cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Synthesis of heavy nuclei using damped collisions: A test

We have measured the angular distributions and production cross sections for the products of the reaction of 859-MeV (${E}_{\text{c.m.}}=461.9 \text{MeV}$) $^{160}\mathrm{Gd}$ with $^{186}\mathrm{W}$. We detected fragments that stopped in the 5.775 mg/cm${}^{2}$ target as well as fragments emerging at ${9}^{\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}}$--${17}^{\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}}$, ${17}^{\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}}$--${90}^{\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}}$, and ${90}^{\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}}$--${180}^{\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}}$. We also made a chemical separation of the Pb isotopes formed in this reaction. An unusually large yield of trans-target reaction products near $Z=79$ was observed. We compare these observations with the recent predictions of Zagrebaev and Greiner for this reaction.
Septal stimulation inhibits spinal cord dorsal horn neuronal activity

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been used for relieving chronic pain in patients that have been through other existing options. The septum has been one of the targets for such treatment. The purpose of this study was to determine the inhibitory effect of electrical stimulation in the medial septum diagonal band of broca (MSDB) on neuronal activity in the spinal cord of rats anesthetized with sodium pentobarbital. While unilaterally stimulating the MSDB, wide dynamic range neurons in the lumbar region of the spinal cord were recorded in response to graded mechanical stimulation of the hind paws (brush, pressure, and pinch). Stimulation was at 1, 5, 10, and 20V, at 100Hz, and 0.1ms duration. Significant bilateral reduction was observed in response to pressure (ipsilaterally: 0.90±0.05, 0.48±0.06*, 0.55±0.05*, 0.40±0.05*; and contralaterally: 0.70±0.06*, 0.59±0.08*, 0.75±0.05*, 0.49±0.07*) and pinch (ipsilaterally: 0.89±0.08, 0.46±0.05*, 0.54±0.04*, 0.50±0.05*; and contralaterally: 0.78±0.05, 0.61±0.07*, 0.64±0.04*, 0.53±0.06*). Data were expressed as a fraction of control. Significant changes were also found in responses to brush in certain groups (ipsilaterally: 1.08±0.08, 0.72±0.06*, 1.00±0.12, 0.65±0.06*; and contralaterally: 0.93±0.05, 0.77±0.07*, 0.98±0.05, 0.84±0.07). Further analysis suggested that 5V was adequate for achieving optimal inhibition. It is concluded that the MSDB can be used as alternative target for DBS in the treatment of pain.
Methamphetamine impairs sexual motivation but not sexual performance in male Japanese quail.

Abstract The present study investigated the effects of chronic pre-exposure to methamphetamine on sexual motivation and performance in male Japanese quail. Quail were pre-exposed to methamphetamine (1.0 or 3.0 mg/kg ip) or saline (ip) once daily for 10 days and locomotor activity was measured. After a 10 day washout period, sexual motivation was measured in a straight-arm runway with visual access to a female at one end. Three to 5 hr after sexual motivation tests, males were allowed to copulate with a receptive female quail and copulatory behavior was assessed. Tests were conducted once per day for 10 days. Results showed that males pre-exposed to methamphetamine had decreased locomotor activity compared to saline controls. Males pre-exposed to METH later ran slower toward a female in the runway and spent less time near her. In contrast, methamphetamine pre-exposed males showed similar copulatory behavior as saline pre-exposed males. The findings suggest that chronic pre-exposure to methamphetamine may impair sexual motivation but not sexual performance. The findings are discussed from a comparative perspective and with regard to their clinical relevance.
The effects of aging on the bone inductive activity of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein-2.

We examined the effects of gain on the ectopic bone-forming ability of recombinant human BMP-2 (rhBMP-2) in rats and investigated the mechanism by which aging might affect this type of bone. Bone formation induced after 12 days of sc implantation of 5 micrograms rhBMP-2 was reduced as animals aged from 1-16 months. The osteocalcin messenger RNA levels of implants also declined in aging animals. When the implant period was doubled, 16-month-old rats formed amounts of bone equivalent to those in 3-month-old rats. Increasing the dose of rhBMP-2 increased bone formation in older rats. To get a response comparable to that seen in 1-month-old rats given 5 micrograms rhBMP-2 for 12 days, 3-month-old rats required 30 micrograms rhBMP-2, whereas 16-month-old rats required 60 micrograms. Treatment with either GH or 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 during the 12-day implantation period returned the bone formation in 16-month-olds rats to that in 3-month-old rats. These studies show that aging blunts rhBMP-2 inducted bone fo...
The Pragmatic and Ethical Barriers to Corporate Social Responsibility Disclosure: The Nike Case

Numerous studies have documented the demand for information regarding corporations’ relationships to society. Much recent research has demonstrated why stakeholders need this information, and how it benefits both companies and the public. These studies suggest numerous methods by which companies can effectively disclose corporate social responsibility (CSR) information to the public, but in practice, reporting this type of information is fraught with legal and ethical uncertainty often unexplored in most literature. This article represents a fresh analysis of the numerous pragmatic consequences and legal and ethical complications inherent in CSR reporting, using Nike Corporation as a case example. The article discusses the theoretical viewpoints surrounding the ethics of CSR disclosure, and presents the case of Nike and the complications it encountered while advertising CSR information. The article ends with an analysis of CSR auditing as a possible solution to companies seeking to improve the method and transparency of social responsibility reporting.
Synthesis of arbitrary quantum states via adiabatic transfer of Zeeman coherence.

A scheme for the preparation of general coherent superpositions of photon-number states is proposed. By strongly coupling an atom to a cavity field, atomic ground-state Zeeman coherence can be transferred by (coherent) adiabatic passage to the cavity mode and a general field state can be generated without atomic projection noise.
Generalized versions and extensions of Trypia's blending problem

In a recent issue of this journal, Trypia presented a simple rule to determine the blending pattern and quantities for a multi‐product blending firm. This paper presents three variations of Trypia's model suitable for discussion in production management and mathematical modelling courses. First, it presents a generalized version of Trypia's problem leading to a linear programming formulation. Next a more realistic version of Trypia's problem including set‐up costs is presented together with a simple method for determining production sequence and quantities. Finally, the case of sequence dependent set‐up costs is discussed.
Fully indecomposable and nearly decomposable matrices in Ω(r,s)

In this paper we generalize the concepts of fully indecomposable and nearly decomposable matrices to matrices in Ω(R,S)
Strain-related phenomena in GaN thin films

Photoluminescence (PL), Raman spectroscopy, and x-ray diffraction are employed to demonstrate the co-existence of a biaxial and a hydrostatic strain that can be present in GaN thin films. The biaxial strain originates from growth on lattice-mismatched substrates and from post-growth cooling. An additional hydrostatic strain is shown to be introduced by the presence of point defects. A consistent description of the experimental results is derived within the limits of the linear and isotropic elastic theory using a Poisson ratio $\ensuremath{\nu}=0.23\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.06$ and a bulk modulus $B=200\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}20$ GPa. These isotropic elastic constants help to judge the validity of published anisotropic elastic constants that vary greatly. Calibration constants for strain-induced shifts of the near-band-edge PL lines with respect to the ${E}_{2}$ Raman mode are given for strain-free, biaxially strained, and hydrostatically contracted or expanded thin films. They allow us to extract differences between hydrostatic and biaxial stress components if present. In particular, we determine that a biaxial stress of one GPa would shift the near-band-edge PL lines by 27\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}2 meV and the ${E}_{2}$ Raman mode by 4.2\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.3 ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ by use of the listed isotropic elastic constants. It is expected from the analyses that stoichiometric variations in the GaN thin films together with the design of specific buffer layers can be utilized to strain engineer the material to an extent that greatly exceeds the possibilities known from other semiconductor systems because of the largely different covalent radii of the Ga and the N atom.
Ex vivo priming of naïve T cells into EBV-specific Th1/Tc1 effector cells by mature autologous DC loaded with apoptotic/necrotic LCL.

Posttransplant lymphoproliferative disorders (PTLDs) represent life-threatening complications of bone marrow and solid organ transplantation (SOTx). These are B-cell malignancies triggered by Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV) infection in chronically immunosuppressed (IS) recipients. Immunosuppressed EBV seronegative (EBV−) organ recipients are at highest risk of developing PTLD owing to the lack of anti-EBV memory T cells to control subsequent EBV challenges. Our aim is to establish effective anti-EBV T-cell generation protocols for prevention or treatment of PTLD encountered in SOTx. We have used autologous dendritic cells (DCs) loaded with apoptotic/necrotic lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) to evaluate the ability of such an approach to activate naive T cells in vitro. In EBV− individuals, both CD8+ and CD4+ T-cell responses were amplified by this approach, as detected by IFN-γ ELISPOT and cytotoxicity assays. The CD8+ T cells were poly-specific anti-EBNA3 A, -LMP2 and -BMLF1, with uniform reversion to a CD45RO+/RA-phenotype, decreased CD62L expression, and up-regulation of the activation markers CD28 and CD69. Addition of rhIL-12 improved anti-viral T-cell responses and reduced the functional differences observed between EBV+ and EBV− responders. In conclusion, the DC/LCL method promotes cross-presentation of EBV-associated epitopes and may serve as an effective protocol for the adoptive immunotherapy of PTLD in EBV− SOTx patients.
Three Curious Properties of the Sample Variance and Autocovariance for Stationary Processes With Unknown Mean

Abstract In most books on time series analysis, estimators of the variance and autocovariance for a stationary process are discussed under the assumption that the process mean is known. Here we illustrate that, if the process mean is unknown and hence is estimated by the sample mean, these estimators have some surprising properties.
An assessment of the deregulation of electric power generation using network models of imperfect spatial markets

Proposals have been made to deregulate the generation of electric power. But unregulated generators would be spatial oligopolists, because transmission costs would insulate them from competition from distant producers. The purpose of this analysis is to estimate the degree to which unregulated power generators would be able to exercise market power. This is accomplished by calculating spatial price equilibria for a hypothetical deregulated power market in New York state. Two types of equilibria are calculated: Nash/Bertrand equilibria, representing a lower bound to unregulated prices, and limit pricing, defining an upper bound. Equilibria are obtained for the years 1980 and 2000.
Scintillation in moderate to strong optical turbulence along a slant path

Scintillation is one of the most common statistics in the literature of mathematical modeling of laser propagation through random media. One approach to estimating scintillation is through the Rytov approximation, which is limited to weak atmospheric turbulence with the standard Kolmogorov spectrum. Recently, a modification to the Rytov approximation was developed. Through a filter function approach, the new results for scintillation are valid for moderate to strong fluctuations along a horizontal path. To date, expressions governing scintillation for plane, spherical, and Gaussian beam waves has been developed for horizontal propagation paths. For the special cases of plane and spherical waves, expressions have been developed for slant paths. In this paper, an expression governing scintillation of a Gaussian beam along an uplink slant path valid in all regimes of turbulence is presented.
Tests on the locomotion of the elongate and limbless reptile Ophisaurus apodus (Sauna: Anguidae)

A series of Ophisaurus apodus was filmed while traversing plane surfaces, fields of nails and pins at different spacings, and channels of different diameter. Small individuals can practise slow lateral undulation on very rough surfaces, but with increased speed, all shift to slide-pushing, using either constrained bends of the body or very wide swings of the tail. In fields of closely-spaced pins, they travel by undulation, often pushing at a limited number of sites and pulling and pushing the trunk among these. Amid pins of wider spacing, the undulation involves some repositioning of curves. In channels, they utilize continuous bend concertina movement with the initial bend formed anteriorly and subsequent ones added, either to the level of the cloaca or on to the tail as well. The cloacal region cannot be established on the basis of locomotor pattern, as the propulsive waves pass smoothly from head to tail. Maximum voluntary velocities (of the centre of gravity) were 13 cm/s for slide-pushing, 55 cm/s for lateral undulation, and 3 cm/s for concertina movement. Propulsion is entirely effected by bending of the trunk; tests gave no evidence that the dorsal and ventral portions of the integumentary armour show significant anteroposterior displacement relative to each other.
Demographics of undergraduate students in game degree programs in the US and UK

Over the last decade, there has been a growth in the video game industry and, at the same time, game degree programs at post-secondary institutions worldwide have grown in quantity and quality. Representation of gender and race in games and in the game industry workforce is an important issue. We explore this topic in our research, providing an overview of the demographics of undergraduate students in game degree programs in the United States and the United Kingdom. We include race, gender, ethnicity, political preferences, sexual orientation and more. Gender results indicate that males make up the significant majority in undergraduate game programs. Women are significantly more likely to think that the gaming industry, programs at the university, and project teams at the university are not as diverse as men think they are. Women are also significantly more likely to report that their programs would benefit from more diversity than men.
Olanzapine and acute urinary retention in two geriatric patients.

Background: Atypical antipsychotics are commonly used to treat behavioral disturbances in elderly demented patients. However, recent data have brought the tolerability of these drugs into question, as the majority of them have been associated with an increased risk for cerebrovascular events and death in this population. Specifically, increased risk has been found with olanzapine, aripiprazole, risperidone, and quetiapine. The other 2 atypical anti- psychotics, clozapine and ziprasidone, have not been studied in elderly populations. Although these medications are all classified as atypical antipsychotics, they exert varying degrees of blockade at dopamine, muscarinic, histaminic, and adrenergic receptors. Among these drugs, olanzapine has the greatest affinity for muscarinic receptors and, hence, may be associated with a greater risk for anticholinergic effects, including urinary retention. Objective: The aim of this report was to discuss the possibility that administration of olanzapine may provoke acute urinary retention (AUR) in some patients. Results: We describe the development of AUR leading to acute renal failure subsequent to olanzapine administration in 2 geriatric patients with benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH). Conclusions: Given the cases presented, we recommend that clinicians measure electrolytes, blood urea nitrogen, and creatinine every 2 or 3 days for 1 or 2 weeks after initiating olanzapine treatment and after each dose increase. This is especially important for cognitively impaired elderly patients with BPH, as they may not be able to provide clear feedback regarding adverse effects of the medication. (Am J Geriatr Pharmacother. 2007;5:241-246).
GOD IS GREAT, GOD IS GOOD: JAMES ASHBROOK'S CONTRIBUTION TO NEUROETHICAL THEOLOGY

. James Ashbrook's work has not only clarified issues in brain and belief, it has offered intriguing suggestions for ethics. The relevance of neurotheology to ethics is evident if we assume that ethics entails, in part, concerns about character, responsibility, and the art of living.
Personal Experiences in the Early Days of Biopharmacy and Pharmacokinetics

I am glad to be a participant in this symposium as a memorial to Sidney Riegelman. I knew him and members of his family when we were undergraduates in pharmacy. We worked together on research and graduate courses under the same major professor when I was a half-time instructor and he was a full-time graduate student. Working across the hall from each other at the University of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy, our paths crossed thousands of times. I completed my Ph.D. thesis examination in August of 1948 and he completed his a month or two later. We were the first Ph.D. physical pharmacists to emerge from the physical pharmacy graduate studies program started at Wisconsin in the 1940s. In 1946–47, together with our major professor Louis W. Busse, we shared the responsibility for writing the chapter entitled “Colloids, Emulsions and Suspensions” for the book American Pharmacy. We took courses together from Takeru Higuchi and benefited immensely from his teaching and research leadership at the College after he joined the faculty in 1947. Louis Busse and Takeru Higuchi influenced our professional attitudes and our scientific development more than I can possibly articulate in this brief chapter. In the ’40s at Wisconsin, pharmacy graduate education for pharmaceutics majors began to be compounded with the ingredients of mathematics, physical chemistry, qualitative organic analysis, advanced organic chemistry and analytical instrumentation.
Strain Energy Approach for Axial and Torsional Fatigue Life Prediction in Aged NiCrMoV Steels

Axial and torsional low cycle fatigue tests were performed for NiCrMoV steels serviced low-pressure turbine rotor of nuclear power plant. The results were used to evaluate multiaxial fatigue life models including Tresca, von Mises and Brown and Miller's critical plane. The fatigue life predicted by the multiaxial fatigue models didn't correspond with the experimental results in small strain range. We proposed the total strain energy density model to predict torsional fatigue life from axial fatigue data. The total strain energy density model was found to best correlate the experimental data with predictions being within a factor of 2.
Molecular mechanism of action of immune-modulatory drugs thalidomide, lenalidomide and pomalidomide in multiple myeloma

Although several mechanisms have been proposed to explain the activity of thalidomide, lenalidomide and pomalidomide in multiple myeloma (MM), including demonstrable anti-angiogenic, anti-proliferative and immunomodulatory effects, the precise cellular targets and molecular mechanisms have only recently become clear. A landmark study recently identified cereblon (CRBN) as a primary target of thalidomide teratogenicity. Subsequently it was demonstrated that CRBN is also required for the anti-myeloma activity of thalidomide and related drugs, the so-called immune-modulatory drugs (IMiDs). Low CRBN expression was found to correlate with drug resistance in MM cell lines and primary MM cells. One of the downstream targets of CRBN identified is interferon regulatory factor 4 (IRF4), which is critical for myeloma cell survival and is down-regulated by IMiD treatment. CRBN is also implicated in several effects of IMiDs, such as down-regulation of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and T cell immunomodulatory activity, demonstrating that the pleotropic actions of the IMiDs are initiated by binding to CRBN. Future dissection of CRBN downstream signaling will help to delineate the underlying mechanisms for IMiD action and eventually lead to development of new drugs with more specific anti-myeloma activities. It may also provide a biomarker to predict IMiD response and resistance.
Family Systems Characteristics and Underachieving Gifted Adolescent Males

The family systems of 45 underachieving and 45 achieving gifted male adolescents were compared on the variables of family functionality, family satisfaction, family environment (conflict, achievement orientation, independence, and expressiveness), and achievement satisfaction. Families with achieving and underachieving gifted students did not differ on the measure of family functionality. Achievement satisfaction and family satisfaction differentiated families on the basis of the status of their gifted student; achievement satisfaction differentiated functional from dysfunctional families. Families with achieving gifted students expressed higher achievement satisfaction than families with underachieving gifted students, and dysfunctional families with an underachieving adolescent were less satisfied with their child's achievement than were functional families with an underachieving student.
Context preexposure influences the effectiveness of feedback stimuli in avoidance learning.

According to the effective reinforcement theory of avoidance learning, there is a positive relationship between the level of context fear and the effectiveness of feedback stimuli. The present research used different preexposure treatments to manipulate context fear and to evaluate the effects of feedback stimuli in two-way avoidance learning. Rat subjects received nonreinforced preexposure either to the nonvisual context cues (avoidance apparatus with the houselights extinguished), to the visual context cues (avoidance apparatus with the houselights on but with a Plexiglas floor covering the grids), or to a neutral box. During subsequent avoidance training conditioned stimulus termination was delayed for 5 s after an instrumental response and either a flashing light or darkness was presented as a feedback stimulus. Without preexposure, darkness produced better avoidance performance than did the flashing light. Preexposure to the visual context cues decreased the effectiveness of darkness as a feedback stimulus. However, preexposure to either the visual or to the nonvisual context cues facilitated avoidance performance when a flashing light was used as a feedback stimulus. The results suggest that the effects of a feedback stimulus may be dependent upon the amount and source of context fear.
Iron Status of the Chick as Affected by Eimeria acervulina Infection and by Variable Iron Ingestion

Several experiments were conducted with crossbred chicks to investigate the effect of duodenal coccidiosis caused by Eimeria acervulina infection on iron status of chicks fed iron levels ranging from deficient to excess. Coccidiosis depressed weight gain and efficiency of feed utilization at all dietary levels of iron. Excess supplemental iron (500-1500 mg/kg) did not affect performance of uninfected chicks, but 1500 mg/ kg iron exacerbated the coccidiosis-induced growth depression. In the presence of coc cidiosis, 1000 and 1500 mg/kg iron significantly increased liver iron concentrations over that found in uninfected chicks fed the same levels of iron. Dietary iron increased intestinal iron content, but the increase was partially ameliorated by the coccidial in fection. Plasma iron and total iron-binding capacity (TIBC) were decreased by acute coccidiosis (6 days postinoculation); however, by day 14 the coccidial infection was without effect on plasma iron, while TIBC tended to be elevated. Coccidiosis increased the chick's dietary iron requirement, but only because of decreased feed intake. Per formance and hematological parameters were maximized by approximately 0.9 mg iron per day in both control and infected chicks. J. Nutr. 112: 2353-2362, 1982.
Heat-flow experiments in liquid 4 He with a variable cylindrical geometry

This paper first describes an apparatus for measuring the Nusselt number N versus the Rayleigh number R of convecting normal liquid 4He layers. The most important feature of the apparatus is its ability to provide layers of different heights d, and hence different aspect ratios [Gcy ]. The horizontal cross-section of each layer is circular, and [Gcy ] is defined by [Gcy ] = D/2d where D is the diameter of the layer. We report results for 2.4 [les ] [Gcy ] [les ] 16 and for Prandtl numbers Pr spanning 0.5 [lsim ] Pr [lsim ] 0.9 These results are presented in terms of the slope N1 = RcdN/dR evaluated just above the onset of convection at Rc. We find that N1 is only a slowly increasing function of [Gcy ] in the range 6 [lsim ] [Gcy ] [lsim ] 16, and that it has a value there which is quite close to 0.72. This value of N1 is in good agreement with variational calcuations by Ahlers et al. (1981) pertinent to parallel convection rolls in cylindrical geometry. Particularly for [Gcy ] [lsim ] 6, we find additional small-scale structure in N1 associated with changes in the number of convection rolls with changing [Gcy ]. An additional test of the linearzied hydrodynamics is given by measurements of Rc. We find good agreement between theory and our data for Rc.
Mortality associated with illegal drug use among adults in the United States

Objectives: To examine all-cause and cause-specific mortality over a 15-year follow-up period in relation to at-baseline reported lifetime use of illegal drugs from five classes (marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens, and inhalants) among adults in the United States (US) household population. Methods: The study involved 20,983 sample adults who responded to the 1991 National Health Interview Survey Drug and Alcohol Use supplemental questionnaire and also met the eligibility criteria for mortality follow-up. Cox proportional hazards models were estimated to examine the relationships. Results: Adults who at baseline reported lifetime heroin use were at significantly higher risk of all-cause death over the follow-up period (hazard rate ratio or HR = 2.02; 95% confidence interval or CI 1.26‐3.23), compared with those who did not report using drugs from any of the five classes, even after adjusting for age, sex, race, education, marital status, cigarette smoking status, and alcohol use status. Those who at baseline reported lifetime cocaine (no heroin) use had a significantly higher rate of death associated with human immunodeficiency virus diseases over the follow-up period than nonusers of drugs from any of the five classes. Several limitations of the analysis are discussed. Conclusions: Further research is needed to understand and track the elevated mortality associated with illegal drug use and the correlates of drug-poisoning deaths.
The College Assistance Migrant Program: A Valuable Resource for Migrant Farmworker Students

Using community cultural wealth through the lens of Latino critical race theory, this article will focus on the experiences told by eight Latino migrant farmworkers students about their first year of college. It describes how the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) was influential in providing the students with different forms of capital by helping them with financial, informational, emotional, and academic assistance.
Random attributed graphs for statistical inference from content and context

Coping with Information Overload is a major challenge of the 21st century. Huge volumes and varieties of multilingual data must be processed to extract salient information. Previous research has addressed automatic characterization of streaming content. However, information includes both content and associated meta-data, which humans deal with as a gestalt but computer systems often treat separately. Random attributed graphs provide an effective means to characterize and draw inferences from large volumes of language content plus associated meta-data. This paper describes these methods and their utility, with experimental proof-of-concept on the Switchboard and Enron corpora.
Disruption of the Genes Encoding Antigen 85A and Antigen 85B of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv: Effect on Growth in Culture and in Macrophages

The mechanism of pathogenesis of Mycobacterium tuberculosis is thought to be multifactorial. Among the putative virulence factors is the antigen 85 (Ag85) complex. This family of exported fibronectin-binding proteins consists of members Ag85A, Ag85B, and Ag85C and is most prominently represented by 85A and 85B. These proteins have recently been shown to possess mycolyl transferase activity and likely play a role in cell wall synthesis. The purpose of this study was to generate strains of M. tuberculosis deficient in expression of the principal members of this complex in order to determine their role in the pathogenesis of M. tuberculosis. Constructs of fbpA and fbpB disrupted with the kanamycin resistance marker ΩKm and containing varying amounts of flanking gene and plasmid vector sequences were then introduced as linear fragments into H37Rv by electroporation. Southern blot and PCR analyses revealed disruption of the homologous gene locus in one fbpA::ΩKm transformant and one fbpB::ΩKm transformant. The fbpA::ΩKm mutant, LAa1, resulted from a double-crossover integration event, whereas the fbpB::ΩKm variant, LAb1, was the product of a single-crossover type event that resulted in insertion of both ΩKm and plasmid sequences. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and Western blot analysis confirmed that expression of the disrupted gene was not detectable in the fbpA and fbpB mutants. Analysis of growth rates demonstrated that the fbpB mutant LAb1 grew at a rate similar to that of the wild-type parent in enriched and nutrient-poor laboratory media as well as in human (THP-1) and mouse (J774.1A) macrophage-like cell lines. The fbpA mutant LAa1 grew similarly to the parent H37Rv in enriched laboratory media but exhibited little or no growth in nutrient-poor media and macrophage-like cell lines. The targeted disruption of two genes encoding mycolyl transferase and fibronectin-binding activities in M. tuberculosis will permit the systematic determination of their roles in the physiology and pathogenesis of this organism.
Using auxiliary information in statistical function estimation

In many practical situations sample sizes are not sufficiently large and estimators based on such samples may not be satisfactory in terms of their variances. At the same time it is not unusual that some auxiliary information about the parameters of interest is available. This paper considers a method of using auxiliary information for improving properties of the estimators based on a current sample only. In particular, it is assumed that the information is available as a number of estimates based on samples obtained from some other mutually independent data sources. This method uses the fact that there is a correlation effect between estimators based on the current sample and auxiliary information from other sources. If variance covariance matrices of vectors of estimators used in the estimating procedure are known, this method produces more efficient estimates in terms of their variances compared to the estimates based on the current sample only. If these variance-covariance matrices are not known, their consistent estimates can be used as well such that the large sample properties of the method remain unchangeable. This approach allows to improve statistical properties of many standard estimators such as an empirical cumulative distribution function, empirical characteristic function, and Nelson-Aalen cumulative hazard estimator.
Laboratory Diagnosis of Infections Due to Blood and Tissue Parasites

Microscopy remains the cornerstone of the laboratory diagnosis of infections due to blood and tissue parasites. Examination of thick and thin peripheral blood smears stained with Giemsa or other appropriate stains is used for detection and identification of species of Plasmodium, Babesia, Trypanosoma, Brugia, Mansonella, and Wuchereria. Even in the hands of well-trained technologists, diagnosis may be hampered by the sparseness of organisms on the slide and by the subjective nature of differentiating similar-appearing organisms. Microscopy and/or culture of ulcer, bone marrow, tissue aspirate, and biopsy samples are useful for the diagnosis of African trypanosomiasis, onchocerciasis, trichinosis, and leishmaniasis. Serologic assays are available for the diagnosis of a number of these infections, but none of these assays are sensitive or specific enough to be used on their own to establish a diagnosis. In particular, the use of assays for the diagnosis of infection with a particular helminth will often cross-react with antibodies to a different helminth. Very sensitive polymerase chain reaction assays have been developed for a number of these parasites and are available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and from several referral laboratories.
Taxon-specific growth and loss rates for dominant phytoplankton populations from the northern Gulf of Mexico

Taxon-specific growth and sedimentation rates of dommant phytoplankton were meas- ured during 2 cruses (summer 1990 and spring 1991) in the northern Gulf of Mexico as part of the NOAA Nutrient-Enhanced Coastal Ocean Productivity (NECOP) program. Microzooplankton grazing rates also were measured during the summer cruise. During each of the cruises, a series of stations from the Mississippi River mouth to the hypoxia region (located ca 50 to 100 km west) were sampled to examme variability of growth and loss processes along a strong environmental gradient. Significant taxa- and group-specific differences were noted for both growth and loss rates Growth rates ranged from <0.1 to 3.0 d-I with highest rates in the plume region during the summer cruise, where surface rates were close to or exceeded previous urnax values for several taxa. For all taxa, growth rates were lower in the hypoxia region (mean = 0.5 dl) than in the plume region (mean = 1.1 dl); soluble nitrogen concentrations explained over 50 % of the variability in growth rates. Diatom growth rates were similar to non-diatoms in the plume region, but were significantly lower in the hypoxia region, which suggests that silica limitation may exist in this region. The fate of phytoplankton appeared to be controlled by size and by the degree of silicification. Significant mcrozooplankton grazing loss rates were noted only for small taxa (<20 pm). For microflagellates, microzooplankton grazing rates averaged 82 % (range 42 to 214 %) of the growth rate; sedimentation rates were always <I% of the growth rate. Sedimenta- tion was an important loss for several diatoms, with significant taxon-specific and seasonal differences noted. Large colonial diatoms, such as Skeletonema costatum and Thalassiosira rotula, exhibited the highest sedimentation rates in the plume region dunng the spring cruise(0.2 to 1.0 dl), whereas the lowest rates (<0.01 dl) were noted for Rhizosolenia fragilissirna and Ceratulinapelagica in the hypoxia region dunng the summer cruise. Our results suggest that in the northern Gulf of Mexico, phyto- plankton rate processes proceed very rapidly, with growth rates primarily controlled by the supply of nitrogen via the Mississippi River and the fate controlled primarily by size and density (silicification).
Reading Katherine Anne Porter's “He” Through “He”: Versions and Revisions

This essay seeks to rectify an ongoing problem in scholarship on Katherine Anne Porter. Porter's short story “He,” a key and often-anthologized text, is being read in a revised version without attention to those revisions or the story's original context, the October 1927 issue of the communist magazine the New Masses. This essay repositions Porter's story in its original context and in doing so reveals political themes that have been traditionally read as universal ones. Perhaps most importantly, though, this essay recovers the original version of “He,” which underwent significant emendations before its publication in the 1930 collection Flowering Judas. This version of this story often serves as the apparently definitive or even only version for both scholars and casual readers. Recognizing the unstable and evolving nature of the story leads to a more expansive understanding of Porter's canon. The ramifications here, then, are textual and contextual, and they speak to Porter's relationship to her own body of work as well as to more general theoretical concerns about authorship and genre
Diffusion Tensor Image Smoothing Using Efficient and Effective Anisotropic Filtering

To improve the accuracy of tissue structural and architectural characterization with diffusion tensor imaging, an anisotropic smoothing algorithm is presented for reducing noise in diffusion tensor images efficiently and effectively. The presented algorithm is based on previous anisotropic diffusion filtering, which is implemented with a straightforward but inefficient explicit numerical scheme. The main contribution of this paper is to improve the performance of the previous method considerably by using unconditionally stable and second order time accurate semi-implicit scheme. Our new method needs only few or even one iteration to achieve better smoothed images than what is generated by tens of iterations of the previous method, which makes it more attractive to practical use. Experiments with simulated and in vivo data have demonstrated the advantage of our new algorithm for denoising diffusion tensor images in terms of efficiency and effectiveness.
Position heaps: A simple and dynamic text indexing data structure

We address the problem of finding the locations of all instances of a string P in a text T, where preprocessing of T is allowed in order to facilitate the queries. Previous data structures for this problem include the suffix tree, the suffix array, and the compact DAWG. We modify a data structure called a sequence tree, which was proposed by Coffman and Eve (1970) [3] for hashing, and adapt it to the new problem. We can then produce a list of k occurrences of any string P in T in O(@?P@?+k) time. Because of properties shared by suffixes of a text that are not shared by arbitrary hash keys, we can build the structure in O(@?T@?) time, which is much faster than Coffman and Eve's algorithm. These bounds are as good as those for the suffix tree, suffix array, and the compact DAWG. The advantages are the elementary nature of some of the algorithms for constructing and using the data structure and the asymptotic bounds we can give for updating the data structure when the text is edited.
Assessing the response of patients and spousal/partner caregivers to a new instrument measuring dyadic heart failure care types.

Background: Nurse researchers are exploring new ways of understanding heart failure (HF), spousal/partner dyad's self care. Aims: To assess the response to a new instrument developed to measure dyadic HF care type in HF patients and spousal/ partner caregivers and explore relationships between type and other variables. Methods: Dyads answered a written criterion referenced question related to dyadic HF care type. The relationships between the dyadic care type and sociodemographic and clinical variables were explored using χ 2, φ coefficient. Degree of agreement within the dyad on particular type was assessed by kappa statistic. Results: A total of 19 dyads were accrued. Patients were aged 71.7±9.7 years (mean±SD), male (n=15), and NYHA Class IIIB/IV (79%). Caregivers were aged 69.2±11.7 years, female (n=15), married for 45.2±14.1 years. HF patient and caregiver dyads were easily able to self select a dyadic type given specific criteria. Agreements ranged from 21% to 5%, by type, resulting in a kappa of 0.28 (p = 0.025) when patient self reported type was compared to their caregiver's type. Conclusions: Now that we are able to measure types of dyadic HF care, understanding how dyadic care type relates to self care outcomes is needed to advance the science.
A Game Theoretical Approach to Optimal Control of Dual Drug Delivery for HIV Infection Treatment

For human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection treatment, the host immune system and antiviral drugs form a coalition to fight against HIV. Evidence suggests that drug therapy with Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy can effectively prolong the life of the patient because it can reduce the replication of HIV while, at the same time, protecting the CD4+ T cells. The dosages of different drugs, however, are important in determining the success of the treatment. In addition, drug therapy for HIV is complicated by the fact that viruses can mutate, thereby effectively escaping from the attack of the drugs. This paper models HIV drug therapy by considering a game between HIV and a coalition consisting of both antiviral drugs and the host immune system. The Nash equilibrium (NE) is calculated as the solution of the game. The simulation results show that an NE exists in which both T cells and viruses remain and coexist after several generations. This brings a new drug therapy during HIV infection to prolong the life of the patient with HIV coexistence.
Simulation of a Simplified Job Shop

This is a report of the results of some digital computer simulation studies of a simplified model of a job shop production process. Such factors as the average effectiveness of schedules under the impact of random variations in processing times and the effect of changing operating policies are considered. The average manufacturing times and predictability of completion times were used as measures of effectiveness.
Organizations' E-Business Adoption in China: An Institutional Perspective

The Chinese e-business industry has a number of unusual features. Institutional factors such as strong nationalism, the state's entrenchment in the economy, political cognitive and political normative factors, regulative uncertainty, professional associations' roles and importance of business and social networks are deeply reflected in China's e-business development pattern. We argue that approaching the Chinese e-business industry from the standpoint of institutional theory, we can capture complex factors facilitating and hindering China's rapidly growing e-business industry. We thus employ an institutional perspective to explain the Chinese e-business landscape. In addition to advancing research on e-business in China, this paper also highlights several directions for future inquiry and implications for managers and policy makers.
In situ cross-linking of alginate during spray-drying to microencapsulate lipids in powder

Abstract Microencapsulation of emulsified lipophilic bioactive compounds in dry, cross-linked alginate microcapsules (CLAMs) is a promising strategy to facilitate their incorporation into food systems, prolong shelf life, and target delivery within the gastrointestinal tract. However, current technology to produce CLAMs requires multiple time- and energy-intensive unit operations. We developed a novel technology that streamlines CLAM production into a single unit operation by accomplishing particle formation, cross-linking, and drying during spray-drying. Spray-dried CLAMs were prepared using corn oil as the cargo, and dry basis oil loadings up to 35% (w/w) were achieved. Alginate cross-linking was verified by the insolubility of CLAMs in water and ready dissolution in sodium citrate. Volume weighted mean particle size of CLAMs increased with increasing oil content: 8.1 μm, 11.8 μm and 17.9 μm for 15%, 25% and 35% oil, respectively. Spray dried CLAMs were approximately spherical, with oil droplets evenly distributed throughout each microcapsule. The size distribution of oil droplets, with average diameters ranging from approximately 200 to 300 nm, remained unchanged throughout the encapsulation process; spray drying did not induce aggregation or coalescence of oil droplets within CLAMs. CLAMs released 22–35% of oil in simulated gastric fluid (pH 1.5) and 81–93% in simulated intestinal fluid (pH 7) in 2 h, indicating that CLAMs are an enteric system. Coupled with the scalability of this novel CLAM production method, the successful encapsulation of the model lipid suggests that spray-dried CLAMs may be of commercial use for incorporating lipophilic compounds into foods.
Learning and Memory Processes Following Cochlear Implantation: The Missing Piece of the Puzzle

At the present time, there is no question that cochlear implants work and often work very well in quiet listening conditions for many profoundly deaf children and adults. The speech and language outcomes data published over the last two decades document quite extensively the clinically significant benefits of cochlear implants. Although there now is a large body of evidence supporting the "efficacy" of cochlear implants as a medical intervention for profound hearing loss in both children and adults, there still remain a number of challenging unresolved clinical and theoretical issues that deal with the "effectiveness" of cochlear implants in individual patients that have not yet been successfully resolved. In this paper, we review recent findings on learning and memory, two central topics in the field of cognition that have been seriously neglected in research on cochlear implants. Our research findings on sequence learning, memory and organization processes, and retrieval strategies used in verbal learning and memory of categorized word lists suggests that basic domain-general learning abilities may be the missing piece of the puzzle in terms of understanding the cognitive factors that underlie the enormous individual differences and variability routinely observed in speech and language outcomes following cochlear implantation.
Frontal Lobe Epilepsy: The Next Frontier

Frontal lobe epilepsy, the great new epileptological challenge, presents enormous difficulties that still preclude a more profound understanding at the present time. The major subdivision of the frontal lobe into a prefrontal and premotor portion is the first step toward a better and yet limited comprehension of the frontal lobe epilepsies. Prefrontal implies higher mental functions (e.g., ictal forced thinking); rapid generalization to full grand mal evolves quite often from prefrontal foci. The frontal accentuation of classical generalized 3/sec spike-wave absences adds to the conceptual difficulties of the frontal lobe epilepsies. The unique type of disturbed consciousness in classical absences is presumed to be based upon ictal "suspension of the working memory." Limbic components (via orbitofrontal and cingulate mechanisms) also play an important role. Correlations between ictal semiologies and regional frontal lobe functions are still quite controversial.