cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Supersymmetry, Grand Unification and Proton Decay

In this talk, I review some phenomeno-logical issues pertaining to supersymmetric grand unified theories (SUSY GUTs), with special emphasis on new features for proton decay.
Potato quality viii. effect of foliar applications of sequestering and chelating agents on after-cooking darkening.

Several sequestering and chelating agents were sprayed on potato plants in the field. Observations and Hunter Color Difference Meter readings of boiled potatoes from these treatments indicate that several of these agents prevent or reduce after-cooking darkening. This probably results from the iron in the tubers being sequestered or chelated so that it is held in a non-ionizable form and cannot take part in a reaction with o-diphenols and therefore, prevents the normal formation of the dark colored pigment, a ferric-o-diphenol compound.
Equilibrium Constants and Alkylation Kinetics of Two Lithium Enolates/LiHMDS Mixed Aggregates in THF

Mixed aggregates between lithium enolates and lithium hexamethyldisilazide (LiHMDS) have been studied in THF using UV−vis spectroscopy. The equilibrium constants (Kagg) between monomeric LiEn and monomeric LiHMDS are 760 and 560 M-1 when LiEn are LiSIBP and LiBnPAT, respectively. The alkylation kinetics of the reactions with benzyl bromide were studied at 25 °C. The rate constants for the mixed aggregates, kMixed, are substantially smaller than those of the monomeric enolates.
Limit theorems for the supercritical Galton-Watson process in varying environments

Abstract A generalization of the classical Galton-Watson process is to allow the offspring distribution to vary with time. Some limit theorems for the classical case are generalized to this process in varying environments.
A numerical study of water-wave modulation based on a higher-order nonlinear Schrödinger equation

In existing experiments it is known that the slow evolution of nonlinear deep-water waves exhibits certain asymmetric features. For example, an initially symmetric wave packet of sufficiently large wave slope will first lean forward and then split into new groups in an asymmetrical manner, and, in a long wavetrain, unstable sideband disturbances can grow unequally to cause an apparent downshift of carrier-wave frequency. These features lie beyond the realm of applicability of the celebrated cubic Schrodinger equation (CSE), but can be, and to some extent have been, predicted by weakly nonlinear theories that are not limited to slowly modulated waves (i.e. waves with a narrow spectral band). Alternatively, one may employ the fourth-order equations of Dysthe (1979), which are limited to narrow-banded waves but can nevertheless be solved more easily by a pseudospectral numerical method. Here we report the numerical simulation of three cases with a view to comparing with certain recent experiments and to complement the numerical results obtained by others from the more general equations.
Conducting the embryonic heart: orchestrating development of specialized cardiac tissues.

Abstract The heterogeneous tissues of the pacemaking and conduction system comprise the "smart components" of the heart, responsible for setting, maintaining, and coordinating the rhythmic pumping of cardiac muscle. Over the last few years, a wealth of new information has been collected about the unique genetic and phenotypic characteristics expressed by these tissues during cardiac morphogenesis. More recently, genetically modified viruses, mutational analysis, and targeted transgenesis have enabled even more precise resolution of the relationships between cell fate, gene expression, and differentiation of specialized function within developing myocardium. While some information provided by these newer approaches has supported conventional wisdom, some fresh and unexpected perspectives have also emerged. In particular, there is mounting evidence that extracardiac populations of cells migrating into the tubular heart have important morphogenetic roles in the inductive patterning and functional integration of the developing conduction system.
A comparative meta-analysis of maximal aerobic metabolism of vertebrates: implications for respiratory and cardiovascular limits to gas exchange

Maximal aerobic metabolic rates (MMR) in vertebrates are supported by increased conductive and diffusive fluxes of O2 from the environment to the mitochondria necessitating concomitant increases in CO2 efflux. A question that has received much attention has been which step, respiratory or cardiovascular, provides the principal rate limitation to gas flux at MMR? Limitation analyses have principally focused on O2 fluxes, though the excess capacity of the lung for O2 ventilation and diffusion remains unexplained except as a safety factor. Analyses of MMR normally rely upon allometry and temperature to define these factors, but cannot account for much of the variation and often have narrow phylogenetic breadth. The unique aspect of our comparative approach was to use an interclass meta-analysis to examine cardio-respiratory variables during the increase from resting metabolic rate to MMR among vertebrates from fish to mammals, independent of allometry and phylogeny. Common patterns at MMR indicate universal principles governing O2 and CO2 transport in vertebrate cardiovascular and respiratory systems, despite the varied modes of activities (swimming, running, flying), different cardio-respiratory architecture, and vastly different rates of metabolism (endothermy vs. ectothermy). Our meta-analysis supports previous studies indicating a cardiovascular limit to maximal O2 transport and also implicates a respiratory system limit to maximal CO2 efflux, especially in ectotherms. Thus, natural selection would operate on the respiratory system to enhance maximal CO2 excretion and the cardiovascular system to enhance maximal O2 uptake. This provides a possible evolutionary explanation for the conundrum of why the respiratory system appears functionally over-designed from an O2 perspective, a unique insight from previous work focused solely on O2 fluxes. The results suggest a common gas transport blueprint, or Bauplan, in the vertebrate clade.
Differential phosphorylation of murine class I major histocompatibility antigens.

Recent studies have shown that the H-2K and H-2D transplantation antigens are expressed differentially in different tissues of mouse. Our previous investigations also established that in thioglycolate-stimulated peritoneal macrophages the H-2Dk antigen exists in distinct cell surface and intracellular forms. These two forms are glycosylated differently. In this report, we have found that (1) H-2Dk antigen is phosphorylated whereas H-2Kk antigen is not, and (2) only the cell surface form of H-2Dk antigen is phosphorylated in thioglycolate-stimulated macrophages derived from C3H/Heha mice. This differential phosphorylation of H-2 antigens will provide a model system for further studies on the molecular mechanism and function of phosphrrylation of H-2 antigens.
Diet of a piscivorous seabird reveals spatiotemporal variation in abundance of forage fishes in the Monterey Bay region

Abstract Brandt's Cormorant ( Phalacrocorax penicillatus ) diet was investigated using regurgitated pellets (n = 285) collected on 19 sampling days at three locations during the 2006–07 and 2007–08 nonbreeding seasons in the Monterey Bay region. The efficacy of using nested sieves and the all-structure technique to facilitate prey detection in the pellets was evaluated, but this method did not increase prey enumeration and greatly decreased efficiency. Although 29 prey species were consumed, northern anchovy ( Engraulis mordax ) dominated and speckled sanddab ( Citharichthys stigmaeus ) also was important in the diet. Few rockfishes ( Sebastes spp.) and market squid ( Doryteuthis opalescens ) were consumed compared with great prevalence in previous studies during the 1970s. El Nino and La Nina during the study provided a unique opportunity to examine predator response to variation in prey availability. Patterns of prey number and diversity were not consistent among locations. Greatest number and diversity of prey occurred at locations within Monterey Bay during La Nina, results not evident at the outer coast location. Short-term specialization occurred but mean prey diversity indicated a generalist feeding mode. This study demonstrated the importance of periodic sampling at multiple locations within a region to detect spatiotemporal variability in the diet of opportunistic generalists.
Oral communication across the curriculum in higher education: The state of the art

This article reviews published assessments of oral communication across the curriculum programs in higher education and reports activities and results from a faculty and student development program at a mid‐sized comprehensive state university. Preliminary results from both self‐report and quasi‐experimental studies suggest that this approach holds significant promise for curricular development and improvement of student communication skills. Potential problems associated with oral communication across the curriculum programs and implications of such programs for the Speech Communication discipline are discussed.
Inverse scattering techniques in geophysics

In this note we summarize some results for a one dimensional inverse problem in geophysics obtained by generalizing some quantum scatteering techniques. The details will appear in [6]. We consider the propagation of SH waves in a medium with density p and shear modules m and from experimental information at a point we can recover the product [d] and we impose an excitation [d] at x=0 after which one can read off the response[d] a change of variable [d]
Human Herpes Virus 6 in human epilepsy: Data from surgical resections

and their dynamic changes roughly paralleled the clinical course of EAN. Compound 1, a synthetic compound that can specifically block the production of Th17 cells, suppressed the severity of EAN symptoms when it was administered from the immunization day. However, Compound 1 was incapable of obviously affecting the clinical signs of EAN when administered after the onset of EAN. In conclusion, Th17 cells are a neuritogenic T helper cell subset in GBS and EAN.
Subcellular distribution of iodothyronine 5'-deiodinase in cerebral cortex from hypothyroid rats.

We have examined iodothyronine deiodination in subcellular fractions of cerebral cortex obtained from hypothyroid rats. Enzymatic activities were measured at 37°C in the presence of 20 mM dithiothreitol with 125I-labeled T4 and 125I-labeled rT3 as substrate for 5′-deiodination and 131I-labeled T3 as the substrate for the 5-deiodinase. Reaction products were separated by descending paper and/or ion-exchange chromatography. Cerebral cortex subcellular fractions were also characterized by marker enzyme analysis and electron microscopy. Under optimal reaction conditions more than 80% of the 5′-deiodinase was recovered after fractionation. Both 5′-deiodinase and (Na+ +K+-ATPase showed similar subcellular distributions and were enriched approx. 3-fold in the easily sedimenting membrane fraction and nerve terminal plasma membranes. Crude microsomal membranes (6·106g·min pellet) also showed 2-fold enrichment of these enzymes. Nuclei and isolated mitochondria were devoid of deiodinating activity. T4 and T3 5-deiodinating activity was absent in the easily sedimenting membranes and present but not enriched in particulate fractions containing microsomal membranes. These data suggest that iodothyronine 5′-deiodinase is associated with plasma membrane fractions in the cerebral cortex.
Effects of modeling assumptions on loss factors predicted for viscoelastic sandwich beams

The concept of enhancing energy dissipation in thin beams and panels by adding viscoelastic materials to a structure dates back at least to the early 1950s. Kerwin in 1959 was the first to present a general analysis of viscoelastic material constrained by another metal layer. He made several key simplifying assumptions in the mathematics, as did DiTaranto (1965) and Mead and Markus (1969) in follow-up studies: (1) the constraining layer bends in the transverse direction exactly as the base layer, (2) the viscoelastic layer undergoes pure shear, and (3) the viscoelastic layer does not change its thickness during deformation. While appropriate for damping problems of that time, the role of passive, and now active, damping has expanded in the decades since to the point that many problems of practical engineering interest are no longer represented well by these mathematical models. This paper explores a few pitfalls of simplified modeling through some trade studies using benign-looking sandwich beams. The Mead and Markus assumptions are implemented using finite elements and are compared to a beam comprised entirely of higher order elements. A sandwich beam is also modeled using Euler-Bernoulli beams (acting independently) as facesheets and a linear element for the viscoelastic material, similar to how a sandwich might be modeled using standard elements in a commercial code. The accuracy of damping predictions is inferred from the accuracy of strain energy distributions.
Orientation of DNA and the agarose gel matrix in pulsed electric fields

Transient electric birefringence has been used as an analytical tool to study the orientation of DNA in agarose gels, and to study the orientation of the matrix alone. The sign of the birefringence of DNA oriented in an agarose gel is negative, as observed in free solution, indicating that the DNA molecules orient parallel to the direction of the electric field. If the median pore diameter of the gel is larger than the contour length of the DNA molecule, the DNA effectively does not see the matrix and the birefringence relaxation time is the same as observed in free solution. However, if the median pore diameter of the gel is smaller than the contour length of the DNA, the DNA molecule becomes stretched as well as oriented. For DNA molecules of moderate size (less than or equal to 4 kb), stretching in the gel causes the birefringence relaxation times to increase to the values expected for fully stretched molecules. Complete stretching is not observed for larger DNA molecules. The orientation and stretching of DNA molecules in the gel matrix indicates that end-on migration, or reptation, is a likely mechanism for DNA electrophoresis in agarose gels. When the electric field is rapidly reversed in polarity, very little change in the orientation of the DNA is observed if the DNA molecules were completely stretched and had reached their equilibrium orientation before the field was reversed in direction. Hence completely stretched, oriented DNA molecules are able to reverse their direction of migration in the electric field with little or no loss of orientation. However, if the DNA molecules were not completely stretched or if the equilibrium orientation had not been reached, substantial disorientation of the DNA molecules is observed at field reversal. The forced rate of disorientation in the reversing field is faster than the field-free rate of disorientation. Complicated patterns of reorientation can be observed after field reversal, depending on the degree of orientation in the original field direction. The effect of pulsed electric fields on the orientation of the agarose gel matrix itself was also investigated.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
PSYCHIATRIC PHENOMENOLOGY OF CHILD AND ADOLESCENT BIPOLAR OFFSPRING

ABSTRACT Objective To establish prodromal signs of and risk factors for childhood bipolar disorder (BD) by characterizing youths at high risk for BD. Method Structured diagnostic interviews were performed on 60 biological offspring of at least one parent with BD. Demographics, family histories, and parental history of childhood disruptive behavioral disorders were also assessed. Results Fifty-one percent of bipolar offspring had a psychiatric disorder, most commonly attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), major depression or dysthymia, and BD. BD in offspring tended to be associated with earlier parental symptom onset when compared with offspring without a psychiatric diagnosis. Bipolar parents with a history of childhood ADHD were more likely to have children with BD, but not ADHD. Offspring with bilineal risk had increased severity of depressed and irritable mood, lack of mood reactivity, and rejection sensitivity, while severity of grandiosity, euphoric mood, and decreased need for sleep were not preferentially associated with such offspring. Conclusions Bipolar offspring have high levels of psychopathology. Parental history of early-onset BD and/or childhood ADHD may increase the risk that their offspring will develop BD. Prodromal symptoms of childhood BD may include more subtle presentations of mood regulation difficulties and less presence of classic manic symptoms.
CHAOS AND COMPLEXITY

In this paper we show how to relate a form of high-dimensional complexity to chaotic and other types of dynamical systems. The derivation shows how "near-chaotic" complexity can arise without the presence of homoclinic tangles or positive Lyapunov exponents. The relationship we derive follows from the observation that the elements of invariant finite integer lattices of high-dimensional dynamical systems can, themselves, be viewed as single integers rather than coordinates of a point in n-space. From this observation it is possible to construct high-dimensional dynamical systems which have properties of shifts but for which there is no conventional topological conjugacy to a shift. The particular manner in which the shift appears in high-dimensional dynamical systems suggests that some forms of complexity arise from the presence of chaotic dynamics which are obscured by the large dimensionality of the system domain.
Medicare and drug coverage: a women's health issue.

Abstract The lack of prescription drug coverage under the Medicare program translates into high out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors. This nationwide study of older Americans with hypertension (“high blood pressure”) demonstrates that women bear the disproportionate burden of this gap in Medicare coverage. Women form the majority of older people with hypertension, and are less likely to have supplemental policies to cover the cost of the prescription drugs that are needed to treat the disease. Moreover, women have substantially lower incomes. Despite their economic vulnerability, older women with hypertension spend substantially more on prescription drugs than men.
A Digitally Modulated Polar CMOS PA with 20MHz Signal BW

A polar PA employs an array of 64 constant-envelope amplifiers that are activated digitally using 4times oversampling and interpolation to support 64QAM OFDM signals. Implemented in 0.18mum CMOS, the amplifier operates at 1.6GHz with 20MHz signal BW and achieves 7.2% PAE with -26.8dB EVM while delivering 13.6dBm linear output power.
The political economy of part-time farming

This paper seeks to root the analysis of part-time farming in the political-economic structure of agriculture and the larger economy. While part-time farming is not a new phenomenon, the growing prevalence of part-time farming in the US and other advanced industrial societies bears a strong relationship with the emergence of dualistic agrarian structures. Part-time farming has also been connected with the deconcentration of industry and employment. The political implications of the trend toward part-time farming are explored, with a conclusion that multiple jobholding, while nominally a “proletarianization” process, may in fact reinforce political conservatism in the countryside. The paper concludes by suggesting that future research on the political economy of part-time farming should place particular emphasis on the political implications of and sexual division of labour on multiple jobholding.
A comparison between conventional and distributed acquisition induced polarization surveys for gold exploration in Nevada

Electrical geophysical methods, when applied to mineral exploration, have traditionally consisted of electrode array configurations such as pole-dipole, dipole-dipole, gradient array, etc., in which survey design usually results in a tradeoff between minimum target size, logistical complexity in the field, and the depth of investigation of the survey. Recent development of distributed acquisition systems (MIMDAS by M.I.M. Exploration and Titan24 by Quantec Geoscience) allow increased depth of investigation without significantly limiting minimum target size requirements. The two systems are similar in that they collect induced polarization (IP), direct current (dc) resistivity, and/or magnetotelluric (MT) data with multichannel configurations and signal-processing techniques that efficiently use nonconventional arrays and remove natural and cultural noise. This can be particularly effective in near-mine environments where traditional systems are challenged to produce interpretable information, particularly...
Power Efficiency in Tapered Gain-Guided Index-Antiguided Fiber Amplifiers

We highlight the key reasons behind the low efficiency of ultra-large-core single-mode gain-guided index-antiguided fiber amplifiers and lasers and show that a cladding-tapered design can significantly improve their power efficiency.
A Comprehensive Multiphysics, Multiscale Study of Reactor Chamber and Substrate Orientation Effects on Carbon Nanotube Synthesis During Chemical Vapor Deposition Process

A comprehensive multiphysics, multiphase model of carbon nanotube (CNT) fabrication process by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is utilized to study the effects of several physical phenomena inside the quartz tube. The investigations include fluid flow properties, temperature profile and heat transfer as well as diffusion and concentration of carbon species along the substrate. These properties are examined in a great detail for a horizontally placed substrate. For each physical property, the effects of substrate dislocation as well as the angle between substrate and reactor chamber longitudinal axis are investigated. It is shown that the temperature in the gas phase reactions region is significantly lower compared to the temperature profile around the substrate. Based on the obtained results, two new CVD system designs are proposed to enhance the temperature in the reactor chamber section where gas phase reactions take place. Moreover, it is shown that substrate dislocation and angle change result in physical property change such as species concentration on upper and lower substrate surfaces. This study is also applicable to other CVD-based fabrication process such as deposition of any layer, since the methodology of the fabrication process remains the same.Copyright © 2008 by ASME
Numerical modeling study of impact of a large sediment capping facility on local industrial cooling water temperature

This study assesses the potential increase in the intake cooling water temperatures if both the local industrial intake water and outfall cooling waters are trapped in the same narrow long channel. A three-dimensional (3D) hydrodynamic model was used to quantitatively investigate water temperature structures in the channel. The model was verified in a previous hydrodynamic study at the same location using vertical current profiles measured by an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) and further verified in this study with the measured vertical temperature profile. Several scenarios were investigated under various wind and geometrical conditions. The simulated results revealed that because of the strong buoyant force induced by water temperature differences the trapped hot outfall water would not be directly retaken by the intake located about 70 m away from the outlet and 6 m below the surface. The thermal structure in the channel eventually reached an equilibrium stage due to additional fresh bay wate...
Early increased renal procollagen α1(IV) mRNA levels in streptozotocin induced diabetes

Changes in renal procollagen mRNA levels were measured shortly after the induction of streptozotocin induced diabetes in the rat. "Medullary" procollagen alpha 1(IV) levels seven days after diabetes induction was significantly higher in untreated diabetic rats (DM, N = 12; 244 +/- 57% of the mean control value), than in diabetic rats receiving small doses of insulin insufficient to achieve euglycemia (NPH, N = 10; 87 +/- 12%) and in diluent injected nondiabetic control rats (C, N = 15; 100 +/- 12%; P less than 0.01, DM vs. C and DM vs. NPH). "Medullary" procollagen alpha 1(I) mRNA levels were numerically increased in DM to a lesser degree (141 +/- 5%, ANOVA not significant) compared to C (100 +/- 13%), and this small increment was further normalized by insulin treatment (NPH, 120 +/- 11%). A trend for increased beta-actin mRNA levels in DM did not reach significance (P greater than 0.05). Increases in "medullary" procollagen mRNA levels did not correlate with kidney weight, glomerular tuft volume, creatinine clearance, food intake, or body weight gain, and occurred when renal morphology was normal by light microscopy. Statistically significant but weak correlations were noted between the serum glucose levels and "medullary" procollagen alpha 1(IV) mRNA levels (r = 0.43, P less than 0.05). In addition, weak correlations were noted between glycosuria and "medullary" procollagen alpha 1(I) levels (r = 0.38, P less than 0.05). In situ hybridization studies localized the increased procollagen alpha 1(IV) mRNA levels predominantly in the DM group primarily in the deep cortex and medullary outer stripe of proximal tubules. Glomerular procollagen alpha 1(IV), alpha 1(I), alpha 1(III) and beta-actin mRNA levels were not increased in untreated diabetic rats 7 or 28 days after diabetes induction. Thus, tubular procollagen alpha 1(IV) mRNA levels increased prior to any measurable change in glomerular levels and were ameliorated by insulin administration.
Toward a mechanism of the anti-aggression effects of chlordiazepoxide in rats.

Rats were given chlordiazepoxide (CDP) before testing in the Ulrich and Azrin shock-induced aggression paradigm for 10 consecutive days. CDP significantly decreased shock-induced aggression but fighting rates did not increase over the course of testing with the drug. Thus any tolerance to the general behavioral depressant effect of the drug either did not occur, or the behavioral depression was not responsible for the reduction in aggression. Another group was administered no drug, caffeine, and CDP, alone or in combination in a spontaneous activity test. CDP suppressed activity, caffeine increased activity and the two drugs in combination had antagonistic effects. The same drugs were used alone or in combination to measure their effects on shock-induced aggression. CDP suppressed aggression, caffeine also suppressed aggression and the two drugs together had additive effects. It was concluded that CDP-induced general behavioral depression is not responsible for suppression of aggression but more likely the property of CDP as a c-AMP phosphodiesterase inhibitor is responsible for the anti-aggression effect.
Deep vein thrombosis outcome and the level of oral anticoagulation therapy.

Abstract Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the rate of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) resolution and DVT outcomes as functions of the level of oral anticoagulation therapy achieved with warfarin. Methods: In 33 consecutive patients, a series of 35 limbs with acute symptomatic DVT was followed throughout 1 year of anticoagulation therapy. All the patients underwent 5 days of intravenous unfractionated sodium heparin therapy that was adjusted in dose to prolong the activated thromboplastin time to 2.0 to 2.5 times the control. In addition, warfarin was administered for a period of 6 months, with a target international normalized ratio (INR) between 2.0 and 3.0. All the patients underwent venous duplex scanning and physical examination at the time of diagnosis and at 1 week, 1 month, 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year. Results: At the end of the 1-year study period, the rate of complete DVT resolution was 68%. The median INR values in patients with complete DVT resolution were significantly higher than those of patients with incomplete DVT resolution after 1, 3, and 6 months of treatment with warfarin. In addition, the proportion of patients with INR values below therapeutic range was significantly higher in patients with incomplete DVT resolution than in patients with complete DVT resolution after 1, 3, and 6 months of treatment with warfarin. The presence of occlusive thrombi was associated with incomplete DVT resolution. Of the patients with occlusive thrombi, 62% had chronic venous insufficiency symptoms develop, whereas only 11% of the patients with nonocclusive thrombi ( P = .003) had these symptoms develop. Conclusion: Despite 6 months of oral anticoagulant therapy, almost one third of thrombi did not resolve completely. The INR values were significantly higher in those patients with complete DVT resolution. These results suggest that the maintenance of an INR level between 2.0 and 3.0 throughout oral anticoagulation therapy will minimize the rate of incomplete DVT resolution. (J Vasc Surg 1999;30:805-12.)
Isolation and characterization of rabbit ovarian surface epithelium, granulosa cells, and peritoneal mesothelium in primary culture

Mammalian ovarian surface epithelial (OSE) cells and peritoneal mesothelial (PM) cells have a common embryologic origin, yet certain morphologic and histochemical characteristics are different in the adult. In this study, a two-step culture method was developed to examine the characteristics of these two cell types in vitro. OSE, PM, and ovarian granulosa (GC) cells were isolated from estrous rabbits and cultured for 6 d in 5% serum-supplementedd-valine medium (to inhibit fibroblast growth), then incubated for a further 2 d in serum-free McCoy's 5A medium. This study showed that rabbit OSE and PM cells in vitro maintained certain in vivo morphologic characteristics; OSE cells exhibited distinct cell borders and abundant microvilli of homogeneous size and shape, whereas PM cells were characterized by obscure cell borders and abundant microvilli of heterogeneous form. GC in vitro exhibited overlapping cell borders and sparse microvilli of homogeneous structure. This study showed for the first time that cultured rabbit OSE and PM cells, but not GC, contain distinct filaments of cytokeratin 18. In addition, rabbit OSE cells and GC, but not PM cells, contained 17β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase. However, only GC contained delta 5-3β hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase. OSE, PM, and GC maintained their ultrastructural and histochemical characteristics in serum-free medium. These results suggest that rabbit OSE cells in vitro could be distinguished from PM cells by histochemical and ultrastructural differences. Furthermore, because these characteristics were not altered in serum-free medium, the two-step culture method will be valuable in further hormonal studies of these cells in vitro.
Health practices, problems, and needs in a population of Micronesian adolescents

Saipan, one of many islands of the Pacific Trust Territory, depends on the United States for its medical care. The limited resources on the island have resulted in little medical attention for adolescents. This study surveyed 519 Saipan adolescents to determine their health practices, problems, and needs. Although these teenagers rarely saw physicians, they commonly reported health problems such as headaches, abdominal pain, and dental cavities. In the psychosocial arena, their problems involved parents, girlfriends/boyfriends, school, and suicidal thoughts. The health topics found to be of most interest included sex education, jobs, suicide prevention, drugs, and birth control. The most popular methods for learning about these subjects were books, movies, films, and school classes. There were high reported incidences of drug and alcohol problems among boys, and thoughts about suicide in all respondents.
THE EXPORT PERFORMANCE OF U.S. AND SWEDISH MULTINATIONALS

While the U.S. and Sweden both lost more than 20 percent of their shares of world and developed countries’ exports of manufactures between the mid-1960s and mid-1980s, the export shares of their multinational firms stayed fairly stable or even increased. The multinationals raised the proportion of their worldwide exports that they supplied from their overseas affiliates. These developments suggest that the declines in the trade shares of the US. and Sweden were not due mainly to deterioration in the innovativeness or inventiveness of American and Swedish firms, their management ability or their technological capabilities, but rather to economic developments in the firms’ home countries. The finding that firms have done better as exporters than their home countries is strengthened when we look at different industry groups. In both the U.S. and Sweden, and in all industry groups, with one exception, the multinationals’ export shares increased relative to those of their home countries. The margins were often wide, and were mostly larger for Swedish firms than for U.S. firms. Part of the explanation for the growth of each country's exports and those of its multinationals is the initial composition of exports, or the comparative advantages of the countries and their firms. These were skewed, in the mid-1960s, to industries that were to enjoy rapid growth in the next decade or so. Despite these initial comparative advantages, the exports of both countries fell far behind world export growth. The comparative advantages of both countries’ multinationals were even more biased toward fast-growth industries than those of the countries. That fact partly accounted for the better export performance of the multinationals relative to their home countries, but the multinationals outperformed their countries within each industry as well as for manufacturing as a whole.
Low-impact Land Development: The Practice of Preserving Natural Processes

Abstract Land development is a human activity that has tremendous impacts on the structure and function of the landscape. Those impacts, more often than not, disrupt and degrade natural processes on the site and in adjacent or functionally connected landscapes. The Nature Conservancy has identified habitat degradation due to development as the greatest threat to biodiversity in the United States, partially responsible for the threatened status of 85% of the species that have been identified as such (Stein 2000). In recent decades, development has affected more land than ever before. According to the U.S. EPA, the rate of conversion of land from undeveloped to developed is 2.65 times the rate of population growth in the U.S., a signal of sprawling, land-consumptive development. Not only are more undeveloped sites, or greenfields, being impacted by development, but the impacts appear to be more severe than in previous eras. A recent article in Landscape Architecture Magazine titled “Why Suburbs Will Never H...
Normal and Hearing-Impaired Word Recognition Scores for Monosyllabic Words in Quiet and Noise

The effects of noise on word recognition scores were assessed with normal-hearing and hearing-impaired subjects. Fifty-one normal-hearing subjects were tested at 50 dB HL using signal-to-noise ratios (S/Ns) of 5, 10, and 15 dB. Thirty subjects with mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing losses were tested in quiet and in noise at S/Ns of 10 dB and 15 dB. Monosyllabic words in a Multitalker Noise were selected for testing. Mean scores for the normal-hearing subjects were 45% at the 5 dB S/N, 74% at the 10 dB S/N, and 87% at the 15 dB S/N. For the hearing-impaired subjects, scores were 85% in quiet, 60% at the 15 dB S/N, and 40% at the 10 dB S/N. These results suggest that background noise which is mildly disruptive for normal hearing subjects can be highly disruptive to hearing-impaired subjects. Moreover, these findings indicate that subjects with mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss require a more favourable S/N than normal listeners to achieve comparable word recognition scores. Test-retest differences for word recognition scores revealed variability that agreed closely with predictions based on the binomial distribution for both groups of subjects. Speech-in-noise abilities must be measured directly because regression equations revealed that speech-in-noise scores cannot be predicted accurately from either puretone thresholds or speech-in-quiet scores. Word recognition functions are presented from several hearing-impaired subjects and demonstrate the value of testing in noise.
Molecular-Based Mechanisms of Mendelian Forms of Salt-Dependent Hypertension: Questioning the Prevailing Theory

This critical review directly challenges the prevailing theory that a transient increase in cardiac output caused by genetically mediated increases in activity of the ENaC in the aldosterone sensitive distal nephron, or of the NCC in the distal convoluted tubule, accounts entirely for the hemodynamic initiation of all Mendelian forms of salt-dependent hypertension (Figure 1). The prevailing theory of how genetic mutations enable salt to hemodynamically initiate Mendelian forms of salt-dependent hypertension in humans (Figure 1) depends on the results of salt-loading studies of cardiac output and systemic vascular resistance in nongenetic models of hypertension that lack appropriate normal controls. The theory is inconsistent with the results of studies that include measurements of the initial hemodynamic changes induced by salt loading in normal, salt-resistant controls. The present analysis, which takes into account the results of salt-loading studies that include the requisite normal controls, indicates that mutation-induced increases in the renal tubular activity of ENaC or NCC that lead to transient increases in cardiac output will generally not be sufficient to enable increases in salt intake to initiate the increased BP that characterizes Mendelian forms of salt-dependent hypertension (Table). The present analysis also raises questions about whether mutation-dependent increases in renal tubular activity of ENaC or NCC are even necessary to account for increased risk for salt-dependent hypertension in most patients with such mutations. We propose that for the genetic alterations underlying Mendelian forms of salt-dependent hypertension to enable increases in salt intake to initiate the increased BP, they must often cause vasodysfunction, ie, an inability to normally vasodilate and decrease systemic vascular resistance in response to increases in salt intake within dietary ranges typically observed in most modern societies. A subnormal ability to vasodilate in response to salt loading could be caused by mutation-related disturbances originating in the vasculature itself or in sites outside the vasculature (eg, brain or adrenal glands) that have the capacity to affect vascular function.
Parametric Study of Stacked Patch Array Configurations as Alternative Feeds for Offset Reflectors

A potential feed for the 12 m reflector antenna system was assessed for use in radiometer-scatterometer system to study soil moisture. The reflector system calls for seven feeds that can operate at 1.413 GHz and 1.26 GHz frequencies with one feed at the focus of the reflector and the other six forming a ring around the focus. Numerous configurations of patch arrays were studied and a hexagonal configuration consisting of seven elements with 0.76lambda at 1.413 GHz spacing and tapered excitation on the outer ring was selected as the best design. Optimized hexagonal array has a similar pattern to the optimized corrugated horn at both frequencies and at all seven feed locations
The effectiveness of task-level parallelism for high-level vision

Large production systems (rule-based systems) continue to suffer from extremely slow execution which limits their utility in practical applications as well as in research settings. Most investigations in speeding up these systems have focused on match (or knowledge-search) parallelism. Although good speed-ups have been achieved in this process, these investigations have revealed the limitations on the total speed-up available from this source. This limited speed-up is insufficient to alleviate the problem of slow execution in large-scale production system implementations. Such large-scale systems are expected to increase as researchers develop increasingly more competent production systems.In this paper, we focus on task-level parallelism, which is obtained by a high-level decomposition of the production system. Speed-ups obtained from task-level parallelism will multiply with the speed-ups obtained from match parallelism. The vehicle for our investigation of task-level parallelism is SPAM, a high-level vision system, implemented as a production system. SPAM is a mature research system with a typical run requiring between 50,000 to 400,000 production firings and an execution time of the order of 10 to 100 cpu hours.We report very encouraging speed-ups from task-level parallelism in SPAM — our parallel implementation shows near linear speed-ups of over 12 fold using 14 processors and points the way to substantial (50-100 fold) speed-ups from task-level parallelism. We present a characterization of task-level parallelism in production systems and describe our methodology for selecting and applying a particular approach to parallelize SPAM. Additionally, we report the speed-ups obtained from the use of shared virtual memory (network shared memory) in this implementation. Overall, task-level parallelism has not received much attention in the literature. Our experience illustrates that it is potentially a very important tool for speeding up large-scale production systems1.
Activation of a plant nucleotide binding-leucine rich repeat disease resistance protein by a modified self protein

Nucleotide binding-leucine rich repeat (NB-LRR) proteins function as intracellular receptors for the detection of pathogens in both plants and animals. Despite their central role in innate immunity, the molecular mechanisms that govern NB-LRR activation are poorly understood. The Arabidopsis NB-LRR protein RPS5 detects the presence of the Pseudomonas syringae effector protein AvrPphB by monitoring the status of the Arabidopsis protein kinase PBS1. AvrPphB is a cysteine protease that targets PBS1 for cleavage at a single site within the activation loop of PBS1. Using a transient expression system in the plant Nicotiana benthamiana and stable transgenic Arabidopsis plants we found that both PBS1 cleavage products are required to activate RPS5 and can do so in the absence of AvrPphB. We also found, however, that the requirement for cleavage of PBS1 could be bypassed simply by inserting five amino acids at the PBS1 cleavage site, which is located at the apex of the activation loop of PBS1. Activation of RPS5 did not require PBS1 kinase function, and thus RPS5 appears to sense a subtle conformational change in PBS1, rather than cleavage. This finding suggests that NB-LRR proteins may function as fine-tuned sensors of alterations in the structures of effector targets.
Competitive On-line Linear FIR MMSE Filtering

We consider the problem of causal estimation, i.e., filtering, of a real-valued signal corrupted by zero mean, i.i.d., real-valued additive noise under the mean square error (MSE) criterion. We build a competitive on-line filtering algorithm whose normalized cumulative MSE, for every bounded underlying signal, is asymptotically as small as the best linear finite-duration impulse response (FIR) filter of order d. We do not assume any stochastic mechanism in generating the underlying signal, and assume only the variance of the noise is known to the filter. The regret of our scheme is shown to decay in the order of O (log n/n), where n is the length of the signal. Moreover, we present a concentration of the average square error of our scheme to that of the best d-th order linear FIR filter. Our analysis combines tools from the problems of universal filtering and competitive on-line regression.
Trust, Reciprocity, and Other-Regarding Preferences: Groups Vs. Individuals and Males Vs. Females

Trust and reciprocity have attracted increasing attention as topics of research. Arrow (1974) explained that, because of asymmetric information, incomplete contracts, and the prohibitive transaction costs of perfect monitoring, much economic activity may require trust and reciprocity in order for mutual gains from exchange to be realized. And reciprocity may be essential to development of a modern economy in which much effort of highly-skilled labor cannot be effectively monitored.
Improved Resilience in Butyl Rubber through Chemical Modification

Abstract A new approach is presented toward obtaining improved properties in Butyl rubber vulcanizates through chemical modification of the Butyl rubber polymer by N-methyl-N,4-dinitrosoaniline. Chemical modification by this additive may be carried out in a Banbury mixer at conventional mixing times and temperatures. The use of modified polymer is advantageous in both black- and non-black-loaded stocks and is advantageous also with respect to variation over the spectrum of vulcanizing systems which are normally used with Butyl rubber. A successful plant demonstration of chemical modification has been carried out.
Advances in Theory of Photonic Crystals

In this paper, the authors review some of the recent advances in the theory of photonic crystals, drawing examples from their own work in magnetooptical and dynamic photonic crystals. The combination of theory and simulations shows that these crystal structures exhibit rich optical physics effects and can provide new ways to accomplish sophisticated optical information-processing tasks
Humoral-Phagocyte Axis of Immune Defense in Burn Patients: Chemoluminigenic Probing

• Both serum opsonic capacity and granulocyte oxygenation activity were measured in 35 burn patients during their course of therapy. The microbicidal action of granulocytes is effected via the metabolic generation of oxygenating agents; introduction of chemoluminigenic substrates, such as luminol or dimethyl biacridinium dinitrate, allows ultrasensitive measurement of phagocyte oxygenation activity. Serum opsonic capacity can also be assayed by measuring the rate of activation of phagocyte oxygenation activity. Alterations in granulocyte oxygenation activity were observed in individual patients in temporal association with changes in clinical condition, and sepsis was associated with a marked decrease in activity. An initial depression in opsonic capacity was noted at the time of admission of patients with major burns, more than 40% total body surface. Thereafter, depression of opsonic capacity was temporally associated with sepsis in individual patients. Chemoluminigenic probing provides a rapid, sensitive, and objective method for assessing the status of the humoral-phagocyte axis, and as a clinical laboratory technique is particularly applicable for monitoring patient populations in which sepsis is prevalent. (Arch Surg1982;117:133-140)