cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The current ratio revisited

Mary M. K. Fleming is a professor of accounting at California State University, Fullerton. She is the author of Managerial Accounting and Control Techniques for the Non-Accountant (New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1984). This article marks her first appearance in Business Horizons. The current ratio is frequently used to determine if a firm can meet its short-term obligations. But this simple calculation can be manipulated to make a wobbly balance sheet look good. In assessing a firm's health, the wise investor or creditor will look beyond the current ratio to a number of other critical factors.
Distribution of Bandeiraea simplicifolia lectin binding sites in the genital organs of female and male mice

Fluorescein isothiocyanate labelled type I lectin from Bandeiraea simplicifolia (BSA-I) known for its specific binding to α-d-galactopyranosyl and 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-d-galactose groups, has been used to map the distribution of the lectin specific binding sites in the genital organs of female and male mice. In non-pregnant female mice, strong lectin reactivity was restricted to the epithelium of the distal oviduct, the cervix and vagina. In pregnant mice strong BSA-I reactivity was also noted in the epithelium of uterine glands from the time of implantation on day 5 onward. In the testis BSA-I bound selectively to sperm but did not react with other cells in the seminiferous tubules. In the proximal caput epididymis BSA-I reacted with the epithelial cells, the underlying basement membranes and the intraluminal sperm. The intraluminal contents of the seminal vesicles reacted strongly with the lectin. Our data thus show a widespread but selective distribution of BSA-I lectin binding sites in the male and female genital organs and altered lectin binding in the uterus during pregnancy.
Shifts in the Cybersecurity Paradigm: Zero-Day Exploits, Discourse, and Emerging Institutions

This ongoing dissertation research examines the institutionalization of new cybersecurity norms and practices that are emerging from current controversies around markets for software vulnerabilities and exploits. A market has developed for the production and distribution of software exploits, with buyers sometimes paying over USD 100,000 for exploits and software vendors offering bounties for the disclosure of underlying vulnerabilities. Labeled a 'digital arms race' by some, it is generating a transnational debate about control and regulation of cyber capabilities, the role of secrecy and disclosure in cybersecurity, and the ethics of exploit production and use. The research takes a qualitative approach to theorize the emerging cybersecurity institutions. It shall provide insights into the technical, economic and institutional shifts in cybersecurity norms and practices. Analyzing the bug bounty programs run by Microsoft and Facebook as examples, the paper briefly discusses the role of institutions in facilitating software vulnerability markets. The paper summarizes the work presented at NSPW 2014, its findings are preliminary.
The effect of reserpine and digitalis on the heart rate during noradrenaline infusion.

Abstract Recent interest in this laboratory has centered around the response of the heart rate during noradrenaline-induced hypertension. 1,2 Since these studies demonstrated that most patients with clinical signs of arteriosclerosis exhibited a decreased bradycrotic response, it was postulated that the response of the heart rate during infusion of noradrenaline might be used as an index of arteriosclerosis. Patients who were receiving reserpine and/or digitalis were excluded from this study because of the possible interference of these agents with the bradycrotic response to noradrenaline. It was thought necessary, therefore, to determine whether these agents altered the response of the heart rate during infusion of noradrenaline. The present study was designed to evaluate the effect of reserpine and digitalis on noradrenaline-induced bradycardia.
Phishing Using a Modified Bayesian Technique

Dakota State University has a unique computing environment. Every undergraduate student and professor has a school assigned tablet PC. In addition, it is the State of South Dakota’s premier four year technology university. The university also hosts email, website, and website services for the state’s K-12 program in addition to its own. The high use of the mobile computing environment serves as a reason why we chose it for our phishing experiment. For example, recently one staff member was able to be fooled into providing domain login and password information through a phishing email. This caused over 300,000 emails to be sent from that account and the university was therefore blacklisted from Microsoft and its associated affiliates such as Hotmail and MSN. This paper is an attempt to measure the viability of a phishing attack in a mobile computing environment as well as using an adaptation of a popular spam filtering technique to separate phishing emails from spam and phishing emails from legitimate email.
Impact of prematurity and co-morbidities on feeding milestones in neonates: a retrospective study

Feeding problems are an important area of neonatal morbidity that requires attention. We defined the feeding milestones related to transition to per oral feeding among premature infants based on gestational (GA) and postmenstrual ages (PMA), and elucidated the co-morbidity variables affecting with these skills. Feeding progress was tracked during the first hospitalization in a retrospective study involving 186 infants. We measured the age at acquisition of first feedings, maximum gavage feedings and maximum oral feedings. Resource usage measures included the total length of hospital stay (LOS), duration of gavage tube and duration of respiratory support. Effects of perinatal and co-morbidity factors on the acquisition of feeding milestones were evaluated. ANOVA, t-test, Wilcoxon rank sum test, χ2 test, univariate and multivariate analysis, stepwise linear regression analysis and logistic regression analysis were applied as appropriate. Data were presented as mean±s.d., or as stated. P 28 weeks GA attained successful feeding milestones by similar PMA. Specific aero-digestive co-morbidities significantly affected maximal oral feeding milestone. Delays in achieving maximum gavage and maximum oral feeding milestones suggest delays with the development of control and regulation of foregut motility.
A fully integrated battery-connected switched-capacitor 4:1 voltage regulator with 70% peak efficiency using bottom-plate charge recycling

This work presents a switched-capacitor (SC) DC-DC voltage regulator that converts a 3.7V battery voltage down to ~0.8V in order to power the `brain' SoC of a flapping-wing microrobotic bee. A cascade of two 2:1 SC converters offers high efficiency for a 4:1 conversion ratio. A charge recycling technique reduces the flying capacitor's bottom-plate parasitic loss by 50% and overall conversion efficiency reaches 70%. The output droop is less than 10% of the nominal output voltage for a worst-case 47mA load step.
Helix Structure and Ends of RNA/DNA Hybrids Direct the Cleavage Specificity of HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase RNase H

RNA/DNA hybrids in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) replication are cleaved by HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) RNase H in locations determined by hybrid structure. Minus strand DNA synthesis is accompanied by cleavage of template viral RNA directed by RT positioned at the growing 3′ DNA end. Some RNA remains as oligomers annealed to the new DNA strand and is cut by RTs positioned at the 5′ RNA ends. We constructed substrates to test the hypothesis that internal helix structure, rather than strand end structure, drives the RT to position at 3′ DNA and 5′ RNA ends. On substrates with an RNA primer recessed on a DNA template, the 5′ end of the RNA had a dominant role in the determination of RNase H cleavage positions. If the 5′ end region of the RNA could not anneal, cleavage would not occur. Nevertheless, we obtained evidence that helix structure promotes the binding of RT to the end of the helical region closest to the 5′ RNA/3′ DNA end. When a DNA primer recessed on an RNA template had a 3′ unannealed region, cleavage occurred, with RT positioned solely by helical structure at the 5′ RNA/3′ DNA end of the annealed region of the hybrid. Using substrates having RNA primers annealed to circular DNA templates, we showed that cleavage can be independent of the presence of a DNA 3′ end and is directed by the 5′ RNA end. Overall, the results suggest that the RT initially binds an internal region of the hybrid and then is driven in the direction to encounter a 3′ DNA or 5′ RNA end, where it is positioned for catalysis by the strand end. The requirement for two modes of RNA cleavage in viral replication and the unexpected requirement for the 5′ RNA end structure are discussed.
Thalamic volume deficit contributes to procedural and explicit memory impairment in HIV infection with primary alcoholism comorbidity

Component cognitive and motor processes contributing to diminished visuomotor procedural learning in HIV infection with comorbid chronic alcoholism (HIV+ALC) include problems with attention and explicit memory processes. The neural correlates associated with this constellation of cognitive and motor processes in HIV infection and alcoholism have yet to be delineated. Frontostriatal regions are affected in HIV infection, frontothalamocerebellar regions are affected in chronic alcoholism, and frontolimbic regions are likely affected in both; all three of these systems have the potential of contributing to both visuomotor procedural learning and explicit memory processes. Here, we examined the neural correlates of implicit memory, explicit memory, attention, and motor tests in 26 HIV+ALC (5 with comorbidity for nonalcohol drug abuse/dependence) and 19 age-range matched healthy control men. Parcellated brain volumes, including cortical, subcortical, and allocortical regions, as well as cortical sulci and ventricles, were derived using the SRI24 brain atlas. Results indicated that smaller thalamic volumes were associated with poorer performance on tests of explicit (immediate and delayed) and implicit (visuomotor procedural) memory in HIV+ALC. By contrast, smaller hippocampal volumes were associated with lower scores on explicit, but not implicit memory. Multiple regression analyses revealed that volumes of both the thalamus and the hippocampus were each unique independent predictors of explicit memory scores. This study provides evidence of a dissociation between implicit and explicit memory tasks in HIV+ALC, with selective relationships observed between hippocampal volume and explicit but not implicit memory, and highlights the relevance of the thalamus to mnemonic processes.
THE ACCURACY OF CUMULATIVE INCOME

: The misconception that cumulative income over several periods is an accurate number is discussed and explained in terms of the “single-asset” example that often characterizes accounting methodology.
“The Caterpillar”: A Novel Reading Passage for Assessment of Motor Speech Disorders

Purpose A review of the salient characteristics of motor speech disorders and common assessment protocols revealed the need for a novel reading passage tailored specifically to differentiate betwee...
Framing medical tourism: an analysis of persuasive appeals, risks and benefits, and new media features of medical tourism broker websites.

This study explores the benefits and risks featured in medical tourism broker websites, as well as the types of persuasive appeals that these websites use to attract potential customers, from a framing theory perspective. In addition, it examines relationships among types of appeals and specific types of health-related services offered by medical facilities abroad and the role of new media modalities within medical tourism broker sites. A content analysis of 91 medical tourism broker websites was conducted. The results indicate that the websites highly emphasized benefits while downplaying the risks. Specifically, despite offering consumers complicated and risky medical procedures, the websites failed to report any procedural, postoperative, or legal concerns associated with them. Moreover, the results indicated that the websites relied on heavy use of new media features to enhance the appeal of the medical services that were offered. The implications of these findings, future directions for research, and...
Hyperbaric oxygen: Value in management of nonhealing saphenectomy wounds

The greater saphenous vein is commonly used as a conduit for arterial bypass in both cardiac and peripheral vascular operations. Although saphenectomy wound complications occur infrequently, such problems may be quite serious. We report a case in which hyperbaric oxygen therapy was extremely valuable in the management of a very difficult saphenectomy wound.
Hotel companies' environmental policies and practices: a content analysis of their web pages

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the environmental management policies and practices of the top 50 hotel companies as disclosed on their corporate web sites.Design/methodology/approach – This study employed content analysis to review the web sites of the top 50 hotel companies as defined herein.Findings – Only 46 per cent of the selected hotel companies used web pages to post information related to environmental issues on their public web sites. The web pages of Wyndham, IHG, Accor, Whitbread, Hyatt, Rezidor, Sol Melia, TUI, and Scandic featured more revealing environmental information than that posted by other companies, which indicated their environmental commitment and engagement. The results of content analysis identified 12 major environmental focus areas in which the sample hotel companies engaged.Research limitations/implications – The findings on environmental policies and practices are limited to the environmental information featured on the web sites of the top 50 hotel companie...
1,000 consecutive children with a cardiac malformation with 26- to 37-year follow-up

The current status of 997 of 1,000 consecutive children with a cardiac malformation initially evaluated between 1952 and 1963 was determined. Of the 1000, 285 have died and the survivors have been followed up for periods of 26 to 37 years. Six hundred thirty-two are in excellent or good clinical condition, being asymptomatic and without planned need for further treatment. The other 80 have significant abnormalities, although 63 of these have few symptoms. Infective endocarditis occurred in 12 of 10,000 susceptible patient-years, with a lower rate in the past decade. Only 22 of the survivors are currently receiving cardiac medication. These data are derived from a group of patients initially seen during a period of time that cardiac surgery was being developed for congenital heart disease. Thus, the outlook should be even better for children who are currently undergoing treatment.
Effect of prolonged monoclonal antibody administration on cardiac allograft survival in the rat

Abstract After heterotopic cardiac transplantation in the rat, monoclonal antibodies (MoAb) specific for rat T-cell subsets were administered until rejection. Across combined major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and non-MHC differences (WF to Lew) and isolated non-MHC differences (WF to Lew.1W) cardiac allografts were rapidly rejected in unmodified hosts (7.7 +/- 1.0 days and 12.2 +/- 0.8 days respectively). Across combined MHC and non-MHC differences, administration of MoAb OX-19 (pan T-cell) on days -1, 0, and 1 (where day 0 was the day of transplantation) and alternate days thereafter until rejection significantly prolonged allograft survival (28.5 +/- 10.2 days, P less than 0.01). Administration of MoAb W3/25 (helper T cell) and MoAb OX-39 (interleukin 2 (IL-2) receptor) prolonged allograft survival (11.3 +/- 2.6 days, P less than 0.05 and 13.3 +/- 2.0 days, P less than 0.01 respectively), whereas MoAb OX-8 (cytotoxic/suppressor T cell) administration had no effect on allograft survival. In contrast, across non-MHC differences (WF to Lew.1W) administration of MoAb OX-8 markedly prolonged allograft survival (85, greater than 100 x 3 days) whereas MoAb W3/25 administration had no effect. The effect of MoAb administration on lymphocyte subsets at rejection was assessed by flow cytometry. The relationship between depletion of targeted T-cell subsets and graft survival was variable. Across both combined MHC and non-MHC and isolated non-MHC differences MoAb OX-8 administration resulted in a marked reduction of OX-8+ cells at rejection with no prolongation of graft survival in the former and indefinite graft survival in the latter. In contrast, OX-19 administration resulted in prolonged graft survival but at rejection there were significant numbers of OX-19+ cells present. Administration of MoAb W3/25 failed to affect a significant reduction in W3/25+ cells, but allograft survival was nonetheless prolonged.
Automated estimation of diploid and tetraploid nuclei with an electronic particle counter

A limiting factor in the biochemical quantitation of DNA and other nuclear constituents has been the inaccuracy of the enumeration of nuclei. The hemocytometer method has been accepted as a primary standard for counting nuclei and permits the use of morphologic detail as a means of control [S, 10, 17, 18, 21, 221. However, predictable errors in the hemocytometer method resulting from the Poisson distribution of particles in a relatively small sample are well known to exist. In routine procedures an error of 6.5-9.9 per cent is expected to occur [14]. The hemocytometer method gives no quantitative information concerning nuclear size distribution. This paper describes and evaluates a method for counting and determining the size distribution of isolated diploid and tetraploid hepatic cell nuclei of the rat by means of an electronic particle counter. RNA and DNA values per nucleus are reported for diploid and tetraploid classes.
DOES LIVER SUPPLY FACTORS IN ADDITION TO IRON AND COPPER FOR HEMOGLOBIN REGENERATION IN NUTRITIONAL ANEMIA

1. Our data indicate that the effectiveness of whole liver in the treatment of nutritional anemia in rats induced by a milk diet is directly proportional to its available iron and copper content. The other constituents in liver are not needed for maximum hemoglobin regeneration on a diet of milk, iron, copper, and manganese. 2. Commercial preparations of liver products with iron or iron and copper vary greatly in their hemoglobin-regenerating efficiency in rats with nutritional anemia. The variation is correlated directly with the iron and copper content of the preparation. When the copper-iron ratio was too wide hemoglobin regeneration was checked, although the iron supply was sufficient for optimum regeneration.
Burst Production by Mesotrons

Assuming that, under great absorbing thicknesses, cosmic-ray bursts are cascade showers from high energy soft secondaries produced in the shielding matter by mesotron-electron collisions and by mesotron bremsstrahlung, we have calculated the frequency of burst production as a function of burst size. For the mesotron of spin 1 and moment eℏ/2μc, we have used the previously calculated knock-on formulae, supplemented by our own calculations of the bremsstrahlung; for the latter, the cross section has terms, significant for our work, in E, ln2 E, and ln E. Up to energies close to 10^11 ev, only slight modifications are introduced by omitting altogether those processes which cannot be treated by the Born approximation, and the minimum cross sections we used differ little from those given directly by the Born approximation. Using these cross sections, the cascade theory of showers, and a modified form of the Furry model to take into account the fluctuations, the frequency of burst production was calculated. The sea-level data of Schein and Gill give for the number of bursts of size greater than S, NS∼S^-γ, with γ=1.8. Our calculations give for spin 1, γ∼1.5 and numerically too many by a factor of 20. Similar calculations for the mesotron of spin 0 give γ∼1.8 and the same in number as the observations within an uncertainty of about a factor 1.5. For spin ½ and moment eℏ/2μc, the bursts are approximately twice as numerous as for spin 0. This evidence thus favors spin 0, or possibly spin ½, but tends to exclude spin 1.
An inclusive view of player modeling

"Player modeling" is a loose concept. It can equally apply to everything from a predictive model of player actions resulting from machine learning to a designer's description of a player's expected reactions in response to some piece of game content. This lack of a precise terminology prevents practitioners from quickly finding introductions to applicable modeling methods or determining viable alternatives to their own techniques. We introduce a vocabulary that distinguishes between the major existing player modeling applications and techniques. Four facets together define the kind for a model: the scope of application, the purpose of use, the domain of modeled details, and the source of a model's derivation or motivation. This vocabulary allows the identification of relevant player modeling methods for particular problems and clarifies the roles that a player model can take.
Humidity-dependence of IPMC sensing dynamics: characterization and modeling from a physical perspective

Ionic polymer−metal composites (IPMCs) exhibit humidity-dependent sensing behavior when operating in air, which weakens the reliability of the IPMC sensors. To better understand the underlying physics of this behavior and capture the humidity-dependence analytically, in this paper the influence of the ambient humidity on IPMC sensors is characterized and modeled from a physical perspective. In particular, we study a cantilevered IPMC beam subjected to base-excitation inside a custom-built humidity chamber with controlled humidity level. The empirical frequency responses of the sensor dynamics under different humidity levels are first obtained. Charging experiments are also conducted under each humidity level, in order to identify the corresponding effective dielectric constant. At each given humidity level, the humidity-dependent physical parameters are identified by curve-fitting the measured frequency responses with the model predictions. These identified parameters indicate a noticeable dependence on the humidity, which is captured with polynomial functions. The polynomial functions are then plugged into the physics-based model to predict the sensing output of the IPMC sensor under other humidity conditions. Additional experimental results are presented to support the effectiveness of the model.
An electrophoretic study of the detergency process

By using a micro-electrophoresis technique, the electrokinetic behavior of cotton and a clay soil was studied in various surfactant, tripolyphosphate, and carboxymethylcellulose solutions. Correlative soil-deposition studies were also made.
Defining the Cellular Target(s) of Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome Virus Blocking Monoclonal Antibody 7G10

We produced a monoclonal antibody (MAb) (7G10) that has blocking activity against porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV). In this study, we identified the components of the 7G10 MAb-bound complex as cytoskeletal filaments: vimentin, cytokeratin 8, cytokeratin 18, actin, and hair type II basic keratin. Vimentin bound to PRRSV nucleocapsid protein and anti-vimentin antibodies showed PRRSV-blocking activity. Vimentin was expressed on the surface of MARC-145, a PRRSV-susceptible cell line. Simian vimentin rendered BHK-21 and CRFK, nonsusceptible cell lines, susceptible to PRRSV infection. These results suggest that vimentin is part of the PRRSV receptor complex and that it plays an important role in PRRSV binding with the other cytoskeletal filaments that mediate transportation of the virus in the cytosol.
Oxygen and Glucose Uptake and Lactate Production in Polycystic Rat Ovary1

The polycystic ovary, induced in vivo by hypothyroidism and hCG, was used as a model to study changes in oxygen and glucose uptake and lactate production all measured in vitro during the development of an ovarian dysfunction. Besides the polycystic ovary, three control groups were monitored: a) normal ovarian tissue; b) hypothyroid ovarian tissue; and c) luteinized (hCG) ovarian tissue. There were early differences between normal and hypothyroid ovarian tissue with respect to oxygen consumption, glucose uptake or lactate production that disappeared with prolonged treatment. hCG markedly stimulated all of the measured parameters in both the euthyroid and hypothyroid rats. HCG stimulated oxygen uptake 1.4-fold in both the euthyroid and hypothyroid rats after 20 injections. Aerobic glucose uptake was stimulated by hCG 2.7-fold in normal ovarian tissue and 3.5-fold in hypothyroid ovarian tissue. Anaerobiosis stimulated glucose uptake 1.6 to 2.6-fold in both the hypothyroid and euthyroid ovaries indicating the...
Cooperative distributed state estimation: Local observability relaxed

This paper explores a fully distributed state estimation algorithm in multi-area interconnected power systems. By iteratively exchanging information with neighboring control areas, all the balancing authorities (control areas) can achieve an unbiased estimate of the entire interconnection's states. Compared with existing literature on distributed or hierarchical state estimation, the novelty of the proposed approach lies in that: (1) no assumption is needed for all the areas to be locally observable; (2) communication structure can be different than the physical topology of the power network; and (3) no central coordinator is needed for the state estimation in each local control area to achieve provable convergence of the entire system's states with the centralized estimation. The performance of the proposed algorithm is illustrated in the IEEE 14-bus system.
Twitch-Obtaining Intramuscular Stimulation: Observations in the Management of Radiculopathic Chronic Low Back Pain

Objectives: To display the effect of twitch-obtaining intramuscular stimulation [TOIMS] in chronic lower back pain management and to identify characteristics of patients who respond best to TOIMS.Methods: Retrospective analysis included 32 consecutive patients who failed conventional treatment for low back and/or lower extremity pain. All patients referred for TOIMS received such treatment. Analysis included TOIMS patients treated between January, 1992 through June, 1995. Treatments occurred weekly or every two weeks. The controls were patients with similar symptoms referred for electrodiagnosis and received only standard treatment [StdRx, not including TOIMS] for lower back pain management. Assessment of outcomes occurred at a mean of 30.9 ± 10.8 months. The main outcome measures studied were pain reduction and return to work.Results: Patients who received TOIMS had significantly longer symptom duration, and there were more patients with fibromyalgia, spinal stenosis, and failed lumbar surgeries. At foll...
The importance and subtlety of credit rating migration

Abstract Bond ratings are usually first assigned by rating agencies to public debt at the time of issuance and are periodically reviewed by the rating companies. If deemed warranted, changes in ratings are assigned after the review. A change in a rating reflects the agency’s assessment that the company’s credit quality has improved (upgrade) or deteriorated (downgrade). A coincident effect, in some proximity to the date of the rating change, is a change in the price of the issue. This article reports on an in-depth investigation of the expected ratings changes (drift) over time. Our analysis compares rating changes from the two major agencies, Moody’s and S&P, over the period 1970–1996. For the first time, results from several studies which have documented and analyzed these data patterns are contrasted. Depending upon which study one uses, the results and implications can be very different. We expect that the findings will have implications for such diverse practitioners as bond investors who concentrate on any or all segments of the corporate bond market, eg., high yield bond and “crossover” investors, mark-to-market analysts, and traders in the new and growing market for credit-risk-derivatives and for the many analysts who properly view that credit quality assessment involves the entire spectrum of possible outcomes, not just default. A follow-up study will analyze, in greater depth, two critical characteristics of the rating drift phenomenon. These are unexpected, as well as expected, rating migration patterns and also the implied impact on the price of the fixed income instrument.
Knowledge and perceived risk of smoking-related conditions: a survey of cigarette smokers.

Abstract Background Previous studies suggest that smokers minimize the personal health risk of smoking. Smokers may not be aware of the various smoking-related disease risks or believe that they are susceptible to them. Methods We presented 537 adult treatment-seeking smokers with a list of 34 medical conditions, of which 25 were smoking-related conditions, and 9 were nonsmoking-related items. Subjects were asked to identify which medical conditions were smoking-related, and to rate their perceived risk (using a 7-point Likert scale) of developing various smoking-related conditions if they continued to smoke. Results The average percentage of knowledge items correct for each disease category included cardiovascular (93%), pulmonary (94%), oral health diseases (89%), smoking-related cancers (71%), and reproductive risks (44%). Premature death was identified as a risk by 95% of smokers yet only 63.5% reported that disability could also result from smoking. Knowledge was associated with perceived risk of smoking-related illnesses across disease categories. Conclusions Knowledge and perceived risk of cardiovascular, pulmonary, and oral disease was high among current smokers; knowledge and perceived risk of reproductive-related problems, and cancers other than lung cancer was much lower. Smokers recognize that smoking may result in premature death, but are less likely to acknowledge that smoking could result in a disability significantly affecting their quality of life.
SURVIVAL AND GROWTH OF TWO STOCKS OF PRESMOLT CHINOOK SALMON HELD OVERWINTER IN MARINE NET-PENS WITH AN ARTIFICIAL FRESHWATER LENS

Abstract Two hatchery stocks of juvenile spring chinook salmon Oncorhynchus tshawytscha originating from two southeast Alaska rivers were reared in freshwater to an average size of 8–10 g and placed in marine net-pens with an artificial freshwater lens system (AFLS) at four entry times from mid-September to early November 1987. Overwinter survival to May 1988 averaged 83.6% for Unuk River stock and 76.0% for Chickamin River stock and did not differ significantly in the AFLS among the four entry dates. Survival over 24 h differed significantly when entry was directly into 30‰ seawater. The 24-h plasma sodium levels in the juveniles challenged to either full-strength seawater or marine net-pens with an AFLS were not useful predictors of overwinter survival. Over winter, both stocks grew significantly better in the AFLS than in freshwater. The AFLS appears to be a cost-effective means of substantially increasing smolt production while minimizing freshwater use.
A simple model for molecular frame photoelectron angular distributions

Abstract Molecular frame photoelectron angular distributions (MFPADs) contain information about both the initial and final states of the molecule and the photoionization dynamics. In this paper, we explore qualitative features of MFPADs given simple assumptions about the bound states involved in the photoionization process and about the scattering process.
Extended‐chain crystals. II. Crystallization of polyethylene under elevated pressure

A report on crystallization of polyethylene at elevated pressures to an extended-chain morphology is presented. The crystals have been characterized by electron microscopy and density determination. Pressure, supercooling (temperature), and crystallization time have been varied to find the best conditions for production of perfect crystals. At 10–30°C supercooling completely crystallized polyethylene was obtained between 4.5 and 7 kb crystallization pressure in 1–8 hr. Analysis of fracture surfaces of samples crystallized for different lengths of time shows an increase in size and number of crystal lamellae and an improvement of extended chain crystals in the early stages of crystallization. A further improvement of the less well crystallized material between the lamellae occurs after 15 min of crystallization time.
Nozick's Socrates

1. Two of the most intriguing issues arising from the Socratic dialogues are Socrates' disclaimer of knowledge, and the nature of the elenchus. It is important to understand these issues not only because they are central to the Socratic dialogues, but also because they raise such fundamental questions about epistemology. It is therefore exciting to see that Robert Nozick who has, among other things, made significant contributions to epistemology has recently devoted his attention to them.' In this brief reply, I explore his interpretation.
A flexible object merging framework

The need to merge different versions of an object to a common state arises in collaborative computing due to several reasons including optimistic concurrency control, asynchronous coupling, and absence of access control. We have developed a flexible object merging framework that allows definition of the merge policy based on the particular application and the context of the collaborative activity. It performs automatic, semi-automatic, and interactive merges, supports semantics-determined merges, operates on objects with arbitrary structure and semantics, and allows fine-grained specification of merge policies. It is based on an existing collaborative applications framework and consists of a merge matrix, which defines merge functions and their parameters and allows definition of multiple merge policies, and a merge algorithm, which performs the merge based on the results computed by the merge functions. In conjunction with our framework we introduce a set of merge policies for several useful kinds of merges we have identified. This paper motivates the need for a general approach to merging, identifies some important merging issues, surveys previous research in merging, identifies a list of merge requirements, describes our merging framework and illustrates it with examples, and evaluates the framework with respect to the requirements and other research efforts in merging objects.
The evolution and functional diversification of animal microRNA genes.

microRNAs (miRNAs) are an abundant class of ~22 nucleotide (nt) regulatory RNAs that are pervasive in higher eukaryotic genomes. In order to fully understand their prominence in genomes, it is necessary to elucidate the molecular mechanisms that can diversify miRNA activities. In this review, we describe some of the many strategies that allow novel miRNA functions to emerge, with particular emphasis on how miRNA genes evolve in animals. These mechanisms include changes in their sequence, processing, or expression pattern; acquisition of miRNA* functionality or antisense processing; and de novo gene birth. The facility and versatility of miRNAs to evolve and change likely underlies how they have become dominant constituents of higher genomes.
Abstract A31: Roles of Nogo-B receptor (NgBR) in regulating Ras translocation and modulating breast cancer cell sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drug and irradiation

Ras, a critical oncogene, is one of small GTPase family members. It is active when bound to GTP and inactive when bound to GDP. The activation process needs membrane translocation of Ras because its activators are recruited by membrane receptors, such as EGF receptors. In addition, appropriate localization of activated Ras also is critical for interacting with the downstream effectors. Therefore, regulation of Ras membrane translocation is very important for Ras function. Nogo-B receptor (NgBR) is a type I receptor with a single transmembrane domain. Our previous work has shown that axon guidance gene family Nogo-B and its receptor (NgBR) are essential for chemotaxis and morphogenesis of endothelial cells in vitro and blood vessel formation in Zebrafish. Here, we demonstrate that NgBR can bind and recruit farnesylated Ras to plasma membrane, which results in the activation of PI3K-Akt and Raf-MEK-ERK signaling pathways in human breast cancer cells. Direct interaction between NgBR and farnesylated Ras has been demonstrated by co-immunoprecipitation of MBP-NgBR from incubation of purified recombinant farnesylated Ras and MBP-NgBR protein. Knockdown of NgBR in MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer cells remarkably reduces the amount of membrane-associated Ras. These results suggest that NgBR is a potential modulator for Ras translocation. Knockdown of NgBR expression in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells decreases cancer cell colony formation, and abolishes EGF-stimulated Ras activation and phosphorylation of Akt in MDA-MB-231 cells. In addition, overexpression of NgBR caused the transformation of NIH-3T3 cells via increasing Ras plasma membrane translocation and enhancing EGF-stimulated Ras signaling. Knockdown of NgBR decreases the survival and colony formation of MDA-MB-231 cells after irradiation and increases the cisplatin-induced apoptosis and Caspase-3 activity of MDA-MB-231 Cells. These results suggest that NgBR can increase MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cell sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drug and irradiation. Consequently, our preliminary results further demonstrated that inducible knockdown of NgBR in tumor xenograft of MDA-MB-231 cells in nude mice significantly retards tumor growth. Thus, these data demonstrate that NgBR is a unique receptor that recruits farnesylated Ras to the plasma membrane via its hydrophobic cytoplasmic domain and then activates both PI3K-Akt and Raf-MEK-ERK pathways in human breast cancer cells. Collectively, it is the first study to demonstrate that NgBR is a potential therapeutic target for inhibiting Ras-dependent growth of breast cancer and decreasing the sensitivity of breast cancer cells to chemotherapeutic drug and irradiation.
Smooth Muscle Proliferation is a Histologic Feature of Airway Remodeling in Summer Pasture Associated Recurrent Airway Obstruction

s / Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 31 (2011) 230-356 246 improves our understanding of the temporal transcriptional responses to exercise in this tissue. The findings clearly suggest that metabolic capacity of entrained muscle should be optimal at times of day that coincide with the training regime.
A Dynamically-Reconfigurable Phased Array Radar Processing System

Digital beam forming is an important radar processing technique used in many communication and radar sensing applications. This paper presents a low-cost digital beam forming system which takes advantage of four eight channel analog-to-digital (A-to-D) converter chips and dynamic FPGA reconfiguration. A full digital beam forming algorithm capable of forming up to 24 beams from 64 antenna input signals is described. FPGA reconfiguration is performed in 400 ms allowing for FPGA ret asking of the associated radar for weather and aircraft tracking. Beam forming performance of 64.2 GOPs per second for weather tracking and 72.2 GOPs per second for aircraft tracking is reported. The complete low cost digital beam forming board, including parts and assembly, costs less than $3,000.
CULTURAL COMPETENCE COLUMN WHAT ELSE IS NECESSARY

The capacity for cultural competence, whether in an individual or an agency, relies on open communication and skills in interacting with the community and clients served. Cross-cultural communicati...
Restoring Force Surface Analysis of Nonlinear Vibration Data From Micro-Cantilever Beams

The responses of micro-cantilever beams, with lengths ranging from 100-1500 microns, have been found to exhibit nonlinear dynamic characteristics at very low vibration amplitudes and in near vacuum. This work seeks to find a functional form for the nonlinear forces acting on the beams in order to aide in identifying their cause. In this paper, the restoring force surface method is used to non-parametrically identify the nonlinear forces acting on a 200 micron long beam. The beam response to sinusoidal excitation contains as many as 19 significant harmonics within the measurement bandwidth. The nonlinear forces on the beam are found to be oscillatory and to depend on the beam velocity. A piecewise linear curve is fit to the response in order to more easily compare the restoring forces obtained at various amplitudes. The analysis illustrates the utility of the restoring force surface method on a system with complex and highly nonlinear forces.
Efficient monitoring of ω-languages

We present a technique for generating efficient monitors for ω-regular-languages. We show how Buchi automata can be reduced in size and transformed into special, statistically optimal nondeterministic finite state machines, called binary transition tree finite state machines (BTT-FSMs), which recognize precisely the minimal bad prefixes of the original ω-regular-language. The presented technique is implemented as part of a larger monitoring framework and is available for download.
Computing depth maps from descent imagery

In the exploration of the other planets of our solar system, images taken during a lander's descent to the surface of a planet provide a critical link between orbital images and surface images. The descent images not only allow us to locate the landing site in a global coordinate frame, but also provide progressively higher-resolution maps for mission planning. The paper addresses the generation of depth maps from the descent images. Our approach has two steps: motion refinement and depth recovery. During motion refinement, we use an initial motion estimate in order to avoid the intrinsic ambiguity in descending motions. The objective of the motion refinement step is to adjust the motion parameters such that the epipolar constraints are valid between adjacent frames. The depth recovery step correlates adjacent frames to match pixels for triangulation. Due to the descending motion, the conventional rectification process is replaced by a set of anti-aliasing image warpings corresponding to a set of virtual parallel planes. We demonstrate experimental results on synthetic and real descent images.
Coupling of theta activity and glucose metabolism in the human rostral anterior cingulate cortex: An EEG/PET study of normal and depressed subjects

In rodents, theta rhythm has been linked to the hippocampal formation, as well as other regions, including the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). To test the role of the ACC in theta rhythm, concurrent measurements of brain electrical activity (EEG) and glucose metabolism (PET) were performed in 29 subjects at baseline. EEG data were analyzed with a source localization technique that enabled voxelwise correlations of EEG and PET data. For theta, but not other bands, the rostral ACC (Brodmann areas 24/32) was the largest cluster with positive correlations between current density and glucose metabolism. Positive correlations were also found in right fronto-temporal regions. In control but not depressed subjects, theta within ACC and prefrontal/orbitofrontal regions was positively correlated. The results reveal a link between theta and cerebral metabolism in the ACC as well as disruption of functional connectivity within frontocingulate pathways in depression.
Rhythm genes sing more than one tune: noncanonical functions of cardiac ion channels.

There are 20 to 25 000 genes in the human genome. About 40% have no known function, but cardiac electrophysiologists probably think that they know their slice of the genome well. After all, there have been decades of research on the cardiac action potential and the ion channels that propagate it. A small, but growing number of reports, however, reveal noncanonical functions of ion channels that have nothing to do with the heartbeat. For example, congenital heart defects have been associated with long QT syndrome in rare cases. To investigate the relationship, Duff and colleagues generated a mouse mutant that carried the N629D mutation in the endogenous Kcnh2 gene, ie, targeted knock-in. Mutations of KCNH2 , also referred to as hERG or mERG in the human or mouse, cause long QT syndrome. The homozygous N629D/N629D mutation is lethal by day 11.5 of gestation (analogous to 7 weeks in humans). On day 9.5, the embryos have an irregular rhythm with pauses and no detectable I Kr current. If the overall phenotype were simply explained by the arrhythmia, the result would be reassuringly consistent with what we know about cardiac electrophysiology. The homozygous N629D mutation, however, also disrupted the development of the right ventricle, outflow tract, and vasculature from the aorta to …
Behavioral patterns and brain nucleic acid and pyridoxal phosphate contents of male rat progeny from vitamin B-6-repleted dams.

The effects of vitamin B-6 repletion at various stages of development were evaluated by biochemical and behavioral parameters. Five groups of dams received diets containing suboptimal, 15 /ig, and one group, control, 90 Â?ug, levels of pyridoxine daily 2 weeks before mating. Three groups of dams fed suboptimal levels were switched to the control diet 2 weeks after conception, at parturition, or 1 week after parturition. At weaning, male offspring were fed the same pyridoxine level as their respective dams except one group whose dams were fed the suboptimal diet received the control. Behavioral tests were administered at 50 days of age. Rats fed suboptimal diets and those receiving B-6 repletion at weaning tended to have lower activity scores, signifi cantly lower curiosity scores, somewhat fewer correct tone discrimination responses, and significantly different distributions of timing responses than other rats. Brains from these same two groups of rats had significantly lower DNA, RNA and protein contents. Nonrepleted animals had significantly lower brain pyridoxal phosphate values than those that received vitamin repletion at or before weaning. The biochemical and be havioral assessments were in general agreement and were mutually supportive. Curiosity and timing behavior are proposed as standard criteria in animal learning studies. J. Nutr. 104: 810-818, 1974.
Photoperiodic Responses of Brassica campestris cv. Ceres

The photoperiodic responses of Brassica campestris L. cv. Ceres were investigated to determine the suitability of this plant for further studies on the spectral require ments for floral initiation. This is a long-day plant, sensitive to one inductive photocycle on the fourth day from germination. The flowering response increased with the length and intensity of a single period of supplementary light used to extend an 8-hour daylength and was greatest at 25°C. Application of nitrates retarded floral initiation by about two days under short day conditions, but did not affect the re sponse to one long day. Gibberellic acid induced earlier floral initiation under short day conditions. The photoperiodic response was little affected by omitting the main light period immediately before or after the supplementary light, as long as the intensity of supplementary light was greater than 5000 lux. Short interruptions (5–10 minutes) of a single 16-hour dark period with high energy red or far-red radiation did not promote flowering. When given continuously during a single 16-hour dark period, far-red radiation was more effective in flower promotion than an equal energy of red.