cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Crystal growth of hydroxyapatite

Abstract Prismatic single crystals of hydroxyapatite [Ca 10 (PO 4 ) 6 (OH) 2 ] up to 4 mm length have been grown hydrothermally from melts in the system 3CaO·P 2 O 5 Ca(OH) 2 and 3CaO·P 2 O 5 Ca(OH) 2 H 2 O. They appear to be stoichiometric, with refractive indices and lattice constants characteristic of the ideal end member.
Who Governs? Academic Decision-Making in US Four-Year Colleges and Universities, 2000-2012.

This study compares the explanatory power of two models of academic governance: dual and managerial control. The research is based on characterizations by chief academic officers of the primary decision-makers involved in 13 types of recurrent academic decisions. We examine change between responses to surveys fielded to US four-year colleges and universities in 2000 and 2012. We find limited support for the dual control and the managerial control models in both years. As an alternative to the two dominant conceptual models, we develop an empirically grounded classification based on multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis. In each year we find high faculty participation and management-dominant clusters. The other identified clusters do not map well onto either of the two dominant conceptual models. Given these results, we argue that configurational analysis should be used as a supplement to future studies monitoring the incidence of dual and managerial control in academic governance.
Off-shell tree amplitudes in HIKKO's closed string field theory

Off-shell closed string tree amplitudes are obtained for the HIKKO’s theory, using the method of off-shell conformal field theory.
Eleventh Century Corinthian-Palmette Capitals in the Region of Aquileia*

The mediaeval Cathedral of Aquileia has not been adequately investigated even though two major monographs about the church have appeared in the past sixty years.1 This neglect is particularly regrettable because the church may serve as a key for the further study of pre-Gothic mediaeval art for a variety of reasons: 1) the extensive remains of pre-Gothic architecture, architectural ornament, and frescoes in the church; 2) the numerous smaller churches in the vicinity of Aquileia with equally extensive remains of pre-Gothic architecture, architectural ornament, and frescoes; 3) the relatively early and reliably documented dates given by various sources for pre-Gothic construction phases not only in Aquileia but also in other churches of the area; 4) the important geographical and political position Aquileia occupies at the confluence of the German, Italian, and Byzantine spheres of influence.
Proteolytic processing in a non-lysosomal compartment is required for transcytosis of protein-polylysine conjugates in cultured Madin-Darby canine kidney cells

The transcytosis of horseradish peroxidase, as well as its poly(L-lys) and poly(D-lys) thioether conjugates, was investigated in Strain I Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cell monolayers grown on 0.4 microns pore size polycarbonate membranes in Costar Transwells. The 3 types of HRP had almost identical rates of transport during the first 2 hr of incubation. However, a significant increase of basal-to-apical transport was detected beginning at 3 hr only in Transwells containing the poly(L-lys) conjugate. This increase was inhibited by colchicine (2 microM) and by the Bowman-Birk protease inhibitor (0.1 mg/ml), but not by NH4Cl (10 mM) or chloroquine (0.1 mM). The increase was abolished either by prior trypsinization of the conjugate or by incubation at 4 degrees C. Ultrafiltration studies indicated that the transcytosed poly(L-lys) conjugate was smaller in size than the original conjugate. These results indicate that the conjugate was processed during transcytosis in a non-lysosomal proteolytic compartment, where its poly(L-lys) moiety was selectively degraded, allowing active peroxidase to be released into the apical medium.
Memory for deictic elements in sentences

The deictic elements of a language are the linguistic forms relating the utterance to a particular time, place, speaker, or discourse context. In the present study subjects memorized sentences containing words from one of five deictic categories (Deictic Place Adverbs, Demonstrative Adjectives, Articles, Deictic Verbs, Temporal Adverbs). When the sentences were presented in the usual experimental setting in which they are isolated from the actual time, place, person, and discourse context, the deictic words were much more difficult to remember than the nondeictic words. In sentences with appropriate context the deictic words were little different from the nondeictic words. The results support the hypothesis that deictic elements have limited meaning in sentences without deictic context and are therefore hard to remember.
Microbial fossils from the lower Yudoma Suite, earliest Phanerozoic, eastern Siberia☆

Abstract Well-preserved nannofossils are here described from black chert lenses in dolomitic and carbonaceous limestones of the lower Yudoma Suite from the Khanda (or Belaya) and Aldan Rivers in eastern Siberia. In this area, Yudoma rocks conformably underlie Lower Cambrian and unconformably overlie Upper Proterozoic strata. Radiometric ages based mainly on glauconite from weakly metamorphosed strata date the Yudoma as 675 ± 25 Ma to 570 ± 10 Ma ago. A K-Ar date for one of the localities here studied is 650 Ma. The Yudoma nannofossils are preserved in the chert as light amber to dark organic residues. The mode of preservation is similar to microbial assemblages in cherts from the older and now classic Gunflint and Bitter Springs formations. Sixteen categories of nannofossils are identified, including 12 species and 4 morphogroups of filamentous and coccoid microorganisms assigned to 11 genera. Of these, three genera and eight species are new. Six of 16 categories are identical to or closely comparable with forms in the roughly 850 Ma old Bitter Springs microbiota. Seven of the 16 categories are identical to or closely comparable with forms in the roughly, 1,900 Ma old Belcher Islands microbiota. Most of the elements of this well-preserved microbiota appear to be cyanophytic, with coccoid forms dominant over filamentous. One form, Micrhystridium , may be planktonic; the others are probably benthic. Age, stratigraphic relations, and microflora all are most consistent with an Ediacarian and Early Phanerozoic age (i.e., pre-Cambrian or sub-Cambrian, but not Precambrian in the sense of conventional usage).
Effects of Familial Alzheimer’s Disease Mutations on the Folding Nucleation of the Amyloid β-Protein

The effect of single amino acid substitutions associated with the Italian (E22K), Arctic (E22G), Dutch (E22Q) and Iowa (D23N) familial forms of Alzheimer's disease and cerebral amyloid angiopathy on the structure of the 21-30 fragment of the Alzheimer amyloid beta-protein (Abeta) is investigated by replica-exchange molecular dynamics simulations. The 21-30 segment has been shown in our earlier work to adopt a bend structure in solution that may serve as the folding nucleation site for Abeta. Our simulations reveal that the 24-28 bend motif is retained in all E22 mutants, suggesting that mutations involving residue E22 may not affect the structure of the folding nucleation site of Abeta. Enhanced aggregation in Abeta with familial Alzheimer's disease substitutions may result from the depletion of the E22-K28 salt bridge, which destabilizes the bend structure. Alternately, the E22 mutations may affect longer-range interactions outside the 21-30 segment that can impact the aggregation of Abeta. Substituting at residue D23, on the other hand, leads to the formation of a turn rather than a bend motif, implying that in contrast to E22 mutants, the D23N mutant may affect monomer Abeta folding and subsequent aggregation. Our simulations suggest that the mechanisms by which E22 and D23 mutations affect the folding and aggregation of Abeta are fundamentally different.
Structural characterization of [Crypt221-Na] 2 [H2Ru4 (CO) 12][Crypt222-K] 2 [Ru4 (CO) 13]

Abstract The structures of [Crypt221-Na] 2 [H2Ru4 (CO) 12] and [Crypt222-K] 2 [Ru4 (CO) 13] weredetermined from single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. A survey of the structures of tetranuclearcarbonyl clusters of the Group 8 metals and their conjugate bases is presented. The cluster core of [H2Ru4 (CO) 12] 2− is a tetrahedron of Ru atomswith three edge bridging carbonyls arranged around the base. Two single edge bridging hydrogensreside between the apical Ru atom and two basal Ru atoms. Two terminal carbonyls are bound toeach basal Ru atom and three terminal carbonyls are bound to the apical Ru atom. The apical Ruatom has three terminal carbonyls bound to it. In addition, two singly bridging hydrogens occurbetween apical and basal rutheniums. The [Ru4 (CO) 13] 2−dianion structure consists of a tetrahedral Ru4 core with three edge bridging carbonylsarranged around the base. Two semi-edge bridging carbonyls reside between the apical and twobasal Ru atoms. Crystal data for [Crypt221-Na] 2 [H2Ru4 (CO)12] : space group P1, a = 13.718 (2) d , b = 20.997 (6) d , c = 10.344 (1) d , α = 97.02 (2) °, β = 92.81 (1) °, γ = 77.80 (2) °, V = 2889.56 d 3. Crystal datafor [Crypt222-K] 2 [Ru4 (CO) 13] : space group P21/c, a = 11.221 (3) d , b = 22.951 (6) d , c = 25.219 (6) d , β = 97.61 (2) °, V = 6427.74 d 3. © 1998 ElsevierScience Ltd. All rights reserved
Likelihood judgment based on previously observed outcomes: the alternative-outcomes effect in a learning paradigm.

Previous research has demonstrated that intuitive perceptions of certainty regarding a focal outcome are sensitive to variations in how evidence supporting nonfocal alternatives is distributed, even when such variations have no bearing on objective probability. We investigated thisalternative-outcomes effect in a learning paradigm in which participants made likelihood judgments on the basis of their memory for past observations of relevant outcomes. In Experiment 1, a manipulation of evidence (observed frequencies) across alternative outcomes influenced not only intuitive certainty estimates about a focal outcome but also numeric subjective probabilities. Experiment 2 ruled out the possibility that these effects were attributable to the influence of information loss on frequency estimations. The findings were consistent with the heuristic comparison account, which suggests that the judged likelihood of a focal outcome will be disproportionately influenced by the strength (frequency) of the strongest alternative outcome.
Lumbar spondylosis: clinical presentation and treatment approaches

Low back pain (LBP) affects approximately 60–85% of adults during some point in their lives. Fortunately, for the large majority of individuals, symptoms are mild and transient, with 90% subsiding within 6 weeks. Chronic low back pain, defined as pain symptoms persisting beyond 3 months, affects an estimated 15–45% of the population. For the minority with intractable symptoms, the impact on quality of life and economic implications are considerable. Despite the high prevalence of low back pain within the general population, the diagnostic approach and therapeutic options are diverse and often inconsistent, resulting in rising costs and variability in management throughout the country. In part, this is due to the difficulty establishing a clear etiology for most patients, with known nociceptive pain generators identified throughout the axial spine. Back pain has been termed as “an illness in search of a disease.” Indeed, once “red flag” diagnoses such as cancer and fracture have been ruled out, the differential sources of low back pain remain broad, including the extensive realm of degenerative changes within the axial spine for which radiological evaluation is nonspecific and causal relationships are tentative. We will elaborate on these degenerative processes and their clinical implications. We will further discuss diagnostic approaches and the efficacy of existing treatment options.
Modelica-Based Dynamic Modeling of a Chilled-Water Cooling Coil

For heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems for commercial buildings, the cooling coils in air-handling units (AHUs) account for a significant fraction of total building energy consumption and have a major impact on comfort conditions and maintenance costs. Development of cost-effective advanced control strategies will enhance the performance and efficiency of AHUs. The control design process can be greatly facilitated with simulation on a high-fidelity dynamic model prior to experimental validation and implementation. This paper presents a dynamic model for a chilled-water cooling coil. The model development was based on Dymola and Air Conditioning Library with some revision on heat exchanger modeling. For chilled-water cooling coil modeling, the major challenges include the variation of coil surface conditions under flow rate changes and partially-dry-partially-wet operations. This study proposes a dynamic coil model that is capable of predicting cooling performances under fully dry, p...
MAPs in plant cells: delineating microtubule growth dynamics and organization

Microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) serve a wide variety of functions, from constructing and maintaining the microtubule cytoskeleton to using this cytoskeleton to transport cargo and to tether molecules that are involved in numerous cellular processes. Throughout the cell cycle, distinct microtubule arrays carry out specific roles in cytokinesis, karyokinesis, and cell expansion. Recent findings have shed new light on the importance of MAPs in controlling microtubule growth dynamics as well as in cross-linking microtubules to facilitate the formation and function of these cytoskeletal arrays.
Paraphilic sexuality and child abuse: The parents

The parents of three children with a history and diagnosis of abuse dwarfism responded to an interview on erotosexual history in such a way as to indicate a nondescript erotosexual existence, or else a censored one. One additional couple, known on a personal basis by a youth worker, colluded in child abuse that was, in fact, a paraphilia of masochism by proxy. Two boys were beaten by their father as masochistic surrogates for their mother who instigated their beatings. Sexual intercourse between the parents was contingent on the beatings.
Screening Soybean Cultivars for Resistance to Iron-Deficiency Chlorosis in Culture Solutions Containing Magnesium or Sodium Bicarbonate

ABSTRACT Hydroponic culture solutions containing bicarbonate (HCO3 −) may be used to screen crops such as soybeans (Glycine max) for resistance to iron (Fe) deficiency or chlorosis. Some successful methods use sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) in combination with elevated partial pressures of carbon dioxide (CO2) to buffer pH and elevate bicarbonate. Replacing NaHCO3 with magnesium bicarbonate [Mg(HCO3)2] as the form of bicarbonate alkalinity has the potential to produce culture solutions that simulate soil solutions more closely and eliminate any potential for specific sodium (Na) toxicities in sensitive plants. A modified screening solution based on Mg(HCO3)2-CO2 was tested against the successful NaHCO3-CO2 method, using three soybean varieties of known resistance to Fe-deficiency chlorosis. Alkalinity was 10 mM [added as NaHCO3 or Mg(HCO3)2], solutions were aerated with 3% CO2, and Fe was provided as FeDTPA (diethylenetriamine-pentaacetic acid) at 15 μM (low Fe) or 60 μM (adequate Fe). Leaf chlorophyll, visu...
Epidemiology of Cesarean Delivery: The Scope of the Problem

Approximately one-third of births in the United States are via cesarean delivery (CD). The rate of CD has increased dramatically since the 1990s, reaching a peak of 32.9% in 2009. The increase can be seen among women of all ages and race/ethnicities, in every state, and across all gestational ages. The primary CD rate has increased from 14.5% in 1996 to 23.4% in 2007. Because the primary CD rate has increased and the rate of trial of labor after CD has decreased, the primary cesarean rate has become a major driver in the total CD rate. Also contributing to the high CD rate is an increase in somewhat subjective indications, such as fetal distress or nonreassuring fetal tracing and failure to progress leading to performance of CD in the latent phase of labor. Addressing these factors--as well as focusing on the use of elective induction and management of early labor in the particular subgroup of nulliparous women at term, with singleton fetuses in vertex presentation--may have a significant impact on the total CD rate.
Anti-fibrotic effect of thymoquinone on hepatic stellate cells

Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) are the major cell type involved in the production of extracellular matrix in liver. After liver injury, HSCs undergo transdifferentiation process from quiescent state to activated state, which plays an important role in liver fibrosis. Previous studies have shown that thymoquinone (TQ) might have protective effect against liver fibrosis in animal models; however, the underlying mechanism of action is not fully understood. The aim of this study is to examine whether TQ has any direct effect on HSCs. Our results showed that pretreatment of mice with TQ has protective effect against CCl4-induced liver injury compared to control group (untreated), which is consistent with previous studies. Moreover, our in vivo study showed that COL1A1 and α-SMA mRNA levels were significantly downregulated by TQ treatment. Similarly, in vitro study confirmed that TQ downregulated COL1A1, COL3A1 and α-SMA mRNA levels in activated rat HSCs and LX2 cells, an immortalized human hepatic stellate cell line. Pretreatment with TQ also inhibited the LPS-induced proinflammatory response in LX2 cells as demonstrated by reduced mRNA expression of IL-6 and MCP-1. Mechanistically, inactivation of NF-κB pathway is likely to play a role in the TQ-mediated inhibition of proinflammatory response in HSCs. Finally, we have shown that TQ inhibited the culture-triggered transdifferentiation of freshly isolated rat HSCs as shown by significant downregulation of mRNA expression of several fibrosis-related genes. In conclusion, our study suggests that TQ has a direct effect on HSCs, which may contribute to its overall antifibrotic effect.
AOIPS/2: An interactive system to process, analyze, and display meteorological data sets for nowcasting

A description of AOIPS/2, an interactive hardware and software system to process, integrate, and display meteorological data is presented. The AOIPS/2 objectives and functional specifications are given. The hardware system architecture and work stations and the software architecture and special features are described. A summary is given of the software system and its main menu.
Analysis of cholera toxin-ganglioside interactions by flow cytometry

Cholera toxin entry into mammalian cells is mediated by binding of the pentameric B subunit (CTB) to ganglioside GM(1) in the cell membrane. We used flow cytometry to quantitatively measure in real time the interactions of fluorescently labeled pentameric cholera toxin B-subunit (FITC-CTB) with its ganglioside receptor on microsphere-supported phospholipid membranes. A model that describes the multiple steps of this mode of recognition was developed to guide our flow cytometric experiments and extract relevant equilibrium and kinetic rate constants. In contrast to previous studies, our approach takes into account receptor cross-linking, an important feature for multivalent interactions. From equilibrium measurements, we determined an equilibrium binding constant for a single subunit of FITC-CTB binding monovalently to GM(1) presented in bilayers of approximately 8 x 10(7) M(-1) while that for binding to soluble GM(1)-pentasaccharide was found to be approximately 4 x 10(6) M(-1). From kinetic measurements, we determined the rate constant for dissociation of a single site of FITC-CTB from microsphere-supported bilayers to be (3.21 +/- 0.03) x 10(-3) s(-1), and the rate of association of a site on FITC-CTB in solution to a GM(1) in the bilayer to be (2.8 +/- 0.4) x 10(4) M(-1) s(-1). These values yield a lower estimate for the equilibrium binding constant of approximately 1 x 10(7) M(-1). We determined the equilibrium surface cross-linking constant [(1.1 +/- 0.1) x 10(-12) cm(2)] and from this value and the value for the rate constant for dissociation derived a value of approximately 3.5 x 10(-15) cm(2) s(-1) for the forward rate constant for cross-linking. We also compared the interaction of the receptor binding B-subunit with that of the whole toxin (A- and B-subunits). Our results show that the whole toxin binds with approximately 100-fold higher avidity than the pentameric B-subunit alone which is most likely due to the additional interaction of the A(2)-subunit with the membrane surface. Interaction of cholera toxin B-subunit and whole cholera toxin with gangliosides other than GM(1) revealed specific binding only to GD1(b) and asialo-GM(1). These interactions, however, are marked by low avidity and require high receptor concentrations to be observed.
A bacterial flavin reductase system reduces chromate to a soluble chromium(III)–NAD+ complex

Biological reduction of carcinogenic chromate has been extensively studied in eukaryotic cells partly because the reduction produces stable chromium(III)-DNA adducts, which are mutagenic. Microbial reduction of chromate has been studied for bioremediation purposes, but little is known about the reduction mechanism. In eukaryotic cells chromate is mainly reduced non-enzymatically by ascorbate, which is usually absent in bacterial cells. We have characterized the reduction of chromate by a flavin reductase (Fre) from Escherichia coli with flavins. The Fre-flavin system rapidly reduced chromate, whereas chemical reduction by NADH and glutathione was very slow. Thus, enzymatic chromate reduction is likely the dominant mechanism in bacterial cells. Furthermore, the end-product was a soluble and stable Cr(III)-NAD(+) complex, instead of Cr(III) precipitate. Since intracellularly generated Cr(III) forms adducts with DNA, protein, glutathione, and ascorbate in eukaryotic cells, we suggest that the produced Cr(III) is primarily complexed to NAD(+), DNA, and other cellular components inside bacteria.
Squamous carcinoma of the head and neck in organ transplant recipients: Possible role of oncogenic viruses

A consistently increased incidence of malignancies in renal transplant recipients has been attributed to the effect of chronic immunosuppression required to prevent transplant rejection. Tumors arising in such patients offer a unique opportunity to study the interactions of the immune system and tumor development. A series of three cases of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma arising in patients after renal, cardiac, or bone marrow transplantation are reported. Patient ages at tumor diagnosis were 18, 29, and 53 years, respectively. Time from transplant to diagnosis of tumor ranged from 7 months to 12 years. Only the youngest patient lacked a history of exposure to the traditional pre-disposing factors of tobacco and alcohol use. Histopathologic examination in all three tumors showed features of koilocytosis with hyperkeratosis and parakeratosis suggestive of papillomavirus infection. Squamous carcinoma cells from one of these patients have been successfully established in cell culture. Immune system impairments secondary to the use of antirejection drugs could allow the expression of oncogenic viruses. A recent report of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA in a primary and metastatic perianal squamous cell carcinoma from a renal transplant recipient, as well as the reported presence of HPV in benign and malignant neoplasms of the upper aerodigestive tract suggests that HPV infection could play a role in the development of squamous carcinomas in transplant recipients. Further studies of HPV infection in cultured cell lines derived from head and neck tumors occurring in immunosuppressed patients are needed to define this relationship.
IMPROVED PROGNOSIS OF POLYARTERITIS COMPLICATED BY RENAL FAILURE IN CHILDREN THROUGH CYCLOPHOSPHAMIDE TREATMENT

The prognosis of polyarteritis in children is poor, particularly if complicated by early renal failure. Three girls, 9 to 10 years of age, have been treated with a combination of corticosteroids and cyclophosphamide. A complete remission of the disease ensued in all three cases. An early diagnosis has been made by biopsies of the kidney or skin. All three patients initially were severely ill presenting with high fever, skin and joint manifestations, hypertension, and seizures. Additional complications included renal failure in two girls, primary pulmonary infiltrates in one, hallucinations in one. All three patients were started on Prednisone treatment (1.5-2 mg/kg) and after two to four weeks cyclophosphamide treatment (2 mg/kg) was added. After an initially stormy course all clinical symptoms gradually subsided and the renal function improved. Cyclophosphamide treatment was continued for up to 12 months. All three patients are now off medication for periods of 15 to 24 months with no or minimal residual symptoms. The creatinine clearance has returned to normal in two girls, proteinuria is still present in two patients. The additional administration of cyclophosphamide seems to effectively influence the disease process of polyarteritis leading to a resolution of infiltrates and necrosis which have not been accessible to therapy previously.
State management for distributed Python applications

We present a novel state management mechanism that can be used to capture the complete execution state of distributed Python applications. This mechanism can serve as the foundation for a variety of dependability strategies including checkpointing, replication, and migration. Python is increasingly used for rapid prototyping parallel pro grams and, in some cases, used for high-performance application development using libraries such as NumPy. Building on Stackless Python and the River parallel and distributed programming environment, we have developed mechanisms for state capture at the language level. Our approach allows for migration and checkpointing of applications in heterogeneous environments. In addition, we allow for preemptive state capture so that programmers need not introduce explicit snapshot requests. Our mechanism can be extended to support application or domain-specific state capture. To our knowledge, this is the first general checkpointing scheme for Python. We describe our system, the implementation, and give some initial performance figures.
Targeted delivery of EV peptide to tumor cell cytoplasm using lipid coated calcium carbonate nanoparticles.

Abstract Intracellular-acting peptide drugs are effective for inhibiting cytoplasmic protein targets, yet face challenges with penetrating the cancer cell membrane. We have developed a lipid nanoparticle formulation that utilizes a pH-sensitive calcium carbonate complexation mechanism to enable the targeted delivery of the intracellular-acting therapeutic peptide EEEEpYFELV (EV) into lung cancer cells. Lipid–calcium-carbonate (LCC) nanoparticles were conjugated with anisamide, a targeting ligand for the sigma receptor which is expressed on lung cancer cells. LCC EV nanoparticle treatment provoked severe apoptotic effects in H460 non-small cell lung cancer cells in vitro. LCC NPs also mediated the specific delivery of Alexa-488-EV peptide to tumor tissue in vivo, provoking a high tumor growth retardation effect with minimal uptake by external organs and no toxic effects.
High-fidelity correction of genomic uracil by human mismatch repair activities

Background Deamination of cytosine to produce uracil is a common and potentially mutagenic lesion in genomic DNA. U•G mismatches occur spontaneously throughout the genome, where they are repaired by factors associated with the base excision repair pathway. U•G mismatches are also the initiating lesion in immunoglobulin gene diversification, where they undergo mutagenic processing by redundant pathways, one dependent upon uracil excision and the other upon mismatch recognition by MutSα. While UNG is well known to initiate repair of uracil in DNA, the ability of MutSα to direct correction of this base has not been directly demonstrated.
Habitual aerobic exercise is associated with smaller femoral artery intima–media thickness with age in healthy men and women:

BackgroundFemoral artery intima–media thickness (IMT), an independent predictor of atherosclerotic disease risk, increases with age in sedentary adults. It is not known whether regular aerobic exer...
TCP/ATM experiences in the MAGIC testbed

This paper describes performance measurements taken in the MAGIC gigabit testbed relating to the performance of TCP in wide area ATM networks. The behavior of TCP with and without cell level pacing is studied. In particular, we focus on results that indicate that the TCP rate control mechanism alone is inadequate for congestion avoidance and control in wide-area gigabit networks. We also present results showing that TCP augmented by cell-level pacing addresses these problems and allows the full bandwidth capacity to be utilized. These results demonstrate the viability of high performance distributed systems based on wide area ATM networks given the proper ATM traffic management infrastructure.
Psychopharmacology and Behavior Therapy

In recent years, clinicians have enthusiastically welcomed the combined use of behavior therapy and pharmacotherapy to broaden the scope and enhance the effectiveness of psychiatric treatments. Yet few of the studies on this subject in the behavioral literature were controlled clinical trials, and very few indeed examined the specific contribution of pharmacotherapy. Reasons for this paucity of data are worth looking at before reviewing the research literature.
Increased Transcription and Increased Messenger Ribonucleic Acid (mRNA) Stability Contribute to Increased GATA6 mRNA Abundance in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Theca Cells

Context: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) theca cells secrete increased levels of androgens. The mRNA and protein levels of the transcription factor GATA6, which regulates expression of several steroidogenic enzymes, are increased in PCOS theca cells. Thus, GATA6 is a PCOS candidate gene. Objective: The objective of the study was to explore mechanisms by which GATA6 mRNA levels are increased in PCOS theca cells. Design: Theca cell cDNA and genomic DNA from normal individuals and PCOS patients were subjected to quantitative RT-PCR and sequence analysis, respectively. Setting: The experiments were performed in a university laboratory. Participants: Four hundred sixty-nine families that contain at least one PCOS patient were ascertained for genetic studies. Theca cells were obtained from four normal individuals and four PCOS patients. Results: Nascent GATA6 transcript levels, which reflect GATA6 gene transcription, were significantly increased in PCOS theca cells. In normal theca cells, GATA6 mRNA has a shor...
Diversity factor-based capacity asymptotic approximations of MRC reception in Rayleigh fading channels

Two approximations to the Shannon capacity of a maximal-ratio combining (MRC) diversity system are proposed in terms of the diversity factor (DF). Asymptotic analysis shows that the approximations are identical to the true capacity in the low-SNR regime and have the same slope but different power offsets in the high-SNR regime. For Rayleigh-fading environments, the power offset differences are derived and shown to be considerably small quantities. Thus, the DF can be considered as an effective measure of the asymptotic capacity improvement offered by MRC diversity reception in Rayleigh fading channels.
A new structural pattern matching algorithm for technology mapping

In this paper, a new structural matching algorithm for technology mapping is proposed. The algorithm is based on a key observation that the matches for a node in a subject Boolean network are related to the matches for its children. The structural relationships between the library cells are modeled using a lookup table. The proposed method is fast, has low memory usage, and is easy to implement. Experimental results show speedups of 20/spl times/ over Matsunaga's fast mapping approach, and orders of magnitude over SIS, with the same or slightly better results, and much lower memory utilization.
Copepod vertical distribution within a spatially variable food source : a simple foraging-strategy model

An individual-based model of copepod behavioral responses to vertically patchy food was developed. It was hypothesized that a decrease in step length inversely proportional to the concen- tration of food (area-restricted search) would result in aggregation of the copepods within food patches, and a high value of food eaten/distance traveled. The performance of the copepods using the step-length reduction behavior was compared with two control behaviors. Copepods were allowed to forage through simulated distributions, and other distributions based on a high-resolution, field- sampled, vertical profile of fluorescence. The step-length reduction behavior led to higher values of food eaten/distance traveled, due to a significant portion (>30% at times) of the population that did extremely well compared with the others, in both the theoretical and real field-sampled distributions. The step-length reduction behavior also led to higher spatial correlation between the food and the copepods. This strategy should allow some copepods to bypass local food maxima, where they might not meet their daily feeding requirements, and reach the area of highest food concentration within the water column. Copepods foraging within smoothed versions of the field profiles received little benefit from the step-length reduction behavior, emphasizing the importance of sampling the environ- ment on the appropriate scale.
A reversible Br2/Br− redox couple in the aqueous phase as a high-performance catholyte for alkali-ion batteries

An aqueous catholyte for Li-ion redox batteries employing reversible Br2/Br− redox reactions is investigated. The catholyte uses lithium bromide as the active material and potassium bromide aqueous solution as the supporting electrolyte. By tuning the acidity of the catholyte, stable cyclability of the cell has been achieved at room temperature with a discharge potential of ∼3.9 V, a reversible capacity of 290 mA h g−1, and a specific power density of ∼1000 W kg−1. Compared with the catholytes used in conventional redox-flow batteries, the reported catholyte is heavy-metal-free and can be operated in moderate acidity, providing an alternative option for sustainable electrical energy storage.
Cell activation in the cardiovascular system and organ dysfunction

The author emphasizes the contribution of the smallest blood vessels in the circulation, i.e. the microcirculation, to vascular complications in ischemic diseases as well as in other cardiovascular complications. The microcirculation is composed of a vast network of microvessels whose function it is to supply nutrients to the tissue, remove metabolites, and exchange signaling molecules. Each organ has a microcirculation with structural, cellular and molecular features that are specific for the tissue parenchyma, so that vascular complications manifest themselves in an organ specific fashion. But in spite of this organ specificity, there is evidence to suggest that certain aspects of the cardiovascular complications in different organs have distinct similarities. These similarities are the focus of this discussion.
Virtual memory versus file interfaces for large, memory-intensive scientific applications

Scientific applications often require some strategy for temporary data storage to do the largest possible simulations. The use of virtual memory for temporary data storage has received criticism because of performance problems. However, modern virtual memory found in recent operating systems such as Cenju-3/DE give application writers control over virtual memory policies. We demonstrate that custom virtual memory policies can dramatically reduce virtual memory overhead and allow applications to run out-of-core efficiently. We also demonstrate that the main advantage of virtual memory, namely programming simplicity, is not lost.
Signaling Mechanisms in Mammalian Myoblast Fusion

Myoblast fusion is a critical process that contributes to the growth of muscle during development and to the regeneration of myofibers upon injury. Myoblasts fuse with each other as well as with multinucleated myotubes to enlarge the myofiber. Initial studies demonstrated that myoblast fusion requires extracellular calcium and changes in cell membrane topography and cytoskeletal organization. More recent studies have identified several cell-surface and intracellular proteins that mediate myoblast fusion. Furthermore, emerging evidence suggests that myoblast fusion is also regulated by the activation of specific cell-signaling pathways that lead to the expression of genes whose products are essential for the fusion process and for modulating the activity of molecules that are involved in cytoskeletal rearrangement. Here, we review the roles of the major signaling pathways in mammalian myoblast fusion.
A COMBINED EXPERIMENTAL/NUMERICAL APPROACH TO STUDY THE THERMAL DISPERSION IN POROUS MEDIA FLOWS

The non-isothermal transport during flow in porous media is studied for singleand dual-scale porous media. A new combined experimental/numerical approach to estimating the thermal dispersion tensor is introduced and applied for both isotropic (single-scale) and anisotropic (dual-scale) porous media. The equivalence between the heat and mass transfer is exploited and a 1-D flow experimental set-up is employed to study the spreading of a dye. Later, the mathematical model for such a spreading of concentration (equivalent to the temperature) around a point input in a constant velocity field is solved using the finite element based code COMSOL. Thus obtained numerical spreading pattern is fitted onto the experimentally observed one using the dispersion matrix (tensor) as a fitting parameter. A few cases of single- and dual-scale porous media are studied and the dispersion tensors are reported for each individual case. In one case, the results are validated with the available experimental data in the literature which shows a good match.
Construction and properties of a useful two-dimensional random field

A two-dimensional homogeneous and isotropic random field is described which is generated by a polygonal partition process on the plane. In particular, the plane is divided into elementary disjoint polygonal regions by a Poisson line process. Gray levels within these elementary polygonal regions are assigned to have specified correlation wilh gray levels in contiguous regions. Explicit evaluation of the resulting autocorrelation function and power spectral density is provided. Several applications are described.
Too Much Democracy? Primaries and Candidate Success in the 2006 Mexican National Elections

Do primaries help political parties perform better in general elections, or do they undermine electoral performance by contributing to internal divisions and to the weakening of party organizations? This article examines the effect of holding a primary on the general election prospects of candidates, using cases from two of the three major parties in Mexico's 2006 national legislative elections. In both parties, primaries fail to systematically produce candidates with advantages in the general election, due largely to organizational deficits of the parties and low entry requirements for aspiring precandidates. Indeed, outside urban centers, where parties tend to be better organized, primaries actually seem to hurt party performance in subsequent general elections.
GSM DAC with new segmented mismatch shaping technique

An area-efficient 10-bit 6.5 Msps digital to analog converter (DAC), for the transmit and power ramping DACs of a GSM mixed signal solution, is presented. Using a segmented mismatch shaping approach, the design simultaneously offers the signal to noise ratio needed to achieve good modulation accuracy, and the low out-of-band noise needed to satisfy transmit emissions requirements specified in the GSM standard.
Quantification of tricuspid regurgitation by measuring the width of the vena contracta with Doppler color flow imaging: a clinical study

AbstractOBJECTIVEWe sought to evaluate the vena contracta width (VCW) measured using color Doppler as an index of severity of tricuspid regurgitation (TR).BACKGROUNDThe VCW is a reliable measure of...
Conjectural Equilibrium in Multiuser Power Control Games

This paper considers a noncooperative game in which competing users sharing a frequency-selective interference channel selfishly optimize their power allocation in order to improve their achievable rates. Previously, it was shown that a user having the knowledge of its opponents' channel state information can make foresighted decisions and substantially improve its performance compared with the case in which it deploys the conventional iterative water-filling algorithm, which does not exploit such knowledge. This paper discusses how a foresighted user can acquire this knowledge by modeling its experienced interference as a function of its own power allocation. To characterize the outcome of the multiuser interaction, the conjectural equilibrium is introduced, and the existence of this equilibrium for the investigated water-filling game is proven. Importantly, we show that both the Nash equilibrium and the Stackelberg equilibrium are special cases of the conjectural equilibrium. We also develop practical algorithms to form accurate beliefs and select desirable power allocation strategies. Numerical simulations indicate that a foresighted user without any a priori knowledge of its competitors' private information can effectively learn how the other users will respond to its actions, and induce the entire system to an operating point that improves both its own achievable rate as well as the rates of the other participants in the water-filling game.
COUNTING STELLER SEA LION PUPS IN ALASKA: AN EVALUATION OF MEDIUMFORMAT, COLOR AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Estimates of Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) pup production are valuable for estimating population trend and size. Currently in Alaska, pups are counted by visiting rookeries, driving older animals into the water, then walking through the rookeries and counting the pups, a highly disruptive procedure. At smaller rookeries, with good vantage points, pups are occasionally counted from the periphery of rookeries without disturbing the sea lions. We evaluated counts made from medium-format, color, aerial photographs as an alternative to drive counts and peripheral counts. Neither the peripheral counts nor the aerial photographic counts disturbed animals on the rookeries. There were strong 1:1 linear relationships between photographic counts and drive counts (r 2 = 0.966, P < 0.001) and between photographic counts and peripheral counts (r2 = 0.999, P < 0.001). Precision was similar for all three methods of counting. We suggest that medium-format, color, aerial photography is appropriate for routine surveys of Steller sea lion pups in Alaska because it is not disruptive to the hauled-out sea lions and provides comparable estimates with similar precision to drive and peripheral counts. Large areas can be rapidly surveyed during periods of good weather with a minimum of manpower.
Second order nonlinear kinematic effects, and their compensation

This paper presents a mathematical model of the nonlinear kinematic effects, which reduce absolute static positioning accuracy of robot arms. This kinematic inaccuracy renders robot manipulators ineffective when programmed off-line, though they might be programmed to successfully perform the same task by "Teach Play back" schemes. The kinematic inaccuracy model, presented in this paper can be used to predict and compensate for these second order effects on-line, without resorting to sensor based programming techniques, which are often expensive and difficult to implement in an industrial environment.
Nonlinear Mean Shift over Riemannian Manifolds

The original mean shift algorithm is widely applied for nonparametric clustering in vector spaces. In this paper we generalize it to data points lying on Riemannian manifolds. This allows us to extend mean shift based clustering and filtering techniques to a large class of frequently occurring non-vector spaces in vision. We present an exact algorithm and prove its convergence properties as opposed to previous work which approximates the mean shift vector. The computational details of our algorithm are presented for frequently occurring classes of manifolds such as matrix Lie groups, Grassmann manifolds, essential matrices and symmetric positive definite matrices. Applications of the mean shift over these manifolds are shown.
Assuring privacy when big brother is watching

Homeland security measures are increasing the amount of data collected, processed and mined. At the same time, owners of the data raised legitimate concern about their privacy and potential abuses of the data. Privacy-preserving data mining techniques enable learning models without violating privacy. This paper addresses a complementary problem: What if we want to apply a model without revealing it? This paper presents a method to apply classification rules without revealing either the data or the rules. In addition, the rules can be verified not to use "forbidden" criteria.
Hummel Figurines Molding a Collectible Germany

How are we to understand the many-stranded, even contradictory, ways an artifact projects an ethnic image across the space of the contact zone? A staple of souvenir shops in German-American tourist...
The Binding of Histone Deacetylases and the Integrity of Zinc Finger-Like Motifs of the E7 Protein Are Essential for the Life Cycle of Human Papillomavirus Type 31

The E7 oncoprotein of high-risk human papillomaviruses (HPVs) binds to and alters the action of cell cycle regulatory proteins such as members of the retinoblastoma (Rb) family of proteins as well as the histone deacetylases (HDACs). To examine the significance of the binding of E7 to HDACs in the viral life cycle, a mutational analysis of the E7 open reading frame was performed in the context of the complete HPV type 31 (HPV-31) genome. Human foreskin keratinocytes were transfected with wild-type HPV-31 genomes or HPV-31 genomes containing mutations in HDAC binding sequences as well as in the C-terminal zinc finger-like domain, and stable cell lines were isolated. All mutant genomes, except those with E7 mutations in the HDAC binding site, were found to be stably maintained extrachromosomally at an early passage following transfection. Upon further passage in culture, genomes containing mutations to the Rb binding domain as well as the zinc finger-like region quickly lost the ability to maintain episomal genomes. Genomes containing mutations abolishing E7 binding to HDACs or to Rb or mutations to the zinc finger-like motifs failed to extend the life span of transfected keratinocytes and caused cells to arrest at the same time as the untransfected keratinocytes. When induced to differentiate by suspension in methylcellulose, cells maintaining genomes with mutations in the Rb binding domain or the zinc finger-like motifs were impaired in their abilities to activate late viral functions. This study demonstrates that the interaction of E7 with HDACs and the integrity of the zinc finger-like motifs are essential for extending the life span of keratinocytes and for stable maintenance of viral genomes.