cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The chronically reserpinized rat as a possible model for cystic fibrosis. I. Submaxillary gland morphology and ultrastructure.

Extract: Submaxillary glands of rats treated with reserpine for 7 days showed striking morphologic changes when studied by light and electron microscopy. Grossly, the glands from treated animals were smaller and firmer than those from untreated controls. There was a marked accumulation of periodic acid-Schiff (PAS)-positive material in acinar cells and in the lumen of intralobular ducts, which appeared to be obstructed and distended by the precipitated material. In the acinar cells, this material occurred in discrete globules that coalesced at times, filling the acinar cytoplasm almost entirely and pushing the nuclei towards the periphery of the cell. The duct cells showed increased numbers of dark, discrete granules which did not stain with PAS, but colored with toluidine blue. In electron micrographs, the PAS-positive material that accumulated in acinar cells had a fibrillar appearance and there was a decrease in perinuclear rough endoplasmic reticulum in affected secretory cells. The increased mucopolysaccharide material is probably secretory material, as stimulation of the gland results in its partial disappearance. The observed changes were progressive and first became evident after 3 days of treatment with the drug. By the 7th day, the changes described were full blown and generalized. A similar obstructive exocrinopathy has been described in the submaxillary gland of patients with cystic fibrosis. These findings suggest that the chronically reserpinized rat may be a potentially useful model in evaluating the pathogenesis of cystic fibrosis. Speculation: Reserpine treatment for several days results in morphologic changes in the submaxillary glands of rats which are similar to the obstructive exocrinopathy reported in cystic fibrosis. These and other observations suggest that the reserpinized rat may be a useful model for the study of disorders of the mucus-producing glands.
The effect of external convection on freezing in steady turbulent flow in a tube

Abstract An analysis is presented of the turbulent flow heat transfer and frozen deposit which occur in a tube that is cooled convectively on its external boundary sufficiently to create an internal frozen layer. The effects of Biot number, Prandtl number and inlet and outside temperatures on the initial freeze-free zone within the tube are shown. Additionally, the thickness profile of the freeze layer and the overall heat transfer rate which occur at steady state are determined and illustrated for a variety of representative cases.
Comments, Countercomments, and New Thoughts

Criticism invariably consists in pointing out some contradiction; either a contradiction within the theory criticized, or a contradiction between the theory and another theory which we have reason to accept, or a contradiction between theory and certain facts.… . Criticism is, in a very important sense, the main motive force of any intellectual development. Wthout contradictions, without criticism, there would be no rational motive for changing theories: there would be no intellectual progress. (Popper, 1963, p. 316)
INVOLVEMENT RATE IN TWO-CAR CRASHES VERSUS DRIVER AGE AND CAR MASS OF EACH INVOLVED CAR

This work was performed to investigate how the likelihood of a two-car crash depends on the driver age and car mass for each of the two involved cars, and also to examine the special case of cars of similar mass crashing into each other. Data on 108 044 cars involved in police reported two-car crashes occurring in New York State in 1971 and 1972 were fitted to a function of the driver age and car mass for each of the two involved cars. Car registrations are used to estimate exposure. The special case of crashes between cars of similar mass is considered because of prior results on driver injuries in such crashes. It is found that "small-small" crashes (defined as a 900 kg car crashing into another 900 kg car) are about 0.3 times as likely as "big-big" crashes (an 1800 kg car crashing into another 1800 kg car), assuming equal numbers of cars driven by drivers of the same age. Combining the present results with earlier findings of increased injury risk in small-small crashes gives that such crashes injure about 70% as many drivers as big-big crashes when normalized for numbers of cars and driver age. That is, it is concluded that small-small crashes produce 30% fewer injuries than do big-big crashes.
Growth rate and reproductive differences in a widespread estuarine harpacticoid copepod ( Scottolana canadensis)

We demonstrate the presence of significant genetically based differentiation in growth rate (μg dry weight d-1) and reproductive traits (percent reproductive females and mean clutch size μg dry weight-1) among females of an harpacticoid copepod (Crustacea),Scottolana canadensis (Willey), taken from a broad range of latitudes and reared in the laboratory under the same conditions. As temperature increases (15°–25° C), the growth rate of southern-derived copepods continues to increase, while that of northern-derived copepods levels off or decreases. Southern-derivedS. canadensis also have a higher percentage of reproducing females at high temperature (25°C) when rations (cells ml-1) are reduced, while northern-derived females are at an advantage at low temperature (15°C). Both life-history traits indicate local adaptation to maximize scope for growth and reproduction at prevailing temperatures. The data support our hypothesis that evolution has occurred to maximize feeding minus metabolic energy expended, and that this maximization requires changes in feeding efficiency with differing temperatures.
Electronic spectroscopy of predissociative states of platinum oxide cation

The photodissociation spectrum of jet-cooled PtO þ is reported over the range of 25 000 to 30 000 cm � 1 . Excited state vibrational progressions are identified for 4 P� 1=2 4 R3=2 and 4 P5=2 4 R3=2 transitions with several vibrational peaks rotationally resolved. Additional peaks not assigned to a vibrational series also exhibit rotational structure. Transitions arising from the 4 R3=2 ground state show a spectroscopic onset of 25 520 cm � 1 , giving an upper limit to the bond strength of D0(Pt þ –O) 6 305 kJ mol � 1 . A hot band is observed at 25 317 cm � 1 and rotational analysis predicts it as arising from a low-lying X¼ 7=2 state, probably 4 D7=2.
CD44 interaction with ankyrin and IP3 receptor in lipid rafts promotes hyaluronan-mediated Ca2+ signaling leading to nitric oxide production and endothelial cell adhesion and proliferation.

In this study, we have showed that aortic endothelial cells (GM7372A cell line) express CD44v10 [a hyaluronan (HA) receptor], which is significantly enriched in cholesterol-containing lipid rafts (characterized as caveolin-rich plasma membrane microdomains). HA binding to CD44v10 promotes recruitment of the cytoskeletal protein, ankyrin and inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate (IP3) receptor into cholesterol-containing lipid rafts. The ankyrin repeat domain (ARD) of ankyrin is responsible for binding IP3 receptor to CD44v10 at lipid rafts and subsequently triggering HA/CD44v10-mediated intracellular calcium (Ca2+) mobilization leading to a variety of endothelial cell functions such as nitric oxide (NO) production, cell adhesion and proliferation. Further analyses indicate (i) disruption of lipid rafts by depleting cholesterol from the membranes of GM7372A cells (using methyl-β-cyclodextrin treatment) or (ii) interference of endogenous ankyrin binding to CD44 and IP3 receptor using overexpression of ARD fragments (by transfecting cells with ARDcDNA) not only abolishes ankyrin/IP3 receptor accumulation into CD44v10/cholesterol-containing lipid rafts, but also blocks HA-mediated Ca2+ signaling and endothelial cell functions. Taken together, our findings suggest that CD44v10 interaction with ankyrin and IP3 receptor in cholesterol-containing lipid rafts plays an important role in regulating HA-mediated Ca2+ signaling and endothelial cell functions such as NO production, cell adhesion and proliferation.
On the design of complementary filters

An algorithm is presented for synthesizing lowpass and highpass filters with identical phase transfer functions and such that the sum of the corresponding amplitude transfer functions is identically 1.0. The design procedure is based on model lowpass filters such as Butterworth, Chebychev, or elliptic. The complementary filters are seen to have the same pole locations as the model filters, with zero locations determined by both the poles and zeros of the models. Examples of both continuous-time and discrete-time designs are given to illustrate the method. These filters find application in the spectral decomposition of signals and in the reconstruction of physical data which have been obtained from multiple-transducer measurements.
Map approach to learning sparse Gaussian Markov networks

Recently proposed l 1 -regularized maximum-likelihood optimization methods for learning sparse Markov networks result into convex problems that can be solved optimally and efficiently. However, the accuracy of such methods can be very sensitive to the choice of regularization parameter, and optimal selection of this parameter remains an open problem. Herein, we propose a maximum a posteriori probability (MAP) approach that investigates different priors on the regularization parameter and yields promising empirical results on both synthetic data and real-life application such as brain imaging data (fMRI).
Signaling for myocardial depression in hemorrhagic shock: roles of Toll-like receptor 4 and p55 TNF-α receptor

Hemorrhagic shock causes myocardial contractile depression. Although this myocardial disorder is associated with increased expression of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), the role of TNF-α as a myoc...
Ovine Pineal Indoles: Effects of l‐Tryptophan or l‐5‐Hydroxytryptophan Administration

: l.-5-Hydroxytryptophan (l-5-HTP) (20 or 200 mg/kg i.p.) but not l-tryptophan (500 mg/kg i.p.) loading substantially increases serum melatonin in sheep. In the present study we examined the effects of these compounds on pineal serotonin and six serotonin metabolites. l-Tryptophan failed to increase 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT; serotonin) or any of its metabolites despite a fivefold increase in pineal tryptophan. In contrast, l-5-HTP loading produced a marked increase in pineal 5-HT and its metabolites, including N-acetylserotonin (NAS) and melatonin, indicating that an increased synthesis of melatonin is responsible for the increased serum melatonin concentration after loading with this precursor. No change in pineal indoleamine N-acetyltransferase (NAT) activity was seen. These results are consistent with the suggestion that, during daytime in the sheep, 5-HT availability may limit the production of melatonin.
Diocotron wave echoes in a pure electron plasma

Experimental images illustrate spatial Landau damping of an externally launched diocotron mode, and the resulting echo from a second externally launched wave. Filaments at the resonance layer exhibit spiral wind-up during the collisionless damping process, and "unwind" during the echo formation.
The effect of drugs on a fixed-ratio performance suppressed by a pre-time-out stimulus.

Abstract Pecking was reinforced by a fixed-ratio schedule with food, and responses during a red light produced a time out. If the bird did not respond during the red light, the light terminated and the bird could complete the FR schedule of positive reinforcement uninterrupted. The bird stopped responding during the red light sufficiently to avoid most of the possible time outs. In general, the pre–time-out stimulus suppressed responding more when the FR schedule was large than when it was small. The occurrence of the pre–time-out stimulus in the fixed ratio produced FR strain and extreme curvature atypical of normal fixed ratios of this size. Amobarbital, pentobarbital, chlorpromazine, and d-amphetamine injected when the FR performance was strained by the pre–time-out procedure produced marked increases in responding. The drug administration lowered the rate of responding only at larger doses; and then this occurred predominantly just after the injection.
An idea for thin subwavelength cavity resonators using metamaterials with negative permittivity and permeability

We present and analyze theoretically some ideas for thin one-dimensional (1D) cavity resonators in which a combination of a conventional dielectric material and a metamaterial possessing negative permittivity and permeability has been inserted. It is shown that a slab of metamaterial with negative permittivity and permeability can act as a phase compensator/conjugator and, thus, by combining such a slab with another slab made of a conventional dielectric material, one can, in principle, have a 1D cavity resonator whose dispersion relation may not depend on the sum of thicknesses of the interior materials filling this cavity, but instead it depends on the ratio of these thicknesses. In other words, one can, in principle, conceptualize a 1D cavity resonator with the total thickness far less than the conventional /spl lambda//2. Mathematical steps and physical intuitions relevant to this problem are presented.
General Relativistic Strings

The properties of infinite-length cosmic strings are investigated using the full coupled equations for the metric and the scalar and gauge fields which make up the string. It is argued that there exists a class of static cylindrically symmetric solutions of these equations representing an isolated string. All of these solutions approach Minkowski spacetime minus a wedge. An exact formula is given for the angle of light bending by the string. These results are substantially in agreement with earlier treatments of cosmic strings, which used approximations for the stress energy of the string.
Extensive Revascularization or Primary Amputation: Which Patients with Critical Limb Ischemia Should Not Be Revascularized?

The commitment of vascular specialists to preserve the lower extremity has pushed the limits of revascularization. It is not uncommon for patients with severe distal disease to undergo extensive vascular reconstruction, bringing a bypass graft down to the ankle and beyond. Such procedures, when well-planned and well-executed, can result in a preserved and fully functional lower extremity with complete healing of all necrotic tissue. As noted in the guidelines presented by the TransAtlantic Inter-Society Consensus Working Group, there are patients who will benefit from primary amputation rather than extensive revascularization. Patients who are unable to tolerate the planned procedure or unlikely to have a functional extremity despite restoration of distal flow, should be considered for major amputation that eliminates the source of rest pain and all necrotic tissue. Although morbidity and mortality of major amputation continues to be significant, advances in prosthetic development and amputation technique can lead to preserved ambulatory ability and improved quality of life.
The Role of Carbohydrates in the Induction of the Acrosome Reaction in Mouse Spermatozoa

Capacitated acrosome-intact mouse spermatozoa bind to the egg's zona pellucida in a receptor-ligand-mediated manner. Mouse zona pellucida 3 (mZP3) is a glycoprotein that functions as a primary ligand and inducer of the acrosome reaction (AR). Multiple sugar residues on mZP3 are thought to be recognized by complementary sugar binding enzymes (glycosidases or glycosyltransferases) or sugar binding lectin-like proteins on the sperm surface. To elucidate the nature of the sugar residues involved in sperm-egg recognition, several neoglycoproteins (ngps) were tested for their ability to induce the AR. Ngps are synthetic glycoproteins with a known monosaccharide conjugated to BSA. Capacitated mouse spermatozoa were treated in the absence or presence of several concentrations of ngps. A significantly greater number of spermatozoa underwent the AR in the presence of mannose-BSA, N-acetylglucosamine-BSA, and N-acetylgalactosamine-BSA than in their absence. Glucose-BSA or galactose-BSA had no effect on the AR. Inclusion of millimolar concentrations of unconjugated sugars (mannose, N-acetylglucosamine, or N-acetylgalactosamine) neither induced the AR nor blocked induction of the AR by ngps. These results demonstrate that some sugar residues can induce the AR, but only when conjugated to a protein backbone. Glucosaminyl-BSA (but not mannosyl-BSA or galactosaminyl-BSA) was a substrate for sperm-surface galactosyltransferase (GT), an enzyme thought to function as a receptor by binding to complementary glucosaminyl residues on mZP3. These data suggest a possible interaction between protein-conjugated glucosaminyl residues and sperm GT in the induction of the AR.
Attenuation Relations for Peak Horizontal and Vertical Accelerations of Earthquake Ground Motion in Iran: A Preliminary Analysis

Attenuation relations are developed based on information in the Iranian acceleration data bank (IADB) containing 279 entries from about 30 seismogenic areas across the country. The peak ground horizontal (PGH) and peak vertical accelerations (PGV), varies from a few cm/s2 to over 1000 cm /s2. Moment magnitudes (Mw) vary from about 3.0 to 7.4; and earthquake depths vary from near surface to over 100 km; however, except a majority of depth that are kept at 33 km in the locating process, most depths are about 10 km. Epicentral distances (EPD) vary from 2 km to nearly 250 km. The data bank also includes four site conditions, S. The least squared multi-stage regression solutions for acceleration attenuation are calculated for three cases. The predicted PGH and PGV accelerations are compared with uncorrected high accelerations components near the source of Bam earthquake of 2003; the high PGH acceleration is reproduced, but the estimated PGV acceleration is lower by a factor of 2 to 3. In addition, estimations based in this work are compared with several other studies and discrepancies are discussed.
Distributed power control and spreading gain allocation in CDMA data networks

We study the radio resource allocation problem of distributed joint transmission power control and spreading gain allocation in a DS-CDMA mobile data network. The network consists of K base stations and M wireless data users. The data streams generated by the users are treated as best-effort traffic, in the sense that there are no pre-specified constraints on the quality of the radio channels. We are interested in designing a distributed algorithm that achieves maximal (or near-maximal in some reasonable sense) aggregate throughput, subject to peak power constraints. We provide an algorithm where base stations coordinate in a distributed fashion to control the powers and spreading gains of the users, and show that it converges to a Nash equilibrium point. In general, there may be multiple equilibrium points; however, certain structural properties of the throughput expression can be exploited to significantly trim the search space and induce an ordering on the users in each cell. The numerical results indicate that with these modifications, the algorithm frequently converges in just a few iterations to the throughput maximizing (globally optimal) power and spreading gain allocation.
A customizable FPGA IP core implementation of a general purpose Genetic Algorithm engine

Hardware implementation of genetic algorithms (GA) is gaining importance as genetic algorithms can be effectively used as an optimization engine for real-time applications (for e.g., evolvable hardware). In this work, we report the design of an IP core that implements a general purpose GA engine which has been successfully synthesized and verified on a Xilinx Virtex II Pro FPGA device (XC2VP30). The placed and routed IP core has an area utilization of only 16% and clock period of 2.2n s (~450 MHz). The GA core can be customized in terms of the population size, number of generations, cross-over and mutation rates, and the random number generator seed. The GA engine can be tailored to a given application by interfacing with the application specific fitness evaluation module as well as the required storage memory (to store the current and new populations). The core is soft in nature i.e., a gate-level netlist is provided which can be readily integrated with the user's system.
Carbon nanotube dosimetry: from workplace exposure assessment to inhalation toxicology.

Background Dosimetry for toxicology studies involving carbon nanotubes (CNT) is challenging because of a lack of detailed occupational exposure assessments. Therefore, exposure assessment findings, measuring the mass concentration of elemental carbon from personal breathing zone (PBZ) samples, from 8 U.S.-based multi-walled CNT (MWCNT) manufacturers and users were extrapolated to results of an inhalation study in mice.
The Effect of Art Therapy on Cognitive Performance of Hispanic/Latino Older Adults.

This article presents the results of a pilot study investigating the efficacy of art therapy to enhance cognitive performance in a sample of 24 elderly Hispanic/Latino members of a community center who participated in a weekly structured thematic therapeutic arts program. A 12-week, quasiexperimental, pretest/posttest, nonrandomized, controlled design evaluated outcomes using the Clock Drawing Test (CDT) and the Cognitive Failures Questionnaire (CFQ). Participants who attended the art therapy sessions outperformed those who did not on both cognitive evaluation tests. The findings suggest that the combination of self-initiated art making with art therapy session attendance may be most beneficial for enhancing a person's perception of cognitive ability, which in turn may positively affect overall cognitive performance.
Learning to generalize and reuse skills using approximate partial policy homomorphisms

A reinforcement learning (RL) agent that performs successfully in a complex and dynamic environment has to continuously learn and adapt to perform new tasks. This necessitates for them to not only extract control and representation knowledge from the tasks learned, but also to reuse the extracted knowledge to learn new tasks. This paper presents a new method to extract this control and representational knowledge. Here we present a policy generalization approach that uses the novel concept of policy homomorphism to derive these abstractions. The paper further extends the policy homomorphism framework to an approximate policy. The extension allows policy generalization framework to efficiently address more realistic tasks and environments in non-deterministic domains. The approximate policy homomorphism derives an abstract policy for a set of similar tasks (a task type) from a set of basic policies learned for previously seen task instances. The resulting generalized policy is then applied in new contexts to address new instances of related tasks. The approach also allows to identify similar tasks based on the functional characteristics of the corresponding skills and provides a means of transferring the learned knowledge to new situations without the need for complete knowledge of the state space and the system dynamics in the new environment. We demonstrate the working of policy abstraction using approximate policy homomorphism and illustrate policy reuse to learn new tasks in novel situations using a set of grid world examples.
Formation and Stabilities of Free Bilirubin and Bilirubin Complexes with Transition and Rare-Earth Elements

We investigated complexes formed between bilirubin and transition or rare-earth elements, and their relative stabilities. Relative rates of complex formation were analogous to metalloporphyrin and metal complex stabilities, according to the Irving—Williams series. Transition metals that formed strong, square planar complexes caused rapid bilirubin degradation. Iron(II) was oxidized to iron(III) in the bilirubin complex. Of the lanthanide complexes, only samarium(III) showed covalent bonding tendencies. Comparative molar absorptivities were calculated for several of the metal— bilirubin complexes. The stability of bilirubin in several solvents and under various experimental conditions is reported. At room temperature, bilirubin photooxidizes to biliverdin on exposure to laboratory light.
Spiritual Formation for Catholic Educators: Understanding the Need

This article discusses the need for thoughtful programs of spiritual formation for lay educators who staff Catholic schools. The importance of teacher formation in spiritual growth and in knowledge of the Catholic faith and daily living of the Gospel is highlighted.
Information acquisition during migration: A social perspective

ABSTRACT Information can enhance fitness, and the ways in which organisms acquire and use information are of heightened interest in ecological studies today. Migratory birds, as long-distance travelers of the globe, depend on rapid access to accurate information and thus provide particularly interesting study subjects for cognitive ecology. Yet, questions regarding how migratory birds collect information and make decisions en route remain to be answered. Here, we review the current status of this field of study and focus our attention on social learning (broadly defined as the use of inadvertently produced social information) as an important cognitive mechanism that can operate across taxonomic boundaries. We argue that social learning is critical to accelerate resource acquisition while reducing risks and uncertainties during migration. We put forward eight testable predictions in relation to when increased use of social information might be expected. Finally, we argue that migrant communities at stopove...
Practical Applications of Performance and Persistence of Performance of Actively Managed U.S. Funds that Invest in International Equity

International mutual funds are ideal for US-domiciled investors who want exposure to foreign equities but don’t have the time or inclination to become experts in foreign markets. But do these actively managed funds outperform their passive benchmarks on a risk-adjusted basis? Abhay Kaushik, Assistant Professor of Finance at Radford University in Virginia, says in an interview that he was surprised few other researchers have dug into the broad international equities universe or could say whether active managers in the non-US stock universe outperformed their indices. This Practical Applications report details Kaushik’s findings in Performance and Persistence of Performance of Actively Managed U.S. Funds that Invest in International Equity, which was published in the Summer 2013 issue of The Journal of Investing He analyzes 20 years of data from a universe of 570 US-domiciled funds that invest in equities outside of the United States. Kaushik reveals whether or not active management pays off and provides readers with a major caveat.
NONLINEAR DIFFRACTION BY A VERTICAL CYLINDER

A theoretical solution is developed for the interaction of second-order Stokes waves with a large vertical circular cylinder in water of finite depth. The solution is obtained in terms of the velocity potential such that any kinematic or dynamic quantity of interest may be derived, consistent to the second perturbation order. In this study, the second-order wave field around the cylinder is determined, showing the modification of the incident Stokes waves by wave-wave and wave-structure interactions, both in the reflection-dominated up-wave region and in the diffraction-dominated down-wave region. The theory is then compared to experimental data for wave runup and rundown amplitudes on the cylinder as well as for wave crest and trough envelopes in the up-wave and down-wave regions.
Populations of Corn Earworm and Associated Predators After Applications of Certain Soil-Applied Pesticides to Soybeans

Eggs, larvae, and associated insect predators of Heliothis zea (Boddie) were sampled in soybean plots treated with aldicarb, carbofuran, ethoprop, fensulfothion, and phorate. There was no ovipositional preference by the corn earworm for treated or untreated soybeans. However, aldicarb treated plots contained up to 7X more larvae than untreated plots or plots treated with other soil-applied pesticides. Numbers of Orius insidiosus (Say), Geocoris punctipes (Say), and Nabis spp. were inversely related to H. zea numbers. An overspray of methyl parathion resulted in a similar effect on H. zea and its predators as observed in aldicarb treated plots. Soybean yields were reduced in plots treated with aldicarb, methyl parathion, and a combination of these pesticides.
Understanding Workplace Flexibility in State Agencies: What Facilitates Employee Access?

The case for workplace flexibility has been largely established in the private sector, yet little is known about what facilitates or constrains employee access to flexibility options in governmental agencies. Focused on both flextime and flexible careers (career breaks, job sharing, and reduced hours), this study investigates how agency strategies, motives, resources, structure, and stakeholders shape employee access to workplace flexibility. The findings suggest that employee access to workplace flexibility is largely enhanced by strategic effort and agency motives, whereas agency structure shows limited impact. Agencies with bigger budgets provide employees more access to flextime, and those short of critical human capital tend to offer more options for flexible careers. This study concludes with the discussion of research findings and potential policy implications.
Contextual and Cognitive Determinants of Procedural Justice Perceptions in Promotion Barriers for Women

The relationships between procedural justice in promotion decisions for women and contextual factors deemed as contributing to glass ceilings were examined. The contextual factors examined were a lack of female role models, limited networking opportunities for women, gender segregation, and formal career ladders. It was found that gender schema is a moderator between procedural justice and the perceived number of female role models and between procedural justice and the perception of formal career ladders. Although gender schema was not a moderator in the relationship between procedural justice and gender segregation, nor in the relationship between procedural justice and networking opportunities for women, a significant main effect was found. These results are consistent with the notion that organizational justice perceptions are products of individual cognitive processes, which develop in response to cultural expectations.
Stability Prediction and Influence Factors Analysis of High-speed Spindle System

The stability of high-speed spindle system affects the surface finish and the tool life directly, which is an important factor to evaluate the performance. It is concerned to research the influence factors and make a reasonable approach of improving the stability. Starting from the stability evaluation criteria and different ways of getting FRF, the influence factors of unconditional and conditional stability regions including motivation, speed and spindle system structure are analyzed. Taking GMN spindle as sample, the whole high-speed spindle system finite element method is modeled with five degrees model of angular contact ball bearing taking the force and deformation in consideration and distributing spring model of spindle- holder- tool joints. The influence laws of cutting force amplitude, speed and damping ratio towards cutting stability are characterized by the three dimensional lobes, limit cutting depths and lobe intersections changing with the parameters, which provide the theoretical basis for optimizing the processing and improving the cutting stability.
Indications of Material Character from the Behavior of Diffuse Ultrasonic Fields

While concert and lecture halls have long been studied for their reverberant sound field behaviors, similar studies have begun only recently in solid bodies. Modern instrumentation is allowing the study of incoherent spectral ultrasonic energy densities in solids as they evolve in time and space. In principle this evolution can provide many indications of volume averaged material properties. These include measures of absorption (equivalent to viscoelastic moduli or other sources of internal friction), of mean free path (equivalent to attenuation due to scattering from material inhomogeneities) and of spectral densities of normal modes. It is particularly worth noting that absorption can be measured at low levels and high accuracies far beyond the sensitivities and capabilities of conventional techniques. Furthermore, attenuation as quantified by mean free paths is measurable in a high attenuation domain not otherwise accessible. The concepts, problems and potential of the technique are reviewed and a few laboratory examples presented.
Selective protection of non-cancer cells by hypothermia.

BACKGROUND: A serious limitation in cancer treatments is insufficient selectivity of drugs for cancer cells. We have previously demonstrated that, in contrast to p53-deficient cells, cells with wild-type p53 undergo a reversible cell cycle arrest when incubated at 28 degrees C instead of 37 degrees C. Since most of the human tumors are p53-deficient, it suggests that hypothermia may selectively protect normal cells from cytotoxic treatments that primarily target proliferating cells. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We have examined the effect of hypothermia on the survival of wild-type and p53-deficient cells exposed to the anti-tumor drug 5-fluorouracil and compared BrdU incorporation at 28 degrees C and 37 degrees C of normal and tumor cells. RESULTS: p53 wild-type fibroblasts, in contrast to p53-deficient cells, survive much higher doses of 5-fluorouracil when incubated at 28 degrees C than at 37 degrees C. Among tumor cells, the loss of the p53 function coincides with the inability to arrest cell cycle progression at low temperature and with increased sensitivity to prolonged hypothermia as a single modality. CONCLUSION: Hypothermia protects normal cells from cytotoxic treatments and may improve the therapeutic index of chemotherapy by mechanisms based on the differences in cell cycle regulation between normal and tumor cells.
Does antioxidant supplementation reduce primary cancer incidence and mortality?: Systematic review and meta analysis.

Fifth AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research, Nov 12-15, 2006 A159 Background: Antioxidant (beta carotene, vitamin E, selenium) supplementation has been postulated to prevent cancer; however, data from randomized clinical trials remain inconsistent. The aim of this systematic review was to estimate whether antioxidants reduce cancer incidence and cancer mortality. Methods: Randomized clinical trials wherein subjects received supplementation with one or more antioxidants versus placebo were included. Studies were identified by searching relevant electronic databases (MEDLINE, CENTRAL, EMBASE, Science Citation Index) from inception until August 2005 and data from eligible trials was extracted by two independent reviewers. Random effects meta-analyses of associations between antioxidants versus placebo on cancer incidence and cancer mortality were conducted to estimate relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: 12 eligible trials, 10 of high methodological quality, were identified (total subject population: 104,196). Antioxidant supplementation did not significantly reduce total cancer incidence (RR=0.99, CI: 0.94, 1.04) or mortality (RR=1.03, CI: 0.92, 1.15) or any site-specific cancer incidence. Beta carotene increased in the incidence of smoking (lung, head and neck, upper gastrointestinal and bladder) related cancer (RR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.24), and cancer mortality (RR=1.13, CI: 0.1.00, 1.28). Selenium reduced cancer incidence in men (RR: 0.70, 95% CI: 0.59, 0.82), but not in women (RR: 1.08, 95% CI: 0.90, 1.30; P interaction <.001), and cancer mortality (RR=0.78, CI: 0.65, 0.94). Vitamin E had no effect on overall cancer incidence (RR=0.99, CI: 0.94,1.04 ;) or cancer mortality (RR=1.04, CI: 0.97,1.12). The results remained similar after we excluded the trials with low quality, trials stopped early for harm, or used the inverse log method to pool results. Conclusion: The best available evidence suggests that and vitamin E supplementation does not have any effect on cancer incidence, but beta carotene may increase the risk of smoking related cancers and cancer mortality. Selenium supplementation might provide some anti-cancer effects, especially among males and further studies are needed to confirm the observed selenium effect.
CONVERGENCE, DIVERGENCE, AND RELATED TOPICS

One of the most striking features of the organization of the nervous system is the ubiquitous convergence and divergence of fibers from one set of cells to another. In the brain, the cells at one level are not connected individually to cells at another level. There are instances, especially in simple nervous systems with few elements, where the transmission of information or the control of some function depends largely on single cells. The contraction of muscle fibers depends on the balance of excitatory and inhibitory inputs originating from a large number of cells at higher levels in the nervous system. The significant perceptual variables are not punctate events but depend on the pattern as well as the level of stimulation over the sensory surface, and they involve such parameters as contrast, boundaries, and movement. This necessitates a receptive field extending over some portion of the sensory surface and an appropriate neural network subserving a particular variable. Thus, there is a convergence from the receptor surface through interneurons onto subsequent cells in a sensory pathway. But any one cell at one stage can contribute to extracting more than one variable: a light receptor can be involved at the same time in assessing contrast, color, and temporal change. Thus, there is also a divergence from the receptor surface to subsequent cells.
What Need is There to Go Home? Travel as a Leisure Activity in the Travel Records (Youji 游記) of Su Shi 蘇軾 (1037–1101)

The underlying premise of this essay is that travel, as a leisure or recreational activity, appears first as a common literary theme during the Song dynasty (960–1279), and that the informal prose ji 記 writings of Su Shi 蘇軾 (or Su Dongpo 蘇東坡; 1037–1101) are representative of this new trend. While some post-Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) personalities, such as the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove (Zhulin qixian 竹林七賢), and a few Tang litterateurs, most notably Li Bai 李白 (701–762) and Bai Juyi 白居易 (772–846), achieved notoriety for their pursuit of leisure and/or enjoyment of travel, not until the Song period was sightseeing and some other forms of excursion undertaken for pleasure by significant numbers of writers. Su Shi was one of the first Song authors to produce, in a sustained manner, written records of trips taken during times of leisure. The texts he wrote describing these journeys have influenced countless numbers of writer-travelers in China ever since.
Programming Support for an Integrated Multi-Party Computation and MapReduce Infrastructure

We describe and present a prototype of a distributed computational infrastructure and associated high-level programming language that allow multiple parties to leverage their own computational resources capable of supporting MapReduce [1] operations in combination with multi-party computation (MPC). Our architecture allows a programmer to author and compile a protocol using a uniform collection of standard constructs, even when that protocol involves computations that take place locally within each participant's MapReduce cluster as well as across all the participants using an MPC protocol. The high-level programming language provided to the user is accompanied by static analysis algorithms that allow the programmer to reason about the efficiency of the protocol before compiling and running it. We present two example applications demonstrating how such an infrastructure can be employed.
Dissolving the Explanatory Gap: Neurobiological Differences Between Phenomenal and Propositional Knowledge

The explanatory gap and theknowledge argument are rooted in the conflationof propositional and phenomenal knowledge. Thebasic knowledge argument is based on theconsideration that ``physical information'' aboutthe nervous system is unable to provide theknowledge of a ``color experience'' (Jackson,1982). The implication is that physicalism isincomplete or false because it leaves somethingunexplained. The problem with Jackson'sargument is that physical information has theform of highly symbolic propositional knowledgewhereas phenomenal knowledge consists in innateneurophysiological processes. In addition totheir fundamental epistemological differences,clinical, anatomical, pathological and brainimaging studies demonstrate that phenomenal andpropositional knowledge are fundamentallydifferent neurobiological processes. Propositional knowledge is phylogeneticallynew, highly symbolic, culturally acquired,exclusively human and expressible in differentnatural and artificial languages. By contrast,phenomenal knowledge (i.e.: knowingwhat-it-is-like to see a color) consists inqualitative experiences and phenomenal conceptsthat provide an internal, language-independentreference to the properties of objects and theneeds of the organism. Language andpropositional knowledge are exclusively humanattributes implemented in specific regions ofthe dominant hemisphere. This contrastssharply with the phylogenicallysensory areas that are common to animals andhumans, which implement qualitativeexperiences. Experiences are hard-wiredneurobiological processes that can neither betransmitted nor re-created through thesymbolism of propositions. Thus, I concludethat the fallacy in the explanatory gap and inthe knowledge argument is a fallacy ofequivocation that results from ignoringfundamental neurobiological differences betweenphenomenal and propositional knowledge.
Progress in disease progression genetics: dissecting the genetic origins of lung function decline in COPD

Lung function is a heritable trait. Heritability estimates posit that approximately30%–50% of the phenotypic variation in FEV1 is explained by genetics,1–3 and genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of lung function4–11 have discovered multiple genetic variants that are associated with cross-sectional measurements in adults of FEV1, FVC and FEV1/FVC ratio at genome-wide significance levels. Many of these same loci have also been implicated in GWAS of COPD. Additional work is required to link these loci to pathophysiology. Functional studies on GWAS loci involving HHIP ,12 ,13 FAM13A ,14 HTR4 ,15 AGER 16 and IREB2 17 have already provided important insights into the biological mechanisms for genetic determinants of COPD and/or lung function. Longitudinal change in lung function (ΔFEV1, ΔFEV1/FVC) is also heritable,18 albeit perhaps to a lesser degree than cross-sectional lung function levels. Although studies of longitudinal lung function have discovered a few loci associated with ΔFEV1 at genome-wide significance levels, none were robust to replication in the available populations. While at first glance the genetic determinants of FEV1 level and ΔFEV1 might be expected to show significant overlap, a recent study of COPD by Lange et al 19 and a complementary study in asthma by McGeachie et al 20 have suggested that low maximum attained lung function and accelerated lung function decline are distinct processes that can exert independent effects on the risk for chronic airflow obstruction. Therefore, it would not be surprising if different genetic determinants influenced cross-sectional and longitudinal lung function change. Longitudinal measurements of lung function are highly informative for identifying these separate processes. In contrast, one …
New particle-based trace explosive test material produced by drop-on-demand inkjet printing for quantitative wipe-sampling studies

A new approach is described to prepare particle standards of the explosive 1,3,5-trinitroperhydro-1,3,5-triazine (RDX) for use in quantitative wipe-sampling studies. Screening activities to detect traces of explosives are heavily focused on wipe collection from surfaces such as fabrics, metals, and plastics with speed and efficacy as the goals. Studies to improve the sampling protocols, including development of improved wipe materials and selection of best surfaces, depend upon the availability of test materials that mimic particles in fingerprints made after handling explosives. RDX particle arrays were prepared by drop-on-demand (DOD) inkjet printing onto polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) substrates and then transferred by rubbing onto target surfaces. The particle size distributions in the transferred deposits approximately match the distributions measured from fingerprints (size range of 1 to 40 μm) for equivalent total masses of RDX, and the transfer is better than 95% efficient to three realistic surfaces; woven nylon, synthetic leather, and brushed steel. DOD inkjet printing can be tailored to produce the desired particle sizes by changing the total deposit mass at each point in the array. Deposits will not transfer efficiently to surfaces smoother than the PTFE transfer substrate. Wipe-sampling studies conducted with the new test materials at a fixed force and for a specific sampling wipe show that the sampling efficiency from woven nylon fabric (e.g., luggage) is 17 ± 4% whereas the efficiency from acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic (e.g., luggage handles) under the same conditions is 37 ± 6%.
A Review of Issues Related to Data Acquisition and Analysis in EEG/MEG Studies

Electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) are non-invasive electrophysiological methods, which record electric potentials and magnetic fields due to electric currents in synchronously-active neurons. With MEG being more sensitive to neural activity from tangential currents and EEG being able to detect both radial and tangential sources, the two methods are complementary. Over the years, neurophysiological studies have changed considerably: high-density recordings are becoming de rigueur; there is interest in both spontaneous and evoked activity; and sophisticated artifact detection and removal methods are available. Improved head models for source estimation have also increased the precision of the current estimates, particularly for EEG and combined EEG/MEG. Because of their complementarity, more investigators are beginning to perform simultaneous EEG/MEG studies to gain more complete information about neural activity. Given the increase in methodological complexity in EEG/MEG, it is important to gather data that are of high quality and that are as artifact free as possible. Here, we discuss some issues in data acquisition and analysis of EEG and MEG data. Practical considerations for different types of EEG and MEG studies are also discussed.