cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Small beam nonparaxiality arrests self-focusing of optical beams.

A new equation for self-focusing in the presence of small beam nonparaxiality is derived. Analysis of this equation shows that nonparaxiality remains small as the beam propagates. Nevertheless, nonparaxiality arrests self-focusing when the beam width becomes comparable to its wavelength. A series of focusing-defocusing cycles of decreasing magnitude follows, ending with a final defocusing stage.
The structure and the small-scale intermittency of passive scalars in homogeneous turbulence

Results generated by direct numerical simulations (DNS) are used to study the structure and the small-scale intermittency of a passive scalar contaminant in a homogeneous turbulent shear flow. Simulations are conducted of flows with and without a constant mean scalar gradient. In all cases, the probability density functions (PDFs) of the scalars adopt an approximate gaussian distribution at the final stages of mixing. In the presence of the mean gradient, the scalar fields yield a nearly identical asymptotic state independent of initial conditions. In these cases, the gradient of the fluctuating scalar field shows preferred directions of orientation with respect to the strain eigenvectors; and the mean transverse velocity conditioned on the scalar is linear. These fields also portray increased flatness and skewness of the scalar-difference field as the separation distance becomes small. Larger than gaussian tails are observed in the PDF of both the velocity- and the scalar-derivatives, and the intermittency of the scalar derivative is shown to be more pronounced in the presence of the mean scalar gradient. Conditional averages of the angle between the scalar gradient and the strain eigenvectors suggest that the scalar field may be viewed as a random gaussian background field superimposed with sporadic scalar structures which are responsible for intermittency. With this view, a Langevin transport equation is proposed for the mapping of the scalar derivative PDF from a gaussian reference field. This is done in the context of the “two-fluid” model of She (1990). With this model, the PDF of the scalar dissipation is produced and the results are compared with DNS data.
Incorporating high fidelity simulation into perfusion education

The new Perfusion Simulation Center at the Medical University of South Carolina provides a new level of high fidelity simulation training for perfusion students. A key component is the Orpheus Perfusion Simulator which is a computer-driven simulator integrated with the mechanical connections of the heart-lung machine to allow for real time operative procedures and perfusion incidents. Due to the ability to consistently reproduce cardiac surgical scenarios, it is possible to develop both basic perfusion skills as well as advanced emergency skills more effectively than with animal models. The purpose of this paper is to provide details about advanced simulation for perfusionists and to illustrate how simulation can be used to promote the assets of good communication, team work, and surgical awareness. Two sets of four cardiac surgical scenarios were recorded in the perfusion simulation operating room. Scenario team member roles included a cardiac surgeon, an anesthesiologist, a perfusionist and an operating room nurse. The scripted surgical scenarios were viewed by a focus group of students charged with identifying key personality traits of different members of the operating team and to characterize them using a list of descriptive words adapted from the Medical University of South Carolina's Peer Review Tool. In the first set of scenarios, initial scores were negative, with irresponsibility, impatience, and carelessness listed as the top behavioral characteristics leading to human error. In the second set of scenarios, logical, clear-thinking, and attentive were the most common personality traits observed of the effective team members. Simulation has become an invaluable tool for perfusion education and the goal of improving patient safety during cardiopulmonary bypass. The opportunities for advanced training in the perfusion simulation environment will certainly expand in the future.
The verbal system of a seventeenth-century icon legend: Morphology and discourse function

L'article examine les conditions d'emploi et la distribution des temps verbaux passes (parfait, imparfait et aoriste) dans un texte du 17 e siecle publie recemment. Il aborde en particulier la question de la relation entre la distribution du participe de forme L dans ce texte et son apparition dans d'autres textes en vieux russe et en russe pre-moderne
Sub-Picosecond Laser-Produced Plasmas.

Abstract When an intense, sub-picosecond laser pulse is focused onto the surface of a solid, a high-temperature, high-density, X-ray emitting plasma is produced. In this paper we describe experimental and theoretical studies of such a plasma, which show that it is a useful source of short X-ray pulses with a duration of less than 1.5 ps. Spectroscopic measurements indicate the presence of a short-lived, high-density plasma, with an emission spectrum in reasonable agreement with theoretical predictions.
In vivo biodistribution and pharmacokinetics of silica nanoparticles as a function of geometry, porosity and surface characteristics.

The in vivo biodistribution and pharmacokinetics of silica nanoparticles (SiO2) with systematically varied geometries, porosities, and surface characteristics were investigated in immune-competent CD-1 mice via the intravenous injection. The nanoparticles were taken up extensively by the liver and spleen. Mesoporous SiO2 exhibited higher accumulation in the lung than nonporous SiO2 of similar size. This accumulation was reduced by primary amine modification of the nanoparticles. High aspect ratio, amine-modified mesoporous nanorods showed enhanced lung accumulation compared to amine-modified mesoporous nanospheres. Accumulation of the nanoparticles was mainly caused by passive entrapment in the discontinuous openings in the endothelium of the liver and spleen or in the pulmonary capillaries, and was highly dependent on nanoparticle hydrodynamic size in circulation. The SiO2 were likely internalized by the reticulo-endothelial system (RES) following physical sequestration in the liver and spleen. The nanoparticles that were transiently associated with the lung were re-distributed out of this organ without significant internalization. Pharmacokinetic analysis showed that all SiO2 were rapidly cleared from systemic circulation. Amine-modified or nonporous nanoparticles possessed a higher volume of distribution at steady state than their pristine counterparts or mesoporous SiO2. In all, surface characteristics and porosity played important roles in influencing SiO2 biodistribution and pharmacokinetics. Increasing the aspect ratio of amine-modified mesoporous SiO2 from 1 to 8 resulted in increased accumulation in the lung.
The antiapoptotic function of megakaryocyte growth and development factor (Peg-rmMGDF) Is disrupted in STAT5ab−/− and JAK2+/− mice

Abstract PEG-rmMGDF (60 μg/kg) given to mice immediately after lethal myelosuppression (Carboplatin 80 mg/kg + 750R Cs-137), prevents death and promotes multilineage hematopoietic reconstitution (Pestina et al ., Exp Hematol 27, Suppl 1: 100, 1999). Our data from study of p53-deficient mice suggests that this myeloprotection results in part by preventing p53-dependent apoptosis of c-Mpl-expressing multipotential hematopoietic cells. To define molecules involved in the antiapoptotic signaling pathways induced by c-Mpl ligation, we performed in vivo studies using mice with specific gene deletions. Jak-2 tyrosine kinase is rapidly activated as a result of c-Mpl ligation, but its role in antiapoptotic signaling has not been examined in vivo . Because Jak2 −/− is an embryonic lethal due to failed development of hematopoiesis, we examined whether adult Jak2 +/− mice were protected from lethal myelosuppression by PEG-rmMGDF. The survival rate of Jak2 +/ − mice (68%) was lower than that of wild-type (WT) mice (91%), indicating that Jak2 activation plays a role in the myeloprotective signaling pathway in vivo. We next investigated the importance of the Jak2 substrates Stat5a and b in this pathway using mice with combined deficiency of these Stat proteins. Intact Stat5ab −/− mice had normal steady-state platelet counts and similar elevations in platelet numbers in response to PEG-rmMGDF to those of WT mice, suggesting that neither Stat5 protein is required during megakaryocytopoieses. However, Stat5 −/− mice exposed to the myelosuppressive regimen were severely compromised in their ability to be protected by PEG-rmMGDF (19% survival vs. 100% for Stat5ab +/− and 90% for WT mice). These findings provide in vivo evidence that Jak2 and Stat5 play important roles in the myeloprotective signaling pathways initiated by c-Mpl ligation.
Improved Sentence Alignment on Parallel Web Pages Using a Stochastic Tree Alignment Model

Parallel web pages are important source of training data for statistical machine translation. In this paper, we present a new approach to sentence alignment on parallel web pages. Parallel web pages tend to have parallel structures, and the structural correspondence can be indicative information for identifying parallel sentences. In our approach, the web page is represented as a tree, and a stochastic tree alignment model is used to exploit the structural correspondence for sentence alignment. Experiments show that this method significantly enhances alignment accuracy and robustness for parallel web pages which are much more diverse and noisy than standard parallel corpora such as "Hansard". With improved sentence alignment performance, web mining systems are able to acquire parallel sentences of higher quality from the web.
Hormonal Changes Associated with Growth and Development of Red Raspberries

Analysis for gibberellin-like substances (GA) and cytokinins in cold and non-cold treated fall-bearing and cold treated June-bearing cultivars of red raspberries (Rubus idaeus L.) was made at the 10 and 20 node stages of growth (at 10 nodes, all plants were vegetative; at 20 nodes, only cold treated plants of fall-bearing cultivars were flower induced). Quantitative changes in GAs, as analyzed by the lettuce hypocotyl bioassay, were observed only in flower induced plants. In fall-bearing cultivars at the 20 node stage of growth, there was a 100% greater activity in cold than non-cold treated plants. Likewise, cold treated plants had a 60% greater activity at the 20 than at the 10 node stage of growth. Major qualitative differences in GAs were observed between the 10 and 20 node stage of growth in cold treated fall-bearing cultivars but not in cold treated plants of June-bearing cultivars. Changes in compounds at Rf 0.3 and 0.5 accounted for 35 to 54% of the total increase in GA activity between flower induced and non-induced stages of growth. Cytokinin activity tested by the tobacco callus bioassay was greater at the 20 than at the 10 node stage of growth in all cultivars and treatments. However, cold treated plants of the fall-bearing type had 70% greater cytokinin activity than non-cold treated plants at both stages of growth. It is suggested that gibberellins, possibly acting synergistically with cytokinins, are involved inflower induction in red raspberries.
AMPA receptor-dependent, light-evoked d-serine release acts on retinal ganglion cell NMDA receptors

NMDA receptor (NMDAR) activation requires coincident binding of the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate and a coagonist, either glycine or d-serine. Changes in NMDAR currents during neural transm...
Normative values for blood pressure in preterm infants: identification of elevated blood pressure at discharge in infants <1000 gms.1187

Onset of hypertension (HTN) is a serious event causing immediate and perhaps long term morbidity in the premature infant. While multiple factors have been associated with HTN, there is a paucity of data available to guide either intervention or maintenance of therapy in this population. To determine normative values for blood pressure in the preterm infant over time, we documented daily maximum and minimum blood pressures in a consecutive sample of all preterm infants admitted to our nurseries with birthweights <1500 gms from July 1995 to June 1996. Blood pressures were obtained by oscillometric technique and recorded at birth, at 1 week of age, and monthly until discharge. Information collected included birthweight, gestational age, maternal factors and common neonatal diagnoses and exposures. During the study period 11 of 76 infants expired; 65 were followed for a mean of 18 weeks. Mean birthweight was 1060± 290 gms and mean gestational age was 28.9±3.19 weeks. As in previous short term studies, blood pressures in our population gradually increased from birth through the first week of life. Over the next month BPs were stable and then inceased modestly as weight increased. Table
Beneath the surface: profiling blubber depth in pinnipeds with infrared imaging.

Abstract Infrared thermography (IRT) was assessed as a non-invasive tool to evaluate body condition in juvenile female harbor seals (Phoca vitulina), (n=6) and adult female Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus), (n=2). Surface temperature determined by IRT and blubber depth assessed with portable imaging ultrasound were monitored concurrently at eight body sites over the course of a year in long-term captive individuals under controlled conditions. Site-specific differences in surface temperature were noted between winter and summer in both species. Overall, surface temperature was slightly higher and more variable in harbor seals (9.8±0.6 °C) than Steller sea lions (9.1±0.5 °C). Limited site-specific relationships were found between surface temperature and blubber thickness, however, insulation level alone explained a very small portion of the variance. Therefore, while validated IRT data collection can potentially provide valuable information on the health, condition and metabolic state of an animal, it cannot provide a generalized proxy for blubber depth.
Individual differences in the game motives of Own, Relative, and Joint gain

Abstract Two hundred and eighteen undergraduates (94 males and 124 females) made decisions in same-sex dyads across four types of 3-choice decomposed games. An analysis of each subject's choices was performed to see if he or she consistently pursued one of the three motives of Own (Individualism), Relative (Competition) or Joint (Cooperation) gain across all four decomposed games. Sixty-six percent of the subjects manifested such consistency, and sex of subject was unrelated to which goal was pursued. Of the remaining 32%, a sizable subgroup ( 1 3 ) was shown to be making its choices in an Altruistic fashion, attempting to maximize the outcomes of the other subject. An analysis of variance of the F scale scores of subjects in these motivational categories yielded an effect (p
A DAE approach to similarity solutions of unsteady fluid flows: An application case study

This note presents a discussion on the singularity crossing phenomenon (also known as sonic transition) of the unsteady fluid flows in gravitational fields with singularities. The systems of differential-algebraic equations that result from the similarity treatment in the unsteady fluid flow applications exhibit the singularity induced bifurcation phenomenon typical for the steady-state quasilinear or semi-explicit differential-algebraic equations in circuits, MHD, gas dynamics and other areas.
Some properties of nearly premixed laminar flame propagation along weakly stratified layers in combustible gas mixtures

Nearly premixed laminar flame propagation along weakly stratified layers in combustible gas mixtures is examined theoretically in the limit of weak flame stretch, high activation energy, and unity Lewis number. The stratification is represented by the variation in flame temperature along the reaction zone. Stratification is shown to affect the propagation velocity by a convective loss mechanism and by a diffusive mechanism that could be termed flame thickening. Whether a given amount of stratification should be expected to increase or decrease the propagation velocity compared with that of a nonstratified mixture depends on the angle the flame makes to the flow. The propagation velocity is most sensitive to the stratification for small flame angles.
Electron Diffraction Structure Solution of a Nanocrystalline Zeolite at Atomic Resolution

Electron diffraction data are used to obtain the structure solution of a large-pore, high-silica zeolite, SSZ-48 that contains an occluded organic structure directing agent. The structure is determ...
Epigenetics in Carcinogenesis and Cancer Prevention

Abstract: Carcinogenesis is a stepwise process of accumulation of genetic and epigenetic abnormalities that can lead to cellular dysfunction. It has become clear that epigenetic changes are equally important for this multistep process to produce its results. This article describes the different roles that epigenetic modulation may play during carcinogenesis and how an early detection and chemopreventive intervention strategy that takes both sides of the equation into account would be advantageous.
Metastases to Temporal Bones From Primary Nonsystemic Malignant Neoplasms

Objectives To compare histopathological and clinical findings of metastasis to the temporal bone with previous reports and to determine the prevalence of these metastases in patients with nonsystemic cancer. Study Design Retrospective. Methods Autopsy records of 864 patients were screened to select those with primary nondisseminated malignant neoplasms. These were evaluated histopathologically for metastasis to and site of involvement within the temporal bone, and histological characteristics of the tumor. Clinical records and autopsy reports were reviewed for demographic data, clinical course, otologic and vestibular manifestations, site of primary and its histological features, extent of metastasis, and mode of spread. Results Of 212 patients with primary nondisseminated malignant neoplasms, 47 had metastases to the temporal bone (76 temporal bones). Twenty different primary tumors had metastasized, most commonly breast cancer. Hearing loss was the most common otologic symptom (seen in 19 patients [40%]), while 17 (36%) had no otologic or vestibular symptoms. Temporal bone involvement was bilateral in 29 patients (62%). Most metastases to the temporal bone demonstrated hematogenous spread in 58 temporal bones (76.7%), and petrous apex was the most common site of metastases in 63 temporal bones (82.9%). Temporal bone metastases were not observed in cases where the primary tumor was adequately treated. Conclusions In the largest series to date, we found temporal bone metastases more frequently than previously reported. Absence of temporal bone involvement in cases in which the primary tumor was adequately treated stresses the need for early management of cancer. Metastatic disease must be considered as a cause of hearing loss in patients with a history of malignant neoplasm.
Principal components analysis using the hypothetical closed array

The application of R-mode principal components analysis to a set of closed chemical data is described using previously published chemical analyses of rocks from Gough Island. Different measures of similarity have been used and the results compared by calculating the correlation coefficients between each of the elements of the extracted eigenvectors and each of the original variables. These correlations provide a convenient measure of the contribution of each variable to each of the principal components. The choice of similarity measure (variance-covariance or correlation coefficient)should reflect the nature of the data and the view of the investigator as to which is the proper weighting of the variables—according to their sample variance or equally. If the data are appropriate for principal components analysis, then the Chayes and Kruskal concept of the hypothetical open and closed arrays and the expected closure correlations would seem to be useful in defining the structure to be expected in the absence of significant departures from randomness. If the data are not multivariate normally distributed, then it is possible that the principal components will not be independent. This may result in significant nonzero covariances between various pairs of principal components.
Environmental Concern: Examining the Role of Place Meaning and Place Attachment

As landscapes change, it is important to understand how attachments and meanings attributed to place may affect environmental quality and social well-being. To understand and apply sociological insights to policy and management efforts it is not sufficient to simply demonstrate that individuals or groups have strong emotional connections with a particular geographical locale. Rather, it is imperative to understand the implications of attachments, and meanings related to them. We focus our attention in this area on watershed management. Quantitative data are used to conduct an analysis of the interactions between place attachment, place meanings, and environmental concerns in a high-natural-amenity watershed in New Hampshire. Results from quantitative analyses important for understanding the dynamics between place attachment, place meanings, and various dimensions environmental concerns are presented. We find a strong role for place meanings, rather than place attachment, in predicting environmental concer...
Privilege and the Politics of Taxation in Eighteenth-Century France: Liberté, Égalité, Fiscalité. By Michael Kwass. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000. Pp. xvii, 353. $69.95.

Historians commonly attribute the origins of the French Revolution to the crown's relative inability to tax members of the elite. The proliferation of tax-exemptions, the argument goes, contributed to the fiscal crisis that brought about the collapse of absolutism. While Michael Kwass sets out to disprove this thesis, taxation nonetheless remains central to his understanding of the Revolution's origins. The crown did indeed succeed in taxing nobles and other members of the privileged elite, he argues, and yet the very debates and contestations that arose from such policies laid the groundwork for a new revolutionary political culture.
Proptosis after hair pulling.

We describe proptosis due to a subperiosteal orbital hematoma that originated from a subgaleal bleed caused by hair pulling. A 13-year-old boy presented with a one-week history of progressive proptosis after his older sister pulled his hair during an argument. Computerized tomography showed a subgaleal hematoma and a right superior subperiosteal orbital hematoma. Progressive proptosis and compressive optic neuropathy developed, necessitating surgical evacuation with a favorable outcome.Hair pulling can result in a subgaleal bleed with extension to the orbital subperiosteal space. When managing patients with a subgaleal hematoma, this vision-threatening complication should be considered and treated accordingly.
A Model for Designing Responsive Instruction

This paper describes a model for designing responsive instruction based on the principles of active responding, feedback, and branching. The Responsive Instruction Model (RIM) consists of a set of procedures and prescriptions for designing specifications for responsive instruction. Five components make up RIM: objectives, entry behavior, content, questions, and boundaries. The latter three components are described in detail. RIM currently is being evaluated on the basis of its application by graduate students to the design of specifications for instruction for a variety of learners and content.
Plane universal streamline patterns of incompressible viscous fluids

Unlike the truly kinematical quantities such as speed, vorticity and acceleration, the streamlines and stream surfaces in a flow characterize purely geometrical aspects of the motion. While the class of dynamically admissible motions of a fluid is determined by the governing field equations, which in turn depend upon the constitutive functions, several familiar streamline patterns maintain their presence despite the variations in the material properties. For example, the concentric circular streamline pattern admits various Couette flows corresponding to different viscosity functions, and likewise the parallel rectilinear streamline pattern admits various Poiseuille flows. Most of the exact solutions of incompressible viscous fluids in the literature were indeed obtained by semi-inverse methods based on the assumption of isometric streamline p a t t e r n s i n particular, streamline patterns that are composed of parallel or radial lines, concentric circles, or logarithmic spirals*. This suggests a general question concerning the class of streamline patterns which admit different flows depending upon the material properties. For such flows the streamline pattern is unperturbed by certain variations in the constitutive functions, although other kinematical features are. It is clear that such streamline patterns are of particular interest in connection with the experimental determination of constitutive functions. There is an extensive literature on the related subject of the universal flows of incompressible viscous fluids. With appropriate conservative body forces, a universal flow satisfies the Navier-Stokes equations for arbitrary values of the viscosity. Generalizing the concept of a universal flow, one may consider a streamline pattern which admits some steady solution of the Navier-Stokes equation for each value of the viscosity. However, in the Navier-Stokes equations the effects of the viscous stress and of the inertial force combine in such a way that any particular steady solution Vo corresponding to a specific value of the kinematical
Circadian regulation of iodopsin and clock is altered in the retinal degeneration chicken retina.

We are interested in determining if the visual phototransduction cascade plays a role in light entrainment of photoreceptor circadian oscillators. In this study, we compared mRNA levels of iodopsin and the chicken homolog of Clock (cClock) in the retinas of normal and rd (retinal degeneration) chickens that lack functional rod and cone phototransduction cascades. Iodopsin is a circadian-regulated, photoreceptor-specific gene expressed in chicken retina, and Clock is a transcription factor that has been shown to play a role in the circadian clock mechanism in mouse and Drosophila. The results of our analyses show that cClock and iodopsin transcript levels undergo daily oscillations in retinas of normal animals housed under 12 h light:12 h dark (12L:12D) conditions, and that these oscillations are maintained in the absence of light. Levels of these transcripts in the retinas of rd/rd chickens housed under cyclic light conditions did not change significantly over the course of a 12L:12D cycle; however, there was evidence that the photoreceptor oscillators were entrained in these animals. Comparisons of our normal and rd/rd data suggest that there are at least two light entrainment pathways that impinge on the oscillators found in photoreceptor cells, one of which is effectively disabled by the GC1 null mutation carried by the rd chicken.
Understanding the Occurrence of Interracial Marriage in the United States Through Differential Assimilation

American society is undergoing unprecedented cultural changes in the 21st century. This social transformation began with the civil rights movement in the 1960s. As the United States becomes more diverse, both racially and ethnically, equal access to a variety of social institutions and organizations becomes more challenging. With respect to marriage, popular media continually report the blurring of boundaries between racial and ethnic groups. As a result, there has been a tremendous increase in interracial dating and marriage over the past several decades. There are considerable differences between the occurrence of interracial dating and interracial marriage. Data suggest that there is a much higher level of interracial dating in comparison to interracial marriage. This research effort focuses on trends in interracial marriages in the United States between 1980 and 2006. Information from the U.S. Census Bureau was used to analyze changes in the number and frequency of interracial marriages in American society over a 22-year time frame. Differential assimilation is employed for understanding interracial marriage trends and distinguishing important statistical differences between marriages with a Black spouse and those interracial marriages not involving a Black spouse. This exploration provides important empirical findings for assessing the progress of assimilation in America.
Consistency of hand use and sleep problems.

S~irmmary.-In this study, we measured the relationship between the consistency of hand use and three symptoms of insomnia, i.e., delayed sleep onset, frequent awakenings during sleep, and trouble returning to sleep after an awakening. For each of these insomnia-related symptoms, university students who were classified as inconsisrent in the use of their hands (,1=30) were significantly more likely to report problems than their consistent hand-use peers (n=30). These data were discussed both in relation to the Literature on handedness classification and sleep problems and the emerging literature on consistency of hand use and health-related problems. In a recent study (12), we reported that students who had been classified as inconsistent in the use of their hands were 6.12 times more hkely to report accidents which involved injuries that required medical care than a group of students who had been classified as consistent in the use of their hands. In a subsequent study (13), we found that relative to the Consistent Hand Use Group, the Inconsistent Hand Use Group was 2.81 times more &ely to have experienced frequent falls during the last 12-mo. period and was 1.64 times more lrkely to rate themselves higher in proneness to fahg. In the former study, we suggested that the relationship between hand-use consistency and accidents with injury could indicate that persons who were inconsistent in the use of their hands are less practiced and thus less proficient in use of either hand and therefore were more likely to have acc~dents which resulted in injuries. In part, this explanation is congruent with Annett's (1) finding that mixed-handed persons were less proficient on tests of manual slulls than persons she had classified as either right- or left-handed. In explaining the results of our second study, we noted that differences between the proficiency of hand use between the Consistent and Inconsistent Hand Use Groups did not seem to be an adequate means of explaining our results. We suggested that the collective results of both studies might indicate that inconsistent hand use may be a sign of a developmental inconsistency in motor coordination.
An Efficient Algorithm for Real-Time Divisible Load Scheduling

Providing QoS and performance guarantees to arbitrarily divisible loads has become a significant problem for many cluster-based research computing facilities. While progress is being made in scheduling arbitrarily divisible loads, current approaches are not efficient and do not scale well. In this paper, we propose a linear algorithm for real-time divisible load scheduling. Unlike existing approaches, the new algorithm relaxes the tight coupling between the task admission controller and the task dispatcher. By eliminating the need to generate exact schedules in the admission controller, the algorithm avoids high overhead. We experimentally evaluate the new algorithm. Simulation results demonstrate that the algorithm scales well, can schedule large numbers of tasks efficiently, and performs similarly to existing approaches in terms of providing real-time guarantees.
Building a sustainable supply chain: an analysis of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices in the Chinese textile and apparel industry

This study aims to analyze the development, achievements, and challenges of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices in the Chinese textile and apparel industry. The determinants of CSR movement in the industry are discussed. The World Bank CSR Diamond Model based on stakeholder theory provides an analytical framework to address this complex issue in a systematic way. The relevant information and data were gathered from an extensive literature review of governmental, industrial and academic publications, and interviews. Overall, the tightening legal environment for CSR development has raised the cost of doing business in China in a short time. While forward‐looking companies are already taking CSR into account in their daily operations and strategic plans, some resistance to the execution and enforcement of CSR‐related laws and regulations have been witnessed. However, from a long‐term perspective, the CSR movement will benefit towards upgrading the industry and the healthy growth of China's econom...
Effects of lithium on behavioral reactivity: relation to increases in brain cholinergic activity.

Suppression of behavior accompanying increased ACh synthesis in the brain might account, at least in part, for the preferred use of lithium in antimanic therapy. Three experiments using rats as subjects were designed to test hypotheses about relationships among lithium, ACh synthesis and behavior. Experiment 1 established that hyporeactivity and greater exploratory behavior occurred in animals under LiCl treatment conditions shown to stimulate cholinergic activity in brain. Experiment 2 provided evidence of significant differences between controls and animals on the LiCl diet. Groups tested after 1 or 2 days of LiCl showed the decrease in reactivity to successive presentations of a loudd auditory stimulus which characterizes the normal process of habituation. Groups tested after 5 or 10 days of LiCl showed no evidence of habituation, their reactivity throughout the period of stimulation being at a level attained by the other groups when habituation reached its final asymptote. Experiment 3 established that effects of LiCl treatment were not manifested in all aspects of behavior: there was no evidence of impairment of motor activity or coordination; no analgesia; no impairment in sensory input nor in acquisition of new behaviors. The effect of the LiCl treatment was not complete inhibition but instead suppression of reactivity to environmental stimulation under conditions shown previously to increase cholinergic activity in brain.
Oxidant damage mediates variant red cell resistance to malaria

IT is thought that the deleterious properties of thalassaemia (thal) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency (G6PD−) are balanced in the population by a conferred protection against malaria, and that some characteristic of the variant red cell acts directly to inhibit the invasion or intracellular development of the malaria parasite. Indeed, such is the case for sickle cell disorders1,2. Recently, Pasvol et al.3, having shown that fetal haemoglobin (HbF) (in both fetal and adult cells) inhibits malaria parasite development, have suggested that the slight persistance of HbF in children with thal trait is responsible for the selective advantage of the thal gene. They have reported no difference in parasite development in the red cells of adult carriers of thal. Evidence is presented here that both α- and β-thal trait red cells from adults are refractory to parasite development because of oxidant sensitivity, and, furthermore, that fetal red cells and G6PD− cells are refractory for the same reason.
Ceteris Paribus Laws

A strict law of nature might tell us that F events always cause G events, or that every F event has such-and-such objective chance of causing a G event. A ceteris pasribus law, if there are any, might tell us that F events cause G events ceteris pariibus, or, to confine expression to a single language, that F events cause G events all other things being equal. Some philosophers believe that there are ceteris paribus laws and that without them there would be no special-science explanations, and hence no special sciences. These philosophers think that science is in the business of providing scientific explanations, that such explanations require laws, and that there are no, or only very few, strict special-science laws; whence their appeal to ceteris paribus laws. I say 'these philosophers', and I know there are many, but I particularly have in mind a colleague who is especially fond of ceteris paribus laws, and especially concerned to stress their importance in commonsense psychology and in those departments of cognitive psychology that are refinements of the folk theory. Jerry Fodor wants to account for the causal-explanatory role of psychological properties, and he thinks that to do this those properties must occur in psychological laws. At the same time, he recognizes that those laws aren't "strict", in that they don't have completions in the language of psychology. But that's OK, he says, because they are correct ceteris paribus laws, which is all that's needed. In this respect, he further says, psychology, both commonsense and scientific, is in the same boat as any other special science. He even goes so far as to say that
Prior Treatment with Estrogen Attenuates the Effects of the 5-HT1AAgonist, 8-OH-DPAT, on Lordosis Behavior

Abstract The effects of repeated treatment with estradiol benzoate to ovariectomized rats on the lordosis-inhibiting action of the 5-HT1Aagonist, 8-hydroxy-2(di-n-propylamino) tetralin (8-OH-DPAT), were examined. In the first week of hormonal priming, when rats were injected with estradiol benzoate (2.5–50 μg) plus 500 μg progesterone, all groups were inhibited by intraperitoneal (i.p.) treatment with 0.15 mg/kg 8-OH-DPAT. However, in the second week of hormone treatment, the effects of 8-OH-DPAT on lordosis behavior were dose-dependently attenuated by estradiol benzoate. Such attenuation was present when animals were treated with estradiol benzoate on the day of ovariectomy and when the first estradiol benzoate treatment was delayed for 2 weeks after ovariectomy. At least 3 days after the first injection with estradiol benzoate were required before the inhibitory effects of i.p. treatment with 8-OH-DPAT were attenuated. Although the magnitude was reduced, higher doses of 8-OH-DPAT (0.4, 0.45, and 0.5 mg/kg) continued to inhibit lordosis behavior even after the second hormonal priming. When 8-OH-DPAT was infused directly into the ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus (VMN), the lordosis-inhibiting effects of 8-OH-DPAT were reduced as soon as 2 days after the first estradiol benzoate injection. These data are interpreted as evidence that (1) estradiol benzoate's attenuation of the effects of 8-OH-DPAT on lordosis behavior is both dose and time dependent; (2) 5-HT1Areceptor action in the VMN is attenuated by the hormone treatment; and (3) female gonadal hormones reduce the potency of the 5-HT1Aagonist, 8-OH-DPAT, in inhibiting lordosis behavior.
Tyrosine-kinase-dependent signaling pathways.

Protein tyrosine kinases are important transducers of a variety of extracellular signals that regulate proliferation, differentiation, and specific functions of differentiated cells. Most of the known protein tyrosine kinases are associated with cell surface receptors. Ligand binding to the receptor activates one or more protein tyrosine kinases to initiate a network of signaling pathways that regulate metabolism and gene expression. Recently, a focal adhesion tyrosine kinase (FAK) has been shown to respond to the assembly of adhesion junctions, indicating a role for tyrosine kinase in the transduction of cell adhesion signal. The discovery of a DNA-binding tyrosine kinase, c-Abl, and the identification of RNA polymerase II as a substrate of nuclear tyrosine kinases demonstrate that protein tyrosine kinases may also directly regulate transcription. Highlights of these recent developments in tyrosine-kinase-dependent signaling pathways are summarized here.
Organ and species specificity of the messenger RNA transport factor.

Abstract 1. 1. The transport of messenger RNA from isolated rat liver nuclei is dependent on a 35,000 dalton protein localized in the cytoplasm. The tissue and species specificity of this protein are reported. 2. 2. The factor from female rat liver or from rat brain, kidney, or hepatoma supports the transport of messenger RNA from male rat liver nuclei. Messenger RNA is also transported in response to the factor from beef and chicken liver. 3. 3. The cytosols from rat erythrocytes, amoeba and yeast were inactive in the rat liver system. 4. 4. The results indicate that the messenger RNA transport factor is not specific for the nucleotide sequence of the coding portion of the messenger RNA and that it is not organ or species specific within the vertebrates.
Changes in size and shape of liposomes undergoing chain melting transitions as studied by optical microscopy.

Abstract Changes in the shape and size of dipalmitoylphosphatidylcholine liposomes at the phase transition at 41.5°C have been monitored by light microscopy. All liposomes change size or shape at the transition and those with simple topologies such as spheres and cylinders can be readily measured. The surface area of these is some 24% greater above the transition than below. This surface area change is virtually identical to that predicted by crystallographic measurements on this system. Also, the rate of transition from one state to another is seen to proceed more rapidly in the smaller liposomes. Optical microscopic observation provides a rapid simple method for monitoring the dependence of the lipid bilayer area on temperature.
Characterization of Toll-like receptor 3 gene in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Antiviral immunity in fish is not well understood. In mammals, Toll-like receptor (TLR) 3 is involved in double-stranded RNA recognition and host immune response activation. Here, we report the first identification of a rainbow trout TLR3 ortholog (rtTLR3), its genomic structure, and mRNA regulation. Six exons and five introns were identified from bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) and expressed sequence tag (EST) sequencing, and this genomic organization is similar to mammalian and fish TLR3 genes. The putative 913 amino acid protein has a Toll/interleukin (IL)-1R (TIR) domain, a transmembrane domain, and leucine-rich repeats. In healthy trout, rtTLR3 is highly expressed in the liver, pyloric ceca, intestine, spleen, and anterior and trunk kidney tissues. To investigate whether rtTLR3 is involved in antiviral immunity, transcriptional regulation in vivo was examined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) after poly inosinic:cytidylic (I:C) and infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) treatments. TLR3 mRNA expression peaked 1 day after poly (I:C) injection of live animals, while the peak of gene expression after live IHNV challenge was observed on day 3. In vitro stimulation of rainbow trout anterior kidney leukocytes with poly (I:C) also enhanced rtTLR3 expression. Up-regulation was specific to viral challenge as there was no significant up-regulation of rtTLR3 mRNA levels in the spleen and a modest down-regulation in the anterior kidney after bath challenge with a gram-negative bacterial trout pathogen, Yersinia ruckeri. The sequence conservation of trout TLR3 and mRNA regulation after poly (I:C) or RNA virus exposures strongly suggest a role for trout TLR3 in antiviral immunity.
Investigation into the effect of transformer oil on polymers

Several thermoplastics and an epoxy were exposed to a variety of conditions to determine the effect of chemical environment on the materials. Weight gain measurements of the samples were made after exposure to low humidity, ambient air, 90/spl deg/C air, ambient transformer oil, and 90/spl deg/C transformer oil. Two materials that performed well in these tests were polyetherimide (Ultem) and amine cured bisphenol-A epoxy. It was found that Noryl, a thermoplastic combination of high impact polystyrene and polyphenyleneoxide, was unsuitable for use in transformer oil, as it suffered substantial physical degradation. Polystyrene and high impact polystyrene (rubber modified polystyrene) performed poorly in both ambient and 90/spl deg/ transformer oil tests, with the rubber modified material exhibiting a much greater weight gain. Both high and low density polyethylene also showed large weight gains in hot transformer.
The 2140 cm−1 (4.673 microns) Solid CO Band: The Case for Interstellar O2 and N2 and the Photochemistry of Nonpolar Interstellar Ice Analogs

The infrared spectra of CO frozen in nonpolar ices containing N2, CO2, O2, and H2O and the UV photochemistry of these interstellar/precometary ice analogs are reported. The spectra are used to test the hypothesis that the narrow 2140 cm-1 (4.673 microns) interstellar absorption feature attributed to solid CO might be produced by CO frozen in ices containing nonpolar species such as N2 and O2. It is shown that mixed molecular ices containing CO, N2, O2, and CO2 provide a good match to the interstellar band at all temperatures between 12 and 30 K both before and after photolysis. The optical constants (real and imaginary parts of the index of refraction) in the region of the solid CO feature are reported for several of these ices. The N2 and O2 absorptions at 2328 cm-1 (4.296 microns) and 1549 cm-1 (6.456 microns), respectively, are also shown. The best matches between the narrow interstellar band and the feature in the laboratory spectra of nonpolar ices are for samples which contain comparable amounts of N2, O2, CO2, and CO. Co-adding the CO band from an N2:O2:CO2:CO = 1:5:1/2:1 ice with that of an H2O:CO = 20:1 ice provides an excellent fit across the entire interstellar CO feature. The four-component, nonpolar ice accounts for the narrow 2140 cm-1 portion of the feature which is associated with quiescent regions of dense molecular clouds. Using this mixture, and applying the most recent cosmic abundance values, we derive that between 15% and 70% of the available interstellar N is in the form of frozen N2 along several lines of sight toward background stars. This is reduced to a range of 1%-30% for embedded objects with lines of sight more dominated by warmer grains. The cosmic abundance of O tied up in frozen O2 lies in the 10%-45% range toward background sources, and it is between 1% and 20% toward embedded objects. The amount of oxygen tied up in CO and CO2 frozen in nonpolar ices can be as much as 2%-10% toward background sources and on the order of 0.2%-5% for embedded objects. Similarly 3%-13% of the carbon is tied up in CO and CO2 frozen in nonpolar ices toward field stars, and 0.2%-6% toward embedded objects. These numbers imply that most of the N is in N2, and a significant fraction of the available O is in O2 in the most quiescent regions of dense clouds. Ultraviolet photolysis of these ices produces a variety of photoproducts including CO2, N2O, O3, CO3, HCO, H2CO, and possibly NO and NO2. XCN is not produced in these experiments, placing important constraints on the origin of the enigmatic interstellar XCN feature. N2O and CO3 have not been previously considered as interstellar ice components.
Student Leaders' and Their Parents' Perceptions of the Home Environment

The Family Environment Scale was used to measure the perceptions of students who were attending a leadership training program and those of their parents. Significant differences were found on the Inpependence, Intellectual-Cultural Orientation, and Expressive-ness scales, with the student leaders scoring significantly lower than their parents. Suggestions were offered for developing leadership potential in the home based on the perceived differences. Directions for further research were explored.