cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Axial rod growth and age estimation of the sea pen, Halipteris willemoesi Kölliker

Halipteria willemoesi is a large octocoral commonly found in the Bering Sea. It is a member of a ubiquitous group of benthic cnidarians called sea pens (Octocorallia: Pennatulacea). Sea pens have a skeletal structure, the axial rod, that in cross section exhibits growth rings. Pairs of adjacent rings, or ring couplets, were assumed to be annuli and were used to estimate the age and growth of H. willemoesi. Twelve axial rods, extracted from H. willemoesi collected in the Bering Sea, were selected to represent small (25-29 cm total length), medium (97-130 cm TL) and large (152-167 cm TL) colonies. Each rod resembled a tapered dowel; the thickest part (0.90-6.75 mm in diameter) was at about 5-10% of total length from the base tip, the distal part was more gradually tapered than was the base. The number of ring couplets increased with rod size indicating their utility in estimating age and growth. Estimated age among rods was based on couplet counts at the thickest part of each rod: the average estimated age (±SE) was 7.1 ±0.7, 19.3 ±0.5, and 44.3 ±2.0 yr for small, medium and large-size rods, respectively. Based on these estimated ages, average growth rate in total length was 3.9 ± 0.2, 6.1 ± 0.3, and 3 6 ± 0.I cm yr -1 for small, medium, and large-size colonies. The average annual increase in maximum rod diameter among all colonies was 0.145 ± 0.003 SE mm yr -1 ; therefore, age prediction from maximum rod diameter was calculated (estimated age (yr) = 7.0 * (maximum rod diameter, mm) -0.2; R 2 = 0.99). At maximize diameter, the average couplet width was relatively constant among the three colony sizes (0.072 ± 0.05 mm). X-ray diffraction and electron microprobe analyses revealed that the inorganic portion of the rod is composed of a high-magnesium calcite. Radiometric validation of these age and growth rate estimates was attempted, but high amounts of exogenous 210 Pb precluded using the disequilibria of 210 Pb: 226 Ra. Instead, 210 Pb activities were measured in a series of cores extracted along the axial rod. These activities ranged from 0.691 ± 0.036 (SE) to 2.76 ± 0.13 dpm g -1 , but there was no pattern of decay along the length of the rod; therefore, the growth rates and corresponding ages could not be validated. Based on estimated age from ring couplet counts, growth in total rod length is slow at first, fastest at medium size, and slows toward maximum size, with an estimated longevity approaching 50 yr.
Enzymatic synthesis of deoxyribonucleic acid. XXVI. Physical and chemical studies of a homogeneous deoxyribonucleic acid polymerase.

A new purification procedure for Escherichia coli DNA polymerase yields about 10 mg of homogeneous enzyme per kg of cell paste, with exonuclease III as a by-product. DNA polymerase consists of a single polypeptide chain of molecular weight 1.09 × 105. This tentative conclusion is based on (a) an unchanged molecular weight after unfolding in solutions containing guanidine hydrochloride and mercaptoethanol, (b) the presence of approximately one residue of NH2-terminal methionine, and (c) the presence of a single zone on polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis in a denaturing solvent at several pH values. The enzyme contains one disulfide bond and a single reactive sulfhydryl group, which can be modified by iodoacetic acid without change in either polymerase or its associated exonuclease activity. There is less than one phosphorus atom per molecule, thus minimizing the possibility of enzyme-associated nucleotide material in stoichiometric amounts.
Does Market Access Protect Children against Poor Health Conditions at Birth

Seasonal fluctuations in early life circumstances can be associated with later differences in health outcomes, especially for children in rural farm households and in low-income countries. Other evidence finds that access to markets and public services can help rural households improve their well-being. This study links these two phenomena, using spatial diversity across the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to investigate whether proximity to towns confers resilience against seasonal determinants of maternal and infant health. To identify a potentially causal effect, we use the random component of birth timing relative to the intensity of seasonal climate fluctuations and households' distance to the nearest town. This approach is made possible by systematic variation in the intensity and duration of seasons from north to south across DRC, independent variation in geographic isolation among survey sites, and uniform distribution in birth timing within years. Controlling for mother fixed effects and a var...
Comparing Emergency Response Infrastructure to Other Critical Infrastructures in the California Bay‐Delta of the United States: A Research Note on Inter‐Infrastructural Differences in Reliability Management

This research note summarizes observed similarities, differences, and mixed similarities and differences between emergency responders in California's emergency response infrastructure and control room operators in some other critical infrastructures there. The dissimilarities are all the more striking given the many similarities. The chief difference, we speculate, lies in the conditions on and skills of control room operators to ensure the continuous and safe provision of the critical service in question, even during (especially during) turbulent times – what we have called ‘high reliability management’. This management differs considerably from the active crisis management of many emergency responders, although both groups seek to manage ‘reliably’.
A Sociological Search for the Metaphysical Roots of Man’s Alienation From Self

The intent of this article is to demonstrate the coalescence between social psychology and English literature. Alienation is a phenomenon which must be comprehended both in sociological terms, and likewise, utilizing literary constructs. It is demonstrated in this work that alienation encompasses more than social alienation, psychological alienation, or sequestering from an individual’s work related pursuits. It is shown by the authors that alienation is also prodigiously metaphysical, where the individual is inflicted by a separation from self that involves the cryptic workings of the unconscious. It is necessary for both sociologists, psychologists, as well as other practitioners who are concerned with the multi-dimensional aspects of alienation to understand how this psychological process has mystical aspects that have been overlooked by pervasive theorists.
Nucleic-acid structural deformability deduced from anisotropic displacement parameters.

The growing numbers of very well resolved nucleic-acid crystal structures with anisotropic displacement parameters provide an unprecedented opportunity to learn about the natural motions of DNA and RNA. Here we report a new Monte-Carlo approach that takes direct account of this information to extract the distortions of covalent structure, base pairing, and dinucleotide geometry intrinsic to regularly organized double-helical molecules. We present new methods to test the validity of the anisotropic parameters and examine the apparent deformability of a variety of structures, including several A, B, and Z DNA duplexes, an AB helical intermediate, an RNA, a ligand-DNA complex, and an enzyme-bound DNA. The rigid-body parameters characterizing the positions of the bases in the structures mirror the mean parameters found when atomic motion is taken into account. The base-pair fluctuations intrinsic to a single structure, however, differ from those extracted from collections of nucleic-acid structures, although selected base-pair steps undergo conformational excursions along routes suggested by the ensembles. The computations reveal surprising new molecular insights, such as the stiffening of DNA and concomitant separation of motions of contacted nucleotides on opposite strands by the binding of Escherichia coli endonuclease VIII, which suggest how the protein may direct enzymatic action. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 95: 254–269,2011.
Is beauty in the eye of the beholder

Abstract Theories of beauty were evaluated by requiring subjects to “evolve” a beautiful female face using a Genetic Algorithm. In this procedure, a computer program generated a small population of faces (first generation of phenotypes) from a set of random binary strings (genotypes). Genotypes specified the shapes and soft tissue anthropometrics of facial features. Each of the first generation of faces was rated by a subject (relative fitness measure) for beauty. The fittest genotypes then bred in proportion to their fitness, with crossover and mutation of the binary strings, to produce offspring which were again rated by the subject. This process continued until the most beautiful face, for that subject, was evolved. Forty Caucasian subjects (20 M, 20 F) were required to evolve their idealized beautiful female face using this procedure. The features and soft tissue anthropometrics of their final composites were compared to population norms. Also, the final composites, and different faces generated from the same data base, were rated for beauty by independent judges. The results support the conclusion that the concept of facial beauty is the result of sexual selection, and a beautiful female face has features and proportions indicative on high fertility.
Association Between Thyroid Function and Objective and Subjective Sleep Quality in Older Men: The Osteoporotic Fractures in Men (MrOS) Study

Objective To determine the association between thyroid hormone levels and sleep quality in community-dwelling men.
Coherent excitation transport in metal-nanoparticle chains

Electromagnetic energy transport in chains of noncontacting metal nanoparticles is studied within an exactly solvable model. The transport is mediated by the retarded electromagnetic interactions between plasmons confined to the individual nanoparticles and therefore self-consistently accounts for spontaneous emission on the same footing as the transport; the propagating hybrid plasmonic-electromagnetic modes of the chain are known as plasmon polaritons. Dark modes are found in the first Brillouin zone when the excitation wavelength is greater than the resonant optical wavelength, suggesting the possibility of the suppression of radiative losses. Nearest-neighbor tight-binding models are shown to be of limited validity.
Effect of salmon calcitonin and etidronate on hypercalcemia of malignancy

Hypercalcemia of malignancy is a commonly encountered serious clinical problem that often requires aggressive therapy. In order to combine the rapid hypocalcemic effects of calcitonin with the more delayed effect of a bisphosphonate, we administered etidronate, 7.5 mg/kg/day intravenously and salmon calcitonin, 100 IU subcutaneously, every 12 hours for 3 days in 9 patients with hypercalcemia associated with malignancy. The mean serum calcium concentration fell from 3.33±0.1 mmol/liter (mean±SEM) to 2.88±0.1 mmol/liter within 24 hours (P 0.5 mmol/liter and it returned to normal in 7 of the 9 patients. We conclude that the combination of salmon calcitonin with etidronate more effectively lowers the serum calcium concentration in patients with hypercalcemia of malignancy then the use of either agent alone.
Real-time End-to-end Network Monitoring in Large Distributed Systems

Measuring real-time end-to-end network path performance metrics is important for several distributed applications such as media streaming systems (e.g., for switching to paths with higher bandwidth and lower jitter) and content distribution systems (e.g., for selecting servers with lower latency). However, it is challenging to perform such end-to-end pairwise measurements in large distributed systems while achieving high accuracy and avoid interfering with existing traffic. On the end hosts, the measurements can overload the machine by causing interference among themselves and other processes. On the network, the measurement packets from different hosts can interfere among themselves and with other flows on bottleneck links. In this paper, we propose a system to monitor end-host and network resources and adapt the number of measurements according to the observed load. Our scheme avoids interference by measuring only a small subset of network paths and reconstructing the entire network path properties from the partial, indirect measurements. Our simulation experiments and real testbed experiments on PlanetLab show that our path selection algorithm working with resource constraints does not adversely affect the accuracy of inference and our system can effectively adapt to the changing resource usage at the end hosts.
Pre-teen alcohol use initiation and suicide attempts among middle and high school students: Findings from the 2006 Georgia Student Health Survey

Early alcohol use initiation has been linked to suicide attempts among youth. However, very little is known about the potential impact of alcohol-related norms and beliefs and how these may impact the association between alcohol use and suicide attempt. This study examines the associations between early alcohol use and suicide attempts while controlling for demographic characteristics, and alcohol-related beliefs and norms (e.g., believing alcohol causes harm to health or that adults or friends disapprove of alcohol use) and potential confounders. Analyses were based on the 2006 Georgia Student Health Survey (N=175,311) of students in grades 6, 8, 10 and 12. The current analyses were limited to students in grades 8, 10 and 12, who either began drinking prior to age 13 or who were non drinkers (n=87,349). Pre-teen alcohol use initiation was associated with suicide attempts (Adj.OR=1.51; 95%CI:1.38-1.66) relative to not drinking with similar associations for boys (Adj.OR=1.72; 95%CI:1.52-1.94) and girls (Adj.OR=1.26; 95%CI:1.08-1.45). Students who believed that alcohol was harmful to their health, or that friends or adults disapproved of their alcohol use, or who had been taught about substance use in school were less likely to make a suicide attempt, although findings differed for boys and girls. Pre-teen alcohol use initiation is an important risk factor for suicide attempts among boys and girls in Georgia. Increased efforts to delay and reduce early alcohol use through clinical interventions, education, and policies that impact norms and knowledge related to alcohol use are needed and may in turn reduce suicide attempts.
How critical is your control system

Abstract Basic process control systems are used to regulate the process during normal operation. Safety shutdown system, alarm systems, and other monitoring systems provide for plant safety. This paper addresses the question: “Is the process control system a critical safety system?” The answer depends upon its use. Integration of the alarm system and critical information functions may make the control system critical to the safety of the process. The criticality of the process control system can be analyzed using process hazards analysis methods. The criticality can be reduced by isolating shutdown functions, alarms, and critical monitoring functions from the basic regulatory control functions. And proper choice of equipment and configuration can improve the total reliability of the control system.
Ionic mechanism of action of a spin-labeled local anesthetic on squid axon membranes.

The ionic mechanism of action of a spin-labeled local anesthetic (SLA), 2-[N-methyl-N-(2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinooxyl)]-ethyl 4-ethoxylbenzoate, was studied by means of voltage clamp technique with squid giant axons in comparison with the parent compound without spin label moiety, 2-(N,N-dimethyl)ethyl 4-ethoxylbenzoate (GS-01). Like other local anesthetics, they suppressed both sodium and potassium conductance increases. However, three remarkable differences have been noted between SLA and GS-01: (1) SLA is more effective than GS-01 in suppressing the sodium and potassium conductance increases; (2) SLA induces a potassium inactivation, whereas GS-01 is lacking this ability; (3) SLA has no effect on the time to peak sodium current, whereas GS-01 prolongs it. GS-01 resembles procaine with respect to (2) and (3) above. SLA will become a useful probe for the study of the molecular mechanism of local anesthetic action and of ionic channel function.
Quantifying phenotypic gradients in freshwater snails: a case study in Lithasia (Gastropoda: Pleuroceridae)

Many authors have described a pattern of morphological variation in freshwater bivalves where shells taken from lentic and lotic environments, or headwaters and main stem reaches, appear to exhibit phenotypic gradients in size and shape. For example, mussels taken from headwater reaches tend to possess smooth, less inflated shells compared to the more obese, sculptured individuals downstream. Others observed similar relationships in certain freshwater gastropods, but this variation has not been quantified nor its existence explained in an ecological or evolutionary context. Geometric morphometrics indicated freshwater snails shells from the pleurocerid genus Lithasia from the Duck River, Tennessee, USA, show phenotypic gradients similar to those in freshwater mussels. Shells from upstream areas were narrow and less sculptured on the posterior portions of their body whorls, while downstream shells were more inflated and possessed significantly more sculpture. This phenotypic variation may reduce predation or damage due to dislodging. The nature of the observed plasticity suggests an unidirectional environment similar to that proposed by the river continuum concept.
Flavor of Evaporated Milk. II. Changes in Flavor on Storage of Evaporated Milk Made by Three Processes

Abstract The flavor stability of evaporated milk made by the conventional, high-temperature short-time, and aseptic processes was determined on storage at 10 and 27C. There was a significant effect of processing on the initial flavor score and on the effect of storage on the product at the two storage temperatures. The aseptic process yielded the best-flavored product initially and it remained the best for about two months at 10 and 27C storage. After two months the aseptic process showed very little advantage over the high-temperature short-time process. Evaporated milk made by the conventional process had the poorest flavor initially and throughout storage.
Surgery for pulmonary coccidioidomycosis: a 10-year experience.

Background Coccidioidomycosis results from infection with Coccidioides species endemic to the southwestern United States. The mobile US population has resulted in incremental cases being found throughout the world. The fungal infection can result in pulmonary sequelae, including nodules, cavities, and complications requiring treatment by the thoracic surgeon. Methods A retrospective chart review was conducted of 1,496 patients with coccidioidomycosis treated at our institution (January 1998 to December 2008) to identify those requiring surgery. Results Of the 1,496 patients, 86 (6%; mean age, 58 years [range, 18 to 81], 48 women) underwent operations. Radiographs revealed 59 nodules, 18 cavities, 2 infiltrates, and 7 complications of disease (e.g., effusion, pneumothorax, and empyema). Of the 86 patients, 40% underwent resection for persistent symptoms or disease progression despite adequate antifungal therapy. One third of the operations were performed by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. Morbidity, 21% (18 patients), and in-hospital mortality, 2% (2 patients), were greater after resection for cavitary lesions with resultant complications versus for nodular disease: 41% versus 12% ( p ≤ 0.002) and 8% versus 0% ( p Conclusions Surgical intervention was indicated for only a few patients, most commonly for diagnostic dilemmas involving nodular disease, symptomatic nonresponsive cavitary disease, or complications. Prolonged air leaks were the main cause of morbidity. Resection should result in symptom resolution and long-term freedom from recurrence.
Evidence for a maternal origin of spontaneous autopolyploidy in cultured white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus)

Abstract Sturgeons (order Acipenseriformes) are members of an ancient evolutionary lineage that has experienced multiple rounds of whole-genome duplication. As a result, most extant species are polyploid and possess more than two complete sets of chromosomes. While interspecific variation in ploidy and overall genome size is common within this order, recent studies have also documented intraspecific variation in some captive bred sturgeon species, most notably in white sturgeon ( Acipenser transmontanus ). The unintentional duplication of one or more complete sets of chromosomes in a single species in the absence of hybridization is known as spontaneous autopolyploidization. The mechanism and the effects on viability and reproductive development of spontaneous autopolyploidy, however, are poorly understood. Sturgeons are valuable aquacultural species for production of boneless meat and caviar, and incidence of spontaneous autopolyploidy could have negative economic implications. In this study, we wished to determine whether there was a maternal or paternal origin of spontaneous autopolyploidy. We used flow cytometry to identify spontaneous autopolyploids and microsatellite genotyping to track the transfer of unique maternal and paternal alleles from broodstock to offspring across multiple full-sibling families in two populations of cultured white sturgeon. In all families, we found that the probability of transfer success of unique maternal alleles was greater than that of unique paternal alleles in spontaneous autopolyploid white sturgeon, indicating a maternal origin of spontaneous autopolyploidy. Secondly, as no spontaneous autopolyploid progeny shared all the same microsatellite alleles as the respective dam as would be expected with premeiotic endomitosis or apomixis, we believe that failure to extrude the second polar body in meiosis II is the most likely cause of spontaneous autopolyploidy in cultured white sturgeon.
ENA emission from nearly-mirroring magnetospheric ions interacting with the exosphere

Abstract Energetic neutral atom (ENA) emission is markedly brightest at the lowest altitudes, because it is there that the density of ambient neutrals strongly increases with decreasing height. Analytic expressions are derived in the approximation of single charge-exchange and ionization collisions between energetic ions and exospheric neutrals. The computer simulation of ENA intensities from low altitudes, heretofore requiring Monte Carlo calculations, is thus reduced to a single numerical integral for each line of sight. The attenuation of the incident energetic ions by charge exchange depends strongly on the mirror force, whereas the attenuation of emergent ENA depends on the line-of-sight geometry to the ENA imager. The altitude of maximum ENA emission is a strong function of ion pitch angle and altitude for a given L value of the field line
The effects of sound overexposure on the spectral response patterns of nucleus magnocellularis in the neonatal chick

Spectral response plots from single cells in the chick nucleus magnocellularis were obtained following a 48 h exposure to a 0.9 kHz pure tone at 120 dB sound pressure level and after a recovery period of 12 days. Immediately after removal from the exposure, a variety of changes in the spectral response patterns of nucleus magnocellularis cells were noted. In particular, at recovery day 0, there was a significant decrease in spontaneous rate; a substantial loss of threshold sensitivity and frequency selectivity; and alterations in both the slope and dynamic range of the rate-intensity function. Interestingly, the maximum discharge rate appeared unaffected by the intense sound. Twelve days after removal from overstimulation, auditory function appeared to be operating at normal levels of efficacy as spontaneous rate, threshold sensitivity, frequency selectivity, and the dynamic range of the rate-intensity function were statistically identical to similar measures in nonexposed control birds. The loss and restoration of auditory function is correlated to structural damage and repair of the avian basilar papilla.
Minimally Invasive Surgery for Movement Disorders

Movement disorders surgery, particularly deep brain stimulation (DBS), is already a minimally invasive procedure. However, new innovations in the delivery devices for DBS electrodes, new methods for target localization, and alternatives to implanted hardware are all strategies that can make movement disorders surgery less invasive. Frameless DBS techniques can increase patient comfort and shorten operative time. Interventional magnetic resonance imaging can further reduce operative time, and allows DBS placement to be done with a patient asleep and usually with a single brain penetration. Finally, gene transfer eliminates the need for implanted hardware or batteries and simplifies postoperative care.
Forces that stabilize membrane proteins

Understanding the energetics of molecular interactions is essential to addressing many of the central quests of biochemistry including protein structure prediction and design, relating structure to function, mapping evolutionary pathways, learning how mutations cause disease and drug design. Hydrogen bonding and Van der Waals packing are two of the fundamental molecular forces that govern the protein structure and function. Because of technical challenges, however, there have been no quantitative tests of these forces in the context of large membrane proteins. While hydrogen-bonding has been widely regarded as an important force in a membrane environment because of the low dielectric constant of membranes and a lack of competition from water, our recent double-mutant cycle analysis shows that the average contribution of eight interhelical side-chain hydrogen-bonding interactions in bacteriorhodopsin is unexpectedly modest, providing only 0.6 kcal of energy per a mol of interaction on an average, which is quite similar to the strengths measured in soluble proteins. Van der Waals packing, on the other hand, is also thought to be important, as highlighted in number of transmembrane helix dimerization motifs that drive strong helix-helix association in the absence of polar residues by providing tight knob-into-hole interactions. Van der Waals strength, reported by the slope of the correlation found between the thermodynamic stability changes that we measured in six individual cavity-creating large-to-small hydrophobic side-chain mutants of bacteriorhodopsin and the increase in cavity size observed in the refined crystal structures of the corresponding mutant proteins, is indeed quite significant and also very similar to the contributions observed in a soluble protein. Weak hydrogen-bonding and significant Van der Waals packing should be reflected in considerations of membrane protein folding, dynamics, design, evolution and function.
The enthalpy of sodium oxide Na2O to 1300 K by drop calorimetry

A high-precision drop-calorimetric system has been used to measure the enthalpy (relative to 298.15 K) of Na 2 O in the temperature range 500 to 1300 K. A rapid rise in the derived C p ( T ) is observed about 900 K, which may be attributed to the onset of a diffuse transition in Na 2 O and a disordering of the Na + ions. The results are therefore represented by two equations, one for temperatures below 900 K and another for temperatures above 900 K. In the range 298 to 900 K: { H o ( T ) − H o ( 298.15 K ) } / c a l t h m o l − 1 = 13.8814 ( T / K ) + 4.4249 × 10 − 3 ( T / K ) 2 − 4532.09. In the range 900 to 1300 K: { H o ( T ) − H o ( 298.15 K ) } / c a l t h m o l − 1 = 35.4157 ( T / K ) − 2.80046 × 10 − 2 ( T / K ) 2 + + 1.42549 × 10 − 5 ( T / K ) 3 − 8036.87. All temperatures are based on IPTS-68. Values of { H o ( T )− H o (298.15 K)}, C o p ( T ), { S o ( T ) − S o (298.15 K)}, Δ H o f ( T ), Δ G o f ( T ), and log K o p ( T ) are tabulated.
Comparing Evolutionary Patterns and Variability in the Mitochondrial Control Region and Cytochrome b in Three Species of Baleen Whales

The rapidly evolving mitochondrial control region remains an important source of information on phylogeography and demographic history for cetaceans and other vertebrates, despite great uncertainty in the rate of nucleotide substitution across both nucleotide positions and lineages. Patterns of variation in linked markers with slower rates of evolution can potentially be used to calibrate the rate of nucleotide substitution in the control region and to better understand the interplay of evolutionary and demographic forces across the mitochondrial genome above and below the species level. We have examined patterns of diversity within and between three baleen whale species (gray, humpback, and Antarctic minke whales) in order to determine how patterns of molecular evolution differ between cytochrome b and the control region. Our results show that cytochrome b is less variable than expected given the diversity in the control region for gray and humpback whales, even after functional differences are taken into account, but more variable than expected for minke whales. Differences in the frequency distributions of polymorphic sites and in best-fit models of nucleotide substitution indicate that these patterns may be the result of hypervariability in the control region in gray and humpback whales but, in minke whales, may result from a large, stable or expanding population size coupled with saturation at the control region. Using paired cytochrome b and control region data across individuals, we show that the average rate of nucleotide substitution in the control region may be on average 2.6 times higher than phylogenetically derived estimates in cetaceans. These results highlight the complexity of making inferences from control region data alone and suggest that applying simple rules of DNA sequence analyses across species may be difficult.
The Relation Between the Growth and Diabetogenic Effects of the So-Called Growth Hormone of the Anterior Pituitary

The accumulated evidence in the literature since 1930 reveals that pituitary extracts rich in “growth hormone” exert powerful diabetogenic effects. It has not been possible thus far to separate these two activities as belonging to two distinct molecular species. However, an analysis on broad biological principles makes it most probable that two hormonal entities compose the so-called growth hormone fraction. The somatotrophic component (STH) would be expected to exert the following actions: (1) promote protein synthesis (together with insulin); (2) cause orderly proliferation of epiphyseal cartilage; (3) lead to increased insulin liberation from B cells. The total effect would consist of growth in bodily length and enhanced protein synthesis. The diabetogenic component (here called adipokinetic .AK) would play its role in: (1) liberating fatty acids from adipose tissue, thus shifting cellular metabolism to the utilization of fat, whenever there develops a relative scarcity of carbohydrate. This shift would inhibit glucose use and lead to insulin resistance, ketone production, etc. This analysis is presented in order to stimulate experimental approaches for testing the validity of either the “one” or “two” factor hypothesis of the pituitary growth hormone fraction. Available experimental evidence is not adequate nor sufficiently convincing for unequivocal decision.
Finding causes of program output with the Java Whyline

Debugging and diagnostic tools are some of the most important software development tools, but most expect developers choose the right code to inspect. Unfortunately, this rarely occurs. A new tool called the Whyline is described which avoids such speculation by allowing developers to select questions about a program's output. The tool then helps developers work backwards from output to its causes. The prototype, which supports Java programs, was evaluated in an experiment in which participants investigated two real bug reports from an open source project using either the Whyline or a breakpoint debugger. Whyline users were successful about three times as often and about twice as fast compared to the control group, and were extremely positive about the tool's ability to simplify diagnostic tasks in software development work.
Identification of preferred actinomycin-DNA binding sites by the combinatorial method REPSA.

Abstract An important question in the study of ligand–DNA interactions is the determination of binding specificity. Here, we used the combinatorial method restriction endonuclease protection, selection, and amplification (REPSA) to identify the preferred duplex DNA-binding sites of the antineoplastic agent actinomycin D. After 10 rounds of REPSA, over 95% of the cloned DNAs exhibited significantly reduced Fok I restriction endonuclease cleavage in the presence of 1 μM actinomycin. A χ 2 statistical analysis of their sequences found that 39 of the 45 clones contained one or more copies of the sequence 5′-(T/A)GC(A/T)-3′, giving a p
Sensory evaluation of high‐moisture dried prunes preserved with sodium benzoate

Both sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate were significantly detected (P < 0.05) in prune juice at levels of 500 to 600 parts/million. Detection levels for both preservatives in high-moisture dried prunes were higher (about 800 parts/million). No significant flavour differences were found between prunes treated with similar amounts of sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate. Since it was necessary to use more sodium benzoate than potassium sorbate to preserve prunes, comparisons were made between prunes containing equally effective levels of the two preservatives. No significant flavour differences were found between prunes effectively preserved with sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate. This suggests that sodium benzoate could be used as a preservative for high-moisture dried prunes with essentially no flavour problem.
Hume's problem and the possibility of normative ethics

L'A. discute le paragraphe III.1.1. du «Traite sur la nature humaine» de Hume concernant les expressions «est» et «doit». L'A. vise a montrer que ce paragraphe de Hume permet de mettre en doute la possibilite d'une theorie justifiable de l'obligation morale
Root-squaring with DPR1 matrices

Recent progress in polynomial root-finding relies on employing the associated companion and generalized companion DPR1 matrices. (“DPR1” stands for “diagonal plus rank-one.”) We propose an algorithm that uses nearly linear arithmetic time to square a DPR1 matrix. Consequently, the algorithm squares the roots of the associated characteristic polynomial. This incorporates the classical techniques of polynomial root-finding by means of root-squaring into a new effective framework. Our approach is distinct from the earlier fast methods for squaring companion matrices. Bibliography: 13 titles.
Apoptosis in human immunodeficiency virus-associated nephropathy.

Abstract Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis associated with human immunodeficiency virus nephropathy (HIVFGS) involves glomerull, tubules, and interstitium. Its pathogenesis is unknown, but HIV peptides may be critical in its development. Human immunodeficiency virus peptides and peptide-antibody complexes are immunomodulatory, and are associated with apoptosis in lymphoid cells. To determine whether apoptosis is present in HIVFGS, renal biopsy specimens of eight patients with HIVFGS were compared with those of 10 patients with idiopathic focal glomerulosclerosis (FGS) using the Apoptag kit (Oncor, Gaithersburg, MD), which detects single cell apoptosis in formalin-fixed tissue by staining 3′ nucleosome fragments with digoxigenin-labeled nucleotides after terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase enzyme treatment. Apoptosis was scored per glomerulus, in total renal tissue sectioned, and in tubules and interstitium per square millimeter using a computerized digital image analyzer. There was no difference between the number of apoptotic cells per glomerulus or per square millimeter of interstitium in patients with FGS and HIVFGS. There were greater numbers of tubular apoptotic cells per square millimeter (2.1 ± 0.9 v 0.15 ± 0.08; P = 0.03) in HIVFGS compared with idiopathic FGS. The difference between apoptotic cells per total square millimeter of renal tissue (2.8 ± 1.2 v 0.7 ± 0.3) approached significance ( P = 0.066). Apoptosis may be associated with the pathogenesis of HIV nephropathy and may be an important determinant of the tubular disease in HIVFGS.
Relationship of duration of analgesia to opioid pharmacokinetic variables

Abstract That physiological effects are directly related to concentration at the site of action has been validated for only a few classes of drugs. For opiates, a direct correlation is known to exist between concentration and magnitude of analgesia, but has not been shown for duration of analgesia. These experiments in rats, using opiates whose elimination half-lives differ by a factor of 2 1/2, in a range of doses that produce 10–90% of maximal analgesic effect, show that duration is not dependent on dose or rate of elimination of opiate analgesics. The data suggest that analgesic duration is not determined by the pharmacokinetics of opiates at the receptors where these drugs act to elicit analgesia.
OPTICAL DEPHASING, ENERGY TRANSFER, AND QUANTUM PERCOLATION IN CRYSTALS

p h o n o n s o f i s o l a t e d i m p u r i t i e s , t h e s e c o n d c o n c e r n s o p t i c a l d e p h a s i n g b y i m p u r i t y i m p u r i t y i n t e r a c t i o n s , a n d t h e t h i r d i n v o l v e s q u a n t u m m e c h a n i c a l e n e r g y t r a n s p o r t i n a nearest-neighbor-interaction s u b s t i t u t i o n a l l y d i s o r d e r e d l a t t i c e -q u a n t u m p e r c o l a t i o n . I. TEMPERATURE-DEPENDENT OPTICAL DEPHAS I N G T h e f i r s t p a r t o f t h i s t a l k d i s c u s s e s t h e p r o b l e m o f p u r e d e p h a s i n g b y p h o n o n s o f d i l u t e i m p u r i t y o p t i c a l t r a n s i t i o n s i n c r y s t a l s . T h e u s u a l t h e o r y o f t h i s e f f e c t t r e a t s t h e i m b u r i t y a s a s i m p l e t w o l e v e l e l e c t r o n i c s y s t e m , a n d c o n s i d e r s q u a d r a t i c c o u p l i n g o f t h i s i m p u r i t y t o a h a r m o n i c phonon b a t h . The o p t i c a l l i n e w i d t h i s t h e n c a l c u l a t e d t o s e c o n d o r d e r i n t h e e l e c t r o n p h o n o n i n t e r a c t i o n . F o r a Debye m o d e l o f a c o u s t i c p h o n o n s , t h i s a p p r o a c h l e a d s t t h e we l l -known McCumber-Sturge r e s u l t / I / , w h i c h d i s p l a y s a Tf l o w t e m p e r a t u r e d e p e n d e n c e . F o r a p s e u d o l o c a l phonon m o d e l , S m a l l / 2 / h a s d e r i v e d a n A r r h e n i u s t e m p e r a t u r e d e p e n d e n c e f o r t h e l i n e w i d t h . W e / 3 / h a v e p e r f o r m e d a n o n p e r t u r b a t i v e c a l c u l a t i o n o f t h e same m o d e l . Our g e n e r a l r e s u l t s a r e i n a g r e e m e n t w i t h a p r e v i o u s t r e a t m e n t b y O s a d ' k o / 4 / , who u s e d a d i f f e r e n t m e t h o d . We h a v e e v a l u a t e d t h e s e r e s u l t s f o r d i f f e r e n t phonon m o d e l s . F o r Debye a c o u s t i c p h o n o n s a n d f o r m o d e r a t e l y s m a l l v a l u e s o f t h e d i m e n s i o n l e s s q u a d r a t i c c o u p l i n g c o n s t a n t , W , we f i n d / 5 / s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n t h e e x a c t a n d weak c o u p l i n g Article published online by EDP Sciences and available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/jphyscol:1985703
The structure and mechanical properties of metallic nanocrystals

Metallic nanocrystals are ultrafine-grained polycrystalline solids with grain sizes in the range of 1 to 10 nm in at least one dimension. Because of the extremely small dimensions, a large fraction of the atoms in these materials is located at the grain boundaries, and thus, they possess novel, and often improved, properties over those of conventional polycrystalline or glassy materials. In comparison to more conventional materials, nanocrystalline materials show a reduced density; increased thermal expansion, specific heat, and strength; a supermodulus effect; and extremely high diffusion rates. Traditionally brittle materials can be made ductile by nano-structure processing. At present, there is considerabe confusion on the nature of the micro-structure and mechanical properties of the nanocrystalline materials, especially of the equiaxed (three-dimensional, 3-D) type. The present article reviews the current understanding of nanocrystals and evaluates the data available on structure and mechanical properties of nanocrystalline metals.
Alcohol policy support among mandated college students.

Background Alcohol consumption on college campuses is high, and often dangerous. College administrators have created policies to control alcohol consumption, but student body support or opposition of specific policies has been relatively unexplored.
The Relationship of Porous Silicon Film Morphology to The Photoluminescence Spectra

Photoluminescence (PL) spectra are presented for porous silicon samples formed under various formation conditions in aqueous HF solutions. Formation conditions are chosen that effect maximal changes in morphology of resultant films and that correspond to varying formation electrochemistry. The trends in PL center wavelength and full width at half maximum (FWHM) with formation conditions are examined and compared to the resulting morphology. The PL spectra were observed to be most affected by changes in formation conditions when porous films are formed where the electrochemical process of silicon dissolution changes from a 2e- to 4e- (oxide production) reaction. Under these conditions, decreasing HF concentration and/or increasing current density produces a spectral blue-shift which is proportional to the narrowing of the FWHM. This behavior corresponds to morphology changes which are consistent with the quantum confinement model.
The adaptation of Plasmodium falciparum to oxidative stress in G6PD deficient human erythrocytes.

It has recently been found that growth of P. falciparum in human G6PD deficient red cells is impaired in vitro; however, the inhibition is overcome after two or three growth cycles. There is evidence to suggest that the parasite can produce its own G6PD enzyme which may compensate for the lack of host enzyme and could account for the resumption of normal growth in G6PD deficient host cells. It is unclear whether the parasite enzyme can enable the host cell to resist oxidative stress as normal cells do. To answer this question, P. falciparum was grown in vitro in: (a) normal red cells, (b) G6PD deficient red cells for one growth cycle only, (c) G6PD deficient cells for a minimum of five cycles. All groups were then challenged with acetylphenylhydrazine (APH) which served as an oxidative stress. Both G6PD (A -) and Mediterranean deficient types were studied. The results show a two-fold increase in resistance to oxidative stress by parasites adapted to G6PD-Mediterranean deficient host cells as compared to unadapted ones, but the parasite-red cell system remains 4 times more sensitive to APH than normal infected cells. In parasitized G6PD (A -) red cells, evidence of adaptation could be seen in the growth curves, but no detectable increase in resistance to APH was found in adapted parasites. It is concluded that the role of the parasite G6PD is not likely to be mainly related to oxidative stress resistance and therefore other functions of this enzyme should be investigated.
Long-term debt and overinvestment agency problem

Abstract We investigate the role of long-term debt in influencing overinvestments by analyzing the pattern of abnormal investments around a new debt offering by unlevered firms. Before being levered when the disciplining role of debt is missing, firms retain excessive amounts of cash. The introduction of debt leads to a dramatic decline in cash ratios and the relation is stronger for firms classified as having poor investment opportunities. For the sub-sample of firms that overinvest in real assets, issuing debt leads to a reduction in abnormal capital expenditures. The decline in overinvestments is explained by debt service obligations that reduce discretionary funds under managerial control. Further, the reduction in overinvestments has a positive impact on equity value. These conclusions hold in other settings where there is a dramatic change in firms’ capital structures providing strong support for the hypothesis that debt reduces overinvestments.
A digitally-calibrated 10GS/s reconfigurable flash ADC in 65-nm CMOS

The design of a high-speed reconfigurable analog-to-digital converter in 65-nm CMOS is described. Accuracy requirements are met without compromising the high-speed performance by using trimming-based offset cancellation. The ADC can be configured to work as a 3-bit, a 4-bit, or a 5-bit ADC with maximum integral nonlinearity (INL) and differential nonlinearity (DNL) of 0.48LSB and 0.35LSB respectively. The ADC achieves a figure-of-merit of 0.46pJ/conv-step and the active area is 0.13 mm2.
A finite-element approach to control the end-point motion of a single-link flexible robot

A structural finite-element technique based on Bernoulli-Euler beam theory is presented which will permit the finding of the torques (or forces) that are necessary to apply at one end of a flexible link to produce a desired motion at the other end. This technique is suitable for the open loop control of the tip motion. It may also provide a good control law for feedback control. The finite-element method is used to discretize the equations of motion. This method has a major advantage in the fact that different material properties and boundary conditions like hubs, tip loads, changes in cross sections, etc., can be handled in a very simple and straightforward manner. The resulting differential equations are integrated via the frequency domain. This allows for the expansion of the desired end motion into its harmonic components and helps to visualize the complex wave propagation nature of the problem. The performance of the proposed technique is illustrated in the solution of a practical example. Results point out the potential that this technique has in the study of the dynamics and control not only of flexible robots, but also of any other flexible mechanisms like those used in biomechanics, where high precision at the tip of very light flexible arms is required.
Saturated fat intake and insulin resistance in men with coronary artery disease. The Stanford Coronary Risk Intervention Project Investigators and Staff.

BACKGROUNDTo determine whether there is an association between diet and plasma insulin concentration that is independent of obesity, we studied the relation of dietary composition and caloric intake to obesity and plasma insulin concentrations in 215 nondiabetic men aged 32-74 years with angiographically proven coronary artery disease.METHODS AND RESULTSAfter adjusting for age, the intake of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol were positively correlated (p less than 0.05) with body mass index (r = 0.18, r = 0.16), waist-to-hip circumference ratio (r = 0.21, r = 0.22), and fasting insulin (r = 0.26, r = 0.23). Carbohydrate intake was negatively correlated with body mass index (r = -0.21), waist-to-hip ratio (r = -0.21), and fasting insulin (r = -0.16). Intake of monounsaturated fatty acids did not correlate significantly with body mass index or waist-to-hip circumference ratio but did correlate positively with fasting insulin (r = 0.24). Intake of dietary calories was negatively correlated with body mass...