cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Using sea urchin remains to infer the health of kelp forest ecosystems in the past: Identification, quantification, and allometric reconstructions of harvested sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus spp.) on California’s Channel Islands

Sea urchins, one of the few echinoids harvested for human consumption, are found in archaeological sites from coastal settings around the world spanning at least the past ∼15,000 years. Sea urchin ...
Examining Student Reported Interaction and Satisfaction in Higher Education Administration Graduate Seminar-Style Blended Courses

The purpose of this case study was to examine how a professional graduate program in higher education administration developed seminar-style courses in a blended format. Blended courses involved two extended in-person weekend sessions with synchronous online sessions, and other asynchronous coursework in between. This study explored the importance of interaction, student satisfaction, and motivation to student success. Data were collected through student surveys and faculty interviews from 11 courses within the same graduate degree program at a private, highly-selective research university from spring 2016 through spring 2018. Class size was the biggest factor relating to student interaction. This study also found synchronous online discussions had a greater impact than other learning activities and that satisfaction and interaction had a slight increase over time as students and instructors became more comfortable with the format.
The Luminosity Function in Groups of Galaxies

With targeted imaging of groups in the local volume, the regions of collapse around bright galaxies can be clearly identified by the distribution of dwarfs and luminosity functions can be established to very faint levels. In the case of the M 81 Group there is completion to M R ~ −9. In all well studied cases, the faint end slopes are in the range − 1.35 < α < −1.2, much flatter than the slope for the bottom end of the halo mass spectrum anticipated by ΛCDM hierarchical clustering theory. Small but significant variations are found with environment. Interestingly, the populations of dwarf galaxies are roughly constant per unit halo mass. With the numbers of dwarfs as an anchor point, evolved environments (dominated by early morphological types) have relatively fewer intermediate luminosity systems and at least one relatively more important galaxy at the core. The variations with environment are consistent with a scenario of galaxy merging. However it is questionable if the universal dearth of visible dwarf systems is a consequence of an astrophysical process like reionization.
Triage physicians in an academic emergency department: Impact on resident education

Background Overcrowding in emergency departments (EDs) in the United States has been linked to worse patient outcomes. Implementation of countermeasures such as a physician-in-triage (PIT) system have improved patient care and decreased wait times. The purpose of this study was to evaluate how a PIT system affects medical resident education in an academic ED. Methods This was a retrospective observational comparison of resident metrics at a single-site, urban, academic ED before and after implementing a PIT system. Resident metrics of average emergency severity index (ESI), patients-per-hour, and in-training-examination scores were measured before and six months after the implementation of the PIT system. Results In total, 18,231 patients were evaluated by all residents in the study period before PIT implementation compared to 17,008 in the study period following PIT implementation. The average ESI among patients evaluated by residents decreased from 3.00 to 2.68 (p < 0.01, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.31 to 0.33), while average resident patient-per-hour rate decreased from 1.41 to 1.32 (p < 0.01, 95% CI = 0.05 to 0.13] and ITE scores saw no statistically significant change of 76.11 to 78.26 (p = 0.26, 95% CI = -5.75 to 1.45). While these differences are statistically significant, they are likely not clinically significant. Conclusions Our implementation of PIT system at one academic medical center minimally increased the acuity and minimally decreased the number of patients that residents see. This suggested that in our center, a PIT program did not detract from ED resident clinical education. However, further research with alternative markers in multiple centers is needed.
Inter-Cluster Innovation Differentials: The Role of Research Universities

We explore the role of research universities in explaining inter-cluster innovation differentials. Drawing on the knowledge production function, our baseline hypothesis is that cluster innovative performance is determined by the cluster's endowment with financial, intellectual, and human capital. Leveraging fine-grained, longitudinal panel data tracking the population of medical device clusters in the U.S. over a twelve-year time period (1990-2001), we demonstrate strong support for the notion of spatial heterogeneity in cluster innovative performance. In particular, research universities, which play a critical role by serving as a source of knowledge spillovers and producing graduates who disseminate tacit knowledge within a cluster, are a critical ingredient for innovative performance in a regional technology cluster.
Changes in Sewage Sludge Chemical Signatures During a COVID-19 Community Lockdown, Part 1: Traffic, Drugs, Mental Health, and Disinfectants.

The early months of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated shutdowns disrupted many aspects of daily life and thus caused changes in the use and disposal of many types of chemicals. While records of sales, prescriptions, drug overdoses, and so forth provide data about specific chemical uses during this time, wastewater and sewage sludge analysis can provide a more comprehensive overview of chemical changes within a region. We analyzed primary sludge from a wastewater-treatment plant in Connecticut, USA, collected March 19 to June 30, 2020. This time period encompassed the first wave of the pandemic, the initial statewide stay at home order, and the first phase of reopening. We used liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry and targeted and suspect screening strategies to identify 78 chemicals of interest, which included pharmaceuticals, illicit drugs, disinfectants, ultraviolet (UV) filters, and others. We analyzed trends over time for the identified chemicals using linear trend analyses and multivariate comparisons (p < 0.05). We found trends related directly to the pandemic (e.g., hydroxychloroquine, a drug publicized for its potential to treat COVID-19, had elevated concentrations in the week following the implementation of the US Emergency Use Authorization), as well as evidence for seasonal changes in chemical use (e.g., increases for three UV-filter compounds). Though wastewater surveillance during the pandemic has largely focused on measuring severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus-2 RNA concentrations, chemical analysis can also show trends that are important for revealing the public and environmental health effects of the pandemic. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;00:1-14. © 2021 SETAC.
CATECHOLAMINE RELATED SUBSTANCES AND SCHIZOPHRENIA: A REVIEW

Several catecholamine-related hypotheses of schizophrenia are reviewed. Emphasis is placed on dopamine and norepinephrine metabolism.
SU-E-T-131: Artificial Neural Networks Applied to Overall Survival Prediction for Patients with Periampullary Carcinoma

Purpose: Artificial neural networks (ANN) can be used to discover complex relations within datasets to help with medical decision making. This study aimed to develop an ANN method to predict two-year overall survival of patients with peri-ampullary cancer (PAC) following resection. Methods: Data were collected from 334 patients with PAC following resection treated in our institutional pancreatic tumor registry between 2006 and 2012. The dataset contains 14 variables including age, gender, T-stage, tumor differentiation, positive-lymph-node ratio, positive resection margins, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and tumor histology.After censoring for two-year survival analysis, 309 patients were left, of which 44 patients (∼15%) were randomly selected to form testing set. The remaining 265 cases were randomly divided into training set (211 cases, ∼80% of 265) and validation set (54 cases, ∼20% of 265) for 20 times to build 20 ANN models. Each ANN has one hidden layer with 5 units. The 20 ANN models were ranked according to their concordance index (c-index) of prediction on validation sets. To further improve prediction, the top 10% of ANN models were selected, and their outputs averaged for prediction on testing set. Results: By random division, 44 cases in testing set and the remaining 265 cases have approximately equal two-year survival rates, 36.4% and 35.5% respectively. The 20 ANN models, which were trained and validated on the 265 cases, yielded mean c-indexes as 0.59 and 0.63 on validation sets and the testing set, respectively. C-index was 0.72 when the two best ANN models (top 10%) were used in prediction on testing set. The c-index of Cox regression analysis was 0.63. Conclusion: ANN improved survival prediction for patients with PAC. More patient data and further analysis of additional factors may be needed for a more robust model, which will help guide physicians in providing optimal post-operative care. This project was supported by PA CURE Grant.
A pinch-valve for centrifugal microfluidic platforms and its application in sequential valving operation and plasma extraction

Abstract This paper presents a new pin-type valve suitable for centrifugal microfluidic platforms. The actuator for the valving system consists of a spring plunger and a flyball governor. The valve is designed to be a “normally-closed” one by using a spring plunger to pre-stress the PDMS microchannel to an initially closed state. The flyball governor drives the spring plungers to release the compression when it spins at a particular speed to open the valve. The valve demonstrated robust performances and its burst frequency can be tuned by adjusting the parameters of the mechanical system. In this paper, we characterized the operation of one single valve and two sequential valves. As a proof of concept, a sequential valving system capable of metering and centrifugal sediment was developed for plasma extraction from whole blood. The resulting residual cell concentration was less than 0.5%. This new valve design offers some major advantages over those reported in the field: simple fabrication, robust control and easy integration. It demonstrates great potential for complex fluid handling needed in biological, chemical and medical applications in Lab-on-CD systems.
Communicating the Value of Science

The quality of life Americans enjoy today and the United States's ability to compete in the global economy have many of their roots in the country's long history of leadership in scientific research and discovery. Federally supported basic research has led to innovations such as GPS, earthquake hazard mapping, and hundreds of technological spinoffs from the space program, including heart monitors and material that protects us from fire.
Hierachical spherical harmonics based deformable HARDI registration

In contrast to the more common Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), High Angular Resolution Diffusion Imaging (HARDI) allows superior delineation of angular microstructures of brain white matter, and makes possible multiple-fiber modeling of each voxel for better characterization of brain connectivity. However, in the context of image registration, the question of how much information is needed for satisfactory alignment remains unanswered. Low order representation of the diffusivity information is generally more robust than the higher order representation, but the latter gives more information for correct fiber tract alignment. However, higher order representation, when naively utilized, might not necessarily be conducive to improving registration accuracy since similar structures with significant orientation differences prior to proper alignment might be mistakenly taken as non-matching structures. We propose in this paper a hierarchical spherical harmonics based registration algorithm which utilizes the wealth of information provided by HARDI in a more principled means. The image volumes are first registered using robust, relatively direction invariant features derived from the diffusion-attenuation profile, and their alignment is then refined using spherical harmonic (SH) representation of gradually increasing order. This progression of SH representation from non-directional, single-directional to multi-directional representation provides a systematic means of extracting directional information from the HARDI data. Experimental results show a significant increase in registration accuracy over a state-of-the-art DTI registration algorithm.
Ethics and the ontology of freedom: problematization and responsiveness in Foucault and Deleuze

Both Foucault and Deleuze define ethics as a form of creative activity. Yet, given certain ontological features indicated by both thinkers, ethics must be more than just creative and critical activity. Forgoing a transcendent ground for ethics, the ontological condition of ethics – what Foucault calls liberte and Deleuze calls the plane of immanence – is an opening for change that makes possible normalizing modes of existence as well transformative ones. In this context, ethics must be a practice that comprehends the dangers of such open-ended creation. The concept of problematization, emphasized by Foucault and Deleuze, leads to an enhanced understanding of their conception of ethics. On this understanding, ethics is a practice of problematization requiring a determination and assessment of the most pressing problems to which one must respond rather than attempt to solve once and for all. Ethics is necessarily a responsive engagement with the problems of one’s present.
The Origins and Development of Wilfred Currier Keirstead’s Social and Religious Thought

W.C. Keirstead was a leading Maritime social scientist, philosopher, and professor at the University of New Brunswick from 1908 to 1944. This article examines the formation of his social thought in an attempt to address the current debate among historians about whether or not social scientists in early-20th-century English Canada embraced modern thought at the expense of their Christian worldview, thereby helping to accelerate secularization. His writings reveal that he was not an agent of secularization, for although Keirstead embraced many aspects of modernity he continued to draw upon the Baptist religion of his youth and maintained a Christian outlook throughout his career. Resume W.C. Keirstead etait un eminent specialiste des sciences sociales, philosophe et professeur a l’Universite du Nouveau-Brunswick de 1908 a 1944. Cet article examine la formation de sa pensee sociale en vue d’eclairer le debat actuel parmi les historiens a savoir si oui ou non les specialistes des sciences sociales du Canada anglais du debut du 20e siecle ont adhere a la pensee moderne aux depens de leur vision chretienne du monde, contribuant ainsi a accelerer la secularisation. Ses ecrits revelent qu’il n’etait pas un agent de la secularisation, car bien que Keirstead ait souscrit a de nombreux aspects de la modernite, il continua a puiser dans la religion baptiste de sa jeunesse et conserva une perspective chretienne tout au long de sa carriere.
Earthquake Displacement Fields

The standard model for the calculation of the displacement fields of earthquakes is briefly reviewed. The source dimensions of a set of 27 strike-slip faults are used to obtain empirical relationships between fault dimensions and earthquake magnitude. It is shown that only large earthquakes contribute significantly to the displacement fields at large distances from a fault zone. The mechanics of fault slippage, and some of the problems of the elastic rebound theory are discussed. It is shown that earthquakes on some portions of the San Andreas system appear to account for only a small part of the total movement on the zone indicated by geodetic measurements. Furthermore, these earthquakes are very inefficient in relieving the regional strain indicated by displacement of triangulation stations. It is concluded that aseismic creep in the upper portions of the crust must be an important contribution to the fault slippage in some regions. Also, the regional strain can only be relieved by movements in the lower crust and upper mantle. It is suggested that these movements almost certainly precede surface breakage. They could be detected by geodetic observations at 30-50 km from the fault, and might give valuable premonitory indications of destructive earthquakes.
Classical Proofs as Programs: How, What and Why

We recapitulate Friedman''s conservative extension result of(suitable) classical over constructive systems for $\Pi_{2}^{0}$sentences, viewing it in two lights: as a translation of programs from an almost-functional language (with $\cal C$) back to its functional core, and as a translation of a constructive logic for a functional language to a classical logic for an almost-functional language. We investigate the computational properties of the translation and of classical proofs and characterize the classical proofs which give constructions in concrete, computational terms, rather than logical terms. We characterize different versions of Friedman''s translation as translating slightly different almost-functional languages to a functional language, thus giving a general method for arriving at a sound reduction semantics for an almost-functional language with a mixture of eager and lazy constructors and destructors, as well as integers, pairs, unions, etc. Finally, we describe how to use classical reasoning in a disciplined manner in giving classical (yet constructivizable) proofs of sentences of greater complexity than $\Pi_{2}^{0}$. This direction offers the possibility of applying classical reasoning to more general programming problems.
Autologous Transplantation for Diffuse Aggressive Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in Patients Never Achieving Remission: A Report from the Autologous Blood and Marrow Transplant Registry

Purpose To evaluate the results of high-dose chemotherapy and autologous hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (autotransplants) in patients with diffuse aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) who never achieve a complete remission with conventional chemotherapy. Patients and methods Detailed records from the Autologous Blood and Marrow Transplant Registry (ABMTR) on 184 patients with diffuse aggressive NHL who never achieved a complete remission with conventional chemotherapy and subsequently received an autotransplant were evaluated. Transplants were performed between 1989 and 1995 and were reported to the ABMTR by 48 centers in North and South America. Results Seventy-nine (44%) of 184 patients achieved a complete remission or a complete remission with residual imaging abnormalities of unknown significance after autotransplantation. Thirty-four (19%) of 184 had a partial remission and 55 (31%) of 184 had no response or progressive disease. Eleven patients (6%) were not assessable for response because of early death. The probabilities of progression-free and overall survival at 5 years after transplantation were 31% (95% confidence interval [CI], 24% to 38%) and 37% (95% CI, 30% to 45%), respectively. In multivariate analysis, chemotherapy resistance, Karnofsky performance status score less than 80 at transplantation, age > or = 55 years at transplantation, receiving three or more prior chemotherapy regimens, and not receiving pre- or posttransplant involved-field irradiation therapy were adverse prognostic factors for overall survival. Conclusion High-dose chemotherapy and autologous hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation should be considered for patients with diffuse aggressive NHL who never achieve a complete remission but who are still chemotherapy-sensitive and are otherwise transplant candidates.
Electrochemical and spectroelectrochemical study of copper bleomycin complexes

The electrochemical behavior of the copper(II) complex of bleomycin, a glycopeptide antibiotic with antitumor activity, was investigated in several buffer systems using cyclic voltammetry, polarography, coulometry, and spectroelectrochemistry. The copper bleomycin complex exhibited irreversible one-electron reduction on glassy carbon and mercury electrodes and was electroinactive on platinum, gold, and silver. After the initial reduction process on mercury, the appearance of the Cu(0)/(II) redox couple indicated dissociation of the complex and subsequent reduction of the Cu(I) to the metal. In the presence of excess bleomycin, the Cu(II) reoxidized from the mercury electrode is rapidly complexed and no copper reduction process is observed. On glassy carbon, however, the Cu(I) bleomycin complex is stable and does not undergo further reduction, as demonstrated by spectroelectrochemistry at a reticulated vitreous carbon optically transparent electrode. Consequently, as with many metallo-organic redox processes, there appear to be several possible electrochemical pathways depending on the pH, the electrode materials, and the experimental time domain.
Two muscarinic depolarizing mechanisms in mammalian sympathetic neurons.

Abstract A voltage-sensitive outward membrane current (‘M’) and a consequent change in conductance (ΔG) appear with a slow time-constant, in principal neurons of rabbit superior cervical ganglion (SCG), only when membrane potentials (V m ) are depolarized to m s tested (about —90 to —40 mV), there is an additional larger muscarinic depolarization with no ΔG. Thus, the muscarinic depolarizing response and the equivalent slow excitatory postsynaptic potential in the rabbit SCG may consist of two different components: one is due to the suppression of M-current and is substantial only in the depolarized range; the other is probably mediated via an intracellular increase in cyclic GMP and can account for most or all of the response at V m s more negative than —55 mV.
A comparison of brand personality and brand user‐imagery congruence

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to compare the brand personality and brand user‐imagery constructs in congruity theory to examine their relationship in the image congruence model as a basis of modeling brand attitudes for publicly and privately consumed brands.Design/methodology/approach – A total of 272 surveys measured subjects' self‐image perceptions and subjects' perceptions of brand personality and user‐imagery. Congruence measures were used as indicators of the difference between respondent self‐image and each brand's image, and served as independent variables in stepwise regressions with brand attitude as the dependent variable.Findings – The results indicated that, for publicly consumed brands, user‐imagery‐based congruence measures contributed more often to the explanatory power of the model. For privately consumed brands, brand personality congruity produced significant regressions but did not account for a large portion of explained variance, while user‐imagery only entered one private b...
Attributions, involuntariness, and hypnotic rapport.

Abstract Subjects' attributions of their hypnotic responsiveness to the hypnotist's abilities and efforts were associated with reports of suggestion-related involuntariness. In addition, rapport with the hypnotist was found to correlate with experienced involuntariness. As predicted, high-susceptible subjects expressed greater positive rapport and liking for the hypnotist and experienced greater involuntariness than their low-susceptible counterparts; they also attributed more of their responsiveness to the hypnotist's ability and efforts. Medium susceptibles were distinguishable from both highs and lows on all measures except liking for the hypnotist, in which case they were similar to the highs. Subjects viewed ability and effort as independent sources of hypnotic responsiveness.
Nowcasting and forecasting concentrations of biological contaminants at beaches: a feasibility and case study.

Public concern over microbial contamination of recreational waters has increased in recent years. A common approach to evaluatingbeachwaterqualityhasbeentousethepersistence model which assumes that day-old monitoring results provide accurate estimates of current concentrations. This model is frequently incorrect. Recent studies have shown that statistical regression models based on least-squares fitting often are more accurate. To make such models more generally available, the Virtual Beach (VB) tool was developed. VB is publicdomain software that prescribes site-specific predictive models. In this study we used VB as a tool to evaluate statistical modeling for predicting Escherichia coli (E. coli) levels at Huntington Beach, on Lake Erie. The models were based on readily available weather and environmental data, plus U.S. Geological Service onsite data. Although models for Great Lakes beaches have frequently been fitted to multiyear data sets, this work demonstrates that useful statistical models can be based on limited data sets collected over much shorter time periods, leading to dynamic models that are periodicallyrefittedasnewdatabecomeavailable.Comparisons of the resulting nowcasts (predictions of current, but yet unknown, bacterial levels) with observations verified the effectiveness of VB and showed that dynamic models are about as accurate as long-term static models. Finally, fitting models to forecasted explanatory variables, bacteria forecasts were found to compare favorably to nowcasts, yielding adjusted coefficients of determination (adjusted R 2 ) of about
The Small-Molecule Iron Transport Inhibitor Ferristatin/NSC306711 Promotes Degradation of the Transferrin Receptor

Iron delivery by transferrin (Tf) is accomplished through clathrin-mediated endocytosis of Tf receptors. The small molecule NSC306711 inhibits iron uptake from the Tf-TfR pathway. Here we show that the drug's mechanism of action is to induce internalization and degradation of unoccupied Tf receptors through an unexpected endocytic pathway. Unlike classical clathrin-mediated Tf receptor endocytosis, internalization promoted by NSC306711 is independent of clathrin and dynamin, and is sensitive to the cholesterol-depleting agents filipin and nystatin. The finding of this cholesterol-dependent Tf receptor internalization pathway through use of the small-molecule inhibitor sheds light on the pleiotropic nature of membrane trafficking dynamics and adds a complex dimension to our understanding of receptor regulation. Because of its unusual properties to inhibit iron uptake, we refer to NSC306711 as "ferristatin."
Women and culture in Herodotus' Histories

(1981). Women and culture in Herodotus' Histories. Women's Studies: Vol. 8, No. 1-2, pp. 93-127.
EXAMINATION AND ENHANCEMENT OF ENANTIOSELECTIVE AUTOINDUCTION IN CYANOHYDRIN FORMATION BY CYCLO(R)-HIS-(R)-PHE

The cyclic dipeptide cyclo[(R)-His-(R)-Phe] (1) has been known since 1981 to catalyze the enantioselective formation of cyanohydrins from aldehydes and HCN. Although 1 has proved to be very effective in the production of optically active cyanohydrins, the precise structure of its catalytically active form remains unresolved. The reaction of 3-phenoxybenzaldehyde and HCN in the presence of 1 has also been shown to exhibit enantioselective autocatalysis: the product (S)-3-phenoxymandelonitrile reacts with 1 to form a new, more enantioselective catalytic species. It is now demonstrated that this autocatalytic phenomenon is general and that, furthermore, it can be used to improve the enantioselectivity of cyanohydrin formation for several problematic substrates. Upon addition of a small (8 mol %) quantity of (S)-mandelonitrile or (S)-3-phenoxymandelonitrile to these reactions, the enantioselectivity of cyanohydrin formation was improved by as much as 20% ee. This effect has been ascribed to the formation of ...
Molecular mechanisms of lipopolysaccharide induced ICAM-1 expression in A549 cells

Objective and Design: Lung intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) expression is increased by LPS or hyperoxia on type II cells in vivo. The goals of the present study were to determine the mechanisms of ICAM-1 expression in a lung alveolar epithelial cell line (A549) exposed to lipopolysaccharide (LPS).¶Materials: A549 cells, a transformed human cell line with characteristics of alveolar epithelial cells, were used.¶Treatment: Cells were exposed to LPS, TNF-α, IL-1β, or media alone for up to 12 h.¶Methods: Northern blot analyses were done to determine mRNA expression of ICAM-1 after exposures. Protein binding to NF-κB sequences were determined by gel mobility shift assays and super-shift analysis.¶Results: ICAM-1 mRNA expression was induced in A549 cells with exposure to LPS for 1 to 4 h, and was diminished to baseline at 8 h, and the inductions were independent of TNF-α and IL-1β expression. Nuclear protein extracts from LPS-exposed cells bound to a NF-κB sequence and the timing of increased binding correlated closely with ICAM-1 mRNA induction. Super-shift studies indicated that p65 was involved in the binding to the NF-κB sequence and p50 was not.¶Conclusion: LPS inducibility of ICAM-1 mRNA in A549 cells is independent of TNF- and IL-1 in A549 cells, and the similar time course of mRNA induction and NF-κB activation suggest the induction of ICAM-1 is mediated, in part, by NF-κB.
High-order linear and non-linear residual distribution schemes for turbulent compressible flows

A high-order Residual Distribution scheme for the solution of the compressible RANS equations is developed. The one-equation Spalart-Allmaras turbulence model is solved in a fully coupled approach; the mean flow equations as well as the turbulence equation are solved with high-order of accuracy. A continuous approximation of the solution is adopted and standard Lagrangian basis functions are used to construct the discrete space. Since viscous terms involve the gradient of the numerical solution which has a discontinuous normal component across the faces of the elements, a continuous approximation of the gradient of the numerical solution is recovered at each degree of freedom of the grid and then interpolated with the same basis functions used for the solution. The non-linear system of equations resulting from the numerical discretization is solved with the non-linear LU-SGS method. Several numerical experiments are performed to verify the accuracy of the numerical method, these are based on both subsonic and transonic flows in two and three spatial dimensions.
Effect of cure conditions on Probimide 32 polyamide‐imide

We report on a curing study of Probimide 32, a preimidized polyamide-imide. The polymer was in a solution of N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP) and xylene and was spun cast or doctor-bladed to form films for study. The films were cured by drying under a variety of conditions to effect solvent removal. We characterized the effects of cure by thermogravimetric analysis, dynamic mechanical analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry. Index of refraction was measured by waveguide prism coupling. Although the polymer did not require postprocessing thermal closure of its imide group, the physiochemical makeup of the system, and consequently, the properties of the Probimide 32 films, were highly dependent upon the curing temperature and environment. The properties/thermal stability improved as residual solvent was driven from the films. In the films hard baked at 300°C, the extent of thermally induced crosslinking was substantially greater in air-cured films than in nitrogen-cured films. The crosslinking markedly affected the properties and relaxation behavior of the material. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 63: 1113–1126, 1997
Characterization of phospholipase A2 and acyltransferase activities in purified zymogen granule membranes.

Abstract Phospholipase A 2 and acyltransferase activities were identified in membranes associated with purified pancreatic zymogen granules. In homogenate and granule membranes, phospholipase activity was linearly related to protein concentration and was Ca 2+ -dependent with an alkaline pH optimum. The Ca 2+ sensitivity was observed over the range of concentrations through which intracellular ionic Ca 2+ is elevated by physiological stimuli in intact cells. Intact zymogen granules and granule membranes also demonstrated reacylating activity in the presence and absence of an exogenous acceptor. Reacylating activity was related to the concentration of lyosphospholipid added and was optimally activated at alkaline pH. A more rapid rate of reacylation was observed when [ 14 C)] arachidonoyl CoA was employed as the donor molecule rather than [ 3 H]arachidonate (plus coenzyme A); this suggests the absence of acyl-CoA synthetase in the purified granule membranes. We conclude that granule membrane phospholipase A 2 and acyltransf erases may be involved in arachidonic acid turnover in exocrine pancreas and perhaps in membrane fusion events associated with exocytosis.
Reinterpretation of GCN4-p1 folding kinetics: partial helix formation precedes dimerization in coiled coil folding.

The folding of coiled coil peptides has traditionally been interpreted in terms of native dimer and unfolded monomers. Calculations using AGADIR and experimental studies of fragments suggest that the monomers of the coiled coil peptide, GCN4-p1, contain significant residual helical structure. A simple model based on diffusion-collision theory predicts not only the measured folding rate within an order of magnitude, but also predicts remarkably well the effect of alanine to glyXcine mutations. We suggest that intrinsic helix stability is a major determinant of the folding rate of the GCN4 coiled coil.
Source theory of the Casimir force

We show how the Casimir force between dielectrics can be calculated in terms of source fields, with no explicit reference to zero-point-field energy. Using Feynman's interpretation of the Lamb shift, the commutativity of equal-time electron and field operators, and a relation between a Green function and a vacuum-field-correlation function, we show why the theories of Lifshitz, van Kampen, and Schwinger produce identical results, even though they appear to be based on very different physical premises. We suggest the possibility of modifying van der Waals-Casimir forces with any external field having some degree of spatial coherence.
Edge-state inner products and real-space entanglement spectrum of trial quantum Hall states

We consider the trial wave functions for the fractional quantum Hall effect that are given by conformal blocks, and construct their associated edge excited states in full generality. The inner products between these edge states are computed in the thermodynamic limit, assuming generalized screening (i.e., short-range correlations only) inside the quantum Hall droplet and using the language of boundary conformal field theory (boundary CFT). These inner products take universal values in this limit: they are equal to the corresponding inner products in the bulk two-dimensional chiral CFT which underlies the trial wave function. This is a bulk/edge correspondence; it shows the equality between equal-time correlators along the edge and the correlators of the bulk CFT up to a Wick rotation. This approach is then used to analyze the entanglement spectrum of the ground state obtained with a bipartition $A\ensuremath{\cup}B$ in real space. Starting from our universal result for inner products in the thermodynamic limit, we tackle corrections to scaling using standard field-theoretic and renormalization-group arguments. We prove that generalized screening implies that the entanglement Hamiltonian ${H}_{E}=\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{ln}{\ensuremath{\rho}}_{A}$ is isospectral to an operator that is local along the cut between $A$ and $B$. We also show that a similar analysis can be carried out for particle partition. We discuss the close analogy between the formalism of trial wave functions given by conformal blocks and tensor product states, for which results analogous to ours have appeared recently. Finally, the edge theory and entanglement spectrum of ${p}_{x}\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}i{p}_{y}$ paired superfluids are treated in a similar fashion in the Appendixes.
Enhanced Ionic Conduction at the Film/Substrate Interface in LiI Thin Films Grown on Sapphire(0001)

The ionic conductivity of LiI thin films grown on sapphire(0001) substrates has been studied in-situ during deposition as a function of film thickness and deposition conditions. LiI films were produced at room temperature by sublimation in an ultra-high-vacuum system. The conductivity of the LiI parallel to the film/substrate interface was determined from frequency-dependent impedance measurements as a function of film thickness using Au interdigital electrodes deposited on the sapphire surface. The measurements show a conduction of {approximately}5 times the bulk value at the interface which gradually decreases as the film thickness is increased beyond 100 nm. This interfacial enhancement is not stable but anneals out with a characteristic log of time dependence. Fully annealed films have an activation energy for conduction ({sigma}T) of {approximately}0.47{plus_minus}.03 eV, consistent with bulk measurements. The observed annealing behavior can be fit with a model based on dislocation motion which implies that the increase in conduction near the interface is not due to the formation of a space-charge layer as previously reported but to defects generated during the growth process. This explanation is consistent with the behavior exhibited by CaF{sub 2} films grown under similar conditions.
Estimation of tissue optical properties from in vivo fluorescence measurements using an inverse analytical model

An analytical model was used to develop an inverse model to estimate tissue optical properties from in vivo fluorescence measurements. The inverse model estimated optical parameters from the epithelial and stromal layers from fluorescence spectra.
Collective Action as Individual Choice

We argue that conceptual analyses of collective action should be informed by game-theoretic analyses of collective action. In particular, we argue that Ariel Rubenstein’s so-called ‘Electronic Mail Game’ provides a useful model of collective action, and of the formation of collective intentions.
KIT associated intracellular tyrosines play an essential role in EpoR co-signaling.

KIT and erythropoietin receptor (EpoR) mediated co-signaling is essential for normal erythroid cell expansion, however the intracellular signals that contribute to cooperative signaling are poorly understood. Here, we examined the role of intracellular tyrosine residues in KIT and EpoR cooperation by co-expressing tyrosine (Y) to phenylalanine (F) and deletion mutants of KIT and EpoR in 32D cells. Of the four EpoR mutants examined, only EpoR-Y343 induced proliferation to near wildtype EpoR levels. A modest increase in the growth was also observed in 32D cells expressing the EpoR-Y343F; however neither EpoR-W282R nor EpoR-F8 showed any increase in growth over baseline. Biochemical analysis revealed that EpoR-Y343 induced the activation of Stat5, PI-3Kinase/Akt and MAP kinase Erk1/2 to near wildtype EpoR levels, while the remaining mutants failed to activate any of these signals. Interestingly, none of the EpoR mutants cooperated with WT KIT, although EpoR-Y343 showed a modest increase in co-signaling. Loss of seven tyrosine residues in KIT (KIT-F7) completely abrogated EpoR induced co-signaling. Restoring the Src kinase binding sites in KIT-F7 alone or together with the PI3Kinase binding site restored KIT induced signals as well as co-signals with WT EpoR, although restoring the Src kinase binding sites along with the PLC-γ binding site repressed both KIT induced signaling as well as co-signaling with WT EpoR. Taken together, these results suggest that KIT and EpoR mediated co-signaling requires intracellular tyrosine residues and tyrosine residues that bind Src kinases in the KIT receptor appear to be sufficient for restoring both KIT signaling as well as co-signaling with EpoR. In contrast, restoration of the PLC-γ binding site in the context of Src binding sites appears to antagonize the positive signals induced via the Src kinase binding sites in the KIT receptor.
Large-scale testing of the Internet's Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) via topological scale-down

The Internet is a critical communication infrastructure servicing billions of end-users world-wide. Ongoing studies of the Internet's operations show that data loss and increased latency are occurring due to weaknesses in its interdomain routing protocol, BGP. Many solutions have been proposed, but few have experienced widespread adoption. Both the delayed discovery of the protocol's shortcomings, and apathy for its proposed solutions, are partially due to inadequate testing practices. Internet interdomain routing technologies are not evaluated at appropriate scale. Better testing is suggested, which incorporates the specification of large-scale experimental topologies. This is necessary, as BGP performs the distributed operation of interdomain routing across the thousands of networks composing the Internet. However, only small to moderately sized topologies can be currently accommodated by today's testing platforms.A modeling methodology based on path preserving scale-down is proposed to extend the topological scale of interdomain routing experimentation. A given Internet topology is reduced in terms of its autonomous systems (ASes) using a combination of Gaussian elimination and several graphical heuristics. The interdomain routing paths generated by BGP on this reduced topology are also preserved. Path preservation keeps the length, composition, and ordering of these routing paths unchanged. When the routing paths guiding Internet traffic among ASes are preserved across the size reduction, the large-scale traffic engineering induced by BGP can be estimated at much lower scales. Internet data losses due to certain inappropriate interdomain routing behaviors can be identified. As an example, a persistent multiple origin autonomous system (MOAS) conflict is characterized over a topology containing 8826 ASes. It is shown that this problem's large-scale characterization can be obtained using scale-down models that are 70p smaller, and thus more accommodating to common testing platforms (e.g., simulation and networking testbeds).
Rape Myths, Rape Definitions, and Probability of Conviction

Feminist analyses of rape hypothesize that adherence to rape myths affects the inclusiveness or restrictiveness of rape definitions, with numerous practical consequences. The results of this research support that hypothesis. The paper also critiques the experimental vignette methodology frequently used to investigate rape definitions. In the process of exploring its cectral hypothesis, this analysis demonstrates the importance and feasibility of using additional techniques to achieve a fuller understanding of factors affecting rape definitions.
Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy of mesial temporal sclerosis: Analysis of voxel shape and position to improve diagnostic accuracy.

Objective: To determine if change in voxel shape and position improves the lateralization of magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy to the side of the MR imaging and/or electroencephalography (EEG) abnormality in mesial temporal sclerosis. Methods: In 10 patients with unilateral mesial temporal sclerosis and 5 controls, MR spectroscopy was performed. Long echo time single-voxel spectroscopy was obtained in the right and left hippocampus. First, the standard 2-cm x 2-cm x 2-cm cubic voxels were placed bilaterally. Then, 1-cm x 2-cm x 4-cm rectangular voxels were used. With this rectangular voxel shape, more of the hippocampus and less of the adjacent medial temporal lobe were included in the interrogation voxel. N-acetylaspartate-to-creatine (NAA/Cr) ratios and choline-to-creatine (Cho/Cr) ratios were obtained. The difference between the affected and unaffected sides in the patients was calculated and compared with the controls. Additionally, the mean difference and standard deviation were determined. Predictive values and Student t tests were also performed. Results: In all 10 patients, using the NAA/Cr ratios, the rectangular voxel correctly identified the abnormal side. The cubic voxel only identified the abnormal side in 6 of the 10 patients, however. Additionally, the mean difference between the affected and unaffected sides was 0.30 for the rectangular voxel but only 0.003 for the cubic voxel; that is, there was no overall significant difference when using the cubic voxel (P = 0.007). No significant correlation between the affected and unaffected sides was found using the Cho/ Cr ratios. No significant difference between the right and left sides was found in the controls. Conclusion: Use of a 1-cm x 2-cm x 4-cm rectangular voxel places more of the hippocampus in the region of interrogation with less partial volume artifact from the adjacent brain parenchyma, which occurs with use of the standard 2-cm x 2-cm x 2-cm cubic voxel, resulting in improved correct lateralization of MR spectroscopy to the side of the MR imaging and/or EEG abnormality.
An Unusual Recent Expansion of the C-Terminal Domain of RNA Polymerase II in Primate Malaria Parasites Features a Motif Otherwise Found Only in Mammalian Polymerases

The tail of the enzyme RNA polymerase II is responsible for integrating the diverse events of gene expression in eukaryotes and is indispensable for life in yeast, fruit flies, and mice. The tail features a C-terminal domain (CTD), which is comprised of tandemly repeated Y1-S2-P3-T4-S5-P6-S7 amino acid heptads that are highly conserved across evolutionary lineages, with all mammalian polymerases featuring 52 identical heptad repeats. However, the composition and function of protozoan CTDs remain less well understood. We find that malaria parasites (genus Plasmodium) display an unprecedented plasticity within the length and composition of their CTDs. The CTD in malaria parasites which infect human and nonhuman primates has expanded compared to closely related species that infect rodents or birds. In addition, this variability extends to different isolates within a single species, such as isolates of the human malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum. Our results indicate that expanded CTD heptads in malaria parasites correlates with parasitism of primates and provide the first demonstration of polymorphism of the RNA polymerase II CTD within a single species. The expanded set of CTD heptads feature lysine in the seventh position (Y1-S2-P3-T4-S5-P6-K7), a sequence only seen otherwise in the distal portion of mammalian polymerases. These observations raise new questions for the radiation of malaria parasites into diverse hosts and for the molecular evolution of RNA polymerase II.
Catalyzed decomposition of N2O on metal oxide supports

Abstract The catalytic decomposition of N 2 O using metal oxides supported on silica, magnesium oxide, calcium oxide and hydrotalcite-like supports was studied. CoO is much more active than CuO and Fe 2 O 3 when supported on silica. A conversion of 95% was achieved using CoO on SiO 2 at 1500 h −1 GHSV, 500°C and 50,000 ppm feed N 2 O. However, the use of higher flow rates resulted in lower conversions. We found that when supporting CoO on MgO, a much more active catalyst is attained. A conversion of 95% was achieved using this catalyst at 40,000 h −1 , 500°C, 100,000 ppm N 2 O feed. This is a significant improvement over any catalyst currently in the literature. The activity of this catalyst was decreased by calcination at 1000°C. XPS and XRD studies revealed that higher temperature calcination led to an inactive crystalline phase. The active catalyst displayed a less crystalline phase involving the support and the metal oxide. Other oxide combination catalysts were found to be less active than theCoO/MgO catalyst. Based on our findings, a modification of the reactions proposed for N 2 O decomposition is suggested.