cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
ULTRASTRUCTURAL CHANGES IN PENICILLIUM ROQUEFORTI DURING GERMINATION AND GROWTH

The ultrastructural changes occurring during germination of spores of Penicillium roqueforti were examined using transmission electron microscopy on thin sections and freeze-etch replicas. The cell wall of the resting spore was composed of four distinct layers. The outermost layer ruptured and peeled off as the spores became swollen during the initial stages of germination. The germ tube, which emerged from the spore, had a thin cell wall which lacked the outer layers observed in the resting spore. As the germ tube transformed to mycelia it acquired extra outer layers so that the cell wall possessed three layers of material. Germinating spores were multinucleated. Membranous sacs and vesicles and endoplasmic reticulum were observed both in germinated spores and in mycelia. Freeze fracture techniques revealed that the surface of spores was covered with a layer of interwoven fibrils. This technique also confirmed the presence of distinct layers in the cell wall. The capacity of snail digestive enzymes to hydrolyze cell wall material was demonstrated.
Genetic analysis of a novel Alaska barley yellow dwarf virus in the family Luteoviridae

A new plant virus belonging to the family Luteoviridae and isolated from diseased oat (Avena sativa L.) plants was discovered in Alaska in 2003. Even though plants with red/orange leaves were indicative of barley yellow dwarf disease, they were not reactive to specific antibodies corresponding to barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV)-MAV, -PAV, -SGV, and cereal yellow dwarf virus-RPV from enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). An alternative RT-PCR assay that incorporated Shu-F/Yan-R primers for detection of BYDV-MAV, -PAS, -PAV, and SGV was effective in producing ∼830-nt fragments that contained genomic sequences to the 3′-terminus of the polymerase gene (ORF 2), the intergenic region (∼113 nt), the coat protein gene (ORF 3), and the putative movement gene (ORF 4). The Alaskan isolates were most similar to BYDV-MAV with only about 77 and 80% amino acid identity in the CP and ORF 4, respectively. The Alaska isolates coat protein gene sequences differed in several regions that otherwise are conserved among BYDV-MAV isolates, and may be important in serological variations, accounting for the negative ELISA results. Based upon sequence and serological differences, we concluded that the Alaskan BYDV-MAV-like isolates formed a novel species tentatively in the genus Luteovirus, and propose the name BYDV-ORV (oat red-leaf virus).
Population growth parameters of the cabbage aphid, Brevicoryne brassicae (L.) (Hemiptera: Aphididae), exposed to sublethal doses of thiacloprid

The cabbage aphid, Brevicoryne brassicae L. (Hemiptera: Aphididae) is a major pest of cabbage in the world. In this study, the influence of thiacloprid on population growth parameters of B. brassicae using demographic toxicology by leaf spray method was determined. The LC50 values and confidence limits for thiacloprid were 274.89 ppm (185.22–479.22), respectively. To evaluate the sublethal effect of this insecticide on population growth parameters of cabbage aphid, LC25 and LC10 concentrations of thiacloprid were used at 76.44 and 23.52 ppm, respectively. Also The LC50 value of this insecticide on the life table estimates was measured. Experiments were carried out in the laboratory at 23 ± 1 °C, 60 ± 5% RH and 16:8 (L:D) photoperiod on cabbage seedlings, Brassica oleracea, var. capitata L. Intrinsic rates of increase (rm) were lower in thiacloprid treatment than in controls. The mean generation time and doubling time were also lower in populations treated with insecticide than in controls. There was a con...
Reply [Letter to the Editor]

I appreciate Drs. Robert A. Baan and Kurt Straif's interest in my recent editorial column. However, contrary to what has been alleged in their letter to the editor, the editorial did not make any accusations nor did it draw any conclusions. It simply stated published facts, and expressed the opinion that those were curious and raised questions. It should be noted that the factual statements remain so concerning the events that occurred surrounding the operation of the IARC working group.
The Continued Salience of Methodological Issues for Measuring Psychiatric Disorders in International Surveys

We investigated the extent to which methodological concerns explicitly addressed by the designers of the World Mental Health Surveys persist in the results that were obtained using the WMH-CIDI instrument. We compared rates of endorsement of mental illness symptoms in the United States (very high) and Nepal (very low) as they were affected by respondent understanding of the survey, social desirability bias, interview social context and translation-related sources of misunderstanding. The results showed that, although levels of misunderstanding and social desirability were higher in Nepal than in the U.S., these potential methodological concerns had less effect on symptom endorsement in Nepal than in the U.S. In Nepal non-methodological factors related to the socio-cultural context probably had a more substantial impact on observed symptom rates than did the methodological factors. The larger issue is the effect that methodological factors have on the validity of reported rates of disorder.
Vertical profiles of drop size distributions in very low stratus clouds and associated subcloud regions

A microphysics model was used to simulate vertical profiles of drop size distributions in very low stratus clouds and their associated subcloud regions. Drop size distribution profiles produced by the model for two different sets of atmospheric conditions specified at a reference level are presented. These profiles were compared with those reported by other authors and found to yield characteristics generally consistent with the measured values.
Urinary Epitectin (MUC-1 Glycoprotein) in the Menstrual Cycle and Interstitial Cystitis

AbstractPurpose: We compared interstitial cystitis and control urine specimens for epitectin (MUC-1 glycoprotein), an epithelial mucin.Materials and Methods: Urinary epitectin was measured in 28 patients with interstitial cystitis and 26 healthy controls. Ten controls provided multiple urine samples to determine whether urinary epitectin changes with the menstrual cycle.Results: Epitectin levels were stable throughout the menstrual cycle. Interstitial cystitis cases had decreased urinary epitectin-to-creatinine ratios (mean 3.89 versus 6.38 microgram/mg. creatinine for controls, p = 0.0035) and epitectin concentrations (mean 1.96 versus 4.30 microgram/ml., respectively, p = 0.0005).Conclusions: Decreased mean urinary epitectin levels may reflect a cause (epithelial mucin deficiency) or a consequence of interstitial cystitis.
Alternative adjustments to analysts’ earnings forecasts: relative and complementary performance

This study examines the relative and complementary performance of alternative earnings forecast adjustments using a common set of consensus analysts’ earnings forecasts. We document that a simple adjustment to analysts’ earnings forecasts, based solely on cross-sectional relationships between actual and forecasted earnings in the prior year, performs as well as more complicated adjustment methods, i.e., composite forecasts and persistence adjusted forecasts. A forecast adjustment that is based on prior year earnings and returns, however, provides significant incremental reductions in forecast error and dominates all of the other adjustment methods.
A comparison of particulate and onyx embolization in preoperative devascularization of juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibromas.

Juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibromas (JNAs) are hypervascular tumors that may benefit from preoperative devascularization to reduce intraoperative blood loss (IBL). The purpose of this study was to compare transarterial particulate embolization (TAPE) with the direct percutaneous embolization (DPE) technique using ethylene vinyl alcohol (Onyx, ev3, Irvine, CA) for the preoperative devascularization of a JNA. We retrospectively reviewed 50 consecutive JNA resections since 1995 for which preoperative embolization was either transarterial with particulate material (n = 39) or DPE (n = 11) using only Onyx. The IBL, transfusion requirements, operative time, and length of hospital admission were compared between the two groups. The mean IBL was 1,348.7 ± 932.2 mL particulate group, 569.1 ± 700.7 mL Onyx group (one-tailed Student’s t test p = 0.003). The mean unit of packed red blood cells was 1.56 ± 2.01 units particulate group, 0.45 ± 1.04 units Onyx group (p = 0.009). The relationship between embolization type and IBL remained significant or strongly correlated when accounting for the Fisch stage of the tumor (p = 0.010 and p = 0.056, respectively, by a multivariate least squares fit; alternately p = 0.0003 and p = 0.023, respectively, in the subset of patients with Fisch stage III tumors only). We also found that the proportion of resections for which an endoscopic approach could be used was significantly higher in the Onyx group than the particulate group (81.8 and 18.2 %; Pearson p = 0.0002), and this was also significant both in our multivariate nominal logistic fit (p < 0.001) and in the subset of patients with Fisch stage III tumors (p = 0.018). Pre-operative DPE with Onyx of a JNA when compared to TAPE significantly decreased IBL and RBC transfusion requirement during surgical resection. The proportion of surgical resections performed from an endoscopic approach was higher in the DPE Onyx group, which may have affected the results.
A viable solution to enterprise development and systems integration: a case study of web services implementation

Web services technology provides small/medium enterprises (SMEs) with a new solution for systems integration. Large enterprises have realised the importance of interoperability through cost effective integration applications with their SME partners. These standardised applications provide interoperable and universal products and services for inter and intra-organisation e-business transactions. The article discusses issues and problems pertaining to enterprise systems integration and how web services can provide a universal framework that supports all distributed e-commerce solutions in the near future. A case study of how web services offer interoperable solutions to an insurance company is discussed.
The influence of portoenterostomy with stoma on morbidity in pediatric patients with biliary atresia undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation

A portoenterostomy (PE) procedure for extrahepatic biliary atresia (EHBA) is sometimes performed with a stoma in an attempt to reduce the incidence of acute cholangitis. The purpose of this study was to determine if the presence of a stoma increased the complication rate of patients undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT) for EHBA. The medical records of 42 consecutive patients with EHBA who underwent primary OLT between October 1988 and October 1991 were retrospectively reviewed. Three patients were excluded, since their grafts were lost within 3 days of OLT. The remaining 39 patients were divided into three groups: no PE (n = 7), PE without stoma (n = 23), and PE with stoma (n = 9). The mean age of the whole group was 19.62 +/- 24.37 months, with a range of 5 to 132 months. Mean weight was 9.62 kg, with a range of 4.2 to 41 kg. Survival at 3 and 12 months as well as number of retransplantations were similar among the three groups. However, at the time of OLT increased morbidity was observed, consisting of increased operative time and number of reoperations, whether or not the stoma had been closed prior to OLT.
An inexpensive CRT terminal controller/computer

An inexpensive CRT terminal controller/computer is described. The board integrates virtually any keyboard and CRT monitor into a work station with firmware-governed intelligence. The system is designed to fill the cost/functionality niche below the Apple microcomputer. It can be configured as a dumb or smart terminal (approximately $100 plus keyboard and CRT monitor), as a self-contained computer that runs ROM-based software such as a small BASIC or an assembler/disassembler fan additional $100 in chips), or as a word processor if aa audio cassette ($50) or dual digital cassettes with controller ($125) are added.
Reconstruction of sequences

Abstract Every sequence of length n determines (nk) subsequences of length k. We investigate the relationship between such subsequences and the original sequence. In particular, we show that for n>;7 and k⩾[n/2] the subsequences uniquely determine the original sequence, and for k
A single-institution comparison between radical perineal and radical retropubic prostatectomy on perioperative and pathological outcomes for obese men: an analysis of the Duke Prostate Center database.

Objectives To examine the association between body mass index (BMI) and operative time, estimated blood loss (EBL), and adverse pathologic features in patients undergoing either radical perineal prostatectomy (RPP) or radical retropubic prostatectomy (RRP). Methods We performed a retrospective analysis of 1006 patients treated with RPP or RRP at our institution from 1988 to 2005. Operative times and EBL were compared among BMI groups for both RPP and RRP. The odds ratio of positive surgical margins was estimated for the BMI categories using logistic regression after adjusting for preoperative and pathologic characteristics. Results Increased BMI was significantly associated with increased operative time and EBL for men treated with either RPP or RRP (all P ≤0.03), though the associations were weak (all Spearman r ≤0.19). After adjusting for multiple clinical preoperative characteristics, higher BMI was associated with positive surgical margins among all patients ( P trend P trend=0.001) with similar patterns among RRP ( P trend=0.03) and RPP ( P trend=0.01) patients. Conclusions For mildly obese men, both RPP and RRP are associated with a similarly increased risk of higher EBL, longer operative time, and positive surgical margins. These data do not provide evidence to suggest that RPP should be preferred over RRP for mildly obese men. Further study is needed among men with a very high BMI.
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY OF NONSUBSTITUTIONAL SOLID SOLUTIONS: Pb(Ag) AND Pb(Au).

Abstract Metastable thin films consisting of Pb(Ag) and Pb(Au) solid solutions with up to 12 at.% solute have been prepared by very rapid quenching from the melt (splat cooling). These solid solutions are not of the common, single-substitution type. The variation of the superconducting transition temperatureTc with compositionx has been determined. A linear decrease ofTc withx was observed. By comparing the valence effects ofTc in Pb(Ag) and Pb(Au) with those in other stable Pb solid solutions, an interstitial model was ruled out. The data support a di-substitutional model in which two solute atoms substitute for one solvent atom.
Toward a Taxonomy of Small Group Interaction-Coding Systems

This article presents an exploratory taxonomy of small group interaction-coding systems. Six dimensions that characterize interaction-coding schemes are presented in a hierarchical order rangingfrom abstract conceptual issues to specific methodological ones. Recommendations for future research are offered.
The platelet as an immune cell--CD40 ligand and transfusion immunomodulation

The discovery that platelets possess cell membrane, cytoplasmic, and secreted forms of the co-stimulatory molecule CD40 ligand (CD40L, also known as CD154) has led to a revolution in the view of this anucleate, differentiated cell fragment, previously thought only to be involved in blood clotting (hemostasis). During the last decade, it has become clear that platelets function in innate and adaptive immunity and possess pro-inflammatory, as well as pro-thrombotic properties. They interact not only with other platelets and endothelial cells, but also with lymphocytes, dendritic cells, and structural cells such as fibroblasts. Soluble forms of CD40L (sCD40L) in the human circulation are almost entirely derived from platelets. Elevated levels of CD40L are associated with clinically important conditions, such as vascular disease, abnormal clotting (thrombosis), lung injury, and autoimmune disease. Each year millions of platelet transfusions are given to patients that contain large amounts of sCD40L. sCD40L in the supernatant of stored platelets can induce cytokines, chemokines, and lipid mediators by activating CD40 bearing cells. Increased levels of sCD40L in transfused blood are associated with transfusion-related acute lung injury, a potentially fatal complication, as well as more common, milder transfusion reactions such as fever and rigors. These effects come under the rubric of transfusion immunomodulation, which postulates that transfusion recipient biology, particularly immune function, is dramatically altered by transfusion of stored allogeneic blood.
The Biggest Mistakes We Teach

When I started to teach at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School over twenty years ago, I used the very first edition of the Brealey and Myers’ textbook. The book had some mistakes in it, as almost all books do. For example, the first two editions had an incorrect formula for the valuation of warrants. I taught the incorrect formula for several years before a perceptive student asked a question that exposed the mistake. But I don’t want to dwell on technical errors. Instead, I want to focus on some of the conceptual mistakes that dominate the received body of wisdom in the academic finance profession.
An Experimental Study of the Parameters That Determine Slider-Disk Contacts During Dynamic Load-Unload

The parameters that appear to determine if slider-disk contact occurs during dynamic loading are the relative loading velocity at the instant of load and the initial pitch and roll of the slider at its unloaded state. A dual-beam LDV system is employed in this study to measure the displacement, pitch, and roll during dynamic loading for five different standard 3380-type sliders in order to investigate the effects of the initial pitch and roll. The effects of the initial height and control loading speed are also examined by using the dual-beam LDV and acoustic emission (AE)
Influence of Spatial Scale on Estimates of Substrate Use by Benthic Darters

Abstract Benthic habitats in streams are heterogeneous, in part because of differences in rock size. Because of this variation in rock size, our perception of substrate use by benthic fishes may be influenced by the spatial scale of observation. We used a quadrat that was subdivided into twenty-five 5 × 5-cm cells to examine substrate use by four species of darters at three spatial scales (25 × 25 cm, 15 × 15 cm, and 5 × 5 cm). Estimates of substrate use in these darters differed across small changes in spatial scale because of substrate heterogeneity and the position of the darter relative to the substrate. Estimates of substrate size increased with spatial scale for rainbow darters Etheostoma caeruleum and banded darters E. zonale, species that occurred between rocks, but decreased with spatial scale for the greenside darter E. blennioides, a species that occurred on top of rocks. The eastern sand darter Ammocrypta pellucida occurred over sand substrate (a homogeneous habitat) and did not differ in subs...
Specific heat of a new metastable phase of scandium-chromium

Abstract Specific heat and magnetic susceptibility measurements are reported for a new metastable phase of scandium-chromium with the E9 3 crystal structure. The results show that this phase exhibits bulk type II superconductivity with an onset near 6.7 K.
Image Banks: Dialogues between the Past and the Future

An image bank is defined in this research as the accumulation of an architectural designer's mental imagery of memorable past place-experience. The image bank provides the designer with "known" experience through which the "unknown"—a design problem—can be understood. This research studies the image banks of 117 individuals in two separate studies; 38 of which were professional architects, 38 were architectural graduate students exiting professional education, and 41 were architecture students just entering professional education. The frequency of source between three categories of a designer's lifetime—memorable mental images of places gathered during youth, during years of education, and (for professionals) during the years of practice—are determined. Frequency for the use of memorable place imagery in design is also compared. And finally, the integration of image banks between formal (learned exemplars from the history of "designed" architecture) and informal (memorable places generally of vernacular o...
Cognitive, physiological, and motor effects of systematic desensitization on complex stimulus generalization

This experiment was designed to study generalization of systematic desensitization across stimulus dimensions of a complex stimulus. Subjects were conditioned by electric shock to a “two-dimensional” stimulus. Subjects in one group were desensitized on one dimensional hierarchy, while subjects in another group were desensitized on the other dimensional hierarchy. Densitized to one dimension, groups generalized verbal reports of anxiety reduction (cognitive system) to the other dimension. Physiologically, subjects desensitized only to the dimension on which they were treated; they did not generalize to the untreated dimension. Reaction time (motor system) data were not influenced by treatment. It was concluded that verbal reports and physiological responses in systematic desensitization may not reflect the same process. In systematic desensitization, separate response systems may need to be altered before treatment can be considered successful.
Impact of trainee involvement with robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy

Robotic-assisted surgery has been rapidly adopted within urology practice. As a result, academic centers are challenged with the burden of how to effectively train residents and fellows to perform robotic-assisted surgery without compromising outcomes. We evaluated the perioperative outcomes of trainee involvement with robotic-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) within our healthcare organization. We retrospectively reviewed RARP cases performed at our institution between September 2008 and December 2010 using a single da Vinci robotic platform. Trainees consisted of urology residents and fellows who operated with staff surgeons on select operating days, whereas two staff surgeon teams performed RARP on alternate days. We compared clinicopathologic variables including operating time, estimated blood loss, surgical margin rates, and complication rates between the trainee and staff-only surgeon groups. Overall, 1,019 RARP surgeries were performed within the study period and trainees participated in 162 cases (16 %). Clinical characteristics were similar between men undergoing surgery with a trainee and those without. Positive surgical margin rates were lower for patients with pT2 disease for cases with trainee involvement (11 vs. 19 %, p = 0.02), although overall margin rates and margin rates for patients with pT3 disease were similar between the groups (p = 0.34). Surgical cases involving trainees were longer (241 vs. 200 min, p < 0.001) and resulted in higher estimated blood loss (190 vs. 120 mL, p < 0.001) than the two staff surgeon cases. However, transfusion rates as well as intraoperative and postoperative complication rates did not differ significantly between groups. In conclusion, surgical margin rates were lower in teaching cases for patients with pT2 disease. Importantly, trainee involvement in RARP is safe, with similar perioperative outcomes to staff-only surgical cases. This information may be useful for training and surgical planning.
Information induced multimodel solutions in multiple deeisionmaker problems

This paper is concerned with modeling and control strategy interaction in a multimodel context. The role of the observability structure in multiple deeisionmaker (DM) problems is examined. A procedure is developed for generating multimodel solutions based on certain deterministic information patterns. This is achieved by first explicitly identifying the state space structure induced by the observation sets of the DM's, and then overlapping appropriately the input space structure of each DM. Such a representation is used to identify the class of admissible strategies which generate multimodel solutions. Conditions, which depend on the information pattern, are obtained under which these multimodel solutions admit partial noninteraction among the DM's.
Acquired CD40-ligand deficiency in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Patients with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) acquire an immunodeficiency with many characteristics similar to those of persons with inherited defects in the gene encoding the CD40-ligand (CD154). We found that the blood and splenic CD4+ T cells of patients with CLL failed to express surface CD154 after CD3 ligation. However, using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-based quantitative competitive polymerase chain reaction (PCR), we noted that CD3 ligation could induce such T cells to express CD154 messenger RNA at levels similar to that of CD3-activated T cells from normal donors. Moreover, addition of increasing numbers of CLL B cells to activated normal donor T cells rapidly resulted in progressively greater down-modulation of CD154. Such down-modulation of CD154 could be blocked by addition of CD40 monoclonal antibody to cultures in vitro. We propose that leukemia cell-mediated down-modulation of CD154 on activated T cells accounts for some of the acquired immune defects of patients with CLL.
Role of the endothelium in inflammatory bowel diseases

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are a complex group of diseases involving alterations in mucosal immunity and gastrointestinal physiology during both initiation and progressive phases of the disease. At the core of these alterations are endothelial cells, whose continual adjustments in structure and function coordinate vascular supply, immune cell emigration, and regulation of the tissue environment. Expansion of the endothelium in IBD (angiogenesis), mediated by inflammatory growth factors, cytokines and chemokines, is a hallmark of active gut disease and is closely related to disease severity. The endothelium in newly formed or inflamed vessels differs from that in normal vessels in the production of and response to inflammatory cytokines, growth factors, and adhesion molecules, altering coagulant capacity, barrier function and blood cell recruitment in injury. This review examines the roles of the endothelium in the initiation and propagation of IBD pathology and distinctive features of the intestinal endothelium contributing to these conditions.
Synthesis of yttrium aluminum garnet from yttrium and aluminum isobutyrate precursors

Mixtures of yttrium and aluminum isobutyrates, M(O2CCHMe2)3= M(O2CiPr)3 (M = Y or Al), were examined as precursors for processing yttrium aluminum garnet (YAG, A15Y3O12). Both precursors were synthesized by reacting the respective metal with isobutyric acid. The individual compounds and the 5Al(O2CiPr)3:3Y(O2CiPr)3 YAG composition mixture were characterized by TGA, DTA, XRD, NMR, and FTIR. Pyrolytic decomposition of Al(O2CiPr)3 at temperatures ≤700°C produces amorphous A12O3, which partially crystallizes to α-alumina at 840°C (by DTA), and finally to a-alumina at 1120°C. The pyrolysis behavior of Y(O2CiPr)3 is quite different. Samples start to decompose at 260°C, producing mixtures of Y2O3 with minor quantities of a yttrium carbonate species. On further heating to 300°C, the amorphous Y2O3 crystallizes (bcc). The carbonate remains stable until ∼900°C, and phase-pure, bcc Y2O3 is obtained only on heating to 1400°C. Mixtures of Al(O2CiPr)3 and Y(O2CiPr)3 provide a precursor to polycrystalline YAG. Rheologically useful solutions are obtained by dissolving a 5:3 mixture of Al(O2CiPr)3 and Y(O2CiPr)3 in THE Solvent removal provides bulk samples of the YAG precursor. The pyrolytic decomposition patterns of bulk samples of this YAG precursor were studied by heating to selected temperatures and characterizing by TGA, DTA, XRD, and FTIR. The crystallization behavior of the mixture is quite different from the constituent compounds. The precursor decomposes to an amorphous material on heating above 300°C. On continued heating (5°C/ min/air) this amorphous intermediate crystallizes (∼910°C) to phase-pure YAG with a final ceramic yield of 26% at 1000°C. No other phases are observed to form over this temperature range.
Elementary step model of ethane oxidative dehydrogenation on Pt-coated monoliths

The oxidative dehydrogenation of ethane to ethylene over Pt-coated foam monoliths in oxygen with varying levels of nitrogen dilution has been simulated using a 24-stepmodel of adsorption, desorption and surface reactions. Reaction parameters for these elementary steps were obtained from surface science and catalysis literature or fit to previously reported experimental data. The model agrees with the experimental data remarkably well, mimicking the selectivity and conversion trends observed experimentally with changing operating conditions. The model shows that a purely heterogeneous mechanism can be used to simulate the experimental results collected near atmospheric pressure accurately, suggesting that the mechanism we propose is sufficiently accurate to capture the main features of this reaction system. This model can also be used to examine this reaction system under conditions experimentally inaccessible. Application of this predictive ability to operation of this type of reactor under probable industrial conditions suggests that excellent ethylene yields are possible.
Fuzzy approaches to two-decision-maker games

A unique fuzzy approach is developed to model uncertainties in the preferences of a decision maker involved in a conflict. Human judgments, including expressing preferences over a set of feasible outcomes or states in a conflict, are usually imprecise. Situations characterized by vagueness, impreciseness, incompleteness and ambiguity, are often reflected in the decision maker's preferences. When modeling a conflict, it is assumed that the decision makers, the courses of actions available for each, and the preferences of each decision maker are known. When the preferences of the decision maker over a certain set of actions are not known with certainty, this could affect the overall equilibria which are predicted in an analysis. Hence, fuzzy logic is used to handle imprecise or vague preference information so that realistic equilibria can be found. The well-known game of Prisoner's Dilemma, in which one must decide whether or not to cooperate, is employed as an illustrative application to demonstrate how the fuzzy preference methodology works in practice.
The Role of Forced Planetary Waves in the Annual Cycle of the Zonal Mean Circulation of the Middle Atmosphere

A severely truncated semispectral numerical model is used to simulate the annual cycle of the zonally averaged circulation in the middle atmosphere (16-96 km). The model includes only a single zonal harmonic wave component which interacts with the mean flow; the circulation is driven by diabatic heating and by a specified perturbation in the topography of the lower boundary, which is taken to be the 100 mb surface. A comparison of the annual cycle simulated by this model with the results of an analogous two-dimensional model indicates that planetary waves have relatively little influence on the zonal mean temperature profiles and on the solstice mean zonal winds at high latitudes. The primary effects of the forced waves are in decelerating the mean winds at low latitudes in the winter hemisphere to produce a region of weak westerlies, and in generating final warmings at the spring equinoxes.
A method for reducing inter-departure time variability in serial production lines

Abstract The inter-departure time variability is an important measure in production lines. Higher variability means added work-in-process and less predictability in output. It can be a primary obstacle towards achieving on-time delivery. The effects of line parameters (e.g., line length or buffer capacity) on inter-departure time variability have been studied in recent years but no method has been proposed for its reduction. In this paper, such a strategy is proposed and studied via simulation. Results indicate that significant reductions (of more than 20%) in inter-departure time variability can be achieved for as little as 0.5% increase in the mean inter-departure time or without any increase at all, for a majority of the line parameter values experimented. This was found to be the case for symmetrical (uniform) processing time distributions as well as for asymmetrical skewed (exponential) distributions. Similar results have also been obtained in the application of the proposed strategy for the case when one station has a higher variance than the others. Therefore, in situations where output predictability is more of a problem than capacity, this strategy constitutes an effective alternative.
Volumetric Filtration of Rainfall Runoff. I: Event-Based Separation of Particulate Matter

As a unit operation, filtration generally requires flow equalization and primary clarification. This study examines the separation of runoff particulate matter (PM) in a volumetric clarifying filter (VCF). The VCF is a detention/retention vault integrating filtration after sedimentation. A paved source area ( 1,088 m2 ) directly loaded the vault ( 4.2 m3 ) with five radial filters ( 4 m2 of filtration surface area). PM separation was examined for 19 runoff events through monitoring of influent and effluent granulometric fractions. During the monitoring phase no maintenance was conducted and subsequent to the 19 events a measured material balance of the sedimentation vault and the radial cartridge filters generated a 94% recovery of PM. During 5 months of monitoring and PM mass, suspended sediment concentration (SSC) was reduced from 334 to 34 mg/L (90% reduction) with effluent sediment ( >75 μm ) of <3 mg/L , settleable of 14 mg/L, suspended PM ( <25 μm ) of 17 mg/L as event mean concentrations; with turb...
The relation between phopholipase action and release of NADH dehydrogenase from mitochondrial membrane

Phospholipase A from Naja naja shows different rates of hydrolysis of phospholipids. Both free and membrane-bound phospholipids are digested in the order phosphatidylethanolamine, lecithin and cardiolipin. Release of NADH dehydrogenase is correlated with hydrolysis of cardiolipin. Inability of Crotalus adamanteus venom to release NADH dehydrogenase is attributed to its inert nature toward cardiolipin. Selective inhibition of several acceptor sites on NADH dehydrogenase is observed during phospholipase A and phospholipase C treatment. Although products of digestion, fatty acids and lysophosphatides, can account for certain inhibitory effects they do not induce release of the dehydrogenase.
Image-Based Monte Carlo Modeling of Ca2+ sparks in Ventricular Myocytes

The geometry of a dyadic calcium release unit (CRU) plays a critical role in regulating intracellular Ca2+ spark generation and furthermore the excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling in ventricular myocytes. A number of computational models have showed how the geometries of T-tubules and junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum (jSR) and distributions of L-type Ca2+ channels (LCCs) and ryanodine receptors (RyRs) could affect local Ca2+ signaling, but almost all of them were based on simple domain geometries such as rectangular or cylindrical shapes. For this reason, incorporating image-based realistic geometric models into mathematical simulation is timely and expected to provide more accurate simulation of many biological processes, in particular, the Ca2+ spark formation in ventricular myocytes.The present study has two goals. First, we adopt a chain of image and geometric processing approaches to construct realistic 3D models (represented by high-quality surface and volumetric meshes) of both T-tubules and junctional SR from electron microscopy images of adult mouse cardiomyocytes. The distributions of LCCs and RyRs are obtained in two ways: random assignment and image-based localization (for RyRs only). The second goal of the present study is the use of Monte Carlo methods to model the randomness of release and diffusion of individual Ca2+ ions within a narrow dyadic cleft. To this end, the M-Cell software package, combined with the realistic geometries obtained in the first goal, is used to simulate how Ca2+ sparks are generated in a single dyad (or CRU) and how they change temporally and spatially with different geometries of membrane structures and distributions of channeling proteins.
Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Homologous Phosphonic Acids and Sulfonic Acids as Inhibitors of Lumazine Synthase

Three phosphonic acid inhibitors of lumazine synthase were synthesized in which the phosphorus atom was separated from the pyrimidinedione ring by polymethylene linker chains containing four, five, and six carbon atoms. Three analogous sulfonic acids were also synthesized. The inhibitors were designed as metabolically stable analogues of a hypothetical intermediate in the reaction catalyzed by lumazine synthase, and the design process was supported by the results of computer graphics molecular modeling of the inhibitors within the active site of the enzyme. The most potent of the new inhibitors, 6-(6-d-ribitylamino-2,4-dihydroxypyrimidine-5-yl)-1-hexylphosphonic acid, inhibited recombinant lumazine synthase β60 capsids of Bacillus subtilis with a Ki of 130 μM, making it the most potent inhibitor of lumazine synthase reported to date.
Optimization of High Speed Geneva Mechanisms

This paper presents an analytical and computer-aided procedure on the optimum design of Geneva mechanism. The subject is treated in two parts. In Part I, a set of parameters is derived for evaluating the performance and determining the dimensions of Geneva mechanism suitable for high-speed operation. The effects of geometry on dynamics, stress, as well as kinematics of the Geneva mechanism are investigated. Classical mechanics theory is used to derive explicit relationships between these performance parameters and the design parameters. Unlike conventional design, the dynamic load rather than the static load is used for the design for high speed. Computer-aided evaluations as well as the analytical results show that the dynamic load depends strongly on the geometrical parameters and is significant at high speeds and high inertial loading. It cannot, therefore, be overlooked. In general, the dynamic load imposes an upper bound on the determination of the width of a Geneva wheel. Based on the analysis presented in Part I, a unit computer program for the design of high-speed Geneva mechanism is described in Part II. The effects of the design parameters on Geneva performance are then investigated and design guidelines are presented. Using this procedure, the “computer-design model” is demonstrated, in examples, to be capable of running at higher speeds with a longer life than the models designed through conventional techniques.
Geologic urban hindplanning: An example from a hellenistic-byzantine city, stobi, Yugoslavian macedonia

Stobi flourished between about 400b.c. anda.d. 600, and, like modern cities, was afflicted by several environmental-geologic difficulties. A large Christian church was built upon poorly compacted artificial fill, resulting in severe foundation problems. An earthquake did extensive damage to the Roman theatre between two stages of its construction. A catastrophic mudflow destroyed structures lying below a cliff of flysch sandstone and shale. After the third or fourth centurya.d. severe desiccation of the climate set in, leading to devegetation, flooding, and dust storms. Structures on the flood plain were buried in several meters of fine sediment. Stobi finally was abandoned, and the structures eventually were buried by wind-blown dust accumulating at the rate of about 1 meter per millenium.
Centimeter and millimeter wave attenuation and brightness temperature due to atmospheric oxygen and water vapor

Calculations are presented for atmospheric absorption and radiation emission for several atmospheric conditions and elevation angles. The calculations are for frequencies in the 1 to 340 GHz frequency range. The calculations are compared to those from other models. Agreement is found to within 15% for absorption coefficient (7.5 g/m/cubed water vapor at 290 K) and approximately the same for total zenithal attenuation. The attenuation and gaseous emission noise curves defined by the International Radio Consultative Committee are found to have minor inconsistencies.
Minimum rank of outerplanar graphs

Abstract The problem of finding the minimum rank over all symmetric matrices corresponding to a given graph has grown in interest recently. It is well known that the minimum rank of any graph is bounded above by the clique cover number, the minimum number of cliques needed to cover all edges of the graph. We generalize the idea of the clique cover number by defining the rank sum of a cover to be the sum of the minimum ranks of the graphs in the cover. Using this idea we obtain a combinatorial solution to the minimum rank problem for an outerplanar graph. As a consequence the minimum rank of an outerplanar graph is field independent and all outerplanar graphs have a universally optimal matrix. We also consider implications of the main result to the inverse inertia problem.
Inductor Design Optimization for RFIC Application

This paper investigates an electromigration (EM) hardened design optimization for integrated circuit inductors. Inductor layouts that utilize a metal reservoir and a stack via/metal have improved EM performance and heat dissipation. The improvement can be converted to inductor scaling and RFIC die size reduction. High-frequency measurements indicate that the new inductor layout design does not affect the inductor-Q and circuit power gain. Computer simulation farther validates the robust performance of the scaled inductor and the RFIC circuits.
Effect of stage of gestation on succinoxidase activity of fetal and maternal swine hearts.

SummaryA significant increase in the succinoxidase activity of fetal swine ventricles was found to occur during the latter half of gestation, on both the wet weight and per unit of nitrogen basis. As gestation approached termination, an increase in activity occurred in the left ventricles of the maternal heart. These observations show that in large animals the fetal heart increases in succinoxidase activity with increased function, as previously demonstrated in the rat and chick; and that the later stages of gestation make increased requirements of the heart as indicated by greater maternal heart enzymatic activity. Two dietary levels of Mn and position of the fetuses in the uteri had no influence on the succinoxidase activity.
Influence of martensite transformation strain on the ductility of dual-phase steels

Abstract The austenite-to-martensite transformation expansion during quenching of steels from intercritical temperatures results in plastic deformation of a region of ferrite near each martensite particle. The localized ferrite plastic strain lowers slightly the overall ductility of the ferrite and, hence, the dual-phase steel. The extent to which this occurs was investigated theoretically by determining the extent of the ferrite plastic zone, the average dislocation density within that zone, the effective overall increase in ferrite dislocation density and an associated strain edm. The value edm, when incorporated into a previous derivation of composite true uniform strain, was found to decrease the ductility of dual-phase steels. The magnitude of this decrease was largest for martensite volume fractions between 0.3 and 0.5 and was determined to be less than 0.02.
Archaeotourism and the Crux of Development

Keywords: commentary, tourism, archaeology, development, ethics, sustainability, sustainable development, Southern Africa, Botswana, Tsodilo Hills
Order-disorder transformations in CuAu thin films

Abstract The nucleation and growth of CuAu II formed from a disordered matrix has been investigated using single crystal CuAu alloy films prepared by sputtering. The CuAu I structure was found to be transitional in the nucleation of CuAu II from the disordered matrix. A dynamic “streaming” phenomenon which is observed prior to ordering is explained on the basis of this transitional structure. The CuAu II phase was found to be heterogeneously nucleated in the sputtered films, and dislocations were identified as nucleation centers. The preferred nucleation at dislocations is discussed from a theoretical viewpoint. Three different ordering modes occurred when the growth of CuAu II proceeded. The three modes are crystallographically equivalent variants with their c -axes perpendicular to each other. Any two of the three variants can twin relative to each other in alternate fashion in order to relieve the strain energy but the three variants do not twin in a cyclic fashion. The f.c.c. → CuAu II transformation in two dimensional thin films exhibits a number of crystallographic similarities compared to the observed behavior in bulk specimens; however, “bulk” conditions leading to the invariant plane strain morphology are somewhat, but not completely, relaxed. The nucleation of CuAu II from CuAu I was also investigated for sputtered films, and is described.
An annotated bibliography of journals in nutrition

(1988). An Annotated Bibliography of Journals in Nutrition. Serials Review: Vol. 14, No. 4, pp. 35-43.
Effects of Thyroid Hormone on Cardiac β-Adrenergic Responsiveness in Conscious Baboons

Background Many of the cardiovascular manifestations of thyroid hormone excess resemble those produced by sympathoadrenal stimulation. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of thyroid hormone excess on myocardial β-adrenergic expression and responsiveness to infused agonists in the primate heart. Methods and Results The responses of left ventricular isovolumic contraction (dP/dtmax) and relaxation (τ) during graded dobutamine infusion were studied both before and after 4 weeks of thyroid hormone administration in 8 chronically instrumented baboons. At matched (atrially paced) heart rates, thyroid hormone significantly increased resting dP/dtmax (3073±1034 versus 2318±829 mm Hg/s, P<.05) and decreased τ (24.0±5.5 versus 28.2±5.4 ms, P<.05). The change from baseline for dP/dtmax and τ in response to β1-adrenergic stimulation was significant at each dobutamine dose (2.5 to 10 μg·kg−1·min−1), but when expressed as a percent change, it was similar before versus after thyroid hormone. Similar...