cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tuition discounting: theory and evidence

Abstract It is frequently assumed that rising enrollment improves an institution's financial condition. In fact, enrollment growth can have an adverse impact on the institution's financial condition, even in the presence of excess capacity. The reason for this surprising conclusion is that the size of the subsidy required to attract additional students may cause the net financial impact to be negative. In the past two decades, private institutions have been very aggressive in their competition for gifted students. Administrators and their governing boards should carefully review their tuition discounting policies, since conventional wisdom may be misleading. This paper contains a theoretical discussion of tuition discounting policies and it explores how the marginal benefit, net of the marginal cost of increased enrollment, varies across public/private institutions and across institutions with different missions.
Electron microscopy of rotary shadowed vinculin and vinculin complexes.

Abstract Chicken gizzard smooth muscle vinculin, purified according to the method of Feramisco & Burridge (1980), was examined by rotary shadowing and electron microscopy. Individual vinculin molecules have two domains: a globular head with a diameter of 8.0 nm, and a tail 20 nm long. In high salt, vinculin self-associates into multimers containing two to six individual molecules. These molecules associate head to head and tail to tail, but the tail to tail association appears to be favored. Electron microscopy of the ~100,000 Mr major fragment of vinculin was performed. The tail region appeared to be cleaved off, making the head region less compact.
The emergence and regulation of contingent commitment banking

Abstract In but a relatively few years banking has changed considerably. Now it is very much a business of making contingent promises or commitments; and even just a decade ago it was not. Recognizing change is apparently easier, though, than accounting for it. Or than not worrying about it. In this paper, an attempt is made to account for the change from traditional to contingent commitment banking, an attempt which must, however, be regarded as less than brilliantly successful. And responding to the concern that has been expressed by, among others, Federal Reserve officials, it is argued that even if banking keeps on changing until the last vestige of the traditional has disappeared, the Federal Reserve need not in the end be less effective as the U.S. monetary authority than it is at present. There is also a concern, shared by some Federal Reserve officials, that if change persists, then, unless bank regulatory policy is altered appropriately, financial stability will be increasingly threatened. That could be, but as is argued in the paper it is far from obvious that more capital (and/or a risk-adjusted capital requirement) will make bank failures rarer than they otherwise would be.
A global, single-input-multi-output (SIMO) implementation of the algorithm of mode isolation and application to analytical and experimental data

Abstract This work presents a global, single-input–multi-output (SIMO) extension of the algorithm of mode isolation (AMI) in which the frequency response functions (FRFs) from all measurement points are considered simultaneously, resulting in global estimates for natural frequencies and damping ratios, and consistent mode vectors. This allows a large number of response points to be processed quickly and with minimal user interaction and makes determining the number of modes active in a frequency band easier than with a SISO algorithm. To achieve a global, SIMO AMI algorithm, a fast new linear-least-squares, frequency domain, global, SIMO (or common denominator MIMO), multi-degree of freedom (MDOF) fitting algorithm, similar to the LSCF algorithm is derived and implemented in AMI. This implementation of AMI is then compared with the stochastic subspace identification algorithm (SSI) on noise contaminated analytical data. Some practical issues in applying the SSI algorithm are discussed. Monte Carlo simulations are used to compare the natural frequencies and damping ratios found by AMI and SSI for noise contaminated, synthetic data for a frame structure. The results for the analytical structure also illustrate the difficulty in processing data from a structure having modes with a large range of decay rates. Finally, application to data from the Z24 highway bridge in Switzerland demonstrates the speed and flexibility of the algorithm, and validates its performance on experimental data.
Activity for ethane hydrogenolysis and carbon gasification of highly-dispersed metallic iron catalysts

Abstract The catalytic activities of graphite-, carbon black-, alumina-, and silica-supported metallic iron catalysts for the hydrogenolysis of ethane were measured. Turnover frequencies varied over a range of three orders of magnitude. Carbon black-supported catalysts prepared from ferric nitrate had higher activities than carbon black-supported catalysts prepared from Fe3(CO) 12 , the latter having been shown to have more spherical and possibly more widely separated metallic iron particles within the pore structure of the carbon black support. The low catalytic activity of the cluster-derived catalyst may be due to the spherical morphology of the iron particles, giving rise to highly unsaturated iron surface atoms and altering the nature of the catalytic ensembles present, or to a partial coverage of the iron surface by carbon from the support. The iron carbonyl-derived catalyst was also inactive for support gasification in hydrogen, while the conventionally-prepared catalyst almost completely gasified the carbon support during treatment in hydrogen at 773 K for 2 h.
Creating a virtual branch library to serve a remote campus

Purpose – Aims to present an overview of the implementation of library services to a distinct user population.Design/methodology/approach – Presents a review of the decision‐making process behind the development of services to support a new remote campus at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.Findings – Provides the rationale behind the decisions that were made regarding the branch library web page. Recognizes the need for continuous assessment and revision of procedures and the web page.Originality/value – This paper provides a practical look at creating a virtual library in a paperless environment.
Measuring Changes in Tactile Sensitivity in the Hind Paw of Mice Using an Electronic von Frey Apparatus

Measuring inflammation-induced changes in thresholds of hind paw withdrawal from mechanical pressure is a useful technique to assess changes in pain perception in rodents. Withdrawal thresholds can be measured first at baseline and then following drug, venom, injury, allergen, or otherwise evoked inflammation by applying an accurate force on very specific areas of the skin. An electronic von Frey apparatus allows precise assessment of mouse hind paw withdrawal thresholds that are not limited by the available filament sizes in contrast to classical von Frey measurements. The ease and rapidity of measurements allow for incorporation of assessment of tactile sensitivity outcomes in diverse models of rapid-onset inflammatory and neuropathic pain as multiple measurements can be taken within a short time period. Experimental measurements for individual rodent subjects can be internally controlled against individual baseline responses and exclusion criteria easily established to standardize baseline responses within and across experimental groups. Thus, measurements using an electronic von Frey apparatus represent a useful modification of the well-established classical von Frey filament-based assays for rodent mechanical allodynia that may also be applied to other nonhuman mammalian models.
Development of New Finite Element by Source Method

A new Finite Element by Source method (FES) is developed by the authors. FES which has flexible geometrical shape is composed by nodes distributed on the element boundary and sources distributed out of the element boundary. The relation between the density of sources and the boundary condition at the nodes is obtained from the combination of the fundamental solution such as Kelvin's solution for static elastic structural problems.According to this procedure, we can perform numerical analysis dealing with complex configured structures such as ship with further less mesh comparing to the traditional Finite Element Method and we can obtain more accurate results.This paper describes a fundamental theory and formulation of FES. Some examples for static elastic structural problem using 2D plane stress FES and 3D solid FES are also presented in this paper comparing to the theoretical solution or numerical results by using traditional FEM.
Bald Cypress: endangered or expanding species?

Bald cypress [ Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich. ] has been highly prized for lumber since colonial times especially in the southeastern United States. By the early 1900's, expansion of railway facilities had helped greatly to widen the market for cypress lumber. Production peaked in 1913, when more than one billion board feet were milled (3). As large tracts of old growth were depleted, output gradually declined. It still totaled in excess of 400 million board feet in 1940, but dwindled rapidly after World War II. In 1954, the last year for which the Bureau of the Census issued such data, sawmills cut 240 million board feet (1). At present, only a handful of mills reportedly use cypress. Today the view is widely accepted that the cut-over cypress forests in the southeastern United States are not reproducing naturally (5). Is cypress really an endangered species? Exactly what is the status of our present resources? Can the species be restored to economic significance? These questions are at least partially answered by the present analysis. The data are from statistically designed timber resource surveys made by the United States Forest Service on a state-bystate basis at periodic intervals. In the southeastern United States the interval is about 10 years. Each statewide survey is planned to achieve sampling errors of no greater than plus or minus 5% per billion
Activity of peptidergic neurons in the amygdala during sexual behavior in the male rat

The medial amygdaloid nucleus (AME) occupies a central position in the circuitry that organizes sexual behavior in the male rat. It receives a projection from olfactory structures that are activated by pheromonal cues indicating receptivity in the female and projects in turn to limbic and hypothalamic structures that are thought to organize aspects of coitus. Electrical stimulation of the AME elicits a behavioral state that is indistinguishable by several measures from the post-ejaculatory interval. We used chronic single-unit recording techniques to determine the behavioral conditions in which the AME is normally active. We found that the cells indeed fired selectively during the presence of a receptive female, but that the discharge considerably anticipated copulation in time. We propose that sexual behavior in the male rat is a reaction chain of fixed action patterns, each one acting as a releaser for the next. The AME mediates an early event in the reaction chain, namely recognition of the receptive female, but electrical activation of the AME causes the reaction chain to proceed to its culminating behavior, the post-ejaculatory interval.
Sequence-Specific DNA Detection at 10 fM by Electromechanical Signal Transduction

Target DNA fragments at 10 fM concentration (approximately 6 × 10(5) molecules) were detected against a DNA background simulating the noncomplementary genomic DNA present in real samples using a simple, PCR-free, optics-free approach based on electromechanical signal transduction. The development of a rapid, sensitive, and cost-effective nucleic acid detection platform is highly desired for a range of diverse applications. We previously described a potentially low-cost device for sequence-specific nucleic acid detection based on conductance change measurement of a pore blocked by electrophoretically mobilized bead-(peptide nucleic acid probe) conjugates upon hybridization with target nucleic acid. Here, we demonstrate the operation of our device with longer DNA targets, and we describe the resulting improvement in the limit of detection (LOD). We investigated the detection of DNA oligomers of 110, 235, 419, and 1613 nucleotides at 1 pM to 1 fM and found that the LOD decreased as DNA length increased, with 419 and 1613 nucleotide oligomers detectable down to 10 fM. In addition, no false positive responses were obtained with noncomplementary, control DNA fragments of similar length. The 1613-base DNA oligomer is similar in size to 16S rRNA, which suggests that our device may be useful for detection of pathogenic bacteria at clinically relevant concentrations based on recognition of species-specific 16S rRNA sequences.
A multi-stage wear model for grid-to-rod fretting of nuclear fuel rods

Abstract The wear of fuel rod cladding against the supporting structures in the cores of pressurized water nuclear reactors (PWRs) is an important and potentially costly tribological issue. Grid-to-rod fretting (GTRF), as it is known, involves not only time-varying contact conditions, but also elevated temperatures, flowing hot water, aqueous tribo-corrosion, and the embrittling effects of neutron fluences. The multi-stage, closed-form analytical model described in this paper relies on published out-of-reactor wear and corrosion data and a set of simplifying assumptions to portray the conversion of frictional work into wear depth. The cladding material of interest is a zirconium-based alloy called Zircaloy-4 which rubs against dimples or springs on the supporting grid which may be composed of the same or a different alloy. The model involves an incubation stage, a surface oxide wear stage, and a base alloy wear stage. The wear coefficient, which is a measure of the efficiency of conversion of frictional work into wear damage, can change to reflect the evolving metallurgical condition of the alloy. Wear coefficients for Zircaloy-4 and for a polyphase zirconia layer were back-calculated for a range of times required to wear to a critical depth. Inputs for the model, like the friction coefficient, are taken from the tribology literature in lieu of in-reactor tribological data. Concepts of classical fretting were used as a basis, but are modified to enable the model to accommodate the complexities of the PWR environment. Factors like grid spring relaxation, pre-oxidation of the cladding, multiple oxide phases, gap formation, impact, and hydrogen embrittlement are part of the problem definition but uncertainties in their relative roles limits the ability to validate the model. Sample calculations of wear depth versus time in the cladding illustrate how GTRF wear might occur in a discontinuous fashion during months-long reactor operating cycles. A means to account for grid/rod gaps and repetitive impact effects on GTRF wear is proposed.
A low-cost optical controlled phased-array antenna with optical true-time-delay generation

We have designed and demonstrated a low cost microwave-photonic phased-array antenna with a novel, simplified 16-channel optical true-time-delay array generator for microwave beamformign/steering. The true-time-delay array generator is built with simple optical path duplication architecture eliminating the need for optical switches, 1xN splitters, multiple lasers or Wavelength Division Multiplexing devices. Therefore, the cost is reduced by orders of magnitude as compared with other designs in the literature. To make a low cost demonstration, we have first fabricated the true-time-delay generator using free-space optics having mechanical displacemnt which can provide continuous time delays and power distribution for the array in the optical domain. A commercial 3 GHz laser transmitter and 16 photodetectors are used for optical-microwave link/transformation. The phased-array antenna has demonstrated a continuous scan/steering from -45° to 45° with reduced side lobes using a Dolph-Tschbyscheff array power distribution. As such, it provides an immediate solution, for the first time, to fabricate a realistic prototype photonic phased array antenna with a realistic price. We are also working on a long term solution which is to miniaturize the true-time-delay array generator by using optical MEMS technology and photonic bandgap structures so that our future true-time-delay array generator can be built in chip scale.
Generating thermotolerant colonies by pairing Beauveria bassiana isolates

Low thermotolerance in entomopathogenic fungi is the main impediment to their industrialization. This research, for the first time, describes the generation of a thermotolerant colony by pairing and subculturing (cycling) two Beauveria bassiana isolates without sexual reproduction. A mixture of B. bassianaERL1578 and ERL1576 was inoculated on quarter-strength Sabouraud dextrose agar with yeast extract (¼SDAY). The paired culture (ERL1578 + 1576) was cycled three times to increase the frequency of possible hyphal fusion at the first cycle (c. 5/5 × 105 conidia), followed by a heat treatment as a selection pressure. Two non-paired isolates served as controls. Two morphologically different colonies (BbHet1 and BbHet2) were isolated from the pairing. BbHet1 colony had the highest conidial yield. BbHet2 had the most rapid mycelial growth and produced sponge-like mycelial masses (the others were flat), and its conidia were darker than the non-paired colonies under a microscope (400×). BbHet2 conidia had 60.7% germination after exposure to 45 °C for 60 min (the others had < 15%) without significant loss of virulence against Western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis; however, there was a slight decrease in conidial yield. The new phenotypes formed suggested that a genetic variation happened as a result of heterokaryosis and/or recombination, more than environmental adaptation, when mixing different conidia. This methodology seems to be very useful for enhancing thermotolerance in fungi.
Pure projective resolutions in the category of p-primary abelian groups

Abstract Let A and B be abelian p-groups with the property that there exists an isomorphism from A[pn] onto B[pn] that preserves heights (heights being computed in A and B, respectively) of all elements of height less than ω+ n. Let 0 → K → F → A → 0 be a pure exact sequence with F a direct sum of cyclic p-groups. Then there exists a pure subgroup L of F such that L[pn]= K[pn] and F L is isomorphic to B. This is used to show that the number of noncongruent pure subgroups of F supported by K[pn] is the same as the number of nonisomorphic p-groups G such that the valuated group (G[pn], vn), with an appropriate valuation vn, is isometric to the valuated group F[p n ] K[p n ]with the restriction of the height function of F K[p n ] as the valuation.
Surface raman investigation of the sorption of dabsyl aspartate and polyvinylpyrrolidone on colloidal silver in ethanol

Abstract Surface Raman spectra of dabsyl [ N -4-dimethylaminoazobenzene-4′-sulfonyl] aspartate, DABS-ASP, and polyvinylpyrrolidone, PVP, on colloidal silver in ethanol were simultaneously measured after incremental additions of dabsyl aspartate to the parent silver organosol. The resultant DABS-ASP adsorption and PVP desorption data were analyzed in terms of Langmuir isotherm behavior. Another independent method, spectrophotometric analysis of the supernatant for DABS-ASP after ultracentrifugation of the organosols, was also used to obtain DABS-ASP adsorption isotherms. Graphical analysis of the results from several double- and single-reciprocal plots which gave linear curves showed that DABS-ASP adsorption conformed to the Langmuir-type isotherm. However, a higher saturation concentration of DABS-ASP on the surface probed by the ultracentrifugation procedure was obtained. A Hill plot showed possible cooperative interaction between adsorption sites on silver and PVP that were examined in the ultracentrifugation run. Adsorption equilibrium constants, K ′ = 4.0 × 10 4 and K ′ = 1.6 × 10 3 , were about 25-fold higher for those from surface Raman data and indicated chemisorptive attraction of DABS-ASP to the surface.
Echocardiographic Changes in the Thickness of Porcine Valves with Time

To assess the ability of M-mode echocardiography to detect the incidence and frequency of porcine xenograft valve thickening, echocardiograms were obtained in 147 mitral and aortic porcine xenograft valves implanted in 131 patients. The patients were divided into an early group in whom the echocardiograms were performed within two months of valve replacement, and intermediate group studied two to 48 months after surgery, and a late group 48 months or longer after surgery. The porcine cusp echoes were visualized with proper gain settings, enlarged, and then recorded on a strip chart. The mean thickness of both the mitral and the aortic cusps was measured with the valve in the coapted position. The mean thickness of the porcine mitral valve increased from 1.23 +/- 0.12 in the early group to 2.3 mm +/- 0.19 in the late group (P less than .02). Aortic valve thickness increased from 0.91 mm +/- 0.07 in the early group to 2.1 mm +/- 0.37 (P less than .05) in the late group. A significant change in valve thickness was not observed in the intermediate group. In the late group of valves, 21/82 (27 percent) had a thickness greater than 3 mm. Nine of these valves (43 percent) have required replacement because of clinical dysfunction. Only 1.6 percent (1/61) of the valves in the late group with a thickness of less than 3 mm had or developed severe porcine valve insufficiency (P less than 0.001). In all ten instances, the echocardiographic assessment of valve thickness was validated on gross examination of the valve removed at surgery. This study indicates that the thickness of both mitral and aortic porcine valves can be measured by M-mode echocardiography. Valve thickness increases after 48 months and those valves with thickening of 3 mm or more are at a higher risk of developing clinical evidence of valve dysfunction.
Axiomatic approach in differential games

Differential games are usually defined by differential equations. Recently, some work has been done on the possibility of defining such games in a more general, axiomatic way. In this paper, the advantages of this approach are discussed and possible further developments are pointed out.
Concurrent Comparisons of Stomatal Behavior, Water Status, and Evaporation of Maize in Soil at High or Low Water Potential

Concurrent measurements of evaporation, leaf conductance, irradiance, leaf water potential, and osmotic potential of maize (Zea mays L. cv. Pa602A) in soil at either high or low soil water potential were compared at several hours on two consecutive days in July. Hourly evaporation, measured on two weighing lysimeters, was similar until 1000 hours Eastern Standard Time, but thereafter evaporation from the maize in the dry soil was always less than that in the wet soil; before noon it was 62% and by midafternoon, only 35% of that in the wet soil. The leaf water potential, measured with a pressure chamber, was between −1.2 and −2.5 bars and between −6.8 and −8 bars at sunrise (about 0530 hours Eastern Standard Time) in the plants in the wet and dry soil, respectively, but decreased quickly to between −8 and −13 bars in the plants in the wet soil and to less than −15 bars in the plants in the dry soil by 1100 to 1230 hours Eastern Standard Time. At this time, the leaf conductance of all leaves was less than 0.1 cm sec−1 in the maize in the dry soil, whereas the conductance was 0.3 to 0.4 cm sec−1 in the leaves near the top of the canopy in the wet soil. The osmotic potential, measured with a vapor pressure osmometer, also decreased during the morning but to a smaller degree than leaf water potential, so that by 1100 to 1230 hours Eastern Standard Time the leaf turgor potential was 1 to 2 bars in all plants. Thereafter, leaf turgor potential increased, particularly in the plants in soil at a high water potential, whereas leaf water potential continued to decrease even in the maize leaves with partly closed stomata. Evidently maize can have values of leaf conductance differing 3- to 4- fold at the same leaf turgor potential, which suggests that stomata do not respond primarily to bulk leaf turgor potential. Evidence for some osmotic adjustment in the plants at low soil water potential is presented. Although the degree of stomatal closure in the maize in dry soil did not prevent further development of stress, it did decrease evaporation in proportion to the decrease in canopy conductance.
Aerothermodynamic parameter estimation from Shuttle thermocouple data during transient flight test maneuvers

Aerothermodynamic parameters are estimated from data of thermocouples imbedded in the Space Shuttle Orbiter Thermal Protection System (TPS). The new technique of analyzing transient flight test maneuvers is based on systems identification theory and has been applied to thermocouple data from the first four Shuttle re-entries. The primary purpose is to accomplish a rapid and safe envelope expansion for aerothermodynamic performance. The data reduction program correlates heating with variables such as angle of attack, sideslip, control surface deflection, and Reynolds number.
Review of cathodic arc depositon

Cathodic arc deposition, combined with Ion-Assisted-Deposition (IAD), produces advanced optical and mechanical thin-films. For example, Amorphous Diamond-Like-Carbon (A-DLC), with hardness in excess of 70 GPa {diamond = 100 GPa), in multi-layer combination with Al2O3 have been deposited on temperature-sensitive substrates.
Evolution of behavioral responses to sex pheromone in mutant laboratory colonies of Trichoplusia ni

Male cabbage looper moths,Trichoplusia ni, from two colonies in which all females express an abnormal sex pheromone production phenotype were evaluated in a laboratory wind tunnel for upwind flight responses to the normal and abnormal sex pheromones. The abnormal sex pheromone blend consisted of 20 times as much (Z)-9-tetradecenyl acetate and 30-fold less (Z)-5-dodecenyl acetate compared to the normal pheromone blend. Initially, these males exhibited poor behavioral responses to the abnormal sex pheromone and maximum responses to the normal pheromone blend, indicating that there was no linkage between signal production and response. After 49 generations of laboratory rearing, males from the mutant colonies maintained good responses to the normal pheromone and increased their behavioral response to the abnormal sex pheromone to the same levels as for the normal pheromone. Over the same period, normal males maintained their preference for the normal pheromone. These results indicated that evolution had occurred in mutant colonies in favor of greater male responsiveness to the abnormal sex pheromone, resulting in the broadening of the response spectrum to pheromone blend ratios. This evolution presumably resulted from a mating advantage to those males that did not discriminate against mutant-type females in the mutant colonies.
Photoelastic analysis of stresses in resin-bonded cingulum rest seats

Two-dimensional photoelastic analysis of resin-bonded cingulum rest seats demonstrated improvement in stress distribution when the lingual surface of the tooth was prepared with a cingulum groove. This preparation is more important for teeth that are more vertically or lingually oriented and have flatter lingual surfaces, such as mandibular canines.
Low-dose methotrexate therapy for childhood sarcoidosis

Abstract Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of low oral doses of methotrexate as a steroid-sparing agent in children with sarcoidosis. Study design: An open-label, noncontrolled trial. Methotrexate was administered orally at a single weekly dose of 10 to 15 mg/m 2 . Duration of therapy was open ended, but patients received treatment for a minimum of 6 months to be considered as having completed the study. Results: Seven children with biopsy-proven sarcoidosis completed the study. The mean dose of prednisone was successfully tapered from 49 mg/day (1.3 mg/kg) to 18 mg/day (0.5 mg/kg) after 3 months of methotrexate therapy and to 9.9 (0.2 mg/kg) and 7.3 mg/day (0.1 mg/kg) after 6 months and at the end of the follow-up period, respectively. Other clinical and laboratory parameters improved significantly after methotrexate therapy was started. There was significant clinical improvement, as confirmed by the reduction of the clinical severity score from 8 ± 1.1 to 0.8 ± 0.5 point after 3 months of methotrexate therapy, and to 0.7 and 0.5 ± 0.3 point after 6 months and at the end of the follow-up, respectively. Laboratory measurements revealed marked improvement, as reflected by a significant reduction in the erythrocyte sedimentation rate and an increase of hemoglobin values. The mean serum angiotensin-converting enzyme activity dropped significantly. No adverse side effects were noted with methotrexate therapy. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that low-dose oral methotrexate therapy was effective and safe and had steroid-sparing properties in seven children with sarcoidosis. 1997;130:25-9
Adenylyl Cyclase Subtype-Specific Compartmentalization: Differential Regulation of L-type Ca2+ Current in Ventricular Myocytes

Rationale: Adenylyl cyclase (AC) represents one of the principal molecules in the β-adrenergic receptor signaling pathway, responsible for the conversion of ATP to the second messenger, cAMP. AC types 5 (ACV) and 6 (ACVI) are the 2 main isoforms in the heart. Although highly homologous in sequence, these 2 proteins play different roles during the development of heart failure. Caveolin-3 is a scaffolding protein, integrating many intracellular signaling molecules in specialized areas called caveolae. In cardiomyocytes, caveolin is located predominantly along invaginations of the cell membrane known as t-tubules. Objective: We take advantage of AC V and AC VI knockout mouse models to test the hypothesis that there is distinct compartmentalization of these isoforms in ventricular myocytes. Methods and Results: We demonstrate that ACV and ACVI isoforms exhibit distinct subcellular localization. The ACVI isoform is localized in the plasma membrane outside the t-tubular region and is responsible for β1-adrenergic receptor signaling–mediated enhancement of the L-type Ca2+ current ( I Ca,L) in ventricular myocytes. In contrast, the ACV isoform is localized mainly in the t-tubular region where its influence on I Ca,L is restricted by phosphodiesterase. We further demonstrate that the interaction between caveolin-3 with ACV and phosphodiesterase is responsible for the compartmentalization of ACV signaling. Conclusions: Our results provide new insights into the compartmentalization of the 2 AC isoforms in the regulation of I Ca,L in ventricular myocytes. Because caveolae are found in most mammalian cells, the mechanism of β- adrenergic receptor and AC compartmentalization may also be important for β-adrenergic receptor signaling in other cell types. # Novelty and Significance {#article-title-41}
Empirical study of topic modeling in Twitter

Social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter have been a crucial source of information for a wide spectrum of users. In Twitter, popular information that is deemed important by the community propagates through the network. Studying the characteristics of content in the messages becomes important for a number of tasks, such as breaking news detection, personalized message recommendation, friends recommendation, sentiment analysis and others. While many researchers wish to use standard text mining tools to understand messages on Twitter, the restricted length of those messages prevents them from being employed to their full potential.We address the problem of using standard topic models in micro-blogging environments by studying how the models can be trained on the dataset. We propose several schemes to train a standard topic model and compare their quality and effectiveness through a set of carefully designed experiments from both qualitative and quantitative perspectives. We show that by training a topic model on aggregated messages we can obtain a higher quality of learned model which results in significantly better performance in two real-world classification problems. We also discuss how the state-of-the-art Author-Topic model fails to model hierarchical relationships between entities in Social Media.
A comparative study on the fine structure of tongue and cricothyroid muscle of the bat, Myotis grisescens, as revealed by thin section and freeze-fracture techniques

Tongue and cricothyroid muscle fibers of the bat, Myotis grisescens, revealed differences which included sarcomere lengths, myofibrillar diameters, amounts of sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) per unit volume, and triadic disposition. In the cricothyroid muscle fiber sarcomere lengths were longer, myofibrillar cross-sectional diameters were less, amounts of SR per unit volume were greater, and triads were located within the A-band level, rather than at the A/I junction as occurs in tongue muscle fibers. Triads of both muscle fiber types appeared morphologically similar. Tannic acid processing highlighted plasmalemmal and T-tubule outer laminae of the unit membranes as well as material within the T tubules not otherwise seen without tannic acid processing. Size (7–8 nm) and numbers of plasmalemmal (1500–2000 μm2) and SR (2500–3000 μm2) PF particles were the same in both muscles. T-Tubule particles at triadic junctions were 10–15 nm in size and were found on the EF face in both muscle fiber types. Orthogonal arrays of 5- to 6-nm size particles were found on the PF face of the cricothyroid muscle fibers only. It is concluded from this study and on the basis of previous evidence that the orthogonal arrays of 5- to 6-nm particles may be a consistent feature of muscle fibers whose excitation—contraction—relaxation cycles fall above a certain level. It is further concluded that it is the characteristics of the myofibrillae, such as sarcomere length, cross-sectional diameter, triadic positions, and amounts of SR per unit volume of muscle, which best reflect contraction—relaxation speeds in the muscle studies here.
Role of particle cavitation in rubber-toughened epoxies: II. Inter-particle distance

Abstract Two types of conventional rubber modifiers and a series of hollow plastic micro-spheres were employed as toughening agents in a diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA) epoxy in Part I (Bagheri R, Pearson RA. Polymer 1996;37:4529) of this study. It was found that the rubber modifiers with different cavitation resistance and hollow plastic micro-spheres which act as pre-existing microvoids toughen epoxies in the same manner. The current study is composed to further examine the previous results in terms of the role inter-particle distance in rubber/microvoid toughened epoxies. It is shown that the fracture toughness in toughened blends goes through a ductile-to-brittle transition with inter-particle distance. The source of this transition is found to be a stress state change provided by voided particles. The ligament between neighboring particles, thus, experiences a transition from plane strain to plane stress state by decreasing the inter-particle distance. Interestingly, it is shown that the transition in toughened blends does not occur at a specific inter-particle distance as frequently proposed in literature, but varies with the size of the modifier. Therefore, there is an influence of particle size on yielding of the toughened epoxies that is responsible for the shift in transition.
Hypoxia-reoxygenation potentiates zymosan activated plasma-induced endothelial injury

Abstract The pathophysiology of ischemia–reperfusion injury and the role played by the interaction of plasma proteins, including complement, with reperfused endothelium remains incompletely understood. Venular endothelial changes due to hypoxia followed by reoxygenation (H-R) are vital because venules are the primary site of fluid accumulation and polymorphonuclear leukocyte deposition due to inflammation. This investigation focused on whether H-R potentiates the response to permeability inducing agents found in activated plasma. Activated complement was studied by using zymosan activated plasma (ZAP). Permeability changes were assessed by quantitating rate of clearance of albumin across the monolayers. H-R alone did not change permeability relative to the normoxic condition. ZAP at 2% in normoxic cells increased albumin clearance from 2 ± 0.2 to 9 ± 1.0 μL/h, which increased significantly to 13.5 ± 2.0 μL/h when given to hypoxia–reoxygenation challenged monolayers. The permeability response to ZAP was dose related and not present with heat inactivated ZAP. ZAP at 2% altered the structure of the cytoskeleton of the human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). However, addition of monoclonal anti-complement antibodies or addition of soluble complement receptor-1 did not attenuate ZAP-induced HUVEC permeability. Addition of zymosan-activated serum did not alter the permeability and addition of heparin inhibited the ZAP-induced changes in permeability, suggesting that these changes were mediated via thrombin and not complement. The increase in monolayer permeability due to ZAP was prevented by increasing intracellular adenosine-3′,5′-cyclic monophosphate. These findings suggest that HUVEC monolayers challenged with H-R are more susceptible to increases in permeability induced by activated plasma components.
Dendrimer-induced leukocyte procoagulant activity depends on particle size and surface charge

Aims: Thrombogenicity associated with the induction of leukocyte procoagulant activity (PCA) is a common complication in sepsis and cancer. Since nanoparticles are increasingly used for drug delivery, their interaction with coagulation systems is an important part of the safety assessment. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of nanoparticle physicochemical properties on leukocyte PCA, and to get insight into the mechanism of PCA induction. Materials & Methods: A total of 12 formulations of polyamidoamine (PAMAM) dendrimers, varying in size and surface charge, were studied in vitro using recalcification time assay. Results: Irrespective of their size, anionic and neutral dendrimers did not induce leukocyte PCA in vitro. Cationic particles induced PCA in a size- and charge-dependent manner. The mechanism of PCA induction was similar to that of doxorubicin. Cationic dendrimers were also found to exacerbate endotoxin-induced PCA. Conclusion: PAMAM dendrimer-induced leukocyte PCA depends o...
Linear furanocoumarins and graveolone from the common herb parsley

Abstract Fresh parsley leaves and dried parsley flakes were analysed for furanocoumarins. This is the first reported isolation of the linear furanocoumarin, saxalin, from parsley. The coumarin, graveolone, has been previously shown to occur in parsley cell suspension culture; however, this is the first description of its isolation from the plant. Psoralen, bergapten, xanthotoxin, isoimperatorin, isopimpinellin, oxypeucedanin, and oxypeucedanin hydrate were also found, and the levels of psoralen, bergapten, xanthotoxin and isopimpinellin were quantified by HPLC in fresh and dried parsley flakes. Fresh parsley leaves were found to have a total of 112 μg g− fr. wt. One brand of parsley flakes had a total of 304 μg g − dry wt of the three major photosensitizing linear furanocoumarins (psoralen, bergapten and xanthotoxin).
Sumatriptan Relieves Migrainelike Headaches Associated With Carbon Monoxide Exposure

We report a 58-year-old woman with long-standing migraine who developed a pattern of weekend headaches which occurred only while staying at her Connecticut vacation home The headaches promptly responded to sumatriptan. Investigation revealed a high carbon monoxide level in her home due to a defective furnace. Replacing the furnace eliminated the headaches. This case highlights the importance of searching for secondary causes of headache even in patients responsive to sumatriptan. It also suggests that carbon monoxide may trigger headaches mediated by trigeminovascular inflammation.
Facial screening to eliminate trichotillomania in developmentally disabled persons

Facial screening, which involves briefly covering the subject's face with a nonabrasive terrycloth bib contingent upon the target response, was successfully used to eliminate trichotillomania (compulsive hair-pulling) in three developmentally disabled children. The training procedure was administered to the subject by the parent or care provider in the home environment, using a multiple baseline design across three subjects. The introduction of facial screening for compulsive hair-pulling reduced the frequency of the target response in all three subjects by 85.5%, 65.5%, and 54.5% from baseline conditions, respectively. The facial-screening procedure demanded a minimal amount of time and effort, required a mean training time of slightly more than 11 days, and showed virtually no regression during a 7-month follow-up period. In addition, results from a consumer satisfaction questionnaire indicated that the facial-screening procedure was well received by the parents and care provider.
Distance Education in Rural Community Colleges.

In the mid-1990s, distance education seemed to hold the future for rural community colleges. As distance education has moved to Internet-based technologies, concern has been raised about the digital divide and its impact on distance education. This article describes the status of technology-based distance education offered by rural community colleges in 9 states, and it identifies the distance education technology issues facing these institutions. Implications for national associations and organizations, universities, state and federal policymakers, and the community colleges are discussed.
Alpha-1 antitrypsin Z protein (PiZ) increases hepatic fibrosis in a murine model of cholestasis.

Alpha-1 antitrypsin (α1-AT) deficiency is the most common genetic cause of liver disease in children. The homozygous α1-ATZ mutation (PiZZ) results in significant liver disease in 10% of all affected patients. The α1-ATZ mutation also may lead to worse liver injury in the setting of other liver diseases such as cystic fibrosis, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and hepatitis C. Although cholestatic injury is common to many forms of liver disease, its effect on the PiZZ phenotype is unknown. To elucidate the interplay of cholestasis and the PiZZ phenotype, we performed bile duct ligation (BDL) on C57BL/6 mice possessing a transgenic α1-ATZ mutation and littermate controls. PiZ transgenic mice undergoing BDL developed more liver fibrosis by quantification of Sirius red staining (P = 0.0003) and hydroxyproline (P = 0.007) than wild-type mice after BDL. More activated hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) and apoptotic cells also were observed in the PiZ BDL model. Quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress markers CHOP and GRP78 were 4-fold and 2-fold more up-regulated, respectively, in PiZ BDL mice when compared with wild-type BDL mice (P = 0.02, P = 0.02). Increased apoptosis was also noted in PiZ BDL mice by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated nick-end labeling (TUNEL) and cleaved caspase-3 histological staining. Conclusion: PiZ transgenic mice are more susceptible to liver fibrosis induced by cholestasis from BDL. Cholestasis therefore may lead to increased fibrosis in α1-AT deficiency, and the α1-ATZ mutation may act as a modifier gene in patients with concurrent cholestatic liver diseases such as cystic fibrosis. (HEPATOLOGY 2007.)
The effects of ethanol on the hematotoxicity of twelve pharmaceutical and environmental agents

Abstract The ability of ethanol (5%) to potentiate the oxidant stressor effects of twelve well‐known hematoxic agents was investigated in vitro using human erythrocytes. Human whole blood was incubated with one of the following agents with and without ethanol for one hour at 37°C: o‐aminophenol (0.05 mM); p‐benzoquinone (4.0 mM); butyl nitrite (1.0 mM); p‐hydroxyacetophenone (3.0 mM); hydroxylamine (0.5 mM); 0,N‐dimethylhydroxylamine (7.0 mM); 1,2‐naphthoquinone (0.4 mM); 1,4‐naphthoquinone (0.5 mM); p‐phenylenediamine (5.0 mM); phenylhydrazine (1.0 mM); potassium nitrite (1.0 mM) and primaquine (8.0 mM). Methemoglobin (METHB) and reduced glutathione (GSH) levels were subsequently measured. Synergistic increases in METHB levels occurred for primaquine, 1,2‐naphthoquinone and p‐phenylenediamine incubated with ethanol (p <.05).
Queer events: post-deconstructive subjectivities in Spanish writing and film, 1960s to 1990s

For those already familiar with David Vilaseca's work, this book constitutes another splendid chapter of a scholarly trajectory concerned with a critical examination of identity, subjectivity, and ...
Effects of low doses of erythromycin on the 13C Spirulina platensis gastric emptying breath test and electrogastrogram: a controlled study in healthy volunteers.

Effects of low doses of erythromycin on the 13 C Spirulina platensis gastric emptying breath test and electrogastrogram: a controlled study in healthy volunteers
Application of a picosecond soft x-ray source to time-resolved plasma dynamics

Time-resolved spectroscopy of the gold x-ray probe transmission through a perturbed 1000 A aluminum film reveals redshifts of the L-shell photoabsorption edge. We show that the dynamic behavior of this shift is consistent with the relaxation of the aluminum following the compression generated by a shock wave traveling through the film. An analytic plasma model, with comparison to a numerical hydrodynamics model, indicates compression up to 1.4 times solid density. © 1997 American Institute of Physics.@S0003-6951~97!00403-8#
Myths about object-orientation and its pedagogy

Object-orientation continues to find a home in computing curricula, especially in early courses such as CS1. As this trend continues, some ideas seem to take on a life of their own, despite being fundamentally incorrect. Unfortunately they propagate most quickly among those who are relatively new to the ideas of object-oriented development. This paper enumerates and debates the underlying issues of several myths regarding object-orientation and its pedagogy.
Assessing disease burden in patients with classic MPNs

Myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) disorders including polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocythemia (ET) and myelofibrosis (MF), are recognized amongst the world of malignancies for their unique disease–burden profiles. Symptom management remains a prime directive for all MPN disorders. Limited by the dramatic heterogeneity and disparate severity amongst symptoms, only recently have researchers possessed the scoring tools necessary to quantify the MPN symptom burden and investigate its role in patient prognosis. In addition to symptom management, clinicians are also tasked with managing the numerous complications that arise from MPN progression including splenomegaly, cytopenias, thrombotic and hemorrhagic events and transformation to MF (from PV or ET) or acute myelogenous leukemia. In this article, we discuss the pleiotropic solidarity of the MPN symptom profile, inherent complications that define the disorders, available patient-reported outcome tools, the role of risk-scoring algorithms and open arenas for ongoing MPN symptom research.