cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The effect of visible radiation on the functional life-span of mammalian and avian spermatozoa.

Abstract The immobilizing and lethal effect of visible radiation on mammalian and avian sperm appears to be the result of a photosensitized oxidation (photodynamic action) initiated by an endogenous intracellular pigment acting as a photonacceptor. The action spectrum of the photoimmobilization of bovine sperm reveals maxima at 440, 480, and 550 mμ. Its approximate correspondence with the absorption spectrum of these cells implicates a heme-protein, possibly one of the cytochromes as the photosensitizing agent. Excitation of this intracellular chromophore by light probably results in a triplet sensitizer-oxygen complex, free radical formation and in the induction of a primary lesion presumably in the cytoplasmic portion of the cell. Further evidence for the cytoplasmic localization of the photosensitizer was obtained from the photoinactivation of decapitate but motile and metabolically active sperm tails. Observations on the decline in the fertilizing capacity of irradiated cock sperm and on the inability of the majority of eggs fertilized with irradiated sperm to develop normally suggest that light exposure may indirectly impair the nucleic determinants in the sperm nucleus. That the photodynamic action may involve an autocatalytic reaction is inferred by the time-course of the photoreaction in terms of the decline in motility of sperm during irradiation, and by the observation that even subimmobilizing exposures of sperm to light are sufficient to eventually cause loss of motility followed by cell death, in the dark. The rate of this “dark reaction” is related to the number of quanta captured by the sensitizer. Finally, using visible light as a stressor, and spermatozoa stored in vitro as the biological test sytem, it has been possible to obtain quantitative data which establish a positive correlation between sensitivity to stress (visible radiation) and cell age. This is discussed in reference to theories of cell senescence.
The Thiamine, Riboflavin, Nicotinic Acid and Pantothenic Acid Contents of Mare's Colostrum and Milk and Ascorbic Acid Content of the Milk

Summary Studies were made of the thiamine, riboflavin, nicotinic acid, and pantothenic acid contents of mare's colostrum and milk and of the reduced ascorbic acid content of mare's milk. Mare's colostrum was found to contain an average of 38 μg. of thiamine, 138 μg. of riboflavin, 160 μg. of nicotinic acid and 747 μg. of pantothenic acid per 100 ml. The corresponding values for mare's milk are 16 μg. of thiamine, 40 pig. of riboflavin, 50 μg. of nicotinic acid, and 331 μg. of pantothenic acid per 100 ml. Mare's colostrum contains significantly less thiamine and riboflavin and more pantothenic acid than cow's colostrum. Cow's milk is richer in each of the four vitamins than mare's milk. The average value for reduced ascorbic acid for mare's milk was 11.8 mg. per 100 ml. This is approximately five times greater than the ascorbic acid values found in this laboratory and reported in the literature for cow's milk. Acknowledgment is made to Prances Panzer for assistance with some of the analytical work.
The interconfigurational (4f15d1 → 4f2) luminescence of Pr3+ in LuPO4, K3Lu(PO4)2 and LiLuSiO4

Abstract The room temperature emission spectra of Pr3+ in LuPO4, K3Lu(PO4)2 and LiLuSiO4 is dominated by the interconfigurational (4f15d1 → 4f2) emission transition. The luminescence of Pr3+ activated LuPO4 is characterized by a very small Stokes shift of emission [600 cm−1 (0.07 eV)]. The emission spectrum of Pr3+ activated LiLuSiO4 exhibits weak 4f2 → 4f2 intraconfigurational emission transitions in addition to the 4f15d1 → 4f2 emission transitions. The factors, which are responsible for minimizing the nonradiative relaxation of the Pr3+ 4f15d1 level to the 4f2 levels, are determined from a comparative study of the present data with the data that is available in the archival literature.
Nonlinear Waves and Solitons in Molecular Clouds

We begin a study of nonlinear wave phenomena in molecular clouds. These clouds exhibit highly nonlinear structure that is often described in terms of 'clumps' and 'filaments' which are bouncing around, twisting, and colliding within the cloud. These clouds are important because they ultimately produce the initial conditions for the star formation process. Our motivation is to explore the possibility that solitons (i.e., spatially localized, single-hump wave entities which often exhibit remarkable stability) can live in these molecular clouds and produce their observed structure. In this paper we focus on the case of one spatial dimension, and we show that a rich variety of nonlinear waves can exist in molecular cloud fluid systems (where self-gravity is included). We show that in the absence of magnetic fields no true soliton solutions are allowed, although highly nonlinear waves (whose crests become widely spaced and thus soliton-like) do exist. For clouds with embedded magnetic fields, we derive a model equation which describes the behavior of wave phenomena; this model equation allows solutions which correspond to nonlinear waves, solitons, and topological solitons. We briefly consider the stability of these wave entities and discuss the possible role they play in molecular cloud dynamics.
Are bison exotic in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve?

The effect of past distributions of animal populations now extinct in an area from unknown causes is considered relative to their status as exotic or native in national parks. The example is the bison (Bisonbison) on the Copper and Chitina river drainages in Alaska in the USA which was introduced prior to establishment of Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve. The fossil record suggests that bison were present as recently as 500 years ago in Alaska. The policy of the US National Park Service to maintain natural ecosystems and restrict or eliminate exotic species raises the issue of whether this species should be treated as exotic or native.
Contractions of amphibian Wolffian duct in response to acetylcholine, norepinephrine, and arginine vasotocin.

The regulation of sperm transport through the Wolffian duct of male amphibians is poorly understood. These experiments were conducted using rough-skinned newts (Taricha granulosa) to determine if Wolffian ducts are capable of contracting in vitro and, if so, to characterize the contractile responses to acetylcholine (ACh), norepinephrine (NE), and neurohypophysial hormones. Dose-response curves for NE and ACh, which were prepared by measuring isometric contractions, are similar to those reported for mammalian vas deferens. For NE, the minimum effective dose and ED50 were found to be 1 × 10−5 M and 4.17 × 10 −5 M, respectively. For ACh, the minimum effective dose was 3.2 × 10−8 M and the ED50 was 1.37 × 10−5 M. Alpha-adrenorecep-tors appear to mediate the contractile responses to NE because phentolamine (10 −5 M) blocked or attenuated the response to NE (10−6 M, 10−5 M or 10−4 M). Beta-adrenoreceptors appear to mediate relaxation because dichloroisoproterenol (10 −5 M) enhanced the response to 10−5 M NE. The contractile response to three neurohypophysial hormones were also investigated. Arginine vasotocin was more effective in eliciting contractions than oxytocin. The effect of lysine vasopressin was intermediate between arginine vasotocin and oxytocin. These experiments demonstrate that amphibian (Taricha) Wolffian ducts contract in vitro in response to neurotransmitters and neurohypophysial hormones. The contractile response to neurotransmitters occurs in a dose-dependent manner; the response to neurotransmitters and neurohypophysial hormones is hormone specific.
Application of Optimization Methods to Oilfield Problems: Proved, Probable, Possible

Over the past 10 yr, a large amount of effort has been expended to apply optimization methods to oil-field problems. As computing power, knowhow, and management attitudes have improved, the scope and importance of these efforts have increased. Payoff from these efforts has varied from very large to nil. There appears no guaranteed way to insure payoff, but selecting the right problem and concentrating on it are certainly vital. The pace of development in this area seems to be quickening and is likely to so continue. Future developments seem certain to include (1) more efficient methods for breaking complex problems into pieces and for weaving solutions for pieces into an optimal solution for the whole; (2) more flexible computer systems allowing analysts to tailor-make solution schemes for a particular problem by calling forth selected packaged analytical modules; (3) more realistic approaches to field problems-- particularly greater use of statistics and probability; and (4) much more emphasis on collecting, storing, maintaining, and using data bases to support analytical studies. (112 refs.)
The Crustal Dynamics Data Information System: A Resource to Support Scientific Analysis Using Space Geodesy

Since 1982. the Crustal Dynamics Data Information System (CDDIS) has supported the archive and distribution of geodetic data products acquired by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as well as national and international programs. The CDDIS provides easy, timely, and reliable access to a variety of data sets, products, and information about these data. These measurements. obtained from a global network of nearly 650 instruments at more than 400 distinct sites, include DORIS (Doppler Orbitography and Radiopositioning Integrated by Satellite), GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System), SLR and LLR (Satellite and Lunar Laser Ranging), and VLBI (Very Long Baseline Interferometry). The CDDIS data system and its archive have become increasingly important to many national and international science communities, particularly several of the operational services within the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) and its observing system the Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS), including the International DORIS Service (IDS), the International GNSS Service (IGS). the International Laser Ranging Service (ILRS), the International VLBI Service for Geodesy and Astrometry (IVS). and the International Earth rotation and Reference frame Service (IERS), Investigations resulting from the data and products available through the CDDIS support research in many aspects of Earth system science and global change. Each month, the CDDIS archives more than one million data and derived product files totaling over 90 Gbytes in volume. In turn. the global user community downloads nearly 1.2 TBytes (over 10.5 million files) of data and products from the CDDIS each month. The requirements of analysts have evolved since the start of the CDDIS; the specialized nature of the system accommodates the enhancements required to support diverse data sets and user needs. This paper discusses the CDDIS. including background information about the system and its. user communities. archive contents. available metadata, and future plans.
A modified flow enforcement technique for ATM networks

In ATM networks the requirement of providing the negotiated Quality of Service (QOS) needs an efficient flow enforcement technique that will result in preventive congestion control. A very effective technique is the Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) method. In this paper, we have suggested improvements to the EWMA and call it the Enhanced EWMA (EEWMA). Simulation results show that the EEWMA is consistently better than the EWMA in most of the situations. We present comparisons of cell loss under various conditions. No theoretical analysis is presented.
Host–parasitoid spatial ecology: a plea for a landscape-level synthesis

A growing body of literature points to a large-scale research approach as essential for understanding population and community ecology. Many of our advances regarding the spatial ecology of predators and prey can be attributed to research with insect parasitoids and their hosts. In this review, we focus on the progress that has been made in the study of the movement and population dynamics of hosts and their parasitoids in heterogeneous landscapes, and how this research approach may be beneficial to pest management programs. To date, few studies have quantified prey and predator rates and ranges of dispersal and population dynamics at the patch level—the minimum of information needed to characterize population structure. From host–parasitoid studies with sufficient data, it is clear that the spatial scale of dispersal can differ significantly between a prey and its predators, local prey extinctions can be attributed to predators and predator extinction risk at the patch level often exceeds that of the prey. It is also evident that populations can be organized as a single, highly connected (patchy) population or as semi-independent extinction-prone local populations that collectively form a persistent metapopulation. A prey and its predators can also differ in population structure. At the landscape level, agricultural studies indicate that predator effects on its prey often spill over between the crop and surrounding area (matrix) and can depend strongly on landscape structure (e.g. the proportion of suitable habitat) at scales extending well beyond the crop margins. In light of existing empirical data, predator–prey models are typically spatially unrealistic, lacking important details on boundary responses and movement behaviour within and among patches. The tools exist for conducting empirical and theoretical research at the landscape level and we hope that this review calls attention to fertile areas for future exploration.
electronic system for utilization of satellite cloud pictures

Abstract An electronic system to study ATS photographs is described. Cloud pictures are scanned by a TV camera which inputs cloud data onto memory discs from which the data can be recalled and displayed on a cathode-ray tube. Display options include time-lapse, variable magnification and frame-to-frame differencing. Electronic cursors permit digital readout of displacements of identifiable cloud elements. Data handling techniques and the computer-data process for this system are described.
Novel male-biased expression in paralogs of the aphid slimfast nutrient amino acid transporter expansion

A major goal of molecular evolutionary biology is to understand the fate and consequences of duplicated genes. In this context, aphids are intriguing because the newly sequenced pea aphid genome harbors an extraordinary number of lineage-specific gene duplications relative to other insect genomes. Though many of their duplicated genes may be involved in their complex life cycle, duplications in nutrient amino acid transporters appear to be associated rather with their essential amino acid poor diet and the intracellular symbiosis aphids rely on to compensate for dietary deficits. Past work has shown that some duplicated amino acid transporters are highly expressed in the specialized cells housing the symbionts, including a paralog of an aphid-specific expansion homologous to the Drosophila gene slimfast. Previous data provide evidence that these bacteriocyte-expressed transporters mediate amino acid exchange between aphids and their symbionts. We report that some nutrient amino acid transporters show male-biased expression. Male-biased expression characterizes three paralogs in the aphid-specific slimfast expansion, and the male-biased expression is conserved across two aphid species for at least two paralogs. One of the male-biased paralogs has additionally experienced an accelerated rate of non-synonymous substitutions. This is the first study to document male-biased slimfast expression. Our data suggest that the male-biased aphid slimfast paralogs diverged from their ancestral function to fill a functional role in males. Furthermore, our results provide evidence that members of the slimfast expansion are maintained in the aphid genome not only for the previously hypothesized role in mediating amino acid exchange between the symbiotic partners, but also for sex-specific roles.
Design and modeling of a high f T and f max heterojunction bipolar transistor

This work presents an InGaAs/InP heterojunction bipolar transistor design aiming at lowering the transit time in the collector region by controlling and reducing the high field region in the structure, thus giving very high mobility in the collector region and a high fT for a given lateral size.
Emulsion Polymerization Process for Organically Soluble and Electrically Conducting Polyaniline

An emulsion process has been developed for the direct synthesis of the emeraldine salt of polyaniline (PANI) that is soluble in organic solvents. The process entails formation of emulsion particles with a mean hydrodynamic diameter of 150 nm and consisting of a water-soluble organic solvent (e.g., 2-butoxyethanol), a water-insoluble organic acid (e.g., dinonylnaphthalenesulfonic acid), aniline, and water. Aniline is protonated by the organic acid to form a salt which partitions into the organic phase. As oxidant (ammonium peroxydisulfate) is added to the reaction mixture, PANI intermediates are formed in the organic phase. As the reaction proceeds, the emulsion flocculates, forming a two-phase system. The reaction features an induction period followed by an exothermic polymerization, at which time soluble PANI forms in the organic phase. The reaction progress is conveniently monitored by temperature, pH, and open circuit potential. When dinonylnaphthalenesulfonic acid (DNNSA) is employed as the organic ac...
Changing men's male gender-role attitudes by applying the elaboration likelihood model of attitude change

The traditional male gender role has been associated with a host of psychological and physical problems. In this study, 118 male university students viewed one of two videotaped interventions based on R. E. Petty and J. T. Cacioppo's [(1986) Communication and Persuasion: Central and Peripheral Routes to Attitude Change, New York: Springer-Verlag) elaboration likelihood model of attitude change (ELM) or were in a control group. One intervention was designed to create less traditional male gender-role attitudes, the other to enhance participants' attitudes toward seeking psychological help. Both interventions significantly changed male gender-role attitudes on Brannon Masculinity Scale scores, but not their Gender Role Conflict Scale—I scores, and neither influenced help-seeking attitudes. The overall pattern of scores suggests that men's attitudes about the male role may be less resistant to change than attitudes about one's own gender role or one's fear of femininity.
The estimation of aloin in pharmaceuticals

A polarographic method for determination of aloin in pharmaceuticals has been applied to seven commercial preparations.
Inka settlement planning

prehistory and noted many of the problems that still confront us (Shimada 1990). I would like to extend his comments by focusing on the state of research on Inca culture, using two recent books as examples of the progress we are making in understanding this contact-period culture. Research on Inca culture has been grounded in the perspectives of several disciplines, most notably archaeology, ethnohistory, and the history of art and architecture. Such interdisciplinary examination is essential to the study of an expansionist culture that left abundant material remains, but no written record, and whose expansion was cut short by an encounter with a European culture that successfully enforced its own imperial agenda. The close ties between archaeology and ethnohistory are perhaps most graphically noted by the observation that the first archaeological reports that we have for several important Inca sites were written early in the 17th century by the Jesuit, Bernabe Cobo, and are incorporated in an account that constitutes one of our most important ethnohistorical sources on the Incas (see Rowe, in Cobo 1990: viii). Ethnohistorical documents--contact-period histories, early eyewitness accounts, and Colonial legal documentshave been fundamental to archaeologists' attempts to put flesh on old bones. Historians with the requisite paleographic skills and access to archival materials have transcribed and evaluated a number of important documents; among them are Maria Rostworowski (1962, 1977, 1988), Waldemar Espinoza Soriano (1974, 1987; Didz de San Miguel 1964), Horacio Villanueva Urteaga (1970), and Maria del Carmen Martin Rubio (Betanzos 1987). The work of these and other historians has made it
Correlation of ovarian abnormalities in young golden hamsters with blood estrogen content.

The possibility that the incidence of polyovular follicles and multinucleate ova may depend upon hormonal balance, in the hamster, has been investigated with respect to circulating estrogens. Samples were drawn at weekly intervals from the third through the seventh week of age. An inverse correlation was found to exist. Total blood estrogen decreased from day 21 to day 35, then increased through day 49. Polyovular follicles are most numerous at day 35 while multinucleate ova are most numerous on day 42. Non-polar estrogen decreased from day 21, achieving a low 28 day level which was maintained throughout the study period. More polar estrogens dropped to the thirty-fifth day and rose by the forty-ninth day. The limiting factor in the decrease of more active polar estrogens may be lack of conversion of non-polar to polar estrogens or a tendency toward rapid degradation and loss of polar estrogens. The role of the fluctuating estrogen titres in the development of ovarian abnormalities is discussed.
Capital Controls, Political Institutions, and Economic Growth: A Panel and Cross Country Analysis

Statistical studies on the effects of capital controls on growth have generally yielded insignificant results. In this paper, we show that capital controls negatively affect growth in authoritarian countries, while growth in democratic countries is insignificantly affected. We also show that the adverse effects of capital controls likely pass through the efficiency of investment. Our findings suggest that policy makers should take careful account of the political context when considering the decision to impose capital controls.
Semantic Priming Effects, Lexical Repetition Effects, and Contextual Disambiguation Effects in Healthy Aged Individuals and Individuals with Senile Dementia of the Alzheimer Type

An experiment is reported that addresses semantic priming effects, lexical repetition effects, and the influence of context on meaning selection for ambiguous words in 32 healthy aged individuals and 32 individuals with Senile Dementia of the Alzheimer Type (SDAT). On each of 232 trials, subjects pronounced each of three words. The four major conditions were concordant (music-organ-piano), discordant (kidney-organ-piano), neutral (ceiling-organ-piano), and unrelated (kidney-ceiling-piano). In order to address lexical repetition effects, target words were repeated across Blocks 1 and 2 but not in Block 3. Analyses of naming latencies indicated that semantic priming effects and lexical repetition effects were slightly larger in SDAT individuals than in healthy aged individuals. More importantly, healthy aged individuals produced normal selective access of the contextually biased meaning whereas SDAT individuals produced evidence consistent with nonselective meaning access. These results are discussed within both an attentional and a connectionist account of homograph disambiguation.
FcγRII-mediated Adhesion and Phagocytosis Induce L-Plastin Phosphorylation in Human Neutrophils

Abstract L-Plastin is a calcium-regulated actin bundling protein expressed in leukocytes and some transformed cells, which is phosphorylated on serine in response to several different leukocyte-activating stimuli. Adhesion to immune complexes induced L-plastin phosphorylation in neutrophils, as did phagocytosis of IgG-opsonized particles, but insoluble immune complexes in suspension were very inefficient activators of L-plastin phosphorylation. Neutrophils express two IgG Fc receptors, the transmembrane FcγRII and the glycan phosphoinositol-linked FcγRIIIB. Use of monoclonal antibodies that distinguished the two Fc receptors demonstrated that FcγRII ligation was 100-fold more potent at signaling L-plastin phosphorylation than occupancy of FcγRIIIB. Depletion of intracellular calcium did not affect FcγRII-activated L-plastin phosphorylation, demonstrating that any potential regulation of plastin function by calcium did not affect its phosphorylation. Adhesion to immune complexes caused L-plastin to localize to podosomes, since it colocalized with actin to discrete, punctate Triton X-100-insoluble sites on the adherent neutrophil surface in a pattern indistinguishable from vinculin and α-actinin. Nonetheless, localization to podosomes was not required for L-plastin phosphorylation, since both neutrophils from a patient with leukocyte adhesion deficiency (CD18 deficiency) and neutrophils treated with anti-CD18 F(ab′)2, which do not form podosomes upon adhesion to immune complexes, phosphorylated L-plastin normally. Indeed, L-plastin was normally phosphorylated in response to adhesion to immune complexes even when the actin cytoskeleton was disrupted with cytochalasin D. We conclude that efficient FcγRII-mediated phosphorylation of L-plastin requires cell adhesion but does not require IgG-induced rearrangements of the actin cytoskeleton. These data suggest a model in which plastin phosphorylation and localization to the actin cytoskeleton can act as two distinct mechanisms regulating L-plastin functions in neutrophils adherent to immune complexes.
Endothelium-independent, ouabain-sensitive relaxation of bovine coronary arteries by EETs

Endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF) is released in response to agonists such as ACh and bradykinin and regulates vascular smooth muscle tone. Several studies have indicated that ouaba...
Optimal parallel-hole collimation for lesion detection and activity estimation in Ga-67 imaging

Gallium-67 plays an important role in the field of nuclear medicine, in particular for evaluation and staging of lymphoma patients. However, optimal collimation has not yet been designed specifically for this radionuclide. Instead, most nuclear medicine clinics use generic, medium-energy (ME) collimators which may be suboptimal for Ga-67. Collimator-design methods based on empirical rules, such as specification of an allowable level of single-septal penetration (SSP) at a fixed energy, are especially inappropriate for Ga-67, which is characterized by an abundance of high-energy contaminant photons that scatter in the patient, collimator, and/or detector, and ire then detected within one of the three energy windows (93, 185, 300 keV) normally used for imaging. Furthermore, lead X-rays produced in the collimator represent another significant source of contamination in the 93-keV window. We have optimized the design of collimation tailored for Ga-67 imaging, based on relevant clinical imaging tasks and a realistic simulation of photon transport in a phantom, collimator, and detector. Collimator designs were compared on the basis of performance in lesion defection, as predicted by a three-channel Hotelling observer (CHO), as well as in tumor and background activity estimation (EST), by computing task-specific signal-to-noise ratios (SNR). For each collimator design and task, SNR values were averaged over five spherical lesion sizes (1-3 cm diam.) at each of five locations within a 45-cm-diameter low-activity background cylinder containing a 10-cm-diameter spherical 'organ' with a higher activity concentration. The optimal values of collimator lead content were 22.0 and 23.8 g/cm/sup 2/, respectively, for CHO and EST, while the optimal geometric resolution values at 23.5 cm were 1.8 and 1.6 cm FWHM, respectively. The resolution of a commercially available ME low-penetration collimator is 1.9 cm at this distance. The CHO, EST, and commercial collimators would allow, respectively, 7.3%, 5.8%, and 5.2% SSP at 300 keV.
Caching strategies in transcoding-enabled proxy systems for streaming media distribution networks

With the wide availability of high-speed network access, we are experiencing high quality streaming media delivery over the Internet. The emergence of ubiquitous computing enables mobile users to access the Internet with their laptops, PDAs, or even cell phones. When nomadic users connect to the network via wireless links or phone lines, high quality video transfer can be problematic due to long delay or size mismatch between the application display and the screen. Our proposed solution to this problem is to enable network proxies with the transcoding capability, and hence provide different, appropriate video quality to different network environment. The proxies in our transcoding-enabled caching (TeC) system perform transcoding as well as caching for efficient rich media delivery to heterogeneous network users. This design choice allows us to perform content adaptation at the network edges. We propose three different TeC caching strategies. We describe each algorithm and discuss its merits and shortcomings. We also study how the user access pattern affects the performance of TeC caching algorithms and compare them with other approaches. We evaluate TeC performance by conducting two types of simulation. Our first experiment uses synthesized traces while the other uses real traces derived from an enterprise media server logs. The results indicate that compared with the traditional network caches, with marginal transcoding load, TeC improves the cache effectiveness, decreases the user-perceived latency, and reduces the traffic between the proxy and the content origin server.
EFFECTS OF ELECTRIC-SHOCK DELIVERY ON SCHEDULE-INDUCED WATER INTAKE: DELAY OF SHOCK, SHOCK INTENSITY, AND BODY-WEIGHT LOSS

In each of four experiments, schedule-induced water intake in the rat was studied under fixed-time 40-sec food delivery. Experiments I and II studied the temporal relationship between response-independent electric-shock delivery and licking. Shock was delivered under a variable-time 60-sec schedule. A lick-dependent delay was imposed so that licking and shock delivery were systematically separated in time by a minimum of 1 to 15 sec. Over a wide range of shock intensities the data failed to reveal a consistent delay-of-shock effect. Similar shock intensities led to similar reduction of water intake at each delay of shock interval. Experiments III and IV studied the effects of body-weight loss on water intake during independent shock delivery. In Experiment III, shock was delivered under variable-time 60-sec with a minimum separation between shock and licking of 5 sec. In Experiment IV, shock was delivered under variable-time 180-sec. The minimum separation between shock and licking was 10 sec. In each study, the resistance of water intake to suppression by shock delivery increased as the degree of body-weight loss increased. Schedule-induced water intake was affected more by shock when the animal was maintained at 90% of free-feeding weight than at 70%.
Apology as Power Intervention: The Case of News of the World

This essay analyzes, via the Rhetoric of Social Intervention (RSI) model, Rupert Murdoch's attempts to maintain a cooperative relationship with the British public despite his news organization's power-code violations. It finds that Murdoch's apologies failed to prevent a relational shift because they failed to account for power code. Also, the lateness of the Murdoch executives’ recognition of their social-system interdependency encouraged relational change. This essay contends that apology is part of a social-system dynamic in which interveners negotiate adherence to or change in the power code that underlies power-sharing systems created to meet symbolically constructed needs. In addition, the findings help clarify and support the RSI assumption that interventions involve multiple interconnected interveners, who, in their ongoing, simultaneous efforts, communicatively promote and impede social change and continuity. However, this study is limited by its emphasis on power intervention. Future studies sho...
The utilization of a mobile computing environment in undergraduate education

The use of computers is ubiquitous in today's business communities, and is becoming so in education. However, this increased use has led to more problems for financially strapped educational institutions through the ever increasing demand for space and the continuous obsolescence of equipment. It is obviously time to think of student ownership as a means to meet demands for computer use, as casts of individual machines are falling below charges passed on by educational institutions. The paper presents a proposal for student ownership of laptop computers and networking through wireless communication as the environment of choice.
The Effects of Conflicting Information on Creative Thought: A Source of Performance Improvements or Decrements?

Creative problem-solving is, more often than not, studied as an isolated phenomenon. In real-world settings, however, events occur as people seek to generate creative problem solutions—some of which might contribute to and some of which might inhibit creative thought. The present study examined the effects of presenting conflicting information. The conflicting information presented was varied with respect to manner of presentation (either abstract versus specific) and content (either goals versus causes). This conflicting information was introduced at different points as 245 undergraduates worked on a marketing problem calling for creative thought. It was found that presentation of conflicting information, especially early presentation of conflicting information, resulted in decreased performance. The implications of these findings for understanding creative thought are discussed.
A Direct Methanol Alkaline Fuel Cell Based on Poly(phenylene) Anion Exchange Membranes

The Investigation of the performance of poly(phenylene) based anion exchange membranes (AEMs) in a direct methanol fuel cell is reported. The fuel cell performances were tested with different anode gas diffusion layers as a function of concentrations of fuel and electrolyte using two commercially available platinum catalysts supported on carbon. Normalized current density values demonstrated goodperformanceforapoly(phenylene)AEM,with acationconsisting ofsixmethylenespacers attachedto atrimethyl ammonium group, with a maximum current density of 11.8 mA cm−2 mg−1 in a KOH free fuel. The platinum catalyst (46%) from Tanaka showed a better performance (10.4 mA cm −2 mg −1 ) compared to the platinum catalyst from E-TEK (5.1 mA cm −2 mg −1 )i n 1M methanol fuel feed under identical conditions. We observed that the MEA with a Zoltek gas diffusion layer on the anode showed the best performance (226 mA cm −2 and 53.8 mW cm −2 ) in the presence of KOH, suggesting that a hydrophilic gas diffusion layer plays a significant role in improving the fuel cell performance. A durability test for a MEA in 1M methanol and 1M KOH for 67 h showed an overall degradation rate of 400 μ Vh −1 . © The Author(s) 2014. Published by ECS. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (CC BY, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted reuse of the work in any
Optical carrier phase recovery and locking in a Pulse-Position Modulation communication link

We have demonstrated optical phase recovery from a Pulse-Position Modulated (PPM) laser beam. Our goal is to develop and validate a laser communication and ranging method that utilizes optical coherence within the well-established scheme of PPM with photon-counting detection. Recovery of the carrier phase within optical PPM signals will enable precision Doppler tracking and ranging at optical wavelengths, benefitting spacecraft navigation and scientific measurements based on the propagation of light signals. It also has direct implications for ideal quantum-limited optical communication receivers.
Evolving a 24-hr oscillator in budding yeast

We asked how a new, complex trait evolves by selecting for diurnal oscillations in the budding yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We expressed yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) from a yeast promoter and selected for a regular alternation between low and high fluorescence over a 24-hr period. This selection produced changes in cell adhesion rather than YFP expression: clonal populations oscillated between single cells and multicellular clumps. The oscillations are not a response to environmental cues and continue for at least three cycles in a constant environment. We identified eight putative causative mutations in one clone and recreated the evolved phenotype in the ancestral strain. The mutated genes lack obvious relationships to each other, but multiple lineages change from the haploid to the diploid pattern of gene expression. We show that a novel, complex phenotype can evolve by small sets of mutations in genes whose molecular functions appear to be unrelated to each other.
COSOLVENT EFFECTS ON SORPTION AND MOBILITY OF ORGANIC CONTAMINANTS IN SOILS

Abstract Batch equilibrium and column miscible displacement techniques were used to investigate the influence of an organic cosolvent (methanol) on the sorption and transport of three hydrophobic organic chemicals (HOCs) — naphthalene, phenanthrene, and diuron herbicide — in a sandy surface soil (Eustis fine sand). Equilibrium sorption constant (K) values calculated from batch and column data exhibited an inverse log-linear dependence on the volume fraction (fc) of methanol in the mixed solvent. The slope of the log-linear plot was approximately equal to the logarithm of the ratio of the HOC solubilities in neat cosolvent and water. K values obtained from breakthrough curves (BTCs) were comparable to those estimated from equilibrium sorption isotherms. Long-term exposure to methanol-water mixtures had little effect on sorption and transport properties of the soil, but column retardation factors were influenced by the short-term solvent exposure history prior to solute elution.
The Influence of Anger Expression on Wound Healing

Certain patterns of anger expression have been associated with maladaptive alterations in cortisol secretion, immune functioning, and surgical recovery. We hypothesized that outward and inward anger expression and lack of anger control would be associated with delayed wound healing. A sample of 98 community-dwelling participants received standardized blister wounds on their non-dominant forearm. After blistering, the wounds were monitored daily for 8 days to assess speed of repair. Logistic regression was used to distinguish fast and slow healers based on their anger expression pattern. Individuals exhibiting lower levels of anger control were more likely to be categorized as slow healers. The anger control variable predicted wound repair over and above differences in hostility, negative affectivity, social support, and health behaviors. Furthermore, participants with lower levels of anger control exhibited higher cortisol reactivity during the blistering procedure. This enhanced cortisol secretion was in turn related to longer time to heal. These findings suggest that the ability to regulate the expression of one's anger has a clinically relevant impact on wound healing.
Student team projects in a beat transfer laboratory a review of the past and future directions

During recent years, the faculty of the School of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University has incorporated important changes into its undergraduate curriculum so as to produce engineers ready to meet challenges in the real world. The heat transfer laboratory program has been bifurcated into two parts that compliment one another quite well. The first part consists of a few skill- building experiments that help students to learn methodologies and instrumentation, as well as to assimilate fundamental concepts and acquire capability to model/evaluate thermal systems. The second part of the laboratory work consists of a team project, which provides students an opportunity to integrate their knowledge from current and prior courses to solve open-ended thermal science problems. The pragmatic nature of many of these team projects has attracted industrial collaborators into the program. These collaborators have provided products, and in some cases engineering-staff time, to ensure the success of "need-to-know" type industrial projects. Modification of the "traditional" heat transfer laboratory activity within the curriculum has been observed to increase student motivation towards the subject material of the course. During this activity, student teams accrue experience that is extremely valuable to their overall development as engineers. Efforts to sustain and improve the program to keep pace with the changing needs of modern day industry are addressed. Important changes required to enhance future success are also discussed.
Does nitrogen become limiting under high‐P conditions in detritus‐based tropical streams?

Summary 1. We examined effects of nutrients on leaf breakdown in interior forest streams at La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica. We tested the hypothesis that dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) becomes limiting when ambient phosphorus (P) concentration is high. We also compared the breakdown of relatively ‘low quality’ leaves (lower C : N, Trema integerrima) with that of ‘higher quality’ leaves (higher C : N, Ficus insipida) in a high-P stream. 2. Litterbags were incubated in two streams: one enriched experimentally with P [target concentration 200 μg soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) L−1] and one control (naturally low P concentration approximately 10 μg SRP L−1). Ammonium enrichment was achieved by adding fertiliser upstream of half of the litterbags in each stream. 3. Phosphorus addition stimulated leaf breakdown, microbial respiration, ergosterol and leaf %P. Leaf breakdown rate was consistent with those in La Selva streams with naturally high P concentration. 4. Nitrogen (N) addition had no effect on leaf breakdown, microbial respiration, ergosterol or leaf chemistry in either the P-enriched or the reference stream, in spite of low N : P ratios. We conclude that N is probably not limiting in streams at La Selva that are naturally high in P. This may be due to moderately high ambient N concentration (>200 μg DIN L−1) prevailing throughout the year. 5. The species with a lower C : N decomposed more rapidly and supported higher microbial activity than that with a higher C : N. Subtle differences in leaf N content, as well as dissolved P concentration, may be important in determining microbial colonisation and subsequent leaf breakdown.
Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: A Network of Underground Players in the Midwest

Trafficking of domestically born children in the United States into the sex trade has been recognized by the U.S. government under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2005. The Midwest has been exposed as a recruitment site for traffickers. Children who have been trafficked into prostitution often experience mental health problems, suffer physical and sexual assaults, have low self-esteem, and are put at risk for HIV/AIDS and other health problems. This article is based on qualitative interviews with 13 trafficked children from the Midwest. Findings reveal the experiences of victims and the network of players involved in trafficking in the Midwest.
Constrained physical therapist practice: an ethical case analysis of recommending discharge placement from the acute care setting.

Background and Purpose Constrained practice is routinely encountered by physical therapists and may limit the physical therapist's primary moral responsibility—which is to help the patient to become well again. Ethical practice under such conditions requires a certain moral character of the practitioner. The purposes of this article are: (1) to provide an ethical analysis of a typical patient case of constrained clinical practice, (2) to discuss the moral implications of constrained clinical practice, and (3) to identify key moral principles and virtues fostering ethical physical therapist practice. Case The case represents a common scenario of discharge planning in acute care health facilities in the northeastern United States. Methods An applied ethics approach was used for case analysis. Results The decision following analysis of the dilemma was to provide the needed care to the patient as required by compassion, professional ethical standards, and organizational mission. Discussion and Conclusions Constrained clinical practice creates a moral dilemma for physical therapists. Being responsive to the patient's needs moves the physical therapist's practice toward the professional ideal of helping vulnerable patients become well again. Meeting the patient's needs is a professional requirement of the physical therapist as moral agent. Acting otherwise requires an alternative position be ethically justified based on systematic analysis of a particular case. Skepticism of status quo practices is required to modify conventional individual, organizational, and societal practices toward meeting the patient's best interest.
Programmable logic controller based embedded quadratic programming for input-constrained internal model control

advanced control algorithms such as optimization-based controls are known to offer superior performance as well as systematic constraints handling when compared to classical control strategies. However, the complexity of such advanced control methods makes their implementations difficult, especially on controllers with limited computational capacity such as the programmable logic controllers (PLC). This paper presents the capability of a low-cost low-end PLC for online computation of advanced control. In particular, an online quadratic program within the framework of input-constrained internal model control is implemented, and the effectiveness is illustrated using a hardware-in-the-loop experiment.
Pain Assessment and the Mental Health Practitioner: A Mind-Body Approach

Pain is the most common reason individuals visit physi- cians, yet medical doctors are often inadequately trained in pain assessment. Furthermore, pain is increasinglyviewed as having significant affective and cognitive components necessitating a biopsychosocial approach. The role of the mental health practitioner is essential in amind-body approach to pain assessment. In addition, issues arising in special populations, such as children and the elderly, require special attention.
Data-driven logic synthesizer for acceleration of Forward propagation in artificial neural networks

We present a tool for automatically generating efficient feed-forward logic for hardware acceleration of artificial neural networks (ANNs). It produces circuitry in the form of synthesizable Verilog code that is optimized based on analyzing training data to minimize the numbers of bits in weights and values, thereby minimizing the number of logic gates in ANN components such as adders and multipliers. For an optimized ANN, different implementation topologies can be generated, including fully pipelined and simple state machines. Additional insights about hardware acceleration for neural networks are also presented. We show the impact of reducing precision relative to floating point and present area, power, delay, throughput, and energy estimates by circuit synthesis.
Input/Output Properties

Consider an idealization of a point mass in the presence of an inverse square force field −k/r 2.