cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Spatial learning induces presynaptic structural remodeling in the hippocampal mossy fiber system of two rat strains

Hebb (1949) proposed that after learning both presynaptic and postsynaptic structural changes form the neural substrate oflong-lasting memory. Despite this, there are few instances linking presynaptic remodeling with learning. Here the authors demonstrate in two different rat strains that learning the location of a hidden platform induces expansion of the presynaptic hippocampal mossy fiber terminal field (MFTF) from the stratum lucidum to the distal stratum oriens (dSO). Prior to any training, Long Evans rats (LER) showed an extensive endogenous MFTF innervation of DSO, in contrast to Wistar rats (WR) that showed minimal innervation. LER showed better recall than WR on the hidden platform water maze task and a visible reversal water maze task. In both strains, significant MFTF expansion to dSO, spanning approximately 200 μm, was detected 7 days after training on the hidden platform task, but only LER showed significant MFTF expansion 24 h after training. It is attractive to think that the MFTF expansion to dSO contributes both to long-lasting memory formation and to facilitating spatial navigation strategies. The present results establish learning-induced axonal remodeling of the hippocampal MF system in adult rats as an especially useful system for exploring presynaptic morphological adjustments consequent to learning. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Leader–member exchange (LMX) in context: How LMX differentiation and LMX relational separation attenuate LMX's influence on OCB and turnover intention.

Abstract Using the group engagement model, we hypothesize that two differentiated leadership constructs – LMX differentiation at the group level and a new construct, LMX relational separation, at the individual-within-group level – interact with LMX to affect follower citizenship behaviors (OCB) and turnover intentions. Data from 223 followers and their leaders situated across 60 workgroups demonstrate that the effects of individual perceived LMX quality are contingent upon a group's overall variability in LMX (i.e., LMX differentiation) and employees' similarity in terms of LMX with their coworkers (i.e., LMX relational separation). Specifically, the effects of high quality LMX relationships on OCB and turnover intentions are weaker when group LMX differentiation or employees' LMX relational separation is higher, rather than lower. Our findings contribute to a growing stream of multilevel LMX research incorporating climate effects and offer an alternative view of differentiated leadership in groups. Key implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Rates of glaucoma medication utilization among persons with primary open-angle glaucoma, 1992 to 2002.

Objective To determine the percentage of Medicare beneficiaries with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG) treated medically or surgically, utilization rates for each major class of glaucoma medication, and factors influencing treatment. Design Longitudinal observational study using data from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey (MCBS). Participants Persons age 65 and older with POAG, 1992 to 2002 (N = 6446). Methods By using MCBS data merged with Medicare claims, rates of medical and surgical treatment for participants with POAG were determined. Logistic analysis was used to assess factors associated with use of care. Main Outcome Measures Receipt/nonreceipt of medical or surgical therapy in a year and rates of drug utilization by class and of surgery by type among persons who did not receive medical therapy in a year. Results On average from 1992 to 2002, 27.4% of persons diagnosed with POAG received no medical or surgical treatment. Rates of nonuse increased by 3% annually (odds ratio [OR], 1.03; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02–1.05). Beneficiaries with Medicaid were 43% more likely not to receive care for POAG in a year (OR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.20–1.70). Hispanic, Asian, and beneficiaries of other race/ethnicity were less likely to receive treatment than were whites. Use of β-blockers and miotics decreased, but utilization rates increased substantially for α-agonists, combination β-blocker–carbonic anhydrase inhibitors, and especially prostaglandin analogs. Conclusions Despite availability of more efficacious glaucoma medication classes with few side effects and findings of clinical trials underscoring the importance of intraocular pressure reduction in POAG patients, many patients with POAG continue to go untreated.
Studies on the nature and location of the capsid polypeptides of vaccinia virions.

Abstract Vaccinia virions were dissociated into their constituent polypeptides which were then analyzed by means of SDS-urea polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis followed by staining with Coomassie Brilliant Blue or by autoradiography. Thirty distinct species of polypeptides were identified, which ranged in molecular weight from about 8000 to over 200,000. They could be classified as follows: 1. a. Five polypeptides were shown to be located at or near the virion surface. This conclusion was based on their ability to react in situ with iodine in the presence of lactoperoxidase and hydrogen peroxide, and with fluorescein isothiocyanate; and on the ability of chymotrypsin and of NP40 to release them from virions. They were VP4c, VP7a, VP10a, VP11a, and VP12, the smallest polypeptide. 2. b. Seventeen polypeptides were present in cores prepared by treating virions with NP40 and 2-mercaptoethanol followed by iodoacetamide, sonication, and banding in sucrose density gradients. Among these were the two principal virion polypeptides, VP4a and VP4b, which accounted for about 50% of their protein complement. Cores contained about one-half of the virions' mass. 3. c. Two polypeptides, VP6a and VP6b, contained glucosamine and are therefore glycopolypeptides. They were located neither on the virion surface as judged by the criteria in (a) above, nor in cores prepared as described in (b) above. 4. d. Vaccinia virus which had multiplied in cells suspended in medium containing 32 P yielded 6 labeled bands which may represent phosphoproteins. Most of the label (about 75%) comigrated with VP11b, a major virion component (11.4% of total viral protein, MW about 11,000).
Rare-earth-substituted chloro-phosphate apatites

Abstract Compositions with the general formula LnxM10−2xNax(PO4)6Cl2 (Ln = Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Dy, Ho and Y; M = Ca, Sr, Ba, and Pb) have been prepared and studied by X-ray diffraction methods. The limited extent of rare earth substitution observed in chlorapatites in comparison to fluorapatites is attributed to the structural differences of the two systems.
Steganographic Method for Secure Communications

Cryptographic methods secure an important message by encrypting it to an unrecognized form of data which may arouse the interest of cryptanalysis for part of the recipients. Steganographic methods hide the encrypted message in cover carriers so that it cannot be seen while it is transmitted on public communication channels such as computer network. Many steganogrphic methods embed a large amount of the secret information in the first k LSBs of the pixels of the cover images. Because of the imperfect sensibility of the human visual system, the existence of the embedded secret information can be imperceptible. Unfortunately, the hidden secret information may be discovered by the common-cover-carrier attack if it has not been appropriately disposed. In this paper, an LSB-based steganographic method is proposed to resolve this problem. By using variable-size insertion and redundant Gaussion noise adding, the stego-images created with the proposed method can survive both the human visual system and the common-cover-carrier attack. Moreover, many cryptographic protocols are involved in the proposed method to resolve the problems of security and key management that may be encountered in other steganogrpahic methods. The proposed method is hence suitable for secure communications.
INACTIVATION OF ESTROGEN BY RAT UTERINE PREPARATIONS.

Estradiol was inactivated by H2O2 and a 1.2M NaCl extract of a rat uterine participate preparation. The reaction was stimulated by dichlorophenol and was inhibited by low molecular weight components of the uterine supernatant fraction, by ascorbic acid, DPNH, TPNH, epinephrine, methimazole, sodium azide and to a lesser extent by reduced glutathione and sodium cyanide. Inactivation was produced by extracts prepared from ovariectomized estrogen-injected animals but not from ovariectomized animals not pretreated with estrogen. The administration of progesterone decreased the estradiol-inactivating activity of the ovariectomized estrogenprimed animals. Extracts prepared from animals in estrus had considerably greater estradiol inactivating activity than extracts prepared from animals in diestrus. Extracts from immature animals and from animals late in pregnancy did not inactivate estradiol, whereas extracts from animals early in pregnancy had decreased estrogen-inactivating activity. Estradiol 17-acetate and ...
Involvement of nonclassical MHC class Ib molecules in heat shock protein-mediated anti-tumor responses.

Nonclassical MHC class Ib (class Ib) genes are found in all jawed vertebrates, and their products are hypothesized to be indicators of intracellular stress and malignancy. They may be involved in immune recognition of classical MHC class Ia (class Ia)-low or -negative tumor cells through their interaction with T cell receptors and/or non-T cell inhibitory or triggering receptors expressed by NK cells and T cells. In the frog Xenopus, the molecular chaperone gp96 mediates a potent immune response involving antigen-specific classical class Ia-unrestricted CD8+ CTL (CCU-CTL) against a transplantable thymic tumor (15/0) that does not express class Ia molecules. We hypothesized that Xenopus nonclassical class Ib gene products (XNC) are involved in gp96-mediated CCU-CTL anti-tumor responses. To investigate the involvement of class Ib gene products in Xenopus anti-tumor responses, we generated, for the first time in ectothermic vertebrates, stable tumor transfectants expressing short hairpin RNA (shRNA) to silence either XNC directly or β2m to prevent class Ib surface expression. Both types of 15/0 transfectants are more resistant to CCU-CTL killing, more tumorigenic and more susceptible to NK-like cell killing. This study provides in vitro and in vivo evidence of the evolutionary conservation of class Ib involvement in anti-tumor CD8+ T cell responses.
Projections in weighted spaces, skew projections and inversion of Toeplitz operators

In many cases the self-adjoint projection of a Lebesgue space L2(dx) onto a closed subspace is also bounded on a weighted space L2(wdx) . Our main result is that in this case certain self-adjoint projections on weighted spaces are bounded on L2(dx) . The analysis also produces an invertibility criterion for certain Toeplitz operators. The proof is based on analysis of a perturbation series and hence is valid in fairly general circumstances.
Diaphragmatic Origin of the Pacemaker Sound

The late onset of diaphragmatic stimulation without apparent intercostal muscle stimulation caused a pacemaker sound in a patient with a transvenous pacemaker in the absence of obvious myocardial perforation. In this situation the pacemaker sound does not invariably indicate myocardial perforation. Serial ventricular electrograms may be helpful in detecting changes in catheter position and in the diagnosis of myocardial perforation. Some manipulation of the pacing catheter is often required to eliminate uncomfortable diaphragmatic stimulation whether or not perforation has occurred.
Trends in Hospital Volume and Failure to Rescue for Pancreatic Surgery.

Background We sought to evaluate trends in selection of high volume (HV) hospitals for pancreatic surgery, as well as examine trends in preoperative complications, mortality, and failure to rescue (FTR). Method Patients who underwent pancreatic resection between 2000 and 2011 were identified from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS). Preoperative morbidity, mortality, and FTR were examined over time. Hospital volume was stratified into tertiles based on the number of pancreatic resections per year for each time period. Logistic regression models were used to assess the effect of hospital volume on risk of complication, postoperative mortality, and FTR over time. Result A total of35,986patients wereidentified.Medianhospitalvolumeincreasedfrom13in2000–2003to55procedures/year in 2008–2011 (P 0.05). Overall postoperative mortality was 5 %, and it decreased over time across all hospital volumes (P<0.05). FTR was more common at LV (12.0 %) and IV (8.5 %) volume hospitals compared with HV hospitals (6.4 %). The improvement in FTR over time was most pronounced at LVand IV hospitals versus HV hospitals (P=0.001). Conclusion Median hospital volume for pancreatic surgery has increased over the past decade. While the morbidity remained relatively stable over time, mortality improved especially in LV and IV hospitals. This improvement in mortality seems to be related to a decreased FTR.
Slicks associated with Trichodesmium Blooms in the Sargasso Sea

NATURAL slicks are apparently formed by the ripple-damping action of monomolecular layers of organic matter which have an effective strength of only a few dynes/cm or less and are visible against the adjacent rippled waters only in relatively calm, weather1–4. One of the few correlations of slick with source was made by Grontved5 when an oily slick of several square miles in the North Sea was found to contain a high oily, senescent and dense patch of the diatom Coscinodiscus concinnus. The existence of blue-green algae of the genus Trichodesmium in the open ocean6, and its wide distribution7 and ability to discolour water as well as some of its ecology9,10 has long been recognized. The purpose of this communication is to describe blooms in which well-defined and surfactant slicks were associated with dense patches of Trichodesmium species.
Hedgehog signaling in prostate growth and benign prostate hyperplasia

Hedgehog (Hh) signaling has long been recognized for its role in axial patterning, mesenchymal-epithelial inductive signaling, and growth regulation during fetal development. In many embryonic tissues, Hh functions as a proliferative stimulus. Sonic hedgehog and Indian hedgehog are both expressed by the urothelium of the fetal prostate anlage, where they regulate cell proliferation and differentiation and play a role in prostate ductal budding. Whereas Hh signaling in mouse prostate diminishes during adolescence and is maintained at a low level in the adult, robust Hh signaling is commonly found in the adult human prostate. The reason(s) for robust Hh signaling in the adult human prostate and the actions of Hh signaling on growth and differentiation in the adult are not well understood. However, increased Hh signaling has been associated with prostate cancer and has been shown to accelerate prostate cancer growth. These observations suggest that inappropriate reawakening of this developmental growth signal may play a pivotal role in prostate neoplasia. This review examines the role of Hh signaling during early prostate growth and in its corollary actions during prostate disease, including benign prostate hyperplasia and prostate cancer. The use of Hh inhibitors as a therapeutic modality for androgen-independent treatment of prostate disease is also discussed.
Microtubule Dynamics Classification Using a Statistical Model of the Movement of Outer Tips

A new method is proposed for tracking the dynamics of microtubules. It combines a salient point extraction mechanism for segmenting plus-end tips, a robust tracking method capable of locating the trajectories of a large number of feature points, and a classification algorithm capable of determining if the level of activity of a given microtubule video is typical of that of a treated or a control cell. Our method does not rely on the precise tracking of a single microtubule like many previous works, but instead focuses on the generalized movement of ending tips as a whole, which gives a more statistically reliable interpretation of the movement of microtubules. The proposed algorithm is tested using twenty videos of breast cancer microtubules -ten are treated with Taxol and ten are control. We are able to correctly classify those test videos 85% of the time, which is comparable in accuracy, but uses a less complex algorithm than other algorithms.
Editor’s Spotlight/Take 5: CORR® ORS Richard A. Brand Award for Outstanding Orthopaedic Research: Engineering Flexor Tendon Repair With Lubricant, Cells, and Cytokines in a Canine Model

Note from the Editor-In-Chief: In “Editor’s Spotlight,” one of our editors provides brief commentary on a paper we believe is especially important and worthy of general interest. Following the explanation of our choice, we present “Take Five,” in which the editor goes behind the discovery with a one-on-one interview with an author of the article featured in “Editor’s Spotlight.” The authors certify that they, or any members of their immediate family, have no commercial associations (eg, consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing arrangements, etc) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article. All ICMJE Conflict of Interest Forms for authors and Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research ® editors and board members are on file with the publication and can be viewed on request. The opinions expressed are those of the writers, and do not reflect the opinion or policy of CORR ® or the Association of Bone and Joint Surgeons®. This comment refers to the article available at: DOI: 10.1007/s11999-014-3690-y.
The Politics of Migration in the Contemporary World

The impact of political factors on international migration trends is discussed with a focus on migration to Western Europe. Consideration is given to political and economic pressures to migrate and to responses to migration pressures by governments and the international community. Some future trends in international migration are projected. (SUMMARY IN FRE AND SPA) (ANNOTATION)
JC virus: a biomarker for colorectal cancer?

Chromosomal instability (CIN) is present in most colorectal cancers, though the mechanism for these genetic aberrations is unclear. An explanation may lie in the possible link between JC virus (JCV) Mad-1 strain, found in colorectal cancers, and aneuploid neoplasia. It is proposed here to test the hypothesis that detection of JCV in colorectal cancer patients may serve as a clinically useful biomarker for the presence of colorectal tumors. This may be tested by looking for any correlation that may exist between JCV DNA, viral proteins, and anti-JCV anti-sera detected in samples of stool, blood, and urine obtained from patients with colorectal neoplasm compared with normal age-matched controls.
TEM Investigation of U6+ and Re7+ Reduction by Desulfovibrio desulfuricans, a Sulfate-Reducing Bacterium

Uranium and its fission product Tc in aerobic environment will be in the forms of UO{sub 2}{sup 2+} and TcO{sub 4}{sup {minus}}. Reduced forms of tetravalent U and Tc are sparingly soluble. As determined by transmission electron microscopy, the reduction of uranyl acetate by immobilized cells of Desulfovibrio desulfuricans results in the production of black uraninite nanocrystals precipitated outside the cell. Some nanocrystals are associated with outer membranes of the cell as revealed from cross sections of these metabolic active sulfate-reducing bacteria. The nanocrystals have an average diameter of 5 nm and have anhedral shape. The reduction of Re{sup 7+} by cells of Desulfovibrio desulfuricans is fast in media containing H{sub 2} an electron donor, and slow in media containing lactic acid. It is proposed that the cytochrome in these cells has an important role in the reduction of uranyl and Re{sup 7+} is (a chemical analogue for Tc{sup 7+}) through transferring an electron from molecular hydrogen or lactic acid to the oxyions of UO{sub 2}{sup 2+} and TcO{sub 4}{sup {minus}}.
Sociocultural Tailoring of a Healthy Lifestyle Intervention to Reduce Cardiovascular Disease and Type 2 Diabetes Risk Among Latinos

BACKGROUND Suboptimal lifestyle factors in combination with genetic susceptibility contribute to cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes risk among Latinos. We describe a community-academic collaboration that developed and explored the feasibility of implementing a socioculturally tailored, healthy lifestyle intervention integrating genomics and family history education to reduce risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes among Latinos. COMMUNITY CONTEXT The community-based participatory research was conducted with communities in Kentucky, which has a rapidly growing Latino population. This growth underscores the need for socioculturally appropriate health resources. METHODS Su Corazon, Su Vida (Your Heart, Your Life) is a Spanish-language, healthy lifestyle educational program to reduce cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes risk among Latinos. Twenty natural leaders from an urban Latino community in Kentucky participated in sociocultural tailoring of the program and development of a genomics and family history module. The tailored program was presented to 22 participants to explore implementation feasibility and assess appropriateness for community use. Preintervention and postintervention assessments of genomic knowledge and lifestyle behaviors and qualitative postintervention evaluations were conducted. OUTCOMES Postintervention improvements in health-promoting lifestyle choices and genomic knowledge specific to cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes suggested that the program may be effective in reducing risk. Feedback indicated the program was socioculturally acceptable and responsive to community needs. INTERPRETATION These findings indicated that a tailored healthy lifestyle program integrating genomics and family history education was socioculturally appropriate and may feasibly be implemented to reduce cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes risk in a Latino community with limited health care resources. The project highlights contributions of community-based processes in tailoring interventions that are appropriate for community contexts.
The role of the particle size distribution in assessing aerosol composition effects on simulated droplet activation

Abstract. Variations in the chemical composition of atmospheric aerosols alter their hygroscopicity and can lead to changes in the cloud-active fraction of the aerosols, or cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) number concentration. To investigate the importance of this effect under different atmospheric conditions, cloud droplet formation was simulated with a Lagrangian parcel model. Initial values of updraft speed and temperature were systematically varied along with aerosol number concentration, size and hygroscopicity (represented by the hygroscopicity parameter, κ). A previous study classifies the sensitivity of CCN activity to compositional changes based on the supersaturation reached in the parcel model. We found that these classifications could not be generalized to a range of aerosol size distribution median radii. Instead, variations in sensitivity with size depend on the location of the dry critical radius for droplet activation relative to the size distribution median radius. The parcel model output was used to construct droplet activation lookup tables based on κ that were implemented in the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) microphysical scheme. As a first application of this system, aerosol hygroscopicity and size were varied in a series of RAMS mesoscale simulations designed to investigate the sensitivity of a mixed-phase orographic cloud case to the parameter variations. Observations from a recent field campaign in northwestern Colorado provided the basis for the aerosol field initializations. Model results show moderate sensitivity in the distribution of total case precipitation to extreme changes in κ, and minimal sensitivity to observed changes in estimated κ. The impact of varying aerosol hygroscopicity diminished with increasing median radius, as expected from the parcel model results. The conclusions drawn from these simulations could simplify similar research in other cloud regimes by defining the need, or lack of need, for detailed knowledge of aerosol composition.
Wasting time on facebook?: when social media can be useful for local governments

Despite its wide diffusion, the impact of social media in professional contexts is still ambiguous. Some workers report an higher flexibility in their working hours, while others report an increase in the time they spent in working activities. In this paper, we investigate how city government managers perceive social media and which factors influence the usefulness of social media for municipal managers. Drawing from a survey of 2,500 managers in U.S. cities we argue that the diffusion of social media usage, the presence of social media policies or guidelines, and the technology capacity of the organization will positively affect the usefulness of social media for local manager outcomes.
Molecular structure of a major insulin/mitogen-activated 70-kDa S6 protein kinase.

Abstract The molecular structure of a rat hepatoma 70-kDa insulin/mitogen-stimulated S6 protein kinase, obtained by molecular cloning, is compared to that of a rat homolog of the 85-kDa Xenopus S6 protein kinase alpha; both kinases were cloned from H4 hepatoma cDNA libraries. The 70-kDa S6 kinase (calculated molecular mass of 59,186 Da) exhibits a single catalytic domain that is most closely related in amino acid sequence (56% identity) to the amino-terminal, kinase C-like domain of the rat p85 S6 kinase (calculated molecular mass of 82,695 Da); strong similarity extends through a further 67 residues carboxyl-terminal to the catalytic domain (40% identity), corresponding to a region also conserved among the kinase C family. Outside of this segment of approximately 330 amino acids, the structures of the p70 and p85 S6 kinases diverge substantially. The p70 S6 kinase is known to be activated through serine/threonine phosphorylation by unidentified insulin/mitogen-activated protein kinases. A model for the regulation of p70 S6 protein kinase activity is proposed wherein the low activity of the unphosphorylated enzyme results from the binding of a basic, inhibitory pseudosubstrate site (located carboxyl-terminal to the extended catalytic domain) to an acidic substrate binding region (located amino-terminal to the catalytic domain); substrate binding is thereby prevented. S6 kinase activation requires displacement of this inhibitory segment, which is proposed to occur consequent to its multiple phosphorylation. The putative autoinhibitory segment contains several serine and threonine residues, each followed directly by a proline residue. This motif may prevent autophosphorylation but permit transphosphorylation; two of these serine residues reside in a maturation promoting factor (MPF)/cdc-2 consensus motif. Thus, hormonal regulation of S6 kinase may involve the action of MPF/cdc-2 or protein kinases with related substrate specificity.
Transport and EPR studies of polyaniline: A quasi-one-dimensional conductor with three-dimensional "metallic" states.

It is an open question if ``metallic'' polymers have one-dimensional or three-dimensional conduction states. We investigate this issue by studying a model polymer, the HCl-doped emeraldine salt form of oriented polyaniline (PAN-ES) through the temperature dependence of the dc conductivity, thermoelectric power, complex microwave dielectric constant, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and electric-field dependence of conductivity. The thermopower, microwave dielectric constant, and EPR data suggest that the electrons are three dimensionally delocalized. We propose that oriented PAN-ES consists of coupled parallel chains that form ``metallic'' bundles. These bundles are the ``crystalline'' regions of the polymer in which the electron wave functions are three dimensionally extended. This is in contrast to conventional quasi-one-dimensional conductors (many ``metallic'' charge-transfer salts) in which conducting chains are essentially isolated. However, between bundles are the amorphous (less-ordered) regions in which charge hopping dominates the macroscopic conductivity. The formation of the ``metallic'' bundles is proposed to be the result of a significant charge-interchain-transfer rate inside the crystalline regions. The implications of the results for the improvement of conductivity are addressed.
Sensitivity of the McGill pain questionnaire to intensity and quality of laboratory pain

Subjects completed a modified McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ) to describe one of two laboratory stressors (cold pressor or electrical tooth pulp stimulation) at one of two subjective intensities (pain threshold or pain tolerance). Differences in MPQ-derived scores were associated with both type of stressor and intensity level, as were patterns of frequently chosen word groups and specific words. These data support the validity of interpretations drawn from MPQ differences in clinical practice and research. In addition, the fact that the MPQ can be used in both clinical and laboratory settings suggests one way in which relevant dimensions of similarity and difference among "types" of pain may be clarified in later research.
Morphological variation in the forelegs of the Hawaiian Drosophilidae. I. The AMC clade.

The Hawaiian Drosophilidae possess spec- tacular diversity in male foreleg modifications, many of which are unknown in other Diptera. The greatest diver- sity in foreleg morphology is in the antopocerus, modified tarsus, and ciliated tarsus clade (AMC Clade), a group of 95 species. The modified tarsus flies are divided into the bristle, ciliated, split, and spoon tarsus subgroups. The bristle tarsus species feature one or two rows of thick- ened setae on the basitarsus. The split tarsus species are characterized by only having four tarsal segments, in contrast to five tarsomeres in the remainder of Diptera. Based on comparisons of the apparent ground state of ventral setal rows across the Hawaiian Drosophila ,w e suggest that it is the second tarsal segment which has been lost. The spoon tarsus species are characterized by having the second tarsomere modified into a setae-filled, concave-shaped spoon. The ciliated tarsus species, all of which possess one or more elongate setae on the tarsus of males, are probably not monophyletic with respect to the bristle tarsus subgroup. The antopocerus flies are charac- terized by a long basitarsus, with extensive setation on the tibia and basitarsus of some species. The use of these foreleg modifications in courtship behavior has been pre- viously described and it is suggested that they represent the results of sexual selection. The current work expands on previous morphological analyses, presenting a level of detail not previously possible without SEM images. The new characters revealed will figure prominently in future cladistic studies. J. Morphol. 271:86-103, 2010. 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Systems tool kit for configuring and integrating intelligent systems

Intelligent systems are required to perform increasingly complicated tasks and interact with a variety of complex systems more often today than in the past. As systems become more complicated, the integration challenges become more demanding. Large, complicated intelligent systems are generally composed of smaller components of lesser complexity. These smaller components are integrated into the larger system to perform specific tasks. The key components of current manufacturing environments consist of such diverse elements as production machinery, communications hardware and software, sensors, computer, databases, file systems, operator interfaces, and production management software. In order to fully automate such manufacturing systems, these components must be able to work together in an integrated way to provide satisfactory product quality at a reasonable price. This paper discusses the development of an information architecture using an `agent-based' approach to put systems together fast, better, and cheaper that are connected to a network whether local or remote. This approach utilizes standardization of communication protocols and subsystem interfaces to allow maximum flexibility on the part of the computer modelers. Modeling resources are integrated together through the use of communication interfaces. Software drivers (translators) translate generic commands and information into the special instructions required by each software agent. Also significantly important is the ability to seamlessly merge the simulation environment with the real environment. This is accomplished by defining interfaces to allow the virtual models to communicate in the same manner as the hardware modules. Several intelligent systems consisting of robots, sensors, operator interfaces and input devices have been successfully configured and integrated via networks using this approach.
European electronic tolling and charging research

The authors are co-ordinating a support action for the European Commission that is facilitating convergence activities in several technical areas, including automatic debiting and toll collection, and have also been involved in specific charging research for the Commission. The paper aims to provide a review of the major research projects funded within the European Commission's Fourth Framework Programme, concerned with aspects of electronic tolling. The background to the developments is described together with an outline of the projects and their status.
From self-reliant churches to self-governing communities: comparing the indigenization of Christianity and democracy in sub-Saharan Africa

Christian missionaries, especially from Anglo-American Protestant denominations, have been remarkably successful in their effort to plant ‘self-propagating, self-supporting, self-governing’ churches throughout the world and especially in sub-Saharan Africa. Today's international non-governmental organizations and inter-governmental organizations engaged in development, humanitarian assistance, peace-building and human rights resemble ‘secular missionaries’ spreading their gospel of democracy, good governance, peace, justice and sustainable development. This article investigates the extent to which today's secular missionaries might learn from the indigenization of Christianity in sub-Saharan Africa. I conclude that an essential ingredient in the missionary strategy of evangelization is conspicuously absent in contemporary programmes of development, democratization, or peace-building. In particular, the extensive efforts devoted by Protestant missionaries to the translation of their Biblical message into l...
Experimental alterations in the chromosome constitution of Sciara

Using two reciprocal translocations between chromosomes X and IV in S. coprophila it has been possible to derive two kinds of aneuploid females. Both of the aneuploid complements are detrimental — one is lethal, the other may give rise to viable, fertile adults. Males with aneuploid somatic complements have not been obtained; three different aneuploid complements were tested but gave negative results. Males with euploid soma and aneuploid germ line have been produced in three separate instances; they are viable and fertile.
Quantized thermal transport across contacts of rough surfaces

The effect of nanoscale surface roughness on heat transport across solid interfaces has remained contentious. Now, measurements of the pressure dependence of heat transport across polished nanoscale contacts formed between the tip of a scanning thermal microscope and a surface agree with a model that assumes quantum thermal transport across individual contact points.
The Role of Commitment in Scientific Inquiry: Polanyi or Popper?

Michael Polanyi has argued that commitment has an essential role to play in the scientific enterprise. Commitment plays an essential role first in the scientist's re? lation to the cause of science. Science is an enterprise committed to the search for truth, and if you want to be a scientist, you must devote yourself to this cause by declaring your loyalty to it. Although there is no formalized oath, as in medicine, a similar commitment is required. To become a scientist is to enter, as it were, a covenant, to promise to oneself and to the community of scientists that he will not allow his natural desires for all kinds of personal profits to interfere with his ser? vice to his cause?the search after truth. And no matter how impersonal all the objects and ends of science may be, the scientist himself still remains a person of whom the responsible act of commitment to a cause beyond himself is required. Not only does Polanyi argue that a scientist qua scientist must be committed to the cause of science; he also claims that commitment plays an essential role in the actual pursuit of scientific knowledge, i.e. in discovery, observation, verification, theory construction, and the like. Polanyi contends indeed that scientific inquiry is possible only in such a context of commitment. Recognizing the hazards of com? mitment Polanyi maintains that the risks involved in it are necessary if science is to proceed. He says "I believe, that in spite of the hazards involved, I am called upon to search for the truth and state my findings. This sentence summarizing my programme, conveys an ultimate belief which I find myself holding" (Polanyi, 1964, p. 299). Like Polanyi, Karl Popper has seen the hazards involved in passionate commit? ment and belief. Yet this common recognition of the hazards and risks of commit? ment has led them to conflicting views as to the role of commitment in scientific inquiry. Their divergent views as to the role of comnfitment in scientific inquiry is seen in the different ways that they characterize their conceptions of scientific method. On Popper's view, scientific method is critical, on Polanyi's it is post critical. It will help to illuminate the role of commitment in scientific inquiry to explore in more detail this contrast between Polanyi and Popper. Popper developed his theory of scientific methodology in answer to the problem of induction. The traditional problem of induction, according to Popper, is
Adsorption of iodine on graphite in High Temperature Gas-Cooled Reactor systems: A review

Abstract Adsorption of iodine on graphite is of great interest for operation and safety of high temperature nuclear reactors. Graphite can adsorb significant amounts of iodine and retain it for a long period of time. Significant amount of work on this subject has been done in the past. Various types of adsorption apparatus have been designed and data were collected. The types of graphite used in past studies are not available anymore, and as a consequence the data are not applicable for the new type of commercial nuclear grade graphites. However, the past experimental systems, data, and their analysis are useful to design a better experimental system, collect more accurate data, and, provide better understanding of the adsorption process and data. In addition the existing data can be used to generate a framework to understand the types of adsorption processes taking place. In this work, we have conducted an exhaustive literature review and further analyzed the data. Four adsorption isotherms; the Langmuir, the Freundlich, and the two isotherms proposed in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Tecdoc-978 were used to correlate the available equilibrium adsorption data. For most of the data, the simple Langmuir and the Freundlich isotherms provided a reasonable fit of the data. The Polyani's potential theory was also used to check the consistency of the data and as indicated by the theory, most of the data set provided a single characteristic curve. The isosteric heats of adsorption calculated using the literature data suggested that iodine-adsorption on graphite could be a chemisorption process.
Characterization of reactive oxygen species induced effects on human spermatozoa movement and energy metabolism.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) inhibit sperm movement and have been implicated in male infertility. In this study, we determined the effects of specific ROS produced by activated leukocytes on human spermatozoa and investigated their metabolic site of action. We used chemiluminescence and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) to characterize the ROS generated by both blood and seminal leukocytes. We also determined the effects of these ROS on sperm energy metabolism using biochemical analyses and flow cytometry. Both blood and seminal leukocytes produced the same characteristic ROS which were determined to be hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and superoxide radicals (O2•−). EPR using the spin trapping technique indicated that superoxide radical-dependent hydroxyl radicals (HO) were also generated. ROS generated by PMA-stimulated blood leukocytes (2–5 × 106/ ml) caused inhibition of sperm movement in 2 h (p < .01). Using the hypoxanthine/ xanthine oxidase (0.5 U/ml) system to generate ROS, we determined that spermatozoa ATP levels, after ROS treatment, were reduced approximately eight-fold in 30 min (0.10 × 10−10 moles/106 sperm cells) compared to control (0.84 × 10−10 moles/106 sperm cells) (p < .01). Sperm ATP reduction paralleled the inhibition of sperm forward progression. Neither superoxide dismutase (100 U/ml) nor dimethyl sulfoxide (100 mM) reversed these effects; however, protection was observed with catalase (4 × 103 U/ml). Flow cytometric analyses of sperm treated with various doses of H2O2 (0.3 mM–20.0 mM) showed a dose-dependent decrease in sperm mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP); however, at low concentrations of H2O2, sperm MMP was not significantly inhibited. Also, sperm MMP uncoupling with CCClP had no effect on either sperm ATP levels or forward progression. These results indicate that H2O2 is the toxic ROS produced by activated leukocytes causing the inhibition of both sperm movement and ATP production. O2•− and HO do not play a significant role in these processes. Low concentrations of H2O2 causing complete inhibition of sperm movement and ATP levels inhibit sperm energy metabolism at a site independent of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation. © 1999 Elsevier Science Inc.
Avoiding self‐definition: In defense of women's right to merge (Julia Kristeva and Mrs Dalloway)

(1986). Avoiding self‐definition: In defense of women's right to merge (Julia Kristeva and Mrs Dalloway) Women's Studies: Vol. 13, The Female Imagination and the Modernist Aesthetic, pp. 115-126.
Reduction of insulin resistance with effective clearance of hepatitis C infection: results from the HALT-C trial.

Background & Aims Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is associated with an increased prevalence of diabetes and insulin resistance (IR); whether this is a causal relationship has not been established. Methods We performed a longitudinal study within the lead-in phase of the Hepatitis C Antiviral Long-Term Treatment against Cirrhosis (HALT-C) Trial to evaluate whether suppression of hepatitis C is associated with improvement in IR. Participants had advanced hepatic fibrosis and carried non-3 HCV genotypes (n = 96). Patients underwent 24 weeks of pegylated interferon and ribavirin therapy and were categorized into HCV clearance groups at week 20 on the basis of HCV RNA levels; null responders had Results Adjusting only for baseline HOMA2-IR, mean HOMA2-IR differences were −2.23 (complete responders), −0.90 (partial responders), and +0.18 (null responders) (P = .036). The observed differences in mean HOMA2-IR scores were ordered in a linear fashion across response groups (P = .01). The association between HCV clearance and improvement in HOMA2-IR could not be accounted for by adiponectin or tumor necrosis factor–alpha and was independent of potential confounders including age, gender, ethnicity, body mass index, duration of infection, medications used, and fibrosis. Conclusions HCV suppression correlates with improvement in IR. These data provide further support for a role of HCV in the development of insulin resistance.
On the criteria for the occurrence of fumigation inland from a large lake

Abstract Fumigation of pollution from elevated sources can occur during the breakup of an inversion. Conditions for such occurrences are possible when stably stratified air over a large body of water flows across a warmer land surface. This type of fumigation can persist for hours at a time. In this paper, analytical models based on a boundary layer method and a constant heat flux method are developed to quantify the region in which this type of fumigation occurs. The models predict slightly different results, but both models do show that fumigation does not always occur. The criterion for the occurrence of fumigation is based on the potential temperature gradient, the effective source height, and the difference in temperature between the land and the lake. Comparison of the models with the extremely limited field data available at this time is reasonably good.
New high-performance liquid chromatographic method for amphotericin B analysis using an internal standard.

Abstract A simple and reproducible HPLC method for the analysis of amphotericin B (AmB) in serum, lung and liver using natamycin as the internal standard was developed. AmB and natamycin were extracted from serum, lung and liver and were separated using an isocratic elution from a C18 reversed-phase column. The mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile-10 mM acetate buffer pH 4.0 (37:63, v/v). The HPLC system had two detectors in series. One was set at 303 nm and the other at 383 nm for the detection of natamycin and AmB, respectively. The retention times of AmB and natamycin were 15 and 6 min, respectively. The recovery efficiency was 96-70%. The limit of quantification was 0.1 μg/ml. The assay was reproducible, the within-day coefficient of variation (n=6) was
First Report of Bacterial Leaf Spot of Swiss Chard Caused by Pseudomonas syringae pv. aptata in California.

From 1999 through 2003, a previously unreported disease was found on commercial Swiss chard (Beta vulgaris subsp. cicla) in the Salinas Valley, (Monterey County) California. Each year the disease occurred sporadically throughout the long growing season from April through September. Initial symptoms were water-soaked leaf spots that measured 2 to 3 mm in diameter. As disease developed, spots became circular to ellipsoid, 3 to 8 mm in diameter, and tan with distinct brown-to-black borders. Spots were visible from the adaxial and abaxial sides. Cream-colored bacterial colonies were consistently isolated from spots. Strains were fluorescent on King's medium B, levan positive, oxidase negative, and arginine dihydrolase negative. Strains did not rot potato slices but induced a hypersensitive reaction on tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv. Turk). The isolates, therefore, belong in LOPAT group 1 (1). Fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) analysis (MIS-TSBA version 4.10, MIDI Inc., Newark, DE) gave variable results that incl...
Laser photometric probe for concentration measurements in liquid dispersions

Description de l'appareillage qui combine une source de lumiere laser et une fibre optique. La technique est utilisee pour deux types de colonnes: une colonne pulsee a plateau perfore et une colonne agitee. La couche prend en compte les phenomenes de coalescence des gouttes
Internet use among college students: tool or toy?

The purpose of this study is to analyze the relationship between the grade performance of 128 students in an introductory micro‐economics course and the average number of hours per week these students report spending on the Internet. The literature review offers a priori arguments supporting both positive and negative relationships. However, the previous literature does not offer any empirical analysis of the link between the actual grade performance of college students and the number of hours that they spent online. The study finds a negative and statistically significant impact of Internet hours on grade performance, suggesting that the distractive dimensions of Internet use outweigh the productive dimensions.