cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Theory of single-atom imaging in the scanning tunneling microscope.

We discuss first the current flow in the scanning tunnelling microscope./1/ The vacuum tunnelling current between two planar metallic electrodes with a small bias voltage between them was studied in the instance in which there is an adsorbed atom on each electrode, with one electrode corresponding to the tip, and the other to the sample (a surface with a chemisorbed atom)./2/ The tip and the sample are thus treated on an equal footing.
The changing role of the library director : Fund-raising and the academic library

Abstract With increased costs and decreased funding, it will be increasingly necessary for library directors to become hevily involved in fun-raising, or development. As the role of the director changes, he/she will need to acquire nontraditional knowledges and skills, and must simultaneously ensure that the library is operating smoothly.
Patents and Innovation: An Empirical Study

To what extent would the rate of development and introduction of inventions decline in the absence of patent protection? To what extent do firms make use of the patent system, and what differences exist among firms and industries and over time in the propensity to patent? These questions are in need of much more study. This paper, which reports the results of an empirical investigation based on data obtained from a random sample of 100 U.S. manufacturing firms, provides new findings bearing on each of these questions.
23. Incorporating Japanese Acupuncture Techniques Into Your Practice.

Focus Areas: Integrative Approaches to Care, Experiential Workshop Many practicing acupuncturists in the West do not realize that in Japan, acupuncture was at one point outlawed after WWII in favor of Western medicine. Due to a gradual effort from traditional East Asian doctors and the general public, Japanese acupuncturists re-investigated the Chinese “classics“ to root their treatments in foundational ideas such as the 5 phases and other statements from these revered works. This soft rebellion to create a more integrative culture that included traditional observation of the natural world helped to established what is now called “Japanese Meridian Therapy” and “Hara Abdominal Diagnosis.” This session will teach some of these Japanese-style acupuncture techniques, which can easily and effectively be added to an acupuncture practice, regardless of the background of the practitioner (physician, acupuncturist, chiropractor, etc). There will be a short didactic period explicating these methods and the theory behind them. The bulk of the time will be spent learning and practicing these techniques on co-participants. Techniques will include Japanese pulse diagnosis techniques with root treatment protocols to harmonize the Zang-Fu, hara diagnosis and Anpuku abdominal massage, Fire point treatment, and suggested algorithms for incorporating these techniques into Chinese-style or other Japanese-style acupuncture modalities.
Latency and the tumour virus problem

Abstract Virus-cell relationships in latency and the association between oncogenic viruses and transformed cells have been compared in the light of Theobald Smith's dictum that “a damaging parasite tends to become a symbiont when the relationship between it, and its native host, has existed long”. This may be particularly significant in consideration of the oncogenicity of the herpesviruses.
Time-resolved measurement of double-pass amplification of soft x rays

We report the first time-resolved measurements of emission from a double-pass soft x-ray laser cavity. In these experiments the output signal from a selenium x-ray laser had two temporal components clearly identifiable as the single- and double-pass emission, with the double-pass amplified signal more intense than the single pass. In addition to an unequivocal demonstration of double-pass amplification of soft x rays, the data provide information about of the time-dependent gain in these x-ray laser media, suggesting an effective gain-length profile which rises more slowly and falls-off more rapidly than predicted by state of the art hydrodynamics and kinetics codes.
Low temperature matrix photochemistry of M2(CO)4(μ-S-t-Bu)2 and [M(CO)2Cl2]1− anions, where M = Rh and Ir

Abstract Photolysis of M2(CO)4(μ-S-t-Bu)2, where M = Rh or Ir, in Nujol matrices at ca. 90 K results in simple CO loss to form a tricarbonyl intermediate analogous to that observed for Rh2(CO)4(μ-Cl)2. Photolysis of the anions, [M(CO)2Cl2]1−, where M = Rh or Ir, in inert ionic matrices at ca. 90 K, results in CO-loss to form an intermediate analogous to that formed by Rh(CO)2(i-Pr2HN)Cl. Finally, photolysis of trans-Ir(CO)(PMe3)2Cl in a Nujol matrix at ca. 90 K gives rise to a new species whose carbonyl band is shifted slightly down in energy as has been observed for trans-Rh(CO)(PMe3)2Cl. In all cases the iridium compounds behave similarly to the rhodium species although the photon energy for iridium photochemistry is typically above that of the rhodium compounds.
Tandem silylformylation-crotylsilylation/Tamao oxidation of internal alkynes: a remarkable example of generating complexity from simplicity.

The rhodium-catalyzed tandem silylformylation−crotylsilylation reaction has been extended to include internal alkynes. Tamao oxidation of the initial product leads to the production of a substituted enol, which undergoes highly diastereoselective tautomerization. The resulting one-pot procedure fashions three new stereocenters, a ketone, and a terminal alkene from a butenyl group, a propynyl group, a silyl hydride, H2O2, and CO.
The Role of Calcium in the Transcriptional and Posttranscriptional Regulation of the Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Gene in GT1–7 Cells

The role of calcium in the regulation of GnRH gene expression and the mechanism for its effects were examined in the present study. Using the immortalized hypothalamic GT1-7 cell line, which synthesizes and secretes GnRH, we demonstrated by ribonuclease protection assay and Northern blot analysis that these cells respond to treatment with the calcium ionophores ionomycin and A23187 with an inhibition of transcription of the GnRH gene and decreases in GnRH messenger RNA (mRNA) levels. Ionomycin treatment caused the GnRH mRNA half-life to decrease from 25 to 9 h, concomitant with a decrease in mRNA poly(A) tail length, suggesting that ionomycin causes a decrease in GnRH mRNA stability. The ionomycin inhibitory effect on GnRH cytoplasmic mRNA levels was significantly inhibited in the presence of cycloheximide or the RNA synthesis inhibitor 5,6-dichloro-1β-ribofuranosylbenzimidazole, indicating that novel protein/RNA synthesis is obligatory for this effect. We conclude that an increase in calcium levels cause...
Contribution of solvent drag through intercellular junctions to absorption of nutrients by the small intestine of the rat

The lumen of the small intestine in anesthetized rats was recirculated with 50 ml perfusion fluid containing normal salts, 25 mM glucose and low concentrations of hydrophilic solutes ranging in size from creatinine (mol wt 113) to Inulin (mol wt 5500). Ferrocyanide, a nontoxic, quadrupally charged anion was not absorbed; it could therefore be used as an osmotically active solute with reflection coefficient of 1.0 to adjust rates of fluid absorption, Jv, and to measure the coefficient of osmotic flow, Lp. The clearances from the perfusion fluid of all other test solutes were approximately proportional to Jv. From Lp and rates of clearances as a function of Jv and molecular size we estimate (a) the fraction of fluid absorption which passes paracellularly (approx. 50%), (b) coefficients of solvent drag of various solutes within intercellular junctions, (c) the equivalent pore radius of intercellular junctions (50 A) and their cross sectional area per unit path length (4.3 cm per cm length of intestine). Glucose absorption also varied as a function of Jv. From this relationship and the clearances of inert markers we calculate the rate of active transport of glucose, the amount of glucose carried paracellularly by solvent drag or back-diffusion at any given Jv and luminal glucose concentration and the concentration of glucose in the absorbate. The results indicate that solvent drag through paracellular channels is the principal route for intestinal transport of glucose or amino acids at physiological rates of fluid absorption and concentration. In the absence of luminal glucose the rate of fluid absorption and the clearances of all inert hydrophilic solutes were greatly reduced. It is proposed that Na-coupled transport of organic solutes from lumen to intercellular spaces provides the principal osmotic force for fluid absorption and triggers widening of intercellular junctions, thus promoting bulk absorption of nutrients by solvent drag. Further evidence for regulation of channel width is provided in accompanying papers on changes in electrical impedance and ultrastructure of junctions during Na-coupled solute transport.
Quantitation of circulating tumor cells in blood samples from ovarian and prostate cancer patients using tumor‐specific fluorescent ligands

Quantitation of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) can provide information on the stage of a malignancy, onset of disease progression and response to therapy. In an effort to more accurately quantitate CTCs, we have synthesized fluorescent conjugates of 2 high-affinity tumor-specific ligands (folate-AlexaFluor 488 and DUPA-FITC) that bind tumor cells >20-fold more efficiently than fluorescent antibodies. Here we determine whether these tumor-specific dyes can be exploited for quantitation of CTCs in peripheral blood samples from cancer patients. A CTC-enriched fraction was isolated from the peripheral blood of ovarian and prostate cancer patients by an optimized density gradient centrifugation protocol and labeled with the aforementioned fluorescent ligands. CTCs were then quantitated by flow cytometry. CTCs were detected in 18 of 20 ovarian cancer patients (mean 222 CTCs/ml; median 15 CTCs/ml; maximum 3,118 CTCs/ml), whereas CTC numbers in 16 gender-matched normal volunteers were negligible (mean 0.4 CTCs/ml; median 0.3 CTCs/ml; maximum 1.5 CTCs/ml; p < 0.001, chi(2)). CTCs were also detected in 10 of 13 prostate cancer patients (mean 26 CTCs/ml, median 14 CTCs/ml, maximum 94 CTCs/ml) but not in 18 gender-matched healthy donors (mean 0.8 CTCs/ml, median 1, maximum 3 CTC/ml; p < 0.0026, chi(2)). Tumor-specific fluorescent antibodies were much less efficient in quantitating CTCs because of their lower CTC labeling efficiency. Use of tumor-specific fluorescent ligands to label CTCs in peripheral blood can provide a simple, accurate and sensitive method for determining the number of cancer cells circulating in the bloodstream.
The Association of Demographic Factors and Physical Illness With Personality Change in a Community Sample of Elderly African Americans

In a community-based dementia study of African Americans age 65 and older living in Indianapolis, key informants were asked to assess the types of personality change in all subjects. Information was also collected on demographic factors, cognitive functioning, physical well-being, and medical illness. Twenty-nine percent of subjects without dementia had reported personality change. Reports of personality change were significantly associated with being male, having poor daily functioning scores, suffering from physical disability, and having a history of cancer.
Cognitive Enhancement Therapy for Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Results of an 18-month Feasibility Study

Adults with autism experience significant impairments in social and non-social information processing for which few treatments have been developed. This study conducted an 18-month uncontrolled trial of Cognitive Enhancement Therapy (CET), a comprehensive cognitive rehabilitation intervention, in 14 verbal adults with autism spectrum disorder to investigate its feasibility, acceptability, and initial efficacy in treating these impairments. Results indicated that CET was satisfying to participants, with high treatment attendance and retention. Effects on cognitive deficits and social behavior were also large (d = 1.40–2.29) and statistically significant (all p < .001). These findings suggest that CET is a feasible, acceptable, and potentially effective intervention for remediating the social and non-social cognitive impairments in verbal adults with autism.
Competitive Inhibition of Uracil DNA Glycosylase by a Modified Nucleotide Whose Triphosphate is a Substrate for DNA Polymerase

Base excision repair (BER) enzymes are attractive targets for antiviral and anticancer agents. A number of nucleotides and nucleotide analogues are potent competitive inhibitors of BER glycosylases when they are incorporated into synthetic oligonucleotides. However, these molecules often are not substrates for DNA polymerases, which limits their utility in cells and as potential therapeutic agents. 1'-Cyano-2'-deoxyuridine (CNdU) is a nanomolar competitive inhibitor of uracil DNA glycosylase. In addition, the respective nucleotide triphosphate is accepted as a substrate by the Klenow fragment (exo(-)) of DNA polymerase I from E. coli. This is the first competitive inhibitor of UDG that is incorporated into DNA by Klenow exo(-), a model replicative polymerase. 1'-Cyano-2'-deoxyuridine (CNdU) and related molecules may prove useful as a new family of therapeutic or experimental agents that target DNA repair by using the cells' polymerase(s) to incorporate them into DNA. A potential benefit of such a mechanism is that multiple incorporations can occur for longer DNA molecules leading to amplification of the inhibitory effect beyond that seen here with short DNA duplexes.
A study of the transport process of buoyancy-induced and thermocapillary flow of molten alloy

Abstract Two-dimensional numerical computations have been conducted to investigate the steady-state convection and scalar transport characteristics of buoyancy-induced and thermocapillary flow of molten alloys. The cases considered are for temperature-induced convection counteracting either soluteinduced convection or surface tension-induced convection. A finite volume approach utilizing the non-orthogonal curvilinear coordinates is employed. Various combinations of the dimensionless parameters, including the Marangoni number, thermal and solutal Grashof numbers, Prandtl number, Schmidt number, and aspect ratio have been studied. A wide variety of transport characteristics evolve in a qualitatively orderly manner with respect to changes in these parameters, resulting in different numbers, sizes and directions of the convection eddies. The strong effects of the fluid properties on the transport processes are particularly noticeable. For flow domain with non-unity aspect ratio, issues of multiple steady-state solutions have also been explored.
Metabolism of very low- and low-density lipoproteins isolated from normolipidaemic type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetic patients by human monocyte-derived macrophages.

The very low- and low-density lipoprotein fractions were isolated from 16 normolipidaemic Type 2 (non-insulin-dependent) diabetic patients in good to fair glycaemic control and from corresponding age-, sex-, and race-matched, non-diabetic control subjects. Rates of cholesteryl ester synthesis averaged 268 +/- 31 vs 289 +/- 40 pmol 14C-cholesteryl oleate.mg cell protein-1.20 h-1 for very low- and 506 +/- 34 vs 556 +/- 51 pmol 14C-cholesteryl oleate.mg cell protein-1.20 h-1 for low-density lipoproteins isolated from the Type 2 diabetic patients and control subjects, respectively, when they were incubated with human macrophages. A group of approximately one-third of the patients was selected for separate analyses because very low-density lipoproteins isolated from these patients did stimulate more cholesteryl ester synthesis when incubated with macrophages. There were no significant differences in the lipid composition of the lipoproteins isolated from the three groups of subjects. The relative proportion of apoprotein C to apoprotein E was significantly decreased (p less than 0.002) in the very low-density lipoproteins from diabetic patients and was further decreased in samples from these selected diabetic patients. The apoprotein C-I content of very low-density lipoproteins isolated from diabetic patients was increased compared to control subjects and was further increased in samples from the selected diabetic patients (p less than 0.02). There were no significant differences in the proportions of apoproteins C-III-0, C-III-1, or C-III-2 among the three groups. These studies suggest that in normolipidaemic Type 2 diabetic patients, the apoprotein composition of VLDL is abnormal and this may alter VLDL macrophage interactions and thus contribute to the increased prevalence of atherosclerosis in diabetic patients.
A Complementarity Approach for an Environmental–Economic Game with Coupling Emission Constraints

We consider an environmental–economic game where players face not only Cournot competition but also coupling environmental and individual capacity constraints. Under the complementarity problem framework, we study the existence of the (normalized) Nash equilibrium, computability of the equilibria, and the closed form expressions of the optimal weights. We also report numerical results of two examples as well as the insights gained from them.
Functional involvement of Pax‐1 in somite development: Somite dysmorphogenesis in chick embryos treated with Pax‐1 paired‐box antisense oligodeoxynucleotide

The metameric pattern of the vertebrate axial skeleton, defined by structures such as the vertebral bodies and ribs, is a result of segmentation events that occur during embryogenesis. The key event in axial segmentation is somite formation. This study examines the role of Pax-1, a member of the paired-box containing Pax gene family, in chick somite development. To investigate whether misexpression of Pax-1 during somite development is functionally related to abnormal axial patterning, antisense methodologies were used to perturb Pax-1 expression. An antisense, phosphorothioate-modified oligodeoxynucleotide (ODN) was designed based on the mouse Pax-1 paired-box sequence, and was either injected into or directly applied topically to early, somitic stage chick embryos. Abnormalities in somite structure and pattern were subsequently observed and scored, including loss of somites (18% of injected embryos, 35% of embryos treated by topical application), fusion of somites (25% of injected, 6% with topical application), and shortened body axis (0% of injected, 11% with topical application). Control embryos receiving sense ODN or non-sense ODN (a scrambled sequence with base composition identical to the antisense ODN) showed substantially fewer somite anomalies, indicating that the effects were sequence-specific. These developmental abnormalities were analyzed using standard histological methods. Whole mount in situ hybridization was carried out to analyze the three-dimensional pattern of Pax-1 expression in whole embryos. In control, untreated embryos, the expression was localized to the entire epithelial somite, and as the somite matured, the expression was limited to its ventromedial region. With Pax-1 antisense ODN treatment, embryos with fused somites retained expression over the entire fused somite, and embryos that had complete loss of somites had greatly reduced expression of Pax-1 transcript. The results presented here provide strong evidence that Pax-1 is functionally important during somitogenesis and morphogenesis of the vertebral column. The spatial pattern of gene expression appears to delineate different populations of cells in the developing embryo (i.e., somite from somite, sclerotome from dermomyotome), and is consistent with the hypothesis that Pax-1 is involved in forming or maintaining boundaries at specific times and locations during development.
Adaptive Multi-Affine (AMA) feature-matching algorithm and its application to Minimally-Invasive Surgery images

We present our novel Adaptive Multi-Affine (AMA) feature-matching algorithm that finds correspondences between two views of the same non-planar object. The proposed method only uses monocular images to robustly match clusters of 2-D features according to their relative position on the object surface; finally, AMA adaptively finds the best number of clusters that maximizes the number of matching features. We use AMA to recover a feature tracker from failure (e.g., loss of points due to occlusions or deformations), by robustly matching the features in the images before and after such events. This is paramount in Augmented-Reality (AR) systems for Minimally-Invasive Surgery (MIS) to cope for frequent occlusions and organ deformations that can cause the tracked image-points to drastically reduce (or even disappear) in the current video. We validated our approach on a large set of MIS videos of partial-nephrectomy surgery; AMA achieves an increased number of matches, as well as a reduced feature-matching error when compared to state-of-the-art method.
Modulation of myosin assembly.

Myosin self-assembly is generally considered to be the major process in thick filament formation within striated muscles. The biological assembly of myosin into thick filaments is being analysed by genetic dissection as well as biochemical and morphological experiments in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. This work shows that the assembly of myosin is modulated by its biosynthesis and interaction with non-myosin proteins. Assemblages which generate multiple nascent thick filaments may play a central role in a catalytic cycle of myosin assembly.
Safety and efficacy of reoperative carotid endarterectomy: a 14-year experience.

Background Reoperative carotid endarterectomy (CEA) is an accepted treatment for recurrent carotid stenosis. With reports of a higher operative morbidity than primary CEA and the advent of carotid stenting, catheter-based therapy has been advocated as the primary treatment for this reportedly "high-risk" subgroup. This study reviews a contemporary experience with reoperative CEA to validate the high-risk categorization of these patients. Methods From 1989 to 2002, 153 consecutive, isolated (excluding CEA/coronary artery bypass graft and carotid bypass operations) reoperative CEA procedures were reviewed. Clinical and demographic variables potentially associated with the end points of perioperative morbidity, long-term durability, and late survival were assessed with multivariate analysis. Results There were 153 reoperative CEA procedures in 145 patients (56% men, 36% symptomatic) with an average age of 69 ± 1.3 years. The average time from primary CEA (68% primary closure, 23% prosthetic, 9% vein patch) to reoperative CEA was 6.1 ± 0.4 years (range, 0.3 to 20.4 years). At reoperation, patch reconstruction was undertaken in 93% of cases. The perioperative stroke rate was 1.9%, with no deaths or cardiac complications. Other complications included cranial nerve injury (1.3%) and hematoma (3.2%). Average follow-up after reoperative CEA was 4.4 ± 0.3 years (range, 0.1 to 12.7 years), with an overall total stroke-free rate of 96% and a restenosis rate (>50%) by carotid duplex of 9.2%. Among variables assessed for association with restenosis after reoperative CEA, only younger age was found to be significant (66 ± 2.5 years vs 70 ± 0.7 years, P P P Conclusion Reoperative CEA is a safe and durable procedure, comparable to reported standards for primary CEA, for long-term protection from stroke. These data do not support the contention that patients who require reoperative CEA constitute a "high-risk" subgroup in whom reoperative therapy should be avoided.
Federal Oversight, State Policy Making, and the Courts: An Empirical Analysis of Nursing Facility Litigation Under the Boren Amendment

Few examine the role of the courts in shaping federal regulation of state policy decisions in the health sector. This article reports content analysis of all reported case decisions resulting from nursing facility litigation under the Boren Amendment, which represented the federal government's main foray into regulating state payment levels under Medicaid between 1980 and 1997. Results indicate that 34 states had at least one lawsuit, with relatively frequent litigation taking place in a handful of states. The pace of litigation varied, however, increasing from an average of 3.2 to 9.3 cases decided per year between 1981–1990 and 1991–1994, before declining to 2.1 during 1995–2001. At one level, litigation contradicted Congress's initial intent to reduce federal oversight of state rate-setting behavior. At another level, it reflected broader policy-making trends affecting the relative balance of power between state and federal actors.
Timing of Neuropsychological Outcome Measures in Patients With Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

See related article, pages 1864–1872. Aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) accounts for up to 5% of all strokes and changes the lives of ≈30 000 people in the United States each year.1 The majority of patients experiencing SAH are young (mean age of presentation 55 years) and their average case fatality is 51%.2,3 About half of survivors are left with significant long-term cognitive dysfunction. Such cognitive impairment can also be seen in patients defined as having good neurological recovery by the Glasgow Outcome Scale. Despite these well-known facts, the available literature in the English language has important limitations. Such limitations include relatively small sample sizes, lack of follow-up beyond a 3-month period in many reports, and variations of timing of neurosychological assessments within and between studies. To bridge these gaps, …
Leucine kinetics after a brief fast and in response to feeding in premature infants

To examine how feeding affects changes in leucine and protein metabolism, leucine kinetics were deter- mined in nine preterm infants (32 ± 2 wk gestation; � ± SD) after a brieffast and again during hourly feedings. Rates of leucine oxidation were similar during the fasting and feeding periods (31 ± 4 vs 37 ± 6 �mol . kg1 . h�; I ± SE). The nonoxidative disposal rates of leucine (a reflection of protein synthesis) were also similar during both periods (228 ± 20 vs 205 ± 10 �zmol . kg� . h�; 1± SE). In contrast, the rates ofleucine release from endogenous protein (an indication of protein breakdown) were significantly reduced by feeding (259 ± 23 vs 185 ± 1 1 jmol . kg� . h�; � ± SE, P = 0.02). A significant positive cor- relation was demonstrated between the fasting rate of leucine release from endogenous protein and the degree of suppression produced by feeding (r2 = 0.796, P = 0.001). Conversely, a significant inverse correlation was shown between the nonoxi- dative disposal rate ofleucine during fasting and the increase in response to feeding (r2 = 0.848, P < 0.001). These data suggest that premature infants respond to feeding after a brief fast by suppressing protein breakdown, rather than by increasing protein synthesis, and changes in protein metabolism produced by feed- ing in premature newborns may be influenced by the prevailing rates of protein breakdown and synthesis during fasting. Am J C/in Nutr l992;56:899-904.
Energy Efficiency of Decode-and-Forward for Wideband Wireless Multicasting

In this paper, we study the minimum energy per bit required for communicating a message to all the destination nodes in a wireless network. The physical layer is modeled as an additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel affected by circularly symmetric fading. The fading coefficients are known at neither transmitters nor receivers. We provide an information-theoretic lower bound on the energy requirement of general multicasting in arbitrary networks as the solution of a linear program, when no restrictions are placed on the bandwidth or the delay. We study the performance of decode-and-forward operating in the noncoherent wideband scenario, and compare it with the lower bound, for a variety of network classes where all nonsource nodes are destinations. For three-terminal networks with one source and two cooperative destination nodes, the energy expenditure of decode-and-forward is shown to be at most twice the lower bound and optimal in many cases. We also show that for arbitrary networks with k nodes, the energy requirement of decode-and-forward is at most k-1 times that of the lower bound regardless of the magnitude of channel gains. In networks that can be represented as directed acyclic graphs (DAGs), we establish the minimum energy per bit, also achieved by decode-and-forward. In addition, we also study regular networks where the energy consumption of decode-and-forward is shown to be almost order optimal in many situations of interest.
An angular momentum approximation for molecular collisions in the presence of intense laser radiation

An approximation to a previously presented rigorous description of molecular (atom-atom) collisions occurring in the presence of intense radiation is investigated. This rigorous description explicitly considers the angular momentum transferred between the molecule and the radiation field in the absorption or emission of a photon, but involves a complicated system of close-coupled equations which must be solved independently for each projection M of the initial, total molecular angular momentum. (This is a direct consequence of the lack of rotational invariance in the molecule-field problem). These equations are solved for a model system which mimics the collision of a halogen with a rare gas atom. Empirical observations made in the course of performing these calculations lead to the development of an approximation which avoids the repeated calculations for each initial M. This orientational average approximation greatly reduces the effort required to describe the system, and for the model calculation, yields accurate results for field intensities as high as 10 GW/sq cm.
Antimicrobial Susceptibilities of Rough, Smooth, and Mucoid Colony Types of Pseudomonas Isolated from Cystic Fibrosis Patients

Minimal inhibitory concentrations of carbenicillin, chloramphenicol, tetracycline, gentamicin, tobramycin, and trimethoprim–sulfamethoxazole were determined for rough, smooth, and mucoid Pseudomonas sp. isolates from sputa collected from 40 cystic fibrosis patients. Ninety-four percent of the minimal inhibitory concentrations obtained by using mixed inocula of colonies of different morphological types fell within one serial dilution of the most resistant minimal inhibitory concentration obtained when each colony type was tested separately.
Angiopoietin-1 and angiopoietin-2 are altered in polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) during controlled ovarian stimulation

Polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) ovaries are characterized by increased angiogenesis and hypervascularity. While angiopoietin-1 (Ang-1) and its antagonist, angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2), are essential for ovarian function and angiogenesis, the levels of Ang-1 and Ang-2 in PCOS are unknown. This was a prospective cohort study of 14 PCOS women and 14 matched controls undergoing controlled ovarian stimulation (COS). Serum was collected on day 3, hCG and retrieval days. Follicular fluid (FF) was collected on retrieval day. Serum Ang-1 and Ang-2 levels were constant throughout COS, but serum Ang-1 levels were increased at all time points in PCOS women compared with controls (p < 0.05). No differences between groups were found in serum Ang-2 levels or FF Ang-1 levels. However, FF Ang-2 levels were increased almost 2-fold in PCOS women compared with controls (p < 0.01), and correlated positively with number of oocytes retrieved (r = 0.65, p < 0.0001). This study is the first to provide evidence of an alteration in the Ang-1/Ang-2 system in PCOS women. The biological role of Ang-2 in promoting capillary leakage, the increased Ang-2 FF level in PCOS, and its correlation with number of oocytes suggest that Ang-2 may play an important role in the increased risk of ovarian hyperstimulation in PCOS.
Dispersal Potential Impacts Size Clines of Grasshoppers Across an Elevation Gradient

Body siz e is a life history trait that determines the reproductive success of a variety of organisms. Changes in body size may have a genetic component when persistent conditions such as season length and climate select for individuals of an optimal body size and an environmental component when it is inﬂ uenced on an ecological scale by factors such as weather, food availability, or maternal eﬀ ects. Along elevational gradients that experience seasonality, insects commonly become smaller with increases in elevation. In this study we test the hypothesis that dispersal potential, an indicator of gene ﬂ ow, impacts the type of size clines exhibited by insects along elevational gradients and that these diﬀ erences in local adaptation should lead to predictable changes in their reproductive potential and output. Using two short winged grasshopper species,
ALUMINIUM SHEAR-LINKS FOR ENHANCED SEISMIC RESISTANCE

SUMMARY An aluminium beam shear-link is developed for earthquake-resistant structures. The aluminium beam is designed to yield in shear mode to limit the maximum lateral force which is transmitted to primary structural members and to provide significant energy dissipation potential. Aluminium was chosen because of its low yield strength, which enables the use of thicker webs, reducing the problems of web buckling. Cyclic load tests on medium scale (1 : 4) models were conducted to study the hysteretic behaviour and energy dissipation potential of shear-links made of two alloys of aluminium (3003-O and 6061-O). The links were also tested at faster rates (cycling frequencies of 5, 10 and 17 Hz) to determine the e⁄ect of strain rate. The links exhibited very ductile shear yielding and excellent energy dissipation capacity. Unpinched and full hysteresis loops were observed until 10 per cent shear strain, and a relatively small influence of strain rates was observed on the link’s performance. Simple design equations are developed to proportion these shear-links, using data from the cyclic load tests. In chevron-type braced systems, the shear-link is sandwiched between the tops of diagonal braces and a girder from the floor above, resulting in yielding at a lateral force less than that required to buckle the compression brace. A Shear-Link Braced Frame (SLBF) system was designed and its seismic performance was compared to that of an Ordinary Concentric Braced Frame (OCBF) with chevron braces. The SLBF system demonstrated more uniform distribution of storey drifts, reduced base shear, and a larger energy dissipation capacity per unit drift. ( 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Concurrent Activation of Multiple Vasoactive Signaling Pathways in Vasoconstriction Caused by Tubuloglomerular Feedback: A Quantitative Assessment*

Tubuloglomerular feedback (TGF) describes the negative relationship between (a) NaCl concentration at the macula densa and (b) glomerular filtration rate or glomerular capillary pressure. TGF-induced vasoconstriction of the afferent arteriole results from the enhanced effect of several vasoconstrictors with an effect size sequence of adenosine = 20-HETE > angiotensin II > thromboxane = superoxide > renal nerves > ATP. TGF-mediated vasoconstriction is limited by the simultaneous release of several vasodilators with an effect size sequence of nitric oxide > carbon monoxide = kinins > adenosine. The sum of the constrictor effects exceeds that of the dilator effects by the magnitude of the TGF response. The validity of the additive model used in this analysis can be tested by determining the effect of combined inhibition of some or all agents contributing to TGF. Multiple independent contributors to TGF are consistent with the variability of TGF and of the factors contributing to TGF resetting.
The Software-as-a-Service Model for Mobile and Ubiquitous Computing Environments

An area of unique opportunity for SaaS is the mobile and ubiquitous computing space. The SaaS model has a number of advantages that are uniquely suited to a resource-constrained mobile computing environment. This short paper gives a high level overview of the SaaS which brings significant opportunities in this space and further presents the architectural considerations for SaaS providers and mobile computing environments
Longitudinal associations of childhood parenting and adolescent health: the mediating influence of social competence.

The current study examined a process through which parenting during the primary school transition contributes to cardiovascular health in adolescence, a foundational period for adult health trajectories. Using path analyses, social competence was tested as a mediator between parental sensitivity and adolescent health among 884 families. Results indicated that mothers’ and fathers’ sensitivity was associated with increasing social competence from first grade (age 7) to sixth grade (age 12), which was associated with higher awakening cortisol in ninth grade (age 15) and decreasing blood pressure from sixth to ninth grade. Results suggest that social competence mediates associations between childhood parenting and adolescent cardiovascular risk, and may be protective to children's health over time.
Calibration of the SLEUTH urban growth model for Lisbon and Porto, Portugal

The SLEUTH model (slope, landuse, exclusion, urban extent, transportation and hillshade), formerly called the Clarke Cellular Automaton Urban Growth Model, was developed for and tested on various cities in North America, including Washington, DC, and San Francisco. In contrast, this research calibrated the SLEUTH model for two European cities, the Portuguese metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto. The SLEUTH model is a cellular automaton model, developed with predefined growth rules applied spatially to gridded maps of the cities in a set of nested loops, and was designed to be both scaleable and universally applicable. Urban expansion is modeled in a modified two-dimensional regular grid. Maps of topographic slope, land use, exclusions, urban extents, road transportation, and a graphic hillshade layer form the model input. This paper examines differences in the model’s behavior when the obviously different environment of a European city is captured in the data and modeled. Calibration results are included and interpreted in the context of the two cities, and an evaluation of the model’s portability and universality of application is made. Questions such as scalability, sequential multistage optimization by automated exploration of model parameter space, the problem of equifinality, and parameter sensitivity to local conditions are explored. The metropolitan areas present very different spatial and developmental characteristics. The Lisbon Metropolitan Area (the capital of Portugal) has a mix of north Atlantic and south Mediterranean influences. Property is organized in large patches of extensive farmland comprised of olive and corkorchards. The urban pattern of Lisbon and its environs is characterized by rapid urban sprawl, focused in the urban centers of Lisbon, Oeiras, Cascais
A generalized tree-cotree gauge for magnetic field computation

The discretization of the magnetostatic curl-curl equation using edge-based elements result in a singular matrix equation. As has been shown previously, this matrix may be made nonsingular by eliminating the matrix nullspace. A generalization of this process is presented in this paper that does not require setting field quantities to zero, thus allowing the gauge in vector potential solutions to be set in a more natural way, This process also makes it possible to solve for the electric or magnetic field directly in high frequency applications. >
Transitioning From Bimodal to Bilateral Cochlear Implant Listening: Speech Recognition and Localization in Four Individuals

Purpose The use of bilateral stimulation is becoming common for cochlear implant (CI) recipients with either (a) a CI in one ear and a hearing aid (HA) in the nonimplanted ear (CIH Gatehouse & Noble, 2004) were repeated after 6–7 months of bilateral CI experience. Results Speech recognition and localization were not significantly different between bimodal and unilateral CI. In contrast, performance was significantly better with CI&CI compared with unilateral CI. Speech recognition with CI&CI was significantly better than with CI&HA for 2 of 4 participants. Localization was...
The Emergence of a Positive Gerontology: From Disengagement to Social Involvement

The latter part of the 20th century was a period characterized by a fundamental transition in scholarship on activity and the aging process. Theory emphasizing the inevitable decline of human capacity was gradually replaced with concepts stressing positive, multidimensional views of aging. In this article, we highlight the key contributors and trace the origins and overlapping themes of successful aging, productive aging, and civic engagement in later life: 3 examples of scholarship representing a “positive” gerontology. Rowe and Kahn’s model of successful aging highlights the interplay between social engagement with life, health, and functioning for a positive aging experience. Productive aging, led by Robert Butler, recognizes the previously underappreciated participation of older adults in activities such as volunteering, paid work, and caregiving, and generates interest in the individual and societal barriers to and benefits of participation. Civic engagement in later life raises public awareness about the need to involve older adults in the community, creates opportunities for participation, and generates further interest in the mutual benefit of participation for community beneficiaries and participants. Successful aging, productive aging, and civic engagement represent important contributions to the field of gerontology through applications to policy, advocacy, and theory development.
Context in History and Law: A Study of the Late Nineteenth-Century American Jurisprudence of Custom

Lawyers have long been depicted as having a conflicted relationship to that modern style of contextual thought we call “history.” Their efforts to think about law have been alternately lauded for contributing to, and criticized for falling short of, a full-fledged historical consciousness.
Enabling video privacy through computer vision

Closed-circuit television cameras used today for surveillance sometimes enable privacy intrusion. The authors' privacy console manages operator access to different versions of video-derived data according to access-control lists. Additionally, their PrivacyCam is a smart camera that produces a video stream with privacy-intrusive information already removed.
Integrating peer mentoring into the freshman curriculum

The transition from high school to college can be very difficult for many students. At the University of Pittsburgh, we have a system of courses and academic counseling that is designed to address these issues and help with this transition. One major component to help the freshman make this major transition is a series of mentoring courses that the entering student can select for the first semester. The student must also enroll in a freshman problem solving course that details the use of various computer tools. This paper discusses how these courses are integrated and describe the interaction of counseling with the first semester engineering problem solving course. The paper also discusses the mentor selection process, the mentor-training program, and the topics covered in the mentoring sessions.
Benefits of Acoustic Beamforming for Solving the Cocktail Party Problem.

The benefit provided to listeners with sensorineural hearing loss (SNHL) by an acoustic beamforming microphone array was determined in a speech-on-speech masking experiment. Normal-hearing controls...
Novel amphiphilic membranes of poly(N, N-dimethyl acrylamide) crosslinked with octa-methacrylate-telechelic polyisobutylene stars

A series of novel amphiphilic networks were synthesized by free-radical mediated copolymerization/crosslinking of N,N-dimethyl acrylamide (DMAAm) with various molecular weight octa-methacrylate telechelic polyisobutylene stars (PIB(MA)8) as crosslinking agents. The overall composition of the PDMAAm-l-PIB(MA)8 networks were controlled by controlling the concentration of the starting materials. Crosslinking was essentially complete as indicated by negligible sol fractions in both methanol and n-hexane. Swelling ratios and swelling rates of various PDMAAm-l-PIB(MA)8 in water and n-heptane were determined and contrasted with those of networks prepared with di- and tri-methacrylate-telechelic PIB croslinkers (PIB(MA)2 and PIB(MA)3). The mechanical properties of water-swollen tubules made of PDMAAm-l-PIB(MA)8 were studied and compared with tubules made with PIB(MA)2 and PIB(MA)3.
Planar Laser-Induced Fluorescence Experiments and Modeling Study of Jets in Crossflow

Planar Laser Induced Fluorescence (PLIF) with acetone seeding was applied to measure the scalar fields of an axisymmetric freejet and an inclined jet-in-crossflow as applicable to film cooling. From the scalar fields, jet-mixing and trajectory characteristics were obtained. In order to validate the technique, the canonical example of a nonreacting freejet of Reynolds Numbers 900-9000 was investigated. Desired structural characteristics were observed and showed strong agreement with computational modeling. After validating the technique with the axisymmetric jet, the jet-in-crossflow was tested with various velocity ratios and jet injection angles. Results indicated the degree of wall separation for different injection angles and demonstrate both the time-averaged trajectories as well as select near-wall concentration results for varying jet momentum fluxes. Consistent with literature findings, the orthogonal jet trajectory for varying blowing ratios collapsed when scaled by the jet-to-freestream velocity ratio and hole diameter, rd. Similar collapsing was demonstrated in the cases of a non-orthogonal jets. Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) simulations using the OpenFOAM software were used to compare predictions with select experimental cases, and yielded reasonable agreement. Insight into the importance and structure of the counter rotating vortex pair and general flowfield turbulence was highlighted by cross validation between CFD and experimental results.
Entomology Looks at its Mission: Solving Problems by New Research Approaches

The organizational life cycle of a professional society is like those of its individual members. An uncertain youth, a time of rapid and perhaps awkward growth, maturity, recognition, and prestige; each follow in sequence. Societies and the separate organizations they represent also can stagnate and decline with age if the process of continuous rebirth is not encouraged.
Molecular cloning and characterization of beta-1, 3-glucan recognition protein from small abalone Haliotis diversicolor

The cDNA of the beta-1,3-glucan recognition protein in small abalone Haliotis diversicolor(saβgrp) was cloned.It was originally identified from an expressed sequence tag(EST) fragment in a normalized cDNA li-brary.Its 5’ cDNA end was obtained by 5’ rapid amplification of cDNA end(RACE) techniques and its complete sequence was confirmed by head to toe PCR.The full length cDNA of saβgrp was of 1459 bp,consisting of a 5’-terminal UTR of 387 bp,an open reading frame of 987 bp,and a 3’-terminal UTR of 85 bp.The deduced protein was composed of 328 amino acids,with an estimated molecular weight of 36.9 kDa and a predicted pI of 5.90.Dif-ferent from other reported GRPs that contain a signal peptide,the putative saβGRP does not contain a signal peptide and thus belongs to non-secretary proteins.Real time quantitative PCR analysis revealed that after Vibrio Para-haemolyticus injection,the expression level of saβgrp in hepatopancreases at 24 h was most significantly higher than that of the control group(P0.01),while at 48 hour post-injection,it was significantly higher than that of the control group(P0.05).