cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
All the observed universe has contributed to life.

This paper presents evidence that virtually all electrons and nuclei of the atoms that are or have been part of living matter on Earth came from almost all stars in our and nearby galaxies and even from all other galaxies in the Universe that have produced observed high-energy gamma rays. However, a standard 70 kg human is always making about 7 3 He, 600 40 Ca, and 3000 14 N nuclei every second by radioactive decay of 3 H, 40 K, and 14 C, respectively.
Stages and duration of spermatogenesis in the domestic ferret (Mustela putorius furo).

Abstract Classification of seminiferous tubules is the basis for understanding normal and abnormal spermatogenesis. The aim of the present study was to determine spermatogenic stages and the duration of the cycle in the domestic ferret using bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) as a tracer. Eleven adult male ferrets that were maintained in a breeding condition were used. Testicular sections were stained with the periodic acid-Schiff reaction for light microscopy. To determine the cycle duration, six ferrets were injected intraperitoneally with BrdU, and testes were collected 3 h later and 10 days and 3 h later. BrdU was detected by immunohistochemistry. Seminiferous tubules were classified into eight stages, and frequencies of stages I–VIII were 10.6, 2.2, 7.9, 13.1, 22.3, 21.9, 14.0 and 8.0%, respectively. The most advanced BrdU-labeled cells at 3 h post-injection were leptotene spermatocytes in stage VI and those at 10 days and 3 h were pachytene spermatocytes in stage V. From differences in stage frequency and BrdU staining frequency between two time points, the duration of one cycle was estimated to be 13.0 days. The present observations indicate that stages and the cycle duration of the ferret spermatogenesis are similar to those reported in other carnivores.
Molecular rydberg states. Azulene and 4,6,8-trimethylazulene

Abstract The absorption spectra of azulene and 4,6,8-trimethylazulene are reported in the 1100–2200 A region. Two d-Rydberg series, both terminal on the first ionization potential I (I), are assigned. The lack of structure beyond the I (I) limit is attributed to autoionization events. The lowest-energy s- and p-Rydberg series members are expected to occur in the intravalence excitation region S 4 , S 3 , S 2 — S 0 and they may well be crucial to an interpretation of the spectroscopic peculiarities of this intravalence region.
Hematopoietic Stem Cell Injury Induced by Ionizing Radiation

Abstract Significance: Exposure to ionizing radiation (IR) as the result of nuclear accidents or terrorist attacks is a significant threat and a major medical concern. Hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) injury is the primary cause of death after accidental or intentional exposure to a moderate or high dose of IR. Protecting HSCs from IR should be a primary goal in the development of novel medical countermeasures against radiation. Recent Advances: Significant progress has been made in our understanding of the mechanisms by which IR causes HSC damage. The mechanisms include (i) induction of HSC apoptosis via the p53-Puma pathway; (ii) promotion of HSC differentiation via the activation of the G-CSF/Stat3/BATF-dependent differentiation checkpoint; (iii) induction of HSC senescence via the ROS-p38 pathway; and (iv) damage to the HSC niche. Critical Issues: Induction of apoptosis in HSCs and hematopoietic progenitor cells is primarily responsible for IR-induced acute bone marrow (BM) injury. Long-term BM suppressi...
Intradural Spinal Lipomas

Intradural spinal lipomas are rare, and their origin is unknown. Although the clinical presentation may not be distinctive, the neuroradiographic presentation is. Total excision is usually not possible, although subtotal resection is easily accomplished using an ultrasonic aspirator.
The buccra-massa and the little man's broker in a Jamaican sugartown: Implications for community health education

In societies that have been historically stratified by class, interclass communication is frequently hampered by behaviors of higher status people that lower status people interpret as denigrating. To escape what they perceive as denigration, lower status people may attempt to avoid interclass interaction, and, when it is unavoidable, adopt such strategies as not making direct eye contact, saying very little except what they think the higher status people want to hear (including flattery), and using a lower status peer as an intermediary. Such behavioral patterns have important implications for the design of health services programs. This paper presents a case study of such interaction difficulties observed during 13 months of anthropological research in a Jamaican town. The lower status people in the town of Haversham (a pseudonym) refer to this avoidance behavior as the 'buccra-massa'. The antonym of buccra-massa is 'buck-the-massa'. 'Buck-the-massa' is characterized by being able to look higher status people in the eye and boldly engage them in conversation. Lower status persons who are known for bucking the massa are frequently used as intermediaries in cross-class interactions. Because Havershamians refer to higher status men as 'big men' and to lower status men as 'little men', the author calls the intermediaries used by lower status people in Haversham, 'little man's brokers'. The author argues that the buccra-massa and buck-the-massa behavioral traditions had their roots in the complex and extreme social inequalities of the slavery period in Jamaica. It is further argued that economic difficulties in Jamaica since the slavery period have contributed to the persistence of these behavioral dynamics to the present day. The buccra-massa/buck-the-massa behavioral complex is often manifested in health care settings in Jamaica. Thus, the author suggests that the little man's broker can be very useful in promoting less threatening, and therefore more effective, interactions between the clients and the staff of health and other human service programs. He notes that while staffmembers often view brokering behavior as trouble making, many of the clients they wish to serve view this same behavior as bucking-the-massa. It is a mistake, according to this analysis, to ignore the little man's broker. As this case of Jamaica shows, accomplished brokers can choose to exert their extensive influence against utilization of services offered by specific programs.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Target-uncertainty effects in attentional capture: Color-singleton set or multiple attentional control settings?

Previous spatial cuing studies have shown that the capture of spatial attention is contingent on top-down attentional control settings whose specificity varies as a function of the certainty of the defining features of the target. For example, when the target is a singleton defined by one specific color, observers adopt a control setting for that color. When the target can be one of two possible colors, however, observers appear to adopt a control setting for color singletons in general (see, e.g., Folk & Remington, 2008). The present study tested whether such results instead reflect the simultaneous maintenance of control settings for multiple colors (Adamo, Pun, Pratt, & Ferber, 2008). Observers searched for targets that were unpredictably red or green, preceded by spatial cues that were red, green, or blue. All three cue types produced evidence of capture, consistent with a general set for color singletons rather than the maintenance of multiple control settings.
Utilizing single primers as molecular markers in Poa spp.

An approach is described whereby single simple sequence repeat (SSR) primers are utilized at high annealing temperature to identify and evaluate the presence of palindrome or quasi-palindrome regions in polyploid genomes to provide locus specific genotyping for polyploid grass species. The procedure has been effective in identifying markers that coexpress in Poa arachnifera and interspecific Poa hybrids. DNA sequence analysis of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification products identified an array of homologous loci within and among evaluated individuals. From this study, 157 single primers were identified to provide information and identify polymorphisms across P. arachnifera. Similar to random amplified polymorphic DNA, arbitrarily primed PCR or low-stringency single primer PCR methods, this approach requires no prior genome information, utilizes agarose gels and can be visualized with ethidium bromide. Preliminary evaluations of additional Poa spp., Bromus inermis, Dactylis glomerata, Thinopyrum ponticum, Lolium perenne and Agrostis spp. suggest wide utility of this approach toward genotyping polyploid grasses.
A Two Layer Photoresist Process In A Production Environment

A manufacturable, high resolution photoresist process is described. This process was developed to increase production margins on the 1.0 μm geometries used in the Hewlett Packard NMOS III process: This was accomplished through a modification of the portable conformal mask (PCM) technique,2 which drastically reduced substrate effects on GCA. wafer stepper performance by the introduction of a bleachable dye in the bottom photoresist layer.© (1983) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Phonon Transport Simulator (PhonTS)

Abstract Thermal conductivity prediction remains an important subject in many scientific and engineering areas. Only recently has such prediction become possible on the basis of the first principles calculations, thus ensuring high quality results. Implementation of the methodology, however, is technically challenging and requires a lengthy development process. We thus introduce the Phonon Transport Simulator (PhonTS), a Fortran90, fully parallel code to perform such calculations. PhonTS possesses a large array of options and returns the thermal conductivity tensor together with related quantities, such as spectral thermal conductivity, phonon lifetimes, mean free paths and Gruneisen parameters. First principles calculations are implemented via convenient interfaces to widely-used third-party codes, while many classical potentials are included in PhonTS itself. The code is carefully validated against data published in the literature from various thermal conductivity computational techniques and against experimental data. Program summary Program title: PhonTS Catalogue identifier: AEVO_v1_0 Program summary URL: http://cpc.cs.qub.ac.uk/summaries/AEVO_v1_0.html Program obtainable from: CPC Program Library, Queen’s University, Belfast, N. Ireland Licensing provisions: GNU General Public License, version 3 No. of lines in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 7060788 No. of bytes in distributed program, including test data, etc.: 58119383 Distribution format: tar.gz Programming language: Fortran90. Computer: Linux cluster. Operating system: Linux. Has the code been vectorised or parallelized?: Yes, via the MPI-libraries RAM: 200 MB Classification: 7.8, 7.9. External routines: LAPACK, MPI-libraries Nature of problem: Computes thermal conductivity in crystal solids from the level of the interatomic interactions. Solution method: Iterative or variational solution of the Boltzmann Transport Equation for phonons, by treating anharmonicity as a perturbation to the harmonic problem. Additional comments: Due to the large file size, PhonTS is not delivered directly when download or Email is requested. Instead an html file giving details of how the program can be obtained is sent. Running time: Problem dependent. For solid argon (4 atoms in the conventional cell, k -space mesh of 9×9×9, classical potential, fully convergent results) simulations take ∼ 10 4 seconds on a single processor.
GAMMA -TUBULIN: THE HUB OF CELLULAR MICROTUBULE ASSEMBLIES

In eukaryotic cells a specialized organelle called the microtubule organizing center (MTOC) is responsible for disposition of microtubules in a radial, polarized array in interphase cells and in the spindle in mitotic cells. Eukaryotic cells across different species, and different cell types within single species, have morphologically diverse MTOCs, but these share a common function of organizing microtubule arrays. MTOCs effect microtubule organization by initiating microtubule assembly and anchoring microtubules by their slowly growing minus ends, thus ensuring that the rapidly growing plus ends extend distally in each microtubule array. The goal is to define molecular components of the MTOC responsible for regulating microtubule assembly. One approach to defining the molecules responsible for MTOC function is to look for molecules common to all MTOCs. A newly discovered centrosomal protein, gamma-tubulin, is found in MTOCs in cells from many different organisms, and has several properties which make it a candidate for both initiation of microtubule assembly and anchorage. The hypothesis that gamma-tubulin plays a role in MTOCs in microtubule initiation and anchorage is currently being tested by a variety of experimental approaches.
A measurement distribution framework for cooperative navigation using multiple AUVs

In recent years underwater survey and surveillance missions with more than a single Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) have become more common thanks to more reliable and cheaper platforms, as well as the addition of remote command and control communications using, for example, the WHOI acoustic modem. However cooperative navigation of AUVs has thus far been limited to a single AUV supported by a dedicated surface vehicle with access to GPS. In this paper a scalable and modular framework is presented in which any number of vehicles can broadcast, forward and acknowledge range, dead-reckoning, feature and GPS measurements so that the full fleet of AUVs can navigate and cooperate in a consistent and accurate manner. The approach is independent of the resultant application—such as recursive state estimation or full pose optimization. Trade-offs between the number of vehicles, the condition of the communication channel and rate at which updates are available are also discussed. Finally performance is illustrated in a realistic experiment.
Kenneth burke and the inherent characteristics of formal organizations: A field study

This study attempts to summarize selected concepts from the theory of Kenneth Burke and test their applicability in a formal organization. Semantic differential scales and the paired‐comparison technique were used to gather data on “order,” “mystery,” and “identification” as perceived by members of all levels of the hierarchy within a university.
Impact of Retirement Populations on Local Jobs and Wages

Prior research has suggested that attracting retirement communities to local areas results in job and wage growth. This article examines whether significant growth in local retirement-age populations has led to such job and wage growth. The results suggest that general retirement population growth does create job growth. However, the average wage growth results are mixed. Understanding these economic implications of attracting retirees is necessary for communities to determine how to manage the benefits yet control for the costs of increases in retirement populations.
Competitive Sport Environments Performance Enhancement Through Cognitive Intervention

Cognitive intervention techniques have been widely employed in clinical psychology as a method of facilitating behavior change. Recently, sport psychologists have employed cognitive behavior modification strategies in an attempt to improve and optimize athletic performance. The purpose of this article is to outline a comprehensive program of cognitive intervention that hasbeen successfully utilized to modify and enhance athlete performance in actual intercollegiate sport environments. Three single case studies utilizingan A-B design are presented in detail. Descriptions of the intervention technique and comparisons of preprogram performance with during-program performance are presented. In each case the techniques involved problem identification, cognitive restructuring, and use of self-instructional imagery. All athletes participating in the intervention experienced significant performance improvements as evidenced by a comparison of baseline performances with post-intervention performances.2.
The roles of time and ecology in the continental radiation of the Old World leaf warblers (Phylloscopus and Seicercus).

Many continental sister species are allopatric or parapatric, ecologically similar and long separated, of the order of millions of years. Sympatric, ecologically differentiated, species, are often even older. This raises the question of whether build-up of sympatric diversity generally follows a slow process of divergence in allopatry, initially without much ecological change. I review patterns of speciation among birds belonging to the continental Eurasian Old World leaf warblers (Phylloscopus and Seicercus). I consider speciation to be a three-stage process (range expansions, barriers to gene flow, reproductive isolation) and ask how ecological factors at each stage have contributed to speciation, both among allopatric/parapatric sister species and among those lineages that eventually led to currently sympatric species. I suggest that time is probably the critical factor that leads to reproductive isolation between sympatric species and that a strong connection between ecological divergence and reproductive isolation remains to be established. Besides reproductive isolation, ecological factors can affect range expansions (e.g. habitat tracking) and the formation of barriers (e.g. treeless areas are effective barriers for warblers). Ecological factors may often limit speciation on continents because range expansions are difficult in ‘ecologically full’ environments.
The Computational Lexical Semantics of Syntagmatic Expressions

In this paper, we address the issue of syntagmatic expressions from a computational lexical semantic perspective. From a representational viewpoint, we argue for a hybrid approach combining linguistic and conceptual paradigms, in order to account for the continuum we find in natural languages from free combining words to frozen expressions. In particular, we focus on the place of lexical and semantic restricted co-occurrences. From a processing viewpoint, we show how to generate/analyze syntagmatic expressions by using an efficient constraintbased processor, well fitted for a knowledge-driven approach.
Setting Riparian/Aquatic Restoration Objectives within a Watershed Context

Declines in native plant and animal communities have prompted new interest in the restoration of aquatic and riparian ecosystems. Past restoration activities typically have been site specific, with little thought to processes operating at larger scales. A watershed analysis process developed in the Pacific Northwest identifies four operating scales useful in developing restoration priorities: region, basin, watershed, and specific site. Watershed analysis provides a template for restoration practitioners to use in prioritizing restoration activities. The template identifies seven key steps necessary to understand and develop restoration priorities: (1) characterization, (2) identification of key issues and questions, (3) documentation of current conditions, (4) description of reference conditions, (5) identification of objectives, (6) summary of conditions and determination of causes, and (7) recommendations. When a similar process was used in the Uinta Mountains, Utah, and in the Siuslaw National Forest, Oregon, specialists were able to identify key habitat conditions and habitat forming processes and then to establish restoration priorities and implement the appropriate activities. Watershed analysis provides a valuable set of tools for identifying restoration activities and is currently being used throughout the Pacific Northwest to develop management strategies and restoration priorities. Although the analysis requires significant time, money, and personnel, experience suggests that watershed analysis provides valuable direction for managing aquatic and riparian resources.
Stress–strain properties and thermal resistance of polyurethane–polyepoxide interpenetrating polymer networks

Two-component interpenetrating polymer networks (IPN) of the SIN type (simultaneous interpenetrating networks) were prepared from three different polyurethanes and two epoxies. The linear prepolymers were combined in solution, together with crosslinking agents and catalysts, films cast, and subsequently chain extended and crosslinked in situ. Two of the IPN's showed significant improvement in thermal resistance, as measured by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). All of the IPN's showed maxima in tensile strength significantly higher than the tensile strengths of the component networks at 25% polyurethane and minima at 75% polyurethane. The minima were explained by an initial dilution of the strong polyurethane hydrogen bonds by the epoxies, and the maxima, by an increase in crosslink density due to interpenetration.
Overwintering ecology of the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus L., in California

. 1. Population and physiological measurements were made on monarch butterflies in three overwintering colonies along the California coast during the 1975–76 season. 2. Mark, release and recapture studies indicated that two northern colonies (Muir Beach and Santa Cruz) stabilized at maxima of about 40000 and 95 000 individuals with little movement in or out of colonies, whereas the southern one at Santa Barbara appeared dynamic with a maximum of about 45 000. 3. Initially low, sexual activity builds to a massive mating ceremony in February, followed by rapid colony dispersal. The butterflies deteriorate gradually during the overwintering period, but males do so to a greater extent because of their involvement in frenzied courting flights. 4. Changes in several parameters at the Muir Beach colony were measured between 1 November and 2 February. Right forewing length did not change with time, indicating no differential mortality with respect to size. However, both sexes lost about 25% of their total dry weight, and 49–60% of their lipid contents. Minimum fat levels were about 20 mg and some butterflies were as lean on arrival as were the most depleted overwintering survivors. 5. The importance of nectaring in restoring lipid reserves is potentially great but remains uninvestigated. The hypothesis is put forward that the distance spring migrants are capable of flying is dependent largely upon their lipid reserves following the overwintering period. This and the intracolony mass-mating ceremony are seen as randomizing factors which prevent geographic differentiation and allow the maintenance of the generalized, nature of the migration, which in turn enables the monarch to exploit the vast milkweed flora across the North American continent. 6. Cardenolides also diminished during the wintering, but to a substantially lesser extent than the lipids. There was no evidence for a change in the proportion of cardenolide-positive butterflies, suggesting no differential elimination by predation of the poison-free palatable individuals. This is the first field evidence in support of the theory of automimicry. 7. The overwintering behaviour of the monarch butterfly is seen as an integrative force in optimizing foodplant exploitation, reproduction, anti-predator, and migration strategies.
Navigating a Portable Robotic Device by a 3D imaging sensor

This paper presents a novel solution to the autonomy of a Portable Robotic Device (PRD) for the visually impaired. The proposed method meets the PRD's requirement of providing 3D navigational information with a small-sized device. The proposed approach is to employ a 3D imaging sensor—the SwissRanger SR4000—for both pose estimation and perception. The SR4000 produces both intensity and range images of its surrounding. The key idea for pose estimation is to perform feature extraction and matching between successive intensity images and use the 3D locations of the matched features to determine the PRD's pose. The method for obstacle detection/recognition is to segment the sensor's range data into planar surfaces, group the surfaces into structures, and identify the structures based on their geometric constituents. The proposed segmentation method is based on graph theory and it uses global features to measure inter-segment dissimilarity. The proposed methods' efficacies have been validated by experiments.
Characterization of optimal inputs by generating functions for linear system identification

Optimal input signals for Parameter estimation in linear dynamical systems may be characterized by generating functions in the form of linear difference equations. Results are derived for linear regression processes and for general linear systems. Discrete optimal control theory is applied to derive results for the latter case. The parameters of the difference equation may be considered as input information compression, and can be used to generate input sequence on-line during data acquisition for process parameter tracking.
Midkine-A functions upstream of Id2a to regulate cell cycle kinetics in the developing vertebrate retina.

Midkine is a small heparin binding growth factor expressed in numerous tissues during development. The unique midkine gene in mammals has two paralogs in zebrafish: midkine-a (mdka) and midkine-b (mdkb). In the zebrafish retina, during both larval development and adult photoreceptor regeneration, mdka is expressed in retinal stem and progenitor cells and functions as a molecular component of the retina’s stem cell niche. In this study, loss-of-function and conditional overexpression were used to investigate the function of Mdka in the retina of the embryonic zebrafish. The results show that during early retinal development Mdka functions to regulate cell cycle kinetics. Following targeted knockdown of Mdka synthesis, retinal progenitors cycle more slowly, and this results in microphthalmia, a diminished rate of cell cycle exit and a temporal delay of cell cycle exit and neuronal differentiation. In contrast, Mdka overexpression results in acceleration of the cell cycle and retinal overgrowth. Mdka gain-of-function, however, does not temporally advance cell cycle exit. Experiments to identify a potential Mdka signaling pathway show that Mdka functions upstream of the HLH regulatory protein, Id2a. Gene expression analysis shows Mdka regulates id2a expression, and co-injection of Mdka morpholinos and id2a mRNA rescues the Mdka loss-of-function phenotype. These data show that in zebrafish, Mdka resides in a shared Id2a pathway to regulate cell cycle kinetics in retinal progenitors. This is the first study to demonstrate the function of Midkine during retinal development and adds Midkine to the list of growth factors that transcriptionally regulate Id proteins.
Toxicity of an antitumor ribonuclease to Purkinje neurons

Purkinje cell toxicity is one of the characteristic features of the Gordon phenomenon, a syndrome manifested by ataxia, muscular rigidity, paralysis, and tremor that may lead to death (Gordon, 1933). Two members of the RNase superfamily found in humans, EDN (eosinophil- derived neurotoxin) and ECP (eosinophil cationic protein), cause the Gordon phenomenon when injected intraventricularly into guinea pigs or rabbits. We have found that another member of the RNase superfamily, an antitumor protein called onconase, isolated from Rana pipiens oocytes and early embryos, will also cause the Gordon phenomenon when injected into the cerebrospinal fluid of guinea pigs at a dose similar to that of EDN (LD50, 3–4 micrograms). Neurologic abnormalities of onconase- treated animals were indistinguishable from those of EDN-treated animals, and histology showed dramatic Purkinje cell loss in the brains of onconase-treated animals. The neurotoxic activity of onconase correlates with ribonuclease activity. Onconase modified by iodoacetic acid to eliminate 70% and 98% of the ribonuclease activity of the native enzyme displays a similar decrease in ability to cause the Gordon phenomenon. In contrast, the homologous bovine pancreatic RNase A injected intraventricularly at a dose 5000 times greater than the LD50 dose of EDN or onconase is not toxic and does not cause the Gordon phenomenon. A comparison of the RNase activities of EDN, onconase, and bovine pancreatic RNase A using three pancreatic RNA substrates demonstrates that onconase is orders of magnitude less active enzymatically than EDN and RNase A. Thus, another member of the RNase superfamily in addition to EDN and ECP can cause the Gordon phenomenon.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
The role of chemical signals in copepod reproduction

Abstract Because the reproductive fitness of a copepod is influenced by its ability to discriminate between conspecific and heterospecific mates, it is important to understand the mechanisms involved in these complex mate-recognition systems. Several lines of evidence suggest that chemical communication plays a role in mate location, recognition and reproduction in copepods. However, the relative importance of chemosensory cues, as well as other factors, including hydromechanical and morphological cues, remains unclear. Some studies show that mating `mistakes' occasionally occur in nature, which for species that mate only once, would have considerable effects on fitness. By reducing the likelihood of heterospecific matings, species-specific mate location and recognition chemicals have high adaptive value. The relative importance and molecular characteristics of these chemicals, whether diffusible or contact signals, may explain differences in premating and copulatory behavior observed among different copepod taxa. Current research suggests that both forms of chemical communication significantly influence the reproductive success of copepods. In this review, we summarize examples from the literature that may serve as a means to critically analyze postulated ideas and offer new questions for future study.
Technology and Social Studies Education: Potentials and a Prognosis.

This writer describes aspects of effective social studies education that can be ener gized with technology, and looks at a number of current projects that illustrate pro ductive links between tech nology and social studies.
Experiments with a dual-armed, cooperative, flexible-drivetrain robot system

The design and experimental performance of a two-armed robot are presented. The manipulators have added drivetrain flexibility to aid studying their effects on robot cooperation. The control system is a four-level hierarchy: joint, arm, object, and task levels. The joint level handles flexibility via joint-torque control. The arm level uses nonlinear end-point feedback to control tip forces and positions. The object level manages the object via object impedance control. The task level directs multistep tasks autonomously. Experiments are shown for each level, culminating with two-handed insertion of a long part into a deep hole. >
Oral herpes simplex virus type 2 reactivation in HIV-positive and -negative men

BACKGROUND Previous studies using viral cultures rarely reported herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) isolation from the mouth. We sought to characterize oral HSV-2 shedding as detected by HSV DNA polymerase chain reaction among HSV-2-seropositive men. METHODS Participants collected daily swabs from oral and anogenital areas for HSV detection with a quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay. RESULTS A total of 109 HSV-2-seropositive men (59 of whom were human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] negative, and 50 of whom were HIV positive) were sampled for a median of 64 consecutive days. Forty-four (40.4%) had HSV-2 detected from oral swabs on at least 1 day. Oral HSV-2 was detected on 148 (2.3%) of 6,422 days, genital HSV-2 was detected on 1,110 (17%) of 6,505 days, oral HSV-1 was detected on 220 (5.5%) of 4,018 days, and genital HSV-1 was detected on 88 (2.2%) of 4,073 days. Oral HSV-2 shedding was never associated with an oral lesion, but it was often concurrent with genital HSV-2 shedding. Both oral and genital HSV-2 were detected on 90 (61%) of 148 days with oral HSV-2 shedding. Oral HSV-2 shedding occurred on 90 (8.2%) of 1,110 days with genital HSV-2 shedding, versus 58 (1.1%) of 5,316 days without genital HSV-2 shedding (P<.001). The HIV-positive men shed HSV-2 orally more frequently than did the HIV-negative men (odds ratio, 2.7 [95% confidence interval, 1.1-7.1]). CONCLUSIONS Oral HSV-2 reactivation was common (especially among HIV-positive men), was always asymptomatic, and often occurred on days of genital HSV-2 reactivation.
p-Version least squares finite element formulation for three-dimensional, isothermal, incompressible, non-Newtonian fluid flow

Abstract A p -version least squares finite element formulation has been presented for the dimensionless form of the Navier-Stokes equations for incompressible, isothermal, non-Newtonian fluid flow. The characteristic kinetic energy is used to non-dimensionalize the stresses. The viscosity of the fluid can be described by the power law or Carreau-Yasuda model. The Navier-Stokes equations are recast into a set of first-order partial differential equations using stresses as auxiliary variables. This permits the use of C 0 approximation functions for both primary and auxiliary variables. The Newton's method with a line search is used to find a solution vector which satisfies the necessary and the sufficient conditions resulting from the least squares minimization procedure. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the p -convergence characteristics, convenience of simple and coarse models and the accuracy of the solution. Numerical results are compared with the analytical solutions as well as with those reported in the literature.
A quantitative analysis of the SBAS algorithm performance

The Small BAseline Subset (SBAS) approach is a differential synthetic aperture radar interferometry (DIFSAR) technique that allows analyzing deformation phenomena affecting both extended area and localized structures, by exploiting the phase difference of SAR image pairs characterized by small baselines. In this work we process a large set of ERS-1/2 data, acquired from ascending and descending orbits, at both small and large scale resolution and extend the obtained time series with available ENVISAT acquisitions. The results, relevant to the Napoli Bay area (Italy), are compared with geodetic and GPS data in order to achieve a quantitative analysis of the SABS algorithm performances
Responses of descending visually-sensitive neurons in the hawkmoth, Manduca sexta, to three-dimensional flower-like stimuli.

Hawkmoths rely on vision to track moving flowers during hovering-feeding bouts. Visually guided flight behaviors require a sensorimotor transformation, where motion information processed by the optic ganglia ultimately modifies motor axon activity. While a great deal is known about motion processing in the optic lobes of insects, there has been far less exploration into the visual information available to flight motor axons. Visual information recorded at this stage has likely arisen from multiple visual pathways, and has potentially been modified by outside sensory information. As a first step, understanding the sensorimotor transformation from transduction of moving flower signals to active flower tracking behavior requires that the visual information available to the thoracic flight control centers be assayed. This paper investigated the response of descending visually sensitive neurons in the cervical connectives of the hawkmoth, Manduca sexta L. (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae), to flower-like stimuli. Because flower structure lends itself to oscillatory (vibratory) motion, the stimuli used in these experiments were discs oscillating in each axis of motion (horizontal, vertical, and looming). Object-sensitive descending-neurons (OSDNs) respond to multiple directions of object motion and do not clearly sort into classes of directional tuning. The broad spatial distribution of directional sensitivities exhibited by OSDNs indicates that the direction of object motion may be encoded on a population scale. Although OSDNs exhibit broad frequency response curves, over the range of frequencies that M. sexta are able to track (0–2 Hz) OSDNs exhibit monotonically increasing response. Additionally, OSDNs respond to discs oscillating at frequencies as high at 6 Hz, indicating that the visual information being sent to thoracic motor control centers is not likely the limiting factor in flower tracking ability.
5-bromodeoxyuridine labeling of monomeric and catenated circular mitochondrial DNA in HeLa cells.

Bromouracil labeling of the mitochondrial DNA in exponentially growing HeLa cells produces two hybrid mitochondrial DNA species, with density shifts of 41.9 and 54.0 mg/ml relative to unlabeled mitochondrial DNA, as well as heavy mitochondrial DNA, with a shift of 95.3 mg/ml. The two hybrid species result from the difference in thymine composition of the complementary strands of mitochondrial DNA. In addition, mitochondrial DNA with a density intermediate between the hybrid and unlabeled species was found. This quarter heavy mitochondrial DNA represents 25% (w/w) of the total DNA after eight hours of labeling, and forms two peaks with shifts of 20.6 and 27.0 mg/ml relative to unlabeled mitochondrial DNA. 70% (w/w) of the quarter heavy mitochondrial DNA is in catenated forms, while 30% (w/w) is monomeric. Degradation of the catenanes by shearing of purified quarter heavy mitochondrial DNA results in the appearance of hybrid and unlabeled mitochondrial DNA bands, demonstrating that the quarter heavy catenanes contain both hybrid and unlabeled submolecules. The implications of the structure of the quarter heavy catenanes on the mechanism of formation of catenanes are discussed.
The Establishment Clause: Lost Soul of the First Amendment

Constitutional guarantees, regardless of how profound, are not absolute. The history of fundamental rights and liberties, from the first through the fourteenth amendment, is replete with instances of limitation, condition, and circumscription. Although deviation from or qualification of fundamental norms is not necessarily problematical when justifications are weighty and principled, judicial line-drawing that is perceived as fitful, capricious, or poorly linked to pertinent values is likely to be both institutionally and constitutionally demeaning. Supreme Court review, pursuant to the first amendment's establishment clause, may not reflect the original miscalculations characterizing other constitutional ignominies such as slavery, segregation, and Lochnerism. Still, the construction and execution of standards fail to satisfy even minimal expectations of persuasive and creditable analysis. They are dishonored in word, by critics who regard their inconsistencies as an embarrassment, and in deed, by exponents who apply them erratically or simply dispense with them when convenience beckons.
Dopamine modulation of membrane and synaptic properties of interneurons in rat cerebral cortex

Dopamine (DA) is an endogenous neuromodulator in the mammalian brain. However, it is still controversial how DA modulates excitability and input-output relations in cortical neurons. It was suggested that DA innervation of dendritic spines regulates glutamatergic inputs to pyramidal neurons, but no experiments were done to test this idea. By recording individual neurons under direct visualization we found that DA enhances inhibitory neuron excitability but decreases pyramidal cell excitability, through depolarization and hyperpolarization, respectively. Accordingly, DA also increased the frequency and amplitude of spontaneous inhibitory postsynaptic currents (sIPSCs). In the presence of TTX, DA did not affect the frequency, amplitude, or kinetics of miniature IPSCs and excitatory postsynaptic currents in inhibitory interneurons or pyramidal cells. Our results suggest that DA can directly excite cortical interneurons, but there is no detectable DA gate to regulate spontaneous GABA and glutamate release or the properties of postsynaptic GABA and glutamate receptors in neocortical neurons.
A variational grid optimization method based on a local cell quality metric

Computational grid optimization, correction, improvement and remeshing techniques have become increasingly important as the application problem and domain complexity increases. It is well recognized that distorted elements may degrade accuracy of finite element and finite volume simulations or cause them to fail. Hence, automatically generated grids containing millions of cells, created to fit a domain with complex geometry and adapt to features of different scales, often require correction before they can be effectively used for a numerical simulation. In this work a new variational grid smoothing formulation is developed and an extensive study of its mathematical properties, applicability and limitations is performed. The approach is based on a local cell quality metric, which is introduced as a function of the Jacobian matrix of the fundamental map from the reference cell. The mathematical properties of the local quality measure are analyzed and new theoretical results are proved. The grid improvement strategy is formulated as an optimization problem and a modified Newton scheme is used in the optimization algorithm which is implemented in a new software package. The effectiveness of the algorithm is tested on several representative grids and for different transport application problems. The resulting methodology is applicable to general unstructured hybrid meshes in 2 and 3 dimensions. It overcomes several difficulties encountered by other smoothing algorithms, such as effects of changing valence (number of cells sharing the same node). The formulation includes extensions to unfolding, adaptive redistribution, treatment of tangentially “sliding” boundary nodes and hanging nodes, as well as elements with curved edges or surfaces, commonly used to provide better fit of domain boundaries or interfaces. The above techniques are applied to a set of mathematically representative problems including problems of geometric design as well as transport processes with the aim of studying the effect of the smoothing approach on the solvability and accuracy. Both 2D and 3D test problems are considered, including a moving mesh Lagrangian formulation for a fluid interface problem, non-Newtonian blood flow in curved branched pipes and a brain mapping/deformation problem. The associated numerical simulations are made on both serial and parallel PC cluster systems.
Reply to the critics on "binge drinking and alcohol prices".

Xuan et al. [1] offer several “interpretive” comments on my systematic review [2] of binge drinking and alcohol prices, including comments concerning selection and interpretation of primary studies, alternative methodologies, and supporting literatures. Prior to addressing these issues, it is important to layout what has transpired in the addiction field as reflected in the editorial policies of the academic journal, Addiction, for which Professor Babor was Associate Editor-in-Chief. This provides context to faulty comments made by Xuan et al. [1]. Starting in 2009 or earlier, Addiction has engaged in a campaign against publication of any academic alcohol research that received industry support or sponsorship [3–6]. As stated by Stenius and Babor ([6], p. 191), “. . . all financial relationships with the alcoholic beverage industry are [best] avoided”. Censorship always begins with appeals to base emotions and feelings, so the campaign is surrounded with emotion-laden words that make for entertaining reading – such as “transparency,” “vested interests,” “gatekeepers,” and of course “biased findings.” Economists generally welcome open debate in the marketplace for ideas regardless of source, including contributions from researchers who rely heavily on “non-profit” financial support. For my own part, I acknowledged support received from the International Center for Alcohol Policies ([2], p. 11). All of my publications supported by ICAP contain the same declaration, and I see no reason to go beyond a simple, direct statement. Other related work that has been dormant for a decade is irrelevant and -- as I work independently as well -- did not result in research publications. That some of my conclusions do not coincide with those of Xuan et al. is to be expected in any area of scientific research. Scientific inquiry should be associated with a diversity of ideas, methods, and results, and not the monolithic approach advocated by Babor and associates.
Potential interstellar noble gas molecules: ArOH+ and NeOH+ rovibrational analysis from quantum chemical quartic force fields

Abstract The discovery of ArH + in the interstellar medium has shown that noble gas chemistry may be of more chemical significance than previously believed. The present work extends the known chemistry of small noble gas molecules to NeOH + and ArOH + . Besides their respective neonium and argonium diatomic cation cousins, these hydroxyl cation molecules are the most stable small noble gas molecules analyzed of late. ArOH + is once again more stable than the neon cation, but both are well-behaved enough for a complete quartic force field analysis of their rovibrational properties. The Ar–O bond in ArOH + , for instance, is roughly three-quarters of the strength of the Ar–H bond in ArH + highlighting the rigidity of this system. The rotational constants, geometries, and vibrational frequencies for both molecules and their various isotopologues are computed from ab initio quantum chemical theory at high-level, and it is shown that these cations may form in regions where peroxy or weakly-bound alcohols may be present. The resulting data should be of significant assistance for the laboratory or observational analysis of these potential interstellar molecules.
Resource allocation status maternity and child care institutions in Xinjiang

Objective To understand the resource allocation status of maternity and child care institutions in Xinjiang,to find out the problems of existence about the resource allocation status of maternity and child care institutions in Xinjiang,while provide data support for promote the development of maternity and child care institutions.Methods Investigated the resource allocation status of maternity and child care institutions in Xinjiang with descriptive analysis.Results The county level maternal and child health institutions and health technicians accounted for the proportion of the total number of active employees were 71.9% and 63.6%;the ratios of doctor to nurse in maternity and child care institutions at regional and county levels were 1∶1 and 1.7∶1;the proportions of undergraduate or above undergraduate educational levels of health technicians in regional and county levels maternity and child care institutions were 31.7% and 12.8%;the proportions of vice-high or above vice-high profession in regional and county levels maternity and child care institutions were 12.0% and 7.4%,the proportion of intermediate grade were 19.2% and 22.5% respectively.The proportion of intermediate grade were 19.2% and 22.5%,the proportion of below primary grade were 68.8% and 70.1%,respectively.More than 70% of the maternity and child care institutions at regional and county levels were indebted;regional and county levels maternity and child care institutions average owned the house of 7 757.25 square meters and 2 280.37 square meters,respectively;The ten thousand RMB equipment of regional and county levels maternity and child care institutions obtain mainly the equipment of blow 100 thousand RMB,accounted for 78%;the equipment of one million RMB or above accounted for the proportion of less than 5%.Conclusion The health care providers in maternity and child care institutions are lack,the staff establishment should be perfected;the quality of personnel in maternity and child care institutions is low,the construction of talented person troops should be enhanced;the development of maternity and child care institutions is unbalanced,the basic construction of county level maternity and child care institutions needs to be strengthened;the investment from government is inadequate,the responsibility of the government should be further clarified in public health services.