cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Modeling of lamprey reticulospinal neurons: multiple distinct parameter sets yield realistic simulations

A computer model of lamprey reticulospinal neurons with a default parameter set produced simulations of action potentials and repetitive firing that scored favorably compared with the properties of...
In women, bisphosphonate use for ≥3 years vs. <3 months was linked to increased atypical femur fracture risk.

SOURCE CITATION Black DM, Geiger EJ, Eastell R, et al. Atypical femur fracture risk versus fragility fracture prevention with bisphosphonates. N Engl J Med. 2020;383:743-53. 32813950.
The Professionalization of Compliance: Its Progress, Impediments and Outcomes

This article explores the background and reasons for the uncertain professional status of compliance. After identifying the nature and origin of compliance, it explains that there is now an accepted model of compliance activities. It then elaborates on the key features of an occupation that scholars identify as having achieved professional status and explains the ways in which compliance has progressed to achieving them. It discusses how this field does not possess all the features of a profession, particularly the state government-approved licensing that provides control over their occupation by practitioners. The article then offers several reasons for this incomplete professional status, with the most significant being the ambiguous relationship between compliance and the established legal profession and the federal government’s preference for compliance officers not to be members of a strong profession. It observes how, from time to time, legal authorities and lawyers assert control over compliance as if it were in their domain of influence, but at other times they have been passive or complacent with respect to compliance practitioners. It explains how the federal government through regulators and enforcement officials benefits from compliance officer’s weak professional status by using them as their eyes and ears in organizations. The article then argues that the outcome of compliance’s professional journey matters for organizational conduct, contending that having a strong professional identity would give compliance officers the independence and authority in organizations that would enable them to guide and advise organizational actors on how to conduct their activities in accordance with law, regulation and ethics. It offers recommendations as to the future of compliance as a profession, both from an ideal and practical perspective. It observes that compliance might ideally become an independent profession by being grounded in organizational studies. However, it explains that the legal profession will likely continue to exercise its authority over compliance, which means that the compliance field risks remaining a subdiscipline of that profession with negative professional consequences for compliance officers. The article concludes by recommending that compliance officers who are lawyers should become a recognized part of the legal profession, but it acknowledges that this professional outcome awaits developments in the compliance field and pressure from compliance officers themselves demanding professional status.
Conformational rearrangements enable iterative backbone N-methylation in RiPP biosynthesis.

R Code: Supplementary Data 1. Code for running kinetics simulations File name: Supplementary Data 1.R Mass Spectrometry .raw files: Supplementary Figure 4a-c. Mass spectrometric analysis of split borosin coexpressions. File name: 20200110_FSM1167_SonA+SonM_24.5min.raw Supplementary Figure 4d-j. Mass spectrometric analysis of split borosin coexpressions. File name: 20200909_KC1063_StrA+StrM_15min_redalk_18pm4.raw Supplementary Figure 16. SonM in vitro reactions analyzed by LC-MS/MS and compared to kinetic model simulations. File names: 20200220_FSM1178_kineticmodeling_t=2.raw 20200220_FSM1179_kineticmodeling_t=2.raw 20200220_FSM1180_kineticmodeling_t=8.raw 20200220_FSM1181_kineticmodeling_t=8.raw 20200220_FSM1182_kineticmodeling_t=20.raw 20200220_FSM1183_kineticmodeling_t=20.raw 20200220_FSM1184_kineticmodeling_t=40.raw 20200220_FSM1185_kineticmodeling_t=40.raw 20200220_FSM1186_kineticmodeling_t=60.raw 20200220_FSM1187_kineticmodeling_t=60.raw Supplementary Figure 25a. Mass spectrometric analysis of SonM mutant in vitro reactions. File name: 20190701_kc1007_His-SonA_Y93F.raw Supplementary Figure 25b. Mass spectrometric analysis of SonM mutant in vitro reactions. File name: 20190515_fsm1155_his-SonA-sonMT-R67K.raw Supplementary Figure 25c. Mass spectrometric analysis of SonM mutant in vitro reactions. File name: 20190515_fsm1154_his-sonA_sonMTR67A.raw Supplementary Figure 25d. Mass spectrometric analysis of SonM mutant in vitro reactions. File name: 20190701_kc1008_His-SonA_Y58F.raw Supplementary Figure 25e. Mass spectrometric analysis of SonM mutant in vitro reactions. File name: 20190515_fsm1156_his-sonA-SonMT-Y71F.raw Supplementary Figure 25f. Mass spectrometric analysis of SonM mutant in vitro reactions. File name: 20190701_kc1009_His-SonA_DBLMUT.raw
Neural networks based domain name generation

Abstract Domain generation algorithm (DGA) is used by botnets to build a stealthy command and control (C&C) communication channel between the C&C server and the bots. A DGA can periodically produce a large number of pseudo-random algorithmically generated domains (AGDs), a few of which direct the bots to the C&C server. AGD detection algorithms provide a lightweight, promising solution in response to the existing DGA techniques. In the constantly evolving attacker–defender game, attackers may seek more advanced DGA techniques to gain a better chance of evading detection by defenders. In this paper, we propose a new DGA, namely a neural networks-based domain name generation (NDG) architecture. NDG is based on a variational autoencoder (VAE), where the encoder and decoder networks use stacked gated convolutional neural networks (GCNNs) to learn the contextual structure hierarchically. NDG is experimentally validated using a set of state-of-the-art AGD detection algorithms. The existing DGAs of different classes following a DGA taxonomy are used to benchmark NDG. NDG shows the best overall anti-detection performance among all tested DGAs. We also demonstrate that NDG is effective in benchmarking AGD detection algorithms.
DNA Repair by Homologous Recombination, But Not by Nonhomologous End Joining, Is Elevated in Breast Cancer Cells

Aberrant double-stranded break (DSB) repair leads to genomic instability, which is a hallmark of malignant cells. Double-stranded breaks are repaired by two pathways: homologous recombination (HR) and nonhomologous DNA end joining (NHEJ). It is not known whether these repair pathways are affected in sporadic breast tumors. Here, we examined the efficiency of HR and NHEJ repair in a panel of sporadic breast cancer cell lines and tested whether the efficiency of HR or NHEJ correlates with radioresistance. Homologous recombination and NHEJ in breast cancer cells were analyzed using in vivo fluorescent assays. Unexpectedly, our analysis revealed that the efficiency of HR is significantly elevated in breast cancer cells compared with normal mammary epithelial cells. In contrast, the efficiency of NHEJ in breast cancer cells is not different from normal cells. Overall, breast cancer cells were more sensitive to radiation than normal cells, but the levels of resistance did not correlate with either HR or NHEJ efficiency. Thus, we demonstrate that sporadic breast cancers are not associated with a deficiency in DSB repair, but rather with upregulation of the HR pathway. Our finding of elevated HR in sporadic breast cancer cell lines suggests that therapies directed against the components of HR will be highly tumor-specific.
Rheometry of electrorheological fluids

Summary While ER fluid rheometry presents special problems, equipment has been developed that addresses these problems and opens up opportunities for investigating structural changes in other two-phase materials as well. The relationship between structure and stress in highly structured materials such as ER fluids is a constant challenge for rheologists, and techniques will continue to evolve. Imaging methods for studying the details of particle motion will undoubtedly be developed. One unfortunate aspect of ER fluids is that presently NMR imaging techniques, used successfully for other suspensions, cannot be applied because of the magnetic fields produced by the current passing between the plates. Figure 11. Equipment for studying second harmonic generation in an ER fluid. From Wu et al. [48].
Confronting Teacher Candidates' Conceptions of the Nature of Science.

(1997). Confronting Teacher Candidates' Conceptions of the Nature of Science. Journal of Science Teacher Education: Vol. 8, No. 2, pp. 141-151.
Temporal maximum margin Markov network

Typical structured learning models consist of a regression component of the explanatory variables (observations) and another regression component that accounts for the neighboring states. Such models, including Conditional Random Fields (CRFs) and Maximum Margin Markov Network (M3N), are essentially Markov random fields with the pairwise spatial dependence. They are effective tools for modeling spatial correlated responses; however, ignoring the temporal correlation often limits their performance to model the more complex scenarios. In this paper, we introduce a novel Temporal Maximum Margin Markov Network (TM3N) model to learn the spatial-temporal correlated hidden states, simultaneously. For learning, we estimate the model's parameters by leveraging on loopy belief propagation (LBP); for predicting, we forecast hidden states use linear integer programming (LIP); for evaluation, we apply TM3N to the simulated datasets and the real world challenge for occupancy estimation. The results are compared with other state-of the art models and demonstrate superior performance.
Constraint-based dynamic programming for decentralized POMDPs with structured interactions

Decentralized partially observable MDPs (DEC-POMDPs) provide a rich framework for modeling decision making by a team of agents. Despite rapid progress in this area, the limited scalability of solution techniques has restricted the applicability of the model. To overcome this computational barrier, research has focused on restricted classes of DEC-POMDPs, which are easier to solve yet rich enough to capture many practical problems. We present CBDP, an efficient and scalable point-based dynamic programming algorithm for one such model called ND-POMDP (Network Distributed POMDP). Specifically, CBDP provides magnitudes of speedup in the policy computation and generates better quality solution for all test instances. It has linear complexity in the number of agents and horizon length. Furthermore, the complexity per horizon for the examined class of problems is exponential only in a small parameter that depends upon the interaction among the agents, achieving significant scalability for large, loosely coupled multi-agent systems. The efficiency of CBDP lies in exploiting the structure of interactions using constraint networks. These results extend significantly the effectiveness of decision-theoretic planning in multi-agent settings.
Cloning human pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase cDNA by complementation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Abstract Pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase (EC 1.5.1.2) catalyzes the NAD(P)H-dependent conversion of pyrroline-5-carboxylate to proline. We cloned a human pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase cDNA by complementation of proline auxotrophy in a Saccharomyces cerevisiae mutant strain, DT1100. Using a HepG2 cDNA library in a yeast expression vector, we screened 10(5) transformants, two of which gained proline prototrophy. The plasmids in both contained similar 1.8-kilobase inserts, which when reintroduced into strain DT1100, conferred proline prototrophy. The pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase activity in these prototrophs was 1-3% that of wild type yeast, in contrast to the activity in strain DT1100 which was undetectable. The 1810-base pair pyrroline-5-carboxylate reductase cDNA hybridizes to a 1.85-kilobase mRNA in samples from human cell lines and predicts a 319-amino acid, 33.4-kDa protein. The derived amino acid sequence is 32% identical with that of S. cerevisiae. By genomic DNA hybridization analysis, the human reductase appears to be encoded by a single copy gene which maps to chromosome 17.
Waterhammer Modeling for the Ares I Upper Stage Reaction Control System Cold Flow Development Test Article

The Upper Stage Reaction Control System provides three-axis attitude control for the Ares I launch vehicle during active Upper Stage flight. The system design must accommodate rapid thruster firing to maintain the proper launch trajectory and thus allow for the possibility to pulse multiple thrusters simultaneously. Rapid thruster valve closure creates an increase in static pressure, known as waterhammer, which propagates throughout the propellant system at pressures exceeding nominal design values. A series of development tests conducted in the fall of 2009 at Marshall Space Flight Center were performed using a water-flow test article to better understand fluid performance characteristics of the Upper Stage Reaction Control System. A subset of the tests examined waterhammer along with the subsequent pressure and frequency response in the flight-representative system and provided data to anchor numerical models. This thesis presents a comparison of waterhammer test results with numerical model and analytical results. An overview of the flight system, test article, modeling and analysis are also provided.
Lossless and lossy source compression with near-uniform output: Is common randomness always required?

It is known that a sub-linear rate of source-independent random seed (common randomness) can enable the construction of lossless compression codes whose output is nearly uniform under the variational distance (Chou-Bloch-ISIT'13). This work uses finite-blocklength techniques to present an alternate proof that for near-uniform lossless compression, the seed length has to grow strictly larger than √n, where n represents the blocklength of the lossless compression code. In the lossy setting, we show the surprising result that a seed is not required to make the encoder output nearly uniform.
Language Learner Strategies

Language Learner Strategies, an edited volume born from a series of meetings at the International Association of Applied Linguistics Congress in the early 2000s, provides a comprehensive overview into the past, present, and proposed future of the field of language learner strategies (LLS). Principally written for language or education researchers, this book is concerned with the strategies learners employ in the process of second language (L2) acquisition and performance in the second or foreign language classroom. The editors, Andrew D. Cohen and Ernesto Macaro, propose that the volume serve as a coherent auto-critique and theoretical synthesis of LLS research to date, with the goal of improving opportunities for all language learners through further research into LLS.
A Social Psychologist's Guide to the Development of Racial Attitudes

Over the last several decades, social psychologists have generated a literature rich with information about the racial intergroup attitudes and biases of adults. In parallel, developmental psychologists have documented the emergence and development of these attitudes in children, yet surprisingly little cross-talk occurs between the two fields. Here, we review the developmental literature on racial intergroup attitudes with an eye toward two major themes observed frequently in the social psychology literature: the tendency to favor one's own group and the tendency to favor higher-status groups. We review empirical findings beginning in infancy, revealing that the earliest signs of racial differentiation are present in the first year of life and continue through the elementary school years, noting that explicit attitudes undergo vast developmental changes whereas implicit attitudes remain remarkably stable throughout the lifespan. We also examine potential ways the developmental literature might inform the social psychology of racial intergroup attitudes.
A Review of Psychological and Cultural Effects on Seating Behavior and Their Application to Foodservice Settings

ABSTRACT Creating dining environments that make customers feel comfortable is a key goal of restaurant designers and operators. By applying basic precepts of environmental psychology to restaurant seating configurations, foodservice managers may be able to enhance the guest experience without sacrificing operational efficiency. This paper reviews the environmental psychology literature related to seating behavior, and analyzes the designs of ten representative chain restaurants to determine if these psychological principles appear to be supported in a successful foodservice operation. It also examines the seating behavior of different cultures, and suggests approaches to foodservice design that may appeal to an international market. While environmental psychology literature rarely addresses foodservice environments directly, many of its findings can be applied to restaurant settings. An analysis of the floor plans of five quick service restaurants and five table service restaurants outlines how some opera...
Test-retest reliability of the Saladin card.

Background Test-retest reliability is a measure of the confidence that results will be identical when the same patient is measured with an instrument in the same manner on more than one occasion. Method Using the Saladin Near Point Balance Card—an instrument designed to test various near visual findings, including visual acuity, phorias, AC/A ratios, dynamic retinoscopy, fixation disparity, associated phorias, fixation disparity curves, as well as accommodative and vergence facilities—28 first-and second-year optometry students were evaluated on two occasions by one clinician, with the tests separated by approximately two weeks. Subjects were required to demonstrate 20/20 distance visual acuity and at least 100 sec of arc stereopsis. A total of 38 findings were compared, which included near horizontal and vertical phorias, associated phoria, and fixation disparity curves. Twenty-two findings were performed through the subjects’ habitual prescription and the remaining findings were taken through the lens indicated by MEM retinoscopy. Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the Saladin Near Point Balance Card had acceptable test-retest reliability. If reliability can be demonstrated, this instrument could be used in clinical situations to diagnose visual departures from normal. Results All but two of the 38 tests performed demonstrated acceptable test-retest reliability. Coefficients of repeatability and 95% limits of agreement were calculated. The Saladin Near Point Balance Card demonstrated acceptable test-retest reliability. Conclusion Since it is light-weight, portable, easily and quickly administered, and reliable, the Saladin card can be used by clinicians who are performing screenings or examinations in non-clinical situations, such as nursing homes or schools.
Coercive Threats, Audience Costs, and Case Studies

Audience cost theory suggests that the ability of domestic publics to punish political leaders for failing to implement their earlier threats creates additional incentives for leaders to stand firm...
THE INFLUENCE OF SUBSTRATE ON VEGETATION HISTORY AND ECOSYSTEM DEVELOPMENT

Comparison of vegetation, soil, and climatic history at two sites differing in soil texture and thus soil water-holding capacity reveals long-term differences in ter- restrial ecosystem development. Vegetation history reconstructed using pollen analysis and modern surface samples reveals that the site on till has hosted species with higher moisture requirements than those at the outwash site since the early Holocene. The outwash site had incomplete forest cover for much of the Holocene in contrast to the till site, which likely had a closed-canopy forest for most of its history. Comparison of vegetation and soil records reveals a correspondence between the timing of changes in vegetation and soil at both sites for most of the Holocene and provides evidence for greater weathering rates under conif- erous than deciduous forest or savanna. Soil and vegetation changes are synchronous within, but not across, sites 13 000-3000 yr BP, suggesting that local interactions between soil and vegetation may have been important in determining the timing of ecosystem change. In contrast, there was synchronous change in soil and vegetation across sites -3000 yr BP, when hemlock became established at the till site and weathering intensified at both sites. This synchrony suggests a regional driver of ecosystem change, most likely the climatic change to higher moisture availability that occurred in the late Holocene. Thus, both climate and interactions between soil and vegetation have influenced the timing of ecosystem change, and the relative importance of their influence has varied over time.
Development of a tertiary motion generator for elliptical vibration texturing

Abstract The elliptical vibration texturing process is an innovative machining method for the fast generation of textured surfaces. It adds a tertiary motion component to the tool tip, which introduces deliberate elliptical vibrations between the cutting tool and the workpiece. The elliptical locus lies in the plane that is defined by the cutting direction and the radial direction in the turning operation. This paper proposes a new design for a resonant mode 2D tertiary motion generator (TMG) that can deliver the required elliptical trajectory at an ultrasonic frequency. The device works in the resonant mode, with tangential and normal vibrations at a nearly identical resonant frequency. Simulation and experiments were carried out to perform a modal analysis of the system. Different design parameters were adjusted to achieve large vibration amplitudes in both tangential and normal directions. The elliptical vibration texturing process was implemented by integrating the newly developed TMG into a turning operation. Preliminary test results of dimple array patterns are presented that validate the performance and principle of the proposed design.
An Introduction to the Environmental Physics of Soil, Water and Watersheds.

CALVIN ROSE. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 2004. 441 pp. Hardback, $120. Paperback, $60. ISBN 0-521-82994-1 (Hardback), 0-521-53679-0 (Paperback). Understanding the principles involved in soil, water, and watershed physical processes is a key to the sustainable use and management of
Inhibitors of sterol synthesis. Effects of fluorine substitution at carbon atom 25 of cholesterol on its spectral and chromatographic properties and on 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme a reductase activity in CHO-K1 cells

25-Fluorocholesterol (III) was prepared by treatment of 25-hydroxycholesterol (IV) with hydrogen fluoride-pyridine. Compounds III, IV, and cholesterol (I) were fully characterized by 1H and 13C NMR, and stereochemical assignments were established for the C-22 and C-23 protons. The side-chain proton assignments, which apply to most other sterols with a saturated eight-carbon side chain, were based on conformational analysis and comparison with NMR data for 25,26,26,26,27,27,27-heptafluorocholesterol (II). The chromatographic behavior of I, II, and III were compared on thin-layer chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography, and gas chromatography. Major fragment ions in electron-impact mass spectra of III were analogous to ions of either cholesterol or desmosterol, and a similar analogy was observed for the trimethylsilyl ethers. The 25-hydroxysterol IV and the 25-fluorosterol III differed markedly in their effects on the levels of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase activity in CHO-K1 cells. Whereas 25-hydroxycholesterol caused a ∼66% lowering of reductase activity in cells at 0.1 μM, the 25-fluorosterol III had no effect at this concentration.
Application of the Andrade equation to creep data for ice and frozen soil

Abstract The validity and reliability of the Andrade t 1 3 equation as a predictive tool for the determination of the secondary strain rate has been examined. Creep data for ice and frozen soil where creep progressed well into the tertiary stage were used, so that an experimental minimum strain rate was available. The andrade equation fitted the strain-time curve in the primary and secondary stages very well when the initial slope of log ϵ vs. log t was 0.7 or less, as required by the Andrade equation. Even in the most favorable cases, the calculated value of secondary strain rate was a function of the time for which data were used to calculate the secondary strain rate. Therefore, the Andrade equation is unreliable as a predictive tool for determination of secondary strain rate.
Monitoring Pc 4-mediated photodynamic therapy of U87 tumors with dynamic contrast enhanced-magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) in the athymic nude rat

ABSTRACT Introduction : Post-operative verification of the specificity and sensitivity of photodynamic therapy (PDT) is most pressing for deeply placed lesions such as brain tumors. We wish to determine whether Dynamic Contrast Enhanced-Magnetic Resonance Imaging (DCE-MRI) can provide a non-invasive and unambiguous quantitative measure of the specificity and sensitivity of brain tumor PDT. Methods : 2.5 x 10 5 U87 cells were injected into the brains of six athymic nude rats. After 5-6 days, the animals r eceived 0.5 mg/kg b.w. of the phthalocyani ne photosensitizer Pc 4 via tail-vein injection. On day 7 peri-tumor DCE-MRI images were acqui red on a 7T microMRI scanner before and after tail-vein administration of 100 P L gadolinium and 400 P L saline. After this scan th e animals received a 30 J/cm 2 dose of 672-nm light from a diode laser (i.e., PDT). The DCE-MRI scan protocol was repeated on day 13. Next, the animals were euthanized and their brains were explanted for Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) histology. Results : No tumor was found in one animal. The DCE-MRI images of the other five anim als demonstrated significant tumor enhancement increase ( p < 0.053 two-sided t-test and p < 0.026 one-sided t-test) following PDT. H&E histology presented moderate to severe tumor necrosis. Discussion : The change in signal detected by DCE-MRI appears to be due to PDT-induced tumor necrosis. This DCE-MRI signal appears to provide a quantitativ e, non-invasive measure of the outcome of PDT in this animal model and may be useful for determining the safety and effectiveness of PDT in deeply placed tumors (e.g., glioma). Keywords: glioma, brain cancer, necrosis, neurosurgery, PDT, photosensitizer, phthalocyanine, Gd-DTPA.
Individual differences in neural sensitization and the role of context in illness from low-level environmental chemical exposures.

Abstract This paper summarizes the clinical phenomenology of multiple chemical sensitivity (MCS), outlines the concepts and evidence for the olfactory-limbic, neural sensitization model for MCS, and discusses experimental design implications of the model for exposure-related research. Neural sensitization is the progressive amplification of responsivity by the passage of time between repeated, intermittent exposures. Initiation of sensitization may require single toxic or multiple subtoxic exposures, but subsequent elicitation of sensitized responses can involve low or nontoxic levels. Thus, neural sensitization could account for the ability of low levels of environmental chemicals to elicit clinically severe, adverse reactions in MCS. Different forms of sensitization include limbic kindling of seizures (compare temporal lobe epilepsy and simple partial seizures) and time-dependent sensitization of behavioral, neurochemical, immunological, and endocrinological variables. Sensitized dysfunction of the limbic and mesolimbic systems could account in part for many of the cognitive, affective, and somatic symptoms in MCS. Derealization (an alteration in perception making familiar objects or people seem unfamiliar or unreal) is a common MCS symptom and has been linked with limbic dysfunction in clinical neuroscience research. Sensitization is distinct from, but interactive with, other neurobiological learning and memory processes such as conditioning and habituation (compare adaptation or tolerance). In previous studies, hypotheses for MCS involving sensitization, conditioning, and habituation (adaptation) have often been considered in isolation from one another. To design more appropriate chemical exposure studies, it may be important to integrate the various theoretical models and empirical approaches to MCS with the larger scientific literature on individual differences in these potentially interactive phenomena.
Venture Capital: What's a “Poor” State To Do?

Available evidence suggests that South Dakota is one of only five states in the US that has no formal venture capital outlet, to either commit or disburse financing — no professional venture capital firm, no private or public or combination seed and start‐up fund, or bank Community Development Corporation. The absence of South Dakota in the disbursements list where 42 states and the District of Columbia are identified as receiving venture capital funds in 1990, is particularly telling. If South Dakota expressed a “need” for venture capital, the venture capital industry either felt no obligation to satisfy it or saw insufficient economic opportunity. Or, perhaps, South Dakota, and other similarly “disadvantaged” states, all yet to effectively express their need.
Strategies and performance norms for efficient utilization of vector pipeline computers as illustrated by the classical mechanical simulation of rotationally inelastic collisions

Abstract We discuss the vectorization of a classical mechanical trajectory code which simulated the interaction of a rotationally excited rigid rotator with a colliding atom. This code was optimized in FORTRAN 77 and can be run on either a VAX 11/780 minicomputer or a CRAY-1 vector pipeline supercomputer. The article presents a global strategy for vectorizing a classical mechanical trajectory code, a set of performance criteria for characterizing the vectorization of a computer code, and an analysis of the four major subroutines of the vectorized trajectory code in terms of this strategy and these criteria.
Attitudes Toward Energy Conservation: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis1

This study reports a large-scale survey of citizens' attitudes and beliefs toward energy use and conservation in the southwestern United States. A probability sample of 1,000 Texas residents responded to a 10-item telephone survey. Questions concerned issues such as thermal comfort and health, economic benefits of conservation, efficacy of individual efforts, and perceived causes of the current U.S. energy situation. Confirmatory factor analysis replicated previous work by Seligman et al. (1979) and Becker et al. (1981) by identifying the same four principal dimensions underlying energy use attitudes and beliefs: 1) comfort and health, 2) high effort-low payoff, 3) role of individual consumer, and 4) legitimacy of energy problem. In addition, several demographic characteristics were found to moderate consumers' responses to the survey items. The results of this study reinforce the conclusion that future energy conservation campaigns should be sensitive to consumers' concerns about comfort and health. New directions for future research on energy attitudes and conservation behavior are discussed.
Optimized autonomous operations of a 20 K space hydrogen sorption cryocooler

Abstract A fully redundant hydrogen sorption cryocooler is being developed for the European Space Agency Planck mission, dedicated to the measurement of the temperature anisotropies of the cosmic microwave background radiation with unprecedented sensitivity and resolution [Advances in Cryogenic Engineering 45A (2000) 499]. In order to achieve this ambitious scientific task, this cooler is required to provide a stable temperature reference (∼20 K) and appropriate cooling (∼1 W) to the two instruments on-board, with a flight operational lifetime of 18 months. During mission operations, communication with the spacecraft will be possible in a restricted time-window, not longer than 2 h/day. This implies the need for an operations control structure with the required robustness to safely perform autonomous procedures. The cooler performance depends on many operating parameters (such as the temperatures of the pre-cooling stages and the warm radiator), therefore the operation control system needs the capability to adapt to variations of these boundary conditions, while maintaining safe operating procedures. An engineering bread board (EBB) cooler was assembled and tested to evaluate the behavior of the system under conditions simulating flight operations and the test data were used to refine and improve the operation control software. In order to minimize scientific data loss, the cooler is required to detect all possible failure modes and to autonomously react to them by taking the appropriate action in a rapid fashion. Various procedures and schemes both general and specific in nature were developed, tested and implemented to achieve these goals. In general, the robustness to malfunctions was increased by implementing an automatic classification of anomalies in different levels relative to the seriousness of the error. The response is therefore proportional to the failure level. Specifically, the start-up sequence duration was significantly reduced, allowing a much faster activation of the system, particularly useful in case of restarts after inadvertent shutdowns arising from malfunctions in the spacecraft. The capacity of the system to detect J–T plugs was increased to the point that the cooler is able to autonomously identify actual contaminants clogging from gas flow reductions due to off-nominal operating conditions. Once a plug is confirmed, the software autonomously energizes, and subsequently turns off, a J–T defrost heater until the clog is removed, bringing the system back to normal operating conditions. In this paper, all the cooler Operational Modes are presented, together with the description of the logic structure of the procedures and the advantages they produce for the operations.
Propagation of the gravo-magneto disc instability

Discs that contain dead zones are subject to the Gravo-Magneto (GM) instability that arises when the turbulence shifts from gravitational to magnetic. We have previously described this instability through a local analysis at some radius in the disc in terms of a limit cycle. A disc may be locally unstable over a radial interval. In this paper, we consider how the local instability model can describe global disc outbursts. The outburst is triggered near the middle of the range of locally unstable radii. The sudden increase in turbulence within high surface density material causes a snow plough of density that propagates both inwards and outwards. All radii inside of the trigger radius become unstable, as well as locally unstable radii outside the trigger radius. In addition, a locally stable region outside of the trigger radius may also become unstable as the gravitational instability is enhanced by the snow plough. For the circumstellar disc model we consider, we find that a quarter of the disc mass is accreted on to the central object during the outburst. The radius out to which the disc is globally unstable is twice that for which it is locally unstable.
Nodular chert from the Arbuckle group, Slick Hills, SW Oklahoma : a combined field, petrographic and isotopic study

Nodular chert from the middle and upper Arbuckle Group (Early Ordovician) in the Slick Hills, SW Oklahoma, was formed by selective replacement of grainstones, burrow fillings, algal structures, and evaporite nodules. Chert nodules are dominantly microquartz with minor fibrous quartz (both quartzine and chalcedony), megaquartz, and microflamboyant quartz. Lepisphere textures of an opal-CT precursor are preserved in many (especially in finely-crystalline) chert nodules. The δ18O values of microquartz chert range from +23.4 to + 28.80/00 (SMOW), significantly lower than those of Cenozoic and Mesozoic microquartz chert formed both in the deep sea and from near-surface sea water. The δ18O values of chert decrease with increasing quartz crystal size. Silicification in the Arbuckle Group occurred during early diagenesis, with the timing constrained by the relative temporal relationships among silicification, burial compaction, and early dolomite stabilization. Silica for initial chert nucleation may have been derived from both dissolution of sponge spicules and silica-enriched sea water. Chert nucleation appears to have been controlled by the porosity, permeability, and organic matter content of precursor sediments. This conclusion is based on the fact that chert selectively replaced both porous grainstones and burrows and algal structures enriched in organic matter. Growth of chert probably occurred by a maturation process from opal-A(?), to opal-CT, to quartz, as indicated by the presence of opal-CT precursor textures in many chert nodules. Although field and petrographic evidence argues for an early marine origin for chert in the Arbuckle Group, the light δ18O values are inconsistent with this origin. Meteoric resetting of the δ18O values of the chert during exposure of the carbonate platform best explains the light δ18O values because: (i) the δ18O values of chert nodules decrease with decreasing δ18O values of host limestones, and (ii) chert nodules from early dolomite, which underwent more extensive meteoric modification than associated limestones, have lighter δ18O values than chert nodules from limestones. Increasing recrystallization of chert nodules by meteoric water resulted in progressive 18O depletion and (quartz) crystal enlargement.
Relative concentrations of individual nonsulfated bile acids in the serum and bile of patients with cirrhosis.

The relative concentrations of individual nonsulfated bile acids were determined in samples of serum and bile obtained simultaneously from 16 patients with biospy-proven alcoholic cirrhosis. A highly significant (P<0.001) correlation was found between the fasting relative concentrations of each of the three major bile acids (cholic, chenodeoxycholic, and deoxycholic) in serum and bile. This relationship persisted after manipulation of bile acid pools produced by feeding of individual bile acids. We conclude that the relative concentrations of individual nonsulfated bile acids in serum accurately reflect those in bile and that measurement of individual serum bile acids may be used for screening and serial determination purposes. In particular, low levels of biliary deoxycholate can be reliably predicted by serum measurements.
Damping characteristics of R-phase NiTi shape memory alloys

This paper focuses on the study of damping behavior associated with the R-phase in NiTi shape memory alloy. The variation of the tan((delta) ) and Young's modulus as a function of temperature, ramp rate, frequency, and applied amplitude are systematically studied using a dynamic mechanical analyzer (DMA). It was found that the tan((delta) ) versus the temperature curve exhibits four peaks during the thermal cycle, two peaks each in the heating and in the cooling process. These peaks correspond to the martensite to R-phase, R-phase to austenite, austenite to R-phase, and R-phase to martensite transformations. The value of the tan((delta) ) at each peak is in proportion to the ramp rate and in reverse proportion to frequency. The vibration amplitude tends to have a minor effect on the tan((delta) ). The variation of these peaks with ramp rate, frequency, and amplitude are discussed based on the Delorme and De Jonghe damping model. In addition, the experimental results show that an isotropic softening occurs in the Young's modulus during martensite to R-phase, R-phase to austenite, austenite to R-phase, and R-phase to martensite transformations.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Spontaneous formation and growth of a new polytype on SiC(0001).

Using in situ electron microscopy, we have measured the structure of $\mathrm{SiC}(0001)\mathrm{\text{\ensuremath{-}}}4H$ during annealing in vacuum. Above $1000\text{ }\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}\mathrm{C}$, an additional SiC bilayer forms on the surface that changes the polytype from hexagonal ($4H$) to cubic ($3C$). The interaction with surface steps prevents the cubic layer from growing thicker: the new phase does not wet the steps of the underlying $4H$ substrate. Instead, the cubic layer expands laterally, accelerating step bunching in the surrounding hexagonal regions. During SiC homoepitaxy, this lack of step edge wetting leads to the growth of $3C$ twins separated by deep grooves.
APPN in heterogeneous environments

In this fifth article in the series on managing APPN networks we will discuss several examples of heterogeneous networking environments. Very few networks today, except for the smallest ones, are homogeneous in all aspects. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Properties and stability of Nd 2 Fe 14 B particles

The stability of fine particles of Nd 2 Fe 14 B type materials visavis O 2 is investigated through Arrhenius plots. It is found that partial Cr substitution for Fe increases oxidation resistance. Conditions for obtaining relatively high coercivities (H c ) in fine particles are discussed. It is shown that for fine particles the temperature dependence of H c is positive and negative for materials based on R 2 Fe 14 B with R = Y and Nd respectively.
Detection of in vitro kinase generated protein phosphorylation sites using gamma[18O4]-ATP and mass spectrometry.

A novel stable-isotope labeling approach for identification of phosphopeptides that utilizes adenosine triphosphate, in which four oxygen-16 atoms attached to the terminal phosphate group are substituted with oxygen-18 [γ(18O4)-ATP], has been developed. The ability to use γ(18O4)-ATP to monitor phosphorylation modification within various proteins was conducted by performing in vitro kinase reactions in the presence of a 1:1 mixture of γ(18O4)-ATP and normal isotopic abundance ATP (ATP). After tryptic digestion, the peptides were analyzed using mass spectrometry (MS). Phosphorylated peptides are easily recognized within the MS spectrum owing to the presence of doublets separated by 6.01 Da; representing versions of the peptide modified by ATP and γ(18O4)-ATP. Standard peptides phosphorylated using γ(18O4)-ATP via in vitro kinase reactions showed no exchange loss of 18O with 16O. The identity of these doublets as phosphorylated peptides could be readily confirmed using tandem MS. The method described here p...
Cutting resistance of polyethylene

A thin polyethylene strip was cut along the centerline, the legs being pulled apart to minimize friction. Fracture energy Gc was obtained from the total work expended in cutting and tearing, yielding values of 4 kJ/m2 for HDPE, 2 kJ/m2 for HDPE crosslinked with 2.5% dicumyl peroxide, and 1 kJ/m2 for LDPE. For an oriented sample of HDPE the value was 1.5 kJ/m2. These values are considerably smaller than for simple tearing, about 10 kJ/m2, suggesting that plastic yielding has been reduced. However, they are much higher than expected in the absence of yielding, about 50 J/m2. Values of Gc were found to be proportional to yield stress and decreased in a similar way with temperature. On comparing results for Gc with work-to-break in tension, the diameter of the plastic zone at the cut tip was inferred to be about 15–20 μm, or one to three spherulite diameters, many times larger than the blade tip radius. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
A multi-criteria approach for performance based maintenance with variable fleet size

Performance based logistics (PBL) emerges as a new after-sales contract to sustain the operation and maintenance of capital equipment. This paper proposes a multi-criteria decision model to assist service providers in optimizing sustainment activities by minimizing cost and maximizing equipment availability. Under the PBL agreement, the service provider is responsible for attaining the equipment availability goal by delivering repair services in a timely manner. Our study focuses on the integrated firms who design and manufacture the original equipment, and also provide after-sales services. We model and optimize the service logistics network by considering the increment of fleet size due to the market expansion. A multi-resolution spare parts inventory policy is applied to dynamically adjust the optimal base stocking level. The study provides some theoretical insights into the life cycle cost reduction between reliability design and spare parts investment.
Scanning electron microscopy of the multifilament IUD string

Fifteen multifilament strings on Dalkon Shield IUDs removed from patients were evaluated with scanning electron microscopy. All fifteen showed deterioration of the sheath which encloses the smaller inner filaments. The greatest area of deterioration was at the attachment knot which is usually intrauterine. Deterioration of the sheath also occurs when the device is within the uterine wall or intraperitoneal. The risk of pelvic infection may be attributed to this deterioration of the sheath and contamination from that site.
Tax reform and external balance

Abstract This paper examines the effect of a transformation from capital taxation to consumption in an open economy. With the residential capital tax rate being endogenous, an increase in the domestic consumption tax rate decreases the interest rate, increases capital accumulation, and increases the domestic country's net foreign asset holdings and trade surplus. With the territorial capital tax rate being endogenous, an increase in the domestic consumption tax rate may either increase or decrease the domestic country's interest rate, net foreign asset holdings and trade surplus, depending on the interest elasticity of capital demand.
Birth defects and aplastic anemia: differences in polycyclic hydrocarbon toxicity associated with the Ah locus

The balance between cytochrome(s) P1-450 and other forms of P-450 in the liver, and probably many nonhepatic tissues as well, appears to be important in the toxicity, carcinogenicity, mutagenicity, and teratogenicity of numerous compounds. Thus, allelic differences in a single gene — the Ah locus —can have profound effects on the susceptibility of mice to drug toxicity and cancer. There is evidence for the Ah locus in the human.
Ring shake in some hardwood species: The individual tree approach

The formation of ring shake, a tangential separation of xylem tissue, is being studied in selected red oaks, white oaks, and black walnut. Previous studies have indicated that it is frequently necessary to make detailed analyses throughout one tree in order to evaluate correctly possible stages of development of this defect for the sample under investigation. In the present study, anatomical and chemical analyses both along the shake zone and for a normal zone within a black walnut tree are discussed. Anatomical investigations formed the basis for selection of xylem subdivisions for subsequent chemical analyses. The ring shake was tangentially confined to a single annual increment. This increment was radially subdivided into eight consecutive portions from earlywood through latewood. Each portion was used for determinations of specific gravity, extractives (ether, alcohol, hot water), methoxyl, and certain inorganics. Similar analyses were made on a “control” increment. The possible development of ring shake within the sample tree is presented in terms of resultant chemical and anatomical data.