cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of UV exposure on the microstructure and mechanical properties of long fiber thermoplastic (LFT) composites

In this work, the effect of ultraviolet (UV) exposure on the microstructure and dynamic Young’s modulus of polypropylene (PP)/21 vol.% E-glass LFT and neat PP was investigated. Microscopic observations revealed that the damage due to UV was confined to the surface region only in the form of surface cracking and exposure of fibers to the surface in the case of long fiber thermoplastic (LFT) and surface cracking in the case of neat PP. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy showed that the crystallinity of PP in the damaged layer increased, both in neat PP as well as in LFT, with exposure time. This is due to chemicrystallization, which involves rearrangement of amorphous broken polymer chains into crystalline form. Crystallinity of PP in the damaged layer in LFT increased at a higher rate as compared to that in neat PP. Results of nanoindentation showed that the Young’s modulus of the PP in the damaged layer increased, with UV exposure time; the rate of modulus increase being higher in the case of LFT than in neat PP. Although the local Young’s modulus of the degraded layer increased, the dynamic Young’s modulus of the overall composite showed a decrease with UV exposure time.
Platelet transfusion requirements during autologous peripheral blood progenitor cell transplantation correlate with the pretransplant platelet count.

Summary: after the infusion of autologous marrow. 1,2 The use of primed peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPC) has resulted in more rapid platelet engraftment, with most trials The use of primed peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPC) has improved platelet engraftment following reporting platelet recovery in 14‐18 days. 3‐8 Relatively few series specifically report the number of platelet transfusions autologous bone marrow/PBPC transplantation (ABMT). The thrombocytopenia associated with ABMT required during autologous transplantation when using PBPC. At our own institution, a median of five platelet generally lasts 14‐18 days, and is associated with variable platelet transfusion requirements. Little, if any, transfusions are required during PBPC autologous transplantation. data exist examining prognostic parameters for platelet transfusion requirements during autologous transplan- Many studies have documented that both neutrophil and platelet engraftment correlates with the number of CD34 + tation. We retrospectively examined 286 consecutive patients undergoing autologous transplantation from 1 cells infused. 9‐12 However, little data exist examining other potential prognostic parameters for platelet engraftment, or January l994 to 1 June l996 with respect to platelet engraftment and platelet transfusion requirements. One for the number of platelet transfusion events required during autologous transplantation. Such parameters are neceshundred and fifty four patients were transplanted for breast cancer (54%), 72 for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma sary as new platelet stimulating agents, such as thrombopoietin, are being incorporated into clinical trials. Anecdotal (25%), 35 for Hodgkin’s disease (12%), 13 for acute leukemia (5%), eight for myeloma (3%), and four for other data from our institution suggested that patients beginning PBPC autologous transplant with a low platelet count malignancy (1%). The median age was 44. All patients received cytokine priming, usually with G-CSF, for the required more platelet transfusions during the transplant than did those patients beginning with a normal platelet procurement of PBPC. The median number of CD34 + cells collected was 4.3 × 10 6 /kg. All patients received a count. To study this issue, we retrospectively examined 286 consecutive patients undergoing autologous progenitor cell
Failure to control postprostatectomy urinary incontinence by urethral compression

A modification of Kaufman's urinary incontinence device was implanted unsuccessfully in 5 patients. This device achieved passive urinary continence in each of these patients; however, all patients continued to experience moderate to severe stress incontinence. The results of this study challenge the concept that static urethral compression can achieve total urinary continence in patients with postprostatectomy incontinence.
Game Studies Now, History of Science Then

This article compares the growth of history of science as a discipline to the situation faced by game studies today. What can researchers learn from the elevation of the history of science to an established discipline and profession that might help scholars understand the situation of game studies? And why are game studies today being talked about in ways similar to the rhetoric that accompanied the history of science in the 1960s and 1970s? The author suggests that the growth of history of science then and game studies now has been fueled by similar motivations and strategies. These reflections on the history of science suggest there is nothing about such divisions that dooms or even threatens the growth and eventual success of this new discipline.
Photoinduced charge transfer processes in ultrasmall semiconductor clusters. Photophysical properties of CdS clusters in Nafion membrane

The photophysical properties of quantized CdS clusters in a perfluorosulfonate polymer (Nafion) film have been investigated by time-resolved emission spectroscopy. The ultrasmall CdS clusters were prepared by exposing Cd2+-exchanged polymer film to H2S. Size-dependent absorption and emission properties were observed during the growth of these clusters. The emission decay is multiexponential with lifetimes ranging from 0.85 to 480 ns.
Modeling data acquisition and the effects of patient motion in magnetic resonance imaging

In this paper, we present a comprehensive model for MR data acquisition in the presence of patient motion to provide a better understanding as to the source of motion artifacts. This model identifies and quantifies various sources of motion artifacts in 2-D Fourier imaging. We verify our model by comparing the results predicted by the model with actual MR images of phantoms subjected to motion with controlled parameters. We expect that the knowledge of the sources of artifacts will lead to new and better methods of compensating for them.
Coupled thermo-hydro-mechanical model for porous materials under frost action: theory and implementation

This paper introduces the development and implementation of a multiphysical model to simulate the coupled hydro-thermo-mechanical processes in freezing unsaturated porous materials. The model couples the Fourier’s law for heat transfer, the generalized Richards’ equation for fluid transfer in unsaturated media, and the mechanical constitutive relationship. Coupling parameters were defined to transfer information between field variables. Relationships, such as the similarity between drying and freezing processes and the Clapeyron equation for thermodynamic equilibrium during phase transition, were utilized to describe the effects of frost action. The coupled nonlinear partial differential equation system was solved under typical boundary conditions. The simulation results indicate that the model properly captured the coupling characteristics such as the thermally induced hydraulic and mechanical change in porous materials. Simulation was also conducted on an instrumented pavement section. The results of multiphysical simulations match reasonably well with the field-monitoring data.
Interferon-β gene therapy improves survival in an immunocompetent mouse model of carcinomatosis

Abstract Background Interferon-β (IFNβ) has multiple antitumor effects; however, its use has been limited by its short half-life in vivo. This limitation may be overcome by IFNβ gene therapy. We evaluated adenovirus-IFNβ therapy in an immunocompetent mouse model of carcinomatosis. Methods Mice that were treated intraperitoneally 5 days after tumor (mouse ovarian teratoma) inoculation with an adenoviral vector that contains the mouse IFNβ gene (Ad-IFNβ), control adenoviral vector or saline solution. Mice were monitored for multiple outcome measures and toxicity. To determine the mechanism of antitumor effect, flow cytometry of ascites fluid was performed to differentiate immune cell populations. Nitric oxide in ascites fluid was measured with an electrochemical microsensor. Results Tumor burden was decreased and survival was prolonged (P Conclusion IFNβ gene therapy results in decreased tumor burden and improved survival in an aggressive, immunocompetent mouse model of carcinomatosis. This therapy warrants further evaluation as a treatment for disseminated peritoneal cancer.
Social networks of Wikipedia

Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia anyone can edit, is a live social experiment: millions of individuals volunteer their knowledge and time to collective create it. It is hence interesting trying to understand how they do it. While most of the scholar attention focused on article pages, a less investigated share of activities happen on user talk pages, Wikipedia pages where a message can be left for the specific user. This public conversations can be studied from a Social Network Analysis perspective in order to highlight the structure of the "talk" network. In this paper we focus on this preliminary extraction step by proposing different algorithms. We then empirically validate the differences in the networks they generate on the Venetian Wikipedia with the real network of conversations extracted manually by coding every message left on all user talk pages. The comparisons show that both the algorithms and the manual process contain inaccuracies that are intrinsic in the freedom and unpredictability of Wikipedia syntax and practices. Nevertheless, a precise description of the involved issues allows to make informed decisions and to base empirical findings on reproducible evidence. Our goal is to lay the foundation for a solid computational sociology of wikis. For this reason we release the scripts encoding our algorithms as open source and also some datasets extracted out of Wikipedia conversations, in order to let other researchers replicate and improve our initial effort.
Analysis of laminar flow and heat transfer in tubes with internal circumferential fins

Abstract A numerical study is presented for the laminar flow and heat transfer in tubes with internal circumferential fins. The presence of the fins gives rise to a recirculating flow in the space between two successive fins. Computations are performed for the periodic fully developed flow, in which the velocity field repeats itself in successive inter-fin regions. Although the recirculating flow aids mixing and tends to increase the heat transfer, the obstruction provided by the fins causes the main throughflow to move away from the tube wall. The net effect is that, for fluids like air, there is actually a decrease in heat transfer for the finned tube. Only for high-Prandtl number fluids like water can some increase in heat transfer be achieved. The results are presented for a range of Reynolds numbers and for various values of the geometrical parameters such as the fin height and fin spacing. Streamline patterns are given for some typical cases to provide an insight into the heat transfer behavior.
Re: Case report of failed tubal occlusion using Essure pbc (permanent birth control) hysteroscopic sterilisation procedure.

I read with interest a case report by Karthigasu et al . titled Case report of failed tubal occlusion using Essure pbc (permanent birth control) hysteroscopic sterilisation procedure published in the Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology 2006; 46 : 365-367. Although the authors attest that the Essure device failed to occlude the right fallopian tube when it was properly placed their conclusion is based on the wrong premise. The authors interpreted the patients post-sterilisation follow-up hysterosalpingogram incorrectly. The X-ray clearly shows that the tubal lumen is empty and patent with the device lodged above in the wall of the fallopian tube most likely subserosal as apparently laparoscopy did not reveal the device completely penetrating the fallopian tube. Two tracts are seen on the X-ray: the tubal lumen with no device and above that the Essure device. The authors describe these two tracts but fail to recognise the partial tubal perforation by the Essure device with dissection of the tubal wall under the serosa. Complete tubal perforation was perhaps avoided because of the blunt end of the device and its malleability. Obviously the Essure device cannot occlude the tubal lumen if it is not deployed and placed properly in that lumen. Furthermore the hysteroscopic view of the implanted device despite its low resolution suggests that the tubal lumen is below and lateral to the device. While the fallopian tube was occluded at laparoscopy it might have been useful to perform a right salpingectomy with cornual resection to evaluate the fallopian tube histologically which would have determined the partial tubal perforation and its tract as it was done in the 1970s to evaluate the formation of fistulous tracts after failed tubal sterilisation by coagulation of the tubes. (excerpt)
What's Wrong With Chemoprevention of Prostate Cancer?

When prostate-specific antigen (PSA) testing was introduced, proponents expected it to cut prostate-cancer mortality and did not expect it to unleash an epidemic of unnecessary treatments. Now that evidence of a mortality benefit remains unclear while evidence of overtreatment in undeniable, there is understandable interest in reducing the human costs of the PSA system. Two related drugs, finasteride and dutasteride, both proven to reduce the incidence of prostate cancer and the “risk of diagnosis,” are being promoted accordingly. However, if not for the flaws of the PSA system the use of these drugs for purposes of prevention would lose its rationale. Not only are the drugs in this sense dependent on a faulty system, but their own mortality benefits are as speculative as PSA's—in addition to which, they introduce new risks.
An adaptive interval generation method for efficient distance coding of binary images

We proposed an adaptive method for more efficient distance-coding of binary images. The proposed method partitions the image into blocks where the interval sequences of zeros or ones can be calculated, as opposed to the conventional method where intervals are calculated by following a fixed scan order. In the proposed method, one can adaptively choose either horizontal or vertical scan within a block, depending on criteria based on entropy values. The resulting intervals tend to have lower entropies than the conventional non-adaptive methods, thereby allowing for higher compression than distance coding using a lossless codec. Our simulations on various test images demonstrated that (i) the proposed method achieved significantly higher compression than the non-adaptive distance coding method; (ii) the proposed method can be used as an efficient preprocessor of a lossless coder, offering higher compression than directly coding on the original images.
Synthesis of reversible cyclic peptides

A novel approach for the synthesis of cyclic peptides that can exist in either linear or cyclized conformations is described. Synthesis of the peptides was achieved via a modified solid phase methodology. The reversible linear/cyclized (i.e., open/closed) states are controlled via the reduction/oxidation of a disulfide bond incorporated into the backbone of the peptide chain.
A numerical method for a second-gradient theory of incompressible fluid flow

This work concerns the development of a finite-element method for discretizing a recent second-gradient theory for the flow of incompressible fluids. The new theory gives rise to a flow equation involving higher-order gradients of the velocity field and introduces an accompanying length scale and boundary conditions. Finite-element methods based on similar equations involving fourth-order differential operators typically rely on C^1-continuous basis functions or a mixed approach, both of which entail certain implementational difficulties. Here, we examine the adaptation of a relatively inexpensive, non-conforming method based on C^0-continuous basis functions. We first develop the variational form of the method and establish consistency. The method weakly enforces continuity of the vorticity, traction, and hypertraction across interelement boundaries. Stabilization is achieved via Nitsche's method. Further, pressure stabilization scales with the higher-order moduli, so that the classical formulation is recovered as a particular limit. The numerical method is verified for the problem of steady, plane Poiseuille flow. We then provide several numerical examples illustrating the robustness of the method and contrasting the predictions to those provided by classical Navier-Stokes theory.
Superior Prognostic Importance of Perineural Invasion vs. Lymph Node Involvement After Curative Resection of Duodenal Adenocarcinoma

Background Unlike other gastrointestinal tumors, lymph node involvement has not consistently been a negative prognostic factor for survival in patients with duodenal adenocarcinoma. Our aim is to examine prognostic factors in patients who underwent a curative resection of their duodenal adenocarcinoma.
Multimodal floral signals and moth foraging decisions.

Background Combinations of floral traits - which operate as attractive signals to pollinators - act on multiple sensory modalities. For Manduca sexta hawkmoths, how learning modifies foraging decisions in response to those traits remains untested, and the contribution of visual and olfactory floral displays on behavior remains unclear. Methodology/principal findings Using M. sexta and the floral traits of two important nectar resources in southwestern USA, Datura wrightii and Agave palmeri, we examined the relative importance of olfactory and visual signals. Natural visual and olfactory cues from D. wrightii and A. palmeri flowers permits testing the cues at their native intensities and composition - a contrast to many studies that have used artificial stimuli (essential oils, single odorants) that are less ecologically relevant. Results from a series of two-choice assays where the olfactory and visual floral displays were manipulated showed that naive hawkmoths preferred flowers displaying both olfactory and visual cues. Furthermore, experiments using A. palmeri flowers - a species that is not very attractive to hawkmoths - showed that the visual and olfactory displays did not have synergistic effects. The combination of olfactory and visual display of D. wrightii, however - a flower that is highly attractive to naive hawkmoths - did influence the time moths spent feeding from the flowers. The importance of the olfactory and visual signals were further demonstrated in learning experiments in which experienced moths, when exposed to uncoupled floral displays, ultimately chose flowers based on the previously experienced olfactory, and not visual, signals. These moths, however, had significantly longer decision times than moths exposed to coupled floral displays. Conclusions/significance These results highlight the importance of specific sensory modalities for foraging hawkmoths while also suggesting that they learn the floral displays as combinatorial signals and use the integrated floral traits from their memory traces to mediate future foraging decisions.
Effects of phase-feeding dietary phosphorus on survival, growth, and processing characteristics of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss

Abstract A factorial experiment involving eight diets and three feeding periods was conducted to determine the minimal level of dietary phosphorus required to maintain survival, growth, and processing characteristics of post-juvenile rainbow trout. Trout were reared to an average size of 200, 300, or 400 g using a commercial feed (1.20% P), then allotted by triplicate groups of nine fish to one of seven experimental diets containing logarithmic increments of dietary phosphorus (0.15%%, 0.21%, 0.30%, 0.42%, 0.60%, 0.85%, and 1.20% P) or a commercial trout feed (1.20% P). At an average weight of 550 g, fish were transported to a commercial processing plant, mechanically filleted, and evaluated for quality. Fish survival and weight gain increased quadratically with increased dietary phosphorus for fish started on treatment at 200 and 300 g, but were similar among all fish started at 400 g. Phosphorus retention decreased with increasing dietary phosphorus level, from approximately 88% in groups fed diets containing 0.21% phosphorus to between 23% and 32% in groups fed diets containing 0.85% phosphorus. Calculated phosphorus losses increased as dietary phosphorus levels increased, from a low of approximately 0.4 g phosphorus kg −1 fish weight gain to between 9.5 and 13 g phosphorus kg −1 fish weight gain at the highest dietary phosphorus level. Dietary phosphorus did not affect carcass moisture, protein, lipid, or ash, but carcass phosphorus increased with increased dietary phosphorus among fish started on treatment at 200 and 300 g. There were no differences among any treatment group in carcass dressing or finishing percentage, or visual or textural appeal. The results indicate that available phosphorus levels can be reduced in rainbow trout diets to 0.60% at 200 g, to 0.30% at 300 g, or to 0.15% at 400 g live weight without loss in production or product quality in fish harvested at 550 g. Using these phase-feeding strategies would reduce the amount of phosphorus fed to the fish over the production cycle by 25%, and the amount lost to the environment by 12.5% for fish starting at 300 or 400 g.
RATCHETING, WRINKLING AND COLLAPSE OF TUBES UNDER AXIAL CYCLING

Circular tubes compressed into the plastic range first buckle into axisymmetric wrinkling modes. Initially the wrinkle amplitude grows with increasing load. The wrinkles gradually induce a reduction in axial rigidity eventually leading to a limit load instability followed by collapse. The two instabilities can be separated by strain levels of a few percent. This work investigates whether a tube that develops small amplitude wrinkles can be subsequently collapsed by persistent cycling. The problem is first investigated experimentally using SAF 2507 super-duplex steel tubes with D/t of 28.5. The tubes are first compressed to strain levels high enough for mild wrinkles to form; they are then cycled axially under stress control about a compressive mean stress. This type of cycling usually results in material ratcheting or accumulation of compressive strain; here it is accompanied by accumulation of structural damage due to the growth of the amplitude of the initial wrinkles. The tube average strain initially grows nearly linearly with the number of cycles, but as a critical value of wrinkle amplitude is approached, wrinkling localizes, the rate of ratcheting grows exponentially and the tube collapses. The rate of ratcheting and the number of cycles to failure depend on the initial compressive pre-strain and on the amplitude of the stress cycles. However, collapse was found to occur when the accumulated average strain reaches the value at which the tube localizes under monotonic compression. A custom shell model of the tube with initial axisymmetric imperfections, coupled to a cyclic plasticity model, are presented and used to simulate the series of experiments performed successfully. A sensitivity study of the formulation to the imperfections and to key constitutive model parameters is then performed.
Assessing Urban Environmental Quality Change of Indianapolis, United States, by the Remote Sensing and GIS Integration

Timely and regular information on urban environmental quality (UEQ) is essential for urban planning. This research evaluated the ten-year UEQ changes in Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.A, based on the synthetic indicators of physical variables extracted from remotely sensed images and socioeconomic variables derived from census data. Physical environmental variables such as land use and land cover data, land surface temperature, normalized difference vegetation index, and other transformed remote sensing variables were derived from the two Landsat images taken in 1991 and 2000. Socioeconomic variables including population density, house characteristics, income, and education level were extracted from US census 1990 and 2000 block group (BG) data. Correlation analysis and factor analysis were performed after the two groups of variables were integrated at the BG level. For each year, four factors were identified and interpreted as greenness, crowdedness, economic status, and scenic amenity. By assigning different weights to each factor, two synthetic UEQ indexes were generated. A comparison of the two synthetic indexes revealed significant changes in UEQ pattern from 1990 to 2000.
Insurance Status, Comorbidity Level, and Survival Among Colorectal Cancer Patients Age 18 to 64 Years in the National Cancer Data Base From 2003 to 2005

Purpose Previous analyses have found that insurance status is a strong predictor of survival among patients with colorectal cancer aged 18 to 64 years. We investigated whether differences in comorbidity level may account in part for the association between insurance status and survival. Methods We used 2003 to 2005 data from the National Cancer Data Base, a national hospital-based cancer registry, to examine the relationship between baseline characteristics and overall survival at 1 year among 64,304 white and black patients with colorectal cancer. In race-specific analyses, we used Cox proportional hazards models to assess 1-year survival by insurance status, controlling first for age, stage, facility type, and neighborhood education level and income, and then further controlling for comorbidity level. Results Comorbidity level was lowest among those with private insurance, higher for those who were uninsured or insured by Medicaid, and highest for those insured by Medicare. Survival at 1 year was signif...
Retroviral nucleocapsid proteins display nonequivalent levels of nucleic acid chaperone activity.

Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) nucleocapsid protein (NC) is a nucleic acid chaperone that facilitates the remodeling of nucleic acids during various steps of the viral life cycle. Two main features of NC’s chaperone activity are its abilities to aggregate and to destabilize nucleic acids. These functions are associated with NC’s highly basic character and with its zinc finger domains, respectively. While the chaperone activity of HIV-1 NC has been extensively studied, less is known about the chaperone activities of other retroviral NCs. In this work, complementary experimental approaches were used to characterize and compare the chaperone activities of NC proteins from four different retroviruses: HIV-1, Moloney murine leukemia virus (MLV), Rous sarcoma virus (RSV), and human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1). The different NCs exhibited significant differences in their overall chaperone activities, as demonstrated by gel shift annealing assays, decreasing in the order HIV-1 RSV > MLV HTLV-1. In addition, whereas HIV-1, RSV, and MLV NCs are effective aggregating agents, HTLV-1 NC, which exhibits poor overall chaperone activity, is unable to aggregate nucleic acids. Measurements of equilibrium binding to single- and double-stranded oligonucleotides suggested that all four NC proteins have moderate duplex destabilization capabilities. Single-molecule DNAstretching studies revealed striking differences in the kinetics of nucleic acid dissociation between the NC proteins, showing excellent correlation between nucleic acid dissociation kinetics and overall chaperone activity.
Harold Alden Wheeler: a lifetime of applied electronics

The career of electronics engineer Harold Alden Wheeler, born in 1903 who contributed to the development of radio, television, and radar, is profiled. He experimented with radio in the days before broadcasting, and in 1922 he began a long-lasting association with the radio engineer Alan Hazeltine. In 1925 Wheeler made his most famous invention, a circuit that achieves automatic volume control (now called automatic gain control). It soon became, and remains today, a standard features of AM radios. In the 1920s and 1930s Wheeler made many other contributions, both practical and theoretical, to circuit design for radio receivers-AM, FM, and shortwave-and for television receivers. He excelled in the development of test equipment. During and after World War II, the design of antennas and of transmission lines become specialties of Wheeler's. His many honors include the Morris N. Liebmann Award, the Armstrong Medal of the Radio Club of America, and the IEEE Medal of Honor. >
The Default Mode Network In Late-Life Anxious Depression

Objective The aim of this exploratory study is to examine the default mode network (DMN) functional connectivity pattern in elderly depressed subjects with and without comorbid anxiety. Methods Functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected for 11 elderly depressed subjects with high comorbid anxiety and eight elderly depressed subjects with low anxiety. We analyzed the resting-connectivity patterns of the posterior cingulate cortex. We compared the DMN activity in the elderly depressed subjects with high versus low comorbid anxiety. Results Depressed elderly with high comorbid anxiety had increased functional connectivity in the posterior regions of the DMN and decreased functional connectivity in the anterior regions of the DMN. Conclusions Elderly depressed subjects with high anxiety display a dissociative pattern of connectivity in the DMN when compared with elderly depressed subjects with low anxiety. These results suggest a unique biologic signature of the anxiety symptoms in the context of late-life depression.
The Use of Historical Demography in Ancient History

The purpose of this paper is to assess the validity of some methods currently being used to interpret the demographic evidence from the ancient world. For example, it has been claimed that during the Hellenistic and Roman eras, birth rates were 40/1,000/year, death rates 36/1,000/year, and that 10% of healthy infants were killed, raising the death rate to 40/1,000/year; the claims rest on comparative material and anecdotes from literary sources. This paper will question (I) the use of comparative material from modern primitive societies as ‘evidence’ for Greece and Rome, and (II) the value of anecdotes for elucidating ancient demographic structure and population policies.
Tumor necrosis factor‐α‐induced changes in insulin‐producing β‐cells

The migration of macrophages and lymphocytes that produce cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor- (TNF-) causes -cell death, leading to type 1 diabetes. Similarly, in type 2 diabetes, the adipocyte-derived cytokines including TNF- are elevated in the circulation, causing inflammation and insulin resistance. Thus, the studies described in this article using TNFare relevant to furthering our understanding of the pathogenesis of diabetes mellitus. We used RINr1046-38 (RIN) insulin-producing -cells, which constitutively express calbindin-D28k, to characterize the effect of TNF- on apoptosis, replication, insulin release, and gene and protein expression. Western blots of TNF--treated RIN cells revealed a decrease in calbindinD28k. By ELISA, TNF--treated -cells had 47% less calbindin-D28k than controls. In association with the decline in calbindin-D28k, TNF- treatment of RIN cells led to a 73% greater increase in changes in intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca 2 ]i) in TNF--treated cells as compared to that in control RIN cells upon treatment with 50 mM KCl; caused a greater increase in the [Ca 2 ]i following the addition of 5.5 M ionomycin; increased by more than threefold the apoptotic rate, expressed as the percentage of TUNEL-positive nuclei to total nuclei; decreased the rate of cell replication by 36%; and increased and decreased selectively the expression of specific genes as determined by microarray analysis. The subcellular localizations of Bcl-2, an antiapoptotic protein, and Bax, a proapoptotic protein, within RIN cells were altered with TNF- treatment such that the two were colocalized with mitochondria in the perinuclear region. We conclude that the proapoptotic action of TNF- on -cells is manifested via decreased expression of calbindin-D28k and is mediated at least in part by [Ca 2 ]i.
BELIEVING IS SEEING: Biology as Ideology

Western ideology takes biology as the cause, and behavior and social statuses as the effects, and then proceeds to construct biological dichotomies to justify the “naturalness” of gendered behavior and gendered social statuses. What we believe is what we see—two sexes producing two genders. The process, however, goes the other way: gender constructs social bodies to be different and unequal. The content of the two sets of constructed social categories, “females and males” and “women and men,” is so varied that their use in research without further specification renders the results spurious.
Some implications for psychological research of early versus late term participation by college subjects

Abstract Several surveys of recent psychological literature have indicated that a large percentage of human subjects are introductory psychology students who are given the option of selecting when to participate in research which is either implicitly or explicitly required of them. The present study was conducted to investigate the possibility that those subjects who choose to participate early in the term differ in personality and in attitudes toward research from later term participants. Results indicated that early term males and females, as expected, were more academically oriented and more internally controlled than late term subjects; and early term males were more achievement oriented than their late term counterparts. Additionally, females were found to feel more positive toward research participation than males; while a large percentage of all subjects reported both suspiciousness of experimenter intent and a general and unexpected willingness to voluntarily participate as subjects. Possible effects of these findings on research results and conclusions were discussed, and suggestions for improvements aimed at reducing self-selection bias in college subject pools were made.
Examining the Connection Between Housing Counseling Practices and Long-Term Housing and Neighborhood Satisfaction

Housing counseling can increase homeownership opportunities for economically disadvantaged households. Prior research has generally viewed counseling as a means to reduce risk for mortgage lenders and insurers. This approach, which comes from the industry perspective, ignores important qualitative outcomes essential to a “successful” housing experience. This study focused on the end-user perspective by examining pre-purchase housing counseling agency practices that were associated with better long-term residential satisfaction outcomes of housing counseling clients within their respective communities. Clients from 26 housing counseling agencies in Philadelphia reported satisfaction levels with their dwelling unit and neighborhood at least 5 years after their home purchase. This study examined what pre-purchase housing counseling agency practices were associated with better long-term residential satisfaction outcomes of housing counseling clients within their respective communities. Certain practices, espe...
Linear Trap for High-accuracy Spectroscopy of Stored Ions

Abstract In a linear r.f. Paul trap, ‘crystallized’ structures of laser-cooled 199Hg+ ions are observed. The ground-state hyperfine transition at 40·5 GHz is observed in microwave-optical double-resonance spectroscopy. Future prospects are also discussed.
A MODIFIED MINIMAL HEMOLYMPH-LIKE SOLUTION, HL3.1, FOR PHYSIOLOGICAL RECORDINGS AT THE NEUROMUSCULAR JUNCTIONS OF NORMAL AND MUTANT DROSOPHILA LARVAE

The hemolymph-like HL3 saline(Stewart et al., 1994)and standard saline(Jan & Jan, 1976)are two widely used bathing solutions for physiological recordings at the Drosophila larval neuromuscular junction. It has been established that longevity of larval preparations is better maintained in HL3 saline. However, HL3 can produce results that are inconsistent with previous findings in standard saline, particularly on temperature sensitivity and membrane excitability phenotypes. In wild-type larvae, the excitatory junctional potentials(EJPs)in standard saline(containing 4 mM Mg(2+)and 1.8 mM Ca(2+))were not blocked by a temperature increase up to 39-40 degrees C, consistent with unimpaired larval locomotion below these temperatures. However, in HL3 saline(containing 20 mM Mg(2+)and 1.5 mM Ca(2+)), EJPs were blocked at 30 degrees C. As for temperature-sensitive mutants nap(ts)and para(ts), the EJP-blocking temperatures were decreased from about 29 and 33 degrees C in standard saline to about 23 and 26 degrees C in HL3, respectively. Compound action potential recordings confirmed that segmental nerve action potentials were more readily blocked by a temperature increase in HL3 than in standard saline. Axonal excitability was suppressed in HL3 even at room temperatures, as evidenced by a lengthened refractory period in wild-type larvae. Similar suppression occurred for the hyper-excitable double mutant eag Sh, which maintained high-frequency spontaneous EJPs in standard saline but showed a rapidly declining EJP frequency in HL3. Application of HL3 saline also strongly suppressed the prolonged transmitter release following removal of repolarization mechanisms by K(+)channel blockers or by the eag Sh mutation previously described in standard saline. These discrepancies suggest that the high divalent cation content in HL3 may confer a surface charge screening effect to suppress nerve membrane excitability. We found that a minimal adjustment of the HL3 saline, decreasing the Mg(2+)ion concentration from 20 to 4 mM, was sufficient to resolve the discrepancies. While retaining the longevity of the larval neuromuscular preparation, the modified HL3 saline(HL3.1)restored the established wild-type EJP properties as well as phenotypes of several widely used temperature-sensitive and hyper-excitable mutants previously documented in standard saline.
The Presence and Impact of Biofilm-Producing Staphylococci in Atopic Dermatitis

Importance Atopic dermatitis (AD) is thought to be a double-hit phenomenon with an unknown environmental component and a genetic abnormality likely centered on the filaggrin gene. Biologically, the presence of Staphylococcus aureus in AD was reported more than 2 decades ago, but the relationship to AD has been elusive. Objective To explore the bacteria that produce the biofilms in the lesions of AD and the response of the innate immune system to these biofilm occlusions of the sweat ducts by specifically evaluating Toll-like receptor 2. Design, Setting, and Participants University hospital dermatologic clinic study involving the environmental component related to the characterization, correlation, and impact of staphylococci and their biofilms in AD. We processed routine skin swabs from lesional and nonlesional skin from 40 patients with AD and performed scrapings and biopsies. We also obtained 20 samples from controls (10 inflamed skin samples and 10 normal skin samples). Exposures Gram staining, bright-field microscopy, hematoxylin and eosin, periodic acid�Schiff, Congo red, and light microscopy. Main Outcomes and Measures Association of staphylococcal biofilms with AD pathogenesis. Results All AD-affected samples contained multidrug-resistant staphylococci, with S aureus (42.0%) and Staphylococcus epidermidis (20.0%) as the predominant species. All isolates were positive for extracellular polysaccharide and biofilm (85.0% strong biofilm producers and 15.0% moderately to weakly positive). Polymerase chain reaction revealed the biofilm-mediating icaD (93.0%) and aap (12.5%) genes in the isolates (some contained both). We also examined tissues for microbial identification, extracellular biomass formation, biofilm formation, and staphylococcal biofilm in skin tissues. Occlusion of sweat ducts with periodic acid�Schiff�positive and Congo red�positive material was noted on microscopic tissue examination. Toll-like receptor 2 was shown to be activated in AD lesional skin (immediately proximal to the sweat ducts), which likely led to the initiation of proteinase-activated receptor 2�mediated pruritus and MyD88-mediated spongiosis. Conclusions and Relevance Biofilm formation by AD-associated staphylococci almost certainly plays a major role in the occlusion of sweat ducts and leads to inflammation and pruritus. We believe the environmental hit in AD relates to staphylococci and their biofilms, which occlude sweat ducts. .
Photochromism of Spirooxazines in Homogeneous Solution and Phospholipid Liposomes

The photochromic behavior of several spirooxazines (SO) containing phenanthrene or phenanthroline moieties in the oxazine part of molecules has been investigated in several solvents and phosphatidylcholine (PC) liposomes. The solvatochromic properties of the merocyanine (MC) forms of these dyes were used to probe their location within the PC membrane. Transient spectroscopic measurements revealed that, when first formed by photoexcitation, the MC forms of phenanthroline-containing spirooxazines were located at relatively nonpolar sites within the membrane, but they subsequently moved to a more polar environment typical of the aqueous−organic interface. The characteristic time for this intersite movement was τ ≈ 10-3 s, corresponding to a diffusion coefficient of D ≈ 10-11 cm2 s-1. In contrast, these spectral shifts were not observed when PC liposome-bound SO containing the phenanthrene moiety were photoexcited, suggesting that either intersite diffusion was more rapid for these compounds or the initially ...
Neutronics issues for Starlight: an inertial confinement fusion reactor concept

The author discusses an evolving design, reporting results of 1- and 2-D calculations involving tritium breeding, neutron damage, and the beam port neutron leakage. The author concludes that an inertial confinement fusion (ICF) reactor using a solid breeder is feasible. A low-temperature option uses a steel first wall and Li/sub 2/O as the breeding material. This first wall has an expected lifetime of more than six years. Up to a 10-cm thickness can be tolerated before the tritium breeding ratio falls below unity. The author is unaware of a suitable high-temperature first wall material for a high-temperature option. This option would use a ceramic first wall and breed tritium in LiAlO/sub 2/ allowing all the reactor components to operate at high temperatures that allow efficient use of He as a coolant. Of the ceramics examined, SiC appears to be the best choice for considering both tritium breeding and wall lifetime. However, He production will limit that lifetime to five months, clearly not an economical lifetime. Further, Li/sub 2/O is necessary rather than LiAlO/sub 2/ (at 7-cm wall thickness) to achieve a favorable tritium breeding ratio with SiC. Here, the benefits of using ceramics are lost as Li/sub 2/O has a much lower melting point than LiAlO/sub 2/. >
Mercury poisoning: a probable cause of Isaac Newton's physical and mental ills.

The personal crisis of 1693 in die life of Sir Isaac Newton has frequently been discussed by scholars interested in the history and the psychology of genius. In 1693 Newton suffered from insomnia and poor digestion; and he also wrote irrational letters to friends. Although most scholars have attributed Newton’s breakdown to psychological factors, it is possible that mercury poisoning may have been the principal cause. Newtonian scholar Richard S. Westfall has studied the defence Newton made of his first publication, the theory of the composition of white light (which Newton himself considered ‘the oddest if not the most considerable detection which has hitherto been made in operations of Nature’).
HIO: A Library for High Performance I/O and Data Management

A library for parallel IO and data management has been developed for large-scale multi-physics simulations. The goal of the library is to provide sustainable, interoperable, efficient, scalable, and convenient tools for parallel IO and data management for high-level data structures in applications, and to provide tools for the connection between applications. The high-level data structures include one- and multi-dimensional arrays, structured meshes, unstructured meshes, and the meshes generated through adaptive mesh refinement. The IO mechanism can be collective and non-collective. The data objects suitable for the library could be either large or small data sets. Even for small data sets, the IO performance is close to one of MPI-IO performance.
Regional climatic effects of power-plant heat rejection

Abstract Estimates are made of the climatic disturbances expected in 2000 AD from power-plant heat rejection, and comparison is made with heat from other sources. Surface temperature, cloudiness, and precipitation are considered; the climate is moist or arid; the heat discharge is to the surface or to the atmosphere, by evaporative or dry methods; and the regional scale varies from several miles to global. For average generation of the order of 50 GWe, the impact of wet towers would be noticeable in a desert climate, but perhaps not in a moist climate; once-through cooling impact would be noticeable on regional scales less than a few hundred miles. Dry systems seem always to have negligible impact on regional climatic averages.
THE CONTROL OF STRYCHNINE CONVULSIONS BY INTRASPINAL INJECTIONS OF MAGNESIUM SULPHATE

We feel that the results obtained in the human case and in our animal experiments justify the supposition that magnesium sulphate may be of use in controlling cases of poisoning by strychnine. It is a method easily available not only in large hospitals but in private practice, and requires no elaborate technique. The amount of magnesium sulphate to be used should follow the advice of Meltzer (19) in tetanus cases: intraspinally 1 cc. of a 25 per cent solution to each 20 pounds of body weight in adults, and one-half the dose in young children. Should this not control the convulsions a small amount of ether may be used. In order to hasten the excretion of strychnine, 200 to 300 cc. of salt solution should be given intravenously.6 In the event of the return of the convulsions, the intraspinal dose may be repeated, always taking precautions to keep the head elevated. Meltzer's apparatus for intrapharyngeal insufflation and a 2.5 per cent solution of calcium chloride should always be on hand in case of respiratory failure following an overdose of the magnesium salts (Meltzer (19)).