cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The first retinal axons and their microenvironment in zebrafish: cryptic pioneers and the pretract

The initial development of the optic tract was studied with light and electron microscopy in the zebrafish (Danio rerio). Intraocular injections of the fluorescent marker, 1,1'-dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3' tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate (dil), labeled retinal axons and growth cones anterogradely, and injections of dil into the optic chiasm labeled retinal ganglion cells retrogradely. Labeled tissue was photoconverted and examined electron microscopically. The ventronasal retinal quadrant produced the first growth cones. They were the first growth cones in the optic stalk. The leading retinal growth cones, typically 4-10 in number, advanced alongside the tract of the postoptic commissure but rarely sent filopodia into it and never wrapped its axons. Instead, the retinal growth cones followed a pretract, a subpial region that was morphologically distinct from its surroundings and extended out in front of the leading growth cones, presaging the optic tract. Thus, the retinal growth cones, previously thought to be followers of preexisting axons, are actually cryptic pioneers whose proximity to the earlier axons masks their pioneering nature. We suggest that cryptic pioneers and pretracts are probably common elsewhere in the nervous system.
SPC implementation and real time results

A laboratory program used by the Circuit Board Division of Tektronix to automatically obtain real-time analysis and statistical process control information is described. As processes are analyzed and adjusted by the laboratory, data are available to anyone in the plant for review in an easily understandable format. Process trends and upsets are quickly detectable, and necessary adjustments are easily made. The program is described, and details of SPC process optimization and troubleshooting are discussed. >
P2P resource pool and its application to optimize wide-area application level multicasting

The concept of resource pool has a very long history. Propelled by the need to share CPU cycles of supercomputers for highthroughput computing jobs from the scientific community, the vision is most recently explored by the advocates of Grid. On the other hand, the advent of P2P researches has demonstrated the feasibility of integrating potentially unlimited amount of less powerful machines around the world. Organizing a P2P resource pool thus becomes an interesting research topic. This paper attempts to address two problems. The first is how to organize a P2P resource pool, and our answer is to combine the self-organizing strength of P2P DHT with an in-system, selfscaling monitoring infrastructure that is layered on top of DHT. The second question is the utility of the P2P resource pool for interesting applications. And we choose to showcase its power by optimizing wide-area application level multicasting (ALM), a problem far more challenging and interesting than conventional tasks such as massively parallel computation. We show that utilizing spare resources in the pool results in significant savings for single ALM session. Furthermore, we adopt a purely market-driven approach to optimize multiple concurrent sessions. As expected, sessions of higher priority are given higher share of resources.
Survey of the use of crisis intervention centers by the black population.

In an attempt to determine the extent to which crisis centers meet the needs of black communities, questionnaires were sent to 12 centers. Responses were received from six. Only two centers, in Nashville and Washington, D.C., had statistics of callers identified by race. The findings from these two centers indicate that there are differences between the white and black callers with regard to age, marital status, and type of problem. As an example, the typical black male caller was older and more concerned about his job and financial problems than were white males. This kind of information suggests a need for expanded services within the crisis center framework, possibly for a more preventive approach. More data gathering concerned the black community using crisis centers is urged in order better to identify the needs of this population and the methods to be used for meeting those needs.
3D point correspondence by minimum description length in feature space

Finding point correspondences plays an important role in automatically building statistical shape models from a training set of 3D surfaces. For the point correspondence problem, Davies et al. [1] proposed aminimum-descriptionlength-based objective function to balance the training errors and generalization ability. A recent evaluation study [2] that compares several well-known 3D point correspondence methods for modeling purposes shows that the MDL-based approach [1] is the best method. We adapt the MDL-based objective function for a feature space that can exploit nonlinear properties in point correspondences, and propose an efficient optimization method to minimize the objective function directly in the feature space, given that the inner product of any vector pair can be computed in the feature space. We further employ a Mercer kernel [3] to define the feature space implicitly. A key aspect of our proposed framework is the generalization of the MDL-based objective function to kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) [4] spaces and the design of a gradient-descent approach to minimize such an objective function. We compare the generalized MDL objective function on KPCA spaces with the original one and evaluate their abilities in terms of reconstruction errors and specificity. From our experimental results on different sets of 3D shapes of human body organs, the proposed method performs significantly better than the original method.
An evaluation of three function point models for estimation of software effort

It is pointed out that function point analysis has become well-established as a method for estimating software size and, sometimes, software effort. However, the accuracy of estimation models using function points to estimate size or effort has not been ascertained significantly. The authors summarize a study performed to assess the expected accuracy of three function point-based models: the Tecelote Software Program Acquisition Network Simulation (SPANS) model, the Checkpoint model, and the Costar model. It is shown that the three function point models can be useful in effort estimation, especially if they can be adjusted for bias. Based on the percentage tests, the unadjusted Checkpoint model was more accurate than the other two models. However, when models were adjusted for bias, the results were very similar. >
SYSTOLIC TIME INTERVALS IN CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE

It is well over a century since A. H. Garrod noted that the duration of left ventricular ejection in man bears an inverse relationship to heart rate[1]. Indeed, the measurement of the duration of systole, the first method applied in the evaluation of left ventricular function in humans preceded by at least two decades the inventions of the sphygmomanometer, the electrocardiogram and the chest roentgenogram. Despite their early introduction, clinical use of the systolic time intervals (STI) has lagged appreciably with respect to the more commonly applied clinical measures of stroke and minute output of the heart, ventricular diastolic and systolic pressure, and ejection fraction. Among these measures of left ventricular performance, the STI remain unique in that they offer insight into the timing of the left ventricular contraction cycle, a dimension which is not encompassed in other measures.
Growth factors and the intervertebral disc

Abstract Background context The concept of biologically regenerating the intervertebral disc (IVD) using growth factor injection was first proposed in early 1990. Since that time, the technology to produce recombinant proteins, including growth factors, on an industrial scale has been developed. Currently, the effects of recombinant growth factors on IVD cells are less well known than those on articular cartilage chondrocytes. Study design Literature review. Purpose The purpose of this review is to summarize the most recent findings of the effects of growth factors on the IVD and, further, to discuss trends in the biological repair of the degenerated intervertebral disc. Methods A literature search was conducted using available databases, such as the National Library of Medicine, as well as data presented at scientific conferences held in the past 2 years, primarily in the United States. Results Herein, we report increasing evidence for the biological regeneration of the IVD. The effect of growth factors on the metabolism of IVD cells or tissues was studied using in vitro and in vivo approaches. In addition to using recombinant growth factor proteins, the gene transfer technique was also applied to study the effect of growth factors on the IVD. For in vivo studies, the availability of recombinant proteins and the use of gene transfer techniques accelerated progress in this field of research. Conclusions The results from these in vitro and in vivo studies clearly suggest the potential usefulness of recombinant growth factors as therapeutic drugs or as medical devices.
Fluoxetine in tricyclic refractory depression in adolescents

In an open cross-over trial, six hospitalized adolescents (15–18 years) with a DSM-III-R diagnosis of major depression, who had failed to respond to a trial of tricyclic antidepressant (TCA) with or without lithium augmentation, were treated with fluoxetine. Fluoxetine treatment (20–60 mg/day) was associated with a reduction in depression severity after 4 weeks, as measured by Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression. The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression scores (HRSD) reduced significantly after 4 weeks, from 15.8 ± 2.3 to 8.1 ± 3.4 (Z = 2.2, P < 0.02; Wilcoxin signed rank test). Fluoxetine was well tolerated and no subject required discontinuation of medication. One patient became hypomanic on 60 mg/day but responded to dose reduction. Data suggest that, as in the adult age group, there may be a subgroup of TCA non-responsive depressed adolescents who respond to fluoxetine. Shortcomings of the present report are a small number of subjects, open nature of study design, and absence of standardized treatment before commencing trial of fluoxetine. Findings of this report suggest that controlled trials using a placebo-controlled design and involving a larger number of subjects are indicated. Depression 2:287–291 (1994/1995). © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Cluster growth by mitosis.

A stochastic mitosis growth model is introduced. The colony enlarge by random mitosis of a mother cell which is replaced by two daughter cells. Unlike growth models based on a grid, the present model is isotropic. Using simulation of colonies of 10 000 cells, it is found that the density is constant and the boundary is fractal.
THE ROLE OF SOCIALLY CONSTRUCTED SHARED KNOWLEDGE IN LEARNING TO TEACH: COLLABORATION AND REFLECTION IN A COMPUTER-MEDIATED ENVIRONMENT

This research examined the role of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in a partnership that was formed between an educational psychology course for preservice teachers, eight professors from the university's teacher education program, and eight practicing teachers from diverse public schools from across two states. Participants communicated via chat rooms and threaded discussion lists. The use of computer-mediated communication as a viable means of supporting collaboration and reflection in teacher education is described. Results from qualitative and quantitative analyses support the notion that CMC enhanced learning outcomes as measured by reflective capacity. Using the Developmental Model of Reflection as a Cognitive Outcome Scale (Crotty, 2001), results from an ANOVA indicate significant growth in the preservice teachers' reflective comments across the semester.
Effects of Parent Presence on Children's Reactions to Injections: Behavioral, Physiological, and Subjective Aspects

Observed 47 children ranging in age from 13 months to 7 years 9 months receiving injections as part of a regular visit to a pediatric clinic. Twenty-three children were randomly assigned to a condition with parent (mainly mothers) present and 24 to a condition with parent absent. During the medical procedure, the child's reactions were observed via videotape (for later behavioral coding) and physiological recording (to measure heart rates). Following the injection, data were collected on the child's preference of condition (either parent present or parent absent) for future injections. Older children (but not younger ones) showed significantly more behavioral distress when the parent was present. However, the oldest children's preference of condition for future injections was overwhelmingly that of parent present (86%).
The effects of Ro 15-4513 on the behavioral actions of ethanol in an operant reaction time task and a conflict test

Ro 15-4513, an analogue of the benzodiazepine receptor antagonist Ro 15-1788, has been reported to selectively block the anxiolytic and intoxicating properties of ethanol in rats. To examine the specificity and selectivity of this ethanol antagonism, the effects of Ro 15-4513 were tested on the actions of ethanol in an operant reaction time and conflict test in rats. The operant reaction time task involved holding down a lever for 0.25-2.0 seconds to obtain food, and animals treated with 1 g/kg of ethanol showed a significant disruption in performance. This disruptive effect was reversed by Ro 15-4513 in doses of 1.5-5.0 mg/kg. Ro 15-4513 was also tested in an operant conflict paradigm sensitive to alcohol effects. Ro 15-4513 (0, 1.5, 3.0, 6.0 mg/kg) produced a significant decrease in both punished and unpunished responding in the conflict test. Ethanol (0.75 g/kg), pentobarbital (5 mg/kg) and chlordiazepoxide (5 mg/kg) all produced a significant release of punished responding that was blocked by pretreatment with 6.0 mg/kg Ro 15-4513, but again Ro 15-4513 suppressed responding on its own at this dose. These results suggest that Ro 15-4513 has inverse agonist properties that may explain its ethanol-antagonist action.
Salmonella Modulates Vesicular Traffic by Altering Phosphoinositide Metabolism

Salmonella enterica , the cause of food poisoning and typhoid fever, induces actin cytoskeleton rearrangements and membrane ruffling to gain access into nonphagocytic cells, where it can replicate and avoid innate immune defenses. Here, we found that SopB, a phosphoinositide phosphatase that is delivered into host cells by a type III secretion system, was essential for the establishment of Salmonella 9s intracellular replicative niche. SopB mediated the formation of spacious phagosomes following bacterial entry and was responsible for maintaining high levels of phosphatidylinositol-three-phosphate [PtdIns(3)P] in the membrane of the bacteria-containing vacuoles. Absence of SopB caused a significant defect in the maturation of the Salmonella -containing vacuole and impaired bacterial intracellular growth.
Stability of thiamin in parenteral nutrition solutions

Since the vitamin thiamin is sensitive to degradation in the presence of stoichiometric concentrations of sulfite ions, the stability of thiamin in parenteral nutrition solutions containing sulfite as an antioxidant and preservative has been questioned. The usual clinical practice of mixing amino acids, dextrose, and other solutions for administration in total parenteral nutrition significantly dilutes the concentration of sulfite. We have measured the thiamin concentration in total parenteral nutrition solutions sampled from containers after administration to patients. We have also determined the time course of thiamin degradation in solutions containing two concentrations of sulfite. Thiamin content exceeded labeled amounts in total parenteral nutrition bags containing amino acid, dextrose, and multivitamin solutions. However, when multivitamins were added directly to amino acid solutions containing 0.1% (9.6 mM) sulfite, significant degradation occurred by 5 hr. Thiamin was stable for at least 22 hr when added to total parenteral nutrition solutions containing less than 0.05% (4.8 mM) sulfite.
Retrograde amnesia after localized brain shock in passive-avoidance learning.

Abstract Rats were trained on a one-trial passive-avoidance task. Post-trial brain shock was administered through skull screws. This stimulation was given through either anterior or posterior skull placements at several current intensities. At two intensities anterior stimulation was found to produce significantly more retrograde amnesia than the corresponding posterior stimulation. The results are discussed in terms of (a) possible lower generalized brain seizure thresholds for anterior shocks, and (b) possible post-trial disruption of activity in the specific anterior brain structures importantly involved in memory for passive-avoidance learning.
Directional instability of crack propagation with energy dissipation

Abstract It was shown that the behavior of propagating curved and branched cracks isinherently governed by the dynamics of the crack system provided that dissipation in the potential energy is accountedfor. A model is proposed by introducing the concept of an “equivalent crack particle” such that the deterministic aspect of the propagating crack in an idealized continuum and the stochastic nature of the micro chemical characteristics the real material can be modelled. The Langevin equations of motion and the corresponding Fokker-Planck equations are thus derived.
Range-Doppler Resolution Degradation Associated With Amplitude Distortion

An optimal waveform for range-Doppler resolution is the symmetric quadratic fm. When the transmitter signal processing is ineffective in generating this waveform, due perhaps to limitations in modifying the natural chirp response of the oscillator, the resultant waveform has amplitude modulation distortion. This distortion will degrade resolution both in range and Doppler. A simple step approximation to this am distortion displaying the cogent properties is considered, and the resul-tant degradation in performance is analyzed in terms of the ambiguity function output. The am distorted waveform is less efficient in resolution than the purely fm pulse. This is because the pulse-like components have lower bandwidths, degrading compressed pulse range resolution; have shorter durations, degrading Doppler resolution; and contribute to the wave-form asymmetry, enhancing range-Doppler ridge ambiguities. Parametric analytical results, a specific example, and associated graphic illustrations are described.
Phase Behavior and Microstructure in Binary Block Copolymer/Selective Solvent Systems: Experiments and Theory

A combined experimental and theoretical study of phase behavior and structure in binary systems of block copolymers and a selective solvent is presented. The block copolymers used here consist of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) and poly(propylene oxide) (PPO), and the solvent is water, selective for the PEO block. The concentration−temperature phase diagrams of (EO)8(PO)47(EO)8 (Pluronic L92) and (EO)11(PO)70(EO)11 (Pluronic L122) in water have been determined experimentally. These two block copolymers are unique in that they form both normal (H1, “oil-in-water”) and reverse (H2, “water-in-oil”) hexagonal lyotropic liquid crystalline structures in binary systems with water over the same temperature range. This is the first time the H2 structure is reported in a binary PEO−PPO−PEO/water system. Thereafter, the predicted phase diagram of (EO)20(PO)69(EO)20 in water is given, employing a self-consistent mean-field lattice theory with internal degrees of freedom. The free energy for a number of possible microstruc...
Impact of microscope numerical aperture on microspectrophotometric measurements of hemoglobin in microvessels.

Abstract In the microspectrophotometric method to measure hemoglobin concentration and oxygen saturation in microvessels it is recommended that a low numerical aperture ( NA ) condenser be employed to ensure that the recorded image is a true projection of the object. However, this tenet has never been rigorously justified. In this study, the microspectrophotometric method is evaluated using the theory of three-dimensional image formation by a light microscope for a wide range of NA . The results of the calculations show that for measurements for hemoglobin concentration, the recorded image is close to the true projection only when the size of the microvessel is large compared to the degree of smearing (∝1/ NA ) but small compared to the degree of defocus (∝ NA 2 ). These opposing tendencies lead to an optimum NA for which the errors are minimum. This optimum NA is a function of the size of the microvessel and the manner in which the hemoglobin concentration is distributed within the lumen. For measurements of oxygen saturation, the recorded image is the true projection as long as the measurements are made in regions near the microvessel centerline. For measurements made in regions away from the centerline, good agreement was obtained only when the distribution of oxygen saturation was uniform. Reconstruction of the axisymmetric profiles from the recorded projections showed that the errors in the projections cause the recovered profiles to deviate from the true profiles. These deviations are directly related to the extent by which the recorded projections deviate from the true projection.
Sustainability as Moral Action

This chapter operationalizes “sustainability” using the triple bottom line of environmental, social, and economic sustainability as well as ways moral action is inherently present in a variety of sustainability practices
Horizontal gauge symmetry as a natural CP-violation source at the two-generation level

Abstract We show that the classification of the WS-GIM generations by horizontal gauge symmetries can give rise to CP violation already at the two-generation level. The smallness of the CP-violation phase associated with the K0- K 0 system is correlated with the smallness of the physical Cabibbo-like angle which emerges in the up-quark sector. We argue that strict lepton number conservation severely restricts the horizontal symmetries and requires a non-trivial vertical structure. The effective lowest-order four-fermion CP-violating operator is calculated in a recently proposed (SU(2) × U(1)) × U′ (1) model.
Hospital consolidation and costs: another look at the evidence

We investigate whether pairwise hospital consolidation leads to cost savings. We use a unified empirical methodology to assess both systems and mergers. Our comparison group for each consolidation consists of 10 'pseudo-mergers' chosen based on propensity scores. Cost function estimates reveal that consolidation into systems does not generate savings, even after 4 years. Mergers in which hospitals consolidate financial reporting and licenses generate savings of approximately 14%: 2, 3, and 4 years after merger. The system consolidation and merger results are very robust to changes in the specification and the sample.
Katrina and the Cat: Responding to Society's Expendables

“Is it a rat or a cat?” My next-door neighbor’s loud voice interrupts my reverie. I look up from yanking the vines smothering the bromeliads in my front yard, and I see it too. A creature crawls slowly across the road in front of my house toward the neighbors’ driveway, which divides their property from ours. My neighbors continue laughing and talking. Squinting to see through the hot, midday summer sun of Florida, I note that the creature does look like a cross between a rat and a cat. It has a cat’s head, but the body dragging behind is rat like. For a moment, I imagine this is a deformed animal, born that way. But it is not. Walking toward it, I see a young, severely injured cat, normal from its head to half way down its back, with a squashed flat backend low to the ground and legs splayed outward at 90-degree angles. Still, it “walks,” dragging its useless hind end along by pulling with its front paws, meowing with every hard step won. Sensing my presence, the cat changes course and heads toward me and my yard. I resist the urge to move away and instead get on my knees beside the cat. I want to give comfort, but when I see its hind end covered with flies and maggots, I am reluctant to touch it. Instead, I stand up and watch. The cat looks directly at me. “Please help me,” the eyes and rhythmic meow plead. Seeing me near the cat, my neighbor leaves his companions, walks toward me, and says, “Hey, we thought you moved to North Carolina.” His wife comes over and stands at a distance behind him, stretching her neck to peer at the thing in the street. Wondering how anyone could think about anything now but this tragedy that has found us, I ignore his statement and say quietly, “It’s been run over by a car.” “Is that a cat?” he asks. “Yes, I have to get it help.”
A method for reducing and evaluating blanks in Tenax air sampling cartridges

Abstract Clean sorbent cartridges are essential in ambient air sampling to avoid false analytical results. This paper describes a procedure for the construction and cleaning of a Tenax cartridge. A definition is formulated to describe a clean cartridge quantitatively.
Bezout and prufer f-rings

This article describes Bezout and Prufer f-rings in terms of their localizations. All f-rings here are corrmutative, semi prime and possess an identity; they also have the bounded inversion property: a >1 implies that a is a multiplicative unit. The two main theorems are as follows: (1) A is a Bezout f-ring if and only if each localization at a maximal ideal is a (totally ordered) valuation ring; (2) Each Prufer f-ring is quasi-Bezout, and if each localization of A is a Prufer f-ring then so is A. We give a counter-example to show that the converse of the last assertion is false.
BRST current algebra anomalies in string theory

Abstract We have calculated the operator product of the BRST current with itself in the cases of bosonic and fermionic strings. Despite some confusion in the recent literature, these operator products cannot vanish. In fact they are equal to total derivatives only if the total derivative part of the (super) BRST current is chosen correctly. Thus the BRST current algebra has anomalous Schwinger terms.
A critique of Peter Byrne's religious pluralism

An interesting version of religious pluralism has been proposed by Peter Byrne in his Prolegomena to Religious Pluralism. Byrne's pluralism aims to unite an affirmation of the equal cognitive and salvific success of all major religions with a realist view of religious truth and a severe agnosticism about specific descriptions of religious reality. I argue that Byrne's proposal, while an improvement upon non-realist versions of pluralism, fails to resolve the tensions between its agnosticism about detailed descriptions of the sacred reality and its realist conception of religious truth, which requires the revisability of descriptions of the sacred offered by diverse religions.
An Efficient Implementation of Joint Fourier Transform Correlation Using a Modified LCTV

The joint Fourier transform correlation (JFTC) algorithm is implemented using a modified Citizen liquid crystal television (LCTV) which acts as a spatial light modulator in the amplitude mode. Using a combination of optics and electronics, results are obtained in real time (1/30 of a second). The video output is introduced into a video processing system to eliminate the noise inherent when using a coherent, monochromatic source. An optical disk is used to eliminate the dc term in the correlation plane and obtain only the correlation peaks.
Multicast traffic grooming in flexible optical WDM networks

In Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs), point-to-multipoint applications, such as IPTV, video-on-demand, distance learning, and content distribution, can be efficiently supported through light-tree-based multicastcommunications instead of lightpath-based unicast-communications. The application of multicasting for such traffic is justified by its inherent benefits of reduced control and management overhead and elimination of redundant resource provisioning. Supporting such multicast traffic in Flexible optical WDM (FWDM) networks that can provision light-trees using optimum amount of spectrum within flexible channel spacing leads to higher wavelength and spectral efficiencies compared to the conventional ITU-T fixed grid networks. However, in spite of such flexibility, the residual channel capacity of stranded channels may not be utilized if the network does not offer channels with arbitrary line rates. Additionally, the spectrum allocated to guard bands used to isolate finer granularity channels remains unutilized. These limitations can be addressed by using traffic grooming in which low-rate multicast connections are aggregated and switched over high capacity light-trees. In this paper, we address the multicast traffic grooming problem in FWDM networks, and propose a novel auxiliary graph-based algorithm for the first time. The performance of multicast traffic grooming is evaluated in terms of spectral, cost, and energy efficiencies compared to lightpath-based transparent FWDM networks, lightpathbased traffic grooming-capable FWDM networks, multicast-enabled transparent FWDM networks, and multicast traffic grooming-capable fixed grid networks. Simulation results demonstrate that multicast traffic grooming in FWDM networks not only improves spectral efficiency, but also cost, and energy efficiencies compared to other multicast traffic provisioning approaches of FWDM and fixed grid networks.
Structure and thermotropic properties of hydrated N-stearoyl sphingomyelin bilayer membranes

Hydrated multibilayers of N-stearoyl sphingomyelin were investigated as a function of hydration using differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray diffraction. Anhydrous N-stearoyl sphingomyelin exhibits an endothermic transition at 75°C (ΔH=3.8kcal/mol) are increasing hydration proessively lowers the transition temperature and increases the transition enthalpy, until limiting values (Tm = 45°C, ΔH = 6.7kcal/mol) are observed for hydration values > 21.4% H2O. At low hydration levels, < 20% H2O, an additional transition is observed at approx. 20°C. X-ray diffraction studies at temperatures below (22°C) and above (55°C) the main endothermic transition confirm that the bilayer gel (sharp 4.2Areflection) → bilayer liquid crystal (diffuse 4.5Areflection) transition occurs at all hydration levels with limiting bilayer hydration occurring at approx. 31.5% H2O in the gel phase and at approx. 35% H2O in the liquid crystal phase. The thermotropic properties and metastability of this partial synthetic N-stearoyl sphingomyelin differ in some respects from that of the previously studied synthetic dl-erythro-N-stearoyl sphingomyelin (Estep, T.N., Calhoun, W.I., Barenholz, Y., Biltonen, R.L., Shipley, G.G. and Thompson, T.E. (1980) Biochemistry 19, 20–24), suggesting an influential role of the interfacial molecular conformation.
Mathematically Modeling Dilution

A lesson is described in which students interactively derive the dilution equation, C i V i = C f V f . Qualitative description and mathematical modeling are utilized to promote students’ conceptual understanding of this equation.
Binding of insecticides to human serum proteins.

Abstract This investigation concerns the binding of DDT, dieldrin, carbaryl, and parathion to human serum proteins. Fresh human serum and commerically prepared human blood fractions were used to investigate the binding characteristics of the insecticides. Binding was demonstrated to be of a low affinity, hydrophobic nature with the albumin and lipoprotein fractions exhibiting the highest affinity for the insecticides. The binding of DDT and dieldrin to the lipoproteins was inferred to be partially protective in acute poisoning because of the relative stability of the protein-pesticide complex. All the protein fractions examined can clearly play some role in the transport of these insecticides.
Metallurgical Investigation of LM2500 High Pressure Turbine (HPT) Blade Failures

The General Electric LM2500 gas turbine is utilized as the propulsion engine aboard the Navy’s newest surface combatants including the FFG 7, CG 47 and DDG 51 Class ships. The US Navy owns and operates 450 LM2500 engines. Several instances of high pressure turbine blade failures have required engines to be removed from service and returned to the depot. This paper assesses the reasons for these removals including a shipboard service life assessment of each failure and root cause investigation. Detailed metallurgical findings from two of the Navy’s HPT blade failures are presented and proposed operational risk mitigation strategies are offered for LM2500 engine users.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Sequential test generators: past, present and future

With the growth in complexity of very large scale integration (VLSI) circuits, test generation for sequential circuits is becoming increasingly difficult and time consuming. Even though the computing power and resources have multiplied dramatically over last few decades, an increasing number of memory elements in VLSI circuits require more effective and powerful sequential test generators. In this paper, we describe and illustrate the working of existing sequential circuit test generation algorithms for the VLSI circuits. We also categorize all sequential testing algorithms, and summarize their relative advantages and disadvantages. The research issues and future directions in the sequential circuit testing area are also discussed.
A Structural Social Psychological View of Gender Differences in Cooperation

We analyze differences in cooperation between men and women in social dilemma settings. Using a structural social psychological framework, we examine how the actor, the encounter, the microstructure, and the macrostructure might influence when gender differences emerge in cooperation. Many of the interaction differences, often linked to innate differences between men and women, are modified when the context is modified. We pay particular attention to how status and identity are connected to such modifications.
Radiative transfer in a nongray spherical layer: Simplified rectangular model

Abstract The problem of radiative transfer in a nongray, absorbing-emitting spherical layer is investigated. The absorption coefficient is assumed to be only a function of frequency, i.e. k v = α( v ) k , and the function α( v ) is allowed only two values, zero or unity (simplified rectangular model). The nongray radiative transfer problem is reduced to a gray solution without the use of any approximation (such asthe Plank or Rosseland means) for an isothermal layer and for radiative equilibr
Is Evidence Knowledge

In chapter 9 of Knowledge and its Limits (Williamson 2000), Timothy Williamson argues for the thesis that the evidence that a subject has is constituted by propositions known by the subject (a thesis that he summarizes in the equation E=K). Moreover, Williamson also argues that whatever justifies a subject in believing a proposition is part of that subject’s evidence, and thus that only propositions that a subject knows can justify further propositions. We will argue that such a position has two implausible consequences. First, it is incompatible with the existence of Gettier cases. Second, it entails that a plausible principle of the closure of justification fails. But there are Gettier cases, and the closure principle is true. Therefore, evidence isn’t knowledge.
Zooplankton feeding ecology: contents of fecal pellets of the copepods Temora turbinata and T. stylifera from continental shelf and slope waters near the mouth of the Mississippi River

In-situ feeding habits of the copepods Temora turbinata and T. stylifera were investigated by scanning electron microscope examination of fecal pellets, the contents of which reflected copepod gut contents upon capture. Pellet contents were compared with assemblages of available phytoplankton in the water column at the times of zooplankton sampling. Samples were collected in continental shelf and slope waters of the Gulf of Mexico near the mouth of the Mississippi River. Both species ingested a wide size range and taxonomic array of phytoplankters, and to a lesser extent, other crustaceans. Fecal pellets contained primarily the remains of the phytoplankters that were most abundant in the water at times of collection. There was considerable overlap in the food items ingested by adult females of both copepod species, or two stages of T. turbinata copepodites. Thus, T. turbinata and T. stylifera are omnivores, but primarily opportunistic herbivores.
Internal medicine residents' perspectives on effects of 2011 ACGME work hour regulations on patient care.

Background: The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) introduced new work hour limitations in July 2011. Purposes: The aim is to assess internal medicine residents’ perspectives on the impact of these limitations on their ability to discharge patient care duties. Methods: An anonymous survey was administered to 158 medicine residents in an urban university-affiliated internal medicine residency program. Residents’ perspectives on various aspects of patient care were recorded on a 5-point Likert-type scale. Results: The response rate was 62%. The majority of residents (80%) agreed that patients had adequate continuity of care. Most residents agreed that they had enough time to follow up on consult notes (64% agreed) and investigations (80% agreed) daily. Most PGY-1 residents (59%) reported having enough time to prepare sign-outs. Most (60%) residents felt that reducing handoffs would improve patient care. Conclusions: Most residents believe that the new work hour limitations would co...
Practical blended taint analysis for JavaScript

JavaScript is widely used in Web applications because of its flexibility and dynamic features. However, the latter pose challenges to static analyses aimed at finding security vulnerabilities, (e.g., taint analysis). We present blended taint analysis, an instantiation of our general-purpose analysis framework for JavaScript, to illustrate how a combined dynamic/static analysis approach can deal with dynamic features by collecting generated code and other information at runtime. In empirical comparisons with two pure static taint analyses, we show blended taint analysis to be both more scalable and precise on JavaScript benchmark codes extracted from 12 popular websites at alexa. Our results show that blended taint analysis discovered 13 unique violations in 6 of the websites. In contrast, each of the static analyses identified less than half of these violations. Moreover, given a reasonable time budget of 10 minutes, both static analyses encountered webpages they could not analyze, sometimes significantly many such pages. Case studies demonstrate the quality of the blended taint analysis solution in comparison to that of pure static analysis.
Influence of light and dark on flowering in Zostera marina L. under laboratory conditions

Abstract The female flowers of more than 80% of the influorescences of Zostera marina L. flowered in the dark if they were kept under conditions of alternating periods of 12 h light and 12 h dark. This was independent of whether the dark period coincided with the solar day or night. No persistent endogenous flowering rhythm was found. The action of light seemd to be a faxt-acting photo-inhibition which cannot be exteded over more than 24 h. Flowering can occur in constant light or constant dark, but under the latter condition moulds and bacteria cause a premature stop. Dehiscence of the anthers may also be influenced by periodicity of light, but the sensitivity of anthers for alternating light and dark appeared to vary during the flowering season. The influence of one or more unknown factors seems to be involved. A persistent endogenous flowering rhythm is absent. Flowering occurred normally is constant light and constant dark and anthers proved to be less sensitive to moulds and bacteria than the female flowers.
Comparative efficacy of replicating smallpox vaccine strains in a Murine Challenge Model

There is currently considerable concern about the vulnerability of human populations to biowarfare or bioterrorist attacks with variola virus (VARV). Traditional smallpox vaccines were manufactured using the lymph of ruminants infected with the vaccinia virus (VACV). However, these production methods do not meet current standards for vaccines, especially since the emergence of transmissable spongiform encephalopathies in domesticated ruminants. This study has examined the protective efficacy of the Lister (Elstree) vaccine strain from various sources in a murine lethal challenge model. Considerable variation in efficacy is observed between the Lister material obtained from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) and the same strain obtained from vaccine stockpiles. A new, tissue-culture derived Lister vaccine is assessed against a bench-mark of multiple lots from a historical stockpile of the traditional vaccine. Apparent qualitative differences are observed between historical and new vaccines. Statistically significant differences are observed between different batches of the traditional vaccine, and the efficacy of the tissue-culture produced vaccine falls within this range.
Oxidative C-H activation/C-C bond forming reactions: synthetic scope and mechanistic insights.

This paper describes a new palladium-catalyzed method for C−H activation/carbon−carbon bond formation with hypervalent iodine arylating agents. This transformation has been applied to a variety of arene and benzylic substrates containing different directing groups (pyridines, quinolines, oxazolidinones, and amides) and proceeds with high levels of regiocontrol. Mechanistic experiments provide preliminary evidence in support of an unusual mechanism for this transformation involving a Pd(II)/Pd(IV) catalytic cycle.
Hate Crimes: A New/Old Problem

Hate Crimes—crimes motivated by prejudice, ethnicity, religion, or sexual orientation—are generally believed to have increased globally in recent years. In the United States, traditional racist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan have been joined by “neo-Nazi skinheads” and other extremist collectives known for their use of violence and intimidation. Several new initiatives have been undertaken to counter this phenomenon. By now all but a few states have enacted laws against hate crimes and an increasing number of law enforcement agencies have added Hate Crime Units to their departments. Unprecedented efforts are being made, especially at the federal level, to compile and disseminate statistical information on bias-motivated crimes. This paper reviews and assesses some of the more recent developments and policies in different jurisdictions and concludes that despite the new efforts underway, hate crimes represent a challenge to law enforcement that still needs to be met.
A theory of stress-softening in incompressible isotropic materials

A general theory of isotropic stress-softening in incompressible isotropic materials is developed. The principal idea is that a stress-softening material is an inelastic material that has selective memory of only the maximum previous deformation to which it is subjected. This memory dependence is incorporated within general material response functions that are monotone decreasing functions of a stress-softening variable, which is a monotone increasing function of the maximum previous strain experienced by the material. A loading criterion is introduced to identify when the material is loaded along its virgin deformation path where the maximum previous strain is its current value, and to identify when it is unloaded to deform subsequently as an ideal isotropic elastic material in both elastic loading and unloading, so long as the maximum previous strain is not exceeded. The effect of loading from a configuration of maximum previous strain is to further stress-soften the material. Results demonstrating the effects of stress-softening are obtained for general isotropic stress-softening materials in simple uniaxial extension and in simple shear. A simplified analytical model together with a special softening function are introduced to illustrate some general results and to provide specific analytical and graphical examples. Both general and model-specific analytical results obtained for simple uniaxial extension are shown to be consistent with the overall ideal phenomenological behavior exhibited in experiments by others on stress-softening in simple tension and compression. Similar but totally new results for simple shear are derived, and their relation to effects in simple tension are discussed. It is demonstrated that the larger effect of softening occurs in the simple uniaxial extension, the effect in even a gross equivalent simple shear being small. All results are obtained from general three-dimensional constitutive equations.
Analyzing difficulties with mole-concept tasks by using familiar analog tasks

This study was conducted to determine which skills and concepts students have that are prerequisites for solving moles problems through the use of analog tasks. Two analogous tests with four forms of each were prepared that corresponded to a conventional moles test. The analogs used were oranges and granules of sugar. Slight variations between test items on various forms permitted comparisons that would indicate specific conceptual and mathematical difficulties that students might have in solving moles problems. Different forms of the two tests were randomly assigned to 332 high school chemistry students of five teachers in four schools in central Indiana. Comparisons of total test score, subtest scores, and the number of students answering an item correctly using appropriate t-test and chi square tests resulted in the following conclusions: (1) the size of the object makes no difference in the problem difficulty; (2) students understand the concepts of mass, volume, and particles equally well; (3) problems requiring two steps are harder than those requiring one step; (4) problems involving scientific notation are more difficult than those that do not; (5) problems involving the multiplication concept are easier than those involving the division concept; (6) problems involving the collective word “bag” are easier to solve than those using the word “billion”; (7) the use of the word “a(n)” makes the problem more difficult than using the number “1”.
Measurement of protein in whole plant samples with ninhydrin

The ninhydrin method has been used widely for measuring amino acids in hydrolysed purified proteins. It is also a useful method of measuring the total amino acid or protein content of hydrolysed plant samples. In this study the conditions used in a modified ninhydrin method were found to incompletely hydrolyse protein. Therefore, standard conditions for protein hydrolysis (6 M HCI at 110† C) were tested. The accuracy of protein measurements using the standard ninhydrin method was evaluated using pure proteins, protein-carbohydrate standards and plant samples augmented with known amounts of protein. Standard hydrolysis conditions completely hydrolysed proteins, but protein content was overestimated when these conditions were used on whole plant samples and standards containing carbohydrates. This error may be quantified and corrected easily in plant samples, however, by measuring the recovery of protein added to control samples before hydrolysis.