cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Exorcising the Mandala: Kālacakra and the Neo-Pentecostal Response

Since the late 1990s, the Dalai Lama's "Kalachakra for World Peace" initiation has emerged as a central site where Tibetan Buddhism and its relationship to the West have been imagined and acted upon by a movement within evangelical Christianity called Spiritual Mapping. In Mapping understanding, the Kālacakra is a vehicle by which the current Dalai Lama prepares for the end times by seeking to transform America into "a universal Buddhocracy" called the Kingdom of Shambhala. Tibetan Buddhism is, in short, a missionary competitor for global religious domination. Here, the Tibetan-evangelical encounter is presented as the by-product of the simultaneous globalizations of Tibetan Buddhism and Evangelicalism with the human rights discourse in late twentieth century America. The "exorcism of the mandala" is read as both by-product and critique of globalization, and to engender a thoughtful re-evaluation of long-standing Buddhist Studies analytics.
Building an experimental globus-based grid computing system in an university environment

Grid computing is a new distributed computing paradigm that is changing the way scientists and engineers do computing and how society in general manages information. This new computing technology has led to the development of a global research community and may have significant influences on many areas of computer science, such as networking, operating systems, database, security, programming, etc. Therefore, it is important to integrate Grid computing into computer science education and expose students to the latest development in this active area. Toward this end, we are building an experimental Globus-based Grid computing system at the Computer Science Department of University of Central Arkansas (UCA). This Grid computing system can be used for both education and research purposes.
GC skew is a conserved property of unmethylated CpG island promoters across vertebrates

GC skew is a measure of the strand asymmetry in the distribution of guanines and cytosines. GC skew favors R-loops, a type of three stranded nucleic acid structures that form upon annealing of an RNA strand to one strand of DNA, creating a persistent RNA:DNA hybrid. Previous studies show that GC skew is prevalent at thousands of human CpG island (CGI) promoters and transcription termination regions, which correspond to hotspots of R-loop formation. Here, we investigated the conservation of GC skew patterns in 60 sequenced chordates genomes. We report that GC skew is a conserved sequence characteristic of the CGI promoter class in vertebrates. Furthermore, we reveal that promoter GC skew peaks at the exon 1/ intron1 junction and that it is highly correlated with gene age and CGI promoter strength. Our data also show that GC skew is predictive of unmethylated CGI promoters in a range of vertebrate species and that it imparts significant DNA hypomethylation for promoters with intermediate CpG densities. Finally, we observed that terminal GC skew is conserved for a subset of vertebrate genes that tend to be located significantly closer to their downstream neighbors, consistent with a role for R-loop formation in transcription termination.
What Attracts Directors to Boards of Small-and Mid-Sized Companies

This paper explores the reasons why outside corporate directors choose to serve on the boards of small- to mid-sized companies. Resource dependence theory explains the importance of outside directors on corporate boards, especially for small- and mid-sized companies. Attracting qualified board members is both an important and sometimes difficult task for such companies. Using a sample of 102 NASDAQ companies, we find that firm performance, financial incentives, and time constraints influence the decision of an outsider to accept a board seat.
Language Ideologies and Policies: Multilingualism and Education

Educating multilingual students is a great challenge for both teachers and parents in a society in which English is the medium of schooling and of wider communication. Top-down language policies often overpower teachers’ individual intentions and practices. In this paper, we point out that language ideologies in ‘commonsense’ beliefs and political orientations, rather than pedagogical considerations or research evidence, motivate language policies. We particularly discuss the language ideologies of standardization and monolingualism that underlie bilingual education and English-only policies in the U.S. and how these policies conflict with the reality of multilingual students’ linguistic and identity practices. We also examine research on bilingual, bidialectal, and plurilingual practices in which multiple languages or varieties within a language co-exist and are used creatively by speakers for significant social and pragmatic functions, and we highlight the critical gap between top-down language policies and such ground-level plurilingualism. Teachers’ knowledge of such plurilingual practices by their students and their deeper understanding of and critical perspective toward language policies can empower them to negotiate top-down language polices in their classrooms in order to facilitate language and literacy development among their multilingual students.
Experiences in Porting ASC Batch Engine to ARL

Due to a High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP) requirement, all high performance computing (HPC) acquisitions at US Army Research Laboratory (ARL) beginning in fiscal year 2004 are configured with the LSF batch system software. Since Grid Engine has been the batch system software used on ARL Major Shared Resource Center (MSRC) systems since its inception, this is a major adjustment for a large part of our user base. In order to mitigate the difficulty to our users in migrating to this new environment, research was conducted to find and determine the level of effort in modifying existing GUI-based batch script generator tools for use as an LSF script generator at ARL. Two packages were found that could be modified for this purpose; the existing ARL Grid Engine Script Tool (GEST) and ASC Batch Engine. An analysis of the two packages led to a determination that Batch Engine was a better overall choice for use as the ARL LSF Script Generator tool. This paper will present the basis of the analysis that led to this decision and the modifications to the existing Batch Engine software that were required to port Batch Engine to the ARL environment. The availability of this tool is seen as an important enabler of HPC access for the Department of Defense (DoD) Scientific and Engineering community and we hope to foster its use at the ARL MSRC and at other sites that can benefit from its availability.
Cross-cultural conflict and affirmative action: Inter- and intra-ethnic dilemmas of Malaysia’s heterogeneous workplace

This article, a combination of field research report and literature review, looks at affirmative-action policies both as a mechanism for managing cross-cultural conflict and as creator of other types of conflicts in multi-ethnic Malaysia. Socioeconomic imbalances and post-independence rioting prompted the implementation of these policies to reduce ethnic confrontations and uplift the majority Bumiputras. They were reluctantly accepted by the minority immigrant communities, but managed to change Malaysia’s pre-independence ethnic disparities. The article identifies some of the cross-cultural conflicts the nation still faces, after four decades of affirmative action: (a) the existence of a highly segregated educational system with little opportunity for intercultural interactions; (b) the ghost of latent inter-ethnic tensions beneath the surface; (c) the accentuation of intra-ethnic disparities; (d) complaints about alleged Malay cultural hegemony and Chinese economic hegemony; (e) the visible marginalizati...
Amelioration of the behavioral phenotype in weaver mutant mice through bilateral intrastriatal grafting of fetal dopamine cells

Weaver mutant mice lose more than two-thirds of their nigral dopamine neurons. Behaviorally, weaver homozygotes display tremor, gait instability, and toppling over to the sides after a few steps. The recovery of functional responses was determined in a battery of behavioral tests in weaver mutants after bilateral transplantation of mesencephalic cell suspensions (prepared from wild-type mice) to the striatum. Equilibrium was tested by the time mice were able to stay on a suspended balance rod before falling off. Locomotor coordination was measured by the number of times mice toppled over to the sides as they moved about in an open-field matrix. Locomotor activity was quantified by the number of square crossings in an open-field matrix. Grafted weaver mutants performed significantly better than non-grafted mutant mice in all of these three tasks. The findings clearly demonstrate that bilateral transplants of foetal DA cells enhance motor performance in the weaver model of chronic nigrostriatal DA deficiency.
Gender differences when subjective probabilities affect risky decisions: an analysis from the television game show Cash Cab

This study uses the television show Cash Cab as a natural experiment to investigate gender differences in decision making under uncertainty. As expected, men are much more likely to accept the end-of-game gamble than are women, but men and women appear to weigh performance variables differently when relying on subjective probabilities. At best men base their risky decisions on general aspects of their previous “good” play (not all of which is relevant at the time the decision is made) and at worst fail to condition their risky decisions on any of the relevant information available to them. In sharp contrast, women appear to consider all of the information available to them, including previous “poor” play as well as their most recent confident “good” play, which, by design, is likely the most relevant information to consider.
HIERARCHICAL REGULATION OF NITROGEN EXPORT FROM URBAN CATCHMENTS: INTERACTIONS OF STORMS AND LANDSCAPES

In urban catchments of arid central Arizona, we investigate how the export of mineral and organic nitrogen (N) in storm runoff is regulated by interactions between local landscape characteristics and broader scale storm features. First, we test whether N export is more a function of (1) processes that affect N concentration in runoff or (2) the propensity of the catchment to convey rainfall as runoff. With data pooled across catchments, the mass of N in export (load) is determined by processes regulating runoff N concentration. There are exceptions when catchments are examined individually, where N load from some catchments is determined by the hydrologic responsiveness of the catchment. Second, we investigate the relationship between N export and catchment features. Loads per catchment area were greater from more impervious catchments, probably because impervious catchments held more N in a mobilizable phase and conveyed more rainfall as overland flow. Loads per area were lower from larger catchments, possibly owing to more N-retention hot spots in larger catchments. Catchments with the greatest N exports were those with commercial land use, and loads decreased as development became less prevalent or as residential replaced industrial land use. Third, we investigated how catchment features moderated direct responses of N export to storms. Export was less correlated with storm features in catchments that were larger, more pervious, and less industrial. Results support an "N build and flush" hypothesis, which purports that there is little biotic processing of N deposited to arid, urban surfaces with little organic matter. The rate and duration of deposition determine the size of the mobile N pool. Any amount of rainfall capable of generating overland flow would entrain nearly all mobilizable N and export it from the catchment. Nonetheless, these results suggest that, even with daunting seasonal and interannual variability in storm conditions, material export can be reduced by managing intrinsic catchment features.
Learning to rank from a noisy crowd

We study how to best use crowdsourced relevance judgments learning to rank [1, 7]. We integrate two lines of prior work: unreliable crowd-based binary annotation for binary classification [5, 3], and aggregating graded relevance judgments from reliable experts for ranking [7]. To model varying performance of the crowd, we simulate annotation noise with varying magnitude and distributional properties. Evaluation on three LETOR test collections reveals a striking trend contrary to prior studies: single labeling outperforms consensus methods in maximizing learner accuracy relative to annotator eýort. We also see surprising consistency of the learning curve across noise distributions, as well as greater challenge with the adversarial case for multi-class labeling.
The effect of instruction on burn prevention in eighth-grade students in preparation for babysitting

New parents quickly discover that the greatest resource for child care at the least cost are teenage babysitters. These sitters assume the responsibility for burn prevention of young children. This study tested the effect of a burn prevention presentation on pre- and posttest scores of eighth-grade students (N = 119) from five sections of a science class. Students were between the ages of 12 and 14 years and 99 of them (83.2%) were babysitters. Multiple analysis of variance was calculated, and differences were seen between information regarding burns from hot bath water, cigarette lighters, and baby bottles that were heated in microwave ovens; however, the differences were not significant. This study concluded that eighth-grade students learned burn prevention before they entered the eighth grade but that there is a need to update these babysitters on burn prevention and new hazards such as cigarette lighters and microwave ovens. Language: en
Dose reconstruction in deforming lung anatomy: Dose grid size effects and clinical implications

In this study we investigated the accumulation of dose to a deforming anatomy (such as lung) based on voxel tracking and by using time weighting factors derived from a breathing probability distribution function (p.d.f.). A mutual information registration scheme (using thin-plate spline warping) provided a transformation that allows the tracking of points between exhale and inhale treatment planning datasets (and/or intermediate state scans). The dose distributions were computed at the same resolution on each dataset using the Dose Planning Method (DPM) Monte Carlo code. Two accumulation/interpolation approaches were assessed. The first maps exhale dose grid points onto the inhale scan, estimates the doses at the 'tracked' locations by trilinear interpolation and scores the accumulated doses (via the p.d.f.) on the original exhale data set. In the second approach, the 'volume' associated with each exhale dose grid point (exhale dose voxel) is first subdivided into octants, the center of each octant is mapped to locations on the inhale dose grid and doses are estimated by trilinear interpolation. The octant doses are then averaged to form the inhale voxel dose and scored at the original exhale dose grid point location. Differences between the interpolation schemes are voxel size and tissue density dependent,more » but in general appear primarily only in regions with steep dose gradients (e.g., penumbra). Their magnitude (small regions of few percent differences) is less than the alterations in dose due to positional and shape changes from breathing in the first place. Thus, for sufficiently small dose grid point spacing, and relative to organ motion and deformation, differences due solely to the interpolation are unlikely to result in clinically significant differences to volume-based evaluation metrics such as mean lung dose (MLD) and tumor equivalent uniform dose (gEUD). The overall effects of deformation vary among patients. They depend on the tumor location, field size, volume expansion, tissue heterogeneity, and direction of tumor displacement with respect to the beam, and are more likely to have an impact on serial organs (such as esophagus), rather than on large parallel organs (such as lung)« less
The gradient tissue culture method.

Abstract Preliminary results with a simple method of tissue culture which provides a continuous gradient in cell number, oxygen tension, oxidation-reduction potential, and cell conditioning factors are described and pictured. Cells may readily be examined in in situ at any desired interval with any stain, or by phase microscopy in the living state. The method has proved far superior to any method hitherto tried for cultures of hemic cells of the blood and blood-forming organs. Many possible applications and variations are suggested on this simple procedure of inserting a sterile standard slide at a 45 ° angle into a deep suspension culture in a 1-pint wide mouth French square bottle and allowing the cells to settle out on the surface.
Context Dependence, Disagreement, and Predicates of Personal Taste*

This paper argues that truth values of sentences containing predicates of “personal taste” such as fun or tasty must be relativized to individuals. This relativization is of truth value only, and does not involve a relativization of semantic content: If you say roller coasters are fun, and I say they are not, I am negating the same content which you assert, and directly contradicting you. Nonetheless, both our utterances can be true (relative to their separate contexts). A formal semantic theory is presented which gives this result by introducing an individual index, analogous to the world and time indices commonly used, and by treating the pragmatic context as supplying a particular value for this index. The context supplies this value in the derivation of truth values from content, not in the derivation of content from character. Predicates of personal taste therefore display a kind of contextual variation in interpretation which is unlike the familiar variation exhibited by pronouns and other indexicals.
Essay: Leaky Pipes

In the face of great tragedy, the desire to pinpoint blame can be instinctual as a remedy for alleviating one's conscience in a system that causes great suffering. However, to remedy the system that causes such suffering requires a critical analysis of the factors that perpetuate inequitable power structures. This is the story of a journey that broadened my lens of analysis with which to critically evaluate the harmful structural and social determinants magnified in resource-limited settings.
High-resolution 3-T MR neurography of femoral neuropathy.

OBJECTIVE. The femoral nerve is subject to a variety of diseases that may affect the nerve anywhere from the nerve roots to the distal branches. High-resolution 3-T MR neurography (MRN) is being increasingly used for peripheral nerve evaluation because it complements information gained from electrodiagnostic testing. CONCLUSION. There are scattered case reports describing femoral nerve diseases using MRI. This article comprehensively reviews different pathologic abnormalities involving the femoral nerve and illustrates their MRN features with case examples.
Genomic and proteomic analysis of the impact of mitotic quiescence on the engraftment of human CD34+ cells.

It is well established that in adults, long-term repopulating hematopoietic stem cells (HSC) are mitotically quiescent cells that reside in specialized bone marrow (BM) niches that maintain the dormancy of HSC. Our laboratory demonstrated that the engraftment potential of human HSC (CD34+ cells) from BM and mobilized peripheral blood (MPB) is restricted to cells in the G0 phase of cell cycle but that in the case of umbilical cord blood (UCB) -derived CD34+ cells, cell cycle status is not a determining factor in the ability of these cells to engraft and sustain hematopoiesis. We used this distinct in vivo behavior of CD34+ cells from these tissues to identify genes associated with the engraftment potential of human HSC. CD34+ cells from BM, MPB, and UCB were fractionated into G0 and G1 phases of cell cycle and subjected in parallel to microarray and proteomic analyses. A total of 484 target genes were identified to be associated with engraftment potential of HSC. System biology modeling indicated that the top four signaling pathways associated with these genes are Integrin signaling, p53 signaling, cytotoxic T lymphocyte-mediated apoptosis, and Myc mediated apoptosis signaling. Our data suggest that a continuum of functions of hematopoietic cells directly associated with cell cycle progression may play a major role in governing the engraftment potential of stem cells. While proteomic analysis identified a total of 646 proteins in analyzed samples, a very limited overlap between genomic and proteomic data was observed. These data provide a new insight into the genetic control of engraftment of human HSC from distinct tissues and suggest that mitotic quiescence may not be the requisite characteristic of engrafting stem cells, but instead may be the physiologic status conducive to the expression of genetic elements favoring engraftment.
Monetary conditions and metal prices

The monetary easing of the past few years by the world’s major central banks through conventional and unconventional policies coincided with the longest and broadest commodity price boom since the Second World War. And not surprisingly, the impending normalization of monetary conditions has created expectations of a likely reversal in commodity price trends. Based on a reduced form, price-determination model which accounts for all quantifiable sectoral and macroeconomic fundamentals, this note finds that the effect of short-term interest rates on metal prices is mixed and modest. But, changes in longer term rates have a positive and highly significant impact. The note also concludes that metal prices respond (in that order) to industrial production, input prices, US dollar movements and physical stocks of metals.
General economic equilibrium and variational inequalities: existence, uniqueness and sensitivity

In this paper we use the theory of variational inequalities to study the general economic equilibrium problem with production. The variational inequality is defined on a bounded set. Existence, uniqueness and sensitivity of the equilibrium point (pair of price vector and activity vector) are discussed through studying this variational inequality.
Seasonal variation of neural tube defects in Newfoundland and elsewhere

In Newfoundland, babies with anencephaly are conceived most often in January, and those with spina bifida in August. These and previous observations suggest that (1) seasonal fluctuations are greatest when the population frequency is neither very high nor very low, and that (2) the peak season for conception of anencephalic babies may occur in any season except August-November in various populations, whereas for spina bifida seasonal peaks are confined almost exclusively to May-August.
The absence of structural relationship between mitochondrial and cytoplasmic leucyl-tRNA synthetases from Tetrahymena pyriformis

Abstract Two leucyl-tRNA synthetases (EC 6.1.1.4) have been purified to near homogeneity, the one from mitochondria and the other from cytoplasm of Tetrahymena pyriformis. Both enzymes were found to be structurally unrelated, single polypeptides with molecular weights of approximately 100,000 as determined by gel permeation, sucrose gradient centrifugation, and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. These enzymes behaved differently in elution profiles through hydroxyapatite- and diethylaminoethyl cellulose-column chromatography and isoelectric focusing. The two enzymes also showed some differences in responses to various salts for charging and in pH optima and temperature sensitivity, but no significant difference was found in their affinities (Km) for ATP and leucine. These enzymes recognized different leucyl-tRNA isoaccepting species as revealed by reversed-phase column chromatography. The mitochondrial enzyme can charge six isoaccepting leucyl-tRNA species, while the cytoplasmic enzyme can recognize only four species.
Effects of temporal uncertainty and temporal expectancy on infants' auditory sensitivity.

Adults are more sensitive to a sound if they know when the sound will occur. In the present experiment, the effects of temporal uncertainty and temporal expectancy on infants’ and adults’ detection of a 1 kHz tone in a broadband noise were examined. In one experiment, masked sensitivity was measured with an acoustic cue and without an acoustic cue to possible tone presentation times. Adults’ sensitivity was greater for the cue than for the no-cue condition, while infants’ sensitivity did not differ significantly between the cue and no-cue conditions. In a second experiment, the effect of temporal expectancy was investigated. The detection advantage for sounds occurring at an expected (most frequent) time, over sounds occurring at unexpected (less frequent) times, was examined. Both infants and adults detected a tone better when it occurred before or at an expected time following a cue than when it occurred at a later time. Thus, despite the fact that the auditory cue did not improve infants’ sensitivity, it nonetheless provided the basis for temporal expectancies. Infants, like adults, are more sensitive to sounds that are consistent with temporal expectancy.
Teaching real time OSs with DORITOS

We are developing a teaching package that can be used in a college course that would fill a gap among current science majors and teach senior-level undergraduate students theory and practice of real-time operating systems, including their requirements, characteristics, internals, and specification. This course has two components: (1) a theoretical part, and (2) a practical hands-on implementation component achieved with DORITOS (Distributed Object-Based Real-time InsTructional Operating System) as the implementation environment. DORITOS' design is based on UC-Berkeley's NACHOS. The DORITOS package will be distributed with DKaffe (a modified version of Kaffe JVM) and a basic system which allows students to run simple threads.In this paper, we focus on the practical, hands-on system that allows students to learn the internals of a Real-time Operating Systems (RTOS). Throughout the term, assignments require students to use and modify DORITOS to implement real-time elements as well as to analyze the performance of implemented algorithms.
Drug withdrawal and fighting in rats

Rats were given the opioid drug etonitazene in drinking water on a schedule of increasing concentration to 90 mcg/ml. All animals then receiving dextroamp he famine injections during withdrawal exhibited vigorous, periodic fighting for 288 h post withdrawal.
Evidence from Combined Immunoassay and Radioautography Procedures That Intact Insulin-125I Molecules Are Concentrated by Mouse Kidney Proximal Tubule Cells

Tissue samples were obtained from mice sacrificed to 25 min after tail vein injection of mI-labeled beef insulin, 12 μg and 0.1 μc/g or 60 mμg and 0.5 μc/g mouse. The extent to which 125I present in tissues was attached to intact insulin-mI molecules was judged through measurement of the reactivity of 125I in each tissue homogenate with cellulose and with guinea pig anti-insulin serum (AIS), which abolishes insulin reactivity with cellulose. Tissue radioautograms were also prepared. In the liver, the 125I was preferentially concentrated by Kupffer cells and rapidly lost its reactivity to cellulose and, by inference, to AIS also. Kidney 125I concentration continued to increase for at least 10 min; at 5 min and shorter sacrifice times, over 40% of the 125I was still reactive with both cellulose and AIS, i.e., still attached to intact insulin molecules. From the radioautograms, it was judged that by far the greater part of the 125I was in the cortex. This 125I was present at highest concentration in the glom...
The effect of nalidixic acid on expression from related E. coli promoters.

Abstract The effect of the DNA gyrase inhibitor, nalidixic acid, on expression from E. coli promoters was studied using the pKO-1, galactokinase expression vector system. Expression from a series of related hybrid promoters, tet promoter variants and the trp promoter flanked by oligonucleotide blocks was measured after incubation with nalidixic acid. Expression from the pBR322 tet promoter and tet promoter mutants within the −10 region was reduced after the drug treatment. The lac UV5 , trp , and tettrp promoters were essentially unaffected while the trplac and the trptet promoters were stimulated. Studies of the trp promoter flanked by upstream or downstream oligonucleotide blocks revealed similar responses to the trp promoter parent control plasmids.
Estrogen mediated epithelial proliferation in the uterus is directed by stromal Fgf10 and Bmp8a.

To define endometrial stromal-derived paracrine mediators that participate in estradiol-17β (E2)-induced epithelial proliferation, microarray analysis of gene expression was carried out in mouse uterine epithelial–stromal co-culture systems under the condition of E2 or vehicle (control). Our results demonstrated gene alteration by E2: in epithelial cells, we found up-regulation of 119 genes and down-regulation of 28 genes, while in stroma cells we found up-regulation of 144 genes and down-regulation of 184 genes. A functional enrichment analysis of the upregulated epithelial genes implicated them for proliferation, while upregulated stromal genes were associated with extracellular functions. Quantitative RT-PCR and in situ hybridization results confirmed differential gene expression in both cell cultures and ovariectomized uteri after the above treatments. Based on our identification of stromal secretory factors, we found evidence that suppression by siRNA specifically for Bmp8a and/or Fgf10 in the stromal layer caused significant inhibition of proliferation by E2 in the co-culture system, suggesting Bmp8a and Fgf10 act as paracrine mediators during E2-dependent control of uterine proliferation. The localization of receptors and receptor activation signaling in epithelial cells in both the co-culture system and uteri was consistent with their involvement in ligand–receptor signaling. Interestingly, loss of Bmp8a or Fgf10 also caused abrogation of E2-regulated epithelial receptor signaling in co-culture systems, suggesting that stroma-derived Fgf10 and Bmp8a are responsible for epithelial communication. Overall, stromal Fgf10 and Bmp8a serve as potential paracrine factors for E2-dependent regulation of epithelial proliferation in the uterus.
Clonidine poisoning in children

Fourteen cases of severe clonidine poisoning occurring in children over a 5-yr period were reviewed. The typical patient was a previously healthy toddler who ingested clonidine while visiting a relative. All patients were lethargic on admission and most were admitted with bradycardia or miosis. Hypotension was more likely to develop after admission. Recovery occurred within 48 h with only symptomatic treatment. Significant morbidity from clonidine ingestion occurred in terms of hospitalization, invasive monitoring, and mechanical ventilation.
New polymorphic markers in the vicinity of the pearl locus on mouse chromosome 13

We have used a Mus domesticus/-Mus spretus congenic animal that was selected for retention of Mus spretus DNA around the pearl locus to create a highly polymorphic region suitable for screening new markers. Representation difference analysis (RDA) was performed with either DNA from the congenic animal or C57BL/6J as the driver for subtraction. Four clones were identified, characterized, and converted to PCR-based polymorphic markers. Three of the four markers equally subdivide a 10-cM interval containing the pearl locus, with the fourth located centromeric to it. These markers have been placed on the mouse genetic map by use of an interspecific backcross panel between Mus domesticus (C57BL/6J) and Mus spretus generated by The Jackson Laboratory.
Defoe as a Biographical Subject

This essay on writing a biography of Daniel Defoe is focused on two problems. How is biography possible in a time when many thinkers have argued that all history and biography are essentially forms of fiction and that the notion of a unified personality is an illusion? And how does one deal with the contention of John Richetti and others that a biography of Daniel Defoe has to be different from other biographies in that his character is essentially irretrievable from the past? The arguments of various critics on authorship have shown us that works of history and biography are never scientific presentations but rather works shaped by their authors. But it is only through such limited viewpoints that facts of a life or a history can have meaning. Defoe was a spy who took many identities, but placed in a determinable historical context, his opinions and motives are fairly consistent. As the many biographers of Defoe before me and I have shown, shaping the life and character of such a protean figure is challenging but is not as difficult as might be thought.
Decay of Ba133

Abstract The gamma-rays following the electron-capture decay of 7.5 year Ba 133 have been studied by means of a coincidence scintillation spectrometer. Gamma rays at 79, 79, 274, 302, 358 and 381 keV have been observed. In addition, the presence of a 56 keV gamma ray was confirmed. The resulting decay scheme with levels at 79, 158, 381 and 437 keV is in excellent agreement with previous work. Spin and parity assignments are made for these levels.
Friction and Wear in the Presence of Fullerene Contained Lubricants at Boundary Conditions

This work describes application of fullerenes as additives for liquid lubricants such as motor oils. Experiments include dynamic tracking of friction coefficient and weight measurements of samples before and after experiments. Friction coefficient measurements have been done on computer-controlled wear-friction testing machine, which has been developed at Surface Engineering Laboratory in NJIT. For the proposed series of experiments, this machine employs conforming disc-on-ring arrangement of rubbing bodies at boundary lubrication; sample couple is steel AISI 4340 and bronze SAE 40; nominal contact pressure ranges from 1.9 MPa to 3.7 MPa with sliding speed of 0.61 m/s. Tested lubricants were prepared on the basis of super duty motor oil SAE 10 by adding one weight percent of additives: pure C60 , mixture of C60 and C70 and graphite powder. Performance comparison of fullerene contained lubricants with pure oil and oil modified by graphite powder showed that although there is no any clear difference in friction coefficient value for tested lubricants, fullerene contained lubricants decrease wear rate of rubbing bodies.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Riparian vegetation in the southern Appalachian mountains (USA) following chestnut blight

Abstract American chestnut is often listed as an important component of mesic midslopes and xeric ridges in pre-blight southern Appalachian forests, but its former importance in riparian forests has generally been considered minor. To document its importance in riparian forests, 589 American chestnut stumps were located on four sites (two previously logged, two unlogged) in the Blue Ridge physiographic province of the southern Appalachians. Diameters and basal areas of chestnut were calculated and compared among sites and to basal area (BA) of live trees. Chestnut BA ranged between 8.4 and 12.4 m2/ha (25 and 40% of current BA). Vegetative composition on 58 random plots suggests that three community types were represented on the four study sites: (1) old-growth forest with sparse rhododendron; (2) logged forest with sparse rhododendron; and (3) forest dominated by rhododendron which controlled vegetative composition regardless of logging status. Thickets of ericaceous shrubs that developed after the blight were significantly denser in logged forest than in old-growth. Only shade-tolerant herbs such as galax and partridge-berry, as well as a rare orchid, Appalachian twayblade, were found growing in rhododendron thickets. Results of our study suggest that the gap-phase hypothesis, where species diversity is maintained in cove forests of the southern Appalachians through gap-phase disturbance, should be modified to allow for dynamics influenced by rhododendron. The reintroduction of periodic fire into southern Appalachian riparian habitat may control rhododendron dominance and improve tree regeneration.
Purification and Characterization of Protease Q: A Detergent- and Urea-Stable Serine Endopeptidase from Bacillus pumilus

An extracellular endopeptidase from a strain of Bacillus pumilus displaying high stability in 10% (w/v) sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and 8 M urea has been purified and characterized. The enzyme, named protease Q, is a basic protein (pI = 9.35) composed of 309 amino acids with a molecular weight of 31 100. It is stable at 25 °C in the pH range 5−12 and most active at pH 10.5. Like other bacterial subtilisins, protease Q contains no cysteine and cystine residues. Protease Q possessed neither esterase nor amidase activity on synthetic substrates with arginine at position 1 and substrates of trypsin-like proteases. However, the enzyme showed strong activity on substrates with phenylalanine at position 1, substrates for chymotrypsin-like proteases. It also exhibited keratinase-like activity on keratin in 8 M urea. Inhibition studies indicated that protease Q was not sensitive to either trypsin-specific inhibitors, such as tosyllysine chloromethyl ketone (TLCK) and soybean trypsin inhibitor (SBTI), or chymotryp...
Introduction: Writing history in the borderlands

The essays convened for this special issue on South Asia sit in the borderlands between social history and intellectual history. As this reference to ‘borderlands’ suggests, the authors have produc...
Nature and origin of microphenocrysts in a basalt

In the upper 4 cm of a basaltic lava 2 kilometers from its source there is little or no significant change in the size, shape, number, and volume of plagioclase microphenocrysts. A maximum rate of clongation of 0.04 micrometers per second would be consistent with the data. These facts suggest that the microphenocrysts developed prior to extrusion, probably during ascent and efferveseence.
A non-parametric test for umbrella alternatives based on ranked-set sampling

A test is proposed that extends the Chen-Wolfe (1990) test for umbrella alternatives with an unknown peak to use with ranked-set samples data. This follows from ideas in Bohn & Wolfe (1992), Magel (1994), and Hartlaub & Wolfe (1999). Critical values are simulated for the proposed test based on ranked-set samples of size 2 for 3, 4 and 5 populations. A power study is conducted comparing the proposed test using ranked-set samples with the Chen-Wolfe and Mack-Wolfe tests using simple random samples. Results are given.
Spatially Large-Domain and Temporally Entire-Domain Electric-Field Integral Equation Method of Moments for 3-D Scattering Analysis in Time Domain

A novel spatially large-domain and temporally entire-domain method of moments (MoM) is proposed for surface integral equation (SIE) modeling of 3-D conducting scatterers in the time domain (TD). The method uses higher order curved Lagrange interpolation-generalized quadrilateral geometrical elements, higher order spatial current expansions based on hierarchical divergence-conforming polynomial vector basis functions, and temporal current modeling by means of orthogonal weighted associated Laguerre basis functions. It implements full temporal and spatial Galerkin testing and marching-on-in-degree (MOD) scheme for an iterative solution of the final system of spatially and temporally discretized MoM-TD equations. Numerical examples demonstrate excellent accuracy, efficiency, convergence, and versatility of the new MoM-MOD method. The results also demonstrate very effective large-domain MoM-TD SIE models of scatterers using flat and curved patches of electrical sizes of up to about 1.7 wavelengths at the maximum frequency in the frequency spectrum of the pulse excitation, higher order current expansions of spatial orders from 2 to 8 in conjunction with entire-domain Laguerre temporal bases, and minimal numbers of unknowns.
Studies in the learning function

The error function of the theoretical learning curve developed by Thurstone has been fitted to maze data from rats that have been subjected to cerebral cortical insult. There is a high degree of relationship between the number of errors necessary to complete learning as predicted from the curve and the experimental measure of learning, total-errors-minus-errors-first-trial. The procedure provides a method of analysis for individual learning records and it may be used to shorten the training period. The goodness of fit indicates that the underlying logic of the learning curve is plausible.
Magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy of CO2+:CdS diluted magnetic semiconductor quantum dots

We report the use of electronic absorption and magnetic circular dichroism (MCD) spectroscopies to probe the magneto-optical properties of Co 2+ dopant ions in diluted magnetic semiconductor quantum dots. Emphasis is placed on observation and analysis of the ligand field transitions of the Co 2+ ions. Because the ligand field transitions may be observed in an energy region where the semiconductor host is transparent, ligand field absorption and MCD spectroscopies serve as excellent site-specific spectroscopic methods for studying the dopant ions within DMS nanocrystals. Cobalt-doped CdS nanocrystals (Co 2+ CdS) prepared in solution by the isocrystalline core/shell method are shown by high-resolution TEM to be of high crystallinity. The ligand field spectroscopy demonstrates substitutional doping of Co 2+ at Cd 2+ sites. The MCD spectra show a 10 3 enhancement in sensitivity for the Co 2+ ligand field transitions relative to the CdS bandgap transitions. Saturation magnetization experiments yield optically detected ground state magnetization data for these materials, and show that both the ligand field and bandgap MCD intensities follow S = 3/2 Brillouin saturation behavior associated with the isolated Co 2+ ions. The 4 A 2 --> 4 T 1 (P) ligand field bandshape and the sign of the bandgap MCD feature are analyzed in terms of electronic structural parameters for this material.
GRK2: multiple roles beyond G protein-coupled receptor desensitization

G protein-coupled receptor kinases (GRKs) regulate numerous G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) by phosphorylating the intracellular domain of the active receptor, resulting in receptor desensitization and internalization. GRKs also regulate GPCR trafficking in a phosphorylation-independent manner via direct protein–protein interactions. Emerging evidence suggests that GRK2, the most widely studied member of this family of kinases, modulates multiple cellular responses in various physiological contexts by either phosphorylating non-receptor substrates or interacting directly with signaling molecules. In this review, we discuss traditional and newly discovered roles of GRK2 in receptor internalization and signaling as well as its impact on non-receptor substrates. We also discuss novel exciting roles of GRK2 in the regulation of dopamine receptor signaling and in the activation and trafficking of the atypical GPCR, Smoothened (Smo).
Effect of dietary glutamate on chemotherapy-induced immunosuppression

Chemotherapy causes severe host immune depression and consequently increases susceptibility to infection. Dietary glutamate (GLU) serves as a stable substrate for the formation of glutamine (GLN), which is an important fuel and metabolic precursor for the immune cells. The effect of addition of GLU to a GLN/GLU-free amino acid diet upon immune response was studied in rats recovering from chemotherapy. Animals were fed a 0, 4, or 8% GLU diet and received a single intraperitoneal injection of methotrexate (MTX, 20 mg/kg BW). Two in vivo immune tests, delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) and popliteal lymphoproliferation (PLP), were performed 3 and 7 d after MTX treatment. Food intake and body weight decreased significantly immediately after MTX treatment and gradually recovered after 8 d with no significant difference among treatment groups. In a 23-d feeding study, no significant difference was found in the DTH response, but the PLP response increased in a GLU dose related fashion (83 and 133% increases for the 4 and 8% GLU diets, respectively). In a 44-d feeding study, the DTH response increased 61 and 83%, while the PLP response increased 191 and 382% for the 4 and 8% GLU diets, respectively. Plasma GLN, GLU, or glutathione (GSH) levels were increased by dietary GLU, but only in the immediate postprandial state. In summary, dietary GLU improves immune status of rats recovering from MTX treatment. The immune-enhancing effect of dietary GLU was dose-dependent and more pronounced after a longer duration of dietary GLU intake.
A Hierarchical Expert System For Automated Diagnostic Assessment Of Histopathologic Images

The quantitative assessment of histopathologic sections has in the past been concerned primarily with karyometric determinations. 1 Increasingly, though, the diagnostic information offered by tissue architecture is also being analyzed. 2,3 This type of higher-level analysis is becoming increasingly attractive because of the development of laser scanner microscopes4 that allow the rapid acquisition of large-area high-resolution tissue section images, and the simultaneous development of very powerful but relatively inexpensive multiprocessor systems that provide the needed computational power to analyze complex images within a reasonable time.
Modeling interplanetary coronal mass ejections

Abstract Heliospheric models of Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) propagation and evolution provide an important insight into the dynamics of CMEs and are a valuable tool for interpreting interplanetary in situ observations. Moreover, they represent a virtual laboratory for exploring conditions and regions of space that are not conveniently or currently accessible by spacecraft. In this report, we summarize our recent advances in modeling the properties and evolution of CMEs in the solar wind. We describe our current state of research with three examples: (1) interpreting the global context of in situ observations; (2) identifying new phenomena in the simulations; and (3) differentiating between CME initiation models. We conclude by discussing what topics will likely be important for models to address in the future.
Quantitation of total homocysteine, total cysteine, and methionine in normal serum and urine using capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

Total homocysteine, total cysteine, and methionine have been extracted and partially purified from serum and urine using reduction with 2-mercaptoethanol followed by cation-exchange chromatography and anion-exchange chromatography. The t-butyldimethylsilyl derivatives were prepared and analyzed using capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry with selected ion monitoring. The addition of dl-[3,3,3′,3′,4,4,4′,4′-2H8]homocystine, dl-[3,3,3′,3′-2H4]cystine, and l-[methyl-2H3]methionine to the starting samples prior to the reduction of all disulfides, including the deuterated internal standards, with 2-mercaptoethanol makes it possible to quantitate all three amino acids. Normal ranges for total homocysteine, total cysteine, and methionine have been determined in human and rat serum and in human urine.
CO Observations toward the Supernova Remnant 3C 391

We present observations of CO J = 1–0 emission toward 3C 391, a supernova remnant whose radio continuum and X-ray emission suggest evolution near a strong density gradient in the surrounding medium. The CO maps reveal that the remnant is located at the edge of a molecular cloud, and the CO emission shows a striking correspondence with the "breakout" morphology of the remnant traced by radio continuum emission. These data support the idea that the progenitor star exploded within a dense molecular cloud and that the supernova blast wave has now broken out through the cloud boundary. Bright radio emission coincident with strong CO emission suggests that the blast wave accelerates electrons to energies of at least 20 GeV, even as it moves into dense neutral material.