cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Connective tissue growth factor enhances keratinocyte adhesion to fibronectin and promotes migration through integrin alpha5/beta1

Introduction: We have previously shown that connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) promotes keratinocyte migration during re-epithelialization. In this study, we investigated whether the CTGF-driven migration involved integrin alpha-5/beta-1 - the principal ligand for fibronectin (FN).Methods: Adhesions assays were performed by coating wells with 10 ug/mL FN or phosphate buffered saline (PBS). Keratinocytes were seeded in the presence or absence of 200 ng/mL CTGF, 5 mmol/L EDTA, 10 mmol/L Mg2+, 10 ug/mL anti-integrin alpha-5/beta-1-blocking antibody. Chemotaxsis assays were performed using a modified Boyden chamber. Keratinocytes were pre-incubated with alpha-5/beta-1-antibodies or mouse-IgG for 30 minute, and migration in the absence or presence of 200 ng/mL CTGF was measured. Cells were stained and absorbance was measured at 570 nm. A value of 1 was assigned to untreated cells.Results: Cell adhesion increased 1.5 ± 0.3 folds in wells coated with FN compared to PBS. CTGF enhanced cell adhesion 2.1 ± 0.3 folds, while EDTA reduced CTGF mediated cell adhesion to baseline (1.1 ± 0.2). The addition of the divalent cation Mg2+ restored CTGF-induced adhesion, indicating involvement of integrins. Integrin alpha-5/beta-1-blocking antibodies reversed CTGF-enhanced binding (1.1 ± 0.2). Consistent with the cell adhesion data, CTGF-induced migration was reduced to 1.5 ± 0.3 by anti-integrin alpha-5/beta-1 antibodies compared to the 2.0 ± 0.6 fold increase seen with 200 ng/mL CTGF.
Political interest in rural southern Jiangsu province in China

This is a study of political interest of Chinese peasantry based on a public opinion survey conducted in rural southern Jiangsu province in China. It is very clear from our descriptive findings that Chinese peasants in southern Jiangsu showed a high level of political interest and attention to public affairs. Economic growth and prosperity have not diverted people attention away from politics. In addition, findings from this study also show that age, gender, education and perceived economic status are important determinants for level of political interest in rural southern Jiangsu province. These findings are similar to results of earlier studies in non-Chinese settings and urban China, which means that these patterns are not uniquely western and may persist across cultural, political and geographic divides.
Pilot trial of cryoprobe-assisted breast-conserving surgery for small ultrasound-visible cancers.

Background: Stereotactic and ultrasonography-guided large core needle biopsy has replaced wire localization biopsy as the diagnostic method of choice. Lumpectomy alternatives are being sought to eliminate the need for preoperative wire localization, to facilitate easier and more accurate resection, and to decrease positive margin rates. Cryoprobe-assisted lumpectomy (CAL) was investigated as an alternative.
5-Lipoxygenase Metabolites of Arachidonic Acid Regulate Volume Decrease by Mudpuppy Red Blood Cells

We examined whether metabolites of arachidonic acid (AA) regulate K+ efflux during regulatory volume decrease (RVD) by mudpuppy red blood cells (RBCs). Volume regulation was inhibited by the phospholipase A2 antagonists mepacrine (10 microM) and ONO-RS-082 (10 microM); the inhibitory effect of ONO-RS-082 was reversed by gramicidin (5 microM). Eicosatetraynoic acid (ETYA, 100 microM), a general antagonist of AA metabolism, also blocked RVD. In addition, volume regulation was inhibited by the lipoxygenase pathway antagonist nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA, 10 microM), the 5 lipoxygenase antagonists AA-861 (5 microM) and curcumin (20 microM), and by the 5-lipoxygenase activating protein inhibitor L-655,298 (5 microM). Inhibition by all four of these agents was reversed with gramicidin. In contrast, the 12- and 15-lipoxygenase pathway inhibitor ethyl-3,4-dihydroxy-benzylidene-cyanoacetate (EDBCA, 1 microM) and the cytochrome P-450 monooxygenase pathway blocker ketoconazole (20 microM) had no effect. On the other hand, the cyclooxygenase pathway inhibitor aspirin (100 microM) slightly enhanced RVD. Consistent with these findings, a K(+)-selective whole cell conductance responsible for K+ efflux during cell swelling was inhibited by ONO-RS-082 (10 microM), NDGA (10 microM), AA-861 (5 microM), curcumin (20 microM), and L-655,298 (5 microM). In contrast, EDBCA (1 microM), ketoconazole (20 microM), and indomethacin (10 microM) did not block this whole cell conductance. These results indicate that a channel mediating K+ loss during RVD is regulated by a 5-lipoxygenase metabolite of arachidonic acid.
Uniform Moment Theory for Charged Particle Motion in Gases

Moment equations for the motion of trace amounts of charged particles through dilute gases are developed from the Boltzmann equation. A new method for truncating the coupled moment equations is used to develop differential equations governing the moments in successive approximations. The first approximation equations are shown to agree completely with equations known to describe ion motion in drift-tube mass spectrometers, ion mobility spectrometers, ion traps, and collision-dominated ion cyclotron resonance experiments. Applications to differential mobility spectrometers and other devices are also described.
THE EFFECT OF STRESS ON CHILDREN'S DRAWINGS

Attempts at validating certain “emotional indicators” (or EI's such as teeth, tiny figure, no hands) have met with some success (ie more common in drawings of “chronically disturbed” children). While results remain controversial, human figure drawing tests are very popular and are used by pediatricians. The stress effect of a health procedure (venipuncture) was evaluated on the drawings of 64 children, aged 4-12 yrs., hospitalized for elective minor surgery. All children were asked to draw a human figure on 2 occasions-shortly after admission and a brief period of free play and again approximately 30 mins. later. In the interim children received stress (routine venipuncture) or no stress (venipuncture delayed until after 2nd drawing) and either preparation (information and rehearsal) or no preparation (free play). Measures of upset and cooperation behavior and pulse were assessed at the time of the stress and pulse was taken again shortly thereafter. EI's increased only for the group that was stressed and unprepared (p<0.001). This effect remained when adjusted for M.A. scoring of drawing. EI's seem then to be a valid measure of stress, but any interpretation of drawings must be mindful of current stress and the child's understanding of stress. Although there was significant correlation between EI's and pulse at the time of stress, correlations of EI's with subsequent pulse (prior to drawing) and EI's with behavior measures were not present indicating that EI's are a dissimilar index of stress.
Rigorous method for compensation selection and alignment of microlithographic optical systems

The assembly of an optical system requires the correction of aberrations in the entire imaging field by making selected rigid-body motions of the optical elements. We present a rigorous method for determining which adjustment motions, called compensators, to use for alignment. These compensators are found by employing techniques from linear algebra that choose the most independent vectors from a set which are interdependent. The method finds the smallest number of compensators to correct for misalignments of a given magnitude. As an example the method is applied to a four-mirror scanning ring-field EUV lithography system. It is shown that out of 32 degrees of freedom in the configuration of the optical elements, only eight compensators are required on the optics. By adjusting these compensators a misaligned configuration giving a 30 {lambda} wavefront error can be assembled to {lambda}/50 in the absence of measurement noise.
Biological warfare canaries [biological attack detection]

A full-blown biological attack would come unannounced and spread inordinate disease and death. A bioattack could take days or weeks to surface, until enough illness and deaths have occurred for public health officials to realize what has happened. In this paper, the author describes new early-warning detectors which aim to avert such a catastrophe.
Spin-Liquid Ground State of the S = 1/2 Kagome Heisenberg Antiferromagnet

We use the density matrix renormalization group to perform accurate calculations of the ground state of the nearest-neighbor quantum spin S = 1/2 Heisenberg antiferromagnet on the kagome lattice. We study this model on numerous long cylinders with circumferences up to 12 lattice spacings. Through a combination of very-low-energy and small finite-size effects, our results provide strong evidence that, for the infinite two-dimensional system, the ground state of this model is a fully gapped spin liquid.
Four Dimensional Quadratic Forms Over F(X) Where and a Failure of the Strong Hasse Principle

Abstract We consider four dimensional quadratic forms over F(X) where F is a field of characteristic not two and . Let q be a regular four dimensional quadratic form over F(X) such that its signatures with respect to all orderings on F(X) lie in either {0, 2} or {0, − 2}. (E.g., a four dimensional torsion form over F(X) or the form ⟨ 1, 1, 1, − α⟩ where α ∈ F(X) is totally positive.) We determine conditions equivalent to the isotropy of q over F(X). Using these conditions we show that a class of quadratic forms over k(X, Y) (where k is hereditarily quadratically closed) is anisotropic. In a separate argument we show that this class of forms is locally isotropic everywhere. Thus the strong Hasse principle does not hold for quadratic forms over such k(X, Y). These counter-examples include those of Kim and Roush [Kim, K. H., Roush, W. (1991). Quadratic forms over C[t 1, t 2]. J. Algebra 140:65–82] and of Jaworski [Jaworski, P. (2001). On the strong Hasse principle for fields of quotients of power series ring...
DNA DETERMINANTS AND SUBSTRATE SPECIFICITIES OF ESCHERICHIA COLI MUTY

Potential DNA contacts involved in the specific interaction between the Escherichia coli MutY protein and a 40-mer oligonucleotide containing an A/G mismatch have been examined by alkylation interference techniques. Ethylation interference patterns suggest that more than five phosphates are involved in electrostatic interactions between MutY and DNA. Interestingly, MutY has more contacts on the G-strand than on the A-strand. Methylation at both the N-7 position of the mismatched G and the N-3 position of the mispaired A interfere with MutY binding. In addition to these mismatched bases, MutY also contacts purines on both sides of the mismatch. Binding and endonuclease activities of MutY were assayed with 20-mer oligonucleotides containing A/G, A/C, A/7,8-dihydro-8-oxo-guanine (A/GO), A/inosine (A/I), A/2-aminopurine (A/2AP), nebularine/G (N/G), inosine/G (I/G), 2AP/G, and 7-deaza-adenosine/G (Z/G) mispairs. The C-8 keto group of GO in A/GO contributes to a much tighter binding but weaker endonuclease activity than is seen with A/G. Because A/I is not specifically well recognized by MutY, the 2-amino group of G in A/G is essential for recognition. The C-6 keto group present in A/G but absent in A/2AP is also important for recognition. The 6-amino group of adenine appears not to be required for either binding or endonuclease activity because N/G is as good a substrate as A/G. The 2AP/G mispair is bound and cleaved weaker than is the A/G mispair. Binding and endonuclease activities are abolished when the N-7 group of A is replaced by C-7 as in the Z/G mispair. When a C-6 keto group is present as in the I/G pair, its binding by MutY is as good as for A/G, but no endonuclease activity is observed. Taken together, our data suggest that DNA sequences proximal to and specific functional groups of mismatched bases are necessary for recognition and catalysis by MutY protein.
Quantum statistical effects in nano-oscillator arrays

We consider a large, free-standing array of coupled, planar oscillators each several hundred nanometers on a side fabricated from a single layer of dielectric. In particular, we predict the low-temperature heat capacity and Brillouin-scattered cross section based upon a numerical calculation of the density of states (DOS) for this nanostructured array. The DOS, which is interesting in its own right, is found to have an average value nearly independent of frequency and a number of gaps of varying depths. The predictions suggest that it should be possible to use low-temperature measurements of the Brillouin cross section and/or the specific heat to observe the quantum statistics obeyed by various rigid-body modes of the array, some of which involve the center-of-mass motion of a large number of atoms. As such, these measurements would result in a considerable extension of the domain in which quantum mechanics has been tested.
Presence of four Fusarium mycotoxins and synthetic material in ‘yellow rain’: Evidence for the use of chemical weapons in laos

Analysis of a 'yellow rain' sample by selected ion monitoring revealed the presence of three trichothecenes: T-2 toxin, diacetoxyscirpenol and 4-deoxynivalenol in concentrations of at least 48, 42 and 58 ppm, respectively. The concentration of zearalenone, another Fusarium mycotoxin, was estimated to be at least 265 ppm. Evidence for a formulation which contained polyethylene glycol was also obtained.
Alterations in mouse aggressive behavior and brain monoamine dynamics as a function of age.

Abstract Male mice of the BALB, ICR and C57B1/6J strains were tested for conspecific aggressive behavior at either 6 or 30 weeks of age. Only the BALB animals were aggressive at 6 weeks of age while both BALB and ICR mice fought at 30 weeks of age. C57B1/6J mice did not show aggressive behavior at either of the time intervals studied. Changes in housing conditions altered the degree of aggressive behavior of the ICR but not the C57B1/6J mice. Whole-brain levels, rate constants (k) and utilization rates (K) of norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) in these mice were fluorometrically determined. C57B1/6J mice had significantly higher NE levels while BALB mice had higher DA levels, compared to the other strains at both time periods. The NE rate constants and utilization rates for C57B1/6J mice were lower at 6 weeks and higher at 30 weeks than either BALB or ICR mice as was the dopamine rate constant at the 6 week period. There was a tendency for BALB mice to have consistently higher DA utilization rates. These findings are discussed in relation to the catecholamine hypothesis of affective disorders.
The 1997 Asthma Management Guidelines and Therapeutic Issues Relating to the Treatment of Asthma

In 1997, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute released the Second Expert Panel Report on the Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma as a follow-up to the first report issued in 1991. Implementation of the recommendations from this report could have a potentially huge impact on care and treatment of asthma in the United States. Even though the Guidelines are expansive, there are some areas related to the pharmacologic component that warrant further discussion and clarification. These are: (1) safety and efficacy of available asthma medications, (2) clinical efficacy comparisons of inhaled corticosteroids, (3) comparative risks among inhaled corticosteroids, and (4) expectations of different delivery systems used with inhaled corticosteroids.
Studies on the bioluminescence of Renilla renoformis

Abstract 1. 1. During the bioluminescent reaction of the sea pansy, Renilla reniformis , an activated intermediate had previously been described which forms upon incubating Renilla luciferin, Ado-3′-5′- P 2 , Ca 2+ , and Renilla lucidferase under anaerobic conditions. A chemically identical intermediate can be formed in the absence of Ado-3′-5′- P 2 and luciferase by treating luciferin at pH 1.0 for 2 min at 100°, during which time a quantitative conversion to the intermediate occurs as judged by total light measurements. Once the intermediate is formed it can be oxidized rapidly by O 2 or H 2 O 2 , in the absence of luciferase, via a non-luminescent pathway. 2. 2. Since a relatively slow conversion of luciferin to the activated intermediate occurs at high pH at 100° or at pH 7.0 at 130° the suggestion is made that the mechanism of the Ado -3′,5′- P 2 -dependent activation of Renilla luciferin involves the cleavage of an unidentified group from the luciferin molecule.
Preventive consumer protection in an optional instrument — A practitioner’s view

First, it is the perspective of a legal practitioner. Every practitioner will be concerned specifically with the practical consequences of the proposals for a harmonised European contract law. As a practitioner, I can share the fascination of the vision of a common European Law as well as the scepticism concerning the necessary costs and efforts an ambivalence which also has been expressed in many of the written contributions'.
Some distortions in quadrupole fields and their relation to mass filter performance

Abstract The phase space acceptance for the mass filter of limited length is calculated and two-dimensional field distortions are treated as perturbations to the ideal case. The objective is to seek approximate relationships between mechanical or electrical errors in construction and the limits to performance (such as acceptance and resolution). Third-, fourth- and sixth-order distortions are examined in detail. Some simple guidelines for quadrupole mass filter construction are suggested.
The American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana) as a paradigm for adult automimicry

The body of theory concerning life-history strategies predicts that the duration of high-mortality stages should be minimized by natural selection. This is especially applicable to the avian pre-flight stage, during which growth rates typically are rapid. Using the American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana) as a paradigm, I propose a developmental strategy by which young animals can lower their mortality rates by an accelerated (and deceptive) acquisition of adult or adult-like characters. The benefit accrues when predators misidentify the vulnerable young as adults and fail to attack them because adults are much less vulnerable. This strategy, termed adult automimicry, is most likely to occur in precocial species living in open habitats.
The Arab world amidst the global financial crisis of 2008–2009

When the problems in the United States housing sector mushroomed into a global financial crisis by September 2008, it was assumed that Arab countries would remain immune: the oil‐rich Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries because of their massive financial reserves, and the resource‐poor countries because of their limited linkages to the global economic system – in particular, the global financial markets. However, this assumption has proven to be false. The US subprime mortgage collapse not only pushed the advanced economies into recession, but also it shattered global economic confidence, resulting in a massive financial contagion around the world. What explains the Arab World's vulnerability to the crisis? How has the crisis impacted both the resource rich and the resource poor? How have Arab countries responded to the crisis, and what must they do to insulate their economies better from the vagaries of global financial markets? This paper addresses these questions.
Epothilones in prostate cancer: review of clinical experience.

ABSTRACT Background Hormone-refractory prostate cancer (HRPC) is a progressive chemotherapy-resistant disease that remains a challenge to manage. Despite the recent approval of docetaxel (Taxotere) for the treatment of HRPC, the need exists for additional novel agents that can further improve patient outcomes. The epothilones are potent antimicrotubule agents that have demonstrated activity in the setting of taxane resistance. They are structurally distinct compounds that appear to lack cross-resistance with the taxanes. Design This review summarizes current preclinical and clinical data on the safety and efficacy of the epothilones ixabepilone (BMS-247550) and patupilone (EPO906) for the treatment of prostate cancer. Data were identified by searches of PubMed and the Proceedings of the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meetings from 2000 to 2006. Results The epothilones have demonstrated potent antitumor activity in vitro and in experimental animal models of prostate cancer. In clinical studies, the epothilones have demonstrated potent activity in HRPC, including no cross-resistance with the taxanes and a manageable toxicity profile. Phase II studies of single-agent ixabepilone in patients with HRPC have reported a confirmed prostate-specific antigen (PSA) response rate of 33%. Higher PSA response rates have been reported in studies that assessed the combination of ixabepilone and estramustine in patients with HRPC. Conclusions The epothilones are promising new chemotherapeutic agents that have demonstrated single-agent antitumor activity in HRPC in the phase II setting. Phase III trials are needed to confirm the activity of the epothilones in tandem with docetaxel, given the experience to date.
Protein Quantitation Using Isotope-Assisted Mass Spectrometry

Genetic, chemical, and environmental perturbations can all induce large changes in cellular proteomes, and research aimed at quantifying these changes are an important part of modern biology. Although improvements in the hardware and software of mass spectrometers have produced increased throughput and accuracy of such measurements, new uses of heavy isotope internal standards that assist in this process have emerged. Surprisingly, even complex life forms such as mammals can be grown to near-complete replacement with heavy isotopes of common biological elements such as 15N, and these isotopically labeled organisms provide excellent controls for isolating and identifying experimental variables such as extraction or fractionation efficiencies. We discuss here the theory and practice of these technologies, as well as provide a review of significant recent biological applications.
An Extension and Further Validation of the Potential for Conflict Index

The Potential for Conflict Index (PCI) was developed to facilitate understanding and applicability of leisure, recreation, and human dimensions findings to managerial concerns. The PCI ranges from 0 (minimal potential for conflict) to 1 (maximum potential for conflict) and simultaneously describes a variable's central tendency, dispersion, and shape using a graphic display. This article (a) describes applications of the original formulation of the PCI (PCI1) to illustrate the statistic's practical utility, (b) introduces the second generation of the PCI (PCI2) and discusses enhancements incorporated in this version, (c) describes efforts to validate the PCI2, and (d) offers suggestions for continuing the empirical validation process. Programs for calculating, graphing, and comparing PCI2 values are freely available from http://welcome.warnercnr.colostate.edu/~jerryv.
How Individualists Interpret Behavior: Idiocentrism and Spontaneous Trait Inference

Previous research suggests that people from different cultural backgrounds differ in the extent to which they describe others and explain their behavior in terms of stable dispositions. But little is known about the precise social inference processes that mediate these differences. Two experiments demonstrate that individual differences in idiocentrism (a personality variable defined by the attitudes and behaviors associated with individualist cultures) predict the extent to which people spontaneously (i.e., unintentionally) interpret behaviors in personality trait terms. Experiment 1 demonstrated this (for male subjects only) with a cued recall procedure, while Experiment 2 did so (for all subjects) using an alternative reaction time measure. The advantages of combining theory and methods from the cross-cultural and social-cognitive literatures are discussed.
A Study of Male Veterans’ Beliefs Toward Domestic Violence in a Batterers Intervention Program

Domestic violence in intimate relationships is a ubiquitous social problem. This study addresses a gap in the research literature on batterers intervention programs with heterosexual male batterers by evaluating whether or not self-reported attitudes about partner abuse and sexist beliefs could be modified over time as a result of participation in a Batterers Intervention Program (BIP). Using the Inventory of Beliefs about Partner Abuse (IBAPA) to measure attitudes toward domestic violence and the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI) to measure sexist beliefs, results of the study provide empirical support for the notion that participation in BIPs affects the self-reported beliefs about their rights to physically and emotionally abuse their partner. These self-reported scores were adjusted for response bias by the long version of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MCD). Response bias and how it is treated in self-report measures with batterers is also discussed.
Convergent setal morphology in sand-covering spiders suggests a design principle for particle capture

Sicarius and Homalonychus are unrelated, desert-dwelling spiders that independently evolved the ability to cover themselves in fine sand particles, making them cryptic against their background. Observations that particles associate with these spiders' setae inspired us to investigate the role of setal microstructure in particle capture and retention. Here we report that Sicarius and Homalonychus convergently evolved numerous high aspect ratio, flexible fibres that we call ‘hairlettes’ protruding from the setal shaft. We demonstrate that particles attach more densely to regions of Homalonychus with hairlettes than to other regions of the same animal where hairlettes are absent, and document close contact of hairlettes to sand particles that persists after applying force. Mathematical models further suggest that adhesion of hairlettes to sand particles is a sufficient mechanism of particle capture and retention. Together, these data provide the first evidence that hairlettes facilitate sand retention through intermolecular adhesion to particles. Their independent evolutionary origins in Sicarius and Homalonychus suggest that the unique setal structure is adaptive and represents a general biomechanical mechanism for sand capture to cuticle. This discovery has implications for the design of inventions inspired by this system, from camouflage to the management of granular systems.
Standard Product Models and Project Databases for Context-Aware Information Access and Retrieval in Construction and Other Engineering Applications

For the last several years, many research efforts have focused on enabling and advancing information technology to enhance work efficiency and collaboration among field workers by providing mechanisms to deliver pertinent information required for decision-making in a timely manner (Halfawy et al. 2001). Evolving technologies such as location-aware computing and interoperable product models and project databases offer significant potential of improving traditional, time-consuming, manual information retrieval processes, and supporting important decision-making tasks in the field. Field construction tasks such as progress monitoring, inspection and others require access to a wealth of textual and graphical project information. Rapid and convenient access to such project information, through continuous position tracking of mobile users (i.e. engineers, managers, and inspectors) can lead to significant cost and time savings due to the accuracy and immediacy with which relevant project information can be made available to field personnel. This paper describes the results of experiments conducted at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to evaluate the capability of interoperable product models and project databases, such as the CIMsteel Integration Standards (CIS/2) product model, for automated context-aware information access and retrieval in construction and other engineering environments.
Constructing a Model for the Effective Mentoring of Music Educators

In this article, a model for the effective mentoring of music educators is presented. Mentoring and induction literature is referenced to examine recent trends and determine the contents of the model. The model begins with state government design and funding of a mentoring program. Layers are built on this foundation, including (a) support of professional organizations; (b) mentor selection, training, and compensation; (c) mentor–mentee release time; and (d) a multiyear concept. Completion of a mentoring program as a requirement for full teacher certification completes this mentoring program model. The model provides a departure point for experimental trials, future research, and eventual comprehensive program design.
Overview of Thrombopoietic Agents in the Treatment of Thrombocytopenia

Pharmaceutical advances in the field of hematology have led to promising new options for the management of thrombocytopenia. This overview provides both a brief review of historical management of thrombocytopenia and a more detailed look at the novel thrombopoietic agents currently being investigated for their utility in treating thrombocytopenia. Specific agents that enhance thrombopoiesis will alter the overall approach to immune thrombocytopenia purpura. Development of these agents might also improve the management of diseases such as cancer and hepatitis C, whose current regimens are limited by the occurrence of thrombocytopenia.
Scaling Laws for Sub-Nanosecond Breakdown in Gases with Pressures Below One Atmosphere

Summary form only given. With a RADAN 303 A pulser (risetime 150 ps, maximum voltage 150 kV into matched load), fast breakdown in argon and air is investigated. An oil-filled coaxial transmission line is coupled with a lens to a biconical section and a radial millimeter size gap operated at sub-atmospheric pressure. On the other side of the gap, the arrangement is symmetrically continued to represent a matched load. Pulse risetime at the gap is increased to about 180 ps. With capacitive dividers the voltage across the transmission line separating incident and reflected pulses is measured, which allows to determine voltage across and current through the gap. Temporal resolution is defined by the digitizer (20 Gs/s, 6 GHz). Breakdown usually happens during the rising part of the applied voltage pulse. Breakdown curves, i.e. breakdown voltage or time-to-breakdown vs. pressure, have been measured for different applied dV/dt's (from 2times1014 V/s to 8times1014 V/s) and they resemble Paschen curves with a steep increase toward low pressure, and a slow increase toward high pressure. The major findings, such as shifts of the minimum formative time toward increasing pressure with increasing dV/dt, are discussed in terms of similarity laws. Discharges for this case are characterized by runaway electrons over much of the pressure range, with a strong excitation and ionization layer at the cathode surface, and "free-fall" conditions with negligible gaseous ionization for the rest of the gap. Monte-Carlo simulations for the initial stage of the discharge are expected to confirm and quantify the experimental findings.
Soil solarization in various agricultural production systems.

Soil solarization is a natural, hydrothermal process of disinfesting soil of plant pests that is accomplished through passive solar heating. Solarization occurs through a combination of physical, chemical, and biological mechanisms, and is compatible with many other disinfestation methods to provide integrated pest management. Commercially, it is used on a relatively small scale worldwide as a substitute for synthetic chemical toxicants, but its use is increasing as methyl bromide, the major chemical fumigant, is phased out due to its ozone-depleting properties. Solarization currently is an important and widespread practice for home gardeners. In production agriculture, the principal use of solarization (on a treated area basis), is probably in conjunction with greenhouse grown crops. Another application for which solarization has come into common use is for disinfestation of seedbeds, containerized planting media, and cold-frames. Around the world, solarization for disinfesting soil in open "elds is being implemented at a relatively slow but increasing rate. It has been mainly used for commercial production in areas where air temperatures are very high during the summer and much of the cropland is rotated out of production due to excessive heat. As global concerns regarding environmental quality grow along with the human population in the 21st century, concepts such as solarization and other uses of solar energy in agriculture will likely become increasingly important. ( 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Got loss? Get zOVN!

Datacenter networking is currently dominated by two major trends. One aims toward lossless, flat layer-2 fabrics based on Converged Enhanced Ethernet or InfiniBand, with benefits in efficiency and performance. The other targets flexibility based on Software Defined Networking, which enables Overlay Virtual Networking. Although clearly complementary, these trends also exhibit some conflicts: In contrast to physical fabrics, which avoid packet drops by means of flow control, practically all current virtual networks are lossy. We quantify these losses for several common combinations of hypervisors and virtual switches, and show their detrimental effect on application performance. Moreover, we propose a zero-loss Overlay Virtual Network (zOVN) designed to reduce the query and flow completion time of latency-sensitive datacenter applications. We describe its architecture and detail the design of its key component, the zVALE lossless virtual switch. As proof of concept, we implemented a zOVN prototype and benchmark it with Partition-Aggregate in two testbeds, achieving an up to 15-fold reduction of the mean completion time with three widespread TCP versions. For larger-scale validation and deeper introspection into zOVN, we developed an OMNeT++ model for accurate cross-layer simulations of a virtualized datacenter, which confirm the validity of our results.
Locally Embedded Linear Subspaces for Efficient Video Indexing and Retrieval

Efficient indexing is a key in content-based video retrieval solutions. In this paper we represent video sequences as traces via scaling and linear transformation of the frame luminance field. Then an appropriate lower dimensional subspace is identified for video trace indexing. We also develop a trace geometry matching algorithm for retrieval based on average projection distance with a locally embedded distance metric. Simulation results demonstrated the high accuracy and very fast retrieval speed for the proposed solution.
POLLINATION BIOLOGY OF LISTERA CORDATA (ORCHIDACEAE)

Pollination biology of northern California populations of Listera cordata (L.) R. Br. is presented. The flowers are allogamous, self-compatible, and protandrous. At anthesis, access to the stigma is blocked by the flap-like rostellum. When an insect contacts the touch-sensitive trigger hairs of the rostellum, the pollinia are suddenly released and become cemented to the insect's body. One to two days after the pollinia are removed, the rostellum rises and exposes the receptive stigma. Visitors are attracted to the flowers by their foul odor and minute quantities of nectar presented on the surface of the labellum. Pollination efficiency is high with 61-78% of flowers from several localities setting fruit. The most important and abundant pollinators of L. cordata at our study sites are fungus gnats (Sciaridae and Mycetophylidae). Other less frequently encountered pollinators are members of these families: Braconidae, Ichneumonidae, and Tipulidae. At present, there is no compelling evidence that the floral characteristics of L. cordata have evolved as a result of an evolutionary interaction with any specific group of insects. Nor is there any indication that the flowers are sapromyophilous, despite their putrid odor. ALTHOUGH members of the genus Listera are distributed throughout north temperate regions, the pollination biology of only one of the approximately 25 species of twayblades is welldocumented. Sprengel (1793) was the first to publish an account of the pollination of the European species, L. ovata (L.) R. Br. Later, Darwin (1885) and Muller (1883) described its pollination mechanism in more detail. Many different kinds of insects are known to visit L. ovata flowers, but the most commonly reported pollinators are ichneumonid wasps. Consequently, Knuth (1906) and van der Pijl and Dodson (1966) assigned the flowers to the nebulous floral class of wasp flowers. The similarity among Listera species prompted Darwin (1885) and Knuth (1906) to suggest that other twayblades have similar floral mechanisms and pollinators. In this paper we present our observations on the pollination of L. cordata (L.) R. Br. in northern California. METHODs-We observed L. cordata for three consecutive flowering seasons, 1976-1978. Our 1 Received for publication 30 October 1978; revision ac
Statistical Method in Planning and Interpreting Animal Nutrition Experiments

Abstract NUTRITION workers have, during the last decade, been giving more and more attention to the application of statistical method in planning their experiments and interpreting the results. At first, statistics were used chiefly in interpreting experimental results but more recently they have been used in planning the experiments as well. This trend is fundamentally sound and it may be stated with confidence that in the near future a working knowledge of statistics—especially of variance and covariance analysis—will be an essential part of the equipment of well-trained nutrition workers. As a rule, it is necessary to employ relatively small numbers of animals in nutrition experiments, and the methods of what may be called classical statistics are not always applicable to the few data which are obtained. Fortunately, however, due to the pioneer work of “Student” and the subsequent highly productive labors of R. A. Fisher of the Rothamsted Experiment . . .
Long-term effects of experimental forest harvesting on abundance and reproductive demography of terrestrial salamanders

Abstract Both observational and experimental studies have documented drastic reductions in salamanders after forest harvesting. Yet, the amount of time until salamander populations rebound and the factors limiting recovery after harvesting are unknown. We compared the effects of six oak regeneration practices to a control, representing a disturbance gradient from no treatment to silvicultural clearcut, on the relative abundance and reproductive demography of terrestrial salamanders through 13-years post-harvest. Following the experimental disturbance, relative abundance of terrestrial salamanders in treatments that opened the canopy were significantly and persistently lower than in either untreated control stands or midstory herbicide treatments. In general, this trend persisted through 9–13 years after treatment. Changes to demography of commonly captured salamanders varied by species, but Plethodon cinereus had a greater proportion of juveniles in unharvested treatments 7–13-years post-harvest, and Desmognathus ochrophaeus had a greater proportion of juveniles and a greater number of eggs/female in unharvested treatments 1–6-years post-harvest. Population modeling of P. cinereus indicated that adult survival had the greatest elasticity of the vital rates. Further, >60 years may be needed before P. cinereus reduced by the observed decline could reach pre-harvest levels of abundance. Of the treatments with canopy disturbance, the group selection harvest had the greatest abundances of salamanders 7–13-years post-harvest, but when coupled with future stand entries, the volume of wood fiber extracted, costs of harvesting, reduced sprouting of oaks, and soil disturbances, this method may not have the best balance of ecological and economic sustainability in central Appalachian hardwood forest.
Traffic Calming in New Developments: Avoiding the Need for Future Fixes

Recent efforts in the United States to include traffic-calming design in new developments are described. These efforts prevent the need to fix speeding and cut-through traffic problems later. It is clearly more costeffective to design residential streets for speed and volume control than to go back and retrofit, as hundreds of communities are now forced to do. Traffic-calming initiatives of communities that are featured in the upcoming Institute of Transportation Engineers' book Traffic Calming State-of-the-Art are summarized. The emphasis is on regulatory mechanisms that can be used to implement traffic-calming standards in new developments. Then the standards themselves are presented, and street-network-design principles from the state of Florida's Best Development Practices are summarized. Standards are established for network connectivity and route density. Next, street-subdivision standards prepared for the Wilmington Area Planning Council, and currently under review for statewide adoption, are outli...
Causal inference with observational data

Problems with inferring causal relationships from nonexperimental data are briefly reviewed, and four broad classes of methods designed to allow estimation of and inference about causal parameters ...
The Origins of Empathy and Altruism

Empathy and altruism are most commonly thought of as forms of compassion that human beings express toward one another. However, emotions and behaviors reflecting apparent concern for others occur within other species and across species as well. Although not without controversy, ethologists and sociobiologists (e.g., Wilson 1975) have identified many behaviors in other animals and insects that may be viewed as prosocial or altruistic (e.g., cooperative efforts of bees, warning calls of many species, rescue behaviors of whales, certain acts of mammalian caregivers toward their young, etc.). There are fewer signs of altruism across species. Some animals can be trained to protect, defend and help others (usually humans) in distress. Animal owners sometimes indicate that their pets show emotional concern for others. In observing parent-child interaction in the home we have seen emotionally distressed pets hovering over persons feigning distress in situations where we are measuring the child’s capacity for empathy. The recent spate of research on animal facilitated therapy attests to the capacity of animals to provide comfort to persons suffering from a variety of physical and emotional problems.
An efficient algorithm for discovering frequent subgraphs

Over the years, frequent itemset discovery algorithms have been used to find interesting patterns in various application areas. However, as data mining techniques are being increasingly applied to nontraditional domains, existing frequent pattern discovery approaches cannot be used. This is because the transaction framework that is assumed by these algorithms cannot be used to effectively model the data sets in these domains. An alternate way of modeling the objects in these data sets is to represent them using graphs. Within that model, one way of formulating the frequent pattern discovery problem is that of discovering subgraphs that occur frequently over the entire set of graphs. We present a computationally efficient algorithm, called FSG, for finding all frequent subgraphs in large graph data sets. We experimentally evaluate the performance of FSG using a variety of real and synthetic data sets. Our results show that despite the underlying complexity associated with frequent subgraph discovery, FSG is effective in finding all frequently occurring subgraphs in data sets containing more than 200,000 graph transactions and scales linearly with respect to the size of the data set.
The Relation of pH Value of Medium to Selective Bacteriostatic Action of Dyes.

Several years ago experiments were carried out in this laboratory to determine whether changes in pH value of the medium with which the experiments were conducted would alter the character of the selective bacteriostatic activity of gentian violet. In these experiments, the results of which were never published, a series of divided plates with the following pH values were planted with B. coli, B. anthracis, Staphylococcus and B. prodigiosus: 5.4, 6.4, 6.6, 7.4, 7.6, 7.8, 8.8 and 9.3. The upper halves of the plates contained gentian violet in a strength of 1 to 200,000. On all the plates from pH 6.4 to pH 9.3 selective action of the dye took place exactly as on media of pH 7.2; growth of the Gram positives was inhibited, growth of Gram negatives was unaffected. At pH 5.4 no growth of any organism occurred even on the plain agar. Means were not then at hand for buffering the media in the alkaline range beyond 9.3 but in plates made of media to which large amounts of alkali had been added, certainly sufficie...
A Parabolic Method for Accurate and Efficient Wind Farm Simulation

A Parabolized Navier-Stokes (PNS) approximation for the incompressible equations is developed and utilized to simulate flow through a wind farm of five wind turbines. The PNS formulation differs from commonly used parabolic formulations in that the pressure field is calculated as a dependent variable without any approximation for the streamwise pressure gradient. The wind turbine is modeled by incorporating time-averaged aerodynamic forces predicted by an Actuator Line model (FAST developed at NREL). Using this coupled timeaveraged spatial-marching method, the calculation can begin well upstream of the wind farm and continue through the turbines to predict the entire flow field including the wakes. The model was verified for wind turbines by comparing the computed solutions for the NREL offshore 5-MW baseline wind turbine with the blade-resolved Navier-Stokes solutions. Very good agreement was obtained and the runtime on a single desktop computer was less than 80 minutes. Results for the wind farm are presented. The simulation on a desktop computer took 271 minutes.
TGFβ and BMP Dependent Cell Fate Changes Due to Loss of Filamin B Produces Disc Degeneration and Progressive Vertebral Fusions

Spondylocarpotarsal synostosis (SCT) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by progressive vertebral fusions and caused by loss of function mutations in Filamin B (FLNB). FLNB acts as a signaling scaffold by linking the actin cytoskleteon to signal transduction systems, yet the disease mechanisms for SCT remain unclear. Employing a Flnb knockout mouse, we found morphologic and molecular evidence that the intervertebral discs (IVDs) of Flnb–/–mice undergo rapid and progressive degeneration during postnatal development as a result of abnormal cell fate changes in the IVD, particularly the annulus fibrosus (AF). In Flnb–/–mice, the AF cells lose their typical fibroblast-like characteristics and acquire the molecular and phenotypic signature of hypertrophic chondrocytes. This change is characterized by hallmarks of endochondral-like ossification including alterations in collagen matrix, expression of Collagen X, increased apoptosis, and inappropriate ossification of the disc tissue. We show that conversion of the AF cells into chondrocytes is coincident with upregulated TGFβ signaling via Smad2/3 and BMP induced p38 signaling as well as sustained activation of canonical and noncanonical target genes p21 and Ctgf. These findings indicate that FLNB is involved in attenuation of TGFβ/BMP signaling and influences AF cell fate. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the IVD disruptions in Flnb–/–mice resemble aging degenerative discs and reveal new insights into the molecular causes of vertebral fusions and disc degeneration.