cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A new species of Pliopithecus from the middle Miocene of China and its implications for early catarrhine zoogeography

Abstract Eight cranio-dental specimens of a small catarrhine primate have been recovered recently from the locality of Maerzuizigou and nearby sites in Tongxin County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, northcentral China. This area has yielded a diverse mammalian fauna which is estimated to date to about 15 m.y.a. (early Tunggurian, Faunal Unit I), broadly comparable to the Sansan and Byelometchetskaya local faunas of Europe (early Astaracian, MN 6). The present study has confirmed the initial assessment of Qui & Guan (1986) that the primate material should be referred to Pliopithecus . It is generally similar to Pliopithecus from Europe, but differs from the three currently recognized species in being considerably larger in size and in the details of its dental morphology. On the basis of these differences, there is sufficient evidence to recognize a new species of Pliopithecus . The new species confirms that the pliopithecids extended their range eastwards into Asia during the early middle Miocene soon after their earliest appearance in Europe. The diversity of pliopithecids in Eurasia at this time suggests that the initial migration may have involved multiple species derived from a diverse community established in Africa prior to their arrival in Europe. The distribution of early pliopithecids and Eurasian proconsulids during the middle Miocene indicates that the two groups may have occupied geographically and ecologically distinct provinces. The pliopithecids in China document two episodes of faunal contact between Europe and Asia during the Miocene.
Free Ia E alpha chain expression in the E+ alpha : E- beta recombinant strain A.TFR5.

Molecular and biochemical techniques have been used to explore the reasons behind low Eα chain expression in the E α + E β − I-region recombinant strain, A.TFR5. A.TFR5 (A f E k, ap5), a recombinant between A.CA (A f E f) and A.TL (A k E k), carries the E k subregion. Previous results have shown that it expresses the Eα chain, but at reduced levels relative to E α + E β + strains. No Eβ chains were detected, which is consistent with the A.TFR5E β gene being derived from the A.CA parent, which carries the null E β f allele. In this paper, the defect in Eα-chain expression is explored. Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis has localized the recombination event in A.TFR5 approximately 30 kb upstream of Eα, in the region of the large intervening sequence of Eβ. Northern blot analysis of total RNA from A.TFR5 shows normal amounts of the Eα message, but no Eβ message. Two-dimensional gel analysis of 15 min pulse-labeled A.TFR5, A.CA, and A.TL E immunoprecipitates shows decreased levels of the intracellular Eα chain in A.TFR5 relative to A.TL. However, analysis of total cell extracts shows normal levels of this protein. A glycoprotein fraction isolated from total cell extracts of 5 h labeled cells contains normal amounts of intracellular Eα, but decreased amounts of the mature cell-surface protein. These data suggest that in the absence of Eβ, the Eα chain (1) takes on an altered conformation that is not as efficiently recognized by alloantibodies, and (2) is found in normal levels as the partially glycosylated intracellular precursor, but is not processed and/or transported efficiently to the cell surface.
The induction of antigenic changes in a teratocarcinoma stem cell line (f9) by retinoic acid.

Abstract Treatment of embryonal carcinoma cells F9 with retinoic acid results in the appearance of epithelioid cells resembling endoderm which synthesize basement membrane protein and plasminogen activator. Concomitant with the appearance of these properties of differentiated cells, the epithelial cells cease to express SSEA-1, an antigenic determinant characteristic of teratocarcinoma stem cells and early mouse embryos. Our evidence indicates that the phenotypic changes that accompany retinoic acid treatment of embryonal carcinoma cells are irreversible and a consequence of the differentiation of the cells into endoderm.
Teachers' Self-Disclosure Sought by College Students:

Students in Psychology, English, and Natural Science were invited to submit questions for information deemed by them pertinent to success in a course. A 13-category classification of the 1030 items collected from 194 students showed dominance of personal and teacher-related questions. Mean number of questions for upper classmen were consistently lower than those for lower classmen, this being interpreted as a normative and developmental tendency. Types of questions were restricted to cultural norms that centered on personal traits, interests, attitudes, opinions, and work of the target person, rather than on interpersonal relationships, morality, sex, and personal concerns. Analysis of class-size effects indicated that students attending a large class asked significantly more questions than those attending a small class in one of the four categories assessed, grading practices. Lower classmen tended to ask more questions about acceptable classroom behavior than upper classmen.
Changes in reticular formation unit response patterns associated with pentylenetetrazol-induced enhancement of sensory evoked responses

Abstract The changes in neuronal discharge patterns induced by subconvulsive doses of pentylenetetrazol (PTZ) have been examined in the mesencephalic reticular formation (MRF) of the cat. Units which did not respond to either auditory or visual stimuli became responsive to visual stimuli after PTZ administration. Upon recovery from PTZ, the units were no longer driven by visual stimuli, indicating that the effect was reversible. This effect appears unrelated to specific changes in spontaneous activity, since units exhibiting this phenomenon either increased or decreased their spontaneous firing rate. The change in neuronal responsiveness may be one of the mechanisms subserving convulsant-induced enhancement of sensory-evoked responses in non-primary (MRF) pathways.
Linguistic Markers of Inference Generation While Reading

Words can be informative linguistic markers of psychological constructs. The purpose of this study is to examine associations between word use and the process of making meaningful connections to a text while reading (i.e., inference generation). To achieve this purpose, think-aloud data from third-fifth grade students (\(\hbox {N} = 218\)) reading narrative texts were hand-coded for inferences. These data were also processed with a computer text analysis tool, Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count, for percentages of word use in the following categories: cognitive mechanism words, nonfluencies, and nine types of function words. Findings indicate that cognitive mechanisms were an independent, positive predictor of connections to background knowledge (i.e., elaborative inference generation) and nonfluencies were an independent, negative predictor of connections within the text (i.e., bridging inference generation). Function words did not provide unique variance towards predicting inference generation. These findings are discussed in the context of a cognitive reflection model and the differences between bridging and elaborative inference generation. In addition, potential practical implications for intelligent tutoring systems and computer-based methods of inference identification are presented.
Exploring teachers' informal formative assessment practices and students' understanding in the context of scientific inquiry

This study explores teachers' informal formative assessment practices in three middle school science classrooms. We present a model for examining these practices based on three components of formative assessment (eliciting, recognizing, and using information) and the three domains linked to scientific inquiry (epistemic frameworks, conceptual structures, and social processes). We describe the informal assessment practices as ESRU cycles—the teacher Elicits a question; the Student responds; the teacher Recognizes the student's response; and then Uses the information collected to support student learning. By tracking the strategies teachers used in terms of ESRU cycles, we were able to capture differences in assessment practices across the three teachers during the implementation of four investigations of a physical science unit on buoyancy. Furthermore, based on information collected in a three-question embedded assessment administered to assess students' learning, we linked students' level of performance to the teachers' informal assessment practices. We found that the teacher who more frequently used complete ESRU cycles had students with higher performance on the embedded assessment as compared with the other two teachers. We conclude that the ESRU model is a useful way of capturing differences in teachers' informal assessment practices. Furthermore, the study suggests that effective informal formative assessment practices may be associated with student learning in scientific inquiry classrooms. 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 44: 57-84, 2007 At a time in which accountability testing is in vogue, teachers need to be supported with formative assessment strategies that can help them to support deep student understanding. Formative assessment is defined as assessment for learning and not assessment of learning (Black, 1993). Formative assessment has the potential to directly improve learning because it takes place while instruction is in progress and can serve as a basis for providing timely feedback to increase student learning (Sadler, 1989; Shepard, 2003). Furthermore, strategies that prove to increase student learning should also increase the likelihood that student learning will be reflected
The three-dimensional morphology of the Antarctic Ozone Minimum

The three-dimensional morphology of the Antarctic ozone minimum was obtained by mapping ozone distribution data from Nimbus-7 solar backscatter UV instrument, obtained at different pressure levels, on a south polar projection. These maps show that a clearly defined ozone minimum relative to the local ozone field extends throughout the stratosphere from about 10 km to above 50 km, though the intensity of the ozone decrease becomes less with altitude. The examination of the behavior of the general ozone-hole area suggests the existence of at least three distinct regions: (1) the region below 33 km, where ozone follows the pattern of the ozone hole, exhibiting a strong trend since 1979 and decreasing from late August to a minimum in October; (2) the 33-43 km height region of relatively stable ozone concentration; and (3) the region above 43 km, where ozone is again fluctuating, with a decrease during September to a minimum in October.
Elastoplastic model with damage for strain softening geomaterials

The paper examines certain important aspects of a rate independent model that accounts for distributed damage due to microcrack growth. Material behavior is considered as a mixture of two elastic-plastic interacting components, one termed topical (undamaged), and the other termed damaged. Energy considerations show the equivalence of the two-component body to an elastic-plastic body containing cracks; the equivalence is considered in the Griffith sense. The mechanisms of failure are considered and discussed with respect to multiaxial stress paths. An explanation of failure, at the microlevel, is given. A series of laboratory tests on a concrete are used to illustrate the development of failure.
Cardiolipin and mitochondrial phosphatidylethanolamine have overlapping functions in mitochondrial fusion in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

The two non-bilayer forming mitochondrial phospholipids cardiolipin (CL) and phosphatidylethanolamine (PE) play crucial roles in maintaining mitochondrial morphology. We have shown previously that CL and PE have overlapping functions, and the loss of both is synthetically lethal. Because the lack of CL does not lead to defects in the mitochondrial network in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, we hypothesized that PE may compensate for CL in the maintenance of mitochondrial tubular morphology and fusion. To test this hypothesis, we constructed a conditional mutant crd1Δpsd1Δ containing null alleles of CRD1 (CL synthase) and PSD1 (mitochondrial phosphatidylserine decarboxylase), in which the wild type CRD1 gene is expressed on a plasmid under control of the TETOFF promoter. In the presence of tetracycline, the mutant exhibited highly fragmented mitochondria, loss of mitochondrial DNA, and reduced membrane potential, characteristic of fusion mutants. Deletion of DNM1, required for mitochondrial fission, restored the tubular mitochondrial morphology. Loss of CL and mitochondrial PE led to reduced levels of small and large isoforms of the fusion protein Mgm1p, possibly accounting for the fusion defect. Taken together, these data demonstrate for the first time in vivo that CL and mitochondrial PE are required to maintain tubular mitochondrial morphology and have overlapping functions in mitochondrial fusion.
Rna guanine quadruplex invasion by complementary and homologous PNA probes

Guanine quadruplexes are gaining increasing attention due to their suspected roles in regulating gene expression at the transcriptional and translational levels. This paper describes the ability of short peptide nucleic acid (PNA) probes to disrupt a stable RNA quadruplex and hybridize to their target sequence. In one case, the PNA probe is complementary to the target, resulting in formation of a Watson−Crick base-paired duplex. In the second case, the PNA probe is homologous to the target and forms a hybrid quadruplex structure. The hybrid duplex is formed in a 1:1 stoichiometry, as expected based on the constraints imposed by Watson−Crick pairing. However, the hybrid quadruplex is formed in a PNA2:RNA stoichiometry, due to the ability of the short PNA to hybridize with both halves of the original RNA quadruplex.
On the Toda shock problem

Abstract We consider the long time behavior of the (doubly infinite) Toda lattice under shock initial data, for the critical and subcritical case. Our method consists of analysing the Dyson formula for the solution. The integrals in this formula are of Laplace type and their behavior is extracted by solving a variational problem, in the spirit of the Lax-Levermore-Venakides method. The final answer is obtained by identification with a particular (modulated) algebro-geometric solution of the Toda lattice. We also consider the long-time behaviour of the Toda lattice under a local perturbation of the initial data in the supercritical case. Our asymptotics are identified with a degenerate algebro-geometric solution. Physically, we see solitons in a periodic background.
Review of current developments in terrain characterization and modeling

As computational power builds to meet the needs of ground vehicle designers, the focus has begun to shift from laboratory testing of prototype parts and subsystems to computational simulations of the vehicle. In the automotive and defense industries, large strides have been made in simulating full vehicle responses, such as durability. These simulations are most meaningful when excited by proper mathematical models that accurately characterize the terrain. It is important to understand the roughness indices that are used to judge the terrain profiles. The state-of-the-art in terrain characterization and modeling is reviewed in this work for models including Power Spectral Density (PSD), Markov Chains, Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average (ARIMA), Parametric Road Spectrum (PRS), Shifted Spatial Range Spectrum (SSR), Direct Spectrum Estimation (DSE) and Transformed Direct Spectrum Estimation (TrDSE). The applicability, limitations, and benefits of these models are assessed based on their effectiveness in capturing the stochastic nature of the terrain being characterized. A discussion of terrain characterization usage to advance reliability testing concludes this work as an example of the applicability of this technology.
An analytic solution for the temperature distribution in flow through porous media in narrow gaps: i – linear injection

The paper examines the temperature distribution during non-isothermal saturated flow through the porous media, with composite materials processing as the application that can immediately benefit. The analytic solution is provided for linear and radial flow. This solution includes the influence of transient effects, viscous dissipation and simplified internal heat generation. The solution analyzes the importance of the above mentioned effects. It shows, both by the analytic expression and numerical example, that a fairly accurate low order approximation of the temperature profile is possible everywhere except in the closest vicinity of the inlet.
Top management tenure, corporate ownership structure and the magnitude of golden parachutes

This study investigates top management tenure, corporate ownership structure and board composition as predictors of different aspects of golden parachute magnitude: size and the number of executives covered. We found that golden parachute contracts involve higher levels of payment (in years' compensation) when top management is longer-tenured, both in absolute number as well as relative to directors. Golden parachutes are found to extend to fewer executives when non-management-owned blocks of stock are highly concentrated and when the level of management-owned stock is relatively low. The research points to the importance of examining ownership structure, board subcommittee composition and top executive tenure when researching decisions made by corporate boards.
Ion Chromatography of Soluble Cr(III) and Cr(VI)

Ion chromatography coupled with a conductivity detector was used to investigate the analysis of Cr(III) and Cr(VI) in aqueous samples. An IC methodology for Cr(III) was developed using a cation column and an eluent containing tartaric acid, ethylenediamine, and acetonitrile at pH 2.9. The detection limit of this method can reach 0.1 ppm level with good precision. Several operational parameters were evaluated during the regular use of the method. Comparison of the IC method with AA method showed good agreement between the two methods. The anion exchange column was used for Cr(VI) determination. The best results were obtained with an eluent containing sodium gluconate, borate buffer, glycerin, and acetonitrile. The retention time for the Cr207 2 - sample was 11 min. and the calibration curve was linear between 1.0 and 100 ppm.
Harmonic oscillator Franck—Condon factors for the ionization of N2O

Abstract Harmonic oscillator Franck—Condon factors have been calculated for the ionization of N 2 O. The Franck—Condon factors are quite sensitive to the form of the valence force field for the ion. The results are in fair agreement with experimental values obtained by photoelectron spectroscopy.
Lymphocyte antigens in patients with Down's syndrome.

Summary The present study was designated to test whether surface antigenicity would be reduced in patients with Down's syndrome as a reflection of diminished protein synthesis in response to stimulators of cellular immunity. Leukocyte typing was carried out on lymphocytes from 23 Caucasian children and 13 Japanese children, all with Down's syndrome. It was found that the lymphocytes from patients with Down's syndrome reacted less frequently than the control group in the microcytotoxicity test. Furthermore, in 6 families available for full study, patients with Down's syndrome showed marked deletions of the expected HL-A haplotype. The findings of diminished antigen reactivity may be related to the phenomenon of triploidy.
Characteristics and regulation of the ovarian cycle in vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops).

This study was designed to evaluate the timecourse of ovarian and pituitary endocrine events throughout the menstrual cycle in the vervet monkey, and whether circulating luteinizing hormone (LH) or the uterus regulates the functional lifespan of the vervet corpus luteum. Daily saphenous blood samples were collected from adult females (1) during spontaneous menstrual cycles (n = 7), and (2) during cycles in which a gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist (acyline) was administered for 3 days at midluteal phase (n = 3), and (3) for 30 days following recovery from hysterectomy (n = 4). Estradiol (E) and progesterone (P) levels were assayed using electrochemoluminescent assays. Gonadotropin levels were measured by radioimmunoassay using reagents developed for the assay of follicle-stimulating hormone and LH in macaques. Spontaneous cycles exhibited a midcycle E rise (476±49 pg/ml), engendering an LH surge, 12±1 days after onset of menses, followed by a luteal phase with peak P levels of 4.7±0.9 ng/ml. Histologic evaluation of the ovaries at late follicular phase or early luteal phase revealed the presence of a single, large Graafian follicle or developing corpus luteum, respectively. Acyline treatment caused a significant (P<0.05) decline in P levels (2.9±0.5 vs 0.5±0.3 ng/ml, 0 vs 48 h post-treatment) and premature menstruation compared with untreated controls (P<0.05). Hysterectomy had no apparent effect on the monthly pattern or levels of circulating E or P. Thus, the characteristics and regulation of the ovarian cycle in vervets appear similar to those in women and macaques, with cyclicity dependent on pituitary gonadotropin hormones and independent of a uterine luteolytic factor. Am. J. Primatol. 69:890–900, 2007. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Conical sandstone landforms cored with clastic pipes in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, southeastern Utah

Abstract Clusters of conical sandstone landforms, many with summit weathering pits, have developed on barren outcrops of the Jurassic Entrada Sandstone in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, southeastern Utah. The conical landforms have developed on cylindrical bodies of fluidized sandstone (clastic pipes) that typically have near-vertical contacts with the enclosing cross-bedded, eolian sandstone. These landforms vary in size and shape due chiefly to differential erosion of the clastic pipe relative to the enclosing sandstone. The greater resistance to weathering of the clastic pipes is due in part to their higher content of calcite cement. Conical, pipe-cored landforms develop progressively from low domes to cones as high as 70 m. Some of the clastic pipes have relatively soft cores and resistant contacts, leading to the development of conical landforms with summit weathering pits. With time, the size of these pits increases as does the relief of the conical landform. The summit pits are as deep as 16 m and have width–depth ratios as low as 1.5. The resistant rims of these pits are due in part to calcite-enriched pipe contacts. Sandy pit-floor sediment is removed principally by strong wind rotors and vortices. Intense eolian activity in and near the landforms is indicated by abrasional features and pit-floor sand dunes. Factors that promote the development of these conical landforms include (i) the presence of clastic pipes, some with relatively soft cores; (ii) porous, friable, fine-grained pipe and host sandstones; (iii) aridity; (iv) strong winds; and (v) virtually sediment-free, unvegetated bedrock outcrops.
Enzyme activities in reclaimed coal mine spoils and soils

Abstract The segregation and stockpiling of topsoil material may reduce enzymatic activities that may hider normal nutrient cycling processes in reclaimed minelands. The effects of topsoiling and reclamation age on dehydrogenase, nitrogenase, phosphatase, arylsulphatase, amylase, cellulase, invertase and urease activities were evaluated on three reclaimed non-top-soiled and five reclaimed topsoiled areas and compared with an undisturbed reference soil. Three months after topsoiling and revegetation, activities of the enzymes in the reclaimed areas, with the exception of dehydrogenase, were statistically equal to activities of the undisturbed soil. Most enzymes, including dehydrogenase, peaked in the next 1 or 2 years after reclamation with topsoiling and declined thereafter. A 4-year-old topsoiled site (revegetated in 1978) was statistically similar to the undisturbed soil. Amylase activity, however, was significantly lower after the fourth year compared to the undisturbed soil. The non-topsoiled areas, even after 6, 7 and 8 years, appeared to have lower enzyme activities than the younger topsoiled areas or the undisturbed soil. This trend was supported by the finding that the 4-year-old topsoiled site was more enzymatically similar to the undisturbed soil than was the 8-year-old non-topsoiled site (revegetated in 1974). The low enzyme activities found in the non-topsoiled areas may be a result of their adverse chemical and physical properties, as well as the low diversity of microorganisms. These studies demonstrate the value of topsoil use for early establishment of soil processes in reclaimed areas.
Effectiveness of technology education learning activities on the improvement of spatial skills

A skill set important to student success in engineering studies is spatial skills. It is important, therefore, to provide opportunities to improve these skills in the curriculum. Research has demonstrated that spatial skills are trainable, and the subsequent literature on initiatives and interventions is robust. We are interested in validating earlier research on the efficacy of traditional technology education learning activities, such as technical drawing, on the improvement of spatial skills. The results indicate that technical and perspective drawing and projects involving the manipulation of 3D objects contribute to improvements in spatial skill levels. These findings do validate previous work. The re-investigation of “old school” interventions may be of particular interest to P-12 engineering educators working with constrained resources.
Spectral holeburning by population storage in metastable zeeman and optical sublevels of the Nd3+ ion

Abstract Spectral holeburning by population storage in the Zeeman sublevels of Nd 3+ in LaF 3 has been demonstrated at 1.8K. From the position of the holes and antiholes the g-values of the lowest components of the 4 I 9/2 and 4 G 5/2 manifolds are separately determined to be 2.41 and 1.07, respectively. Hole recovery is due to spectral diffusion between different Nd 3+ ions in the ground state. In LaCl 3 :Nd 3+ on the other hand, population is stored in the long lived 4 I 11/2 metastable state.
Processes and time-scales of energy loss of low-energy electrons (<5 eV) in liquid water

Abstract The various processes responsible for the energy degradation and eventual thermalization of low-energy subexcitation electrons ( −11 –10 −12 s for liquid water at room temperature. Chief among these are intramolecular vibrational and rotational excitation, dielectric interaction and excitation of intermolecular vibration through H-bond stretching and bending. Cross-sections for these processes are taken from experiments or derived theoretically. Individual time scales are obtained for subexcitational and subvibrational regimes in water at room and higher temperature.
The entropically favored osmotic "compression" of sickle cell hemoglobin gels.

Contrary to the accurate, hard-sphere depiction of monomeric hemoglobin in solution, sickle cell hemoglobin (HbS) polymerization/gelation requires attention to molecular interactions. From the temperature dependence of the osmotic compressibility of HbS gels, we were able to extract the entropy increase for concentrating HbS in this phase. Normalized per mole of water removed, the entropy increase from gel compression DeltaS(gel) is four times the previously measured DeltaS(trans), for the transition from monomeric HbS solution to HbS gel. The positive entropy change cannot emerge from the assembly of hard spheres but can indicate remodeling of HbS fibers driven by release of ordered water. The fourfold difference in DeltaS(gel) and DeltaS(trans) suggests that the act of initial fiber/gel formation from monomeric solution differs from the process of further polymerization due to tighter packing within the gel phase.
Toward better representations of sound with cochlear implants

This statement by Professor Rainer Klinke in 1978 was not the first criticism of efforts to develop a treatment for deafness using electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve. Klinke was accompanied and preceded by a chorus of experts in otology and hearing science who proclaimed that such an idea was a fool’s dream. The cochlea, with its exquisite mechanical machinery, its complex arrangement of more than 15,000 sensory hair cells, and its 30,000 neurons, could not possibly be replaced by a crude and undifferentiated stimulation of many neurons en masse. The argument was a good one. However, the pioneers in the field persevered in the face of the vociferous criticism. Foremost among these pioneers was William F. House, who developed with Jack Urban the first cochlear implant system that could be safely applied over a patient’s lifetime and that generally provided an awareness of environmental sounds and an aid to lipreading1. This achievement was a huge step forward. The House system and other early systems used a single channel of processing to transform sound sensed by a microphone into patterns of electrical stimulation, as well as a single site of stimulation in or on the cochlea. Many or most surviving neurons were stimulated synchronously and in more or less the same way with the single site of stimulation. Only temporal information could be conveyed with these early implants, but it was enough to provide the aforementioned benefits, and Toward better representations of sound with cochlear implants
The relationship of cartilage canals to the initial osteogenesis of secondary centers of ossification

Initial osteogenesis of secondary centers of ossification in the humeral head of the dog was studied with serial sections, histochemistry, radiography and vascular injections. At birth this chondroepiphysis was found to be well vascularized by a network of cartilage canals. On the second day after birth the first morphological evidence of the secondary center of ossification was seen. This was in the form of multiple foci of calcification. Each focus of calcification occurred immediately adjacent to the glomerular end of a cartilage canal and not in an avascular matrix. The capillaries of the glomerulus were modified in the process and persisted as the blood supply to the secondary center of ossification. By four days of age the individual foci had coalesced into a single larger focus of calcification. This process of ossification was found to possess morphological similarities to that occurring at the metaphyseal side of the epiphyseal plate.
Decentralized Charging of Plug-In Electric Vehicles

Plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) are equipped with sizable batteries to replace fossil fuel with electric energy. The electric grid may be stressed when a large number of PEVs charge their batteries, especially during peak hours. This paper presents a PEV charging control algorithm, which achieves balance between the system-level objective (valley filling) and individual-level objective (full battery charging). In addition, grid frequency regulation is achieved through a two-level control algorithm, which ensures robustness and reduces reliance on conventional ancillary services. This two-level control algorithm is scalable because it is designed for decentralized implementation. In other words, the algorithm works with indefinite numbers of PEVs as long as the load is within the grid capacity.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Exploratory Study of the Operational Conditions of a Bell Model 205A-1 in USFS Service

In this paper, flight data of a USFS Bell Model 205A-1 is analyzed to study the operational conditions experienced by the helicopter. Usage of the helicopter, specifically the missions performed, is determined; as well as determining the magnitude and classification of vertical loads that occurred beyond normal operating conditions. As a result, it is determined that the helicopter was required to perform seven distinguishable types of missions; and within those missions, the helicopter experienced ten flight phase types, three of which were mission specific. Due to placement of the accelerometers in the nose of the aircraft, separation of gust and maneuver loads has been difficult. A method is presented to classify vertical loads into three categories based upon roll and pitch rates of the helicopter.
Toward a Normative Model of Promotional Decision Making

This paper presents a normative model of promotional decision making and reviews current literature in the model context. The model emphasizes the long-run impact of promotions and draws upon stochastic buyer-behavior model technology. In particular, a stochastic model is used to predict the level of brand acceptance obtained from a group of new triers attracted by a promotion---consumers with no recent use experience with the brand. This brand acceptance is made a function of the composition of the new-trier group. Finally, attention is focused upon the probability distribution of those attracted by the promotion, conditional on the nature of the promotion. This distribution is used to develop expressions for the expected long-term worth of a new-trier group attracted by a specific promotion.
Non-thermal dielectric barrier discharge plasma induces angiogenesis through reactive oxygen species

Vascularization plays a key role in processes such as wound healing and tissue engineering. Non-thermal plasma, which primarily produces reactive oxygen species (ROS), recently emerged as an efficient tool in medical applications. Liquids and endothelial cells were treated with a non-thermal dielectric barrier discharge plasma. Plasma treatment of phosphate buffered saline (PBS) and serum-free medium increased ROS concentration in a dose-dependent manner, with a higher concentration in serum-free medium. ROS concentration in cells peaked 1 hour after treatment. 4.2 J/cm2 increased cell proliferation, 2D and 3D migration, as well as tube formation. A fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) neutralizing antibody and ROS scavengers for hydrogen peroxide and hydroxyl radicals abrogated these angiogenic effects. Non-thermal plasma may be a potential tool for applying ROS in precise doses to enhance vascularization.
Parent perceptions of children's hospital safety climate

Background Because patients are at the frontline of care where safety climate is closely tied to safety events, understanding patient perceptions of safety climate is crucial. We sought to develop and evaluate a parent-reported version of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture and to relate parent-reported responses to parental need to watch over their child's care to ensure mistakes are not made. Methods Parents (n=172) were surveyed about perceptions of hospital safety climate (14 items representing four domains—overall perceptions of safety, openness of staff and parent communication, and handoffs and transitions) and perceived need to watch over their child's care. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to validate safety climate domain measures. Logistic regression was used to relate need to watch over care to safety climate domains. Results CFA indices suggested good model fit for safety climate domains. Thirty-nine per cent of parents agreed or strongly agreed they needed to watch over care. In adjusted models, need to watch over care was significantly related to overall perceptions of safety (OR 0.20, 95% CI 0.11 to 0.37) and to handoffs and transitions (0.25, 0.14 to 0.46), but not to openness of staff (0.67, 0.40 to 1.12) or parent (0.83, 0.48 to 1.45) communication. Conclusions Findings suggest parents can provide valuable data on specific safety climate domains. Opportunities exist to improve our safety climate's impact on parent burden to watch over their child's care, such as targeting overall perceptions of safety as well as handoffs and transitions.
Understanding decentralized forest governance: an application of the institutional analysis and development framework

This paper analyzes how local institutional arrangements shape outcomes in the increasingly decentralized policy regimes of the non-industrialized world. The goal is to evaluate local institutional strategies associated with effective forest governance. I use the Institutional Analysis and Development (IAD) framework to study the institutional conditions conducive to effective decentralized forest governance and how these relate to sustainability. The IAD-guided analysis allows me to formulate a series of testable hypotheses about which institutional factors influence the likelihood for successful governance outcomes in a decentralized context. I then test the hypotheses using recent empirical data from forestry-sector activities in 32 randomly selected municipal governments in Bolivia. Preliminary results suggest that local governance systems are more successful when the system’s governance actors enjoy favorable conditions for information exchange and learning.
A Humoral Immune Response Confers Protection against Haemophilus ducreyi Infection

Haemophilus ducreyi is the etiologic agent of the sexually transmitted genital ulcer disease chancroid. Neither naturally occurring chancroid nor experimental infection with H. ducreyi results in protective immunity. Likewise, a single inoculation of H. ducreyi does not protect pigs against subsequent infection. Accordingly, we used the swine model of chancroid infection to examine the impact of multiple inoculations on a host's immune response. After three successive inoculations with H. ducreyi, pigs developed a modestly protective immune response evidenced by the decreased recovery of viable bacteria from lesions. All lesions biopsied 2 days after the first and second inoculations contained viable H. ducreyi cells, yet only 55% of the lesions biopsied 2 days after the third inoculation did. Nearly 90% of the lesions biopsied 7 days after the first inoculation contained viable H. ducreyi cells, but this percentage dropped to only 16% after the third inoculation. Between the first and third inoculations, the average recovery of CFU from lesions decreased approximately 100-fold. The reduced recovery of bacteria corresponded directly with a fivefold increase in H. ducreyi-specific antibody titers and the emergence of bactericidal activity. These immune sera were protective when administered to naive pigs prior to challenge with H. ducreyi. These data suggest that pigs mount an effective humoral immune response to H. ducreyi after multiple exposures to the organism.
Current controversies in equine antimicrobial therapy

Summary Controversies exist regarding the use, misuse and potential overuse of antimicrobial treatments in foals and adults. When antimicrobials are required for treatment of infectious diseases, veterinarians should follow a logical approach and not simply reach for the newest drug. Targeted, single drug therapy is probably best, and culture and sensitivity testing should be undertaken. The most likely infectious agent, potential drug toxicities, and age-appropriate dose and route should be considered. The development of an increasing number of different multiple drug resistant pathogens requires that veterinarians use antimicrobial drugs responsibly to protect veterinary patients and the public at large.
Enhancing interactive web applications in hybrid networks

Mobile Internet users have several options today including high bandwidth cellular data services such as 3G, that may be the choice for many. However, the ubiquity and low cost of WiFi suggests an attractive alternative, namely, opportunistic use of open WiFi access points (APs) or planned municipal mesh networks. Unfortunately, for vehicular users, the intermittent nature of WiFi connectivity makes it challenging to support popular interactive applications such as Web search and browsing.Our work is driven by two questions. 1) How can we enable system support for interactive web applications to tolerate disruptions in WiFi connectivity from mobile nodes? 2) Can opportunistic mobile-to-mobile (m2m) transfers enhance application performance over only using APs, and if so, under what conditions and by how much?We present Thedu, a system that enables access to Web search from moving vehicles. The key idea is to use aggressive prefetching to transform the interactive Web search application into a one-shot request/response process. We deployed a prototype of Thedu on the DieselNet testbed in Amherst, MA, consisting of transit buses averaging 21 on the road at a time. Our deployment results show that Thedu can deliver 4 times as many relevant web pages than not using Thedu. A bus receives relevant web pages with a mean delay of 2.3 minutes and within 0.55 minutes in areas with high AP density. Thedu augments AP connectivity with m2m transfers using a utility-driven DTN routing algorithm and uses caching to exploit query locality. Our analytic model and trace-driven simulations suggest that m2m routing yields little benefit over using APs alone even under moderately dense AP deployment such as in Amherst. With sparsely deployed APs as may be the case in rural areas, our conclusions are more mixed: m2m routing with caching improves the number of relevant responses delivered per bus by up to 58%, but the mean delay is significantly high at 6.7 minutes, calling into question its practicality for interactive applications.
Large-scale analysis of DNA methylation in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Aims: B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a heterogeneous malignancy that clinically ranges from indolent to rapidly progressive. CLL, like other cancers, can be affected by epigenetic alterations. Materials & methods: A microarray discovery-based study was initiated to determine DNA methylation in CLL cases with a range of CD38 expression (1–92%). Results: Many loci were either methylated or unmethylated across all CD38 levels, but differential methylation was also observed for some genes. Genomic sequencing of DLEU7 confirmed extensive cytosine methylation preferentially in patient samples with low CD38 expression, whereas NRP2, SFRP2 and ADAM12 were more commonly methylated in those with high CD38 expression. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that CLL is affected by CpG island methylation in some genes that segregate with CD38 expression levels, while most others show similar methylation patterns across all levels. The CpG island methylation in certain functional gene groups and pathway-asso...
MAKING DECISIONS ABOUT SAFETY IN CLINICAL TRIALS - THE CASE FOR INFERENTIAL STATISTICS

While not required for every adverse event, inferential statistical methods can be used both formally and informally to help characterize the safety profile of a new drug and help guide the resulting inferences to the broader population. Examples of probability statements will be shown when used both formally and informally. The particular setting or phase of clinical drug development dictates to some degree whether description with or without formal inference is appropriate.
Neuromuscular activity blockade induced by muscimol and d-tubocurarine differentially affects the survival of embryonic chick motoneurons.

To understand better how spontaneous motoneuron activity and intramuscular nerve branching influence motoneuron survival, we chronically treated chicken embryos in ovo with eitherd-tubocurarine (dTC) or muscimol during the naturally occurring cell death period, assessing their effects on activity by in ovo motility measurement and muscle nerve recordings from isolated spinal cord preparations. Because muscimol, a GABAA agonist, blocked both spontaneous motoneuron bursting and that elicited by descending input but did not rescue motoneurons, we conclude that spontaneous bursting activity is not required for the process of normal motoneuron cell death. dTC, which rescues motoneurons and blocks neuromuscular transmission, blocked neither spontaneous nor descending input-elicited bursting and early in the cell death period actually increased burst amplitude. These changes in motoneuron activation could alter the uptake of trophic molecules or gene transcription via altered patterns of [Ca2+]i, which in turn could affect motoneuron survival directly or indirectly by altering intramuscular nerve branching. A good correlation was found between nerve branching and motoneuron survival under various experimental conditions: (1) dTC, but not muscimol, greatly increased branching; (2) the removal of PSA from NCAM partially reversed the effects of dTC on both branching and survival, indicating that branching is a critical variable influencing motoneuron survival; (3) muscimol, applied with dTC, prevented the effect of dTC on survival and motoneuron bursting and, to a large extent, its effect on branching. However, the central effects of dTC also appear to be important, because muscimol, which prevented motoneuron activity in the presence ofdTC, also prevented the dTC-induced rescue of motoneurons.
3-Naphthyl-4-Quinazolone Infrared and Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Band Assignments

Abstract The ir and nmr spectra of 24 3-naphthyl-4-quinazolones were examined. There are three principal ir bands in the 1500 and 1705 cm−1 region of the spectra. The first at 1685–1705 cm−1 is assigned to the tertiary amide carbonyl (ArCONR2), the second at 1593–1645 cm−1 to the anil chromophore (ArN=C-N) and the third to the naphthalene ring at 1600 cm−1. The nmr band assignments are straight forward.
Polygyny among the Tsimane of Bolivia: an improved method for testing the polygyny-fertility hypothesis.

The polygyny-fertility hypothesis states that polygyny is associated with reduced fertility for women and is supported by a large body of literature. This finding is important, because theoretical models of polygyny often differentiate systems based on the degree to which women are forced or will- ingly choose to enter polygynous marriages. The fact that polygyny tends to be associated with reduced fertility has been presented as evidence that polygyny is often less favourable for women, and that women must, there- fore, be pressured into accepting such arrangements. Previous studies, however, have been hampered by the non-random assignment of women into monogamous and polygynous unions (i.e. self-selection), as differences between these groups of women might explain some of the effects. Further- more, the vast majority of such studies focus on sub-Saharan populations. We address these problems in our analysis of women's fertility in polygy- nous marriages among the Tsimane of Bolivia. We offer a more robust method for assessing the impact of polygynous marriage on reproductive outcomes by testing for intra-individual fertility effects among first wives as they transition from monogamous to polygynous marriage. We report a significant link between polygyny and reduced fertility when including all cases of polygyny; however, this association disappears when testing only for intra-individual effects.
The interactions of glyoxals with proteins and DNA in relation to cancer

The interactions of glyoxal and methyl glyoxal with formamide, as a prototype of the peptide bond, and with DNA bases arc investigated using the cndo/2 method. For electron charge transfer to occur from the form-amide to the glyoxal, a stacked structure is needed. An unexpected planar hydrogen-bonded structure between the two molecules involving the regular hydrogen bond and a “pseudo hydrogen bond”, which involves the aldehydic proton of glyoxal and the oxygen atom of formamide, is found. Such a “hydrogen-bonded” arrangement is perfect geometrically for interaction with all four DNA bases. By exerting a competitive effect on base pairing between adenine and uracil (thymine), such interactions can account for the “brakelike” action of the glyoxals on cell proliferation, and hence cancerous growth, suggested by Szent-Gyorgyi.