cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
What causes partial cloudiness to form in multilayered midlevel clouds? A simulated case study

[1] This paper seeks to gain understanding of what processes influence the cloud fraction of altocumulus and altostratocumulus clouds. Our starting point is a midlevel cloud system observed on 25 June 1996 during the first Complex Layered Cloud Experiment. The two-layered system comprised a partly cloudy cumuliform layer located several hundred meters below an overcast stratiform layer. The cloud system was documented with aircraft data and was simulated in three dimensions with high resolution using large-eddy simulation (LES). Given observed initial atmospheric profiles, the model successfully simulates the qualitative structure of the layered system, although the modeled cumuliform layer has less cloud fraction, liquid water, and turbulence than the observations. Sensitivity studies were performed using an LES model. These give evidence that partial cloudiness in our simulations is caused primarily by conditional instability and the consequent vertical motions of air parcels within the layer. This mechanism is complicated by the presence of radiative heating and cooling. When the lower cloud layer is radiatively heated throughout its entire depth, it becomes conditionally unstable and partly cloudy. This is true even if the layer is initially overcast and absolutely stable, and even if the radiative heating rates are moderate. However, the entire lower layer heats only if there is a cloud layer above it. If the upper layer is removed, then the lower layer cloud top cools strongly to space in the longwave, and the lower layer remains overcast. Through this radiative effect, the presence or absence of an upper layer influences the cloud fraction of a lower layer, even though the two layers are spatially separated and have little microphysical interaction or turbulent exchange of heat and moisture.
Identification of a Functional Peroxisome Proliferator-responsive Element in the Murine Fatty Acid Transport Protein Gene

Fatty acid transport protein (FATP), a plasma membrane protein implicated in controlling adipocyte transmembrane fatty acid flux, is up-regulated as a consequence of adipocyte differentiation and down-regulated by insulin. Based upon the sequence of the FATP gene upstream region (Hui, T. Y., Frohnert, B. I., Smith, A. J., Schaffer, J. A., and Bernlohr, D. A. (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 27420–27429) a putative peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor response element (PPRE) is present from −458 to −474. To determine whether the FATP PPRE was functional, and responded to lipid activators, transient transfection of FATP-luciferase reporter constructs into CV-1 and 3T3-L1 cells was carried out. In CV-1 cells, FATP-luciferase activity was up-regulated 4- and 5.5-fold, respectively, by PPARα and PPARγ in the presence of their respective activators in a PPRE-dependent mechanism. PPARδ, however, was unable to mediate transcriptional activation under any condition. In 3T3-L1 cells, the PPRE conferred a small but significant increase in expression in preadipocytes, as well as a more robust up-regulation of FATP expression in adipocytes. Furthermore, the PPRE conferred the ability for luciferase expression to be up-regulated by activators of both PPARγ and retinoid X receptor α (RXRα) in a synergistic manner. PPARα and PPARδ activators did not up-regulate FATP expression in 3T3-L1 adipocytes, however, suggesting that these two subtypes do not play a significant role in differentiation-dependent activation in fat cells. Electromobility shift assays showed that all three PPAR subtypes were able to bind specifically to the PPRE as heterodimers with RXRα. Nuclear extracts from 3T3-L1 adipocytes also showed a specific gel-shift complex with the FATP PPRE. To correlate the expression of FATP to its physiological function, treatment of 3T3-L1 adipocytes with PPARγ and RXRα activators resulted in an increased uptake of oleate. Moreover, linoleic acid, a physiological ligand, up-regulated FATP expression 2-fold in a PPRE-dependent manner. These results demonstrate that the FATP gene possesses a functional PPRE and is up-regulated by activators of PPARα and PPARγ, thereby linking the activity of the protein to the expression of its gene. Moreover, these results have implications for the mechanism by which certain PPARγ activators such as the antidiabetic thiazolidinedione drugs affect adipose lipid metabolism.
GRMHD/RMHD simulations & stability of magnetized spine-sheath relativistic jets

A new general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics (GRMHD ) code "RAISHIN" used to simulate jet generation by rotating and non-rotating black holes with a geometrically thin Keplarian accretion disk finds that the jet develops a spine-sheath structure in the rotating black hole case. Spine-sheath structure and strong magnetic fields significantly modify the Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) velocity shear driven instability. The RAISHIN code has been used in its relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (RMHD) configuration to study the effects of strong magnetic fields and weakly relativistic sheath motion, cl2, on the KH instability associated with a relativistic, Y = 2.5, jet spine-sheath interaction. In the simulations sound speeds up to ? c/3 and Alfven wave speeds up to ? 0.56 c are considered. Numerical simulation results are compared to theoretical predictions from a new normal mode analysis of the RMHD equations. Increased stability of a weakly magnetized system resulting from c/2 sheath speeds and stabilization of a strongly magnetized system resulting from d 2 sheath speeds is found.
Learning good features for Active Shape Models

Active Shape Models (ASMs) are commonly used to model the appearance and shape variation of objects in images. This paper proposes two strategies to improve speed and accuracy in ASMs fitting. First, we define a new criterion to select landmarks that have good generalization properties. Second, for each landmark we learn a subspace with improved facial feature response effectively avoiding local minima in the ASM fitting. Experimental results show the effectiveness and robustness of the approach.
The hydrogen economy, fuel cells, and electric cars

Abstract Hopes have again been raised about developing a “hydrogen economy”, in which hydrogen could be expected to replace oil and natural gas for most uses, including transportation and heating. It is again being claimed that hydrogen will be a widely available, clean, safe fuel. This article argues that such expectations are almost certainly illusory. Hydrogen, like electricity, is not an energy resource but an energy carrier. It takes more energy to extract hydrogen from water than burning the hydrogen can ever provide. There are also inevitable losses in storage, transmission, and final mechanical or heating applications. The question then turns on the efficiency—and safety—of the entire chain of conversion, from the energy source (fossil, solar, or other) to the final use. Moreover, energy sources (preferably renewable, for the long term) can be used for the direct creation of electricity, which can be introduced into the existing grid without requiring a vast investment in a new hydrogen distribution system. In addition, a hydrogen-based system would be unacceptably dangerous. This report will present a detailed technical and economic analysis of the problems with the proposed hydrogen economy and the advantages of some alternatives, principally electricity-based. A hypothetical case of what would be required for a hydrogen filling station serving the general public is closely examined.
Financial development and growth in sub-Saharan Africa: do legal origin and CFA membership matter?

This article examines whether relations between legal origin, financial development and economic growth that hold worldwide hold in British and French legal origin Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) as well. We also test for the differential impacts on financial development and on growth of Communaute Financiere Africaine (CFA) currency union membership within French legal origin SSA. Our panel regressions and descriptive measures agree with the findings of British legal origin advantage with respect to financial development. In addition, financial development contributes positively to economic growth in British legal origin SSA, as it does worldwide. Within French legal origin SSA, we find that currency union constraints tend to hinder financial development in CFA countries beyond the negative impacts of French legal origin. Moreover, contributions to the growth of various indicators of financial development in French legal origin SSA are negative or insignificant irrespective of CFA membership.
Climatic controls of hydrologic extremes in south-central Rocky Mountains of Colorado, U.S.A.

The headwaters of the Rocky Mountains contribute considerable water resources to the growing populations of the western United States. Hydroclimatic variations of the past provide context for the potential ranges of moisture availability in the future. For example, paleoclimatic reconstructions from lake levels and pollen data indicate extremes in moisture availability (both wet and dry periods) in the Rocky Mountains over the past 6,000 years. The concept of a north–south dipole to describe variations of past precipitation within the Rocky Mountains may not capture the range of synoptic processes that can lead to extreme wet or dry conditions. Modern precipitation data are used to identify recent anomalously wet and dry periods in the Rocky Mountains for use as modern climate analogs for past extreme hydrologic conditions. Using the North American Regional Reanalysis data set (32-km resolution), the surface and atmospheric climatic controls of extreme wet and dry periods can be assessed to provide context on the first-order precipitation dynamics that may have contributed to changes in past moisture availability during the Holocene. A hierarchy of controls led to extremes in moisture availability in the region. Large-scale atmospheric anomalies associated with the shape and position of the jet stream influence secondary atmospheric mechanisms like rising (leading to wet conditions) and sinking motions (leading to dry conditions). Simultaneously, small-scale controls such as topography and soil moisture anomalies also influence such extremes. The various scales of climatic controls during modern extreme wet and dry periods can be used as analogs for past extremes to contextualize the range of variability for such events in the past as well as for potential extremes in the future.
Greek underpinnings to his methodology in unraveling De Motu Cordis and what Harvey has to teach us still today

William Harvey's writings betray amazing insights born out of countless hours of thoughtful experimentation. Throughout his life, Harvey worked as a tireless and thoughtful researcher and a transmitter and intermediary between the ancient Greek natural philosophers and physicians and the "moderns," for whom he founded two forward-looking, interlinked sciences: modern physiology and nascent cardiology. Harvey's methodology and demonstrations were of such fundamental and standardizing nature as to secure the sure progress of these two sciences. Thus, he rendered to them such a service as Descartes's cogito ergo sum furnished to Philosophy in giving it a rational standard of certainty, for want of which the more speculative minds of that era were inundated with extraordinary conjectures. If Harvey disproved Galen, he absorbed and continued in his physiologic research many a principle from Aristotle, whose supreme disciple he remains. The guidance and authority of Aristotle were strong with him to the end. Harvey's account of the motions of the heart and blood in the circulation demonstrated that complex physiological systems can be represented in straightforward mechanical terms, a concept which has remained fundamental to the present day. The philosophical implication of William Harvey's discovery of the circulation of the blood was the resolute application of the experimental method to cardiology. In my judgment, he established today's forward-looking discipline of translational cardiovascular research. In due course, he should be widely acknowledged to have done so.
Electrically Nonconductive Thermal Pastes with Carbon as the Thermally Conductive Component

Electrically nonconductive thermal pastes have been attained using carbon (carbon black or graphite) as the conductive component and ceramic (fumed alumina or exfoliated clay) as the nonconductive component. For graphite particles (5 μm), both clay and alumina are effective in breaking up the electrical connectivity, resulting in pastes with electrical resistivity up to 1013Ω·cm and thermal contact conductance (between copper surfaces of roughness 15 μm) up to 9 × 104 W/m2·°C. For carbon black (30 nm), clay is more effective than alumina, providing a paste with resistivity 1011 Ω·cm and thermal contact conductance 7 × 104 W/m2·°C. Carbon black increases the thermal stability, whereas either graphite or alumina decreases the thermal stability. The antioxidation effect of carbon black is further increased by the presence of clay up to 1.5 vol.%. The addition of clay (up to 0.6 vol.%) or alumina (up to 2.5 vol.%) to graphite paste enhances the thermal stability.
Electrophysiologic and hemodynamic effects of sodium bicarbonate in a canine model of severe cocaine intoxication.

AbstractObjective. Cocaine toxicity causes myocardial depression, malignant dysrhythmias, and sudden death, partially due to cocaine‐related myocardial sodium channel blockade. Because of cocaine's ability to block cardiac sodium channels, sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) has been proposed as an antidote. The hypothesis of this study was that NaHCO3 would correct cocaine‐induced conduction abnormalities and resultant hemodynamic compromise in an animal model simulating severe cocaine intoxication. Methods. Design: Prospective, controlled, experimental study in which 15 anesthetized dogs were given three successive boluses of cocaine (7 mg/kg) and then randomized to receive NaHCO3, 2 mEq/kg (n = 8) or placebo (n = 7). Measurements: Arterial, left ventricular, and pulmonary artery pressures; cardiac output (CO); electrocardiogram (ECG); blood gases; and serum concentrations of cocaine were measured at baseline, at fixed time intervals after each bolus of cocaine, and then after administration of NaHCO3 or placeb...
N-myristoyltransferase1 and N-myristoyltransferase2 Exhibit Differential Substrate Specificity for HIV-Gag and HIV-Nef

Background N-terminal myristoylation of Gag and Nef plays a critical role in retroviral virulence and budding of newly formed particles. Myristoylation involves the transfer of a myristate moiety from myristoyl-CoenzymeA (myristoylCoA) to substrate proteins such as Gag and Nef. Two isozymes accomplish this process in humans, and are known as N-myristoyltransferase1 (NMT1) and Nmyristoyltransferase2 (NMT2). We used a biochemical approach to determine myristoylation kinetics for Gag and Nef as well as preferential substrate specificity for NMT1 or NMT2.
K-ras Mutations in Lung Tumors and Tumors from Other Organs are Consistent with a Common Mechanism of Ethylene Oxide Tumorigenesis in the B6C3F1 Mouse:

Ethylene oxide is a multisite carcinogen in rodents and classified as a human carcinogen by the National Toxicology Program. In 2-year mouse studies, ethylene oxide (EO) induced lung, Harderian gland (HG), and uterine neoplasms. We evaluated representative EO-induced and equivalent spontaneous neoplasms for K-ras mutations in codons 12, 13, and 61. K-ras mutations were identified in 100% (23/23) of the EO-induced lung neoplasms and 25% (27/108) of the spontaneous lung neoplasms. Codon 12 G to T transversions were common in EO-induced lung neoplasms (21/23) but infrequent in spontaneous lung neoplasms (1/108). K-ras mutations were found in 86% (18/21) of the EO-induced HG neoplasms and 7% (2/27) of the spontaneous HG neoplasms. Codon 13 G to C and codon 12 G to T transversions were predominant in the EO-induced HG neoplasms but absent in spontaneous HG neoplasms (0/27). K-ras mutations occurred in 83% (5/6) of the EO-induced uterine carcinomas and all were codon 13 C to T transitions. These data show a strong predilection for development of K-ras mutations in EO-induced lung, Harderian gland, and uterine neoplasms. This suggests that EO specifically targets the K-ras gene in multiple tissue types and that this event is a critical component of EO-induced tumorigenesis.
PHIRE and TWiV: Experiences in Bringing Virology to New Audiences.

Virology encompasses a broad spectrum of topics touching upon many aspects of our everyday lives. However, appreciation of this impact is too often restricted to those who have specialized training and participate in virology research. The Phage Hunters Integrating Research and Education (PHIRE) program and the This Week in Virology (TWiV) podcast seek to bring virology to new audiences through two different approaches—direct involvement of undergraduates in discovering and genomically characterizing bacteriophages (PHIRE) and clear, accessible, and free discussions among experts of all topics in virology (TWiV). Here we discuss these two high-impact programs, the audiences that they serve, their broader impacts, and their future potential.
Neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) and myoblast fusion.

Considerable evidence points to an involvement of neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) in myoblast fusion. Changes in the level of NCAM expression, isoform specificity, and localization in muscle cells and tissues correspond to key morphogenetic events during muscle differentiation and repair. Furthermore, anti-NCAM antibodies have been shown by others to reduce the rate of myoblast fusion, whereas overexpression of NCAM cDNAs increases the rate of myoblast fusion compared to controls. In this study we have used a novel fusion assay based on intracistronic complementation of lacZ, in combination with fluorescent X-gal histochemistry and immunocytochemistry to assess levels of NCAM expression in individual muscle cells. Our results indicate that a substantial proportion of newly fused myoblasts have NCAM expression levels unchanged from the levels of the surrounding unfused population suggesting that increased expression of NCAM is not required for wild-type myoblasts to fuse. Moreover, pure populations of primary myoblasts isolated from mice homozygous null for NCAM and therefore lacking the molecule, when placed in differentiation medium, consistently fused to form contractile myotubes with kinetics equivalent to wild-type primary myoblasts. We conclude that the increase in expression of NCAM, although typically observed during myogenesis, is not essential to myoblast fusion to form myotubes.
Farm Size Growth and Participation in Agri‐environmental Schemes: A Configural Frequency Analysis of the Swiss Case

This paper examines the relationship between farm growth and participation in agri-environmental schemes, using the example of meadow extensification schemes in Switzerland. As a result of small farm sizes in Swiss agriculture, theory would suggest that economies of scale are considerable for market production activities, so that for growing farms it would be rational to intensify. Configural frequency analysis is used to identify and describe combinations of farm size development and proportion of meadows placed under agri-environmental schemes. In the Swiss case, growing farms are likely to reduce their participation, whereas shrinking farms have a growing share of their meadows under extensification schemes.
Letter by Rosner et al Regarding Article, “When the Heart Runs Out of Heartbeats: Treatment Options for Refractory End-Stage Heart Failure”

We read with great interest, “When the Heart Runs Out of Heartbeats: Treatment Options for Refractory End-Stage Heart Failure,” by Ahmad et al,1 which describes the successful bridging of a patient with heart failure and cardiogenic shock to heart transplantation. This case highlights the potency of therapy in the era of mechanical circulatory support and raises the issue of how long to wait before implementing long-term mechanical circulatory support. Specifically, the patient described by Ahmad et al progressed from ambulatory to cardiogenic shock supported for 3 weeks on an intra-aortic balloon pump before implantation of a left ventricular assist device. Although definitive data are lacking, …
Guillaume Perrault and Vincent of Beauvais

AMONG the educational treatises of the Middle Ages, until recently' the fifth book of Guillame Perrault's De Eruditione Principum seems to have been best known and considered most significant. Though rightly or wrongly, it had been pointed out that Vincent of Beauvais's De Eruditione Filiorum Regalium was the first great Christian treatise on education,2 it had been eclipsed, owing to circumstances, by Perrault's work, and remained practically unknown to historians of education and to mediaevalists in general.3 Daunou4 devotes to Vincent's treatise two pages, dealing principally with manuscripts, etc.; he settles the content of the work itself in one sentence. Munch,5 who states that the treatise was held in extraordinary esteem, evidences no first-hand acquaintance with it. Whereas he devotes only a page and a half to Vincent, he assigns full five pages to Perrault,6 whose De Eruditione Principum was formerly attributed to St Thomas Aquinas,7 and is usually published among the latter's works as Opusculum XXXVII.8 The two works were written almost contemporaneously, Vincent's before 1249, and Perrault's around 1265.9 The reason why Perrault's treatise is more widely known than Vincent's is apparent from the fact that it has been time and again reprinted among the works of St Thomas Aquinas. A German translation by H. Bone10 succeeded in making of it a popular, semi-devotional book.
Enhanced drug-induced apoptosis associated with P-glycoprotein overexpression is specific to antimicrotubule agents.

Purpose. We have reported that overexpression of mdr1 P-glycoprotein (Pgp) is associated with a higher sensitivity to paclitaxel-induced apoptosis (1,2). The present study examined the substrate specificity of this phenomenon.
Performance Bounds of Asynchronous Circuits with Mode-Based Conditional Behavior

Asynchronous circuits with conditional behavior often have distinct modes of operation each of which can be modeled as a marked graph with its own performance target. This paper derives performance bounds for such conditional circuits based on the cycle times of successively larger collections of these underlying modes. Our bounds prove the somewhat intuitive result that treating a conditional circuit as unconditional for slack matching guarantees the circuit performance requirement conservatively. We also prove the somewhat counter-intuitive result that the average cycle time of a conditional circuit may be worse than the weighted average of the cycle time of its underlying collection of modes. Finally, the paper outlines the potential application of these bounds to future improvements in slack matching of such conditional circuits.
Pyroelectric energy converter for harvesting waste heat: Simulations versus experiments

This paper is concerned with numerical simulations of a pyroelectric converter for direct energy conversion of waste heat into electricity. The simulated prototypical device consisted of a hot and cold source separated by a series of vertical microchannels supporting pyroelectric thin films made of co-polymer P(VDF-TrFE) and undergoing the Olsen cycle. A piston was used to vertically oscillate a working fluid back and forth between the thermal sources. The experimental device was instrumented with thermocouples and a pressure sensor. The two-dimensional transient mass, momentum, and energy equations were solved numerically using finite element methods to determine the local and time-dependent temperature at various locations inside the device microchannels. The operating frequency varied from 0.025 to 0.123 Hz and the working fluid was 1.5 or 50 cSt silicone oil. Good agreement was found between the simulated and experimentally measured local mean temperatures for both working fluids at all operating frequencies considered. The local temperature swings were underestimated slightly for 50 cSt silicone oil and significantly more for 1.5 cSt silicone oil. Overall, this study confirms our previous numerical results. Moreover, this numerical model could be used to design and operate the next generation of pyroelectric energy converters based on oscillatory convective heat transfer.
Studies on orosomucoid in normal infants and children.

AbstractThe orosomucoid content of serum has been determined in healthy infants and children. Analyses of haptoglobin and of electrophoretic protein fractions have also been made.The mean umbilical cord serum level of orosomucoid was significantly lower than the level in the maternal serum. Apart from a transient increase during the first week of life, low serum levels were found up to the age of three months.The alpha1, alpha2 and beta globulins showed essentially the same changes with age as the orosomucoid.The serum content of haptoglobin was very low at birth and rose slowly to the level found in adults.
Laparoscopic nephroureterectomy: initial laboratory experience

SummaryNephroureterectomy was performed using laparoscopic techniques in seven adultfemale pigs. In all cases, kidneys were dissected without significant bleeding. A cuff of bladder was excised along with the distal ureter in each case. The mean dissecting time of the kidney was 98 min while the dissection of the ureter required an additional 74 min. The bladder was closed using one of a variety of instruments: a GIA stapler, titanium clips, or an Endoloop.Clinical application awaits improvement in instrumentation forclosure of the bladder and the development of an entrapment sack impermeable to cells.
Prolonged oral etoposide in recurrent or advanced squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix: A Gynecologic Oncology Group study

Abstract Objective. Previous studies by the Gynecologic Oncology Group have demonstrated no activity with bolus etoposide in squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix. Prolonged oral etoposide, which exploits the schedule dependency of this agent, has demonstrated activity in non-small cell carcinoma of the lung and has been studied in combination therapy with cisplatin. To evaluate prolonged oral etoposide in previously treated squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix, the current Phase II trial was conducted. Methods. Eligibility included squamous cell cancer of the cervix, measurable disease, allowed no more than one prior chemotherapy regimen which did not include etoposide, WBC ≥3000/μl, platelet count ≥100,000/μl, serum creatinine ≤2 mg%, and adequate hepatic function. The starting dose was 50 mg/m 2 /day (40 mg/m 2 /day for prior radiotherapy) as a single daily dose for 21 days, every 28 days. Based on toxicity, a dose escalation to a maximum dose of 60 mg/m 2 /day was prescribed. Results. Twenty-five patients were entered on this study; 24 were evaluable for toxicity. A median of 2 courses was given (range 1–8). All but one had received radiation therapy and 20 had received prior chemotherapy. Oral etoposide was not well tolerated with grade 4 neutropenia occurring in 33.3% and grade 4 thrombocytopenia occurring in 15%. Seven patients were unable to complete their first cycle due to toxicity and 8 patients received only one course of therapy. Of the remaining patients, 6 required dose reductions to 30 mg/m 2 /day. Only 3 patients were able to be dose-escalated to 50 mg/m 2 /day. Seventeen patients completed one course of therapy and were evaluable for response, of whom 16 had received prior radiotherapy and 15 prior chemotherapy. Two responses (11.8%) were observed, one complete response and one partial response. Both of these patients had disease in nonirradiated sites and one was chemotherapy-naive. Based on an intent-to-treat analysis, the response rate was 8.3%. Conclusion. Prior radiation therapy limited the ability to deliver prolonged oral etoposide. At the maximum tolerated dose, this regimen is not significantly active as second-line chemotherapy in squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix.
Effects of divalent ions on vesicle-vesicle fusion studied by a new luminescence assay for fusion

Summary. A new assay has been developed for vesicle-vesicle fusion based upon the mixing of intravesicular contents of two sets of vesicles. Purified firefly luciferase and MgC12 were incorporated into one set of vesicles (LV) and ATP into the other (AV). Vesicles were prepared from soybean phospholipids. The luminescence that resulted from hydrolysis of ATP by luciferase was measured to determine the extent of mixing of the intravesicular contents. In the absence of divalent ions, incubation of a mixture of LV and AV did not produce luminescence. However, if Ca + § or other divalent ions were present at miltimolar concentrations, luminescence occurred. The luminescence did not result from extravesicular reaction of vesicle contents that had leaked into the medium. Instead, luminescence resulted from the mixing of intravesicular spaces of AV and LV in fused vesicles. Optical density changes and negative stain electron microscopy indicated that Ca § + induced extensive aggregation of vesicles. However, quantitation of the maximum possible luminescence indicates that only a small percentage (less than 1%) of the vesicles actually fused in a fusion experiment. Addition of EDTA to chelate Ca ++ after luminescence had been induced resulted in a two- to threefold increase in light emission which then rapidly decayed. These results suggest that the sudden removal of Ca § § caused a transient increase in fusion after which subsequent fusion was inhibited. It was also found that the vesicles were relatively stable to hypotonic solutions.
Argon isotopic evolution of upper mantle

BROWN et al.1 have treated the problem of the history of the argon degassing of the Earth, and claim to demonstrate that the 40Ar/36Ar ratio in the mantle has increased from ∼133, 770 Myr ago, to a value that “is at present not greater than the atmospheric ratio (295.5) and is probably a little lower”. Their Table 1 and Fig. 1 show the results of K–Ar isochron analyses of several suites of “mantle-derived igneous” samples. We have been unable to reproduce in detail their results from the references they cite, and conclude that the apparent trend in their Fig. 1 is an artefact of data selection and that the source of the observed argon has been misidentified. We think the 40Ar/36Ar ratios in the solid earth and the atmosphere have probably increased with time. Theoretical considerations and the available literature both indicate, however, that the 40Ar/36Ar ratio in the solid earth is much higher than the 40Ar/36Ar ratio in the atmosphere.
A simple method for determining the number of isolating integrals in multidimensional systems: Computation of the pointwise dimension

Abstract The pointwise dimension is calculated for trajectories of two- and three-dimensional Hamiltonians, enabling the number of isolating integrals to be determined directly. Results for the Henon-Heiles system are in agreement with recent calculations of the fractal and information dimensions by Stine and Noid.
The Relation of Size of Clutch and Position of the Egg in the Clutch to Hatching Results

Abstract HATCHING results in the domestic fowl are influenced by numerous known factors. But no doubt there remain unknown factors which affect or are related to fertility and hatchability. The author is unaware of any previous investigations to determine the relationship of the size of the egg clutch or the position of the egg in the clutch to hatching results. In 1935 and in 1936 all eggs incubated at the Poultry Farm of the University of Missouri were individually dated, pedigreed, and kept in separate compartments during incubation until the chicks were wing-banded. The eggs incubated were laid by Leghorn and general purpose hens and pullets during the months of January, February, and March. From the trapnest records the position of the eggs in their respective clutches was determined. Every egg laid in each clutch was not accounted for because some eggs were discarded because of exterior physical defects. DISCUSSION From . . .
A comprehensive breakdown model describing temperature dependent activation energy of low-к/extreme low-к dielectric TDDB

Temperature dependent activation energy (E a ) has been observed for backend low-к (LK) and extreme LK (ELK) dielectric TDDB. We experimentally demonstrated that the charge transport through the LK/ELK is dominated by the Poole-Frenkel mechanism, even in the low E-field, and Cu-ion diffusion occurs at a later stage of stressing, which is more probable at high temperatures and in sub-65nm (40–28nm) technologies with ELK dielectric. Hence, the TDDB lifetime prediction at nominal operating conditions on the basis of elevated temperature experiments should take the temperature dependent E a into consideration. Based on the power-law relation between current and stress time at different temperatures, a comprehensive breakdown model of LK/ELK is proposed, which describes LK/ELK temperature dependent TDDB activation energy is associated with both the trap creation and the ion diffusion processes.
A Simulation of Communicable Disease and Herd Immunity for the Microbiology Classroom or Laboratory.

Modern medicine has reduced the incidence of communicable disease, but humanity continues to suffer from a wide variety of ailments caused by infectious microorganisms. Modelling this transmission allows for a greater awareness of the various mechanisms through which disease can spread. This procedure allows students to participate in a completely safe, real-time exercise that demonstrates the ease at which a susceptible population can become infected. In addition, this exercise allows for a demonstration of the efficacy of herd immunity. An easily-prepared set of cards takes the place of actual microorganisms.
Executive Order 13567: Executive Branch Policy Meets International Law in the Evolution of the Domestic Law of Detention

This paper considers the March, 2011 issuance of Executive Order 13567: Periodic Review of Individuals Detained at Guantanamo Bay Naval Station Pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force. As its title suggests, the Order establishes a system of periodic review for detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, but the release of the Order suggests much more than merely the adoption of new procedures for reviewing detention determinations. In a “Fact Sheet” issued with the Order, the Obama administration suggested some concrete changes to how the U.S. views the international law of detention, specifically with regard to Additional Protocols I and II of the Geneva Conventions. Those changes, when combined with the content of the Order itself, may signal an even more profound shift in the role of international law in the shaping of the domestic law of detention.The paper proceeds by describing the Order in detail and comparing the procedures adopted in the Order with those that proceeded it, namely the Combatant Status Review Tribunals and the Administrative Review Boards previously used for Guantanamo Bay detainees. The paper next analyzes the the Order’s procedures under Article 75 of Additional Protocol I and Articles 4-6 of Additional Protocol II, as suggested by the Fact Sheet. Finally, the paper considers the broader questions raised by the Order and Fact Sheet’s stated approach to the international law of detention. By recognizing an increased role for Additional Protocols I and II, the Order and Fact Sheet go some distance toward providing an avenue to the incorporation of international human rights norms into the U.S. domestic law of detention, an approach that sharply diverges with previous U.S. positions on the law of armed conflict.
Materialism and Some Myths About Some Givens

Not long ago it was generally agreed that something is given, indeed, that something must be given if there is to be any empirical knowledge at all. Lately, however, what people have called "the" given has come under attack from many different angles. In general the attacks have been of two sorts: epistemological and metaphysical. The problem of countering the skeptic effectively about our knowl edge of the external world has been one source for the attack on the given. It has been thought by many that if nothing is certain then nothing is probable and the only thing which is empirical and certain is the given. But since the given was thought to be each individual's unique sensory experience, it was not seen how to make knowledge of the external world even probable relative to that. Recent attacks on this kind of skepticism have generally been of two sorts. The first denies that only sense experience is given. Indeed it claims that some statements about the external world are themselves certain.1 The
Six-dimensional weak-strong simulation of head-on beam-beam compensation in the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider

To compensate the beam-beam tune spread and beam-beam resonance driving terms in the polarized proton operation in the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC), we will introduce a low energy DC electron beam into each ring to collide head-on with the opposing proton beam. The device to provide the electron beam is called an electron lens. In this article, using a 6D weak-strong beam-beam interaction simulation model, we will investigate the effects of head-on beam-beam compensation with electron lenses on the proton beam dynamics for the RHIC 250 GeV polarized proton operation. Frequency maps, dynamic apertures, and proton beam loss rates are calculated for this study. Key beam parameters involved in this scheme are varied to search for the optimum compensation condition. The sensitivities of head-on beam-beam compensation to beam imperfections and beam offsets are also studied.
Cellulosic polyelectrolytes: synthetic pathways to regioselectively substituted ammonium and phosphonium derivatives

Cationic polysaccharide polyelectrolytes are important synthetic targets for drug and gene delivery, especially by encapsulation of nucleic acids and proteins through electrostatic interactions. They also have potential as paracellular permeability enhancers that may increase transport across the gastrointestinal (GI) epithelium, especially for therapeutic hydrophilic macromolecules. Semisynthetic chitosan has been more heavily investigated as a cationic polysaccharide polyelectrolyte. This study explores the synthetic conditions needed to produce ammonio and phosphonio cellulose derivatives regioselectively by halogen displacement at C-6 while maximizing the degree of substitution (DS) of cationic substituent. Regioselective substitution was successful, however there were found to be some limitations to the DS and solubility of ammonium derivatives prepared in this way (highest DS 0.43); conversely, water-soluble 6-phosphonio-6-deoxycellulose derivatives were produced with DS > 0.5, with highest DS of 0.73. The repulsion between accumulating positive charges was confirmed as a likely source of DS limitation since high DS (0.9) of 6-triethylamino cellulose was synthesized under comparable conditions. Further reaction of 6-ammonio-co-6-bromo derivatives with a thiol produced 6-ammonio-co-6-thiolated products with improved aqueous solubility. The thiol DS of 0.68 determined by elemental analysis confirmed substitution of residual bromide from low DS (0.30) ammonium products to give essentially complete substitution at C-6.
Apomixis and Heterothallism in Stemonitis Flavogenita (Myxomycetes, Stemonitales)

Studies on four isolates of Stemonitis flavogenita indicate that nonheterothallism (presumptive apomixis) may be typical for the species, but heterothallism has been demonstrated in one isolate, CR...
Substance use disorders in trauma patients. Diagnosis, treatment, and outcome.

Acute and chronic substance abuse both pose significant problems for the treating physician during the resuscitative, perioperative, and ICU periods. This article provides both trauma and critical care specialists with ways to improve the detection, therapy, and overall management of this growing number of trauma patients. Failure to recognize withdrawal symptoms may confuse the diagnosis of traumatic injury and can be life-threatening.
Cellular and circuit basis of working memory in prefrontal cortex of nonhuman primates.

Publisher Summary Working memory is applied by cognitive psychologists and theorists to the type of memory that is active and relevant only for a short period of time. This chapter reviews the role of prefrontal cortex (PFC) in working memory. In the cerebral cortex, a variety of neuronal responses is recorded from prefrontal neurons and they all play some role in integrated delayed-response performance and in the fundamental process of working memory. Neuronal activities are related to the cue, to the delay, to the response, or to some combination of these in manual delayed-response tasks. All major classes of neuron are found in the caudal portion of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and all major classes of neuron are identified in oculomotor, as well as in manual delayed-response tasks. Thus, the functions of the prefrontal cortex pertain to several motor systems and are amenable to cellular and circuit analyses. The principal sulcus in the prefrontal cortex is the anatomical focus for spatial delayed-response function and the knowledge of its connections with other structures helps to understand the circuit and cellular basis of working memory.
The Effect of Compression on Venous Haemodynamics Assessed by Quantitative Photoplethysmography

Background:The purpose of this study was to examine quantitatively the effect of compression stockings on venous haemodynamics at the level of the ankle.Methods:To obtain quantifiable results, a co...
Effect of Stored Pre-Poured Plates on Microbial Enumeration Using the Surface Plate Method1

The surface plate method, using freshly pre-poured agar plates and/or stored pre-poured plates and the pour plate method were compared for enumeration of microorganisms in fresh bologna, fresh ground beef, frozen turkey pot pie and bacterial suspensions of Pseudomonas fluorescens and Streptococcus faecalis . Stored pre-poured Plate Count Agar (PCA) plates were packaged in plastic bags and held at 5 C for up to 6 weeks before use. Aerobic plate counts were derived from plates incubated at 35 C for 48 h, 20 C for 5 days and 7 C for 10 days. Differences in counts between methods for a given sample, incubation and pre-poured plate storage period were less than 0.5 log cycle in 97% of the comparisons. Regression and correlation coefficients between methods were highly significant; correlation coefficients varied from 0.987 to 0.999, and regression coefficients from 0.977 to 1.068 between any pair of methods. Storage of pre-poured plates for up to 6 weeks appeared to have no significant effect on recovery of microorganisms, using the surface plate technique.
Sinification by greening : Politics, nature, and ethnic borderlands in Maoist ecocinema

ABSTRACTFocusing on a fictional film, Spring in the Desert (Shamo de chuntian, 1975), and a documentary, Army's Reclamation and Battle Song (Junken zhan'ge, 1965), this essay explores how Chinese cinemas in Maoist era imagine nature in two ethnic borderlands, Inner Mongolia and Xinjiang. Unlike Western empires deforesting colonies, Han Chinese green the lands to sinicize ethnic minorities. I propose an analytical framework of ‘sinification by greening’ with three arguments intertwined. First, the success of the greening campaign is viewed as evidence of the communist's superiority and legitimized by orienting itself to emancipate the oppressed class within ethnic minorities and to serve the socialist construction nationwide. Second, the greening campaign helps establish the exotic communist rule in ethnic borderlands by degrading nomadic lifestyles and acculturating ethnic minorities with new conceptions of nature. Finally, during the Maoist greening campaign, the environmental discourse dovetails with so...
“The Pharmacogenomics Research Network Translational Pharmacogenetics Program: Outcomes and Metrics of Pharmacogenetic Implementations Across Diverse Healthcare Systems”

Numerous pharmacogenetic clinical guidelines and recommendations have been published, but barriers have hindered the clinical implementation of pharmacogenetics. The Translational Pharmacogenetics Program (TPP) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Pharmacogenomics Research Network was established in 2011 to catalog and contribute to the development of pharmacogenetic implementations at eight US healthcare systems, with the goal to disseminate real-world solutions for the barriers to clinical pharmacogenetic implementation. The TPP collected and normalized pharmacogenetic implementation metrics through June 2015, including gene-drug pairs implemented, interpretations of alleles and diplotypes, numbers of tests performed and actionable results, and workflow diagrams. TPP participant institutions developed diverse solutions to overcome many barriers, but the use of Clinical Pharmacogenetics Implementation Consortium (CPIC) guidelines provided some consistency among the institutions. The TPP also collected some pharmacogenetic implementation outcomes (scientific, educational, financial, and informatics), which may inform healthcare systems seeking to implement their own pharmacogenetic testing programs.
Mutual influence potential networks: enabling information sharing in loosely-coupled extended-duration teamwork

Complex collaborative activities such as treating patients, co-authoring documents and developing software are often characterized by teamwork that is loosely coupled and extends in time. To remain coordinated and avoid conflicts, team members need to identify dependencies between their activities -- which though loosely coupled may interact--and share information appropriately. The loose-coupling of tasks increases the difficulty of identifying dependencies, with the result that team members often lack important information or are overwhelmed by irrelevant information. This paper formalizes a new multi-agent systems problem, Information Sharing in Loosely-Coupled Extended-Duration Teamwork (ISLET). It defines a new representation, Mutual Influence Potential Networks (MIP-Nets) and an algorithm, MIP-DOI, that uses this representation to determine the information that is most relevant to each team member. Importantly, because the extended duration of the teamwork precludes team members from developing complete plans in advance, the MIP-Nets approach, unlike prior work on information sharing, does not rely on a priori knowledge of a team's possible plans. Instead, it models collaboration patterns and dependencies among people and their activities based on team-member interactions. Empirical evaluations show that this approach is able to learn collaboration patterns and identify relevant information to share with team members.