cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The search for the hematopoietic stem cell: social interaction and epistemic success in immunology.

Abstract Epistemology of science is currently polarized. Descriptive accounts of the social aspects of science coexist uneasily with normative accounts of scientific knowledge. This tension leads students of science to privilege one of these important aspects over the other. I use an episode of recent immunology research to develop an integrative account of scientific inquiry that resolves the tension between sociality and epistemic success. The search for the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) by members of Irving Weissman’s laboratory at Stanford University Medical Center exhibits both the goal-oriented character of contemporary immunology and the importance of social interactions in successful achievement of those goals. This episode includes three kinds of epistemic success: characterization of HSC, formation of new interdisciplinary interfaces, and reconciliation of apparently incompatible models. All three depend on coordinating the work of diverse participants via social interactions. Together, they reveal the crucial role of social interactions within and between research groups in producing epistemic success. These features of the search for the HSC generalize to immunology as a whole, and plausibly to other disciplines. This account thus resolves the polarizing tension in epistemology of science, and complements individualistic accounts of scientific knowledge and rationality.
Effect of Gibberellic Acid on the Elongation Rate of Agrostis alba Root Hairs

The influence of gibberellic acid over a wide range of concentrations on the rate of elongation of root hairs of redtop grass was investigated. The rate of root hair elongation was increased by GA over the concentration range of 10−7 to 10−12 M inclusive, with peak stimulation occurring at 10−6 M. Although root hair growth was slightly accelerated by 10−6 M GA, this concentration damaged many root hairs and caused some to stop growing altogether. Rate of root hair elongation was reduced to less than 84% of the control by 10−5 M GA.
Use of a moderated international internet information exchange in the study of male reproduction

It is clear that modern information technology is having a profound impact on the way researchers and clinicians exchange information. Use of the Internet is one example of how such change can be translated into scientific progress and improved patient care. Androlog, a moderated international information exchange, has proven to be very useful in the transfer of information pertaining to the study and treatment of male reproductive disorders. Allowing instantaneous dispersal of messages to members in 27 countries, this system has become a valuable source of scientific information, as well as an excellent forum for the discussion of a broad range of clinical and laboratory topics. Moderated-user groups such as Androlog are highly applicable to many other areas of urology. Establishment of such an information exchange requires only a modest investment in computer hardware and software and moderators who are willing to perform the necessary tasks of system administration and message review. Given the unique advantages provided by this method of communication, there is little doubt that systems such as Androlog will flourish in the future, providing a valuable tool in the advance of medical science.
Physical fitness and C-reactive protein level in children and young adults: the Columbia University BioMarkers Study.

Objective. To examine the association of physical fitness with C-reactive protein (CRP) level in children and young adults. Methods. Subjects (N = 205) aged 6 to 24 years were enrolled in the Columbia University BioMarkers Study (1994–1998). Physical fitness was assessed using a non-effort-dependent treadmill testing protocol (physical work capacity at heart rate of 170 beats per minute). CRP level was measured using a high-sensitivity assay. Results. Subjects were 54% female and 65% of Hispanic origin. Mean fitness level was higher in boys than in girls, but CRP levels did not differ by gender. Fitness level was inversely correlated with CRP (r = −0.22). This relationship was significant in boys (r = −0.32) but not in girls (r = −0.15). After multivariate regression adjustment for age, race/ethnicity, body mass index, and family history of early-onset ischemic heart disease, physical fitness remained inversely associated with CRP level in boys (β = −0.02; standard error = 0.01). Conclusions. These findings indicate that physical fitness is inversely related to CRP level in children and that this relationship is more pronounced in boys than in girls.
Bifurcations and chaos in electric power systems: Numerical studies

Abstract In the first part of this paper, we show via computer simulation the existence of chaos in two electric networks over a range of loading conditions. These two power systems, which were derived and simplified from physical power networks, are four-dimensional and 11- dimensional respectively, and both exhibit a period-doubling transition to chaos. The existence of chaos is confirmed though Lyapunov exponents, power spectra, and inspection of Poincare maps. The effect of system damping factors on bifurcations and complicated behaviors is also examined. Our studies indicate that some phenomena not appearing in small test systems can appear in larger systems. These simulations favor the claim that bifurcation and chaos can occur in a real power system, motivating a future investigation of the nature, extent, and significance of these phenomena in realistic power system models. We present a survey of existing work on the application of continuation methods to realistic power system models— which may contain thousands of nonlinear equations, some with hard limits on certain state variables. An emphasis is placed on the package CPFLOW, to illustrate, on a 3493-bus power system, the computational requirements and difficulties to be overcome in attempts to develop tools for realistic power system bifurcation and chaos studies. In addition to the review, this paper presents some new work in the interpretation of dynamical phenomena observed in power systems using qualitative results about bifurcation and chaos theory.
Modification of ethanol effects by chlorcyclizine in the rat.

SummaryRats receiving 12.5 mg of chlorcyclizine/kg of body weight and 15% ethanol (w/v) as the sole source of drinking fluid for 31 days showed a significant accumulation of hepatic triglycerides. Administration of chlorcyclizine alone led to only a slight increase in liver lipids while a group receiving alcohol failed to show any significant changes. Chronic administration of chlorcyclizine seemed to increase the tolerance to alcohol as reflected by the increased alcohol consumption in the presence of the drug.
Supplemental Niacin and Fat Effects on Milk Composition of Lactating Holstein Cows

Abstract Effects of dietary niacin and fat on milk composition, particularly milk N, were evaluated using eight lactating Holstein cows in a replicated 4 x 4 Latin square design, using primiparous and multiparous cow groups. Complete mixed diets contained 2 or 4% added fat and 0 or 125g niacin per 227kg of diet. Diets were fed for ad libitum intake, and periods were 21 d. Blood was collected on d 20 from all cows. Multiparous cows were administered with an epinephrine challenge on d 21 followed by serial blood sampling to estimate release of nonesterified fatty acids from adipose tissue. Milk composition, including milk N fractions, was not different for niacin although lactose was slightly elevated by niacin. Increasing amount of dietary fat slightly increased milk fat percentage and decreased lactose concentration, but other components remained unchanged. Milk yield and DM intake were not affected by either niacin or amount of fat. Niacin and increasing amount of fat decreased the proportion of short- and medium-chain fatty acids (C 4 to C 14 ) of milk fat. Nonesterified fatty acids of plasma were increased by niacin and increasing amount of fat. Total plasma triglycerides increased with amount of fat. Glucose and urea N were not affected by treatments. Plasma nonesterified fatty acids were not affected by treatment in response to epinephrine challenge.
Photochemical synthesis and crystal structure of two potentially useful metal carbonyl complexes: pentacarbonyl(η2-cis-cyclooctene)-tungsten(0) and tetracarbonylbis(η2-cis-cyclooctene)tungsten(0)

W(CO)5(C8H14) and W(CO)4(C8H14)2 were synthesized photochemically from W(CO)6 andcis-cyclooctene with a respective yield of 71% and 18%. The compounds were characterized by NMR, IR and single X-ray crystallography. The IR spectra of the two compounds exhibited characteristic bands for the mono- and bis-substituted metal carbonyl complexes. In W(CO)4(C8H14)2, thecis-cyclooctene ligands are in atrans configuration with the double bonds perpendicular to each other. The two crystal structures were refined toR=0.040 for W(CO)5(C8H14) and 0.025 for W(CO)4(C8H14)2. Although the tungsten-carbon (of the carbonyl groups) distances are very similar in both structures, the distances between the tungsten atom and the olefinic carbons are shorter in W(CO)4(C8H14)2, 2.36 A, than in W(CO)5(C8H14), 2.51 A.
Synthesis and molecular structure of octacarbonyl[bis(diphenylarsenido)]dirhenium, Re2(CO)8[μ-As(C6H5)2]2, resulting from the Re2(CO)10 catalyzed disproportionation of phenylarsinidine

Abstract The X-ray crystallographic structure determination of Re 2 (CO) 8 [μ-As(C 6 H 5 ) 2 ] 2 shows that the compound crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P 2 1 / n with a 12.284(4), b 16.897(6), c 15.880(8) A, β 100.31(3)°, V 3243(2) A 3 and Z = 4. Least squares refinement based on 3807 independent observed data resulted in a final R ( F ) value of 4.46%. The Re 2 As 2 core is slightly bent with Re(CO) 4 groups staggered an average of 12.6°; the Re separation of 4.090(1) A precludes metal-metal bonding. The formation of Re 2 (CO) 8 [μ-As(C 6 H 5 ) 2 ] 2 results from the disproportionation of phenylarsinidine and is accompanied by the formation of naked arsenic-atom clusters.
“My theory is intact; however”: Reflections on Teaching Spanish to Fifth Graders

: In this article, an experienced foreign language methods instructor presents his “private story” about teaching Spanish to fifth-graders as part of an elementary school's afternoon enrichment program. For the author, this one-semester experience was transformative, causing him to reconsider the nature of what he now considers to be the rather sanitized foreign language methods courses in undergraduate teacher-preparation programs. He discusses some ways he intends to alter his approach to the foreign language methods course, at the same time raising questions and making observations about classroom practices. For example, how can teachers acknowledge and explore the “messiness” of classroom life to their students' benefit? What does the odd and sometimes exasperating way that students “play” with language suggest in terms of classroom teaching approach? Professionally made foreign language training videos can lead to false expectations, even frustration. Visuals, hands-on objects, and realia, although important, can lead to problematic classroom behaviors if teachers are not prepared to react to them. Student verbal and nonverbal reactions to what teachers do need to be understood (is it Simply that they don't want to learn?). Moreover, teachers need other teachers with whom they can express their frustrations and work collaboratively on language-learning issues.
EXPERIMENTAL TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE OF THE MAGNETIZATION OF Fe AT INTERFACES WITH NON-MAGNETIC MATERIALS

Mesure de la variation thermique de l'aimantation d'une couche de surface de Fe au contact de Ag et MnF 2 . Mise en evidence de resultats differents et donc d'effets d'echange magnetique en surface differents
The Need for Long‐Term Investment in American Corporations

Contrary to the conventional wisdom, it's not fluctuations in the stock market that have put the American economy in jeopardy. It's the fact that American firms persist in pursuing short‐term profits and high stock prices.
Pulse Modulation - A Novel Approach to Gradient-Based Flow Injection Techniques

Development of a novel system for generation of gradients in flow injection analysis by pulse modulation is described. These user-selectable gradients are created by computer-controlled mixing of two solutions with a total volume as low as 75 μl and can be delivered under incremental or continuous flow conditions. Applications such as automated, single-standard instrument calibration are expected to benefit from high-precision linear gradients ( r 2 = 0.99989, n = 55). Gradient methods in biochemisty and immunology such as kinetic measurement of biomolecular interactions will benefit from the small volume of these gradients, especially for analytes with limited availability.
Probing water interactions and vacancy production on gadolinia-doped ceria surfaces using electron stimulated desorption.

Polycrystalline gadolinia-doped ceria (GDC) surfaces were studied using low-energy (5−400 eV) electron stimulated desorption (ESD). H+, O+, and H3O+ were the primary cationic desorption products with H+ as the dominant channel. H+, H3O+, and O+ have a 22 eV threshold followed by a yield change around 40 eV. H+ also has an additional yield change ∼75 eV and O+ has an additional change ∼150 eV. The O+ ESD yield change ∼150 eV may indicate bond breaking of Gd−O and the involvement of oxygen vacancies. The H+ and H3O+ threshold data collectively indicate the presence of hydroxyl groups and chemisorbed water molecules on the GDC surfaces. ESD temperature dependence measurements show that the interaction of water with GDC surface defect sites, mainly oxygen vacancies, influences the desorption of H+, O+, and H3O+. The temperature dependence of the O+ ESD at 400 eV incident electron energy yields a 0.21 eV activation energy. This is close to the energy needed for oxygen vacancy production next to a pair of Ce3+ ...
Forcing Function Effects on Unsteady Aerodynamic Gust Response: Part 1—Forcing Functions

The paper investigates the fundamental gust modeling assumption on the basis of a series of experiments performed in the Purdue Annular Cascade Research Facility. The measured unsteady flow fields are compared to linear-theory gust requirements. The perforated plate forcing functions closely resemble linear-theory forcing functions, with the static pressure fluctuations small and the periodic velocity vectors parallel to the downstream mean-relative flow angle over the entire periodic cycle. The airfoil forcing functions exhibit characteristics far from linear-theory gusts, with the alignment of the velocity vectors and the static pressure fluctuation amplitudes dependent on the rotor-loading condition, rotor solidity, and the inlet mean-relative flow angle. It is shown that airfoil wakes, both compressor and turbine, cannot be modeled with the boundary conditions of current state-of-the-art linear unsteady aerodynamic theory.
SYNTHESIS OF STERICALLY HINDERED PHOSPHONAMIDOTHIOLATES AND PHOSPHONAMIDODITHIOATES

Abstract The synthesis of sterically hindered t-butyl phosphonamidothiolate and t-butyl phosphonamidodithioate compounds has been conducted. These materials are intended to serve as precursors to study the oxidative bioactivation of certain phosphorothiolate pesticides
Rationale for Confidence-Scored Multiple-Choice Tests.

A system for responding to and scoring multiple-choice tests is proposed. This system asks students to express their distribution of preference for options as well as their certainty in that distribution. Such a system of scoring allows the use of types of test items which have previously been ignored.
119 RELEASE OF CATECHOLAMINES DURTNG THE DIFFERENT PHASES OF BIRTH SIMULATION IN THE FETAL LAMB

119 RELEASE OF CATECHOLAMINES DURTNG THE DIFFERENT PHASES OF BIRTH SIMULATION IN THE FETAL LAMB
OBJECTIVE FUNCTIONS FOR OCEAN ACOUSTIC INVERSION DERIVED BY LIKELIHOOD METHODS

Selection of a suitable objective function is an integral part of the inverse problem, and poor selection can have a strong influence on the inverse result. Objective functions are here derived for many practical occasions such as for single frequency and broadband, with and without knowledge of source strength, and with and without the received signal phase. These objective functions are all derived from a unified approach based on maximum likelihood and additive Gaussian noise models. The assumptions for the objective function are thus clear and the resulting estimator has good properties. From a Bayesian point of view, the solution to the inverse problem is the a posteriori probability distribution of the unknown parameters, which can be found from the likelihood function. Thus using objective functions based on likelihood functions facilitates computing the a posteriori distributions.
Evidence Regarding the Possible Role of c-Phycoerythrin in Ultraviolet-B Tolerance in a Thermophilic Cyanobacterium*

— It was recently reported that a strain of Nostoc spongiaeforme (cyanobacteria) with the photopigment c-phycoerythrin (c-PE) may be more tolerant of the adverse effects of UVB radiation than the same strain lacking c-PE due to chromatic adaptation (CA) (Tyagi et al., Photochem. Photobiol. 55,401–407, 1992). It was proposed that this increased UVB tolerance may be due to the presence of c-PE, perhaps as a function of the ability of strains with c-PE to chromatically adapt. We tested the role of c-PE in UVB tolerance by comparing the short-and long-term effects of UVB exposure on photosynthesis, pigmentation and the protein contents of four experimental cultures of the thermophilic cyanobacterium Os-cillatoria cf. amphigranulata. These cultures consisted of a wild-type strain that produces c-PE, a green pigment variant (subcloned from the parent wild-type strain) incapable of producing c-PE and two chromatically adapted color forms of the wild-type strain that varied with regard to their total c-PE content. There were no significant results suggesting a role for c-PE in UVB tolerance. It is concluded that the photopigment c-PE does not confer enhanced resistance to the deleterious effects of UVB radiation on photosynthesis in this cyanobacterium.
Conclusion: Construction sites at the juncture of religion and gender

The articles in this special issue offer fresh definitions of ‘new’ and ‘old’, of ‘local’ and ‘world’ religions. The themes of purity, danger and fundamentalism; female leadership, mediumship, self-sexism; and natalism and nationalism are discussed. This conclusion stresses the ‘folk’ sources of ‘mainstream’ religions, and focuses on the way the articles show women to be at the juncture of changing values concerning religion and gender, reform and fundamentalism.
Data Center Power Cost Optimization via Workload Modulation

We formulate optimization problems to study how data centers might modulate their power demands for cost-effective operation taking into account various complexities exhibited by real-world electricity pricing schemes. For computational tractability reasons, we work with a fluid model for power demands which we imagine can be modulated using two abstract knobs of demand dropping and demand delaying (each with its associated penalties or costs). We consider both stochastically known and completely unknown inputs, which are likely to capture different data center scenarios. Using empirical evaluation with both real-world and synthetic power demands and real-world prices, we demonstrate the efficacy of our techniques.
Spectral Representations in Perturbation Theory. I. Vertex Function

The vertex operator is examined in lowest order perturbation theory. It is found that, as a function of the invariant momentum transfer ${q}^{2}={\mathrm{q}}^{2}\ensuremath{-}{{q}_{0}}^{2}$, it is analytic in a cut plane with the branch point on the negative real axis. A spectral representation (dispersion relation) may therefore be inferred. The threshold of the spectrum depends on the masses of all fields involved unless certain inequalities hold between the masses of the incident and outgoing particles on one hand and the particles in intermediate states on the other; in that case the threshold depends only on the intermediate masses.
Diurnal variation of outgoing longwave radiation

The global and monthly distribution of the diurnal variation of outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) has been calculated by compositing estimates of the planetary OLR obtained from polar orbiting satellites at different equator crossing times. These data include NOAA and NASA polar orbiting satellites for the year 1974 through 1983, giving a total of ten different local observations per day throughout the whole data period. A Fourier analysis was then applied to calculate the phase and amplitude of the diurnal cycle on a 2.5° latitude/longitude grid for each month of the year. Assumption was implicitly made that the first harmonic alone explains most of the diurnal variation. The results are represented on maps extending from 55° south to 55° north for four different seasons from which a large seasonal variability of the diurnal harmonic primarily experienced by the mid-latitude continents was clearly depicted. Over land areas the amplitude of the diurnal variation was large. In desert and semi-arid areas it seem to be clearly related to surface solar heating i.e. phases of maximum OLR generally occurring near noon during summer and afternoon during winter months. Over the oceans, the amplitude is generally small even in the convectively active regions, such as the ITCZ, and the diurnal cycle appears to be modulated primarily by clouds. Finally, a ‘harmonic dial’ was constructed to examine the most dramatic features of the diurnal variation representative of such areas as the ITCZ, deserts, tropical convective clouds regions and highly variable mid-latitude areas. Results of this study are consistent with other studies of the diurnal variability of clouds and radiation budget parameters.
Cosegregation of X-Linked Retinitis Pigmentosa and Hemophilia A

We examined a family pedigree in which retinitis pigmentosa and hemophilia A were inherited in an X-linked manner. Six female carriers were identified by electroretinography. Results of ophthalmoscopic examination were normal in two women, while four displayed marked variability in phenotypic expression. Six of seven males identified with retinitis pigmentosa had hemophilia A. One asymptomatic boy had a markedly abnormal electroretinogram despite normal ophthalmoscopic examination. Pedigree analysis showed a high recombination rate, which would be expected as these two genes are known to be at opposite arms of the X chromosome.
Silk-elastin-like hydrogel improves the safety of adenovirus-mediated gene-directed enzyme-prodrug therapy.

Recombinant silk-elastin-like protein polymers (SELPs) are well-known for their highly tunable properties on both the molecular and macroscopic hydrogel levels. One specific structure of these polymers, SELP-815K, has been investigated as an injectable controlled delivery system for the treatment of head and neck cancer via a gene-directed enzyme prodrug therapy (GDEPT) approach. Due to its pore size and gelation properties in vivo, SELP restricts the distribution and controls the release of therapeutic viruses for up to one month. It has been shown that SELP-mediated delivery significantly improves therapeutic outcome of the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSVtk)/ganciclovir (GCV) system in xenograft models of human head and neck cancer. However little is known about potential benefits of this approach with regard to toxicity in the presence of a fully intact immune system. The studies presented here were designed to assess the change in toxicity of the SELP-mediated viral delivery compared to fre...
On two-dimensional moonpool resonance for twin bodies in a two-layer fluid

Abstract This paper studies the moonpool resonance of two heaving rectangular bodies in a two-layer fluid. A mathematical model is proposed based on an eigenfunction matching approach. The motion of the two-dimensional bodies is assumed to be vertical and harmonic. Heave added mass and damping coefficients are computed to examine the hydrodynamic behavior of the twin bodies. The free surface and internal wave elevations are obtained near the resonant frequencies. The presented results and analyses reveal that there exist both Helmholtz and higher-order resonances in the two-layer fluid system, which is similar to the single-layer fluid case. It is also found that the resonances are closely associated with the free surface elevation inside moonpool gap, not the wave elevation at the interfacial surface. In addition, parametric studies have been performed to identify the dependencies of hydrodynamic behavior on geometry and density stratification.
Pleural Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy for Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma

Purpose In patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma who are unable to undergo pneumonectomy, it is difficult to deliver tumoricidal radiation doses to the pleura without significant toxicity. We have implemented a technique of using intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) to treat these patients, and we report the feasibility and toxicity of this approach. Methods and Materials Between 2005 and 2010, 36 patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma and two intact lungs ( i.e. , no previous pneumonectomy) were treated with pleural IMRT to the hemithorax (median dose, 46.8 Gy; range, 41.4–50.4) at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Results Of the 36 patients, 56% had right-sided tumors. The histologic type was epithelial in 78%, sarcomatoid in 6%, and mixed in 17%, and 6% had Stage I, 28% had Stage II, 33% had Stage III, and 33% had Stage IV. Thirty-two patients (89%) received induction chemotherapy (mostly cisplatin and pemetrexed); 56% underwent pleurectomy/decortication before IMRT and 44% did not undergo resection. Of the 36 patients evaluable for acute toxicity, 7 (20%) had Grade 3 or worse pneumonitis (including 1 death) and 2 had Grade 3 fatigue. In 30 patients assessable for late toxicity, 5 had continuing Grade 3 pneumonitis. For patients treated with surgery, the 1- and 2-year survival rate was 75% and 53%, and the median survival was 26 months. For patients who did not undergo surgical resection, the 1- and 2-year survival rate was 69% and 28%, and the median survival was 17 months. Conclusions Treating the intact lung with pleural IMRT in patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma is a safe and feasible treatment option with an acceptable rate of pneumonitis. Additionally, the survival rates were encouraging in our retrospective series, particularly for the patients who underwent pleurectomy/decortication. We have initiated a Phase II trial of induction chemotherapy with pemetrexed and cisplatin with or without pleurectomy/decortication, followed by pleural IMRT to prospectively evaluate the toxicity and survival.
Controlled dielectrophoretic nanowire self-assembly using atomic layer deposition and suspended microfabricated electrodes

Effects of design and materials on the dielectrophoretic self-assembly of individual gallium nitride nanowires (GaN NWs) onto microfabricated electrodes have been experimentally investigated. The use of TiO(2) surface coating generated by atomic layer deposition (ALD) improves dielectrophoretic assembly yield of individual GaN nanowires on microfabricated structures by as much as 67%. With a titanium dioxide coating, individual nanowires were placed across suspended electrode pairs in 46% of tests (147 out of 320 total), versus 28% of tests (88 out of 320 total tests) that used uncoated GaN NWs. An additional result from these tests was that suspending the electrodes 2.75 μm above the substrate corresponded with up to 15.8% improvement in overall assembly yield over that of electrodes fabricated directly on the substrate.
Capacity for Patterns and Sequences in Kanerva's SDM as Compared to Other Associative Memory Models

The information capacity of Kanerva's Sparse, Distributed Memory (SDM) and Hopfield-type neural networks is investigated. Under the approximations used here, it is shown that the total information stored in these systems is proportional to the number connections in the network. The proportionality constant is the same for the SDM and Hopfield-type models independent of the particular model, or the order of the model. The approximations are checked numerically. This same analysis can be used to show that the SDM can store sequences of spatiotemporal patterns, and the addition of time-delayed connections allows the retrieval of context dependent temporal patterns. A minor modification of the SDM can be used to store correlated patterns.
IL28B: Implications for Therapy

Within the last 2 years, a number of Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS) have shown that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the interleukin 28B (IL28B) gene region, encoding interferon-λ3, are predictive of hepatitis C clearance in patients receiving interferon-α and ribavirin-based treatment regimens. In addition, the same SNPs are strongly linked with spontaneous clearance of hepatitis C virus in treatment-naive patients. The causal variant responsible for these findings has not been identified. Nevertheless, the discovery of a correlation between the IL28B genotype status and treatment outcome has impacted all aspects of clinical decision making in patients with hepatitis C, and has opened up the very real possibility of individualized treatment regimens based on variations at the IL28B gene locus.
GRETA: utilizing new concepts in γ-ray detection

We present a new concept for c-ray detector arrays. An example, called GRETA (Gamma-Ray Energy Tracking Array), consists of highly segmented HPGe detectors covering 4p solid angle. The new feature is the ability to track the scattering sequence of incident c-rays and in every event, this potentially allows one to measure with high resolution the energy deposited, the location (incident angle) and the time of each c-ray that hits the array. GRETA will be of order of 1000 times more powerful than the best present arrays, such as Gammasphere or Euroball, and will provide access to new physics. ( 1999 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Expanded Definition of Functional Operation Conditions and its Effects on the Computation of Functional Broadside Tests

Functional operation of a synchronous sequential circuit is defined to start after the circuit is initialized to a known state, typically by a synchronizing sequence. The states that the circuit can visit after it is synchronized are called reachable states, and functional operation consists of state-transitions between reachable states. We expand the definition of functional operation to include all the state-transitions that may be traversed during the application of the synchronizing sequence. This adds certain state-transitions that involve unreachable states to the definition of functional operation. Expanding the definition of functional operation is justified by the fact that the circuit needs to be designed for correct operation during the synchronization process. It is advantageous when functional broadside tests are used to avoid over- testing. We study the effect of the expanded definition on the coverage of transition faults.
Social Media as the Missing Link: Connecting Communities of Practice to Business Strategy

Communities of Practice (CoP) have long been considered powerful Knowledge Management (KM) mechanisms. CoP, however, are often viewed independently from organizational goals and structures, as they are primarily seen as a means of individual knowledge sharing and learning. In this article, we argue that CoP supported by social media have great potential to contribute to organizational goals, such as business strategy. We seek to support this statement through an embedded case study that includes 54 CoP within a prominent multinational engineering firm. This investigation explores the extent to which CoP contribute to business strategy. The paper's contribution is in providing five guidelines for practice that outline how CoP can be best designed to contribute to business strategy and how social media can serve as the “missing link” to execute those guidelines.
Matrix Metalloproteinases/Tissue Inhibitors of Metalloproteinases: Relationship Between Changes in Proteolytic Determinants of Matrix Composition and Structural, Functional, and Clinical Manifestations of Hypertensive Heart Disease

Background— Chronic hypertension may cause left ventricular (LV) remodeling, alterations in cardiac function, and the development of chronic heart failure (CHF). Changes in the composition of the extracellular matrix (ECM) known to occur in hypertension are believed to be causally related to these structural, functional, and clinical outcomes. However, whether the determinants of ECM composition, such as the balance between ECM proteases (matrix metalloproteinases [MMPs]) and their tissue inhibitors [TIMPs]), are altered in hypertensive heart disease is unknown. Methods and Results— Plasma MMP-2, -9, and -13 values, TIMP-1 and -2 values, and Doppler echocardiography images were obtained for 103 subjects divided into 4 groups: (1) reference subjects (CTL) with no evidence of cardiovascular disease, (2) hypertensive (HTN) subjects with controlled blood pressure and no LV hypertrophy, (3) hypertensive subjects with controlled blood pressure and with LV hypertrophy (HTN+LVH) but no CHF, and (4) hypertensive s...
Strategies For Successful Diversity Training In Corporate America

Corporate America is facing both a workforce and a customer base which are increasingly diversified. Diversity training initiatives are proliferating as a way to not only avoid legal problems but, more importantly, to find strategic advantage in this diversity. This article investigates the fundamentals of diversity training by answering a series of questions including: What is diversity training? Why is diversity training needed? Who is doing diversity training? When does diversity training fail? More importantly, the article focuses on strategies by suggesting how to design a successful diversity training program.
A virocentric perspective on the evolution of life

Viruses and/or virus-like selfish elements are associated with all cellular life forms and are the most abundant biological entities on Earth, with the number of virus particles in many environments exceeding the number of cells by one to two orders of magnitude. The genetic diversity of viruses is commensurately enormous and might substantially exceed the diversity of cellular organisms. Unlike cellular organisms with their uniform replication-expression scheme, viruses possess either RNA or DNA genomes and exploit all conceivable replication-expression strategies. Although viruses extensively exchange genes with their hosts, there exists a set of viral hallmark genes that are shared by extremely diverse groups of viruses to the exclusion of cellular life forms. Coevolution of viruses and host defense systems is a key aspect in the evolution of both viruses and cells, and viral genes are often recruited for cellular functions. Together with the fundamental inevitability of the emergence of genomic parasites in any evolving replicator system, these multiple lines of evidence reveal the central role of viruses in the entire evolution of life.
In vivo brain electrophoresis – a novel method for chemotherapy of CNS diseases

Objective: The blood–brain barrier (BBB) is a protective mechanism that does its job superbly. So much so, that hitherto, brain chemotherapy has been limited by it. In fact, very few agents are effective against brain disease due to the inherent difficulties of penetrating the BBB. We describe a novel, extremely focused method for delivering drugs to specific diseased areas. This innovative method directly delivers putative substances to the pathological area, bypassing the BBB. Treatment of brain diseases could be improved by targeted, controlled delivery of therapeutic substances to diseased cerebral areas. Our described novel method – in vivo electrophoresis – achieves this.Methods: This technique was evaluated in beagles after craniotomy was performed and a custom-designed plate with electrodes inserted. The delivery of charged substances to selected areas with predictably guided movement was achieved via a created electrical field. Gadolinium, a compound unable to cross the BBB, was injected intracer...
Women’s Marital Naming Choices in a Nationally Representative Sample

We explore women’s marital naming choices using the 2004 American Community Survey (ACS). Six percent of native-born married women have nonconventional surnames. Nonconventional surnames include hyphenated surnames, two surnames, and women who kept their own surname at marriage. Characteristics associated with nonconventional surname use include younger age, being other than White non-Hispanic, a large age difference between spouses, and higher educational attainment. Women with a master’s degree have odds of using a nonconventional surname that are 2.8 times higher than those who have less than a bachelor’s degree, whereas women with a professional degree have odds that are 5.0 times higher, and women with a doctorate have odds 9.8 times those with less than a bachelor’s degree.
Effect of Volumetric Water Content and Clover ( Trifolium incarnatum ) on the Survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in a Soil Matrix

Studies aimed at understanding Escherichia coli O157:H7 soil survival dynamics are paramount due to their inevitable introduction into the organic vegetable production systems via animal manure-based fertilizer. Therefore, a greenhouse study was conducted to determine the survival of E. coli O157:H7 in highly controlled soil matrices subjected to two variable environmental stressors: (1) soil volumetric water content (25 or 45 % VWC), and (2) the growth of clover (planted or unplanted). During the 7-week study, molecular-based qPCR analyses revealed that E. coli O157:H7 survival was significantly lower in soils maintained at either near water-holding capacity (45 % VWC) or under clover growth. The significant reduction under clover growth was only observed when E. coli populations were determined relative to all bacteria, indicating the need to further study the competition between E. coli O157:H7 and the total bacterial community in organic soils. Given the significant effect of clover on E. coli O157:H7 survival under different moisture conditions in this greenhouse-based study, this work highlights the antimicrobial potential of clover exudates in arable soils, and future work should concentrate on their specific mechanisms of inhibition; ultimately leading to the development of crop rotations/production systems to improve pre-harvest food safety and security in minimally processed, ready-to-eat and organic production systems.
Site-selective studies of erbium ion defects in thermally grown silicon oxides

Using the site-selective technique of combined excitation emission spectroscopy (CEES), we have studied a variety of Er-doped silicon oxide layers and silicon-rich oxide (SRO) layers which contain silicon nanocrystals. With this technique we identified Er cluster defect sites which are created during thermal annealing and which dominate at high Er concentrations. We investigate the role that Si nanocrystals play in the relative abundance of these cluster sites. In attempts to reduce this clustering effect, we observed mixed results by modifying the growth procedure such that Er is already present in the silicon during oxide growth.
Target-independent mining for scientific data: capturing transients and trends for phenomena mining

This paper describes a data mining approach for extracting enriched data from scientific data archives such as NASA's Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) that are stored on slow access tertiary storage. This enriched data has significantly smaller volume than the original data, yet preserves sufficient properties of this data such that over time, many different users can repeatedly mine it for different Earth-science phenomena. This enriched data captures daily trends and significant deviation from trends for each bin of gridded data from an equal-degree grid covering the Earth's surface. A feature of this enriched data is that it is independent of any particular target phenomena, although it assumes that such phenomena are either transient in nature or characterized by trends in the data. The enriched data can be stored in a database on fast secondary storage where it can be used repeatedly by many users to rapidly mine for phenomena of interest. Our research effort with SSM/I data shows that the approach gives anticipated results and has many potential applications in the mining of transient and long-term phenomena.
Reading comprehension and miscue combination scores: Further analysis and comparison

Abstract Five reading comprehension scoring systems derived from the frequency counts of various theoretically‐defined types of miscues are tested in replication. The relationships of these scores to standardized reading comprehension tests and to cloze tests are found to be positive and statistically significant in a sample of students from grades three and four, replicating previous findings with different grade levels in different geographical areas. These findings contribute to a series of studies which provide evidence for the criterion‐related validity of miscue analysis and miscue combination scores and suggest new techniques for research and evaluation.
Radiative heat release from premixed oxy-syngas and oxy-methane flames

Abstract The abundant supply of coal globally and its energy content per unit mass make the use of this fuel an attractive option for power generation. However, with increasingly strict environmental regulations imposed on greenhouse gas emission technologies the future use of coal in its current form is questionable. One solution to reduce pollutant emissions is oxy-combustion with coal-derived syngas, which can provide a method of using coal efficiently with carbon capture. This paper presents a study of the radiative heat release properties from oxy-syngas and oxy-methane flames. This is relevant since the radiative properties of prospective oxy-combustion systems are not fully known. In many oxy-fuel systems the flue gas stream is recycled and premixed with the fuel and oxidizer to reduce flame temperatures. It is estimated that the radiative heat transfer from these recirculated gases will significantly increase due to the increased emission of radiation from CO 2 and H 2 O in the 1.2 μm to 5 μm wavelength range, which can impact future combustor design models. Motivated by this, this work aims to provide a study of the global and spectral radiation properties of oxy-syngas combustion and how relevant variables affect radiative emissions. Theses variables include the effect of CO 2 acting as a diluent, percentage of H 2 in the fuel, firing input, and the effects of equivalence ratio on the flame’s radiative heat release and spectral radiation of CO 2 and H 2 O. The current study reveals that the radiative heat release factor of syngas flames decreases at higher firing inputs. It was also observed that the radiative heat factor decreased at high hydrogen concentrations. An increase in heat release factor is also measured at higher recirculation ratios of CO 2 .
Intermolecular triplet-sensitized photolysis of alkyl azides: Trapping of triplet alkyl nitrenes

Abstract We report the first observation that the intermolecular triplet sensitization of alkyl azides leads to bimolecular reactivity, by forming triplet alkyl nitrenes. The intermolecular triplet-sensitized photolysis of 1-azidoadamantane with acetone, acetophenone and benzophenone leads to the formation of di-(adamantan-1-yl)-1,2-diazene as the major product via dimerization of triplet adamantan-1-yl nitrene. The triplet alkyl nitrene also abstracts a H-atom from the solvent to form adamantan-1-yl amine, adamantan-1-yl-benzyl amine and adamantan-1-yl benzylidene amine. The rates of the energy transfer from acetophenone and benzophenone to 1-azidodamantane are 1×10 8 and 5×10 6 M −1 s −1 , respectively. Triplet-sensitized photolysis of benzyl azide with acetophenone gave methylene phenyl amine, dibenzyl amine and tribenzyl amine as the major products. Thus triplet benzyl nitrene abstracts a H-atom from the solvent to form dibenzyl amine and tribenzyl amine and rearranges to form methylene phenyl amine. The energy transfer rate between acetophenone and benzyl azide is diffusion controlled, or 2×10 9 M −1 s −1 . Sensitized photolysis of benzyl azide with benzophenone yielded only benzylideneamine. Presumably, benzophenone abstracts a H-atom from benzyl azide and the resulting radical rearranges into benzylideneamine. The rate of the chemical quenching of benzophenone with benzyl azide is 5×10 7 M −1 s −1 .
Electric Organ Discharge and Electrosensory Reafference in Skates

Skates possess bilateral electric organs that produce intermittent, weak discharges of relatively long duration compared to the discharges ofother weakly elec tric fish. They, like all elasmobranchs, also have an elec trosensory system capable of detecting weak, low-fre quency electric fields. Several studies have suggested that the discharge is used in some type of social communi cation. This study measured the strength and nature of the response ofthe skate electrosensory system to electric organ discharge. Electric organ discharge (EOD) waselicited via electrical stimulation of the medullary command nucleus in two species ofskates. The temporal structure and power spec tra ofthe EODS demonstrated that they should be effective stimuli for the skate electrosensory system. The responses ofelectrosensory afferent fibers in the anterior lateral line nerve (ALLN) to EODS were variable depending upon the location and orientation ofthe receptor. The responses of most ALLN fibers were very weak compared to the strong reafference produced by the skate's ventilatory ac tivity. Unlike the common-mode ventilatory reafference, EOD reafference was variable in terms of excitation or inhibition, depending upon receptor orientation. Despite the low signal-to-noise ratio observed in ALLN responses to EODS,it is likely that EODSserve as a communicative signal over moderate distances.
Multi-Pollutant Modeling and Policy: Dressing the Emperor and Avoiding False Paradigms

The problem landscape we know has multi-pollutant interactions. There is a growing recognition of multi-pollutant interactions and a desire to take them into account for assessment and policy purposes.