cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Measures of temporal discrimination in fixed-interval performance: A case study in archiving data

Many experiments on animal learning and performance consist of discrete events, such as the onset or termination of a stimulus, the delivery of food, or a response that closes or opens a switch or that breaks a photobeam. Investigators of operant conditioning have made extensive use of the cumulative recorder to record the primary data that consist of times of occurrences of these discrete events (Ferster & Skinner, 1957). These records, although extensive, are not in a convenient form for subsequent analysis. In most cases, only selected examples of performance could be presented. To reduce the random error on individual trials of individual animals, most investigators have presented summary measures of behavior averaged across many trials, and sometimes across many animals. Although the primary data can produce all of the summary measures, the summary measures cannot be used to reconstruct all other summary measures. A good quantitative theory of the processes involved in animal learning and performance should lead to the prediction of the primary data (and thus, all summary measures), not just selected summary measures. The value of archiving primary data will be developed with a case study of an experiment with fixed-interval schedules of reinforcement. In a fixed-interval schedule of reinforcement, a pigeon, a rat, a human, or some other animal receives a reinforcer following a response after a fixed interval following some event, such as food delivery or stimulus onset. Fixed-interval schedules of reinforcement have been used extensively for many years to investigate the ability of animals to adjust to the temporal regularities of their environment.
Phylogenetic Relationships Among Hypotrichous Ciliates Determined with the Macronuclear Gene Encoding the Large, Catalytic Subunit of DNA Polymerase α

The complete macronuclear DNA polymerase α gene, previously sequenced in Oxytricha nova, has been cloned from a genomic macronuclear library and sequenced for the hypotrich O. trifallax. Macronuclear DNA clones of DNA polymerase α encoding ∼1000 amino acids, or approximately two-thirds of the open reading frame, have been obtained by PCR and sequenced for Halteria grandinella, Holosticha species, Paraurostyla viridis, Pleurotricha lanceolata, Stylonychia lemnae Teller, Sty. mytilus, Uroleptus gallina, and Urostyla grandis. Phylogenetic relationships inferred from DNA polymerase α amino acid sequences have been used to clarify taxonomic relationships previously determined by morphology of the cell cortex. Hypotrich phylogenies based on DNA polymerase α amino acid sequences are incongruent with morphological and other molecular phylogenies. Based upon these data, we assert that, contrary to morphological data, O. nova and O. trifallax are different species, and we propose that the oligotrich Halteria grandinella be reclassified as a hypotrich. This work also extends the available data base of eukaryotic DNA polymerase α sequences, and suggests new amino acid sequence targets for mutagenesis experiments to continue the functional dissection of DNA pol α biochemistry at the molecular level.
More or Less: Copy Number Alterations in Mycosis Fungoides

Mycosis fungoides (MF) is the most common form of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL), a heterogeneous group of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas of skin-homing T cells. MF may vary from limited patchy skin disease to extensive cutaneous plaque and tumor involvement to extracutaneous compartments of blood, lymph nodes, and viscera. Advances in genomic technologies have enabled the increasing characterization of genetic alterations in this malignancy; using this technology, investigators hope to understand MF's variable behavior and pathogenesis. In this issue, Salgado et al. identify regions of genomic DNA alterations from 41 MF samples and report associations with prognosis.
The Drosophila SUN protein Spag4 cooperates with the coiled-coil protein Yuri Gagarin to maintain association of the basal body and spermatid nucleus

Maintaining the proximity of centrosomes to nuclei is important in several cellular contexts, and LINC complexes formed by SUN and KASH proteins are crucial in this process. Here, we characterize the presumed Drosophila ortholog of the mammalian SUN protein, sperm-associated antigen 4 (Spag4, previously named Giacomo), and demonstrate that Spag4 is required for centriole and nuclear attachment during spermatogenesis. Production of spag4 mRNA is limited to the testis, and Spag4 protein shows a dynamic pattern of association with the germline nuclei, including a concentration of protein at the site of attachment of the single spermatid centriole. In the absence of Spag4, nuclei and centrioles or basal bodies (BBs) dissociate from each other after meiosis. This role of Spag4 in centriolar attachment does not involve either of the two KASH proteins of the Drosophila genome (Klarsicht and MSP-300), but does require the coiled-coil protein Yuri Gagarin. Yuri shows an identical pattern of localization at the nuclear surface to Spag4 during spermatogenesis, and epistasis studies show that the activities of Yuri and dynein-dynactin are downstream of spag4 in this centriole attachment pathway. The later defects in spermatogenesis seen for yuri and spag4 mutants are similar, suggesting they could be secondary to initial disruption of events at the nuclear surface.
Variational approach to strong-coupling quantum chromodynamics

We consider a superposition of string configurations as a meson trial wave function in quantum chromodynamics and regard its amplitude as a variational parameter. By minimizing the meson energy we obtain a Schr\"odinger equation and an effective Hamiltonian for the amplitude.
Land and Water Problems: An Institutional Perspective

The two questions to be addressed here are: (a) Why is an institutional perspective on natural resource problems worthy of serious consideration by economists? And (b) what is the nature of that particular view of public policy questions concerning natural resources? The first question must be considered in a relative sense-as a methodological inquiry into the logic and robustness of the conventional wisdom. That is, the case for an institutional perspective must rest on our evaluation of the prevailing orthodoxy in terms of providing scientific guidance in matters of collective action. My purpose is to convince you of some important shortcomings of that orthodoxy. Once we have accomplished that, I can turn to a brief overview of the economics of collective action from an
Voltammetry in gas phase environments

Abstract Cyclic voltammetric studies of solvent vapors were performed to investigate the possibilities and limitations of electrochemistry in a gas phase environment. No electrochemical response occurs unless the solvent adsorbs across the insulator between the electrodes. Ionic contact is maintained by autoprotolytic and acid-base reactions of the adsorbed solvent and trace impurities (e.g. water). In autoprotolytic solvents, ion concentration is not substantially enhanced by acid-base reactions. The electrochemical signal in ion-generating solvents corresponds to faradaic processes; inert solvents generate simple capacitive responses. Electrolysis signals increase with autoprotolysis constant; a minimum dielectric constant of 5–10 is needed to allow electrolysis. Based on the Frumkin correction, the electrolysis of solvent ions as well as solvent molecules may contribute to the current.
Quantitative nutritional studies with water-soluble, chemically defined diets. V. Role of the isomeric arginines in growth.

Abstract Three groups of soluble, chemically defined diets containing the same nine “essential” amino acids were prepared, whereby each group was distinguished by the possession of a different complement of “nonessential” amino acids, and were fed in the usual 50% clear aqueous solution to weanling male rats. One group of diets had only l -alanine as a “non-essential”, one had a nearly full complement of “non-essentials” as in casein, while the third group of diets had only a few “non-essentials”. Within each group the diets contained l -arginine, or d -arginine, or no arginine. All diets were isonitrogenous and isocaloric, the total nitrogen of the diets lacking arginine being brought to standard by addition of l -alanine. With only one “non-essential” or with all “non-essentials”, the diets lacking arginine were equally efficacious; but when l -arginine was added to each, the enhanced growth rate of the latter mixture was very much greater than that of the former. The diet with only a few “non-essentials” was the poorest of the three in the absence of arginine; but when this amino acid was present, growth was greatly enhanced. It would appear that the presence of l -arginine in a diet may conceal or obscure fundamental deficiencies in that diet otherwise revealed by its absence. The rate of growth of the animals on diets containing l -arginine was greater than that of animals containing d -arginine, but the dietary intake on the former was also greater than on the latter, while both were greater than on diets lacking arginine. When diets were compared on the basis of the ratio of average weight gained to dietary intake, it could be calculated that all diets containing l - or d -arginine were nearly equally efficacious, and superior to diets lacking in either of these isomers. Thus, values of 0.38 and 0.36 versus 0.27 could be calculated for one group of diets, and 0.41 and 0.40 versus 0.32 for another. These ratios more accurately describe “adequacy”, and are independent of either member of the ratio. As might be expected from the results with d -arginine, α-keto-δ-guanido- n -valeric acid enhances growth on a diet lacking arginine.
Viral damage and the breakdown of self-tolerance.

Theiler's virus induces breakdown of tolerance to myelin and initiates a multiple sclerosis-like autoimmune disease in mice (pages 1133−1136).
Effect of hypophyseal growth hormone upon rats fed low protein diets

Conclusions(1) The injection of growth hormone into rats fed a 6% casein diet results in nitrogen retention without significant gain in weight. (2) The addition of -methionine renders the 6% casein diet capable of supporting the rapid growth induced by the growth hormone.
Progress in mapping human epilepsy genes

Summary: The chromosomal loci for seven epilepsy genes have been identified in chromosomes lq, 6p, 8q, 16p, 20q, 21q, and 22q. In 1987, the first epilepsy locus was mapped in a common benign idiopathic generalized epilepsy syndrome, juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME). Properdin factor or Bf, human leukocyte antigen (HLA), and DNA markers in the HLA-DQ region were genetically linked to JME and the locus, named EJM1, was assigned to the short arm of chromosome 6. Our latest studies, as well as those by White-house et al., show that not all families with JME have their genetic locus in chromosome 6p, and that childhood absence epilepsy does not map to the same EJM1 locus. Recent results, therefore, favor genetic heterogeneity for JME and for the common idiopathic generalized epilepsies. Heterogeneity also exists in benign familial neonatal convulsions, a rare form of idiopathic generalized epilepsy. Two loci are now recognized; one in chromosome 20q (EBN1) and another in chromosome 8q. Heterogeneity also exists for the broad group of debilitating and often fatal progressive myoclonus epilepsies (PME). The gene locus (EPMI) for both the Baltic and Mediterranean types of PME or Unverricht-Lundborg disease is the same and is located in the long arm of chromosome 21. Lafora type of PME does not map to the same EPMI locus in chromosome 21. PME can be caused by the juvenile type of Gaucher's disease, which maps to chromosome lq, by the juvenile type of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (CLN3), which maps to chromosome 16p, and by the “cherry-red-spot-myoclonus” syndrome of Guazzi or sialidosis type I, which has been localized to chromosome 10. A point mutation in the mitochondrial tRNALys coding gene can also cause PME in children and adults (MERFF).
Pregnancy and Kidney Transplantation

Despite decades of experience with child bearing in women with kidney transplants, these pregnancies remain high risk with an increased prevalence of hypertension and pre-eclampsia. Infertility, common in women with end-stage renal disease, is rapidly restored after transplant although pregnancy rates appear lower in transplant recipients than the general public. Many unanswered questions exist, some old questions such as what is the optimal timing of pregnancy after transplant, whether breast feeding is safe, the long-term impact if any on the offspring, and whether pregnancy negatively affects the kidney graft; and some new questions such as whether to modify immunosuppression in a patient taking a mycophenolic acid-containing drug, whether kidney donation has a deleterious impact on future pregnancies, whether to use erythropoietin-stimulating agents, and the role of BK virus. Counseling about contraception and pregnancy after transplant should be initiated during the pretransplant evaluation process. It is important because of the rapid restoration of fertility that occurs after transplant as well as the many risks and unanswered questions that remain.
Community Colleges, Budget Cuts, and Jobs: The Impact of Community Colleges on Employment Growth in Rural U.S. Counties, 1976-2004.

In the decades following World War II, a significant expansion of community colleges occurred throughout the United States. As the baby boom generation came of age, demand for higher education spiked, and policy makers allocated the requisite funding to expand institutions of higher education. This expansion, including vigorous funding from federal, state, and local units of government, was politically popular. This openhanded support ended in the latter decades of the twentieth century as hostility to paying taxes and to public spending mounted. In recent decades, community colleges have competed with other social expenditures, such as prisons and health care demands, for scarce public resources. And, in a number of states, community colleges have fared poorly in this competition. Using multivariate analyses and data gathered from several sources, including the American Association of Community Colleges, the authors examine the impacts of community colleges on local employment trends. Their research focuses on rural counties over four time periods between 1976 and 2004. This focus is important, as rural areas have faced severe and chronic economic decline over the study period. Their research (specifically for the 1976-1983 and 1991-1997 panels) provides evidence that established community colleges made a significant contribution to employment growth. However, for the most recent panel (i.e., 1998-2004), the coefficient for community colleges is negative. An examination of the interaction between community colleges and states’ fiscal contexts provides evidence that this decline may be the result of states cutting back their funding levels for community colleges.
A Theoretical and Experimental Analysis of Macrodecoration of Defects in Monocrystalline Silicon

Microdefect distribution in a monocrystalline silicon wafer is identified by saturating the wafer with copper at a high temperature followed by copper precipitate growth through rapid cooling followed by surface polishing and subsequent microdefect-decorating etching. The decorated microdefect field consists of etch pits that are formed by the difference in the etching rates of the precipitate influenced region around microdefects, and the etching rate of the surrounding defect-free silicon. Interplay between liquid-phase mass-transport effects and surface kinetics plays a key role in the microdefect decoration. It is shown that the macrodecoration of microdefects is typically realized in the absence of significant effects of the liquid-phase diffusion. The developed phenomenological model leads to classification of etchants as either polishing or potentially decorating and to identification of conditions necessary for an efficient microdefect decoration. The competing effects of kinetics toward microdefect decoration and liquidphase transport toward surface polishing are quantified by theoretically derived solutions for the decorating efficiency and the polishing efficiency. Autoerosion of the microdefects by mildly polishing etchants is also quantified. Analytical expressions for the microdefect-decorating and microdefect-polishing conditions are presented. Finally, decorating and polishing etchants are experimentally identified from a group of etchants and the proposed theory is verified by experimental data.
Smoking and hormone-related disorders.

Over the past two decades, cigarette smoking has been increasingly linked to a variety of disorders caused by an excess or deficiency of sex hormones. Disorders related to hormones and tobacco use occur with more or less frequency among smokers, compared with non-smokers, and they encompass a wide range of diseases (Table 1). A unifying theme common to these disorders is the antiestrogenic effect of cigarette smoking. This article reviews proposed pathogenic mechanisms and the epidemiology of selected hormone-related diseases that have been linked to smoking.
DO CURRENT MEASURES OF DIMENSIONS OF SOURCE CREDIBILITY PRODUCE STABLE OUTCOMES IN REPLICATED TESTS

Over a period of one year, data were obtained from four groups of university students to compare the stability of scores on the McCroskey and Jenson Source Credibility Scale and the Leathers Person...
A Layer-Multiplexed 3D On-Chip Network Architecture

Programmable many-core processors are poised to become a major design option for many embedded applications. In the design of power-efficient embedded many-core processors, the architecture of the on-chip network plays a central role. Many designs have relied on a 2D mesh architecture as the underlying communication fabric. With the emergence of 3D technology, new on-chip network architectures are possible. In this paper, we propose a novel layer-multiplexed (LM) 3D network architecture that takes advantage of the short interlayer wiring delays enabled in 3D technology. In particular, the LM architecture replaces the one-layer-per-hop routing in a conventional 3D mesh with simpler vertical demultiplexing and multiplexing structures. When combined with a layer load-balanced oblivious routing algorithm, it can achieve the same worst-case throughput as the best known oblivious routing algorithm on a conventional 3D mesh. However, in comparison to a conventional 3D mesh, the LM architecture consumes 27% less power, attains 14.5% higher average throughput, and achieves 33% lower worst-case hop count on a 4 times 4 times 4 topology.
Rubber-to-metal bonding by silanes

This paper deals with the bonding of sulfur-vulcanized rubber compounds to metals. It had previously been reported that bis-(triethoxysilyl)ethane and vinyltriethoxysilane were found to work for bonding peroxide-cured rubber compounds to metals. These silanes were found not to work with sulfur-cured rubber compounds. In this case, a mixture of bis-(trimethoxysilylpropyl)amine and bis-(triethoxysilylpropyl) tetrasulfide was found to work and results are presented of experiments in which brass, steel, and electrogalvanized steel were bonded to a typical tire cord skim compound with and without a cobalt additive. This new silane treatment was found to be as effective as or better than brass adhesion to cobalt-containing rubber compounds. The superior corrosion protection offered by the silanes was also demonstrated using DC corrosion and polarization resistance measurements. The silane process reported in this paper behaves almost similarly with all metal substrates. In this paper, the structure of the silan...
Palaeomagnetism of the Moberly formation, northern Missouri, confirms a regional magnetic datum within the pre-Illinoian glacial sequence of the midcontinental USA

The Moberly formation of northern Missouri, USA includes glacigenic sediment deposited during the second major pre-Illinoian glaciation and is overlain by three younger normal-polarity tills. The Moberly (mostly till) preserves two different magnetic remanences. A detrital remanent magnetization has reversed polarity with shallow (-30 to -40) inclinations. The shallow inclination is regionally persistent and spans different facies, including those not prone to large inclination error. A secondary overprint of normal polarity is associated with a thin oxidized zone and weakly developed paleosol in the upper portion of the till. This chemical remanent magnetization is distinguished by high coercivities typical of authigenic ferromagnetic minerals and by scattered remanence vectors upon stepwise demagnetization. The secondary normal remanence was likely acquired during a brief interglacial period between deposition of the Moberly formation and the next glaciation. The short interglacial and the shallow inclinations indicate that the glaciation which deposited the Moberly occurred shortly before a major polarity change from reverse to normal, probably the Brunhes-Matuyama reversal.
Edge distribution and density in the characteristic sequence

Abstract The characteristic sequence of hypergraphs 〈 P n : n ω 〉 associated to a formula φ ( x ; y ) , introduced in Malliaris (2010) [5] , is defined by P n ( y 1 , … , y n ) = ( ∃ x ) ⋀ i ≤ n φ ( x ; y i ) . We continue the study of characteristic sequences, showing that graph-theoretic techniques, notably Szemeredi’s celebrated regularity lemma, can be naturally applied to the study of model-theoretic complexity via the characteristic sequence. Specifically, we relate classification-theoretic properties of φ and of the P n (considered as formulas) to density between components in Szemeredi-regular decompositions of graphs in the characteristic sequence. In addition, we use Szemeredi regularity to calibrate model-theoretic notions of independence by describing the depth of independence of a constellation of sets and showing that certain failures of depth imply Shelah’s strong order property S O P 3 ; this sheds light on the interplay of independence and order in unstable theories.
Mental health provider attitudes toward adoption of evidence-based practice: the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale (EBPAS).

Mental health provider attitudes toward organizational change have not been well studied. Dissemination and implementation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) into real-world settings represent organizational change that may be limited or facilitated by provider attitudes toward adoption of new treatments, interventions, and practices. A brief measure of mental health provider attitudes toward adoption of EBPs was developed and attitudes were examined in relation to a set of provider individual difference and organizational characteristics. Methods: Participants were 322 public sector clinical service workers from 51 programs providing mental health services to children and adolescents and their families. Results: Four dimensions of attitudes toward adoption of EBPs were identified: (1) intuitive Appeal of EBP, (2) likelihood of adopting EBP given Requirements to do so, (3) Openness to new practices, and (4) perceived Divergence of usual practice with research-based/academically developed interventions. Provider attitudes varied by education level, level of experience, and organizational context. Conclusions: Attitudes toward adoption of EBPs can be reliably measured and vary in relation to individual differences and service context. EBP implementation plans should include consideration of mental health service provider attitudes as a potential aid to improve the process and effectiveness of dissemination efforts.
Selective Attention Deficits in High Test Anxious Children: A Failure to Replicate

Dusek, Mergler and Kermis (1976) reported results from a visual incidental learning task supporting the hypothesis that performance deficits in high test anxious children result from attention to task—irrevelant information. The present study investigated selective attention in high test anxious children and the possibility that Dusek et al.'s findings resulted from an association between test anxiety and poor reading ability, with reading ability rather than test anxiety being the variable associated with selective attention difficulties. Three measures of selective attention were employed—visual and auditory incidental learning tasks and a speeded classification task. The results failed to support Dusek et al.'s findings; no evidence was found for selective attention deficits in high test—anxious children. In addition, there was a marginal tendency for older poor readers to be more likely than normal readers to be high test—anxious; this finding is consistent with the suggestion that Dusek et. al's resu...
A Nonmetal Approach to α‐Heterofunctionalized Carbonyl Derivatives by Formal Reductive XH Insertion

Keeping it organic: A direct synthesis of α-alkoxy and α-amino ester derivatives by direct reductive coupling of widely available, stable α-keto esters and protic pronucleophiles is described (see scheme; X = OR, NR(2)). The method serves as a convenient nonmetal alternative to X-H insertion by diazo decomposition.
Negative Reinforcement and Premonitory Urges in Youth With Tourette Syndrome An Experimental Evaluation

Tourette syndrome (TS) is marked by the chronic presence of motor and vocal tics that are usually accompanied by aversive sensory experiences called “premonitory urges.” Phenomenological accounts s...
Scalable community discovery on textual data with relations

Every piece of textual data is generated as a method to convey its authors' opinion regarding specific topics. Authors deliberately organize their writings and create links, i.e., references, acknowledgments, for better expression. Thereafter, it is of interest to study texts as well as their relations to understand the underlying topics and communities. Although many efforts exist in the literature in data clustering and topic mining, they are not applicable to community discovery on large document corpus for several reasons. First, few of them consider both textual attributes as well as relations. Second, scalability remains a significant issue for large-scale datasets. Additionally, most algorithms rely on a set of initial parameters that are hard to be captured and tuned. Motivated by the aforementioned observations, a hierarchical community model is proposed in the paper which distinguishes community cores from affiliated members. We present our efforts to develop a scalable community discovery solution for large-scale document corpus. Our proposal tries to quickly identify potential cores as seeds of communities through relation analysis. To eliminate the influence of initial parameters, an innovative attribute-based core merge process is introduced so that the algorithm promises to return consistent communities regardless initial parameters. Experimental results suggest that the proposed method has high scalability to corpus size and feature dimensionality, with more than 15 topical precision improvement compared with popular clustering techniques.
Perceived stereotyping and seeking care for chronic vulvar pain.

Approximately 10% - 18% of American women have had symptoms consistent with vulvodynia at some point in their lives1-4. Among the estimated 116 million American chronic pain sufferers, women with vulvodynia play a significant role in the chronic pain epidemic due to their high rate of co-morbidity5-8, the subsequent psychosocial impact of this condition9-12, population-level economic costs13, the risk of reproductive consequences14,15, and the young age at which peak incidence of vulvodynia occurs16,17. The goal of medical intervention for vulvodynia is to reduce or eliminate pain, and in fact, remission from vulvar pain is thought to occur for some women18. However, unsuccessful treatment of vulvodynia, leading to prolonged pain, can profoundly affect a woman's sexual functioning19,20. Whereas successful intervention, which is often multidisciplinary, can lead to not only overall pain reduction but also nearly pain-free intercourse21, decreased depression and anxiety22, and improved psychological well-being23. Medical management of vulvodynia has only been moderately effective so it is unclear to what extent medical care influences resolution of symptoms for women with vulvodynia. 24-29. In addition, examining the role of medical therapy on remission among all women with vulvodynia may far overestimate its true effect because in reality only roughly half of women with vulvar pain seek medical care1,4. Reasons women choose not to seek medical care for their vulvar pain have not been elucidated. However, some studies have found that women with vulvodynia are apprehensive to speak about their pain with others9, and feelings of isolation and invalidation of their pain are common8. Although no previous studies regarding failure to seek medical care have been conducted among women with vulvodynia, studies of other chronic pain syndromes have identified that stigma, whether perceived, inadvertent, or real, contributes to estrangement from health care providers, particularly physicians30-32. Sampling from a large administrative healthcare system database that represents young women from the surrounding geographical area, we conducted a study that estimates the prevalence of perceived stereotyping, which may ultimately lead to stigma, regarding vulvar pain sufferers. We then determined whether perceived stigma was associated with the high level of failure to seek care among women with chronic vulvar pain.
Spherical and Anisotropic Silver Nanomaterials in Medical Diagnosis

Silver-based nanostructures have been widely used for biosensors and medical diagnostics due to their unique optical properties. In this chapter, we review the fundamentals of different novel diagnostics techniques, such as surface plasmon resonance, localized surface plasmon resonance, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, metal-enhanced florescence and surface-enhanced infrared absorbance spectroscopy, based on the unique plasmonic properties of silver nanostructures. The general methodology to synthesize and fabricate different silver nanostructures is also reviewed. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy has been used as an example to show the potential of Ag nanoparticle-based diagnostic techniques in applications such as drug identification, biomarker tracing, DNA and RNA differentiation, virus and bacterial detection. The demonstrated Ag nanostructure-based optical sensing techniques have not only high efficiency and sensitivity but also relatively simple equipment requirements and are economic – features which offer great potential for use in practical diagnostics. Keywords: nanoparticle; nanorod; silver; plasmon; diagnostics; pathogen; surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy; metal-enhanced florescence; surface plasmon resonance; localized surface plasmon resonance
Constraints on flow regimes in wide-aperture fractures

In recent years, significant advances have been made in our understanding of the complex flow processes in individual fractures, aided by flow visualization experiments and conceptual modeling efforts. These advances have led to the recognition of several flow regimes in individual fractures subjected to different initial and boundary conditions. Of these, the most important regimes are film flow, rivulet flow, and sliding of droplets. The existence of such significantly dissimilar flow regimes has been a major hindrance in the development of self-consistent conceptual models of flow for single fractures that encompass all the flow regimes. The objective of this study is to delineate the existence of the different flow regimes in individual fractures. For steady-state flow conditions, we developed physical constraints on the different flow regimes that satisfy minimum energy configurations, which enabled us to segregate the wide range of fracture transmissivity (volumetric flow rate per fracture width) into several flow regimes. These are, in increasing order of flow rate, flow of adsorbed films, flow of sliding drops, rivulet flow, stable film flow, and unstable (turbulent) film flow. The scope of this study is limited to wide-aperture fractures with the flow on the opposing sides of fracture being independent.
The unique nature of mg2+ channels.

Considering the biological abundance and importance of Mg2+, there is a surprising lack of information regarding the proteins that transport Mg2+, the mechanisms by which they do so, and their physiological roles within the cell. The best characterized Mg2+ channel to date is the bacterial protein CorA, present in a wide range of bacterial species. The CorA homolog Mrs2 forms the mitochondrial Mg2+ channel in all eukaryotes. Physiologically, CorA is involved in bacterial pathogenesis, and the Mrs2 eukaryotic homolog is essential for cell survival. A second Mg2+ channel widespread in bacteria is MgtE. Its eukaryotic homologs are the SLC41 family of carriers. Physiological roles for MgtE and its homologs have not been established. Recently, the crystal structures for the bacterial CorA and MgtE Mg2+ channels were solved, the first structures of any divalent cation channel. As befits the unique biological chemistry of Mg2+, both structures are unique, unlike that of any other channel or transporter. Although structurally quite different, both CorA and MgtE appear to be gated in a similar manner through multiple Mg2+ binding sites in the cytosolic domain of the channels. These sites essentially serve as Mg2+ “sensors” of cytosolic Mg2+ concentration. Many questions about these channels remain, however, including the molecular basis of Mg2+ selectivity and the physiological role(s) of their eukaryotic homologs.
THE PHENOMENON OF LOCAL SKIN REACTIVITY TO BACTERIAL FILTRATES: ELICITATION OF LOCAL REACTIVITY BY WAY OF THE VASCULAR SYSTEM.

The skin of the rabbit's ear is considerably more resistant than the abdominal skin to the phenomenon of local skin reactivity to bacterial filtrates. Ten times the provocative dose is required if it is given into the vein of the prepared ear and thirty times the provocative dose if it is given into the vein of the non-prepared ear. The state of reactivity cannot be elicited by a preparatory intravenous injection of bacterial filtrates alone into clamped and non-clamped ears. The state also fails to appear in combination with cold, xylol, ethyl urethane, pilocarpine hydrochloride, atropine, calcium gluconate, guinea pig liver extract, histamine dihydrochloride, adrenalin chloride, and pituitrin. Preparatory intravenous injections of toxins are capable of eliciting the state of reactivity in the rabbit's ear when they are accompanied by thermal hyperemia (i.e., exposure to 45 degrees , 50 degrees , and 55 degrees C.). It is also possible to induce the state of reactivity when a mixture of the preparatory factors with testicular extract is given into the veins of clamped ears. The incubation period required may be less than 2 hours. In the light of the above experiments, there are discussed various observations concerning the elicitation of the phenomena of organ reactivity by means of live bacterial cultures and the filtrates thereof.
Lunar Ranging, Gravitomagnetism, and APOLLO

The technique of lunar laser ranging (LLR) has for many decades contributed to cutting-edge tests of the fundamental nature of gravity. These include the best tests to date of the strong equivalence principle, the time-rate-of-change of the gravitational constant, gravitomagnetism, the inverse square law, and preferred frame effects. The phenomenologies of each are briefly discussed, followed by an extended discussion of gravitomagnetism. Finally, the new APOLLO project is summarized, which achieves range precision as low as one millimeter.
Partial Seizures in Monozygous Twins

Summary: Identical twins concordant for partial epilepsy, with onset at 8 and 11 years of age, are presented. Their course has been benign on anticonvulsant therapy. It is suggested that these cases of presumed genetic epilepsy support current concepts of cortical origin and genetic determinants in several subtypes of focal epilepsy of childhood. RESUME Les auteurs presentent des jumeaux identiques concordant pour une epilepsie partielle, ayant debutea 8 ans et 11 ans. Leur evolution a ete benigne sous traitement anticonvulsif. Ces cas d'epilepsie presumee genetique pourraient soutenir les concepts actuels de l'origine corticale et des determinants genetiques dans plusieurs sous-groupes d'epilepsie partielle de l'enfant. RESUMEN Se presentan dos gemelos identicos que coincidi'an en el pade-cimiento de epilepsia parcial con un comienzo a los 8 y a los 11 anos respectivamente. La evolucion ha sido benigna con terapia anticomicial. Se sugiere que estos casos, con presumible epilepsia genetica, apoyan los conceptos corrientes de un origen cortical y determinantes geneticos en varios grupos de epilepsia focal en la infancia. ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Identische Zwillinge, konkordant fur Partialepilepsie und einem Beginn im Alter von 8 und 11 Jahren, werden vorgestellt. Ihr Krankheitsverlauf unter antikonvulsiver Therapie war benigne. Es wird vermutet, das diese Beispiele einer vermutlich genetischen Epilepsie das gegenwartige Konzept des kortikalen Ursprungs und der genetischen Determination von verschiedenen Untergruppen der fokalen Epilepsie im Kindesalter unterstutzen.
Are Research Ethics Committees Prepared for Community-Based Participatory Research?:

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is challenging to research ethics committees (RECs). We reviewed the REC preparedness when reviewing CBPR projects. We searched the MEDLINE database and included qualitative studies of CBPR researchers or REC members about their experiences with RECs. The search yielded 107 studies, of which 10 met our criteria. Barriers were that the community is not prepared to conduct research, the reluctance of RECs to work outside the university, the difficulty RECs have understanding CBPR, and that REC forms evaluate individual rather than community risk. Facilitators were having a CBPR expert as an REC member and educating RECs. Therefore, RECs are not prepared to evaluate CBPR projects leading to unnecessary delays in the approval process.
The nickel industry: Continued response to a changing environment

Abstract The world nickel market has slowly evolved from domination by the International Nickel Company (Inco) into a competitive structure. Presently, the nickel industry is characterized by product surpluses and low prices. The change in structure and the current state of the industry has resulted from the price strategy followed by the leading nickel producers, a general decline in market development expenditures, certain characteristics of developing nickel producing capacity and several unforeseen events. Examination of these factors can help in developing policy options aimed at improving the future of the industry.
The pemoline model of self-injurious behaviour.

Traditional models of neuropsychiatric disorders consist of attempts to replicate the broad spectrum of behavioural and neurochemical sequelae that characterize a specific disorder. However, these disorders comprise complex constellations of symptoms, including emotional instability, perseverative thoughts, and aberrant behaviours. Close examination often reveals heterogeneity of symptom expression within patient groups and homogeneity in expression of specific symptoms across diagnostic categories. Accordingly, it may not be possible to model the entire spectrum of characteristics for any one of these disorders in any single animal model. A focus on one or more specific behavioural characteristics (e.g. self-injury) may be a more fruitful strategy. Development of behaviourally focused models yields increased understanding of the genetic basis and biochemical abnormalities that underlie specific psychiatric dysfunctions. Furthermore, by revealing pathophysiology that underlies specific disease characteristics, behaviourally focused models improve translational power and help to identify targets for effective pharmacotherapies. One such behaviourally focused animal model is the pemoline model of self-injurious behaviour. Language: en
The Paradox of Managerial Discretion and the Texture of Secured Transaction Laws

The debate in law and economics on secured financing has focused on the very basic features of secured transaction law: (a) the first-in time priority rule, (b) the foreclosure right of the secured party, and (c) the continuation of the security interest when the collateral is transferred to a third party. Agency theory has provided the most plausible efficiency explanations for the use of secured debt: given these three basic features, security interests constrain self-interested actions by managers that compromise firm value. In particular, secured debt restricts management's discretion to fund negative NPV projects by spending liquid assets, liquidating existing non-liquid assets or borrowing new funds. On the other hand, the absence of secured debt in a firm's capital structure (and the corresponding capacity to borrow on a secured basis) enables the firm to exploit profitable growth opportunities in the future. Where markets do not know the extent of future profitable opportunities available to the firm (or, conversely, the temptation for overinvestment), the texture of secured transaction laws yields a balance in managerial discretion that goes some distance toward enabling profitable while deterring unprofitable investment. This paper demonstrates how the details of the rules in Article 9 and the Bankruptcy Code control, without constricting, managerial access to internal and external finance.
Extending TSA with a Polar Stress Function to Non-Circular Cutouts

This paper extends ability to thermoelastically stress analyze components containing other than circular discontinuities. Combining recorded temperatures with a stress function for stress analysis (i.e., TSA) has proven to be effective. Previous publications applied TSA to members having various shaped cutouts by employing a stress function in complex variables [1]. A shortcoming of such an approach is that one can typically evaluate the stresses only incrementally around the entire edge of a hole or notch. Real variables are also easier to use than complex variables and a general series-form of the Airy stress function exists in (real) polar coordinates which enables the stresses be determined simultaneously around an entire cutout. The TSA approach using polar coordinates is illustrated here for the case of an elliptical hole in a finite tensile plate. Little information is available for such finite situations, purely analytical solutions are extremely difficult for finite geometries, and both theoretical and numerical approaches are challenging if the external loading is not well known. The number of Airy coefficients to retain is evaluated experimentally, and the TSA results are substantiated independently.
A geometric calibration method for inverse geometry computed tomography using P-matrices.

Accurate and artifact free reconstruction of tomographic images requires precise knowledge of the imaging system geometry. This work proposes a novel projection matrix (P-matrix) based calibration method to enable C-arm inverse geometry CT (IGCT). The method is evaluated for scanning-beam digital x-ray (SBDX), a C-arm mounted inverse geometry fluoroscopic technology. A helical configuration of fiducials is imaged at each gantry angle in a rotational acquisition. For each gantry angle, digital tomosynthesis is performed at multiple planes and a composite image analogous to a cone-beam projection is generated from the plane stack. The geometry of the C-arm, source array, and detector array is determined at each angle by constructing a parameterized 3D-to-2D projection matrix that minimizes the sum-of-squared deviations between measured and projected fiducial coordinates. Simulations were used to evaluate calibration performance with translations and rotations of the source and detector. In a geometry with 1 mm translation of the central ray relative to the axis-of-rotation and 1 degree yaw of the detector and source arrays, the maximum error in the recovered translational parameters was 0.4 mm and maximum error in the rotation parameter was 0.02 degrees. The relative rootmean- square error in a reconstruction of a numerical thorax phantom was 0.4% using the calibration method, versus 7.7% without calibration. Changes in source-detector-distance were the most challenging to estimate. Reconstruction of experimental SBDX data using the proposed method eliminated double contour artifacts present in a non-calibrated reconstruction. The proposed IGCT geometric calibration method reduces image artifacts when uncertainties exist in system geometry.
The Effect of Light Exposure on Feed in Broiler Pigmentation

Abstract Two experiments were conducted to determine the influence on broiler pigmentation of exposing the feed to light prior to feeding. Birds were reared in either environmentally modified (windowless) pens or in conventional open-sided pens and given feed either exposed to natural daylight for 2 days prior to feeding or given feed stored totally in the dark prior to feeding. At 56 days of age the birds were processed and the pigmentation determined using reflectance colorimetry on the skin and shanks. Broilers fed the light exposed feed exhibited higher pigmentation values than did the birds fed the unexposed feed regardless of housing type. The light exposed feed resulted in significantly higher skin dominant wavelength and redness (a*) in Experiment 1 and significantly lower luminosity and lightness (L*) scores in Experiment 2. Shank excitation purity and yellowness score (b*) was significantly higher for the light exposed feed in both experiments and also for dominant wavelength and redness score in Experiment 1 only. These data indicate that exposure of feed to daylight can result in an increase in broiler pigmentation values.
The Effect of Post-Resistance Exercise Amino Acids on Plasma MCP-1 and CCR2 Expression

The recruitment and infiltration of classical monocytes into damaged muscle is critical for optimal tissue remodeling. This study examined the effects of an amino acid supplement on classical monocyte recruitment following an acute bout of lower body resistance exercise. Ten resistance-trained men (24.7 ± 3.4 years; 90.1 ± 11.3 kg; 176.0 ± 4.9 cm) ingested supplement (SUPP) or placebo (PL) immediately post-exercise in a randomized, cross-over design. Blood samples were obtained at baseline (BL), immediately (IP), 30-min (30P), 1-h (1H), 2-h (2H), and 5-h (5H) post-exercise to assess plasma concentrations of monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1), myoglobin, cortisol and insulin concentrations; and expressions of C-C chemokine receptor-2 (CCR2), and macrophage-1 antigen (CD11b) on classical monocytes. Magnitude-based inferences were used to provide inferences on the true effects of SUPP compared to PL. Changes in myoglobin, cortisol, and insulin concentrations were similar between treatments. Compared to PL, plasma MCP-1 was “very likely greater” (98.1% likelihood effect) in SUPP at 2H. CCR2 expression was “likely greater” at IP (84.9% likelihood effect), “likely greater” at 1H (87.7% likelihood effect), “very likely greater” at 2H (97.0% likelihood effect), and “likely greater” at 5H (90.1% likelihood effect) in SUPP, compared to PL. Ingestion of SUPP did not influence CD11b expression. Ingestion of an amino acid supplement immediately post-exercise appears to help maintain plasma MCP-1 concentrations and augment CCR2 expression in resistance trained men.
Software simulator of marine monitoring platform

In recent decades, the monitoring of the ocean and sea waters parameters becomes more important. Usually, floating or fixed platforms with different sizes are used for installation of the different types of monitoring sensors. The types of platforms vary from big offshore oil and gas installations, through scientific and research platforms to navigational fairways buoys. This paper represents an approach to build a software simulator of data provided by a wide range of monitoring sensors and implemented in MatLab environment.