cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Totally in vitro protein selection using mRNA-protein fusions and ribosome display

Both chemists and biochemists have great interest in creating peptides and proteins with desired structure, recognition and catalytic properties. Recently, two techniques have been developed that afford functional selection of proteins entirely in vitro : mRNA-protein fusions, and ribosome display. Improvements in both methods have allowed peptide and protein libraries of unprecedented size (10 11 –10 13 different members) to be generated and screened for function.
Human colostrum oligosaccharides modulate major immunologic pathways of immature human intestine

The immature neonatal intestinal immune system hyperreacts to newly colonizing unfamiliar bacteria. The hypothesis that human milk oligosaccharides from colostrum (cHMOSs) can directly modulate the signaling pathways of the immature mucosa was tested. Modulation of cytokine immune signaling by HMOSs was measured ex vivo in intact immature (fetal) human intestinal mucosa. From the genes whose transcription was modulated by cHMOSs, Ingenuity Pathway Analysis identified networks controlling immune cell communication, intestinal mucosal immune system differentiation, and homeostasis. cHMOSs attenuate pathogen-associated molecular pattern-stimulated acute phase inflammatory cytokine protein levels (interleukin-8 (IL-8), IL-6, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1/2 and IL-1β), while elevating cytokines involved in tissue repair and homeostasis. In all, 3'-, 4-, and 6'-galactosyllactoses of cHMOSs account for specific immunomodulation of polyinosinic:polycytodylic acid-induced IL-8 levels. cHMOSs attenuate mucosal responses to surface inflammatory stimuli during early development, while enhancing signals that support maturation of the intestinal mucosal immune system.
Reduction of sera requirements in amniotic fluid cell culture

Reduction in serum requirement for culture of primary human amniotic fluid cells can be achieved by the addition of 10 growth-promoting factors to the nutrient medium. This supplemented medium preserves cell types normally found in amniotic fluid cell cultures supplemented with 20-30 per cent fetal bovine serum. The volume of amniotic fluid required to initiate culture can be as little as 1 ml. Amniotic fluid samples contaminated with red blood cells with no visible clot also grow well in the low serum medium. Cell-free amniotic fluid combined with equal parts of supplemented medium is useful in initiating cell culture.
Improved PID Control Using an Adaptive Two-Input Single-Output Coarse/Fine Approach

In robotic manufacturing, the qualities of responsiveness (speed) and accuracy are both desirable, but these two goals tend to oppose each other. A theoretical model of an adaptive PID controller for robotic and other actuated mechanical systems is presented here in pursuit of these combined objectives. Emphasis is placed on rotational velocity control using multiple inputs to produce a single desired output. Shared control of the system between two motors is proposed such that dominance of each motor controller shifts smoothly as a function of error signal based on the kinematic combination of the motor inputs (continuously sliding modes). Performance and stability analyses are provided to illustrate the behavior of the system based on operating parameters.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Do Estate and Gift Taxes Have Economic Consequences? A Guide to the Evidence

During recent years, there has been increasing interest in the analysis of estate taxation, intergenerational transfers, entrepreneurship, and economic activity. This annotated bibliography consists of 13 articles and monographs that address one or more of these issues. These selections include some of the most important work in this field. This paper is not intended to be an exhaustive survey, but rather to provide a starting point for those interested in this important area of research.
Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI of Gd-albumin delivery to the rat hippocampus in vivo by convection-enhanced delivery.

Convection-enhanced delivery (CED) shows promise in treating neurological diseases due to its ability to circumvent the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and deliver therapeutics directly to the parenchyma of the central nervous system (CNS). Such a drug delivery method may be useful in treating CNS disorders involving the hippocampus such as temporal lobe epilepsy and gliomas; however, the influence of anatomical structures on infusate distribution is not fully understood. As a surrogate for therapeutic agents, we used gadolinium-labeled-albumin (Gd-albumin) tagged with Evans Blue dye to observe the time dependence of CED infusate distributions into the rat dorsal and ventral hippocampus in vivo with dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI). For finer anatomical detail, final distribution volumes (Vd) of the infusate were observed with high-resolution T1-weighted MR imaging and light microscopy of fixed brain sections. Dynamic images demonstrated that Gd-albumin preferentially distributed within the hippocampus along neuroanatomical structures with less fluid resistance and less penetration was observed in dense cell layers. Furthermore, significant leakage into adjacent cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) spaces such as the hippocampal fissure, velum interpositum and midbrain cistern occurred toward the end of infusion. Vd increased linearly with infusion volume (Vi) at a mean Vd/Vi ratio of 5.51 ± 0.55 for the dorsal hippocampus infusion and 5.30 ± 0.83 for the ventral hippocampus infusion. This study demonstrated the significant effects of tissue structure and CSF space boundaries on infusate distribution during CED.
Depositional Controls on Production in San Andres Stratigraphic Traps, Southeastern New Mexico: ABSTRACT

The San Andres Formation of Permian age (late Leonardian-early Guadalupian) is the most prolific producer of hydrocarbons within the Permian basin. The Levelland-Slaughter trend, located in the northwestern shelf province, is a series of east-west-trending fields characterized by stratigraphically controlled, updip porosity pinchouts from porous dolomites to nonporous dolomites and evaporites. Equivalent facies crop out in Chaves and Lincoln Counties, New Mexico. Outcrop study and examination of subsurface data from shallow pay zones within the Diablo, Linda, and Twin Lakes fields, indicate that a variety of high- and low-energy subtidal facies serve as reservoirs. These include (1) oolite packstones and grainstones, (2) wispy-laminated crinoid wackestones, (3) fossiliferous wackestones, and (4) ripple-laminated pellet grainstones. These facies were deposited as a mosaic in channels, lagoons, shoals, and shallow open-marine environments. Vertical and lateral facies relationships are therefore highly variable and play a major role in reservoir heterogeneity. Secondary porosity is wholly responsible for oil production, although the depositional setting controls its type and abundance. Intercrystalline porosity is characteristic of the mud-rich facies and is crucial for economic production. Sucrosic textures associated with coarse crystalline dolomite and large intercrystalline pores provide the highest production potential. Moldic porosity is characteristic of the oolitic and fossiliferous facies, but pores are disconnected and only marginally productive unless combined with fractures. Producing intervals are sealed by tight dolomite mudstones and a thick (5-10 ft), laterally continuous bed of nodular mosaic anhydrite. Unequivocal evidence for supratidal sabkha deposition of this lithofacies is absent. The location of the sealing anhydrite and the presence of high intercrystalline porosity in the underlying subtidal facies are the most important factors determining San Andres production. End_of_Article - Last_Page 253------------
Electronic reconstruction at an interface between a Mott insulator and a band insulator

Surface science is an important and well-established branch of materials science involving the study of changes in material properties near a surface or interface. A fundamental issue has been atomic reconstruction: how the surface lattice symmetry differs from the bulk. 'Correlated-electron compounds' are materials in which strong electron-electron and electron-lattice interactions produce new electronic phases, including interaction-induced (Mott) insulators, many forms of spin, charge and orbital ordering, and (presumably) high-transition-temperature superconductivity. Here we propose that the fundamental issue for the new field of correlated-electron surface/interface science is 'electronic reconstruction': how does the surface/interface electronic phase differ from that in the bulk? As a step towards a general understanding of such phenomena, we present a theoretical study of an interface between a strongly correlated Mott insulator and a band insulator. We find dramatic interface-induced electronic reconstructions: in wide parameter ranges, the near-interface region is metallic and ferromagnetic, whereas the bulk phase on either side is insulating and antiferromagnetic. Extending the analysis to a wider range of interfaces and surfaces is a fundamental scientific challenge and may lead to new applications for correlated electron materials.
Influence of the g boson on the interacting boson approximation Hamiltonian

The interacting boson approximation Hamiltonian for $s$ and $d$ bosons is renormalized in lowest order for the effects of the $g$ boson using second-order perturbation theory in a single $j$ shell approximation. In this paper only the correction term which renormalizes the single-boson energy is investigated in detail, with a specific application to the Ba isotopes. In the evaluation of this correction, the general form of the matrix elements of two-body quadrupole operators, taken between paired-fermion states, is obtained. Our numerical results for Ba indicate that the effects of the $g$ boson on the single-boson energy are of the correct sign and magnitude and that a perturbative approach to including these effects appears to be appropriate.
Public spending for children: an empirical note

It is often said that economic growth promotes poverty reduction, social development and child welfare, but it is rarely argued that this conditional relationship applies in reverse. Direct action to improve child health and education may be as strong as economic growth in reducing income-poverty. Without specific policies to ensure access to basic social services (BSS) like basic health, primary education access to safe water—services which directly improve children's lives—economic growth seldom improves the quality of life of the whole population. Thus, it becomes crucial to measure and monitor the allocation of public spending to BSS. In this paper, based on research carried out by UNDP and UNICEF in more than 30 countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America, we summarise some findings of these studies. The figures vary among countries and through time, but public expenditure on BSS is, on average, between 12 and 14 per cent of government spending. Such low fiscal priority to these services partly accounts for the poor health and education outcomes. In many low-income, highly indebted countries, the low level of spending is explained by the lack of fiscal space. Hence the need for debt cancellation at a faster pace than achieved through the HIPC Initiative so far. Data on the use of education and health services by different groups show inequities in the distribution of public spending. This inequity negatively affects overall outcomes. We also look at the allocation of foreign assistance to BSS. ODA has been declining, as a proportion of the output of industrialised countries, since the early 1980s. Within this shrinking total, no DAC country's combined allocation for BSS exceeded 16.5 per cent of ODA. Hence also the need for rapid increases in ODA for basic services. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Aldehyde-functional polycarbonates as reactive platforms

Ozonolysis of allyl-functional polycarbonates provides aldehyde-functional polycarbonates that have potential to be reactive platforms for transformation into diverse active materials.
Pathophysiology, prevention, and potential treatment of neural tube defects.

Neural tube defects (NTD) remain a major cause of morbidity in spite of the reduction in liveborn incidence with periconceptional folic acid. However, the etiology remains unknown. This article reviews studies that address causation and potential treatment of NTD in humans and in animal models that resemble aspects of the common human NTD. Studies of nutritional markers of vitamin B12 and folic acid support a defect in homocysteine metabolism; a thermolabile variant of methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase, an enzyme that remethylates homocysteine to methionine, correlates with a risk of NTD in some human populations. Numerous mouse mutant models of NTD exist, attesting to the ease of disruption of neurulation, and a genetic basis for this malformation. Of these models, the curly tail mouse mutant most closely resembles the common human NTD. Folic acid does not prevent NTD in this model; however inositol supplementation does result in a significant reduction in incidence. Recent advances in fetal surgery, and evidence from mechanically created myelomeningocele in large animals amenable to surgical intervention suggest that the handicaps associated with myelomeningocele and associated Chiari Type II malformation may be prevented by in utero NTD closure. Success will depend on preservation of neurological tissue until such intervention is possible. Further research in animal models at the genetic and cellular levels, together with technological surgical advances, provide hope that prevention of more NTD and the associated handicaps may be possible. MRDD Research Reviews 6:6-14, 2000.
The theory of monetary integration

Research dealing with the theory of monetary integration is reviewed. After briefly describing the genesis of the theory as foreshadowed in work on optimum currency areas, the paper assesses two main areas of recent research — the analysis of the effects of disturbances on participating countries in a currency area, and reputational considerations. With regard to disturbances, the paper finds that it is difficult to draw clear-out inferences from theoretical work on the optimal degree of exchange rate management and from empirical studies on the effects of shocks. Work on reputational issues is found to suffer from conceptual problems and has generated empirical results that have not supported the hypothesis that participation in a currency area is a sufficient condition to enhance reputation.
Flow sorting of fetal erythroblasts using intracytoplasmic anti‐fetal haemoglobin: Preliminary observations on maternal samples

Monoclonal antibody to fetal haemoglobin (alpha 2 gamma 2) has been proposed as a fetal-specific reagent. We developed an intracellular staining protocol that combines fluorescein isothiocyanate or phycoerythrin conjugated anti-gamma with the DNA binding dye Hoechst 33342 to identify and flow sort fetal erythroblasts from maternal blood. Our preliminary observations on anti-gamma-positive cells sorted from four different pregnant women are described here, using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) with chromosome-specific probes to identify fetal cells. Our data demonstrate that far fewer candidate fetal cells are sorted with this protocol than by current cell surface staining methods that employ the monoclonal antibody CD71. This results in increased fetal cell sorting purities. With this protocol, standard FISH techniques require modification due to the rigorous fixation with 4 per cent paraformaldehyde. Our initial data indicate the promise of this approach.
Fault-Tolerant Neural Network Algorithm for Flush Air Data Sensing

A fault-tolerant neural network algorithm was successfully developed for use with flush air data sensing systems. This algorithm is composed of a combination of aerodynamic and neural network models used to translate a discrete pressure distribution from the nose of an aircraft into a set of air data parameters, including static pressure, dynamic pressure, Mach number, angle of attack, and angle of sideslip. Techniques were developed to detect and eliminate the effect of a lost signal from the measured pressure distribution. This system was evaluated with archived data, and its performance was compared with a signal processing system based completely on aerodynamic models
Practicing What We Preach? The Influence of a Societal Interest Value on Civic Engagement

Recently, much attention has focused on declining levels of civic engagement as a symptom of a wide range of social ills. Some claim that Americans' tendency to endorse individualistic beliefs to the exclusion of a collective or societal interest value accounts for declining levels of civic engagement. This study investigated whether a value commitment to benefit the collective, called societal interest, helps to explain civic engagement. Data from the 1990–1992 National Election Studies panel study were used to evaluate whether a societal interest value helps to explain participation in community affairs and efforts to solve collective problems. The findings support the hypothesis that societal interest influences the likelihood of engaging in behavior to benefit the collective. These findings support the view that human behavior is influenced by multiple motives (including a desire to benefit the collective). Expressions of commitment to societal interest are more than mere lip service to noble ideals; they have real consequences for behavior.
Exact topological π-electron Hamiltonians from ab initio wavefunctions?

A general topological π-electron Hamiltonian is defined as an appropriate function of the adjacency matrix. It is shown that any electronic property of a planar benzenoid hydrocarbon, including its all-electron wavefunction, is entirely determined by the topological π-electron Hamiltonian describing the hydrocarbon. However, using electronic wavefunctions (calculated at the HF/6-31G** level) of several such hydrocarbons as examples, it is demonstrated that it is impossible to construct topological Hamiltonians with eigenvectors related by simple universal algebraic formulae to the corresponding occupied Hartree-Fock orbitals of π symmetry. This observation casts doubt on the usefulness of the Huckel π-electron orbitals in understanding the electronic structures of benzenoid systems.
Design in the nano-scale Era: Low-power, reliability, and error resiliency

Scaling of technology over the last few decades has produced an exponential growth in computing power of integrated circuits and an unprecedented number of transistors integrated into a single chip. However, scaling is facing several problems — severe short channel effects, exponential increase in leakage current, increased process parameter variations, and new reliability concerns. We believe that device aware circuit and architecture design along with statistical design techniques can provide large improvement in power dissipation (Vdd scaling) while providing the required reliability and yield. In this talk I will present design techniques to address power and reliability problems in scaled technologies for both logic and memories.
p-adic interpolation of Taylor coefficients of modular forms

In this paper we show that the Taylor coefficients of a Hecke eigenform at a CM-point, suitably modified, form a sequence of algebraic numbers that satisfy the Kubota–Leopoldt generalization of the Kummer congruences for primes that split in the imaginary quadratic field associated with a CM-point. More generally, we show that these numbers are moments of a certain p-adic measure. In addition, we write down explicitly the “Euler factor” at p in terms of the p th Hecke eigenvalue of the modular form in question and certain data of the CM-point.
Inner Margin of Baltimore Canyon Trough: Future Exploration Play: ABSTRACT

A structure contour map derived from interpretation of offshore seismic reflection profiles and onshore well control shows the configuration of the pre-Mesozoic age (crystalline) basement of the inner margin of the Baltimore Canyon trough (coastal plain and near offshore) from the Long Island platform to Cape Hatteras. Major structural features are north-south aligned grabens and half-grabens (rift basins) that contain probable Triassic-Jurassic age continental and lacustrine sedimentary rocks that were truncated and later onlapped by the sedimentary fill of the Baltimore Canyon trough. Other fault structures appear to be associated with the hinge zone of the Baltimore Canyon trough and its landward structural sag called the Chesapeake-Delaware embayment. Many of the structural features of the basement are at depths shallow enough (< 20,000-25,000 ft, 6,100-7,500 m) to be tested by drilling. Closely spaced seismic-reflection profiling would be required to provide detail for locating petroleum prospects. Likely petroleum source beds are the lacustrine shales of the rift basins and, farther offshore, the more deeply buried organic carbon-rich shales in the sedimentary fill of the Baltimore Canyon trough. Potential structural-stratigraphic traps might be found within the rift basins. Petroleum prospects in the overlying section might include drape over basement highs, pinch-outs against basement, and growth fault structures controlled by basement faults. End_of_Article - Last_Page 454------------
Male reproductive strategies in new world primates.

Patterns of three variables of reproductive strategies in male New World primates are examined: (i) how males obtain access to potential mates; (ii) how males obtain actual mating opportunities; and (iii) how males affect infant survival and female reproductive success. Male opportunities to associate with females, whether by remaining in their natal groups, dispersing and forming new groups, or dispersing and taking over or joining established groups, are strongly influenced by local population densities and correlate with female reproductive rates and the extent of female reproductive seasonality and synchrony. Differences in male mating success are affected by female accessibility, whether male-male and male-female relationships are hierarchical or egalitarian, and whether female reproduction is seasonally restricted. Patterns of male behavior toward infants, characterized as active assistance, overt interference, or benign tolerance, appear to co-vary with differences in the degree to which males can affect female reproductive rates.These qualitative analyses suggest that the reproductive strategies of male New World primates can be classified along a continuum ranging from conservative to daring depending on whether female reproductive rates are relatively slow or fast and whether reproduction is strongly or weakly linked to seasonal ecological variables. Males adopt the conservative strategy of staying in their natal groups, forfeiting exclusive mating opportunities, and treating infants with tolerance when female reproduction is constrained by ecological factors. Conversely, males adopt the more daring strategy of dispersing and competing when potential payoffs through their ability to affect female reproduction are high.
Formal inversion of laterally heterogeneous velocity structure from P‐wave polarization data

SUMMARY We use seismic wave polarization directions to determine three-dimensional seismic velocity structure. Linearized inverse theory is used. The data kernel, which represents the change in polarization direction at the receiver due to perturbations in the velocity structure is computed by a variational technique that employs ray integrals. Three-dimensional tests of the method using synthetic data demonstrate its accuracy and usefulness in the presence of noise.
Understanding the behavior and implications of context switch misses

One of the essential features in modern computer systems is context switching, which allows multiple threads of execution to time-share a limited number of processors. While very useful, context switching can introduce high performance overheads, with one of the primary reasons being the cache perturbation effect. Between the time a thread is switched out and when it resumes execution, parts of its working set in the cache may be perturbed by other interfering threads, leading to (context switch) cache misses to recover from the perturbation.The goal of this article is to understand how cache parameters and application behavior influence the number of context switch misses the application suffers from. We characterize a previously unreported type of context switch misses that occur as the artifact of the interaction of cache replacement policy and an application's temporal reuse behavior. We characterize the behavior of these “reordered misses” for various applications, cache sizes, and various amount of cache perturbation. As a second contribution, we develop an analytical model that reveals the mathematical relationship between cache design parameters, an application's temporal reuse pattern, and the number of context switch misses the application suffers from. We validate the model against simulation studies and find that it is sufficiently accurate in predicting the trends of context switch misses with regard to various cache perturbation amount.The mathematical relationship provided by the model allows us to derive insights into precisely why some applications are more vulnerable to context switch misses than others. Through a case study on prefetching, we find that prefetching tends to aggravate the number of context switch misses and a less aggresive prefetching technique can reduce the number of context switch misses the application suffers from. We also investigate how cache sizes affect context switch misses. Our study shows that under relatively heavy workloads in the system, the worst-case number of context switch misses an application suffers from tends to increase proportionally with cache sizes, to the extent that may completely negate the reduction in other types of cache misses.
Emergency radiology coverage: technical and clinical feasibility of an international teleradiology model.

The purpose of the study was to determine the feasibility of international teleradiology, utilizing day–night time differences, for online interpretation of overnight computed tomography (CT) studies. One hundred and two consecutive Emergency Room patients who underwent CT examinations between the hours of 11 pm and 7 am were enrolled. All age groups and study types were included. CT studies were transmitted from the in-hospital PACS system (Kodak, Fremont, Calif.) to a web-based server (Medweb, San Francisco, Calif.). A radiologist in Bangalore, India, working an 8 am to 4 pm day shift, downloaded and reviewed the studies on a desktop PC using a 128-kbps internet connection at 10–20:1 wavelet compression and generated a report. The report was then uploaded to the server, noting the time at upload. Each study report was compared with the official in-house diagnostic report and concordance assessed on a three-point scale. Mean download time was 8.14 s per image. For head CT reports (n=47), the mean turnaround time for a final transcribed report was 39.5 min. For abdomen/pelvis CT reports (n=48) the mean turnaround time was 84.4 min. Out of 106 cases, there was discordance between the clinical diagnostic report and the study report in 20 (19%); however, on subsequent review the teleradiology report was found to be correct in 13 of these. Day–night time differences across the globe can be utilized to provide overnight emergency radiology coverage using web-based teleradiology. Scan download and report upload times are within acceptable limits.
Multivitamin supplementation and multiple births.

It is well established that maternal multivitamin supplementation reduces the risk of neural tube defects and evidence suggests that it may be associated with other reproductive outcomes. The present study was prompted by a report from a randomized trial in Hungary which showed a 40% increase in multiple births among periconceptional vitamin users. Retrospectively collected data on multivitamin supplementation were obtained on multiple and singleton births from three separate studies: Atlanta Birth Defects Case-Control Study (ABDCCS) malformed and nonmalformed infants born 1968-1980, California Birth Defects Monitoring Program (CBDMP) malformed and nonmalformed infants born 1987-1989, and Boston University Slone Epidemiology Unit Birth Defects Study (SEU-BDS) malformed infants born 1987-1994. Supplementation was divided into three mutually exclusive categories based on timing: “periconceptional” use—before through at least the third month after conception; “early” use—beginning in the first month and continuing through at least the third month after conception; and “later” use—beginning in the second or third month after conception. For periconceptional use, four of five datasets showed a 30 to 60% greater prevalence of supplementation among mothers of multiple births. In contrast, this pattern was not evident for “early” and “later” use. Overall, the study findings are tentative, due to a lack of consistency across all five datasets and they should not alter recent recommendations related to folate supplementation for the prevention of neural tube defects. Am. J. Med. Genet. 71:93–96, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Problems of fracture of metals in hydrogen-sulfide media

We consider the principal types of fracture of steels in hydrogen-sulfide media and the methods used for their investigation. The analysis of the available literature on hydrogen-sulfide corrosion cracking of low-alloy structural steels shows that, in order to guarantee their high fracture resistance, it is necessary to decrease the sulfur content of these steels to 0.002–0.005%. The procedure of alloying of steels with rare-earth metals, as a result of which nonmetallic inclusions take globular shape and sulfur is bound in thermodynamically stable sulfides, also gives a positive effect. It is demonstrated that the ferritic-austenitic and chromium-nickel-molybdenum austenitic steels exhibit the highest resistance to hydrogen-sulfide cracking among stainless steels. It is also established that, under asymmetric stresses, the high resistance of steels to hydrogen-sulfide stress-corrosion cracking does not guarantee their high corrosionfatigue strength and, in this case, the influence of the amplitude of stresses is stronger than the influence of the mean value. The directions of subsequent investigations of the influence of hydrogen-sulfide and chloride media on the serviceability of metals are outlined.
Stereotypes of traditional and nontraditional childbearing roles

Childless college students (135 male, 135 female) evaluated one of three childbearing orientations by means of an adjective check list (ACL) and multiple-choice questions. Participants read one of three paragraphs describing a hypothetical woman who was either pregnant and happy with the pregnancy, pregnant and not happy with the pregnancy, or intentionally childfree. Results showed favorable stereotyping of pregnant-happy, strongly unfavorable stereotyping of pregnant-unhappy, and no stereotyping of childfree. Implications for research on childbearing orientations are discussed, as are participants' own plans regarding marriage, employment, and parenthood.
A qualitative study of the nodulating ability of legumes of Pakistan. List 5

Summary Legume-Rhizobium symbiosis accumulates substantial amounts of mineralizable nitrogen which helps in ecological rehabilitation of degraded soils and increases the soil fertility in agricultural ecosystem. Nodulation was studied in 72 legume species from various parts of Pakistan. All the species of Papilionoideae and Mimosoideae were nodulated, whereas all the species examined in Caesalpinioideae were non-nodulated. Attempts to elicit nodulation in Caesalpinioid species by rhizobial inoculation were not successful and they were accepted as lacking nodulating ability. Nodulation is reported for the first time in six species within three genera of Mimosoideae and nine species within five genera of Papilionoideae. Majority of the species were abundantly nodulated under natural soil conditions or when grown in uninoculated garden soil indicating distribution of wide range of naturalized rhizobia. The study shows that the wild legumes hold great promise for inclusion in revegetation of denuded and derel...
Metal binding studies with Macrocyclic Hexathioethers: Transition Metal Complexes of 22S6 and 20S6”,

The two macrocyclic hexathioethers, 1,4,7,12,15,18-hexathiacyclodocosane (22S6) and 1,4,7,11,14,17-hexathiacycloeicosane (20S6) have been examined with respect to their complexation behavior towards a variety of transition metals ions. In all of these complexes, the two ligands generate relatively strong ligand field, but their field strengths fall between the smaller ring and stronger field hexathioether ligands (such as 18S6) and larger ring and weaker field ligands, such as 24S6. The stability of the complexes towards hydrolysis parallels their reduced field strengths with first row transition metal complexes of both ligands showing enhanced sensitivity to solvolysis reactions compared to the analogous 18S6 complexes. In general, the electrochemical behavior of the hexathioether complexes shows metal centered oxidations which occur at higher potentials than those complexes involving trithioethers. We suggest that the hexathioether ligand is less able to expand and contract during the reduction and oxidation of the metal center. The complex [Pd(22S6)]2+ does not display the unusual spectroscopic and electrochemical properties observed in the analogous 18S6 complex.
Effects of Powdered Activated Carbon Pore Size Distribution on the Competitive Adsorption of Aqueous Atrazine and Natural Organic Matter

The pore size distribution (PSD) of adsorbents has been found to be an important factor that affects adsorption capacity for organic compounds; consequently, it should influence competitive adsorpt...
Optimal Inoculation Methods and Quality Control for the NCCLS Oxacillin Agar Screen Test for Detection of Oxacillin Resistance in Staphylococcus aureus

To define more precisely the inoculation methods to be used in the oxacillin screen test for Staphylococcus aureus, we tested agar screen plates prepared in house with 6 μg of oxacillin/ml and 4% NaCl using the four different inoculation methods that would most likely be used by clinical laboratories. The organisms selected for testing were 19 heteroresistant mecA-producing strains and 41 non-mecA-producing strains for which oxacillin MICs were near the susceptible breakpoint. The inoculation method that was preferred by all four readers and that resulted in the best combination of sensitivity and specificity was a 1-μl loopful of a 0.5 McFarland suspension. A second objective of the study was to then use this method to inoculate plates from five different manufacturers of commercially prepared media. Although all commercial media performed with acceptable sensitivity compared to the reference lot, one of the commercial lots demonstrated a lack of specificity. Those lots of oxacillin screen medium that fail to grow heteroresistant strains can be detected by using S. aureus ATCC 43300 as a positive control in the test and by using transmitted light to carefully examine the plates for any growth. However, lack of specificity with commercial lots may be difficult to detect using any of the current quality control organisms.
Developing skilled performance of lumbar spine manipulation

Abstract Objective: To quantify elements of spinal manipulation therapy performance and to test the strategy of combined rehearsal and quantitative feedback as a means of enhancing student skill development. Design: Randomized, controlled study. Setting: Chiropractic college. Subjects: Thirty-nine chiropractic student volunteers entering the manipulation technique training course participated after providing informed consent. Methods: Student performance of lumbar spinal manipulation therapy was quantified at the beginning, middle, and end of a trimester with a manipulation tableimbedded with an AMTI force plate. Loads acting passing through the L5/S1 functional spinal unit were estimated by inverse dynamics. Participating students rehearsed the mamillary push, diversified procedure following either the standard curriculum alone or a modified curriculum adding a training aidas assigned on a randomized basis. Student's t and χ 2 tests were used to explore and describe biomechanical parameter changes over time as the semester progressed. Results: Significant changes in performance between the standard curriculum and modified curriculum were observed in several biomechanical parameters. Conclusion: The reported project used a rehearsal program defined empirically and was self-administered in practice by the student. Results demonstrated significant changes in performance of spinal manipulation by students using the training aid instrument versus those who did not. With quantitative training aids and biomechanical measurement systems, future training programs may be optimized and tested. (J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2002;25:353-61)
Human Acellular Dermal Matrix Grafts for Rhinoplasty

Rhinoplasty often relies on graft material for structural support in the form of cartilage, bone grafts, or fascia. In addition, pliable grafts are often helpful for contouring and can function as a barrier. Unfortunately, grafts carry the disadvantage of requiring an additional donor site, with associated complications. Human acellular dermal matrix (ADM) biological implants offer an exciting alternative for structural support and nonstructural implantation in rhinoplasty procedures. To examine the efficacy of ADM placement in rhinoplasty and septoplasty, the authors report the results from a series of 51 patients. In this series, there were no cases of infection, skin discoloration, seroma formation, septal perforation, significant resorption, extrusion, or other complications related to ADM placement. Therefore, the authors believe that ADM offers a safe and effective alternative to traditional grafting methods for functional and aesthetic rhinoplasty.
Reactivity of Metal Oxide Sorbents for Removal of Sulfur Compounds from Coal Gases at High Temperature and Pressure

Abstract Hot-gas desulfurization for the integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) process has been investigated to effectively remove hydrogen sulfide with various metal oxide sorbents at high temperatures and pressures. Metal oxide sorbents such as zinc titanate oxide, zinc ferrite oxide, copper oxide, manganese oxide, and calcium oxide were found to be promising sorbents in comparison with other removal methods such as membrane separation and reactive membrane separation. The removal reaction of H2S from coal gas mixtures with zinc titanate oxide sorbents was conducted in a batch reactor. The main objectives of this research are to formulate promising metal oxide sorbents for removal of hydrogen sulfide from coal gas mixtures, to compare reactivity of a formulated sorbent with a sorbent supplied by the Research Triangle Institute at high temperatures and pressures, and to determine effects of concentrations of moisture contained in coal gas mixtures, and to determine effects of concentrations of mo...
Broadband, low-profile antenna for portable data terminal

The planar inverted F antenna (PIFA) and the closely-related quarter-wave microstrip antenna are well-known, low-profile antenna designs which offer broad bandwidth and high radiation efficiency. These antennas offer reduced size over traditional microstrip patch antennas because they operate at quarter-wave rather than half-wave resonance. The PIFA offers much improved bandwidth over the wire inverted F antenna from which it was derived. Nevertheless, only moderate impedance bandwidths have been achieved even with the use of external matching elements. Several approaches have been used to improve the bandwidth of PIFAs. One particularly good approach has been the use of an edge-coupled, parasitic quarter-wave resonator in what was termed a "radiation coupled inverted L" configuration. Here, two designs based on an arrangement of stacked, broadside-coupled resonators are presented. The lowest resonator is essentially a wide, flat PIFA while the upper resonator(s) is a dielectric loaded microstrip patch antenna. In contrast to stacked microstrip patch designs, the top resonator is directly fed, while the actual PIFA is capacitively coupled to the patch resonator. As will be shown here, this new design gives broad bandwidth (15 percent) in a package which protrudes only 1/40th of a wavelength (at center frequency) from the handheld unit to which it is mounted. This broad bandwidth design can thus serve as a low-profile multi-function antenna thereby reducing the number of antennas required for some handheld data terminals.
Worker sensitivity and reactivity: Indicators of worker susceptibility to nasal irritation

This study examines the determinants of susceptibility to the irritant effects of sodium borate in 18 responsive workers identified through repeated self-reports of nasal irritation. For each worker, susceptibility was characterized by two features; reactivity and sensitivity, as estimated from the slope and intercept parameters from their individual exposure-response regression model. Individual estimates of reactivity and sensitivity were then examined to evaluate the importance of personal and environmental characteristics in determining susceptibility. The use of nasal sprays, current smoking and allergies were associated with lower reactivity, while high exposures to borate dust were associated with higher sensitivity. To examine possible biologic mechanisms for the irritant response, a toxicokinetic dose model was used to calculate nasal osmolarity during symptom intervals. The estimated levels suggest that osmolar activation of mast cells to release histamine and other mediators is a plausible mechanism by which these workers may experience nasal irritation.
Further Investigation and Interpretation of the Expectancy Effect Generated by Disability Labels

The author investigated possible components of teacher expectancy and attitudes toward the integration of emotionally disturbed students into regular classes Subjects were thirty-four teachers of grades four through six. All subjects were shown a video tape of a "normal" child. Half of the subjects were told that the child showed indications of emotional distrubance.The other half were told that the child was nornaire.The label "emotionally disturbed" was found to be a significant predictor of teacher ratings. The author suggested that initial teacher expectancy generated by a babel might be weakened by additional contact with or information concerning the labeled child.
Low Contention Mapping of Real-Time Tasks onto TilePro 64 Core Processors

Predictability of task execution is paramount for real-time systems so that upper bounds of execution times can be determined via static timing analysis. Static timing analysis on network-on-chip (NoC) processors may result in unsafe underestimations when the underlying communication paths are not considered. This stems from contention on the underlying network when data from multiple sources share parts of a routing path in the NoC. Contention analysis must be performed to provide safe and reliable bounds. In addition, the overhead incurred by contention due to inter-process communication (IPC) can be reduced by mapping tasks to cores in such a way that contention is minimized. This paper makes several contributions to increase pre-predictability of real-time tasks on NoC architectures. First, we contribute a constraint solver that exhaustively maps real-time tasks onto cores to minimize contention and improve predictability. Second, we develop a novel TDMA-like approach to map communication traces into time frames to ensure separation of analysis for temporally disjoint communication. Third, we contribute a novel multi-heuristic approximation, H Solver, for rapid discovery of low contention solutions. H Solver reduces contention by up to 70% when compared with na ¨ive and constrained exhaustive solutions. We evaluate our experiments using a micro-benchmark of task system IPC on the TilePro64, a real, physical NoC processor with 64 cores. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first work to consider IPC for worst-case time frames to simplify analysis and to measure the impact on actual hardware for NoC-based real-time multi core systems.
Measurement-driven guidelines for 802.11 WLAN design

Dense deployments of WLANs suffer from increased interference and, as a result, reduced capacity. There are three main functions used to improve the overall network capacity: 1) intelligent frequency allocation across access points (APs); 2) load-balancing of user affiliations across APs; and 3) adaptive power control for each AP. Several algorithms have been proposed in each category, but so far, their evaluation has been limited to: a) each approach in isolation; and b) simulations or small-scale testbeds. In this paper, we ask the question: What is the best way to combine these different functions? Our focus is to fully explore the interdependencies between the three functions in order to understand when and how to deploy them on a network. We follow a measurement-driven study to quantify the effects of three previously proposed optimization schemes (one for each category) on a relatively large testbed and in many different scenarios. Surprisingly, we find that blindly applying all the three optimization schemes is not always preferable; it can sometimes degrade the performance by as much as 24% compared to using only two of the schemes. We discover that there are explicit conditions that are conducive for applying specific combinations of the optimization schemes. We capture these conditions within a comprehensive framework, which we call measurement-driven guidelines (MDG). While we derive such guidelines based on measurements on one experimental testbed, we test their applicability and efficacy on a second testbed in a different location. We show that our framework improves network capacity consistently across both testbeds, with improvements ranging from 22% to 142% with 802.11a, and 103% to 274% with 802.11g.
Streamers in Water and Along the Insulator Surface in a Wire–Cylinder Gap

Two types of streamers in water, namely, volume streamers and surface streamers, have been observed in a coaxial discharge gap where the central anode wire was surrounded by a perforated dielectric cylinder inside the discharge gap. The speed of surface streamers (~ 100 km/s), which develops along the solid-liquid interface on the outer surface of the dielectric cylinder, exceeds that of the volume streamers (~ 42 km/s) by more than a factor of two. The axial surface streamers serve as sources for numerous thin secondary radial volume streamers.
Temperature dependence of ferrimagnetic based nonlinear transmission line

Ferrite loaded nonlinear transmission lines (NLTLs) are able to act as high power microwave sources, utilizing the nonlinearities present in ferrimagnetic materials and the excitation of damped gyromagnetic precession at high incident power levels. Ferrimagnetic properties depend greatly on operating temperatures; therefore, there exists a need to know the ideal temperature at which to operate ferrite loaded NLTLs. Ferrites are chilled or heated to a certain temperature for a time suitable to allow internal ferrite temperature uniformity. Experimental temperatures ranged from approximately −20 °C up to 150 °C, which is slightly above the Curie temperature of the loaded ferrites. This temperature range allows observation of precession dependence on temperature while maintaining ferrimagnetic properties and a single look at the behavior outside the ferrimagnetic regime. Above the Curie temperature the loaded ferrites become paramagnetic and lose ferrimagnetic properties. The design, testing, and results are detailed for an NLTL measuring 0.3 m length and ferrite inner and outer diameters of 3 mm and 6 mm respectively. Figures comparing output waveforms at different temperatures, output power versus temperature, and output frequency versus temperature are shown.