cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Optics-Free, Non-Contact Measurements of Fluids, Bubbles, and Particles in Microchannels Using Metallic Nano-Islands on Graphene

Despite the apparent convenience of microfluidic technologies for applications in healthcare, such devices often rely on capital-intensive optics and other peripheral equipment that limit throughput. Here, we monitored the transit of fluids, gases, particles, and cells as they flowed through a microfluidic channel without the use of a camera or laser, i.e., “optics-free” microfluidics. We did this by monitoring the deformation of the side walls caused by the analyte passing through the channel. Critically, the analyte did not have to make contact with the channel walls to induce a deflection. This minute deformation was transduced into a change in electrical resistance using an ultrasensitive piezoresitive film composed of metallic nano-islands on graphene. We related changes in the resistance of the sensor to the theoretical deformation of the channel at varying flow rates. Then, we used air bubbles to induce a perturbation on the elastomeric channel walls and measured the viscoelastic relaxation of the ...
Corporate sustainability reporting: An innovative tool for the greater good of all

Abstract Most publicly traded companies issue sustainability reports—also known as corporate social responsibility reports—that contain an extraordinary amount of multidimensional (e.g., environment, human rights, labor practices and decent work, product responsibility, society) longitudinal quantitative and qualitative data that is available to the public. Unfortunately, corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports are vastly underutilized due to perceived complexity. This article explains the Sustainability Performance Assessment (SPA) System, a teaching and mentoring tool for assessing CSR report information. Students reported a deeper understanding of sustainability as an overall concept, sustainability from a business perspective, and multifaceted sustainability performance information presented in CSR reports. The real world research-focused SPA tool transforms sustainability from a philosophical and abstract concept to something of tangible value in everyday life for consumers, employees, and international stakeholders.
Anti-Windup and Disturbance Rejection Controller Design of an Automated Oxygen Control System for Premature Infants

For premature infants, the peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO 2 ) level has significant effects on their health. Manual control of the fraction of inspired oxygen (FiO 2 ) by nursing staff is not only a highly labor intensive solution, but also a hard task to maintain infants’ SpO 2 within the safe range. For this clinical need, an automated oxygen control system for premature infants is developed, which is based on PI control and derivative feedback (DF) control. Clinical tests showed that, when there is either a manual-automatic mode switch and tube feeding, integral windup may occur which will lead to the degradation of control performance. To overcome this problem, an anti-windup control strategy is developed. Due to blood oxygen desaturations caused by unknown disturbances, a disturbance observer is adopted with the disturbance estimate used for disturbance rejection. According to the results of dynamic simulations, the controller with anti-windup and disturbance rejection design has the best performance among all controllers, it could achieve bumpless transfer during mode switching, decrease FiO 2 in a timely manner when feeding is finished, and can shorten the recovery time from desaturation events and after feeding. This controller could minimize the time that SpO 2 is outside the safe range, which is promising for clinical application.
Assessing Infrastructure to Care for Pediatric Patients in the Prehospital Setting.

Objectives Pediatric patients represent a small proportion of emergency medical services (EMS) calls, challenging providers in maintaining skills in treating children. Having structural capacity to appropriately diagnose and treat pediatric patients is critical. Our study measured the availability of off-line and on-line medical direction and recommended pediatric equipment at EMS agencies. Methods A Web-based survey was sent to EMS agencies in 2010 and 2013, and results were analyzed to determine availability of medical direction and equipment. Results Approximately 5000 agencies in 32 states responded, representing over 80% response. Availability of off-line medical direction increased between years (78% in 2010 to 85% in 2013), was lower for basic life support (BLS) (63% and 72%) than advanced life support (ALS) agencies (90% and 93%), and was generally higher in urban than rural or frontier locations. On-line medical direction was consistently available (90% both years) with slight increases for BLS agencies (87% to 90%) and slightly greater availability for urban and rural compared with frontier agencies. The majority of agencies carried most recommended equipment; however, less than one third of agencies reported carrying all equipment. Agencies with off-line medical direction, on-line medical direction, and with both off-line and on-line medical direction were respectively 1.69, 1.31, and 2.21 times more likely to report carrying all recommended equipment. Conclusions Basic structural capacity exists in EMS for treating children, with improvements seen over time. However, gaps remain, particularly for BLS and nonurban agencies. Continuous attention to infrastructure is necessary, and the recent development of national performance measures should further promote quality emergency care for all children.
High-capacity preconscious processing in concurrent groupings of colored dots

Grouping is a perceptual process in which a subset of stimulus components (a group) is selected for a subsequent-typically implicit-perceptual computation. Grouping is a critical precursor to segmenting objects from the background and ultimately to object recognition. Here, we study grouping by color. We present subjects with 300-ms exposures of 12 dots colored with the same but unknown identical color interspersed among 14 dots of seven different colors. To indicate grouping, subjects point-click the remembered centroid ("center of gravity") of the set of homogeneous dots, of heterogeneous dots, or of all dots. Subjects accurately judge all of these centroids. Furthermore, after a single stimulus exposure, subjects can judge both the heterogeneous and homogeneous centroids, that is, subjects simultaneously group by similarity and by dissimilarity. The centroid paradigm reveals the relative weight of each dot among targets and distractors to the underlying grouping process, offering a more detailed, quantitative description of grouping than was previously possible. A change detection experiment reveals that conscious memory contains less than two dots and their locations, whereas an ideal detector would have to perfectly process at least 15 of 26 dots to match the subjects' centroid judgments-indicating an extraordinary capacity for preconscious grouping. A different color set yielded identical results. Grouping theories that rely on predefined feature maps would fail to explain these results. Rather, the results indicate that preconscious grouping is automatic, flexible, and rapid, and a far more complex process than previously believed.
The Relationship between Hospital Cost Inefficiency and Debt Ratings

Rationale: US Hospitals rely heavily on debt financing to fund major capital investment. Hospital efficiency is at least partly determined by the amount and quality of plant and equipment it uses. As such, a hospital's access to capital and credit rating may be related to its efficiency. Objectives: This paper measures the relationship between hospital efficiency, debt issuance and debt ratings. It further explores the direction of these relationships. Methodology: Prior research indicates the possibility of a debt death spiral, wherein inefficient organizations suffer lower credit ratings which reduce their access to capital, making it harder to purchase new equipment that could make them more efficient, effectively perpetuating and deepening the cycle. Using information on US hospitals and their bond issuance decisions, this study attempts to determine if there is evidence of such death spirals. This study collects information on approximately 1,600 US hospitals, linking it to bond issuance and Medicare Cost Report data. A Heckman correction for selection is implemented because some hospitals may choose not to issue bonds. Stochastic frontier analysis is used to estimate hospital cost inefficiency. The independent variables include outputs (admissions, outpatient visits, inpatient days in non-acute care units and teaching activities), input prices (price of capital and area wage rate), and product mix adjusters (Medicare case mix index, outpatient surgery mix, risk adjusted mortality rate, the use of high-tech services and the portion of emergency outpatient visits). Inefficiency effects variables include ownership status, Herfindahl-Hirshman Index, payer mix, network affiliation, HMO penetration, bond insurance and bond rating. While technically a cross-sectional analysis, this study uses data that includes hospital bond issues lagged as much as three years behind the study period. As such, it explores the relationship between past period bond rating and current period productivity. Since higher bond ratings are associated with lower interest expense, this may enable hospitals to invest more in capital, which will help improve efficiencies. Alternatively, hospitals might have to earn those higher ratings with prior period efficiency. Results Higher bond ratings are associated with lower cost inefficiency. There is also a positive association between issuance and efficiency, indicating that hospitals that have issued debt recently have seen lower cost inefficiency. This study also finds that inefficiency increases with the passage of time since the last bond issuance, introducing at least two possible explanations. It could indicate that the efficiency benefits of capital expansion are short-lived, lasting just a few years. Alternatively, such findings would also occur if hospitals sought to improve efficiency prior to issuance in order to earn better ratings.
On the Biology of Craticulina tabaniformis F., (Diptera; Sarcophagidae) which breeds in the nests of Sand wasps Bembex F. (Sphegidae)

Host Relationships of Miltogrammine Flies. Musca tabaniformis was descriptionbed in 1805 by Fabricius (Syst. Antliat. p. 302) from Morocco, and was later made the type of the genus Craticulina Bezzi (1906 Zeitschr. Hym. Dipt. VI, p. 49). It appears to be widely distributed in Africa, having been recorded from Nyasaland and Natal. It is common in the Salisbury and Bulawayo districts from October to May. The genus Craticulina is included in keys to the Palaeartic and World fauna by Rohdendorf (1927) and Townsend (1935) respectively. It belongs to a group of the sub-family Miltogramminae which is associated with certain fossorial and other Hymenoptera.
Direct arene C–H fluorination with 18F− via organic photoredox catalysis

Positron emission tomography (PET) plays key roles in drug discovery and development, as well as medical imaging. However, there is a dearth of efficient and simple radiolabeling methods for aromatic C-H bonds, which limits advancements in PET radiotracer development. Here, we disclose a mild method for the fluorine-18 (18F)-fluorination of aromatic C-H bonds by an [18F]F- salt via organic photoredox catalysis under blue light illumination. This strategy was applied to the synthesis of a wide range of 18F-labeled arenes and heteroaromatics, including pharmaceutical compounds. These products can serve as diagnostic agents or provide key information about the in vivo fate of the labeled substrates, as showcased in preliminary tracer studies in mice.
Modeling Evapotranspiration for c4 and c3 Crops in the Western Lake Erie Basin Using Remote Sensing Data

Abstract. Growing monoculture impacts not just soil properties and biodiversity but also local hydrology including evapotranspiration (ET). The Midwest region of the U.S. is known for its monoculture trend by growing and producing corn, which commonly replaces other crop types. In addition to large areas covered with corn, the photosynthetic adaptations of corn, being the C4 crop, affects ET differently than other C3 crops such as soybean, wheat, and alfalfa. This study aims to model and compare ET for C3 and C4 crops using remote sensing (Sentinel-2 data) and the Boreal Ecosystem Productivity Simulator (BEPS) model, modified to consider C3 and C4 crops. The study explores the ET rate trend for corn and soybean in an agriculture area situated in the Western Lake Erie Basin, where the balance between evapotranspiration, groundwater level, and surface runoff may play a role in agricultural runoff and Lake Erie’s algal blooms caused by runoff pollution. The results suggest that the monthly average ET rates for both soybean (C3) and corn (C4) reach its maximum at the mid-to-late growing season. However, the ET rate for corn is higher than for soybean in the early season (June) (ET = 121 mm month−1 for corn; ET = 105 mm month−1 for soybean), while the ET rate for soybean becomes higher than for corn soon after (July) and becomes considerably higher in August (ET = 181 mm month−1 for corn; ET = 218 mm month−1 for soybean). It is surmised that the higher ET rate for corn in the early growing season is due to nitrogen-based fertilizer commonly applied to corn parcels at that time, whereas soybean growth is based on biological nitrogen fixation.
Determining agricultural chemical transport through the vadose zone using a large borehole cavity

A large borehole cavity was designed and constructed to investigate agricultural chemical transport through the vadose zone to the shallow groundwater system. A 3.05 m diameter by 3.65 m length culvert was installed vertically in an excavated cavity to provide a permanent structure. Stainless steel suction lysimeters were installed radially from the cavity wall to collect water samples from the vadose zone and from below the water table. Suction lysimeters were located at five depths in the soil profile with five replications at each depth. ^ This work was supported by the USDA-CSRS Water Quality Special Grants Program of 1990. Journal Paper No. J-16379 of the Iowa Agriculture and Home Economics Experiment Station, Ames, Iowa. Project No. 3003. Mention of trade or company name is for the benefit of the reader and does not imply endorsement by the authors or Iowa State University. ^ Graduate Research Assistant and Professor, Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, Iowa State University, Ames, lA 50011, Instructor, Department of Agricultural Engineering, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57007.
Teaching Wearable Technology: Bridging Humanistic and Design Pedagogies

This paper reflects on the outcomes and lessons learned from a wearable circuit class project that brought together students in two upper-division undergraduate and graduate level courses: Textiles, Technology and Culture and Experimental Apparel Design. The assignment included both individual and small group work. Each individual produced a machine-embroidered design motif and wearable LED circuit component inspired by a motif or symbol from a cultural region or historical era previously covered in Textiles, Technology and Culture. This component was then coordinated with those of peers, as well as integrated with a garment design created by a student in Experimental Apparel Design. The learning objectives for both courses included technical, design, and humanistic skill building, along with social and communication skills. Our objective was to combine design and humanities approaches and research methods in a project pushing the boundaries of the technical skills of the students.
One Person, One Vote: Misrepresentation in the Debate over Gerrymandering and Congressional Districts

What I will show in this article is that districts drawn geographically are antithetical to the very principle of one-person, one-vote that was upheld by the Supreme Court and is widely utilized as the norm in public discourse. As a result, there is an inherent paradox. If we are to truly be seeking equal protection through fair representation in terms of legislative districts, we are advocating for a system of proportional statewide representation. What geographically-bounded congressional districts instead do is provide equal protection to specific geographic communities, or at the very least geographic borders, and determine fair representation in the form of representing communities of people as opposed to representing individuals at the state level, at which proportional statewide congressional representation would aim. I display how misrepresentation in the debate surrounding redistricting and partisan gerrymandering has occurred as a result of increasing party polarization taking place in conjunction with legislation and court rulings. These occurrences have caused misrepresentation by shifting the focus of reform from considerations of regulating the number and proportion of elected representatives to crafting politically-neutral redistricting procedure. The reason that this has been such an issue for the democratic process and representation is that it has moved focus from who elected officials are chosen to serve and why they struggle between political parties for a better image and greater power. As a result, party polarization and partisan gridlock has blocked progress towards democratic representation and efficient electoral processes. To remedy this, it is suggested that this problem is acknowledged and measures are taken to move considerations back upon how best to represent citizens.
Unexpected functional complementarity from non-bee pollinators enhances cotton yield

Abstract While greater biodiversity is often assumed to predict greater ecological function, a number of recent meta-analyses have challenged this notion, arguing instead that a few dominant species can contribute the majority of ecological function provided in a given ecosystem. In the case of mobile ecosystem service providers, such as pollinating insects, the abundance and diversity of the most common taxa (e.g. bees) is often assumed to be the primary driver of service provision across ecosystems. This assumption persists despite the presence and possible contribution of less-dominant service-providing taxa. In this study, we investigate the taxonomic contribution of different pollinator orders to multiple axes of functional complementarity in US Gulf Coast cotton agroecosystems. We find that, contrary to conventional wisdom, non-bee pollinators, including butterflies and flies, contribute significantly to pollination function and expand the multidimensional functional space of visitation by more than 50%. Specifically, butterflies and flies provide critical functional complementarity by visiting spatially and temporally unique flowers that otherwise may have gone without pollination service. We estimate that butterflies and flies together may contribute as much as 120 million USD (of the 1.8 billion USD) per annum of cotton production in the state of Texas. We conclude that conservation efforts should target not only dominant service providers, but also those that complement their service, such as butterflies and flies, to maintain functional breadth and resulting crop profitability in the face of dynamic future agricultural scenarios.
Data-Enabled Permanent Production Loss Analysis for Serial Production Systems With Variable Cycle Time Machines

Real time production performance evaluation plays a vital role in diagnosing manufacturing system health status and achieving productivity improvements. However, most existing studies on system performance evaluation are based on steady state analysis and focused on the production system with fixed cycle time machines. The real-time performance evaluation for a manufacturing system with variable cycle time machines, although typical for a large number of realistic scenarios, has been mostly ignored. The development of smart manufacturing and increasingly available sensor data have provided unprecedented opportunities to carry out thorough analysis on the real-time performance of such complex systems. In this letter, we developed a data-enabled methodology to efficiently identify and predict the real-time permanent production loss for a serial production line with variable cycle time machines. The concept and evaluation method of opportunity window are introduced to facilitate the permanent production loss estimation. Numerical case studies are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methods for opportunity window evaluation and production loss identification.
The Geometry of International Tax Planning After the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: A Riff on Circles, Squares, and Triangles

The enactment of the so-called Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) significantly changes the landscape for tax planning and compliance by U.S. multinational corporations (MNCs). The promised shift to a more territorial system actually results in a greater likelihood that more of a U.S. MNC’s foreign income is subject to current U.S. taxation. The TCJA complicates effective tax planning for such firms, forcing them to reexamine their existing global structures and financial arrangements (i.e., the “geometry” of international tax planning). We briefly review international tax planning before the TCJA as well as some key international tax provisions in the TCJA. We then provide a method to estimate the new Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI) tax from a U.S. MNC’s financial statements when such information is not publicly disclosed and illustrate the effective tax rate (ETR) and GILTI tax effects for a small sample of public firms after the TCJA. Finally, we discuss some likely changes in international tax planning going forward.
Strategies for Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction in Archaeology

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the strategies for paleoenvironmental reconstruction in archaeology. Paleoenvironmental reconstruction in archaeology is the description of change in the physical and biological contexts of human existence. It is an aspect of, and an essential precursor to, paleoecology, the study of environmental relationships in the past. A productive archaeological approach to the reconstruction of paleoenvironments requires fundamentally an understanding that environmental determinism is neither the inspiration nor the goal. Once past that barrier, there need be no apology for undertaking environmental studies within a framework of ecological theory. Ecological hypotheses are not intrinsically better than other hypotheses, but they certainly are extraordinarily useful in providing the understanding of the past. It is the scientific productivity of the ecological perspective on human lives that has fascinated archaeologists and that should continue to challenge them to explore the past with imagination tempered with rigor and impartiality. The goal is knowledge of fully human responses to environmental stressors and opportunities, which cannot be achieved unless those are understood in their diversity.
Service quality and choice behavior: an empirical investigation.

Service quality is no longer the sole concern of service firms. Many firms realize that their offering may be partly a tangible product and partly intangible services. Domino's produces a tangible product (pizza) as well as providing intangible services (e.g., free delivery in 30 minutes or less). Therefore, the consumer evaluates the outcome (e.g., was the pizza tasty?) and the process (e.g., did the delivery person provide the pizza quick enough?) of service delivery. As a result, providing superior service is critical for tangible good and service firms. The impact on choice behavior of the process and outcome dimensions of service quality is investigated using a LOGIT model. It appears that no one dimension of service quality captures the complexity of choice; both process and outcome quality are important determinants of choice.
NF-κB p50-Dependent In Vivo Footprints at Ig Sγ3 DNA Are Correlated with μ→γ3 Switch Recombination

NF-κB has been demonstrated to play critical roles in multiple aspects of immune responses including Ig H chain isotype switching. To better define the specific roles the p50 subunit of NF-κB plays in μ→γ3 switch recombination (SR), we systematically evaluated p50-deficient B cells for activities that are strongly correlated with SR. B cell activation with LPS plus anti-IgD-dextran plus IL-5 plus IL-4 plus TGF-β produced normal levels of proliferation and γ3 germline transcripts in p50-deficient B cells, but μ→γ3 SR was impaired. In vitro binding studies previously showed that NF-κB p50 homodimer binds the switch nuclear B-site protein (SNIP) of the Sγ3 tandem repeat. Ligation-mediated PCR in vivo footprint analysis demonstrates that the region spanning the SNIP and switch nuclear A-site protein (SNAP) binding sites of the Sγ3 region are contacted by protein in normal resting splenic B cells. B cells that are homozygous for the targeted disruption of the gene encoding p50 (−/−) show strong aberrant footprints, whereas heterozygous cells (+/−) reveal a partial effect in Sγ3 DNA. These studies provide evidence of nucleoprotein interactions at switch DNA in vivo and suggest a direct interaction of p50 with Sγ3 DNA that is strongly correlated with SR competence.
Evaluation of audio and pictorial instructional supplements

The rapidity of technological change strains the capacity of our training systems to meet demands for new skills and abilities. In response to these demands, a flood of instructional materials is being produced by colleges and military institutions, as well as by commercial organizations. Many of these new training materials include audiotapes and/or pictorial presentations, such as photographs and diagrams. Following a recent survey of audiovisual media applications for adult learners, Campeau (1974) concluded that while enormous sums are being spent on audiovisual equipment, selection of media is not being based on evidence of instructional effectiveness.
An efficient bit vector approach to semantics-based machine perception in resource-constrained devices

The primary challenge of machine perception is to define efficient computational methods to derive high-level knowledge from low-level sensor observation data. Emerging solutions are using ontologies for expressive representation of concepts in the domain of sensing and perception, which enable advanced integration and interpretation of heterogeneous sensor data. The computational complexity of OWL, however, seriously limits its applicability and use within resource-constrained environments, such as mobile devices. To overcome this issue, we employ OWL to formally define the inference tasks needed for machine perception --- explanation and discrimination --- and then provide efficient algorithms for these tasks, using bit-vector encodings and operations. The applicability of our approach to machine perception is evaluated on a smart-phone mobile device, demonstrating dramatic improvements in both efficiency and scale.
Where to from here

This chapter rounds off the book with a few remarks on the philosophy of mathematics and some suggestions for further reading.
Dynamic Response to Rotating-Seat Runout in Noncontacting Face Seals

The dynamic response of a flexibly mounted ring to runout of the rotating seat in mechanical face seals is analyzed assuming small perturbations. It is found that tracking ability of the stator depends only on its dynamic characteristics and operating conditions and is not affected by the amount of runout. Three different modes of dynamic response are shown and the condition for parallel tracking is presented.
Weighting by heritability for detection of quantitative trait loci with microarray estimates of gene expression

Heritable differences in transcribed RNA levels can be mapped as quantitative trait loci (QTLs). Transcribed RNA levels are often measured by hybridization to microarrays of oligonucleotide probes, in which each transcript is represented by multiple probes. The use of recombinant inbred lines allows an estimate of the heritability of expression measured by individual probes. This heritability varies greatly. We have tested heritability-weighted averages to define expression of a transcript and found that these allow detection of more QTLs than previously described methods.
Alternative Information Signs: Evaluation of Driver Comprehension and Visual Attention

AbstractThe effectiveness of a traffic sign is collectively influenced by the sign’s understandability, legibility distance, glance legibility, and learnability; however, understandability has been repeatedly identified as one of the most important effectiveness measures. This study contributes to best practices for evaluating traffic sign understandability by demonstrating and comparing a variety of online survey questions and immersive driving simulation tasks. These techniques were applied to assess the understandability of five alternative tourist information (TI) signs in Oregon. Several TI sign alternatives were first tested in an online survey with 142 participants, followed by more authentic testing of 42 participants in the Oregon State University Driving Simulator. Sign INFO was correctly understood by 95.7% of the driving simulator subjects. Similar results were obtained for the other testing modalities. Notably, the understandability of TI sign alternatives, including versions with (75.4%) and...
Genetic Mapping of the tox-1000 Locus of Vibrio cholerae El Tor Strain RJ1

The results of a genetic cross between a Vibrio cholerae RJ1 donor and a V. cholerae 3083-2 recipient suggest that the map position of tox-1000 is between his and trp.
Voltage divided noninverting Cuk converter with large conversion ratios

A voltage-divided noninverting Cuk converter is presented which is an extension of R.D. Middlebrook's voltage-divided Cuk converter, with a noninverting feature. Experimental results on a 50 V-to-5 V, 50 W converter show that the new converter has the same conversion property and efficiency as the inverting voltage-divided Cuk converter. >
Distributed Execution of Actor Programs

A number of programming language models, including actors, provide inherent concurrency. We are developing high-level language constructs using actors and studying their implementation on multiprocessor architectures. This report describes our experience with programming in actors by means of a specific example of scientific computation. We also discuss work in progress on compilation technology for efficient program execution on multiprocessors.
The action of a phenothiazine derivative on enzymes of the pentose phosphate pathway.

La thioperazine, qui est un derive de la famille de la phenothiazine, a le pouvour d'inhibition sur l'activite du glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase et du 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase dans les globules rouges. Ce pouvoir est modifie si on ajoute du TPN dans le systeme enzymatique. Le degre de cette modification correspond a la dose de TPN employee.
Thyroid function and the cardiac disposition of catecholamines.

Hyperthyroid rats show an elevated and prolonged hemodynamic response to injected epinephrine; hypothyroid rats have lower base-line blood pressures than control animals, but show a normal response to the catecholamine. Hyperthyroid rats shunt a larger fraction of the cardiac output to their enlarged hearts, thus delivering a greater proportion of a dose of H3-epinephrine to this organ. Each gram of hyperthyroid heart receives the same fraction of circulating H3-epinephrine as an equal weight of normal heart, but its capacity to inactivate the H3-epinephrine by binding is diminished. The consequent maintenance of elevated levels of free epinephrine may be a major factor in the development of the altered hemodynamic response of the hyperthyroid animal to epinephrine. A single large dose of thyroxine has no effect on the uptake, binding or release of H3- epinephrine by the heart, or the hypertensive response induced by a given dose of the neurohumor. Hypothyroid hearts receive and bind as much circulating e...
Neutral endopeptidase and kininase II mediate glucocorticoid inhibition of neurogenic inflammation in the rat trachea.

Abstract Glucocorticoids inhibit plasma extravasation induced in the rat tracheal mucosa by substance P and other tachykinins released from sensory nerves. This study was performed to determine whether this antiinflammatory effect of glucocorticoids is mediated by the tachykinin-degrading enzymes neutral endopeptidase (NEP) and kininase II (angiotensin converting enzyme, ACE). In addition, we studied the effect of dexamethasone on a nonpeptide inflammatory mediator, platelet-activating factor (PAF), which is not degraded by NEP or ACE. Adult male pathogen-free F344 rats were treated for 2 d with dexamethasone (0.5 mg/kg per d i.p.), or with the vehicle used to dissolve the steroid. The magnitude of plasma extravasation produced by an intravenous injection of substance P (5 micrograms/kg) or PAF (10 micrograms/kg) was then assessed by using Monastral blue pigment as an intravascular tracer. The role of NEP and ACE activities in the changes produced by dexamethasone was investigated by examining the effect of the selective inhibitors of these enzymes, phosphoramidon and captopril. Dexamethasone reduced the substance P-induced extravasation by 57% but did not affect the PAF-induced extravasation. The suppressive effect of dexamethasone on substance P-induced extravasation was completely reversed by simultaneously inhibiting NEP and ACE activities, but the inhibition of these enzymes had no effect on PAF-induced extravasation, regardless of whether the rats were pretreated with dexamethasone or not. These results suggest that NEP and ACE mediate a selective inhibitory effect of glucocorticoids on neurogenic plasma extravasation.
Effect of inoculum, variety, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium on yield, protein and oil content of soybeans at jabalpur, M.P. India

Abstract Regardless of inoculum or fertility rate Bragg outyielded Clark 63 soybeans. Yields of Bragg and Clark 63 were increased about 1000 kg per ha by treatment with inoculum at the rate of approximately 313, 000 bacteria per seed. At the highest rate of applied N, yields of uninoculated soybeans, were lower than the inoculated soybeans at the lowest applied N rate. Phosphorus fertilizer increased yields at a decreasing rate and yields were decreased at the highest rate of applied P. Potassium fertilizer had a negative effect on soybean yields and did not significantly effect the protein or oil content of soybean seed. With increasing P fertilizer rates, there was a decrease in oil content and in increase in protein content of soybean seed.
Sharp interface numerical simulation of directional solidification of binary alloy in the presence of a ceramic particle

Abstract A sharp interface technique is employed to study the interaction of a solid–liquid interface in a solidifying binary alloy with a ceramic particle in the melt. The application targeted is solidification of a metal–matrix composite. A level-set based sharp interface numerical method is used to study the directional solidification process in the presence of the particle. The transport of solute and heat are computed. The directional solidification calculations are first validated against stability theory. The Mullins–Sekerka stability spectrum is reproduced with good agreement with the theory. The interaction of the cellular interface with a ceramic particle in the melt is then computed. It is shown that, in contrast to the case of a pure material, the ratio of thermal conductivity of the particle to the melt plays no role in determining the front morphology and the result of the particle–front interaction. The diffusion of species controls the evolution of the phase front around the particle. The implications of the results for particle–front interactions in a binary alloy are discussed.
Position effects due to chromosome breakpoints that map ∼900 Kb upstream and ∼1.3 Mb downstream of SOX9 in two patients with campomelic dysplasia

Campomelic dysplasia (CD) is a semilethal skeletal malformation syndrome with or without XY sex reversal. In addition to the multiple mutations found within the sex-determining region Y–related high-mobility group box gene (SOX9) on 17q24.3, several chromosome anomalies (translocations, inversions, and deletions) with breakpoints scattered over 1 Mb upstream of SOX9 have been described. Here, we present a balanced translocation, t(4;17)(q28.3;q24.3), segregating in a family with a mild acampomelic CD with Robin sequence. Both chromosome breakpoints have been identified by fluorescence in situ hybridization and have been sequenced using a somatic cell hybrid. The 17q24.3 breakpoint maps ∼900 kb upstream of SOX9, which is within the same bacterial artificial chromosome clone as the breakpoints of two other reported patients with mild CD. We also report a prenatal identification of acampomelic CD with male-to-female sex reversal in a fetus with a de novo balanced complex karyotype, 46,XY,t(4;7;8;17)(4qter→4p15.1::17q25.1→17qter;7qter→7p15.3::4p15.1→4pter;8pter→8q12.1::7p15.3→7pter;17pter→17q25.1::8q12.1→8qter). Surprisingly, the 17q breakpoint maps ∼1.3 Mb downstream of SOX9, making this the longest-range position effect found in the field of human genetics and the first report of a patient with CD with the chromosome breakpoint mapping 3′ of SOX9. By using the Regulatory Potential score in conjunction with analysis of the rearrangement breakpoints, we identified a candidate upstream cis-regulatory element, SOX9cre1. We provide evidence that this 1.1-kb evolutionarily conserved element and the downstream breakpoint region colocalize with SOX9 in the interphase nucleus, despite being located 1.1 Mb upstream and 1.3 Mb downstream of it, respectively. The potential molecular mechanism responsible for the position effect is discussed.
Tetramer formation in tetragonal transition metal ion complexes of glycyl-L-histidine

Abstract The well characterized complex of Cu(II) and glycyl- L -histidine consists of a tridentate ligand bound to Cu(II) by amino, ionized amide, and one of two imidazole nitrogen donors. The Ni(II) and Pd(II) complexes possess a similar structure. The 1 : 1 complexes of all three metal ions undergo a deprotonation at about pH 9·6. Significant blue shifts in the absorption spectra accompany this deprotonation, suggesting that a nitrogen donor rather than hydroxide ion replaces water in the fourth coordination position about the transition metal ion. Ionization at an unbound imidazole nitrogen permits it to coordinate at the fourth position of a metal ion chelated by another ligand molecule. Quantitative spectrophotometric analysis of the yellow Ni(II) complex indicates that the structure formed after ionization is the tetramer, ( ML ) 4 4− . Space-filling molecular models show that a unique tetramer is the smallest polymer which permits four nitrogen donors about each metal ion and no uncoordinated nitrogen atoms.
Pressure waveforms that minimize work on the lung parenchyma

Employing a simple dynamic model for lung function which contains all the main components of the lung as a pump, we find the pressure waveform at the mouth which achieves the desired alveolar tidal volume, and minimizes the work of distension on the alveoli tissue.
Separation of anilines by capillary electrophoresis with small ionic compounds as buffer additives

Addition of either ethanesulfonic acid or protonated triethylamine to the background electrolyte was found to markedly improve the separation of protonated anilines by capillary electrophoresis. These additives appear to form a thin coating on the capillary surface via a dynamic equilibrium. This results in a change in electroosmotic flow and reduces interactions of the sample cations with the silica surface. A mixture of 10 substituted anilines could be separated, including several positional isomers. Migration times of the sample cations were reproducible with a RSD less than 1.0%.
Solid waste disposal costs, product prices, and incentives for waste reduction

This paper uses a standard input-output technique to examine the impact of solid waste disposal costs on product prices for the years 1977, 1982, and 1985. Unlike air and water pollution, solid waste disposal is an example where markets, at least partially, deal with externality problems. As the cost of using land as a disposal site rises, firms are encouraged to improve efficiency, explore new technologies, and recycle materials to reduce the volume of wastes generated. Further, because the cost of waste disposal directly affects the price of the product, waste disposal costs also affect consumer demand. The findings of this study support the common notion that waste disposal costs are rising and leading firms are attempting to reduce waste volume.
Characteristics of monoamine oxidases in brain and other organs of the golden hamster

Abstract The activities of monoamine oxidase (MAO) were measured with the type A substrate, serotonin, and the type B substrate, phenylethylamine (PE), in brain, heart, kidney, lung, liver and spleen of the golden hamster, rat and rabbit. The relative activities measured with these two substrates varied markedly between different organs of the same species and between the same organ of different species. The rabbit had the lowest A/B ratio for each of the organs examined. The A/B ratios in the hamster were comparable to those of the rat for each of the organs, except for a higher ratio in the brain and a lower ratio in the heart. The activity measured with PE for hamster brain was only 7 and 8 per cent of the corresponding activity in the brain of the rat and rabbit, respectively. Studies using the selective inhibitors, clorgyline and deprenyl, in combination with selective substrates, indicated that the small amount of activity in hamster brain towards the substrate PE was, indeed, due to MAO-B rather than a nonspecific action of MAO-A. The advantages of this method for the detection of multiple forms of MAO, particularly when the amount of one form is very small as compared with the other, are discussed.
Improved determination of cadmium in blood and plasma by flameless atomic absorption spectroscopy

Recently reported analytical methods for determining cadmium in biological fluids indicate accurate and reproducible results but are quite limited by a low working range. Many flameless atomic absorption methods for assaying nanogram quantities of cadmium have relied upon extraction procedures prior to analysis. These techniques can be susceptible to errors by sample contamination or loss while carrying out the many steps of sample preparation. In the method described here, nanogram quantities of cadmium in blood and plasma are measured by using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy facilitated by a wet ashing pretreatment of samples. The method appears to be quite accurate and reproducible with an average coefficient of variation of 6.7%. The linear working range of the method was found to extend from 0.4 ..mu..g Cd/l to 16.0 ..mu..g Cd/l.
Numerical Study of Separated Laminar Boundary Layers over Multiple Sine-Wave Protuberances

Supersonic laminar flow over wave-shaped walls with multiple separation bubbles were studied using an implicit finite-difference technique to solve the interacting boundary-layer equations. Solutions for Mach numbers 3 and 6, Reynolds numbers 1X105 and 2 X105, wall temperature to stagnation temperature ratios of 0.45 and 0.675, and the protuberance height to width ratio range of 0 to 0.1 are presented in terms of skin friction and heat transfer distributions for several different protuberance configurations. These numerical results show that after separation occurs the maximum wall shear and heating rates do not increase with protuberance height. cf CP F g h H I L* M n P
Are women peers

Leadership potential was studied as a function of the sex of the rater and/or ratee. Data collected on a sample of ten female and 30 male Army officers included peer ratings, self-ratings, and achievement and attitude measures. Males and females evaluated female peers significantly lower than male peers on leadership potential. Also, females evaluated themselves lower on self-ratings of leadership potential, as well as scoring lower on some achievement and attitude measures.
Use and Relationships among Effective Practices in Co-Taught Inclusive High School Classrooms.

Opportunities to respond (OTR) and specific praise are two practices that may be particularly beneficial to students learning in secondary inclusive classrooms. Yet, there is relatively little research on effective inclusion practices involving secondary students with learning disabilities (LD) or studies at the secondary level. This study sought to extend the existing research by evaluating the relationship between rates of OTR and specific praise in co-taught high school core classrooms on student on-task behaviour and class engagement. This study was part of a larger study conducted during the 2010–2011 school year. First, core academic classrooms were observed and data were collected on OTR, praise, and student behaviour. OTR information was collected using an audio recording device. Class audio recordings were divided into 15-minute intervals of whole group instruction and coded for OTR, specific praise, and non-specific praise. Observation data on student behaviour and class engagement that correspo...
Recognition memory for vibrotactile rhythms: an fMRI study in blind and sighted individuals.

Calcarine sulcal cortex possibly contributes to semantic recognition memory in early blind (EB). We assessed a recognition memory role using vibrotactile rhythms and a retrieval success paradigm involving learned “old” and “new” rhythms in EB and sighted. EB showed no activation differences in occipital cortex indicating retrieval success but replicated findings of somatosensory processing. Both groups showed retrieval success in primary somatosensory, precuneus, and orbitofrontal cortex. The S1 activity might indicate generic sensory memory processes.