cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An analysis of contoured quartz resonators with beveled cylindrical edges

The equation for transversely varying thickness modes in doubly-rotated quartz resonators is applied in the analysis of contoured resonators with beveled cylindrical edges. The coefficients appearing in the planar differential operator are written as a sum of a mean or isotropic part plus a deviation. Asymptotic eigensolutions for the nearby isotropic case are obtained for the contoured cylindrical beveled resonator. The resonant frequencies for the actual anisotropic case are obtained from an equation for the perturbation in eigenfrequency from the isotropic solution. A lumped parameter representation of the admittance, which is valid in the vicinity of a resonance, is obtained. Calculated results are presented for some contoured beveled SC-cut quartz resonators.
Twenty-First Century Gateways: Immigrant Incorporation in Suburban America

Besides the American economy, immigration has dominated the national domestic agenda during this hotly contested 2008 election year. National controversies arose in 2006 and 2007, when Farmers Bran...
Activation of mouse bronchopulmonary C-fibres by serotonin and allergen-ovalbumin challenge.

Key points • Mast cell-derived serotonin is a principal mediator of allergic reactions in rodents. Serotonin can also be released from platelets during various pathological conditions. • Vagal C-fibres innervating the respiratory tract can be subdivided into nodose (placodal) C-fibres or jugular (neural crest) C-fibres). Activation of vagal placodal and/or neural crest vagal C-fibres probably contributes to the dyspnoea, cough and reflex parasympathetic drive commonly associated with serotonin. • Serotonin used different receptor subtypes to evoke strong action potential discharge in placodal (5-HT3 receptors) versus neural crest (non-5-HT3 receptors)-derived vagal C-fibres in the mouse lung. • Mast cell derived serotonin may activate neural crest C-fibres, but did not stimulate placodal C-fibres. • The effect of extracellular serotonin on vagal afferent activation therefore depends on its cellular source and the C-fibre phenotype. Abstract The effect of serotonin on capsaicin-sensitive vagal C-fibre afferent nerves was evaluated in an ex vivo vagally innervated mouse lung preparation. Action potentials arising from receptive fields in the lungs were recorded with an extracellular electrode positioned in the nodose/jugular ganglion. Among the 62 capsaicin-sensitive C-fibres studied (conduction velocity ∼0.5 m s−1), 71% were of the nodose phenotype and 29% of the jugular phenotype. The nodose C-fibres responded strongly to serotonin and this effect was blocked with the 5-HT3-receptor antagonist ondansetron. Using single cell RT-PCR, we noted that the vast majority of nodose neurons retrogradely labelled from the lung, expressed 5-HT3 receptor mRNA. The jugular C-fibres also responded strongly to serotonin with action potential discharge, but this effect was not inhibited by ondansetron. Lung-specific jugular neurons did not express 5-HT3 receptor mRNA but frequently expressed 5-HT1 or 5-HT4 receptor mRNA. Mast cells are the major source of serotonin in healthy murine airways. Ovalbumin-induced mast cell activation in actively sensitized lungs caused action potential discharge in jugular but not nodose C-fibres. The data show that vagal C-fibres in the respiratory tract of the mouse are strongly activated by serotonin. Depending on the C-fibre subtype both 5-HT3 and non-5-HT3 mechanisms are involved.
More on Calcium Ion Activity Buffers for Coagulation Testing

The partial thromboplastin time (PTT) test has been problematic over the years, in part because of the multiple reagent and instrument systems used for this measurement. However, preanalytic variables are also operative. Standardization of the prothrombin time (PT) with the International Normalized Ratio has been difficult, but the more complex PTT has not yet been standardized even to this extent. Part of the problem is the greater number of variables that affect the PTT compared with the PT (1). An article by Ranby et al. (2) in the most recent issue of Clinical Chemistry provided a detailed study of calcium ion buffers used for the collection of blood specimens for the …
Ageing-related changes in GABAergic inhibition in mouse auditory cortex, measured using in vitro flavoprotein autofluorescence imaging.

Key points Ageing is associated with hearing loss and changes in GABAergic signalling in the auditory system. We tested whether GABAergic signalling in an isolated forebrain preparation also showed ageing-related changes. A novel approach was used, whereby population imaging was coupled to quantitative pharmacological sensitivity. Sensitivity to GABAA blockade was inversely associated with age and cortical thickness, but hearing loss did not independently contribute to the change in GABAAergic sensitivity. Redox states in the auditory cortex of young and aged animals were similar, suggesting that the differences in GABAAergic sensitivity are unlikely to be due to differences in slice health. Abstract To examine ageing-related changes in the earliest stages of auditory cortical processing, population auditory cortical responses to thalamic afferent stimulation were studied in brain slices obtained from young and aged CBA/CAj mice (up to 28 months of age). Cortical responses were measured using flavoprotein autofluorescence imaging, and ageing-related changes in inhibition were assessed by measuring the sensitivity of these responses to blockade of GABAA receptors using bath-applied SR95531. The maximum auditory cortical response to afferent stimulation was not different between young and aged animals under control conditions, but responses to afferent stimulation in aged animals showed a significantly lower sensitivity to GABA blockade with SR95531. Cortical thickness, but not hearing loss, improved the prediction of all imaging variables when combined with age, particularly sensitivity to GABA blockade for the maximum response. To determine if the observed differences between slices from young and aged animals were due to differences in slice health, the redox state in the auditory cortex was assessed by measuring the FAD+/NADH ratio using fluorescence imaging. We found that this ratio is highly sensitive to known redox stressors such as H2O2 and NaCN; however, no difference was found between young and aged animals. By using a new approach to quantitatively assess pharmacological sensitivity of population-level cortical responses to afferent stimulation, these data demonstrate that auditory cortical inhibition diminishes with ageing. Furthermore, these data establish a significant relationship between cortical thickness and GABAergic sensitivity, which had not previously been observed in an animal model of ageing.
Learning and Memory: Do Bees Dream?

In mammals, evidence for memory reactivation during sleep highlighted the important role that sleep plays in memory consolidation. A new study reports that memory reactivation is evolutionarily conserved and can also be found in the honeybee.
Organizational Principles of Velocity Storage in Three Dimensions

1. Optokinetic nystagmus was elicited in alert monkeys by movement of the visual surround in their horizontal or yaw plane, and optokinetic after-nystagmus was recorded in darkness. The animals were upright or were statically tilted at various angles from the upright. While upright, the OKAN was horizontal, and there were no vertical or roll components. When animals were tilted to either side or forward or back, vertical or roll components appeared both in the primary and secondary OKAN. Such components were also observed during nystagmus and after-nystagmus induced by electrical stimulation of the nucleus of the optic tract. The characteristics of the cross-coupled components indicated that they were mediated through the velocity storage mechanism in the vestibulo-ocular reflex. 2. A principle was inferred that explained the appearance of cross-coupled vertical or roll components in the primary and secondary OKAN: With the animal in a tilted position, a vector of eye velocity during OKN along the body-vertical axis was converted during primary OKAN toward a spatial-vertical axis with the same sense by a right hand rule. Thus, slow phase velocity along a vector toward the top of the animal's head during horizontal OKN rotated so that it tended to be directed spatially upward during primary OKAN. The reverse was true for OKN with a velocity vector directed toward the animal's feet. It rotated during primary OKAN so that it tended to be aligned with the direction of gravity. The vector of velocity during secondary OKAN was opposite to the direction of the vector during primary OKAN and was approximately aligned with spatial vertical. 3. OKN and OKAN were elicited about the animal's pitch and roll axes while they were upright and statically tilted at various angles away from the spatial vertical. There was a graded increase in the strength of vertical and roll OKN and OKAN and in the falling time constant of OKAN as the animals were tilted so that the axis of pitch or roll eye movements was moved toward alignment with the spatial vertical. Thus, velocity storage during pure vertical and roll nystagmus was similar to that during yaw OKN and OKAN in tilted positions: it was maximal along the pitch and roll axes when these axes were aligned with gravity. 4. The data indicate that the gravitational field is of fundamental importance in imposing a spatial reference onto the velocity storage integrator.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Automated classification of author's sentiments in citation using machine learning techniques: A preliminary study

Scientific papers generally include citations to external sources such as journal articles, books, or Web links to refer to works that are related in an important way to the research. The reason for the citation appears within the sentences surrounding the citation tag in the body text, and represents the relationship between the citation and cited works as supportive, contrastive, corrective, etc. This could be an important clue for researchers seeking relevant previous work or approaches for a certain research purpose. We propose to develop an automated method to identify the citing author's sentiments toward the cited external sources expressed in citation sentences using machine-learning techniques and linguistic cues. As a preliminary study, this paper presents a support vector machine (SVM)-based text categorization technique to classify the author's sentiments specifically toward Comment-on (CON) articles. CON, a MEDLINE citation field, indicates previously published articles commented on by authors of a given article expressing possibly complimentary or contradictory opinions. An SVM with a radial basis kernel function (RBF) is implemented, and Input feature vectors for the SVM are created based on n-grams word statistics representing the distribution of words in CON sentences. Experiments conducted on a set of CON sentences collected from 414 different online biomedical journal titles show that the SVM with a RBF yields the best result for an input feature vector combining uni-gram and bi-gram word statistics.
The spec's in the mail

The paper discusses the coevolution of the Internet Text Message (RFC 822) format and the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP, RFC 821), from its roots as a printer-spooling convention piggybacked on FTP through the development of the Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME) up to the latest drafts of the Detailed Revision/Update of Message Standards (DRUMS) working group.
Fiber optic chemical sensors for volatile organics and metal ions

Designs of fiber optic chemical sensors are reviewed. Two basic types of sensors are described. The first is a reservoir sensor for determining chloroform based on vapor transport and fluorometric detection. The second type of sensor is a renewable reagent sensor based on vacuum aspiration of samples. Application of this sensor to the fluorometric determination of aluminum and the chemiluminescence determination of chromium is described.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Noise comparisons from full-scale fan tests at NASA Lewis Research Center

The overall aero and acoustic design features of eight 6-foot-diameter, single-stage fans tested in an outdoor acoustic facility are described. A correlation of the acoustic results for subsonic tip-speed fans showed the total sound power to be proportional to the mechanical power imparted to the fan and the specific work performed on the air to within plus or minus 2 dB. The correlation was relatively insensitive to fan design variables over a broad range of operating conditions. Maximum perceived noise levels were generally proportional to the sound power levels with both noise levels exhibiting a relatively unique increase with fan pressure ratio when normalized by the delivered thrust. The spectra of broadband noise attributed to the fan exhibited a bimodal characteristic for most of the fans. A predominant mode centered near the blade-passage tone and another at 8 to 16 times the tone frequency.
Hydra hymanae: regulation of the life cycle by time and temperature

Hydra hymanae, a hermaphroditic freshwater coelenterate, reproduces asexually at 24 degrees C and sexually at 15 degrees C. The appearance of gonads begins 12 days after transfer from 24 degrees to 15 degrees C and is complete 35 days after the temperature transition. Testes appear before eggs. Fifty percent of the mature embryos maintained at 15 degrees C hatch by day 61, but they have a low level of survival. Fifty percent of the mature embryos pretreated for from 5 to 25 days at 4 degrees C hatch by about day 45, and these have a high level of survival. Embryos maintained at 4 degrees C for longer periods (55 to 85 days) accumulate in a prehatching state and hatch with a high degree of synchrony approximately 7.5 days after return to 15 degrees C. Populations derived from newly hatched polyps are refractory to sex induction for approximately 120 days. The system is well adapted to ensure a regular alternation of reproductive modes in the natural environment.
The impact of goal setting of team simulation experience

This article examines the effects of goal setting on team experience while competing in a computerized business simulation. A randomly selected sample of 186 business majors from their required business policy course participated in the study. Cohesiveness, conflict, perceptions of success, and performance in the simulation were examined over a 6-week period that involved 12 quarterly decisions. The findings demonstrated that teams receiving the goal-setting intervention exhibited higher levels of cohesiveness and perceived success, while expressing reduced levels of conflict, than control teams.
Intellectual Freedom: Challenges and Responsibilities of Seventh-day Adventist Academic Libraries

A survey was conducted among Library Directors in Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) colleges and universities around the world to learn how Seventh-day Adventist librarians view and define intellectual freedom, whether SDA libraries are having censorship challenges to library materials, and what policies and procedures are used to resolve the challenges. It was found that the majority of libraries surveyed have had materials challenged, most often because of differences in religious/theological beliefs or strong language. A comparison made between this study and Hippenhammer's (1993) survey of Christian college libraries showed significant differences in the following areas: written selection policy, reasons for materials challenges, and group submitting challenges.
Blood-brain barrier Ca2+-ATPase cytochemistry: incubation media and fixation methods for differentiating Ca2+-specific ATPase from ecto-ATPase

AbstractCa2+-ATPase cytochemistry frequently uses the incubation medium of Ando et al. that was introduced in 1981. Some studies, however, have suggested that this medium localizes ecto-ATPase in addition to Ca2+-ATPase and that Ca2+-ATPase is sensitive to fixation. Strong activity of the enzyme on the luminal surface of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) also is considered indicative of immature or pathological microvessels. We address here five questions. 1) Is the incubation medium of Ando et al. specific for BBB Ca2+-ATPase or does it also localize ecto-ATPase? 2) How are the two enzymes distributed in the BBB? 3) How would data interpretation be prone to error if the cytochemical study does not use controls identifying ecto-ATPase? 4) Does the amount of reaction product of both enzymes vary significantly when the cortical tissue is exposed to different fixatives? 5) Does the presence of Ca2+-ATPase on the luminal membrane of the BBB necessarily indicate immature or abnormal brain endothelial cells? Adult ...
Low-loss liquid-core optical fiber for low-refractive-index liquids: Fabrication, characterization, and application in raman spectroscopy

We describe a liquid-core optical fiber based on capillary tubing of Teflon AF 2400, which is a clear, amorphous fluoropolymer having a refractive index of 1.29. When filled with virtually any transparent liquid, the fiber is capable of transmitting light by total internal reflection. Loss below 3 dB/m is demonstrated throughout much of the visible region for a 250-mm-i.d. fiber filled with water. The utility of this device in enhancing the intensity of Raman spectra of core liquids is demonstrated.
APPLICATION OF KALMAN FILTER STATISTICAL TECHNIQUE IN PHARMACEUTICS

AbstractPharmaceutics experiments involving time-dependent or space-dependent observations are generally subjected to single or multiple regression analysis based on the tacit assumption that the regression coefficients are fixed and invariant through time or across space. However, this assumption is invariably not tenable, specially for this type of observations, and the coefficients do indeed vary during the experiment through time or across space. The results of the analysis which does not take this aspect into consideration may be inaccurate. For instance, the results of the standard least squares analysis applied to a multicomponent mixture experiment to determine the concentrations of individual components will be absolutely misleading in the presence of parametric variation. Kalman filter statistical technique is devised to handle such complex problems. A detailed description of the technique is presented in the context of a specific pharmaceutic experiment. For the purpose of data analysis, one ha...
Optical correlation filter fusion for object detection

We consider the detection of candidate objects (regions of interest) in a scene containing high clutter, multiple objects in different classes, independent of aspect view, with hot, cold, bimodal, and partial object variations and with high and low contrast targets. We use three different filters with each designed to produce high probability of detection (PD). We fuse the results from different outputs to reduce the probability of false alarms (PFA). All filters are realizable on an optical correlator.
Kerberized Lustre 2.0 over the WAN

In this paper, we describe our current implementation of kerberized Lustre 2.0 over the WAN with partners from the Teragrid (SDSC), the Naval Research Lab, and the Open Science Grid (University of Florida). After formulating several single kerberos realms, we enable the distributed OSTs over the WAN, create local OST pools, and perform kerberized data transfers between local and remote sites. To expand the accessibility to the lustre filesystem, we also include our efforts towards cross-realm authentication and integration of Lustre 2.0 with the kerberos-enabled NFS4.
Effect of Woods-Saxon Wave Functions on the Calculation of A=18, 206, 210 Spectra with a Realistic Interaction

The spectra of the nuclei ${\mathrm{O}}^{18}$, ${\mathrm{F}}^{18}$, ${\mathrm{Pb}}^{206}$, ${\mathrm{Pb}}^{210}$ are calculated using realistic forces and a Woods-Saxon form for the shell-model average field. The substitution of Woods-Saxon for harmonic-oscillator single-particle wave functions leads to appreciable upward shifts in the calculated positions for many low-lying levels in the $A=18$ nuclei. In particular the $T=0$, $J={1}^{+}$ and $T=1$, $J={0}^{+}$ binding energies are decreased by 0.6-1.7 MeV. In the heavier nuclei, one finds significant changes in observed energy levels perhaps only for the ground states. Nevertheless, the introduction of the more realistic single-particle average field in the Pb isotopes and in neighboring nuclei permits one to improve the conceptual basis upon which this field is erected.
Synthesis and Characterization of Isomeric Biphenyl Containing Poly(aryl ether-bisketone)s. II. Polymers Derived from 3,3'-(4-Fluorobenzoyl)biphenyl and Bisphenols.

A series of amorphous and semicrystalline poly(aryl ether-bisketone)s have been synthesized from bisphenols and 3,3′-(4-fluorobenzoyl)biphenyl via nucleophilic aromatic substitution reactions. Model compound studies were carried out with a variety of substituted phenols, 3,3′-(4-fluorobenzoyl)biphenyl and 3,3′-(4-chlorobenzoyl)biphenyl. The bishalide monomers were prepared by the reaction of 3,3′-biphenyl dicarboxylic acid with thionyl chloride followed by Friedel–Crafts reaction with the appropriate aryl halide. Potassium carbonate mediated reaction of these monomers with a variety of bisphenols in dimethylacetamide or diphenylsulfone gave moderate to high molecular weight polymers in excellent yield. The high molecular weight polymers afforded tough films by compression molding. The glass transition temperatures, melting points and the thermal behaviors of the polymers were compared with the corresponding polymers derived from 4,4′-(4-fluorobenzoyl)biphenyl.
Searching for Contraband: Assessing the Use of Discretion by Police Officers

Over the past 50 years, research on criminal justice decision making has consistently explored the use of discretion by police officers.The general theme of this research has been to argue for limi...
Design considerations and modifications on an optomechatronic load cell

We have divided this project in stages the first being the construction of an optomechatronics load cell1, the operating principle is based on the fact that the application on a mechanical load produces a deformation on that element. This deformation causes a reduction in the distance between the transmitter and receiver, resulting in a change in the electrical signal. It should be noted that the distribution of light intensity varies between sender and receiver due to the displacement generated. In a load cell, it was adapted an infrared emitter whose signal is received by the detector at the other end. The second stage was the demonstration that our system is able to measure external loads on a mechanical device through an indirect method for measuring stresses, which we present results generated from the experimental trials with adequate mechanical equipment in the cited work. We have implemented a strain sensitive prototype. As a result of the first and second stages to implement the system is to test it on academic applications and then adapt it to industrial environment. Note that the third stage there was a validation of the optomecatronic load cell with ASTM E74-061-2 shows the result with the basic metrological characteristics of resolution, sensitivity, repeatability, which requires it. We are currently analyzing other mechanical design proposals to improve their elastic behavior and the efficiency of this measurement system, because they increase the range of load values at which the expected response should be linear.
Estimating magnetic susceptible from EMI data

Studies have showed that magnetically susceptible soils significantly affect on the EMI sensors performances, which in return reduce the sensors discrimination capabilities. In order to improve EMI sensors detection and discrimination performances first soil's magnetic susceptibility needs to be estimated, and then the soils EMI responses have to be taken into account during geophysical data inversion procedure. Until now the soil's magnetic susceptibility is determined using a tiny amount (up to 15 mg) of soil's probe. This approach in many cases does not represent effective magnetic susceptibility that affects on the EMI sensors performances. This paper presents an approach for estimating soil's magnetic susceptibility from low frequency electromagnetic induction data and it is designed namely for the GeoPhex frequency domain GEM-3 sensor. In addition, a numerical code called the method auxiliary sources (MAS) is employed for establishing relation between magnetically susceptible soil's surface statistics and EMI scattered field. Using the MAS code EMI scatterings are studied for magnetically susceptible soils with two types of surfaces: body of revolution (BOR) and 3D rough surface. To demonstrate applicability of the technique first the magnetic susceptibility is inverted from frequency domain data that were collected at Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory's test-stand site. Then, several numerical results are presented to demonstrate the relation between surface roughness statistic and EMI scattered fields.
Properties of stochastic syntax-directed translation schemata

Stochastic syntax-directed translation schemata describe both the syntactic structure and the probability distribution of stochastic mappings between contextfree languages. The relationship between stochastic syntax-directed translation schemata and stochastic grammars and automata are presented by proving that a stochastic pushdown transducer can be constructed to define the same translations as a simple schema, and that the simple schema are characterized by stochastic contextfree grammars. Asymptotic properties of linear schemata are established by the theory of Markov chains. Since stochastic translations contain both input and output strings, their information content can be described. Equations are developed for both the information content and the rate of stochastic translations.
Induction of epithelial-mesenchymal transition with O-glycosylated oncofetal fibronectin

Epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) has been shown to play a key role in embryogenesis and cancer progression. We previously found that fibronectin (FN) carrying O-GalNAc at a specific site is selectively expressed in cancer and fetal cells/tissues, and termed oncofetal FN (onfFN). Here, we show that (i) a newly-established monoclonal antibody against FN lacking the O-GalNAc, termed normalFN (norFN), is useful for isolation of onfFN, (ii) onfFN, but not norFN, can induce EMT in human lung carcinoma cells, (iii) onfFN has a synergistic effect with transforming growth factor (TGF)β1 in EMT induction.
UV/H2O2 degradation of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in water evaluated via toxicity assays.

Due to rising concern regarding the presence of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in surface water and groundwater throughout the United States, Asia and Europe, treatment of these chemicals in drinking water and wastewater to protect human health and the environment is an area of great interest. Many conventional treatment schemes are relatively ineffective in removing EDCs from water and wastewater. This is concerning because these chemicals are biologically active at very low concentrations and effects of mixtures are relatively unknown. 17-α-oestradiol (E2) and 17-β-ethinyl-oestradiol (EE2), suspected EDCs, were degraded significantly by the UV/H2O2 AOP. The UV/H2O2 processes using either low or medium pressure lamps were degraded EDCs by between 80 and 99.3% at a 15 ppm H2O2 concentration and a UV dose of 1,000 mJ/cm2. Significantly greater removal was noted when the removal was based on total oestrogenic activity using a yeast oestrogen screen (YES) assay. These data indicated that a dose of less than 200 mJ/cm2 completely removed oestrogenic activity in lab water. Values for natural waters were slightly higher. A steady state model was developed to determine EDC destruction efficiency in waters of differing quality. The model effectively predicted destruction in water, where concentrations of all scavenging species were known. Based on these results it was concluded than complete destruction of oestrogenic activity was possible under practical advanced oxidation conditions for a variety of water qualities.
Measurement of the Relationship between Patient Wait Time and Patient Satisfaction at each Stage of an Appointment

Patient satisfaction is associated with self-reported treatment compliance and patient outcomes. One factor that influences patient satisfaction is wait time– how long a patient waits during a visit to a health care facility. Here, we measured the time spent at each component of a patient's visit to a cancer treatment facility and its correlation with patient satisfaction. Results suggest that reducing the total time of a patient's visit to a health care facility will improve not only patient satisfaction with how long the entire visit takes, but also satisfaction with other aspects of the visit not including waiting. Moreover, results suggest that the time spent in the examination room waiting for the doctor is highly associated with patient satisfaction with overall time spent during the entire visit. In short, our results suggest several ways to improve patient satisfaction at a cancer treatment facility. The implication is that such improvements will lead to greater treatment compliance and ultimately...
NMR evidence for localized moments in CoAl

Abstract The temperature dependence of the nuclear T 1 of 27 Al in CoAl shows a deviation from the Korringa relation. According to the work of Giovannini and Heeger this is suggestive of the presence of localized magnetic moments.
5 alpha-reductase-2 gene mutations in the Dominican Republic.

Male pseudohermaphroditism due to 5 alpha-reductase deficiency was clinically and biochemically described in a large Dominican kindred of 23 families with 38 affected subjects in 1974. Recently, the 5 alpha-reductase-2 gene defect in the large Dominican kindred was found to be due to a single base substitution of thymidine (TGG) for cytosine (CGG) on exon 5 of the 5 alpha-reductase-2 gene, causing a tryptophan replacement of arginine at amino acid 246 (R246W) of the enzyme. In the present report, affected subjects from four additional Dominican families were studied to determine whether they carried the same 5 alpha-reductase-2 gene defect as the large kindred, suggesting a common ancestry for the gene defect within this small country. Using single strand conformational polymorphism and DNA sequencing, two other mutations of the 5 alpha-reductase-2 gene were found in affected subjects from two of the four families. A point mutation on exon 2 of the 5 alpha-reductase-2 gene, in which substitution of adenin...
Country of Parts, Country of Manufacturing, and Country of Origin Consumer Purchase Preferences and the Impact of Perceived Prices

In response to the dominance of hybrid and multinational products in the U.S. textile and apparel marketplace, and the increasing consumer demand for product origin information, the study examined the relationship among multi-level COO displays, consumer purchase preferences, and perceived price. The results of 76 responses through a 2 × 2 randomized block, repeated measures research, using the United States and China as country of parts (COP) and country of manufacturing (COM), showed that the two-level COO impacted consumers’ purchase preferences and perceived prices, based on their perceived value of sustainability. However, consumers' purchase preferences significantly decreased as a result of unusually high perceived prices. These findings have important implications for textile and apparel businesses and policy makers as adding COP along with COM to declare the product’s COO would increase consumer purchase preferences and perceived values, if applied along with careful pricing strategies.
Effect of quartz phase etch on 193-nm alternating phase-shift mask performance for the 100-nm node

Alternating aperture phase shifting mask (AAPSM) technology is finding increased use in the patterning of critical layers due to the enhanced resolution and decreased linewidth variation characteristic of this technique. The potential advantages of AAPSM processes must be weighed against the increased complexity of reticle layout, higher reticle cost, and heightened sensitivity to parameters such as lens aberration. This work details the effect of shifter trench depth on patterning performance for the 100nm node. Data was collected at an exposure wavelength of 193nm using reticles built with deliberate errors in shifter trench depth. Differences in patterning performance observed as a result of these variations are compared with the impact predicted from modeling.
Bipartite vectors for co-expression of a growth factor cDNA and short hairpin RNA against an apoptotic gene.

Background Although human islet transplantation is a promising approach for treating type I diabetes, its success is limited as a result of the poor survival rate of transplanted islets. Expression of a growth factor gene to promote revascularization and silencing of pro-apoptotic genes before transplantation may improve the outcome of islet transplantation. Methods In the present study, we constructed bipartite plasmid vectors to co-express a vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) cDNA and short hairpin (sh)RNA targeting inducible NO synthase (iNOS) gene. First, we screened shRNA sequences against human iNOS by transfecting plasmids encoding shRNA targeting different start sites of human iNOS. Then, the effect of different promoters [such as H1, U6 and cytomegalovirus (CMV)] and micro RNA backbones on gene silencing was determined. Results No statistical difference in iNOS gene silencing was observed for the shRNA with H1, U6 and CMV promoters. In addition, a conventional shRNA showed better silencing of the iNOS gene compared to shRNA containing mir375 and mir30 backbones. A bipartite plasmid was also constructed with mir30-shRNA and a VEGF cDNA controlled by a single CMV promoter. This plasmid showed a better silencing effect compared to plasmid without VEGF cDNA. Conclusions In the present study, we have successfully constructed bipartite vectors co-expressing a VEGF cDNA and a shRNA against the iNOS gene. These vectors could be attractive candidates for improving the survival of transplanted islets. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Scarring alopecia associated with mastocytosis.

Background: Mastocytosis is comprised of a group of heterogeneous diseases involving various organs. Urticaria pigmentosa is the most common manifestation of cutaneous mastocytosis; others include mastocytoma, diffuse mastocytosis, and telangiectasia macularis eruptiva perstans. Methods: We describe a case of indolent mastocytosis presenting as scarring alopecia. The scalp biopsy revealed a perifollicular and dermal inflammatory infiltrate composed predominantly of mast cells, which was confirmed by tryptase and Giemsa stains. Results: The preponderance of mast cells in the biopsy prompted testing for urine N-methylhistamine levels, which were elevated and confirmed the diagnosis of mastocytosis. This is the first report of mastocytosis presenting as scarring alopecia. Conclusions: This case suggests that the diagnosis of mastocytosis should be entertained in patients presenting with scarring alopecia accompanied by an intense mast cell infiltrate on scalp biopsy and also supports the notion that mast cells may be involved in the pathogenesis of alopecia.
Detecting functional relationships between simultaneous time series.

We describe a method to characterize the predictability and functionality between two simultaneously generated time series. This nonlinear method requires minimal assumptions and can be applied to data measured either from coupled systems or from different positions on a spatially extended system. This analysis generates a function statistic, ${\ensuremath{\Theta}}_{{c}^{0}},$ that quantifies the level of predictability between two time series. We illustrate the utility of this procedure by presenting results from a computer simulation and two experimental systems.
Automatic tracking of proteins in sequences of fluorescencce images

The development of digital microscopy and computational power is providing new opportunities for analyzing the motility of the vesicles (proteins) within living cells. In this paper, an automatic method is developed to segment and track vesicles in large amount of fluorescence images, in order to compute a number of quantitative parameters such as displacement, residence time, binding, or immobile fraction. We present a method that permits the automatic tracking of subcellular structures in long sequences of fluorescence images (up to 100 frames). The method we propose has been tested on 92 data sets totaling 8225 frames.
Issues and Practices Related to Mainstreaming Evaluation: Where Do We Flow From Here?

The authors attended the plenary sessions, several Presidential Strand sessions, and other sessions at the 2001 annual meeting of the AEA to collect examples of evaluators and their clients exploring related issues. The authors raised questions and proposed directions to consider in using evaluation to improve organizations and their practices. Many of their ideas about what mainstreaming means, whether we should mainstream evaluation or not, how evaluation approaches relate to mainstreaming, and how to mainstream are summarized here.
Heidegger and Werner Jaeger on the Eve of 1933: A Possible Rapprochement?

A travers la lecture d'une lettre de Heidegger a Jaeger datee du 12 decembre 1932, l'A. defend la possibilite d'un rapprochement intellectuel et politique entre les deux penseurs quant a leur position vis-a-vis de la revolution allemande de 1933. Soulignant l'importance de l'interpretation des Grecs anciens pour le national-socialisme, l'A. etudie le rapport de Heidegger a la philologie classique representee par Wilamowitz, Nietzche et Otto, d'une part, ainsi que l'influence de la conference de Jaeger sur la parataxis de Tyrtee sur la conception heideggerienne d'une philosophie souterraine, d'autre part
Labyrinthine lesions and motion sickness susceptibility

The angular vestibulo-ocular reflex (aVOR) has a fast pathway, which mediates compensatory eye movements, and a slow (velocity storage) pathway, which determines its low frequency characteristics and orients eye velocity toward gravity. We have proposed that motion sickness is generated through velocity storage, when its orientation vector, which lies close to the gravitational vertical, is misaligned with eye velocity during head motion. The duration of the misalignment, determined by the dominant time constant of velocity storage, causes the buildup of motion sickness. To test this hypothesis, we studied bilateral labyrinthine-defective subjects with short vestibular time constants but normal aVOR gains for their motion sickness susceptibility. Time constants and gains were taken from rotational responses. Motion sickness was generated by rolling the head while rotating, and susceptibility was assessed by the number of head movements made before reaching intolerable levels of nausea. More head movements signified lower motion sickness susceptibility. Labyrinthine-defective subjects made more head movements on their first exposure to roll while rotating than normals (39.8 ± 7.2 vs 13.7 ± 5.5; P < 0.0001). Normals were tested eight times, which habituated their time constants and reduced their motion sickness susceptibility. Combining data from all subjects, there was a strong inverse relationship between time constants and number of head movements (r = 0.94), but none between motion sickness susceptibility and aVOR gains. This provides further evidence that motion sickness is generated through velocity storage, not the direct pathway, and suggests that motion sickness susceptibility can be reduced by reducing the aVOR time constant.
Exotic CERN events from exotic color states

We show that color octet partners of leptons and weak gauge bosons can explain the exotic CERN pp collider events containing missing energy. Such exotic color partners are expected in some composite models. Our scheme predicts that e+e−-jet(s) events and e-jet(s) events will be found in future collider runs.
A 5mm catheter for constant resolution probing in Fourier domain optical coherence endoscopy

A 5mm biophotonic catheter was conceived for optical coherence tomography (OCT) with collimation optics, an axicon lens, and custom design imaging optics, yielding a 360 degree scan aimed at imaging within concave structures such as lung lobes. In OCT a large depth of focus is necessary to image a thick sample with a constant high transverse resolution. There are two approaches to achieving constant lateral resolution in OCT: Dynamic focusing or Bessel beam forming. This paper focuses on imaging with Bessel beams. A Bessel beam can be generated in the sample arm of the OCT interferometer when axicon optics is employed instead of a conventional focusing lens. We present a design for a 5mm catheter that combines an axicon lens with imaging optics and the coupling of a MEMS mirror attached to a micromotor that allow 360 degree scanning with a resolution of about 5 microns across a depth of focus of about 1.2mm.
Circular dichroism spectroscopy of a cationic porphyrin bound to DNA.

Recently, the porphyrin photosensitizer meso-tetra(4-N-methyl-pyridyl)-porphine was identified as a DNA-reactive agent demonstrating both electrostatic and intercalative binding. A series of porphyrin derivatives were synthesized and studied to see if similar compounds manifested identical behavior. One derivative, meso-tetra(p-N-trimethylanilinium) porphine did not exhibit intercalation behavior but did show avid binding and novel circular dichroic features when bound to B-form DNA. At an ionic strength of 1.02, the binding constant was found to be on the order of 104 and higher at lower ionic strength. The large binding constants and induced optical activity suggest that at large porphyrin/DNA ratios the final porphyrin · DNA complex may take the form of a suprahelical helix.
Impact of minimally invasive/bariatric surgery fellowship on perioperative complications and outcomes in the first year of practice

Background: Several reports have described worse perioperative outcomes of laparoscopic gastric bypass procedure during learning curve, which improved after completion of one-year fellowship training. Aims: The aim of this study was to evaluate the immediate impact of fellowship training on perioperative complications and outcomes of various bariatric procedures. Materials and Methods: One hundred initial patients who underwent laparoscopic gastric banding, laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass, laparoscopic vertical sleeve gastrectomy, and robotically-assisted laparoscopic biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch by a single fellowship trained surgeon were analyzed. Results: Overall average Body Mass Index (BMI) of the patients was 45.9 kg/m 2 , age was 47.5 years, and the American Society of Anesthesiologist Score was 2.89. There were no intraoperative, major 30-day complications, or open conversions. Average operative time was 62 minutes in gastric banding, 160 minutes in gastric bypass, 119 minutes in vertical sleeve gastrectomy, and 320 minutes in biliopancreatic diversion. Length of stay ranged from 0.5 day after gastric banding to 3.9 days after biliopancreatic diversion. The perioperative complications and outcomes are comparable with those reported by experienced surgeons. No mortality occurred in this series. Conclusions: Bariatric fellowship ensured skills acquisition for new surgeons to safely and effectively perform various types of bariatric operations, with minimal perioperative complications and excellent outcomes.
A model of duration in normal and perturbed reaching movement

In modeling human and primate motor behavior, optimization has been used to mathematically describe hand trajectories during reaching movement, with the duration of the movement given as part of the boundary conditions. As duration is an input to the model rather than an output, a description is lacking of how the duration depends upon the circumstances of the movement. In the present work, we extend a minimum jerk model of reach trajectory planning to include a penalty for duration and show that it can be used to quantify the trade-off between quickness and effort in reaching movements. We then show that a given trade-off for a nominal reaching movement can predict the duration of related movements, specifically reaching movements subject to perturbation of the target during their course. The mathematical model is tested against several independent bodies of experimental data.
Black Love is Not a Fairytale

In 2009, the public witnessed an upsurge in media discussions about the lower marriage rates of professional black women. In the Unmarriageable Professional Black Woman discourse, the alleged pathological behavior of black men or black women causes marriage disparities, despite the fact that demographic data that can largely account for differences in marriage rates. This paper explores articulations of a heterosexual, and somewhat heteronormative, black female romantic imagination in the twenty-first century, and unpacks how the ideals and pathologies that subjects with various agendas attach to this imagination reveal the complex interplay of western romantic love narratives, black feminism, legacies of the Moynihan Report, and liberal individualism. Through discussions of three prominent examples representing the romantic desires of ambitious and successful black women in popular discourse, I explore how the heterosexual African American woman’s romantic imagination has been idealized and derided, with the idealization reflecting the ways in which feminism has done significant work in updating the romantic fantasy even as patriarchy’s presence is transparent, and the derision illustrating the disciplinary work of patriarchy and a broader national ideology that suggests that individuals are always responsible for not attaining their heart’s desires.
TRANSITIONING TO TRANS FAT-FREE: AN ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN FOODSERVICE BECAUSE OF THE SWITCH TO TRANS FAT-FREE PRODUCTS

This 2-week pilot study sought to ascertain consumer preferences for four different fry oils and two types of French fries (n = 10 students) according to taste, texture and appearance characteristics. Specifically, the aim was to assess the acceptability of substituting trans fat-free French fries and oil in place of traditional 100% soybean oil (the standard frying oil used in the food industry) without sacrificing sensory characteristics. In making this substitution, other implications could result in a review of the pros and cons of this change. Therefore, this study also included a cost-benefit analysis of switching to a trans fat-free frying oil and trans fat-free fries. Along similar lines, an additional goal was to use oil quality data from this research to improve the frying procedure used in restaurants that employ batch production techniques. Lastly, a comparison of frying temperature discrepancies, degree of oil degradation using test strips and weights/volumes of oils and batches of fries over time was conducted to determine the “best overall product.” The taste panel preferred the trans fat-free fries to the regular version and seemed to rate fries cooked in trans fat-free oils (with the exception of scores obtained for the 100% sunflower oil) higher on overall appearance, aroma, initial taste impression, texture, taste intensity and quality. Based on these findings, the industry might consider using the trans fat-free versions of oils in order to reduce trans fats in foods and lower heart disease in the American population.