cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Conjecture on Wiener Indices in Combinatorial Chemistry

Drugs and other chemical compounds are often modeled as polygonal shapes, where each vertex represents an atom of the molecule, and covalent bonds between atoms are represented by edges between the corresponding vertices. This polygonal shape derived from a chemical compound is often called its molecular graph, and can be a path, a tree, or in general a graph. An indicator defined over this molecular graph, the Wiener index, has been shown to be strongly correlated to various chemical properties of the compound. The Wiener index conjecture for trees states that for any integer n (except for a finite set), one can find a tree with Wiener index n. This conjecture has been open for quite some time, and many authors have presented incremental progress on this problem. In this paper we present further progress towards proving this conjecture—through the design of efficient algorithms, we show that enumerating all possible trees to verify this conjecture (as done by all the previous approaches) is not necessary, but instead searching in a small special family of trees suffices, thus achieving the first polynomial (in n) time algorithm to verify the conjecture up to integer n. More precisely, we (i) present an infinite family of trees and prove various properties of these trees, (ii) show that a large number of integers, up to at least 108 (compared with the previous best 104) are representable as Wiener indices of trees in this succinct family, (iii) provide several efficient algorithms for computing trees with given Wiener indices, and (iv) implement our algorithms and experimentally show that their performance is asymptotically much better than their theoretical worst-case upper bound.
Clear‐sky column water vapor retrievals using the Airborne Imaging Microwave Radiometer (AIMR)

[1] The brightness temperature measurements from the Airborne Imaging Microwave Radiometer (AIMR) microwave radiometer 37 GHz and 90 GHz channels are used to determine the column water vapor amount under clear-sky conditions during the Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX) campaign in 1999. The retrieval algorithm is based on the integrated relative humidity profiles measured by numerous dropsondes released from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) C-130 aircraft that operated during the 2 month Intensive Field Phase (IFP) of INDOEX. The highest correlations of the linear relationship between the AIMR brightness temperature measurements and the dropsonde column water vapor values are for the nadir brightness temperatures of the 37 GHz and 90 GHz AIMR channels. The column water vapor, w, given with units of kg m−2, may be expressed in terms of the 90 GHz nadir brightness temperature, TB, via the expression, w = −209.4 + 1.025 TB, whereas in terms of the 37 GHz AIMR nadir brightness temperature, w = −277.8 + 1.835 TB. These expressions are valid when AIMR brightness temperature measurements about the NCAR C-130 are made at high altitudes (above 5 km) and when the atmospheric column is cloud-free below the aircraft. Other relationships between the polarized components of the AIMR brightness temperature measurements as well as various combinations (differences) of these polarized components with the column water vapor did not identify any parameterizations to the algorithm better than that seen with the mean of the raw brightness temperature components.
Entropy and the life table.

The life table of a population gives information about differences in age at death between the members of the population. These differences arise from the relative effects of genetic and environmental factors. The shape of the life table may provide information about the genetic variability in the population, the range of environmental factors that impinge on the population or the incidence of random events in the lifetimes of different individuals. A problem of some interest to population biologists is the evaluation of the relative effects of genetic and environmental components on the evolution of the life table. The resolution of this problem requires, first of all, determining some measure of the shape of the life table as a function of the age-specific mortality and fertility of the population. The analysis of the life table which this note describes is based on a new demographic parameter, the entropy of a population, introduced in population biology [1]. This parameter is a measure of the convexity of the life table. We observe that the three theoretical life-history curves [2, 3] can be characterized in terms of the maximization of our entropy parameter subject to simple constraints on the stable age distribution. This note is not concerned with the evolution of the life table. To do this we need to make some hypothesis concerning the genetic and environmental mechanisms that operate to determine the life history of a population. This aspect is discussed in a companion article [4]. An interesting application of our entropy parameter to the study of male-female mortality patterns is given in [5]. Let l(x) be the probability that an individual born at age zero survives to age x and let re(x) denote the age-specific fecundity. The net reproductive rate R o is given by
Silver staining of nerve fibers in cardiac tissue.

Fresh hearts of dog were perfused through the coronary vessels with 1000 ml. of fixative (chloral hydrate, 5 g. per 100 ml. of 70% ethyl alcohol) and blocks of tissue 2 × 5 mm. from epicardium to endocardium fixed 48 hours in the same fixative. The blocks were placed in 95% alcohol containing 0.3% addition of strong ammonia for 4 hours, followed by 2 changes of plain 95% alcohol of 1 hour each, then cleared and infiltrated with paraffin. Mounted sections 12–15 µ thick were incubated in 1% silver proteinate (obtained from Serumvertrieb, Marburg, Germany)2 at 38° C. for 48 hours in the presence of 10 g. of 15 gauge copper wire per 200 ml. of solution. The slides were rinsed gently in 3 changes of distilled water for 2 minutes, 1 minute and 1 minute, respectively, and reduced in 1% hydroquinone and 5% sodium sulfite for 5 minutes. They were washed 5 minutes in tap water and 5 minutes in 2 changes of distilled water and toned 3–5 minutes in 0.25% gold chloride, rinsed in distilled water 10 seconds, reduced 10...
Intermedia In Electronic Images

The essay focuses on the processes of intermedia in visual media. The author's analysis of the merging of still, moving and computed images reveals that, in intermedia, images tend to-ward a spatia...
Some Effects of Chronic Tritium Exposure During Selected Ages in the Rat

LASKEY, J. W., AND BURSIAN, S. J. Some Effects of Chronic Tritium Exposure during Selected Ages in the Rat. Radiat. Res. 67, 314-323 (1976). To assess the implication of age at the time of exposure to chronic irradiation, rats were exposed to constant tritium (HTO) activities of 10 yCi/ml of body water for 42 days beginning either on the first day of pregnancy or at birth, or at 42 days or 74 days of age. This activity level provided a calculated whole-body dose rate of 3 rad/day. The indicators of radiobiologic damage employed were reproductive, endocrine, and neurochemical parameters and were assessed at 49, 120, or 300 days of age. A significant reduction in the testes weight and sperm content in rats exposed either from the first day of pregnancy or birth was evident upon examination at 49 days of age. Females exposed from the first day of pregnancy had a significant reduction in their F2 litter size and an increase in the number of resorbed embryos. Analysis for norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) concentration in the brain and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) concentration in the pituitary was performed at 49 and 300 days. Rats exposed from conception had increases in NE and DA and a decreased FSH concentration when examined at 49 days of age. When examined at 300 days of age all groups had decreased NE and DA concentrations. At the same time, all treatment groups showed increased FSH concentration with the groups exposed later in life showing the greatest increase. From the parameters examined all age groups showed some effects due to the HTO exposure, but the group most sensitive to the effects of chronic irradiation was the
Thermodynamics of electrokinetic phenomena

Abstract The thermodynamics of irreversible processes are applied to electrokinetic experiments. By investigating the correlation between fluctuations in volume and charge in an electroosmosis cell, the Onsager relation for this case is derived. From this and the empirical equation relating flow of liquid and electricity to pressure and potential difference, general relations between electrokinetic effects are derived, showing that for a given system the total electrokinetic behavior is described only by one coefficient. From an application of the same method to the case of suspended particles, relations between electrophoresis and sedimentation are derived. Attention is drawn to electrokinetic corrections to be applied to the coefficients of permeation or of sedimentation in the form in which they are usually determined.
A Discussion of the Measurement of Zn to ZnO Conversion in Aerosol Reactors

One approach proposed for the exothermic step of the solar Zn/ZnO thermochemical water-splitting cycle is synthesis and hydrolysis of Zn nanoparticles in an aerosol reactor. To date the most common method to quantify the extent of conversion from Zn to ZnO is ex-situ X-ray diffraction analysis of particles collected on a filter placed at the exit of the reactor. The assumption inherent in this approach is that captured particles do not react on the filter because of its relatively low temperature. In the present study, we assess this assumption using data collected on hydrolysis of Zn nanoparticles at temperatures between 360 and 465 K and discuss methods of quantitative analysis via X-ray diffraction (XRD). Zn nanoparticles synthesized via condensation in an argon carrier gas are captured on a filter. Once the particles are collected, steam is introduced to the reactor at controlled partial pressure and temperature. The extent of reaction at the filter is characterized via calibrated XRD. At and below 380 K the reaction is negligible. At 465 K, the rate of conversion is slow at 0.007 ± 0.001%/min. In most cases, quantifying the extent of conversion from Zn to ZnO in the aerosol by ex-situ X-ray diffraction analysis of particles collected on the filter is an acceptable approach, though care should be taken in both the application of this method and in the quantitative analysis of the XRD data.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Characterization of ribosomes from the phycomycetes, Rhizopus arrhizus and Pythium debaryanum

Abstract 1. Ribosomes from an aplanatae phycomycete, Rhizopus arrhizus and a biflagellate phycomycete Pythium debaryanum were isolated and characterized. 2. The purified ribosomal preparations from R. arrhizus and P. debaryanum had sedimentation values of the 80 S class. 3. The amino acid analyses revealed that the ribosomal protein from R. arshizus and P. debaryanum had a higher glycine content in comparison to values reported for ribosomal protein of Neurospora and Saccharomyces. 4. The gel electrophoresis analysis of the ribosomal RNA protein indicated 25 bands in P. debaryanum and 20 in R. arrhizus. 5. The analysis of the bases of the ribosomal RNA indicated a low value of CMP with 16.4% in R. arrhizus and 17.4% in P. debaryanum. The GC content was 43% in P. debaryanum and 44% in R. arrhizus. 6. The ribosomes of both R. arrhizus and P. debaryanum were approx. 200 A in size.
Callus formation and plant regeneration from mesophyll protoplasts of rape plants (Brassica napus L. cv. Zephyr)

Abstract Protoplasts from mesophyll cells of rape plants ( Brassica napus L. cv. Zephyr) were isolated by enzymatic removal of cell walls in an osmoticum consisting of sorbitol and mannitol. A two-step enzyme treatment involving 0.5% each of Onozuka P1500 cellulase and Rhozyme HP150 hemicellulase followed by 0.5% each of Driselase and hemicellulase at pH 6.2 resulted in the production of viable protoplasts in 80–90% yield. The protoplasts were cultured in droplets of B5 medium in petri dishes at a light intensity of 100 lux and 26°. They were able to regenerate cell walls. Cell division was apparent after 30 h of culturing and by 60 h up to 38% of the protoplasts had divided once. Cell clusters were formed within 15 days of culturing. The calli originating from cell clusters were induced to differentiate and to form complete plants.
Investigation of ballistic transport through resonant-tunnelling quantum wells using wigner function approach

Abstract We present a Wigner function study of quantum ballistic transport through resanant-tunneling quantum wells, as found in devices which employ a double barrier formed by layers of GaAs and AlGaAs. The Wigner equation-of-motion is numerically solved, in an effective-mass Hamiltonian formulation. The inclusion of scattering is also attempted using a simple relaxation term.
Carbon dioxide in water and seawater: the solubility of a non-ideal gas

Abstract New measurements of the solubility of carbon dioxide in water and seawater confirm the accuracy of the measurements of Murray and Riley, as opposed to those of Li and Tsui. Corrections for non-ideal behavior in the gas phase and for dissociation in distilled water are required to calculate solubility coefficients from these sets of data. Equations for the solubilities of real gases are presented and discussed. Solubility coefficients for carbon dioxide in water and seawater are calculated for the data of Murray and Riley, and are fitted to equations in temperature and salinity of the form used previously to fit the solubilities of other gases.
Early effects of testosterone propionate on the seminal vesicles of castrate rats.

The long term effects of administered testosterone to castrate animals are well known. The synthesis of protein, the rise in acid phosphatase of the prostate gland (Huggins, et al. 1939), and the marked production of fructose in the seminal vesicles (Mann 1946a, 1946b) are well-recognized biochemical changes. Some histological studies have been carried out after the androgens have acted for short periods of time. Tislowitz (1939), using colchicine, demonstrated that profuse mitoses in the seminal vesicles of castrate mice occurred about 24 hours after the injection of testosterone. Burkhart (1939, 1942) has shown that testosterone propionate initiates hypertrophy of the cells in the prostate of the castrate rat 23 hours after injection, and cell division in 36 hours. The relation of these morphological changes to the biochemical phenomena, however, has not been explored. Experiments were therefore designed to determine at what time alterations in certain biochemical reactions appeared after injection of t...
Helium-3 and manganese at the 21°N East Pacific Rise hydrothermal site

Abstract Water samples collected at the 21°N hydrothermal site on the East Pacific Rise crest, including Deep-Tow and hydrocast samples collected in 1977 and three hot vent water samples collected recently with the submersible “Alvin”, contain significant additions of 3 He, 4 He, and Mn. Although the vent water collections were at least 50-fold diluted with ambient seawater, they are up to 53 times enriched in 3 He and 7.4 times enriched in 4 He relative to saturated seawater, with concentrations of total dissolvable manganese (TDM) up to 310 μg/kg. 3 He and 4 He covary in the vent samples, with 3 He/ 4 He about 8 times the atmospheric ratio, reflecting a mantle helium source. In contrast to the helium isotopes the Mn/ 3 He ratio in the vent samples is variable, ranging from 4.3 × 10 4 up to 1.0 × 10 5 g/cm 3 . Profiles of 3 He/ 4 He and TDM in the water column at 21°N show a sharp maximum of δ( 3 He) = 47%and TDM= 0.69 μg/kg , much higher than the average values of 34% and 0.2 μg/kg for the deep water in this region. This spike in 3 He and Mn occurs at 2400 m depth, 200 m above the level of the 21°N vents, and 100 m higher than any local bathymetry, evidence for upward transport of the hydrothermal discharge via rising plumes of hot vent water. Two of the 21°N Deep-Tow samples associated with small ( ⩽0.010°C ) temperature anomalies had δ( 3 He) = 38%and TDM= 0.28 and 0.58 μg/kg , also slightly elevated relative to background. The Deep-Tow and hydrocast samples have lower Mn/ 3 He ratios than average vent samples due to Mn removal by scavenging. Comparison of vent samples and water column measurements at 21°N indicate that the pure vent water could be detected using 3 He and Mn even when diluted ∼10 5 times with seawater, confirming that these two tracers are extremely sensitive indicators of submarine hydrothermal activity.
Apathy correlates with cognitive performance, functional disability, and HIV RNA plasma levels in HIV-positive individuals

We examined the relationship of apathy with neurocognitive performance, age, disease markers, and functional disability in 116 HIV-infected individuals. Apathy was assessed with the Apathy Evaluation Scale and was significantly associated with highest HIV plasma level, functional disability, and neurocognitive performance. Individuals with higher apathy levels demonstrated a stronger association between age and processing speed performance. Our findings suggest that apathy is related to poor neuropsychological functioning, HIV plasma levels, and increased functional disability in individuals with HIV. Additionally, to our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate an interactive effect of age and apathy on neuropsychological performance in HIV.
Urban Strategies for a Global Era: A Cross-National Comparison

This article is based on a study of 10 cities in Western Europe and North America over a 30-year period. Based on detailed case studies, the authors identify four strategies of development: (a) growth strategies, (b) community development initiatives, (c) regionalism, and (d) national urban policy. The first of these strategies focuses on promoting economic growth, albeit sometimes “slow” or “smart” growth. The other three strategies focus on rescaling the city to enhance bargaining leverage in the international marketplace. It is argued that all of these strategies have enhanced local governmental influence over the international capital investment process, thereby also stimulating local democracy over city building. National urban policy appears to play the most critical role, however, because it most powerfully supports local public sector bargaining with private enterprise.
On investing in the long run when stock returns are mean-reverting

How risky is it to invest in the stock market in the long run? Under the random walk hypothesis for stock returns, it has been shown that risk is increasing with the investment time horizon. Using the insights of variance ratios literature, this paper shows that, if stock returns are mean-reverting in the long run, then such a conclusion may be reversed. As a practical consequence, portfolio insurance cost would decrease with time horizon.
Suppression, Bias, and Selection in Science: The Case of Cancer Research

In recent years the long‐rejected theory of the bacterial etiology of peptic ulcers has been resurrected and transformed into consensus knowledge. The history suggests that the stability of consensus knowledge on the noninfectious nature of chronic disease may be open to question. Cancer research has a similar history in which alternative bacterial programs were not only rejected and forgotten, but actively suppressed. Two types of accountability are analyzed. On the one hand, while nonmainstream researchers are rightly held accountable to the strictest standards of their field, the standards themselves should be evaluated because they are defined hierarchically in ways that create biases against the nonmainstream research programs. On the other hand, the general research field is accountable to the public, and it should evaluate alternative research programs according to fair scientific standards. The cancer research field presents a massive policy failure on both counts; new policies are needed to allow...
Steering of magnetostatic surface waves in metal-dielectric-YIG layered structure

Abstract An investigation of magnetic steering of the magnetostatic surface waves in metal-dielectric-YIG layered planar structure has been presented. The dependence of the steering angle on various parameters, e.g. wave frequency, separation of YIfilm from metal plane, and the angle between the direction of phase propagation and biasing field, has been investigated. It is seen that steering can be controlled by a suitable choice of parameters.
Idiomatic versus Literal Interpretations of Ditropically Ambiguous Sentences

"Ditropically" ambiguous sentences (each having both a literal and an idiomatic interpretation) were prepared for listener's discrimination judgments, and for silent readers' rankings on an "idioma...
Enhancing electronic medical record retrieval through semantic query expansion

There are currently many active movements towards computerizing patient healthcare information. As Electronic Medical Record (EMR) systems are being increasingly adopted in healthcare facilities, however, there is a big challenge in effectively utilizing this massive information source. It is very time-consuming for healthcare providers to dig into the voluminous medical records of a patient to find the few that are indeed relevant to the patient's current problem. Due to the complex semantic relationships among medical concepts and use of many synonyms, antonyms, and hypernym/hyponym, simple word-based information retrieval does not produce satisfactory results. In this paper, we propose an EMR retrieval system that leverages semantic query expansion to retrieve medical records that are relevant to the patient's current symptom/problem. The proposed framework integrates various technologies, including information retrieval, domain ontologies, automatic semantic relationship learning, as well as a body of domain knowledge elicited from healthcare experts. Knowledge of semantic relationships among medical concepts, such as symptoms, exams and tests, diagnoses, and treatments, as well as knowledge of synonyms and hypernym/hyponyms, is used to expand and enhance initial queries posed by a user. We have implemented a preliminary prototype and conducted a pilot testing using sample nursing notes drawn from the EMR system of a community health center.
Determination of the interelement effect in the X-ray fluorescence analysis of Cr in steels

Abstract With the example of chromium analysis in steel, a method is approached by which it is possible to determine numerically the influences of the other elements present with the least possible samples and chemical analyses.
MOZ-TIF2, but not BCR-ABL, confers properties of leukemic stem cells to committed murine hematopoietic progenitors

To better understand the origin of leukemic stem cells, we tested the hypothesis that all leukemia oncogenes could transform committed myeloid progenitor cells lacking the capacity for self-renewal, as has recently been reported for MLL-ENL. Flow-sorted populations of common myeloid progenitors and granulocyte-monocyte progenitors were transduced with the oncogenes MOZ-TIF2 and BCR-ABL, respectively. MOZ-TIF2-transduced progenitors could be serially replated in methylcellulose cultures and continuously propagated in liquid culture, and resulted in an acute myeloid leukemia in vivo that could be serially transplanted. In contrast, BCR-ABL transduction conferred none of these properties to hematopoietic progenitors. These data demonstrate that some, but not all, leukemia oncogenes can confer properties of leukemic stem cells to hematopoietic progenitors destined to undergo apoptotic cell death.
Bullying, Depression, and Suicidality in Adolescents

ABSTRACT Objective To assess the association between bullying behavior and depression, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts among adolescents. Method A self-report survey was completed by 9th- through 12th-grade students ( n = 2342) in six New York State high schools from 2002 through 2004. Regression analyses were conducted to examine the association between being victimized and bullying others with depression, ideation, and attempts. Results Approximately 9% of the sample reported being victimized frequently, and 13% reported bullying others frequently. Frequent exposure to victimization or bullying others was related to high risks of depression, ideation, and suicide attempts compared with adolescents not involved in bullying behavior. Infrequent involvement in bullying behavior also was related to increased risk of depression and suicidality, particularly among girls. The findings indicate that both victims and bullies are at high risk and that the most troubled adolescents are those who are both victims and bullies. Psychopathology was associated with bullying behavior both in and away from school. Conclusions Victimization and bullying are potential risk factors for adolescent depression and suicidality. In evaluations of students involved in bullying behavior, it is important to assess depression and suicidality.
A Phase II Study of Moderate Hypothermia in Severe Brain Injury

ABSTRACT Forty-six patients with severe nonpenetrating brain injury [Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) 4–7] were randomized to standard management at 37°C (n = 22) and to standard management with systemic hypothermia to 32 to 33°C (n = 24). The two groups were balanced in terms of age (Wilcoxon's rank sum test, p > 0.95), randomizing GCS (chi-square test, p = 0.54), and primary diagnosis. Cooling was begun within 6 h of injury by use of cooling blankets. Metocurine and morphine were given hourly during induction and maintenance of hypothermia. Rewarming was at a rate of 1°C per 4 h beginning 48 h after intravascular temperature had reached 33°C. Muscle relaxants and sedation were continued until core temperature reached 35°C. There were no cardiac or coagulopathy-related complications. Seizure incidence was lower in the hypothermia group (Fisher's exact text, p = 0.019). Sepsis was seen more commonly in the hypthermia group, but difference was not statistically significant (chi-square test). Mean Glasgow Outcome S...
Occupational socialization and cynicism toward prison administration

Abstract Corrections officers occupy a crucial position in the institutional organization of prisons, and translate the policies and goals of prison administrations into action. This study focuses on the formation of cynicism toward prison administration and the factors that foster or inhibit it. I examine this type of cynicism by using questionnaire data from 198 first-line corrections officers at a medium-sized, medium security state prison. Cynicism toward prison administration peaks among officers in their first month of duty. However, cynicism declines with increased experience among officers who endorse rehabilitative goals, but does not decline among those who do not endorse such goals. Additionally, stress and frustration and perceived influence on administrative superiors are consistently related to cynicism toward prison administration among all officers. The data suggest that a subculture of cynical officers may form among first-line officers due to variations in occupational socialization processes. Three conceptual themes from symbolic interactionist theories of occupational socialization are presented that could lead to improvements in future research on corrections officers.
‘I never had a political career’: Russian political actors on politics and morality

Abstract This article explores the question of moral discourse among Russian political elites. Morality is reflected in elite narratives in various forms—as an espousal of abstract principles, as a moral–pragmatic hybrid, and as loyalty to one's associates. Proximity to political power correlates with the various versions of moral discourse employed by elite members. Each version, respectively, offers an index of social relations through the prism of morality: in some instances, negatively, as that which prevents the attainment of the good; in others, problematically, as that which makes difficult that attainment; and in a third version, that which contributes to securing the good itself.
Dextran-based in situ cross-linked injectable hydrogels to prevent peritoneal adhesions

Peritoneal adhesions are serious sequelae of surgery, and can cause significant morbidity and/or mortality due to pain, infertility, and bowel obstruction. We have designed and synthesized novel dextran (DX)-based injectable hydrogels for adhesion prevention, which are formed by mixing hydrazide-modified carboxymethyldextran (CMDX-ADH) with aldehyde-modified DX (DX-CHO) or carboxymethylcellulose (CMC-CHO). At high polymer concentrations, hydrogels formed very quickly upon mixing, e.g. 5% CMDX-ADH with 6% DX-CHO (=CMDX-DX; 1.8 s) and 5% CMDX-ADH with 6% CMC-CHO (=CMDX-CMC; 5.8 s). CMDX-DX shrank after gelling, while CMDX-CMC swelled. CMDX-ADH and CMC-CHO showed minimal to mild cytotoxicity to mesothelial cells and macrophages in vitro, while DX-CHO was very cytotoxic. However, all cross-linked gels had very mild cytotoxicity. When applied in a rabbit sidewall defect-bowel abrasion model of adhesion formation, CMDX-CMC greatly reduced the formation of adhesions while CMDX-DX worsened them.
analysis of micronucleated cells by flow cytometry. 3. Advanced technology for detecting clastogenic activity

Abstract Under optimum conditions, flow cytometry (FCM) can provide a powerful technology for analyzing rare micronucleated cells in the peripheral blood. Our efforts in this endeavor have been directed toward a careful and meticulous optimization of experimental conditions, in order to achieve high resolution and high accuracy before introducing biological variation. We have achieved high resolution (Tometsko et al., 1993a) wherein the micronucleus signal is moved 100-fold upfield and away from the DNA deficient red blood cell (RBC) peak. In addition, we have demonstrated the high accuracy of our flow cytometry method in scoring rare micronucleated cells (Tometsko et al., 1993b). In the course of our studies, we rigorously pursued conditions which minimized experimental noise, demanding that FCM-scoring accuracy should approach theoretical limits. Thus, we laid the foundation for detecting clastogen activity with great sensitivity. The experiments described herein extend the previous studies by using high-speed flow cytometry to detect a clastogen-induced increase in MN cells in the total erythrocyte population. Methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) served as a model clastogen in these studies. This manuscript describes our development of a suitable blood-sampling regimen, the advantages of obtaining initial blood samples before dosing, the sex-linked difference in background micronucleus levels in BALB/c mice, and the analysis of a clastogen-induced biological response in male and female mice. As described, our flow cytometry method is able to provide a quantitative analysis of the net change in micronucleated cells (ΔMN) for each mouse.
Prospects and Possibilities of Critical Management Education: Critical Beings and a Pedagogy of Critical Action:

The critical management studies project has generated considerable controversy in the scholarly community in terms of its place in the management and organization domain. Its educational counterpart, critical management education (CME), similarly has aroused debate among those in the management education and learning arena. Typically operationalized as critical pedagogy, CME raises a number of issues concerning the delivery of management curricula in institutional and organizational settings around the world. This article addresses these issues in terms of Barnett's (Higher Education: A Critical Business, 1997) conception of students as critical beings, that is, students capable of thinking critically, reflecting critically, and engaging in critical action. An American undergraduate course, focusing especially on critical action as a mechanism for social change, offers the opportunity to explore the prospects and possibilities of CME in a university curriculum. Students adopted a questioning stance, under...
S-CLONE: Socially-aware data replication for social networks

Online social networking has become one of the most important forms of today's communication. While an online social network can be attractive for many socially interesting features, its competitive edge will diminish if it is not able to keep pace with increasing user activities. Deploying more servers is an intuitive way to make the system scale, but for the best performance one needs to determine where best to put the data, whether replication is needed, and, if so, how. This paper is focused on replication; specifically, we propose S-CLONE, a socially-aware data replication scheme which can significantly improve a social network's efficiency by taking into account social relationships of its data. S-CLONE's performance is substantiated in our evaluation study.
A bivariate generalized lambda distribution (GLD-2) using Plackett's method of construction: distribution, examples and applications

SYNOPTIC ABSTRACTThe Generalized Lambda Distribution (GLD), an extension of Tukey's Lambda Distribution, has proved to be a useful family for fitting probability distributions. However, the specification of the distribution via its inverse function would seem to preclude direct bivariate or multivariate extensions (at least in a reasonably straightforward form), since any bivariate F(x,y) is a function of the marginals F1(x) and F2(y) called a copula, F(x,y) = C(F1(x),F2(y)). Johnson and Kotz (1973) proposed a non-closed-form multivariate extension of Tukey's original (ungeneralized) distribution, but given the lack of a closed form for the univariate GLD it seems likely that a multivariate (even bivariate) extension of the four-parameter GLD would be even more difficult to give a closed-form distribution function for. However, R.L. Plackett (1965) proposed a method for generating bivariate distributions from specified marginals, and his method is employed in this paper to furnish a bivariate GLD-2. Altho...
Mitochondria-Derived Superoxide Links to Tourniquet-Induced Apoptosis in Mouse Skeletal Muscle

Our previous study has reported that superoxide mediates ischemia-reperfusion (IR)-induced necrosis in mouse skeletal muscle. However, it remains poorly understood whether IR induces apoptosis and what factors are involved in IR-induced apoptosis in skeletal muscle. Using a murine model of tourniquet-induced hindlimb IR, we investigated the relationship between mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis in skeletal muscle. Hindlimbs of C57/BL6 mice were subjected to 3 h ischemia and 4 h reperfusion via placement and release of a rubber tourniquet at the greater trochanter. Compared to sham treatment, tourniquet-induced IR significantly elevated mitochondria-derived superoxide production, activated opening of mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP), and caused apoptosis in the gastrocnemius muscles. Pretreatment with a superoxide dismutase mimetic (tempol, 50 mg/kg) or a mitochondrial antioxidant (co-enzyme Q(10), 50 mg/kg) not only decreased mitochondria-derived superoxide production, but also inhibited mPTP opening and apoptosis in the IR gastrocnemius muscles. Additionally, an inhibitor of mPTP (cyclosporine A, 50 mg/kg) also inhibited both mPTP opening and apoptosis in the IR gastrocnemius muscles. These results suggest that mitochondria-derived superoxide overproduction triggers the mPTP opening and subsequently causes apoptosis in tourniquet-induced hindlimb IR.
Prosodic Structure and Perception of Korean Domain-initial Coronal Stops

AbstractThe perception of Korean's three-way voiceless stop contrast depends on the combination of a number of acoustic properties including closure duration, f0, VOT and spectral slope. Production studies indicate that these same properties systematically vary according to a stop's position in the hierarchical prosodic structure of an utterance. This study investigated interactions between prosodic structure and the recognition of tense, lax and aspirated stops by using stimuli that contained stops produced at one position in the prosodic hierarchy cross-spliced into utterances at a different prosodic level. The results of the experiment showed that recognition of tense and aspirated stops remained high regardless of the degree of mismatch between the underlying prosodic position of a segment and the domain into which it was inserted. Misrecognition rates were higher for cross-spliced lax stops, and underlying Utterance and Intonation Phrase initial lax stops spliced into the syllable level were perceived as aspirated by a majority of listeners. These findings are interpreted in terms of Cho & Keating's (2001) study of domain-initial strengthening and the acoustic overlap that is observed between stop manner and prosodic position. These results are taken as preliminary evidence that could support Cho & Keating's (2001) suggestion that prosodically conditioned acoustic differences aid listeners in discerning intended phrasings.
In Vitro Maturation of Cumulus-Oocyte Complexes for Efficient Isolation of Oocytes from Outbred Deer Mice

Background The outbred (as with humans) deer mice have been a useful animal model of research on human behavior and biology including that of the reproductive system. One of the major challenges in using this species is that the yield of oocyte isolation via superovulation is dismal according to the literature to date less than ∼5 oocytes per animal can be obtained so far. Objective The goal of this study is to improve the yield of oocyte isolation from outbred deer mice close to that of most laboratory mice by in vitro maturation (IVM) of cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs). Methods Oocytes were isolated by both superovulation and IVM. For the latter, COCs were obtained by follicular puncture of antral follicles in both the surface and inner cortical layers of ovaries. Immature oocytes in the COCs were then cultured in vitro under optimized conditions to obtain metaphase II (MII) oocytes. Quality of the oocytes from IVM and superovulation was tested by in vitro fertilization (IVF) and embryo development. Results Less than ∼5 oocytes per animal could be isolated by superovulation only. However, we successfully obtained 20.3±2.9 oocytes per animal by IVM (16.0±2.5) and superovulation (4.3±1.3) in this study. Moreover, IVF and embryo development studies suggest that IVM oocytes have even better quality than that from superovulation The latter never developed to beyond 2-cell stage as usual while 9% of the former developed to 4-cells. Significance We have successfully established the protocol for isolating oocytes from deer mice with high yield by IVM. Moreover, this is the first ever success to develop in vitro fertilized deer mice oocytes beyond the 2-cell stage in vitro. Therefore, this study is of significance to the use of deer mice for reproductive biology research.
Influence of edaphological factors on residual activity of selected insecticides in laboratory studies with emphasis on soil moisture and temperature.

A bioassay procedure using southern corn rootworm larvae ( Diabrotica undecimpunctata howardi Barber) was used to study the effects of different soils and soil factors on the relative decline in biological activity of six soil insecticides. Larval mortality was used as an index of the effect of various soil factors on the persistence of carbofuran, chlorpyrifos, fonofos, isofenphos, phorate, and terbufos. The range in LC90’s across all soils was least for terbufos and greatest for carbofuran. LC90’s increased as the percentage of organic matter increased. Temperature had very little effect on the change in mortality. Mortality was least depressed at the high moisture level for chlorpyrifos, isofenphos, and to some extent, carbofuran. Phorate response was variable. Mortality from fonofosand terbufos was appreciably decreased at the high moisture level. Mortality in carbofuran treatments declined as soil pH increased. Chlorpyrifos and terbufos activity decreased in soils with a higher percentage of clay. Carbofuran and isofenphos consistently maintained biological activity the longest.
Selective heteroepitaxy of GaP on silicon

Abstract Laser induced pyrolytic process is used to selectively grow epitaxial GaP microstructures on silicon. The precursor gases are trimethylgallium and tertiarybutylphosphine, a new phosphorus donor.
On finding a vertex solution using interior point methods

Abstract An approach is proposed to generate a vertex solution while using a primal-dual interior point method to solve linear programs. A controlled random perturbation is made to the cost vector. A method to identify the active constraints at the vertex to which the solutions are converging is given. This basic method is further refined to save computational effort. The proposed approach is tested by using a variation of the primal-dual interior point method. Our method is developed by taking a predictor-corrector approach. In practice this method takes considerably fewer iterations to solve linear programs than methods described by Choi, Monma, and Shanno; Lustig, Marsten, and Shanno; and Domich, Boggs, Donaldson, and Witzgall. Computational results on problems from the NETLIB test set are reported to test our approach for finding vertex solutions. These results show that one perturbation is enough to force the solutions to converge to a vertex. The results indicate that the proposed approach is insensitive to the number of degenerate variables. The results also indicate that the effort required to generate a vertex solution is comparable to that required to solve the problem using an interior point method.
Reduction of electron density in the night-time lower ionosphere in response to a thunderstorm

Tropospheric thunderstorms have been reported to disturb the lower ionosphere, at altitudes of 65–90 km. The use of lightning signals from a distant mesoscale storm to probe the lower ionosphere above a small tropospheric thunderstorm reveals a reduction in ionospheric electron density in response to lightning discharges in the small storm. Tropospheric thunderstorms have been reported to disturb the lower ionosphere, at altitudes of 65–90 km, by convective atmospheric gravity waves1,2,3,4,5 and by electric field changes produced by lightning discharges6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15. Theoretical simulations suggest that lightning electric fields enhance electron attachment to O2 and reduce electron density in the lower ionosphere7,8. Owing to the low electron density in the lower ionosphere, active probing of its electron distribution is difficult16,17, and the various perturbative effects are poorly understood. However, it is now possible to probe the lower ionosphere in a spatially and temporally resolved manner by using remotely detected time waveforms of lightning radio signals4,5,18,19. Here we report such observations of the night-time ionosphere above a small thunderstorm. We find that electron density in the lower ionosphere decreased in response to lightning discharges. The extent of the reduction is closely related in time and space to the rate of lightning discharges, supporting the idea that the enhanced electron attachment is responsible for the reduction. We conclude that ionospheric electron density variations corresponding to lightning discharges should be considered in future simulations of the ionosphere and the initiation of sprite discharges.
Disturbance compensation for DC motor mechanism low speed regulation: A feedforward and feedback implementation

The disturbance torque in the DC motor drive of a scan unit was calculated using the known voltage input to the motor and the measured motor speed response. The cogging torque of the motor and the friction in the mechanism can then be estimated from the calculated disturbance torque. The calculated disturbance torque was further utilized to reduce the speed ripples in speed regulation applications. A combined feedforward and feedback configuration was used to reject the disturbance based on both the off-line calculated disturbance and the on-line estimated disturbance. This scheme was successfully implemented in commercial scan devices. Data obtained under real operating conditions demonstrated the effectiveness and robustness of this disturbance compensation scheme.
Thermochemical data for CVD modeling from ab initio calculations

Ab initio electronic-structure calculations are combined with empirical bond-additivity corrections to yield thermochemical properties of gas-phase molecules. A self-consistent set of heats of formation for molecules in the Si-H, Si-H-Cl, Si-H-F, Si-N-H and Si-N-H-F systems is presented, along with preliminary values for some Si-O-C-H species.
Relative serializability (extended abstract): an approach for relaxing the atomicity of transactions

In the presence of semantic information, serializability is too strong a correctness criterion and unnecessarily restricts concurrency. We use the semantic information of a transaction to provide different atomicity views of the transaction to other transactions. The proposed approach improves concurrency and allows interleavings among transactions which are non-serializable, but which nonetheless preserve the consistency of the database and are acceptable to other users. We develop a graph-based tool whose acyclicity is both a necessary and sufficient condition for the correctness of an execution. Our theory encompasses earlier proposals that incorporate semantic information of transactions. Furthermore it is the first approach that provides an efficient graph based tool for recognizing correct schedules without imposing any restrictions on the application domain. Our approach is widely applicable to many advanced database applications such as systems with long-lived transactions and collaborative environments.
Radiofrequency ablation of the lower esophageal sphincter for the treatment of GERD: long-term follow-up results with the Stretta procedure

Radiofrequency ablation of the lower esophageal sphincter for the treatment of GERD: long-term follow-up results with the Stretta procedure
The time of origin and the pattern of survival of neurons in the isthmo-optic nucleus of the chick.

The time of origin of the cells in the isthmo-optic nucleus (ION--the nucleus of origin of centrifugal fibers to the avian retina) has been determined in the chick by a variant of the cumulative labeling method, using 3H-thymidine autoradiography. All the neurons of the ION are generated (i.e., pass through their last phase of DNA synthesis) over a 50-hour period between the latter part of the fifth and the seventh days of incubation (stages 28--31 of the Hamburger and Hamilton ['51] series) but the cells come to be assembled within the nucleus along a distinct temporo-spatial gradient. The earliest-formed cells occupy the ventrolateral part of the nucleus while the last neurons to be generated come to lie along its dorsomedial margin. When the nucleus is numerically complete, around the eleventh day of incubation, it contains about 22,000 neurons, but between the thirteenth and seventeenth days (stages 39 through 43) this number is produced by nearly 60% to about 9,500 cells. Following the radical extirpation of the one optic cup or the circumscribed removal of the neural retina early on the third day of incubation, the cell loss in the contralateral ION is greatly accentuated, so that by the eighteenth day of incubation no cells remain in the nucleus. Serial counts of the numbers of cells in the nucleus on the side of the eye (or retinal) removals show that it, too, undergoes additional cell degeneration, so that by the end of the phase of naturally occurring neuronal loss, only about half the normal number of cells persist in these experimental animals.