cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Providing Inservice Teachers with a "TICKET" to Digital Delivery Systems

~ n g in July of 1998, the Pennsyl~ a ~ State University, Mont Alto ~ s , began its local version of the ~ T " program--"Technology InCertification for K-12 Edu~ a n d Teachers." The TICKET program provides classroom teachers in remote regional school districts with access to educational opportunities to develop technology competencies that can effectively enhance their delivery of instruction. The curriculum design of this program goes beyond the introduction of computer-based skills, but rather provides instructional methods that strategically implement these digital practices in the educational process. A particular strength of our regional offering of TICKET is that it is founded on enrolling dedicated cohorts of participants who take an entire five-class sequence together. This continuity helps create the atmosphere of a shared learning experience and also establishes the foundation for a network of supportive local-area practitioners. The first "graduating" cohort of teachers completed their program course work at the end of the fall 1999 semester. I would like to discuss the principal features of TICKET, including my observations of the planning and implementation phases of this program during its inaugural flight.
Sperm retrieval and intracytoplasmic sperm injection in patients with prune-belly syndrome.

Prune-belly syndrome (PBS) is an idiopathic triad characterized by bilateral cryptorchidism, bilateral hydroureteronephrosis, and lax abdominal musculature. These men are infertile and there are no documented cases of paternity. Their infertility is multifactorial and is likely related to the undescended testes and the prostatic hypoplasia typically seen in these men. Furthermore, Wolffian duct anomalies, including absent seminal vesicles and vasa deferentia, and epididymal anomalies have been reported in patients with PBS (1, 2). The first pregnancy with intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) was reported in 1992 (3). Intracytoplasmic sperm injection is an accepted treatment for severe male factor infertility, and the published data suggest that there is no increased risk of major malformations associated with ICSI (4). We report the first pregnancy caused by a man with PBS and review our experience with sperm retrieval and ICSI in three men with this syndrome. Institutional review board approval was not obtained, but patients were counseled on the uncertain genetic risks to any potential offspring.
Adequate or Not? A Comparison of 24-Hour Urine Studies for Renal Stone Prevention by Creatinine to Weight Ratio

Abstract Purpose: The intent of this study was to compare urine parameters between kidney stone formers with low, expected, and high creatinine to weight ratio (Cr/kg) and to discuss implications for treatment. Patients and Methods: In this retrospective study, 381 stone formers (205 females and 176 males) with urine collections for nephrolithiasis evaluation were included. Using the first collected sample, patients were grouped into low, expected, and high Cr/kg using sex appropriate reference ranges (15.0–20.0 mg/kg for females and 18.0–24.0 mg/kg for males) and evaluated. Results: Of initial collections, 50.7% were outside the Cr/kg reference range. Median age increased as Cr/kg decreased with 13 years age difference between low (56) and high (43) groups. Body mass index and weight also increased significantly with decreased ratio. No significant difference between groups was found for urine volume, total oxalate, oxalate concentration, pH, and supersaturations of calcium oxalate and uric acid. Total c...
Identification and characterization of a soluble suppressor factor(s) in the serum of AKR mice bearing lymphocytic leukemia

Leukemia in AKR mice was found to be associated with the presence of a serum factor(s) termed AKR leukemic suppressor factor (AKR-LSF). Suppression was quantitated by measuring the inhibition of PHA-stimulated [3H]thymidine incorporation by normal AKR spleen cells at various dilutions of leukemic mouse serum (LMS). AKR-LSF activity was expressed as units per milliliter, which is the reciprocal of the LMS dilution that inhibited [3H]thymidine uptake by 50% with respect to fetal calf serum control cultures. The amount of activity in the serum directly correlated to the rate of tumor cell growth. Mice receiving 10(7) BW5147 transplanted leukemia cells had 130 +/- 12 units of AKR-LSF activity/ml of serum compared to 40 +/- 8 units/ml for mice with spontaneous leukemia. Normal mouse serum contained 33 +/- 11 units/ml. The leukemic serum exhibited no strain specificity in either phytohemagglutinin or lipopolysaccharide assays, but was found to be twofold more inhibitory against mouse spleen cells than that against rat spleen cells. Human lymphocyte blastogenesis was not inhibited by the leukemic serum. LMS did not inhibit the growth of L929 fibroblasts or murine tumor cells in vitro. Further work is necessary to determine what role the suppressor factor may play in the regulation of antitumor cell immunity.
On Measuring Aggregate "Social Efficiency"

Abstract Cross‐country comparisons of social indicators controlling for income and/or social spending have been widely used to measure and explain “social efficiency,” analogously to “technical efficiency” in production. The article argues that these methods are clouded in ambiguities about what is being measured. Standard methods of measuring technical efficiency require assumptions that are unlikely to hold for social indicators. In the context of a simple parametric model of life expectancy, conditions are identified under which there will be a systematic pattern of bias in estimates of efficient public health spending.
Subchondral plate thickness reflects tensile stress in the primate acetabulum

To evaluate possible relationships between body size and articular architecture, femoral head radius and subchondral plate thickness were assessed in skeletal hip joints from normal primates. The relative "contact pressure" on bearing surfaces was estimated from the measured radius and the normal body mass in species ranging from Cebuella pygmaea (0.1 kg) to Gorilla gorilla (170 kg). Subchondral plate thickness was evaluated by computed tomography in species ranging from Cercopithecus neglectus (4.0 kg) to Gorilla gorilla. Neither the "contact pressure" nor the thickness of the femoral subchondral plate varied substantially among species. In contrast, the acetabular subchondral plate thickened significantly (p = 0.01) as body size increased. This finding is interpreted as an osseous response to tensile acetabular stress, which can be expected to increase directly with the radius of curvature.
Dynamic Stress Drop of Recent Earthquakes: Variations within Subduction Zones

Stress drop is a fundamental parameter of earthquakes, but it is difficult to obtain reliable stress drop estimates for most earthquakes. Static stress drop estimates require knowledge of the seismic moment and fault area. Dynamic stress drop estimates are based entirely upon the observed source time functions. Based on analytical formulas that I derive for the crack and slip-pulse rupture models, the amplitude and time of the initial peak in source time functions can be inverted for dynamic stress drop. For multiple event earthquakes, this method only gives the dynamic stress drop of the first event. The Michigan STF catalog provides a uniform data base for all large earthquakes that have occurred in the past four years. Dynamic stress drops are calculated for the nearly 200 events in this catalog, and the resultant estimates scatter between 0.1 and 100 MPa. There is some coherent tectonic signal within this scatter. In the Sanriku (Japan) and Mexico subduction zones, underthrusting earthquakes that occur at the up-dip and down-dip edges of the seismogenic zone have correspondingly low and high values of stress drop. A speculative picture of the stress state of subduction zones emerges from these results. A previous study found that the absolute value of shear stress linearly increases down the seismogenic interface to a value of about 50 MPa at the down-dip edge. In this study, the dynamic stress drop of earthquakes at the up-dip edge is about 0.2 MPa, while large earthquakes at the down-dip edge of the seismogenic plate interface have dynamic stress drops of up to 5 MPa. These results imply that: (1) large earthquakes only reduce the shear stress on the plate interface by a small fraction of th absolute level; and thus (2) most of the earthquake energy is partitioned into friction at the plate interface.
The effect of structural disorder on guided resonances in photonic crystal slabs studied with terahertz time-domain spectroscopy

We measure the normal-incidence transmission coefficient of photonic crystal slabs with hexagonal arrays of air holes in silicon. The transmission spectra exhibit sharp resonant features with Fano line shapes. They are produced due to the coupling of the leaky photonic crystal modes, called guided resonances, to the continuum of free-space modes. We investigate the effects of several types of structural disorder on the spectra of these resonances. Our results indicate that guided resonances are very tolerant to disorder in the hole diameter and to interface roughness, but very sensitive to disorder in the lattice periodicity.
ACUTE HEPATITIS ASSOCIATED WITH MOUSE LEUKEMIA II. ETIOLOGY AND HOST RANGE OF THE CAUSAL AGENT IN MICE

The etiological agent of the acute hepatitis encountered in weanling mice of the Princeton strain is a virus found in the liver, spleen, kidneys, heart's blood, urine, and intestinal contents of experimentally infected animals. Older Princeton mice and weanlings from four other strains (Swiss, Webster's BSVS, C albino) and Bagg) proved to be less susceptible than Princeton weanlings. The virus was demonstrable in Berkefeld V filtrates of liver suspensions and in supernatants after centrifugation at 10,000 G. In whole liver suspensions it was detectable in decreasing amounts through a dilution of 10(-7). Aureomycin and terramycin had no detectable effect on the activity of the virus in weanlings.
HLPR Chair: A Novel Indoor Mobility-Assist and Lift System

This paper describes a novel Home Lift, Position, and Rehabilitation (HLPR) Chair, designed at National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), to provide independent patient mobility for indoor tasks, such as moving to and placing a person on a toilet or bed, and lift assistance for tasks, such as accessing kitchen or other tall shelves. These functionalities are currently out of reach of most wheelchair users. One of the design motivations of the HLPR Chair is to reduce back injury, typically, an important issue in the care of this group. The HLPR Chair is currently being extended to be an autonomous mobility device to assist cognition by route and trajectory planning. This paper describes the design of HLPR Chair, its control architecture, and algorithms for autonomous planning and control using its unique kinematics.
Methane partial oxidation over NiO/MgO solid solution catalysts

Abstract The following issues regarding the partial oxidation of methane to synthesis gas, over NiO/MgO solid solution catalysts, at a very high space velocity of the feed gas (CH 4 /O 2 =2/1, GHSV=720 000 cm 3 /g h), were investigated: (i) the effect of the solid solution formation between NiO and MgO on the reaction; (ii)the effect of the composition of the catalyst; and (iii) the reaction mechanism. It was found that the mechanical mixtures of NiO and MgO have low activity and selectivity; however, their activity and selectivity became higher with increasing calcination time, due to the formation of a NiO–MgO solid solution. In contrast, the solid solution catalysts prepared via impregnation provided high activity and selectivity, as well as high stability over a large range of NiO concentrations. However, the activity was low for too low concentrations of NiO in NiO/MgO and the catalyst was no longer stable for too high concentrations of NiO. By comparing, under the same reaction conditions, the rate of partial oxidation of methane for CH 4 /O 2 =2/1 to that of the reforming reaction of a mixture CH 4 /H 2 O/CO 2 obtained from the former by complete combustion, one could conclude that the pyrolysis mechanism was dominant at 700°C and 750°C, but at 850°C, the combustion reforming mechanism also played a part.
TRANSITION PROBABILITIES AND COLLISION STRENGTHS FOR ELECTRON-IMPACT EXCITATION OF Cl III

We report transition probabilities and effective collision strengths for electron-impact excitation of the astrophysically important Cl III ion. The collision strengths are calculated in the close-coupling approximation using the B-spline Breit-Pauli R-matrix method. The multiconfiguration Hartree-Fock method with term-dependent non-orthogonal orbitals is employed for an accurate description of the target wave functions. The 68 fine-structure levels belonging to the 32 LS states of 3s {sup 2}3p{sup 3}, 3s3p{sup 4}, 3s {sup 2}3p {sup 2}3d, 3s {sup 2}3p {sup 2}4s, and 3s {sup 2}3p {sup 2}4p configurations are included in the close-coupling expansion. The effective collision strengths are obtained by averaging the electron collision strengths over a Maxwellian distribution of velocities, and those are tabulated for all 2278 possible fine-structure transitions at electron temperatures in the range from 5000 to 1,000,000 K. Our results are compared with previous theoretical results and available experimental data. Overall, we reached a good agreement with the 23 state calculation of Ramsbottom et al., but some discrepancies are seen for some transitions.
Cortical representation of olfactory bulb input revealed by retrograde mono-transsynaptic labeling

In the mouse olfactory system, more than 1000 classes of olfactory receptor neurons(ORNs) each sends convergent axonal projections into a pair of specific glomeruli in the olfactory bulb (OB), creating a space map for odor detection. Mitral/tufted cells receive ORN inputs from individual glomeruli and project axons to the olfactory cortex. How the olfactory map in the OB is represented in the cortex is largely unknown. Here we combine a retrograde mono-transsynaptic labeling technique with mouse genetics such that we can precisely control spatial location, number and cell type of starter cortical neurons. We found that individual cortical neurons receive mitral cells representing multiple glomeruli, demonstrating a direct information convergence. Cortical neurons in highly restricted areas receive inputs from glomeruli that spread widely in the olfactory bulb. Quantitative analyses revealed that the space map in the OB is differentially represented in the anterior olfactory nucleus, amygdala and piriform cortex. Finally, our genetically regulable transsynaptic labeling method can be widely applied to mapping connections in many parts of the nervous system in mice.
Radar scatterometer observations of sastrugi on the great ice sheets

The SeaWinds instrument on the QuikSCAT satellite was designed to measure near surface winds over the ocean; however, this remarkable remote sensing instrument has proven very useful in polar ice studies. Unlike previous radar scatterometers which were limited to 2 or 3 azimuth angles, the Ku-band SeaWinds instrument uses a circular scanning pencil beam, allowing it to make radar backscatter measurements from all azimuth angles. This geometry makes it an ideal candidate for studies of azimuth modulation of the normalized radar cross section of natural surfaces. Previous studies have observed a second order azimuth modulation of radar backscatter on the Antartic ice sheet, which has been related to wind-generated sastrugi (snow dunes) on the surface. In this paper we use SeaWinds data to make more detailed studies of the azimuth modulation in both Antarctica and Greenland where little has been done. Using the higher azimuth resolution possible with SeaWinds, we find that the azimuth variation of the backscatter is better described using a fourth order model in areas with the highest modulation. The orientation of these fourth order terms appears to be highly correlated to the katabatic wind direction. Azimuth modulation is as observed over Greenland, but it is much smaller than over Antarctica. Comparing SeaWinds and ERS-1/2 satterometer mode data we examine the frequency dependence, finding the modulation larger at C-band than Ku-band. The largest azimuth modulation in Greenland is observed in the transition region between dry snow and percolation zones.
Halothane Anesthesia Decreases Human Monocyte Hydrogen Peroxide Generation. Protection of Monocytes by Activation with Gamma Interferon

AbstractIn an effort to determine the impact of halothane anesthesia on certain human cell-mediated immune functions, normal, purified human monocytes and lymphocytes were exposed to halothane in vitro at varying concentrations for up to 8 hours. Subsequently, these human effector cells were analyzed for their ability to function in several cell-mediated immunologic assays. Natural killer cell activity against K-562 was unaffected by halothane in most of the donors tested. Similarly, the ability of purified monocytes to inhibit MBL-2 tumor cell growth was unchanged. Halothane appeared to decrease the proliferative response of lymphocytes to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) in approximately 50% of the normal donors tested. In contrast, the ability of monocytes to lyse antibody-coated red cell targets (ADCC) was unaffected by even maximal exposure to halothane. Of interest was the finding that human monocytes exposed to as low as 2% halothane anesthesia for 4 hours displayed a dramatic down-regulation of hydrogen p...
Assessing School Readiness: Validity and Bias in Preschool and Kindergarten Teachers' Ratings.

As a part of efforts to evaluate and monitor the increasing public investment in early childhood education, teachers are being asked to assess children's school readiness. In this study, preschool teachers and kindergarten teachers rated children's skills in three areas (kindergarten readiness, academic skills, and communication skills), and these ratings were compared with direct assessments of the children's skills. Ratings by both groups of teachers tended to be more highly related to basic skills, such as counting and number naming, than to abilities such as solving applied problems and using expressive and receptive vocabulary. Preschool teachers' ratings had a lower association with children's observed skills and abilities than kindergarten teachers' ratings. Ratings of children attending Head Start were systematically inflated, but this relationship was mediated to a significant extent by the teachers' levels of education. More educated teachers rated children in a manner consistent with the children's directly assessed skills. Implications of these findings for informing future efforts to assess school readiness by using teacher ratings are discussed.
Bubble growth on a solid wall in a rapidly-depressurizing liquid pool

Abstract Experimental measurements were made of bubbles growing on a well-wetted stainless-steel surface in rapidly-depressurized distilled water. The Jones & Zuber variable-pressure solution for the bubble radius was modified by including the contribution of microlayer evaporation from the base of the bubble, as well as from the curved surface. Despite the pressure disturbances caused by acoustic reflections in the first few milliseconds, very good agreement is obtained with limited data.
Vesta as the howardite, eucrite and diogenite parent body: Implications for the size of a core and for large‐scale differentiation

— If Vesta is the parent body of the howardite, eucrite, and diogenite (HED) meteorites, then geo-chemical and petrologic constraints for the meteorites may be used in conjunction with astronomical constraints for the size and mass of Vesta to (1) determine the size of a possible metal core in Vesta and (2) model the igneous differentiation and internal structure of Vesta. The density of Vesta and petrologic models for HED meteorites together suggest that the amount of metal in the parent body is <25 mass%, with a best estimate of ∼5%, assuming no porosity. For a porosity of up to 5% in the silicate fraction of the asteroid, the permissible metal content is <30%. These results suggest that any metal core in the HED parent body and Vesta is not unusually large. A variety of geochemical and other data for HED meteorites are consistent with the idea that they originated in a magma ocean. It appears that diogenites formed by crystal accumulation in a magma ocean cumulate pile and that most noncumulate eucrites (excepting such eucrites as Bouvante and Statinem) formed by subsequent crystallization of the residual melts. Modelling results suggest that the HED parent body is enriched in rare earth elements by a factor of ∼2.5–3.5 relative to CI-chondrites and that it has approximately chondritic Mg/Si and Al/Sc ratios. Stokes settling calculations for a Vesta-wide, nonturbulent magma ocean suggest that early-crystallizing magnesian olivine, orthopyroxene, and pigeonite would have settled relatively quickly, permitting fractional crystallization to occur, but that later-crystallizing phases would have settled (or floated) an order of magnitude more slowly, allowing, instead, a closer approach to equilibrium crystallization for the more evolved (eucritic) melts. This would have inhibited the formation of a plagioclase-flotation crust on Vesta. Plausible models for the interior of Vesta, which are consistent with the data for HED meteorites and Vesta, include a metal core (<130 km radius), an olivine-rich mantle (∼65–220 km thick), a lower crustal unit (∼12–43 km thick) composed of pyroxenite, from which diogenites were derived, and an upper crustal unit (∼23–42 km thick), from which eucrites originated. The present shape of Vesta (with ∼60 km difference in the maximum and minimum radius) suggests that all of the crustal materials, and possibly some of the underlying olivine from the mantle, could have been locally excavated or exposed by impact cratering.
The effect of p53-RNAi and p53 knockout on human 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase (hOgg1) activity

SPECIFIC AIMSBase excision repair pathway repairs a wide range of DNA base modifications. Among them is 8-oxo-7, 8 dihydroguanine (8-oxoG), which pairs with adenine and cytosine during DNA replication, resulting in GC to TA transversion mutations that have been commonly observed in tumor suppressor genes in cancer. In humans, 8-oxoG incorporated into DNA is removed by hOgg1, a DNA glycosylase/AP lyase that specifically incises 8-oxoG opposite cytosine. The aim of this study was to determine the role of p53 in the regulation of the DNA repair gene hOGG1, and further determine the effect of p53 on hOgg1 protein activity.PRINCIPAL FINDINGS1. Suppression and/or knock out of p53 decreases hOGG1 mRNA and hOgg1 protein expressionMCF12A cells transfected with p53-RNAi oligo and the empty vector were selected with 350 μg/mL of G418. The selected colonies were screened for positive down-regulation of p53 in the MCF12A cell line by Western blot analysis. We performed RT-PCR to analyze hOGG1 expression in p53 knockdo...
A brief history of bacterial growth physiology.

Arguably, microbial physiology started when Leeuwenhoek became fascinated by observing a Vorticella beating its cilia, my point being that almost any observation of microbes has a physiological component. With the advent of modern microbiology in the mid 19th century, the field became recognizably distinctive with such discoveries as anaerobiosis, fermentation as a biological phenomenon, and the nutritional requirements of microbes. Soon came the discoveries of Winogradsky and his followers of the chemical changes in the environment that result from microbial activities. Later, during the first half of the 20th century, microbial physiology became the basis for much of the elucidation of central metabolism. Bacterial physiology then became a handmaiden of molecular biology and was greatly influenced by the discovery of cellular regulatory mechanisms. Microbial growth, which had come of age with the early work of Hershey, Monod, and others, was later pursued by studies on a whole cell level by what became known as the “Copenhagen School.” During this time, the exploration of physiological activities became coupled to modern inquiries into the structure of the bacterial cell. Recent years have seen the development of a further phase in microbial physiology, one seeking a deeper quantitative understanding of phenomena on a whole cell level. This pursuit is exemplified by the emergence of systems biology, which is made possible by the development of technologies that permit the gathering of information in huge amounts. As has been true through history, the research into microbial physiology continues to be guided by the development of new methods of analysis. Some of these developments may well afford the possibility of making stunning breakthroughs.
The use and disuse of APL: An empirical study

A sample of over 200 workspaces containing over 80,000 lines of code were analyzed to determine their composition and structure. Statistics were gathered on the frequency of all monadic and dyadic functions, operators, system variables and functions as well as other workspace and defined function characteristics. The results of the study indicated that only a fraction of the APL primitive function set was being utilized despite the language's richness. The ubiquitous 80-20 phenomenon was well represented. In general, 80% of all APL usage occurred with 20% of the available function set. This seems to support a contention that more awareness needs to be directed toward “thinking primitive” instead of only “thinking array”. Some comparisons with a previous study by Saal and Weiss will be made.
Occupational stress management: Cognitive-behavioral approaches

Abstract Human service professionals have been identified as subject to burnout because of stress in the work environment. A number of theorists have emphasized the role of cognitions in psychological stress. Cognitive-behavioral programs which help individuals develop coping skills in order to increase ability to deal with job-related stress are reviewed. Implications for occupational stress management programs and directions for future research and evaluation in the area are discussed.
What are the problems associated with the surgical treatment of patients with pancreatic cancer

Modern surgical therapy of pancreatic cancer has resulted in few long-term survivors. There are several reasons. First, most patients are not diagnosed in an early tumor stage, resulting in a minority of patients undergoing surgical resection. A breakthrough in screening methodology is required until this most major of obstacles can be overcome. Second, inaccurate clinical tumor staging is all that is available for the majority of patients, since most patients are not resected. Imaging techniques used for clinical staging require anatomic verification before clinical staging can be reliable. Then adequate comparison of treatments for patients who never receive anatomical staging can accomplished. Postoperative tumor staging using anatomical methods from intraoperative findings and examination of a surgical specimen require a staging system that is simple and directly correlates with survival. The best staging system can be developed only with international cooperation. An adequate comparison of the results of treatment will then be possible. Two broad treatment areas that are most promising are surgical (extending resections to yield negative surgical margins) and adjuvant protocols (beginning with a variety of radio sensitizing chemotherapeutic agents).
Primary endocardial fibroelastosis: an underappreciated cause of cardiomyopathy in children.

Abstract Background Endocardial fibroelastosis (EFE) is a thickening of the endocardium by collagen and elastic fibers. Primary EFE is characterized by a dilated left ventricle (LV) that typically has a high takeoff of the papillary muscles and thickening of the free edge of the mitral valve leaflets, in addition to diffuse thickening of the endocardium by aortic-like thick and parallel elastic fibers. In the past, EFE was considered a rare cardiomyopathy, but in the latest American Heart Association classification (2006) of cardiomyopathies, EFE is not mentioned. The existence of the entity of “primary” EFE has been questioned. Methods We reviewed medical records, echocardiograms, explanted hearts, and microscopic slides from 52 pediatric heart transplant cases at our institution with a diagnosis of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Results Fourteen hearts showed both gross and microscopic findings of primary EFE, with no apparent cause of the diffuse endocardial thickening. Patients with EFE were significantly younger than patients with DCM (median age: 10.1 vs. 142.0 months). No case of EFE was diagnosed clinically. LV wall and endocardial thickness were significantly greater in EFE, with the mitral valve and papillary muscles showing characteristic findings. Conclusions Clinically and pathologically, EFE is different from DCM. EFE is not rare and found in 25% of pediatric cases transplanted for “DCM.” EFE should be recognized to promote understanding of the natural history and etiology of EFE.
STUDY OF SEVERAL GROUPS OF ORGANIC BINDERS UNDER LOW-PRESSURE EXTRUSION*

A number of organic binders were added to a talc-water system and the mixtures were extruded at low pressures through a deairing extruder. These binders were (1) flours, starches (both short and long chain), (2) gums, (3) alcohols and cellulose derivatives, (4) wood extracts, and (5) alginates. Data are presented on wet strength, water retention during extrusion, extrusion characteristics, drying shrinkage, water of plasticity, days required to air dry, warpage, dry modulus of rupture, hardness, and migration.
Experimental Study and Comparison of Various Designs of Gas Flow Fields to PEM Fuel Cells and Cell Stack Performance

In this study, a significant number of experimental tests to PEM fuel cells were conducted to investigate the effect of gas flow fields on fuel cell performance. Graphite plates with various flow field or flow channel designs, from literature survey and also novel designs by the authors, were used for the PEM fuel cell assembly. The fabricated fuel cells all have an effective membrane area of 23.5 cm2. The results showed that the serpentine flow channel design is still favorable, giving the best single fuel cell performance amongst all the studied flow channel designs. A novel symmetric serpentine flow field was proposed for relatively large size fuel cell application. Four fuel cell stacks each including four cells were assembled using different designs of serpentine flow channels. The output power performances of fuel cell stacks were compared and the novel symmetric serpentine flow field design is recommended for its very good performance.
Structure and Dynamics of Parallel β-Sheets, Hydrophobic Core, and Loops in Alzheimer's Aβ Fibrils

We explore the relative contributions of different structural elements to the stability of Aβ fibrils by molecular-dynamics simulations performed over a broad range of temperatures (298 K to 398 K). Our fibril structures are based on solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance experiments of Aβ(1–40) peptides, with sheets of parallel β-strands connected by loops and stabilized by interior salt bridges. We consider models with different interpeptide interfaces, and different staggering of the N- and C-terminal β-strands along the fibril axis. Multiple 10–20 ns molecular-dynamics simulations show that fibril segments with 12 peptides are stable at ambient temperature. The different models converge toward an interdigitated side-chain packing, and present water channels solvating the interior D23/K28 salt bridges. At elevated temperatures, we observe the early phases of fibril dissociation as a loss of order in the hydrophilic loops connecting the two β-strands, and in the solvent-exposed N-terminal β-sheets. As the most dramatic structural change, we observe collective sliding of the N- and C-terminal β-sheets on top of each other. The interior C-terminal β-sheets in the hydrophobic core remain largely intact, indicating that their formation and stability is crucial to the dissociation/elongation and stability of Aβ fibrils.
Effects of hypercapnia on phrenic and stretch receptor responses to lung inflation.

Abstract To determine if hypercapnia and reflex bronchoconstriction attenuate lung inflation effects on ventilatory activity by indirect effects on intrapulmonary stretch receptors (PSR), phrenic nerve activity and single unit PSR were monitored at controlled levels of static airway pressure (Paw) and arterial P CO 2 in 15 anesthetized dogs. Paw in a vascularly isolated lung was varied between 2 and 14 cm H 2 O at levels of Pa CO 2 between 35 and 85 mm Hg. PSR activity (n = 38) in fine strands dissected from an otherwise intact vagus nerve and the integrated phrenic neurogram were recorded. The response to Paw varied from one PSR to another, but was consistent in a given unit; Pa CO 2 had no consistent effect on individual responses. Selected PSR (n = 15) were averaged to yield a population response to Paw; the selection criteria were: (1) phrenic activity responded briskly to Paw and (2) measurements were made at three levels of Pa CO 2 . Average PSR discharge increased linearly with Paw but was unaffected by Pa CO 2 . On the other hand, phrenic burst frequency decreased as Paw increased and hypercapnia attenuated the slope of this relationship. These results suggest that effects on the relationship between PSR activity and Paw cannot account for attenuation of the relationship between phrenic frequency and Paw in hypercapnia. The effect of Pa CO 2 on the phrenic frequency vs Paw relationship probably arises from integrative mechanisms in the central nervous system.
A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF SIMULATED AND NATURAL WEATHERING OF SOME OKLAHOMA SHALES

Shales from six locations in Oklahoma were subjected to natural weathering for 2 yr. Simulated weathering of these shales was effected in the laboratory by subjecting them to ultrasonic treatment in a tank type device. Both treatments produced disaggregation. X-ray diffraction patterns for the ultrasoni- cally treated and weathered shales indicated no major changes in the types of clay minerals. However, natural weathering in the field produced degradation of the clay minerals in addition to disaggregation of the shales. Ultrasonic treatment appears to be a good predictive test for determining the durability and weatherability of the shales; however, it can simulate field weathering only so far as the engineering index properties of the shale are concerned. It is not a predictive test where the mineralogical character- istics are of significance.
SPLENIC REPLENISHMENT OF SYNERGISTIC ABILITY TO BONE MARROW AND THYMIC CELLS OF NEONATALLY SPLENECTOMIZED CBA MICE

Bone marrow (B) and thymic (T) cells taken from adult mice that had been splenectomized within 24 hr of birth showed an inability to cooperate in the IgM response to sheep red blood cells. The defect in collaborative capacity was apparent in both sets of cells, but appeared to be more pronounced in the T cell population. Splenectomy performed at various neonatal intervals indicated that if removal of the spleen were delayed until 6 days after birth, B and T cells of the adult showed a 60% restoration in cooperation. Replenishment of the synergistic ability after neonatal splenectomy could be achieved by injecting spleen cells immediately after spleen removal or 2 months postsplenectomy.
CPT1A: the future of heart disease detection and personalized medicine?

Fatty acid oxidation in the mitochondria is essential for energy homeostasis in the absence of a consistent energy supply, such as in prolonged fasting or exercise. Long-chain fatty acids, which make up the major dietary fraction of fatty acids, cannot enter the mitochondria by simple diffusion.1 The carnitine palmitoyltransferase (CPT) system is a mitochondrial enzymatic complex which acts to transport long chain fatty acids across the outer and inner mitochondrial membrane.2 The system is made up of two distinct proteins corresponding to the outer and inner membrane forms: carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (CPT1) and 2 (CPT2), respectively. CPT2 is ubiquitously expressed, while CPT1 exists in three tissue-specific forms, namely CPT1A in the liver, CPT1B in the muscle, and CPT1C in the brain.3 The function of CPT1 is best understood in the liver, where CPT1A controls the fatty acid flux through the esterification and oxidative pathways with its sensitivity to malonyl-CoA, a potent CPT1 inhibitor which acts as an important intermediate in fatty acid biosynthesis. During fasting, malonyl-CoA inhibition of CPT1A is halted so that long chain fatty acid oxidation and subsequently ketogenesis become enhanced. In the postprandial state, the concentration of malonyl-CoA increases, CPT1A inhibition ensues, and long chain fatty acids are directed toward esterification. The regulation of CPT1 in extra-hepatic tissues is less clear, however, it is known to be an important constituent of energy homeostasis and maintenance in heart and skeletal muscle as well.1
A new xeromelissine bee in Tertiary amber of the Dominican Republic (Hymenoptera: Colletidae)

A new fossil of the colletid bee subfamily Xeromelissinae is described and figured from Miocene amber of the Dominican Republic. The species is represented by a single female and is proposed as Chilicola electrodominica sp. n. The fossil is distinguished from living Chilicola as well as the only other fossil xeromelissine, C. gracilis. The relative ages of the genus Chilicola, the subfamily, and the Colletidae as a whole are briefly discussed.
Color constancy. I. Basic theory of two-stage linear recovery of spectral descriptions for lights and surfaces

Changing a scene’s illuminant causes the chromatic properties of reflected lights to change. This change in the lights from surfaces provides spectral information about surface reflectances and illuminants. We examine conditions under which these properties may be recovered by using bilinear models. Necessary conditions that follow from comparing the number of equations and the number of unknowns in the recovery procedure are not sufficient for unique recovery. Necessary and sufficient conditions follow from demanding a one-to-one relationship between quantum catch data and sets of lit surfaces. We present an algorithm for determining whether spectral descriptions of lights and surfaces can be recovered uniquely from reflected lights.
Goal Setting and Compromise Solutions

It has been recognized that each human being has a set of ideal goals to achieve and maintain. (See [11–12] for more detailed discussion.) Such goals include: (i) survival and security of the self: physiological health, safety, and freedom from danger; (ii) perpetuation of the species: sex, giving birth to the next generation, family love, and welfare; (iii) feelings of self-importance: self-respect and selfesteem, accumulation of wealth and power, dominance, recognition, prestige, achievement, etc.; (iv) social approval: esteem and respect from others, affiliation, conformity with a desired group, giving and accepting sympathy and protectiveness; (v) sensual gratification: sexual, visual, auditory, smell, taste, tactile; (vi) cognitive consistency and curiosity: consistency in thought and opinion, exploring and acquiring knowledge, truth, beauty, and religion; (vii) self-actualization: the ability to accept and depend on the self, to rely on one’s own standard, to cease identifying with others.
Multifocal intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia in the retroperitoneum and spine: A case report and review of the literature

The authors present a unique case of intravascular papillary endothelial hyperplasia (IPEH) localized in the renal hilum, retroperitoneum, and spine in a patient with Wegener granulomatosis. IPEH rarely occurs in the abdomen or spine with few cases reported in the literature. No case has been reported of IPEH involving both the retroperitoneum and spine. In our case, MR imaging revealed enhancing masses in the right renal hilum and retroperitoneum as well as multiple focal enhancing lesions throughout the spine with lower thoracic ventral thecal sac compression. The diagnosis was established by resection of the renal hilum mass, and interval follow-up is deemed necessary for the remaining lesions because the long-term evolution of IPEH with conservative treatment alone is not well established.
Identification of Darmstoff analogs as selective agonists and antagonists of lysophosphatidic acid receptors

Abstract Darmstoff describes a family of gut smooth muscle-stimulating acetal phosphatidic acids initially isolated and characterized from the bath fluid of stimulated gut over 50 years ago. Despite similar structural and biological profiles, Darmstoff analogs have not previously been examined as potential LPA mimetics. Here, we report a facile method for the synthesis of potassium salts of Darmstoff analogs. To understand the effect of stereochemistry on lysophosphatidic acid mimetic activity, synthesis of optically pure stereoisomers of selected Darmstoff analogs was achieved starting with chiral methyl glycerates. Each Darmstoff analog was evaluated for subtype-specific LPA receptor agonist/antagonist activity, PPARγ activation, and autotaxin inhibition. From this study we identified compound 12 as a pan-antagonist and several pan-agonists for the LPA1–3 receptors. Introduction of an aromatic ring in the lipid chain such as analog 22 produced a subtype-specific LPA3 agonist with an EC50 of 692 nM. Interestingly, regardless of their LPA1/2/3 ligand properties all of the Darmstoff analogs tested activated PPARγ. However, these compounds are weak inhibitors of autotaxin. The results indicate that Darmstoff analogs constitute a novel class of lysophosphatidic acid mimetics.
Paleomagnetic data from the Alaska Peninsula

Recently collected paleomagnetic data, combined with earlier published data, tend to confirm earlier models for the tectonic development of southwestern Alaska. The models involve a basically northward migration and rotation of southwestern Alaska between Cretaceous time and the present, with an earlier southward motion. If the paleolongitudes of the reconstructions are constrained by always keeping southwestern Alaska in contact with North America, some geologic conflicts arise. These may possibly be resolved if large-scale en echelon movement can be proved along such features as the Bruin Bay and Border Ranges faults.
Social descent with territory loss causes rapid behavioral, endocrine and transcriptional changes in the brain

In social species that form hierarchies where only dominant males reproduce, lower-ranking individuals may challenge higher-ranking ones, often resulting in changes in relative social status. How does a losing animal respond to loss of status? Here, using the African cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni, we manipulated the social environment, causing males to descend in rank, and then examined changes in behavior, circulating steroids and immediate early gene (IEG) expression (cfos, egr-1) in micro-dissected brain regions as a proxy for neuronal activation. In particular, we examined changes in the conserved 'social behavior network' (SBN), a collection of brain nuclei known to regulate social behaviors across vertebrates. Astatotilapia burtoni has rapidly reversible dominant-subordinate male phenotypes, so that within minutes, descending males lost their bright body coloration, switched to submissive behaviors and expressed higher plasma cortisol levels compared with non-descending and control males. Descending males had higher IEG expression throughout the SBN, but each brain region showed a distinct IEG-specific response in either cfos or egr-1 levels, but not both. Overall, SBN IEG patterns in descending males were distinctly different from the pattern observed in males ascending (subordinate to dominant) in social status. These results reveal that the SBN rapidly coordinates the perception of social cues about status that are of opposite valence, and translates them into appropriate phenotypic changes. This shows for the first time in a non-mammalian vertebrate that dropping in social rank rapidly activates specific socially relevant brain nuclei in a pattern that differs from when males rise to a higher status position.
The Role of Inflammatory Cytokines, the RANKL/OPG Axis, and the Immunoskeletal Interface in Physiological Bone Turnover and Osteoporosis

Although it has long been recognized that inflammation, a consequence of immune-driven processes, significantly impacts bone turnover, the degree of centralization of skeletal and immune functions has begun to be dissected only recently. It is now recognized that formation of osteoclasts, the bone resorbing cells of the body, is centered on the key osteoclastogenic cytokine, receptor activator of NF-κB ligand (RANKL). Although numerous inflammatory cytokines are now recognized to promote osteoclast formation and skeletal degradation, with just a few exceptions, RANKL is now considered to be the final downstream effector cytokine that drives osteoclastogenesis and regulates osteoclastic bone resorption. The biological activity of RANKL is moderated by its physiological decoy receptor, osteoprotegerin (OPG). New discoveries concerning the sources and regulation of RANKL and OPG in physiological bone turnover as well as under pathological (osteoporotic) conditions continue to be made, opening a window to the complex regulatory processes that control skeletal integrity and the depth of integration of the skeleton within the immune response. This paper will examine the interconnection between bone turnover and the immune system and the implications thereof for physiological and pathological bone turnover.
Answering what-is questions by Virtual Annotation

We present the technique of Virtual Annotation as a specialization of Predictive Annotation for answering definitional What is questions. These questions generally have the property that the type of the answer is not given away by the question, which poses problems for a system which has to select answer strings from suggested passages. Virtual Annotation uses a combination of knowledge-based techniques using an ontology, and statistical techniques using a large corpus to achieve high precision.
Running students' software tests against each others' code: new life for an old "gimmick"

At SIGCSE 2002, Michael Goldwasser suggested a strategy for adding software testing practices to programming courses by requiring students to turn in tests along with their solutions, and then running every student's tests against every other student's program. This approach provides a much more robust environment for assessing the quality of student-written tests, and also provides more thorough testing of student solutions. Although software testing is included as a regular part of many more programming courses today, the all-pairs model of executing tests is still a rarity. This is because student-written tests, such as JUnit tests written for Java programs, are now more commonly written in the form of program code themselves, and they may depend on virtually any aspect of their author's own solution. These dependencies may keep one student's tests from even compiling against another student's program. This paper discusses the problem and presents a novel solution for Java that uses bytecode rewriting to transform a student's tests into a form that uses reflection to run against any other solution, regardless of any compile-time dependencies that may have been present in the original tests. Results of applying this technique to two assignments, encompassing 147 student programs and 240,158 individual test case runs, shows the feasibility of the approach and provides some insight into the quality of both student tests and student programs. An analysis of these results is presented.