cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A canine model of atrial flutter following the intra-atrial lateral tunnel fontan operation

Atrial flutter (AFL) is a common problem in children who have undergone a Fontan operation for single ventricle physiology. Although this has been attributed to the atrial stretch inherent in the earlier forms of this operation, AFL has persisted in spite of a modification that minimizes atrial distension. Therefore, it was hypothesized that AFL following the modified Fontan procedure may result from anatomic barriers related to suture lines rather than from atrial stretch or hypertension. In a series of experiments performed in dogs under general anesthesia, the modified Fontan repair was simulated by placing only the suture line of the intra-atrial repair. No baffle was placed, thus avoiding any hemodynamic alterations. After closure of the atriotomy, 253 point unipolar atrial endocardial form-fitting electrodes were inserted through the mitral and tricuspid valves via bilateral ventriculotomies. Induction of AFL was attempted with atrial burst pacing and programmed extrastimulation, and activation sequence maps of subsequent reentry were generated from the endocardial electrodes. Atrial flutter was induced in all of 17 dogs, with a median cycle length of 177 +/- 31 ms. Activation sequence maps demonstrated conduction block along the crista terminalis corresponding to the free wall portion of the suture line. This created an isthmus between the suture line and tricuspid annulus, which appeared critical for sustaining AFL, although the circuit used both the septal and free wall surfaces of the right atrium. In seven dogs, a cryolesion was placed from the tricuspid annulus to the free wall segment of the suture line, terminating the AFL, in all seven. When the free wall segment of the suture line was moved 5 mm medial to the crista terminalis, AFL was induced in four of five dogs, but only in the presence of isoproterenol and at a shorter cycle length (136 +/- 8 ms, P < .001). Atrial flutter was not inducible, even with the addition of isoproterenol, in any of five dogs in which the suture line was placed 10 mm anterior to the crista terminalis and incorporated into closure of the atriotomy. This acute canine model of the modified Fontan operation demonstrates that conduction block from the free wall portion of the suture line creates an isthmus of tissue between the suture line and the tricuspid annulus. This is a sufficient substrate to produce AFL; no hemodynamic alteration is required. Injury to the crista terminalis is a significant risk factor in this model, which suggests that a modification of the suture line might reduce the incidence of AFL in patients following this operation.
Old traditions die hard: The influence of nationalism and the European community on women's rights in France, the United Kingdom and Germany

For over two hundred years, the nation-state has been one of the organising concepts of social and political interaction between individuals and societies. Nationalism has justified social behavior both within the nation-state and in its external dealings with other societies. A great body of literature on nationalism and the development of the nation-state describes these issues.’ Masculinity provided a norm for most nations, and historically men were the principal actors with presumed reasoning ability and dynamic character. Early nationalism glorified women only in their passive roles as reproducers of the nation and as guardians of tradition and morality. Even women who were symbols of their nations such as Germania and Marianne were usually pictured seated to indicate stability and passivity. In Western Europe today national borders are fading and the state’s preeminence is eroding.* The concept of nationalism has broadened to include loyalties other than to the nation. International organisations and multi-national corporations expose the nation-state to new ideas and activities. With the decline of the traditional masculine concept of nationalism, other masculine notions are also changing and women are gaining power and influence. Their contributions now include more than their ability to reproduce.3 This paper will explore how the European Community in its capacity as a supranational organisation has worked to achieve greater equality for women by taking advanced positions and then serving as a model for individual nationstates to follow. Often national traditions complicate and slow the process of change. We will look at directives taken in the European Community to promote women’s equality and see how they impact policies in France, the U.K. and Germany. We will concentrate on three areas of development; politics, work place and social issues to show how national traditions can slow progress and how the EC has dealt with these constraints and helped accelerate progress.
Relationship between contrived in vivo and role‐play assertive behavior

Used a 2 (High or Low Assertive) × 2 (Role-Play or Contrived In Vivo) design to investigate the external validity of role-play (N = 32). The Conflict Resolution Inventory was used as the selection device. Results indicated a positive relationship between self-report scores and role-play behavior. They also indicated that self-report scores were not predictive of behavior in the contrived in vivo condition; moreover, assertion was enhanced in the role-play condition, while the converse occurred in the contrived in vivo condition. The results indicate that generalizations to more naturalistic settings based upon role-play or self-report scores must be made with caution.
Productivity growth in large US commercial banks: The initial post-deregulation experience

Abstract We explore productivity growth for a group of 201 large US commercial banks over the initial post-deregulation period from 1984 to 1990, using data envelopment analysis (DEA). We measure productivity growth using Malmquist productivity indexes and isolate the contributions of technical change, technical efficiency change, and scale change to productivity growth. We find overall productivity growth at the rate of about 4.5% per year on average, but productivity declined by 7.61% between 1984 and 1985 and by 0.33% between 1988 and 1989. Our second-stage panel regressions reveal that larger asset size and specialization of product mix associate with higher productivity growth while higher equity to assets associates with lower productivity growth.
Effects of annealing on the structure of ion beam sputtered amorphous tantalum oxide: Oxygen-17 NMR spectra and relaxation times

Abstract Unlike well-studied network-structured oxide glasses such as silicates and borates, the structures of amorphous films of heavy transition metal oxides such as tantalum oxide (Ta 2 O 5 ) are poorly known, in spite of their importance in applications such as the multilayer mirror coatings in optical interferometers, such as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO). 17 O MAS NMR can provide new and unique structural information about these materials, but requires isotopic enrichment. For optical coatings formed by ion-beam sputtering (IBS), annealing at temperature up to 600 °C is known to improve properties such as optical absorption and thermal noise. In this paper we report NMR results on tantala films deposited by IBS in an 17 O-enriched environment, which allows the structure to be examined by NMR for the first time without an added step of isotope exchange at elevated temperature. Subsequent annealing at temperatures from 300 to 600 °C shows only subtle changes in the proportions of two- and three-coordinated oxygen anions and in bond distances, which may be related to minor structural relaxation and property changes. In contrast, the nuclear spin-relaxation rates increase dramatically on annealing in oxygen gas, suggesting the progressive removal of defects in the as-grown films that contain paramagnetic, unpaired electron spins. EPR spectra qualitatively confirm this observation. The most likely candidate for this effect is the oxidation of lower-valent tantalum cations (e.g. Ta 4 + ) and thus the removal of a slight oxygen deficit present in the as-deposited films. This may lead to reduction in optical absorption and possibly to improvements in other physical properties during annealing.
Protein Folding and Collapse: Thermodynamics of Aggregation of Gly5 vs Concentration in Solution

Intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs) are proteins that do not fold into a stable, three-dimensional, structure, and may only undergo ordering when interacting with other molecules. IDPs tend to be rich in amino acids like glycine, which favor the proteins' disorderliness. Hence, oligoglycines are a good model to study the behavior of IDPs in aqueous solvent. Experimentally, the solubility of oligoglycine in water decreases as its length increases until, when the peptide contains 5 glycines, it aggregates and falls out of solution at mM concentration.We present results of large scale simulations of over 3 million atoms of several hundred short (five residue) oligoglycines at varying concentrations in explicit solvent. We find that intermolecular interactions between oligoglycines are favored over interactions between oligoglycine and water, leading to their aggregation, viz. concentration effects play a significant role in driving oligoglycines to aggregate and/or collapse. However, the interaction driving peptide associations, liquid-liquid phase separation, are not predominantly hydrogen bonding. We hypothesize that the thermodynamics of aggregation of short oligoglycines is equivalent to the thermodynamics of collapse of longer oligoglycines and similar disordered domains in water. We compare the aggregation of short oligoglycines with the collapse of longer, single oligoglycines in water.
The SLAC Scanner Processor: A FASTBUS Module for Data Collection and Processing

A new, general purpose, programmable FASTBUS module, the SLAC Scanner Processor (SSP), is introduced. Both hardware and software elements of SSP operation are discussed. The role of the SSP within the upgraded Mark II Detector at SLAC is described.
A CONVERSATION WITH COLIN CHERRY

Born in 1914, Colin Cherry received his B.Sc. in engineering with First Class Honors in 1936. During the Second World War, he worked with the British Ministry of Aircraft Production on radar research and flying trials. In 1945 he joined the staff of the Manchester College of Technology for two years before moving to Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London. He was awarded the D.Sc. in engineering in 1956, and in 1968 received his present appointment as Henry Mark Pease Professor of Telecommunication at Imperial College. Colin Cherry has travelled widely, and lectured in more than 20 countries. He has published more than 100 papers in journals of engineering, psychology, linguistics, and other fields. In addition to his cornerstone work On Human Communication (John Wiley, 1957; MIT Press, 1966), Cherry has published several other books, including World Communication: Threat or Promise (John Wiley, 1971), and is currently at work on a third edition of On Human Communication to be published by MIT Press.
Miniaturized Radio Frequency Telemetric Pacemaker With Anti-Arrhythmic Pacing Protocol

Fatal arrhythmias and ventricular fibrillation (VF) which lead to sudden cardiac death are believed to be preceded by alternans, observed as a beat-to-beat variation of the T-wave amplitude on the ECG [1,2]. Previous studies to predict the onset of alternans involved the restitution curve, the functional relationship between the action potential duration (APD) and preceding diastolic interval (DI). It was hypothesized that alternans appears when the magnitude of the slope of the restitution curve exceeds one [3]. However, this hypothesis failed in various experimental studies [4]. One of the main reasons for failure of the restitution hypothesis was the fact that it was derived under assumption of constant or periodic pacing, where there is an inherent dependence of the DI on the immediate preceding APD. During periodic pacing, small changes in DI are translated into subsequent changes in the APD and thus, enhance instability of cardiac rhythms in the heart. However, under normal physiological conditions, intrinsic heart rate variability (HRV) ensures deviation of the heart from periodic pacing [4]. HRV is a variation in time interval between two consecutive heartbeats. Figure 1 shows a representative example of HRV as a change in RR interval for a normal sinus rhythm of a healthy adult male at rest. We can see that the RR interval, the time duration between two consecutive peaks of the ECG, varies over time.
Block diagonal GMD for zero-padded mimo frequency selective channels with zero-forcing DFE

In the class of systems with linear precoder and zero-forcing (ZF) DFE for zero-padded MIMO frequency selective channels, existing optimal transceiver designs present two major drawbacks. First, the optimal system requires a large number of bits to encode the full precoding matrix. Second, the full precoding matrix leads to complex computations. These disadvantages become more severe as bandwidth (BW) efficiency increases. In this article, we propose using the block diagonal geometric mean decomposition (BD-GMD) technique to design an alternative transceiver. The proposed ZF-BD-GMD system uses a block diagonal orthogonal precoder matrix structure to reduce the required number of encoding bits and simplifies the computation. While solving the current optimal system's drawbacks, the ZF-BD-GMD system also produces a similar bit error rate (BER) performance when the block size is large. In other words, the ZF-BD-GMD system is asymptotically optimal in the class of communication systems with linear precoder and ZF-DFE receiver. 1
Structure determinations of double-wall carbon nanotubes grown by catalytic chemical vapor deposition

We report an application of nanoarea electron diffraction for structure determination of double-wall carbon nanotubes (DWNT) grown by catalytic chemical vapor deposition. The structures of 30 tubes were determined from experimental diffraction patterns. Among these tubes, the inner and outer wall structure of 18 tubes was precisely determined by comparison with kinematic electron diffraction simulations. For the structure of the DWNTs, our experiment revealed a mixture of semiconducting-metallic (S-M), S-S and M-M tubes. The spacing between the two walls ranges from 0.335 nm to 0.384 nm. Most DWNTs are incommensurate and chiral.
Comparative analysis of PCA and LDA

Face recognition is one of the most successful applications of image analysis and understanding and has gained much attention in recent years. This paper presents comparative analysis of two most popular appearance-based face recognition methods PCA (Principal Component Analysis) and LDA (Linear Discriminant Analysis). It is generally believed that algorithms based on LDA are superior to those based on PCA. In this paper we show that this is not always the case. Our conclusion is that when the training data set is small, PCA can outperform LDA and, also, that PCA is less sensitive to different training data sets.
On the Difference Between the Cardinalities of Measurable Value Functions and Von Neumann-Morgenstern Utility Functions

Dyer and Sarin Dyer, J. S., R. K. Sarin. 1979. Measurable multiattribute value functions. Opns. Res.27 810-822. proposed an important generalization of the additive-multiplicative decomposition theorem for von Neumann-Morgenstern vNM utility functions to measurable value functions based on the cardinality property of measurable value functions. However, because of a difference between the cardinality of measurable value functions and the cardinality of vNM utility functions, an additional technical condition is needed, and presented here, for the decomposition theorem to hold.
Development of a Virtual Terrorist

National homeland security organizations are charged with developing the capabilities necessary to combat terrorist activities. This task includes evaluating technologies designed to train security personnel and test counter-terrorism systems. In support of this goal, SAIC has prototyped a simulation framework that leverages the technology of the Combat Automation Requirements Testbed (CART) program with commercially available software that renders 3-D players in a simulation of terrorist activities. Called Virtual Terrorist, an autonomous agent was developed to behave intelligently according to information about the environment in which it operates and the terrorist/insurgent mission to be accomplished. This paper discusses the structure of the HPM and its integration into a virtual environment. Language: en
Interparticle Potential and the Phase Behavior of Temperature-Sensitive Microgel Dispersions

Molecular-thermodynamic models assisted with experimental measurements are applied to correlate and predict the volume transition and structural ordering of poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) (PNIPAM) microgel particles dispersed in pure water. The effective pair potential between PNIPAM particles is represented by a Sutherland-like potential where the size and energy parameters are correlated with particle radius and the solution osmotic second virial coefficients attained from static and dynamic light scattering experiments. Using a first-order perturbation theory for the fluid phase and an extended cell model for the crystalline solid, the calculated phase diagram indicates that an aqueous dispersion of PNIPAM particles may freeze at both high and low temperatures. At low temperature, the freezing occurs at large particle volume fraction, similar to that in a hard-sphere system, while at high temperature, the freezing is driven by strong van der Waals attraction due to the increase in the Hamaker constant of the microgel particles when they collapse. The phase diagram of PNIPAM dispersions predicted from the molecular-thermodynamic models agrees favorably with experimental observations.
A canonical biomechanical vocal fold model.

The present article aimed at constructing a canonical geometry of the human vocal fold (VF) from subject-specific image slice data. A computer-aided design approach automated the model construction. A subject-specific geometry available in literature, three abstractions (which successively diminished in geometric detail) derived from it, and a widely used quasi two-dimensional VF model geometry were used to create computational models. The first three natural frequencies of the models were used to characterize their mechanical response. These frequencies were determined for a representative range of tissue biomechanical properties, accounting for underlying VF histology. Compared with the subject-specific geometry model (baseline), a higher degree of abstraction was found to always correspond to a larger deviation in model frequency (up to 50% in the relevant range of tissue biomechanical properties). The model we deemed canonical was optimally abstracted, in that it significantly simplified the VF geometry compared with the baseline geometry but can be recalibrated in a consistent manner to match the baseline response. Models providing only a marginally higher degree of abstraction were found to have significant deviation in predicted frequency response. The quasi two-dimensional model presented an extreme situation: it could not be recalibrated for its frequency response to match the subject-specific model. This deficiency was attributed to complex support conditions at anterior-posterior extremities of the VFs, accentuated by further issues introduced through the tissue biomechanical properties. In creating canonical models by leveraging advances in clinical imaging techniques, the automated design procedure makes VF modeling based on subject-specific geometry more realizable.
Optimization of GC detector parameters using electronic pressure control

HP 5890 Series II Gas Chromatographs are equipped with prototype hardware enabling electronic pressure programming of all detector and carrier gases. A method of using electronic pressure control (EPC) to optimize detector performance (sensitivity, selectivity, and baseline stability) is demonstrated. With EPC, sample introduction, column separation, and detector performance can be optimized simultaneously without the classical trade-offs in performance. An example is also presented of the use of a new automated system which enables cool on-column injection into 250 or 320 μm columns without the need for a retention gap.
Histopathology of Vascular Anomalies

Vascular anomalies may be appropriately classified into two broad categories, vascular tumors and vascular malformations, which are distinguished by the presence of cellular proliferation in contrast to aberrations in morphogenesis, respectively. This system of classification is based upon histological features that may in large part be differentiating, but nevertheless, may show morphological overlap. Advances in immunophenotyping allow for more precise diagnoses as well as further delineation of cell origins. In the discussion, we present the clinical, histological, and, when applicable, the immunophenotypic presentation of vascular anomalies commonly seen in infancy and early childhood.
Miscibility maps for copolymer ‐ copolymer blends: A comparison of theoretical predictions to experimental studies of poly(styrene‐co‐vinyl phenol) blends with poly(ethylene‐co‐methyl acrylate)

We report the results of theoretical and experimental studies of random amorphous styrene-co-vinylphenol (STVPh) copolymer blends with ethylene-co-vinyl acetate (EVA). This work complements the study presented in the previous paper published in this journal, pertaining to the phase behavior of analogous STVPh blends with ethylene-co-methyl acrylate (EMA) copolymers. Poly(vinyl acetate) (PVAc) and poly(methyl acrylate) (PMA) contain the same number and type of functional groups in their respective repeat units, (the only difference being that the ester group is reversed), and the solubility parameters of PVAc and PMA calculated from our non-hydrogen bonded group contributions are equivalent. Furthermore, the equilibrium constants describing the inter-association of phenolic hydroxyls to acetate or acrylate carbonyl groups are comparable. Accordingly, miscibility maps for STVPh - EMA and STVPh - EVA copolymer blends calculated from our association model should be virtually identical and this is confirmed by our experimental studies.
Caspase-activated cell-penetrating peptides reveal temporal coupling between endosomal release and apoptosis in an RGC-5 cell model

Caspase-activatable cell-penetrating peptide (CPP) probes, designed for efficient cell uptake and specificity via cleavable intramolecular quenched-fluorophore strategies, show promise for identifying and imaging retinal ganglion cell apoptosis in vivo. However, initial cell uptake and trafficking events cannot be visualized because the probes are designed to be optically quenched in the intact state. To visualize subcellular activation events in real-time during apoptosis, a new series of matched quenched and nonquenched CPP probes were synthesized. In both native and staurosporine-differentiated RGC-5 cells, probe uptake was time- and concentration-dependent through clathrine-, caveolin-, and pinocytosis-mediated endocytic mechanisms. During apoptosis, KcapTR488, a novel dual fluorophore CPP probe, revealed by multispectral imaging a temporal coupling of endosomal release and effector caspase activation in RGC-5 cells. The novel CPPs described herein provide new tools to study spatial and temporal regulation of endosomal permeability during apoptosis.
Characterization of oxidized guanosine 5'-triphosphate as a viable inhibitor of soluble guanylyl cyclase.

Abstract The guanine base is prone to oxidation by free radicals regardless of the cellular moiety it is bound to. However, under conditions of oxidative stress, 8-oxoguanosine triphosphate (oxo 8 GTP) formation has been shown to occur without oxidation of the guanine base in DNA. In vitro studies have suggested that oxo 8 GTP could impact G-protein signaling and RNA synthesis. Whether increased levels of oxo 8 GTP translate into cellular malfunction is unknown. Data presented herein show that oxo 8 GTP is formed in cell-free preparations as well as in PC12 cells after exposure to physiologically relevant oxidative conditions generated with 10 μM copper sulfate and 1 mM l -ascorbic acid (Cu/Asc). We also determined that oxo 8 GTP has biological activity as a potent inhibitor of nitric oxide-stimulated soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC). The increase in oxo 8 GTP formation in purified GTP and PC12 cells exposed to Cu/Asc caused a significant reduction in the product of sGC activity, cGMP. This oxidation of GTP was attenuated by the addition of reduced glutathione under these same Cu/Asc conditions, thus preventing the decrease in sGC activity. This suggests that oxo 8 GTP is produced by free radicals in vivo and could have significant impact on cell functions regulated by sGC activity such as synaptic plasticity in the central nervous system.
Broad-side delay test

A broad-side delay test is a form of a scan-based delay test, where the first vector of the pair is scanned into the chain and the second vector of the pair is the combinational circuit's response to this first vector. This delay test form is called "broad-side" since the second vector of the delay test pair is provided in a broad-side fashion, namely through the logic. This paper concentrates on several issues concerning broad-side delay test. It analyzes the effectiveness of broad-side delay test; shows how to compute broad-side delay test vectors; shows how to generate broad-side delay test vectors using existing tools that were aimed at stuck-at faults; shows how to compute the detection probability of a transition fault using broad-side pseudo-random patterns; shows the results of experiments conducted on the ISCAS sequential benchmarks; and discusses some concerns of the broad-side delay test strategy. It is shown that the broad-side method is inferior to the skewed-load method, which is another form of scan-based transition test. There is, however, a merit in combining the skewed-load method with the broad-side method. This combined method will achieve a higher transition fault coverage than each individual method alone. >
Control of locomotion in ambulatory and airborne insects using implanted thermal microstimulators

This paper describes the use of implanted microthermal stimulators for locomotion control of ambulatory and airborne insects. In the long term, this research is intended to support micro autonomous vehicles. Experiments were performed using both resistive (nickel), and piezoelectrically driven ultrasonic (PZT-5A) thermal stimulators on green june beetles (GJB) (Cotinis nitida) and Madagascar hissing roaches (Gromphadorhina Portentosa). Ultrasonic heating was 2x more power efficient, requiring 330–360 mW of input power to achieve the 43°C pulses necessary for stimulation. Both stimulators demonstrated the feasibility of locomotion control with a success rate of 80% on GJB and 93.5% on the roaches. The microthermal stimulation resulted in average turn angles of 15–18° and 30–45° on GJB and roaches, respectively. Left and right turns were statistically similar.
Recent Progress and Open Problems in Algorithmic Convex Geometry

This article is a survey of developments in algorithmic convex geometry over the past decade. These include algorithms for sampling, optimization, integration, rounding and learning, as well as mathematical tools such as isoperimetric and concentration inequalities. Several open problems and conjectures are discussed on the way.
Renegade Regimes: Confronting Deviant Behavior in World Politics

Renegade Regimes: Confronting Deviant Behavior in World Politics. By Miroslav Nincic. New York: Columbia University Press, 2005. 232p. $29.50.The term rogue states gained currency in the 1990s, and was applied by policymakers, pundits, and a few scholars to regimes worthy of moral condemnation and political-military coercion. The Clinton administration introduced the less offensive appellation “states of concern,” but the current Bush administration, not one to shy away from inflammatory rhetoric, brought “rogue states” back into use and made them a more central focus of its foreign policy. Iraq, Iran, North Korea, and Cuba head the administration's list, and the charge also has been leveled against Syria, Yugoslavia, and Libya (before its recent about-face).
Role of substance P and the neurokinin 1 receptor in acute pancreatitis and pancreatitis-associated lung injury

Substance P, acting via the neurokinin 1 receptor (NK1R), plays an important role in mediating a variety of inflammatory processes. However, its role in acute pancreatitis has not been previously described. We have found that, in normal mice, substance P levels in the pancreas and pancreatic acinar cell expression of NK1R are both increased during secretagogue-induced experimental pancreatitis. To evaluate the role of substance P, pancreatitis was induced in mice that genetically lack NK1R by administration of 12 hourly injections of a supramaximally stimulating dose of the secretagogue caerulein. During pancreatitis, the magnitude of hyperamylasemia, hyperlipasemia, neutrophil sequestration in the pancreas, and pancreatic acinar cell necrosis were significantly reduced in NK1R−/− mice when compared with wild-type NK1R+/+ animals. Similarly, pancreatitis-associated lung injury, as characterized by intrapulmonary sequestration of neutrophils and increased pulmonary microvascular permeability, was reduced in NK1R−/− animals. These effects of NK1R deletion indicate that substance P, acting via NK1R, plays an important proinflammatory role in regulating the severity of acute pancreatitis and pancreatitis-associated lung injury.
Variable channel expression in identified single and electrically coupled neurons in different animals

It is often assumed that all neurons of the same cell type have identical intrinsic properties, both within an animal and between animals. We exploited the large size and small number of unambiguously identifiable neurons in the crab stomatogastric ganglion to test this assumption at the level of channel mRNA expression and membrane currents (measured in voltage-clamp experiments). In lateral pyloric (LP) neurons, we saw strong correlations between measured current and the abundance of Shal and BK-KCa mRNAs (encoding the Shal-family voltage-gated potassium channel and large-conductance calcium-activated potassium channel, respectively). We also saw two- to fourfold interanimal variability for three potassium currents and their mRNA expression. Measurements of channel expression in the two electrically coupled pyloric dilator (PD) neurons showed significant interanimal variability, but copy numbers for IH (encoding the hyperpolarization-activated, inward-current channel) and Shal mRNA in the two PD neurons from the same crab were similar, suggesting that the regulation of some currents may be shared in electrically coupled neurons.
Correlates of severity of smoking among persons with severe mental illness.

Individuals with schizophrenia and severe mental illness smoke cigarettes at rates that well exceed the general population. Little is known about the correlates and sequelae of increased smoking severity on persons with severe mental illness. A total of 304 smokers from six community mental health centers were assessed for smoking history, psychiatric symptoms, co-occurring disorders, subjective quality of life, and expired carbon monoxide (CO). Statistical analyses identified correlates of smoking severity, as assessed by number of cigarettes smoked per week. The average number of cigarettes smoked per week was 136±83. Increased smoking was associated with higher levels of expired CO and being Caucasian, and with a greater likelihood of a current diagnosis of hypertension and oral/gum disease. Greater smoking severity was also associated with greater perceived stress, poorer overall subjective quality of life, and lower satisfaction with finances, health, leisure activities, and social relationships. Thi...
Nuclear DNA and protein content evaluation in Taxus plant cell cultures using multiparameter flow cytometry

Plant cell cultures of Taxus provide the most reliable production methods for the anti-cancer drug paclitaxel. In order to comprehend the inherent culture heterogeneity and production variability in cell cultures, it is essential that the cellular metabolism is studied at the genomic level. Genomic stability in plant cell cultures is crucial as it affects cell growth and division, metabolite accumulation and protein synthesis. A rapid and efficient method to prepare nuclei suspensions from aggregated cell cultures of Taxus was employed. Methods were subsequently developed to simultaneously stain them for DNA and protein content using Propidium Iodide and Fluorescein Isothiocyanate respectively. Flow cytometry was used to analyze and quantify the DNA content and genome size of Taxus using known reference species as standards. Furthermore, their genomic stability was evaluated by correlating DNA content and genome size with cell size and complexity, protein content, and elicitation effects using multiparameter flow cytometry. These techniques to evaluate and correlate various culture characteristics can be very useful in designing superior bio processes for enhanced production.
Modeling and analysis of an AC-AC matrix converter feeding an induction motor

A complete dynamic modeling and a new approach of steady state analysis for an AC/AC matrix converter fed induction motor drive are set forth in both natural and synchronous reference frames. The dynamic response as well as the steady state performance characteristics of the system are studied under various load conditions while the voltage source operates a unity power factor. Computer simulations results obtained using a MATLAB/Simulink platform have been provided to verify the starting transient, dynamic response and the steady state performance of the drive.
XV. On statical and dynamical ideas in chemistry.—Part. III. The atomic theory

(1871). XV. On statical and dynamical ideas in chemistry.—Part. III. The atomic theory. The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science: Vol. 42, No. 278, pp. 112-129.
Resolution of a systematic interlaboratory discrepancy in recent calorimetric data, and the heats of solution of quartz, low albite, adularia, and gibbsite

Based on enthalpies of solution of quartz, low albite, adularia, and gibbsite, solution calorimetric data presently being collected at Lafayette College are in excellent agreement with those from the thermochemistry laboratory of the USGS and other solution calorimetry laboratories. However, calorimetric data collected on this same equipment during its operation at Harvard University prior to 1974 are systematically diferent from the present results. Electrical resistance associated with lead wires in the heater circuit of the calorimetric system accounts for the discrepancy. As a result, all enthalpies of solution measured on the Harvard system (and incorporated in publications through 1977) must be multiplied by 0.9895. This will enable corrected Harvard data to be used in conjunction with calorimetric data from other laboratories. Rewiring of the heater circuit and tests against a standard resistor have resulted in the better agreement presently observed between Lafayette data and those of other laboratories.
Disrupted differentiation and oncogenic transformation of lymphoid progenitors in E2A-HLF transgenic mice

The hepatic leukemia factor (HLF) gene codes for a basic region-leucine zipper (bZIP) protein that is disrupted by chromosomal translocations in a subset of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemias. HLF undergoes fusions with the E2A gene, resulting in chimeric E2a-Hlf proteins containing the E2a transactivation domains and the Hlf bZIP DNA binding and dimerization motifs. To investigate the in vivo role of this chimeric bZIP protein in oncogenic transformation, its expression was directed to the lymphoid compartments of transgenic mice. Within the thymus, E2a-Hlf induced profound hypoplasia, premature involution, and progressive accumulation of a T-lineage precursor population arrested at an early stage of maturation. In the spleen, mature T cells were present but in reduced numbers, and they lacked expression of the transgene, suggesting further that E2a-Hlf expression was incompatible with T-cell differentiation. In contrast, mature splenic B cells expressed E2a-Hlf but at lower levels and without apparent adverse or beneficial effects on their survival. Approximately 60% of E2A-HLF mice developed lymphoid malignancies with a mean latency of 10 months. Tumors were monoclonal, consistent with a requirement for secondary genetic events, and displayed phenotypes of either mid-thymocytes or, rarely, B-cell progenitors. We conclude that E2a-Hlf disrupts the differentiation of T-lymphoid progenitors in vivo, leading to profound postnatal thymic depletion and rendering B- and T-cell progenitors susceptible to malignant transformation.
A Review of Red Queen Models for the Persistence of Obligate Sexual Reproduction

I present a historical review of coevolutionary models for the evolutionary persistence of sexual reproduction. The focus is on the fate of obligately sexual populations facing competition with one or more obligately asexual clones. An early simulation model by Hamilton (Hamilton WD. 1980. Sex versus non-sex versus parasite. Oikos. 35:282–290.) suggested that parasites could be an important force in selecting against asexual clones, leading to the persistence of sex. This result was consistent with a number of independent verbal models generated from 1975–1983. Conversely, the models by May and Anderson (May RM, Anderson RM. 1983. Epidemiology and genetics in the coevolution of parasites and hosts. Proc R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 219:281–313.), which included more epidemiological detail, suggested that parasites were an unlikely source of selection to favor sexual over asexual reproduction. Thus began an oscillation of opinion regarding the role of parasites in selection for sex. It would seem at present that some of the differences of opinion over time stemmed from the different ways that models were constructed, including whether the sexual population was in competition with a genetically diverse asexual population or a single clonal genotype. On theoretical grounds, parasite-mediated selection for sex seems more likely if the sexual population has options in genotypic space that are not available to the clones. Models that incorporate more ecological realism also seem more favorable to the parasite theory of sex.
CAPITAL INVESTMENT OR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT? THE STRUGGLE FOR LAND CONTROL BY BOSTON'S BLACK AND LATINO COMMUNITY

The story of Boston’s Roxbury could be the story of almost any inner city minority neighborhood around the United States. Roxbury has been the center of Boston’s Black community since World War 11, and increasingly is the center of the city’s Latino community (Table 1). Located only ten minutes by rapid transit south of the city’s growing downtown, it has suffered from disinvestment, abuse and neglect, both benign and malign. The people of Roxbury have experienced enormous disruption, loss of housing and industry at the hands of the market, and injustice at the hands of the state, through urban renewal and highway clearance. All the signs of intense poverty are evident high unemployment, low participation in the labor force, low educational levels, a high crime rate, flourishing drug traffic, as well as a high drop-out rate from school and a high rate of teenage pregnancy. Some of Roxbury’s census tracts are among the poorest in the country, on a par with the poorest counties in Mississippi or with Indian reservations in the West (Boston Redevelopment Authority, 1984). In one area of the community locally known as the ‘Bermuda Triangle’, 70% of the housing stock has been lost to abandonment and arson in less than two decades. In the context of this disinvestment, and in resistance to it, the people of Roxbury have developed an impressive and creative history of organization, struggle, and development.
On-the-ground experiments of autonomous spacecraft proximity-navigation using computer vision and jet actuators

This paper presents the current status of the research effort on autonomous proximity-navigation and spacecraft docking, which is on-going at the Spacecraft Servicing and Robotics Laboratory of the Naval Postgraduate School. An experimental test-bed has been designed and is in the advance integration phase, which can be used for validating analytical and numerical results regarding dynamic models and control laws. The test-bed consists of two spacecraft models floating via air-pads on a flat surface to simulate in two dimensions the weightlessness of the orbital flight. A custom-developed vision navigation sensor is used to determine the relative position and orientation of the two spacecraft. This paper presents an overall description of the test-bed and reports the preliminary experimental results of autonomous navigation of the chaser-spacecraft model in the proximity of the target spacecraft
Primary prevention of adverse gastroduodenal effects from short-term use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs by omeprazole 20 mg in healthy subjects: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

The effectiveness of low-dose omeprazole as primary prevention of gastrointestinal adverse events due to episodic use of non-selective NSAIDs was evaluated. Healthy adults aged 50–75 who did not take chronic NSAIDs were randomized to a 6.5-day treatment of naproxen 500 mg twice daily plus omeprazole 20 mg daily or naproxen 500 mg twice daily plus placebo. Seventy subjects were enrolled (mean age 58.6 years, proportion >60 = 41.4%). Subjects receiving naproxen plus omeprazole developed fewer gastroduodenal ulcers compared to subjects receiving naproxen plus placebo (11.8% vs. 46.9%, P = 0.002). Likewise, naproxen plus omeprazole was associated with a decreased risk of ulceration and/or >5 erosions (38.2% vs. 81.3%, P ≤ 0.001), and a smaller change in dyspepsia score. Considering their relatively low cost, ready availability, and favorable safety profile, low-dose PPI co-prescription in healthy adults requiring short-term therapy with non-selective NSAIDs may be reasonable.
Heat Transfer Enhancement During Pool Boiling of Water Over Horizontal and Vertical Tubes With Micro Structured Surfaces

Pool boiling is a stable and an efficient method for transferring large quantities of heat. This mode of heat transfer is used in a wide range of applications, including steam generation in boilers, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, cryogenic and many other industrial processes. It also holds promise for cooling of microelectronic devices, such as lasers, microprocessors and others. The objective of this work is to investigate the heat transfer augmentation due to an array of micro structured surfaces over a circular tube. The effects of horizontal and vertical orientation of the tubular test section on heat transfer enhancement are also studied. The bubble nucleation, growth and interactions over the micro structured surfaces are analyzed using high speed cameras to understand the bubble dynamics.
OBSERVATIONS ON THE FINE STRUCTURE OF LUTEIN CELLS

Corpora lutea from the period of delayed implantation and from early postimplantation stages of the armadillo, mink, and rat were fixed in buffered osmium tetroxide-sucrose or potassium permanganate. After rapid dehydration, the portions of the corpora lutea were embedded in either methacrylate or epoxy resin. Examination of the lutein cells by electron microscopy revealed the presence, in the better preserved material, of an extensive development of tubular agranular endoplasmic reticulum. Although the membranes of the endoplasmic reticulum are the most striking feature of the lutein cells of both stages of the three animals examined, very numerous large mitochondria with cristae that exhibit a variety of forms tending toward villiform, and protrusions and foldings of the lutein cell margins on the pericapillary space are also characteristic of these cells. Certain minor differences in the lutein cells of the species examined are also noted. No indications of conversion of mitochondria into lipid, of accumulation of lipid in the Golgi area, or of the protrusion of lutein cells into spaces between the endothelial cells, as suggested by other authors, were noted in these preparations. Some of the difficulties inherent in the visualization of the secretory activity of cells producing steroid hormones are briefly discussed.
Creep Phenomenon of Simple Composite Structures

Fiber composites which are suitable for low cost engineering applications exhibit remarkable viscoelastic behavior. Therefore creep effect becomes an important consideration in the design of such structures subjected to a sustained load. In order to extrapolate the limited range of creep data, the capability of predicting the creep behavior for a long period is desirable. A "law of mixture" model is proposed for the creep behavior of a unidirectional composite. In the 3-bar truss problem, the stress in each bar and the vertical displacement at the joint are obtained while in the bending problem, the stress expression and the deflection at the mid span of a simple beam are determined based on the Timoshenko beam theory. The results are compared with the case where the members are made of isotropic materials, with and without creep. Finally, the trends of results are examined as certain parameters are varied.
Global Rebalancing: Crisis and the East–South Turn

This article argues that the rise of emerging societies is a major turn in globalization and holds significant emancipatory potential. North–South relations have been dominant for 200 years and now an East–South turn is taking shape. The 2008 economic crisis is part of a global rebalancing process. Ongoing developments can be read in two ways: towards recalibrating the old order, or towards the emergence of new logics, which can be simplified as a tale of two scripts. One is global plutocracy with Anglo-American capitalism and financial markets in the West back in the lead and emerging markets joining the club. An instrument for achieving this is the hegemonic ideology of ‘global rebalancing’. On the other end of the continuum is the script of emancipatory multipolarity, considering that countries representing the majority of the world population have joined the global head table. This essay discusses global rebalancing, global plutocracy and emancipatory multipolarity, before taking on the conceptual question of capitalism or capitalisms. Ultimately, the author concludes that developments are layered and that elements of both scripts are combining.