cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Functional Morphology of the Mouthparts of Juvenile Lobsters, Homarus Americanus (Decapoda: Nephropidae), and Comparison with the Larval Stages

ABSTRACT The mouthparts of early juvenile (Stage VI) and one-year old (Stage XII) American lobsters, Homarus americanus (Decapoda: Nephropidae), were examined by scanning electron microscopy. This study describes the general morphology of all six pairs of mouthparts, as well as the types and distribution of setae they bear. In addition, it extends our understanding of the developmental sequence by providing an overview of changes from hatchling larvae (Stage I) through the first year (Stage XII). The general trends in the development of the mouthparts include an increase in overall size, an increase in the number of setae borne upon all surfaces and edges, and an increase in the size and number of spines, teeth, and denticles projecting from segments of the third and second maxillipeds and from the incisor and molar processes of the mandible. Furthermore, the cutting edge of the mandible changes dramatically as the individual teeth increase in size and coalesce. A molar process appears on the inner surface of the mandible by Stage VI, although its function is not clear. The types of setae borne upon each mouthpart are catalogued and analyzed for changes throughout the developmental sequence, from the larval stages to Stage XII lobsters. The possibility that certain setae might be precursors for other types is considered. The functions of setal types are also discussed and include chemo- and mechanoreception, grooming, manipulation of food, filtering of particles, and creation of water currents. Finally, possible functions of the mouthparts are discussed in light of their structure.
Temperature depressions for evaporating spheres at low pressures

The evaporation of naphthalene spheres into air in the micron pressure range may be accompanied by an appreciable surface temperature depression. The magnitude of the effect is shown to depend upon the geometry of the experimental system and the pressure level. Such effects are of interest in studies aimed at determining evaporation coefficients.
Measurement and Analysis of Traffic Exchange Services

Traffic exchange services enable members to bring traffic to their websites from a diverse pool of IP addresses, in return for visiting sites of other members. We examine the world of traffic exchanges to characterize their makeup, usage, and monetization. We find that the ecosystem includes a range of services, from manual exchanges where participants must solve CAPTCHAs between successive page views, to exchanges that provide tools that automatically surf without requiring any user action. By "milking" a sample of these exchanges, we analyze month-long datasets to examine the nature of URLs that members submit to them. We find a wide prevalence of URLs for services that pay users in return for views to their content, and at least 30% of the requested impressions are for pages that clearly participate in a class of impression fraud called referrer spoofing. We also analyze the size and composition of a sample of these exchange networks by making purchases, finding that the exchanges delivered visits from roughly 200K unique IP~addresses, and that in some exchange networks, the majority of visits came from cloud hosting services.
Dedicated olfactory neurons mediating attraction behavior to ammonia and amines in Drosophila

Animals across various phyla exhibit odor-evoked innate attraction behavior that is developmentally programmed. The mechanism underlying such behavior remains unclear because the odorants that elicit robust attraction responses and the neuronal circuits that mediate this behavior have not been identified. Here, we describe a functionally segregated population of olfactory sensory neurons (OSNs) and projection neurons (PNs) in Drosophila melanogaster that are highly specific to ammonia and amines, which act as potent attractants. The OSNs express IR92a, a member of the chemosensory ionotropic receptor (IR) family and project to a pair of glomeruli in the antennal lobe, termed VM1. In vivo calcium-imaging experiments showed that the OSNs and PNs innervating VM1 were activated by ammonia and amines but not by nonamine odorants. Flies in which the IR92a+ neurons or IR92a gene was inactivated had impaired amine-evoked physiological and behavioral responses. Tracing neuronal pathways to higher brain centers showed that VM1-PN axonal projections within the lateral horn are topographically segregated from those of V-PN and DC4-PN, which mediate innate avoidance behavior to carbon dioxide and acidity, respectively, suggesting that these sensory stimuli of opposing valence are represented in spatially distinct neuroanatomic loci within the lateral horn. These experiments identified the neurons and their cognate receptor for amine detection, and mapped amine attractive olfactory inputs to higher brain centers. This labeled-line mode of amine coding appears to be hardwired to attraction behavior.
ACCOUNTING DOESN'T NEED MUCH FIXING (JUST SOME REINTERPRETING)

In response to Stewart's proposal for comprehensive reform of GAAP, this article offers a classic defense of traditional accounting practices and standards. Like the recent efforts of the FASB to achieve greater balance sheet realism through “fair value accounting,” Stewart's call to make economic profit the centerpiece of GAAP is said to rest on a mistaken premise–the widespread notion that audited financial statements are intended primarily to guide equity investors in setting stock prices. More important than the valuation role of public accounting is its “stewardship” function in detecting theft and gross misuse of corporate assets. And it is this stewardship role, with its emphasis on producing reliable (and conservative) numbers that can be readily verified by auditors, that is likely to be compromised by Stewart's proposal, fair-value accounting, and other well-meaning attempts to incorporate greater economic realism into GAAP statements. At the same time, however, the author agrees with Stewart's contention that GAAP a accounting numbers have major limitations for investors seeking to establish the market values of companies and for managers attempting to make value-increasing investment and operating decisions. Accordingly, he endorses many of Stewart's proposed modifications of GAAP both for internal purposes, such as performance evaluation and incentive compensation, and for voluntary supplemental reporting to the investment community.
Grooved Nanowires from Self-Assembling Hairpin Molecules for Solar Cells

One of the challenges facing bulk heterojunction organic solar cells is obtaining organized films during the phase separation of intimately mixed donor and acceptor components. We report here on the use of hairpin-shaped sexithiophene molecules to generate by self-assembly grooved nanowires as the donor component in bulk heterojunction solar cells. Photovoltaic devices were fabricated via spin-casting to produce by solvent evaporation a percolating network of self-assembled nanowires and fullerene acceptors. Thermal annealing was found to increase power conversion efficiencies by promoting domain growth while still maintaining this percolating network of nanostructures. The benefits of self-assembly and grooved nanowires were examined by building devices from a soluble sexithiophene derivative that does not form one-dimensional structures. In these systems, excessive phase separation caused by thermal annealing leads to the formation of defects and lower device efficiencies. We propose that the unique hairpin shape of the self-assembling molecules allows the nanowires as they form to interact well with the fullerenes in receptor-ligand type configurations at the heterojunction of the two domains, thus enhancing device efficiencies by 23%.
The Specific Role of Interest in Financial and Economic Analysis under Inflation: Discussion

Shashua and Goldschmidt have developed an interesting paper on an important subject. It has long been recognized that an inflationary environment, let alone a hyperinflation, creates very special problems in investment decisions. Shashua and Goldschmidt argue that the nominal interest rate should be used when estimating the present value of financial assets and revolving assets. They contend that the cash flow accruing from these assets properly will account for any inflation that is taking place. The nominal interest rate, or discount rate, also incorporates an inflation factor. Consequently, the inflation factor appears in both the numerator and the denominator of the present value calculation. There can be no argument with their conclusion with respect to financial and revolving assets. In valuing fixed assets, Shashua and Goldschmidt argue that the proper discount rate should be the real rate of interest. In spite of their presentation, I do not see any compelling reason to treat fixed assets any differently than financial or revolving assets. It further appears that Shashua and Goldschmidt have double counted the inflation factor in valuing fixed assets. They properly acknowledge that the inflated value of the fixed asset must be taken into account. Then, by subtracting out the inflation factor from the nominal rate of interest they have adjusted for the inflation factor a second time. Furthermore, depreciation should not be taken into account at all unless it is for the purpose of converting income data to a cash flow. I am not sure, but perhaps this is where the confusion originates. Shashua and Goldschmidt appear to switch back and forth between a cash flow approach and the use of income data in their present value estimation. It would appear to me that the methodology of valuing any asset remains the same whether or not inflation is taking place. Inflation only makes the task more difficult due to the uncertainty associated with forecasting the future cash flow.
Dehydration stimulates behavioral hypothermia in the gulf coast toad, Bufo valliceps

Abstract 1. 1.Body temperatures ( T b ) and water loss rates of hydrated and dehydrated Bufo valliceps were measured in a thermal gradient. 2. 2.Dehydrated toads selected T b 's 6°C lower than hydrated toads. 3. 3.The mean water loss rate for dehydrated toads was 54% of that measured for hydrated toads. 4. 4.Dehydration is a stimulus for behavioral hypothermia in Bufo valliceps .
Ueber die direkte Fermentwirkung von Herzglykosiden

Es wurde die Wirkung von Herzglykosiden auf die anaerobe Glykolyse von Herzmuskelschnitten studiert, auf die Milchsaure- und Essigsaure-oxydation in Herzmuskelschnitten bzw. Herzmuskelhomogenaten, auf die oxydative Phosphorylierung in diesen Homogenaten, auf die Oxydation von Phosphoglycerinaldehyd und von Milchsaure durch gereinigte Fermentsysteme sowie auf die Hydrolyse von ATP durch Myosin-ATP-ase. Sie hatten keinen Einflus auf die Aktivitat dieser Fermentsysteme. Angesichts dieser Befunde wird der mogliche Wirkungsmechanismus der Herzglykoside diskutiert.
HR Interventions that Go Viral

What causes one Human Resource (HR) intervention to thrive while another dies? The purpose of this paper is to explore the characteristics of HR interventions that are not only self-sustaining, but adapt and gain momentum over time. Based on a review of the literature, a case study, and 16 critical incident interviews with senior Industrial-Organizational (I–O) and HR professionals, several characteristics of the organization, the intervention, and the leader consistently emerged as important in creating sustainable HR programs, suggesting several new directions for future research.
Site-specific functionalization on individual colloids: size control, stability, and multilayers.

Individual colloidal particles are locally functionalized with nanoscale control. Here we use the particle lithography technique to mask one region of a silica or polystyrene particle (size 3.0 μm ...
Some new observations in triethyl-tin intoxication of rats.

Abstract Triethyl-tin (TET) was given to newborn rats in two ways: Acute experiments involved repeated intraperitoneal injections of large amounts (5 mg/kg); chronic experiments, oral administration of small dosages (5 mg per liter of drinking water) for long periods. In the acute experiment, the rats died within 3 days after initiation of TET injections and the brains showed diffuse hemorrhagic encephalopathy. In the chronic experiment, the rats showed no clinical symptoms of cerebral involvement, but severe, diffuse status spongiosus was found throughout the white matter of the central nervous system.
Two-color, two-photon, direct laser-assisted reactions of Xe with Br2, I2, CCl4, CCl3Br and CCl2Br2

Abstract The fundamental plus the doubled output of a pulsed dye laser have been used to induce two-photon, laser-assisted reactions in low pressure gas mixtures of Xe with Br 2 , CCl 4 , CCl 3 Br, CCl 2 Br 2 and I 2 . The products are XeCl(B, C), XeBr(B, C) or XeI(B, C) following two-photon promotion to the reactive ion-pair potentials. The utilization of a two-color scheme enhances the two-photon, laser-assisted reactions because of better match with an intermediate state of the reagent molecule. Product selectivity with a propensity for XeCl(B, C) formation from CCl 3 Br and CCl 2 Br 2 by the laser-assisted reactions, relative to the full collisions with Xe(6s) or Xe(6p) atoms, is demonstrated.
Youth Leadership and Youth Development: Connections and Questions.

The youth development movement represents a broad trend toward promoting opportunity and resilience over preventing delinquency and failure. While the topic of youth leadership is clearly relevant to this movement, the connection between the two topics remains for the most part unexplored and undefined. With this chapter we examine the ways that youth leadership connects to the much broader context of the youth development movement.
Contribution of atrioventricular synchrony to left ventricular systolic function in a closed-chest canine model of complete heart block: implications for single-chamber rate-variable cardiac pacing.

This study assessed the impact of atrioventricular (AV) synchrony on characteristics of left ventricular (LV) systolic function during ventricular pacing over a wide heart rate range in a conscious closed-chest canine model of complete AV block. Ten healthy adult dogs underwent thoracotomy during which complete AV block was created by formaldehyde injection, and paired ultrasonic sonomicrometers were positioned on the LV anterior-posterior minor axis. Following recovery from surgery, peak and end-diastolic LV transmural pressure, maximum dP/dt, stroke work, end-diastolic minor axis dimension, and maximum velocity of shortening, were quantitated at heart rates of 80, 100, 120, 140, and 160 beats per minute (bpm) during both ventricular pacing alone and AV sequential pacing with increasing AV intervals (0, 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, and 300 ms). Over the heart rate range tested, parameters of LV systolic function did not differ significantly during ventricular pacing with or without AV synchrony. For example, during ventricular pacing alone maximum LV dP/dt varied from 2110 ± 70 mmHg/s to 2463 ± 567 mmHg/s, a range essentially identical to that observed in the presence of AV synchrony. On the other hand, although the impact on LV performance of varying AV interval from 0 to 300 ms was small, differences tended to become more pronounced at higher pacing rates. At 80 bpm, neither stroke work nor maximum LV dP/dt were affected by change in AV interval, while at heart rates 120 bpm both stroke work and LV dP/dt tended to maximize at AV intervals of 50 and 100 ms and thereafter declined. Thus, findings in this study indicated that LV systolic function in the normal in situ heart is not adversely affected by absence of AV synchrony over a wide heart rate range.
Appendicitis in childhood: usefulness of ultrasound in diagnosis

The decision to perform ultrasonography (US) in children with suspected appendicitis must ultimately be made by the surgeon or pediatrician. Children with a high clinical likelihood of appendicitis are unlikely to benefit from sonographic evaluation. US is likely to be most beneficial when the clinical findings are indeterminate, both to establish the diagnosis of appendicitis and to aid in the diagnosis of other causes of acute abdominal pain. When US of the right lower quadrant is negative for appendicitis, pelvic US should be performed in female patients to exclude acute gynecologic disorders. A sonographic survey of the upper abdomen is also mandatory to diagnose other disorders causing acute abdominal pain.
Web-Based Intelligent Computational Argumentation Based Conflict Resolution in Air Traffic Management

Collaborative decision making (CDM) is a process of reaching consensus on a potential solution of an issue through the evaluation of the different possible alternatives. The web-based intelligent computational argumentation system allows concerned stakeholders to post their arguments on different alternatives, assign weights and priorities to the arguments and reach the most favorable alternative using fuzzy intelligent techniques over the Internet. Exchange of information among the stakeholders improves the collaboration and drives towards the collective intelligence. In this paper, we show how our tool facilitates resolution of conflicts in air traffic management. It could enhance the Ground Delay Program (GDP) and help the Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC) to take a better decision depending on the argumentation of Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCC) and Airlines.
Macropartisanship and Macroideology in the Sophisticated Electorate

There are many reasons to believe that political parties' fortunes and the ideological preferences of the electorate are tied together. Yet existing evidence finds no relationship between trends in the partisan and ideological identifications of the American electorate (Box-Steffensmeier, Knight, and Sigelman 1998). We argue that a portion of the electorate organizes political debate in terms of liberal and conservative referents and, in turn, links ideological and partisan identifications over time. Evidence from CBS News and New York Times survey data affirms the conclusion that for the more sophisticated portion of the electorate, partisan and ideological trends are mutually reinforcing in both the long and the short run. These groups are also more likely to vote than less politically sophisticated groups, so the incentives for politicians to link popular ideological sentiment with partisanship are strong; the people who pay attention to politics and put them in office (or kick them out) are the same p...
Impacts of changing climate and atmospheric deposition on N and S drainage losses from a forested watershed of the Adirondack Mountains, New York State

Biogeochemical responses to changing climate and atmospheric deposition were investigated using nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) mass balances, including dry deposition and organic solutes in the Arbutus Lake watershed in the Adirondack Mountains, New York State. Long-term monitoring of wet-only precipitation (NADP/NTN, 1983–2001) and dry deposition (AIRMoN, 1990–2001) at sites adjacent to the watershed showed that concentrations of SO4 � in precipitation, SO4 � in particles,and SO2 vapor all declined substantially (Po0.005) in contrast to no marked temporal changes observed for most N constituents (NH4 1 in precipitation, HNO3 vapor, and particulate NO3 � ), except for NO3 � in precipitation, which showed a small decrease in the late 1990s. From 1983 to 2001, concentrations of SO4 � in the lake outlet significantly decreased ( � 2.1leq L � 1 yr � 1 , Po0.0001), whereas NO3 � and dissolved organic N (DON) concentrations showed no consistent temporal trends. With the inclusion of dry deposition and DON fluxes into the mass balance, the retained portion of atmospheric N inputs within the main subcatchment increased from 37% to 60%. Sulfur outputs greatly exceeded inputs even with the inclusion of dry S deposition, while organic S flux represented another source of S output, implying substantial internal S sources. A significant relationship between the annual mean concentrations of SO4 � in lake discharge and wet deposition over the last two decades (r 5 0.64, Po0.01) suggested a considerable influence of declining S deposition on surface water SO4 � concentrations, despite substantial internal S sources. By contrast, interannual variations in both NO3 � concentrations and fluxes in lake discharge were significantly related to year-to-year changes in air temperature and runoff. Snowmelt responses to winter temperature fluctuations were crucial in explaining large portions of interannual variations in watershed NO3 � export during the months preceding spring snowmelt (especially, January–March). Distinctive response patterns of monthly mean concentrations of NO3 � and DON in the major lake inlet to seasonal changes in air temperature also suggested climatic regulation of seasonal patterns in watershed release of both N forms. The sensitive response of N drainage losses to climatic variability might explain the synchronous patterns of decadal variations in watershed NO3 � export across the northeastern USA.
Sparsity-promoting optimal control for a class of distributed systems

We consider a linear quadratic optimal control problem with an additional penalty on the number of communication links in the distributed controller. We reformulate this combinatorial optimization problem as a sequence of weighted l 1 problems, where the weighted l 1 norm approximates the counting of the communication links. We identify a class of systems for which the weighted l 1 problem can be formulated as a semidefinite program and therefore its solution can be computed efficiently. Application of the developed algorithm to the optimal control of vehicular formations reveals communication topologies that become sparser as the price of inter-vehicular communications is increased.
Energy Diffusion of Pickup Ions Upstream of Comets

A steady state model of pickup ion energization upstream of a cometary bow wave is presented in order to investigate the effects of quasi-linear energy diffusion in the turbulence there. The model assumes that the ions are immediately isotropized at pickup, and it includes the effects of adiabatic acceleration in the slowing solar wind and of continual pickup of ions as the comet is approached. By taking all physical quantities to fall off as power laws with distance from the comet, an analytical expression is obtained for the distribution function of pickup ions in the reference frame moving with the solar wind. To illustrate the application of this model, the model results are compared to the observations of pickup ions at comet Giacobini-Zinner. At present, this is the only cometary encounter for which sufficient quantitative information is available. The model does not compare well with these observations, but it is not clear whether the differences are due to artificial problems in the model or the data analysis or to the action of other energization processes at this comet. Preliminary results from the Halley encounters appear to agree more closely with this model.
Topical hepatic hypothermia attenuates pulmonary injury after hepatic ischemia and reperfusion

Abstract Background: Prolonged periods of hepatic ischemia are associated with hepatocellular injury and distant organ dysfunction in experimental models. Neutrophils (PMN) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α have been implicated, mostly because of their local deleterious effects on the hepatocyte after hepatic ischemia and reperfusion (I/R) injury. We hypothesize that topical hepatic hypothermia (THH) reduces ischemia and reperfusion-induced hepatic necrosis, PMN infiltration, TNF-α release, and consequent acute pulmonary injury. Study Design: Sprague-Dawley rats (250 to 300 g) were evenly divided into three groups: 90 minutes of normothermic (37°C) partial hepatic ischemia (normothermic I/R), 90 minutes of hypothermic (25°C) partial hepatic ischemia (hypothermic I/R), and sham laparotomy (without ischemia). There were six animals in each experimental group per time point unless otherwise specified. Hepatic necrosis and PMN infiltration were evaluated and scored on hematoxylin and eosin-stained liver specimens 12 hours after reperfusion. Serum TNF-α levels were determined by ELISA at 0 minutes, 15 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, and 12 hours postreperfusion. Pulmonary PMN infiltration and vascular permeability were measured by myeloperoxidase activity and Evans blue dye extravasation, respectively, to quantitate pulmonary injury 12 hours after reperfusion. Results: Normothermic I/R results in a significant increase in TNF-α at 15 and 30 minutes (p Conclusions: These results demonstrate that THH protects the liver from ischemia and reperfusion-induced necrosis and PMN infiltration. In addition, THH reduces the serum levels of TNF-α and associated pulmonary injury. These data suggest that the ischemic liver is a potential source of inflammatory mediators associated with hepatic ischemia and reperfusion-induced pulmonary injury.
Pilot Applications of Electrochemical Chloride Extraction on Concrete Bridge Decks in Virginia

A new method for rehabilitating salt-contaminated concrete bridge elements, electrochemical chloride extraction (ECE), was applied on two deck spans in Virginia as part of a pilot study. This treatment, performed on half of the deck at a time, involved placing a temporary electrolyteanode system (inert catalyzed titanium mesh sandwiched between two layers of synthetic felt) on the surface of the deck and applying charges ranging from 741 to 1,077 A-hr/m2 between the anode and the rebars for 57 to 58 days. Approximately 72.2 to 82.1 percent of the chloride ions were removed from the concrete. A minor difficulty was encountered in controlling the pH of the electrolyte during the first several weeks of the treatment. Lithium ions, which were present in the electrolyte for two portions of the deck, migrated readily into the concrete. An attempt to simultaneously inject the corrosion inhibitor (C6H5)4P+ in the concrete in the presence of Li+ yielded uncertain results. Overall, this pilot project successfully d...
Effects of Contact Force Model and Size Distribution on Microsized Granular Packing

Granular packing of microsized particles with different size distributions and contactforce models is studied using discrete element method (DEM). Three kinds of size distri-butions, monosized, uniform, and Gaussian, with mean diameter of 50, 60, and 70lm arestudied. Two aspects of microscale particle packing issues are addressed: one is the im-portance of van der Waals force when the particle size approaching to microscale, theother one is the structure variation caused by different contact force models. The resultsindicate that compared with contact force, the van der Waals force contributes very insig-niﬁcantly to the ﬁnal packing structure. The packing structures obtained using two differ-ent force models are similar to each other. The effects of particle size and its distributionon the packing structure are more signiﬁcant than the force model.[DOI: 10.1115/1.4025969]Keywords: additive manufacturing, distinct element method, size distribution, granularmatter
Fisheries Management for California Dungeness Crab—Adapting to Change

The Dungeness crab (Cancer magister) fishery, economically robust in California while other fisheries are depressed, is under pressure to develop new management tools. The California Legislature and responsible state agencies have responded to each new crisis in the fishery with revised management regulations that are unwieldy in adapting to changing conditions. Some fishermen are displaced, while others benefit. This then leads to the next set of challenges and reactions. The differing economic needs of processors and fishermen, large and smaller producers, and northern and southern fishermen, plus the agendas of influential nongovernmental organizations, produce advocacies for conflicting management options, hindering progress toward resolution. The Legislature wants guidance from the fishery, but the fishery does not speak with one voice. Alternative dispute resolution can help these diverse but interdependent interests move toward agreement on new management tools. The principles of adaptive managemen...
High speed gated X-ray imagers

Single and multi-frame gated x-ray images with time-resolution as fast as 150 psec are described. These systems are based on the gating of microchannel plates in a stripline configuration. The gating voltage comes from the avalanche breakdown of reverse biased p-n junction producing high power voltage pulses as short as 70 psec. Results from single and four frame x-ray cameras used on Nova are described. There has been much recent interest in gated x-ray cameras and spectrometers with gate times as short as 100 psec. In the ICF field, this time resolution is necessary to freeze implosions with velocities of 107 cm/s and resolutions of 10 μm. There are two different techniques for gating, shuttering electro optic tubes and voltage gating of a proximity focussed device. Several schemes have been proposed for subnanosecond shuttering of electro-optical tubes. Such approaches are attractive in that several frames can in principle, be achieved, there is little problem from x rays that are transmitted through the cathode, and a uniform response can be obtained over a large photocathode area. However, these schemes are complex and to date have found little practical application. Gating a proximity focused device is much simpler. A voltage pulse is applied across either photocathode-phosphor gap, or across a microchannel plate. There are several disadvantages to this approach: a fast, high voltage drive is required because a large detector area implies a high capacitance, it is inherently a single-frame device, straight through hard x rays can cause problems, and the response across a large sensitive area will be non-uniform due to the finite propagation velocity of the gating voltage wave. Until recently, fast high voltage pulses for the electrical gating could only be generated by photoconductive switches with the concomitant complexity of a short pulse laser. However, the well known phenomenon of avalanche breakdown/ has now been developed so that high power electrical pulses as short as 70 psec can be produced by purely electronic drivers. These voltage pulses are applied to a strip transmission line with a microchannel plate as the dielectric. The temporal and spatial resolution are described in Sec. II. Using a voltage doubling scheme sufficient voltage from four paralleled reverse biased diodes can be produced to gate four microchannel plates arranged in the four corners of a rectangle. The field uniformity and gain width variation of this configuration are described in Sec. II. For use on Nova, these microchannel plates are gated at different times and detect four gated images from an array of four pinholes. The system and its timing fiducial are described in Sec. III. Representative results from direct-drive implosions are described in Sec. IV.© (1988) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Joint Ventures in the A/E/C Industry - Use and Success Factors

Joint venturing characteristics and patterns found through survey-based research, conducted of the top 400 constructors and the top 400 architects (as defined by ENR) within the United States, are presented in this paper. The respondents provided information regarding their experience with project-based joint ventures, including their evaluation of success, operational characteristics, and other related factors. As change occurs in construction technology, as geographic, business and communications barriers are removed, and as project sizes increase, firms may find themselves at a competitive disadvantage when trying to secure projects. Project-based joint ventures are often used in the construction industry to assemble an organization that meets a client's project needs and matches or exceeds the capacities of competitors. The joint venture provides the means for a firm to quickly add resource, political, technical, or other required strengths that will increase project acquisition. Limited study has been undertaken in the construction industry to evaluate this partnering phenomenon. The few industry-related studies have primarily used case study techniques and have focused on large, international joint ventures and firms. However, many joint ventures are formed on small- and medium-sized projects within the United States in addition to the international joint ventures reported. Further, due to the narrow focus of earlier studies, patterns of joint venturing across industries or across service providers are not evaluated. The survey results provide evidence of varied success among joint venture projects, and indicate which industry segments use joint ventures most frequently and which find these experiences worthwhile. Further, patterns are developed which show partnering frequency among varying sizes and types of firms. Importantly, the highly experienced respondents--mostly executive or senior managersdivulged factors they found most important in joint venture success. These anecdotes are categorized and coded to form a list of important success concepts. The resulting list provides managers with a practical operations checklist to steer future joint venture formation and operation.
Enhanced Hepatic Uptake and Bioactivity of Type α1(I) Collagen Gene Promoter-Specific Triplex-Forming Oligonucleotides after Conjugation with Cholesterol

A triplex-forming oligonucleotide (TFO) specific for type α1(I) collagen promoter is a promising candidate for treating liver fibrosis. Earlier, we determined the pharmacokinetics and biodistribution of TFO after systemic administration into normal and fibrotic rats. In this study, we conjugated cholesterol to the 3′ end of the TFO via a disulfide bond and determined its cellular and nuclear uptake and bioactivity using HSC-T6 cell lines in vitro, followed by biodistribution at whole-body, organ (liver), and subcellular levels. Conjugation with cholesterol had little effect on the triplex-forming ability of the TFO with target duplex DNA, and the cellular uptake of 33 P-TFO-cholesterol (Chol) increased by 2- to approximately 4-fold. Real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis after transfection of HSC-T6 cells with TFO-Chol or TFO indicated that TFO-Chol had higher inhibition on type α1(I) collagen primary transcript than naked TFO at low concentration (200 nM) but showed similar inhibition at higher concentration (500 and 1000 nM). There was increase in the inhibition on primary transcript with transfection time. The hepatic uptake of 33 P-TFO-Chol after systemic administration was 72.22% of the dose compared with 45.8% of 33 P-TFO. There was significant increase in the uptake of 33 P-TFO-Chol by hepatic stellate cells and hepatocytes. More importantly, the nuclear uptake of TFO-Chol was higher than TFO in cell culture system and in vivo studies. In conclusion, TFO-Chol is a potential antifibrotic agent.
Chronic Calcineurin Inhibitor Nephrotoxicity: Reflections on an Evolving Paradigm

Use of the calcineurin inhibitors (CNI) cyclosporine and tacrolimus has revolutionized solid organ transplantation. For more than 30 yr, the transplant community has dealt with nephrotoxicity attributed to these agents. Acute renal vasoconstriction (as described by many investigators, including John Curtis and colleagues) is the unequivocal consequence of their use; chronic CNI nephropathy, although indistinct in terms of histology and pathophysiology, has become accepted as a major cause of late kidney allograft failure. This article examines clinical, laboratory, and histologic findings that evolved into a paradigm that was never fully consistent with observed outcomes and new evidence that may offer an alternative interpretation for adverse events that are attributed to CNI nephrotoxicity in kidney transplant recipients.
Watering the forest for the trees: an emerging priority for managing water in forest landscapes

Widespread threats to forests resulting from drought stress are prompting a re-evaluation of priorities for water management on forest lands. In contrast to the widely held view that forest management should emphasize providing water for downstream uses, we argue that maintaining forest health in the context of a changing climate may require focusing on the forests themselves and on strategies to reduce their vulnerability to increasing water stress. Management strategies would need to be tailored to specific landscapes but could include thinning, planting and selecting for drought-tolerant species, irrigating, and making more water available to plants for transpiration. Hydrologic modeling reveals that specific management actions could reduce tree mortality due to drought stress. Adopting water conservation for vegetation as a priority for managing water on forested lands would represent a fundamental change in perspective and potentially involve trade-offs with other downstream uses of water.
When Is Foreignness an Asset or a Liability? Explaining the Performance Differential Between Foreign and Local Firms:

I seek to make sense of the variety of performance differentials between foreign and local firms observed in international competition and to examine the circumstances that explain these varying outcomes. Toward this end, I develop a theoretical framework that allows for situations in which the costs and advantages that foreign firms have relative to local firms are stronger, weaker, or nonexisting. In this framework, the costs and advantages are measured relative to local firms, and the balance between them determines performance. Tests of the hypotheses on samples of local and foreign financial services firms in London show that affiliates experience the costs and advantages differentially in relation to local firms with varying characteristics. Affiliates enjoy superior advantages when compared with purely domestic local firms, but these differences disappear when affiliates are compared with local multinational enterprises (MNEs). Ownership levels significantly influence the strength of the costs and ...
Access, satisfaction, and future: undergraduate education at the Indian Institutes of Technology

The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are among the most prestigious technical institutes in India (and perhaps in the world) for undergraduate engineering education. Admission to an IIT is viewed by many Indians as a passport to success, prosperity, prestige, and possibly moving to Western countries for higher studies and/or jobs. This paper examines whether (i) access to the IITs is open to students irrespective of their socioeconomic status; (ii) students’ satisfaction, once they enter an IIT, is conditioned by their socioeconomic status; and (iii) students’ attitudes towards their future plans are influenced by their socioeconomic status. The paper is based on a survey conducted with nearly 260 students at two out of five original IITs in 2007–2008. Findings reveal that access to the IITs, satisfaction at the IITs, and future plans after the IITs are strongly correlated to students’ socioeconomic status. Even though admission to the IITs is based on an entrance examination, most of its students are from the socially and economically well-off families.
Text Document Classification and Pattern Recognition

In this extended abstract, a novel approach is proposed for text pattern recognition. Instead of the traditional models which are mainly based on the frequency of keywords for text document classification, we introduce a new graph theory model which is constructed based on both information about frequency and position of keywords. We applied this new idea to the detection of fraudulent emails written by the same person, and plagiarized publications. The results on these case studies show that this new method performs much better than traditional methods.
Information flow and organization of stingless bee foraging

Stingless bees (Hymenoptera, Apidae, Meliponini) live in populous permanent colonies and face the same problem as other foraging social insects: how to coordinate the worker's actions and respond to the spatio-temporal uncertainties of food availability in their habitat. Here we review the (social) information used by individual foragers and how organized collective foraging emerges from the individual actions. We also address intra- and interspecific competition for food and the impact of the African honey bee on stingless bee collective foraging. Melipona / Trigona / self-organization / communication / foraging / Africanized honeybee / insect society
Dynamic personalization for meta-queriers

There exist an increasing number of online databases searchable only through query interfaces. Meta-queriers with an integrated query interface are a practical solution to effective searching of information from multiple data sources. The diversity of user demands and their frequent changes necessitate the need for dynamic and personalized meta-queriers. This paper presents a mapping management system, called M-Repository, to facilitate the implementation of meta-queriers with two innovative features: personalized source selection and dynamic reconfiguration. To support such two features, M-Repository is designed to contain two unique functionalities: 1) reuse-oriented mapping discovery, 2) semantic-based mapping organization. This paper describes the models and implementation structure of M-Repository. Experiments are conducted on real-world query forms, and the results show that the approach is feasible and effective.
Radio source search using force field vectors weighted by received signal strength gradients

The indoor radio source search using received signal strength (RSS) is difficult due to the multipath propagation effects. Robots driven by the ordinary gradient searching methods are always stuck in local maxima. Chemotaxis search and theseus gradient search can overcome local extreme traps, however they are inefficient in terms of travel distance. In this study, we propose a force field searching algorithm which is efficient in travel distance and invulnerable to RSS local maxima. A virtual attraction force weighted by RSS gradient from each possible location of the radio source is modeled, by gradually discard the impossible radio source locations eventually the robot can reach the true location of the radio source. Force field search is robust and fast even when the RSS readings are highly influenced by multipath effects. Simulation results driven by real data show the high efficiency of this method.
FEDERAL SUBSIDY OF IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT

: The Congress of the United States has been concerned about public lands from the earliest days of this republic. The importance of irrigation on these public lands was explicitly noted with enactment of the Carey Act of 1884. This was reinforced with the passage in 1902 of “An Act appropriating the receipts from the sale and disposal of public lands in certain states and territories to the construction of irrigation works for the reclamation of arid lands.” This Act further specified that land so irrigated would be entered under the provisions of the Homestead Laws and developed in units of not less than 40 nor more than 160 acres. The enforcement of the 160 acre limitation has been reinforced by several recent lawsuits. These have reaffirmed the provisions of the Reclamation Law requiring owners receiving water from Federal projects to sell land in excess of 160 acres. While there have been Federal subsidies involved in the development of irrigation in the western states, the total amount of the subsidies are insignificant compared to the total Federal budget and the size of subsidies under other Federal programs. Thus, the real question in enforcing the 160 acre limitation may well be one of land reform rather than the distribution of Federal subsidies.
On the (Mis)Use of Wealth as a Proxy for Risk Aversion

Tests of risk sharing in the contracting literature often rely on wealth as a proxy for risk aversion. The intuition behind these tests is that since contract choice is monotonic in the coefficients of risk aversion, which are themselves assumed monotonic in wealth, the effect of a change in wealth on contract choice is clearly identified. We show that tests of risk sharing relying on wealth as a proxy for risk aversion are identified only insofar as the econometrician is willing to assume that (a) the principal is risk neutral or her preferences exhibit constant absolute risk aversion (CARA); and (b) the agent is risk neutral.
On modeling edematous alveolar mechanics

to the editor: Chen et al. ([1][1]) recently published in the Journal of Applied Physiology a modeling study of lung inflation effects on stretch and stress of an alveolar septum separating aerated and flooded alveoli ([1][1]). Chen et al. base their model on two images from an experimental study by
Generation and function of induced regulatory T cells.

CD4+ CD25+ Foxp3+ regulatory T (Treg) cells are essential to the balance between pro- and anti-inflammatory responses. There are two major subsets of Treg cells, “natural” Treg (nTreg) cells that develop in the thymus, and “induced” Treg (iTreg) cells that arise in the periphery from CD4+ Foxp3– conventional T (Tconv) cells and can be generated in vitro. Previous work has established that both subsets are required for immunological tolerance. Additionally, in vitro-derived iTreg cells can reestablish tolerance in situations where Treg cells are decreased or defective. This review will focus on iTreg cells, drawing comparisons to nTreg cells when possible. We discuss the molecular mechanisms of iTreg cell induction, both in vivo and in vitro, review the Foxp3-dependent and -independent transcriptional landscape of iTreg cells, and examine the proposed suppressive mechanisms utilized by each Treg cell subset. We also compare the T cell receptor repertoire of the Treg cell subsets, discuss inflammatory conditions where iTreg cells are generated or have been used for treatment, and address the issue of iTreg cell stability.
Goals of thermionic program for space power

The thermionic and Brayton reactor concepts were compared for application to space power. For a turbine inlet temperature of 15000 K the Brayton powerplant weighted 5 to 40% less than the thermionic concept. The out of core concept separates the thermionic converters from their reactor. Technical risks are diminished by: (1) moving the insolator out of the reactor; (2) allowing a higher thermal flux for the thermionic converters than is required of the reactor fuel; and (3) eliminating fuel swelling's threat against lifetime of the thermionic converters. Overall performance can be improved by including power processing in system optimization for design and technology on more efficient, higher temperature power processors. The thermionic reactors will be larger than those for competitive systems with higher conversion efficiency and lower reactor operating temperatures. It is concluded that although the effect of reactor size on shield weight will be modest for unmanned spacecraft, the penalty in shield weight will be large for manned or man-tended spacecraft.