cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Phosphorylation of the Grb2- and Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase p85–binding p36/38 by Syk in Lck-Negative T Cells

Activation of the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway by the T-cell antigen receptor (TCR) in T cells involves a positive role for phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) activity. We recently reported that over-expression of the Syk protein tyrosine kinase in the Lck-negative JCaM1 cells enabled the TCR to induce a normal activation of the Erk2 MAPK and enhanced transcription of a reporter gene driven by the nuclear factor of activated T cells and AP-1. Because this system allows us to analyse the targets for Syk in receptor-mediated signalling, we examined the role of PI3K in signalling events between the TCR-regulated Syk and the downstream activation of Erk2. We report that inhibition of PI3K by wortmannin or an inhibitory p85 construct, p85deltaiSH2, reduced the TCR-induced Syk-dependent activation of Erk2, as well as the appearance of phospho-Erk and phospho-Mek. At the same time, expression of Syk resulted in the activation-dependent phosphorylation of three proteins that bound to the src homology 2 (SH2) domains of PI3K p85. The strongest of these bands had an apparent molecular mass of 36-38 kDa on SDS gels, and it was quantitatively removed from the lysates by adsorption to a fusion protein containing the SH2 domain of Grb2. The appearance of this band was Syk dependent, and it was seen only upon triggering of the TCR complex. Thus, p36/38 was phosphorylated by Syk or a Syk-regulated kinase, and this protein may provide a link to the recruitment and activation of PI3K, as well as to the Ras-MAPK pathway, in TCR-triggered T cells.
A single amino acid in the second transmembrane domain of GABA rho subunits is a determinant of the response kinetics of GABAC receptors.

The rho subunits that constitute the gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)C receptors of retinal neurons form a unique subclass of ligand-gated chloride channels that give rise to sustained GABA-evoked currents that exhibit slow offset (deactivation) kinetics. We exploited this property to examine the molecular mechanisms that govern the disparate response kinetics and pharmacology of perch GABA rho1B and rho2A subunits expressed in Xenopus oocytes. Using a combination of domain swapping and site-directed mutagenesis, we identified the residues at amino acid position 320 in the second transmembrane domain as an important determinant of the receptor kinetics of GABAC receptors. When the site contains a proline residue, as in wild-type rho1 subunits, the receptor deactivates slowly; when serine occupies the site, as in wild-type rho2 subunits, the time course of deactivation is more rapid. In addition, we found that the same site also altered the pharmacology of GABA rho receptors, e.g., when the serine residue of the rho2A receptor was changed to proline, the response of the mutant receptor to imidazole-4-acetic acid (I4AA) mimicked that of the rho1B receptor. However, despite gross changes in receptor pharmacology, the apparent binding affinity for the drug was not significantly altered. These findings provide further evidence that the second transmembrane domain is involved in the gating mechanism that governs the response properties of the various rho receptor subunits. It is noteworthy that the proline residue in native rho1 subunits and the serine residue of rho2 subunits are well conserved in all species, a good indication that the presence of multiple GABA rho subunits serves to generate GABAC receptors that display the wide range of response kinetics observed on various types of retinal neurons.
Pericarditis due to histoplasmosis.

Abstract Two additional cases of pericarditis due to histoplasmosis, including the second known case of constrictive pericarditis, have been reported. This makes a total in the available literature of 3 proved cases, and 6 cases which are presumptive because of positive histoplasmin skin and/or serologic tests in patients with anergy to tuberculin.
The response of GPS antennas - How design, environment and frequency affect what you see

Abstract There are many factors which may influence the performance of GPS antennas. These include differences in the design of the antennas, manufacturing variability between antennas of the same model, the material which surrounds the antenna (including the antenna mount and radome), and the frequency range over which the antenna is used. As part of an ongoing program of antenna measurement, we have characterized a large number of GPS antennas in the anechoic chamber at the Goddard Space Flight Center in a variety of configurations. This paper examines the effect of reflectors under the antenna, the effect of radomes as a function of frequency, the effect of the preamplifier, and the influence of antenna design. These effects can lead to vertical displacements of the antenna phase centers from a few millimeters to several centimeters.
The effect of parameter uncertainty on forecast variances and confidence intervals for unit root and trend stationary time-series models

In this paper I describe the effect of parameter uncertainty on the way conditional forecast variances grow as the forecast horizon increases. Without parameter uncertainty, forecast variances for the unit root model grow linearly with the forecast horizon while with the trend stationary model they are bounded. With parameter uncertainty, however, I find that for both the unit root and the trend stationary models, forecast variances grow with the square of the forecast horizon so that uncertainty grows at a much faster rate than without parameter uncertainty.
A comprehensive general simulation of small twin screw displacement hull boats with validation

A comprehensive general simulation of small twin screw displacement hull boats is developed as a tool to estimate ship and actuator responses in support of developing and tuning of control systems. The general form of this model allows many small displacement hull vessels to be rapidly simulated by specifying a set of 17 vessel parameters. The response of the vessel in the surge, sway and yaw degrees of motion are estimated from parametric equations and data compiled from literature and, when not found in literature, inferred from sea trials. Model validation and tuning of the coefficients not found in literature is accomplished using manoeuvring and response data obtained in a series of sea trials. The parametric model proved to be accurate and, when compared with the sea trial data, model estimates have rms errors over the vessel operational range of 0.09 m/s and 0.02 m/s for surge velocity when moving in a straight line in forward and reverse, respectively. For rotating on a fixed point, the simulation...
Luminescence properties of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in colloidal or microcrystalline suspensions

Abstract The luminescence properties of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in colloidal suspension in water are compared and contrasted to like concentrations dissolved in methanol. Spectral changes noted in the colloidal state involve apparent quantum yield, self-absorption, excimer formation and room temperature phosphorescence that is oxygen insensitive. All of these effects are constant down to the insolubility limit of each compound in water and this feature can be employed to differentiate dissolved or suspended matter without matrix manipulation.
Settling velocities of particulate systems. Part 8. Batch sedimentation of polydispersed suspensions of spheres

Abstract As an extension of previous work by one author on the settling of ideal suspensions, we analyze the settling behavior of a suspension with two particle sizes. The solid flux density as a function of both particle concentrations is constructed. Using a finite difference method three initial and boundary value problems were solved showing the settling curves and the concentration profiles for each particle size. We conclude the work by extending the concept of a Kynch Sedimentation Process to a mixture of any number of ideal suspensions, each having a different particle size. An example for six particle sizes is analyzed in detail. Again the result is given as sedimentation curves and concentration profiles for each particle size.
Human follicle stimulating hormone receptor variants lacking transmembrane domains display altered post-translational conformations

Variant splicing of gonadotropin receptor mRNA commonly occurs, however expression of receptor protein variants and their trafficking has yet to be studied in detail. To determine receptor variant trafficking and intracellular processing in mammalian cells, the intracellular fate of intentionally truncated variants of human follicle stimulating hormone receptor (hFSH-R) expressed in CHO cells was examined. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) were made against the hFSH-R's extracellular domain (ECD) expressed in insect cells. Four mAbs 106.156, 106.290, 106.318, and 106.263 were chosen as probes. Epitope mapping using synthetic peptides, and truncated hFSH-R variants revealed that mAb 106.156 bound to ECD residues 183-220, while mAbs 106.318, 106.290, 106.263 bound ECD residues 300-331. Immunofluorescence microscopy showed that mAbs 106.318 and 106.156 stained the surface of fixed, intact CHO cells expressing wild type hFSH-R. However, following cell permeabilization all four antibodies stained hFSH-R in Golgi and endoplasmic reticulum. Permeabilized cells expressing truncated variants ECD213 and ECD254 showed staining accumulated in the endoplasmic reticulum/nuclear envelope continuum. ECD335/His was found to accumulate in extended endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The ER location of ECD335/His was confirmed by double labeling experiments with concanavalin A and ECD mAb. Glycosidase digestion followed by Western blot analysis show ECD213 and ECD335/His to be glycosylated, but not ECD254. Both glycosylated truncated hFSH-R variants were sensitive to peptide-N-glycanase F and endoglycosidase H but insensitive to neuraminidase indicating that these variants possess high mannose type oligosaccharides. Thus truncated hFSH-R variants do not reach the medial or trans Golgi where high mannose oligosaccharides are trimmed and sialic acid is added. These data suggest that the conformation the ECD of the wild type receptor is different from the ECD alone expressed in the endoplasmic reticulum. This information suggests that the ECD serves two distinct roles; the first is to bind FSH and the other is likely to contact the endodomain of the receptor, which presumably leads to activation of the endodomain for signal transduction.
Adolescent Room Culture: Studying Media in the Context of Everyday Life.

For the past several years, the authors have been investigating adolescent room culture in order to learn more about the relationship between teens and the media. The bedroom, they have found, is an important haven for most teenagers, a private, personal space often decorated to reflect teens' emerging sense of themselves and where they fit in the larger culture. Teens listen to music, read magazines, watch television, do homework, and consider the events of the day in their rooms. They appropriate and transform media messages and images to help them make sense of their lives. By looking closely at how teens draw from the media as they construct their identities and personal worlds, the authors have come to see adolescent media use as a dialectical process played out through everyday practices. Their Adolescents' Media Practice Model highlights the connections between adolescents' identities and media selection, interaction, and application.
Application of a Temporal Persistence Model to Community Residents' L]ong‐Term Beliefs about the Three Mile island Nuclear Accident1

Little is known about the conditions under which beliefs and attitudes about an issue or event will persist over time. The present research took advantage of a “natural experiment”, namely, the Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear accident, in order (a) better to understand the nature of individuals' b]eliefs about a major event to which they were exposed and (b) to evaluate a conceptual formulation developed from laboratory-based experimental literature concerning when beliefs and attitudes are likely to be temporally persistent. Data were collected over a 3-year period following the accident from two samples of community residents: mothers of young children who lived within a 10-mile radius of TMI and TMI nuclear power plant employees. Samples of mothers and workers from a western Pennsylvania comparison site were also included in the study design. Results supported the persistence model in several respects. First, TMI subjects' b]eliefs, although more extreme than comparison subjects' v]iews, showed virtually no change during the study period. Second, the factors that the model suggests should account for the observed persistence were indeed consistently important predictors of TMI subjects' b]eliefs over time. Implications of the results for future applied work on long-term reactions to major events are discussed.
Postsynaptic current bursts instruct action potential firing at a graded synapse

Nematode neurons generally produce graded potentials instead of action potentials. It is unclear how the graded potentials control postsynaptic cells under physiological conditions. Here we show that postsynaptic currents frequently occur in bursts at the neuromuscular junction of Caenorhabditis elegans. Cholinergic bursts concur with facilitated action potential firing, elevated cytosolic [Ca(2+)] and contraction of the muscle whereas GABAergic bursts suppress action potential firing. The bursts, distinct from artificially evoked responses, are characterized by a persistent current (the primary component of burst-associated charge transfer) and increased frequency and mean amplitude of postsynaptic current events. The persistent current of cholinergic postsynaptic current bursts is mostly mediated by levamisole-sensitive acetylcholine receptors, which correlates well with locomotory phenotypes of receptor mutants. Eliminating command interneurons abolishes the bursts whereas mutating SLO-1 K(+) channel, a potent presynaptic inhibitor of exocytosis, greatly increases the mean burst duration. These observations suggest that motoneurons control muscle by producing postsynaptic current bursts.
A special case of radial and axial motion of a circular elastic rod

Abstract This paper deals with a long circularly-cylindrical bar of homogeneous, isotropic, and linearly elastic material that is initially in static equilibrium under the action of a purely radial boundary stress on the cylindrical surface of the bar. This stress does not vary in the circumferential direction and varies sinusoidally with the axial coordinate. The initial condition is made more explicit by also specifying that the resultant force on any transverse cross-section of the bar is zero. At zero time, the radial pressure is suddently removed and a solution is obtained for the ensuing radial and axial displacements and all the stress components such as radial shear stress on a cross-section and radial, circumferential, and axial normal stress. Numerical computations for Poisson's ratio equal to 0.3 are presented graphically. These results are shown by plotting multiples of the three normal strains versus dimensionless time at fixed radial positions. The radial and axial displacements, as well as the three normal strains, can easily be obtained from the normal strains, if desired. The solution, as presently formulated, is limited to the case where the wavelength, L, of the initial boundary stress is large compared to the radius, a, of the cylinder. Most of the computed results shown are for L 2πa ⩾ 1000 because the set of curves for this range of L 2πa can serve as a comparison standard for results computed for smaller values of L 2πa . Computations have also been completed for the cases L 2πa = 10, 5, 10 3 , 5 2 , 2 , and some other values between 2 and 1. A substantial sample of the computed results for L 2πa = 2 is shown and the prospects for dealing with still smaller ratios of wavelength divided by circumference are discussed.
Kidney disease as an independent risk factor for cardiovascular events

Although the high risk for cardiovascular events in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is well known, recent data provide compelling evidence that even mild to moderate kidney disease is an important and independent risk factor for cardiac events. This increased risk does not seem to be explained by traditional risk factors as defined by the Framingham cohort. The examination of nontraditional risk factors has resulted in the identification of, among others, oxidant stress, hyperhomocystinemia, carbamylation, nitric oxide synthase inhibitors, and abnormal lipoproteins as potential pathways to explain the accelerated atherosclerosis in patients with kidney disease. Well-designed clinical trials should lead to the clarification of the relative importance of these factors in the pathogenesis of atherosclerotic disease.
WE‐E‐201C‐07: The Upgraded Control, Acquisition, Processing, and Image Display System (CAPIDS) for a Micro‐Angiographic Fluoroscope (MAF)

Purpose: The Control, Acquisition, Processing, and Image Display System (CAPIDS) for the Micro‐Angiographic Fluoroscope (MAF) has been upgraded and is being evaluated for hospital clinical use. Method and Materials: The CAPIDS was developed and implemented using Laboratory Virtual Instrumentation Engineering Workbench (LabVIEW) and provides a user‐friendly interface that enables control of several clinical radiographicimaging modes of the MAF, including fluoroscopy, roadmapping, radiography, and digital‐subtraction‐angiography (DSA). The MAF is a high‐resolution, high‐sensitivity, real‐time imager which consists of a 300 |im‐thick CsI phosphor, a dual‐stage micro‐channel plate light image intensifier (LII) coupled to a fiber‐optic taper (FOT), and a frame‐transfer CCD camera, providing an image matrix of 1024×1024 35‐μm square pixels with 12‐bit depth. The region‐of‐interest (ROI) MAF can be inserted in front of a standard large field‐of‐view, standard‐resolution flat‐panel‐detector (FPD) using a detector changer when higher resolution is needed during angiographic or interventional vascular imaging procedures. Several new features were added to CAPIDS including: saving DSAimages as the mask for Roadmap mode, LII gain‐drift correction, direct saving of patient images, and real‐time window/level correction. Results: The upgraded CAPIDS has been used effectively for image guidance in over 10 rabbit aneurysm creation and treatment experiments, demonstrating the system's potential benefits for future clinical use. The CAPIDS controlled MAF increases the resolution of the x‐ray image compared to a conventional FPD and thus should increase the accuracy of interventional procedures. Conclusion: The upgraded CAPIDS for the MAF was modified and used in pre‐clinical interventional experiments. This upgrade enables the CAPIDS‐MAF imaging system to perform in most common clinical x‐ray imaging modes including: fluoroscopy, roadmapping, radiography, and DSA. The system is being evaluated for adaptation into a hospital‐based clinical interventional suite. (Supported by: NIH Grants NIH Grant R01NS43924, R01‐EB002873)
Design of all-accelerometer inertial measurement unit for tremor sensing in hand-held microsurgical instrument

We present the design of an all-accelerometer inertial measurement unit (IMU). The IMU forms part of an intelligent hand-held microsurgical instrument that senses its own motion, distinguishes between hand tremor and intended motion, and compensates in real-time the erroneous motion. The new IMU design consists of three miniature dual-axis accelerometers, two of which are housed in a sensor suite at the distal end of the instrument handle, and one located at the proximal end close to the instrument tip. By taking the difference between the accelerometer readings, we decouple the inertial and gravitational accelerations from the rotation-induced (centripetal and tangential) accelerations, hence simplifies the kinematic computation of angular motions. We have shown that the error variance of the Euler orientation parameters /spl theta//sub x/, /spl theta//sub y/ and /spl theta//sub z/ is inversely proportional to the square of the distance between the three sensor locations. Comparing with a conventional three gyros and three accelerometers IMU, the proposed design reduces the standard deviation of the estimates of translational displacements by 29.3% in each principal axis and those of the Euler orientation parameters /spl theta//sub x/, /spl theta//sub y/ and /spl theta//sub z/ by 99.1%, 99.1% and 92.8% respectively.
Opium and Social Control: Coolies on the Plantations of Peru and Cuba

The place of opium in the history of the Chinese diaspora in Latin America and the Caribbean has received scant attention. This article is a preliminary attempt to look into this history, based on fragmentary evidence available. From 1847 to l874, as many as 225,000 Chinese indentured or contract laborers (coolies), almost all men, were sent to Cuba, still a Spanish colony, and newly independent Peru. Both the human trade itself, as well as work and life on the plantations, closely resembled slavery; indeed, the coolies in Cuba worked alongside African slaves. Opium was part of the coolie trade from its inception, distributed in the holding pens in South China ports, on the long, arduous voyages across the Pacific or Atlantic, as well as on the plantations. Cuban and Peruvian planters permitted, even encouraged, the sale, barter and consumption of opium by their coolies, in effect creating a mechanism of social control by alternately distributing and withholding this very addictive substance to desperate men. But this cynical use of opium might also have backfired on them, as sustained and massive ingestion lowered productivity, caused premature death (often by suicide), and resulted in high absenteeism.
Realistically tilted and truncated anatomically based models of the human head for dosimetry of mobile telephones

Realistically tilted models of the human head have been developed to improve the accuracy of the numerical simulation of coupling between the human head and cellular telephones for the likely tilted positions of the antennas vis a vis the head. A "best fitting" technique is used to rotate an approximately 2/spl times/2/spl times/3 mm resolution model of the human head based on MRI scans of a male volunteer so that the handset may be modeled in the vertical position without stairstep approximation. With this technique, it is possible to move the head with six degrees of freedom in space, instead of the usual three, due to the simple translation thereby allowing a more realistic analysis of the EM coupling between cellular telephones and the human head. Furthermore, to avoid the problem of the large amount of computer memory required for the whole head simulations, we introduced new truncated head models, and the possibility of using them was carefully analyzed. Comparisons of the SAR (specific absorption rate) distributions show that it should be possible to use half head models at 835 MHz and even smaller one-third head models at the personal communications services (PCS) frequency of 1900 MHz. It is shown that, by using the truncated one-third model, it is possible to run with just 42 Mbytes of memory a case that originally needed 85 Mbytes. The truncated models should help to render these large SAR analyses possible by most of the commonly available workstations.
Divergence of signaling pathways for insulin in PC-12 pheochromocytoma cells.

A PC-12 pheochromocytoma cell line is described with roughly equivalent levels of functional receptors for nerve growth factor (NGF), epidermal growth factor (EGF), and insulin. Each of these receptors undergoes autophosphorylation upon binding of their respective ligands, and causes the activation of phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase via a mechanism involving tyrosine phosphorylation. In the case of insulin, this activation is due to the tyrosine phosphorylation of its major cellular substrate, IRS-1. Despite the presence of functional receptors in these cells, insulin does not stimulate the activity of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase, despite a 5- to 8-fold activation observed with both NGF and EGF under the same conditions. This failure to activate MAP kinase was not due to the insulin-dependent dephosphorylation of the enzyme, but correlated with the lack of activation of the MAP kinase kinase, although this enzyme was also activated by NGF and EGF. Similarly, the activation of the raf and ras ...
Enhanced control performance of a piezoelectric—hydraulic pump actuator for automotive transmission shift control

AbstractIn this research, a piezoelectric—hydraulic pump (PHP) actuator is synthesized for an automatic transmission (AT) test bed to demonstrate its potentials as a controllable power-by-wire actuator. This research expands from the previous investigations by enhancing the control performance of the PHP actuator developed for AT and bringing the study to the system level. Actuation force-tracking control using an on-site force transducer is proposed and a fill volume control strategy utilizing the AT turbine acceleration information is explored. The system level evaluation of shift performance is performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed enhancements through a hardware-in-the-loop simulation environment.
The Hydraulic Effects of Lost Circulation and the Implications for Contaminant Migration During Drilling

The impact of lost circulation during rotary drilling near an existing monitoring well cluster was evaluated by periodic measurements of water levels and contaminant concentrations at the well cluster. Due to regulatory concerns, changes in water levels or VOC concentrations in the well cluster during drilling would trigger monitoring well redevelopment. The borehole was drilled approximately 30 feet northeast of four nested monitoring wells that screen Devonian and Silurian carbonate bedrock at depths of 15, 60, 130, and 190 feet. Following complete circulation loss at depths of 177 and 183 feet in the borehole, a rapid decrease in water levels was observed in the upper three monitoring wells. Decreasing water levels in formations located above the point of circulation loss appear to occur in response to a sudden decrease in borehole fluid pressure caused by the flow of drilling fluid into the formation. The relative contribution of contaminated formation water to the borehole can be estimated by using the time-drawdown relationship and estimates of transmissivity. At the point of circulation loss, significant dilution of contaminant concentrations occurs from the loss of drilling fluid into the contaminated zone. Contaminated formation water entering the borehole during periods of complete lost circulation maymore » mobilize contaminants from upper lower formations.« less
PROPERTIES OF COMPONENTS OF MYOGLOBIN OF THE SPERM WHALE.

RUMEN1 isolated from seal, by chromatography on CM-cellulose in tris buffer at pH 8.5, five myoglobins all with the same iron content and the same N-terminal, but showed differences in isoelectric points. Akeson and Theorell2 isolated, from horse muscle, three myoglobins with similar amino-acid compositions but had charge differences. Sperm whale myoglobin was fractionated by Edmundson and Hirs3, on ‘IRC-50’ into four components, using citrate–chloride buffer at pR 5.86–5.88. However, they encountered zone tailing which, as they pointed out, might have masked the presence of minor components, We have resolved crystalline sperm whale myoglobin into at least twelve components by chromatography. Some properties of these components have been investigated. These included their amino-acid compositions, spectral and electrophoretic behaviour, their molecular weights, and their antigenic character.
Supersaturation in the Wyoming CCN Instrument

Two thermal diffusion cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) instruments were intercompared using a nearly monodisperse test aerosol composed of sodium chloride and ammonium sulfate. The main objective of this work is the determination of the maximum steady-state supersaturation within a thermal diffusion chamber. This required analysis of the uncertainties associated with the calibration of the instrument’s plate temperature and light scattering measurement systems. The fraction of test particles activating to form cloud droplets, the activated fraction, was evaluated over a range of dry particle diameters at four supersaturations. Values of both the particle size, corresponding to an activated fraction equal to 0.5, and the width of a fitted activation function were derived. The former was used to evaluate the maximum steady-state chamber supersaturation. These studies reveal three significant findings. First, the derived chamber supersaturation is 40% smaller than values based on temperature measured at the top and bottom of the diffusion chamber. Second, using deliquesced test particles, mobility selected at a prescribed relative humidity, it is shown that the 40% discrepancy is not the result of a test particle shape effect. Third, the width of the activation function is substantially larger than the width of the test particle size spectra. Plausible explanations for the 40% bias are considered. Contributors are the unintentional overestimation of the temperature difference imposed across the CCN chamber and the implicit assumption that water at the top and bottom of the CCN chamber has a vapor pressure equal to that over pure water.
Age-Specific Patterns of Genetic Variance in Drosophila melanogaster. I. Mortality

PETER MEDAWAR proposed that senescence arises from an age-related decline in the force of selection, which allows late-acting deleterious mutations to accumulate. Subsequent workers have suggested that mutation accumulation could produce an age-related increase in additive genetic variance (VA) for fitness traits, as recently found in Drosophila melanogaster. Here we report results from a genetic analysis of mortality in 65,134 D. melanogaster. Additive genetic variance for female mortality rates increases from 0.007 in the first week of life to 0.325 by the third week, and then declines to 0.002 by the seventh week. Males show a similar pattern, though total variance is lower than in females. In contrast to a predicted divergence in mortality curves, mortality curves of different genotypes are roughly parallel. Using a three-parameter model, we find significant VA for the slope and constant term of the curve describing age-specific mortality rates, and also for the rate at which mortality decelerates late in life. These results fail to support a prediction derived from MEDAWAR's "mutation accumulation" theory for the evolution of senescence. However, our results could be consistent with alternative interpretations of evolutionary models of aging.
Increasing Financial Health through Casework Interventions

Given a need to increase clients’ financial capability, social workers need a new set of techniques. Although financial education is a necessary service to increase financial capability, it is not enough. Practice models are needed to address the psychological and behavioral client needs that are exacerbated by inadequate financial management strategies. In this paper, six casework intervention models are discussed: motivational interviewing, harm reduction, marital and family therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, mindfulness training, and financial therapy. One model, the transtheoretical model, unites the six practice models. The need to validate casework interventions is essential through outcome research. Interventions not grounded in outcome research are speculative and may be misleading. A mixed model using quantitative and qualitative research techniques is proposed to build and evaluate casework intervention models.
Strategic Intelligence Systems And The Independent Insurance Agent: Perceptions, Problems, And Potential

This article reports the results of a study which examined independent insurance agents perceptions of strategic intelligence systems (SIS). The findings indicate that while strategic intelligence systems are purported to exist in many agencies, their focus often is on conventional rather than more potentially strategic activities and issues. The results also indicate that numerous problems limit the participation of agents in strategic intelligence activities. In addition to a lack of preparedness, respondents identified procedural problems, a lack of resources, and a weak effort/outcome relationship.
Bisphosphonate Treatment in Osteoporosis: Optimal Duration of Therapy and the Incorporation of a Drug Holiday

Background Bisphosphonates are the most widely used treatment for osteoporosis. They accumulate in the bone for years, and therefore, their inhibitory effects on osteoclasts may persist after drug discontinuation. The ideal duration of therapy remains controversial.
Computational analysis to explore authors' depiction of characters

This study involves automatically identifying the sociolinguistic characteristics of fictional characters in plays by analyzing their written “speech”. We discuss three binary classification problems: predicting the characters’ gender (male vs. female), age (young vs. old), and socioeconomic standing (upper-middle class vs. lower class). The text corpus used is an annotated collection of August Strindberg and Henrik Ibsen plays, translated into English, which are in the public domain. These playwrights were chosen for their known attention to relevant socioeconomic issues in their work. Linguistic and textual cues are extracted from the characters’ lines (turns) for modeling purposes. We report on the dataset as well as the performance and important features when predicting each of the sociolinguistic characteristics, comparing intra- and inter-author testing.
Geometric partitioning and robust ad-hoc network design

We present fast approximation algorithms for the problem of dividing a given convex geographic region into smaller sub-regions so as to distribute the workloads of a set of vehicles. Our objective is to partition the region in such a fashion as to ensure that vehicles are capable of communicating with one another under limited communication radii. We consider variations of this problem in which sub-regions are constrained to have equal area or be convex, and as a side consequence, our approach yields a factor 1.99 approximation algorithm for the continuous k-centers problem on a convex polygon.
Pre-clinical pharmacology of atypical antipsychotic drugs: a selective review.

The primary basis for the action of neuroleptic drugs has been suggested to be a blockade of D2 receptors in the mesolimbic system, with subsequent decrease in the firing rate of ventral tegmental (A10) dopamine neurons by the process of depolarisation inactivation (Matthyssee, 1974; Bunney et al, 1991). The main evidence for this hypothesis is that: the affinities for the D2 receptor of all effective antipsychotic drugs are positively correlated with their average clinical dose (Seeman & Lee, 1975; Creese et al, 1976); and chronic administration of antipsychotic drugs produces nearly complete inhibition of the firing of ventral tegmental (A10) dopamine neurons that project to the limbic forebrain (Chiodo & Bunney, 1983). Clozapine, the prototypical atypical antipsychotic drug, also satisfies both criteria (Seeman & Lee, 1975; Chiodo & Bunney, 1985). However, the demonstration that clozapine is more effective than other neuroleptics for the treatment of both schizophrenic patients who are responsive to typical neuroleptics (Meltzer, 1992) as well as those who are resistant (Kane et al, 1988) suggests that this simple dopamine hypothesis of neuroleptic drug action is insufficient. Indeed, there is evidence that clozapine at clinically effective doses produces less D2 receptor occupancy and, hence, less antagonism of D2 receptors in the striatum, and probably also in the limbic system, than typical neuroleptic drugs (Farde et al, 1992); this further challenges the adequacy of the dopamine hypothesis to explain the greater efficacy of clozapine. This leaves the need to consider what else besides a D2 receptor blockade may explain the action of clozapine and, indeed, whether limited blockade is superior to a more complete one.
Impact Assessment and Sustainable Development: European Practice and Experience

Preface Part I: Evaluation and Sustainable Development: Concepts and Methods Part II: Impact Assessment and Sustainable Development: European Perspectives.
Towards scalable exploration of diagnoses in an ontology stream

Diagnosis, or the process of identifying the nature and cause of an anomaly in an ontology, has been largely studied by the Semantic Web community. In the context of ontology stream, diagnosis results are not captured by a unique fixed ontology but numerous time-evolving ontologies. Thus any anomaly can be diagnosed by a large number of different explanations depending on the version and evolution of the ontology. We address the problems of identifying, representing, exploiting and exploring the evolution of diagnoses representations. Our approach consists in a graph-based representation, which aims at (i) efficiently organizing and linking time-evolving diagnoses and (ii) being used for scalable exploration. The experiments have shown scalable diagnoses exploration in the context of real and live data from Dublin City.
Effect of Food Quality, Larval Density, and Photoperiod on the Feeding Rate of the California Oakworm (Lepidoptera: Dioptidae)

The effects of larval density, leaf age, leaf source, and photoperiod on the consumption, elimination, growth rates, and efficiency of conversion of the food to body substance of the California oakworm, Phryganidia californica Pack., were investigated in a factorial experiment. Except for leaf age, all factors markedly affected consumption and climination rates, but only constant darkness reduced growth rate significantly. Approximate digestibility (AD) was affected by all factors except leaf age. All two factor interactions were significant. The efficiency of conversion of digested material to body substance bore an inverse relationship to AD. The significance of these results to the nutrional ecology of this insect and their consequences in using a frassdrop technique to monitor larval populations is discussed.
Burner Rig for Small Particle Erosion Testing of Thermal Barrier Coatings

The development of a high-temperature laboratory test to evaluate the erosion resistance of new turbine-blade thermal barrier coatings (TBC) for aircraft gas turbine engines is described. The focus is on improvements to a previously reported design, specifically: (1) larger duct and nozzle diameters leading to a larger and more uniform wear pattern; (2) incorporation of a new auger-style feeder for precise feeding of fine particles at low flow rates; (3) an aperture after the duct to limit the erosive damage at the edges of button specimens; (4) bag filters for particle feed rate measurements. The results of both extensive computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling and experiments concentrating on laboratory specimens fabricated from turbine-blade superalloys were used to demonstrate the validity of the test results to meaningfully evaluate the performance of new coating compositions in representative erosive environments, and to help understand damage mechanisms under such conditions. Two specimen geometries were tested in the improved rig using Mach 0.5 jets: “teardrop” burner bar and button specimens. Both types of specimens had electron beam–physical vapor deposition (EB-PVD) prepared ceramic layers of either ZrO2-Y2O3 (7YSZ) or ZrO2-Y2O3-Gd2O3-Yb2O3 (ZYGdYb) applied over PtAl bond coats using various processing parameters or interface treatments. Specimen temperatures for this study were either 980 °C (1800 °F) or 1090 °C (2000 °F).
RADIATION FRICTION: SHEDDING LIGHT ON DARK ENERGY

In 1909, while working on the quantum nature of lig ht, Einstein developed the notion of “radiation fri ction.” Radiation friction becomes significant when the tem perature of the radiation and the velocities of the galaxies moving through it are great. Here I suggest that th e decrease in the velocity-dependent radiation fric tion occurring as a result of the expansion of the unive rse may be the cause of the observed acceleration o f the expansion of the universe. Interestingly, the decre ase in the density of light energy and the apparent domination of dark energy, become one and the same.
Application of MDA to Simulation of Assault Operation at Sea by Naval Air Force

Attacking enemy's maritime warships by naval air force is one of principal forms of the navy attack operation.In this paper,through analyzing the feature of sallying combat and using unified modeling language(UML), according to the concept of model driven architecture (MDA),the construction models for force composition and force deployment of both parts the red and the blue are described,and the system platform independent model(PIM) are also set forward.Based on the PIM,how to build simulation software system with MDA is discussed on.A simulation software system constructed by using MDA has been into service nowaday.
Comparison of rapid enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunomagnetic separation methods for detection of Escherichia coli O157 in fecal, hide, carcass, and ground beef samples

Rapid enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) are approved for detection of Escherichia coil O157 in beef products. However, these kits have also been used in the industry to detect this pathogen on hides or in feces of cattle, although this use has not been validated. The objective of this study was to compare commercially available ELISAs (E. coli Now, Reveal, and VIP) with immunomagnetic separation along with selective media to detect E. coli O157 on hides, in feces, and in medium- and low-level-inoculated ground beef and carcasses (simulated by using briskets) samples. Naturally infected hide and fecal samples were subjected to both the immunomagnetic separation method and ELISAs for the detection of E. coli O157. Additionally, E. coli O157 inoculated and noninoculated ground beef and beef briskets were used to simulate meat and carcass samples. When comparing the detection results from the ELISAs (E. coli Now, Reveal, and VIP) to the immunomagnetic separation method, poor agreement was observed for fecal samples (kappa = 0.10, 0.02, and 0.03 for E. coli Now, Reveal, and VIP, respectively), and fair-to-moderate agreement was observed for hide samples (kappa = 0.30, 0.51, and 0.29 for E. coli Now, Reveal, and VIP, respectively). However, there was near-perfect agreement between the immunomagnetic separation method and ELISAs for ground beef (kappa = 1, 1, and 0.80 for E. coli Now, Reveal, and VIP, respectively) and brisket (kappa = 1, 1, and 1 for E. coli Now, Reveal, and VIP, respectively) samples. Assuming immunomagnetic separation is the best available method, these data suggest that the ELISAs are not useful in detecting E. coli O157 from hide or fecal samples. However, when ELISAs are used on ground beef and beef brisket samples they can be used with a high degree of confidence.
Life Events and Delinquency: An Assessment of Event-Based Stressors and Gender Differences among Adolescents in Mainland China

Studies that test general strain theory in China have primarily focused on poor treatments by others, and few have assessed the influences of stressor events other than negative treatments as antecedents of delinquency. This study assesses both cumulative and relative effects of multiple stressor events including parent marital instability, family financial disruption, health crisis, and romantic dissolution as antecedents of delinquency in mainland China and how these effects may vary by adolescent gender. Data drawn from over 500 middle-school students from an urban city in China yielded significant observations: Stressful events are related to delinquency after controlling for poor treatments and other common correlates, and event effects are observed both as a composite index and by specific domains. Furthermore, significant gender differences are noted: For boys, delinquency is associated with family financial disruption, parent marital instability, and romantic dissolution. For girls, romantic dissolution and health crisis are associated with delinquency. These results along with others are addressed in light of general strain theory and gender disparity in the sociocultural context of mainland China.
Synthesis of 1,2,3-triazole ‘click’ analogues of thalidomide

Abstract Click analogues of thalidomide were prepared from 3-azidoglutarimide and a diverse array of arylacetylenes and N-ethynyl/N-propargyl phthalimide derivatives. The sequence necessitated a new and scalable synthesis of the key click intermediate 3-azidoglutarimide. The dipolar cycloaddition reactions between the azidoglutarimide and the alkynyl coupling partners utilized a copper sulfate/sodium ascorbate reagent system in aqueous tetrahydrofuran and were first explored using substituted arylalkynes. Along with the click analogues of thalidomide, the click counterparts of the teratogenic and antiangiogenic thalidomide analogue EM-12 were prepared.
Social Modeling for Multi-agent Systems

A key collaboration challenge is making complex ecosystems composed of robots, agents, and humans function together to achieve an overarching task. To do this requires both teamwork and mutual understanding between humans and software agents. As these systems scale up in size, effective data analytics and network science become critical towards understanding and guiding systems operation. My premise is that the same techniques that are useful for studying human social systems are also for studying these semi-artificial systems. In this talk I present two case studies of combining and analyzing human and agent systems in new and innovative ways.
Synthesis of a Covalent Square Grid

For quite a few years, the area of atomic and molecular scale technology has been the subject of intense speculation.1,2 There has also been considerable interest in the actual synthesis of various more or less complex single-molecule devices, both electrical3 (e.g. switches4 and wires5) and mechanical (e.g., brakes,6 turnstiles,7 levers,8 and even a mousetrap9). However, it is often not very clear how any of these devices would be used in practice when they float about freely in a solution. Some degree of control over their location in space and absolute orientation would appear highly desirable, particularly if several devices are to work together. One possibility is to adsorb them on a surface in an oriented fashion, perhaps singly for work with an STM tip10 or in a periodic array dictated by a surface lattice,11 or attached to the outside of a self-assembled monolayer. Still, the degree of control over their location in space and absolute orientation would remain rather limited. Another possibility is to allow the devices to form a three-dimensionally periodic lattice of a crystal. Usually, they will then be packed in a manner over which one has limited control, if any. Such regular arrays could still be quite useful, e.g., as quantum dots, if one had complete control over the separations, the nature of the material that separates them, and the geometry of the lattice. Much progress in crystal engineering has been made by numerous research groups, and this type of control may be available in the future.
Ground state of an exciton in a three-dimensional parabolic quantum dot: Convergent perturbative calculation

Abstract Working in the effective-mass approximation, we apply a powerful convergent perturbative technique of Turbiner's to the calculation of the ground state energy and the wave function of an exciton confined to a three-dimensional parabolic quantum dot. Unlike the usual Rayleigh–Schrodinger perturbation theory, Turbiner's approach works well even in the regime of strong coupling and does not require the knowledge of the full solution to the undisturbed problem. The second-order convergent calculation presented below is in excellent agreement with the results of exact numerical simulations for a wide range of system's confinement parameters.