cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
DNA content of micronuclei in human lymphocytes.

We have calculated the distribution of DNA contents in micronuclei (MN) induced by ionizing radiation in human lymphocytes on two assumptions: the MN arise from acentric chromosome fragments (ACF), and the ACF result from the random breakage and rejoining of chromosomes. Measurements show that about 80 per cent of MN have a DNA content in the range of 0·5-6 per cent of the G1 nucleus. This group is consistent with the model and shows little dependence on radiation dose over the dose range of 0·5-4 Gy, or on lymphocyte culture time, varying from 48 to 76 hours. The MN with DNA content from 6 to 20 per cent of the G1 nucleus are probably the result both of spindle defects and of DNA synthesis in MN.
A new parallel smoothing algorithm

This paper describes a new smoothing algorithm that uses a number of processors to smooth blocks of measurements in parallel with little communication between the processors. This procedure is found to have a total on-line computational complexity slightly higher than that of the non-parallel implementations. However, since several processors are used in parallel, the running time of this algorithm is much smaller than that of a single smoother solution.
Phorbic Acid biosynthesis in the latex vessel system of euphorbia.

Evidence is presented that phorbic acid is formed in the latex producing cell system, rather than in photosynthetic or chlorophyll-free tissues of Euphorbia resinifera Berg. When a branch of the plant was kept first in a (14)CO(2) atmosphere with 12 hr light-dark periods for 2 days and then left under natural conditions in the air outside for at least 2 to 3 days, radioactive phorbic acid was found in the latex. Phorbic acid synthesis appeared to be independent of the photosynthetic and respiratory activities of the plant.Besides phorbic acid 2 other major radioactive compounds were recognized in the latex, a glycoside or oligosaccharide, and a lipid belonging to the group of triterpenoid compounds characteristic of the latex in several species of Euphorbia.
Multipoint problem for higher-order parabolic equations in a parallelepiped

We study the well-posedness of a problem for a Petrovskii-parabolic equation with coefficients depending on the space coordinates and with multipoint conditions with respect to the time variable. We establish conditions for the existence and uniqueness of the classical solution of the problem. For the proof of the existence of a solution of the problem, the method of divided differences is used. We prove a metric-type theorem on lower bounds for the small denominators that appear in the construction of the solution.
VIP elevates platelet cyclic AMP (cAMP) levels and inhibits in vitro platelet activation induced by platelet-activating factor (PAF)

Abstract Platelet-activating factor (PAF), a potent endogenous phospholipid released by a variety of mammalian cells, induces platelet activation in vivo and in vitro . Little is known, however, about the physiological modulation of its actions. We have examined the ability of two naturally occurring compounds which stimulate cAMP production, vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and prostacyclin (PGI 2 ), to inhibit PAF-induced platelet aggregation and secretion in vitro . Washed, [ 3 H]serotonin-labeled, rabbit platelets were incubated 60 sec in the presence of VIP, PGI 2 or 3-isobutyl-1-methylxanthine (IBMX) and subsequently stimulated with PAF. In separate studies, cAMP levels were determined in similar aliquots of platelets incubated for 30 sec with VIP, PGI 2 or IBMX. VIP, PGI 2 and IBMX inhibited platelet aggregation and secretion in a dose-dependent manner. Fifty percent inhibition was achieved at final concentrations of 1.7×10 −6 M VIP , 3.6×10 −6 M PGI 2 and 6.5×10 −5 M IBMX . IBMX potentiated the inhibitory effects of VIP and PGI 2 on PAF-induced platelet activation. VIP and PGI 2 elevated platelet cAMP levels four-fold and 50-fold, respectively, in the presence of 10 −3 M IBMX. These findings demonstrate that VIP inhibits PAF-induced platelet activation, with a potency comparable to that of PGI 2 .
Measurements of chemical erosion of ATJ graphite by low energy D2+ impact

Abstract We report on initial results of chemical sputtering of ATJ graphite by impact of D 2 + in the energy range 30–125 eV/amu. A quadrupole mass spectrometer (QMS) in a UHV scattering chamber was used to monitor the partial pressures of species in the atomic mass range 2–60 amu as a function of the D atom dose accumulated on a graphite sample. Based on in situ measurements of cracking patterns and QMS sensitivities using calibrated leaks, sputtering yields are presented for the production of methane and acetylene for sample temperatures of 300 and 800 K, and energies of 30, 45, and 125 eV/amu. At the lowest investigated impact energy, the contribution of CD4 is found to decrease significantly with increasing temperature, while the contribution of C2D2 is virtually unchanged. For an 800K sample temperature, both the CD4 and C2D2 yields increase with increasing impact energy.
Highly stable signal propagation in a consecutively tuned nanomagnet array

A key function of magnetic quantum-dot cellular automata (MQCA) is signal propagation in the nanomagnet array, for which a clocking field is required. However, the misalignment of the clocking field and the resultant low stability for signal propagation is one of the main challenges for its application. Here, we modeled and fabricated a progressively shape-tuned nanomagnet array combined with a reversal clocking field with progressively reduced amplitude. Based on micromagnetic simulations, Fe nanomagnet arrays were fabricated by electron beam lithography and their magnetization states characterized by magnetic force microscopy demonstrated correct signal propagation against clocking field misalignment up to ±5°. Furthermore, cascade-like signal propagation was observed. This novel design provides high stability and directional control in signal propagation within the nanomagnet array and potentially paves the way for addressing the misalignment issue in MQCA structures.
Educational "Excellence" versus Teacher "Professionalism": Towards Some Conceptual Clarity.

The educational literature of the last several years is replete with both continuing calls for educational “excellence” reforms and for enhancing and upgrading the teaching “profession.” Importantly, both types of calls rely on the contribution of science. The educational research-and-development community continues to push for and believe in the notion that educational innovation is based on scientific advances in understanding child development and school functioning. Similarly, many teachers and teacher educators continually call for increased classroom autonomy and social status among teachers, based upon the supposedly scientific nature of their professional training. This paper takes issue with both of these points, arguing that the origin and success of most educationally innovative policies have as their origin the changing political, economic, and social forces visible in the country during the history of American education. Relatedly, since the science of teaching and learning takes a back seat in issues of school policy, teachers cannot and will not be able to convince the public and those in authority in the school that their insights and practices derive from any privileged understanding of the “real” needs of children. Arguing that teachers should, in fact, have more input into policy decisions in education, the paper concludes with a review and discussion of various strategies currently visible for improving the autonomy and control of classroom educators.
Fluid dynamics of vertical submerged gas jets in liquid metal processing systems

High speed cinematography and a pressure trace technique have been used to investigate the fluid dynamics of inert gas jets injected vertically upward into water, molten tin, lead-tin alloy, and iron. Two flow regimes of jet behavior were observed: one in which unstable bubbles were produced at the jet nozzle, and one in which a steady cone of gas emerged from the nozzle and broke up continuously into small bubbles. The transition between bubbling and continuous jet flow was controlled by the mass flow of gas per unit area of the jet and occurred at a flow rate of approximately 40 g/cm2 s in all of the systems studied.
Sex-ratios as a basis for occupational evaluations: A contemporary view

In the present experiment we failed to replicate a widely-cited sexist bias in people's evaluations of occupations that was originally reported by Touhey (1974a; 1974b). Not only were contemporary college students unwilling to downgrade the prestige of masculine professions or to upgrade that of feminine professions when told that the proportion of other-sex (i.e., minority) practitioners was increasing; they actually rated one traditionally masculine occupation (college professor) in more favorable terms if informed that women would be making greater contributions to this profession in the future. Some present and future implications of these findings are discussed.
Design of a New Electric Energy Metering Cubicle System

Based on the analysis of traditional electric energy metering cubicle, there are still a lot of disadvantages in operation. This paper presents a new type of electric energy metering cubicle. The composite intelligent terminal wiring device, intelligent locking device and image monitoring equipment are applied to the traditional standard electric energy metering cubicle. It is suggested that the new electric energy metering cubicle can effectively ensure the safety of the staff, prevent power loss caused by incorrect wiring and avoid electricity theft.
Turbulence structure of polymer turbulent channel flow with and without macromolecular polymer structures

The presence of macromolecular polymer structures in a fully developed turbulent channel flow has been shown to substantially increase the drag reduction compared to non-structured polymer flows. This study presents a detailed analysis of experimental data obtained using laser Doppler velocimetry (LDV) to develop insights into the effects of the presence of macromolecular polymer structures on the turbulence characteristics of a channel flow. It is argued that polymer structures could contribute to minimizing the interaction between the inner and outer regions of the flow, which, in turn, can contribute to the modification of the coherent structure of the turbulence.
Multilevel Image Recognition using Discriminative Patches and Kernel Covariance Descriptor

Computer-aided diagnosis of medical images has emerged as an important tool to objectively improve the performance, accuracy and consistency for clinical workflow. To computerize the medical image diagnostic recognition problem, there are three fundamental problems: where to look (i.e., where is the region of interest from the whole image/volume), image feature description/encoding, and similarity metrics for classification or matching. In this paper, we exploit the motivation, implementation and performance evaluation of task-driven iterative, discriminative image patch mining; covariance matrix based descriptor via intensity, gradient and spatial layout; and log-Euclidean distance kernel for support vector machine, to address these three aspects respectively. To cope with often visually ambiguous image patterns for the region of interest in medical diagnosis, discovery of multilabel selective discriminative patches is desired. Covariance of several image statistics summarizes their second order interactions within an image patch and is proved as an effective image descriptor, with low dimensionality compared with joint statistics and fast computation regardless of the patch size. We extensively evaluate two extended Gaussian kernels using affine-invariant Riemannian metric or log-Euclidean metric with support vector machines (SVM), on two medical image classification problems of degenerative disc disease (DDD) detection on cortical shell unwrapped CT maps and colitis detection on CT key images. The proposed approach is validated with promising quantitative results on these challenging tasks. Our experimental findings and discussion also unveil some interesting insights on the covariance feature composition with or without spatial layout for classification and retrieval, and different kernel constructions for SVM. This will also shed some light on future work using covariance feature and kernel classification for medical image analysis.
Presidential Succession and Academic Freedom: Botswana Deports Leading Political Scientist Kenneth Good

Botswana is frequently depicted as a major success story on a continent where political and economic success stories are unfortunately few and far between (Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson 2001; Leith 2005; Samatar 1999; Sarraf and Jiwanji 2001). In many ways, it is. In contrast to many resource-dependent countries, Botswana has avoided civil war, held regular elections, and produced some of the fastest sustained economic growth in the world. Yet, on February 18, 2005, President Festus Mogae declared the country's most famous political scientist, Kenneth Good, a Prohibited Immigrant and gave him 48 hours to leave the country. On May 31, 2005, after losing a legal appeal against this order, Good was held in a police cell for two hours, given 30 minutes to pack, and put on a flight to Johannesburg, South Africa (see timeline below). This article explores the background to Good's deportation and addresses some of the fundamental questions it raises about academic freedom.
Illegitimacy and Other Purported Family Universals

Various features of the family have been argued to be universal among the world's societies. These include marriage and the family itself, male dominance and the division of labor by sex, incest taboos and exogamy, and the distinction between legitimate and illegiti mate birth. Each of these features except illegitimacy has a long history of theoretical and comparative investigation. The author argues that illegitimacy underlies each of the other family univer sals, in the sense that it is a given in their theoretical accounts. Hence it is more basic to family and kinship, and more primordial, than the others. Theoretical and comparative work on illegitimacy as a social norm and value is sorely needed, for without understand ing illegitimacy in this way, we cannot fully account for the other purported universal features of the family.
C14 Study of Relative Fuel-to-Soot Carbon Conversion in Premixed Flames

Abstract Three 1,fC-!abeled fuels were burned as premixed flames: (a) 72 percent methanol in toluene; (b) 62 percent acetone in toluene; (c) 54 percent cyclohexane in toluene. These compositions correspond to 1:1 cofuel carbon:toluene carbon ratios. Soot, sampled from the yellow flame zone and collected on a glass-fiber filter, was assayed for 1,(C-activity. Results were analysed in terms of R, the relative probability of toluene carbon xofuel carbon conversion. R values of 2 and 50 were determined for cyclohexane and methanol respectively. Studies were carried out at 4:1 Na:02 composition and fuel:oxygen equivalence ratios of 1.6, 1.8 and 2.0. Fuel:oxygen equivalence ratio had minor impact on relative fuel-to-soot conversion.
Anesthetic considerations in patients with chronic granulomatons disease

Chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) is a rare, genetically transmitted disorder characterized by recurrent, life-threatening infections with catalase-positive micro-organisms and excessive inflammatory reactions that lead to granuloma formation. Long-term prophylactic antimicrobial agents and aggressive surgical management are the mainstays of therapy. The authors provided anesthetics for 17 patients with CGD undergoing 55 surgical procedures. These patients presented to surgery with multiple organ system involvement and were at significant risk for complications in the perioperative period. Granulomatous lesions of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract may predispose such patients to regurgitation and aspiration.
Effect of UV irradiation on organic matter extracted from treated Ohio River water studied through the use of electrospray mass spectrometry.

Ohio River water was treated by settling, sand filtration, and granular activated carbon filtration. It was then irradiated by low-pressure (monochromatic) and medium-pressure (polychromatic) UV lamps to investigate the effects of UV irradiation on the extracted organic matter (EOM). When the EOM, collected by solid phase extraction cartridges, was analyzed by conventional UV spectroscopy and size exclusion chromatography (SEC), no significant changes in the EOM were revealed for various UV doses. Positive and negative electrospray ionization mass spectrometry (ESI-MS) of the EOM produced mass spectra that vary significantly with UV dose. The UV dosage conditions also appear to affect the reactivity of the EOM to subsequent chlorination. The magnitude of the spectral changes is generally greater for medium-pressure lamps than for low pressure and increases with UV exposure. Based on the observed MS peaks, the changes may be due to the presence of lignin, resulting perhaps from photooxidation and/or photor...
5-HT1A receptor activity disrupts spontaneous alternation behavior in rats.

Agonists selective for three different serotonin (5-HT) receptor subtypes were tested for the ability to disrupt spontaneous alternation behavior (SAB) in the CD strain of rats. Rats were scored for alternation or repetition in their choice of arms of a T-maze equally baited with chocolate milk. Compared with vehicle controls, the 5-HT1A agonist 8-hydroxy-dipropylaminotetraline (8-OH-DPAT; 2 mg/kg) significantly (P<.0001) increased repetitive choices (disrupted SAB). In contrast, intraperitoneal injections with the 5-HT2 agonist R-(−)-dimethoxyiodophenylaminoethane (DOI; 1 mg/kg) or the 5-HT3 agonist N-methyl quipazine (NMQ; 3 mg/kg) had no significant effect on SAB in CD rats. Onset of vicarious trial and error (VTE) behavior prolonged the time required for each rat to select an arm of the T-maze when injected with either 8-OH-DPAT (P<.0001) or buspirone (1–2 mg/kg), a 5-HT1A partial agonist. The disruption of SAB and the induction of VTE behavior were reversible with behavioral scores returning to preinjection levels within 48 h after injections. The disruption of SAB by 8-OH-DPAT was also seen with the Long–Evans rat strain. The results extend the use of the SAB model and point to a specific role of 5-HT1A receptors in the induction of repetitive behavioral patterns.
Some theoretical considerations regarding the effects of steric hindrance and intrinsic global coupling on the flexibility of Fc-anchored immunoglobulins.

Abstract Nanosecond fluorescence depolarization studies reported in the accompanying companion paper showed that the long rotational correlation time, φL, increased somewhat when rabbit IgG anti-dansyl antibodies were anchored in staphylococcal protein A (SpA) soluble complexes. The increases in φL upon anchoring IgG probably resulted from “global coupling” effects caused by: (1) increased steric hindrance of the antibody segments in the SpA complexes and (2) intrinsic structural constraints already present in the monomeric IgG. Global coupling results from a restriction in the angular range of a flexible segment and is manifest when flexible motions alone cannot depolarize all of the fluorescence, so that the slower global tumbling of the entire particle is also required. Such effects cannot be resolved directly from experimental anisotropy data, however, because only a single long correlation time, φL, is well defined over the limited time range of most fluorophores. In this paper, estimates of the anisotropy contributions from flexible and global motions of the IgG-SpA complexes are determined by contrasting theoretical and measured decays. For this analysis it was assumed that each of the experimental φL-values is a weighted composite of the rotational correlation time associated with the less restricted flexible motions of the Fab arms, φF, and the correlation time associated with global tumbling of the entire particle, φG. A general two-exponential expression was used to relate φF and φG to φL. This approach was meaningful because φG-values of the various SpA complexes had been calculated from hydrodynamic measurements. The theoretical decays clearly show that, even if φG is much longer than φF, these two rotational motions still cannot be resolved over the experimentally accessible time range. Families of emission anisotropy decay curves for IgG antibodies with different amounts of intrinsic global coupling and for anchored antibodies with different amounts of steric hindrance were simulated by varying the preexponential weighting factors of the flexible and global terms. By comparing the calculated curves with the measured decays, it is evident that the rabbit IgG anti-dansyl antibodies do not have much intrinsic global coupling, but rather they are highly flexible. The curves also indicate that even for the exceptionally compact IgG4-SpA2 17-S complex, which showed the most steric hindrance in electron micrographs, the appropriate φG weighting factor is only 0.28. Thus, as supposed earlier, the anchored antibodies exhibit considerable segmental flexibility. In closing, the above concepts are used to examine the results of other reported depolarization studies with mouse monoclonal IgG1 antibodies.
Hepatic extraction of renin: Quantitation and characterization in the isolated perfused rat liver

Since the liver is thought to be the major organ for the metabolism of renin, the rate-limiting enzyme in the renin-angiotensin cascade, we examined the kinetics and regulation of renin extraction by the isolated perfused rat liver. Partially purified, hog kidney renin was continuously infused into isolated rat livers perfused in a nonrecirculating manner with serum-free medium. Concentrations of renin in the portal and hepatic veins were measured by radioimmunoassay and first-pass hepatic extraction calculated. In livers from normal rats, steady-state, first-pass hepatic extraction of porcine renin ranged from 12.3 +/- 0.9 to 25.5 +/- 3.9% of the infused dose; at high renin infusion rates, hepatic extraction was saturable. Administration of captopril, a converting enzyme inhibitor, decreased hepatic extraction of renin by approximately 60%; enalaprilat, another converting enzyme inhibitor, had no effect. First-pass hepatic extraction of renin was also inhibited by the bile acid, taurocholate, in a dose-dependent manner. However, bilateral nephrectomy, which reduced endogenous plasma renin activity to unmeasurable levels, had no significant effect on hepatic extraction of renin by livers isolated from nephrectomized rats. These results demonstrate directly that the liver extracts renin in a dose-dependent and saturable manner, although the precise mechanism of uptake remains to be determined.
Testicular characteristics of goldfish Carassium auratus, in nature and under diet limitations.

Goldfish testes were nutritionally regressed in about 115 days regardless of season and without controlled light or temperature. A gonosomatic index (testes weight ″ 100/body weight) of the regressed fish was about one tenth that of spawning fish. The regressed testes were primarily composed of spermatogonia, spermatocytes, and connective tissue. Fish testes were maintained in a regressed state for over 200 days with no change in gonosomatic index. Fish with regressed testes appeared to be in a state of “pseudohypophysectomy” with respect to gonadotropin. Pituitary replacement and a diet of 5% of the body weight per day initiated spermatogenesis and brought the regressed testes to functional maturity in one month. The results suggest that spermatogonial proliferation and the maturation of sperm have different regulatory requirements.
Carbon monoxide and nitric oxide suppress the hypoxic induction of vascular endothelial growth factor gene via the 5' enhancer

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) plays an important role in angiogenesis and blood vessel remodeling. Its expression is up-regulated in vascular smooth muscle cells by a number of conditions, including hypoxia. Hypoxia increases the transcriptional rate of VEGF via a 28-base pair enhancer located in the 5'-upstream region of the gene. The gas molecules nitric oxide (NO) and carbon monoxide (CO) are important vasodilating agents. We report here that these biological molecules can suppress the hypoxia-induced production of VEGF mRNA and protein in smooth muscle cells. In transient expression studies, both NO and CO inhibited the ability of the hypoxic enhancer we have previously identified to activate gene transcription. Furthermore, electrophoretic mobility shift assays indicated decreased binding of hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) to this enhancer by nuclear proteins isolated from CO-treated cells, although HIF-1 protein levels were unaffected by CO. Given that both CO and NO activate guanylyl cyclase to produce cGMP and that a cGMP analog (8-Br-cGMP) showed a similar suppressive effect on the hypoxic induction of the VEGF enhancer, we speculate that the suppression of VEGF by these two gas molecules occurs via a cyclic GMP-mediated pathway.
Protein synthesis by a mutant of phage S13 blocked in DNA synthesis.

Abstract Gene IV amber mutants of phage S13 are known to be blocked in the synthesis of progeny replicative form DNA (RF). Protein synthesis by a gene IV mutant has been studied in a nonpermissive host cell strain that permits phage particle formation by the standard phage at doses of ultraviolet radiation that severely depress host protein synthesis. Using gel electrophoresis analysis, it was found that the mutant formed normal amounts of all the six major protein peaks that are observed for the standard phage. (Three of the gel peaks correspond to protein-coat components.) Thus the block in DNA synthesis caused by the gene IV mutation does not switch off either transcription or translation of the majority of the phage genes. Furthermore, parental RF alone is sufficient to produce normal amounts of phage-specific protein.
Connectivity properties of large-scale sensor networks

In wireless sensor networks, both nodes and links are prone to failures. In this paper we study connectivity properties of large-scale wireless sensor networks and discuss their implicit effect on routing algorithms and network reliability. We assume a network model of n sensors which are distributed randomly over a field based on a given distribution function. The sensors may be unreliable with a probability distribution, which possibly depends on n and the location of sensors. Two active sensor nodes are connected with probability p e (n) if they are within communication range of each other. We prove a general result relating unreliable sensor networks to reliable networks. We investigate different graph theoretic properties of sensor networks such as k-connectivity and the existence of the giant component. While connectivity (i.e. k = 1) insures that all nodes can communicate with each other, k-connectivity for k > 1 is required for multi-path routing. We analyze the average shortest path of the k paths from a node in the sensing field back to a base station. It is found that the lengths of these multiple paths in a k-connected network are all close to the shortest path. These results are shown through graph theoretical derivations and are also verified through simulations.
Photoacoustic Imaging With a Commercial Ultrasound System and a Custom Probe

Building photoacoustic imaging (PAI) systems by using stand-alone ultrasound (US) units makes it convenient to take advantage of the state-of-the-art ultrasonic technologies. However, the sometimes limited receiving sensitivity and the comparatively narrow bandwidth of commercial US probes may not be sufficient to acquire high quality photoacoustic images. In this work, a high-speed PAI system has been developed using a commercial US unit and a custom built 128-element piezoelectric-polymer array (PPA) probe using a P(VDF-TrFE) film and flexible circuit to define the elements. Since the US unit supports simultaneous signal acquisition from 64 parallel receive channels, PAI data for synthetic image formation from a 64- or 128-element array aperture can be acquired after a single or dual laser firing, respectively. Therefore, two-dimensional (2-D) B-scan imaging can be achieved with a maximum frame rate up to 10 Hz, limited only by the laser repetition rate. The uniquely properties of P(VDF-TrFE) facilitated a wide -6 dB receiving bandwidth of over 120% for the array. A specially designed 128-channel preamplifier board made the connection between the array and the system cable, which not only enabled element electrical impedance matching but also further elevated the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) to further enhance the detection of weak photoacoustic signals. Through the experiments on phantoms and rabbit ears, the good performance of this PAI system was demonstrated.
The transcriptional organization of the ribosomal RNA genes in mouse L cells

Abstract The effects of ultraviolet irradiation on RNA synthesis in mouse L cells were examined. The reduction of total RNA synthesis, the maintenance of a constant rate of RNA chain initiation and the progressive truncation of 45 S ribosomal precursor RNA, all as a function of increasing u.v. dose, suggest that premature termination of transcription is the major effect of u.v. irradiation on transcription of the L cell genome. The decrease in the production of 18 S and 28 S ribosomal RNA, and 45 S ribosomal precursor RNA is exponential as a function of u.v. dose; the respective D 37 values are 310 erg/mm 2 , 130 erg/mm 2 and 90 erg/mm 2 . From these inactivation kinetics, we conclude that (1) 18 S rRNA is proximal and 28 S rRNA is distal to the promotor terminus of every 45 S precursor RNA, (2) each cistron coding for 45 S precursor RNA is identical and has its own promotor locus, and (3) partial 45 S RNA transcripts that contain one or both of the mature rRNAs are processed at normal rates. In addition, for at least 90 minutes after ultraviolet irradiation, there is no observable repair of photoproducts responsible for premature termination of transcription.
Gas solubilities in fluoride melts

Abstract The solubility behavior of HF(g) in molten fluorides is shown to be chemical in nature with covalent and ionic components. The exothermic nature of the process accounts for solubility decreasing with increase in temperature. The solubility behavior of inert gases in molten fluorides is physical in nature. The endothermic change in enthalpy appears accountable by the energy required to overcome repulsion. In this respect, the choice of He as a carrier gas in processing is a poor one because of the small molecular size.
Preliminary evidence on the allocation of U.S. Army deaths from operation Iraqi Freedom

Political influence on the use of the nation's war-making resources is considered in this study. Given the ‘tax-like’ consequences arising from military fatalities, rational political agents may engage in behavior that minimizes the negative electoral consequences resulting from the fatalities. An empirical model of the state-by-state allocation of U.S. Army fatalities resulting from Operation Iraqi Freedom is developed and tested. The results suggest that political influence originating in the White House is present in the allocation of fatalities from the military action in Iraq, but that Congressional effects, if any, are much weaker. In particular, population-adjusted fatality rates are lower in states that were highly contested ‘battleground’ states rich in Electoral College votes in the 2004 Presidential election.
A C-arm fluoroscopy-guided progressive cut refinement strategy using a surgical robot.

We describe a new method to cut a precise, high-quality femoral cavity in Revision Total Hip Replacement surgery (RTHR) using a surgical robot and an intra-operative C-arm fluoroscope. With respect to previous approaches, our method contains several new features. (1) We describe a novel checkerboard plate designed to correct the geometric distortion within fluoroscopic images. Unlike previous distortion correction devices, the plate does not completely obscure any part of the image, and the distortion correction algorithm works well even when there are some overlaid objects in the field of view. (2) Also included are a novel corkscrew fiducial object designed to be integrated with the robot end-effector, and a 6D pose estimation algorithm based on the two-dimensional (2D) projection of the corkscrew, used in robot-imager registration and imager co-registration. (3) In addition, we develop a cavity location algorithm, which utilizes image subtraction and 2D anatomy contour registration techniques. (4) Fina...
Nerve-independent formation of a topologically complex postsynaptic apparatus

As the mammalian neuromuscular junction matures, its acetylcholine receptor (AChR)–rich postsynaptic apparatus is transformed from an oval plaque into a pretzel-shaped array of branches that precisely mirrors the branching pattern of the motor nerve terminal. Although the nerve has been believed to direct postsynaptic maturation, we report here that myotubes cultured aneurally on matrix-coated substrates form elaborately branched AChR-rich domains remarkably similar to those seen in vivo. These domains share several characteristics with the mature postsynaptic apparatus, including colocalization of multiple postsynaptic markers, clustering of subjacent myonuclei, and dependence on the muscle-specific kinase and rapsyn for their formation. Time-lapse imaging showed that branched structures arise from plaques by formation and fusion of AChR-poor perforations through a series of steps mirroring that seen in vivo. Multiple fluorophore imaging showed that growth occurs by circumferential, asymmetric addition of AChRs. Analysis in vivo revealed similar patterns of AChR addition during normal development. These results reveal the sequence of steps by which a topologically complex domain forms on a cell and suggest an unexpected nerve-independent role for the postsynaptic cell in generating this topological complexity.
Effect of Coadministration of Vancomycin and BMP-2 on Cocultured Staphylococcus aureus and W-20-17 Mouse Bone Marrow Stromal Cells In Vitro

In this study, we aimed to establish an in vitro bacterium/bone cell coculture model system and to use this model for dose dependence studies of dual administration of antibiotics and growth factors in vitro. We examined the effect of single or dual administration of the antibiotic vancomycin (VAN) at 0 to 16 μg/ml and bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) at 0 or 100 ng/ml on both methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus and mouse bone marrow stromal cells (W-20-17) under both mono- and coculture conditions. Cell metabolic activity, Live/Dead staining, double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) amounts, and alkaline phosphatase activity were measured to assess cell viability, proliferation, and differentiation. An interleukin-6 (IL-6) enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit was used to test the bone cell inflammation response in the presence of bacteria. Our results suggest that, when delivered together in coculture, VAN and BMP-2 maintain their primary functions as an antibiotic and a growth factor, respectively. Most interestingly, this dual-delivery type of approach has shown itself to be effective at lower concentrations of VAN than those required for an approach relying strictly on the antibiotic. It may be that BMP-2 enhances cell proliferation and differentiation before the cells become infected. In coculture, a dosage of VAN higher than that used for treatment in monoculture may be necessary to effectively inhibit growth of Staphylococcus aureus. This could mean that the coculture environment may be limiting the efficacy of VAN, possibly by way of bacterial invasion of the bone cells. This report of a coculture study demonstrates a potential beneficial effect of the coadministration of antibiotics and growth factors compared to treatment with antibiotic alone.
Developmental Reversals in Risky Decision Making Intelligence Agents Show Larger Decision Biases Than College Students

Intelligence agents make risky decisions routinely, with serious consequences for national security. Although common sense and most theories imply that experienced intelligence professionals should be less prone to irrational inconsistencies than college students, we show the opposite. Moreover, the growth of experience-based intuition predicts this developmental reversal. We presented intelligence agents, college students, and postcollege adults with 30 risky-choice problems in gain and loss frames and then compared the three groups' decisions. The agents not only exhibited larger framing biases than the students, but also were more confident in their decisions. The postcollege adults (who were selected to be similar to the students) occupied an interesting middle ground, being generally as biased as the students (sometimes more biased) but less biased than the agents. An experimental manipulation testing an explanation for these effects, derived from fuzzy-trace theory, made the students look as biased as the agents. These results show that, although framing biases are irrational (because equivalent outcomes are treated differently), they are the ironical output of cognitively advanced mechanisms of meaning making.
Estimating Effects of Habitat Characteristics on Abundances of Three Species of Secretive Marsh Birds in Central Florida

Abstract. Wetland loss has led to population declines of many species of North American marsh birds. However, due to the secretive nature of many of these species, there is uncertainty about their population status and habitat requirements. Recently developed techniques, such as the Standardized North American Marsh Bird Monitoring Protocol and analytical methods that account for variable detection probabilities, can be used to improve both the quality and quantity of information about secretive marsh birds. In 2009 and 2010, point counts were conducted using the marsh bird monitoring protocol to count Least Bittern (Ixobrychus exilis), Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinica) and Limpkin (Aramus guarauna) in the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes, Florida. Habitat factors thought to influence abundance were compared using competing hierarchical mixture models. Abundance of Least Bittern had a positive relationship with amounts of emergent vegetative cover and interspersion (i.e., vegetation to water edge). Purple Ga...
Chemical polishing of LSO crystals to increase light output

Surface treatment of scintillators is critical for light collection from narrow rectangular crystals. The authors investigated chemical polishing which is less labor intensive and expensive than hand and machine polishing. They used phosphoric acid to chemically polish LSO crystals at 110/spl deg/C, 150/spl deg/C and 190/spl deg/C, and compared these with unpolished and mechanically polished crystals. Groups of five 2/spl times/2/spl times/10 mm crystals were etched for different times at each temperature. Weight loss, light output and energy resolution were measured as a function of treatment time and temperature. The authors found that chemical polishing can increase light output by 250% relative to unpolished crystals and by 16% relative to mechanically polished crystals. The energy resolution was relatively independent of surface treatment, with values of between 14 and 16%. The rate of loss of LSO was 0.02%/min at 110/spl deg/C, 0.1%/min at 150/spl deg/C and 0.36%/min at 190/spl deg/C. Maximum light output occurred when 5-10% of the LSO was removed. The crystals were also imaged using scanning electron microscopy and the surface roughness quantitatively assessed by using a profilometer. These measurements helped to clarify the effect of acid polishing on the surface of the scintillator. In summary, chemical polishing appears to be a convenient and effective method for improving light output from small LSO crystals.
Research-based instructional software in modern physics

In teaching mathematics or science, understanding how to incorporate instructional technology and evaluate its impact is of great importance. In this paper, we report on how we are using physics education research both as a guide to the way we develop computer-based curriculum and as a means of assessment. The context of our study is modern physics, which is a subject being taught in a growing number of classes from high school through graduate school. We focus on a computer tutorial on the photoelectric effect and its implementation in a university modern physics course for engineers and scientists.
Design parameters for a South African iceberg power and water project

Construction of an iceberg processing plant at Saldanha Bay, Republic of South Africa, is proposed. A reservoir would be constructed at Rieibaai for ice stor·age. Tidal forces would be harnessed to pump the \,arm water of Saldanha Lagoon over heat exchangers (using ammonia or propane gas as a heat exchange medium), thus providing power for electrical generators and for melting ice. A functional analysis of operations is presented, together with proposed costs . It is suggested that the fresh water and electricity produced by this system wi 11 cost 6~/m3 and 3~/kwH , respectively.
Positive Inotropy Mediated by Diacylglycerol in Rat Ventricular Myocytes

Abstract Many neurohormones stimulate phospholipid hydrolysis and elevate diacylglycerol in the mammalian heart, but the physiological consequences of these intracellular events are unclear. Regulation of myocardial contraction by diacylglycerol was investigated in the present study by releasing the diacylglycerol analogue dioctanoylglycerol (diC8) within adult rat ventricular myocytes by using a light-sensitive caged compound. This approach permitted us to avoid exposure of myocytes to extracellular diC8 and yet to control the amount of diC8 released into the cells. Photorelease of diC8 produced a slowly developing (half-time, 1.9±0.1 minute; n=26) but robust (406±42%) enhancement of twitch amplitude in electrically paced myocytes (0.5 Hz, 1 mmol/L Ca2+ Ringer’s solution [pH 7.4], 22°C). This positive inotropic effect was dose dependent, stereospecific for the S-enantiomer of diC8, synergistically enhanced by arachidonic acid, and blocked by the protein kinase C inhibitor chelerythrine. The data provide ...
Disaster response and group self-care.

TOPIC. This article reports on group support using Psychological First Aid during Katrina relief work. It explores this issue from personal experience and a theoretical perspective. PURPOSE. Group support is useful for volunteers as well as refugees and makes it possible to deal with extraordinary events of disaster more successfully. CONCLUSIONS. The use of group work with disaster and trauma survivors can have an immediate positive impact and lasting consequences in preventing post-traumatic stress disorder. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS. APRNs would benefit from group training in present centered therapy, acute debriefing, supportive, cognitive behavioral, and psychodynamic approaches. The ability to conduct groups with trauma survivors and professionals during disasters is a vital skill and service to provide immediate relief and constructive coping. Language: en
Three Ideologies of Individualism: Toward Assimilating a Theory of Individualisms and their Consequences:

Accompanying capitalism, individualistic beliefs have advanced individual rights and freedoms. Social critics, however, argue that individualism justifies inequalities by suggesting that barriers t...
Measuring Engagement to Stimulate Critical Thinking

This research is a theoretical study of game-augmented instruction for learning and playing mathematics challenges. We wanted to extend our work with a unique Studio-Based Learning (SBL) model for peer-critiques of project designs. SBL had been used successfully in 15 universities as an approach for helping undergraduate computer science students improve their programming skills and code reviews. We piloted the model in a 9th-grade spatial studies class with some success in teaching freshmen how to critique their work and participate in peer reviews across teams. From those experiences we developed a framework for an interactive mobile application of the studio experience. Research with a group of student athletes revealed that before mobile development, we needed to consider the constraints of learner characteristics on the mobile environment. This study sets out the design for a pilot test of our finding that learning style may drive game features for instruction.
TTS: a two-tiered scheduling mechanism for energy conservation in wireless sensor networks

In this paper, we present a two-tiered scheduling approach for effective energy conservation in wireless sensor networks. The effectiveness of this mechanism relies on dynamically updated two-tiered scheduling architecture. We aim to prolong network lifetime, while preserving the major requirements of wireless sensor networks: coverage and connectivity. In this approach, sensors are periodically scheduled into sleep in two phases using weighted greedy algorithms that can be deployed either centralised or distributed. First, we establish a coverage-tier by selecting a set of sensors that fully covers the sensing field. Thus, sensors that are not selected for the coverage-tier, are put into sleep immediately. However, the coverage-tier sensors do not necessarily stay active all the time when events are not reported. Therefore, a second tier, called connectivity-tier, is formed to deliver data traffic to a sink node. Thus sensors, essential to coverage-tier but not in connectivity-tier may periodically sleep and become active only for sending new sensing measurement and receiving queries from the sink to preserve coverage for energy savings. In addition, periodically rotating the coverage and connectivity tiers is performed in order to maximise network lifetime and achieve fairness of energy consumption. Through extensive simulations in ns2, we demonstrate that the two-tier scheduling can reduce average energy consumption up to 40% while balancing the residual energy of sensors.
Plenary Speech 2P2: Statistical Techniques to Achieve Robustness and Quality

Summary form only given. Variability due to manufacturing, environmental and aging uncertainties constitutes one of the major challenges in continuing CMOS scaling. Worst-case design is simply not feasible any more.This presentation will describe how statistical timing techniques can be used to reduce pessimism, achieve full-chip and full-process coverage, and enable robust design practices. A practical ASIC methodology based on statistical timing will be described. Robust optimization techniques will be discussed. Variability makes post-manufacturing testing a daunting task. Process coverage is a new metric that must be considered. Statistical techniques to improve quality in the context of at-speed test will be presented. Key research initiatives required to achieve elements of a statistical design flow will be described.
Theory of monosynaptic transfer between neuron populations

This paper presents a theory for the input-output transformation involved in diffuse monosynaptic activation in a neural tissue or organ system of one population of neurons by another. Main findings are: (1) highly diffuse monosynaptic linkages act very much like filters, selectively sensitive to synchronized clusters of action potentials among the fibers of the input population; (2) partially diffuse monosynaptic linkages are capable of effecting either an amplification or diminution of the number of pulses involved in a single synchronized cluster, depending on parameters of the system; and (3) partially diffuse and spatially organized monosynaptic linkages are capable of effecting a spatial inversion of fine-grained spatial patterns. Theoretical predictions are clarified by mathematical analysis and computer simulation.