cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Inhibition of Viral Replication by Ribozyme: Mutational Analysis of the Site and Mechanism of Antiviral Activity

A controlled mutational study was used to determine the site and mechanism of the antiviral action of ribozymes that inhibit Sindbis virus replication. A hairpin ribozyme targeting G575 of the Sindbis virus genomic RNA was designed and cloned into a minimized alphavirus amplicon vector. Cells that were stably transfected with this construct expressed low levels of a constitutive transcript containing the ribozyme plus recognition sequences for Sindbis RNA replicase. Upon infection, the ribozyme transcript was amplified to high levels by the viral replicase, resulting in decreased viral production from infected ribozyme-expressing cells. Mutations were then introduced into the viral RNA target sequence to interfere with ribozyme binding, and compensatory changes were generated in the ribozyme recognition sequence. Single mutations in the virus or ribozyme decreased the efficacy of the ribozyme's inhibition of viral replication, and compensatory mutations restored it. To confirm that ribozyme-catalyzed RNA cleavage was actually needed for inhibition, we performed tests with a cell line expressing an inactivated ribozyme and with a virus containing a single nucleotide target mutation that allowed the ribozyme to bind but blocked cleavage at the recognition site. The results show that most of the antiviral activity of ribozymes is due to ribozyme-catalyzed cleavage at the targeted RNA sequence, but some additional inhibition seems to occur through an antisense mechanism.
Direct associative reinforcement learning methods for dynamic systems control

Abstract Most problems in learning to control dynamic systems involve learning under uncertainty, noise, and the lack of explicit instructional information about how to perform a task. Under these circumstances, techniques developed by artificial intelligence researchers for ‘learning from examples’, including the ‘supervised learning’ techniques studied by neural network researchers, are impractical because of the difficulty of obtaining training information (the ‘examples’) in the form of situation-action training pairs. A useful alternative in such situations is a learning technique that can discover appropriate actions in various situations through a search process that is guided by evaluative performance feedback. Reinforcement learning methods developed by neural network researchers are examples of such techniques. This paper focuses on direct reinforcement learning techniques and discusses their role in learning control by relating them to similar adaptive control methods. Several examples are also presented to illustrate the power and utility of direct reinforcement learning techniques for learning control.
Observation of Pretransitional Divergence of Shear Viscosity near a Smectic-A-Smectic-B Phase Transition

Strong pretransitional divergence of shear viscosity was observed for the first time near a smectic-$A$\char22{}smectic-$B$ phase transition by capillary shear flow with the layer normal perpendicular to both the flow velocity and velocity gradient. The results are inconsistent with a single power-law type of critical exponent and are suggestive of an essential singularity. Possible implications of the results for recently proposed models of the smectic-$B$ phase and mechanisms for smectic-$A$\char22{}smectic-$B$ phase transitions are discussed.
Methuselah and Company: A Case of Male Envy of Female Longevity

The Bible says that Methuselah, a direct descendent of Seth, the third born son of Adam and Eve, lived to the ripe old age of 969 years. On the assumption that this is a gross exaggeration, we asked ourselves why the writer (or writers) of the book of Genesis felt a need to exaggerate his age? On the basis of evidence that women live longer than men because they bear children and engage in maternal activities toward their offspring, we argue that the exaggerated ages of men in the Bible are a case of male envy of women because women have a longer life expectancy than men do. We suggest that this is an issue that is no less relevant to gender relations today. We propose that one way that men may deal with their envy of women is to assume the role of the “good-enough mother,” and that if this does not have the desired results, there is always humor.
Self-learning system for knowledge-based diagnoses of drill condition in fully automatic manufacturing system

One major bottleneck in the automation of the drilling process by robots in the aerospace industry is the drill condition monitoring. The effort in solving this problem has resulted in the development of an intelligent drilling machine to work with industrial robots. This computer- controlled drilling machine has five built-in sensors. Based on the pattern recognition of sensor outputs with sets of algorithms, an intelligent diagnostic system has been developed for on-line detection of and pin pointing of any one of the nine drill failures: chisel edge wear, margin wear, breakage, flank wear, crater wear, lip height difference, corner wear, and chip at lips. However, the complexity of the manufacturing process has many inherent factors which affect the criteria for the judgment of drill wear/breakage, such as drill size, drill material, drill geometry, workpiece material, cutting speed, feedrate, material microstructure, hardness distribution, etc. The self-learning system is therefore required and has been implemented, enabling the machine to acquire the knowledge needed to judge the drill condition regardless of the complex situation.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Three-dimensional jet tomography of twisted strongly coupled quark qluon plasmas

The triangular enhancement of the rapidity distribution of hadrons produced in $p+A$ reactions relative to $p+p$ is a leading order in (${A}^{1/3}/\mathrm{log}s$) violation of longitudinal boost invariance at high energies. In $A+A$ reactions this leads to a trapezoidal enhancement of the local rapidity density of produced gluons. The local rapidity gradient is proportional to the local participant number asymmetry and leads to an effective rotation in the reaction plane. We propose that three-dimensional jet tomography, correlating the long-range rapidity and azimuthal dependences of the nuclear modification factor ${R}_{\mathit{AA}}(\ensuremath{\eta},\ensuremath{\phi},{p}_{\ensuremath{\perp}};bg0)$, can be used to look for this intrinsic longitudinal boost violating structure of $A+A$ collisions to image the produced twisted strongly coupled quark gluon plasma. In addition to dipole and elliptic azimuthal moments of ${R}_{\mathit{AA}}$, a significant high ${p}_{\ensuremath{\perp}}$ octupole moment is predicted away from midrapidity. The azimuthal angles of maximal opacity and hence minima of ${R}_{\mathit{AA}}$ are rotated away from the normal to the reaction plane by an octupole twist angle ${\ensuremath{\theta}}_{3}(\ensuremath{\eta})$ at forward rapidities.
The Economic Returns to Social Interaction: Experimental Evidence from Microfinance

Microfinance clients were randomly assigned to repayment groups that met either weekly or monthly during their first loan cycle, and then graduated to identical meeting frequency for their second loan. Long-run survey data and a follow-up public goods experiment reveal that clients initially assigned to weekly groups interact more often and exhibit a higher willingness to pool risk with group members from their first loan cycle nearly two years after the experiment. They were also three times less likely to default on their second loan. Evidence from an additional treatment arm shows that, holding meeting frequency fixed, the pattern is insensitive to repayment frequency during the first loan cycle. Taken together, these findings constitute the first experimental evidence on the economic returns to social interaction, and provide an alternative explanation for the success of the group lending model in reducing default risk.
STRING FIELD THEORY

Although the methods of conformal field theory have given us a wealth of possible string vacuums and a framework in which to begin phenomenology, there are still severe deficiencies in this formulation. First, conformal field theory is necessarily a perturbative formulation. It is based on the first quantized string model propagating on various compactified manifolds. The problem is that the first quantized functional formulation [Eq. (1.2.1)] is based on the sum over conformally inequivalent Riemann manifolds of genus g, which yields a perturbative series of Feynman diagrams. The success of this formulation is that it yields a finite formulation of gravity interacting with quarks and leptons. However, its drawback is that millions of conformal field theories can be constructed using the methods presented in the previous chapters, and there is absolutely no concrete way in which to choose which, if any, of these millions of vacuums corresponds to our real world.
Occupational exposures to emissions from combustion of diesel and alternative fuels in underground mining-A simulated pilot study

Diesel fuel is commonly used for underground mining equipment, yet diesel engine exhaust is a known human carcinogen. Alternative fuels, including biodiesel, and a natural gas/diesel blend, offer the potential to reduce engine emissions and associated health effects. For this pilot study, exposure monitoring was performed in an underground mine during operation of a load-haul-dump vehicle. Use of low-sulfur diesel, 75% biodiesel/25% diesel blend (B75), and natural gas/diesel blend (GD) fuels were compared. Personal samples were collected for total and respirable diesel particulate matter (tDPM and rDPM, respectively) and total and respirable elemental and organic carbon (tEC, rEC, tOC, rOC, respectively), as well as carbon monoxide (CO), formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, naphthalene, nitric oxide (NO), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Compared to diesel, B75 use was associated with a 33% reduction in rDPM, reductions in rEC, tEC, and naphthalene, increased tDPM, tOC, and NO, and no change in rOC, CO, and NO2. Compar...
Mechanical Properties of Biopolymer Chains

Molecular simulations that predict the molecular mechanical response of alpha-helical biopolymers with a reinforcing intra-molecular hydrogen bonding network, viz,, a ‘spring-like’ behavior, are presented in this study. Mechanical properties of extended biopolymer strands based on naturally occurring amino acids, namely poly(L-A1a) and for comparison poly(LGlu), versus synthetic PPTA containing an amide bond, are compared to those assuming alpha-helical structures. Thus, the pivotal role of such motifs in biological systems utilizing superior compressive mechanical properties can be inferred.
A lemma on the multiarmed bandit problem

We prove a lemma on the optimal value function for the multiarmed bandit problem which provides a simple direct proof of optimality of writeoff policies. This, in turn, leads to a new proof of optimality of the index rule.
A memory-matrix-based identification methodology for structural and mechanical systems

SUMMARY This paper uses an associative memory approach to identify the properties of structural and mechanical systems. The methodology di⁄ers from standard identification methods in that it uses a set of parameter vectors simultaneously to generate the estimated parameter vector. The method develops a technique for sequentially generating genetically engineered relevant parameter vectors whose use results in accurate identification, while still using small data sets. This makes the approach promising for on-line, rapid, identification of structures and their health monitoring. ( 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Prospects for VGI Research and the Emerging Fourth Paradigm

This concluding chapter reflects on some of the core themes that crosscut the contributed chapters, and further outlines some of the stimulating and significant relationships between volunteered geographic information (VGI) and the discipline of geography. We argue that future progress in VGI research depends in large part on building strong linkages with a diversity of geographic scholarship. We situate VGI research in geography’s core concerns with space and place and offer several ways of addressing persistent challenges of quality assurance in VGI. We develop an argument for further research on the heterogeneous social relations through which VGI is produced and their implications for participation, power, and collective or civic action. The final two sections, closely related, position VGI as part of a shift toward hybrid epistemologies and potentially a fourth paradigm of data-intensive inquiry across the sciences.
Technologically Assisted Instruction and Student Mastery, Motivation, and Matriculation:

Computer-based teaching methods can improve the transfer of information, increase instructional fonts on conceptual and methodological skills, enhance motivation, and stimulate the development of expressive skills. After reviewing a number of studies of computer-based applications, we report a correlational study of psychology students' attitudes and achievement in an technologically enhanced classroom. The results indicated that (a) students rated the computer-based instructional components positively, (b) those with weak academic backgrounds who consistently used the technology achieved higher test scores than weak students who did not use the technology, and (c) students who dropped out of college the following semester tended to be low users of technology. We also discuss the implications of computer technology for teaching.
Bench-to-Bench Bottlenecks in Translation

Transfer of biopharmaceutical inventions between firms has bottlenecks in upstream development that suggest a role for repurposing mechanisms well before the clinical trials stage.
Subsidence of the Atlantic-type continental margin off New York

Abstract The continental margin off New York consists of a thick sequence of at least 4.8 km of mainly shallow-water sediments. Such large thicknesses of shallow-water sediments cannot be produced by the effects of sediment loading alone. We have used biostratigraphic data from the COST B-2 well to examine the origin of the subsidence of this margin. The contribution of sediment loading to the subsidence has been evaluated and removed. Corrections for effects of compaction, water depth and changes of sea-level were also included. The remaining subsidence has been interpreted in terms of a simple thermal model for the cooling lithosphere. Based on this model a thickness of the thermal lithosphere of 113–139 km is estimated. The total subsidence and crustal thinning beneath the COST B-2 well are also estimated and used to place constraints on models for the origin of the margin.
Optimal designs for covariates’ models☆

Abstract A linear model with one treatment at V levels and first order regression on K continuous covariates with values on a K-cube is considered. The D-criterion is used to judge the ‘goodness’ of any design for estimating the parameters of this model. Since this criterion is based on the determinant of the information matrix M(d) of a design d, upper bounds for |M(d)| yield lower bounds for the D-efficiency of any design d in estimating the vector of parameters in the model. We consider here only classes of designs d for which the number N of observations to be taken is a multiple of V, that is, there exists R≥2 such that N=V×R. Under these conditions, we determine the maximum of |M(d)|, and conditions under which the maximum is attained. These conditions include R being even, each treatment level being observed the same number of times, that is, R times, and N being a multiple of four. For the other cases of congruence of N (modulo 4) we further determine upper bounds on |M (d)| for equireplicated designs, i.e. for designs with equal number of observations per treatment level. These upper bounds are shown to depend also on the congruence of V (modulo 4). For some triples (N,V,K), the upper bounds determined are shown to be attained. Construction methods yielding families of designs which attain the upper bounds of |M(d)| are presented, for each of the sixteen cases of congruence of N and V. We also determine the upper bound for D-optimal designs for estimating only the treatment parameters, when first order regression on one continuous covariate is present.
Fast spin-echo MR in hippocampal sclerosis: correlation with pathology and surgery

PURPOSE To identify the extent of hippocampal sclerosis in temporal lobe epilepsy with fast spin-echo MR and correlate it with histopathologic findings and surgical outcome. METHODS MR images of 30 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy and pathologically proved hippocampal sclerosis and 30 control subjects were obtained using a fast spin-echo technique with 4000/100/4 (repetition time/echo time/excitations), 16 echo train, 2- to 3-mm section thickness with interleave, 256 x 256 matrix, and 18-cm field of view. Criteria for MR diagnosis of hippocampal sclerosis included hippocampal atrophy diagnosed with MR volumetry and/or T2-weighted signal change. Hippocampal sectional areas were plotted, and T2 signal changes were topographically evaluated to identify the extent of hippocampal sclerosis, which was subsequently correlated with histopathologic findings and surgical outcome. RESULTS Hippocampal sclerosis was diffuse, involving both hippocampal head and body, in 96.7% of patients (29 of 30 patients). One patient had normal MR findings. Focal hippocampal sclerosis was not seen. Histopathologic findings of hippocampal sclerosis were present in all 29 patients who had abnormal MR findings. Eighty-six percent of patients (18 of 21 patients), who were followed for at least 1 year after temporal lobectomy, were seizure free (81%, 17 of 21 patients) or significantly improved (5%, 1 of 21 patients). CONCLUSION Fast spin-echo MR enables accurate definition of the extent of hippocampal sclerosis in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. All cases of hippocampal sclerosis identified in this study involved the hippocampus diffusely. However, leaving the posterior portion of the hippocampus during surgery does not seem to be a major factor influencing surgical outcome.
A Review of: “Raphael Israeli. Islamikaze: Manifestations of Islamic Martyrology,”

Recent public opinion polls in the Arab World show that more than 50% of the people there do not believe Arabs were involved in the September 11, 2001 attacks. How is this possible? Utilizing a wid...
Probabilistic Demand Models and Fragility Curves for Reinforced Concrete Frames

Fragility curves are constructed to assess the seismic vulnerability of a hypothetical two-story reinforced concrete frame building designed only for gravity loads. Fragility curves are also developed for the same building modestly retrofitted by means of column strengthening. A Bayesian methodology is used to construct probabilistic demand models to predict the maximum inter-story drifts, given the spectral acceleration at the fundamental period of the building. The data for the models are obtained using two-dimensional inelastic time history analyses of the building for a suite of synthetic ground motions, developed for the Memphis region. The models are developed using both equality data and lower bound data, and are developed to properly account for both aleatory and epistemic uncertainties. In the absence of probabilistic capacity models for gravity load designed structures, capacity limit states are considered based on FEMA 356 guidelines and deterministic nonlinear pushover analyses. The results quantify the vulnerability of low-rise reinforced concrete frame buildings and show the effectiveness of seismic retrofitting in reducing the probability of failure.
Physician Internet medical information seeking and on-line continuing education use patterns.

Introduction: Although physician Internet use patterns have been studied, little attention has been paid to how current physician learning and change theories relate to physician Internet information seeking and on-line learning behaviors. The purpose of this study was to exam- ine physician medical information-seeking behaviors and their relevance to continuing education (CE) providers who design and develop on-line CE activities. Methods: A survey concerning Internet use and learning was administered by facsimile trans- mission to a random sample of 2,200 U.S. office-based physicians of all specialties. Results: Nearly all physicians have access to the Internet, know how to use it, and access it for medical information; the Internet' s professional importance to physicians currently is in the area of professional development and information seeking to provide better care rather than for patient-physician communication. A particular patient problem was the most common reason for seeking information. The credibility of the source, quick and 24-hour access to information, and ease of searching were most important to physicians. Barriers to use included too much information to scan and too little specific information to respond to a defined question. Discussion: The importance of the Internet to physician professional development is growing rapidly. Access to on-line continuing medical education must be immediate, relevant, credi- ble, and easy to use. A sense of high utility demands content that is focused and well indexed. The roles of the CE provider must be reshaped to include helping physicians seek and con- struct the kind of knowledge they need to improve patient care.
Psychosocial Predictors of Accident/Error Rates in Nursing Students: A Prospective Study:

A prospective study of accident/error rates was carried out on thirty-one nursing students. Recent life changes and stresses, social support available to cope with this stress, depression, illness rate, and coping skills were measured at baseline. Five weeks later students recorded accidents suffered and errors made over a week long period. The number of life changes in the previous two years and the amount of adjustment required to cope with these changes, together with the social support available to help cope with these events were the most powerful predictors of accident/error rate. Together they accounted for 70 per cent of the variance. Multiple regression equations for the outcome variables were calculated to study the best linear predictor combination. Depression and coping skills had poor predictor power. The implications of the findings for health care personnel are discussed. Steps to lower the accident/error rate in those at risk are outlined.
DISC1 splice variants are upregulated in schizophrenia and associated with risk polymorphisms.

Disrupted-In-Schizophrenia-1 (DISC1) is a promising susceptibility gene for major mental illness, but the mechanism of the clinical association is unknown. We searched for DISC1 transcripts in adult and fetal human brain and tested whether their expression is altered in patients with schizophrenia and is associated with genetic variation in DISC1. Many alternatively spliced transcripts were identified, including groups lacking exon 3 (Δ3), exons 7 and 8 (Δ7Δ8), an exon 3 insertion variant (extra short variant-1, Esv1), and intergenic splicing between TSNAX and DISC1. Isoforms Δ7Δ8, Esv1, and Δ3, which encode truncated DISC1 proteins, were expressed more abundantly during fetal development than during postnatal ages, and their expression was higher in the hippocampus of patients with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia risk-associated polymorphisms [non-synonymous SNPs rs821616 (Cys704Ser) and rs6675281 (Leu607Phe), and rs821597] were associated with the expression of Δ3 and Δ7Δ8. Moreover, the same allele at rs6675281, which predicted higher expression of these transcripts in the hippocampus, was associated with higher expression of DISC1Δ7Δ8 in lymphoblasts in an independent sample. Our results implicate a molecular mechanism of genetic risk associated with DISC1 involving specific alterations in gene processing.
Waiting Strategies for Anticipating Service Requests from Known Customer Locations

This paper considers a dynamic and stochastic routing problem in which information about customer locations and probabilistic information about future service requests are used to maximize the expected number of customers served by a single uncapacitated vehicle. The problem is modeled as a Markov decision process, and analytical results on the structure of the optimal policy are derived. For the case of a single dynamic customer, we completely characterize the optimal policy. Using the analytical results, we propose a real-time heuristic and demonstrate its effectiveness compared with a series of other intuitively appealing heuristics. We also use computational tests to determine the heuristic value of knowing both customer locations and probabilistic information about future service requests.
Consumer Demand and Cost Factors Shape the Global Trade Network in Commodity and Manufactured Foods

Multiple forces operate throughout the global economy and influence the direction, composition, and volume of agri-food trade. The fundamental determinants that impede and foster bilateral trade in two food types, namely staple commodities and manufactured products, are identified using generalized gravity equations. Empirical evidence verified the importance of relative resource endowments and similarities in the structure of partner demand. Other socio-geo-political factors were also found to influence food trade, including the ability of governments to control corruption and curtail disequilibrium in financial markets.
Spatial Dependence of Country Relatedness: The Role of Host-Country Connectedness

The conventional determinants of FDI location decisions are limited to the characteristics of the host country or the home-host dyad. Borrowing from research in spatial dependence and social networ...
Assessing the racial aspects of police force using the implicit- and counter-bias perspectives

Abstract Purpose The events in Ferguson in August 2014 reignited the longstanding national discussion of race and the police use of force. Recent theory and research from those who study human biases have produced contradictory predictions about how a subject's race might impact on officers' decisions to use force. The “implicit-bias perspective” claims that officer's biases should produce a greater tendency to use force against Black subjects; the “counter bias” perspective predicts lesser force against Blacks, due to officers' concerns about the consequences of using force against racial/ethnic minorities. The implicit-bias perspective also predicts a moderating impact of neighborhood context; specifically, this perspective predicts that the use of greater force against racial/ethnic minorities will disappear in high crime neighborhoods. Methods The current study examined 1846 use-of-force incidents to determine whether the racial aspects of force are consistent with the implicit-bias or counter-bias perspectives. Results Selected results were consistent with the implicit-bias perspective, including the predicted moderating impact of neighborhood crime on the relationship between subject race and force. Conclusions Additional research should assess whether actual uses of force are consistent with the implicit-bias or counter-bias perspectives but, it is argued, the implications for training are the same for both.
Constraints and Benefits of Child Welfare Contracts with Behavioral Health Providers: Conditions that Shape Service Access.

This qualitative study examines worker perceptions of how public child welfare agencies’ purchase of service contracts with private behavioral health organizations can both facilitate and constrain referral making and children’s access to services. Five, 90-min focus groups were conducted with workers (n = 50) from an urban public child welfare agency in the Midwest. Using a modified grounded theory approach, findings suggest that contracts may expedite service linkages, but contract benefits are conditioned upon design and implementation. Results also suggest the critical role of front line workers in carrying out contractual relationships. Implications for research and interventions for enhancing contracting are discussed.
SURFACE-AIR TEMPERATURE RELATIONSHIPS IN THE URBAN ENVIRONMENT OF PHOENIX, ARIZONA

Standard automated weather data were collected over a 70-day period during summer 1989 at three sites in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Mean hourly observations of air temperature at 1.5 m and 3.0 m, infrared surface temperature, vapor pressure, incoming solar radiation, and vector wind velocity are used for a stepwise multiple regression analysis. Hourly regression equations, totalling 144 in number, are derived for each site with air temperature at 1.5 m and 3.0 m as dependent variables. Not surprisingly, surface temperature is the primary independent variable significantly correlated with both levels of air temperature. Atmospheric stability significantly decreases the surface-to-air temperature coupling process at each site. Wind velocity, which displays strong diurnal variability, decouples the surface and air temperature. The surface/air temperature relationships at the two more complex sites studied are significantly influenced by advection from adjacent land uses. Thermal admittance and evapotrans...
Ultrafast Limits of Photo-Induced Electron Transfer Rates in PPCA, a Multi-Heme C-Type Cytochrome

Conversion of light energy to electrochemical equivalents is at the core of any photosynthetic system. In our attempts to build enzymes for artificial photosynthesis, we need to have complete control of all charge transfer rates, including the initial charge separation step. Here we demonstrate an unexpectedly large range (5x107 to 5x1011 s−1) of the observed photo-induced electron transfer rates between PpcA, a 3-heme member of cytochrome c7 family from Geobacter sulfurreducens, and Ru(bpy)2(4-MeBr-4′ - Mebpy), an artificial photosensitizer covalently-linked to genetically engineered cysteine residues in close proximity to PpcA hemes. HPLC-MS characterization confirmed purity of isolated proteins and their correct assembly, as well as stoichiometric binding of photosensitizers. Combined small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering studies performed at the Advanced Photon Source of Argonne National Laboratory demonstrated the absence of any significant structural changes from the initial compact globular shape in mutated and covalently-labeled protein forms. Ongoing NMR spectroscopy and all-atom molecular dynamics simulations provide further insight into protein structure and dynamics responsible for the large range of electron transfer rates. These results demonstrate the limits of tuning charge transfer rates and offer opportunities to use inexpensive photosensitizers based on abundant elements for the initial charge separation step in artificial photosynthesis.
Arbitrary Allegory, Typical Typology, or Intertextual Interpretation? Paul's Use of the Pentateuch in Galatians 4:21–31

This article begins by surveying the modern history of interpretation of Galatians 4:21–31, and in doing so demonstrates that virtually no commentator from the time of Calvin has concluded that Pau...
Renal hemodynamics during erect lordosis in normal man and subjects with orthostatic proteinuria.

Conclusions1. Decreased glomerular filtration rate, renal plasma flow and urine volume of a comparable degree occur in erect lordosis in both normal man and subjects with orthostatic proteinuria. 2. The rate of protein excretion in orthostatic proteinuria is not related to the magnitude of hemodynamic change occurring with erect lordosis.
Geometric, Magnetic, and Adsorption Properties of Cross-Linking Carbon Nanotubes: A Computational Study

Cross-linking carbon nanotubes (CLCNTs) composed of three axially confined single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) of the (10,0) type are investigated by plane-wave density functional theory (DFT). Three CLCNT models, differing from each other by the structure of the contact regions of the three SWCNT constituents, are explored in terms of their geometric, electronic, and magnetic properties. Various magnetic phases, as obtained by combining finite SWCNTs in ferromagnetic (FM) or antiferromagnetic (AFM) coordination, are distinguished. The characteristics of these phases are shown to depend on the contact region geometry which plays an essential role in defining the order of their stabilities. For a selected CLCNT, adsorption of hydrogen atoms is discussed. The magnetic features of the CLCNTs turn out to hold the key for understanding the site dependence of the hydrogen atom adsorption energies.
COMMISSIONING AND OPERATION OF 1000 MW ULTRA-SUPERCRITICAL ONCE-THROUGH BOILERS

Commissioning process and operational performance of 1 000 MW ultra-supercritical Boilers of Zouxian Power Plant is introduced in detail.Problems in the process are analysed and the solutions are put forward.The experience may serve as a reference for commissioning boilers of the same type.
SU-F-I-51: CT/MR Image Deformation: The Clinical Assessment QA in Target Delineation

Purpose: To study the deformation effects in CT/MR image registration of head and neck (HN) cancers. We present a clinical indication in guiding and simplifying registration procedures of this process while CT images possessed artifacts. Methods: CT/MR image fusion provides better soft tissue contrast in intracranial GTV definition with artifacts. However, whether the fusion process should include the deformation process is questionable and not recommended. We performed CT/MR image registration of a HN patient with tonsil GTV and nodes delineation on Varian Velocity™ system. Both rigid transformation and deformable registration of the same CT/MR imaging data were processed separately. Physician's selection of target delineation was implemented to identify the variations. Transformation matrix was shown with visual identification, as well as the deformation QA numbers and figures were assessed. Results: The deformable CT/MR images were traced with the calculated matrix, both translation and rotational parameters were summarized. In deformable quality QA, the calculated Jacobian matrix was analyzed, which the min/mean/max of 0.73/0/99/1.37, respectively. Jacobian matrix of right neck node was 0.84/1.13/1.41, which present dis-similarity of the nodal area. If Jacobian = 1, the deformation is at the optimum situation. In this case, the deformation results have shown better target delineation for CT/MR deformation than rigid transformation. Though the root-mean-square vector difference is 1.48 mm, with similar rotational components, the cord and vertebrae position were aligned much better in the deformable MR images than the rigid transformation. Conclusion: CT/MR with/without image deformation presents similar image registration matrix; there were significant differentiate the anatomical structures in the region of interest by deformable process. Though vendor suggested only rigid transformation between CT/MR assuming the geometry remain similar, our findings indicated with patient positional variations, deformation registration is needed to generate proper GTV coverage, which will be irradiated more accurately in the following boost phase.
Using the information superhighway to support organizational learning: content, context, and infrastructure

There are a variety of computing and networking technologies available to support organizational learning, including the Internet, World Wide Web, Group Support Systems, Groupware, and Desktop Video Conferencing. These technologies can be used to help organizational members enhance their own knowledge and skills, to enable the organization as a collective to learn and grow, and to support interorganizational learning. In this paper we describe an executive education program that is focused on the content area of the virtual organization and uses technology supported learning as the primary vehicle. In this way the participants would use the technology to learn about the technology and its role in organizational learning. The available technologies described here could be used to radically change the learning infrastructure, which could enable a variety of learning modes and uses. Consequently, it may be more appropriate to think of organizational learning happening across time and space rather than in a particular place and/or at a particular time.
A PET study of burn-induced tissue-specific insulin resistance

2698 Objectives Investigation of the tissue-specific insulin sensitivity is necessary for better understanding of the pathophysiology of burn-induced insulin resistance and hyperglycemia. A combination of hyperinsulinemic isoglycemic clamp (HIC) and PET can be very useful for obtaining such data. HIC ensures basal (fasting) levels of blood glucose under insulin stimulation, whereas PET provides time-dependent tissue uptake quantification. As such, the aim of the present study was to quantify with the aid of the above techniques the impact of burn injury on tissue-specific FDG kinetics in a mouse model. Methods Burned (30% total body surface area third-degree burn in 80°C water) and sham (room-temperature water) male C57BL/6 mice underwent PET/CT imaging during either fasting (basal) or HIC conditions (n=5/group). Imaging was performed using a microPET Focus 220/CereTom NL 3000 scanner combination on the 3rd day after the treatment. FDG time-activity (SUV) curves over 25 min were determined in the brain, liver, and skeletal muscles. Biochemical and metabolic tests (glycogen content in liver and muscle, immunoblotting for Akt, phospho-Akt and IRS1 and indirect calorimetry) in separate groups of animals were performed to validate the imaging data. Results In skeletal muscles, FDG uptake during the basal period was comparable in burned and sham mice, whereas under insulin stimulation (HIC) FDG utilization was significantly decreased in burned mice. In the liver, HIC did not cause changes in FDG uptake in either groups. The brain represented an insulin insensitive tissue and its FDG uptake, as expected, remained unaffected. Conclusions PET data supported by several biochemical tests strongly suggests that burn injury suppresses insulin sensitivity in skeletal muscles. This phenomenon supposedly plays a key role in the development of systemic burn-induced insulin resistance.
Combating the Bandits in the Cloud: A Moving Target Defense Approach

Security and privacy in cloud computing are critical components for various organizations that depend on the cloud in their daily operations. Customers' data and the organizations' proprietary information have been subject to various attacks in the past. In this paper, we develop a set of Moving Target Defense (MTD) strategies that randomize the location of the Virtual Machines (VMs) to harden the cloud against a class of Multi-Armed Bandit (MAB) policy-based attacks. These attack policies capture the behavior of adversaries that seek to explore the allocation of VMs in the cloud and exploit the ones that provide the highest rewards (e.g., access to critical datasets, ability to observe credit card transactions, etc). We assess through simulation experiments the performance of our MTD strategies, showing that they can make MAB policy-based attacks no more effective than random attack policies. Additionally, we show the effects of critical parameters -- such as discount factors, the time between randomizing the locations of the VMs and variance in the rewards obtained -- on the performance of our defenses. We validate our results through simulations and a real OpenStack system implementation in our lab to assess migration times and down times under different system loads.
Acquisition of Bar Pressing in Nondeprived Rats

In a study conducted at two institutions, four naive rats were housed in operant chambers for 100 days with water and food pellets freely available. The animals could also obtain food pellets by lever pressing on FR 1 schedules. All animals learned to lever press and obtained some food via the bar, varying from 2.1% to 13.5% of the total number of pellets consumed. Two animals began bar pressing immediately; the other two began to make significant numbers of responses on Days 30 and 48, respectively. The results are interpreted in terms of previous theories of contrafreeloading and neophobia, none of which appears adequate.
Composite materials for ligaments and tendons replacement

Abstract In this chapter, the role of composite biomaterials able to reproduce the complexity of the hierarchical structure and the peculiar mechanical properties of ligaments and tendons is discussed. The basic principles of fibre-reinforced composite materials are reviewed, highlighting critical aspects in designing devices for ligaments and tendons replacement. The various approaches for their repair and regeneration are also explored, with the aim of benefiting from composite materials science, technology, and tissue engineering. Prospective and the future challenges for composite materials for ligaments and tendons replacement and regeneration are outlined.
Refactoring Java Software Product Lines

Refactoring is a staple of Object-Oriented (OO) program development. It should be a staple of OO Software Product Line (SPL) development too. X15 is the first tool to support the refactoring of Java SPL codebases. X15 (1) uses Java custom annotations to encode variability in feature-based Java SPLs, (2) projects a view of an SPL product (a program that corresponds to a legal SPL configuration), and (3) allows programmers to edit and refactor the product, propagating changes back to the SPL codebase. Case studies apply 2316 refactorings in 8 public Java SPLs and show that X15 is as efficient, expressive, and scalable as a state-of-the-art feature-unaware Java refactoring engine.
"Sticking Together": The Adolescent Experience of the Cohesion Process in Rural School Counseling Groups.

The purpose of this study was to develop a grounded theory of how adolescents experience the cohesion process in rural school counseling groups. A total of 20 individual interviews with 7 participants were conducted. Data analysis generated the central category of the cohesion process as “sticking together,” which describes a “tight bond.” Feelings of belonging, positive feelings, open social interactions, and lasting connections further characterize the cohesion process as experienced by adolescent participants. This study provides a qualitative, descriptive view of how adolescents experience the cohesion process in school counseling groups. Implications for counselors and future research are discussed.
3D-Printed Metal–Organic Framework Monoliths for Gas Adsorption Processes

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have shown promising performance in separation, adsorption, reaction, and storage of various industrial gases; however, their large-scale applications have been hampered by the lack of a proper strategy to formulate them into scalable gas–solid contactors. Herein, we report the fabrication of MOF monoliths using the 3D printing technique and evaluation of their adsorptive performance in CO2 removal from air. The 3D-printed MOF-74(Ni) and UTSA-16(Co) monoliths with MOF loadings as high as 80 and 85 wt %, respectively, were developed, and their physical and structural properties were characterized and compared with those of MOF powders. Our adsorption experiments showed that, upon exposure to 5000 ppm (0.5%) CO2 at 25 °C, the MOF-74(Ni) and UTSA-16(Co) monoliths can adsorb CO2 with uptake capacities of 1.35 and 1.31 mmol/g, respectively, which are 79% and 87% of the capacities of their MOF analogues under the same conditions. Furthermore, a stable performance was obtained for...
Experiments on Stimulated Raman Scattering in S- and L-bands 16-QAM Signals for Ultra-Wideband Coherent WDM Systems

We experimentally evaluated stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) effect between S- and L-bands over 210-km SSMF 16-QAM transmission. SRS mainly induced power transition from S- to L-band, and was not the cause of nonlinear crosstalk penalty.
Truly God is Good: Suffering in Old Testament Perspective

This article discusses the concept of suffering in the Old Testament. It first looks at passages in the Pentateuch that describe life before the fall, which paints a picture of human existence befo...
Identifying Characteristics of the Tween Fashion Consumer Groups

Twenty-one million tweens in the U.S. market account for $43 billion in spending power. Apparel represents one of the primary purchase categories tweens want to spend their money (Cotton Inc., 2012). Tweens aged 7 to 14, especially girls, are very aware of fashion, enjoy apparel shopping, and feel confident in dressing themselves (Brock, Ulrich, & Connell, 2010). While the tween market has been featured, the prevailing literature on tween consumers is limited, particularly information on tweens with regards to their fashion innovativeness and fashion opinion leadership.
Early Compression and Late Dextral Transpression Within the Grenvillian Event of the Hudson Highlands, NY, USA

There are two distinct tectonic events, early contractional and late dextral transpressional, within the larger designation of the Grenvillian Orogen in the Hudson Highlands of southern New York. The rocks of the Hudson Highlands are ca. 1.3 Ga, and are interpreted to have formed in an island arc or magmatic arc as volcanics, volcaniclastics, and sedimentary rocks. A continental collision terminated this segment of the geologic history and resulted in a major mountain belt. Deformation during this event is characterized by tight recumbent folds that resulted from westward-directed fold nappe emplacement. The predominant gneissic foliation was developed during granulite facies metamorphism, migmatization, and extensive pegmatite intrusion. Subsequent to this event, there was an episode of intrusion of dioritic, and locally anorthositic dikes and stocks. These bodies provide a time marker between the two orogenic events. The second event produced discrete zones of ductile deformation with a consistent dextral strike-slip shear sense and crenulation cleavage. This event is interpreted to result from tectonic escape resulting from a collision to the north of the study area. Steeply southeast to northwest dipping 1-3 km wide zones of mylonite display extensive shallow (15-20°) northeast trending lineations, S-C fabrics, asymmetric boudins, asymmetric intrafolial folding, and rotated porphyroclasts locally. These zones appear to have been active during a period of rapid cooling. Late in their history, the shear zones crossed the brittle-ductile transition and became dilational. Fracture systems formed along the zones and were progressively mineralized with hedenbergite, scapolite, magnetite, and quartz, phlogopite, hornblende, hematite, and calcite locally. Upright, gentle to open, and generally symmetric, north-trending mesoscopic to megascopic folds formed adjacent to the shear zones. The entire area was intruded by extensive pegmatite dikes and locally by granitic plutons. Pegmatites are common within the mineralized shear zones where they contain xenoliths of fault rock.
Insulin-Like Growth Factors and Their Receptors in the Pituitary and Hypothalamus

The somatomedins, or insulin-like growth factors (IGFs), constitute a family of peptide hormones which are growth hormone dependent, possess insulin-like activity and have mitogenic activity in a wide variety of cell lines1. Two human somatomedins have been purified and sequenced: IGF-I has a molecular weight of 7649, and consists of 70 amino acids, while IGF-II has a molecular weight of 7471, with 67 amino acids2,3. A rat equivalent of IGF-II, termed multiplication stimulating activity (MSA), has also been purified and sequenced; it differs from human IGF-II in four of the 67 amino acid positions4. The sequences of cDNAs encoding for human prepro-IGF-I and -II have been elucidated, and the respective 130 and 180 amino acid precursors predicted5,6. IGF-II has been mapped to the short arm of chromosome 11, tightly linked to both the insulin gene and the c-Ha-rasl proto-oncogene7. IGF-I maps to chromosome 12, which is evolutionarily related to chromosome 11, and carries the gene for the c-Ki-ras2 proto-oncogene8.