cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Exploration of cache behavior using HPSS per-file transfer logs

We assembled 18 months of transfer logs from a production High Performance Storage System (HPSS) system at the National Energy Research Scientific Computing Center(NERSC) and analyzed them to assess workload behavior and gain some insight into which cache configurations would provide the best service to the users. We found, as expected, that the workload is distributed over file size with a declining number of files as the files get larger, so the amount of space consumed per file size increment is roughly constant up to file sizes of 1 GB. Sixty one percent of file accesses were write accesses. There are a significant number of files written which are never read -- backup files and similar files. For all sizes of files, access frequencies decline with the age of the files. HPSS uses the cache as an I/O buffer for incoming data. At our installation the cache behavior is dominated by the write traffic. Cache lifetimes tend to scale linearly with the size of the cache and inversely with the amount of data flow.
High-resolution high-speed dynamic mechanical spectroscopy of cells and other soft materials with the help of atomic force microscopy

High-resolution high-speed dynamic mechanical spectroscopy of cells and other soft materials with the help of atomic force microscopy
LGBTIQ Teens - Plugged in and Unfiltered: How Internet Filtering Impairs Construction of Online Communities, Identity Formation, and Access to Health Information

The anonymity the Internet provides represents an invaluable resource where LGBTIQ youth can freely discuss their issues, concerns and problems without fear of reprisal from a frequently homophobic community. LGBTIQ youth may find the Internet, and its online communities and social networks, to be the only conduit through which they can express themselves, reach out to others, and access health information that addresses their particular issues and needs. LGBTIQ adolescents often deal with environments that lack sufficient social networks, such as empathetic adults or friends, and they may face daily discrimination due to their sexual orientation or gender expression.The mandated use of Internet filtering in public libraries, however, threatens this special relationship. With the passage of CIPA (Children’s Internet Protection Act), and its constitutionality subsequently affirmed by the Supreme Court, libraries are faced with the challenges presented by Internet filtering, and the obstacles to access it creates for disadvantaged patron groups. While library science literature has frequently discussed the problems of Internet filtering, LGBTIQ adolescents are often neglected by these studies despite filtering having a disproportionate impact on their communities. The need for anonymity, which the Internet can provide, is a more crucial need for LGBTIQ youth who often must construct their social networks in an environment hostile to their emotional, social and informational needs.
R‐ and Q‐Analysis

The starting point for principal component analysis, factor analysis, or multidimensional scaling is an nxp data matrix representing n observations on p variables. In R-Analysis, a pxp matrix, such as a covariance or correlation matrix, is formed from which components or factors are obtained in terms of the variables. In Q-Analysis, the situation is reversed. The matrix is nxn and the components or factors are in terms of the observations. N-Analysis, also referred to as Singular Value Decomposition, operates on the data matrix directly and obtains results for both the variables and observations. In M-Analysis, the data matrix has been corrected for both its row and column means. Keywords: principal component analysis; factor analysis; singular value decomposition; multidimensional scaling
Prospects for Pre-election Polls in the Early 2012 Presidential Primaries

Voting in Iowa and New Hampshire is only a few weeks away, but variance in their early estimates suggest that there are storm clouds on the horizon for the pre-election pollsters – and therefore for everyone involved in the polling and survey research business. Based upon a variety of analyses conducted after the 2008 campaign and the problems that pre-election pollsters had in those primaries, we know that the image of the entire industry rests substantially on the performance of the pre-election polls.1 This is due partly to the fact that preelection polls have a peculiar external validation in the actual outcome of the election that most other polls do not have. In addition, the way that the news media report on “the polls” in the aftermath of an estimation error, especially when they systematically get the winner wrong as they did in New Hampshire, lays generic blame on the method and all those who apply it. In 2008, because of an unusual perspective on estimation issues gleaned through the long series of Democratic primary polls in 2008 due to the extended contest between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, we learned that the pre-election polls systematically underestimated the winner’s share of the vote.2 While they rarely got the wrong winner, they did underestimate actual vote share by an amount that was typically greater than sampling error would suggest. Why could the same thing happen again in this cycle? The contextual conditions are almost the same as in 2008. Some states again tried to jump the queue established by the Republican National Committee. Iowa and New Hampshire responded by moving up their dates about a month, from February to early January, on the 3rd and 10th respectively. That means candidates will be
WAGE LABOR, SHARECROPPING, AND CREDIT TRANSACTIONS

Linked sharecropping and credit contracts are common in less developed economies. In these the landlord provides consumption and/or production credit. This paper studies the rationale for interlinking under uncertainty and endogenous effort and the terms of the optimal contract. Unlike previous studies, it assumes that tenants participate in the labor market, which changes the mechanism by which interlinking works. It is shown that typically the consumption loan interest rate is higher than the landlord's cost of capital while production credit is subsidized. This provides a partial explanation for the wide range of interest rates observed in these contracts. Copyright 1995 by Royal Economic Society.
Bronchial reactivity of healthy subjects: 18–20 h postexposure to ozone

Exposure of humans to ambient levels of ozone (O3) causes inflammatory changes within lung tissues. These changes have been reported for the “initial” (1- to 3-h) and “late” (18- to 20-h) postexpos...
Black elderberry extract attenuates inflammation and metabolic dysfunction in diet-induced obese mice

Dietary anthocyanins have been shown to reduce inflammation in animal models and may ameliorate obesity-related complications. Black elderberry is one of the richest sources of anthocyanins. We investigated the metabolic effects of anthocyanin-rich black elderberry extract (BEE) in a diet-induced obese C57BL/6J mouse model. Mice were fed either a low-fat diet (n 8), high-fat lard-based diet (HFD; n 16), HFD+0·25 % (w/w) BEE (0·25 %-BEE; n 16) or HFD+1·25 % BEE (1·25 %-BEE; n 16) for 16 weeks. The 0·25 % BEE (0·034 % anthocyanin, w/w) and 1·25 % BEE (0·17 % anthocyanin, w/w) diets corresponded to estimated anthocyanin doses of 20-40 mg and 100-200 mg per kg of body weight, respectively. After 16 weeks, both BEE groups had significantly lower liver weights, serum TAG, homoeostasis model assessment and serum monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 compared with HFD. The 0·25 %-BEE also had lower serum insulin and TNFα compared with HFD. Hepatic fatty acid synthase mRNA was lower in both BEE groups, whereas PPARγ2 mRNA and liver cholesterol were lower in 1·25 %-BEE, suggesting decreased hepatic lipid synthesis. Higher adipose PPARγ mRNA, transforming growth factor β mRNA and adipose tissue histology suggested a pro-fibrogenic phenotype that was less inflammatory in 1·25 %-BEE. Skeletal muscle mRNA expression of the myokine IL-6 was higher in 0·25 %-BEE relative to HFD. These results suggest that BEE may have improved some metabolic disturbances present in this mouse model of obesity by lowering serum TAG, inflammatory markers and insulin resistance.
Stochastic networks with multipath flow control: impact of resource pools on flow-level performance and network congestion

Multipath flow control has been proposed as a key way to improve the Internet's performance, reliability, and flexibility in supporting changing loads. Yet, at this point, there are very few tools to quantify the performance benefits; particularly in the context of a stochastic network supporting best effort flows, e.g., file transfers and web browsing sessions, where the metric of interest is transfer delay. This paper's focus is on developing analysis tools to evaluate flow-level performance and to support network design when multipath bandwidth allocation is based on proportional fairness. To overcome the analytical intractability of such systems we study closely related multipath approximations based on insensitive allocations such as balanced fairness. We obtain flow-level performance bounds on the mean per bit delay, exhibiting the role of resource pooling in the network, and use these to explore scenarios where increased path diversity need not result in high gains. While insightful these results are difficult to use to drive network design and capacity allocation. To that end, we study the large deviations for congestion events, i.e., accumulation of flows, in networks supporting multipath flow control. We show that such asymptotics are determined by certain critical resource pools, and study the sensitivity of congestion asymptotics to the pool's capacity and traffic loads. This suggests a disciplined approach to a capacity allocation problem in multipath networks based on a linear optimization problem.
Impact of Building Environment on the Performance of Dynamic Indoor Localization

Location determination of mobile users within a building is challenging due to the complexities of the indoor radio propagation characteristics. For a RF based indoor system, a common practice is to construct a signal strength map table showing the radio signal strength at different known locations in the building. A mobile user's location at an arbitrary point in the building is then determined by measuring the signal strength at the location in question and determining the location by referring to the above map table using a LMSE (least mean square error) criterion. Much work has been done lately in the indoor radio propagation in order to automatically generate the signal strength map table according to the changing environment. This research is based on the ARIADNE indoor localization system with the purpose to analyze the impact of building structures and indoor furniture on the performance of the indoor localization. We provide a simple strategy to model these indoor structures, and we verify the methodology using a complex basement building. Experimental results indicate that up to 15% improvement in location estimation is achievable from the proposed method.
Blockade of FG 7142-induced increased dopamine utilization by the glycine/NMDA receptor antagonist (+)-HA 966.

: Systemic administration of the anxiogenic benzodiazepine inverse agonist FG 7142 has been shown to increase selectively dopamine utilization in the medial prefrontal cortex and the shell, but not core, subregion of the nucleus accumbens. In the present study, we examined the functional interaction between benzodiazepine and N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor influences on dopamine utilization in these areas. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were pretreated with the glycine receptor antagonist (+)-HA 966 (15 mg/kg, i.p.) or saline 15 min before FG 7142 (20 mg/kg, i.p.) or vehicle administration. Subjects were killed 30 min later and assayed for tissue concentrations of dopamine and its major metabolite 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid in the core and shell subdivisions of the nucleus accumbens and the medial prefrontal cortex. (+)-HA 966 administration blocked FG 7142-induced increased dopamine utilization in both the medial prefrontal cortex and the shell subdivision of the nucleus accumbens. Results are discussed in terms of N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor influences on the response of mesoaccumbal dopamine neurons to stress.
Depth calculation of piezomagnetic effect for earthquake prediction

Abstract Tectonic stresses acting in the lithosphere cause transitory changes in the magnetic properties of rock and thus of its observed magnetic field. Calculations have been made to estimate this piezomagnetic effect as a function of depth, by considering the relative stress sensitivity of magnetite with increasing temperature and hydrostatic pressure. The response of magnetization to seismotectonic stress is determined by an appropriate balancing of magnetocrystalline and magnetoelastic anisotropy energies. Magnetite becomes progressively more responsive to applied stress as depth increases, with the rate of change depending on the local geothermal gradient. The upper 15 km of the lithosphere is likely to be the most important in yielding observable piezomagnetic field anomalies for earthquake prediction.
Molecular phylogeny of the gobioid fishes (Teleostei: Perciformes: Gobioidei).

The phylogeny of groups within Gobioidei is examined with molecular sequence data. Gobioidei is a speciose, morphologically diverse group of teleost fishes, most of which are small, benthic, and marine. Efforts to hypothesize relationships among the gobioid groups have been hampered by the prevalence of reductive evolution among goby species; such reduction can make identification of informative morphological characters particularly difficult. Gobies have been variously grouped into two to nine families, several with included subfamilies, but most existing taxonomies are not phylogenetic and few cladistic hypotheses of relationships among goby groups have been advanced. In this study, representatives of eight of the nine gobioid familes (Eleotridae, Odontobutidae, Xenisthmidae, Gobiidae, Kraemeriidae, Schindleriidae, Microdesmidae, and Ptereleotridae), selected to sample broadly from the range of goby diversity, were examined. Complete sequence from the mitochondrial ND1, ND2, and COI genes (3573 bp) was used in a cladistic parsimony analysis to hypothesize relationships among the gobioid groups. A single most parsimonious topology was obtained, with decay indices indicating strong support for most nodes. Major phylogenetic conclusions include that Xenisthmidae is part of Eleotridae, and Eleotridae is paraphyletic with respect to a clade composed of Gobiidae, Microdesmidae, Ptereleotridae, Kraemeriidae, and Schindleriidae. Within this five-family clade, two clades are recovered. One includes Gobionellinae, which is paraphyletic with respect to Kraemeriidae, Sicydiinae, Oxudercinae, and Amblyopinae. The other contains Gobiinae, also paraphyletic, and including Microdesmidae, Ptereleotridae, and Schindleriidae. Previous morphological evidence for goby groupings is discussed; the phylogenetic hypothesis indicates that the morphological reduction observed in many goby species has been derived several times independently.
Shadow trading by international tourists in the Soviet Union

Abstract International travelers often participate in the large shadow economy operating in the Soviet Union. Many international travelers who are accessible to indigenes become suppliers in the Soviet underground markets. Tourists appear to be free to carry out these semilegal to illegal transactions without harassment or government interference unless they are dealing with drugs or illegal currencies. The explanation for this lack of deterrence may be in the symbiotic interaction between the Soviet official and alternative economies. International tourists operating in the shadow economy lessen consumer pressures in the Soviets' overall economic system.
Discovery of 1-(β-amino substituted-β-alanyl)-N,N-dimethylindoline-2-carboxamides as novel nonpeptide antagonists of nociceptin/orphanin FQ receptor: Efficient design, synthesis, and structure–activity relationship studies

Abstract Since the discovery of endogenous nociceptin/orphanin FQ (N/OFQ) peptide and N/OFQ peptide (NOP) receptor [or opioid-receptor-like-1 (ORL1) receptor], the structures, distribution, and pharmacology have been reported in detail. N/OFQ and NOP receptor are located in the corticolimbic regions that are involved in the integration of the emotional activity, and located in the spinal cord, the peripheral nervous systems or other peripheral tissues that are related to pain as well as urinary signal transmissions, with a pattern distinct from that of classical opioid peptides and their receptors in rodents or primates. Furthermore, N/OFQ–NOP receptor system plays an important role in the regulation of various human physiologies such as depression effect, hyperphasia effect, and blood pressure effect. In this study, the structure–activity relationship of novel NOP receptor antagonist for various 1-(β-amino substituted-β-alanyl)- N , N -dimethylindoline-2-carboxamides was investigated in vitro to elucidate structural requisites to identify and develop potent and selective NOP receptor antagonists, which resulted in the discovery of 1-{3-[4-(substituted phenyl)piperidin-1-yl]propanoyl}- N , N -dimethylindoline-2-carboxamide analogues that display potent and selective human NOP (hNOP) receptor binding affinity and potent hNOP receptor antagonist activity. The efficient design, synthesis, and structure–activity relationship studies for potent and selective novel NOP receptor antagonists and significant findings in vitro , that include insights for binding and functional mechanisms via receptor–ligand interactions, are reported herein.
Preferential in vitro interaction of fibronectin with histone H2A + H3

The interactions of fibronectin with unfractionated histone and histone subfractions (H1, H2A + H3, H2B and H4) were studied under physiological conditions by laser nephelometry. It was found that fibronectin interacted preferentially with histone H2A + H3. Due to self-aggregation, fibronectin showed a very low relative light scattering.
Dynamic systems with random initial state

A perturbation scheme is described to treat time variable cryptodeterministic systems. According to Moyal's degree of randomness criteria the method provides a complete stochastic characterization of the system response. Certain digital computational features, when the perturbation scheme is not applicable, are also outlined. For an assumed random initial state, the results are then applied to describe the transient flapping oscillations of a helicopter blade which in forward flight has periodically varying aerodynamic damping and spring parameters.
Interruption management: the use of attention-directing tactile cues

Previous research has suggested that providing informative cues about interrupting stimuli aids management of multiple tasks. However, auditory and visual cues can be ineffective in certain situations. The objective of the present study was to explore whether attention-directing tactile cues aid or interfere with performance. A two-group posttest-only randomized experiment was conducted. Sixty-one participants completed a 30-min performance session consisting of aircraft-monitoring and gauge-reading computer tasks. Tactile signals were administered to a treatment group to indicate the arrival and location of interrupting tasks. Control participants had to remember to visually check for the interrupting tasks. Participants in the treatment group responded to more interrupting tasks and responded faster than did control participants. Groups did not differ on error rates for the interrupting tasks, performance of the primary task, or subjective workload perceptions. In the context of the tasks used in the pr...
Similarity solutions in the theory of curvature driven diffusion along planar curves: I. Symmetric curves expanding in time

Abstract A numerical method is developed for obtaining similarity solutions of the differential equations governing the evolution of a planar curve in the theory of diffusion along curves. The method is applied to cases in which the solution can be interpreted as describing the subsequent evolution (by curvature driven surface diffusion) of the boundary of a three-dimensional body that in the limit t→0+ has a form close to that of a wedge with angle of aperture 2Φ. In the theory of curvature driven evaporation, the analogous problem can be solved analytically, and hence the relation between t, Φ, and the retraction of the wedge tip can be rendered explicit. Although the differential equations of the two theories are of different orders and have solutions that differ in such qualitative properties as preservation of convexity and conservation of volume, it is found that the explicit expressions obtained for the retraction of a wedge tip by curvature driven evaporation can be transformed by rescaling into expressions that appear to be in perfect agreement with numerical results for retraction of the tip by curvature driven diffusion.
‘Deep’ models and their relation to diagnosis

Abstract In this paper we distinguish between deep models in the sense of scientific first principles and deep cognitive models where the problem solver has a qualitative symbolic representation of the system or device that accounts for how the system ‘works’. We analyze diagnostic reasoning as an information processing task, identifying the generic types of knowledge (and reasoning) needed for the task to be performed adequately. If these are available, an integrated collection of generic problem solvers can produce a diagnostic conclusion. The need for deep or causal models arises when some or all of these types of knowledge are missing in the problem solver. We provide a typology of different knowledge structures and reasoning processes that play a role in qualitative or functional reasoning and elaborate on functional representations as deep cognitive models for some aspects of causal reasoning in medicine.
Outer membrane proteins can be simply identified using secondary structure element alignment

Background Outer membrane proteins (OMPs) are frequently found in the outer membranes of gram-negative bacteria, mitochondria and chloroplasts and have been found to play diverse functional roles. Computational discrimination of OMPs from globular proteins and other types of membrane proteins is helpful to accelerate new genome annotation and drug discovery.
Molecular determinants of Ca2+ channel function and drug action

Molecular cloning has revealed the existence of six high-voltage activated Ca2+ channel types. Expression studies have shown that basic high-voltage activated channel function, which is typical for the L-(skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle and neuroendocrine tissue), N-, P-, Q- and R-type channels is carried by the corresponding alpha 1 subunits. Auxiliary subunits, such as alpha 2/delta and beta, modulate the kinetics of activation, inactivation, current density and drug binding, thereby creating considerable potential for multiple Ca2+ channel functions. Glutamic acid residues in the pore (P) loops are molecular components that impart high selectivity for Ca+. Binding or pharmacologically active sites for Ca2+ channel drugs have been localized on various segments of the alpha 1 subunit in close proximity to the pore lining. In this article, Gyula Varadi and colleagues review the roles of the different subunits in Ca2+ channel function and suggest that Ca2+ channel drugs act by blocking or, in some cases, activating channel function via binding directly or indirectly to the pore structure of the channel.
THE PIG AS A BIOMEDICAL MODEL: HOW THE NATIONAL SWINE RESOURCE AND RESEARCH CENTER CAN HELP YOU

Swine are an excellent large animal model for human health and disease because their size and physiology are similar to humans, and the progression of many diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, is similar to humans. Due to these similarities, technology, procedures, and novel treatments that have been developed for human diseases can be applied to swine, and vice versa. In addition there are some human diseases, such as cystic fibrosis, that don't recapitulate in the rodent models but are well modeled in swine. Swine have been accepted as the model of choice for several medical applications such as xenotransplantation and surgical training for medical students. Because of the usefulness of swine to better understand human health, the National Institutes of Health has established the National Swine Research and Resource Center to help meet the needs of the biomedical community. While wild type swine and spontaneous mutants have been shown to be valuable, genetically engineered swine provide a new level of utility. With the improvement of the techniques to add genes and make targeted genetic modifications not only have the number of types of genetically engineered pigs increased, but also the number of different diseases modeled have increased. The completion of the swine genome combined with development and improvements of techniques for gene modification will only enhance the continued use and development of swine as models of human health, syndromes and conditions. The resources at the National Swine Resource and Research Center are available to aid investigators with their swine needs for biomedical research. Here will be discussed the importance of swine as a biomedical model, current technologies to produce genetically engineered swine, current biomedical models, and how the completion of the swine genome will promote swine as a biomedical model.
Rival States, Rival Firms: Competition for World Market Shares

The article reviews the book “Rival States, Rival Firms: Competition for World Market Shares,” by John Stopford and Susan Strange with John S. Henley.
Incorporation of Deuterium into Indole-3-acetic Acid and Tryptophan in Zea mays Seedlings Grown on 30 % Deuterium Oxide

Summary The onset of de novo synthesis of IAA and tryptophan in seedlings of Zea mays sweet corn, var. Silver Queen was examined. Deuterium labeled water was used as a general precursor to minimize assumptions as to the biosynthetic route. Protium in positions 2, 4, 5, 6, & 7 of the indole ring are non-exchangeable (Magnus et al., 1980). IAA and tryptophan synthesized via the shikimic acid pathway would contain deuterium in one or more of these positions. Protium on the indene nitrogen, the carboxyl, the amino group (tryptophan only), or the protium alpha to the carboxyl (IAA only), exchange readily and were removed by base catalyzed exchange prior to GGMS analysis. We have demonstrated, by means of gas chromatography-selected ion monitoring mass spectrometry, that 7 d old, etiolated seedlings grown on 30 % D 2 O incorporate deuterium into tryptophan, but not into IAA. Randomization of deuterium in the indole ring during mass spectrometry makes it difficult to localize the deuterium to the tryptophan ring. Deuterium NMR was used for the determination of the position of deuterium incorporated into tryptophan. NMR data are presented showing deuterium incorporation into the 6 position of the tryptophan indole ring.
Parental social support as a moderator of self-medication in adolescents.

Objective We examined the moderating effects of parenting on the temporal relationship between negative affect and subsequent alcohol use in adolescents as an indicator of self-medication. Specifically, we tested whether youth are more likely to self-medicate if they receive less parental social support.
Simultaneous recording of His bundle electrogram, electrocardiogram, and systolic tension from intact modified Langendorff rat heart preparations. I: effects of perfusion time, cadmium, and lead.

Abstract A method for simultaneously recording His bundle electrograms (HBE), electrocardiograms (ECG), and systolic tensions from intact perfused rat heart preparations is described. This technique was developed for use in ionic, pharmacological, and toxicological studies to determine the effects of chemical agents on myocardial excitability and contractility under controlled conditions. The HBE recording technique using intact isolated perfused rat hearts represents a new method which may be used to study cardiac conduction disturbances and localize them to discrete sites within the cardiac conduction system. Corresponding changes in myocardial contractility also can be determined and correlated with observed electrophysiological alterations. A temporal control study of electrical and mechanical events of these hearts demonstrated the stability of hearts perfused with this method during a 3-hr postequilibrium period. The effects of cadmium (3 × 10 −2 m m Cd 2+ ) and lead (3 × 10 −2 m m Pb 2+ ) on myocardial systolic tension and excitability were compared. Both ions significantly depressed systolic tension and prolonged the PR interval of the ECG. Similarly, Cd 2+ and Pb 2+ significantly increased A-H and H-V conduction times of the HBE; however, conduction blocks occurred within the A-H interval (atrioventricular nodal depression) in Cd 2+ -treated hearts and within the H-V interval (His-Purkinje cell depression) of Pb 2+ -exposed hearts. By combining electrocardiographic, His bundle electrographic and peak systolic contractility analyses, this technique provides the necessary information for evaluating the cardiodepressive effects of toxicological and pharmacological agents, such as cadmium and lead, while localizing their sites of action to specific areas within the cardiac conduction system.
Neuromuscular disorders in systemic malignancy and its treatment.

Neuromuscular dysfunction in patients with known or suspected malignancy has three basic etiologies : (1) a direct effect of the neoplasm, either by compression or infiltration ; (2) a remote, or paraneoplastic, effect of cancer ; or (3) a side effect of anticancer treatment, radiation or chemotherapy. A variety of clinical features or syndromes are due to damage either at the level of the neuron (anterior horn cell or dorsal root ganglion neuron), nerve root(s), brachial or lumbosacral plexus, peripheral nerve (motor, sensory, and/or autonomic), neuromuscular junction, or muscle. A complex clinical picture evolves when dysfunction in due to more than one cause at more than one anatomical site. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Nitric oxide synthesis and regional cerebral blood flow responses to hypercapnia and hypoxia in the rat

The role of nitric oxide (NO) synthesis in the cerebral hyperemic responses to hypercapnia and hypoxia was investigated in anesthetized rats. Regional CBF (rCBF) measurements were obtained in the cortex (CX), subcortex (SC), brainstem (BS), and cerebellum (CE) using radiolabeled microspheres. The rCBF responses to either hypercapnia (Paco2 = 70–80 mm Hg) or hypoxia (Paco2 = 40–45 mm Hg) were compared in rat groups studied in the presence and absence of NO synthase inhibition induced via the intravenous infusion of nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (l-NAME, 3 mg kg−1 min−1). Administration of l-NAME under normocapnic/normoxic conditions produced a 40–60% reduction in baseline rCBF values, indicating the presence of a NO “tone” in the cerebral vasculature. Infusion of l-NAME resulted in a substantial attenuation, in all regions measured, of the rCBF increases that normally accompany hypercapnia. In comparing saline-infused to l-NAME-infused rats, the percentage increases in rCBF (from normocapnic baseline value...
Effects of ankle joint mobilizations in adults poststroke: a pilot study.

Abstract Kluding PM, Santos M. Effects of ankle joint mobilizations in adults poststroke: a pilot study. Objective To compare the effect of 2 interventions on ankle mobility, ankle kinematics, and weight-bearing symmetry during functional activities in subjects with hemiparesis after a stroke. Design Randomized trial. Setting Academic medical center. Participants A convenience sample of 16 subjects with hemiparesis after stroke (mean age, 55.2y; mean time since stroke, 21.4mo). Intervention Subjects received 8 sessions over 4 weeks of either functional task practice combined with ankle joint mobilizations, or functional task practice only. Main Outcome Measures Changes in ankle range of motion (ROM) (not blinded), ankle kinematics during sit-to-stand (STS) and gait, and lower-extremity weight-bearing symmetry during STS and static standing. Results The combined intervention group gained 5.7°±3.1° in passive ankle ROM compared with 0.2°±2.6° in the functional practice only group (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.5–8.6; P P =.01). Conclusions The increase in ankle motion did not improve joint kinematics and may have prevented improvement in weight-bearing symmetry.
Introduction: Proceedings of the First International Conference for Meconium Aspiration Syndrome and Meconium-induced Lung Injury.

Introduction: Proceedings of the First International Conference for Meconium Aspiration Syndrome and Meconium-induced Lung Injury
Serum mediated inhibition of cellular immunity to methylcholanthrene-induced murine sarcomas.

Abstract The colony inhibition test was used to demonstrate cellular immunity to primary methylcholanthrene (MCA)-induced mouse and rat tumors. Serum from the tumor-bearing animals, obtained at the time of tumor removal and explantation into culture, abrogated the inhibitory effect of autochthonous lymph node cells (LNC). Serum taken before palpable tumors could be detected did not abrogate the inhibitory LNC effect. Lymph node cells from mice transplanted with MCA-induced tumors inhibited colony formation of the respective tumors, and serum from the same mice abrogated the LNC effect, even when harvested before the appearance of palpable tumors. Cellular immunity but no blocking effect with serum was seen in mice transplanted with MCA tumor cells that did not develop tumors. Splenectomized animals had less blocking activity in their serum than did their shamoperated controls. The blocking activity of serum from mice transplanted with MCA sarcomas decreased within 4 days following tumor removal.
Studies on the pathogenesis of ischemic cell injury XV. Reversal of ischemic cell injury in hamster trachea and human bronchus by explant culture.

Summary Hamster tracheal epithelium survived 3 hours of total ischemia at 37° C as demonstrated by its ability to be maintained in organ culture for 7 days subsequent to the ischemic episode. Epithelium ischemic for longer periods did not survive in culture. Human bronchial epithelium obtained from surgically resected lungs showed the acute effects of ischemia, i.e., the cells had dilated endoplasmic reticulum and swollen mitochondria. These cellular effects of ischemia were, however, reversed by placing the bronchus in explant culture. Bronchus obtained at autopsy, 2 to 3 hours following death, showed epithelial cells suffering severe ischemic cell injury, most of which did not survive in culture, but in some cases, a few basal cells survived to form a non-keratinizing squamous epithelium.
Composing Web services: a QoS view

An Internet application can invoke several services--a stock-trading Web service, for example, could invoke a payment service, which could then invoke an authentication service. Such a scenario is called a composite Web service, and it can be specified statically or established dynamically. Dynamic composition of Web services requires service consumers to discover service providers that satisfy given functional and nonfunctional requirements including cost and QoS requirements such as performance and availability. In previous columns, I've examined how quality of service (QoS) comes into play for service providers, consumers, and parallel transactions. Here, I'll show how it fits into composite Web services.
Mist/steam cooling in a 180{degree} tube bend

An experimental study on mist/steam cooling in a highly heated, horizontal 180{degree} tube bend has been performed. The mist/steam mixture is obtained by blending fine water droplets (3{approximately}15 microns) with the saturated steam at 1.5 bar. The test section consists of a thin wall ({approximately}0.9 mm), welded, circular, stainless steel 180-degree tube (20 mm ID) with a straight section downstream of the curved section, and is heated directly by a DC power supply. The experiment was conducted with steam Reynolds numbers ranging from 10,000 to 35,000, wall superheat up to 300 C, and droplet to steam mass ratio at about 2%. The results show that the heat transfer performance of steam can be significantly improved by adding mist into the main flow. Due to the effect of centrifugal force, the outer wall of the test section always exhibits a higher heat transfer enhancement than the inner wall. The highest enhancement occurs at a location on the outer wall about 45{degree} downstream of the inlet of the test section. Generally, only a small number of droplets can survive the 180{degree} turn and be present in the downstream straight section, as observed by a Phase Doppler Particle Analyzer (PDPA) system. The overallmore » cooling enhancement of the mist/steam flow ranges from 40% to 300%. It increases as the main steam flow increases, but decreases as the wall heat flux increases.« less
Synthesis and Dielectric Properties of SrBi2Nb2O9 Layered Perovskite by Sol-Gel Processing

Ferroelectric layered perovskite strontium bismuth niobium oxide SrBi 2 Nb 2 O 9 (SBN) ceramics and films were made by sol-gel processing. A multiple step hydrolysis-condensation process was applied to the synthesis of the SBN sol by using inorganic salts as precursors with citric acid as a complexing agent. Single phase polycrystalline SBN was obtained after heat-treatment at 650°C. It was found that the dielectric constants of SBN ceramics were dependent on heat-treatment. SEM, XPS, TGA/DTA and XRD analyses indicated that bismuth-deficiency may contribute to the relatively low dielectric constants. While a prolonged firing time at high temperatures may lead to a lattice expansion resulting in a significant decrease of the dielectric constant. C-oriented SBN films were obtained by dip-coating onto SrTiO 3 substrates and the films are dense and crack-free with a thickness of 900 nm.
PLASMA EFFECTS ON HIGH-ORDER HARMONIC GENERATION

Experimental measurements of the effects of plasma formation on high order harmonic radiation are presented. We discuss the range of wavelengths that are attainable through harmonic generation and examine the limitations imposed by free electron phase matching to extending the harmonic plateau. We then present harmonic energy yield measurements for the 350 to 170 angstrom range under optimum, high conversion efficiency conditions. Results showing the effects of plasma formation on the spatial and spectral profiles of the harmonic under these high conversion efficiency conditions are also presented.
Teacher Value Added as a Measure of Program Quality: Interpret with Caution.

Many states now possess the data and statistical methods that can produce teacher value-added scores and link them to preparation programs. It is important to understand the limitations of these me...
Can semen analysis predict the presence of antisperm antibodies in patients with primary infertility

A retrospective study was performed to evaluate the ability to predict sperm-surface antisperm antibodies (ASA) in patients with primary infertility on the basis of semen analysis. In particular, the ability to predict ASA status on the basis of impaired sperm motility was assessed. The clinical and seminal characteristics of 70 consecutive ASA-positive infertility patients detected by routine screening were reviewed. Similar analysis was performed on 128 consecutive patients with infertility who were found on routine screening to be ASA-negative. The association between the presence of ASA and sperm motility, concentration, and clumping was examined using multivariate analysis. Two variables were found to have a significant joint association with the presence of ASAs. Patients with sperm concentrations of >20 million/ml were significantly more likely to be ASA-positive (P=0.002). Second, after adjustment for sperm concentration, patients with lower motilities were significantly more likely to be ASA-positive (P=0.016). Although impaired motility was seen significantly more often in ASA-positive patients, this seminal defect alone should not be used for predictive screening, since 39% of ASA-positive patients had sperm motilities of >60%. Furthermore, when a normal sperm concentration (>20 million/ml) was combined with impaired sperm motility (<60%) as an indication for ASA testing in this population, the result was a sensitivity of only 43%, a specificity of 77%, and positive and negative predictive values of 50% and 77%, respectively. Despite the association between normal sperm concentrations and impaired motility, it appears that the results of semen analysis cannot be used as a sole indication for ASA testing.
Globalization and change in Taiwan's media the interplay of political and economic forces

For decades prior to the late 1980s, Taiwan's authoritarian government tightly controlled the media and used it as a political tool and ideological apparatus. However, the globalization and liberalization trends of recent years have had their influence, and since the 1990's Taiwan's media has been liberalized at a much faster pace than much of the rest of Asia. Employing an historical analysis approach and a globalization theoretical framework, this study examines how the media in Taiwan has evolved in the era of globalization, and the significance and implications of this evolution. Specifically, this paper explores how Taiwan's media was liberalized, how the major functions of the media shifted, how the media environments were changed, and how the ‘closed’ media system was integrated with the global media system. It also discusses the new challenges and problems facing Taiwan following its liberalization.
The effect of diffusive segregation on the fracture of hydrogen charged nickel

Hydrogen charged nickel was deformed in tension at a test temperature of 208 K to study the diffusive segregation of hydrogen during straining and the dependence of embrittlement on grain boundary hydrogen concentration and deformation rate. Tests were performed on samples in the as-quenched condition at various strain rates. An increase in the degree of embrittlement at slow strain rates can be attributed to diffusive segregation of hydrogen to grain boundaries during the test period. The embrittlement of samples with equal grain boundary hydrogen concentration was found to be relatively insensitive to strain rate, bulk hydrogen concentration and the total time at the test temperature.
Turbine Airfoil Heat Transfer Predictions Using CFD

Conventional heat transfer design methods for turbine airfoils use 2-D boundary layer codes (BLC) combined with empiricism. While such methods may be applicable in the mid span of an airfoil, they would not be very accurate near the end-walls and airfoil tip where the flow is very three-dimensional (3-D) and complex. In order to obtain accurate heat transfer predictions along the entire span of a turbine airfoil, 3-D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) must be used. This paper describes the development of a CFD based design system to make heat transfer predictions. A 3-D, compressible, Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes CFD solver with k-ω turbulence modeling was used. A wall integration approach was used for boundary layer prediction. First, the numerical approach was validated against a series of fundamental airfoil cases with available data. The comparisons were very favorable. Subsequently, it was applied to a real engine airfoil at typical design conditions. A discussion of the features of the airfoil heat transfer distribution is included.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
The magnetic field of Saturn: Further studies of the Pioneer 11 observations

Analysis of magnetic field observations by the Goddard Space Flight Center high-field flux gate magnetometer on the Pioneer 11 spacecraft during Saturn encounter yields estimates of the planetary field. The field is mainly dipolar but rather weaker than expected, with a moment equal to 0.20 G cubic Saturn radii or 4.3 x 10 to the 28th G cu cm, opposite in polarity to earth's. Surprisingly, the field appears to be axially symmetric but with a small (0.04 Saturn radii) offset to the north so that N (S) polar field intensities are 0.6 (0.4) G, respectively. The deduced polar offset appears not to be an artifact of the limited spatial extent of the observations or the presence of fields of external origin. The average stand-off distance of the magnetopause is expected to be 20 Saturn radii, i.e., at the orbit of Titan, so that this largest of solar system satellites is immersed not only in the Saturnian magnetosphere but also at times in its magnetosheath and sometimes even in the interplanetary medium.
Convergence of weighted sums of random elements in D[0, 1]

Abstract Convergence in probability for Toeplitz weighted sums is obtained for convex tight random elements in D [0, 1] under pointwise conditions. The almost sure convergence of the weighted sums is proved for independent, convex tight random elements and for independent, identically distributed random elements. Special techniques and concepts are developed in order to obtain these results in the Skorohod topology of D [0, 1].
Inhibitory Effects of Citrates in the Determination of Trace Amounts of Penicillin

In the microbiological assay for the determination of trace amounts of penicillin, it has been shown that sodium citrate and penicillin act synergistically against Sarcina lutea . The inhibitory action of citrate appears to involve a sequestering of divalent cations essential to the growth of the organism as shown by minimal inhibitory concentration and agar diffusion studies. The addition of calcium or magnesium to broth or agar at various concentrations overcomes this inhibition, and 0.02 M magnesium was found to be the most effective concentration. On agar supplemented with magnesium chloride, penicillin dose-response curves with and without citrate present were practically superimposable, and larger inhibition zones against a greater amount to total growth resulted in improved assay susceptibility and an interference-free method. Misleading results can be obtained when pharmaceutical products containing citrates are tested by conventional methods for penicillin cross-contamination.
The Retention Rate of Students of Mathematics Education

Abstract Have you ever wondered why a lot of students cannot continue mathematics when taught? Have you ever wondered why students get so frustrated when doing math? As we all know, this field is very detailed to the point where if you are not careful any problem can have flaws. Could a person who lacks detail-orientation learn the discipline of mathematics? How does a person keep this area? There could be a lot of factors that play into the failure of retention in this area. Is there some mental block from learning science? Is there a learning disability in some students? Is the field of mathematics not their forte’? Are students intimidated by this field? There is a statement that students use all of the time which is, and I quote, “Mathematics is another language to me,” “Mathematics is scary looking”, and “I do not like mathematics because I do not understand it.” Could it be that some professors are not teaching students correctly? Would it be that students are paying for what they have not paid attention to in grade school? How does a professor get a student who is not interested in math to become interested enough at least to learn the basics? I consider this field of infinite applications and must know where it applies in various areas. It seems that the mathematics is the branch of knowledge that a lot of students do not seem to grasp like the other fields. Why is this the case? As we discuss this matter in the article, we shall see what could be the reasons behind this hindrance.