cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of Chemical Protective Clothing on Task Performance using Wearable Input Devices

Wearable computers allow users the freedom to work in any environment including those that may require protective clothing. Past research has shown that protective clothing impedes performance on manual dexterity tasks. Little information exists, however, regarding how protective clothing affects task performance with wearable input devices. To facilitate future development of wearable input devices, a study was conducted to determine the effects of glove thickness and respirator use on task performance and user preference. Sixteen male participants used both a wearable mouse and touch pad to enter text. Task completion times were 9% slower when participants wore 25-mil versus 7-mil protective gloves, suggesting that thin protective gloves (i.e. 7-mil and 14-mil) are more suitable than thicker gloves when using wearable input devices. Respirator use did not affect task performance. Subjective ratings of difficulty, confidence, and preference provided strong support for the use of a touch pad device rather...
Adapted differentiators for image motion estimation

The author describes the design and use of adapted differentiators for improving the accuracy of differential-based optical flow algorithms.
Meyer–Neldel rule and anti Meyer–Neldel rule of ionic conductivity: Conclusions from the coupling model

Abstract The Meyer–Neldel rule or the Compensation Law linking a larger activation energy to a larger preexponential factor of the d.c. conductivity and found to hold in some families of ionic conductors is discussed in the framework of the Coupling Model. When certain conditions are satisfied, it is shown how the Meyer–Neldel rule can originate from the cooperative dynamics of ionic motions. Not so well known is the anti Meyer–Neldel rule, which has the opposite behavior. Using the system (AgI)x(AgPO3)1−x for 0≤x≤0.6 as an example, we propose a possible physical origin of the anti Meyer–Neldel rule.
High-Energy Atmospheric Physics: Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes and Related Phenomena

It is now well established that both thunderclouds and lightning routinely emit x-rays and gamma-rays. These emissions appear over wide timescales, ranging from sub-microsecond bursts of x-rays associated with lightning leaders, to sub-millisecond bursts of gamma-rays seen in space called terrestrial gamma-ray flashes, to minute long glows from thunderclouds seen on the ground and in or near the cloud by aircraft and balloons. In particular, terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs), which are thought to be emitted by thunderclouds, are so bright that they sometimes saturate detectors on spacecraft hundreds of kilometers away. These TGFs also generate energetic secondary electrons and positrons that are detected by spacecraft in the inner magnetosphere. It is generally believed that these x-ray and gamma-ray emissions are generated, via bremsstrahlung, by energetic runaway electrons that are accelerated by electric fields in the atmosphere. In this paper, we review this newly emerging field of High-Energy Atmospheric Physics, including the production of runaway electrons, the production and propagation of energetic radiation, and the effects of both on atmospheric electrodynamics.
Power series evaluation of covariances for turbulence-induced phase distortions including outer scale and servo lag effects

Power series formulas are developed to efficiently compute the covariance of the integrated turbulence-induced phase distortions along a pair of ray paths through the atmosphere from two points in a telescope aperture to a pair of sources at finite or infinite range. These covariances may be used to evaluate and optimize the predicted performance of adaptive optical (AO) systems. The power series formulas apply when one or both of the phase distortions is temporally filtered by the closed-loop impulse response function of the AO control loop, thereby allowing the effects of a finite servo bandwidth to be included in AO system performance modeling without the introduction of additional numerical integrations. Results are presented for the Kolomogorov turbulence spectrum with an infinite outer scale, as well as for the case of a finite outer scale with the von Karman turbulence spectrum. Amplitude scintillation effects are neglected. The Taylor, or frozen flow, hypothesis is used to model the temporal behavior of the turbulence, by using a fixed windspeed profile w(z) and a random wind direction profile θw(z) for which the mean values of the quantities cos[kθw(z)] and sin[kθw(z)] can be computed. The resulting formulas for the covariances are weighted integrals of the refractive-index structure constant Cn2(z), where the weighting functions are power series in from one to three indices depending on the choices made regarding the atmospheric turbulence spectrum and the direction of the wind. The integral with respect to z may also be evaluated analytically, provided that (i) the Cn2(z) profile is a sum of terms of the form zp exp(-cz) and (ii) the phase distortion profiles are not temporally filtered.
Single-gene Heterosis in Drosophila revealed by Inbreeding

KIMURA and others1–4 have suggested that most observed isoallelic variation in natural populations is maintained by mutation pressure and drift alone, and that selection is not involved. This viewpoint has been criticized5,6, and several models7–11 have been proposed which permit large amounts of selectively maintained polymorphism without impossibly high genetic loads. The controversy between proponents of selection and those favouring neutrality is far from resolved, and it has stimulated a great deal of work. We report here a case of conditional heterosis in Drosophila pseudoobscura which we feel can reasonably be attributed to the polymorphic locus being examined.
L-propionylcarnitine Enhancement of Substrate Oxidation and Mitochondrial Respiration in the Diabetic Rat Heart

Abstract This study was designed to determine whether l -propionylcarnitine (LPC) treatment is beneficial in preventing the depression in cardiac function from occurring in chronic diabetes. Diabetes was induced by tail vein injection of streptozotocin (60 mg /kg). Two weeks later, treatment was initiated by supplementing the drinking water with LPC at the concentration of 1 mg /ml. Following a 6-week treatment period, myocardial substrate utilization and cardiac function were determined in isolated working hearts. In a separate group of hearts, the effects of LPC treatment on mitochondrial respiration were also determined. The results showed that diabetic hearts, compared with those of controls, oxidized glucose at a much lower rate, but oxidized palmitate at a similar rate. The effect of diabetes compared to controls was also characterized by a pronounced decrease in cardiac pump function. Following treatment with LPC, however, there was a marked increase in the rates at which glucose and palmitate were oxidized by diabetic hearts, and a significant improvement in cardiac pump performance. In addition, the depression of cardiac mitochondrial respiration seen in diabetes was prevented with LPC treatment. Our findings show that the depression of cardiac pump function by diabetes can be prevented with chronic LPC treatment. Possible mechanisms for this beneficial effect include an energetically favorable shift in glucose and fatty acid metabolism.
The representation of magnetic field lines from magnetograph data

Several methods currently used to extrapolate the structure of the solar magnetic field from surface measurements are examined and compared. In particular, the differences between the methods of Schmidt for potential fields and of Nakagawa and Raadu for force-free fields are explained. Suggestions are made regarding the use of these theoretical procedures in making physical conclusions.
Gas sensor using a multi-walled carbon nanotube sheet to detect hydrogen molecules

Abstract In this paper, a gas sensor with a fabricated multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) sheet, which can sense hydrogen (H2) gas, is proposed and its output properties were evaluated. The key contribution of this study is a novel fabrication technique that introduces a simple transfer method. Easy transfer from initial substrate to another substrate, the simple process and integration ability, and low cost make CNT-based sensors more suitable for future nano-material based sensor. Moreover, the MWCNT sheet does not need a complex purification process to be used as a sensor, making it suitable for practical applications. The MWCNT-sheet gas sensor had a large surface area and many contact points; these facts were further confirmed through morphological analyses. In addition, the effects of thermal annealing and carrier gas flow on gas desorption were investigated in order to improve the recovery response of the gas sensor. It was found that a thermal annealing temperature of 100 °C and a larger flow (2000 sccm) of carrier gas recovered original resistance values, resulting in high performance, faster response time, and improved reproducibility for the MWCNT-sheet gas sensor.
High-performance liquid chromatographic profiling of nucleic acid components in physiological samples

The papers reviewed represent recent progress in HPLC profiling of nucleic acid components in physiological samples. Each method was designed for a particular application and possesses certain inherent advantages and/or disadvantages. Many methods are simply modifications of previous procedures. Although some methodologies appear to be superior to others, there is no "best" method for universal usage. The analyst must use the procedure which is best suited for the particular application at hand. This review is meant to be a starting point for the chromatographer who is comparing and evaluating HPLC methods for a given application.
Prevalence and Description of Palliative Care in US Nursing Homes: A Descriptive Study.

Objective:To describe rates and policies in U.S. Nursing Homes (NH) related to palliative care, comfort care, and hospice care based on a nationwide survey of directors of nursing.Measurements:A na...
Effects of field induced transport on the critical size of a chemical dissipative structure

Abstract A system of chemical reactions coupled not only through diffusion but also through particle drift induced by an external field is considered. The dependence of the stability of the steady states on the size of the system is analyzed and an expression for a lower bound for the critical size is obtained. The rather strong influence of electric field is demonstrated for a model system.
Optimizing select conditions on GPUs

Implementations of data processing operators on GPU processors have achieved significant performance improvements over their multicore CPU counterparts. To achieve maximum performance, database operator implementations must take into consideration special features of GPU architectures. A crucial difference is that the unit of execution is a group ("warp") of threads, 32 threads in our target architecture, as opposed to a single thread for CPUs. In the presence of branches, threads in a warp have to follow the same execution path; if some threads diverge then different paths are serialized. Additionally, similarly to CPUs, branches degrade the efficiency of instruction scheduling. Here, we study conjunctive selection queries where branching hurts performance. We compute the optimal execution plan for a conjunctive query, taking branch penalties into account and consider both single-kernel and multi-kernel plans. Our evaluation suggests that divergence affects performance significantly and that our techniques reduce resource underutilization and improve operator performance.
The implications of cognitive models in L1 and L2 writing

Abstract Research has suggested that metacognition is composed of three general dimensions: knowledge of cognition, regulation of cognition, and the use of compensatory strategies when cognition fails. The first dimension, knowledge of cognition, can be further divided into three types: personal, task, and strategy variables. Knowledge of these variables is highly interactive in successful task performance, and taken together they constitute an individual's cognitive model of a cognitive task. Although research has investigated the role of metacognition, particularly the impact of cognitive models, in first language (L1) and second language (L2) reading performance, to date there has been little research in writing—L1 or L2—about the role of metacognition generally or the impact of cognitive models on task performance more specifically. The current study reports on the role of cognitive models in L1 and L2 writing. Twenty first-year college students—10 L1basic writers and 10 L2 writers from various language backgrounds—were surveyed to elicit information concerning their notions about personal, task, and strategy variables in writing. Based on their responses, writers were determined to possess various cognitive models of writing. Subjects' writing samples were evaluated holistically; further evaluation determined compositional and grammatical proficiency. Analysis reveals that L1 basic and L2 writers hold different cognitive models and perform differently on writing tasks, suggesting that cognitive models have important implications for writing task performance.
Inhibition of nerve cord metamorphosis in the western spruce budworm Choristoneura occidentalis Freeman (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) by juvenile hormone analogs

Abstract Injection of the juvenile hormone analog 10,11-epoxyfarnesenic acid methyl ester (MEFA) into the western spruce budworm, Choristoneura occidentalis Freeman, inhibited the shortening of certain interaganglionic connectives which occurs during the metamorphosis of the nerve cord. The inhibition was related to the stage of development of the insect at the time of injection. Dose-response curves were obtained for pharate pupae. Different connectives. although inhibited, did not respond to the same degree. MEFA and 3-ethyl-7-methyl-6-epoxy-2-nonene-1-oxy-(3,4-methylene dioxybenzene) inhibited nerve cord metamorphosis when they were applied topically to 5-day-old, 6th-instar larvae. Two other juvenile hormone mimetics—Law's hormone. mixture and 3,7-dimethyl-6-epoxy-2-octene-1-oxy-(3,4-methylene dioxybenzene)—did not do so at the dosages applied.
Monte Carlo Simulation of Dislocation-Nucleated Etching of Silicon {111} Surfaces

We investigate equilibrium properties and thermal etching of the {111} surfaces of silicon, both with and without perpendicular intersecting dislocations, using Monte Carlo computer simulation. A modified solid-on-solid (SOS) approach is employed which realizes the correct diamond-cubic (DC) crystal structure. Nearest-neighbor interactions are incorporated to model the bonding, while the effects of a dislocation are incorporated by the addition of an energy field modeled as a core region and an elastic strained region. Dislocations are seen to nucleate the etching process and result in the formation of etch pits. Etch rates and etch-pit morphologies are investigated as a function of the chemical potential driving force for etching, the temperature, and the energy parameters used to model the dislocation.
Enhanced potency of human Sonic hedgehog by hydrophobic modification.

Post-translational modifications of the developmental signaling protein Sonic hedgehog (Shh) by a long-chain fatty acid at the N-terminus and cholesterol at the C-terminus greatly activate the protein in a cell-based signaling assay. To investigate the structural determinants of this activation phenomenon, hydrophobic and hydrophilic moieties have been introduced by chemical and mutagenic methods to the soluble N-terminal signaling domain of Shh and tested in both in vitro and in vivo assays. A wide variety of hydrophobic modifications increased the potency of Shh when added at the N-terminus of the protein, ranging from long-chain fatty acids to hydrophobic amino acids, with EC50 values from 99 nM for the unmodified protein to 0.6 nM for the myristoylated form. The N-myristoylated Shh was as active as the natural form having both N- and C-terminal modifications. The degree of activation appears to correlate with the hydrophobicity of the modification rather than any specific chemical feature of the adduc...
Phosrestins I and II: arrestin homologs which undergo differential light-induced phosphorylation in the Drosophila photoreceptor in vivo.

Abstract The 49-kDa phosphoprotein gene and Dmarrestin gene encode two distinct arrestin homologs in the Drosophila photoreceptor. We find that two DNA fragments representing the Dmarrestin gene hybrid-selected a mRNA the in vitro translation of which produced a protein corresponding to the 39-kDa phosphoprotein previously reported by us. We propose to name these phosphorylated homologs of arrestin phosrestin I (49-kDa protein) and phosrestin II (39-kDa protein or the Dmarrestin gene product). We find that phosrestins I and II follow different time courses of phosphorylation in vivo ; in the time period (∼seconds) during which 43% of phosrestin I became phosphorylated, the phosphorylated state of phosrestin II remained unchanged from that of the nonilluminated flies. These results indicate that phosrestins I and II probably occupy different functional roles in the Drosophila photoreceptor.
Nuclear Saturation and Two-Body Forces: Self-Consistent Solutions and the Effects of the Exclusion Principle

The equilibrium properties of uniform nuclear matter have been studied in previous papers by using a self-consistency method to determine two-body reaction matrices and the average effective one-particle potential which they generate. In this paper the self-consistency method is simply illustrated by using some explicit examples. An investigation is also made of the previously neglected effects of the exclusion principle on transitions to intermediate states. A variational expression is used for the reaction matrix, utilizing as a trial function the wave function which is exact if the exclusion effect is neglected. Two-body potentials are used which simulate the actual forces, i.e., square wells with a repulsive core of 0.35 \ensuremath{\Elzxh}/\ensuremath{\mu}c, range of 1.15 \ensuremath{\Elzxh}/\ensuremath{\mu}c, and depth 98.3 Mev, acting on $s$-states only. It is found that for effective mass values of 0.5 $M$ and 0.6 $M$, the reaction matrix is appreciably altered, particularly for low values of relative momentum. The requirements of self-consistency, however, almost entirely compensate for the change in the reaction matrices so that at normal density in the effective mass approximation the final result for the average binding energy is precisely the same as that obtained when exclusion effects are neglected. The reasons for this simple result are discussed.Further approximations are discussed which are suitable for more exact computations and which allow inclusion of the exclusion effects, the departures from the effective mass approximation, and the effects of "propagation off the energy shell." Approximation methods for a finite nucleus are discussed and a simplified Hartree-Fock method using "pseudo-potentials" (in the sense of Fermi) is described.
Can a minimal degree 6 cubature rule for the disk have all points inside

We use positivity and extension properties of moment matrices to prove that a 10-node (minimal) cubature rule of degree 6 for planar measure on the closed unit disk D cannot have all nodes in D. We construct examples showing that such rules may have as many as 9 points in D, and we provide similar examples for the triangle.
Institutional Collaborations in Ireland: Leveraging an Increased International Presence

This chapter highlights how shifts in policy within Ireland toward increased global rankings and quality of educational programs and a heightened interest in research have been operationalized on the ground. The Higher Education Authority initiated a Programme for Research in Third-Level Institutions (PRTLI) to provide seed money for research innovation. The research reported here provides an overview of the funding program and showcases five of the funded programs, highlighting how these research collaborations have aided in reaching the goals set in Ireland. Lessons learned include the influential role of the external context, including the Bologna Process and involvement in the European Union (EU), and the unintended impact of pitting institutions against one another. Role transitions from competitor to collaborator were not instantaneous or always long lasting. The role of the champion of the partnership was heightened given the size of the country. Finally, structural features of the funding process worked against sustainability for the partners. Lessons from this research are apparent for partners, faculty members, and policy makers.
Identifying the factors contributing to the severity of truck-involved crashes

To address the dilemma between the need for truck transportation and the costs related to truck-involved crashes, the key is to identify the risk factors that significantly affect truck-involved crashes. The objective of this research is to estimate the effects of the characteristics of traffic, driver, geometry, and environment on severity of truck-involved crashes. Based on four crash severity categories (fatal/incapacitating, non-incapacitating, possible injury, and no injury/property damage only), a multinomial logit model is conducted to identify the risk factors. The investigation of risk ratios indicates that lower traffic volume with higher truck percentage is associated with more serious traffic crash with fatal/incapacitating injury while a non-standard geometric design is the main cause of non-incapacitating crashes. The influences of weather are significant for the possible-injury crashes while driver condition is the principal cause of no-injury/property-damage-only crashes. In addition, the statistical results demonstrate that the influence of the truck percentage is significant. One-unit change in the truck percentage will cause more than one times probability of being in an injury.
Data-centric middleware for context-aware pervasive computing

The complexity of developing and deploying context-aware pervasive-computing applications calls for distributed software infrastructures that assist applications to collect, aggregate, and disseminate contextual data. In this paper, we motivate a data-centric design for such an infrastructure to support context-aware applications. Our middleware system, Solar, treats contextual data sources as stream publishers. The core of Solar is a scalable and self-organizing peer-to-peer overlay to support data-driven services. We describe how different services can be systematically integrated on top of the Solar overlay and evaluate the resource discovery and data-dissemination services. We also discuss our experience and lessons learned when using Solar to support several implemented scenarios. We conclude that a data-centric infrastructure is necessary to facilitate both the development and deployment of context-aware pervasive-computing applications.
Inactivation of macaque lateral intraparietal area delays initiation of the second saccade predominantly from contralesional eye positions in a double-saccade task

Previous studies have shown that, although lateral intraparietal (LIP) area neurons have retinotopic receptive fields, the response strength of these cells is modulated by eye position. This combining of retinal and eye position information can form a distributed coding of target locations in a head-centered coordinate frame. Such an implicit head-centered coding offers one mechanism for maintaining spatial stability across eye movements and can be used to compute new oculomotor error vectors after each eye movement. An alternative mechanism is to use eye displacement signals rather than eye position signals to maintain spatial stability. The aim of this study was to distinguish which of these two extraretinal signals (or perhaps both signals) are employed in a double saccade task, which required the monkey to use extraretinal information associated with the first saccade to localize a remembered target for a second saccade. By varying the direction and the end point of the first saccade and selectively inactivating area LIP in one hemisphere with muscimol injection, we were able to distinguish between the two mechanisms by observing how the second saccade was impaired in this task. The displacement mechanism predicts that, if the first saccade is in the contralesional direction, the second saccade will be impaired, and the end point of the first saccade would not be important. The eye position mechanism predicts that if the first saccade ended in the contralesional head-centered space, the second saccade will be impaired, no matter in which direction the first saccade is made. Results showed that, after area LIP lesion, when the first saccade stepped into the contralesional field, the error rate of the second saccade became higher and the latency longer. However, when the end point of the first saccade was constant, the direction of the first saccade had much less effect on the second saccade. These results suggest that eye position, and not eye displacement, is the more predominant factor in this task. In a different behavioral paradigm, the monkeys performed single visual and memory saccades from different initial eye positions. It was found that the impairment of either the metrics or dynamics of visual and memory saccades did not significantly vary with the different eye positions. It thus appears that the performance of single visual and memory saccades is best described in an oculocentric coordinate frame that does not rely on extraretinal signals. Altogether these results lend further support to the hypothesis that, by combining retinal and eye position signals, area LIP contains concurrent eye-centered and head-centered representations of the visual space. Depending on the task, either representation can be used.
Attempt to find a magnetic field dependence of the Néel temperature of chromium

Abstract The Neel temperature TN of chromium has been measured by an ultrasonic method in magnetic fields to 100 koe applied along the [001] axis. To a precision of better than ± 0.010°C no variation of TN with field was detected.
Leucine aminopeptidase in human serum: comparison of hydrolysis of l-leucylglycine and l-Leucyl-β-Naphthylamide

Abstract Two standard tests were used to compare the hydrolysis of l -leucyl-β-naphthylamide (LNA) and l -leucylglycine (LG) by human serum. In a control group there was no correlation whatever between the results of the 2 tests. In patients with infectious hepatitis the activity with LG as substrate was vastly increased, while the LNA-splitting activity showed only moderate increase. In patients with biliary obstruction, on the other hand, the hydrolysis of LNA tended to be increased more than the hydrolysis of LG. A study of the effect of pH, heavy metal ions, and EDTA on the 2 activities lent additional support to the conclusion that LNA and LG are hydrolyzed by different enzymes. Through inhibition experiments and by comparison of the hydrolytic rates with various dipeptides, the LNA-hydrolyzing enzyme was characterized as an aminopeptidase. It is suggested that the 2 enzymes be distinguished by naming the classic enzyme (LG) “leucine aminopeptidase I”, and the LNA-splitting enzyme “leucine aminopeptidase II”.
Self-Report of fruit and vegetable intake that meets the 5 a day recommendation is associated with reduced levels of oxidative stress biomarkers and increased levels of antioxidant defense in premenopausal women

Abstract Background Oxidative stress has been associated with a variety of chronic diseases and reproductive disorders. Fruits and vegetables (F/V) may contribute to antioxidant vitamin and micronutrient levels and reduce oxidative stress. Objective To investigate the effect of meeting the 5 A Day For Better Health Program recommendation for F/V consumption on biomarkers of oxidative damage and antioxidant defense. Design In this longitudinal study, healthy premenopausal women (n=258) were followed for ≤2 menstrual cycles with ≤16 oxidative stress measures timed to cycle phase. Main outcome measures Plasma concentrations of F 2 -isoprostane, 9-hydroxyoctadecadieneoic acid, 13-hydroxyoctadecadieneoic acid, erythrocyte activity of superoxide dismutase, glutathione reductase, and glutathione peroxidase, as well as blood micronutrient concentrations were measured. Dietary intake was assessed by food frequency questionnaires (FFQs) (1 per cycle), and 24-hour recalls (≤4 per cycle). Statistical analyses performed Fruit and vegetable servings were dichotomized based on the recommendation to consume five servings of F/V each day. Linear mixed models with repeated measures were used to analyze lipid peroxidation markers, antioxidant vitamins, and antioxidant enzymes by cycle phase and in association with usual F/V intake. Results For both 24-hour recall (timed to cycle phase) and cycle-specific FFQ, meeting the recommendation to consume five servings of F/V each day was associated with decreased F 2 -isoprostanes (24-hour recall β=−.10 [95% CI, −0.12 to −0.07]; FFQ β= −.14 [95% CI, −0.18 to −0.11]). Glutathione reductase was lower in association with typical consumption of five or more servings of F/V by FFQ but not in the phase-specific analysis. Higher levels of ascorbic acid, lutein, beta carotene, and beta cryptoxanthin were observed with both intake measures. Conclusions Meeting the 5 A Day For Better Health Program recommendation was associated with lower oxidative stress and improved antioxidant status in analyses of typical diet (via FFQ) and in menstrual cycle phase-specific analyses using 24-hour recalls. Green salads were commonly eaten and increasing intake of salads may be a useful strategy to influence oxidation in reproductive aged women.
The contribution of chromatic and achromatic valence to spectral saturation

Abstract The spectral efficiency of the achromatic and opponent chromatic channels was measured in three subjects by use of heterochromatic flicker photometry and hue cancellation, respectively. Heterochromatic brightness matching was also used for measuring achromatic spectral efficiency. These data were then used to predict spectral saturation based on Hurvich and Jameson's (1957; Psychological Review, 64 , 384–404) opponent colors model. A standard color-naming procedure and a saturation matching technique were used for measures of spectral saturation. The ratio of saturation of short-wave to long-wave lights was found to be less than that predicted by the linear valence model. Allowing for nonlinearity at the opponent site of the yellow-blue channel plus a desaturating signal from the rods provided a good fit between data and theory.
Estrogen and progesterone receptor and hormone levels in human myometrium and placenta in term pregnancy.

Estradiol and progesterone receptors in the myometrium, decidua, placenta, chorion, and amnion of eight women who underwent elective cesarean section at term were determined by means of an exchange assay. The hormone levels in the peripheral plasma and cytosol of these tissues were measured by radioimmunoassays. Maternal plasma and the placenta had high concentrations of estradiol and progesterone, with the placenta having 12 times more progesterone than in maternal plasma but only half the concentrations of estradiol in maternal plasma. The decidua and placenta had detectable levels of cytosol and nuclear estradiol receptors, but the myometrium had no measurable cytosol estradiol receptors, whereas the chorion and amnion had neither cytosol nor nuclear estradiol receptors. However, the chorion and amnion had significantly higher concentrations of estradiol in the cytosol than those in the decidua and myometrium. Only the decidua and myometrium had cytosol and nuclear progesterone receptors, but the placenta, amnion, and chorion had neither cytosol nor nuclear progesterone receptors. In contrast, progesterone hormone levels were significantly higher in the placenta, amnion, and chorion than in the decidua and myometrium. The findings indicate that, in the term pregnant uterus, (1) the placenta, amnion, and chorion are rich in progesterone, estradiol, and nuclear estradiol receptors but have no progesterone receptors, (2) the decidua and myometrium have nuclear estradiol and progesterone receptors, and (3) the myometrium has a higher progesteronelestradiol ratio than that of the peripheral plasma, thus suggesting a highly progesterone-dominated uterus.
Stochastic renewal model of low-flow streamflow sequences

It is shown that runs of low-flow annual streamflow in a coastal semiarid basin of Central California can be adequately modelled by renewal theory. For example, runs of below-median annual streamflows are shown to follow a geometric distribution. The elapsed time between runs of below-median streamflow are geometrically distributed also. The sum of these two independently distributed geometric time variables defines the renewal time elapsing between the initiation of a low-flow run and the next one. The probability distribution of the renewal time is then derived from first principles, ultimately leading to the distribution of the number of low-flow runs in a specified time period, the expected number of low-flow runs, the risk of drought, and other important probabilistic indicators of low-flow. The authors argue that if one identifies drought threat with the occurrence of multiyear low-flow runs, as it is done by water supply managers in the study area, then our renewal model provides a number of interesting results concerning drought threat in areas historically subject to inclement, dry, climate. A 430-year long annual streamflow time series reconstructed by tree-ring analysis serves as the basis for testing our renewal model of low-flow sequences.
Community corrections diversion in Colorado

Abstract Rates of commitment in Colorado counties were examined over time, and a cross-sectional sample of convicted adult offenders was analyzed to determine if offenders are being diverted from incarceration in the State of Colorado. Results vary by county as to whether actual diversion or widening of the net occurs. The end result of the placement process, however, appears to be that diversion from incarceration is taking place for most offenders sentenced into community corrections.
High efficiency introduction of plasmid DNA into glycine treated Enterococcus faecalis by electroporation.

A highly efficient electroporation system for Enterococcus faecalis was developed by systematically optimizing different parameters. One parameter found to be particularly critical for electroporation was cultivation of E. faecalis in medium containing a high glycine concentration, prior to electroporation. Osmotic stabilization of cells with 0.5 M sucrose was also found to be critical during glycine treatment. 106 transformants per microgram of plasmid DNA were consistently obtained within 48 h. Electrocompetent preparations of E. faecalis could be stored at −70° C without loss of competence.
Activation of Phospholipase C Increases Intramembrane Electric Fields in N1E-115 Neuroblastoma Cells

We imaged the intramembrane potential (a combination of transmembrane, surface, and dipole potential) on N1E-115 neuroblastoma cells with a voltage-sensitive dye. After activation of the B2 bradykinin receptor, the electric field sensed by the dye increased by an amount equivalent to a depolarization of 83 mV. The increase in intramembrane potential was blocked by the phospholipase C (PLC) inhibitors U-73122 and neomycin, and was invariably accompanied by a transient rise of (Ca 21 )i. A depolarized inner surface potential, as the membrane loses negative charges via phosphatidylinositol 4,5- bisphosphate (PIP2) hydrolysis, and an increase in the dipole potential, as PIP2 is hydrolyzed to 1,2-diacylglycerol (DAG), can each account for a small portion of the change in intramembrane potential. The primary contribution to the measured change in intramembrane potential may arise from an increased dipole potential, as DAG molecules are generated from hydrolysis of other phospholipids. We found bradykinin produced an inhibition of a M-type voltage-dependent K 1 current (IK(M)). This inhibition was also blocked by the PLC inhibitors and had similar kinetics as the bradykinin-induced modulation of intramembrane potential. Our results suggest that the change in the local intramembrane potential induced by bradykinin may play a role in mediating the IK(M) inhibition.
Effect of Temperature and Salinity on Size at Maturity of Female Blue Crabs

Abstract Otter trawls and gill nets were used to collect 15,517 female blue crabs from nine Texas bay systems during 1984–1987. Carapace width, water temperature, salinity, and maturity stage were recorded for each blue crab. Logistic regression revealed that carapace width, salinity, and temperature were significant predictors of maturity. The logistic model is accurate, correctly predicting maturity stage 92.7% of the time. Probability of maturity increases with increasing carapace width; crabs mature at smaller sizes as temperature and salinity increase. At 25°C, size at 50% maturity is 138 mm at 0‰, 129 mm at 10‰, 121 mm at 20‰, and 112 mm at 30‰. At 20‰ salinity, size at 50% maturity is 139 mm at 10°C, 127 mm at 20°C, and 114 mm at 30°C. Results demonstrate the importance of including environmental factors in estimating and using blue crab life history parameters.
476 HOME PARENTERAL NUTRITION (HPN) IN CHILDREN WITH CROHN'S DISEASE PROMOTES GROWTH AND INDUCES CLINICAL REMISSIONS

Long term HPN in adults may alter the severity of Crohn's disease. To assess such therapy, 16 children, ages 9¼ to 19½ years, received an initial course of HPN averaging 140 days. Disease extent was small bowel-l, large bowel-l or both-14. All were symptomatic in spite of therapy with AzulfidineR (14), steroids (11) and/or previous resections (6). All discontinued drugs once HPN was started. One needed subsequent steroids. 8 are in remission from 45 to 508 days after one HPN course. 6 relapsed within 140 days of the initial course. 3 completed a 2nd course averaging 121 days, with 2 relapsing within 90 days and 1 in remission to 204 days. Of the 9 in remission, only 5 are at >5 months. 1, 3 and 2 respectively have completed an initial, 2nd and 3rd course of HPN. 1 required surgery for a rectal fissure after an initial 122 days of HPN. All gained weight (11¼ kg average), had marked clinical improvement and resumed peer group activities while on HPN. 9 demonstrated “catch up” growth and 4 others had appropriate height increases. Enteric protein loss was reduced after HPN in 2 of 7 patients. Both are in remission >5 months. Complications included catheter removal (1 per 432 days) for sepsis (2), dislodgement (2), subcutaneous leak (1), thrombosis (1) and local infection (1). HPN can be safely used in managing children with severe Crohn's disease and may induce a remission, promote weight gain and growth, and improve social well-being
Carbon black catalyzed olefin isomerization: I. A heterogeneous site model based on rate dependence on catalyst concentration

Abstract The carbon black catalyzed interconversion of 2-methyl-1-pentene and 2-methyl-2-pentene has been studied in slurry in the range 0 to 52.5 °C. The reaction goes to equilibrium with first order reversible kinetics without formation of detectable amounts of other products. The reaction is competitively inhibited by trace amounts of residual water in the partially dried reactant. Poisoning results and deuterium uptake by reactant and product over deuterated catalysts indicate that a range of activity exists for acidic surface groups and that only a fraction of the Bronsted sites are catalytically active. Dependence of the apparent first order rate constant on catalyst concentration has been determined and analyzed rigorously in terms of a proposed mechanism and a heterogeneous site model. The mechanism involves direct protonation of adsorbed olefin and reversible adsorption of water on active sites. The heterogeneous site model consists of an exponential distribution of site activity and preferential adsorption of water on sites of higher activity.
Discrete pdf estimation in the presence of noise

The problem of estimating a pdf from measurements has been widely studied by many researchers. However, most of the work was focused on estimating a probability density function of continuous random variables, especially in the absence of noise. In this paper, we consider a model for representing discrete probability density functions based on multirate dsp models. Using this model, we propose an efficient and stable scheme for pdf estimation when the measurements are corrupted by independent additive noise. This approach makes use of well-known results from multirate dsp theory, especially that of biorthogonal partners. Simulation results are given, which clearly show the advantage of the proposed method.
Updraught characteristics of a Florida thunderstorm

Because of possible significance in understanding lightning, the characteristics of an updraught velocity enhancement observed in a typical Florida thunderstorm are investigated. The most probable explanation of the sudden velocity enhancement is increased buoyancy resulting from the release of latent heat of freezing of supercooled droplets on to rime in the updraught. From information on updraughts in two different cells in the same storm, it is tentatively concluded that enhanced electrical activity, in typical Florida coastal thunderstorm cells, is probably associated with the mechanism of the initial charging of ice particles.
A Quantitative Evaluation of Dissemination-Time Preservation Metadata

One of many challenges facing web preservation efforts is the lack of metadata available for web resources. In prior work, we proposed a model that takes advantage of a site's own web server to prepare its resources for preservation. When responding to a request from an archiving repository, the server applies a series of metadata utilities, such as Jhove and Exif, to the requested resource. The output from each utility is included in the HTTP response along with the resource itself. This paper addresses the question of feasibility: Is it in fact practical to use the site's web server as a just-in-time metadata generator, or does the extra processing create an unacceptable deterioration in server responsiveness to quotidian events? Our tests indicate that (a) this approach can work effectively for both the crawler and the server; and that (b) utility selection is an important factor in overall performance.
Comparative pollen morphology and ultrastructure of the Callitrichaceae.

The Callitrichaceae (water starworts) are an aquatic family of dicots that include the single genus Callitriche. Callitriche contains 40‐50 terrestrial, amphibious, and obligately submersed species (Philbrick and Jansen, 1991). Plants of all species of Callitriche are small, herbaceous, and limp-stemmed. Terrestrial species occur in seasonally wet areas, have prostrate stems that often grow in dense mats, and produce aerial flowers. Plants of amphibious species can grow either terrestrially, with submersed stems that reach to the water surface and produce floating rosettes of leaves, or as completely submersed stems that lack floating leaves. Several amphibious species lack the terrestrial growth form. Some amphibious species can produce flowers on both aerial and submersed stems, whereas others produce only aerial flowers. Obli1
Apparent diffusion coefficient dependent fMRI: Spatiotemporal characteristics and implications on calibrated fMRI

In this manuscript, we review the development of an alternative functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) contrast mechanism based on the apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), in light of the recent progress in other complementary functional imaging contrasts sensitive to cerebral blood flow (CBF) and cerebral blood volume (CBV). Specifically, we discuss the spatial and temporal characteristics of ADC fMRI in localizing neuronal activities, and also draw inference on its potential applicability to achieve fast calibrated fMRI. We found that optimized dynamic ADC contrast can lead to improved spatial localization in small vessel networks close to the true neuronal activities, while having the potential to simultaneously generate the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) and CBF-CBV contrasts required in a calibrated fMRI experiment. With sufficient signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and temporal resolution, fMRI based on thedynamic ADC contrast may prove to be an efficient technique toachieve accurate and quantitative measures of neuronal activities. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol, 20, 42–50, 2010
Oct-6 : a regulator of keratinocyte gene expression in stratified squamous epithelia

Abstract POU domain proteins have been implicated as regulators of differentiation and development, particularly in early embryogenesis and in neural morphogenesis. Given that neural and epidermal lineages originate from a common precursor (ectodermal) cell, we explored the possibility that POU proteins are involved in epidermal differentiation. Using reverse transcription-PCR and degenerate oligonucleotides, we generated several POU domain cDNAs from cultured human epidermal mRNAs. One of these encoded a sequence identical to the rodent Tst-1/SCIP/Oct-6 POU domain. Subsequently, we isolated a cDNA encoding a 45.3-kDa protein with 98% sequence identity to rat Tst-1/SCIP and 94% identity to mouse Oct-6. This protein bound specifically to the canonical octamer motif, warranting its designation as human Oct-6. By RNase protection assays, by PCR, and by immunoblot analysis, Oct-6 was expressed in cultured epidermal keratinocytes. By in situ hybridization, Oct-6 mRNA was detected not only in epidermis but also a variety of other stratified squamous epithelia and with greater signals than testis, the tissue in which this POU protein was originally discovered. Moreover, Oct-6 exerted a marked and specific negative influence on expression of the K5 and K14 genes, abundantly expressed in most dividing stratified squamous epithelial cells and downregulated as cells commit to terminally differentiate. The repressive effect was complex, but it was not observed with Oct-1, nor was it seen with a truncated Oct-6 missing the POU domain. Taken together, our studies suggest that Oct-6 may play an important role in controlling gene expression in stratified squamous epithelia, including epidermis.