cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Functional protein expression from a DNA based wheat germ cell-free system

Wheat germ based eukaryotic cell-free systems have been shown to be applicable for both functional and structural analyses of proteins. However, the existing methods might require specialized instrumentation and/or a separate mRNA synthesis step. We have developed a DNA based, highly productive, coupled transcription/translation wheat germ cell-free system that incorporates the normally separate mRNA synthesis step and does not require specialized instrumentation. Using a small-volume batch reaction with fluorescence labeling, DNA templates predicted to encode proteins could be quickly screened for their ability to direct the expression of proteins of the appropriate size. Protein yield can be increased as much as 2 to 4-fold in this system using a dialysis reaction, reaching ∼200–440 μg/ml in 10–20 h. Furthermore, enzyme activities can be assayed directly in the extract without further purification. Simple purification with affinity tags can be achieved in one-step and with minor modifications, efficient SeMet and [U-15N] labeling of >95% can be accomplished in this system. Thus, this efficient cell-free expression system can facilitate both functional and structural proteomics.
Identification of I-A β-chain residues critical for T cell recognition of peptide antigens

Major histocompatibility complex (MHC)-restricted recognition of antigen by T lymphocytes involves the formation of a complex composed of the T cell receptor, antigen, and restricting MHC molecule. To elucidate the interactions occurring within the antigen recognition complex, we have evaluated the ability of a panel of cell lines expressing mutated I-Ak molecules to function in the recognition by T hybridoma cells of two distinct peptide antigens. Our results indicate that while alterations along the entire length of the proposed helical structure in the carboxyterminal half of the beta 1 domain interfere with the I-Ak-restricted recognition of human fibrinopeptide B, mutations which affect recognition of hen egg lysozyme/I-Ak fall almost exclusively in the central portion of the helix. On the basis of these and previous results, we propose a "T cell receptor-mediated peptide exchange model" for formation of the antigen recognition complex.
New groups focus on hydraulic fracturing

The Scientific Advisory Board of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has formed a 31-member expert panel to conduct a peer review of the agency's upcoming draft report on the potential effects of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources, EPA announced on 24 March. Panel members include experts in a number of areas, including petroleum/natural gas engineering, geology/geophysics, and waste water and drinking water treatment.
Maintaining the Protection of Non-Combatants

This article brings moral analysis to bear on the distinctive problem of maintaining the protection of non-combatants in contemporary warfare. While all warfare imposes burdens on non-combatants, m...
VIIRS ocean color data visualization and processing with IDL-based NOAA-SeaDAS

The NOAA Sea-viewing Data Analysis System (NOAA-SeaDAS) is an Interactive Data Language (IDL)-based satellite data visualization, analysis, and processing system based on the version 6.4 of the NASA’s Sea-viewing Wide Field-ofview (SeaWiFS) Data Analysis System (SeaDAS) released in 2012. NOAA-SeaDAS inherited all the original functionalities of SeaDAS 6.4 and was upgraded with many new functions and new sensor supports, particularly the support of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) onboard the Suomi National Polar-Orbiting Partnership (SNPP). The main goal of the NOAA-SeaDAS development is primarily in support of NOAA ocean color team’s calibration and validation activities. The current version of NOAA-SeaDAS can visualize, analyze, and process VIIRS Sensor Data Records (SDR or Level-1B data) produced by the NOAA Interface Data Processing System (IDPS), ocean color Environmental Data Records (EDR or Level-2 data) produced by the NOAA Multi-Sensor Level-1 to Level- 2 (MSL12) ocean color data processing system, and Level-3 data binned or mapped from Level-2 data produced by NOAA-MSL12. NOAA-SeaDAS is currently serving an active IDL user group at NOAA and will serve other institutions and universities in the future. The goal is to allow various scientific users to visualize, analyze, and process VIIRS data from Level-1B through Level-2 and Level-3. In addition, NOAA-SeaDAS can also visualize satellite images from the Korean Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI), as well as many other satellite ocean color sensors, e.g., SeaWiFS, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), etc. NOAA-SeaDAS is under constant development to create new system functionalities and enhance user experience. With constantly increasing volume in the global ocean color data archive, NOAA-SeaDAS will play an important role in support of global marine environment data analysis and various scientific applications.
Microscopic magnetic resonance elastography (μMRE)

Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) was extended to the microscopic scale to image low-frequency acoustic shear waves (typically less than 1 kHz) in soft gels and soft biological tissues with high spatial resolution (34 μm × 34 μm × 500 μm). Microscopic MRE (μMRE) was applied to agarose gel phantoms, frog oocytes, and tissue-engineered adipogenic and osteogenic constructs. Analysis of the low-amplitude shear wave pattern in the samples allowed the material stiffness and viscous loss properties (complex shear stiffness) to be identified with high spatial resolution. μMRE experiments were conducted at 11.74 T in a 56-mm vertical bore magnet with a 10 mm diameter × 75 mm length cylindrical space available for the elastography imaging system. The acoustic signals were generated at 550–585 Hz using a piezoelectric transducer and high capacitive loading amplifier. Shear wave motion was applied in synchrony with the MR pulse sequence. The field of view (FOV) ranged from 4 to 14 mm for a typical slice thickness of 0.5 mm. Increasing the agarose gel concentration resulted in an increase in shear elasticity and shear viscosity. Shear wave motion propagated through the frog oocyte nucleus, enabling the measurement of its shear stiffness, and in vitro shear wave images displayed contrast between adipogenic and osteogenic tissue-engineered constructs. Further development of μMRE should enable its use in characterizing stiffer materials (e.g., polymers, composites, articular cartilage) and assessing with high resolution the mechanical properties of developing tissues. Magn Reson Med, 2005. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
TPPA and tobacco control: threats to APEC countries

Background Twelve-member countries of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) are negotiating the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), a free trade agreement to facilitate international trade and investment. As reported by multiple sources, the TPPA would grant the same trade benefits and legal protections to tobacco products, services and investments that it would provide to other sectors. Malaysia proposed excluding tobacco control measures from the scope of all TPPA chapters while the US proposed only to establish a consultation process in tobacco-related disputes and to declare that tobacco control measures serve a health objective within the scope of the general exceptions. Methods The article analyses selected TPPA trade and investment rules and shows how they strengthen the ability of tobacco companies or a country to challenge the most progressive tobacco control measures. In the absence of a complete TPPA text, the analysis is based on specific leaked chapters, legal analysis from observers in the negotiations, existing free trade agreements among the TPPA parties and positions of the tobacco industry and its allies. Results and conclusions Five TPPA chapters pose the most significant threats to tobacco control measures: Investment, Regulatory Coherence, Services, Intellectual Property and Technical Barriers to Trade. Trade negotiators should expand safeguards to ensure that the TPPA does no harm. The most effective would be to exclude (carve out) tobacco control measures from the scope of all TPPA chapters, as Malaysia has proposed.
Prediction of LI-SF6 wick combustion

A theoretical and experimental investigation was conducted to study the wick combustion of lithium (Li) and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). The wick combustion experiments were conducted in a vacuum chamber at a pressure of 0.01 MPa. At this condition, the wick combustion of Li and SF6 yields a bright luminous flame. During the combustion, the lithium bath temperature was maintained near its saturation temperature at the system pressure. A prediction model based on the conserved-scalar approach is presented along with an interface analysis. The predicted interface temperature was in agreement with the experimental liquid bath temperature. The model prediction yields a reasonable flame stand off distance as compared to the experiments reported elsewhere. The flowfleld analysis shows self-similar solutions for planar wick combustion of Li and SF6 and nonsimilar solutions for the cylindrical wick combustion. Property variations and wick curvature are found important to the flowfleld prediction of the Li-SF6 wick diffusion flame. Nomenclature A - parameter, Eq. (15) c - parameter, Eq. (8) D - binary diffusion coefficient DK - species parameter, Eq. (28) / = dimensionless stream function, Eq. (7) Gr = Grashof number, Eq. (15) g - acceleration of gravity H = plate or cylinder height h = enthalpy k - thermal conductivity L = enthalpy of gasification NK - species parameter, Eq. (28) Pr = Prandtl number T - temperature u - streamwise velocity v = cross-stream velocity x = streamwise direction y, = mass fraction of species / y = cross-stream direction y0 = radius of cylindrical wick Z = mixture fraction 17 = similarity variable, Eq. (10) jti = dynamic viscosity v — kinematic viscosity f = similarity variable, Eq. (10) p - density ^ = stream function, Eq. (9) a) = source term to account for the polymerization of gas species, Eq. (21)
Reevaluation of the Cu–Hf binary system

Abstract The phase diagram and thermodynamic properties of the Cu–Hf system are reevaluated based on the available experimental data in the literature. The Redlich–Kister polynomial is used to describe the excess Gibbs energies of the liquid phase as well as the terminal phases. All the intermetallics are treated as stoichiometric compounds. Based on the optimization technique in CALPHAD, a self-consistent thermodynamic description of the Cu–Hf system is obtained. The calculated phase diagrams as well as the thermodynamic properties are compared with the experimental results, and a satisfactory agreement is obtained.
POULTRY PRODUCT QUALITY. 3. Organoleptic Evaluation of Cooked Chicken and Turkey Skin Fractions as Affected by Storage Time and Temperature

SUMMARY: Cooked turkey and chicken skin residue and separated drippings or oil were stored at various temperatures then presented to a trained taste panel for flavor evaluation. Panel members were able to discriminate between a control (unstored) and a sample of residue after 3 wk of storage at 40°F. They were not able to differentiate between control and treatment (stored) oil even after 7 wk of storage. When chicken skin residue and oil were evaluated after storage at 40°F the panel members could detect differences between the residue samples at 3 wk, but unlike the turkey oil stored at the same temperature they indicated discriminatory ability after 1 wk of storage. When both cooked chicken and turkey skin fractions were presented to the panel at the same time without a reference control (unstored) they were able to identify differences but could not indicate a clear preference for either one.
Measurements of OH(X²π) in the stratosphere by high resolution UV spectroscopy

This paper reports the first results obtained using high spectral resolution imaging ultraviolet spectroscopy to observe multiple rotational lines of OH A2 Sigma-X2pi (0-0) band. A 9.2 A spectral segment from 3075.8 A to 3085.0 A is imaged at 0.08 A FWHM spectral resolution, allowing the simultaneous acquisition of six of the brightest OH resonance fluorescence emission lines. The high spectral resolution and low scattered light design of the instrument allows these lines to be detected above the Rayleigh scattered sunlight background. The technique permits remote sensing of stratospheric OH from a high altitude instrument. The instrument was flown to an altitude of 40 km on Aug. 25, 1983, and again on June 12, 1986, on scientific balloons from Palestine, TX. The OH profiles inverted from the limb scans made during these flights are reported here. These profiles represent the first measurements of the temporal variation of OH over an extended height range. The results demonstrate that the technique can be used to monitor OH from orbit.
Endothelial progenitor cells.

Vascular endothelial cells form a lining — one cell thick — for all the blood vessels in the body, providing a critical interface between the vessel itself and blood-borne elements. From this locat...
Influence of deformation upon domain wall pinning defect spectrum in 50-50 NiFe

Abstract A measurement of the distribution function of magnetically active defects in 50-50% Ni-Fe was made before and after mild mechanical deformation (ϵ ⋍ 10 −3 ). After deformation, the distribution function has two maxima instead of the usual one. The results are interpreted in terms of interactions of magnetic domain walls with grain boundaries which, as a result of the deformation, apparently provide more effective pinning sites.
Necessity of conserved asparagine residues in the leucine-rich repeats of platelet glycoprotein Ibα for the proper conformation and function of the ligand-binding region

The polypeptides of the platelet von Willebrand factor (vWf) receptor, the GP Ib-IX-V complex, each contain tandem repeats of a sequence that assigns them to the leucine-rich repeat protein family. Here, we studied the role of conserved Asn residues in the leucine-rich repeats of GP Ib alpha, the ligand-binding subunit of the complex. We replaced the Asn residue in the sixth position of the first or sixth leucine-rich repeat (of seven) either with a bulky, charged Lys residue or with a Ser residue (sometimes found in the same position of other leucine-rich repeats) and studied the effect of the mutations on complex expression, modulator-dependent vWf binding, and interactions with immobilized vWf under fluid shear stress. As predicted, the Lys substitutions yielded more severe phenotypes, producing proteins that either were rapidly degraded within the cell (mutant N158K) or failed to bind vWf in the presence of ristocetin or roll on immobilized vWf under fluid shear stress (mutant N41K). The binding of function-blocking GP Ib alpha antibodies to the N41K mutant was either significantly reduced (AK2 and SZ2) or abolished (AN51 and CLB-MB45). Ser mutations were tolerated much better, although both mutants demonstrated subtle defects in vWf binding. These results suggest a vital role for the conserved asparagine residues in the leucine-rich repeats of GP Ib alpha for the structure and functions of this polypeptide. The finding that mutations in the first leucine-rich repeat had a much more profound effect on vWf binding indicates that the more N-terminal repeats may be directly involved in this interaction.
A note on non-singular deterministic pushdown automata

Abstract The non-singular deterministic pushdown automata were first defined by Valiant as an example of a class of machines with a decidable equivalence problem [3]. No algorithm currently exist for deciding whether or not a deterministic pushdown automation is non-singular, so the applicability of Valiant's equivalence decision procedure cannot be readily (if ever) determined. In this paper, it is shown that the equivalence problem for non-singular automata is reducible to the problem of deciding whether or not a deterministic pushdown automaton is non-singular.
Low molecular weight mercaptoethanol sensitive antibody in rabbits.

Abstract Rabbit antibody prepared against the group a (heavy chain) allotypic specifcities of the rabbit has been shown to posses unexpected liablity. Antibody activity is markedly reduced by treatment of antisera with mercaptoethanol or by dialysis against buffer of low ionic strength. By disc electrophoresis the mobiligy of the antibody is similar to that of IgG. Gradient centrifugation and gel filtration indicate that its molecular weight is appreciably lower than that of IgG. It is not inactivated by antisera directed against rabbit IgM or IgA but is inactivated by antisera directed against rabbit Fcγ or the group b (light chain) allotype specificity it possesses. This combination of properties suggests that these antaibodies may constitute a new class of rabbit immunoglobulin. Antibodies of this type have been obtained against other antigenic determinants, but the conditions necessary to elicit a response consisting primarily of this comopnent remain to be defined.
Reaction Mechanism of Human DNA Repair Excision Nuclease

Nucleotide excision repair consists of removal of the damaged nucleotide(s) from DNA by dual incision of the damaged strand on both sides of the lesion, followed by filling of the resulting gap and ligation. In humans, 14-16 polypeptides are required for the dual incision step. We have purified the required proteins to homogeneity and reconstituted the dual incision activity (excision nuclease) in a defined enzyme/substrate system. The system was highly efficient, removing >30% of the thymine dimers under optimal conditions. All of the six fractions that constitute the excision nuclease were required for dual incision of the thymine dimer substrate. However, when a cholesterol-substituted oligonucleotide was used as substrate, excision occurred in the absence of the XPC-HHR23B complex, reminiscent of transcription-coupled repair in the XP-C mutant cell line. Replication protein A is absolutely required for both incisions. The XPG subunit is essential to the formation of the preincision complex, but the repair complex can assemble and produce normal levels of 3′-incision in the absence of XPF-ERCC1. Kinetic experiments revealed that the 3′-incision precedes the 5′-incision. Consistent with the kinetic data, uncoupled 5′-incision was never observed in the reconstituted system. Two forms of TFIIH were used in the reconstitution reaction, one containing the CDK7-cyclin H pair and one lacking it. Both forms were equally active in excision. The excised oligomer dissociated from the gapped DNA in a nucleoprotein complex. In total, these results provide a detailed account of the reactions occurring during damage removal by human excision nuclease.
Protein composition of bovine lens cortical fiber cell membranes.

Abstract A plasma membrane-enriched fraction was obtained after treatment of the water-insoluble residue of the adult bovine lens cortex with 8 m -urea for the solubilization of albuminoid (i.e. intracellular matrix). Morphological characterization of the urea-insoluble plasma membrane-rich fraction by electron microscopy showed it to consist of membrane fragments in the form of clear vesicles of various sizes. No obvious damage to the integrity of the membranes could be detected as a result of this treatment. Electrophoretic analysis of the urea-insoluble plasma membrane-rich fraction in 5·13% polyacrylamide gels containing 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) showed it to consist of seven major polypeptide components of estimated molecular weights (I) 200 000, (III) 68 000, (VI) 43 000, (VIII) 35 000, (IX) 27 500, (X) 22 500, and (XI) 20 000 daltons. Component III (mol. wt. 68 000) was the major PAS-positive component and probably represents the major glycoprotein fraction of the lens membranes. Components VIII, IX, X, and XI had mobilities identical to the mobilities of the soluble crystallins in the 1% SDS electrophoresis system. The predominant polypeptide component of the membrane-rich fraction, component IX (estimated mol. wt. 27 500), comprised nearly half of the protein recovered from this fraction as determined by densitometric scanning of the gels. Electrophoretic comparison with the soluble lens fraction revealed that this component had a mobility identical to that of the predominant polypeptide chain (B P ) of beta-crystallin in the 1% SDS electrophoresis system. The next most abundant component of the membrane-rich fraction, band X, comprised 24% of the protein recovered from this fraction and had a mobility identical to that of alpha-crystallin in the 1% SDS electrophoresis system. Whether the polypeptide components of bands VI–XI in the membrane-rich fraction represent homomonomers (crystallins or membrane components) or heteromonomers (crystallins and membrane components) of similar molecular size (i.e. mobility) remains to be determined.
Streamlining experiment data manipulation with psychology experiment data interchange format (PXDIF)

The use of small computers to automate psychology experiments has raised a number of development and logistical problems that interrupt the smooth flow of work from hypotheses to conclusions and publication. Currently, the outstanding bottleneck is the tedious and error-prone manipulation of raw experiment data in preparation for use in commercial data visualization and statistics packages. This problem is addressed by a self-describing data format PXDIF. Companion software can perform most needed manipulations automatically or with minimal experimenter involvement.
Occupational dermatoses in health care workers evaluated for suspected allergic contact dermatitis.

Background: Occupational skin diseases, including allergic contact dermatitis (ACD), irritant contact dermatitis, and allergic contact urticaria (ACU), occur commonly among health care workers (HCWs). Purpose: To evaluate the aetiology of the various skin diseases afflicting HCWs evaluated for suspicion of ACD and/or ACU and to identify the most common allergens among HCWs found to have ACD and/or ACU. Methods: A total of 1434 patients underwent patch testing. The demographic data and most common allergens for HCWs (n = 100) and non-HCWS (n = 1334) were compared. Results: HCWs were statistically more likely than non-HCWS to be female, have hand dermatitis, and have a history of atopy. HCWs were also more likely to have work-related ACD especially to quaternium-15, thiuram, carba mix, glutaraldehyde and benzalkonium chloride, and to have ACU to latex. Limitations: This study was retrospective and is subject to the resultant biases of all such investigations. Only patients suspected of having ACD and who underwent patch testing are included in our database. The prevalence of ACD and ACU is likely to be higher than that seen in the general HCW population. Conclusions: Our results underscore the importance of thoroughly evaluating HCWs for ACD and ACU with the use of expanded standard allergen series and prick or radioallergosorbent testing to latex.
Wound healing and brain stem auditory evoked potentials after experimental total ear canal ablation with lateral tympanic bulla osteotomy in dogs.

Experimental total ear canal ablation with lateral tympanic bulla osteotomy (TECA-LBO) was performed in 13 normal dogs to evaluate healing and retention of brain stem auditory evoked potentials (BSAEP) after surgery. Healing was evaluated by gross and microscopic examination of the surgery sites after 1 (n = 2), 4 (n = 8), 5 (n = 1), and 6 (n = 1) weeks. One dog was eliminated from the study. Brain stem auditory evoked potentials were measured using an air-conducted sound stimulus before and after surgery and before killing. Two dogs had nearly complete obliteration of the tympanic cavity by immature fibrous connective tissue. Eight dogs responded to surgery by either complete or partial re-formation of the tympanic cavity. Retention of the tympanic membrane in three dogs promoted re-formation of the tympanic cavity and blind epithelialized pockets in the surgery site with accumulation of keratinized debris. Granulation tissue formation and extensive proliferation of new bone on the internal surface of the tympanic bulla was seen in 10 dogs. Proliferative bone completely obliterated the tympanic cavity in two of these dogs. Eleven of 13 dogs had no detectable air-conducted BSAEP after surgery. There was no change in BSAEP measurements before killing compared with postoperative measurements in any dog. Two dogs with retained tympanic membranes had measurable BSAEP after surgery. This study shows that healing after TECA-LBO may be highly variable. Retention of the tympanic membrane and small osteotomies appeared to promote reformation of tympanic cavities and prevent ingrowth of granulation tissue. New bone proliferation was frequently observed in response to curettage of the epithelium lining the tympanic bulla. Hearing, as determined by BSAEP measurements, was lost except when the tympanic membrane and ossicles were retained. Retained tympanic membranes promoted accumulation of keratinized cellular debris that could become a nidus for infection or late abscessation in some dogs. These results indicate that resection of as much of the lateral and ventral tympanic bulla as possible and removal of the tympanic membrane may provide consistently improved results after TECA-LBO.
Local disorder and near edge structure in titanate perovskites

We have used X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) as a probe of the local atomic structure of titanate perovskites. In their low-temperature phases, most titanate perovskites are distorted from the ideal perovskite structure and this distortion is evident in the XANES. We have measured the XANES of several materials, ATiO 3 , where A ∈ {Pb, Ba, Sr, Eu} and of several materials, PbTi x Zr 1-x O 3 , where x∈ {1.0, 0.52, 0.3}. In the strongly distorted pure materials, PbTiO 3 and BaTiO 3 , we seen features a few eV below the main edge that are indicative of a 1s→3d electronic transition. This normally quadrupole transition is enhanced by the addition of a dipole transition from the mixture of p character into the 3d final state due to the broken centrosymmetry of the crystal. In SrTiO 3 and EuTiO 3 , where the distortion is minuscule or absent, the lowest-energy pre-edge feature becomes much smaller. We also measured the XANES of the PbTi x Zr 1-x O 3 materials as a function of temperature. We found the pre-edge features of these to diminish somewhat in the paraelectric phase, but remain much stronger than in the undistorted EuTiO 3 . The nature of this pre-edge feature is mostly independent of the titanium concentration x suggesting that local structure about the titanium site is only weakly dependent on crystallographic phase. In PbTiO 3 this is consistent with the order-disorder character of its ferroelectric transition. The cause of this behavior in the pre-edge features is discussed
Choosing Wisely in Anesthesiology: The Gap Between Evidence and Practice

To develop a "top-five" list of unnecessary medical services in anesthesiology, we undertook a multistep survey of anesthesiologists, most of whom were in academic practice, and a consequent iterative process with the committees of the American Society of Anesthesiologists. We generated a list of 18 low-value perioperative activities from American Society of Anesthesiologists practice parameters and the literature. Starting with this list and proceeding with a 2-step survey using a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire, we eventually identified 5 common activities that are of low quality or benefit and high cost and have poor evidence supporting their use. The 2 preoperative practices in the top-five list addressed the avoidance of unindicated baseline laboratory studies or diagnostic cardiac stress testing. The 3 intraoperative practices involved the avoidance of the routine use of the pulmonary artery for cardiac surgery and the use of packed red blood cells or colloid when not indicated.
Thermal effects on the accumulation of arsenic in green sunfish, Lepomis cyanellus.

The pattern of arsenic concentration in several tissues ofLepomis cyanellus was measured (by neutron activation analysis) as a function of exposure time at 10‡, 20‡, and 30‡C and 0, 30, 60 ppm of arsenic as sodium arsenate. Individual variability of arsenic uptake did not override trends of greater uptake with increasing exposure time, temperature, and arsenic concentration. The mean temperature coefficient of 4.5 for arsenic uptake in livers was higher than O'Hara's (1968) metabolic figures of 1.6 to 3.0 forLepomis species. The biological half-life of arsenic in liver and gut of live specimens exposed to 30 and 60 ppm of arsenic at 10‡C was about one week. Percentage survival decreased and mean arsenic uptake increased slightly as temperature and arsenic concentration increased.
Cores of Convex Games

The core of ann-person game is the set of feasible outcomes that cannot be improved upon by any coalition of players. A convex game is defined as one that is based on a convex set function. In this paper it is shown that the core of a convex game is not empty and that it has an especially regular structure. It is further shown that certain other cooperative solution concepts are related in a simple way to the core: The value of a convex game is the center of gravity of the extreme points of the core, and the von Neumann-Morgenstern stable set solution of a convex game is unique and coincides with the core.
Negotiating Labor Market Effects: Descriptive Practice in a Work Incentive Program

By analyzing labor market description and theorizing in everyday life, the author focuses on the ways in which staff and others associated with a Work Incentive Program (WIN) use labor market descriptions to produce quasi-theories intended to justify their positions on matters of practical concern. The major issue in dispute involved the practical effects on the recessionary area economy for WIN staff and clients. Specifically, should they be held accountable to typical organizational expectations and standards in such an economic environment? This issue is developed by considering the (1) organizational context within which labor market description and negotiations occurred, (2) images of labor markets used by WIN staff and others in justifying their positions, (3) social organization of the negotiations, and (4) ways in which such negotiations sometimes resulted in the reformulation of the “real” issues at stake in staff member interactions with others. The analysis concludes by considering some of the implications of the findings for analyzing labor market description in contemporary organizations.
Digital holographic optical coherence imaging of mouse eye

We present digital holographic optical coherence imaging (DHOCI) of anterior segments and retina of a mouse eye using direct Fourier inversion without the need of Fresnel propagation kernels as used previously.
INDIAN MOUNDS AND OTHER RELICS OF INDIAN LIFE IN TEXAS2

THE archaeology and ethnology of the Texas Indians have been almost wholly neglected by the state and people of Texas and by the federal government, as well. This fact, considering the interest taken in like matters in other states and in progressive parts of the world generally, is quite remarkable and requires some explanation before the subject of this paper can be properly dealt with. Furthermore, no museums or institutions of learning in this country or other lands have made any investigations worth while in Texas in either field. The neglect of the field by the federal government is to be accounted for doubtless on two counts. In the first place, when Texas came into the Union, she was an independent nation. She entered by a treaty made with the U. S. government and the treaty left to Texas the ownership and control of all public lands in the state. With the possession of public lands went the control of all Indians on those lands. Indian problems in Texas after 1848 were therefore state problems. It followed naturally that the federal government took no interest in Indian problems of any sort within the state. Later agreements between the state and the federal governments, together with the sharp wars waged upon Indians in Texas, led to many Indians being transferred or driven from Texas to New Mexico or the Indian Territory, and in these regions they passed of course under federal tutelage. Some were driven by the
Lincoln and the Constitution: A Unionist for the Sake of Liberty

The world has never had a good definition of the word liberty, and the American people, just now, are much in want of one. We all declare for liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing. With some the word liberty may mean for each man to do as he pleases with himself, and the product of his labor; while with others the same word may mean for some men to do as they please with other men, and the product of other men’s labor. Here are two, not only different, but incompatable [sic] things, called by the same name—liberty. And it follows that each of the things is, by the respective parties, called by two different and incompatable names—liberty and tyranny.2
Penile spines of the domestic cat: their endocrine-behavior relations.

The post-natal development of penile spines, their appearance in adult males, and the changes that occur in them after castration, after treatment of castrated males with testosterone propionate, and after cessation of hormone treatment were studied using both pre and postpuberal castrates. Most of the observations were made on live animals and the conditions of the spines were correlated with levels of sexual activity using data from mating tests with estrous females. In all the conditions of testing, the spines increased in size as the androgen level increased, and decreased in size as the androgen level fell. These changes correlated positively with the rise and depression of mating activity as the androgen levels increased or decreased. The relationship, however, was not always consistent in that sexual behavior declined rapidly in some castrated males before the spines started to decrease in size, and in other castrated males, sexual behavior persisted long after the spines had disappeared. While our data are not inconsistent with the hypothesis that loss of spines leads to reduced stimulation of the penis during intromission and hence to a decline in sexual arousal, it emphasizes that the great variability in sexual behavior after castration must be due to other causes.
Access Methods for Markovian Streams

Model-based views have recently been proposed as an effective method for querying noisy sensor data. Commonly used models from the AI literature (e.g., the hidden Markov model) expose to applications a stream of probabilistic and correlated state estimates computed from the sensor data. Many applications want to detect sophisticated patterns of states from these Markovian streams. Such queries are called event queries. In this paper, we present a new Markovian stream storage manager, Caldera. We develop and evaluate Caldera as a component of Lahar, a Markovian stream event query processing system developed in previous work. At the heart of Caldera is a set of access methods for Markovian streams that can improve event query performance by orders of magnitude compared to existing techniques, which must scan the entire stream. Our access methods use new adaptations of traditional B+ tree indexes, and a new index, called the Markov-chain index. They efficiently extract only the relevant timesteps from a stream, while retaining the stream's Markovian properties. We have implemented our prototype system on BDB and demonstrate its effectiveness on both synthetic data and real data from a building-wide RFID deployment.
A psycholinguistic approach to oral language assessment

This paper presents a framework for incorporating the assessment of psycholinguistic constructs into spoken language proficiency testing. Although response time and automaticity of language processing are vital factors in language acquisition, as constructs they are rarely explicitly assessed in language tests. It is proposed that efficiency of processing, although it does not appear in most models of communicative language competence, might be viewed as a language competence in its own right. In contrast to communicative approaches to testing which evaluate mastery of complex language structures or domain-specific vocabulary, an approach which emphasizes efficiency of processing evaluates the speed and accuracy with which a learner processes familiar language, as this provides equally useful information about their L2 proficiency. In a study to demonstrate this, the speech of 147 test takers was evaluated as they performed on conceptually simple and straightforward performance tasks such as elicited imit...
What explains the success or failure of structural adjustment programs

In the 1980s development assistance shifted largely from financing investments (such as roads and dams) to promoting policy reform. This change came because of a growing awareness that developing countries were held back more by poor policies than by a lack of finance for investment. After nearly 20 years' experience with policy-based or conditional lending, there have now been many studies of adjustment lending, most of which take a case-study approach. Many conclude that policy-based lending works if countries have decided on their own to reform. The authors examine a database of 220 World Bank-supported reform programs to identify why adjustment programs succeed or fail. They find that a few political economy variables can successfully predict the outcome of an adjustment loan 75 percent of the time. Variables under the World Bank's control -- resources devoted to preparation and supervision or number of conditions -- have no relationship with an adjustment program's success or failure. What development agencies must do, then, is select promising candidates for adjustment support. When the candidates is a poor selection, devoting more administrative resources or imposing more conditions will not increase the likelihood of successful reform. To improve its success rate with adjustment lending, the World Bank must become more selective and do a better job of understanding which environments are promising for reform and which are not. That is likely to lead to fewer adjustment loans, unless there is a significant change in the number of promising reformers. To become more effective at supporting policy reform, the agency must be willing to accept that this may lead to smaller volumes of lending.
A comparison of high resolution ex vivo and interventional in vivo MR images and cellular response for thermal ablation treatment evaluation

We are treating patient tumors using radiofrequency (RF) ablation under interventional MRI (iMRI) guidance. We investigated the ability of high resolution ex vivo and interventional in vivo MR images to predict cellular response by comparing MR thermal lesion images to cellular damage as seen histologically. Our new methodology allows three dimensional (3D) registration that enables more accurate correlation than previous two dimensional (2D) methods. Using a low-field (0.2 T) open magnet iMRI system for electrode guidance, we applied RF current to the thigh muscles of 16 New Zealand White rabbits. After tissue dissection, a 1.5 T MRI system was used to obtain high resolution ex vivo images. To relate MR and histology images, we obtained intermediate pictures of thick tissue slices using a specially designed apparatus. Registration was done with a computer algorithm that matches tracks of needle fiducials placed near the site of interest. After registration, we determined the region inside the circular, hyper-intense rim in MR closely corresponds to the region of necrosis. This is good evidence that high resolution ex vivo and interventional in vivo MR images can be used to predict the cellular response for RF ablation treatments.
A Novel Scheme to Generate Single-Sideband Millimeter-Wave Signals by Using Low-Frequency Local Oscillator Signal

We have proposed and experimentally demonstrated a novel scheme to generate optical millimeter-wave (mm-wave) signals by using single-sideband modulation with low-frequency local oscillator (LO) signals. In this architecture, by incorporating the proper dc bias of the modulator in central office, the optical mm-wave carriers are generated with two times frequency of the LO signal while largely reducing the bandwidth requirement of the modulator. We quantify the optical carrier-to-sideband ratio (CSR) of downstream transmission in this radio-over-fiber (ROF) link and establish that the performance of the ROF system can be significantly improved when the optical signals are transmitted at CSR equal to 0 dB.
Experiments with separated oscillatory fields and hydrogen masers

Descriptions are given of the methods of separated and successive oscillatory fields and of the atomic hydrogen maser. Their applications to precision spectroscopy of atoms and molecules are discussed along with specific examples of fundamental measurements best made with such devices. The applications of these methods to atomic clocks are discussed. A discussion is also given of fundamental experiments which require highly stable clocks. >
Initial experience of a novel ergonomic surgical chair for laparoscopic pelvic surgery

INTRODUCTION: We present the initial experience of a novel surgical chair for laparoscopic pelvic surgery, the ETHOSTM (Bridge City Surgical, Portland, OR). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The ETHOS chair has an adjustable saddle height that ranges from 0.89 to 1.22 m high, an overall width of 0.89 m, and a depth of 0.97 m. The open straddle is 0.53 m and fits most OR tables. We performed 7 pelvic laparoscopy cases with the 1st generation ETHOSTM platform including 2 laparoscopic ureteral reimplantations, 5 laparoscopic pelvic lymphadenectomies for staging prostate cancer in which one case involved a laparoscopic radical retropubic prostatectomy, performed by 2 different surgeons. RESULTS: All 7 pelvic laparoscopic procedures were successful with the ETHOSTM chair. No conversion to open surgery was necessary. Survey done by surgeons after the procedures revealed minimal stress on back or upper extremities by the surgeons from these operations even when surgery was longer than 120 minutes. Conversely, the surgical assistants still had issues with their positions since they were on either sides of the patient stressing their positions during the procedure. CONCLUSION:The ETHOS chair system allows the surgeon to operate seated in comfortable position with ergonomic chest, arms, and back supports. These supports minimize surgeon fatigue and discomfort during pelvic laparoscopic procedures even when these procedures are longer than 120 minutes without consequence to the patient safety or detrimental effects to the surgical team.
Marital Quality and Cognitive Limitations in Late Life

Objectives. Identifying factors associated with cognitive limitations among older adults has become a major public health objective. Given the importance of marital relationships for older adults’ health, this study examines the association between marital quality and change in cognitive limitations in late life, directionality of the relationship between marital quality and cognitive limitations, and potential gender differences in these associations. Method. Latent growth curve models were used to estimate the association of marital quality with change in cognitive limitations among older adults and the direction of the association between marital quality and cognitive limitations using 4 waves of the Americans’ Changing Lives survey (N = 841). Results. Results indicate that more frequent negative (but not positive) marital experiences are associated with a slower increase in cognitive limitations over time, and the direction of this association does not operate in the reverse (i.e., cognitive limitations did not lead to change in marital quality over time). The association between negative marital experiences and cognitive limitations is similar for men and women. Discussion. The discussion highlights possible explanations for the apparent protective effect of negative marital experiences for older adults’ cognitive health over time, regardless of gender.
A Model for Psychometrically Distinguishing Aptitude from Ability.

Abstract : It is now widely agreed that current ability measures reflect a complex interaction of environment with genetic potential. This leads to a basic measurement problem since persons with the same measured ability may vary widely in potential due to non-equivalent learning opportunities. The purpose of the paper is to present a model which may hold some promise in psychometrically distinguishing ability (current status) from aptitude (potential). Data on a simple ability are analyzed according to the model to illustrate how some of the practical problems may be solved. (Author)
MODIS/Terra observed seasonal variations of snow cover over the Tibetan Plateau

[1] Seasonal variations of snow cover fraction (SFC) over the Tibet Plateau (TP) are examined using the data acquired from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on the Terra spacecraft. In this study, we first evaluate the accuracy of the MODIS high-resolution snow cover data by comparing the data with in-situ Chinese snow observations. Results show that overall accuracy of MODIS snow data is about 90% over the TP area. Statistical analysis is then performed over the MODIS snow data during 2000–2006. It is found that the most persistent snow cover is located in the southern and western edges of the TP within large mountain ridges and western part of Yarlung Zangbo valley. The higher SCFs are mostly concentrated in the regions where the elevation is higher than 6000 m. The duration for snow persistence varies in different elevation ranges and generally becomes longer with increases in the terrain elevation.
Finding lost children

During a disaster, children may be quickly wrenched from their families. Research shows that children in such circumstances are often unable or unwilling to give their names or other identifying information. Currently in the US, there is no existing system in the public health infrastructure that effectively expedites reunification when children can't be identified. Working with the Children's Hospital Boston, we have engineered a system to speed reunification of children with their families, should they get separated in a disaster. Our system is based on a Content Based Image Retrieval and attribute search. In this paper we will describe the system and a series of evaluations, including a realistic disaster drill set up and run jointly with the Children's Hospital.
In Situ Matrix Shear Response Using Torsional Test Data of Fiber Reinforced Unidirectional Polymer Composites

The in situ shear response of the matrix in polymer matrix composites (PMC) has been studied. Torsion tests were performed on solid cylinders of unidirectional glass fiber reinforced/vinylester and unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced/vinylester composites. The composite specimens were subjected to a uniform rate of twist. From the composite stress-strain curve, a plot of tangent shear modulus vs shear strain was derived. Then, using the Halpin-Tsai equations, the in situ matrix shear modulus was determined. The in situ matrix properties obtained from glass/vinylester and carbon/vinylester composites were found to be different. In addition, the properties of the in situ matrix were found to be a function of fiber volume fraction and the elastic properties of the reinforcing fiber. The behavior of the insitu matrix as a function of the fiber volume fraction was explained by using a three cylinder interphase model The validity of the interphase model in predicting the composite shear modulus was studied by comparison of results against a conventional 2 cylinder model.