cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The oscillation frequency of a quartz resonator in contact with liquid

A simple relationship is derived which expresses the change in oscillation frequency of a quartz crystal in contact with a fluid in terms of material parameters of the fluid and the quartz. The relationship is Δf = −f320(ηLϱL/πμQϱQ)12, where f0 is the oscillation frequency of the free (dry) crystal, ηL and ϱL are the absolute viscosity and density of the liquid, respectively, and μQ and ϱQ are the elastic modulus and density of the quartz. This relation is obtained from a simple physical model which couples the shear wave in the quartz to a damped shear wave in the fluid. Quantitative comparisons with two test cases, aqueous solutions of glucose and ethanol at various concentrations, demonstrate the accuracy of this model.
Phosphorus-containing analogues of hydrocarbon ligands. Molecular orbital study of structure and bonding in potential transition-metal complexes containing phosphoranium ions as л ligands

Abstract Structures of phosphoranium ions C(PR3)32+ and CR(PR3)2+ reveal partial л character of the PC bonds and molecular orbital calculations confirm that. These two ions are structurally and orbitally similar to well-known trimethylenemethane and allyl species, respectively. We cautiously suggest that possibility of л coordination of phosphoranium ions to transition metals be explored. We carried out molecular orbital calculations on various conformations of two hypothetical complexes, (CO)3Co[C(PH3)3]+ and (PH3)2Pd[CH(PH3)2]+. In the former molecule, Co(CO)3− and C(PH3)32+ groups tend to be staggered, and the P atoms tend to bend toward the Co atom. In the latter molecule, the Pd(PH3)2 group tends to slip toward the phosphoranium P atoms and to stay perpendicular to the mirror plane of CH(PH3)2+; the ligand plane tends to tilt so that the CH group moves away from the Pd atom. In both molecules, the substituents at the phosphoranium P atoms tend to bend away from the metal atom. These predictions agree with structures of various known complexes of transition metals with unsaturated organic ligands.
Cystatin C and Aging Success

Elderly persons are the fastest-growing subset of the US population, and age-associated increases in chronic disease and disability have led to a significant financial burden on health care.1 At the opposite end of the spectrum from disability is successful aging. Although there is no universally accepted definition of successful aging, one commonly used definition includes aging with lack of physical or cognitive impairment and without the development of major life-threatening chronic diseases.2,3 Unsuccessful aging is not inevitable, and evidence suggests that the aging process may be modified.4 The evaluation of risk factors for unsuccessful aging, in particular those that may be preventable, is, therefore, an important avenue of research. Kidney function is known to decline with age; however, this age-related decline is highly variable5 and some older individuals have little change in kidney function while others have a rapid decline. Kidney dysfunction, as ascertained by elevated creatinine level, is also associated with inflammation and subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD),6,7 2 factors that may promote unsuccessful aging; therefore, kidney dysfunction may be associated with unsuccessful aging. A new serum measurement of kidney filtration, cystatin C, has allowed an advance in our understanding of the impact of kidney function on age-related health. Cystatin C is a cysteine proteinase inhibitor that is produced by nearly all human cells and released into the bloodstream, from which it is freely filtered by the kidney glomerulus and metabolized by the proximal tubule.8 Although the relative contribution of factors other than glomerular filtration rate (GFR) to serum cystatin C concentrations remains to be determined, the association of serum cystatin C with GFR seems to be independent of age, sex, and muscle mass, in contrast to serum creatinine.9-12 Whereas elevated serum creatinine levels detect only the small subset of elderly individuals with the most impaired kidney function who are at increased risk for CVD, cystatin C has a linear association with clinical CVD.13,14 The goal of this analysis was to evaluate the association of kidney function, as ascertained by cystatin C, with maintenance of successful aging in the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), a community cohort of older adults (aged ≥65 years).
A Puzzling Verb in the Syriac Version of Gregory of Nyssa's De Anima et Resurrectione

This article examines possible solutions to a passage in the sixth-century Syriac translation of Gregory of Nyssa's De anima et resurrectione , in which the Greek μeνeι stands behind the Syriac verb. The established meaning of this verb does not match the Syriac context considered in itself, nor the underlying Greek word. The possibility of an Arabic loanword is considered, but the sixth-century date of the translation makes that unlikely, and it is concluded that the original text must have been, which was then miscopied as by a later scribe under Arabic influence.
Revisiting the role of cultural distance in MNC's foreign ownership mode choice: the moderating effect of experience attributes

Abstract This study investigates potential moderating effects of firm's experience levels in the relationship between cultural distance and foreign ownership mode choice. Using the well established Japanese FDI data base, it is found that higher levels of experience, particularly decision-specific experience (prior experience with a particular ownership structure mode), mitigates potential impacts of uncertainty and costs caused by the high level of cultural distance, thus uncovering one possible answer to the ‘national cultural distance paradox’ reported in the literature. These findings reinforce similar findings of interaction effects between key variables and cultural distance in studies involving other important strategic decisions of the MNC. The ‘decision-specific experience-moderated cultural distance’ variable, and not the ‘absolute cultural distance’ variable, is found to be an important determinant of a firm's foreign ownership mode choice. Furthermore, this variable dominates the other experience-moderated cultural distance variables (international business experience and host county experience-moderated cultural distance variables) in the ability to discriminate between full ownership and shared ownership modes. Based on this moderated cultural distance measure, we find strong evidence that cultural distance is positively associated with full ownership of Japanese foreign manufacturing entities.
Efficacy of Enhanced MRI in Epidural Varix - Report of Six Cases -

Symptomatic epidural varix presenting with radiculopathy is extremely rare. The most common misdiagnosis is reported as a sequestrated prolapsed nucleus pulposus in the preoperative evaluation. The method of evaluating enhanced MRI studies improved the efficacy of discovery and treatment of this condition. We experienced 6 cases of epidural varices that were diagnosed with T1 fat suppressed post-gadolinium enhanced MRI studies and we present the operative findings.
Bitumen microstructure by modulated differential scanning calorimetry

Abstract Bitumen was analysed by modulated differential scanning calorimetry (MDSC). This method allows for the deconvolution of overlapping reversing and non-reversing thermal events and it allows for the observation of transitions not visible on the thermal curve obtained by standard DSC. The reversing thermal curve revealed two glass transition temperatures (Tg) in bitumen. One transition, at −20°C, was assigned to the maltenes, the other at 70°C to the asphaltenes. The heat capacity of these transitions was found to depend on thermal history. From the total heat capacity, it was calculated that the relative size of the bitumen repeat unit is between 36 and 91 g mol−1, which given an average molecular weight of 300–1000 g mol−1 for bitumen, translates into a “degree of polymerisation” of ∼10. After cooling from the melt and annealing at 22°C, bitumen microstructure was found to develop in three stages. Most rapid is an ordering process that occurs when bitumen is quenched from the melt. It is postulated that this first stage arises from the partial ordering of simple aromatic structures into micro- and nano-phases; a second stage, which ends within ∼3 h of annealing, relates to the ordering of somewhat larger aromatic structures; and a third stage, which ends in ∼16 h, is thought to arise from the ordering of the largest bitumen structures, the resins and the asphaltenes. The development of bitumen microstructure and the calculations of the entropy and enthalpy of transitions suggest that bitumen is a multi-phase system with a small crystalline phase, and a large mesophase, i.e. a structured amorphous phase.
Perceptual organization and the representation of natural form

Abstract To support our reasoning abilities perception must recover environmental regularities—e.g., rigidity, “objectness,” axes of symmetry—for later use by cognition. To create a theory of how our perceptual apparatus can produce meaningful cognitive primitives from an array of image intensities we require a representation whose elements may be lawfully related to important physical regularities, and that correctly describes the perceptual organization people impose on the stimulus. Unfortunately, the representations that are currently available were originally developed for other purposes (e.g., physics, engineering) and have so far proven unsuitable for the problems of perception or common-sense reasoning. In answer to this problem we present a representation that has proven competent to accurately describe an extensive variety of natural forms (e.g., people, mountains, clouds, trees), as well as man-made forms, in a succinct and natural manner. The approach taken in this representational system is to describe scene structure at a scale that is similar to our naive perceptual notion of “a part,” by use of descriptions that reflect a possible formative history of the object, e.g., how the object might have been constructed from lumps of clay. For this representation to be useful it must be possible to recover such descriptions from image data; we show that the primitive elements of such descriptions may be recovered in an overconstrained and therefore reliable manner. We believe that this descriptive system makes an important contribution towards solving current problems in perceiving and reasoning about natural forms by allowing us to construct accurate descriptions that are extremely compact and that capture people's intuitive notions about the part structure of three-dimensional forms.
Acyclovir Therapy for the Orofacial and Ganglionic HSV Infection in Hairless Mice

Acyclovir (ACV) therapy, topical or systemic, showed a significantly high therapeutic efficacy for facial Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) infection in hairless mice. When topical ACV treatment was initiated very early, i.e., three h post-inoculation, the number of mice with latent HSV infection in their trigeminal ganglia was significantly reduced. These results indicate that ACV clearly merits further investigation as an antiviral agent for therapy of orofacial HSV infections.
In Vivo Near-Infrared Fluorescence Imaging of Integrin αvβ3 in an Orthotopic Glioblastoma Model

Purpose Expression of cell adhesion molecule integrin αvβ3 is significantly up-regulated during tumor growth, and sprouting of tumor vessels and correlates well with tumor aggressiveness. The purpose of this study was to visualize tumor integrin αvβ3 expression in vivo by using near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) imaging of Cy5.5-linked cyclic arginine–glycine–aspartic acid (RGD) peptide in an orthotopic brain tumor model.
Growth, structure and function of baboon aortic smooth muscle cells in culture

Abstract Procedures for the successful culture of aortic medial smooth muscle cells (SMC) from the baboon ( Papio cynocephalus ) have been described. Growth rates, plating efficiency, and doubling times were determined. SMC showed increasing growth with increasing concentrations of heat-inactivated homologous serum. Growth on glass was accelerated relative to plastic surfaces, a difference reflected in the more numerous and extensive attachment sites on glass and more extensive cellular spreading. Attachment sites on both glass and plastic were associated with short parallel arrays of thin filaments (50 A). The fine structure of SMC grown on plastic or glass was examined at intervals from 7 to 74 days in culture. Cells exhibited many of the features traditionally associated with cultured SMC, including basement membrane material and extracellular matrix, predominantly thin cytoplasmic filaments (40–80 A) with dense bodies, coated pits and vesicles, caveolae and pinocytotic vesicles, and both cell-cell and internalized gap junctions. Changes with increasing time in culture included an increased extracellular matrix, more numerous lipid inclusions, residual bodies, myelin forms, multivesicular bodies, and crystalline lysosomal inclusions. Membranous multivesicular blebs and extruded autophagosomes were also seen with increasing frequency. An increasing culture age was also associated with changes in organelles, including less prominent Golgi profiles, more free ribosomes, dilatation of the cisternae of the RER, and less prominent shorter profiles of mitochondria with increasing electron density. Cultured SMC exhibited both a continuous and a homogeneous ruthenium red-staining glycocalyx around their perimeter, and the ability to respond to the polycationic ligand, CF, with a redistribution of surface-associated anionic binding sites. Additionally, they have been shown to possess high-affinity LDL receptors ( K d = 1 × 10 −7 M ) with binding showing half-maximal saturation at 20 μg/ml.
The complexity of cutting complexes

This paper investigates the combinatorial and computational aspects of certain extremal geometric problems in two and three dimensions. Specifically, we examine the problem of intersecting a convex subdivision with a line in order to maximize the number of intersections. A similar problem is to maximize the number of intersected facets in a cross-section of a three-dimensional convex polytope. Related problems concern maximum chains in certain families of posets defined over the regions of a convex subdivision. In most cases we are able to prove sharp bounds on the asymptotic behavior of the corresponding extremal functions. We also describe polynomial algorithms for all the problems discussed.
Injuries Associated With Whitewater Rafting and Kayaking

Whitewater rafting and kayaking are growing exponentially in popularity, with almost 10 million rafters and 2 to 3 million kayakers, yet little has been published concerning the safety or hazards of these activities. This article reviews the demographics of such injuries and the types of injuries commonly encountered. Fortunately, fatalities are uncommon in these activities, with rafting and kayaking fatalities occurring at a rate of 0.55 and 2.9 per 100000 user days, respectively. Injury rates for kayaking and rafting are 3 to 6 and 0.26 to 2.1 per 100000 boating days, respectively. Acute injuries in kayaking are usually due to the transferred force of the water on the upper extremity, most often the shoulder, or the impact on an object while "swimming." Acute rafting injuries are more often due to contact with another rafter's paddle or other equipment; the next most common injury is the rafter hitting an object while "swimming." Chronic injuries are very uncommon in rafting but account for 25% to 40% of all kayaking injuries and are most often either shoulder or wrist complaints.
Presence of estradiol-binding proteins in gastrointestinal tract of male rats

In the cytosol from pancreas, fundus, and antrum of rats, two classes of specific, estradiol (E2)-binding proteins (EBPs) were observed, with 5- to 10-fold differences in their binding affinities, and 10- to 20-fold differences in their binding capacities. EBPs, both type I [high affinity, dissociation constant (Kd) 5 nm), in the fundus were found to be specific for estrogens. None of the corticoids, or androgenic and progestogenic steroids tested demonstrated any significant inhibition of binding of radiolabeled E2 to EBP at doses as high as 5 × 10−6 to 5 × 10−5 M. At high concentrations of E2 (>2–5 nm), nonsaturable EBPs were additionally observed in the pancreatic cytosol. In the intestine, however, EBP was not detected at E2 concentrations of less than 2–5 nm. Similarly, progesterone-binding proteins were nonmeasurable in either pancreas or gastrointestinal tissues at less than 5 nm concentrations of the ligand, indicating questionable physiological significan...
Stroke detection based on the scaling properties of human EEG

Abstract We propose a new method of detecting stroke by use of electroencephalogram (EEG) time series. When detrended fluctuation analysis is applied to the data, it is found that there exist two scaling regions for every channel. Thus with the geodesic sensor nets used there are as many as 128 paris of scaling exponents for each subject. We then determine a stroke index S that is based on the normalized variances of those scaling exponents. It is shown that S=1.3 distinctly separates the 28 normal and stroke subjects we have studied. We also show that the effect of stroke on EEG signals is global, in contrast to the local effect revealed by radiological studies such as MRI.
Mortality risk associated with surgical treatment of female genital fistula

Abstract Objective To describe the mortality risk associated with surgical treatment of female genital fistula and the contributory and contextual factors. Methods In a descriptive study, confidential inquiries and clinical audits were conducted at 14 fistula repair sites in seven resource-poor countries between January 2005 and March 2013. Data collection included interviews with key personnel involved in the clinical management of the deceased, and a review of hospital records and patient files following an audit protocol. Results Overall, 26 060 fistula repairs were performed at 44 sites located in 13 countries; 30 deaths were reported in this period. Twenty-one deaths were attributable to surgery, yielding a case fatality of 0.08 per 100 procedures. The cause of death in nearly half of the cases was various manifestations of sepsis and inflammation. Conclusion The case fatality rate for fistula repair surgery in resource-poor countries was in the same range as that for comparable gynecologic operations in high-resource settings. Clinical and systemic issues to be addressed to reduce the case fatality rate include improvement of perioperative care and follow-up, assuring prudent referral or deferral of difficult cases, and maintaining better records.
Thyrotropin-releasing hormone and the menopausal hot flash

The possibility that the sudden discharge of thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) in the brain triggers the climacteric hot flash was tested (double-blind) by an intra-venous, bolus injection of 500 microgram of TRH into 7 post-menopausal women and 1 menstruating control. Temperatures and sweating were recorded continuously on the recumbent subject during the 2-h test. None of the women reacted either subjectively or objectively to the placebo. TRH induced gastric pain in 1 post-menopausal subject. In another subject TRH elicited no response during the first test, but a week later in a second test it evoked transient nausea and a series of hot flashes with bursts of sweating. Published results of animal studies suggest that a higher dose of TRH would probably stimulate hot flash-like responses in more women.
MESHLESS METHODS FOR SHEAR-DEFORMABLE BEAMS AND PLATES

Abstract A meshless method is developed to analyze moderately thick and thin structures using Mindlin-Reissner theory. A uniform discretization is used to allow for efficient integration and for the shape functions to be written explicitly. Irregular boundaries are modeled in a straightforward manner. An unmodified displacement-based Galerkin method is used; full integration is used to evaluate all energy terms and convergence is independent of the thickness. Shear and membrane locking are completely eliminated pointwise at the interpolant level using cardinal splines. The continuity of the splines chosen results in continuous stresses. An extension to general meshless methods is given. Beam and plate examples show the accuracy of this method for coarse discretizations
Leakage control with efficient use of transistor stacks in single threshold CMOS

The state dependence of leakage can be exploited to obtain modest leakage savings in complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) circuits. However, one can modify circuits considering state dependence and achieve larger savings. We identify a low-leakage state and insert leakage-control transistors only where needed. Leakage levels are on the order of 35% to 90% lower than those obtained by state dependence alone. Using a modified standard-cell-design flow, area overhead for combinational logic was found to be on the order of 18%. The proposed technique minimizes performance impact, does not require multiple-threshold voltages, and supports a standard-cell-design flow.
An introduction to quantum information processing: applications and realizations

The ideas behind Quantum Information Processing (QIP) began to appear about twenty years ago and theoretical developments have been appearing ever since. Over the last decade quantum experiments have begun to realize QIP and point the way towards the routes for future quantum information technology. This review is a simple introduction to QIP for non-experts. It discusses the basic ideas of and the underpinning quantum theory needed to understand them, as well as various applications and algorithms, and some of the main candidate routes for realizing QIP.
THE 1-ALKOXY-4,5-DICHLORO-1,2,3-BENZOTRIAZOLE SYSTEM

The 1-alkoxy-4,5-dichloro-1,2,3-benzotriazole system has been synthesized and characterized via its physical and chemical properties. INDO/S MO calculations provide a good account of the ultraviolet absorption spectrum.
Comparison of five-site skinfold thicknesses in late pregnancy vs early postpartum.

To test the hypothesis that the sum (∑) of five skinfold thicknesses in the immediate postpartum period is significantly less than that obtained in the last month of pregnancy in healthy American women, a standardized approach was used to measure skinfold thicknesses at five sites in 81 healthy, active women. Measures were obtained in the last month of pregnancy and again in the first month postpartum. Prior to pregnancy the subjects ranged in age from 24-39 years and weighed between 45-87 kg. The ∑ of five skinfold thicknesses ranged between 34 and 162 mm. During pregnancy, weight gain ranged between 6.5-24.6 kg with a mean gain of 14.5 kg. The ∑ of five skinfold thicknesses peaked between 8-36 weeks gestation and the peak increase ranged from -19 mm to +63 mm above preconceptual levels. In late pregnancy, the ∑ of five skinfold thicknesses ranged between 34.1 and 166.8 mm (mean = 91.7 mm), and postpartum, the range and mean values were similar (38.1-156.4 mm, and 91.8 mm). When values obtained in late pregnancy are compared with those obtained postpartum, the r2 value was 0.9122. There was also good correlation at each of the skinfold sites (r2 's = 0.8001-0.9239), except the abdomen (r2 = 0.6049). In conclusion, the hypothesis is incorrect; the ∑ of five skinfold thicknesses in the immediate postpartum period is as acceptable a measure of late pregnancy subcutaneous fat deposition and/or retention as that obtained in the last month of pregnancy in present day healthy American women. Am. J Hum. Biol. 10:299-305, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Splanchnic utilization of enteral alanine in humans

The splanchnic bed extracts the majority of the enteral nonessential amino acids glutamine and glutamate, while extracting a much smaller proportion of essential amino acids such as leucine and phenylalanine. Alanine is an abundant nonessential amino acid that plays an important role in hepatic gluconeogenesis and ureagenesis. However, its enteral fate has not been studied. Twelve normal healthy postabsorptive adults received a 7-hour infusion of [1-13C]alanine, 3.5 hours intravenously (IV) and 3.5 hours via a nasogastric tube (NG). The order of infusion was randomized among subjects. Alanine kinetics were calculated from the enrichments of plasma alanine 13C and expired 13CO2. The alanine appearance rate (Ra), measured during the IV tracer infusion, was 279+/-17 micromol/kg/h; 92%+/-2% of the IV-infused and 86%+/-2% of the NG-infused [1-13C]alanine tracer was recovered as 13CO2. From the difference in plasma alanine 13C enrichment between IV-infused and NG-infused tracers, we determined that the splanchnic bed extracted 69%+/-1% of the enterally delivered alanine tracer on the first pass during absorption. Only one third of the enteral alanine passed intact through the splanchnic bed and was made available to systemic tissues. Of the enteral alanine extracted, 83%+/-3% of the carboxyl-carbon label was recovered as CO2, leaving only 17% of the sequestered alanine available for use in splanchnic protein synthesis. Thus, the splanchnic bed, presumably the liver, extracts and metabolizes most of the enterally delivered alanine.
Is the “face aftereffect” retinotopic or spatiotopic?

Selective adaptation to one face leads to systematic distortion in the appearance of subsequently presented faces, a phenomenon which has been called the "face aftereffect". Here we compared the strength of the face aftereffect when, following an eye movement, two adjacent test faces are presented, one at the same retinal position as the adapting face and the other at the same spatial position as the adapting face. The adjacent tests provide a direct measure of the relative strength of retinotopic versus spatiotopic effects and the results show that the retinotopic aftereffect is stronger than the spatiotopic aftereffect.
Effect of temperature on activity and social behavior of the adult tautog Tautoga onitis under laboratory conditions

Experiments were conducted on the effects of high, sublethal temperature on activity, social behavior, and feeding in the adult tautog Tautoga onitis held under controlled laboratory conditions. Norms of these behaviors were established during acclimation to temperatures at which these fish are commonly found. During acclimation, the fish were active and feeding throughout the day. A dominance hierarchy, based primarily on size, was established for each group, with subordinate fish being displaced from all areas of the aquarium. Under elevated temperature, changes in established norms of these behaviors were observed, with activity, feeding, aggression, and the spacing between fish showing a decrease. Following return to pre-rise temperatures, although aggression remained reduced, activity, interfish distance, and feeding approached levels established during acclimation. A comparison of these results with previous ones on young tautog is made and the significance of the findings is discussed.
Measurement of the solubility of progesterone under competitive protein binding assay conditions.

Under the conditions currently in use for competitive binding methods, only about ½ of the progesterone (P) dried in a Pyrex test tube is dissolved in the assay medium. Incomplete solubilization of the steroid may result in errors when standards and samples do not behave identically or are treated differently on the assumption that all P is in solution. Solubility of P (and hence the sensitivity of the assay) may be increased by the addition of propylene glycol. Measurement of recoveries after P is in aqueous buffer solution, ready for assay, is recommended.
Transgraft infusion of heparin to prevent early thrombosis of expanded PTFE grafts in canine femoral veins

Recently we designed an expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE)-based local infusion device that delivers therapeutic agents directly through the graft wall in the region adjacent to the upstream anastomosis, thereby achieving a high drug concentration downstream along the graft-blood interface. In this study we evaluated the effects of infusing heparin by this method on graft patency and neointimal hyperplasia in a canine model of femoral vein replacement. Five dogs underwent bilateral femoral vein replacement with the device. In each case one graft was infused with continuous heparin (48 U/kg/day) while the contralateral control graft received phosphate-buffered saline solution for 14 days. All heparin-treated grafts were patent and all control grafts were thrombosed at 14 days. There was no significant difference in systemic activated partial thromboplastin time among samples taken preoperatively, at 48 hours, and at 14 days of implantation (p > 0.5). There was no significant difference in neointimal hyperplasia between the upstream and downstream anastomoses in heparin-treated grafts. These data demonstrate that the transgraft infusion of heparin preserved venous ePTFE graft patency without measurable systemic anticoagulation. Thus this approach may represent an attractive strategy for maintaining patency of synthetic venous grafts.
Experimental Investigation ofa Rectilinear Droplet Stream Flame

Abstract This paper describes an experimental exploration of droplet–droplet and droplet–flame interactions in a self-sustained rectilinear monodispersed droplet stream flame. Fuel droplets in the stream have an initial diameter of approximately 1OOµm and travel at an average velocity of 1Om/s (Reynolds number approximately 100) vertically upward. The initial center to center droplet spacing is between 2 and 10 droplet diameters. The droplet stream ignites as it passes through an electrically heated coil of bare nickel–chromium wire. Vaporization rates are computed from changes in droplet size that are measured from photographs. The results indicate that, as the spacings examined, droplet vaporization rates in the stream flame differ from isolated droplet vaporization rates. In this spacing regime, the decrease in the vaporization rate is almost linear with decreasing droplet spacing. At a constant mass flow rate in the droplet stream, the total mass vaporization increases as the initial droplet size and ...
The Reflexive Producer: The Influence of Farmer Knowledge Upon the Use of Bt Corn*

This paper examines the influence of farmer knowledge upon decision making processes. Drawing upon the sociological debates around the ideas of reflexive modernity and biotechnology as well as from classic adoption and diffusion studies, I explore the influences upon farmers' use of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn. Utilizing survey data gathered from corn farmers in Minnesota and Wisconsin, I argue that farmers are ‘reflexive’ actors who actively negotiate between ‘expert’ and ‘local’ knowledges when deciding to plant Bt corn. Furthermore, I hypothesize that farmers are more likely to be influenced by their first-hand or local experiences than by state or expert observations.
An Intrinsic Cell Cycle Checkpoint Pathway Mediated by MEK and ERK in Drosophila

Cell cycle checkpoints are surveillance mechanisms that safeguard genome integrity. While the extrinsic pathways that halt the cell cycle in response to DNA damages have been well documented, the intrinsic pathways that ensure orderly progression of cell cycle events are not well understood. We demonstrate that Drosophila MEK and ERK constitute an essential intrinsic checkpoint pathway that restrains cell cycle progression in the absence of DNA damage and also responds to ionizing radiation to arrest the cell cycle. Embryos lacking MEK exhibit faster and extra division cycles and fail to undergo timely midblastula transition (MBT) or arrest following ionizing radiation. Conversely, constitutively activated MEK causes cell cycle arrest. Further, MEK activation in the early embryo is cell cycle-dependent and Raf independent and increases in response to ionizing radiation or in the absence of Chk1. Thus, MEK/ERK activation is required for multiple checkpoints and is essential for orderly cell cycle progression.
Potential of Nicotiana kawakamii (Solanaceae) as a trap crop for protecting flue-cured tobacco from damage by Heliothis virescens (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larvae

Nicotiana kawakamii Y. Ohashi is a wild relative of commercial tobacco, Nicotiana tabacum L. Feeding experiments showed that tobacco budworm larvae, Heliothis virescens (F.), survive and develop as well on N. kawakamii as they do on flue-cured tobacco. Field-cage experiments demonstrated that N. kawakamii was preferred over flue-cured tobacco by ovipositing H. virescens moths. Thus, N. kawakamii was tested as a potential trap crop for protecting commercial tobacco fields from damage by H. virescens larvae. During 1992-1994 at Oxford, NC, N. kawakamii was planted in every 5th row of flue-cured tobacco fields. The percentage of plants infested with H. virescens larvae averaged 4.3 times higher in rows of N. kawakamii than in adjacent rows of flue-cured tobacco. Also, tobacco in rows adjacent to N. kawakamii often had less damage from H. virescens than did tobacco in remote control fields, suggesting that N. kawakamii has potential as a trap crop in tobacco production. There were no significant differences in the percentages of parasitism by Cardiochi/es nigriceps Viereck and Campoletis sonorensis (Cameron) for H. virescens larvae collected from N. kawakamii or tobacco. Hornworm larvae, Manduca spp., were also monitored, but N. kawakamii provided no consistent protection from infestations of this pest.
Failure of castration to prevent the prepubescent decline in the circulating concentration of growth hormone in the domestic fowl

In the domestic fowl, plasma concentrations of growth hormone (GH) have been observed to be elevated in young, rapidly growing chicks and low in older chicks and in adults. In this present study the plasma concentration of GH was high in 35-day-old male chickens and declined to the low adult concentration by 91 days of age. This decrease was observed in male chickens irrespective of whether they remained intact, were castrated at 35 days of age, or were castrated and implanted with testosterone. The plasma concentrations of GH in castrated birds were lower than those in the controls at 49 and 63 days of age. As would be expected, the plasma concentrations of luteinizing hormone (LH) were elevated by castration while testosterone implantation reduced the castration-induced rise in LH concentrations. Castration was followed by very low but detectable plasma concentrations of androgen. These were increased by testosterone implants.
H3-leucine incorporation in antigenically stimulated rat popliteal lymph node cells.

The effect of antigenic stimulation with pertussis and sheep red blood cell antigens was studied in the rat popliteal lymph nodes. H3-leucine was used to assess protein metabolism in the various cell types of the reactive lymph nodes following both primary and secondary stimulation with these antigens. Radioautographs of tissue smears were used to make quantitative and qualitative assessments of the extent of intracellular protein synthesis. In addition, changes in the cellular populations of various lymphoid cell lines were determined utilizing differential cell counts and total cells present in the reacting nodes. These data were used principally to assess the role of the lymphocytic cells in the ontogeny of the immune response. Large and medium lymphocytes responded to antigenic stimuli by increasing intracellular protein synthesis. This newly synthesized protein most likely reflected the requirements of large and medium lymphocytes for growth, division and the production of immunoglobulins. The small lymphocytes, as a group, showed only minimal changes in intracellular protein synthesis following antigenic stimulation. The responses by large and medium lymphocytes and plasma cells were qualitatively similar following primary and secondary stimuli. The differences in these responses appeared to be reflected by the number of cells involved and by the temporal sequence in which the cells appeared.
A parametric programming technique for efficient CNC machining operations

In this paper the application of parametric programming to CNC machining is discussed. As one of the less frequently utilized features of CNC machines, parametric programming has the potential to increase the efficiency of CNC operations. This feature is particularly beneficial to companies with group technology manufacturing where parts with similar design or operational requirements are processed within a machine cell. Using two case studies, the capabilities of parametric programming for CNC machines are illustrated.
Attitudes of children toward a similar-aged child who uses augmentative communication

Two videotape recordings were made of a boy who was physically disabled and nonspeaking. In one, the child communicated using a nonelectronic alphabet board and, in the other, a high-technology augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device. The Chedoke-McMaster Attitudes Toward Children with Handicaps (CATCH) scale was used to assess the attitudes of fifth graders toward this child. One group of fifth graders attended schools in which children with disabilities were integrated. Another group attended schools in which children with disabilities were not integrated. Within these groups, one subgroup watched the nonelectronic video and one the high-technology video. Results indicated significant effects of gender and school on attitude scores, but not of video viewed. Possible reasons, clinical implications, and directions for future research are discussed.
Influence of Antihistamines on Mast Cell Disruption Following X-Irradiation.∗:

SummaryX-irradiation was followed by evidence of marked damage to mast cells in mesentery, skin and cheek pouch of rat and hamster. Daily intraperitoneal injection of pyrilamine maleate largely prevented damage to mast cells in the mesentery but not to those in skin and cheek pouch of the irradiated hamster. Pyrilamine maleate offered no protection against damage to mast cells in tissues of the irradiated rat. Intraperitoneal injections of promethazine hydrochloride in low dosage failed to protect mast cells against radiation damage in any tissue of the hamster. In high dosages this compound destroyed mast cells of mesentery of the nonirradiated hamster, but did not affect those of skin and cheek pouch.
Defect Intelligent Sampling System

This paper describes a new paradigm of defect sampling, the Defect Intelligent Sampling System (Defect-ISS), which introduces a far more effective in-line defect inspection and process control method in a diverse product and technology node mass production environment. Three important benefits are realized with the implementation of Defect-ISS: (1) Sampling stability (2) Satisfactory coverage of products in line (3) Comprehensive inclusion of the process tools.
An Intuitive Graphic Environment for Navigation and Classification of Multimedia Documents

In this work, we propose an intuitive graphic framework for the effective visualization of MPEG-7 low-level features, in the context of classification and annotation of audio-visual documents. This graphic tool is proposed to facilitate the access to the content, and to improve a quick understanding of the semantics associated to the considered document. The main visualization paradigm employed consists in representing a 2D feature space in which the shots of the audiovisual document are located. In another window, the same shots are drawn in a temporal bar that gives the users also the information related to the time domain. In the main window, shots with similar content fall near each other, and the proposed tool offers various functionalities for automatically and semi-automatically finding and annotating shot clusters in the feature space. The use of the proposed system to analyze the content of few video sequences has shown very interesting capabilities
Classification of Individual Particles Based on Computer-Controlled Scanning Electron Microscopy Data

Computer-controlled scanning electron microscopy (CCSEM) is known as a powerful tool for measuring individual particle characterization, including various size parameters and the major elemental composition in a short analysis time. To exploit CCSEM as a receptor-modeling technique in a source apportionment study, it is important to define the membership of each particle in a well-defined particle class. Various clustering methods were examined to obtain possible members of homogeneous particle classes. An expert system was then used to build a universal classification rule based on examples of the homogeneous particle classes. These methods were extensively explored and tested using data from a study of El Paso, TX.
γ-Tubulin complex in Trypanosoma brucei: molecular composition, subunit interdependence and requirement for axonemal central pair protein assembly.

Summary γ-Tubulin complex constitutes a key component of the microtubule-organizing center and nucleates microtubule assembly. This complex differs in complexity in different organisms: the budding yeast contains the γ-tubulin small complex (γTuSC) composed of γ-tubulin, gamma-tubulin complex protein (GCP)2 and GCP3, whereas animals contain the γ-tubulin ring complex (γTuRC) composed of γTuSC and three additional proteins, GCP4, GCP5 and GCP6. In Trypanosoma brucei, the composition of the γ-tubulin complex remains elusive, and it is not known whether it also regulates assembly of the subpellicular microtubules and the spindle microtubules. Here we report that the γ-tubulin complex in T. brucei is composed of γ-tubulin and three GCP proteins, GCP2-GCP4, and is primarily localized in the basal body throughout the cell cycle. Depletion of GCP2 and GCP3, but not GCP4, disrupted the axonemal central pair microtubules, but not the subpellicular microtubules and the spindle microtubules. Furthermore, we showed that the γTuSC is required for assembly of two central pair proteins and that γTuSC subunits are mutually required for stability. Together, these results identified an unusual γ-tubulin complex in T. brucei, uncovered an essential role of γTuSC in central pair protein assembly, and demonstrated the interdependence of individual γTuSC components for maintaining a stable complex.
Using a large projection screen as an alternative to head-mounted displays for virtual environments

Head-mounted displays for virtual environments facilitate an immersive experience that seems more real than an experience provided by a desk-top monitor [18]; however, the cost of head-mounted displays can prohibit their use. An empirical study was conducted investigating differences in spatial knowledge learned for a virtual environment presented in three viewing conditions: head-mounted display, large projection screen, and desk-top monitor. Participants in each condition were asked to reproduce their cognitive map of a virtual environment, which had been developed during individual exploration of the environment along a predetermined course. Error scores were calculated, indicating the degree to which each participant's map differed from the actual layout of the virtual environment. No statistically significant difference was found between the head-mounted display and large projection screen conditions. An implication of this result is that a large projection screen may be an effective, inexpensive substitute for a head-mounted display.
An integrated imaging microscope for untethered cortical imaging in freely-moving animals

Imaging in awake, behaving animals is an emerging field that offers the advantage of being able to study physiological processes and structures in a more natural state than what is possible in tissue slices or even in anesthetized animals. To date, most imaging in awake animals has used optical fiber bundles or electrical cables to transfer signals to traditional imaging-system components. However, the fibers or cables tether the animal and greatly limit the kind and duration of animal behavior that can be studied using imaging methods. We present an integrated imaging microscope (IIM) that incorporates all aspects of an imaging system - illumination, optics and photodetection - into a small footprint device, occupying under 4 cm3 and weighing 5.4 g, that can be attached to the skull for imaging the brain in mobile rats. Power supply and image storage sufficient for ∼7 hour operation at 15 frames/s was implemented on a backpack weighing 11.5 g. We implemented several optical techniques including reflectance, spectroscopy, speckle and fluorescence with the IIM, imaged vessels down to 15–20 µm in diameter and obtained, to the best of our knowledge, the worlds first cortical images from an untethered, freely-moving rat.
Beta radiation self absorption of precipitates collected on filter paper. Studies with S35-barium sulfate.

Different yields of precipitate and different types of self absorption curves were obtained when radioactive sulfur was precipitated as BaSO4 in the presence and in the absence of salt. An equation was derived for expressing the self absorption of precipitates collected on filter paper which takes into account the yield of precipitate and the partial penetration of the precipitate into the filter paper. From the computed estimates of the parameters, it was concluded that the precipitate obtained in the absence of salt penetrates into the filter paper. This conclusion was supported by microscopic observations. The Denis method of oxidation followed by barium precipitation and filtration is well suited for the determination of total and isotopic sulfur because of complete recovery and lack of penetration of the precipitate into the filter paper. The count rates of radiosulfur treated by this method fit the usual equation reflecting an exponential absorption of beta radiation better than empirical linear relationships. A filtration apparatus is described which permits the determination of the radioactivity of a precipitate without removing the filter paper from its support.
Analysis and optimization of E-plane directional couplers

A procedure for the simulation of E-plane-coupled slot hybrids is proposed. The component is divided into a cascade of uniformly coupled subsections which are individually analyzed with a spectral domain program. The validity of the approach is confirmed by measurements on several couplers. >
Sustained hippocampal chromatin regulation in a mouse model of depression and antidepressant action

To better understand the molecular mechanisms of depression and antidepressant action, we administered chronic social defeat stress followed by chronic imipramine (a tricyclic antidepressant) to mice and studied adaptations at the levels of gene expression and chromatin remodeling of five brain-derived neurotrophic factor (Bdnf) splice variant mRNAs (I-V) and their unique promoters in the hippocampus. Defeat stress induced lasting downregulation of Bdnf transcripts III and IV and robustly increased repressive histone methylation at their corresponding promoters. Chronic imipramine reversed this downregulation and increased histone acetylation at these promoters. This hyperacetylation by chronic imipramine was associated with a selective downregulation of histone deacetylase (Hdac) 5. Furthermore, viral-mediated HDAC5 overexpression in the hippocampus blocked imipramine's ability to reverse depression-like behavior. These experiments underscore an important role for histone remodeling in the pathophysiology and treatment of depression and highlight the therapeutic potential for histone methylation and deacetylation inhibitors in depression.