cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of Elapsed Time on Downstream Platelet Adhesion Following Exposure to Transiently Elevated Upstream Shear Forces

Transient exposure to elevated shear forces pre-activates platelets for enhanced downstream adhesion, but how far downstream these priming effects persist is not known. We found that platelet adhesion to downstream capture region containing one of the three immobilized platelet binding proteins: fibrinogen, collagen, or von Willebrand factor, changed after platelets flowed through an upstream stenotic region. These platelet capture regions were placed at three different distances from the upstream stenotic region. Platelet adhesion increased with the increase of upstream wall shear rates from 1620 s-1 to 11560 s-1 for all three proteins, but only the adhesion to fibrinogen increased significantly with the distance between the upstream stenotic region and downstream capture region. Platelet adhesion to collagen remained essentially independent on the distance and adhesion to von Willebrand factor marginally increased with the distance after transient platelet exposure to higher upstream shear rates. The results implied that the activation of fibrinogen receptor GPIIb/IIIa by transient exposure to high upstream wall shear rates progresses in a time-dependent manner during the flow of platelets to the downstream capture regions. The highly elevated upstream wall shear rate of 11560 s-1 altered the morphology of many platelets adhered to downstream fibrinogen from their native ellipsoidal to spread circular form. The platelet shape analysis showed that longest periods of post-stenotic flow increased the surface coverage fraction of ellipsoidal platelet population and decreased the surface coverage fraction of fully spread platelets on fibrinogen after both elevated upstream wall shear rates.
Evaluating Remand Without Vacatur: A New Judicial Remedy for Defective Agency Rulemakings

Once the D.C. Circuit has concluded that a rule promulgated by an agency is in some way arbitrary or capricious, the court has at least two options: It can either vacate the rule, or remand it to the agency without vacating it. In the latter case, the agency can continue to implement the challenged rule while revising its explanation to address the defects identified by the court. This Note analyzes the D.C. Circuit’s application of the remand-without-vacatur (RWV) remedy during the decade since the court articulated a generic test for its use. This Note argues that RWV is most justified in cases where the costs of vacating agency rules are particularly high, and where the benefits in terms of improving the agency’s decisionmaking process are minimal or nonexistent. Based on a survey of the rulemaking cases in which the court has applied RWV, this Note argues that while the test that the D.C. Circuit uses to determine the appropriateness of RWV is consistent with the theoretical underpinnings justifying the remedy, the court’s application of that test is frequently flawed. This Note also documents a response to RWV that is less than ideal; agencies generally respond slowly to RWV judgments, and occasionally do not respond at all. The Note concludes that, while the D.C. Circuit possesses adequate tools to counteract agencies’ tendency to ignore judicial decisions in individual cases, it has employed them too sparingly in recent years. This Note then develops a revised approach that would promote the remedy’s beneficial aspects while limiting its negative effects.
The involvement of nucleic acids in bacterial injury.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the involvement of nucleic acids in bacterial injury. The involvement of ribonucleic acid (RNA) in sublethal stress of bacteria has been widely studied. It is noted that the degradation of ribosomes and ribosomal RNA (rRNA) was a generally observed lesion following sublethal stress. The rRNA comprises approximately 63% of the weight of a ribosome. In mature ribosomes, rRNA causes ribosomal proteins to maintain the proper configuration that permits the ribosome to perform its function during protein biosynthesis. The involvement of RNA in injury was first recognized when investigators found that bacterial cells lost 260 nm-absorbing materials when the cells were submitted to temperatures slightly above their maximum growth temperature. The rRNA and ribosome degradation occur during heat-injury. The type and extent of degradation of 16 S and 23 S rRNA, and 50 S and 30 S ribosome subunits is not the same, but the 16 S rRNA and 30 S subunit appear to be affected more readily than 23 S rRNA and 50 S subunit. There appears to be synthesis of both 50 S and 30 S ribosomes and 23 S and 16 S rRNA during recovery.
NMR of Carbohydrates at the Surface of Cells

Carbohydrates attached to lipid and proteins are a major element of the cell surface, where, anchored in the membrane they modulate interactions with the outside world. Glycolipids may be divided into two major classes distinguished by the nature of the hydrophobic anchor. The glycolipids of bacteria and plants generally consist of a mono-or oligo-saccharide glycosidically linked to the glycerol 3-position of 1,2-diacylglycerol (Curatolo, 1987a). The major glycolipids of animals are in the second class which consist of carbohydrate glycosidically linked to ceramide glycosphingolipids (Curatolo, 1987a). Glycolipids are intimately involved with membrane structure, recognition, immune function, interaction with toxins and biological pathogens, and growth control in both normalcy and disease (Curatolo, 1987a; Thompson and Tillack, 1985; Critchley, 1979). While the important roles that these lipids play is well established, how these roles are fulfilled and influenced by the environment in which these molecules exist is far from being understood. For these reasons, there has been increasing interest in attempting to systematically delineate various physio-chemical properties of these lipids as pure systems and in mixtures (Curatolo, 1987b). The ultimate goal of such studies is to gain insight into how these parameters may influence the various biological roles that the glycolipids can assume.
VisBench: A Framework for Remote Data Visualization and Analysis

Computational researchers typically work by accessing a compute resource miles from their desk. Similarly, their simulation output or other data is stored in remote terabyte data servers. VisBench is a component-based system for visualizing and analyzing this remote data. A time-varying CFD simulation of heat exchange over a louvered fin provides sample data to demonstrate a workbench-oriented version of VisBench. An analysis technique (POD) for spatiotemporal data is described and applied to the CFD data.
Cross Lingual QA: A Modular Baseline in CLEF 2003

We evaluate the feasibility of applying currently available research tools to the problem of cross lingual QA. We establish a task baseline by combining a cross lingual IR system with a monolingual QA system in a very short amount of time. A higher precision strategy involves applying the monolingual QA system to an automatically translated question, assumed to be correct. A higher coverage strategy consists of a term weighted proximity measure with varied query expansion, tuned for each individual question type.
Measurement of tissue oxidation-reduction state with carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

Abstract The oxidation state of tissues influences their response to cancer therapy. We have devised a novel approach to the measurement of thiol redox which is based on the relative nuclear magnetic resonance signal intensity from carbon-13 adjacent to sulfur in metabolites of the redox-sensitive phosphorothioate drug, S -2-(3-methylaminopropylamino)ethylphosphorothioic acid (WR3689). Incubation of WR3689 metabolites under oxidizing conditions results in quantifiable changes in the 13 C nuclear magnetic resonance spectrum stoichiometrically related to the degree of oxidation in mouse liver homogenate in vitro . Drug oxidation is competitive with the oxidation of tissue-derived thiol groups under these conditions. Noninvasive measurement of redox state may assist in designing more effective strategies for altering normal and malignant tissue response to cancer therapy.
Visualization and Identification of Fatty Acylated Proteins Using Chemical Reporters

Protein fatty-acylation is the covalent addition of a lipid chain at specific amino acids. This modification changes the inherent hydrophobicity of a protein, often targeting it to cellular membrane compartments. Acylation may also regulate protein activity, stability, and protein-protein interactions. Its study is therefore critical to understanding the biology of the hundreds of proteins described to be lipid-modified, as well as those that are continually being discovered. Fatty-acylation can be analyzed using chemical reporters that mimic natural lipids and contain bioorthogonal chemical handles allowing them to be reacted with detection tags such as fluorophores or affinity tags. Our laboratory has successfully utilized alkynyl-chemical reporters of protein myristoylation, S-palmitoylation, prenylation and acetylation. Protocol 1 describes metabolic incorporation of these chemical reporters onto proteins in living cells. Protocol 2 describes the global visualization of reporter-labeled proteins by selectively reacting alkyne-containing chemical reporter-labeled proteins in cell lysates with azido-rhodamine via the click chemistry and fluorescence gel scanning. Protocol 3 describes analysis of protein acylation on individual candidate proteins using immunoprecipitation, click chemistry and fluorescence gel scanning. Finally, Protocol 4 allows identification of novel fatty acylated proteins by reacting chemical reporter-labeled proteins with azido-biotin via click chemistry and selective retrieval using streptavidin beads. This may be particularly valuable for the examination of S-palmitoylomes in different cell types or activation states, as these modifications do not occur on readily predicted consensus amino acid motifs. Overall, these techniques provide robust, non-radioactive methods for examining the acylation states of full cellular proteomes and individual proteins of interest.
The Impact of Pastors' Spiritual Practices on Burnout:

This qualitative study addressed two research questions (a) what spiritual practices contribute to pastors' emotional and spiritual well-being?, and (b) what factors contribute to pastoral burnout? Based on an inductive analysis of eight pastoral interviews, the study revealed that these spiritual leaders engage in specific spiritual disciplines that contribute to their sense of well-being. The implications of this study prompt further research into the relationship between leaders' spiritual practices and burnout.
An infrared emission study of the molecule-substrate mode of CO on Pt(111)

Abstract We have used infrared emission spectroscopy to study the molecule-substrate vibrational mode of on-top CO on Pt(111), as a function of coverage and of temperature, in the range from 210 to 400 K. Little change in the line is observed as a function of coverage, except for an abrupt shift, of ~ 6 cm −1 , to lower frequency, at coverages > 0.5. The line shape is asymmetric, and the linewidth varies much more slowly with temperature than is predicted by theories of lifetime broadening by phonon emission. Based on these observations, our conclusion is that the line is inhomogeneously broadened. Our measurements place an upper limit on the homogeneous linewidth for this mode. The conclusion that the line is inhomogeneously broadened is in contrast to suggestions that the corresponding mode of CO on Ni(100) is lifetime broadened by a two-phonon decay process. We also report the observation of the atom-substrate mode of O on Pt(111).
Lipophilic nerve sprouting factor(s) isolated from denervated muscle.

Abstract This report confirmed earlier studies by other workers which suggested that collateral nerve sprouting in mammalian skeletal muscle is induced by factors released from denervated or atrophic muscle fibers. Crude lipid extracts of denervated but not of normal muscle were found to bring about histological evidence of significantly increased collateral nerve outgrowth when injected into normal muscles. Additional experiments indicated that separated non-polar and polar lipid fractions of muscle were less active. The injection of a chemically pure lipid, monlaurin, also caused significant sprouting.
Ear asymmetry in a dichotic detection task

Pairs of consonant-vowel (CV) syllables were presented dichotically to Ss who were instructed to monitor for the presence of a target CV which could occur in either ear. Ss responded by depressing a response button ; reaction time (RT) was also recorded. Right ear targets were detected 6.2% more frequently, on the average, than left ear targets and had an average RT 50 msec quicker than their left ear counterparts. These results demonstrate the existence of a right ear superiority in dichotic listening when a nonverbal motor response measure is used, supporting the contention that the ear asymmetry phenomenon is truly perceptual in nature and not merely due to the lateralization of verbal output. Two alternative explanations of the RT difference between left and right ear targets are offered. One attributes this difference to the time necessary for intercortical transfer of right hemisphere information, while the second holds that it is due to the longer times needed by the right hemisphere to process information projected to it.
Providing VANET security through active position detection

Vehicle position is one of the most valuable pieces of information in a Vehicular Ad hoc Network (VANET). The main contribution of this work is a novel approach to enhancing position security in VANETs. We achieve local security by enlisting the help of on-board radar to detect neighboring vehicles and to confirm their announced coordinates. Local security is extended to achieve global security by using preset position-based groups to create a communication network and by using a dynamic challenging mechanism to confirm remote position information. Our solution is predicated on the widely accepted assumption that the vast majority of vehicles are honest and behave responsibly. Extensive simulations confirm the quality of the proposed solution by measuring how fast compromised vehicles can be detected under various conditions.
Summary of the International Conference on Experimental Trace Element Geochemistry

It has been apparent for at least the last decade that the abundance patterns observed for groups of trace elements in igneous rocks contain much potential information about both the source region and the evolutionary history of the rocks. The primary tool used to interpret trace element patterns is the distribution coefficient D, a numerical value specifying the ratio of the concentration of an element in one phase (e.g., plagioclase) to another phase (e.g., magma). At the present time, nearly all of the D values used in model calculations come from analyses of phenocryst-matrix pairs in volcanic rocks. However, the application of phenocryst/matrix partition coefficients to some problems in igneous petrogenesis may be highly inappropriate because of problems of mineral separation, because of disequilibrium between mineral and groundmass, and because such important variables as pressure, temperature, and oxygen partial pressure are not well known for the analyzed samples.
Association of α-phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C with phospholipid vesicles

The alpha isoform of phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C (alpha-PI-PLC, Mr 62,000) was purified from bovine brain. Enzyme activity was dependent on calcium, sodium cholate and showed the anticipated specificity for the phosphatidylinositols. Calcium interaction with this protein, investigated by gel filtration chromatography, showed no detectable binding at calcium concentrations adequate to activate the enzyme. Association of alpha-PI-PLC with phospholipid vesicles was studied by light scattering, fluorescence energy transfer and gel-filtration chromatography. The enzyme readily associated with vesicles of high charge density, with vesicles of crude acidic phospholipids and with PIP2. Interaction was characterized by a rapid association followed by slower addition of more protein to the phospholipid. Complexes containing 20-30 percent protein (by weight) were readily obtained. Calcium had only a small effect on this interaction. The protein-phospholipid complexes appeared to bind less calcium than a similar amount of phospholipid alone. Thus, alpha-PI-PLC did not appear to be a calcium-binding protein in either its free or membrane-associated states. Although alpha-PI-PLC showed the highest propensity to bind to phospholipids, a number of other proteins also associated with phospholipids under the conditions used. Thus, whether or not the observed interaction of alpha-PI-PLC with membranes was specific and biologically important or whether it was a process common to many proteins, was not known. Knowledge of this interaction may enhance our understanding of possible mechanisms for protein-membrane interactions in general.
Role of anaerobes in chronic sinusitis: Will polymerase chain reaction solve the debate.

BACKGROUND: Bacteriology of chronic sinusitis continues to be a matter of debate, particularly the role of anaerobes. Some authors suggest that anaerobes play a significant role whereas others suggest a minimal role. Those who suggest a significant role argue that standard culture techniques are the culprits.OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to use polymerase chain reaction (PCR) on sinus specimens for the presence of anaerobes and to compare them with standard culture techniques.METHODS: Sixty-four samples were obtained in a sterile fashion during sinus surgery and were sent for standard anaerobic cultures as well as anaerobic PCR analysis.RESULTS: Anaerobic bacteria were demonstrated in 5% of culture specimens, which is similar to recently published data. PCR identified anaerobic bacteria in 19% of the specimens (P = 0.01)CONCLUSION: PCR analysis of surgical samples obtained during endoscopic sinus surgery for chronic sinusitis identified a significantly higher incidence of anaerobes (x4) compare...
Toward a theoretical framework for understanding the relationship between situated action and planned action models of behavior in information retrieval contexts: contributions from phenomenology

In human-computer interaction (HCI), a successful interaction sequence can take its own momentum and drift away from what the user has originally planned. However, this does not mean that planned actions play no important role in the overall performance. In this paper, the author tries to construct a line of argument to demonstrate that it is impossible to consider an action without an a priori plan, even according to the phenomenological position taken for granted by the situated action theory. Based on the phenomenological analysis of problematic situations and typification the author argues that, just like "situated-ness", "plannedness" of an action should also be understood in the context of the situation. Successful plan can be developed and executed for familiar context. The first part of the paper treats information seeking behavior as a special type of social action and applies Alfred Schutz's phenomenology of sociology to understand the importance and necessity of plan. The second part reports results of a quasi-experiment focusing on plan deviation within an information seeking context. It was found that when the searcher's situation changed from problematic to non-problematic, the degree of plan deviation decreased significantly. These results support the argument proposed in the first part of the paper.
Bovine adrenocortical self-phosphorylating protein kinase, SPK 380: purification and characterization.

Abstract Recently, we described the partial purification and characterization of a novel adrenocortical cyclic nucleotide-independent protein kinase, PK 380, that catalyzes the phosphorylation of an endogenous peptide (120,000 daltons) and a serine residue(s) of the α subunit (38,000 daltons) of the eucaryotic initiation factor eIF-2 ( Y. Kuroda, W. C. Merrick, and R. K. Sharma, 1982, Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 213 , 271–275 ). In the present communication we describe the purification to apparent homogeneity and characterization of this protein kinase (SPK 380). As shown by sucrose density sedimentation, the native enzyme has a molecular weight of 356,000. The protein is composed of three identical subunits of M r 120,000. Polyacrylamide-gel isoelectric focusing electrophoresis revealed a single peak with p I 4.5. SPK 380 self-phosphorylated a histidine residue(s) of its 120,000-dalton peptide. This reaction utilized the terminal phosphate of ATP; GTP was inactive. Divalent cations (5 m m Mn 2+ or 10 m m Mg 2+ ) were essential for optimum activity. Thiol reagents ( N -ethylmaleimide, p -chloromercuriphenylsulfonic acid) inhibited the kinase, indicating a sulfhydryl-group requirement for enzyme activity.
Risk, vulnerability, and asset‐based approach to disaster risk management

Households are exposed to a wide array of risks, characterized by a known or unknown probability distribution of events. Disasters are one of these risks at the extreme end. Understanding the nature of these risks is critical to recommending appropriate mitigation measures. A household’s resilience in resisting the negative outcomes of these risky events is indicative of its level of vulnerability. Vulnerability has emerged as the most critical concept in disaster studies, with several attempts at defining, measuring, indexing and modeling it. The paper presents the concept and meanings of risk and vulnerability as they have evolved in different disciplines. Building on these basic concepts, the paper suggests that assets are the key to reducing risk and vulnerability. Households resist and cope with adverse consequences of disasters and other risks through the assets that they can mobilize in face of shocks. Asustainable strategy for disaster reduction must therefore focus on asset‐building. There could be different types of assets, and their selection and application for disaster risk management is necessarily a contextual exercise. The mix of asset‐building strategies could vary from one community to another, depending upon households’ asset profile. The paper addresses the dynamics of assets‐risk interaction, thus focusing on the role of assets in risk management.
The trillion‐dollar enterprise: An interview with Booz.Allen & Hamilton's Vice Chairman, Cyrus F. Freidheim, Jr.

The Trillion-Dollar Enterprise: How The Alliance Revolution Will Transform Global Business by Cyrus F. Freidheim, Jr. (Reading, Massachusetts: Perseus Books; 1998. pp. xiii + 253. ISBN 0-7382-0004-2, Price: $25.00) is an interesting, timely, and provocative book that uncovers the alliance revolution and other forms of cooperative activities taking place in global business. The work is one of the first genuine attempts to share many years of a groundbreaking research at Booz.Allen & Hamilton on corporate networks, interorganizational alliances, and cooperative activities of global companies. The concept of the trillion-dollar enterprise that Freidheim convincingly puts forward provides a refreshing and new addition to the lexicon of global business. In this interview with Thunderbird International Business Review's Book Editor, Syed Tariq Anwar, Freidheim describes the trillion-dollar enterprise, its place in the twenty-first century, and its future impact on world industries. Freidheim predicts that the trillion-dollar enterprise will change the way companies do business in the domestic and international markets. Alliances, corporate networks, and megaventures will be the name of the game in the future, eventually bringing new types of companies and competitive environments that will have a lasting effect on multinational corporations (MNCs) as well as consumers. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Simplified predictions of hamaker constants from Lifshitz theory

Abstract Approximations to Lifshitz theory are developed to estimate the van der Waals interaction of coated and uncoated nonmetallic half spaces as a function of separation distance. Using a three-parameter representation of the dielectric spectrum of each material, based only on refractive index data from the visible part of the spectrum and the static dielectric constant, the approximations yield nonretarded Hamaker constants within an average error of 4% of corresponding values computed from rigorous evaluation of Lifshitz theory with the complete dielectric spectra. The effects of retardation and a coating on one of the half-spaces can also be estimated from the approximations but with less accuracy. These approximations should be useful in semiquantitative applications requiring a very large number of such evaluations but not a high level of precision (e.g., to screen materials to be used as a coating or to assess stability to flocculation).
An international capstone experience for pharmacy students.

This report describes the experiences of the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy over 20 years with an international capstone educational experience for students. Although the university provides reciprocal opportunities to international students, this report focuses on the experiences of the college’s pharmacy students who have participated in the program. This capstone course is offered as an elective course in the advanced pharmacy practice experience (APPE) component of the college’s experiential program. Goals of the program and a brief description of its organizational structure are provided. Results of a structured student satisfaction survey and a survey covering the most recent 3 years of the program are presented. This program has greatly broadened participants’ cultural horizons and expanded their global view and understanding of the contributions of pharmacy to health care.
Exosome-mediated delivery of functionally active miRNA-155 inhibitor to macrophages

Exosomes, membranous nanovesicles, naturally carry bio-macromolecules and play pivotal roles in both physiological intercellular crosstalk and disease pathogenesis. Here, we showed that B cell-derived exosomes can function as vehicles to deliver exogenous miRNA-155 mimic or inhibitor into hepatocytes or macrophages, respectively. Stimulation of B cells significantly increased exosome production. Unlike in parental cells, baseline level of miRNA-155 was very low in exosomes derived from stimulated B cells. Exosomes loaded with a miRNA-155 mimic significantly increased miRNA-155 levels in primary mouse hepatocytes and the liver of miRNA-155 knockout mice. Treatment of RAW macrophages with miRNA-155 inhibitor loaded exosomes resulted in statistically significant reduction in LPS-induced TNFα production and partially prevented LPS-induced decrease in SOCS1 mRNA levels. Furthermore, exosome-mediated miRNA-155 inhibitor delivery resulted in functionally more efficient inhibition and less cellular toxicity compared to conventional transfection methods. Similar approaches could be useful in modification of target biomolecules in vitro and in vivo. From the clinical editor: In this study, exosome-based delivery of miRNA-155 mimicker or inhibitor was found to have significant biological response in hepatocytes and macrophages. Exosome-based approaches may be useful in the modification of other target biomolecules.
Physics Beyond The Standard Model: Experimental

The search for physics beyond the Standard Model includes Technicolor particles, Higgs Bosons, compositeness, many variations of Supersymmetry, large extra dimensions, model-independent searches for anomalies, and other topics. This article reports a subset of these ongoing searches at the high-energy colliders, Tevatron, HERA and LEP.
Quantification of partially recrystallized polycrystals using electron backscatter diffraction

Abstract A new experimental method of determining the volume fraction of recrystallized structure in a polycrystalline material has been developed. This method is based upon the comparison of electron backscatter diffraction patterns from adjacent locations in a polycrystal. Positions along a line are tested to determine whether adjacent points have the same crystal lattice orientation indicating that no dislocation structure exists between the two locations. If the distance between the two positions is relatively small, it is assured that the two points lie within a region of essentially defect-free lattice. Scanning through a region of material in this manner yields the lineal fraction of recrystallized material which directly correlates with the volume fraction. This automatic measurement eliminates the subjectivity and human error always associated with the quantitative determination of fraction recrystallized in a material.
Plasma clearance of human low-density lipoprotein in human apolipoprotein B transgenic mice is related to particle diameter.

To test for intrinsic differences in metabolic properties of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) as a function of particle size, we examined the kinetic behavior of 6 human LDL fractions ranging in size from 251 to 265 A injected intravenously into human apolipoprotein (apo) B transgenic mice. A multicompartmental model was formulated and fitted to the data by standard nonlinear regression using the Simulation, Analysis and Modeling (SAAM II) program. Smaller sized LDL particles (251 to 257 A) demonstrated a significantly slower fractional catabolic rate (FCR) (0.050 ± 0.045 h−1) compared with particles of larger size (262 to 265 A) (0.134 ± −0.015 h−1, P < .03), and there was a significant correlation between FCR and the peak LDL diameter of the injected fractions (R2 = .71, P < .034). The sum of the equilibration parameters, k(2,1) and k(1,2), for smaller LDL (0.255 h−1 and 0.105 h−1, respectively) was significantly smaller than that for larger LDL (0.277 h−1 and 0.248 h−1, respectively; P < .01), indicative of slower intravascular-extravascular exchange for smaller LDL. Therefore in this mouse model, smaller LDL particles are cleared more slowly from plasma than larger LDL and are exchanged more slowly with the extravascular space. This might be due to compositional or structural features of smaller LDL that lead to retarded clearance.
Epilogue: Synthesizing formative/summative evaluation issues and beyond

Abstract Chen closes by discussing what he views as important issues that emerged from the debates. These issues and Chen's interpretations of panel members' views relative to them are summarized and synthesized below.
Same-different judgments of size and of weight in children: Does reward make a difference?

The effect of reward on same-different judgments of size and of weight was investigated. Eighty-one children (ages 4 to 6 years) were (1) rewarded for selecting and inserting a black disk into a box, (2) rewarded for choosing a white disk in the same task, or (3) not rewarded while participating in the task. The children were then required to report “same” or “different” in size judgments of black, white, and gray disks presented for comparison. Same-different judgments of sets of weights of black, white, and gray brightnesses were investigated as well. It was found that reward did not measurably affect the children’s judgments of size or weight. A developmental trend was manifested in size judgments but not in estimates of weight.
Experimental investigation of the effect of geometry on the efficiency of double lap joint using fracture mechanics technique in shear mode (mode II)

Abstract The fracture toughness in shear mode (mode II) has been studied for double lap adhesive joints where the geometry of the joint is the major parameter. An aluminum-epoxy system was selected for the experimental tests. In the present investigation, both rectangular and elliptical planfonn geometry were investigated. For evaluating the performance, the adhesion area of the two geometries was identical. The calibration factors for mode II of the two geometries were obtained. The analysis of the results was performed by modeling the damage growth at the crack tip as a self-similar crack extension through compliance matching procedure. The crack growth resistance at instability and the corresponding critical strain energy release rate are independent of initial crack length in the range of crack length investigated. The critical strain energy release rate in mode II is roughly eight times higher for the elliptical geometry than for the rectangular geometry.
Is comparative law a distinct discipline

Jurists studying their domestic law ask what it is or should be. Comparative lawyers compare the law of different legal systems. Are these really distinct enterprises? Many domestic lawyers think so because they assume that their own cases, statutes and treatises are the only authorities relevant to the question of what their own law is. Italian cases or French statutes or German treatises could only be relevant to Italian or French or German law. They do not think this conclusion requires argument. They take it as obviously true. Comparative lawyers often react in the same way, in part because of their own experience. When they study how the law of different countries deals with a particular problem, they usually find that the decided cases involve different facts, and that the law is stated differently in statutes and treatises. They promptly assume that the law of France deals with the problem differently than the law of Germany. Here I will argue that the law of different legal systems may be much the same even if the decided cases and the authoritative statements made in statutes and treatises look different. To decide whether it is the same requires a careful analysis which should be made in the same way by a comparative and a domestic lawyer. To the extent that the law turns out to be the same, then it should be analyzed in the same way by both the comparative and the domestic lawyer. Their methods begin to diverge only when the law they are studying is genuinely different, and even then, their methods are interdependent. Neither can neglect the other's conclusions. Let us consider, successively, the states in which a comparative or a domestic lawyer might find the law of a particular jurisdiction. One possible state is that of extreme confusion: there might be a mass of case law and no idea what rules the courts are following or what principles of justice or policy are guiding them. Even to describe the existing state of the law, neither the domestic nor the comparative lawyer can simply catalog the decided cases. Case law is law only to the extent it indicates or affects the way new cases will be decided. Merely to describe the law, the comparative and the domestic lawyer
Isomorphism on a physical system of the Hodgkin-Huxley equations for potassium conductance.

A physical system is derived which has properties which are the same as those computed for the potassium conductance system in the squid axon with the Hodgkin-Huxley equations. The system describes a molecule with five ionization states which, on hyperpolarization, are stripped of singly charged ions (H + ?), and doubly charged ions (Ca ++ ?). The dependence of potassium conductance on pH and on the calcium substrate concentration is predicted by the physical system. The effect of enzyme or allosteric interactions in producing inactivation or blocking of conductance is discussed. To consider these effects, the isomorphism is augmented to an 8-state system. This 8-state system encompasses the properties of both the potassium and, with different parameters, the sodium conductance. It is thus general enough to describe all the HH equations in the potential region used for the determination of the HH parameters, namely, −30 to 110 mV transmembrane potential.
Convergence of minimum norm elements of projections and intersections of nested affine spaces in Hilbert space

We consider a Hilbert space, an orthogonal projection onto a closed subspace and a sequence of downwardly directed affine spaces. We give sufficient conditions for the projection of the intersection of the affine spaces into the closed subspace to be equal to the intersection of their projections. Under a closure assumption, one such (necessary and) sufficient condition is that summation and intersection commute between the orthogonal complement of the closed subspace, and the subspaces corresponding to the affine spaces. Another sufficient condition is that the cosines of the angles between the orthogonal complement of the closed subspace, and the subspaces corresponding to the affine spaces, be bounded away from one. Our results are then applied to a general infinite horizon, positive semi-definite, linear quadratic mathematical programming problem. Specifically, under suitable conditions, we show that optimal solutions exist and, modulo those feasible solutions with zero objective value, they are limits of optimal solutions to finite-dimensional truncations of the original problem.
Electronic spectra of porphyrins in the solid state: Newly observed transitions, collective and structural effects, and protein-mimicking environments

Abstract Solid-state porphyrins allow detailed electronic spectroscopy, evaluation of structural effects, and new catalytic environments not possible in solution. A difficulty with studying porphyrins and other highly absorbing species with UV–vis spectroscopy in the solid state is the opacity of the samples. Fortunately, this is in fact a major plus with specular reflectance spectroscopy. This paper reviews several solid-state porphyrin systems having notable delocalized electrons, structural effects on spectra and environments that allow heterogeneous catalysis and protein-mimicking environments, all studied with polarized specular reflectance spectroscopy. The porphyrins include free-base and metalloporphyrins with simple (octaethyl) through complex (tetraaza-tetrabenzo) substituents and ring insertions. Applications include new electronic transition assignments, determination of ring vs. metal conductivity, correlation of ring puckering to red-shifting of Q and Soret transitions, and identifying the presence of and environmental effects on porphyrins in network solids.
Induction of myeloproliferative disease in mice by tyrosine kinase fusion oncogenes does not require granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor or interleukin-3

Tyrosine kinase fusion oncogenes that occur as a result of chromosomal translocations have been shown to activate proliferative and antiapoptotic pathways in leukemic cells, but the importance of autocrine and paracrine expression of hematopoietic cytokines in leukemia pathogenesis is not understood. Evidence that leukemic transformation may be, at least in part, cytokine dependent includes data from primary human leukemia cells, cell culture experiments, and murine models of leukemia. This report demonstrates that interleukin (IL)-3 plasma levels are elevated in myeloproliferative disease (MPD) caused by the TEL/tyrosine kinase fusions TEL/platelet-derived growth factor beta receptor (PDGFbetaR), TEL/Janus kinase 2 (JAK2), and TEL/neurotrophin-3 receptor (TRKC). Plasma granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) levels were elevated by TEL/PDGFbetaR and TEL/JAK2. However, all of the fusions tested efficiently induced MPD in mice genetically deficient for both GM-CSF and IL-3, demonstrating that these cytokines are not necessary for the development of disease in this model system. Furthermore, in experiments using normal marrow transduced with TEL/PDGFbetaR retrovirus mixed with marrow transduced with an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) retrovirus, the MPD induced in these mice demonstrated minimal stimulation of normal myelopoiesis by the TEL/PDGFbetaR-expressing cells. In contrast, recipients of mixed GM-CSF-transduced and EGFP-transduced marrow exhibited significant paracrine expansion of EGFP-expressing cells. Collectively, these data demonstrate that, although cytokine levels are elevated in murine bone marrow transplant models of leukemia using tyrosine kinase fusion oncogenes, GM-CSF and IL-3 are not required for myeloproliferation by any of the oncogenes tested.
School- and classroom-based supports for children following the 2013 Boston Marathon attack and manhunt

School staff provide key mental health services following mass crisis events and teachers, in particular, can provide important supports within their classrooms. This study examines Boston-area teachers’ perception of classroom-wide psychiatric distress and the types of supports that schools and teachers provided following the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and subsequent manhunt. Boston-area K-12 teachers (N = 147) in communities with varying levels of exposure to the bombing and manhunt completed an anonymous web-based survey 2–5 months after the attack. Teachers reported on students’ exposure to the bombings and manhunt, classroom-wide psychiatric distress, and the types of supports they and their schools provided students. Teacher reports of student exposure to the bombings and manhunt were significantly associated with their perceptions of greater classroom-wide psychiatric distress. Almost half indicated that their school had no formal policy for responding to the crisis, half reported no training to address events, and even the most common classroom-based support strategy—reassuring students of their safety—was provided by only 76 % of teachers. Teacher perceptions of student exposure to the manhunt, but not the bombing, were significantly associated with greater provision of these supports. In the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings and manhunt, teachers and schools provided supports; however, the extent and types of supports varied considerably. Working with teachers to most effectively and consistently serve in this complex role has the potential to improve school-based crisis response plans, as well as student outcomes.
Image-guided biopsy and treatment of musculoskeletal tumors.

This article reviews the basics of image-guided intervention of musculoskeletal neoplasms. Image-guided procedures are playing an ever-increasing role in the diagnosis, staging, and treatment of musculoskeletal tumors. The successful handling of these lesions necessitates a multidisciplinary approach, with the radiologist working closely with the orthopedic oncologic surgeon, medical oncologist, radiation oncologist, and pathologist to ensure that the procedure is performed in a way that maximizes the chance of definitive diagnosis and/or the treatment effect while minimizing potential complications. To accomplish these goals, the radiologist must be familiar with the indications and contraindications for any biopsy or treatment, effective procedure planning (e.g., selection of biopsy path, type of imaging guidance and biopsy needle, etc.), proper specimen handling, and potential treatment options such as thermal ablation or cement augmentation. Continued involvement after the procedure—including follow-up to ensure that pathology is concordant with imaging—is also crucial.
Heterogeneous chemistry of NO2 on mineral oxide particles: Spectroscopic evidence for oxide-coordinated and water-solvated surface nitrate

In this study, transmission FT-IR and diffuse reflectance UV-vis spectroscopies were used to probe the heterogeneous chemistry of gaseous nitrogen dioxide on mineral oxide particles. In particular, the role of pre- and post-adsorbed water on the heterogeneous chemistry of NO2 on Al2O3 and TiO2 was investigated. At 298 K, NO2 reacts with the surface of these mineral oxides to form surface nitrite and nitrate. The spectroscopic data show that two distinct types of surface nitrate exist, oxide-coordinated and water-solvated nitrate. The relative amounts of oxide-coordinated and water-solvated nitrate are dependent on the coverage of adsorbed water on the surface of the mineral oxide particle. The importance of this water layer in the heterogeneous atmospheric chemistry of mineral oxide aerosol is discussed.
Nonlinearity in normal human EEG: cycles, temporal asymmetry, nonstationarity and randomness, not chaos

Two-hour vigilance and sleep electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings from five healthy volunteers were analyzed using a method for identifying nonlinearity and chaos which combines the redundancy–linear redundancy approach with the surrogate data technique. A nonlinear component in the EEG was detected, however, inconsistent with the hypothesis of low-dimensional chaos. A possibility that a temporally asymmetric process may underlie or influence the EEG dynamics was indicated. A process that merges nonstationary nonlinear deterministic oscillations with randomness is proposed for an explanation of observed properties of the analyzed EEG signals. Taking these results into consideration, the use of dimensional and related chaos-based algorithms in quantitative EEG analysis is critically discussed.
The effect of different dialysate magnesium concentrations on QTc dispersion in hemodialysis patients.

Background: Electrolyte changes during dialysis affect corrected QT (QTc) and QTc dispersion (QTcd), a surrogate marker of arrhythmogenicity. The impact of magnesium on QTcd is not clear. Methods: Twenty-two stable patients on maintenance hemodialysis were enrolled in this study. Each underwent two consecutive hemodialysis sessions at least 2 days apart, the first against normal magnesium dialysate (with magnesium at 1.8 mg/dL) followed by a low magnesium dialysate (with magnesium at 0.6 mg/dL). Pre- and post-dialysis weights, blood pressure, electrolytes, and 12-lead surface EKG were recorded. The QT interval and the QTcd were calculated before and after dialysis in both sessions. Results: Of 22 patients, 16 were female. The mean age ± SD was 53.7 ± 18.0 years. The mean change of QTcd (pre- vs. post-dialysis) was 9.5 ms (p = 0.120) and 9.3 ms (p = 0.145) in low and normal magnesium groups, respectively. Using univariate analysis, there was a statistically significant decrease in the mean blood pressure, ...
A variational multiscale finite element method for multiphase flow in porous media

We present a stabilized finite element method for the numerical solution of multiphase flow in porous media, based on a multiscale decomposition of pressures and fluid saturations into resolved (or grid) scales and unresolved (or subgrid) scales. The multiscale split is invoked in a variational setting, which leads to a rigorous definition of a grid scale problem and a subgrid scale problem. The subgrid problem is modeled using an algebraic approximation. This model requires the definition of a matrix of intrinsic time scales, which we design based on stability considerations. We illustrate the performance of the method with simulations of a waterflood in a heterogeneous oil reservoir. The proposed method yields stable, highly accurate solutions on very coarse grids, which we compare with those obtained by the classical Galerkin method or the upstream finite difference method. Although this paper is restricted to multiphase flow in porous media, the formulation is quite general and can be applied to other nonlinear systems of conservation laws, like the shallow water equations.