cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Immunotherapy with autologous white cell infusions (“lymphocytes”) in the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma multiforme. A preliminary report

Autologous leukocytes (107 to 109), obtained with the Haemonetics's Leukaphoresis apparatus, were inoculated directly into recurrent glioblastoma tumors via indwelling catheters or by direct intratumoral injection through existing craniotomy openings. The rational use for autologous leukocyte (lymphocyte) infusions was based on in vitro autologous lymphocyte cytotoxicity to glioblastoma cells in the absence of serum inhibitory factors. Seven of 17 patients treated had life expectancy under 1 month; all patients had received definitive surgery, and all but two received radiation, nitrosourea chemotherapy and/or dexamethasone, and showed evidence of clinically recurrent disease. Following autologous leukocyte infusion (lymphocyte/granulocyte ratio 1:1), eight patients sustained clinical improvement and were alive up to 17 months later. No neurotoxicity ascribable to the procedure has been observed. One patient, who was comatose at the time of single leukocyte infusion, returned to full activity and lived for 17 months without an increase in tumor mass by brain scan. These results suggest that infusions of autologous leukocytes (lymphocyte-monocytes) directly into glioblastoma may be a viable additional treatment for glioblastoma and certainly warrants further evaluation.
Pathovars or Formae speciales of Microbotryum violaceum Differ in Electrophoretic Karyotype

Isolates of the basidiomycete phytopathogen, Microbotryum violaceum (Pers.: Pers.) Deml & Oberw. (Ustilago violacea [Pers.] Roussel), are restricted in their host range to one or a few species of Caryophyllaceae (Pinks). Thus, the 200-plus species that serve as hosts for M. violaceum define pathovars or formae speciales of the fungus. For both a1 and a2 sporidial mating-type strains of different formae speciales of M. violaceum electrophoretic karyotypes and chromosomal polymorphisms were examined using CHEF gel analysis and 12-15 distinct bands were visualized. The bands, representing intact chromosomes, ranged in size from ca. 0.97 to 5.7 megabase pairs (Mb) for the pathovar that infects Silene latifolia. Their chromosome numbers were consistent with the numbers of linkage groups (14-20) identified by genetic analysis. Several size polymorphisms were detected within this forma specialis, and some dramatic polymorphisms were observed between different formae speciales. Southern analyses with the genes fo...
The effect of sample imperfections in wavelength-scanning polarization-modulation ellipsometry

Abstract A phenomenological description of the effect of sample imperfection in wavelength-scanning polarization-modulation ellipsometry (WSPME) is presented. Such effects are shown to be highly significant in experiments on dielectric samples (i.e., a cleaved KCl surface). A simple experimental method, analogous to zone-averaging in null ellipsometry, is described whereby error induced by both sample and apparatus imperfections can be reduced.
Near-patient measurements of methemoglobin, oxygen saturation, and total hemoglobin: Evaluation of a new instrument for adult and neonatal intensive care

OBJECTIVES a) To evaluate the performance of a compact, new instrument that uses disposable cuvettes to measure total hemoglobin concentration, oxygen content, and the relative concentrations of oxy- and methemoglobin in 50-microL blood samples; b) to determine whether the instrument can be used for near-patient assessment of methemoglobinemia; and c) to ascertain whether problems commonly encountered in neonatal blood samples affect the instrument's performance. DESIGN Prospective study, in which the test instrument was compared with a standard method. Samples of whole blood with and without bilirubin, fetal hemoglobin, and hemolysis were analyzed on the new (test) instrument and on a widely used cooximeter (OSM3 hemoximeter, Radiometer; reference instrument). SETTING In vitro analyses of blood samples in clinical and university laboratories. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS There was a close linear correlation between the methomoglobin measurements of the test instrument and those measurements of the reference instrument (slope = 0.989; r2 = .989). The average difference in mean assay values between the reference instrument and the test instrument was -0.59%, i.e., < 1% methemoglobin. Repeated measurements indicated the precision was 0.5% methemoglobin. Complete hemolysis of the sample reduced the methemoglobin reading by only 0.40%. Adding bilirubin (10 to 11 mg/dL [171 to 188.1 mumol/L]), increased the methemoglobin reading by 0.23%, increased the oxyhemoglobin reading by 0.45%, and increased total hemoglobin by 0.21 g/dL. Fetal hemoglobin also had minimal effects on the readings. CONCLUSIONS The test instrument is fast and easy to operate. No sample preparation or pipetting is required. To operate the instrument, the user simply connects a syringe containing the blood sample to one of the disposable cuvettes, injects 50 microL of blood into the cuvette, and inserts the cuvette into the instrument. The test instrument automatically detects the presence of the cuvette, analyzes the sample, and displays the results in < 10 secs. The findings in this study indicate that the test instrument has sufficient accuracy for near-patient testing in intensive care units. The errors introduced by hemolysis, fetal hemoglobin, and bilirubin were too small to be of clinical importance. Thus, the test instrument is essentially unaffected by complications commonly encountered in neonatal blood. The capacity of the test instrument to measure methemoglobin makes it particularly useful if inhaled nitric oxide therapy becomes a standard clinical practice.
Correlation Synthetic Discriminant Functions for Object Recognition and Classification in High Clutter

Correlation synthetic discriminant functions (SDFs) represent a practical and novel extension of matched spatial filter (MSF) correlators for distortion-invariant multi-object and multi-class pattern recognition. This paper reviews the off-line synthesis of such filters and the advantageous features of correlation shape control that they provide. We then concentrate on extensive tests performed with these filters to assess their performance in the identification of ship images, subjected to 3-D distortions. The pattern recognition problem addressed involves multi-object, multi-class recognition with aspect distortion-invariance in the presence of clutter. An adaptive threshold is shown to allow recognition of objects in the presence of spatially-varying modulation. The noise performance of these filters is also found to be most excellent. Correct classification rates approaching 98% can be obtained with these correlation SDFs.
Periconceptional influences on offspring sex ratio and placental responses

Maternal diet and secondary factors can strikingly influence fetal outcomes, including biasing offspring sex ratio and altering the molecular biological responses of the conceptus, namely within the placenta. Alterations in the in utero environment might also lead to profound developmental origin of health and disease (DOHaD) outcomes into adulthood, including increased risk for cardiovascular disease, obesity and cancer, with males in general being at greater risk for these diseases. Female mice maintained on a very high fat (VHF) diet birth more sons than those on a chow-based and low fat (LF), high carbohydrate diet, with the latter group producing more daughters. However, neither the underlying mechanisms that contribute to this shift in offspring sex ratio nor when they occur during pregnancy have been resolved. In this review, we consider the evidence that maternal diet and other factors influence secondary sex ratio in a variety of species, including humans, and discuss when this skewing might occur. Additionally, we examine how fetal sex and maternal diet influences gene expression patterns in the mouse placenta, which serves as the primary nutrient acquisition and communication organ between the mother and her developing pups. These adaptations to diet observed as changes in gene expression are likely to provide insight into how the placenta buffers the fetus proper from environmental shifts in nutrient availability during pregnancy and whether male and female conceptuses respond differently to such challenges.
The role of zoos in breeding threatened species of mammals and birds in captivity

Abstract With the progressive elimination of natural habitats as the world's human population increases out of all bounds, some hope lies on the comparatively new concept of conservation of animals through breeding them in captivity. Thus zoos can make a vital contribution by maintaining viable stocks of species that are threatened with extinction in the wild. Several well-known animals, including the European Bison, owe their existence today to such captive breeding, although it is emphasized that the proper place to conserve a species whenever possible is in the wild. With captive breeding the ultimate aim should be to release the progeny in the species' natural habitats, for replenishment of wild populations. Young herbivores so released should not be too tame, and their predators have to be curtailed at least initially. Released predators have further problems, as they must be able to hunt effectively—which often involves considerable areas. The successful management in this respect of the European Eagle Owl in Sweden is described, as is the work of the British Ornamental Pheasant Trust. Of the 179 known families of birds, representatives of more than 75 families have been bred in captivity, while the proportion for mammals is far higher. The Federation of Zoological Gardens of Great Britain and Ireland have set up a Conservation and Breeding Committee to maintain a register of all the rare mammals and birds kept in member zoos, with special regard to species that are threatened with extinction and that they are accordingly encouraged to breed. The Committee maintains a ‘mating bureau’ of rare animals. Currently, zoos in the British Isles contain 93 species of mammals and 32 species of birds, totalling 1,194 specimens in all, that are in the Red Data Books or are considered likely to become dangerously rare soon.
Minor elevations in troponin T values enhance risk assessment in emergency department patients with suspected myocardial ischemia: analysis of novel troponin T cut-off values.

Abstract Background : A consensus document developed by a joint committee of the European Society of Cardiology and the American College of Cardiology redefines myocardial infarction (MI) using an increase of troponin I or T as compared to a reference control population (i.e., troponin T (TnT) of 0.01 μg/l). A clinical problem arises when an arbitrary cut-off point is selected for determination of MI (i.e., TnT≥0.1 μg/l), as minor elevations of troponin are associated with increased cardiovascular risk in selected patients with acute coronary syndromes. Methods : We prospectively studied 420 unselected patients being evaluated for suspected myocardial ischemia in the emergency department (ED). We compared a 99th percentile MI cut-off limit for TnT, determined by constructing a standard receiver operator curve from our ED population in whom an acute coronary syndrome was excluded, to a standard MI cut-off limit of 0.1 μg/l in assessing cardiovascular risk. We also assessed the prognostic value of detectable TnT concentrations below this 99th percentile MI cut-off, but above the upper reference limit of healthy controls. Results : The diagnosis of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) was more frequent in groups with higher TnT concentrations: 16.8% with a normal TnT ( p p Conclusion : Using an MI cut-off concentration for TnT from a “non-ACS reference” improves risk stratification, but fails to detect a positive TnT in 11.7% of subjects with an acute coronary syndrome.
Opening the black box: an analysis of the Russian economy

Abstract The article develops a simple framework for a discussion of the structure of property rights in the Russian economy. The framework suggests how barter and enterprise restructuring can be evaluated simultaneously with political motivation. Using the notion of politicians with inefficient control over the private sector, it also assesses the recent virtual economy hypothesis. It emphasizes the importance of incentives that were carried over from the Soviet era, which, it is suggested, must be duly considered while analyzing parametric changes in the Russian economy. This point is supported with the help of two examples at the end of the paper.
Temporal masking of a click by noise in diotic and dichotic listening conditions.

Forward, backward, and combined forward‐backward masking of a 1‐msec click by noise bursts were examined for N0S0 and N0Sπ stimulus configurations. The silent interval between the noise masker and the click ranged from 0 to 30 msec for forward and backward masking conditions. For combined forward‐backward masking, the silent interval between the two noise maskers ranged from 1 to 60 msec, and the click was positioned at various points within this interval. The results, which were consistent with previous reports, indicated that masking level difference (MLDs) are obtained for both forward and backward masking. The largest MLDs were obtained in the combined forward‐backward masking conditions. In both the N0S0 and N0Sπ stimulus configuration, the amount of masking in the combined forward‐backward masking conditions varied as much as 10 dB as the click was moved within the intermasker interval. The results of this study are compared with data from investigations of masking with forward and backward fringes....
Amniotic fluid exhibits an innate inhibitory activity against HIV type 1 replication in vitro.

Abstract Indirect evidence suggests that amniotic fluid (AF) may play a role in the pathogenesis of in utero HIV-1 transmission. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential innate inhibitory role of AF on HIV replication, which may contribute to protection of the fetus against intrauterine transmission. AF was collected from term HIV-1-negative women undergoing scheduled cesarean section. The inhibitory effect of AF against HIV-1BA-L replication was tested in vitro with or without the addition of protease inhibitor cocktail (PIC) in PHA-stimulated PBMC cultures. Quantitative measurement of human neutrophil peptides 1-3 (HNP1-3) was performed on all AF samples, using an ELISA assay. AF exhibited a dose-dependent inhibitory activity against HIV-1BA-L replication, with all samples (n=12) reaching significant inhibitory effect using 50% AF. In vitro, this activity decreased over time, but was able to be sustained with the addition of PIC. The HNP1-3 concentration in AF samples (n=12) ranged from u...
Electroabsorptive Fabry-Perot reflection modulators with asymmetric mirrors

A normally-on electroabsorptive surface-normal Fabry-Perot reflection modulator is reported with an on/off ratio of 22, insertion loss of 3.7 dB, and bandwidth of 3.4 nm for an operating voltage swing of 11 V. The asymmetric Fabry-Perot structure is made with asymmetric mirrors using a quarter-wavelength grating of 15 1/2-periods on the bottom and an air-semiconductor interface on the top. The active region is 1.4 mu m thick and composed of 100AA GaAs/100 A Al/sub 0.2/Ga/sub 0.8/As multiple quantum wells. The structure provides both high-efficiency and bandwidth for surface-normal modulators. >
Concurrent classical Hodgkin lymphoma and plasmablastic lymphoma in a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma treated with fludarabine: a dimorphic presentation of iatrogenic immunodeficiency-associated lymphoproliferative disorder with evidence suggestive of multiclonal transformability of B cells by Epstein-Barr virus

A small fraction of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma develop Epstein-Barr virus-positive B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders. These Epstein-Barr virus-B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders are thought to be related to immune suppression induced by fludarabine/other chemotherapeutic regimens. As in other immunodeficiency-associated lymphoproliferative disorders, these disorders demonstrate a heterogeneous histological spectrum that ranges from polymorphic to monomorphic to classical Hodgkin lymphoma-like lesions. We report a case of concurrent classical Hodgkin lymphoma and plasmablastic lymphoma in a patient with chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma treated with fludarabine. Both classical Hodgkin lymphoma and plasmablastic lymphoma were positive for Epstein-Barr virus-encoded RNA, whereas classical Hodgkin lymphoma was also positive for Epstein-Barr virus- latent membrane protein 1, suggesting a different viral latency. Immunoglobulin gene rearrangement studies demonstrated distinct clones in the plasmablastic lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma. These findings suggest biclonal secondary lymphomas associated with iatrogenic immunodeficiency. Epstein-Barr virus-B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders in the setting of chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma, in particular those arising after chemotherapy, should be separated from true Richter's transformation, and be categorized as (iatrogenic) immunodeficiency-associated lymphoproliferative disorder.
Comparative concurrent validities of five alcoholism measures in a psychiatric hospital

The concurrent validities of five self-report alcoholism measures were compared in a psychiatric hospital population using Diagnostic Interview Schedule (DIS) alcohol dependence module outputs as criterion. The Michigan Alcohol Screening Test was the most accurate identifier of alcohol dependence at some point in the subjects' life, while the CAGE interview best identified alcohol dependence in the previous year. The correlations of a quantity-frequency measure, the Clinical Signs checklist, and the Medical History questionnaire with DIS alcohol dependence module outputs were generally weaker. The data also suggested that cutting scores based on local norms may offer better hit rates in psychiatric settings than those proposed by the instruments' authors, but additional cross-validations are needed to confirm that possibility.
Welfare Impacts of Alternative Public Policies for Agricultural Pollution Control in an Open Economy: A General Equilibrium Framework

A general equilibrium approach is used to evaluate the welfare impacts of alternative policies for reducing agricultural pollution in an open economy with preexisting distortions caused by income taxes and agricultural subsidies. The policies examined here include the removal of distortionary agricultural subsidies. We find that even though these distortions are small compared to others in the economy, removing them and imposing nitrogen reduction subsidies and/or output taxes can enhance welfare and reduce nitrogen pollution; thereby leading to a substantial double dividend. The relative efficiency of the alternative policies examined here depends on the level of the nitrogen reduction target. Copyright 2008, Oxford University Press.
Physical assault by aggressive older adults

Aggressive and violent behavior is a problem throughout healthcare services (Behar et al ., 2008). The incidence of such acts is known to be over two and half times greater in mental health settings than in general hospital environments (National Audit Office, 2003). All types of aggression may have negative physical and psychological consequences for the victim, and therefore none ought not to be overlooked. However, one particularly serious feature is physical assault, which may result in a physical injury to the victim, although reported levels are relatively low (Stubbs et al ., 2009). Physical assault may also affect the psychological, emotional and spiritual well-being of health staff and a minority may go on to develop post-traumatic stress type symptoms (Needham et al ., 2005). Indeed, these symptoms may last longer than the original physical injury itself (Needham et al ., 2005).
The art of art history

Abstract Like any science, art history is based on certain assumptions proper to the discipline: that every work of art is an absolute and unique statement, that anything man‐made is a work of art, that everything in it is intended by its creator to be there, and that it includes within itself everything necessary for its own decipherment. Art is a form of communication and the art of art history lies in treating art as if it were a natural science of the spirit.
Genetic and biochemical analysis of the TLA1 gene in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

The Chlamydomonas reinhardtii genomic DNA database contains a predicted open reading frame (ORF-P) without an apparent stop-codon and unknown coding sequence, located in close proximity and immediately upstream of the TLA1 gene (GenBank Accession No. AF534570). The latter was implicated in the regulation of the light-harvesting chlorophyll antenna size of photosynthesis (Tetali et al. Planta 225:813–829, 2007). To provide currently lacking information on ORF-P and its potential participation in TLA1 gene expression, thus in the regulation of the chlorophyll antenna size, genetic and biochemical analyses were undertaken. The coding and UTR regions of the ORF-P were defined and delineated from those of the adjacent TLA1 gene. ORF-P is shown to encode a protein with a distinct RING-like zinc finger domain that is present in numerous eukaryotic proteins, believed to play a role in cellular ubiquitination, leading to regulation of cellular processes like signaling, growth, transcription, and DNA repair. It is further shown that the two genes share a 74-bp overlap between the 3′ UTR region of ORF-P and the 5′ UTR region of TLA1. However, they possess distinct start and stop codons and separate coding sequences, and transcribed as separate mRNAs without any trans-splicing between them. Complementation experiments showed that the TLA1 gene alone is sufficient to rescue the truncated chlorophyll antenna size phenotype of the tla1 mutant. Protein sequence alignments in C. reinhardtii and the colorless microalga Polytomella parva suggested that TLA1 defines the relationship between nucleus and organelle in microalgae, indirectly affecting the development of the chlorophyll antenna size.
Preliminary Experimental Analysis of Soil Stabilizers for Contamination Control

A major focus of Department of Energy's (DOE's) environmental management mission at the Hanford site involves characterizing and remediating contaminated soil and groundwater; stabilizing contaminated soil; remediating disposal sites; decontaminating and decommissioning structures, and demolishing former plutonium production process buildings, nuclear reactors, and separation plants; maintaining inactive waste sites; transitioning facilities into the surveillance and maintenance program; and mitigating effects to biological and cultural resources from site development and environmental cleanup and restoration activities. For example, a total of 470,914 metric tons of contaminated soil from 100 Areas remediation activities were disposed at the Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility (ERDF) during 2004. The Applied Research Center (ARC) at Florida International University (FIU) is supporting the Hanford's site remediation program by analyzing the effectiveness of several soil stabilizers (fixatives) for contamination control during excavation activities. The study is focusing on determining the effects of varying soil conditions, temperature, humidity and wind velocity on the effectiveness of the candidate stabilizers. The test matrix consists of a soil penetration-depth study, wind tunnel experiments for determination of threshold velocity, and temperature and moisture-controlled drying/curing experiments. These three set of experiments are designed to verify performance metrics, as well as provide insight into what fundamental forcesmore » are altered by the use of the stabilizer. This paper only presents the preliminary results obtained during wind tunnel experiments using dry Hanford soil samples (with 2.7% moisture by weight). These dry soil samples were exposed to varying wind speeds from 2.22 m/sec to 8.88 m/sec. Furthermore, airborne particulate data was collected for the dry Hanford soil experiments using an aerosol analyzer instrument. (authors)« less
Microwave heating of grain boundaries in ceramics

It has been suggested that enhanced sintering of ceramics by microwave heating may be the result of accelerated grainboundary diffusion caused by the grain boundaries being heated to temperatures significantly greater than the bulkspecimen temperature. Heat flow calculations show that the temperature difference between the grain boundary and grain interior will be a small fraction of a degree, even under extreme conditions.
Ordered nickel-iron-nitrogen phase produced by elevated temperature nitrogen ion implantation

Implantation of 1×1018N2+/cm2 at 60 keV ion energy into pure bcc-Fe held at 400°C during implantation yields the well-known ferromagnetic γ'-Fe4N ordered fcc compound with two inequivalent crystallographic sites, one of which consists of two different magnetic sites. These sites are readily identified via their hyperfine interaction parameters as detected by conversion electron Mossbauer spectroscopy of the near-surface layer. X-ray diffraction confirms the N sublattice ordering. Here, nitrogen implantation under identical conditions into a disordered fcc Ni0.8Fe0.2 alloy (permalloy) yields a paramagnetic phase with only one site defined by a rather large quadrupole interaction (1.15 mm/s). The X-ray pattern is clearly that of the ordered γ'-(Ni0.8Fe0.2)4N structure so we conclude that the Fe atoms occupy only the face-centered lattice sites where each can bond with two nearest-neighbour N atoms on opposite sides. Thus, additional ordering within the Ni-Fe sublattice has been induced by the elevated temperature implantation process. Post-implantation annealing at 400°C decomposes the γ' phase.
Fastest growing linear Rayleigh-Taylor modes at solid/fluid and solid/solid interfaces.

Previous linear stability analyses of the Rayleigh-Taylor instability problem for elastic solids have been restricted to calculating the cutoff wavelength ${\ensuremath{\lambda}}_{c}$ (zero growth rate) in the limit of Atwood number $A$ of unity. Here, we rigorously derive the dispersion relations for solid∕fluid and solid∕solid interfaces and perform a systematic investigation to compute the most unstable modes (maximum growth rate) for all $A$. After rationalizing the dispersion relations into multivariable polynomials, we compute the physically meaningful wavelength $\ensuremath{\lambda}$ and growth rate $\ensuremath{\sigma}$ for all unstable disturbances as a function of the mechanical properties of the participating media (shear moduli, dynamic viscosity, and density contrast) and acceleration. It is shown that at these interfaces, the onset of instability can only arise via monotonically growing disturbances. For solid∕fluid and solid∕solid interfaces, the locus of the most unstable wavelength ${\ensuremath{\lambda}}_{m}$ and growth rate ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{m}$ pairs are calculated to cover the entire range of behavior in dimensionless space. We find that under certain conditions, at solid∕fluid interfaces, two configurations with distinct $A$ can have the same ${\ensuremath{\lambda}}_{m}$ (a behavior that does not occur at solid∕solid interfaces). In terms of estimating ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{m},{\ensuremath{\lambda}}_{m}$, and ${\ensuremath{\lambda}}_{c}$, the applicability of our results extends to layers of finite thickness $h$ provided $hg\ensuremath{\lambda}∕2$. We suggest a plausible mechanism to explain the wavelength selection process in nominally smooth magnetically imploded liners observed in recent experiments.
Copulatory behavior and sexual reflexes of male rats treated with naloxone.

Abstract Two experiments explored a potential role for endogenous opiates in the regulation of sexual behavior of male rats. Specifically, we questioned whether such opiates regulated the refractory period following ejaculation during copulation, or the latency period for the evocation of penile reflexes (erections, cups, and flips) from supine males. Animals were injected IP with 15–45 mg/kg naloxone hydrochloride 30 min prior to the start of reflex testing, and with 7.5–45 mg/kg naloxone hydrochloride 30 min before testing for copulation. Naloxone resulted in a small but reliable decrease in the number of penile flips. Reflex latency and other measures of penile reflexes were unaffected. At all doses used, naloxone significantly prolonged the postejaculatory refractory period, and there were no other effects on copulation.
Mood swings: expressive speech animation

Motion capture-based facial animation has recently gained popularity in many applications, such as movies, video games, and human-computer interface designs. With the use of sophisticated facial motions from a human performer, animated characters are far more lively and convincing. However, editing motion data is difficult, limiting the potential of reusing the motion data for different tasks. To address this problem, statistical techniques have been applied to learn models of the facial motion in order to derive new motions based on the existing data. Most existing research focuses on audio-to-visual mapping and reordering of words, or on photo-realistically matching the synthesized face to the original performer. Little attention has been paid to modifying and controlling facial expression, or to mapping expressive motion onto other 3D characters.This article describes a method for creating expressive facial animation by extracting information from the expression axis of a speech performance. First, a statistical model for factoring the expression and visual speech is learned from video. This model can be used to analyze the facial expression of a new performance or modify the facial expressions of an existing performance. With the addition of this analysis of the facial expression, the facial motion can be more effectively retargeted to another 3D face model. The blendshape retargeting technique is extended to include subsets of morph targets that belong to different facial expression groups. The proportion of each subset included in a final animation is weighted according to the expression information. The resulting animation conveys much more emotion than if only the motion vectors were used for retargeting. Finally, since head motion is very important in adding liveness to facial animation, we introduces an audio-driven synthesis technique for generating new head motion.
Luminosity Function of Solar-Neighborhood OB Stars

The luminosity function of solar-neighborhood OB stars is derived from a sample of nearly 2600 such objects brighter than via a method that makes use of varying completeness-to-distance estimates m p 10 pg depending on the absolute magnitudes of the sample members and their (assumed) exponential density distribution perpendicular to the Galactic plane. The derived luminosity function is in good agreement with that published previously by Humphreys and McElroy over the range . The integrated Galactic plane density of 7 ! M ! 4 V OB stars within this range of absolute magnitudes is estimated at stars pc 3 , and the total number of 7 9.1 # 10 OB stars within the solar circle is estimated at ∼19,000. The predicted number of OB stars more massive than 20 solar masses within 2.5 kpc of the Sun, 636, is 50% greater than the value of 424 given earlier by Garmany et al., indicating that their sample was not as complete as they had assumed.
Structural unit in icosahedral MnAlSi and MnAl.

Experimental evidence from extended x-ray--absorption fine-structure measurements indicates that a cage of Mn atoms at the vertices of an icosahedron is the structural unit in the icosahedral MnSiAl and MnAl phases. The connections among these icosahedral units and between them and the Al atoms are different in the icosahedral and ..cap alpha.. phases. It is suggested that the i phase grows by randomly nucleating together Mn icosahedra along their twenty threefold directions, as allowed by local steric constraints.
An interaction between the Walker A and D-loop motifs is critical to ATP hydrolysis and cooperativity in bacteriophage T4 Rad50

The ATP binding cassette (ABC) proteins make up a large superfamily with members coming from all kingdoms. The functional form of the ABC protein nucleotide binding domain (NBD) is dimeric with ATP binding sites shared between subunits. The NBD is defined by six motifs: the Walker A, Q-loop, Signature, Walker-B, D-loop, and H-loop. The D-loop contains a conserved aspartate whose function is not clear but has been proposed to be involved in cross-talk between ATP binding sites. Structures of various ABC proteins suggest an interaction between the D-loop aspartate and an asparagine residue located in Walker A loop of the opposing subunit. Here, we evaluate the functional role of the D-loop using a bacteriophage T4 ABC protein, Rad50 (gp46). Mutation of either the D-loop aspartate or the Walker A asparagine results in dramatic reductions in ATP affinity, hydrolysis rate, and cooperativity. The mutant proteins bind Mre11 (gp47) and DNA normally, but no longer support the ATP-dependent nuclease activities of Mre11. We propose that the D-loop aspartate functions to stabilize the Walker A asparagine in a position favorable for catalysis. We find that the asparagine is crucially important to the mechanism of ATP hydrolysis by increasing the affinity for ATP and positioning the γ-phosphate of ATP for catalysis. Additionally, we propose that the asparagine acts as a γ-phosphate sensor and, through its interaction with the conserved D-loop aspartate, transmits conformational changes across the dimer interface to the second ATP binding site.
Length-Dependent Dielectric Polarization in Metallic Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes

A major driving force behind the research of SWNT electronic properties is their potential in nanoelectronic applications. It has been predicted and experimentally verified that the electronic properties of metallic and semiconducting SWNTs are dependent on their diameter and chirality. With the increase in the density of integration, the length of SWNTs used in electronic devices is approaching submicrometer and nanometer scales. It is thus necessary to understand how the length affects the properties of SWNTs besides chirality and diameter. Here, we report that the dielectric response of metallic SWNTs decreases with length. Experimental investigation and numerical modeling determine that the apparent decrease in longitudinal dielectric polarization is due to higher defect density in shorter nanotubes.
Development Of Instructional Optics Laboratories

ABSTRACTA survey was conducted to provide current information about the instructional optics laboratory courses atNorth American institutions offering bachelors and masters level optics programs. This paper gives theresults of the survey and provides examples of instructional optics lab development activity. Problems facingthe development of new instructional optics lab courses and refinement of existing instructional optics labcourses are discussed. 1. INTRODUCTIONBecause of the growth of the optical industry over the past several years, we have seen an increasingdemand for persons educated in optics. This demand has caused an increase in the number of B.S. and M.S.level optics educational programs offered and an increase in the numbers of students pursuing careers in optics. However, the resulting larger class sizes are at cross purposes with a typical instructionallaboratory environment. Ideally, lab courses should have a small number of students thus providing eachstudent with as much hands -on experience as possible. The labs can be run with larger numbers of students andstill maintain the desired hands -on experience if sufficient equipment is available but then faculty /teachingassistant time becomes an important consideration. Every institution must come to grips with these practicalproblems in designing curricula which meets the needs of the students and the industry who will ultimatelyhire these students.Two common questions facing science and engineering educators in designing optics curricula are:
1990 Horton Research Grants

Twenty-three Horton Research Grant proposals were received by AGU and evaluated by the committee (Mary Anderson, University of Wisconsin, Madison; John Bredehoeft, chairman, U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, Calif.; and Stephen Burges, University of Washington, Seattle). The proposals were of exceptionally high quality and covered a wide range of research areas.
Resonant scattering in the presence of an electromagnetic field

The theory of resonant reactions, in the projection-operator formulation of Feshbach, is generalized to account for the presence of an external electromagnetic field. The theory is used as the basis for the construction of low-frequency approximations for the transition amplitude. Results obtained here for scattering in a laser field confirm earlier versions of the low-frequency approximation when the resonances are isolated. However, if there are several closely spaced resonances additional terms must be included (their importance magnified by the appearance of near singularities) which account for the effect of radiative transitions between pairs of nearly degenerate resonant states. The weak-field limit of this result yields a low-frequency approximation for single-photon spontaneous bremsstrahlung which, through the inclusion of correction terms associated with closely spaced resonances, provides an improvement over the Feshbach-Yennie version derived some time ago. A separate treatment is required to deal with the limiting case of a static external field and this is worked out here in the context of a time-dependent formulation of the scattering problem. Linear and quadratic Stark splitting of the resonance positions, and resonance broadening due to the tunneling mechanism, are expected to play a significant role in the static limit and these effects aremore » included in the approximation derived here for the transition amplitude.« less
Relationships among isolates of oral haemophili as determined by DNA-DNA hybridization

In order to assess the relationships among strains of the genera Actinobacillus and Haemophilus, DNAs from 50 strains of these genera were isolated and purified. The guanine plus cytosine (G+C) content of DNAs from strains of Haemophilus segnis and Haemophilus para-influenzae were determined by thermal denaturation. DNA-DNA homologies were measured using labelled probes from one strain representing Haemophilus segnis (strain ATCC 10977), and two strains representing Haemophilus parainfluenzae (strains ATCC 9796 and ATCC 7901). Strains isolated as H. segnis had a G+C content of 39.0 to 42.9% and were 49–92% homologous with the ATCC 10977 DNA probe. All of the strains freshly isolated as H. parainfluenzae were 70–81% homologous with the ATCC 9796 DNA probe and had a G+C content of 34.9 to 38.3%. Strain ATCC 7901 was 11% homologous with the ATCC 9796 DNA probe, had a G+C content of 42.4%, and was 65–78% homologous to DNA from strains identified as Haemophilus aphrophilus and Haemophilus paraphrophilus. From these results we conclude that strain ATCC 7901 is a mislabelled strain of H. paraphrophilus. The results of multiple DNA-DNA hybridizations indicated that separate species designations were appropriate for H. segnis, H. parainfluenzae, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans (“Haemophilus actinomycetemcomitans”), and H. aphrophilus. H. aphrophilus and H. paraphrophilus were closely related organisms and did not fulfill the generally accepted criteria for designation as separate species.
Fabrication of Nanostructured Thin Films Using Porous Alumina Templates

We demonstrate a method for fabricating a variety of nanostructured metallic thin films by using one simple approach based on the use of anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) membrane as masking template. Highly-ordered large-area metallic nanopore- or nanotip-arrays (e.g., Ni, Ag, Au), with various sizes and shapes, were deposited onto AAO membranes through e-beam evaporation. Free standing nano-patterned metallic films were obtained after chemically removing the template and characterized using scanning electron microscopy and electrochemical methods. The nanostructured films will find use in a number of applications, such as plasmonics, electrochemical and biomedical analysis, and catalysis.
Surfactant-enhanced alkaline flooding: buffering at intermediate alkaline pH

An experimental investigation of buffered alkaline flooding system chemistry was undertaken to determine the influence of various species present on interfacial tension (IFT) as a function of pH and ionic strength. IFT was found to go through an ultralow minimum in certain pH ranges. This synergism results from simultaneous adsorption of un-ionized and ionized acid species on the interface
Structure of the Tsg101 UEV domain in complex with the PTAP motif of the HIV-1 p6 protein

The structural proteins of HIV and Ebola display PTAP peptide motifs (termed 'late domains') that recruit the human protein Tsg101 to facilitate virus budding. Here we present the solution structure of the UEV (ubiquitin E2 variant) binding domain of Tsg101 in complex with a PTAP peptide that spans the late domain of HIV-1 p6Gag. The UEV domain of Tsg101 resembles E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes, and the PTAP peptide binds in a bifurcated groove above the vestigial enzyme active site. Each PTAP residue makes important contacts, and the Ala 9-Pro 10 dipeptide binds in a deep pocket of the UEV domain that resembles the X-Pro binding pockets of SH3 and WW domains. The structure reveals the molecular basis of HIV PTAP late domain function and represents an attractive starting point for the design of novel inhibitors of virus budding.
Mechanism of laser-induced drug delivery in tumors

Penetration of anti-cancer drugs (especially macromolecular agents) from blood in tumor cells is limited due to the presence of physiological barriers: tumor capillary wall, slow diffusion in the interstitium, and cancer cell membrane. Interaction of exogenous nano- or microparticles with laser or ultrasonic radiation may enhance drug delivery in tumor cells due to laser- or ultrasound-induced cavitation. Our previous studies demonstrated enhanced delivery of model macromolecular anti-cancer drugs in tissues in vitro when laser or ultrasonic radiation is applied. In this paper, we studied laser-induced cavitation in suspension of strongly absorbing particles and laser-enhanced drug delivery in human colon tumors of nude mice in vivo. Cavitation kinetics and thresholds were measured for carbon and colored polystyrene particle suspensions. Histological examination of control and irradiated tumors with fluorescent microscopy demonstrated that Q-switched Nd:YAG laser irradiation enhances delivery of a model macromolecular drug (FITC-dextran) in tumor blood vessel and interstitium. Enhanced delivery of an anti-cancer drug (5-FU) that is currently used in clinics resulted in tumor necrosis and inhibited tumor growth. Results of our studies suggest that the drug delivery enhancement is due to cavitation produced by local heating of particles with pulsed laser radiation.
Thievery, home ranges, and nestmate recognition inEctatomma ruidum

Thievery of food items among colonies of a ponerine ant,Ectatomma ruidum was common; nonnestmates in colonies or near the colony entrances receive incoming food items and carry them to their own colony. In our study area 7 of 10 colonies were victimized by thief ants. Colonies have discrete home ranges and home range size is correlated with the number of workers in the colony. Worker ants discriminate nestmates from non-nestmates when non-nestmates are presented at colony entrances, but individuals from different colonies were not observed to engage in agonistic interactions away from nest entrances. Non-nestmates gain entrance to colonies when the entrance is unguarded. Many instances of non-nestmates being removed from colonies by residents were observed. The costs and benefits of theft under these circumstances are considered.
STRONGLY EMISSIVE ERBIUM-DOPED TIN OXIDE NANOFIBERS DERIVED FROM SOL GEL/ELECTROSPINNING METHODS

One-dimensional nanofibers of tin oxide doped with erbium can be readily prepared by a combination of sol gel condensation processing and electrospinning. Such structures are strongly emissive in the near-infrared at 1540 nm whose intensity is directly proportional to erbium concentration. A combination of electron microscopies, selected area electron diffraction, and X-ray diffraction reveal a polycrystalline structure for a given one-dimensional nanofiber whereby the erbium influences nanocrystal feature size.
A kinetic approach to cellular interaction in delayed-type hypersensitivity.

Abstract The virus plaque assay for enumerating antigen-sensitive cells in delayed-type hypersensitivity has been employed in a kinetic analysis of cell interaction in vitro. When cultures are initiated at varying cell densities of tuberculin-sensitive guinea pig, or human lymphocytes, and logarithmic plots of the cell dose versus response in virus-plaque-forming cells are made, the slopes of the resulting lines indicate theoretically the number of cellular interactions required to produce an observable virus plaque-forming cell. In control cultures, i.e., sensitized lymphocytes cultured in the absence of antigen, or non-sensitized lymphocytes cultured in the presence or absence of tuberculin, the number of cells able to produce virus plaques varied directly proportionately with the number of cells cultured (m = 1), and constitute the background. In contrast, in the case of sensitized human peripheral blood lymphocytes or guinea pig lymph node cells stimulated by tuberculin, the average slope was found to be two (m = 2), indicating that interaction of two cells was required to produce one virus plaque-forming cell. When increasing concentrations of sensitized lymphocytes were diluted with syngeneic unsensitized cells, the results indicated that only one of the interacting cells was specific for antigen. Removal of a glass-adherent population diminished the number of plaque-forming cells, and reconstitution of purified glass-adherent cells was partially able to restore the activity. These results are consistent with the view that activation of lymphocytes by specific antigens requires two cells, one of which has specificity, the other of which acts non-specifically and is glass-adherent.
Barbershop Cuisine: African American Foodways and Narratives of Health in the Black Barbershop

Exploring foodways as part of a cultural system of the Black barbershop, points to the ways in which community considers dietary behavior, ascribes meanings associated with food, constitutes the social structure and material culture affecting food, and instantiates the historical factors that contribute to the persistence or change in food behavior. By centering the role of foodways in the performativity of Black men’s food habits of acculturation, this paper illuminates cardiovascular screening as a health literacy intervention in Black barbershops. The role of health in the sustenance of Black men reveals unique dimensions of the intersections of food and performance. This paper locates the Black barbershop as a ritualized space of health and healing. Barbers are redefining their role in the African American community by crafting the barbershop as a critical space for performing health care intervention of treatment and control of high blood pressure among Black men.