cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ionization, negative ion formation, elastic scattering and spin exchange in H + H collisions at low- to intermediate-energies

A new, two-electron transition mechanism is identified that provides the dominant pathway for negative ion formation in 1–20 keV H + H collisions revealed by use of the so-called 'hidden crossings' theoretical framework. This transition is made via a branch point between sheets of the complex, quasi-molecular, electronic potential energy surface for singlet states. Good agreement between measurements and the theoretically predicted cross sections is obtained. This mechanism also provides a pathway for ionization in this energy range adding to that previously identified (Bent et al 1998 J. Chem. Phys. 108 1459) involving hidden crossings among the triplet quasi-molecular states, improving the agreement of the resulting theoretical predictions with measurements between 2 and 20 keV. Also improving agreement with measurements is the addition of the effect of Rosenthal oscillations that are superposed upon the ionization and negative ion formation cross sections. We note that in addition to fundamental new insight provided by these calculations, the resulting data support modeling of hydrogen gases and plasmas such as in astrophysical environments and terrestrial laboratory experiments. Further supporting such needs for H + H collision data, we have also created a new and more comprehensive data set that significantly updates previous work (Krstic and Schultz 1999 J. Phys. B: At. Mol. Opt. Phys. 32 3485 and references therein) of elastic scattering and spin exchange integral and differential cross sections.
Quaternary Glaciation of Northern India

Abstract Marked contrasts in the extent and timing of glaciation exist between mountain ranges in Northern India, likely reflecting temporal and spatial variability in the south Asian monsoon, mid-latitude westerlies, and precipitation gradients. In arid zones, the extent of glaciation has become increasingly restricted throughout the Late Quaternary, whereas in monsoonal regions pre-Late Glacial moraine successions is generally poorly preserved possibly because latter advances were more extensive. On millennial timescales, glacier oscillations likely reflect times of positive mass-balance driven by increased insolation and intensified monsoon activity.
Cold War Games: Propaganda, the Olympics, and U.S. Foreign Policy, by Toby C. Rider

During the Cold War (1946–1991), the American Central Intelligence Agency provided covert funding to a wide array of private organizations in order to promote a positive narrative for the United St...
Insulin injected into CNS structures or into the carotid artery: effect on carbohydrate homeostasis of the intact animal.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the effect of an intact animal on carbohydrate homeostasis when insulin is injected into central nervous system (CNS) structures or into the carotid artery. The mode of action of insulin on the cells of the putative insulin-sensitive CNS center remains unclear. It appears that it may work through a non-glucose action of the hormone, as pretreatment of the animals with 2-deoxy-D-glucose did not eliminate the hypoglycemic effect of insulin injected into the carotid artery. Deep anesthesia did have an inhibitory effect on the fall of glucose after intracarotid insulin injection as it does on many other autonomie neural functions. The liver, having a pivotal role in glucose metabolism both by storing excess carbohydrate in form of glycogen and by releasing it into the circulation when required, was the natural candidate to be the target (effector) organ of CNS-mediated glucoregulatory impulses. This was substantiated when functional hepatectomy, that is, ligation of both portal and hepatic circulation resulted in elimination of the glucose differential between animals that received intracarotid insulin and their buffer-injected controls. A considerable quantity of native insulin was shown to be present in the CNS. This was demonstrated by acid ethanol extraction and concentration followed by radioimmunoassay.
Levodopa-Induced Neurotoxicity

An ever growing literature is providing evidence that levodopa, the major therapeutic agent for Parkinson’s disease, and its metabolites (dopamine and quinone derivatives) are toxic to neurons, particularly in tissue culture. Neurons do not survive well in the presence of levodopa and undergo apoptosis. Toxicity has also been seen in some in vivo models. The most commonly suggested mechanism by which levodopa and dopamine induce toxicity is by promoting oxidative stress. In support of this theory are findings that certain anti-oxidants, including sulphydryl compounds and ascorbic acid, decrease the neurotoxic effect. On the other hand, there are also a few studies that have failed to show that levodopa and dopamine are neurotoxic in animal models.
Sensitivity of thermal transport in thorium dioxide to defects

Abstract In this research, the reverse non-equilibrium molecular dynamics is employed to investigate the effect of vacancy and substitutional defects on the thermal transport in thorium dioxide (ThO2). Vacancy defects are shown to severely alter the thermal conductivity of ThO2. The thermal conductivity of ThO2 decreases significantly with increasing the defect concentration of oxygen vacancy; the thermal conductivity of ThO2 decreases by 20% when 0.1% oxygen vacancy defects are introduced in the 100 unit cells of ThO2. The effect of thorium vacancy defect on the thermal transport in ThO2 is even more detrimental; ThO2 with 0.1% thorium vacancy defect concentration exhibits a 38.2% reduction in its thermal conductivity and the thermal conductivity becomes only 8.2% of that of the pristine sample when the thorium vacancy defect concentration is increased to 5%. In addition, neutron activation of thorium produces uranium and this uranium substitutional defects in ThO2 are observed to affect the thermal transport in ThO2 marginally when compared to vacancy defects. This indicates that in the thorium fuel cycle, fissile products such as 233U is not likely to alter the thermal transport in ThO2 fuel.
β1-Subunit of the calcium-sensitive potassium channel modulates the pulmonary vascular smooth muscle cell response to hypoxia.

Accessory subunits associated with the calcium-sensitive potassium channel (BKCa), a major determinant of vascular tone, confer functional and anatomical diversity. The β1 subunit increases Ca2+ an...
Conceptualising "dose" in paediatric language interventions: Current findings and future directions.

AbstractDose is a particularly important element of treatment for speech and language disorders, yet relatively little is known concerning how best to operationalise dose in clinical settings. This keynote provides an overview of dose as a theoretical and empirical concept and discusses recent findings that question whether “more is better” when treating children with language disorders. Given recent evidence showing that spaced treatments may result in optimal gains for children, I argue that low-frequency therapy sessions can be especially beneficial for children with language disorders when they are highly productive, providing children with high levels of dose.
Convivência: Uma solução para a tensão de halal/carne de porco na Espanha?

This work illuminates the connection between foodways and identity forging in Spain’s migration con­text. The concern of Moroccan and Pakistani Muslims over maintaining halal food practices conflicts with Spain’s reliance on and celebration of Iberian ham. This “two food cultures conflict,” which I con­ceptualize as a halal /pork binary, can be traced back to the 15 th century Spanish reconquista . However, Moroccan restaurateurs’ current revival of the convivencia (coexistence) narrative, their emphasis on a collective Andaluzi identity, and tapasization and halalization of Moroccan-Muslim and Spanish foo­dways are possible solutions to this tension. This identity work in the restaurant allows them to reconcile the cultural, religious, and gastronomic tensions between Muslims and non-Muslims in Spain and rewri­tes halal foodways into the Spanish foodscape.
Rationale for Partial Nephrectomy

The incidence of renal cortical tumors (RCTs) has progressively risen over the last 30 years, believed to be largely attributable to the increasing use of abdominal imaging. The proportion of these masses that are <4 cm is also rising, and currently, approximately 60 % of newly diagnosed renal masses are <4 cm, so-called small renal masses (SRMs). The primary treatment of small renal masses (SRMs) is prompt surgical excision because there is no curative medical therapy and since the natural history of renal masses is largely unknown. While curative extirpative surgery was traditionally accomplished by radical nephrectomy (RN), it is now recognized that in the population of patients with renal masses, this procedure has significant deleterious effects on postoperative renal function and may place patients at an increased risk of cardiovascular disease and death. Partial nephrectomy (PN), in contrast, carries a lower risk of long-term renal dysfunction and has demonstrated potentially lower risk of subsequent cardiovascular events and death while consistently demonstrating oncologic outcomes equivalent to RN. As such, elective PN is considered by many to be the standard treatment for pT1a renal masses as well as select pT1b renal masses as it provides an optimal strategy of maximizing oncologic control of malignant renal cortical tumors (RCTs) while preserving renal function and minimizing the long-term risks associated with a decreased number of functioning nephrons.
The Valuation of Options on Capacity

This chapter represents the core of the present analysis. Its purpose is laying the foundations of a market model consisting of a sequence of the following market sessions: a contract market, where capacity can be reserved, and a spot market, where capacity can be purchased on a short-term basis. We explicitly model both the buy and the sell side of the market and determine thus optimal consumption portfolios for the buyer and optimal tariffs to be set by the seller.
Targeting Pulmonary Endothelium

The pulmonary endothelium maintains vital functions including control of thrombosis, inflammation, vascular permeability and blood pressure. Endothelial cells in the lung blood vessels are vulnerable to oxidative, thrombotic and inflammatory insults and represent an important target for therapies. However, despite the huge surface and high accessibility of this target to blood, only a minor fraction of circulating therapeutics is adequately delivered to the pulmonary endothelium. Effective, safe and specific delivery of drugs, enzymes and genetic materials to this target may help to improve current modalities in therapies and prophylaxis of pulmonary hypertension, oxidative stress, embolism, edema, acute lung injury, and other disease conditions.
Rare instances of Cre-mediated deletion product maintained in transgenic wheat.

Previously, we described a Cre-lox based strategy to convert a complex multi-copy integration pattern to a singlecopy transgene (Srivastava et al., 1999). When a lox-containing transgenic line of wheat was crossed with a creexpressing line, extra copies of the transgene were deleted by site-specific recombination. This process included the removal of a lox-flanked selection marker gene, bar. Three out of six F1 plants were chimeric for the resolved and the complex loci because both completely resolved and incompletely resolved patterns were found in the F2 population. From one F1 plant, 4 out of 20 F2 progeny showed not only incomplete resolution of the complex integration pattern, but also the presence of a circular loxP-bar-nos3 � fragment, which we refer to as the bar circle .T hisbar circle was detected in subsequent generations, and was associated with the presence of both the lox transgene and the cre locus. We hypothesize that the cre gene in these bar circle plants must have undergone a genetic or epigenetic change that altered the spatial and/or temporal pattern of cre expression. Late expression might excise the DNA incompletely, and late in development. What is surprising is that the DNA is not degraded, but remains in the cells as an extra-chromosomal circular molecule.
Incorporating Bereaved Parents as Faculty Facilitators and Educators in Teaching Principles of Palliative and End-of-Life Care:

Background:Education and training for interdisciplinary pediatric providers requires training in principles of palliative and end-of-life (EOL) care. The experiences of bereaved parents can inform and enhance palliative care educational curricula in uniquely powerful and valuable ways. The objective of this study is to present an innovative palliative care educational program facilitated by trained bereaved parents who serve as volunteer educators in local and national palliative care educational forums and to describe how incorporation of bereaved parents in these educational forums affects participant comfort with communication and management of children at the EOL.Methods:Parent educators underwent both general and session-specific training and participated in debriefings following each session. Survey tools were developed or adapted to determine how bereaved parent educators affected participant experiences in 3 different educational forums. Pre- and postsession surveys with incorporation of retrospec...
Contemporary American cartographic research: a review and prospective

We review recent developments in cartographic research in North America, in the context of informing the 29th International Cartographic Conference, and 18th General Assembly in 2019. The titles of...
Positron emission tomography with 18F-fluciclovine to predict recurrence in post-treatment recurrent prostate cancer and its role in altering treatment plans.

214Background: 18F-fluciclovine PET/CT can improve the detection of post-treatment recurrent prostate cancer (PCa). We quantified factors which increase the likelihood of a positive scan, assessed ...
High Order Still-Water and Moving-Water Equilibria Preserving Discontinuous Galerkin Methods for the Ripa Model

Shallow water equations with horizontal temperature gradients, also known as the Ripa system, are used to model flows when the temperature fluctuations play an important role. These equations admit steady state solutions where the fluxes and source terms balance each other. We present well-balanced discontinuous Galerkin methods for the Ripa model which can preserve the still-water or the general moving-water equilibria. The key ideas are the recovery of well-balanced states, separation of the solution into the equilibrium and fluctuation components, and appropriate approximations of the numerical fluxes and source terms. The same framework is also extended to design well-balanced methods for the constant height and isobaric steady state solutions of the Ripa model. Numerical examples are presented to verify the well-balanced property, high order accuracy, and good resolution for both smooth and discontinuous solutions.
S11.2 Lessons learned from the pre-meeting symposium on characterizing the vaginal microbiota through a blinded multi-laboratory collaboration

In studies of the microbiome, variability can arise from numerous steps in the microbial profiling process, including DNA extraction, PCR amplification, and bioinformatics approaches for taxonomic assignment. This variability may contribute to issues with reproducibility in clinical and epidemiologic studies. Others have described the contribution of different steps in the microbial profiling process to measurement variability in samples comprised of bacteria from the human gut. We conducted a comparative study across four laboratories to better understand sources of variation in describing the human vaginal microbiota. In this session, we will share highlights from the pre-conference symposium that presented lessons learned from this comparative project and discuss implications for future vaginal microbiota research. Disclosure No significant relationships.
ON THE DYNAMICS MALARIA-DYSENTERY CO-INFECTION MODEL

In this paper, a mathematical model for malaria-dysentery co-infection was formulated in order to study and examine its dynamic relationship in the presence of malaria and dysentery preventive and ...
Non-Invasive Wearable Patch Utilizing Seismocardiography for Peri-Operative Use in Surgical Patients

Objective: Optimizing peri-operative fluid management has been shown to improve patient outcomes and the use of stroke volume (SV) measurement has become an accepted tool to guide fluid therapy. The Transesophageal Doppler (TED) is a validated, minimally invasive device that allows clinical assessment of SV. Unfortunately, the use of the TED is restricted to the intra-operative setting in anesthetized patients and requires constant supervision and periodic adjustment for accurate signal quality. However, post-operative fluid management is also vital for improved outcomes. Currently, there is no device regularly used in clinics that can track patient's SV continuously and non-invasively both during and after surgery. Methods: In this paper, we propose the use of a wearable patch mounted on the mid-sternum, which captures the seismocardiogram (SCG) and electrocardiogram (ECG) signals continuously to predict SV in patients undergoing major surgery. In a study of 12 patients, hemodynamic data was recorded simultaneously using the TED and wearable patch. Signal processing and regression techniques were used to derive SV from the signals (SCG and ECG) captured by the wearable patch and compare it to values obtained by the TED. Results: The results showed that the combination of SCG and ECG contains substantial information regarding SV, resulting in a correlation and median absolute error between the predicted and reference SV values of 0.81 and 7.56 mL, respectively. Significance: This work shows promise for the proposed wearable-based methodology to be used as an alternative to TED for continuous patient monitoring and guiding peri-operative fluid management.
The Century Survey Galactic Halo Project I: Stellar Spectral Analysis

The Century Survey Galactic Halo Project is a photometric and spectroscopic survey from which we select relatively blue stars (V-R<0.30 mag) as probes of the Milky Way halo. The Survey strip spans the range of Galactic latitude 35<b<88 deg, allowing us to study the nature of populations of stars and their systematic motions as a function of Galactic latitude. One of our primary goals is to use blue horizontal-branch stars to trace potential star streams in the halo, and to test the hierarchical model for the formation of the Galaxy. In this paper we discuss spectroscopy and multi-passband photometry for a sample of 764 blue stars in the Century Survey region. Our sample consists predominantly of A- and F-type stars. We describe our techniques for determination of radial velocities, effective temperatures, metallicities, and surface gravities. Based on these measurements, we derive distance estimates by comparison with a set of calibrated isochrones. We devote special attention to the classification of blue horizontal-branch stars, and compare the results obtained from the application of the techniques of Kinman et al., Wilhelm et al., and Clewley et al. We identify 55 blue horizontal-branch stars. Our large sample of stars also uncovers a number of unusual objects, including three carbon-enhanced stars, a late B-type star located 0.8 kpc above the Galactic plane, and a DZ white dwarf.
An Expansion Formula for Decorated Super-Teichmüller Spaces

Motivated by the definition of super Teichmuller spaces, and Penner-Zeitlin's recent extension of this definition to decorated super Teichmuller space, as examples of super Riemann surfaces, we use the super Ptolemy relations to obtain formulas for super $\lambda$-lengths associated to arcs in a bordered surface. In the special case of a disk, we are able to give combinatorial expansion formulas for the super $\lambda$-lengths associated to diagonals of a polygon in the spirit of Ralf Schiffler's $T$-path formulas for type $A$ cluster algebras. We further connect our formulas to the super-friezes of Morier-Genoud, Ovsienko, and Tabachnikov, and obtain partial progress towards defining super cluster algebras of type $A_n$. In particular, following Penner-Zeitlin, we are able to get formulas (up to signs) for the $\mu$-invariants associated to triangles in a triangulated polygon, and explain how these provide a step towards understanding odd variables of a super cluster algebra.
Improv to improve medical student communication.

Background Effective patient provider communication skills can be difficult and time-consuming to teach. Deliberate practice of communication skills through improvisational theatre exercises, with structured debriefing, can provide a solution for teaching patient-centred communication skills in time-limited settings. The objective of this study was to determine if improvisational theatre exercises improved the ratings of patient satisfaction and empathetic communication by standardised patients. Methods This was a randomised controlled trial looking at the effect of improvisational theatre exercises on ratings of patient satisfaction and empathetic communication. Third-year medical students (n = 188) participated in a formative team-based standardised patient (SP) experience. Prior to the SP experience, teams of students were randomly assigned to receive a 45-minute communication-focused improvisation intervention (immediately before the SP experience) or to a control arm without intervention. All teams then participated in the SP experience; the SPs (blinded to team randomisation assignment) then assessed each team's empathetic communication and completed patient satisfaction questions focused on physician behaviours derived from Press GaneyTM and the Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and System SurveysTM . Fifty teams of three or four students participated; 20 teams in the intervention arm and 30 teams in the control arm. Results Student teams in the improvisation intervention group had increased measures of empathetic communication (p = 0.04) compared to the control group. The intervention group had increased patient satisfaction survey ratings of 'ability to listen carefully' (p = 0.001) and of 'physician skills' compared to control groups (p = 0.03). Discussion Improv exercises with students increased students' empathetic communication and patient satisfaction as assessed by standardised patients.
Technology Improvement Pathways to Cost-effective Vehicle Electrification (2010-01-0824)

Electrifying transportation can reduce or eliminate dependence on foreign fuels, emission of green house gases, and emission of pollutants. One challenge is finding a pathway for vehicles that gains wide market acceptance to achieve a meaningful benefit. This paper evaluates several approaches aimed at making plug-in electric vehicles (EV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) cost-effective including opportunity charging, replacing the battery over the vehicle life, improving battery life, reducing battery cost, and providing electric power directly to the vehicle during a portion of its travel. Many combinations of PHEV electric range and battery power are included. For each case, the model accounts for battery cycle life and the national distribution of driving distances to size the battery optimally. Using the current estimates of battery life and cost, only the dynamically plugged-in pathway was cost-effective to the consumer. Significant improvements in battery life and battery cost also made PHEVs more cost-effective than today's hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and conventional internal combustion engine vehicles (CVs).
Biochar alters hydraulic conductivity and inhibits nutrient leaching in two agricultural soils

Abstract. Biochar is purported to provide agricultural benefits when added to the soil, through changes in soil water hydraulic conductivity (Ksat), and increased nutrient retention through chemical or physical means. Despite increased interest and investigation, there remains uncertainty regarding the ability of biochar to deliver these agronomic benefits due to differences in biochar feedstock, production method, production temperature and soil texture. In this project, a suite of experiments was carried out using biochars of diverse feedstocks and production temperatures, in order to determine the biochar parameters which may optimize agricultural benefits. Sorption experiments were performed with seven distinct biochars to determine sorption efficiencies for ammonium and nitrate. Only one biochar effectively retained nitrate, while all biochars bound ammonium. The three biochars with the highest binding capacities (produced from almond shell at 500 and 800 °C (AS500 and AS800) and softwood at 500 °C (SW500)) were chosen for column experiments. Biochars were amended to a sandy loam and a silt loam at 0 and 2 % (w/w) and saturated hydraulic conductivity (Ksat) was measured. Biochars reduced Ksat in both soils by 64–80 %, with the exception of AS800, which increased Ksat by 98 % in the silt loam. Breakthrough curves for nitrate and ammonium, as well as leachate nutrient concentration, were also measured in the sandy loam columns. All biochars significantly decreased the quantity of ammonium in the leachate, by 22 to 78 %, and slowed its movement through the soil profile. Ammonium retention was linked to high cation exchange capacity and a high oxygen to carbon ratio, indicating that the primary control of ammonium retention in biochar-amended soils is the chemical affinity between biochar surfaces and ammonium. Biochars had little to no effect on the timing of nitrate release, and only SW500 decreased total quantity, by 27 to 36 %. The ability of biochar to retain nitrate may be linked to high surface area, suggesting a physical entrapment rather than a chemical binding. Together, this work sheds new light on the combined chemical and physical means by which biochar may alter soils to impact nutrient leaching and hydraulic conductivity for agricultural production.
The GABAB receptor positive allosteric modulator ASP8062 reduces operant alcohol self-administration in male and female Sprague Dawley rats

Pre-clinical evidence implicates the GABAergic system in mediating the reinforcing effects of alcohol and offers a therapeutic target for alcohol use disorder (AUD). The orthosteric GABAB receptor agonist baclofen decreases alcohol self-administration in animals and alcohol use in humans; however side effects limit its utility. Pre-clinical evidence shows positive allosteric GABAB receptor modulators also decrease alcohol self-administration without untoward side effects. We assessed the impact of the novel GABAB-positive allosteric modulator ASP8062 and baclofen on operant alcohol self-administration and their potential non-specific effects. The effects of ASP8062 (1 − 10 mg/kg, PO) and baclofen (0.3 − 3 mg/kg, IP) were evaluated in male and female rats lever pressing for alcohol (10%, w/v) under a fixed ratio 2 schedule of reinforcement. On the fourth consecutive day of vehicle, ASP8062 or baclofen administration, active and inactive lever presses, reinforcers earned, head entries, and estimated alcohol consumed were analyzed. Locomotor activity was assessed in separate groups of rats following dosing. Both ASP8062 and baclofen decreased alcohol self-administration and amount consumed (g/kg) in male and female rats. ASP8062 decreased operant alcohol self-administration to a greater extent in male rats, whereas baclofen was more efficacious in female rats. ASP8062 did not alter locomotor activity in either sex, whereas baclofen (3.0 mg/kg) decreased activity in male rats yet (1.0 mg/kg) increased activity in female rats. ASP8062 decreases alcohol reinforcement like baclofen but without non-specific effects which are influenced by sex. Results support further development of ASP8062 as a potential treatment for AUD in humans.
MEASUREMENT OF WAVE FIELDS

Wave flelds are the fundamental entities in both classical electrodynamics and quantum mechanics. The similarity of their governing dynamical equations suggests that similar strategies may be used to measure both classical and quantum flelds. Indeed, numerous experiments in the recent past have demonstrated just this. But it is not this similarity alone that makes it important to consider their measurement within a single context, it is the very notion of manipulation of quantum systems (the idea of quantum state preparation or control) that demands it. Consider, for example the generation of a single photon 'on demand", using the prescription, say, of Eberly and Law's "photon pistol" [1]. What does this mean, precisely? Nothing more than the specification of the quantum state of the field (a Fock state with eigenvalue unity) and a classical state of the field (the temporal mode in which the excitation is generated). Both pieces of information are necessary to appropriately specify what one means by the time of production of a photon. This problem resurfaces in all quantum measurement problems one needs to know both the basis in which one is making the measurement and the degree of freedom (or the mode) for which the measurement is defined. To the extent that quantum state measurement is the same as state preparation, it might be argued that there is no need to consider state measurement procedures separately. Of course, in practice most measurement schemes end up being of the demolition variety — one infers from the detected signal what the state must have been at the detector before a signal was registered. This is quite a different situation than the ideal envisioned by von Neumann. But this aside, the situation may perhaps be likened to one of quality control, if one may adopt the industrial, metaphor used by the state engineers. That is, the consumer needs to determine whether she has been sold the quantum system that meets her needs, in the state that she ordered. Thus she needs both a classical and a quantum field measurement apparatus. Of course in practice one must order (and measure) an ensemble of identically prepared states, and then use the apparatus to determine
Modernist Fiction, Cosmopolitanism and the Politics of Community

Acknowledgments Part I. Cosmopolitan Communities Part II. Henry James: 1. 'The history of the voice': Cosmopolitan's America 2. Feminizing the nation: woman as cultural icon in late James Part III. Marcel Proust: 3. Proust, Bernard Lazare and the politics of pariahdom 4. The community, the prophet and the pariah: relation in A la recherche du temps perdu Part IV. Virginia Woolf: 5. 'Splinter' and 'mosaic': towards the politics of connection 6. Of oceans and opposition: the action of The Waves Part V. Gertrude Stein: 7. Steinian topographies: the making of America 8. Writing the 'I' that is 'they': Gertrude Stein's community of the subject Part VI. Conclusion Notes Index.
Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins Like You Never Knew It: Title VII Protection for Gays and Lesbians

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does not include protection on the basis of sexual orientation. In a surprising, though legally justifiable move, courts have circumvented this prohibition by characterizing discrimination against gays and lesbians as a type of gender stereotyping outlawed by the U.S. Supreme Court in Price Waterhouse v. Hopkins decades before. This paper explores this interesting legal phenomenon and the intersection of law and social policy in the workplace.
Synaptic transmission between dorsal root ganglion and dorsal horn neurons in culture: antagonism of monosynaptic excitatory postsynaptic potentials and glutamate excitation by kynurenate

Intracellular recording techniques have been used to provide information on the identity of excitatory sensory transmitters released at synapses formed between dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and dorsal horn neurons maintained in cell culture. Explants of embryonic rat DRG were added to dissociated cultures of embryonic dorsal horn neurons and synaptic potentials were recorded intracellularly from dorsal horn neurons after DRG explant stimulation. More than 80% of dorsal horn neurons within 1 mm of DRG explants received at least one fast, DRG-evoked, monosynaptic input. In the presence of high divalent cation concentrations, the acidic amino acid receptor agonists, L-glutamate, kainate, and quisqualate excited all dorsal horn neurons which received a monosynaptic DRG neuron input, whereas aspartate and N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) had little or no action. Several compounds reported to antagonize the actions of acidic amino acids were tested for their ability to block DRG-evoked synaptic potentials and glutamate-evoked responses in dorsal horn neurons. 2-Amino-5-phosphonovalerate, a selective NMDA receptor antagonist, was relatively ineffective at antagonizing DRG-evoked synaptic potentials and glutamate-evoked responses. In contrast, kynurenate was found to be a potent antagonist of amino acid-evoked responses and of synaptic transmission at all DRG-dorsal horn synapses examined. The blockade of synaptic transmission by kynurenate appeared to result from a postsynaptic action on dorsal horn neurons. These findings indicate that glutamate, or a glutamate-like compound, but not aspartate, is the excitatory transmitter that mediates fast excitatory postsynaptic potentials at the DRG-dorsal horn synapses examined in this study.
Oxygen activation and redox partner binding in cytochromes P450

The structural underpinnings of O₂ activation in P450s have been limited by the inability to trap unstable oxy complexes in the crystalline state for structure determination. To date there are only two known oxy P450 structures. Even so, much is known about O₂ activation in P450cam and the role that redox partner binding plays in this process. Of particular importance are changes in the I helix associated with O₂ binding that enable "catalytic" waters to enter the active site and establish an H-bonding network essential for cleavage of the O--O bond. The changes in the I helix are similar to differences in the substrate-bound (closed) and substrate-free (open) conformations. With this information in hand, we have solved the structure of the substrate-free form of P450cin as well as the nitric oxide complex as a mimic of the oxy complex. This information provides some insight into the similarities and differences between P450cin and P450cam in O₂ activation.
A Robust Adaptive Array Structure Using the Soft Constrained LMS algorithm

This paper presents a new algorithm for adaptive beamforming which is robust to both desired signal misalignment and array geometry imperfections. It extends the work done by Jab-Ion and Widrow [1] by utilizing a priori knowledge of the desired signal direction to generate new soft constraints on the pattern of the array.
Redesigning the procaspase-8 dimer interface for improved dimerization

Caspase-8 is a cysteine directed aspartate-specific protease that is activated at the cytosolic face of the cell membrane upon receptor ligation. A key step in the activation of caspase-8 depends on adaptor-induced dimerization of procaspase-8 monomers. Dimerization is followed by limited autoproteolysis within the intersubunit linker (IL), which separates the large and small subunits of the catalytic domain. Although cleavage of the IL stabilizes the dimer, the uncleaved procaspase-8 dimer is sufficiently active to initiate apoptosis, so dimerization of the zymogen is an important mechanism to control apoptosis. In contrast, the effector caspase-3 is a stable dimer under physiological conditions but exhibits little enzymatic activity. The catalytic domains of caspases are structurally similar, but it is not known why procaspase-8 is a monomer while procaspase-3 is a dimer. To define the role of the dimer interface in assembly and activation of procaspase-8, we generated mutants that mimic the dimer interface of effector caspases. We show that procaspase-8 with a mutated dimer interface more readily forms dimers. Time course studies of refolding also show that the mutations accelerate dimerization. Transfection of HEK293A cells with the procaspase-8 variants, however, did not result in a significant increase in apoptosis, indicating that other factors are required in vivo. Overall, we show that redesigning the interface of procaspase-8 to remove negative design elements results in increased dimerization and activity in vitro, but increased dimerization, by itself, is not sufficient for robust activation of apoptosis.
In vivo measurement of microvasculature: A method for repeated and reproducible quantitation during long-term experiments

Abstract A method for long-term, reproducible observation of mature microvasculature is proposed using Sandison-Clark rabbit ear chambers. Forty-nine high-magnification (320 ×) in vivo photomicrographs, reproducible in position to a 10-μm accuracy with no overlap, are taken on each data-point day. They cover 1.617 mm 2 of vascular membrane of a standard 0.025-mm thickness. For the purpose of analysis, vessels are divided into two groups: vessels > 10 and ⩽ 10 μm in diameter. Vascular lengths and surface areas are measured directly from the photomicrographs projected at a fixed distance. These parameters are measured on Days 1, 5, 10, 20, and 30. Vascular length (> 10 μm, 8.35 mm ± 0.66; ⩽ 10 μm, 11.99 mm ± 1.31) and vascular surface area (> 10 μm, 0.168 mm 2 ± 9.88 × 10 −3 ; ⩽ 10 μm, 0.079 mm 2 ± 4.21 × 10 −3 ) obtained over a 30-day observation period indicate the reproducibility of the method. The intervascular supportive tissue area is calculated by subtracting the total microvascular surface area from the total tissue area. A dilatation factor has been derived which allows a comparison of the ratios of total microvascular surface area per unit vascular length over time. From the measured parameters, a number of important morphometric values can be calculated, e.g., vascular and supportive tissue volumes. Physiological changes are expressed as functions of masured parameters over time, with each specimen serving as its own control. These quantitative measurements are made possible by high-magnification photomicrography, which simultaneously allows qualitative analysis at the cellular level. This method should prove useful as a tool for quantitative and qualitative determination of changes in the microvasculature due to various local and systemic injuries.
Transplantation and beyond

The pathophysiology of diabetes, either type 1 or type 2, involves the loss of β cell mass to a point where there is insufficient insulin secretion to meet the body's needs. The overall loss of β cells results from β cell destruction in conjunction with a failure of physiological regulators to restore or regenerate the β cell population. Historically, therapy for diabetes has been limited to efforts to control hyperglycemia and to prevent and/or ameliorate the complications associated with diabetes. Multiple approaches to repopulate the diabetic pancreas with functional islets have been proposed, including whole pancreas transplantation with or without a kidney, direct islet transplantation from cadaveric donors, generation of artificial islets, and development of new islets from stem cells. Ex vivo differentiation of embryonic stem cells offers great attraction as an alternative islet source but, to date, fully functional islets have not been developed. An alternative approach is to target stem cells present in the adult pancreas. Stimulation of these cells with various factors offers the hope of promoting differentiation to functional islets. Islet neogenesis-associated peptide (INGAP) is one such factor. INGAP treatment has reversed insulin-dependent diabetes in a mouse model. INGAP treatment has elicited production of C-peptide in insulin-dependent diabetic patients. Future approaches may combine INGAP with immunosuppression in an attempt to reverse type 1 diabetes. Drug Dev Res 69:165–176, 2008 © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Injectable self-assembled block copolymers for sustained gene and drug co-delivery: An in vitro study

A temperature-responsive pentablock copolymer (PB) was designed to deliver DNA and provide prolonged gene expression by forming a thermogelling release depot after subcutaneous or intratumoral injection. A synthetic barrier gel was developed based on poly(ethylene glycol) diacrylate to enable the released vectors to instantly and continuously transfect cultured cells. The aim of this setup was to provide a simple and controlled in vitro system to mimic tumor matrix to optimize the release system and to study the influence of the continuous and sustained release of the polyplexes on the in vitro transfection. The porosity of the barrier gel was adjusted by addition and removal of Pluronic F127 (PL), and the properties of the gel were characterized by visual inspection and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Concentrated PB-based vector was administered to the barrier gel and allowed to be released to the buffer. We found that most of feed vector could be released from the barrier gel without unpacking the polymer-DNA complexes. Based on the specific construction of the PB-based vectors, an anti-cancer drug paclitaxel (PTX) was further loaded into the same vector designed for DNA delivery, thus formulating a gene and drug co-delivery system. This system was tested for sustained delivery to human ovarian carcinoma cells SKOV3 using the barrier gel in vitro as a tumor mimic. Transfection efficiency was found to be significantly enhanced by co-delivering PTX, while PTX also showed its effect as an anti-cancer drug to induce cell death. Yet both of the two effects of PTX shown in SKOV3 cells turned out to be dramatically weaker in ARPE-19 cells, a human non-cancerous cell line, which might be related to the nature of the vector itself. Instant release of vectors showed the ability to maintain transfection up to the fourth day, making the gene expression stable at least for the first 5 days. Further study is still needed to improve the duration of effective release.
Modeling task‐based information seeking on the web: Application of information seeking strategy schema

The purpose of this study was to understand how task influences information seeking behavior in the digital information environment of the World Wide Web. To present a conceptual model of task-based information seeking on the Web, an information seeking strategy schema was developed. This schema is based on several behavioral dimensions. The analysis of strategies is based on data collected through an experiment designed to observe users' behaviors. Three tasks were assigned to thirty graduate students. Data were collected by combining search logs and post-search interviews. The qualitative and quantitative analysis of the data identified fourteen distinct information seeking strategies. The analysis showed significant differences in the frequencies and patterns of information seeking strategies employed between three tasks. The results of the study were discussed to understand task-based information seeking behavior on the Web.
Modeling the Transport Phenomena During Hybrid Laser-MIG Welding Process

Hybrid laser-MIG welding technology has several advantages over laser welding alone or MIG welding alone. These include the possibility of modifying weld bead shape including the elimination of undercut, the change of weld compositions, and the reduction of porosity formation in the weld. Although the hybrid laser-MIG welding method is becoming popular in industry, its development has been based on the trial-and-error procedure. In this paper, mathematical models and the associated numerical techniques were developed to calculate the heat and mass transfer and fluid flow during the laser-MIG welding process. The continuum formulation was used to handle solid phase, liquid phase, and mushy zone during the melting and solidification processes. The volume-of-fluid (VOF) method was employed to handle free surfaces, and the enthalpy method was used for latent heat. The absorption (Inverse Bremsstrahlung and Fresnel absorption) and the thermal radiation by the plasma in the keyhole, and multiple reflections at the keyhole wall were all considered in the models. The transient keyhole dynamics, interactions between droplets and weld pool, and the shape and composition of the solidified weld bead were all predicted for both the pulsed laser-MIG welding and three-dimensional moving laser-MIG welding. Computer animations showing the fluid flow, weld pool dynamics, and the interaction between droplets and weld pool will be shown in the presentation.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
A Randomq, t-Hook Walk and a Sum of Pieri Coefficients

This work deals with the identityB?(q, t)=????c??(q, t), whereB?(q, t) denotes the biexponent generator of a partition?. That is,B?(q, t)=?s??qa?(s)tl?(s), witha?(s) andl?(s) the co-arm and co-leg of the lattice squaresin?. The coefficientsc??(q, t) are closely related to certain rational functions occuring in one of the Pieri rules for the Macdonald polynomials and the symbol???is used to indicate that the sum is over partitions?which immediately precede?in the Young lattice. This identity has an indirect manipulatorial proof involving a number of deep identities established by Macdonald. We show here that it may be given an elementary probabilistic proof by a mechanism which emulates the Greene?Nijehuis?Wilf proof of the hook formula.
Sacred Concordances: Figuring Scripture and History in Foxe's Acts and Monuments

AbstractIn the I563 edition of Acts and Monuments, John Foxe primarily described his labour as the non-interpretive work of 'collecting and setting forth' documents. However, Foxe, in collaboration with his printer John Day, in fact printed that documents in the book with typographical formats and narrative frames cross-referencing them with Scripture. Foxe and Day's biblical formats and frames in the Acts and Monuments' Kalender, title pages, in-text titles, narrative explications, finding aids and indices indicated to readers that they should interpret documents typologically: Foxe and Day's martyrs and adversaries fulfilled scriptural histories in the biblical Prophets and Acts and figured histories in Revelation. Foxe and Day separated scriptural interpretive frames from documents in accordance with reformed exegesis of the figural links between scriptural histories and post-apostolic histories. In establishing figural links between scriptural histories and post-apostolic histories, they followed scri...
Excitation and emission of metal electrons in atom-surface collisions

Abstract Electron-hole pair excitation and ionization probabilities are calculated for atomic collisions with metal surfaces at high incident energies. The method adopted is based on a Sudden Collision Approximation, and a realistic model is employed for the bound and continuum electronic states involved. The parameters used in the calculations are for Ar, He, H atoms impinging on a Li surface at 300 eV. The main results are: (1) Only single electron-hole pair excitations are important; multiple pair contributions are small. (2) The transitions are dominated by the behavior of the electronic wavefunctions in the tunneling region and may serve as a probe of this regime. (3) The excitation efficiency is in the order H ⪢ Ar ⪢ He, the effectiveness of hydrogen being due to its stronger, longer-range coupling. (4) The maximum excitation probabilities are for electrons ejected with relatively low excess energies. (5) Total transition probabilities are about 0.5 per collision for H, and about 0.1 for Ar, indicating that these are important, easily detectable processes. Experiments in this field should provide important information on electronic wavefunctions at the metal-gas interface, and on gas-metal interactions at high energies.