitalized patients, there are adverse clinical and economic consequences. During the 1990s, multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii posed formidable challenges for patients and their clinicians. Now, with the rapid spread of Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates that are resistant to all commonly used antimicrobial agents, a new threat is emerging.
Nationalism in Settled Times

Due to a preoccupation with periods of large-scale social change, nationalism research had long neglected everyday nationhood in contemporary democracies. Recent scholarship, however, has begun to shift the focus of this scholarly field toward the study of nationalism not only as a political project but also as a cognitive, affective, and discursive category deployed in daily practice. Integrating insights from work on banal and everyday nationalism, collective rituals, national identity, and commemorative struggles with survey-based findings from political psychology, I demonstrate that meanings attached to the nation vary within and across populations as well as over time, with important implications for microinteraction and for political beliefs and behavior, including support for exclusionary policies and authoritarian politics. I conclude by suggesting how new developments in methods of data collection and analysis can inform future research on this topic.
Hydrides of the Alkali Metals and Alkaline Earth Metals Under Pressure

First-principles calculations coupled with evolutionary algorithms have been employed to predict the structures of hydrides of the alkali metals and alkaline earth metals under pressure. A plethora...