cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dynamic mechanical analysis, surface chemistry and morphology of alkali and enzymatic retted kenaf fibers

Bast fibers grow in the bark layer of many plants and have been used for textiles and cordage for over 6000 years. Bast fibers are expanding into new markets of non-woven fabrics and composite mate...
Compositional Homology of Membrance-Protein Systems and Membrance-Associated Proteins: Comparaison with Milk Fat Globule Membrance and “Membrance”-Derived Xanthine Oxidease

Abstract Amino acid compositions of the milk fat globule membrane protein and plasma membrane protein from other sources, as well as the compositions of milk fat globule membrane-derived xanthine oxidase and selected plasma membranes-associated proteins were compared by statistical difference index. Additionally, the average hydrophobicity of xanthine oxidase and selected membrane proteins were compared. These comparisons indicate high orders of apparent compositional homology between the various plasma membranes and membrane-associated proteins. Because the biological functions of membrane proteins are widely diverse, it is speculated that their "relatedness" may reflect on evolutionary convergence to similar amino acid compositions, necessitated by their in situ environment–the lipoidal bilayer. However, compositional relatedness should not imply sequential homology.
Photo annealing effect on p-doped inverted organic solar cell

We report the transient positive photo annealing effect in which over 600% boost of power conversion efficiency was observed in inverted organic photovoltaic devices (OPV) made from P3HT/PCBM by spray method, after 2 hrs of constant solar AM 1.5 irradiation at low temperature. This is opposite to usual photodegradation of OPV, and cannot be explained by thermal activation alone since the mere temperature effect could only account for 30% of the enhancement. We have investigated the temperature dependence, cell geometry, oxygen influence, and conclude that, for p-doped active layer at room temperature, the predominant mechanism is photo-desorption of O2, which eliminates electron traps and reduces space charge screening. As temperature decreases, thermal activation and deep trap-state filling start to show noticeable effect on the enhancement of photocurrent at intermediate low temperature (T = 125 K). At very low temperature, the dominant mechanism for photo annealing is trap-filling, which significantly ...
Effects of ion beam processing parameters on the adherence of DLC films

Abstract Scratch testing of hydrogenated DLC films applied via an energetic ion beam is used to demonstrate that critical failure loads are increased primarily by increasing a Si bond layer thickness. These loads also increase as DLC layer thickness is increased to a few micrometers and as ion energy is reduced below ca 500 eV. Processing temperatures
Atmospheric Visibility Monitoring for planetary optical communications

The Atmospheric Visibility Monitoring project endeavors to improve current atmospheric models and generate visibility statistics relevant to prospective earth-satellite optical communications systems. Three autonomous observatories are being used to measure atmospheric conditions on the basis of observed starlight; these data will yield clear-sky and transmission statistics for three sites with high clear-sky probabilities. Ground-based data will be compared with satellite imagery to determine the correlation between satellite data and ground-based observations.
Is a non-relativist post-modernism possible? The attempts of William Dean and Wentzel van Huyssteen

This paper aims at creating a third option to foundationalism and relativism. It criticizes William Dean’s historicist radical empiricism for going too far toward a relativ ist deconstructionism, and Wentzel van Huyss teen’s critical realism for not leaving modernism. Both, however, succeed in creating a third option. This paper examines their respective contributions to a non relativist, reconstructionist post-modernism.
Delivering the Promise: Progress, Challenges, Opportunities

In science and in medicine, we live in extraordinary times. The lifespan of man has been nearly doubled over the past century, and the quality of life has also been vastly improved. Science promised a great deal, and it has delivered, at least in part. But why has it not delivered that promise in full and transformed all of our lives? Can we do better? I think we can. Let’s start where it all comes together—with a patient: Our patient, a 74-year-old white male living in the suburbs of a major US city, is fortunate. He has just been discharged from the hospital after a 2-day stay for an ST elevation myocardial infarction and a coronary artery stenting procedure. He benefited from multiple technologies developed through research over many years. His father died of an MI at age 54. Because of research and the development and dissemination of evidence-based guidelines, our patient’s physician knew that he should screen this man for risk factors.1 So, at age 45, he was diagnosed with hypertension and had it effectively treated. He stopped smoking, exercised, lost weight, and restricted sodium in his diet. At age 66, a statin was added to his regimen because of an elevated cholesterol level. On the day of his admission, the patient, who had been coached by his physician, knew to call 911 immediately when he experienced chest pain. And the emergency medical personnel, seeing the ST elevation on the portable EKG done on site, knew where to transport him.2 After his successful primary angioplasty, his hospital team provided high-quality care using the Get With The Guidelines program,3 a Web-based tool developed by the American Heart Association to help translate scientific knowledge into day-to-day practice, and he went home with effective secondary prevention. This patient’s experience …
Vowel normalization: the role of fundamental frequency and upper formants

Abstract Some vowel normalization schemes assume the perceptual exploitation of f0 and F3 information. These schemes implicitly predict that access to such information should improve listeners’ classification of vowels in a mixed-speaker condition relative to their classification in a blocked-speaker condition. In this study listeners classified naturally produced phonated and whispered (no f0 information) vowels in which formants above F2 were either present or filtered out. Results provided some support for the use of f0 in vowel normalization; results for F3 were inconclusive. An unexpected finding was that upper formants were more important for whispered vowel classification than for phonated vowel classification.
Failure of Bloch’ s law for simple reaction time

Instead of the equal reaction times (RTs) for equal-energy flashes that Bloch’ s law requires, some studies show unequal luminance-related RTs. Because the flash luminance in those studies was not randomized over trials, Hildreth (1973) attributed those failures of Bloch’ s law to drifts in response. The present article demonstrates a failure of the law in experiments with randomized, equal-energy flashes. A brief survey of studies suggests that failures of the law occur when the equal-energy flashes differ sufficiently in luminance.
Total Synthesis of the Cytotoxic Threo, Trans, Erythro, Cis, Threo Annonaceous Acetogenin Trilobin.

A synthesis of trilobin, a new stereochemical varient of the adjacent bis-tetrahydrofuran subgroup of the Annonaceous acetogenins, is described. The synthesis involves three stereochemically defining carbon−carbon bond-forming steps. The first of these introduces the C23−C24 stereocenters and the left side chain by means of an SE2‘ addition of the nonracemic 11-carbon γ-oxygenated allylic indium reagent derived from the α-oxygenated allylic stannane 4 to a C24−C16 core aldehyde 3. The second develops the C15−C16 stereocenters and a segment of the right chain through BF3-promoted SE2‘ addition of the nonracemic 6-carbon γ-oxygenated allylic stannane 11 to the C16−C34 aldehyde 10. The third employs the addition of the dialkylzinc reagent 17 to the C10−C34 aldehyde 15 in the presence of a chiral bis-sulfonamide catalyst to establish the C10 stereocenter while adding the C1−C9 residue of the right chain. The C36 stereocenter and the butenolide are appended through condensation of the C1−C34 ester with the pro...
Using Polymer Models To Understand The Structure Of Chromosome III In Budding Yeast

Eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells have intricately structured chromosomes. Their large-scale physical structure is believed to arise from protein-mediated interactions that can form both inter- and intra-chromosomal tethers as well as anchoring the chromosome to the membrane or purported protein scaffolds. While classical molecular biological techniques have yielded information about the structure and chemistry of chromosomes, little is known about their conformations or dynamics in vivo. To study this, we have placed fluorescent markers in Saccharomyces cerevisiae near the HML locus on chromosome III and at the spindle pole body, which serves as a marker of centromere attachment, and measured the cell-to-cell distribution and dynamics of distances between these two loci. The histograms of distances obtained in this way were analyzed using a model of the chromosome as a random-walk polymer. To account for the measured distance distributions, we conclude that the motion of the left arm of chromosome III is constrained by the presence of a tether. This motivates experiments in which known tethering mechanisms for chromosome III are removed and the effect on the distance distributions is measured. We report on such experiments using strains in which the HML locus was deleted, ones in which a known telomere tethering protein was removed, and strains with a deletion of 17kb of DNA between HML and the centromere.
Small low-density lipoproteins and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 are increased in association with hyperlipidemia in preeclampsia.

The pregnancy disorder preeclampsia is characterized by endothelial cell dysfunction that may be promoted by abnormal increases in circulating lipids, particularly triglycerides and free fatty acids. Serum triglyceride concentration is a major regulatory determinant of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) size and density distribution. Smaller, denser LDL particles have several intrinsic properties capable of inducing endothelial dysfunction. The present nested, case-control study of gestationally matched preeclamptic and normal pregnant women tested the hypothesis that hypertriglyceridemia in preeclampsia is accompanied by decreases in LDL peak particle diameter (predominant LDL size). Plasma LDL peak particle diameter was determined by nondenaturing 2% to 16% polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Correlations of LDL diameter with the concentration of serum triglycerides, free fatty acids, total cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and apolipoprotein B (apo B) were determined. In the same individuals, we measured serum concentrations of a marker of vascular dysfunction previously reported to be increased in preeclampsia, soluble vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1), and examined the association of VCAM-1 with LDL diameter and serum lipids. LDL peak particle diameter was decreased in preeclampsia relative to normal pregnancy (P < .01). The LDL-cholesterol:apo B ratio, which frequently decreases with decreasing LDL diameter, was also decreased (P < .04). Triglyceride concentrations were increased in preeclampsia (P < .0002), and there was a significant inverse relationship between LDL peak particle diameter and triglycerides (r = -.55, P < .02). Serum soluble VCAM-1 concentrations were markedly increased in preeclampsia (P < .0003). Apo B (P < .004), free fatty acids (P < .01), total cholesterol (P < .01), and LDL-cholesterol (P < .02) were also increased. VCAM-1 correlated with apo B (r = .50, P < .03) and LDL-cholesterol (r = .50, P < .03), but showed no relationship with the LDL diameter, LDL-cholesterol:apo B ratio, or other lipids. We conclude that the predominance of smaller, denser LDL, a potential contributor to endothelial cell dysfunction, is a feature of preeclampsia. However, the serum VCAM-1 level, one indicator of endothelial involvement, may be influenced more by quantitative lipoprotein changes (serum apo B or LDL-cholesterol) than by LDL particle size.
Strain differences in the development of susceptibility to audiogenic seizures after acoustic priming but not after hearing loss.

Abstract Either exposure to an initial auditory stimulus (IAS) or external ear plugging (EEP) was used to produce susceptibility to audiogenic seizures in C57BL/6Bg and DBA/1Bg mice. After the IAS, increments in seizure susceptibility occurred by 5 h in C57BL/6Bg mice and by 24 h in DBA/1Bg-ras mice, whereas after EEP, increments in seizure susceptibility occurred by 48 h in C57BL/6Bg and by 24 h in DBA/1Bg-ras mice. Because both the IAS and EEP produce hearing loss, the strain differences in the effect of the IAS on the development of susceptibility and the strain similarities in the effect of the EEP on the development of susceptibility support the hypothesis that acoustic priming in the C57BL/6Bg at 19 days of age involves another mechanism in addition to that of hearing loss and disuse supersensitivity. It was suggested elsewhere that the other mechanism is mediated by a post-IAS decrease in the concentration of brain γ-aminobutyric acid and requires brain protein synthesis for a brief period post-IAS.
Matrix model in - 2 dimensions and its effective field theory

Abstract We define a double scaling limit and operators in the d =−2 matrix model. Following Polchinski's argument in d =1, we explain the logarithmic scaling violations in d =−2 in terms of the tachyon effective action. We also show that KPZ scaling follows from Polchinski's argument in other dimensions.
Benefiting from polarization - effects on high-NA imaging

The onset of lithographic technology involving extreme numer ical aperture (NA) values introduces critical technical issues that are now receiving particular attention. Proj ection lithography with NA values above 0.90 is necessary for future generation devices. The introduction of immersion lithography enables even larger angles, resulting in NA values of 1.2 and above. The imaging effects from oblique angles , electric field polarization, optical interference, optical reflection, and aberration can be significant. This paper addre sses polarization considerations at critical locations in the optical path of a projection system, namely in the illuminator, at the mask, and in the photoresist. Several issues are addressed including TE and azimuthal polarized illumination, wire grid polarization effects for real thin film mask materials, and multilayer resist AR coatings for high NA and polarization.
Force generation and temperature-jump and length-jump tension transients in muscle fibers.

Muscle tension rises with increasing temperature. The kinetics that govern the tension rise of maximally Ca(2+)-activated, skinned rabbit psoas fibers over a temperature range of 0–30 degrees C was characterized in laser temperature-jump experiments. The kinetic response is simple and can be readily interpreted in terms of a basic three-step mechanism of contraction, which includes a temperature-sensitive rapid preequilibrium(a) linked to a temperature-insensitive rate-limiting step and followed by a temperature-sensitive tension-generating step. These data and mechanism are compared and contrasted with the more complex length-jump Huxley-Simmons phases in which all states that generate tension or bear tension are perturbed. The rate of the Huxley-Simmons phase 4 is temperature sensitive at low temperatures but plateaus at high temperatures, indicating a change in rate-limiting step from a temperature-sensitive (phase 4a) to a temperature-insensitive reaction (phase 4b); the latter appears to correlate with the slow, temperature-insensitive temperature-jump relaxation. Phase 3 is absent in the temperature-jump, which excludes it from tension generation. We confirm that de novo tension generation occurs as an order-disorder transition during phase 2slow and the equivalent, temperature-sensitive temperature-jump relaxation.
Sex-role attitudes: A comparison of sex-race groups

This study investigated the differences in the three dimensions of sex-role attitudes among four sex-race groups and also the ability of sex and race jointly to condition the effects of background characteristics on these attitudes. In a sample of 409 college students significant differences were found on all three dimensions of sex-role attitudes between the two sex groups, but not between the two racial groups, implying that gender is the most significant variable in eliciting differences in sex-role attitudes. Stepwise multiple regression analysis did not find a single common predictor to explain the variance in the wife role, the mother role, and the father role for the four sex-race group models. Some predictors were found in common in the four models explaining the variance in three dimensions of sex-role attitudes when the effects of sex and race were examined separately. However, the interaction of race and sex in conditioning the effect of background variables on the sex-role attitudes was quite different for each of the four sex-race subsamples.
Wide band measurement of the refractive index of optical thin films during their deposition

A new technique is presented for the in situ determination of the refractive index of an optical film over a wide spectral range. The method is based on fast scanning spectrophotometric measurements that are taken during the deposition of an optical layer. Error analysis shows the dependence of the index on the quality of these measurements. The index of refraction is expressed in terms of the Selmeir dispersion polynomial over the spectral region. Experimental results are given for TiO2, Ta2O5, Y2O3, zirconium oxide doped with titanium and niobium oxide over the visible part of the spectrum. Reproducibility aspects of the index are also discussed. This technique seems to add a promising contribution to the currently developed methods of wide band optical monitoring.
Unusually Low Rates of Slip on the Santa Rosa Range Fault Zone, Northern Nevada

The Santa Rosa Range fault zone (srrfz) is one of the most topographically prominent normal fault systems in the northern Basin and Range province of the western United States. It has been assigned high rates of vertical slip by others and has been identified as a possible site of the future extension of the central Nevada seismic belt (cnsb). We use detailed trench mapping and luminescence dating to estimate displacements and timing of the last several large-magnitude paleoearthquakes on the southern part of the srrfz at a trench site near Orovada, Nevada. Coseismic vertical displacements ranged from 1 to 2.8 m for each of the last four events. Luminescence ages provide time limits for the last three events of 125–155 ka, 90–108 ka, and 11–16 ka. These data yield recurrence intervals of 17–65 k.y. and 74–97 k.y. and an elapsed time of 11–16 k.y. since the youngest event. Slip-rate determinations at the Orovada site are complicated by multiple fault strands, but rates calculated from a variety of data are surprisingly low (0.01–0.16 mm/yr), given the topographic prominence of the Santa Rosa Range. A lack of compelling patterns in a comparison of paleoseismic parameters indicate that the srrfz is no more likely a location for a large-magnitude earthquake than previously identified seismic gaps or along faults that lie directly north of the cnsb.
Prospective Versus Retrospective Approaches to the Study of Intergenerational Social Mobility

Most intergenerational social mobility studies are based upon retrospective data, in which samples of individuals report socioeconomic information about their parents, an approach that provides representative data for offspring but not the parental generation. When available, prospective data on intergenerational mobility, which are based on a sample of respondents who report on their progeny, have conceptual and practical advantages. Prospective data are especially useful for studying social mobility across more than two generations and for developing joint models of social mobility and demographic processes. Because prospective data remain relatively scarce, we propose a method that corrects retrospective mobility data for the unrepresentativeness of the parental generation, and thus permits them to be used for models of social mobility and demographic processes. We illustrate this method using both simulated data and data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. In our examples, this method removes more than 95% of the bias in the retrospective data.
Moral realism as moral motivation: The impact of meta-ethics on everyday decision-making

Abstract People disagree about whether “moral facts” are objective facts like mathematical truths (moral realism) or simply products of the human mind (moral antirealism). What is the impact of different meta-ethical views on actual behavior? In Experiment 1, a street canvasser, soliciting donations for a charitable organization dedicated to helping impoverished children, primed passersby with realism or antirealism. Participants primed with realism were twice as likely to be donors, compared to control participants and participants primed with antirealism. In Experiment 2, online participants primed with realism as opposed to antirealism reported being willing to donate more money to a charity of their choice. Considering the existence of non-negotiable moral facts may have raised the stakes and motivated participants to behave better. These results therefore reveal the impact of meta-ethics on everyday decision-making: priming a belief in moral realism improved moral behavior.
Modulation of the expression of tissue plasminogen activator and its inhibitor by hypoxia in human peritoneal and adhesion fibroblasts

Abstract Objective To determine whether normal peritoneal and adhesion fibroblasts express tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI-I) and whether their expression is regulated by oxygen. Design Prospective experimental study. Setting University medical center. Patient(s) Cultures of human fibroblasts established from peritoneal and adhesion tissues. Intervention(s) Hypoxia treatment of the primary cultured fibroblasts. Main outcome measure(s) We have used the multiplex reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique to determine the effect of hypoxia on the expression of tPA and PAI-I in normal peritoneal (NPF) and adhesion (ADF) fibroblasts. Cultures of NPF and ADF were exposed to hypoxia (2% O 2 ) for 24 hours. RNA was extracted from cells and subjected to multiplex RT-PCR to quantitate relative changes in mRNA levels of tPA and PAI-I in response to hypoxia treatment. Result(s) Basal tPA mRNA levels are present in both NPF and ADF and were 45% higher in NPF than ADF. Hypoxia decreased tPA in both NPF and ADF by 74% and 95%, respectively. Basal PAI-I mRNA levels were 64% higher in ADF than in NPF. Hypoxia increased PAI-I mRNA levels by 67% and 53% in NPF and ADF, respectively. Conclusion(s) Plasminogen activator activity (PAA) of the peritoneum does not solely reside in the mesothelial cells, as previously identified, but also exists within fibroblasts, thus providing the potential to resolve postoperative fibrinous collections even at sites at which the mesothelial cells have been injured, removed, or destroyed. Furthermore, PAA in fibroblasts is regulated by oxygen; creation of a hypoxic state markedly attenuates PAA, thereby leading to adhesion development.
Functional Characterization of a Series of Mutant G Protein αq Subunits Displaying Promiscuous Receptor Coupling Properties

The N termini of two G protein α subunits, αq and α11, differ from those of other α subunits in that they display a unique, highly conserved six-amino acid extension (MTLESI(M)). We recently showed that an αq deletion mutant lacking these six amino acids (in contrast to wild type αq) was able to couple to several different Gs- and Gi/o-coupled receptors, apparently due to promiscuous receptor/G protein coupling (Kostenis, E., Degtyarev, M. Y., Conklin, B. R., and Wess, J. (1997)J. Biol. Chem. 272, 19107–19110). To study which specific amino acids within the N-terminal segment of αq/11 are critical for constraining the receptor coupling selectivity of these subunits, this region of αq was subjected to systematic deletion and alanine scanning mutagenesis. All mutant αq constructs (or wild type αq as a control) were coexpressed (in COS-7 cells) with the m2 muscarinic or the D2 dopamine receptors, two prototypical Gi/o-coupled receptors, and ligand-induced increases in inositol phosphate production were determined as a measure of G protein activation. Surprisingly, all 14 mutant G proteins studied (but not wild type αq) gained the ability to productively interact with the two Gi/o-linked receptors. Similar results were obtained when we examined the ability of selected mutant αqsubunits to couple to the Gs-coupled β2-adrenergic receptor. Additional experiments indicated that the functional promiscuity displayed by all investigated mutant αqconstructs was not due to overexpression (as compared with wild type αq), lack of palmitoylation, or initiation of translation at a downstream ATG codon (codon seven). These data are consistent with the notion that the six-amino acid extension characteristic for αq/11 subunits forms a tightly folded protein subdomain that is critical for regulating the receptor coupling selectivity of these subunits.
Evidence that natural immunity to breast cancer and prostate cancer exists in the majority of their risk populations is predicted by a novel, inherently saturated, ordered mutation model†

The series of ordered mutations that cause a specific cell to become cancerous is modeled so that the fraction of a risk population (e.g. White men) that has developed a specific cancer (e.g. melanoma) at any age can be calculated. The saturated model constructed and solved here is isomorphic to the physical model describing an ordered chain of radioactive nuclei decays with the exception that it allows for the possibility that a fraction of a risk population may be immune to developing a specific cancer.
Monitoring progress towards gender-equitable poverty alleviation the tools of the trade

This article contributes towards unpacking the relationships between gender, poverty and inequality at several interrelated levels. It explores the concept of poverty as a useful starting point not only for understanding how gender fits into it, but also for understanding why gender is not reducible to poverty. It provides a brief history of how poverty came to be analysed from a gender perspective, and how such a perspective advances our understanding of poverty and inequality. The article follows this with a critical analysis of important gendered and non-gendered approaches developed to measure poverty, and outlines their contributions to advancing the art of monitoring and evaluating gendered poverty. Using research conducted predominantly in South Asia, it demonstrates how the richness of academic scholarship and discourses on gender and poverty contrast sharply not only with the narrow range of strategies employed for poverty alleviation, but also the limited array of methods and tools designed to m...
Spatial-frequency- and contrast-dependent visible persistence and reading disorder: no evidence for a basic perceptual deficit.

The aetiology of dyslexia is still unclear, the most widely and controversially discussed theory is the magnocellular deficit hypothesis. One of the first and most influential paradigms used to investigate this visual deficit in dyslexia is the visible persistence (VP). However results on VP are decisively influenced by the method measuring VP. Lovegrove et al. (1986) repeatedly found a longer VP in reading disabled children which is significantly influenced by spatial frequency and contrast. However, these results were not investigated with the same method to date. Seventy-six unselected 2nd grade students (41 boys, 35 girls) of a rural primary school were investigated with an identical experimental design comparable to the Lovegrove et al. (1986) studies. Comparing reading disabled (n=17) with controls (n=34) no evidence for a longer VP in the reading disabled group was found. Additionally, correlation analysis revealed no evidence for a significance of VP for spelling, phoneme awareness and speech discrimination. This study does not encourage either a magnocellular nor parvocellular deficit in dyslexia.
Interaction of Cavities and Dislocations in Semiconductors

TEM of He-implanted Si-Ge and InGaAs indicates an attractive interaction between cavities and dislocations. Calculation indicates that cavities are attracted to dislocations through surrounding strain fields, and strong binding (100s of eV) occurs when a cavity intersects the core. In a strained SiGe/Si heterostructure, He implantation enhances relaxation rates and cavities bound to misfit dislocations show evidence of increasing relaxation at equilibrium by lowering dislocation energies. The interaction is expected for all crystalline solids and gives insight into voids in GaN/sapphire and bubbles in He-implanted metals.
2010 Federal Income Tax Laws that Cause Individuals' Marginal and Statutory Tax Rates to Differ

This article summarizes phase-outs of and limitations on deductions, credits, exclusions from income, and allowed contributions in 2010 that can cause an individual’s effective marginal tax rate (MTR) to be higher than the individual’s statutory tax rate (STR) (i.e., the individual’s tax rate “bracket” based on taxable income). (This article was completed January 5, 2011 and contains current tax law current as of this date.)
Handedness of Polarization after Metallic Reflection of Linearly Polarized Light

When the E vector of linearly polarized incident light is oriented in a direction given by a clockwise rotation, ψ (0 ψ>π/2), from the plane of incidence when looking back into the source, then the reflected light is left-elliptically polarized. The result holds for any metal and any angle of incidence.
Optimal Monetary Policy and Correlation Between Prices and Output

Several authors have reported finding a negative correlation between prices and output for the U.S. in the post WW II data. This paper presents a simple aggregate supply and demand model to show that this correlation may reflect the actions of an optimizing monetary policy maker rather than the relative sizes of the aggregate demand and supply shocks which hit the economy. Because the optimizing policy maker seeks to offset fully the effects of aggregate demand shocks, when the policy maker views these shocks with greater precision, the observed correlation of prices and output falls and can become negative. Importantly, our model is consistent with the observed changed in the price-output correlation between the pre WW II and post WW II periods.
Lipofibromatous hamartoma of nerve

Seventeen cases of lipofibromatous hamartoma of nerve (14 with histologic confirmation) were treated between 1935 and 1985. One patient had bilateral involvement. Fourteen lesions were located in the upper extremity and four in the lower extremity. Twelve of the 18 lesions were associated with combined soft tissue and skeletal enlargement, or true macrodactyly. Three other lesions had soft tissue enlargement other than that noted intraneurally. Three patients were treated with carpal tunnel release alone and 14 with combined procedures to decrease the size of the affected part. Sensibility in the affected part often appeared unrelated to removal or preservation of hamartomatous nerve tissue. Complications related to nerve surgery included recurrence of carpal tunnel syndrome in one patient, recurrent soft tissue mass in one patient, and painful calcification of the involved tissues 20 years postoperatively in one patient.
An adaptive control technology for safety of a GTM-like aircraft

An adaptive control architecture for safe performance of a transport aircraft subject to various adverse conditions is proposed and verified herein. This architecture combines a nominal controller based on an LQR with integral action, and an adaptive controller that accommodates for actuator saturation and bounded disturbances. The effectiveness of the baseline controller and its adaptive augmentation are evaluated and compared using a stand-alone control verification methodology. Several failure modes, where an uncertain parameter and a correspondingly critical flight maneuver are paired, are studied. The resilience of the controllers is determined by evaluating the degradation in closed-loop performance that results from increasingly larger uncertainties. Symmetric and asymmetric actuator failures, flight upsets, and CG movements, are some of the uncertainties considered.
Within-Host Selection Is Limited by an Effective Population of Streptococcus pneumoniae during Nasopharyngeal Colonization

Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) is a significant pathogen that frequently colonizes the human nasopharynx. Environmental factors, including antimicrobial use and host immunity, exert selection on members of the nasopharyngeal population, and the dynamics of selection are influenced by the effective population size of the selected population, about which little is known. We measured here the variance effective population size (Ne) of pneumococcus in a mouse colonization model by monitoring the frequency change of two cocolonizing, competitively neutral pneumococcal strains over time. The point estimate of Ne during nasal carriage in 16 BALB/c mice was 133 (95% confidence interval [CI] 11 to 203). In contrast, the lower-bound census population exhibited a mean of 5768 (95% CI 2,515 to 9,021). Therefore, pneumococcal Neduring nasal carriage is substantially smaller than the census population. The Neduring day 1 to day 4 of colonization was comparable to the Neduring day 4 to day 8. Similarly, a low Newas also evident for the colonization of pneumococcus in BALB/c mice exposed to cholera toxin 4 weeks prior to challenge and in another mouse strain (DO11.10 RAG / ). We developed a mathematical model of pneumococcal colonization composed of two subpopulations with differential contribution to future generations. By stochastic simulation, this model can reproduce the pattern of observed pneumococcal N eand predicts that the selection coefficients may be difficult to measure in vivo. We hypothesized that such a small Ne may reduce the effectiveness of within host selection for pneumococcus.
Bystander Attenuation of Neuronal and Astrocyte Intercellular Communication by Murine Cytomegalovirus Infection of Glia

Astrocytes are the first cells infected by murine cytomegalovirus (MCMV) in primary cultures of brain. These cells play key roles in intercellular signaling and neuronal development, and they modulate synaptic activity within the nervous system. Using ratiometric fura-2 digital calcium imaging of >8,000 neurons and glia, we found that MCMV-infected astrocytes showed an increase in intracellular basal calcium levels and an enhanced response to neuroactive substances, including glutamate and ATP, and to high potassium levels. Cultured neurons with no sign of MCMV infection showed attenuated synaptic signaling after infection of the underlying astrocyte substrate, and intercellular communication between astrocytes with no sign of infection was reduced by the presence of infected glia. These bystander effects would tend to cause further deterioration of cellular communication in the brain in addition to the problems caused by the loss of directly infected cells.
God, the Devil, Medicine, and the Word: A Controversy Over Ecstatic Women in Protestant Middle Germany, 1691–1693

“You anti-Christian animal, what have you stung? I crush you, I the Lord crush you as you sit on My chair which you exalt up to the stars. I want to kick you into the deepest hell; now you are there and do not know what happened to you. On you, on you shall my soul take revenge; you God of the heathen who pray to you, who pray to you.” Thus began the letter dictated by Anna Margaretha Jahn and addressed to her confessor, Johann Christoph Wurtzler, pastor of the Moritz Church in Halberstadt, who had died three days earlier on 19 December 1692. The letter, transcribed by two men as Jahn spoke, closed with the commandment from God that the writing be delivered to Wurtzler's house and read aloud to his corpse, at which point he would become alive again, if that had not occurred already.
Does lung ischemia and reperfusion have an impact on coronary flow? A quantitative coronary blood-flow analysis with inflammatory cytokine profile

OBJECTIVE: Ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury remains a major cause of early morbidity and mortality after lung transplantation with poorly documented extrapulmonary repercussions. To determine the hemodynamic effect due to lung IR injury, we performed a quantitative coronary blood-flow analysis in a swine model of in situ lung ischemia and reperfusion. METHODS: In 14 healthy pigs, blood flow was measured in the ascending aorta, left anterior descending (LAD), circumflex (Cx), right coronary artery (RCA), right common carotid artery (RCCA), and left internal mammary artery (LIMA), along with left-and right-ventricular pressures (LVP and RVP), aortic pressure (AoP), and pulmonary artery pressure (PAP). Cardiac Troponin (cTn), interleukin 6 and 10 (IL-6 and IL-10), and tumor necrosis factor A (TNF-A) were measured in coronary sinus blood samples. The experimental (IR) group (n = 10) underwent 60 min of lung ischemia followed by 60 min of reperfusion by clamping and releasing the left pulmonary hilum. Simultaneous measurements of all parameters were made at baseline and during IR. The control group (n = 4) had similar measurements without lung IR. RESULTS: In the IR group, total coronary flow (TCF = LAD + Cx + RCA blood-flow) decreased precipitously and significantly from baseline (113 ± 41 ml min” 1 ) during IR ( p< 0.05), with the lowest value observed at 60 min of reperfusion (-37.1%, p< 0.003). Baseline cTn (0.08 ± 0.02 ng ml �1 ) increased during IR and peaked at 45 min of reperfusion (+138%, p< 0.001). Baseline IL-6 (9.2 ± 2.17 pg ml �1 ) increased during IR and peaked at 60 min of reperfusion (+228%, p< 0.0001). Significant LVP drop at 5 min of ischemia ( p< 0.05) was followed by a slow return to baseline at 45 min of ischemia. A second LVP drop occurred at reperfusion ( p< 0.05) and persisted. Conversely, RVP increased throughout ischemia ( p< 0.05) and returned toward baseline during reperfusion. Coronary blood flow and hemodynamic profile remained unchanged in the control group. IL-10 and TNF-A remained below the measurable range for both the groups. CONCLUSIONS: In situ lung IR has a marked negative impact on coronary blood flow, hemodynamics, and inflammatory profile. In addition, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study where coronary blood flow is directly measured during lung IR, revealing the associated increased cardiac risk.
The removal of lead from gasoline: historical and personal reflections.

Tetraethyllead (TEL) was first fabricated for use in gasoline in 1923. Shortly after manufacture began, workers at all three plants began to become floridly psychotic and die. A moratorium on TEL production was put into place, but was lifted in 1926. Between 1926 and 1965, the prevailing consensus was that lead toxicity occurred only at high levels of exposure and that lead in the atmosphere was harmless. Most of the data on lead toxicity issued from a single source, the Kettering Laboratory in Cincinnati. In 1959, the first warnings of adverse health effects of lead at silent doses were raised by Clair Patterson, a geochemist. In hearings before the Senate Committee on Public Works, Senator Edward Muskie raised the question of adverse health effects from airborne lead. As new data accumulated on health effects of lead at lower doses, the movement to remove lead from gasoline gained momentum, and the Environmental Protection Agency examined the question. The removal of lead would take place over the next 25 years, and its accomplishment would require a severe change in the federal stance regarding its hazard. This article details the interaction of various forces, industrial, regulatory, judicial, public health, and public interest, that were engaged in this contest and estimates the value of this step.
Wildfire and Fire-Adapted Ecology: How People Created the Current Fire Disasters

Increasing numbers of wild fires have been noted in the past decades as well as increasing intensity and acreage burned. The invasion of wild lands and rural areas by new housing, the recreational industry, hikers, bikers and the destruction of wild life by increased hunting, thinning to reduce competition with commercial agriculture and effects of logging and new logging techniques have driven this increase. The last 400 years of exploitation of the land has created a fire-adapted ecology. Suggestions for reducing the dangerous and expensive consequences are given.
Simulation studies of steam-propane injection for the Hamaca heavy oil field

Simulation studies were performed to evaluate a novel technology, steam-propane injection, for heavy Hamaca crude oil from Venezuela's Orinoco Basin. The oil has a specific gravity of 1.005 (9.3° API) and a viscosity of 25 Pa.s (25,000 cp) at 50° C. Two types of studies were performed: a simulation study to history-match laboratory results and a reservoir simulation study of steam-propane injection in a 5-spot pattern. A 1D 48 grid-cell model was used to describe the sand mix in the injection cell. A ten pseudo-component oil model for Hamaca oil was developed based on composition up to C 10 that gave a satisfactory history match of experimental results. Components in the C 7 - C 10 range appear to play a significant role during steam-propane injection and therefore need to be described in greater detail. The pseudo-component oil model was subsequently used in the reservoir model. The reservoir model represented a symmetry volume that is one-eighth of a 10-acre 5-spot pattern. A 9 x 5 x 10 3D Cartesian model was used to describe the symmetry volume, with one axis (x-axis) oriented parallel to the injector-producer direction. Simulation results indicate the following. First, oil production acceleration of 15% was observed with a propane-steam mass ratio (PSR) of 0.05 compared to pure steam injection. A substantial gain in discounted revenue and savings in steam injection cost would be realized. Second, unlike the experimental results, the oil production rate peak with steam-propane injection, 175 m 3 /d (1,100 STBID), is significantly higher than that with pure steam injection, 110 m 3 /d (690 STB/D). Third, oil production acceleration increases with increasing propane content. And finally, oil recovery (at the end of the five-year forecast period) increases from 2.3% OOIP for pure steam injection to 7.0% OOIP for steam-propane injection with a PSR of 0.05. Both experimental and simulation studies indicate that steam-propane injection is a very promising technology. Further research, followed by field tests, are recommended to better understand and verify the process under actual field conditions.
Jacques Bon-Homme and National Politics: Ethos and Audience in Seventeenth-Century Pamphlets

A number of fundamental problems remain in the way of providing a comprehensive analysis of pamphlets and pamphleteerng in Old Regime France. Our incomplete knowledge of the sizes of editions, the mechanisms of distribution, and author-patron relationships is one set of problems. Another stems from the complexity of the the texts themselves. Pamphlet authors often cultivated a baroque style of rhetoric, twisting their into elaborate figures of speech, sometimes beyond recognition. Many pamphlets, at least in the early part of the seventeenth century, were intentionally written in colloquial speech, and some even contain parodies of southern dialects. Perhaps the most difficult obstacle to interpretation is the rich undercurrent of allusions and citations to other pamphlets, to popular customs, to learned books, and "the whole cultural baggage of the epoch," to use Denis Richet's marvelous phrase.One of the main questions that arises from these difficulties is the question of the audience. This is a particularly troubling issue for those who are concerned about the concrete political functions of pamphleteering. The identity of the "public" is especially obscure in the seventeenth century. Millions of pieces of pamphlet propaganda were published, yet there is precious little evidence as to who read them and how these readers reacted. Occasionally, we can learn from diplomatic correspondence that this or that pamphlet caused a reaction among high-level politicians. But what about the larger audience for whom the pamphlets were presumably written? The evidence available about patterns of literacy suggests that the readers were predominantly urban, but this is hardly a very satisfying solution to the problem of establishing the audience for printed propaganda.
Population composition, urban neighborhoods, and future scenarios: a crystal ball perspective, from past to future

Racial/ethnic aspects of urban neighborhoods have been a major concern of social scientists post-World War II. As we move into the twenty-first century, however, the object of study is changing dramatically in that the majority US population will soon be minorities; this is already the case in many locales, and other countries are experiencing similar shifts. To recount this dynamic and provide context, the paper begins by considering the US city pre-World War II, ethnic enclaves, and their transition to the present day—giving rise to an immigrant ethos that remains prevalent. Attention then turns to general frameworks related to the immigrant experience, and their future applicability. Considered next is the current state of majoritizing the minority. As one outcome, urban neighborhoods will become demographically diverse and reflect socioeconomic differences rather than racial/ethnic ones; that is, in the jargon of past research, neighborhood composition will be determined by Class more than Culture. This should be largely driven by market forces as mediated by elements such as social networks (formal and informal) and personal preferences. Inertia effects also would operate to slow, but not eliminate, shifts in the urban landscape. Conceptually, these forces are represented by Market-Led Pluralism and Resurgent Ethnicity. Regarding other likely futures, as acculturation occurs a substantial increase in intermarriage is expected, leading to A Blended America. Economic shifts also play into the future as nations of the Global South strengthen, while production in the Global North becomes more automated. Hence, immigration will continue, but from different origins; and the overall level will be lower, leading to A Shrinking Nation.
Discovery of stationary operation of quiescent H-mode plasmas with net-zero neutral beam injection torque and high energy confinement on DIII-D

Recent experiments in DIII-D [J. L. Luxon et al., in Plasma Physics and Controlled Nuclear Fusion Research 1996 (International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna, 1987), Vol. I, p. 159] have led to the discovery of a means of modifying edge turbulence to achieve stationary, high confinement operation without Edge Localized Mode (ELM) instabilities and with no net external torque input. Eliminating the ELM-induced heat bursts and controlling plasma stability at low rotation represent two of the great challenges for fusion energy. By exploiting edge turbulence in a novel manner, we achieved excellent tokamak performance, well above the H98y2 international tokamak energy confinement scaling (H98y2 = 1.25), thus meeting an additional confinement challenge that is usually difficult at low torque. The new regime is triggered in double null plasmas by ramping the injected torque to zero and then maintaining it there. This lowers E × B rotation shear in the plasma edge, allowing low-k, broadband, electromagnetic turbul...